Was he going to lose... again?
Staring at the impregnable wall before him, Chazz was momentarily dazed.
That familiar sense of helplessness he had once felt against Yugenthat suffocating dread where nothing could be done, where any action seemed utterly futilehad returned.
He had endured so much hardship. He had undeniably grown stronger. He had clawed his way back from the depths of hell, swearing that he would never repeat his past mistakes.
And yet, in the end, the chasm between them didn't seem to have shrunk at all.
Chazz had already considered the very play Misawa had analyzed; his only obvious option seemed to be ordering his Tokens into suicidal attacks, sacrificing massive amounts of Life Points in the process.
Yet he had no doubt Yugen had already prepared countermeasures for that as well. Even without trying, he could sense the chances of success were virtually zero.
He was... completely powerless.
Almost unconsciously, Chazz glanced toward the stands once more.
His eyes met the furious scowls of his two older brothers. Even without speaking, their harsh voices seemed to ring in his ears once again.
"What on earth are you doing, Jun?"
"Forget it. He was always the dead-last among us brothers anyway. It's my fault for expecting anything from you..."
"Perhaps you were just born to wallow with the bottom-feeding trash."
...
No. It shouldn't be like this.
Why was he always the dead-last of the brothers?
Chazz clenched his fists tight.
No, it wasn't over yet. This duelthis duel above all othershe could never afford to lose!
"My turn!"
Chazz snapped his head up. As he stared down the invincible lockdown formation once more, the fire of battle reignited in his eyes.
It was the blazing spirit of a challenger staring up at an impassable mountain.
Betting everything on this single draw!
"Draw!"
Chazz's pupils contracted as he thrust the drawn card high into the air.
"Spell Card
Mini-Guts!"
"Oh?" Yugen narrowed his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips.
Things were finally getting interesting.
Chazz shouted, "Mini-Guts activates by Tributing one monster on my field! I target one monster on your field, and its attack power becomes zero until the end of the turn!"
"Incredible!"
Misawa sprang to his feet from his seat, unable to hold back his praise.
"To think he had a move like that... Of course, even I didn't see that coming!"
"B-but Cyber Blader is on the field, so all card effects are negated!" Syrus chimed in, hopelessly confused as usual. "Won't that Spell Card be negated too...?"
"Cyber Blader does indeed negate card effects," Alexis explained. "However, it only negates the effects themselves. Tributing a monster on the field is the activation cost of Mini-Guts, not its effect. And an activation cost cannot be negated."
"Exactly," Misawa added. "By Tributing one of the three Ojama Tokens as the cost, the number of monsters on his field drops from three to two, which deactivates Cyber Blader's total lockdown. When Mini-Guts resolves, Chazz only controls two monsters. That means Cyber Blader's ability to negate all card effects is no longer active!"
He looked toward Chazz with admiration.
"Having fought his way back from North Academy, Chazz really is a completely different duelist. To find a glimmer of hope in an almost unbreakable chokehold... he truly has surpassed his former self."
"..."
"I Tribute one Ojama Token to reduce the attack power of your Attack Position Ojama King to zero!"
[Ojama King: ATK 3000 -> ATK 0]
The Ojama Yellow spirit beside Chazz floated out and unexpectedly began pleading for the opponent: "Aahh, Boss, don't hit my brother! Or at least not in the face"
"Scram."
Chazz let out a long, heavy breath.
Out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help glancing back toward his two brothers in the stands.
This time, the storm clouds on their faces had finally parted, replaced by a grudging hint of approval.
That was right. He had made up his mind long ago: he would never be the dead-last brother again.
Chazz's gaze hardened with resolve.
With his own two hands, he would take back the standing that belonged to him!
Yugen gave an appreciative nod with a smile. "Not bad at all. Breaking through the Cyber Blader lock... guess you really do have some moves."
"Hmph, your smug composure ends right here," Chazz countered. "Now that I only have two monsters on the field, the effect lockdown is broken!
"I activate the Spell Card Trade-In! By discarding a Level 8 monster from my hand, I draw two cards from my deck!"
Chazz sent a card from his hand to the Graveyard and drew two fresh cards.
"Next is the Spell Card Graceful Charity! I draw three cards, then discard two cards from my hand!"
With the lock shattered, Chazz dug through his deck with vengeful ferocity.
Yet he hadn't forgotten that danger still lurked. Even though the lockdown was temporarily lifted, the moment he summoned another monster, his count would return to three, and the Cyber Blader lock would snap right back into place.
"And this next card will utterly pulverize your treacherous board!"
Chazz held up a card and roared:
"Spell Card: Dark Hole! All monsters on both sides of the field are destroyed!"
A collapsing celestial vortex manifested, warping the surrounding space. Chazz's remaining Tokens alongside Yugen's Ojama King and Cyber Blader were all sucked into the cataclysmic singularity and crushed to dust.
"In that case, the effect of the two destroyed Ojama Tokens triggers," Yugen said calmly. "When a Token is destroyed, its controller takes 300 points of damage for each one."
[Chazz: LP 4000 -> LP 3400]
"Tch... but with this, the field is cleared!"
Chazz shouted:
"Now I activate the Spell Card Level Modulation!
"My opponent draws two cards from their deck, and in return, I can Special Summon one 'LV' monster from my Graveyard, ignoring its summoning conditions!"
The monster card slid out from his Graveyard slot.
"Therefore, I revive this card from my Graveyard! Return once more to my field
Armed Dragon LV7, descend anew!"
A tempest erupted as the armored dragon of iron and steel roared back onto the field!
[Armed Dragon LV7: ATK 2800]
"A 'LV' monster summoned by the effect of Level Modulation cannot attack or activate its effects this turn.
"However! I Tribute the Armed Dragon LV7 on my field to evolve it to its next stage!"
Armed Dragon LV7's form dissolved into a brilliant golden radiance. Gale winds surged as the dragon's body rapidly expanded and transformed within the storm. A blistering crimson flare sliced across the sky, and an enormous silhouette emerged from the howling whirlwind.
Impenetrable dragon scales and razor-sharp metal plating gleamed with a chilling luster. The roaring gale condensed into a vortex of swirling air currents that swirled submissively around the titan's flanks, while its eyes blazed like twin spheres of raging fire.
"The ultimate Armed DragonArmed Dragon LV10, summon!"
[Armed Dragon LV10: ATK 3000]
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