Chapter 977: King or Clown?

【Des Frog, ATK 1900】

【Fishborg Blaster, ATK 100】

Brionac's Synchro Summon was strangled, and the invincible Brionac was forced back to its pre-Synchro state before it could even descend. Moreover, that trap even blocked Fujiki You Xuan's monster summons for the next turn, almost forcing him to waste a turn doing nothing.

"An anime-exclusive trap against Synchro, that's truly brutal." Fujiki You Xuan said.

Negating the Synchro is one thing, but not being able to summon monsters is just too much.

"However, since you canceled Brionac's Synchro Summon, it still counts as 'Special Summoning a monster from the Graveyard.' Because of the effect of 'Card of Sanctity,' I draw a card from the deck."

"Also, I haven't battled this turn yet." Fujiki You Xuan said, "Then I'll battle directly.

Attack directly with 'Des Frog'."

The fake Jack's field was empty at this moment, so even if the Synchro was negated and he couldn't summon more monsters, the damage from a direct attack would still be quite high.

Des Frog bared its sharp-toothed mouth, and dark green venom dripped from between its teeth, corroding the ground with hissing scorch marks. Its sturdy hind legs kicked off the ground, and its entire body shot toward the opponent like a cannonball, the bone spurs popping out between its webbed feet gleaming with a deadly cold light.

"Foolish!"

The fake Jack shouted.

"Did you think I hadn't calculated this?

Activate set card, Trap Card 'No Entry!!'

Change all monsters on the field to Defense Position!"

Just as the frog was about to touch its opponent, a barrier of steel fences suddenly rose from the ground. Chains shot out from thin air, precisely binding the Death Frog's limbs. The frog let out a "Gurgle!" of agony, its charging posture twisting strangely in mid-air before it was forcibly dragged back to its original position, curling into a defensive stance. It pulsed its poison sacs in frustration, but held firmly by the chains, it could only emit a muffled croaking sound from its throat.

Fujiki You Xuan: "Then first, activate the effect of Swap Frog; once per turn, I can return one monster on the field to the hand. I return 'Swap Frog' itself to my hand.

Finally, set two cards, turn end."

The real Jack was annoyed: "This bastard, he's defending quite tightly..."

The fake Jack laughed out loud again upon hearing this: "That's for sure! I am the King, the true King Jack Atlas! Not someone like you, a fake who has already lost his soul, can compare to!"

The real Jack was enraged: "Don't get too full of yourself, you bastard!"

"Did I say something wrong?" The fake Jack shouted, "You lost the King's status, and you lost the King's pride; now you're nothing but a clown!"

The real Jack: "You bastard..."

But before he could say more, he heard Fujiki You Xuan speak faintly: "Yeah, he's no longer the King. That so-called Duel King was a joke from the very beginning.

Just a puppet supported by Goodwin to achieve his own goals, yet he remained immersed in his own dream of being King; it's truly laughable."

The real Jack looked at him in astonishment: "You..."

But then he heard Fujiki You Xuan continue: "But precisely because of that, he woke up, cast off that past, and walked toward the future upright as a duelist.

However, do you know what's the most laughable thing? It's that there's actually an idiot who wants to imitate the clown-like King of that period, looking ridiculous while being smug and unaware."

Fujiki You Xuan smiled and shook his head.

"Jack has already crossed that hurdle and continued toward a new era. It's you, the guy who clumsily imitates the residual shadow of the King from back then, who is truly laughable."

The real Jack's expression was complex: "Fujiki You Xuan..."

Although he was angry just now, he didn't know how to refute the fake version of himself. Because deep down, he was probably also confused and not confident. Because somewhere deep in his heart, he felt that the fake guy made sense.

He had lost something important. He wasn't as high-spirited as when he was King, not as confident as back then, and couldn't face every challenger with the firm belief that he was "absolutely undefeated."

Because the myth had been broken, even he himself had started to doubt himself. So when the other party said he had lost the King's pride, that was also a fact. Perhaps it was precisely because of this wavering in his heart, and because he felt inferior when seeing the shadow of his past self in the fake guy, that he had lost just now.

In many duels, it's about the "momentum," especially when both sides are using the same deck and the same tactics, and their strength is similar; if one side wavers in their heart, it's naturally impossible to win.

But now, Fujiki You Xuan's words were like a thunderbolt, giving him a sudden sense of awakening.

Oh, right.

The reason he was no longer King was that the dream had woken up. Because he had recognized the facts, and had decided to pursue a broader stage with Yusei and the others, evolving to a higher realm.

Since that was the case, why should he be mocked by a shadow of the past that should have been eliminated long ago?

He had awakened, but the fake Jack was enraged.

"You guy... dare to look down on the King?" The fake Jack shouted, "Then let me show you the consequences of annoying the King!

My turn, draw!

If there are no monsters on my field, I Special Summon 'Evil Dragon' from my hand!"

【Evil Dragon, ATK 2000】

"Of course, the ATK of the Evil Dragon Special Summoned by this effect is halved."

【Evil Dragon, ATK 2000 -> ATK 1000】

"Then activate the set card, Trap Card 'Gift of the Martyr'!

I can Special Summon a Tuner from my Graveyard, but the effect of the Tuner Special Summoned by this effect is negated.

Revive from the Graveyard, 'Creation Resonator'!"

【Creation Resonator, ATK 800】

"And the follow-up effect of Gift of the Martyr: after reviving the Tuner, I Special Summon two 'Gift Demon Tokens' on the opponent's field in Defense Position!"

【Gift Demon Token, DEF 1200】 x2

The real Jack's expression changed drastically: "Oh no, this tactic is..."

"Hahahaha, not bad! This is the true King's tactic, the power of absolute destruction!"

The fake Jack laughed.

"Using the Level 3 Tuner monster 'Creation Resonator'!

The Level 5 'Evil Dragon'!

Tuning!"

【3+5=8】

A scorching airflow suddenly swirled on the battlefield, and the tuning monsters turned into two beams of red and black light, spiraling into the sky. A lava-like crack split open in the sky, and burning star rings lit up one by one; the Synchro radiance seemed to dye the entire battlefield blood-red.

"The King's heartbeat, show your strength here!! Look at this power that makes heaven and earth tremble!! Synchro Summon!! My soul, Red Dragon Archfiend!!"

The star ring exploded. In the rain of fire, the first thing to emerge was a giant claw covered in lava scales, and the ground turned into boiling magma the moment it was touched. With a deafening dragon roar, the giant demon dragon with wide wings tore through space and descended; every scale flowed with liquid fire, and blue-white mist erupted from the protrusions of its spinal joints, the war cry it let out forming visible sound waves.

【Red Dragon Archfiend, ATK 3000】

"Watch closely, the King's victory is decided in an instant!"

The fake Jack turned his D-Wheel around and pointed his finger at Fujiki You Xuan.

"Red Dragon Archfiend, attack all monsters on the field!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 978 =====