Yugioh [576-581] (Patreon)

Chapter 576: Allies of Justice

Domino City.

The sunset poured like molten gold across the sky, dyeing the horizon a gentle orange-red. A jet streaked through the gorgeous dusk, carving the firmament like a silver shooting star and leaving a long trail across the tapestry of blue and amber.

Kira—or rather, the Revolver—was inside the cabin.

Kurozaki respectfully handed him a tablet.

Kira took it, idly swiped a few times, and skimmed.

"Soul Eater," Kira read the dossier. "That's what they call this guy?"

"Yeah."

Kurozaki nodded.

"A newcomer who popped up in the last two months, mostly active in Domino City and the surrounding area," Kurozaki briefed. "Thirteen serial murders over two months, all victims are women with similar looks.

"And the common point: modern forensics can't determine the cause of death. But according to reliable intel, anyone with sight for the supernatural can see the same dark energy fluctuation inside the victims."

"The power of Dark Games," Kira said blandly.

"Yeah. If you ask me, there's an eighty percent chance he's a freshly awakened ability user."

Kurozaki shrugged.

"This kind of thing's not rare. The world's big—every so often, some idiot who doesn't know the height of the sky crawls out of the woodwork.

"Maybe he stumbled on some antique, or a single card—whatever it is, he accidentally gets some extraordinary power he's never even heard of.

"Then he decides what he's got must be the pinnacle of worldly might; it goes to his head, and naturally he starts thinking about using it to do as he pleases."

He shook his head.

"Nine times out of ten these are self-taught nobodies. The moment they get a little skill, they think they're beyond restraint—laughable."

Kira knew what he meant.

If he'd been fostered by a proper organization of Dark Duelists, he wouldn't be acting so suicidally cocky. Anyone with a clue about the supernatural side of the world should understand there's always someone stronger.

The truly formidable bosses can destroy worlds and overturn time—and even at that level, they don't dare get cocky. After all, even the real eldritch gods with that ability have had grass five yards high growing over their graves by now.

So the more you know of the dark world, the more you should realize that truly doing whatever you want is almost impossible. Only frogs at the bottom of the well, who've never seen the breadth of the world, get smug over their tiny puddles.

"I still don't get it, boss."

Kurozaki looked puzzled.

"Why do we—uh, I mean, why do we go out of our way to mess with these guys?"

This wasn't the first time.

Ever since Revolver came back from the Dark Web, he'd gotten very interested in people who abused dueling power for evil, and had specifically set up an intel net to track them.

Kurozaki didn't understand why.

Kira only gave him a slight smile.

"Because we're allies of justice."

Kurozaki almost choked.

He thought of this leader's duels brimming with malice, and remembered the vicious, insidious methods he'd seen on previous field ops—more ruthless than the nastiest cartel boss.

"You're an ally of justice? Then justice in this world sure is dark…"

Kurozaki muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Kira arched a brow.

Kurozaki jolted.

"I—I said, leader, how insightful!"

Fortunately, the pilot's voice from the front broke in and saved him.

"Approaching the target."

From the cockpit.

"Alright, open the bay."

Kira stood, stepped to the wall. A folded white mechanical glider was strapped on like a backpack.

"Need our people to support you?" Kurozaki asked.

"No. Have them hold outside. When I'm done, come in and clean up. Wait for my signal," Kira waved. "Move on my mark."

Then, with a single lunge, he jumped into the gale outside the hatch.

The rushing wind struck his goggles with a soft whine. As a Dark Duelist with spirit-boosted physique, he could easily focus on the destination and maintain balance even midair.

He pressed his arms to his sides, accelerated in a headlong freefall, then ignited midway. The metal wings snapped open behind him with a swish, twin plumes of flame roared from the engines, and he traced a gorgeous arc through the sky.

Below lay an abandoned warehouse, with plenty of goons inside carrying guns. They'd been local thugs before, subdued by the Soul Eater's supernatural means to serve as his hired muscle.

Of course, they could only handle ordinary security officers. In fights between Dark Duelists, they were dead weight.

Like now.

Boom!

A blast from the ceiling. The roof blew apart like paper under raw force. A flaming silhouette descended from above and landed in a crouch squarely in the center of the floor.

The goons were stunned and scrambled to open fire.

Bullets pinged and clattered off around Kira harmlessly. He rose unhurriedly, didn't even glance at them, and said casually:

"Leaving this to you."

"You got it!"

