"My turn."
Chazz said solemnly.
He was at an absolute disadvantage, with no means to counterattack in his hand, but his Life Points were still plentiful. He still had a chance.
"Draw."
Seeing the card he drew, Chazz's eyes lit up.
"Heh, looks like the goddess of victory is still on my side."
He pulled out two cards from his hand, sending one to the graveyard and playing the other.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Cost Down'! By discarding one card, all the monsters in my hand have their level reduced by two stars this turn!"
Cost Down reduces the Tribute requirement for high-level monsters in hand, allowing them to be summoned more easily. This is a trick Seto Kaiba often uses in the DM series.
"And the card I just discarded for the effect of 'Cost Down' is the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity.' When this card is discarded from my hand to the graveyard, I draw two cards from my deck."
Kira: "..."
The draw engines in the anime are seriously OP. Just draw, draw, draw at any disagreement. If you put this in the real card game, it'd be broken as hell.
"According to Graceful Charity, I draw two cards from my deck."
Reloaded with ammo, Chazz smirked—things seemed to be looking up.
"You've given me quite some trouble, it seems I underestimated you. But! This is where it ends."
Chazz raised his voice.
"According to 'Cost Down,' the Level 6 'Kaiser Glider' in my hand is now Level 4, so I can summon it without tribute. Therefore, I Normal Summon this guy. Appear—
—Kaiser Glider!"
A golden storm swept across the field, and from its vortex emerged a majestic dragon radiating imperial gold, as if it burned with golden flames.
[Kaiser Glider, ATK 2400]
"Your little tricks end here. In an elite duel, only power is the key to victory!"
Chazz declared, raising his hand. "Kaiser Glider, attack Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer!"
The golden dragon opened its maw, unleashing a spiraling blast. The monk wielding prayer beads was instantly pierced, vanishing in a plume of smoke.
[Kira, LP 1700 → LP 1100]
"I set a card face-down and end my turn!"
Chazz took a deep breath.
Almost there, just a little more.
He had seized the pace once again—just a bit more and he'd break through that detestable opponent's defense and land the finishing blow.
Chazz himself might not have noticed, but his mindset had quietly shifted from a casual "crush and advance" attitude to "only one of us is walking away today."
It was like a grudge match had formed mid-duel.
He had never wanted to beat someone as badly as he did today.
Just the thought of his opponent's Life Points dropping to zero, and seeing him knocked down by the full fury of his monsters, made Chazz want to laugh out loud.
"My turn, draw," Kira said calmly. "First, I activate this Spell Card from my hand—'Giant Trunade'!"
A green storm swept the field. Chazz had to shield his face with his arms, and his set cards were blown back to his hand.
This is a signature card in Joey Wheeler's DM deck, but in the real card game, it's been banned for years.
"'Giant Trunade' returns all Spell and Trap cards on the field to their owners' hands."
"Tch."
Chazz looked at his bounced set card and clicked his tongue.
His back row was wiped out... but it shouldn't be a big problem. Kaiser Dragon is a 2400 ATK high-level monster—not easy to overcome.
Plus, Kaiser Dragon hides a powerful monster effect: if it's destroyed and sent to the graveyard, it can return any monster on the field to its owner's hand.
In other words, even if the opponent somehow summoned something bigger, it would immediately get bounced after taking down the Kaiser Dragon.
The more he thought about it, the more pleased Chazz felt.
His opponent had only seen the set card, probably thinking he was safe after clearing the back row. Little did he know, elite duels always have layers of insurance.
He was way ahead!
"I summon 'Mystic Tomato' in Attack Position." Kira continued.
[Mystic Tomato, ATK 1400]
Chazz snorted: "Heh, so you can only summon fodder monsters as walls... huh?"
But something felt off.
Wait, Mystic Tomato in Attack Position?
A sense of dread crept up.
"Next, I activate a Spell Card from my hand..."
Kira swept his right arm, and the hologram of a Spell Card emerged.
"Spell Card—'Creature Swap'! Both players must each choose one monster on their field and swap control!"
Chazz: "Nani!?"
What the hell, is your deck just full of this kind of crap?
Can't we duel properly!?
"The monster I choose, of course, is the big tomato on my field—'Mystic Tomato.' Now, you pick a monster to swap."
Chazz: "..."
Ha, I choose your... mother!
Chazz had no choice—his only monster was Kaiser Dragon.
But this Spell Card forces both players to choose, so even with only one option, the system can't auto-select. So Chazz could only bitterly select his precious 2400 ATK beater, watching it get transferred to his opponent, and in return, he got a big, grinning tomato.
Turning to look, he noticed the tomato seemed to be smirking mockingly at him as if taunting him mercilessly.
"Battle Phase."
Kira declared. "Attack 'Mystic Tomato' with 'Kaiser Dragon'."
