Yugioh [504-509] (Patreon)

Chapter 504: A Fine Team Atmosphere

"Your Highness!"

Fraulein's words threw the entire great hall into a stir.

"Please think it over, Your Highness!"

"Yes—if you leave, the castle…"

Fraulein turned, faced her subordinates, and spoke softly: "The castle wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway. We can't hole up here forever.

I've known that for a long time. You should, too."

The vampires in the palace looked at one another, at a loss for words.

"You depend on me, and you're willing to give everything to fight for me. I've always been grateful for that. But the truth is, there's nothing I can do—nothing I can protect.

One day, the Supreme King's army will send a real force, or the Supreme King himself will come and end these days of living in fear. It's only a matter of time.

From the very beginning, we've only ever had one way out."

A brief hush fell over the vampires.

"So that's why you've decided to face the Supreme King?" asked the Vampire's Curse.

Fraulein nodded.

"On my own, I have no chance of winning. And I don't want to… and I can't bring you along to die a meaningless death with me."

She paused, turning to glance at Kira and Jaden.

"But these two—travelers from another world, extraordinary duelists… I can feel something different about them.

It might be the faint hope we need to defeat the Supreme King. I don't know. But I'm willing to bet everything on it—and offer up all of myself."

Jaden, confident as ever, grinned: "Don't worry. This 'Supreme King' guy? We'll knock him flat without breaking a sweat. We promise—he'll be picking his teeth up off the floor."

Fraulein bowed politely to him in thanks, though her delicate face remained unreadable. The red moonlight, filtering through the lattice, lit her profile; that pale face looked almost translucent.

The bloodkin looked at Kira and Jaden, then back at their young lady. The turn of events was too sudden: Her Highness had decided, without warning, to run off with two men of unknown background and origin. Naturally, everyone felt it was unwise, but no one could think how to dissuade her.

Only the Vampire's Curse—who had experienced Kira's power firsthand—seemed, after an inner struggle, to step forward slowly.

"I understand. If that is your decision—if this is the only way you see… then do what you believe is right, Your Highness.

But remember this, at all times: No matter where you are or what choices you make, we are always with you."

"Thank you," Fraulein nodded. "From now on, the castle is in your care. And if I don't come back…"

"That won't happen."

The Vampire's Curse shook his head and cast a meaningful look at Kira.

"I don't know why… but I think I believe in this warrior from another world."

Jaden planted his fists on his hips, clapped a hand on Kira's shoulder, and laughed: "Right? I told you—You can always count on Kira. He's the invincible Duel King!"

Kira shot him a look and slid two steps sideways to slip out from under his hand.

Invincible is a debuff—he wanted no part of that.

"Rest assured. I'll hold this castle until you return. And although I cannot accompany you…"

The Vampire's Curse stepped forward and briefly closed his eyes. Blood-mist gathered in his hand—as if splitting from his body—Solidified into the form of a card.

He offered the card up, went down on one knee, and placed it in Fraulein's hands.

"Then at least allow me… to become your strength."

"Okay."

She nodded and took the card.

Then she turned, and her own figure briefly closed its eyes as well. Her body became translucent amid a surge of black haze, faded into mist, and finally condensed into a card that dropped into Kira's hand.

Kira caught the two new cards that had appeared.

Vampire's Curse—original-text-only effect; an undying ability to revive and power up infinitely.

Vampire Fraulein—a hand-trap and blood-for-attack capability. More importantly, it's a card housing a real spirit.

Spirit +1.

A new spirit joining the roster?

Kira would never say no—especially when this Fraulein came bundled with an entire city's worth of vampire troops.

They had a rough idea where the Supreme King's Castle was, but it wasn't in their current dimension. They needed to head to the nearest rift in this dimension—the junction to another—ascend to a higher stratum of worlds, and only then could they approach the Supreme King's Castle.

It was late already, and they'd done enough for one day. After a quick discussion, Kira and Jaden decided to spend the night in the vampire castle, log off, return to reality, and continue tomorrow evening.

Jaden was still unwilling to quit—he wanted to keep playing—but when Kira reminded him they had Professor Crowler's class and a pop quiz tomorrow, he abandoned the idea of grabbing a couple of vampires for a few more duels and logged off for now.

…

Back to reality.

Kira rose from the bed, took off the link device and tossed it aside, then turned to the bathroom to wash up.

A phantom drifted out of the Duel Disk he'd removed, took on a spirit form, and silently stood in the dorm room.

Fraulein blinked, slowly looked around, and curiously took in the sight before her.

So this… is the world the heroes come from.

The legendary spirit realm's dimension filled with duelists.

She looked around in wonder, then her expression froze, slightly dazed.

