"My turn. Draw!"
It was Vampire's Curse's turn again.
He was one of the last remaining elites of the blood race. The vampires had managed to fight the Supreme King's local garrison in this region for days without collapsing, even taking down several commanders along the way—this vampire had no small part in that.
This was his first time running into someone who opened by yanking his namesake straight out of his Deck. Even he had been taken aback—but he'd responded well, defused the assault, and seized the advantage.
The advantage is mine!
Now all he had to do was press it and finish this as fast as possible.
"I activate the Field Spell—Vampire Kingdom!"
He raised the card high.
Magic erupted. With a rumble that shook the earth, an ancient, dangerous black castle rose from the ground, bringing with it endless darkness and dread.
A blood-red moon hung high in the sky—neither bright nor gentle like a normal moon, but an eerie, saturated crimson, as if soaked in blood.
Thick, uncanny mists boiled up and wrapped the castle in an icy, inexplicable fog. The silhouette wavered within—now showing, now hiding—like the legendary city of demons.
"Vampire Kingdom gives my Zombie monsters +500 ATK during damage calculation when they battle."
Vampire's Curse lifted another card from his hand.
"Next, I'll borrow this one's strength!
I Tribute my Vampire Bat to Tribute Summon, Level 5—
—Vampire Lord!"
The bat cloud circled twice and vanished. Laughter echoed out of the black mist. A graceful vampire lord snapped his aristocratic cloak and alit lightly on the ground.
[Vampire Lord, ATK 2000]
"Oooh, another vampire who looks pretty strong," Jaden was already chatting with the onlooking bloods. "Your leader's got game."
"But of course."
At first they thought the boy was strange, but now they were chatting comfortably.
"Milord is one of our race's foremost generals. You lackeys of the Supreme King are no match."
"Told you we're not with the Supreme—eh, forget it," Jaden grinned. "Don't worry, he can't beat Kira."
"Tch. Big talk."
"…"
Vampire's Curse had already bellowed, launching his attack.
"I attack directly with myself—Vampire's Curse!"
Face hard, the vampire sprang, spreading his single wing as he dove at Kira.
As Jaden had said, Kira didn't panic even with an empty field. He flicked a set card: "I activate the Continuous Trap: Amazoness Onslaught.
Once per turn during the Battle Phase, I can Special Summon an Amazoness monster from my hand."
"Special Summoning mid-battle, huh? A wall?" Vampire's Curse snorted. "But before my cursed power—"
"A wall? Not at all."
Kira snapped his fingers and smiled.
"From my hand, I Special Summon—
—Amazoness Swords Woman!"
A hard-muscled warrior with flying red hair brandished her blade, red moonlight from above flashing along the steel.
"When Special Summoned by this effect, the monster gains 500 ATK until the end of this turn."
[Amazoness Swords Woman, ATK 1500 → 2000]
"Amazoness Swords Woman?"
Vampire's Curse was puzzled. Clearly, in this dimension he hadn't seen the Amazoness war tribe—much less this swordswoman.
"Well? Backing off?" Kira smiled.
The vampire did hesitate for a heartbeat—but then set his jaw.
"Back off?"
He scoffed softly, amused.
ATK 2000, lower than his own, and still in Attack Position—obviously suspicious. Or maybe the opponent was bluffing to spook him into not attacking.
Either way, squandering momentum here out of fear would be unforgivable. Even if there was a pitfall, he, Vampire's Curse, was immortal. And this swordswoman was clearly the last line of defense—break her, and Vampire Lord's direct attack would end it.
There was absolutely no reason to flinch.
"If you think that's enough to scare me, you underestimate me." He strode forward and barked, "Vampire's Curse, continue the attack!
And the Field Spell—Vampire Kingdom—kicks in: during damage calculation in battle, my vampire gains 500 ATK!"
[Vampire's Curse, ATK 2500 → 3000]
He switched targets to the newly arrived Amazoness Swords Woman. She stepped forward fearlessly and thrust.
But the vampire was much faster. With a contemptuous snort, he swayed his upper body and slipped past the edge. He flicked a finger against the blade—clang—and it shattered into several pieces.
What he didn't expect was that one shard spun in midair, then suddenly accelerated, slicing back in a bizarre arc—and stabbed the "original" Vampire's Curse behind him.
[Vampire's Curse, LP 3500 → 2500]
"Gah!"
The cold, sudden strike made him jolt—and startled him. "What was that!?"
"Amazoness Swords Woman makes battle damage from battles involving her dealt to your Life Points," Kira explained with a smile.
Vampire's Curse flinched.
What a nauseatingly stalling effect…
"We're not done," Kira went on. "Anyone who fights the Amazoness warriors has to leave the stage."
"What?" Vampire's Curse said coldly. "What are you—huh!?"
His eyes snapped wide as his body began to turn translucent—fading away until it vanished from his field as if it had evaporated into thin air.
"Impossible!"
His composure began to crack.
"I'm immortal! As long as I pay with blood, I'll come back stronger, no matter how many times—"
"Only if you're destroyed and sent to the Graveyard."
Kira pointed at his backrow Trap with a light smile.
"The Continuous Trap: Amazoness Onslaught: any monster that battles an Amazoness is banished."
Vampire's Curse: "!"
PS: Bonus chapter at 500 PS