A shout—and the entire Dark Scorpion gang surged forth!

The five Scorpions fanned out at once.

Don Zaloog drew his revolver, squinted with his single eye—bang, bang—two shots, and two men toppled from the second-floor catwalk, slamming to the ground bleeding.

Meanae snapped her wrist—the long whip writhed like a serpent, coiling guns out of two men's hands, then flicked back like a flying dart to smash their faces, dropping them both cold.

Cliff vaulted a railing, flipping over the containers the thugs hid behind. One stroke opened a throat. Two others backpedaled and opened up in a staccato burst, bullets sparking all around him. Cliff dropped low, and behind him Chick used his back as a springboard—one burst of speed and he soared in front of the two retreating thugs, a spinning kick dropping them both.

They looked like comic relief, but they were monster spirits—more than enough against gun-toting mortals.

With the warehouse fight in the Scorpions' hands, Kira didn't look back once, ignoring the cacophony as he strode straight through.

Boom!

He simply blasted the locked door apart and entered the deepest room, where he found his target.

A man in his thirties. Shirtless, musclebound, body crisscrossed with knife scars, his vicious appearance downright terrifying.

"Soul Eater?" Kira arched a brow, giving him a once-over. "A bit of an overstated title."

Chapter 577: Trusted Lieutenant

[Incoming call: Mokuba.]

Kira glanced at the caller ID, thought a moment, and answered.

"Yo? Mokuba?"

"Yeah."

Mokuba was at his office computer, fingers flying.

"You busy right now?"

"Not really—"

Before Kira could finish, Mokuba heard a strange shout over the line: "Activate trap: Sakuretsu Armor! Destroy the attacking monster upon attack declaration!"

Then Kira's lazy voice:

"Then counter trap: Seven Tools of the Bandit. Pay 1000 Life Points to negate the trap and destroy it."

Opponent: "Nani!?"

"Therefore, Dark Scorpion - Chick the Yellow's direct attack continues."

"Aaargh—!"

Mokuba paused.

"You're dueling?"

"Yup," Kira said offhandedly. "Dark Duel—dealing with a trash duelist… but it's fine, he's weak, no problem. Say what you need."

"Uh, is that really okay—"

Even Mokuba was at a loss.

Taking a call during a duel is rare enough, but during a life-or-death Dark Duel… unheard of.

It could only be said that Kira transcended common sense in all respects.

Mokuba: "If the timing's bad, I can call later—"

"No, it's fine. You called at just the right time. I'm about to wrap up—give me thirty seconds."

Kira said casually.

"Chick's effect: upon dealing battle damage, return the continuous trap Call of the Haunted on the field to the hand."

"…"

Half a minute later, just from the sounds alone, Mokuba had started to mourn the nameless opponent.

He didn't know who it was, but clearly a man with a mountain of sins. Without that, he wouldn't have run into Kira the demon and suffered this torture…

"Alright, I'm done here," Kira said. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing big. About you making an appearance at the opening ceremony—we need to nail down details, like your exact time slot, the theme of your remarks, whether you'll go on stage normally or air-drop in with my brother…"

Air-drop? Like the president descending from the Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet?

Kira considered.

In the past he might have thought that was too much fuss. Now he felt… why not?

"Give me a bit. I'll head over once I finish here."

"Okay."

They hung up.

Kira ended the call, then strolled over to the Soul Eater, who was barely clinging to life.

Soul Eater strained to lift his head. The man's face was half-swallowed in shadow, and for a moment he looked like the reaper come to claim his soul.

His heart clenched. "W-what are you going to do?"

"Nothing much."

Kira raised his hand, fingers splayed toward the man.

"You finally touched the extraordinary, gained power, and chose to use it to hurt others—and to stain the duel itself. So this power…

"Might as well be used by someone proper."

His eyes flashed open. His palm became a bottomless black hole. The Soul Eater felt an inexorable pull grip him. Amid a string of shrill screams, a mass of black energy was forcibly torn out of his body by that gravity and sucked into Kira.

About thirty seconds later, when nothing at all remained, Kira lowered his hand. The murderous duelist had shriveled into a husk, eyes round and glassy, utterly still.

Kira turned away, walking out, and thumbed his earpiece.

"It's done. Move in."

The Knights of Hanoi, who'd been on standby outside, surged in to clean up. Kira didn't linger—he didn't even look back as he left.

This time, he not only took the man's deck from his duel disk—he took his power. Literally.