Because she saw the white-robed mage she'd glimpsed on the battlefield—the one who had cleaved through enemy lines like a peerless war god. Silver hair, a pristine white robe—she was standing in a corner of the room, silent, meeting her gaze.

Fraulein stared for a heartbeat, then realized this was a friend. Somewhat nervously, she raised a hand in greeting.

"H-hello," she said.

Silent Magician didn't speak. She just looked at her.

Before Fraulein grew too awkward, a voice sounded from behind her: "Don't mind her. She's like that with everyone. Even to Master—he's never heard her speak."

Fraulein turned again. Somehow, Jinzo had appeared behind her. She knew him too: Kira had summoned him in that battle against Dark World Knight Zure outside the castle.

But before she could speak, a shadow oozing malice surfaced from the corner.

Caius the Shadow Monarch: "Heh. A mere expendable cannon fodder trying to put on airs before a newcomer?"

Jinzo, who'd had his arms folded in a sage's pose, bristled immediately: "Who are you calling cannon fodder?"

"Who knows?"

"You'd better show some respect to our senior," Jinzo's eyes flashed with a dark glow, as if ready to throw down. "Or I'll teach you some manners myself."

"A 'senior'? You, who can't stay on the field for two turns, dare use the word?"

"Oh? You think you're stronger than me?"

"I've taken heads for Master," Caius said righteously. "Have you?"

Jinzo spluttered, raising both hands and already starting to rub together a Psycho Wave.

"Wanna go?"

Caius didn't flinch and squared up.

"Like I'm scared of you?"

We both have 2400 base stats—who's afraid of whom?

Just as the two were about to clash, the bathroom door rattled open.

Kira came out yawning: "What's all the noise? What are you doing out here?"

He took one look and saw Jinzo and Caius with their arms around each other's shoulders, the picture of brotherly harmony.

"Nothing, Master—just showing the newcomer our fine team atmosphere," Caius rumbled.

"Exactly," Jinzo nodded vigorously.

Fraulein: "…"

She suddenly wondered if she'd made a terrible decision.

Life from here on might be… exhausting.

Chapter 505: You're Right

"Kira! Kira! Major breakthrough!"

The next day, as Kira walked into the lab after classes, Misawa came charging up to him, face flushed, gasping for breath. He staggered to a stop in front of Kira, hands on knees, wheezing so hard he couldn't speak.

"Don't rush—calm down and talk," Kira said. "You've made progress?"

Since the latter half of last semester, Misawa had fallen hopelessly in love with research.

This urge to probe the essence of the card world, to explore hidden possibilities in the future—seemed to eclipse even his addiction to dueling. He'd barely played at all in the latter half; you couldn't find him at the duel arena. As soon as class ended, he was buried in the lab day and night. Research was pretty much all he lived for.

Even Kira sometimes felt he'd found his true calling. Compared to dueling, the straight-A Misawa's talent for R&D was on a different level.

Especially after a full semester of exploration and study, Misawa's research-learning ability had skyrocketed. If Kira pointed him in the right direction, the team he led worked far more efficiently than Kira could on his own.

And this time, Kira had handed him a heavyweight project:

Field Spell – The Seal of Orichalcos

Only one "The Seal of Orichalcos" can be activated per Duel. When this card is activated, destroy all Special Summoned monsters you control. You cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck. All monsters you control gain 500 ATK.

While you control 2 or more Attack Position monsters, your opponent cannot attack the monster with the lowest ATK.

Once per turn, this card cannot be destroyed by card effects.

That's right—this was the nerfed version of The Seal of Orichalcos, which, upon being printed as a real card, was localized as the Orichalcum Barrier.

What Kira gave Misawa was the research into the Orichalcos series he'd obtained from the Arbiter.

Of course, compared to the anime original, the printed Seal was neutered across the board. But the value of this card's development lay in severing the link between the Seal and the Serpent God itself, turning it into a card that could be used normally—and doing so without the forced "loser's soul gets sucked out" effect that compelled a fight to the death.

Naturally, with the link cut, the Seal no longer contained that immense supernatural power, and activating it no longer granted any boost in Destiny Power. In that sense, compared to the anime version, it had lost its greatest function.

But that sacrifice was only sensible. The Destiny Power from the Seal was borrowed from the Serpent God. If you sever the connection, you can't just mooch its power.

Even so, the progress was exciting.

First, it meant The Seal of Orichalcos had transformed from a forbidden card into something usable. And with the Seal as a foundation, the other cards obtained from the Arbiter that needed the Seal as a core also had a place to shine.

For example, the strongest—Orichalcos's Second and Third Seals.

As Kira discovered during research, things like soul absorption, Destiny Power amplification, and the link to the Serpent God were all written into the deepest layer—the First Seal of Orichalcos.

