Daichi Misawa's premonition was correct to a certain extent. A Chaos Deck did not rely much on traps, and even the old championship builds often carried their own lockdown trap, Royal Decree. When the core Chaos monsters were already overwhelmingly strong compared to other Deck, it was natural that in a situation where both sides were locked by traps, the Chaos side held the advantage.
Yugen said, "I activate the Continuous Spell Mirage of Nightmare. During the opponent's Standby Phase, they draw until they have four cards in hand, but during my own Standby Phase I must randomly discard the same number of cards I drew. I'll set one card, and my turn ends."
Daichi Misawa said, "My Turn!, Card Draw!"
Within a single turn, the situation flipped sharply and became overwhelmingly unfavorable for him. He had to find a way out on this very turn.
"I activate the Spell Card Treasure of Adversity! If the opponent has a Special Summon monster on the field and I have no monsters, I draw two cards from my Deck!"
When he saw one of the two newly drawn cards, Daichi Misawa could not help but smile. It was here, the move that could turn everything around.
"It looks like my Deck still hasn't given up on the top spot."
Daichi Misawa looked up with a grin and raised his Duel Disk. The Graveyard of the Duel Disk burst into brilliant golden light.
"First place, do you know what happens to carbon under immense pressure?"
Yugen replied, "It turns into diamond?"
He vaguely remembered Daichi Misawa saying something similar in the original story.
"Oh, worthy of first place. That's right," Daichi Misawa said. "On my very first turn, the monster I discarded to the Graveyard with the effect of Mathematician was Carbon Dragon!"
"Carbon Dragon's effect activates only when there are more than ten cards stacked above it in the Graveyard after it is sent there. By banishing Carbon Dragon from the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Diamond Dragon from my hand or the Graveyard!"
The effect fit Daichi Misawa's academic image perfectly, though by the original rules it was extremely hard to use. After being turned into a real card, it received major buffs, but right now he was using the original version.
"Now there are already more than ten cards stacked above Carbon Dragon in my Graveyard. The effect activates. Descend in your brilliant diamond form."
"Level seven, Diamond Dragon, Summon!"
Before one could even see the dragon clearly, the light was blinding. A crystal-clear giant dragon rose into the sky, scattering prismatic light like rain and radiating unmatched luxury.
Diamond Dragon, ATK 2100.
It was the kind of card that might not be terrifyingly strong, but was obviously expensive at a glance.
In the stands, Asuka Tenjoin said, "So he discarded that monster to the Graveyard with Mathematician's effect on the first turn. That means Daichi Misawa had already planned this far ahead from the start of the Duel."
"But Diamond Dragon alone isn't enough to break the current situation," Ryo Marufuji said. "He should still have something else prepared."
Sure enough, Daichi Misawa smiled confidently. "After Black Luster Soldier and Meteor Black Dragon, legendary monsters keep appearing. Then I'll also burn everything I have and fight you."
"I activate the Equip Spell 'Megamorph' from my hand and equip it to Diamond Dragon. When my Life Points are lower than my opponent's, the equipped monster's original ATK becomes double."
Diamond Dragon's ATK rose from 2100 to 4200.
"Four thousand two hundred ATK!" The students stirred again.
The situation flipped once more.
"Go, Diamond Dragon. Attack the Chaos Sorcerer!"
Yugen had 1600 Life Points left, and Chaos Sorcerer had only 2300 ATK. If the attack went through, it would deal 1900 damage directly.
This was Daichi Misawa's desperate comeback.
Diamond Dragon opened its mouth as flowing light gathered inside, condensing into a spiraling beam that surged forward.
"Flip the set card," Yugen said with a wave of his hand. "Trap Card Enemy Controller!"
"Useless!" Daichi Misawa shouted. "Royal Decree is still on the field. Any trap is pointless!"
"I know," Yugen said calmly. "That's why I activate my second set card right after. Quick-Play Spell Quick-Play Spell, Release from Evil. I discard one card to destroy all Continuous Trap Card. I destroy Royal Decree."
Daichi Misawa immediately understood. "So that's it. Because the later card resolves first, by the time Enemy Controller applies, the Continuous Trap Royal Decree is already gone, so the trap can resolve normally."
"Exactly."
As they spoke, a black storm swept across the back row, crushing the trap card into fragments.
"Therefore, Enemy Controller resolves normally. When the opponent declares an attack, I Special Summon one monster from my hand, and the attacking monster must attack that monster instead."
Daichi Misawa nodded. "I see. By Special Summoning a Defense Position monster from your hand, you avoid damage and protect Chaos Sorcerer."
"That's true," Yugen said with a smile. "But I'm not just avoiding damage."
He raised his hand.
"By Enemy Controller's effect, I Special Summon Different Dimension's Warrior in Defense Position from my hand, and it must battle Diamond Dragon!"
Daichi Misawa said, "Nani?!?!"
It was actually Different Dimension's Warrior.
Different Dimension's Warrior, DEF 1600.
As a model student, Daichi Misawa could not possibly forget this card's effect.
"Stop. I won't attack. Diamond Dragon, come back!"
"Too late," Yugen Do said. "The monster Special Summoned by Enemy Controller must battle the attacking monster. Then D.D. Warrior Lady's effect activates."
"After battling an opponent's monster, both monsters are banished from the Graveyard!"
D.D. Warrior Lady leapt forward in a suicidal charge. She took Diamond Dragon's attack head-on, her blade slashing through as space shattered, and a powerful pull dragged both monsters into a spinning vortex toward the Different Dimension.
Daichi Misawa's eyes were almost red. "My Diamond Dragon…"
A 4200 ATK Diamond Dragon, practically an entire Obelisk Dorm by itself.
"Then I set three cards and end my turn," Daichi Misawa said.
With Royal Decree destroyed, his Underworld lock strategy had officially collapsed. On the bright side, at least he could use traps again, which was not necessarily bad in such a dire situation. There was still a chance.
"My Turn!, Card Draw," Yugen Do said. "I activate Quick-Play Spell Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Mirage of Nightmare, so I don't have to discard cards for its drawback."
"Then I enter the Battle Phase. Meteor Black Dragon attacks directly."
"That won't do," Daichi Misawa shouted. "At the moment you enter the Battle Phase, I activate my set card. Trap Card Threatening Roar!"
Invisible sound waves burst from the trap card and swept across Yugen's field. Meteor Black Dragon let out a low roar and covered its ears with its claws.
Daichi Misawa said, "During the turn Threatening Roar is activated, the opponent cannot declare attacks."
Yugen said, "In that case, I'll set one monster and end my turn."
"My Turn!! I activate Spell Card Pot of Greed and draw two cards from my Deck."
Daichi Misawa drew, frowning slightly as if he still had not found the decisive card.
"I'll gamble," he said. "Flip the set card, Trap Card Reckless Greed. In exchange for skipping my next two Card Draw phases, I draw two more cards!"