It was a new technique he'd learned from the ancient alchemical tome Lyman left him. A skill for plunder—absorbing others' power to easily grow stronger.

By this method, even without god-tier tools like the Millennium Items, or god-tier spirits like the Egyptian Gods, by absorbing and accumulating, one could reach a sufficient realm.

Such abilities aren't even that rare. Even outside alchemy, many villains do this. Yubel can devour the darkness in opponents' hearts through duels to repair herself; that little crayfish (Tragoedia) can consume souls and power via Dark Duels to approach full resurrection.

Of course, this sort of thing sounds shady—hardly a technique for good people.

But that's fine. Kira didn't consider himself a good person anyway.

That's why he'd begun using Hanoi resources to hunt Dark Duelists like the Soul Eater. Some people are blights on society and the dueling world just by living—better to make them more useful after death.

He boarded the plane again, heading toward KaibaCorp.

The five Dark Scorpions were chattering away in the cabin.

"I'm sure I took down more than you!" Chick yelled.

Cliff guffawed. "Nonsense. I counted. You only took five—while I took six."

"You miscounted," Chick said confidently. "Besides, I took the most important one. The Soul Eater's head is mine."

Cliff bristled. "He lost to the master's duel. What's that got to do with you?"

"Then tell me—who did master summon to deliver the finishing blow?"

Cliff was speechless.

He'd realized something. Chick was supposed to be the most cowardly of the bunch—hence "Dark Scorpion - Chick the Yellow."

But ever since joining their current master, and after discovering Chick's self-lock loop with Call of the Haunted and Makyura the Destructor, he'd gotten a little… full of himself.

The bickering morphed into an argument over who was the master's most trusted lieutenant.

Don Zaloog spun his revolver and posed. The strongest is to leave the opponent with no plays—his "hand destruction" combo with the master killed possibilities in the womb. What's stronger than leaving the opponent with no cards?

Meanae: by that logic her viruses could blow away the opponent's monsters right in the deck—cutting off possibilities even more ruthlessly than hand destruction.

Chick wouldn't have it: do you not understand the gold content of an infinite loop?

Feeling neglected by the new master, Gorg got annoyed: it's about the Dark Scorpions' teamwork. Their five-man unity into a one-shot Pot of Greed x7 kill was the true ace.

Gorgo only rubbed his belly, wondering when the next meal was.

In the end, the five slung arms around shoulders and agreed: together, they were the master's best lieutenants…

Until they turned and noticed the senior sister, Silent Magician, somehow materialized in the cabin, staring icily at them.

Her face showed no expression, yet conveyed an undeniable authority.

The five pipsqueaks seemed to understand, and fell silent at once.

They never argued again about who was number one.

Chapter 578: Prison No. 7

Kira didn't pay the Scorpions' antics any mind. He didn't even look up—he was using the flight time to KaibaCorp to sort the cards he'd just acquired.

As he casually flipped through the new deck, he sensed the chatter suddenly stop. Like white noise cutting out during a nap. Curious, he set the cards down and glanced up.

And caught sight of a girl in a sailor uniform—like a JK—walking toward him.

Silver hair, white as first winter snow, shimmering softly under the cabin lights. Her blue-and-white sailor suit echoed the colors of Obelisk Blue's girls' uniform, paired with a high-waisted short skirt that showed off long legs and white canvas shoes.

Kira was dumbstruck.

Huh? Who's this?

How'd she refresh on his plane?

The girl came right up, sat down beside him without a word. She turned her palm over; a white glow blossomed, and an ancient-looking book seemed to appear from thin air, settling into her hand.

Only then did Kira seem to realize something. He studied the pretty yet cool face—more and more familiar the longer he looked…

"Silent?"

The girl nodded slowly.

"What's with the outfit?" Kira asked, baffled.

Silent Magician looked up at him seriously.

"Wait… you've come to the real world?" Kira caught on.

Silent nodded.

"Did something happen?" Kira asked.

He recalled how in DM, Dark Magician Girl had only summoned her master Atem and Yugi from the Spirit World once—and that time was a world-ending crisis. It couldn't be easy for a spirit's true body to come to reality—usually it meant something important.

But Silent shook her head.

"Nothing?"

Silent pointed at herself, then at the five Scorpions, and gestured.

Kira somehow understood.

The Scorpions were monster spirits who could return to their cards at will—but they also had identities in the real world.

Meanae was the academy nurse, Chick a Slifer Red student, Gorg in campus logistics.

