"But Jōnouchi's Red-Eyes won't lose to Chess Archfiends. Those demons have another trait too—retaliating against effects—but their Attack Points are generally low. Pure battle power can crush them," Kisaragi said.
"That's not right. He's not using a simple chessboard demon deck. There are even scarier monsters in his deck," Mai Kujaku warned.
"What?!" Even Kisaragi was slightly startled.
"My turn—draw!"
"I summon Red-Eyes Iron Knight—Gearfried in Attack Position!"
A warrior in black armor with red accents appeared on the field.
Red-Eyes Iron Knight—Gearfried (1800/1600)
"This monster looks a lot like Jōnouchi's Gearfried the Iron Knight!" Honda said.
"Yeah. You can think of it as a Red-Eyes version of that monster," Kisaragi replied.
"Battle! Red-Eyes Iron Knight—Gearfried attacks Dark Queen of the Flames!"
The Red-Eyes knight raised a bladed hand and slashed toward the queen.
"I activate Trap Card Absorbing Shield! This card negates your monster's attack, and I gain Life Points equal to the attacking monster's ATK! Hahahaha!"
Duelist Hunter LP 4000 → 5800
A green barrier flared in front of Dark Queen of the Flames, blocking the strike.
"Tch… Then I set two cards. Turn end." (Cards in hand: 3)
"My turn—draw!"
"Because of my Field Spell Pandemonium—Castle of Dark Illusions, I don't have to pay Life Points to maintain Dark Queen of the Flames."
"Then I activate Dark Queen of the Flames's effect! During my Standby Phase, I can make one Archfiend on my field gain 1000 ATK until the end of the turn!"
"What?!" Jōnouchi snapped.
Dark Queen of the Flames (1900/1500)
"Next, I summon Giant Soldier of Stone—no, Warrior of Zera—in Attack Position!"
Warrior of Zera (1600/1600)
The moment it appeared, demonic miasma from Pandemonium poured into its body.
"Jōnouchi… do you know what that castle does?" the hunter sneered. "Some power in Pandemonium awakens the darkness in the heart. Even a fine warrior can be corrupted."
Warrior of Zera twisted, its features turning savage—more demon than man.
"I tribute Warrior of Zera! From my hand, I Special Summon Mazera DeVille!"
Mazera DeVille (2800/2300)
"As long as Pandemonium is on the field, I can Special Summon Mazera DeVille from my hand by tributing a Warrior of Zera!"
"Two thousand eight hundred ATK…!" Jōnouchi gasped.
"Heh heh heh—there's more. When Mazera DeVille is Special Summoned while Pandemonium exists, you must discard three random cards from your hand!"
"Jōnouchi, you only have three cards—discard them all! Hahahaha!"
"Damn it!" Jōnouchi stared at his hand—then suddenly broke into a goofy grin and happily sent the cards to the Graveyard.
"With monsters at 1900 and 2800 ATK—and his hand wiped out—Jōnouchi's situation is really bad," Yugi said.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Kisaragi answered.
"What?!" Yugi blinked.
"When he discarded those cards, he looked happy. That means he's got a follow-up ready," Kisaragi said.
"Battle! Dark Queen of the Flames attacks Red-Eyes Iron Knight—Gearfried!"
"Then I flip my Continuous Trap—Red-Eyes Armor Spiral!"
"…Just like I thought," Kisaragi murmured.
"Duelist Hunter, thanks for dumping my hand into the Graveyard. Red-Eyes Armor Spiral's effect: if I control a Red-Eyes monster, I can Special Summon one Red-Eyes Normal Monster from my Graveyard!"
"I Special Summon Red-Eyes Thunder Emperor—Evil Demon in Attack Position!"
Red-Eyes Thunder Emperor—Evil Demon (2500/1200)
"Heh heh heh—so what? Keep attacking! Dark Queen of the Flames attacks Red-Eyes Iron Knight—Gearfried again!"
Jōnouchi LP 4000 → 3900
"Then Mazera DeVille attacks Red-Eyes Thunder Emperor—Evil Demon!"
Jōnouchi LP 3900 → 3600
"Jōnouchi, what are you doing?! Why didn't you switch Thunder Emperor to Defense Position?!" Honda shouted.
"Jōnouchi did the right thing," Kisaragi said.
"Exactly!" Bakura chimed in. "He Special Summoned a monster during the Battle Step. That gives the opponent a chance to do a battle replay—choosing a new attack target, or stopping the attack."
"If Jōnouchi switched Thunder Emperor to Defense, the Queen's attack would re-target Thunder Emperor, and then Mazera DeVille would attack Gearfried—Jōnouchi would take even more damage."
"I see…" everyone murmured.
"Still… Jōnouchi has no monsters left on the field," Anzu said anxiously.
"No—his deck still has an ace," Yugi said. Back on the cruise ship, when he helped Jōnouchi practice, he'd seen it.
"My turn ends." (Cards in hand: 2)
"My turn—draw!"
"I activate Pot of Greed from my hand! I draw two cards!" Jōnouchi drew with his eyes squeezed shut.
"Please… I have to draw it!"
When he saw the cards, he broke into an exaggerated grin.
"I activate Red-Eyes Insight! By sending one Red-Eyes monster from my hand or Deck to the Graveyard, I can add one Red-Eyes Spell/Trap from my Deck to my hand, except another Red-Eyes Insight."
"I send Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my Deck to the Graveyard—and add Red-Eyes Fusion to my hand!"
"Looks like Jōnouchi is about to counterattack," Kisaragi said.
"I activate Red-Eyes Fusion from my hand!"
"Fusion? Hahahaha—idiot! You have no monsters on the field, and only one card in hand! There's no way you can Fusion Summon!" the hunter laughed.
"Heh. The idiot is you!Red-Eyes isn't something your demon deck can compare to," Jōnouchi shot back.
"What?!" the hunter's face twitched.
"Now I'll show you the true potential of Red-Eyes!"
…
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
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