Chapter 897: Scrap Double-Headed Dragon

"Send ten cards to the graveyard."

Shirley frowned.

While defending against damage, stacking massive resources into the graveyard—is that the real goal?

In other words, the dimensional barrier was just a decoy; the opponent had already accounted for the fact that the barrier's activation would be nullified.

Shirley frowned, a faint unease stirring in her chest, as if everything about her had been laid bare.

Her tactics, her thoughts—even the effects of her monsters—felt as if they were all under the opponent's complete control.

Shirley shook her head.

No, this was just an illusion, a deliberate impression the opponent had planted to make her feel everything was under his command. The Scrap Dragon had already been defeated; the Flower Knight had appeared. On her field, she now had a high-ATK monster dominating the board, along with a blocker capable of nullifying spell and trap effects—she held the advantage.

Add to that the traps still in her hand, and her chances of winning this duel were very high!

Shirley waved her hand and set two more cards face-down: "I set two cards face-down. End of my turn."

Fujiki You Xuan: "Then my turn. Draw."

Fujiki You Xuan drew a card.

Shirley narrowed her eyes, studying him.

Although the Scrap Dragon was gone, he still held the "Scrap Chimera" recovered last turn as a resource. Summoning the Chimera would let him revive an Adjuster from the graveyard, making it easy to perform another Synchro Summon—just need to Synchro a monster with 2700 or more ATK, and he could destroy my Flower Knight.

But she had already set up defensive traps for that.

Fujiki You Xuan: "Normal Summon 'Scrap Shark.'"

【Scrap Shark, ATK 2100】

Shirley: "?"

What? He's not Summoning the Scrap Chimera?

Fujiki You Xuan: "Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Scrap Downpour!'"

"Send one 'Scrap' card from your deck to the graveyard, destroy one 'Scrap' monster on your field, then draw one card."

That card again!

Shirley's heart tightened.

She remembered—last turn, this card played a crucial role in his setup. Sending cards from the deck to the graveyard was, of course, a precise way to manage resources.

Destroying her own 'Scrap' monster on the field seemed like a loss, but the very nature of the Scrap deck is that destroying your own monsters triggers various effects to aid your expansion. If she hadn't realized this by now, she'd be pathetically incompetent. So this effect was clearly a resource gain.

Finally, drawing another card? That's an extra card gained.

For the Scrap system, just this one card holds the potential to convert into massive resources—she couldn't afford to ignore it.

Should she negate it?

Shirley hesitated briefly.

The Flower Knight could only negate spell and trap effects. Once the opponent summoned a powerful monster, that negation would lose its value.

And he'd already used his one Normal Summon this turn. Even if she knew he still held the Scrap Chimera, he couldn't Summon it now.

After a brief pause, Shirley made her decision.

"I activate the effect of the 'Flower Knight!'"

Shirley waved her hand sharply.

"Once per turn, I can negate and destroy a spell or trap card's activation. I negate and destroy 'Scrap Downpour!'"

The spell card before Fujiki You Xuan exploded into fragments before it could activate.

"Quite decisive."

Fujiki You Xuan smiled lightly.

"Then at this moment, 'Scrap Shark' on my field is destroyed!"

Fujiki You Xuan's Scrap Shark instantly shattered into pieces.

Shirley's expression changed slightly: "Why? I already negated 'Scrap Downpour's' effect."

"Not 'Scrap Downpour'—it's the Scrap Shark itself!" Fujiki You Xuan said. "While 'Scrap Shark' is on the field, whenever any monster effect, spell, or trap is activated, Scrap Shark must destroy itself."

Shirley gritted her teeth: "So you had a second plan besides Scrap Downpour?"

"And you've surely noticed the nature of Scrap monsters—destruction triggers their effects."

Fujiki You Xuan smiled.

"When 'Scrap Shark' is destroyed by the effect of a card with 'Scrap' in its name and sent to the graveyard, you may send one 'Scrap' monster from your deck to the graveyard."

Shirley: "..."

In the end, she still couldn't stop him from precisely stacking his deck into the graveyard.

"I send 'Scrap Golem' from my deck to the graveyard."

Fujiki You Xuan waved his hand again.

"Activate the face-down Continuous Trap 'Blood Toll!'"

"Pay 500 LP to gain an additional Normal Summon."

【Fujiki You Xuan, LP 3400 → LP 2900】

Shirley: "!"

Blood Toll. Damn—he can still Normal Summon!

Fujiki You Xuan: "Normal Summon 'Scrap Chimera!'"

【Scrap Chimera, ATK 1700】

"Scrap Chimera's effect: Special Summon an Adjuster monster from the graveyard—'Scrap Beast!'"

【Scrap Beast, ATK 1600】

"Level 4, Adjuster monster 'Scrap Beast!'"

"Level 4, 'Scrap Chimera!'"

"Tuning!"

【4 + 4 = 8】

"With the roar of Scrap, it descends once more—Synchro Summon—"

"—Scrap Dragon!!!"

Scrap Dragon Mk. II!

Yes, though a relatively rare card, Fujiki You Xuan had already gathered three Scrap Dragons. That was the power of his position as Chief of the Peacekeeping Bureau.

【Scrap Dragon, ATK 2800】

Shirley's face darkened.

