Chapter 254: The Link Circuit That Opens the Path to the Future
The duel was unfolding in a way no one in the room had anticipated.
It had started as a Farewell Banquet parting match, been hijacked into a Dark Game, and then on top of all that, an Extra Deck Zone had materialized out of nowhere. The Nanki'in family's signature cursed blade, the Shiranui line, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Nanki'in Sakuya had drawn an entirely different sword.
Amano sent the Warrior-type monster he had just searched with Reinforcement of the Army flying into the monster zone.
"I Normal Summon Sky Striker Ace - Raye in Attack Position!"
The tachi-wielding girl in the black-and-white uniform materialized in solid holographic form, blade drawn, and took her place on the field.
A monster no one had ever seen before. The crowd's unease rippled louder.
Ryuuma could not leave his post at the door to get a look at the stage. But even from a distance, he could catch the sounds of the duel and the monster name Amano had called out through Sakuya's voice.
"Sky Striker Ace - Raye. That's the power our young miss has been building toward. Come on, new blade. Cut through whatever darkness has wrapped itself around the Nanki'in family!"
Jinguuji Domitsu spoke from across the stage. "A monster with 1500 ATK. That's all."
His own field held monsters with 3000 and 2500 ATK respectively. For a 1500 ATK monster to threaten either of them without the support of additional effects was basic knowledge every duelist carried.
"And don't forget: as long as Albion the Branded Dragon is on the field, every time you activate a card effect, you pay 600 LP for it."
"Then I'm done draining LP for now. Sky Striker's toolkit is all I need."
From her hand, Amano pulled a second monster card. This time, rather than activating any effect, she threw it across the field in a single clean arc, sending it spinning directly into Jinguuji Domitsu's hand.
This card wants to go to your side.
"I Special Summon this card to your field! Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P.!"
On Jinguuji Domitsu's field, a black humanoid mech blinked into existence from empty air. Its hand gripped a vivid crimson particle-edge blade, and in one sweep it cut clean through Albion the Branded Dragon, taking the Fusion monster's place.
[Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P.]
[Level 8 / DARK]
[Machine / Effect]
[ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2500]
[(This card is always treated as a "Sky Striker" card.)]
[If you control a "Sky Striker Ace" monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand) to either field by Tributing 1 monster from that field. You can only Special Summon "Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P." once per turn this way.]
"I Tribute Albion the Branded Dragon on your side of the field and Special Summon Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P. to your field in Attack Position!"
Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P. was a card with the same trick as the Kaiju monsters: Tribute a monster on the opponent's side to force a replacement onto their field. Even against the best protection, something that removed a monster by Tributing it rather than targeting and destroying it was a different class of problem entirely.
Domitsu had not been eager to accept the card shoved into his hand. But with the mechanics working as they did, the Duel Disk registered the play and the card slotted onto his field regardless.
"Pity for you. The monster you just sent to my side has 2500 ATK as well."
Albion was gone, and with it the 600 LP tax on every card effect activation. But looking at Domitsu's field overall, the picture had not changed much. Grand Director Death God was still there at 3000, and Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P. had filled the space Albion left at the same ATK value.
"Then I enter the Battle Phase!"
The announcement sent a ripple of renewed tension through the Nanki'in section.
"Already? The ATK is nowhere near enough."
"What is the young miss going for?"
"We've never seen this deck before. I don't know what to expect from any of her next moves."
Nanki'in Sakuya's pale fingers extended toward the black mech on the opposing field. "Sky Striker Ace - Raye attacks Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P.!"
The tachi girl dropped into a sprint without a flicker of hesitation and swung at the black mech. 1500 ATK against 2500. The math was not in Raye's favor.
But Amano was already drawing from the hand she held, the motion echoing the swing of the blade itself as the card went to the Graveyard.
"During the Battle Phase, I activate the effect of Sky Striker Maneuver - Justice Sword from my hand!"
[During your opponent's or your own Battle Phase: Discard this card, then target 1 "Sky Striker" monster on the field; until the end of this turn, that monster gains 1500 ATK.]
"Justice Sword's effect raises Sky Striker Ace - Raye's ATK by 1500 points. That brings Raye's ATK up to match Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
[Sky Striker Ace - Raye] [ATK: 1500 -> 3000]
Justice Sword transformed, reshaping itself into a white blade that passed into Raye's grip alongside the one she already carried. The girl now wielded two swords. Black in one hand, white in the other, and the slashes she poured out filled the air with a blinding crosswork of steel.