The Second and Third Seals both say: "This card's name is treated as 'The Seal of Orichalcos', and it gains all effects of 'The Seal of Orichalcos' that was sent to the GY as this card's activation cost."

In other words, using their real-card First Seal as the cost, you could still activate the Second and Third Seals. It's just that the Second and Third Seals activated this way would only inherit the weakened effects of the printed version, not the Arbiter's anime-original power.

But it was more than enough to restore the Orichalcos deck to normal operation.

"And you mentioned those other cards had rework potential—you were right about that too."

Misawa grew more and more excited, pulling up his research on his terminal to show Kira.

"I even think that Divine Serpent Geh might—"

"Let's put that on hold."

Kira hurriedly cut him off.

"That one's a god. Let's study something else first—don't go poking the Serpent God."

In the anime, Divine Serpent Geh was legitimately a Divine attribute, Divine-Beast Type. While Kira knew it could theoretically be printed in nerfed form, KaibaCorp's and the Industrial Illusions's blood-and-tears history with the three Egyptian Gods proved it: printing god replicas in this world is too dangerous.

A careless designer invites divine punishment. One day you're walking down the street and—pow—random heavenly thunder leaves you a vegetable.

So while he had ideas for the Serpent God, Kira decided to shelve it. If the project ever kicked off, he'd contact Franz.

Franz, after all, was their chief designer; he'd studied the God Cards for years and, presumably, was a pro at keeping himself alive. Handing it to him would be reassuring on many fronts.

Kira sat down at his spot in the lab. He turned—and saw the newly joined Vampire Fraulein already standing by in spirit form, looking at him with astonished admiration.

"What is it?"

"N-no, nothing. It's just…"

She hesitated.

"…do you even make your own cards?"

Her eyes couldn't hide their shock and awe.

Kira realized what she meant.

To a spirit like her, who had lived long in the Spirit World and never visited the Duelist Dimension, card-making must be something unimaginable, right?

He smiled. "Some of them."

"And that… the scientist and the catapult turtle…"

Naturally, she thought of the combo he'd used to spectacularly obliterate Zure.

When she'd seen that beyond-reason combination, she had been stunned. Now, learning that he might have printed it himself, her admiration for her new master turned to near-deification.

That's practically godlike, isn't it!?

"That one's not mine," Kira smiled, a touch mysterious. "That's the wisdom of our predecessors."

The famous Magical Scientist + Catapult Turtle—an OTK built from just two cards. With luck, it even FTKs—First Turn Kill—finishing before the opponent ever gets a turn. For a time, it was called "the strongest deck in Yu-Gi-Oh! history."

Kira always said it: he only stood on the shoulders of giants and thus saw farther. He never thought he was anything special, or some genius duelist.

Fraulein only blinked, seemingly not getting it.

"Just the Master's routine modesty. Don't mind it."

Jinzo appeared behind her again.

"There's only one thing you need to remember."

She tilted her head, puzzled.

"Of everyone you will ever meet, Master is the most unprecedented, never-before-seen, never-to-be-surpassed—greatest genius duelist."

Jinzo said it in earnest.

Fraulein fell silent, then looked again at Kira, already bent over his desk and working intently. The sunset glow brushed the boy's profile, and the vampire girl found herself lost for a moment.

Caius drifted out again, silently, and stopped beside Jinzo.

Jinzo frowned. "Now what?"

Almost every time Caius showed up with him, it was to pick a fight.

But not this time.

"Nothing," Caius said, also watching Kira. He pondered a moment, then added to Jinzo:

"Just this once… I think you're right."

Chapter 506: Seeking a Spouse by Dueling

Kira returned to his routine of classes by day and Spirit-World exploration by night.

A week passed.

In that time, the lab produced more results, which were presented at international conferences hosted by the Industrial Illusions and KaibaCorp.

Now that Kira was the new Duel King, his name alone boosted the lab's profile. With former Duel King Yugi Muto retired for years, the title "the only active Duel King" carried serious weight.

Naturally, more sponsorships and partnership offers poured in.

Kira personally attended a couple of meetings to negotiate with world-famous enterprises and institutions. But after a few meals, he felt it was a waste of time. He contacted the chancellor and asked the academy's experts to handle negotiations. They were far more professional than he was anyway.

As funding grew and departments multiplied, management became a headache.

So Kira set his sights on his nominal superior in the student council—upperclassman Seika Kohinata.

From what he'd observed over the first half-year, while Seika's dueling wasn't exceptional, she was a two-time Miss Duel Academy and ran the student council like clockwork; her social and managerial skills were solid.

