Chapter 15: Limit

This season in Jounouchi, the sunlight was especially abundant, yet it didn't make one feel unbearably hot.

One had to admit, Kaiba hosting Duel City at this time was just perfect.

"Ooh! This one's good! This one isn't bad either~"

At a Soul Prison, You Tian was sorting through a pack of "loot," pulling out a few cards to add to his Deck.

"OK!"

He contentedly closed his backpack and slotted the Deck back into his Duel Disk.

"Sister Wu, are you really going to Duel me?"

Kongque Wu, across the field, opened her lightly closed eyes.

"What, is there some concern about dueling me?"

You Tian pressed his lips together.

"Well then, no use saying more — let's start."

"Duel!!" ×2

【You Tian LP: 4000】

【Kongque Wu LP: 4000】

You Tian: "I'll take the first move!"

"Draw Phase!"

"I activate a Magic Card from my hand, 【Desire's Urn】 — I draw two cards from my Deck."

You Tian glanced at the cards he had drawn.

"Next, I activate this card from my hand — 【Magic Cylinder of the Dead】."

"By its effect, I pay 800 Life Points, flip over the top 4 cards of my Deck, and Special Summon any Level 3 or lower Normal Monsters among them to my side of the field."

【You Tian LP: 4000→3200】

4 cards were flipped over from the top of the Deck.

"Decent luck~"

"I Special Summon this Normal Monster in Defense Position."

【Thousand-Eyed Cult God】 【Defense: 0】

"Next, I activate another Magic Card, 【Graceful Charity】 — I draw three cards from my Deck, then discard two."

You Tian drew three seconds.

"Among the discarded cards is this monster."

You Tian showed the discarded 【Three-Eyed Monster】 face-up to Kongque Wu.

"When 【Three-Eyed Monster】 is sent to the Graveyard, I can search my Deck for a monster with 1500 or less Attack Power and add it to my hand."

"The monster I search is 【Four-Faced Beast Melchido】."

"Next, I Normal Summon this card to the field!"

【Four-Faced Beast Melchido】 【Attack Power: 1500】

You Tian once again showed a monster from his hand face-up to Kongque Wu.

"From my hand, 【Masked Beast Death Guardian】 — by Tributing any 2 of my own monsters on the field, including 【Four-Faced Beast Melchido】, I can Special Summon it!"

"I Tribute 【Four-Faced Beast Melchido】 and 【Thousand-Eyed Cult God】 on my field to Special Summon 【Masked Beast Death Guardian】!"

【Attack Power: 3300】

Kongque Wu's brow furrowed slightly.

"A monster with 3300 Attack Power right off the bat!"

You Tian: "I'll Set one more card, and end my turn."

Kongque Wu nodded.

"Not bad, You Tian — you're impressive, summoning an Advanced monster on your very first turn."

"But the final outcome of a Duel can't be judged by a momentary advantage alone!"

"My turn, Draw Phase!"

Kongque Wu's gaze swept across her hand.

"I Summon this card from my hand — 【Amazon Fighter】, in Attack Position."

【Attack Power: 1500】

"You Tian, when this card battles, I take no battle damage."

"Next, I activate this card from my hand — Equip Magic 【Amazon's Treasure】."

【Effect: Only monsters with "Amazon" in their name can equip this. The equipped monster is not destroyed by battle once per turn. When the equipped monster attacks, the attacked monster is destroyed after damage calculation.】

You Tian narrowed his eyes slightly.

"A combo to deal with an Advanced monster!"

"That's right — 【Amazon Fighter】 lets me take no battle damage, and 【Amazon's Treasure】 protects my battling monster while taking out one of yours."

"Battle!"

"I use 【Amazon Fighter】 to attack your 【Masked Beast Death Guardian】!"

At the command, the burly fighter charged toward the massive demonic beast — the next instant, the two monsters were about to clash.

You Tian: "That won't do!"

"I activate my Set card — Quick-Play Magic 【Mystical Wok of the Dragon】!"

Kongque Wu: "What!"

You Tian: "By this card's effect, I can Tribute one monster on my side of the field and recover Life Points equal to that monster's Attack or Defense."

"I tribute the 【Masked Beast Death Guardian】 on the field to restore a number of LP equal to its Attack Power."

On the field, a giant wok suddenly appeared. The vicious beast, just about to meet the martial artist with its sharp claws, slipped violently underfoot and tumbled into the wok in sheer terror.

The wok tossed and turned continuously, and in the span of a few flips, a fresh plate of Masked Beast feast came out of the pan.

【You Tian LP: 3200→6500】

"Not bad, You Tian. But since 【Masked Beast Death Guardian】 is gone, I can use 【Amazoness Fighter】 to attack your other Defense Position monster!"