"Come on, Raye! Starburst Stream!!"
In under a second, a storm of sword strikes tore the projected image of Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P. apart at every seam.
[Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P. destroyed]
Jinguuji Domitsu LP: 4000 -> 3500
Even in a Dark Game, 500 LP of damage would not carry much weight on its own. Domitsu's expression did not shift.
"Ha. I see where this is going. Sky Striker is basically a fancier beatdown deck. The ceiling on that ATK boost tops out at 3000."
Because the maximum she could climb was 3000, she had deliberately chosen not to attack Grand Director Death God, which was sitting at the same ATK. The Nanki'in onlookers were beginning to read the shape of the play.
"Now, follow-up fire!" Amano drove a fist forward. Behind the tachi girl, the black mech's gun ports swung toward Domitsu's field and unleashed a saturating volley of live ammunition.
"The effect of the destroyed Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P. triggers!"
[When this card is destroyed by battle: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy it.]
Although Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P. had been Special Summoned to Jinguuji Domitsu's field, when it was destroyed in battle it returned to Amano's Graveyard. So the follow-up destruction effect was activated from Amano's Graveyard, by Amano himself.
"I target and destroy Grand Director Death God on your field!"
The mech's volleys finished the job. Grand Director Death God, whose ATK matched Blue-Eyes White Dragon, went down in the same exchange.
[Grand Director Death God destroyed]
"Meaningless." Domitsu's answer was a sharp sound of contempt. The vast Branded city Field Spell pulsed with a sickly light.
"The effect of the Field Spell, Branded Misery - Despair Death Prison Realm, activates!"
[When a non-Fusion Angel monster you control is removed from the field by the opponent's effect or destroyed by battle, target 1 of your Level 8 or higher Fusion Monsters in your GY: Special Summon that target.]
While it was unsettling to look at and thoroughly sinister in design, Grand Director Death God was, in fact, an Angel-type monster. And it qualified for its own Field Spell's revival clause perfectly.
"From the Graveyard, I Special Summon the Level 8 Fusion Monster, Albion the Branded Dragon!"
[Albion the Branded Dragon] [DEF: 2000]
The disguised Fusion dragon descended again. But because it was being Special Summoned from the Graveyard rather than Fusion Summoned from the Extra Deck, it came back without the effect that forced LP payment for every card effect activation. That condition only applied when Albion was properly Fusion Summoned.
"Your all-out attack only amounted to this, little girl."
"I'll make sure you aren't able to walk straight afterward, Domitsu. Don't say I didn't warn you."
With the Battle Phase still open, Amano picked up Sky Striker Ace - Raye from the monster zone.
"That was just an appetizer. Now comes what Sky Striker is actually built for."
Without a Link Summon, Sky Striker would always be missing something at its core. All the support cards in the world could not fill in for the Link monsters themselves. But that was about to change.
"I activate the effect of Sky Striker Ace - Raye!"
[Tribute this card to Special Summon 1 "Sky Striker Ace" monster from your Extra Deck to the Extra Monster Zone. This effect can be activated during the opponent's turn.]
This was a Quick Effect that could fire in the opponent's turn, which meant it could also be activated mid-Battle Phase.
On the field, in the Extra Monster Zone that the Limited Link Zone system skill had opened, the space designated for Extra Deck summons flickered with circuits of light that carried the unmistakable signature of something new.
"Appear! The link circuit that opens the path to the future!"
"Streaking across the network at full speed, punching through every data lock! Link circuit engaged, target confirmed! Manifest upon the wind!"
"Special Summon! Link-1! Sky Striker Ace - Hayate!"
[Sky Striker Ace - Hayate] [WIND]
[Machine / Link / Effect]
[ATK: 1500 / LINK-1]
[1 non-WIND "Sky Striker Ace" monster]
From the Extra Monster Zone, Raye's form shifted into a different combat loadout as though changing into new armor mid-deployment. The code designation: Hayate. She reappeared airborne, carrying a rail cannon, and came in at a run.
"A Link Monster?!" Jinguuji Domitsu's jaw dropped. He had not dreamed this was coming.
He was not alone. Link Summoning was an art form that had nearly vanished from Eden entirely. And yet here it was, being pulled off right now by the Nanki'in family's next-in-line heir, Nanki'in Sakuya.
One turn earlier Domitsu had been laughing at the Nanki'in family for being stuck in the past. One turn later he was looking at a Link Summon.