Having become a legend—Duel King in just half a year—Kira was an academy icon. Seika was flattered to receive his invitation, and over the next several days she hustled tirelessly, handling lab affairs with care. When she felt understaffed, she pulled trusted aides from the student council to help with errands and grunt work.

She truly had a knack for management. The lab's affairs, large and small, fell into orderly rhythm under her hand.

The way things were going, though, it felt like the student council might get swallowed up by Kira's lab.

….

On the weekend, Revolver returned to his loyal Knights of Hanoi.

"About the 'Master of the Shadow Riders,' we dug up something… though it may just be rumor," Kurozaki reported.

"There are claims that before the 'Shadow Riders' formed, he too was a dark duelist. In the underworld, he used the codename 'Charioteer of the Firmament.'"

"Charioteer of the Firmament?" Kira frowned.

That never came up in the anime…

"Yeah—supposedly tied to the deck he used back then. But who he really was? No clue…"

"And what about Chairman Kagemaru? The one I asked you to track?" Kira cut in.

"Oh, that old man? Still missing," Kurozaki said. "Word is he vanished due to a severe illness, some time ago. No family or heirs, and the board hasn't seen him in ages. They figure he's probably dead…"

Kurozaki glanced at his leader, then carefully asked, "Is this chairman connected to all this?"

Kira shook his head, lost in thought.

"Well, while there are claims that the Charioteer of the Firmament is the current Master of the Shadow Riders, there's no real evidence. But the man left a trail years ago," Kurozaki continued.

"For instance, seven years back, there's a record of a village overrun by an awakened ancient fiend. Dueling wasn't as advanced back then, the village was remote, and the fiend did as it pleased—treated the villagers like cattle and slaves.

The Charioteer and a close friend happened to pass by. After learning what was happening, they stepped up, fought the fiend to the death in a duel, and won by a hair, destroying the stone tablet buried beneath the village.

That's the last confirmed record we found."

Charioteer of the Firmament—sounded like a roving hero of the card world.

Didn't sound like the Kagemaru Kira knew—a scheming old man who'd do anything to survive.

"Oh, and one more thing. While we haven't pinned down the Master of the Shadow Riders, we might have a lead on one of the Seven."

"Oh?" Kira asked. "Which one?"

"Uh, a woman. Calls herself an Amazoness—and she looks the part. But honestly? She's not hard to find. Because, uh… she's hosting an event at Domino City's underground arena."

Kira blinked. "An event?"

…

That night, Kira went to Domino City himself.

Following the intel to the underground arena, he found a packed, roaring coliseum. Kurozaki was right—this Shadow Riders wasn't hard to find.

Because she was publicly seeking a husband by dueling.

Amazoness Tania.

Tania didn't fit the traditional notion of a beauty—gentle, soft, fair-skinned, graceful curves—none of that really applied.

Strapping was closer to the mark.

Chocolate skin, taller and more powerfully built than most men, and a bold, husky voice—she was born a warrior.

And yet, in the original, Misawa fell head over heels for her. When they reunited in another dimension, he thought he'd found true love. He stayed in that other world with her for a shamelessly lovey-dovey life, never returning to reality.

By the time Kira descended to the floor, Tania was in a fierce duel with a sunglasses-wearing guy on the stage.

"Amazoness Swords Woman—attack 'Zoa the Fiendish Beast'!"

[Amazoness Swords Woman, ATK 1500]

[Zoa the Fiendish Beast, ATK 2600]

Sunglasses Guy blanched. "Attacking with the lower ATK monster!?"

But the swordswoman was already thrusting forward, charging fearlessly at the azure demon. The fiend roared and swung a claw. With the huge gap in strength, the warrior's blade shattered with a metallic clang.

"Amazoness Swords Woman's effect," Tania said. "Any battle damage from this card's battles is inflicted to your opponent!"

"What!?" Sunglasses Guy's pupils shrank. "Damn, Zoa's got 2600—"

[Sunglasses Guy, LP 1000]

"Good—then you can eat this battle damage yourself! Take it!"

The broken longsword spun like a boomerang, whirled out, and pierced Sunglasses Guy through the chest.

"Gahhh!"

[Sunglasses Guy, LP 1000 → LP 0]

The match was decided, and the crowd roared. Tania raised her right fist high, a swaggering grin on her face: "Next!"

"Too weak—too weak!"

"How's a man like that supposed to satisfy me!?"

The cheers swelled.

Seeing no one step up for a moment, Kira walked up the steps onto the stage.

"Oh? You're next, challenger?"

Tania narrowed her eyes and sized him up.

"I only care about strong men. Only a man among men deserves to stand before me. Who are you? Are you confident in your strength?"

"Me? You can call me 'Revolver.' As for whether I'm confident…"

Kira slowly unfolded his Duel Disk and smiled.

