A ring of silver-blue Synchro light sliced open the domed ceiling. The body of the Morphtronic monster dissipated in the starlight, transforming into flowing electronic dust that streamed down the Synchro circuit, pouring into the halo at its center.
Metal framework reassembled amid arcs of electricity. Hydraulic tubes entwined the mech dragon's bones like blood vessels. The sound of the mechanical fusion echoed like thunder—the tungsten steel talons tore through the curtain of light, while a spinning buzzsaw cut through the air with an almost painfully sharp whirring.
Power Tool Dragon, emerge!
[Power Tool Dragon, ATK 2300]
It was just a single Synchro Summon, but Leo was already so excited he seemed ready to take off.
"Did you see it? Did you see it!? My Synchro Summon!"
Leo punched the air mid-jump.
"I spent forever rehearsing the line and the pose—!"
Kira was also generous enough to spare a hand for a round of applause.
"Nice. Very strong," Kira grinned.
"Right? Right!" Leo beamed with pride.
Beside them, the bespectacled classmate just shook his head helplessly. "Leo, you always get like this in a duel..."
"But now, it's only just getting started!" Leo swept his arm up again.
"I activate the Equip Spell 'Double Tool C&D' from my hand!"
A drill and a circular saw respectively appeared—one on each of Power Tool Dragon's arms. The mecha dragon looked down curiously at its new gear, tilted its head quizzically, and blinked its not-too-bright mechanical eyes.
"Double Tool can equip to Power Tool Dragon, or any Level 4 or higher Machine-Type Morphtronic monster!" Leo explained. "With these two tools equipped, the monster gains 1000 ATK on my turn!"
The dragon's drill spun up rapidly, crackling with translucent blue current. The dragon's energy output spiked accordingly.
[Power Tool Dragon, ATK 2300 → ATK 3300]
"Next up, Power Tool Dragon's monster effect activates!" Leo declared. "Once per turn, I can randomly choose one Equip Spell from my deck and add it to my hand!"
His duel disk auto-shuffled the deck with a brisk mechanical shuffling noise as Leo rubbed his hands with anticipation.
"What will it be? What will it be...?"
He suddenly drew the popped-up card from the deck slot.
"This is it!"
Leo drew the card with his right hand and, for dramatic effect, covered his eyes with his left, sneaking a peek through his fingers.
And the next instant, his face lit up.
"Yes! Awesome! The card I got is the Equip Spell 'Big Bang Shot'! I'll equip it to Power Tool Dragon again!"
With another surge of blue arcs, Power Tool Dragon's power jumped another notch.
[Power Tool Dragon, ATK 3300 → ATK 3700]
"Big Bang Shot gives Power Tool Dragon an additional 400 ATK! How's that? Cool, right? Isn't it awesome?"
Kira nodded with an amused smile. "Yeah. Pretty awesome."
"See? SEE? And there's more!" Leo continued, fired up.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Junk Box' from my hand!"
As the spell triggered, a battered old box actually popped onto Leo's field, wobbling unsteadily.
"Junk Box lets me select a Level 4 or lower Morphtronic monster from my GY to Special Summon!"
Leo grabbed a monster card returned from his graveyard. The Junk Box rocked side to side as a pile of parts spilled out and instantly assembled themselves into a familiar robotic shape—
"I Special Summon 'Morphtronic Boomboxen' from the graveyard!"
The tiny red cassette player rapidly transformed—its head popped out, arms and legs unfolded, and it donned a white repair harness, standing upright once again.
[Morphtronic Boomboxen, ATK 1200]
"But, there's a drawback: a monster Special Summoned by Junk Box must be destroyed at the End Phase."
Leo pumped his fist.
"But! Boomboxen's effect when it's in attack position is, once per battle phase, it can attack twice!"
The bespectacled student looked puzzled. "But even if it can attack twice, didn't you forget, Leo? As long as 'Marshmallon' is on the field, no attacks can go through. Marshmallon can't be destroyed by battle."
"Heh heh," Leo grinned confidently, scratching his nose.
"I already have a solution for that. Just watch!"
Leo was bursting with confidence.
"Attack, Power Tool Dragon! Target Marshmallon!"
Power Tool Dragon's eyes flashed as its engines flared to max, its mechanical tail whipping around, drill spinning with dazzling sparks and arcs.
Kira commented, "Piercing damage, huh?"
"Exactly!" Leo started waving his arms again—one had to wonder why he never got tired.
"And—AND! The equipped 'Double Tool C&D' has another effect!" Leo said excitedly. "In addition to increasing ATK, when Power Tool Dragon battles, it negates the effect of the attacked monster!"
The glasses-wearing student finally caught on. "Oh! So not only does it inflict piercing damage, it also negates Marshmallon's destruction immunity. Impressive, Leo!"
[Power Tool Dragon, ATK 3700]
[Marshmallon, DEF 500]
Even he couldn't help but look at Leo with newfound respect.
Why had he never noticed how good Leo was before?
BOOM!
The drill easily pierced through Marshmallon, its squishy body shredded to bits. The surge of electricity and shockwave slammed into Kira. The holographic impact rippled across his figure.
[Kira, LP 4000 → LP 800]
"I really did underestimate you a bit," Kira said, patting the edge of his fluttering jacket.
In his memory, Leo's dueling wasn't that great, at least in the early days, but right now he looked a lot tougher.
Leo beamed. "Ahaha, of course! I'm going to be Duel King someday!"
"Not bad, not bad. Now I activate my set card: the Trap Card 'Damage Vaccine Ω MAX'!"
Kira revealed his back row.
"Whenever I take damage from battle or a card effect, I regain LP equal to the damage I took."
[Kira, LP 800 → LP 4000]
"Eh!?"
The pride on Leo's face froze in an instant.
The 3200-point damage was just... completely restored.
Leo's spirits drooped, his head deflated. "No fair. I thought I could pull off a perfect win…"
Kira encouraged him. "Don't give up. Your attacks aren't over yet, right?"
"R-right!"
Leo straightened and brightened up again.
"Okay! Then, Morphtronic Boomboxen, attack Vortex Trooper!"
…