A jet-black beam of draconic breath erupted from the mouth of [Scrap Dragon], striking with perfect accuracy the distorted shadow of the Set card behind Phila's D-Wheel.
The shockwave from the explosion violently shoved Phila's motorcycle forward.
"I enter the Battle Phase." Niobe's voice came through the communication channel as the steel dragon at her side roared and locked onto the lone jeep beside Phila. "[Scrap Dragon] attacks [Uni-Zombie]."
[Scrap Dragon, ATK: 2800] vs [Uni-Zombie, ATK: 1300]
"Then I activate the first effect of [Vampire Fraulein] from my hand: When a monster declares an attack, this card can be Special Summoned from the hand in Defense Position."
[Vampire Fraulein] Level 5│DARK│Zombie│2000 DEF
The blonde, red-eyed vampire drifted gracefully out from the light of the card while holding an ornate black parasol. Like a feather without weight, she rode the violent sea wind and landed precisely in the back seat of the jeep driven by Uni-Zombie.
She folded the parasol shut and elegantly crossed her legs.
"[Vampire Fraulein], huh?" Seeing the newly appeared monster, Niobe immediately halted her command. "Since the number of monsters on the field changed, the attack rewinds. I end my turn."
She chose not to attack again. Instead, she slightly eased off the throttle. The D-Wheel's speed steadily decreased until she controlled it just ahead of Phila's position, taking the lead.
Watching Niobe's D-Wheel ahead of her spray mist across the sea surface, Phila took a deep breath.
"Mr. Spirit, I feel… I feel like I can do this now. Let me handle it."
"Alright. Then I'll leave it to you."
Raku's voice vanished. In that instant, Phila felt her left hand and legs return to her control. The D-Wheel's speed suddenly dropped, and the body of the vehicle began swaying unsteadily from side to side.
She immediately adjusted her breathing and switched the driving mode from full manual to semi-automatic, just as she had learned in theory class. The vehicle stabilized.
"My turn, draw!"
The blue light on the dashboard flickered once.
"Standby Phase. [Speed World 2] places 1 Speed Counter. My total Speed Counters: 2."
Phila drew the top card of her Deck.
"Then I activate the Speed Spell Card [Angel Baton] from my hand."
Blue streams of energy spread through the pipes along the body of the D-Wheel.
"This card can only be activated if I have 2 or more Speed Counters. Draw 2 cards, then send 1 card from the hand to the Graveyard. I currently have exactly 2 Speed Counters."
Phila drew two cards from her Deck, then inserted one card from her hand into the Graveyard slot.
"I send [Skull Servant] from my hand to the Graveyard."
As the Speed Spell activated, the engine of Phila's D-Wheel roared once more, its speed climbing toward three hundred forty kilometers per hour.
"After that, I activate the second effect of [Uni-Zombie] on the field: Target 1 face-up monster on the field; send 1 Zombie monster from the Deck to the Graveyard, and the targeted monster gains 1 Level."
Phila pointed toward the motorcycle ahead.
"I target your [Scrap Dragon]. I send [Glow-Up Bloom] from the Deck to the Graveyard, and your [Scrap Dragon] gains 1 Level."
[Scrap Dragon, Level: 8 → 9]
"You're increasing the Level of my [Scrap Dragon]?" Niobe's helmet tilted slightly, but she immediately understood. "I see. After using [Uni-Zombie]'s effect, you're planning to use it to Synchro Summon [Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon Lord], right? That's why you can't keep increasing the Levels of your own monsters."
"The effect of [Glow-Up Bloom] in the Graveyard activates. I add [Changshi the Spiridao] from my Deck to my hand."
Phila did not answer and simply continued her plays.
"Next, I activate the first effect of [Uni-Zombie]: Target 1 face-up monster on the field; discard 1 card, and the targeted monster gains 1 Level."
She directly sent the card she had just searched to the Graveyard.
"I discard [Changshi the Spiridao] from my hand and continue targeting your [Scrap Dragon]. Its Level increases by another 1."
[Scrap Dragon, Level: 9 → 10]
The roar of the motorcycles echoed across the empty sea. Phila's right hand swept past the Graveyard area of the Duel Disk as a card was firmly pinched between her fingertips and drawn out.
"Now, I activate the first effect of [Mezuki] in the Graveyard: Banish this card from the Graveyard, then target 1 Zombie monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it."
Phila inserted the [Mezuki] card into the banished slot at the side of the Duel Disk.
[Changshi the Spiridao] Level 6│DARK│Zombie│2000 ATK
"Awaken, [Changshi the Spiridao]!"