"Why don't you come find out for yourself?"

Chapter 507: Then You're Invincible

Tania burst out laughing.

"Good." Expectation lit up her face. "There's something different about you compared to the others—I can feel it. You've got a certain aura that belongs to the strong.

Don't let me down."

"I'll do my best to satisfy you," Kira said. "But since we're doing an underground duel, we should set the rules in advance. For example, if you win, then what?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

Tania planted her hands on her hips and thrust her chest out to flaunt those extravagant pectorals, speaking heartily.

"If I win, you naturally have to do as I say. I sense a faint kingly dominance in you. If I win, then you'll become my ideal husband-to-be."

"Hold it."

Kira made a time-out gesture.

"And if I win?"

"You win?"

Tania's shoulders sagged, then she suddenly put on a coquettish act, batting her eyes with endless charm. Only, with her burly, musclebound build, the flirtation came with its own built-in dissonance—far from making one's heart throb, it tightened the chest with nameless dread.

"If you win, then I'm yours. I'll devote myself to you and stay by your side from then on."

Kira: "…"

So either way you don't lose, huh?

Then you're invincible.

"Let's skip the part where you devote yourself," Kira chuckled.

Her type might have been right up Misawa's alley, but Kira wasn't particularly into it—especially after learning she was actually a tigress.

And that's not a metaphor—that's literal. After Jaden's duel with Tania ended, the defeated Tania revealed her true form. She was literally a tigress—likely an Amazoness monster spirit, which is why she'd developed intelligence and could take human shape.

So he'd always admired Misawa's choice: even knowing she was a tiger, he charged in without hesitation.

Maybe that's what true love is.

Kira smiled, unfolding his Duel Disk. "But if I happen to win, I will ask you to do me a small favor."

He knew Tania had a card-obsessed brain similar to Jaden's. She joined the Shadow Riders purely to seek thrills—searching for strong men to feed her dueling addiction.

She wasn't ambitious or vindictive, and she had no loyalty to the Shadow Riders organization or its master. So starting with her wasn't a bad idea.

Tania giggled again. "If you beat me, we'll be family. Why talk about a small favor then? Why be so polite with family?"

Kira: "…"

"Enough talk. I'm already itching for this. If we're going to fight, then come!" Tania barked.

"Duel!" x2

[Kira, LP 4000]

[Tania, LP 4000]

"I'll take the first move."

"Good" Tania smiled. "No need to hold back on me, Mr. Revolver. Come at me with everything you've got! I can take it"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Kira said:

"Then I'll set a monster in face-down Defense Position. Next, I activate this card.

The Field Spell, Catapult Zone!"

The catapult field unfolded; it was as if a river cut across the field between them. A massive catapult apparatus landed on Kira's side of the field.

"Then I set one card and end my turn."

"The face-down monster and the set card—what secret is Mr. Revolver hiding, I wonder?" Tania's eyes kept crackling with electricity. "Tania's so excited to find out."

"Excited? Don't worry—you will," Kira smiled.

In the original story, Tania reacted the same way when she dueled Misawa. In the end, Misawa's mental composure shattered and he fell under her sway. He even lost his usual calm in the duel; the duelist's momentum must have been affected too.

Kira knew this was probably part of her dueling strategy. Trash talk is also an effective weapon in a duel—by talking an opponent down, seem to increase their odds of a godly topdeck.

Only, Kira wasn't good at lip service; the traditional methods those seafood-heads used weren't his style.

No matter—he had his own methods. Disrupting the opponent's mindset to interfere with their momentum—different route, same principle, same destination.

Tania's cutesy act and coquettish glances during a duel were the same idea: a way to crush the opponent's momentum through psychological warfare.

"My turn. Draw!"

Tania said:

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

"Next I Normal Summon Amazoness Swords Woman!"

The red-haired swordswoman Kira knew all too well leaped in with her blade—only this time, she was on the other side.

[Amazoness Swords Woman, ATK 1500]

"Amazoness Swords Woman reflects damage you take in battle," Kira said. "Ah, playing a troublesome monster right out the gate."

"As expected of Mr. Revolver—so knowledgeable. Now, Tania's going in."

Tania fluttered another flirtatious look, but in the next instant her tone shifted, turning gruff—like a general gallantly leading a charge on the battlefield.

"Battle! Amazoness Swords Woman, attack the face-down Defense monster!"

The swordswoman lunged, blade flashing. The set monster flipped, revealing a little angelic figure with wings.

[Skelengel, DEF 400]

"When Skelengel is flipped, I draw one card from my Deck."

Kira drew a card.

"But your angel will still be destroyed by Amazoness Swords Woman," Tania said.