Silent indicated she planned to live here long-term too, so she wanted a human identity like the five.

"You mean, you want to come to Duel Academy? As a student?"

Another nod.

Kira chuckled. "This term's almost over. Enroll next term and you'll be my underclassman. Also, you don't have any ID—how are you going to test and enroll?"

Silent pointed at Kira.

"You want me to figure it out?"

A firm nod.

Well now—assigning the master a quest right off the bat, huh.

"Alright, I'll make some calls, see what I can do."

Kira smiled and patted her silver head.

"Because you're my best partner."

A hint of a smile softened the glacier on her face.

She couldn't resist shooting the five pipsqueaks a smug glance.

As if to say: see who really calls the shots?

The five wisely kept their heads down and played dead.

Kira had to admit, he didn't use Silent much in duels lately, but outside of duels she was unquestionably his favorite spirit.

Because she was truly capable.

Not just in raw combat—if it was about power, the strongest of the spirits he could readily command was undoubtedly the Black Luster Soldier.

But BLS was a pure warrior. Swinging a sword is great, but beyond that his toolkit is limited.

Silent was different. Maybe she couldn't outfight a legendary warrior head-on, but as a high-level mage, she knew a bit of everything.

Light, flight, magic missiles, disguise, mental interference…

Even if she wasn't a master of some, there was little she couldn't do at all.

If Kira could freely pick one spirit to accompany him in reality at all times, he'd pick Silent Magician.

Mid-flight, Mokuba called again.

Kira was puzzled. It hadn't been that long—so urgent?

"Mokuba? I'm en route, I'll be—"

"Come to Prison No. 7!"

Mokuba sounded rushed, like he was running.

Kira blinked. "What?"

"Prison No. 7. Now. There's a riot—things are going south… I'm heading there first. You come straight over."

Prison No. 7…

Kira mused, then told the autopilot:

"Change course. New destination: Prison No. 7."

"Affirmative, sir."

The plane banked and headed for the prison.

He'd heard of it.

A special prison built under contract by KaibaCorp.

A Duel Prison.

Yes, that was its specialty. As everyone knows, Dark Duelists possess extraordinary power. While they require cards to maximize it, even without monster cards as a medium, they can wield the power of Dark Games in other ways.

Which makes them nearly impossible to confine in ordinary prisons. They need special facilities designed for them.

Of course, it's not that common—by their nature, Dark Duelists are hard to capture alive, and often get neutralized on the spot.

But not always. When the president himself raided that Dark Duelist club, the entire membership was brought here.

It was a fortress forged by KaibaCorp—the strongest prison in the world.

Or so it should have been.

….

When Kira arrived, he saw no fortress. The walls, supposed to be impregnable, looked like paper, licked to the verge of collapse by tongues of rage and despair. Thick black smoke billowed like storm clouds, hiding the stars—and the outside world—away, isolating this patch of ground.

Kira opened the hatch and dove, deploying the glider midair.

He was no longer the underground "Revolver" now—he'd switched back to the King of Games.

Mokuba was outside the prison, drenched in sweat, conferring with someone. Inside, chaos reigned.

Kira dropped down behind Mokuba.

Mokuba spun, eyes lighting up like he'd seen a savior.

"Finally!"

Kira stepped up. "What's the situation?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you. We just heard the place suddenly rioted—every one of them is dangerous. If they get out, it'll be a disaster—"

"Got it. I'll go in and look. Have your people clear a path."

Kira moved forward.

A man nearby in a guard uniform saw someone trying to go in and shouted, "What are you doing? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is inside—"

But Mokuba quickly pulled him aside.

Mokuba only smiled at the guard.

"You really don't know who this is, do you?"

Chapter 579: Snake River

The prison burned, a riotous clamor. Passing through the gate, Kira could almost taste the acrid smoke, mingled with the stench of blood.

A burly black-skinned man roared and charged from inside, swinging the sacred weapon of physics—an honest-to-goodness crowbar—down without even seeing who had come.

Kira didn't dodge. Don Zaloog, who'd been hidden in the deck case at his side, flashed out—as if peeling off from Kira's body—and sprang a flying kick straight at the man's face.

The thug had never imagined the guy could spawn a double from his body. Caught flat-footed, he took Don Zaloog's boot full-on, flipped onto his back, blood pouring from his nose, and blacked out on the spot.

Kira pushed deeper and quickly realized it was only the beginning.

