"Reaper, hear my plea and grant me strength!"
"Absolute kill power—enough to fell even the King!"
As Lucien's fingers touched his deck, the deathly aura surged, clinging to the cards—a terrifying power gathered.
Dark red clouds blanketed the sky. Lightning split the heavens as he drew.
"Draw!"
In that soul-piercing draw, Grim Reaper above seemed to swing its scythe. A flash of lightning illuminated the card in Lucien's hand.
He burst into manic laughter.
"The card I drew is—'Slash Draw'!"
Even though they half expected it, everyone was still shocked.
Syrus: "He actually drew it."
Chazz, grim: "If he can ensure the draw, it really is a kill button. No wonder they call him Grim Reaper Duelist…"
"I did it, I did it!" Lucien shook with excitement. "I beat the Duel King—"
"Ahem—sorry to rain on your parade," Kira smiled. "But it looks like you're the one with a problem."
"Huh?"
Lucien blinked and looked up blankly, then saw a Trap on Kira's back row that had somehow already been activated.
He froze, then realized the only timing Kira had to activate a Trap was in chain to his 'Slash Draw.' But he'd been too busy praying to Grim Reaper and focusing on his draw to notice the activation.
"Even if you tried to counter Slash Draw, it wouldn't work," he frowned. "'Slash Draw's activation can't be negated by monster, Spell, or Trap effects, and it can't be destroyed." (Anime effect)
In the anime, it was essentially pseudo-Spell Speed 4—its activation itself couldn't be negated. Truly a literal kill strike.
But Kira smiled. "Is that so? Maybe take a closer look at what I activated."
Lucien squinted at it.
Trap Card—Nature's Reflection. Never heard of it. As a North Academy slacker, not recognizing a card was normal.
No matter. Any Trap is useless against his invincible Slash Draw.
Let's see the effect…
"During this turn, any effect activated by your opponent that would inflict damage becomes an effect that inflicts damage to their Life Points."
Lucien thought for two seconds.
Then his face contorted.
"Na-na-na-nani!?"
Reflected… back at me!?
"Yeah. A fantastic god draw," Kira said pleasantly. "Since I didn't know whether you'd actually hit the Slash Draw, I had to take the chance. But drawing it out of such a thick deck—impressive."
He even clapped.
But with Nature's Reflection up, that brilliant god draw was about to one-shot Lucien himself. The applause felt like mockery…
"Resolving Slash Draw: four cards on the field are destroyed between us," Kira said. "The 4000 damage I would take is reflected to you."
A single iai slash swept the field—Kira's set monster, Magical Merchant, Nature's Reflection, and Lucien's Invincible Demise Lord were all shattered, their energy surging back toward Lucien.
Lucien's face twitched.
You've got to be kidding me.
I sold my soul to Grim Reaper for a god draw, only to kill myself? That'd go straight into the top 10 funniest deaths in dueling history…
Boom!!!
The killing slash blasted through Lucien in a column of black smoke.
Except—
[Lucien Grimley, LP 1000]
"Eh? He's still alive?" Syrus gaped.
"Of course," Jaden said. "Look at his field—was that Spell actually 'Slash Draw'?"
Syrus squinted at the fading projection of the card dissipating from Lucien's back row.
It looked like…
Emergency Provisions?
"Huh?" Syrus yelped. "It wasn't Slash Draw?"
Chazz said, "Even if he missed Kira activating 'Nature's Reflection,' he chained 'Emergency Provisions' to his own 'Slash Draw,' sending the activating 'Slash Draw' to the GY as cost and recovering 1000 LP."
"I see!" Syrus nodded. "Even though the field still had four cards for Slash Draw's resolution, his card was actually Emergency Provisions, not Slash Draw—I totally missed it…"
Lucien wiped cold sweat. "That was close. If I hadn't tossed in an Emergency Provisions, I'd be dead…"
The Duel King really is terrifying. Even with Grim Reaper's power, he might not be my match.
But that just makes it worth the challenge.
"The set monster I lost to Slash Draw was 'Learning Elf.'" Kira said. "When it's sent to the GY, I draw a card."
Lucien steadied himself.
"Then I activate the Spell 'Monster Reborn' to revive a monster destroyed this turn.
Rise again—Invincible Demise Lord!"
The black vortex yawned open again—like an entrance to the underworld. The Reaper's scythe split the swirling darkness as the black-robed specter descended. Crimson pinpricks glowed under the hood.
[Invincible Demise Lord, ATK 1300]
"Another ominous monster," Syrus muttered. "Are all his monsters Reaper-like too…?"
"But it's Level 6 with only 1300 ATK," Jaden said.
"There must be some special ability," Chazz said.
At least it saved him from ending the turn on an empty board.
Even if his deck hinged on one-hit-kill draws, he couldn't just lose all combat ability if he whiffed. Lucien knew you can't face real masters like that.
"I'll set one card and end my turn."
"My turn. Draw," Kira said.
Lucien held his breath.
How will the Duel King attack…?
He was, instinctively, a bit tense.
Kira played a Spell: "I activate 'Reasoning.' My opponent declares a Level from 1 to 12; I reveal cards from the top of my Deck until I reveal a monster that can be Normal Summoned. Send the rest to the GY.
If the revealed monster's Level is different from the declared Level, I Special Summon it. If it's the same, I send it to the GY."
Lucien thought. "I declare Level 4."
Kira flipped nine cards before he revealed a monster.
"Breaker the Magical Warrior—Level 4," Kira smiled. "Nice call. Since you hit the Level, Breaker goes to the GY."