"Will it? That's not a given," Kira smiled.

Tania frowned. "What?"

"Catapult Zone's effect," Kira said. "When a monster you control would be destroyed by battle, you can send a Rock-Type monster from your Deck to the GY instead, and your monster is not destroyed by that battle."

His Duel Disk auto-searched, and a card popped up. Kira drew it out; the Deck then auto-shuffled and cut.

"I send the Rock-Type 'Revival Golem' from my Deck to the GY so that Skelengel isn't destroyed by battle."

A layer of rocky aura formed before the little angel like a transparent shield, stopping the Amazoness blade. The sword strike was blocked, and the swordswoman had to retreat.

"Protecting your monster with the Field, huh," Tania said.

"Not only that—the effect of 'Revival Golem' also activates."

Kira calmly produced the card he'd just sent to the GY.

"Once per turn, when Revival Golem is sent to the GY, I can either return it to my hand or Special Summon it.

I choose to Special Summon Revival Golem."

[Revival Golem, DEF 2100]

"Oh? Defending while also turning it into offense—using my attack to summon a new monster?"

Tania's lips curved upward, battle-lust kindling in her eyes.

"Interesting. Looks like I've finally met a worthy opponent."

Chapter 508: Answering the Passion

Revival Golem—Summon!

"Using my attack to perform a monster summon—not bad," Tania said. "Now you're starting to look a little like a strong man should.

Then I'll set—"

"Don't be so hasty. Your Battle Phase isn't over yet."

Kira snapped his fingers.

"At the end of your Battle Phase, I activate my face-down card, the Continuous Trap—Ultimate Offering."

"What?" Tania said. "You're activating it at the end of my Battle Phase?"

"That's right. Ultimate Offering's effect can only be used during your opponent's Battle Phase or your own Main Phase," Kira said. "By paying 500 Life Points, I can perform a Normal Summon of a monster from my hand."

[Kira, LP 4000 → LP 3500]

"So I pay 500 LP and Tribute my Skelengel and Revival Golem to perform a Tribute Summon."

Skelengel and Revival Golem vanished from the field, and a white whirlwind rose.

"I Tribute Summon this monster from my hand… face-down in Defense Position."

A face-down set monster appeared on Kira's field.

Tania was even more surprised. "Two Tributes… but it's face-down Defense?"

Ninety-nine percent of duelists use Tribute monsters as attackers. High-end shields like Millennium Shield, which hits 3000 DEF with a single Tribute, are rarely used. And even if it's a special utility monster like Yubel, there's no reason to set it face-down after a Tribute Summon.

Using two Tributes just to set something face-down in Defense—she'd practically never seen that in her dueling career.

"Interesting. You're getting more and more intriguing," Tania said. "Then I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn. Draw."

Kira drew and smiled faintly.

"I can feel your passion for dueling. To be honest, I also have a very good friend who's just like you—always aflame with passion for how a duel unfolds."

"Is that so? I'd really like to meet them," Tania laughed. "Yes, dueling is everything to me—it's the reason I live! Without intense battles I'm perpetually starving, so I need a strong man to satisfy me!"

As she spoke, the white tiger in the stands—apparently her pet—let out a sullen rumble, as if venting its displeasure.

Tania and that tiger were inseparable. At first everyone thought it was her pet; only after Jaden beat Tania and she herself turned into a tiger did people realize it might not be so simple.

The anime never nailed it down, but it was natural for viewers to connect the dots: maybe Tania thought that tiger was too weak—not man enough to satisfy her—so she kept going out looking for "a man among men," even declaring she'd drag home a son-in-law.

And the poor tiger not only had to watch, sometimes it had to help her out.

No wonder the tiger looked so grumpy in the anime—tiger bro had it rough.

"Is that so? Then I'll respond a little to your passion."

"Bring it on—don't hold back! Use your full strength to defeat me and let me feel the heat of a duel!" Tania cried.

"Alright." Kira waved his hand. "Then I flip-summon the set monster on my field—

—Pharaonic Guardian Sphinx!"

"Pharaonic Guardian!?"

Tania was astonished.

A gigantic, imposing human-faced statue appeared—similar to that Sphinx from before, but several times larger, its body more dazzlingly golden, radiating a divine, inviolable majesty.

[Pharaonic Guardian Sphinx, ATK 2300]

From its name and appearance it was clear this was the evolved form of the "Guardian Sphinx" Kira had used before. His lab's recent, unpublished result.

Though his lab produced a lot, not everything was published in exchange for resources. This evolved Sphinx, for instance, had never been seen outside. This was its first live test against a real opponent.

"Pharaonic Guardian is an enhanced Sphinx—while stronger, it also inherits the original Sphinx's power," Kira said. "When this card is Flip Summoned, all monsters on your opponent's field are returned to their owner's Deck!"