A pitch-black crack tore open above the track as the zombie taoist clad in dark robes stepped through empty air and steadily landed on the back seat of Phila's D-Wheel. The sleeves of its robe whipped violently in the wind.
"I activate the first effect of [Changshi the Spiridao]: During my Main Phase, I can send 1 Zombie monster from my hand or Deck to the Graveyard."
Phila's gaze remained fixed on Niobe's back ahead of her as the Duel Disk's automatic search interface popped open.
"I send [Gozuki] from my Deck to the Graveyard."
The instant the card hit the Graveyard, Phila did not pause. Her right hand was already pressed against the Graveyard slot.
"Immediately after that, I activate the second effect of [Gozuki]: If this card is sent to the Graveyard, banish 1 Zombie monster other than [Gozuki] from my Graveyard; Special Summon 1 Zombie monster from my hand."
She pulled out the [Skull Servant] she had sent there earlier.
"I banish [Skull Servant] from my Graveyard and Special Summon [Gozuki] from my hand."
[Gozuki] Level 4│EARTH│Zombie│1700 ATK
To the right side of the track, a minotaur-like monster wielding a giant axe smashed through the seawater. Its footsteps were heavy, and every step made the steel structure of Kaiba Bridge release a dull tremor as it chased after the path of the D-Wheels.
"Is that everything?"
Niobe's muttering inside her helmet had not even finished before Phila raised her right hand.
"No. I tune the Level 5 Tuner monster [Uni-Zombie] with the Level 5 [Vampire Fraulein]!"
The jeep behind the motorcycle, together with Uni-Zombie riding on it, transformed into five rings of blue-black ghostly fire. At the center of those rings, Vampire Fraulein closed her black parasol as her figure stretched and twisted within the blinding aura of death.
"The black dragon lord slumbering in the abyss. Let the frozen blood boil once more. Synchro Summon! Descend!"
[Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon Lord] Level 10│DARK│Zombie│2800 ATK
An ear-piercing dragon roar suddenly erupted across the deathly silent sea.
A black dragon wrapped in blue-black flames burst forth from behind Phila. Its scales resembled cracked charcoal after the fire had died out, each one flowing with dim arcs of light. As the dragon spread its wings, the seawater brushed by its wing tips was instantly vaporized into white mist by the extreme heat.
At the instant the Synchro Summon succeeded, every gauge on Phila's D-Wheel dashboard instantly turned red.
The perpetual motion engine core, which had been rotating steadily, began trembling intensely. Ghostly blue flames burst outward from the exhaust pipes and wheel hubs in radiant streams. The entire vehicle became like a blue meteor, dragging behind it a flaming trail hundreds of meters long across the sea.
Within the span of two breaths, the speedometer leapt past 380 before locking firmly at 400 kilometers per hour.
A sonic boom cloud exploded behind Phila.
"Look at the big screen!"
A wave of shocked cries erupted from the teaching area on the shore. The freshmen who had been whispering moments ago all rushed toward the railings.
On the screen, the white-haired girl who usually hid at the back of the crowd with her head lowered was now riding a black dragon powerful enough to crush the entire bridge beneath it, racing forward amidst the thunderous roar of the sound barrier.
Phila's vision blurred, but she did not release the throttle.
"Then… I activate the first effect of [Gozuki] on the field: Send 1 Zombie monster from the Deck to the Graveyard."
Clenching her teeth, she forcefully completed the precise Graveyard send despite moving at near-sonic speed.
"I send [Plaguespreader Zombie] to the Graveyard."
Phila's hand reached toward the Graveyard once more, without the slightest hesitation.
"I activate the first effect of [Plaguespreader Zombie]: If this card is in the Graveyard, return 1 card from your hand to the top of the Deck; Special Summon this card."
She pressed her final card back onto the top of the Deck.
A decayed aura of death rose from the surface of the track as the rotten zombie wrapped in bandages crawled up from beneath the ground and directly latched itself onto the frame of Phila's motorcycle.
"Another Tuner monster?"
Niobe felt the heatwave approaching from beside her. Through the rearview mirror, she saw the white-haired girl wrapped in flames rapidly closing in.
Those were the eyes of a beast… reckless and desperate.
"Don't tell me…"
"Yeah, Niobe. Let me show you the brand-new power I gained this past week."
Phila shouted against the raging wind.
"This is really… exhilarating!"
Niobe suddenly lowered her body even further. There was not the least bit of panic in her; she laughed loudly while continuing to push her D-Wheel to its limits. She had no intention of even missing the slipstream behind Phila.
...
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