In an instant, two High-Level Monster monsters stood on his field again. The momentum had shifted once more.
"Battle. VWXYZ attacks Light End Dragon."
"Light End Dragon's Effect Activation!" Manjoume declared again, lowering its own ATK to 1600 and VWXYZ to 1500.
At that moment, he flipped his final Back Row. "During damage calculation, Quick-Play Spell Forbidden Chalice! One face up monster gains 400 ATK and its effects are negated!"
"I negate my own Light End Dragon!" he laughed.
Light End Dragon's lost ATK returned and increased by 400, rising to 3000. VWXYZ remained at 1500. The reversal drew shocked cries from the audience.
"Counterattack!" Manjoume shouted.
"Not yet," Yugen interrupted. "I activate Trap Card Counter Shield."
He Tributed Machina Armored Unit Machina Fortress, adding its 1600 DEF to VWXYZ's ATK during damage calculation.
VWXYZ surged from 1500 to 3100.
The machine now overpowered Light End Dragon again. Manjoume felt his chest tighten, but he told himself it was not over yet. He would survive with 100 Life Points.
"Do you know why I chose VWXYZ to attack first?" Yugen asked lightly. "I had to be sure I could finish it."
He revealed another Trap Card from the Graveyard. "Skill Inheritance. I banish it from the Graveyard during my turn. One monster gains 800 ATK until the end of the turn."
VWXYZ rose to 3900 ATK.
Manjoume stared in disbelief. Even the Graveyard had another trap waiting.
"This is the true finale," Yugen said. "VWXYZ attacks. Justice from Above."
Missiles and beams rained down, swallowing Light End Dragon in explosions that shook Manjoume's field.
Manjoume, LP 200 to 0.
Manjoume collapsed onto the ground, his clothes in disarray, eyes empty and face stiff.
He had lost again.
He had prepared carefully and gained new power, and before coming today he had been confident. But in the end, nothing had changed from before.
At the Moonlight Cup he could still tell himself he had been careless or unlucky. This time, he had no excuse left.
Across the field, Yugen was putting away his Duel Disk. He still looked relaxed, without the sharp aggression or tension most people showed in a Duel.
That calm attitude made Manjoume feel once more like he was nothing special.
His fists tightened without him noticing.
The senior host stepped forward with a smile. "Congratulations to Yugen for winning this year's Rookie Cup. As this year's top newcomer in the club, do you have anything to say to everyone?"
Yugen thought for a moment. "I am not very good with speeches. I just hope we can all enjoy our Duel together in the future."
The students who had faced him before all stiffened at once, as if triggered by instinct.
The new members of the department had already reached a silent agreement. Watching this senior duel was fun, but being the one across from him was another matter. The joy of a Duel clearly depended on someone else suffering.
After finishing, Yugen had planned to say a few comforting words to Manjoume. His opponent had performed well, but now looked like he might shut himself off from the world.
Yet when Yugen turned around, Manjoume was already gone.
He could only put the thought aside.
Hopefully Manjoume was fine.
Beating Manjoume with VWXYZ felt a bit strange. It was like correcting a future mistake while the other party had no idea what was going on.
From the way things were developing, Yugen felt that Manjoume's real transformation had only just begun.
This time he had seen Light End Dragon and Dark End Dragon, but not the famous Panda Dragon, also known as Light and Darkness Dragon because of its half black, half white design.
In the original storyline, Panda Dragon also had a Spirit, and a very powerful one at that. It was Manjoume's true ace.
Of course, in the anime timeline, his symbolic Spirit was Ojama Trio, which changed the tone instantly.
Manjoume first met Ojama Yellow after suffering a heavy blow and deciding to leave Duel Academy. He experienced a shipwreck at sea, and the head of Duel Academy North Campus gave him that card.
Although the timeline had shifted and the process was different, Manjoume still showed signs of shutting down. In his current state, it would not be surprising if events pushed him to leave Duel Academy anyway.
For him personally, that might not be a bad thing. Without those experiences, it would be hard for him to keep improving.
For now, that was not Yugen's concern. He accepted the competition credits from the Duel Department and, led by the senior host, arrived at the department's card Deck storage.
Which cards should he choose?
There were not many on his list that he urgently wanted, but there were several useful generic options. One in particular caught his eye.
Magic Jammer, Level 5, ATK 1800.
Effect: While this card is face up on the field, Spell Card cannot be activated, and all Spell Card effects on the field are negated.
This was a Trap Card used by Amelda, one of the Doma Three Swords in the DM anime. It immediately reminded Yugen of an old competitive Deck known as the Ojama Jammer build.
As the name suggested, the core of that Deck was Ojamas and Magic Jammer.
Ojamas were known for locking the opponent's field, and Magic Jammer targeted the powerful Spell Card that dominated the format at the time. Cards like Pot of Greed, Hand Destruction, Dark Hole, and Heavy Storm were all treated the same under Magic Jammer.
Back then, many banned level Spell Card were staples in almost every serious Deck. When facing Magic Jammer, it was common to see those cards stuck uselessly in hand.
Of course, Magic Jammer's 1800 ATK was its main weakness. It could easily be beaten in battle. Ojamas could cover that weakness.
Using Ojama Trio to block the opponent's monster zones, or pairing it with control Back Row like Gravity Bind, created a tight lock. The opponent could neither attack effectively nor activate Spell Card to clear the field, leaving them with no way out.
It was clearly an early era control Deck built purely to frustrate opponents, a pioneer of lockdown strategies.
With respect for those pioneers, Yugen decisively selected several core components of the Ojama Jammer build.
Overall, the Deck was not expensive. Most of the pieces, including the Ojamas, were cheap in this world. Only cards like Amelda's Magic Jammer counted as Rare Card, but there happened to be one in the Duel Department inventory he could claim, along with two fairly rare traps.
Without spending much, Yugen gained another early competitive Deck that suited his control style well.
In the anime, Ojama Trio even seemed to come with a natural taunt effect. Its attack animation involved jumping and slamming into the opponent, and he could already imagine how much fun future Duelist would have facing this old school control build.
"All right, I will take these."
Yugen happily accepted the selected cards.
The senior host counted them and seemed puzzled. "Are you sure these are the ones you want?"
"Yes," Yugen replied with a smile.
Her expression grew strange.
There were several impressive high level monsters in the Duel Department inventory, all Rare Card. In the past, members who earned the right to claim a Rare Card usually chose expensive and powerful High-Level Monster.
Yet the only monster above Level 4 Yugen picked was Magic Jammer, Level 5 with just 1800 ATK. While its effect was strong, most people would consider that attack value too low.