That damn Scrap Dragon again...

"Scrap Dragon's effect: destroy one card on each field," Fujiki You Xuan said. "I destroy 'Blood Toll' on my field and your 'Flower Knight!'"

Scrap Dragon roared, steam hissing as its ability activated again. Fujiki You Xuan's Continuous Trap and Shirley's Flower Knight were destroyed in a one-for-one exchange, both exploding into fireballs.

Shirley: "But at this moment, a face-down card activates!"

"Trap Card—'Ally!'"

"When a monster on the field is sent to your own graveyard, you may destroy one monster on the field."

"I destroy 'Scrap Dragon!'"

Though her trump card was gone, she had expected it. At least she could take one down with her.

One-for-one exchange!

Thus, Scrap Dragon was pierced by the trap's laser and exploded into a fireball.

"Scrap Dragon's effect: when destroyed and sent to the graveyard by your opponent, choose one 'Scrap' monster from your graveyard that is not a Synchro monster, and Special Summon it to the field."

Shirley hadn't forgotten this effect.

But it could only revive a Scrap monster that wasn't a Synchro monster—meaning she couldn't revive the greatest threat: Scrap Dragon.

So now, he would surely revive a high-ATK Scrap monster from the graveyard to attack her "Apprentice Knight."

And at that very moment of attack, her final trap—her counterattack—would trigger.

Shirley's peripheral vision flickered to her last face-down trap.

Trap Card—Half Counter.

When a monster on your field is attacked, during damage calculation, the attacked monster gains ATK equal to half the attacking monster's original ATK until the end of the turn.

No matter what monster he summons to attack, it will be met with Half Counter's retaliation!

Shirley narrowed her eyes.

Come on—use Scrap Dragon's effect to revive a monster, and fall into my Half Counter trap.

Fujiki You Xuan: "Special Summon 'Scrap Golem' from the graveyard!"

【Scrap Golem, ATK 2300】

"Scrap Golem?" Shirley blinked.

This monster hadn't appeared in this duel yet—right, it was the one sent to the graveyard by Scrap Shark's effect.

Fujiki You Xuan: "Scrap Golem's effect: once per turn, you may Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Scrap' monster from your graveyard."

"I Special Summon 'Scrap Beast' from the graveyard!"

【Scrap Beast, ATK 1600】

Again, he's assembled an Adjuster and a non-Adjuster on the field.

Shirley's unease deepened.

"Level 4, Adjuster monster 'Scrap Beast!'"

Level 5, "Scrap Iron Golem"!

Tune!

【4+5=9】

"From decaying steel, a light of destruction is born—tear apart the dimensions! Synchro Summon—

——Scrap Iron Double-Headed Dragon!!!"

The ground trembled violently. Blue-radiant energy flared from fissures splitting the earth. Remnants resembling the Scrap Iron Dragon floated and disintegrated in the light, metal shards torn by invisible gravity and reassembling into a more monstrous form.

The Synchro ring twisted and warped, as if corroded by violent energy. Amid a mechanical roar that shattered glass, a colossal steel dragon, wreathed in unstable energy, descended from the sky. It bore two steel heads, each breath spewing fluorescent green radioactive mist; high-voltage sparks erupted from its armor seams, as if ready to trigger a chain explosion.

【Scrap Iron Double-Headed Dragon, ATK 3000】

"Nine-Star Synchro!"

Sherry gasped.

The turn of events had slightly exceeded her expectations.

The Scrap Iron Dragon had been replaced, yet in this dire situation, he still summoned such a massive monster.

But no need to panic.

Even with 3000 ATK, even as a Nine-Star monster, all it takes is a Half-Counter.

Fujiki You Xuan: "Place one card face-down on the field."

Fujiki You Xuan placed a card face-down, then snapped his fingers.

"Scrap Iron Double-Headed Dragon's effect.

Once per turn, destroy one card on your field, and return up to two cards on your opponent's field to their owner's hand!"

Sherry: "!!!"

The blonde woman lost all composure, her pupils contracting: "Nani!?"

"I return my own face-down card, plus your 'Apprentice Knight' and your back-row face-down card—two cards total—back to your hand!"

The Double-Headed Dragon's mechanical eyes locked onto its targets. Its rear radiators opened, blasting out high-pressure steam and radiation pulses. Its core spun violently within its chest, emitting a piercing metallic screech.

A warped gravitational field enveloped the Apprentice Knight and the face-down card; both were forcibly dragged back through data turbulence and flew into Sherry's hands.

Sherry's face was stunned.

It was countered.

Completely countered. Utterly crushed.

The moment his opponent sent the Scrap Iron Golem to the graveyard, the course of events had already been sealed. Sherry had exhausted all her options—every trick she had was spent. Yet her opponent kept revealing new moves, one after another, far beyond her calculations of the duel.

She clenched the Half-Counter card tightly in her hand, her face grim.

"Was I... completely read?"

Fujiki You Xuan: "Scrap Iron Double-Headed Dragon, direct attack!"

A thick breath surged forth like nuclear energy turned to torrent, a judgmental light blasting toward the opponent. The path it traversed melted into glass-like grooves; the radiation storm it unleashed tore at Sherry's body.

"Aaaah—"

【Sherry, LP 2200 → LP 0】

(End of Chapter)