Link Summoning belonged to the top-level competitive circuit. The sheer prestige of the method alone was enough to bury Domitsu's claim about a new era of power before it had finished coming out of his mouth.
Sakuya: "It worked, Amano. You were right. The moment we entered background spirit state, Sky Striker could Link Summon!"
Amano: "It's not just good, Sakuya. It's a complete success."
The reason the Link Summon worked: the system skill, Limited Link Zone, had attached an Extra Deck Zone to both Duel Disks. The system in turn placed a cap on the number of Link Summons available per duel.
But Sky Striker had found a gap in that limit, and this was the result Amano had been working toward and had just now confirmed in the field.
The system capped the number of Link Summons per duel at two. But Sky Striker Ace - Raye's effect was classified under the rules as a Special Summon, not a Link Summon, even when the monster being Special Summoned happened to be a Link monster. Because the rules distinguished between the two, Raye's Special Summon did not consume one of the two allotted Link Summon uses.
The system's counter was the best proof available.
[Current available Link Summons: 2]
Both slots still open. In other words, even with just two Link Summons to spend this duel, Raye's effect allowed Amano to call out additional Sky Striker Ace Link monsters beyond that count. The system's cap had a loophole, and that loophole had a name.
Amano: "Sakuya, you and I are perfectly in sync!"
Sakuya: "... !!"
"Now let's keep the Battle Phase going!"
Because the Special Summon had occurred mid-Battle Phase, Sky Striker Ace - Hayate could still declare an attack.
"Justice Sword's effect triggers from the Graveyard!"
[When this card is in the GY and a monster is Special Summoned: Target 1 "Sky Striker" Link Monster you control; equip this card to that target as an Equip Spell that grants it 1500 ATK. This effect can only be used once while this card is in the GY.]
"I equip Justice Sword from the Graveyard to Sky Striker Ace - Hayate as an Equip Spell, raising Hayate's ATK by 1500 points!"
[Sky Striker Ace - Hayate] [ATK: 1500 -> 3000]
The massive rail cannon cradled in Hayate's hands doubled in charge output. Hayate's accelerated green-streaked wind energy gathered and built inside the barrel's resonating chamber.
"I said it before, Domitsu. Don't let this hit you so hard you start crying."
Sky Striker Ace - Hayate's other effect came next.
[This card can attack directly.]
A direct attack. And whatever the ATK ceiling was, whether it topped out at 3000 or something else, it was 3000 ATK going directly to Jinguuji Domitsu's face with Albion the Branded Dragon still on the field to clear.
"Fire, Hayate!"
Hayate leveled the rail cannon and launched.
The girl did not narrate the attack aloud. The murmured words were private, spoken low under her breath: "Armed and hot, system live, engage combat parameters! Full charge, zero-point rail cannon!"
"Take this! Maximum Thrust - Particle Pulse Cannon!!"
The rail cannon shot crossed over Albion the Branded Dragon on the field and connected directly with Jinguuji Domitsu.
"AAAAAAAAHH!!"
Jinguuji Domitsu LP: 3500 -> 500
Inside the vast Branded city that glowed with its unnatural, unsettling light, the high-energy rail cannon punched a pillar of green luminescence through the air.
The light cleared. His LP had not hit zero. The duel was not over. But 3000 points of direct damage inside a Dark Game had left Jinguuji Domitsu on fire in a way that was not a figure of speech. He was smoking, and he was spitting blood.
"I have seen more than enough of the kind of person who opens a door into darkness and then gets swallowed by it themselves, Domitsu! You are not going to be any different!"
After the direct attack's damage resolved, Sky Striker Ace - Hayate's other effect triggered.
[After damage calculation, if this card battled: You can send 1 "Sky Striker" card from your Deck to the GY.]
"From the Deck, I send Sky Striker Mecha - Widow Anchor to the Graveyard. And with that I close the Battle Phase and move to Main Phase 2."
This time, Amano deliberately spent one of the two allotted Link Summon slots.
"I send Sky Striker Ace - Hayate to the Graveyard as Link Material. Link circuit pointed up-right!"
[Current available Link Summons: 2 -> 1]
"Quiet waters drawing into data, gathering like ripples that wash out the static! Link circuit engaged, target confirmed! Sleeping blade of deep blue!"
"Link Summon! Link-1! Sky Striker Ace - Shizuku!"
[Sky Striker Ace - Shizuku] [WATER]
[Machine / Link / Effect]
[ATK: 1500 / LINK-1]
[1 non-WATER "Sky Striker Ace" monster]