Tania: "!"

A field-wide return to Deck!?

It doesn't target, and it's not destruction. It's not even like the original Sphinx that returned to the hand. Being returned to the Deck means you don't get the GY to recycle or use as resource—returning to the Deck practically means leaving the game for now.

"I like Amazoness Swords Woman too, personally, but I prefer her on my side," Kira smiled. "So let's have her leave the stage for now."

The swordswoman turned into a beam of golden light and flew back into Tania's Deck. Tania gritted her teeth.

"Battle Phase," Kira said. "Pharaonic Guardian Sphinx, direct attack on Tania."

The majestic golden guardian advanced, raising a palm like Mount Tai about to crash down.

Tania reacted immediately: "I activate the Trap, Pinpoint Guard!

When your opponent declares an attack, Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from my GY. The monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn!"

"The swordswoman returned to your Deck, not your GY…" Kira said. "You only have the two cards you discarded to Graceful Charity last turn."

"Right, and one of them was another Amazoness Swords Woman!"

Tania pumped her fist.

"My second Amazoness Swords Woman—Special Summon in Defense Position!"

[Amazoness Swords Woman, DEF 1600]

The red-haired swordswoman crouched as she emerged from the GY, blade held across her body.

"A second unit, huh," Kira nodded. "With Pinpoint Guard's protection I can't break through this turn, so I'll stop my attacks.

But Pharaonic Guardian Sphinx has another effect."

He snapped his fingers.

"Once per turn, during your Main Phase, Sphinx can set itself face-down in Defense Position again."

He gestured lightly.

"Sphinx, revert to face-down Defense."

The massive golden statue concealed its aura again, reverting to an ordinary face-down card.

Tania: "!"

It can voluntarily set itself—meaning next turn he can Flip Summon again, and all monsters return to the Deck…

Wait.

She stared at Kira.

This is your idea of "responding to my passion"?

Chapter 509: Send Them All Back

"Repeatedly flipping to return monsters—so that's your kind of duel,"

Tania snorted.

"That's unfortunate. Looks like you and I are a bad matchup."

"Oh?"

"Duels should be fought head-on—with both sides' monsters and the duelists' wills clashing with everything they've got!" Tania said. "What's the point of a duel that dodges battle?"

"Is that so? Personally I find winning without fighting more interesting. Different strokes."

Kira chuckled.

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn. Draw!"

Though she'd been annoyed a moment ago, Tania's fighting spirit wasn't dampened—if anything, she raised her voice even more.

"In that case, let me show you what a blazing duel is! Let's see how long you can keep dodging…

I activate the Field Spell, Amazoness Arena!" (anime-original card)

The earth shook. A gigantic iron cage rose like an inverted dome, enclosing both duelists.

"When Amazoness Arena is activated, both players recover 600 Life Points!"

[Kira, LP 3500 → LP 4100]

[Tania, LP 4000 → LP 4600]

"While Amazoness Arena is on the field, whenever monsters battle, both players can pay 100 LP to inflict 100 damage to the opponent."

"Oh, that," Kira smiled. "A truly hot-blooded field for warriors."

This Field also best represented Tania's personality—she was probably the most purely battle-focused hot-blooded duelist in all of GX. Even Jaden couldn't match her sheer pursuit of the fight itself.

In simple terms, whenever monsters battle, each turn both players can mutually take an extra 200 damage. Whether to activate depends on each player.

From a real-card perspective this card is pointless—absurdly inefficient. And it's not even really burn—since the sender pays 100 LP to deal 100 damage to the opponent, there's nothing more pointless as "burn" than this.

But if you ignore real-card efficiency and look at it as an anime dueling effect, you can see the charm.

It's for fighting.

How it manifests is that both players can project a part of their consciousness using the field's supernatural power, like an extension of their body and will.

Then both rush forward as their mental projections and each delivers a hot-blooded hook to the other.

It's only 100 damage each, but it lets you feel the visceral thrill of trading punches mid-duel. By the end of Jaden vs. Tania, they got so into it that it practically turned into "punching each other to trigger the Amazoness Arena" —perfect for stirring emotions.

In other words, it legally summons your fist in Attack Position.

Of course, it only triggers when "monsters battle."

"I activate the Spell Card: Star Blast!" Tania said. "For every 500 Life Points I pay, I reduce the Level of a monster in my hand or on the field by 1.

I pay 1000 Life Points to reduce the Level of the Amazoness Queen in my hand from 6 to 4, so I can Normal Summon her without Tribute."

[Tania, LP 4600 → LP 3600]

"Therefore I Normal Summon Amazoness Queen!"

