"Yes! I activate Advanced Ritual Art once more, sending another Normal Monster from my Deck to the Graveyard to Ritual Summon a second Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon!"
A second blue-and-silver dragon appeared on Wutong's field.
"No way! A monster with the same ATK as Blue-Eyes White Dragon… Summoned twice via Ritual so easily?!"Aster felt beads of sweat trickling down his forehead."Hmph, I've never been this nervous in a pro duel before… Is this guy really the one Sartorius warned me about—a man outside of fate?"
"I told you, don't be too surprised. Battle Phase! First Chaos Dragon, attack!"At Wutong's command, the dragon on the left spread its wings, gems on its body glowing with an azure light.
"When Ritual Summoned using Blue-Eyes White Dragon as a tribute, Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon activates its effect—changing all opposing monsters to Attack Position and reducing their ATK and DEF to 0!"
"What?! That turns all my monsters into Attack Position targets?" Aster panicked and quickly activated a Set card."Hmph! I still have this! I activate Mirror Force! Now your attacking monster will be destroyed!"
A radiant barrier of light appeared before Aster, ready to reflect the Chaos Dragon's assault.
"It's useless, Aster. Chaos Dragon cannot be destroyed by card effects. Continue the attack—target Vision HERO Multiply Guy!"
"KRAK-BOOM!"A burst of blue energy blasted from the Chaos Dragon's mouth, piercing through the Mirror Force and obliterating the purple-armored HERO.
Aster LP: 4000 → 1000
"Aster… this duel is over. Second Chaos Dragon, continue the assault!" Wutong commanded again.
Aster tried to activate his second Set trap card, but—"Huh? It won't activate?!"
"It's not that it can't be activated—Chaos Dragon is unaffected by targeting effects. So your trap is useless."
"Hmph… to think you calculated everything to this extent…"
Another searing blue blast erupted.Aster LP: 1000 → 0
"Sorry, Aster. Your journey in the WCS ends here."Wutong's field faded as the holograms disappeared.
"That was… overwhelming. Your strength rivals even Seto Kaiba… I concede."Aster packed up his Duel Disk and walked away.
Ding!You defeated Aster Phoenix!
Victory Bonus: 5000 Points
One-turn Kill Bonus: 2000 Points
No Damage Bonus: 2000 Points
Unlocked Card Pack: Vision HERO Series
More fireworks erupted in the sky.The tournament airship's screen lit up again:
The Fourth Quarterfinalist: WutongRemaining Slots: 4
"Finally made it to the Top 8. Took four days—what a waste of time," Wutong muttered as he returned to the campfire.
Judai was still snoring away in his sleeping bag, while Reiji and Rebecca had been woken by the explosions. They noticed the screen.
"That Wutong… said he'd take the night watch, but secretly went off to duel!" Rebecca pouted.
"Hmph! I thought he'd be a reliable protector, but he's just another selfish jerk!" Reiji folded her arms and glared at Wutong.
"…"Faced with two angry girls, Wutong was momentarily speechless. Neither of them were easy to deal with…
Elsewhere in the forest, Aster was on the phone, wearing a sly grin.
"Yes… just as you predicted, Sartorius. This Wutong is indeed an anomaly. Everything is unfolding exactly as you foresaw… Yes, it's all fate."
His silhouette disappeared into the night.
Back at the campfire, Wutong barely managed to calm Rebecca and Reiji down. He stoked the flames higher, keeping watch.It was now 3 a.m. Wutong gently shook the snoring Judai.
"Mm… I was having such a nice dream… Just five more minutes… zzz…"Judai rolled over and went back to sleep.
"Forget it. I'll keep watch. This guy sleeps like a rock… Is he here for a tournament or a vacation?" Wutong couldn't help but mutter.
By morning, the sun shining on his face finally woke Judai.
"Huh?! Where is everyone?! I'm the only one left at the campfire?!"
Wutong had left a message in the sand:I went ahead to the castle. Good luck, Judai!
At the castle gates, Wutong raised his Duel Disk, connecting with the circular lock's projection. The eight qualification cards spun and clicked into place, aligning with the lock's mechanisms.After eight audible clicks, the gates slowly creaked open.
"Finally made it to the castle… Who will I face in the Top 8?" he muttered.
Just a few steps in—BANG!—the heavy doors slammed shut behind him.
As Wutong walked down the ancient hallway, he reflected on his journey.
From the start, he had encountered rare cards like Levia-Dragon - Daedalus, and soon after, secured two Planet Cards while surviving a Dark Duel.He had even tricked Reiji and swapped her Venus Card—would she remember that awkward encounter after escaping Tragoedia's control?
On the Duel Kingdom Island, he encountered new enemies: the Z Team Bounty Hunters, a group not seen in the original story, ruthless in their pursuit of rare cards.And the Society of Light, led by Sartorius, had already made their move.They sent Aster to test Wutong's strength.
This WCS tournament had evolved into a three-way war:
Tragoedia's Planet Puppet Duelists
Team Z Bounty Hunters
Sartorius' Society of Light
If Reiji's intel was correct, Pegasus had used the same materials to duplicate the "Nameless Dragon" card—hiding something special.That must be why legendary duelist Katsuya Jonouchi joined the tournament personally.
With all these forces clashing, what challenges awaited Wutong and the other dream-chasing duelists?
At the end of the hall, standing on the second-floor balcony, Fubuki Tenjoin, Asuka Tenjoin, and Makoto Saotome spotted Wutong's familiar figure—and smiled in relief.