The golden dragon's breath blasted through the little tomato without mercy—no hesitation for its former master. Mystic Tomato shattered, the impact knocking Chazz back half a step.
[Chazz, LP 3300 → LP 2300]
"Damn..."
Chazz muttered through gritted teeth.
But it wasn't over yet.
"'Mystic Tomato,' effect activates."
Kira waved his arm.
"When it's destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can Special Summon a DARK monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck!"
Chazz: "?!"
But being a top student, Chazz quickly realized what was happening.
In the rules, even if control of a monster is swapped by a card effect, it is sent to its original owner's graveyard when destroyed.
Mystic Tomato's original owner was Kira, so even though control had shifted when it was destroyed it went to Kira's graveyard.
This means, that when its effect resolves, Kira gets to Special Summon—not Chazz.
Realizing this, Chazz's face turned even darker.
So I take the hit, and you get the search, huh?
My monster gets stolen, I take the damage, and you get the search...
Only someone who's spent a decade in the Yugioh could come up with such a blood-pressure-raising combo.
But Chazz was still too young to think this was the end of the darkness.
Kira pulled out a monster from his deck.
"According to 'Mystic Tomato's' effect, I Special Summon this card from my deck—
—Don Zaloog!"
[Don Zaloog, ATK 1400]
"Battle Phase continues. Since it's a Special Summon during the Battle Step, my 'Don Zaloog' can still attack."
Kira swept his hand.
"Attack Chazz directly."
The one-eyed Don Zaloog coolly drew two revolvers, firing a barrage of virtual bullets straight into Chazz.
Bang!
"Urgh..."
Chazz gritted his teeth, struggling to stay upright.
[Chazz, LP 2300 → LP 900]
"At this moment, 'Don Zaloog's' effect activates."
Kira declared.
"When he inflicts battle damage, I can randomly discard one card from your hand. I'll choose the one on your right."
Don Zaloog fired again, blasting a hole through one of Chazz's cards.
Chazz looked at his now-ruined Blast with Chain, suddenly feeling dizzy, almost wanting to cough up blood.
Blast with Chain is a powerful trap that can destroy the opponent's highest-ATK monster when they declare an attack. Many duelists rely on it to turn the tide when desperate.
This was the card just bounced back to his hand by Giant Trunade, and before it could even be set again, it was obliterated in his hand.
Chazz, expression grim, sent Blast with Chain to the grave.
But there was still a chance.
He had one last card in hand.
An Equip Spell: "Premature Burial."
By paying 800 LP, he could revive a monster from his grave—a game-changing card in many situations.
The problem was, up until now, Chazz hadn't had a single monster in his graveyard; they'd all been banished to another dimension...
"Main Phase 2."
Kira played another card. "I activate the Spell Card 'Dragged Down into the Grave.' I can view your hand and select one card to shuffle into your deck, and then you shuffle."
Chazz: "..."
His face twitched as he struggled to control his rage, silently shoving his last card back into the deck. But the strained look on his face made it seem like he was performing some kind of bizarre facial contortion.
And with that, Chazz's final card was gone.
If this were a real-life match, it would be over—expecting to turn the duel around with a single top-deck is a fantasy. But in the anime, where everyone top-decks miracles, Kira decided to play it safe.
"I set a card and end my turn."
It was the final insurance to seal the game.
"My turn."
Chazz gritted his teeth, staring at the top card of his deck, adrenaline surging.
Eliminated by a rookie with no track record—what a joke!
He, Chazz Princeton, had entered countless tournaments; he might not always win, but he'd never experienced anything like this.
Such humiliation was unacceptable, and his family surely wouldn't accept it either.
But it's not over yet!
He'd bet everything on this last card!
"Draw!"
At a glance, his expression twisted.
Graceful Charity.
A Spell Card. Draw three cards, then discard two.
In this desperate situation, that's a godsend, increasing his odds of drawing a comeback card.
But he couldn't help but remember—if only that "Premature Burial" hadn't just been shuffled back into his deck. With "Graceful Charity," if he drew a high-level monster, he could discard it and then use "Premature Burial" to bring it back for a beautiful comeback.
But thanks to that damn "Dragged Down into the Grave," it was impossible.
Chazz suddenly realized that dueling this guy felt strange. The whole duel was irritating at first, but the more he thought about it, the more infuriating it became.
But this draw gave him a chance to keep playing. Chazz braced himself, ready to activate the Spell, when suddenly his opponent's set card flipped up.
Trap Card—Drop Off. Activated in the opponent's draw phase, it forces the opponent to discard the card they just drew.
Chazz: "..."
The ultimate trap—Kira's final insurance, cutting off even the hope of a miracle draw.
At that moment, Sato Koji, watching from the front row, jumped from his seat and slapped his thigh.
"I know this feeling! That's the taste!"