"Jinzo—direct attack!"
Kira gave the order, and this time Jinzo was unquestionably on the field. A trap-forbidden domain unfolded; Odion's backrow was completely sealed. Whatever counter-traps he had were now meaningless.
Psychic Wave!
Jinzo held both palms in front of its chest. Massive lightning and psychic energy gathered into a roaring orb and blasted forward.
The psychic sphere detonated on Odion with a boom, making him stagger back half a step. His black robe whipped and fluttered wildly in the psychic turbulence.
[Odion, LP 4000 → 1600]
"Next I activate 'Cards of Sanctity.'
In a turn where I performed a Tribute Summon, I draw 2 cards from my deck, but I can't use those cards; if they can be Set, I must Set at least one of them."
"Finally, I set one card. Turn end."
Kira smiled.
"Looks like you're not the type that's very good at dealing with Jinzo."
Odion steadied himself, silent and thoughtful.
He had come under the Tomb Keeper clan master's orders to invite the Duel King to discuss important matters, and if possible to probe the depth and strength of the current generation's king.
Before coming, Odion had done some research on Kira. He knew the current king's tactics were varied and his methods unpredictable. But as far as he knew, while investigations showed that Kira did possess a Jinzo deck, he didn't use it often.
And yet, against an opponent appearing before him for the first time—someone whose details hadn't been revealed in an impromptu match—he opened by bringing out Jinzo twice in a row as a show of force.
Was that really just a coincidence?
Odion took a deep breath.
But no matter what, his purpose hadn't changed. As a duelist, even in the worst circumstances, he had to believe in his deck and carry his duel through.
Even if he lost, he had to draw out as much of the opponent's strength as possible before that happened—so he wouldn't fail the Tomb Keeper master's instructions.
Besides, even against Jinzo—his deck's greatest natural enemy—he wasn't necessarily without answers.
"My turn. Draw."
Odion drew and immediately revealed the Spell he'd drawn.
"Spell Card 'Pot of Greed'—draw 2 cards."
Odion drew, then gathered himself and shouted:
"From my hand, I activate the Spell—
—Acid Rain!"
As the Spell activated, the sky dimmed, and then a downpour crashed down.
But this wasn't normal rain. The drops splattered onto Jinzo's steel body and immediately hissed, steaming with pale smoke.
Jinzo looked in horror at its hands, only to see its alloy body rapidly corroding before his eyes. Large patches of rust spread over it like a plague. In only moments, most of its body was covered.
Jinzo let out an unwilling roar as its body began to crumble and disperse—until it was completely reduced to scrap metal.
"Acid Rain is an acid shower that's lethal to Machines," Odion said. "All face-up Machine monsters on the field must be destroyed under the corrosion."
Kira raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Let me guess—this is a card you included specifically to counter Jinzo?"
Odion smiled. "My deck is a trap-centric deck—over 80% of it is traps. Of course I know the deck's biggest weakness is Jinzo, and Jinzo is a Machine.
You wouldn't think I've spent all these years without ever considering countermeasures, would you?"
Kira nodded. Fair enough. Even if he hadn't before, after suffering a huge loss to Joey's Jinzo back then, he would have.
And by the GX era, Jinzo was still rare, but not that rare—several random duelists shown on-screen had it. As a devout red trap player, Odion would of course prepare answers.
So using Jinzo to target Odion could indeed suppress his traps, but it also meant being targeted in return.
However, what Odion could account for was only Jinzo itself. The Jinzo-centered deck Kira was using now was the only one in the world—built from the support cards Jinzo's spirit itself carried, plus results produced through long-term laboratory research.
"Next, I activate this card," Odion said solemnly, playing another card.
"Guardian's temple, the forbidden domain of the royal family—
—Continuous Spell 'Temple of the Kings'!"
The golden palace appeared; the ancient black jackal sculpture lay at its center, guarding a mysterious sealed coffin behind it. It was the original form of the palace scene that had just been materialized through dark power.
From the name "Temple," it sounded like it should be a Field Spell. In its first anime appearance it was a Field Spell, but in the real card game it was revised into a Continuous Spell. Later anime appearances matched the real card version: it became a Continuous Spell and its effect was aligned as well.
Odion's original Temple had been a Field Spell, but what he used now was Continuous. Kira guessed it had been updated to match the real card version, though likely with the older effect.
Yes—Temple of the Kings in the real card game had also been nerfed. As Odion's signature card, its key effect was: "The controller can activate Trap Cards the turn they are Set," which was nearly the same as being able to play traps from hand during your own turn—extremely powerful.
Later, because it was too strong, it was outright forbidden; only after being nerfed did it return. The newer effect became "once per turn," and only one trap can be activated the turn it is set, and that card name's effect can only be used once per turn.
"I set three cards to my back row."
Odion added three more face-down cards at once.
Kira knew that with Temple's support, even though those three cards had just been set, they could all be activated immediately. And with Jinzo gone, the trap suppression was gone too—the pressure of three backrow was not light.
"Temple of the Kings is the holy land of traps. Within the temple, traps you set can be activated immediately that same turn!"
Odion immediately activated one of the set cards.
"Therefore I activate the set card—Trap Card 'Embodiment of Apophis'!"
Though it was a trap, a monster was summoned to Odion's Monster Zone. At first it looked like a dark serpent—black-bodied, with a bald, pitch-dark head. Behind its neck a snake head writhed; its upper body was humanoid but the lower body was serpentine, wielding a sword and shield.
Embodiment of Apophis: when activated, it became a Normal Monster and was Normal Summoned to his monster zone.
Odion's deck had almost no monsters; his main offense was Trap Monsters—traps used in place of monsters.
But even when used as monsters, they were still traps.
"Then I respond by activating a set card on my side as well," Kira said. "Continuous Trap — Royal Decree!"
"As long as this card remains on the field, all Trap effects on both sides of the field—except this card—are negated!"