A faint curve rose at the corner of You Tian's mouth.

"That won't do, Sister Wu."

Kongque Wu:?

And at that very moment, as 【Masked Beast Death Guardian】 entered the Graveyard, a terrifying, ugly mask flew out of You Tian's deck and landed squarely on the face of 【Amazoness Fighter】.

"When 【Masked Beast Death Guardian】 is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can equip a 【Mask of the Accursed】 from my deck to a monster on your field."

"The monster equipped with 【Mask of the Accursed】 by this effect has its control transferred to me!"

Kongque Wu: "Nani! It even has a death-trigger effect!"

Kongque Wu's shock did not stop 【Amazoness Fighter】 from "defecting."

The masked fighter charged toward its new master without the slightest hesitation.

Kongque Wu let out a soft breath.

"You Tian, you really are something."

You Tian lifted his head, looked at Kongque Wu, and was silent for a moment.

"Sister Wu, why did you want to Duel me?" Finally, You Tian asked the question he'd been wanting to ask.

Kongque Wu's eyes flickered as she looked back at this friend she'd only just met.

"You Tian, how far do you think Jonouchi will go on the path of a Duelist?"

You Tian rubbed his chin.

"Probably... pretty far?"

Kongque Wu's eyes lowered slightly.

"Ever since I was little, I've held one firm belief: the path of a Duelist is one you must always walk on your own."

"That belief stayed with me for many years, until... I ran into that bunch of guys—Jonouchi, Game, and the rest."

"Back then, he was still just a complete outsider to Duels."

You Tian said nothing.

"At first, I really couldn't understand what they meant by 'the power of friendship,' 'the power of unity,' and all that, and I sneered at it."

"But later, I gradually realized that the guy who used to be nothing but an outsider was slowly starting to catch up to me."

"Just like you said, that guy Jonouchi might walk very far on the path of Dueling."

"Maybe even... farther than me."

Kongque Wu lowered her head.

"When that time comes, will I still be able to catch up to him?"

You Tian said nothing.

After quite a while, Kongque Wu finally raised her head.

"But this young lady is certainly not the type to stop in the face of difficulty!"

"You Tian, you're amazing! I can feel it just from looking in your eyes! You're a really strong Duelist!"

"So come on, let me see where my own limit lies!"

You Tian was briefly lost in thought.

"Limit... huh?"

A moment later, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Alright!"

Kongque Wu: "Then, the battle resumes!"

"My turn isn't over yet!"

"I activate a Magic Card from my hand, 【Harpie's Feather Duster】! It destroys the 【Mask of the Accursed】 on your field."

As she spoke, a tornado burst from the card in Wu's hand and swept up 【Mask of the Accursed】.

Having lost its equip card, 【Amazoness Fighter】 naturally returned to Kongque Wu's side of the field.

"Then, I set one more card. End of turn!"

You Tian: "Nicely done, Sister Wu. You managed to counter my ace monster."

Kongque Wu looked a little smug.

"Hmph! This young lady's Dueling skills aren't half bad either!"

"Come on, keep attacking!"

"Just so we're clear! You'd better not go easy on me!"

You Tian smiled.

"Of course—when it comes to Duels, I'd never hold back!"

"But I have to warn you in advance too: after we're done, you can't get mad!"

Kongque Wu raised an eyebrow.

"Get mad? What do you take me for? This young lady isn't the sore-loser type."

"Besides! It's not like you've definitely got me beat!"

"Not to mention, your ace monster is already gone. What are you going to use to attack next?"

You Tian flashed a sunny, brilliant smile. "Then you'd better watch closely!"

"My turn. Draw Phase."

"I activate an Equip Magic Card from my hand, 【Premature Burial】. I pay 800 Life Points to revive a monster from my Graveyard."

【You Tian LP: 6500 → 5700】

Kongque Wu: "Masaka!"

"That's right. The monster I'm reviving is 【Masked Beast Death Ritualist】."

【Attack Power: 3300】

The ferocious beast rose from death once more, the savagery on its face made all the more hideous by its demise.

The beast stared at the fighter across from it, as if to say: You're the one who got me thrown into the fryer, aren't you!

Kongque Wu felt a trace of pressure.

"It's fine. I still have 【Amazon Fighter】 on my field. This turn, I can still defend against one attack."

A mischievous grin tugged at the corner of You Tian's mouth.

"That may not be the case."

Kongque Wu:?

"I activate a Magic Card from my hand, 【Graceful Draw】. By tributing a Level 8 or higher monster on my field, I can draw two cards from my deck."

Kongque Wu:!

Masked Beast: …

Perhaps it was a trick of the eye, but You Tian seemed to glimpse shock and bewilderment on a monster's face.