Pandemonium wasn't an exaggeration for the prison. Someone had wrecked the systems; cell doors all over had opened. Prisoners, pent up and feral, poured out of their cages, smashed through the blocks, and swarmed outward.

The doorman had been low-tier. In the rear yard, flames boiled; a man strode like he was bathed in fire, his blade heated to a red-hot brand by the blaze, hacking through the courtyard.

Kira recognized him: a Level 4 Duel Monster, Darkfire Soldier #1—a supposed special ops soldier.

A monster spirit.

Kira frowned slightly.

The spirit seemed to scent Kira too. Whether or not it sensed the unusual intruder, it pivoted and charged him, blade trailing a serpent of flame.

Don Zaloog cursed and moved to engage, but Kira waved him back.

If he remembered right, Darkfire Soldier #1's ATK was 1700; Don Zaloog wasn't a good match.

Silent Magician stepped forward without being told. The slash met a white magic circle mid-swing—clang—and snapped into three pieces.

The soldier froze, adapted, and flicked the broken blade like a throwing knife. Silent swished her staff; a transparent sigil caught the shard and dragged it in a perfect arc—one-eighty degrees back to sender.

Darkfire Soldier #1, startled, couldn't avoid it; the red-hot shard pierced his chest, and he burst into fragments.

"So there are spirits."

Kira knit his brows.

The inmates here were all Dark Duelists; some might indeed be able to summon spirits. But prisoners in this place would have their decks—their primary weapons—confiscated. How were spirits here?

Unless—

A rasping sound came from the shadows. A long, ribbon-like blur flashed out of the darkness, lunging at Kira.

Before he could react, Don Zaloog had already drawn. Flame spat from the revolver's muzzle. The shadow took the shot with a screech and recoiled.

"Try a sneak on Master Don Zaloog's watch?" he barked, hands on hips.

Kira turned—he'd shot a black snake.

A man stepped slowly from the gloom.

Unlike the other rioters, he wore no prison garb—he was in black combat gear. Tall, hard-jawed, bronzed, his solid frame wrapped tight. Clearly not an inmate, but someone who'd come prepared.

Likely the mastermind behind the riot.

"A spirit," the man said, eyes narrowing at the one beside Kira. "So KaibaCorp's people have arrived, more or less on schedule?"

"You behind this mess?" Kira asked, glancing around. "Who are you?"

"Me? Snake River," he smiled. "Just a nobody."

"As for this chaos—no, not my doing. But it isn't wrong to say it's related to me. I was ordered to come… to give Prison No. 7—no, more precisely, KaibaCorp—a little trouble."

"Oh?" Kira arched a brow.

Targeting KaibaCorp?

"A duelist who can command spirits—KaibaCorp must consider you a rare resource, eh? Hahaha. All the better. Let's start with you."

Snake River snapped his duel disk open. The flames around them parted as if pulled by an unseen hand, forming a ring—a barrier isolating the two.

A Dark Game, clearly.

Kira tilted his head.

"Strictly speaking, I'm not with KaibaCorp. Just passing through. Though… rare resource isn't wrong. Fine."

He opened his disk, pulled a deck from one of several cases, and slotted it in.

"Duel!" x2

[Snake River LP 4000]

[Kira LP 4000]

"I'll go first. Draw!"

He added the card to his hand, quickly picked one, and slapped it down.

"I summon Black Mamba in defense!"

A pitch-black serpent appeared, tongue tasting the air, eyes gleaming with menace at Kira.

[Black Mamba DEF 1000]

"A Spirit Card?"

Kira recognized it—it was the very snake that had tried to ambush him and ate Don Zaloog's bullet.

"I set one. Turn end."

"My turn. Draw."

Kira glanced at the draw and revealed it at once.

"I summon Gozuki."

A blue-eyed undead minotaur—originally a manga yokai—now refit by Kira into a universal Zombie workhorse. A black-bodied minotaur warrior landed, heavy maul in hand, blue prayer beads at his neck and a gold ring through his nose, looking quite fierce.

[Gozuki ATK 1700]

"Gozuki's effect: once per turn during my Main Phase, send a Zombie from deck to GY."

His disk auto-searched and ejected a card.

"I send Vampire Grace."

A noble vampire's phantom flickered and vanished like a ghost.

"A Vampire deck, huh?"

Kira only smiled and ordered:

"Battle. Gozuki attacks Black Mamba."

The maul crushed the snake's head. It stood no chance.

