Chapter 42: Seto Kaiba

"Duel!" x2

[Kaiba, LP 4000]

[Fujimoto, LP 4000]

"I'll take the first move. My turn, draw!"

Kaiba drew a card, then calmly revealed a card from his hand before discarding it to the Graveyard.

"I activate the effect of 'Thunder Dragon' in my hand!"

"By discarding this card to the Graveyard, I can add up to two 'Thunder Dragons' from my Deck to my hand!"

After sending the card from his hand to the Graveyard, the Duel Disk automatically searched the Deck and popped out two cards with a click. Kaiba drew both into his hand.

"I add two 'Thunder Dragons' to my hand."

Just this simple first step made You Xuan's eyes burn with envy again. In the GX era, Deck searching still required duelists to manually pull cards from their Decks and search through them, followed by manual shuffling afterward; for Decks requiring extensive searching, this was quite cumbersome and unfriendly. It wasn't until the 5D's era that Duel disks achieved fully automatic searching and shuffling functions.

President Kaiba truly was decked out in high-end gear ahead of his time; staring at that Duel Disk, You Xuan immediately began instinctively plotting how to get his hands on one given the chance.

"I Normal Summon one monster to the field and Set three cards in my Spell/Trap Zone," Kaiba stated calmly. "Turn end."

"Heh, so this is the legendary duel of Seto Kaiba? I'd say it's nothing special."

Fujimoto struggled to calm his nervousness but remained stubbornly defiant.

Heads may roll and blood may flow, but one's mouth must remain tough. Often, duels are fought on momentum; regardless of the situation, one cannot lose in spirit.

Although it sounds mystical, many have discovered in actual combat that this is indeed true. Dueling is a magical thing; sometimes, if a person becomes cowardly, their cards become cowardly too. Once momentum collapses and morale breaks, the deck starts failing, and one has already fallen behind before even attacking.

"My turn, draw!"

Sweeping his gaze over his opening hand, Fujimoto instantly felt his spine straighten.

Never has there been such a wonderful opening hand!

This hand has potential!

"I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity' from my hand. I draw three cards from my Deck, then discard two cards from my hand."

After swapping out his hand, a cruel smile curled his lips as he glanced at Kaiba's seemingly ordinary Set monster: "Heh, it seems the President doesn't think much of me. Pity, but even if you wanted to get serious now, it's too late!"

"I Normal Summon from my hand—"

"—Level 8, The Fearsome Dread Lord - Origin Demon!"

A colossal, pitch-black demon erupted amidst flames red as blood, its great sword sweeping swiftly, stirring up transparent sword qi.

"Ho, starting with a Level 8 monster right off the bat," Katsuya chuckled beside them, hyping up the atmosphere. "Not bad spirit."

"Regarding the effect of 'The Fearsome Dread Lord - Origin Demon': although this card is Level 8, it can be Summoned without a Tribute," Fujimoto explained. "However, when Summoned via this effect, the Origin Demon's original ATK is halved, and it is destroyed during the End Phase."

[The Fearsome Dread Lord - Origin Demon, ATK 3000 → ATK 1500]

"What's that? Just a paper tiger," Katsuya laughed.

"Heh, not necessarily."

Fujimoto smiled, seizing the chance to show off his style while drawing another card from his hand.

"First, I activate the effect of 'The Fearsome Dread Lord - Origin Demon'. Once per turn, by banishing one 'Fiend' card from my hand or Graveyard, I can destroy one card on the field."

"Therefore, I banish 'Demon Soldier' from my Graveyard to destroy the card on the left side of your back row!"

Kaiba remained calm, arms crossed. The Set card in the back row flipped face-up and exploded into fragments with a snap.

"The card you just destroyed is the Trap Card 'Statue of the Wicked'," Kaiba stated calmly. "When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I Special Summon one 'Wicked Token' to my field."

A golden statue of a wicked god materialized on Kaiba's field, like a blocking wall.

[Wicked Token, DEF 1000]

"Tch, of all things, it had to be the Wicked Statue."

Fujimoto frowned, frustrated by his poor luck, yet continued his moves.

"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Double Summon' from my hand, allowing me to conduct two Normal Summons this turn."

"Therefore, I tribute the Origin Demon on my field for a Tribute Summon!"

"Overlord of darkness, king of chaos—"

"—Level 6, Great Maju Garzett, Summon!"

[Great Maju Garzett, ATK 0]

"Regarding the effect of 'Great Maju Garzett': its ATK becomes double the original ATK of the monster tributed for its Summon."

"At the time this effect resolves, the tributed 'The Fearsome Dread Lord - Origin Demon' is already in the Graveyard, so its original ATK is calculated as its original 3000 points."

"Thus, Garzett's ATK is..."