[Amazoness Queen, ATK 2400]

"As long as Amazoness Queen is on the field, none of my Amazoness monsters can be destroyed by battle!" Tania said. "Then I switch Amazoness Swords Woman to Attack Position!"

[Amazoness Swords Woman, DEF 1600 → ATK 1500]

"Now feel the power of Amazoness Arena—feel what a real duel is!" Tania shouted. "First, Amazoness Swords Woman, attack the face-down Pharaonic Guardian Sphinx!"

The swordswoman drew her blade, a silver arc slashing down!

"Sphinx has 3000 DEF. You'll use Swordswoman's damage reflection to bounce 1500 damage to me in one shot?" Kira nodded.

"Correct—and that will trigger the Arena!"

If Amazoness Arena triggers, Tania can let her consciousness leave her body and legally summon her fist to clock Kira.

It's only 100 damage—but it feels great.

Especially today—she didn't know why, but she couldn't wait to land the prettiest hook of her life on this man.

"Then I activate a Continuous Trap."

Kira lifted his hand unhurriedly.

"The Continuous Trap: Ordeal of a Traveler," he said. "When an opponent's monster declares an attack, you randomly select a card in my hand and guess its type.

If you guess right, the attack continues.

If you guess wrong, the attacking monster is returned to the hand."

"Nandato (What did you say)!?"

Tania's face twitched.

Another bounce-to-hand. Another battle-avoiding card.

If you hate head-on fights that much, why are you even dueling?

Still, she forced herself to play along: "Then, the card on your far right."

Kira had three cards in hand. He leisurely drew them out. "Alright—what type do you think this is?"

Tania furrowed her brow and stared at the card like she could see through it.

"…Spell?"

"A Spell, huh…"

Kira smiled and revealed it.

"Sorry—it's the monster 'Hieracosphinx.'"

"Uh, a monster…"

"Therefore, Ordeal of a Traveler resolves. Amazoness Swords Woman, return to the hand."

Her blade had only half left the scabbard before she turned into golden light and flew back to Tania's hand.

The battle didn't happen, so Amazoness Arena didn't trigger.

But Tania's desire to summon her fist only burned hotter.

"Argh—so mad!"

She shadowboxed twice and barked:

"But I still have my Queen's attack!"

"But your Queen's ATK can't beat the Sphinx's DEF," Kira reminded her with a grin. "And even if you attack to try and flip it early, the Sphinx can 'once per turn set itself face-down' at will.

Next turn I'll just set it down again and Flip Summon—your fielded monsters still all go back to the Deck."

"Don't underestimate me!"

Tania snapped.

"I attack your face-down Sphinx with Amazoness Queen!"

Kira raised an eyebrow with interest. "Oh? You're attacking anyway?"

So determined to trigger the Arena?

Or she just can't stand it and wants to summon her fist—

 "Commendable spirit. But don't forget—Ordeal of a Traveler is Continuous. It doesn't have a once-per-turn.

When an opponent's monster declares an attack, you randomly select a card in my hand and guess its type."

He mixed his three cards face-down, then held them up with the backs to Tania. "Go on—pick."

"The one on the far left!" Tania barked.

She didn't even bother trying to act cute now.

"Alright—what type is it?"

Tania gritted her teeth.

He had three cards—two unknown, but she now knew one of them from before was a monster.

So by logic, she should guess…

 "Monster!"

"Is that so?"

Kira smiled and flipped the card.

"Sorry—it's the Spell 'Spider Web.' Wrong again."

"Ordeal of a Traveler—return Amazoness Queen to the hand."

Tania: "…"

"My turn. Draw," Kira said. "I'll activate the card you just saw—the Spell 'Spider Web.' It adds a card that was sent to the GY during the previous turn to my hand." (Anime effect)

A strand of spider silk drew a card out of Tania's GY.

"I'll add the Spell 'Star Blast' from your GY to my hand," Kira said. "Then I activate Star Blast. I pay 1000 Life Points to reduce the Level of this 'Hieracosphinx' in my hand from 6 to 4.

Then I Normal Summon it."

[Hieracosphinx, ATK 2400]

"As long as Hieracosphinx is on the field, you can't choose face-down monsters as attack targets."

Tania: "…"

It even helps that damn statue draw aggro—are you kidding me?

 "Then I Flip Summon Pharaonic Guardian Sphinx. On Flip Summon, all monsters on your field return to the Deck—though you don't actually have any monsters left right now, so no big deal."

Tania: "…"

[Pharaonic Guardian Sphinx, ATK 2300]

"Pharaonic Guardian Sphinx. Hieracosphinx."

Kira lazily lifted his hand.

"Direct attack."

[Tania, LP 3600 → LP 0]