"I activate my set Continuous Trap: Viper's Grudge!"

The backrow flipped.

"When a Reptile on my field is sent to the GY: Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Snake monster from the deck!"

Kira understood.

Oh—a Snake deck.

Chapter 580: A Sleeper Archetype

The Snake deck showed up in GX—used by upperclassman Seika Kohinata in later arcs.

As a "NPC" deck, it actually got an unusual amount of cardboard—more than some protagonist builds. But calling it a "deck" is a stretch; under real Yugioh rules, it had no shared archetype tag.

The manga called it "Snake," but not a single monster actually had "Snake" in its name. Yet the effect text often said "Snake deck," which is confusing.

Take Viper's Grudge, which Snake River just used. In the manga it Special Summoned a Level 4-or-below Snake from the deck; the printed card standardized it to any Level 4-or-below Reptile.

Summon pool massively buffed—generic Reptile support. But the trigger got nerfed hard: manga version triggered on any Reptile being sent to GY; real card requires battle destruction.

"Viper's Grudge: Special Summon a new snake. I bring out a second Black Mamba!"

The same black snake, mark II, slithered out in a cloud of poison.

[Black Mamba ATK 1300]

Kira frowned.

By manga text, Viper's Grudge triggers off any Reptile going to GY and is Continuous with no "once per turn."

Which means his Reptiles become functionally immortal—every attack only feeds him more deck access. The more you fight, the more he snowballs…

And since it's "sent," tributing likely counts too.

That can generate a lot of advantage—must be removed fast.

"I set two. Turn end."

Snake River: "My turn. Draw!"

Before he could act, Kira moved.

"I activate the Trap: Vampire Takeover. If I control no cards and all face-up monsters I control are Zombies, I can activate this from the deck…"

The deck auto-searched and ejected a card. Kira pulled it, his deck auto-shuffled.

A hidden slot popped open; he slid the card in, and it locked.

"Field Spell—Vampire Kingdom—activate!"

A crimson moon rose, blood-red mist billowed. A jagged castle heaved up under the moon's glow, its silhouette etched in gore-lit light, like a clawing giant.

"You activated a Field from the deck?" Snake River frowned.

"Not just that—Takeover has more."

He took a card from the GY and revealed it.

"Special Summon one DARK 'Vampire' monster from my GY in face-up Defense. Naturally, it's the one Gozuki sent last turn."

He slapped it down.

"Vampire Grace, in defense!"

[Vampire Grace DEF 1200]

"So easy to bring out a Tribute monster?" Snake River grew more serious. "As expected of KaibaCorp's lapdogs—you've got some skill. But 1200 DEF won't save you.

Then I summ—"

"Hold up—your Standby Phase isn't over."

Kira tapped a button.

"I activate my other set: the Trap Vampire Awakening!"

Snake River's normal summon stalled, and he shot Kira a look.

Whose turn is this, yours or mine?

"Awakening: Special Summon a 'Vampire' from the deck; it's destroyed in the End Phase."

Kira drew the ejected card.

"I Special Summon Vampire Duke."

[Vampire Duke ATK 2000]

"Another Tribute that fast?" Snake River scowled. "But it self-destructs—no threat."

"Vampire Duke: when Special Summoned, declare Monster, Spell, or Trap; your opponent sends one of the declared type from the deck to the GY.

I declare Spell."

Snake River thought, then sent a random Spell.

"And?"

"In that moment, Vampire Kingdom triggers," Kira said. "Once per turn, if a card is sent from your deck to the GY: send a DARK 'Vampire' from hand or deck to the GY."

His deck ejected another Vampire; he fed it to the GY.

"Then destroy one card you control—goodbye, Viper's Grudge."

Blood-mist arrows whistled from the crimson fog, riddling the trap with holes.

Snake River's face finally changed.

"So that was your target…"

Now his monsters lost their immortality and he couldn't chain Reptiles from deck at will.

"Alright—Main Phase resumes. It's still your turn. Go ahead," Kira gestured.

Snake River: "…"

So you do know it's my turn.

 "Hmph. I Tribute my Black Mamba to Tribute Summon—

—Level 5: Urubonus, the Avatar of Malice!"

[Urubonus, the Avatar of Malice ATK 2000]

If memory served, the printed version can Special Summon itself by tributing a Reptile you control—doesn't use up Normal Summon, a buff over the manga.

"Urubonus attacks Gozuki! During battle, the monster battling Urubonus loses 300 ATK/DEF!"