[Great Maju Garzett, ATK 0 → ATK 6000]

"Six thousand points!" Fujimoto roared with laughter. "In an instant, it reaches double the ATK of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Kaiba's mouth twitched slightly. "Hmph, now it's finally slightly less boring."

"What?"

Rarely having such a proud opening hand yet receiving no recognition whatsoever, Fujimoto couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.

"As expected of President Kaiba; his standards are indeed different... But it's not over yet," Fujimoto said in a deep voice. "Next, I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'A Deal with the Dark Ruler' from my hand!"

"This card can only be activated during the turn an eight-star monster was sent from my field to the Graveyard."

"This turn, my Level 8 'The Fearsome Dread Lord - Origin Demon' was sent to the Graveyard as a Tribute. Therefore, I can Special Summon this card from my Deck!"

He fanned out his Deck and drew the selected card.

"Woven amidst raging flames and shadows of death—"

"—Level 8, Berserk Dragon, Summon!"

[Berserk Dragon, ATK 3500]

"It's actually Berserk Dragon!" Katsuya exclaimed in surprise.

Not because of its strength, but because this monster was one of the ace cards used by the "Big Five," the villains expelled from Kaiba Corporation back in the day.

"Ho, so it's this guy," Kaiba snorted lightly. "Truly nostalgic."

"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Shield Crush' from my hand, which allows me to destroy one Defense Position monster on the field!"

The Spell Card materialized, and Fujimoto pointed at Kaiba's field.

"I destroy that Set monster card on your field!"

A beam of magic shot forth from the card, heading straight for Kaiba's field. However, just as that Set monster seemed about to be hit, a cloud of black fog suddenly erupted, turning into a vortex that instantly swallowed the beam.

"What?" Fujimoto gasped in shock.

"The Trap Card 'Scapegoat's Darkness'," Kaiba said indifferently. "When a Spell, Trap, or monster effect that 'destroys a card on the field' is activated by the opponent, that effect is negated."

The black fog devoured the magical impact fired by Shield Crush, and the magical image beside Fujimoto faded and vanished accordingly.

"Tch, blocked again," Fujimoto frowned.

"Furthermore, after negating it, I can send one DARK monster of Level 3 or lower from my Deck to the Graveyard."

Another card automatically searched and popped out from Kaiba's Duel Disk, then was sent to the Graveyard.

Gritting his teeth, Fujimoto shouted, "Then I activate the Spell Card 'Spellbook of Power' from my hand!"

"This card allows me to draw two cards from my Deck by banishing three Spell Cards from my own Graveyard!" (Anime card)

Three green cards popped out from his Graveyard zone.

"I banish 'Double Summon', 'A Deal with the Dark Ruler', and 'Shield Crush' from play to draw two cards!"

Fujimoto drew cards from his Deck.

"Battle Phase! First, 'Berserk Dragon', attack the Set monster!"

Berserk Dragon opened its decaying maw, spewing a swirling impact laden with filth. The Set monster on Kaiba's field was instantly obliterated under that overwhelming force.

"Hmph, the monster you destroyed is 'Swift Scarecrow'."

Kaiba sneered, drawing two more automatically searched cards from his Deck.

"When 'Swift Scarecrow' is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I gain 1000 LP. Furthermore, I can Special Summon any number of 'Swift Scarecrows' from my Deck in face-down Defense Position."

"Therefore, I Special Summon two more 'Swift Scarecrows'."

[Kaiba, LP 4000 → LP 5000]

Simultaneously, two new Set monsters appeared on his field one after another.

Fujimoto: "..."

Not only were the monsters multiplying, but his Life Points were increasing too.

But he had corresponding countermeasures on his side.

"No matter how many trash walls you put up, it's useless," Fujimoto shouted. "The special effect of 'Berserk Dragon'!"

"This card has the effect of being able to attack all opponent's monsters once each. Therefore, the attack continues; 'Berserk Dragon' attacks the 'Statue of the Wicked' next!"

Using Berserk Dragon's effect to clear the field in one go, then following up with the six-thousand-attack Great Maju Garzett would end the duel instantly.

He could OTK this legendary Seto Kaiba!

Boom!

Berserk Dragon's breath descended, a fierce bombardment, a pitch-black storm sweeping across the entire field.

But as the smoke cleared, the Wicked Statue remained unharmed, and Kaiba maintained that same calm pose, with only a corner of his trench coat fluttering gently in the storm.

"The Counter Trap 'Attack Nullification' negates your monster's attack and forcibly ends the Battle Phase."

Pausing for a moment, he let out a mocking chuckle.

"Hmph, for a rat, you've tried hard enough, but it seems in the end, this is all you're capable of."

"Tch."

Fujimoto gritted his teeth, but there was nothing more he could do.

"Then I place two cards face-down on the field. My turn ends."

(End of Chapter)