Chapter 174: Magic Annihilation

"Under these circumstances, you summoned the Phoenix God using the Nirvana effect?" Mei Yue Xing frowned. "Indeed, it's the most troublesome monster for me right now."

"But—"

He raised his arm and flipped another Gai Card.

"Activate the trap—Illusory Binding!" (Original card)

From the trap card, a magical array imprint emerged, shackling the Phoenix God like chains. The flames engulfing the Phoenix God instantly dimmed, as if bound and unable to unleash its power.

"Illusory Binding can curse one monster on the field!" Mei Yue Xing said. "The cursed monster's special abilities are nullified, and its attack points drop by five hundred!"

【Nephthys Phoenix God, Attack 2400 → Attack 1900】

Asuka immediately exclaimed in frustration: "So close! If the Phoenix God's effect had activated, it would've nearly cleared the entire field."

But Fujiki You Xuan showed no surprise at all. After all, this was an opponent of this caliber—four equipped monsters on the front row, four face-down cards in the back. If he had no countermeasures at all and just one explosion wiped out eight cards, that would be absurd.

"Now entering the Main Phase, activate the spell card 'Upper Draw.'" Fujiki You Xuan said. "Sacrifice one of your monsters with level eight or higher to draw two cards."

"Sacrifice the 'Nephthys Phoenix God,' cursed by the trap, and draw from your deck."

The Phoenix God disintegrated into specks of light, which scattered into the deck. Fujiki You Xuan drew two more cards.

Catching sight of one of the cards he just drew, Fujiki You Xuan's lips twitched slightly upward.

Here it comes.

Mei Yue Xing instinctively sensed something amiss.

What breakthrough card did he just draw?

"Activate the spell card 'Angel's Charity': draw three cards from your deck, then discard two cards from your hand to the graveyard."

Fujiki You Xuan drew cards into his hand, then selected two from his hand to discard one by one.

"Next, I summon this card. I sacrifice the 'Nephthys Priestess' on my field—"

With a flick of his hand, the card slammed onto the dueling field with a sharp snap.

"Level-Up Summon! The magic's nemesis, the Spell-Sealing Weapon—"

"—Spell Canceller, summon!"

"What?"

Mei Yue Xing lost his composure.

Spell Canceller?

He just pulled this out out of nowhere?

"That's right. While Spell Canceller is on the field, neither of us can activate spell cards, and all spell effects on the field become nullified."

Fujiki You Xuan said.

"The effect of 'Armed Rebirth' is to summon equipped cards from the graveyard as monsters, treating their equipment effects as their own monster effects. But they remain spell cards, so their effects are nullified by 'Spell Canceller.'"

Yeah, this effect would be an absolute nightmare for the tournament bureau to rule on. No wonder 'Armed Rebirth' has never been officially carded.

If he had to guess blindly, if it ever were carded, the effect would probably be changed to special-summon a token, then equip the graveyard's equipment cards to it—maybe slightly more logical.

Of course, this is still an anime world, so the original effect stands. Before dueling Mei Yue Xing, Fujiki You Xuan already knew his signature strategy, so 'Spell Canceller' was specifically included as a countermeasure.

Otherwise, the core deck of 【Chaos Mutation Phoenix God】 wouldn't include Spell Canceller at all.

Although magic monsters are rare, they should be treated similarly to the more common trap monsters in real-card environments. Trap monsters possess dual properties as both trap cards and monster cards, and in real-card rulings, they're affected by both "trap effects" and "monster effects."

So magic monsters should be the same.

"Now all your equipped monsters lose their individual effects," Fujiki You Xuan said. "Their attack and defense points drop to the initial 500 points granted by 'Armed Rebirth.'"

【Unity Power, Attack 4500 → Attack 500】

【Magician's Power, Attack 4500 → Attack 500】

【Demon's Axe, Attack 1500 → Attack 500】

Except for the 'Jade Sword,' which was summoned in defense position, all other equipment cards instantly transformed from field-controlling monsters into mere 500-attack weak points.

"Then, chaining to the summon of Spell Canceller, I activate my face-down card—"

Master Tianma Mei Yue Xing responded instantly.

"Trap Card—Torrential Burial! When a monster is summoned, all monsters on the field are destroyed!"

Activating Torrential Burial at this moment was a terrible loss for him. He had five monsters on the field; Fujiki You Xuan had only one. Add in his own activation of Torrential Burial, it was almost a six-for-one trade.

But he had a premonition: if he didn't do this, leaving behind a dozen 500-attack monsters on the field would likely leave him unable to survive until his next turn.

And even if he survived, missing this opportunity meant he'd likely be powerless to counterattack next turn under the suppression of 'Spell Seal.'

A torrent of sapphire-blue water surged like a raging flood, roaring and thundering as if a million troops charged across the field.

Though it landed in the graveyard, Spell Canceller, standing alone, had traded for an entire army—fulfilling its glorious mission. On Mei Yue Xing's side, a series of explosions rocked half the field, a spectacular sight.

Total annihilation!

"Quite decisive. So I've already used my normal summon this turn and can't summon another monster. But—"

Fujiki You Xuan slowly drew another card from his hand.

"Exclude from the game the light-attribute monster 'Blade Knight' I just discarded from my hand, and the dark-attribute 'Apprentice Magician' in my graveyard."

Mei Yue Xing's eyelid twitched again.

Has his attack not ended yet?

And this summoning condition—this setup—could it be—

"Sacrifice the souls of light and darkness to the field of chaos, summoning the legendary supreme warrior! Heaven and earth are sundered—"

He raised the monster card in his hand, and blinding golden light erupted from it.

Chaos Warrior—Messenger of the Opening, Jianglin!

Amidst the chaos that overturned order and rules, blades of light and darkness split the sky. Light and darkness intertwined like yin and yang, cleaving through darkness and chaos. A warrior clad in armor, wielding a longsword, descended like a divine weapon.

【Chaos Warrior—Messenger of the Opening, Attack 3000】

Mei Yue Xing's expression turned grave: "After clearing the field, he immediately summoned Chaos Warrior—"

"Chaos Warrior, direct attack!" Fujiki You Xuan said. "Opening Dual Slash!"

The chaotic, blazing sword of light and darkness rose high, its tip pointing toward the heavens. A powerful aura erupted; the blade's energy formed a swirling vortex of light and darkness, unleashing countless sword shadows that swept across Mei Yue Xing.

"Ugh—"

The three-dimensional image of a thousand sword shadows slammed into Mei Yue Xing, sending him staggering backward several steps. He clutched his chest and knelt half-bowed to the ground.

【Mei Yue Xing, LP 4000 → LP 1000】

"Then I'll set one card. End my turn."

(End of Chapter)