[Gozuki ATK 1700 → 1400]

The serpent bit into the minotaur's arm; he roared as his body rotted and split.

[Kira LP 4000 → 3400]

The printed card's aura debuffed all opponent monsters by 300 while it stayed—another buff.

And it had a third effect the manga lacked: by tributing a monster you control, reduce all opponent monsters' ATK/DEF by the tributed monster's ATK until end of turn.

An epic upgrade from the source.

Kira narrowed his eyes.

Whoever this guy was, his deck had serious R&D potential.

Polish this list, publish a few papers—another heavyweight result.

Chapter 581: The Vampire Ace

"Lastly, I play Shield Crush—destroy a Defense Position monster," Snake River said. "Destroy Vampire Grace!"

Green light lanced through the noble; she screamed and burst apart.

"And the Vampire Duke Special Summoned by Awakening self-destructs in the End Phase."

The duke dissipated in a blood mist. In Snake River's turn, two Vampire Tributes had appeared and then vanished; he'd cleared three monsters and left Kira with an empty board. He swelled with confidence.

"I set one. Turn end," he snorted. "Clearing the chaff this turn—next turn, my snakes will bury you."

"I suppose I should be nervous, then."

Kira smiled.

"My turn. Draw.

I activate Graceful Charity—draw three, discard two."

He cycled the hand.

"Then I activate Monster Reborn to revive a monster from my GY."

Snake River grunted. "Another Vampire Tribute?"

"Haha—not this time," Kira said. "Snake monsters… such gloomy fellows. Every one of them looks creepy and sinister. Not a ray of sunshine."

Snake River blinked, not following.

"What's your point?"

"Nothing—just that too much darkness is bad."

Kira took a card from the GY and showed it.

"The monster I'm reviving is—

—Vampire Hunter!"

[Vampire Hunter ATK 1600]

Snake River realized it was one Kingdom had tossed earlier, but still puzzled.

A 1600-ATK Level 4. He had Vampire Duke and Grace in the grave—both Tributes.

And as shown last turn, Duke's on-summon mills the opponent, triggering Kingdom to pop a card.

Why pass on that for a ho-hum Level 4…?

What came next baffled him more.

"Battle," Kira said. "Vampire Hunter attacks Urubonus, the Avatar of Malice."

Snake River: "!"

Attacking up into higher ATK?

"I don't know what you're trying—" he snapped. "Urubonus's effect: the battling monster loses 300 ATK during damage calculation!"

[Vampire Hunter ATK 1600 → 1300]

"No problem," Kira said evenly. "Vampire Hunter: when battling a DARK monster, negate damage calculation and destroy that opponent's monster."

Snake River: "???"

Say that again!?

DARK destruction… which meant—

His entire deck.

Yes—every Snake in his list was DARK.

Which made that whip-wielding hunter nearly invincible against his snake horde!

Watching Urubonus shatter under a strike from a monster 700 ATK lower made Snake River's soul leave his body.

Aren't Vampires DARK? Why do you have this!?

Oh—Vampire "Hunter," right. Hunts Vampires, huh?

An anti-Vampire slayer that actually has "Vampire" in the name, searchable in the Vampire engine—what a cruel joke…

"I set one. Turn end."

Kira smiled at him.

"So I said—too much darkness is unhealthy."

Snake River: "…"

He almost asked how Kira had the face to say that.

Then it hit him: that "upright" Vampire Hunter, while preying on DARK… was itself DARK.

Somehow the card and its master had the same two-faced vibe. A match made in hell…

Snake River gritted his teeth.

He needed a plan.

"My turn. Draw!"

"I activate Shuffle Reborn! If I control no monsters: Special Summon a monster from my GY with its effects negated. It's banished at the End Phase."

He pulled a card from the GY.

"Rise again—Urubonus, the Avatar of Malice!"

[Urubonus ATK 2000]

Even revived, as long as it was DARK, it couldn't beat the Hunter.

"You spotted my deck's DARK weakness? Tch. If you think that alone will stop my serpent legion, you're naive.

I activate my set trap, Offering to the Snake Deity! Choose one Reptile I control and two cards you control; destroy all three!"

"So Urubonus was ammo for the shot," Kira said.

"I choose the Reptile Urubonus, your Vampire Hunter, and your set backrow—destroy all three!"

Urubonus howled as the trap's energy consumed it, transforming into a guided serpent missile. It blasted the Hunter and the set card to ash.

Snake River laughed.

"Now your field is empty, and my Snake deck is just getting started.

I Normal Summon Lamia!"

[Lamia ATK 1300]

"On Normal Summon, add an 8-star Snake monster from deck to hand. I search my deck's trump—

—Evil Dragon Ananta—appear!"

The air congealed. Warped light, a crushing aura.

A serpent in name, but it arrived with a dragon's deep roar. Eight heads, scales shimmering with eldritch gleam, spewing black fire.

Evil Dragon Ananta—summon!

[Evil Dragon Ananta, ATK ?]

A true boss, and the swagger returned to Snake River; the nausea from Vampire Hunter evaporated.

"Of course, I've already used my Normal Summon. But Ananta, the endgame of Snake Deck, can Special Summon itself at will.

By banishing all Reptile monsters from my field and GY."

He explained.

"And Ananta's ATK/DEF become 600 times the number of Reptiles banished!"

That meant every Reptile he'd summoned so far: two Black Mambas, one Urubonus, plus Lamia.

"Four Reptiles—ATK up by 2400!"

[Evil Dragon Ananta ATK 2400]

"Lamia's effect—if this card is banished: target a Reptile you control; it can't be destroyed by effects until the end of your next turn.

So Ananta gains destruction protection!

And the more Reptiles I banish, the stronger Ananta grows—the apex of Snakes!" Snake River declared. "Your field is empty, no backrow.

Go—Ananta, direct attack!"

All eight heads opened wide and spat inky flame.

Kira's board was indeed bare; the surging blaze seemed poised to swallow him. No defense, nowhere to run—cornered by black fire—

At the last instant, a card in his hand moved on its own!

It leapt onto the disk, and a graceful figure flew out, planting her small body in front of him.

Snake River: "!?"

What just flew out?

 Kira spoke: "Vampire Fraulein's effect: when a monster declares an attack, Special Summon this card from the hand in Defense Position."

[Vampire Fraulein DEF 2000]

A pallid young lady under a black parasol, black petaled dress, frail as if a breeze could topple her.

"Tch—another trick in hand? Using a scrub to soak the hit?"

Snake River scoffed.

"Then continue. Ananta, crush the chaff."

"She's no chaff."

Kira smiled faintly.

"Fraulein is the Vampire ace."

She smiled too, giving him a tiny nod.

Kira extended his arm.

She lifted her skirt hem, stepped forward, bowed, then bared tiny fangs and sank them gently into his arm.

Snake River's pupils shrank—he sensed something.

"Your monster is a spirit!?"

So many spirits under one man?

Who was this guy? Just a KaibaCorp goon?

"Vampire Fraulein: during damage calculation when a Zombie I control battles an opponent's monster, pay LP in multiples of 100, up to 3000; my battling monster gains that much ATK/DEF for that calculation only."

Kira paused, smiling easily.

"By taking my blood, she gains strength. I'll pay the max—3000 LP."

[Kira LP 3400 → 400]

[Vampire Fraulein DEF 2000 → 5000]

Color returned to her pale face. She dabbed her lips, bowed again, then turned to the foe with a dangerous smile.

"DEF 5000!?"

Snake River flinched.

He'd already re-declared the attack after she appeared; he couldn't retract it. He was about to eat over 2000 burn back!

He could tank it.

He hadn't expected a monster to be both a hand trap and a reflect wall. A nasty surprise.

But the boost only lasted for damage calculation. His opponent's LP was now a candle in the wind. Next turn—

"I activate a Trap from my hand," Kira said.

Snake River: "!?"

Why can you activate traps from hand?

 "The two cards you destroyed—besides Vampire Hunter, the other was Cross-Counter Trap. The turn it's sent to the GY by the opponent, I can activate one trap from my hand.

And I choose this."

He revealed a trap.

"'Rise to Full Height': double the DEF of a monster I control until the end of the turn; then its DEF becomes 0 at the end."

"I'll double the Daughter's DEF."

Snake River's eyes shrank again.

From 5000 to—

[Vampire Fraulein DEF 5000 → 10000]

"Ten thousand DEF!?"

He was dumbstruck.

Wait, no! Stop! I cancel the attack!

Ananta, come back—

But the eight-headed dragon was already smashing in.

Fraulein flicked her parasol; the tremendous force recoiled like a tidal wave.

"Aaaaugh!!!"

[Snake River LP 4000 → 0]