Ryunosuke stared at his God and issued a thunderous command.
"Slifer! Unleash Lightning Blast upon Obelisk the Tormentor!!!"
Slifer the Sky Dragon opened its jaws wide. This time, it wasn't the small mouth on its forehead, but the large lower mouth that gathered energy. The color of the energy shifted into a shimmering gold, expanding dozens of times larger than usual. That golden Lightning Blast streaked forward, striking Obelisk directly.
Masuzu had no defense left. She took a massive hit, causing her LP to plummet from 3000 to 1000. Obelisk let out a piteous shriek before shattering into shards of light and vanishing completely from the field.
Now, only Ryunosuke's Slifer with 6000 ATK and the opponent's XY-Dragon Cannon with 2200 ATK remained. The tables had turned; now it was Masuzu who was cornered. Her face darkened instantly.
Ryunosuke paid no mind to his opponent's expression. He set three cards face-down and ended his turn. Because the number of cards in his hand decreased, Slifer's ATK dropped from 6000 to 3000.
Masuzu took a deep breath. She wouldn't hold back any longer. The Level 8 monster card she had discarded earlier was actually a preparation for an emergency, and that time had come. Masuzu's gaze became incredibly serious. She wouldn't leave a single opening.
"My turn, Draw!"
"First, I set five cards face-down."
"Then, I activate Monster Reborn to resurrect one monster from my graveyard!"
Ryunosuke assumed the opponent would revive Obelisk, but that would be useless. Among his face-down cards was Pot of Greed, which could instantly add two cards to his hand, making Slifer's ATK surge to 5000. Even if Obelisk rose with 4000 ATK, a Divine card only lasted one turn with Monster Reborn.
Ryunosuke initially thought so, until he heard a very familiar incantation and immediately felt something was wrong.
"O ferocious black and gold dragon!"
"Break the shackles that bind you in the rift of this mortal world!"
"Bring destruction upon my enemies!!!"
"Appear!"
"GANDORA-X THE DRAGON OF DEMOLITION!!!"
Instantly, a black and gold dragon carrying an aura of annihilation appeared on Masuzu's field.
Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition, ATK 0, Level 8, Dark Attribute.
"Activate this monster's effect!"
"DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ON THE FIELD!!!"
Receiving the order, the red gems covering Gandora-X's body vibrated like moving eyeballs. Suddenly, laser beams blanketed the entire battlefield, destroying Ryunosuke's Slifer and wiping the field clean!
Ryunosuke broke into a cold sweat and took a step back. "Why does she have that card? Isn't that little Yugi's card?"
"The Table-Turning Dragon"—fitting its nickname, this card was truly absurd as it could clear the opponent's field in an instant. Masuzu ignored Ryunosuke's shock and continued explaining her monster's effect.
"After this monster destroys the opponent's monster with the highest ATK, the opponent receives damage equal to that monster's ATK value!"
Masuzu pointed toward Ryunosuke.
"Your Slifer's ATK was 3000, which means you take 3000 points of damage!!!"
The laser beam struck Ryunosuke, causing his LP to drop sharply.
LP Ryunosuke: 4000 – 3000 = 1000.
Ryunosuke staggered; he felt pain coursing through his body. (Something is wrong! Why does my body hurt? Isn't this just a virtual image? What is actually happening?)
Before Ryunosuke could grasp the situation, Masuzu's assault hadn't stopped.
"Now, I order XY-Dragon Cannon with 2200 ATK to attack you directly!!!"
"SUPER DESTRUCTION CANNON!!!"
The two cannons on XY-Dragon Cannon's shoulders fired. Ryunosuke had no more monsters left to defend, so he immediately flipped his face-down card.
"I activate the trap card, Altar for Tribute! Its effect is to discard one monster card to the graveyard to restore LP equal to that monster's ATK."
"I discard Dark Magician Girl with 2000 ATK to the graveyard to restore 2000 of my life!"
Ryunosuke hurriedly discarded his card.
LP Ryunosuke: 1000 + 2000 = 3000.
With XY-Dragon Cannon's ATK at 2200, Ryunosuke would still have 800 LP remaining. After receiving the attack, Ryunosuke's LP dropped again.
LP Ryunosuke: 3000 – 2200 = 800.
Ryunosuke's condition was now like a candle in the wind. However, he did not give up and immediately flipped another face-down card.
"I activate my set spell card to resurrect the Dark Magician Girl I just discarded!"
A beautiful blonde girl in a slightly revealing blue magician costume and a conical hat appeared in the arena. She held a magic wand and stood with her hands on her hips cutely.
Dark Magician Girl, ATK 2000, DEF 1700.
Dark Magician Girl winked flirtatiously at Ryunosuke, who stood behind her. Ryunosuke didn't notice the anomaly; he only thought the projection was too realistic and didn't think of anything else. Seeing Ryunosuke ignore her, Dark Magician Girl appeared to pout and turned her face away, looking exactly like a living being.
Ryunosuke felt a bit strange but remained unsuspicious. He only muttered to himself, (This virtual imagery is truly real; no wonder Ai's company will eventually develop Full Dive games like Aincrad... They certainly have the foundation.)
Ryunosuke summoned Dark Magician Girl to turn the situation around. Based on her effect, this mage girl's attack would increase by 300 points for every Dark Magician in the graveyard. In the previous round, he had intentionally discarded one Dark Magician for a failed strategy, and now that card had been banished from the game by the opponent, so it couldn't be resurrected.
Thus, he was forced to call upon the apprentice. Although there was a 500-point ATK difference compared to Dark Magician, at least he had support cards. Ryunosuke planned to wait for Gandora-X's turn to end and for it to return to the graveyard. At that moment, he would use Dark Magician Girl (ATK 2000) plus the spell card Sage's Stone or Magic Formula to add 700 ATK (becoming 2700) to destroy the opponent's XY-Dragon Cannon. Furthermore, that card had the effect of restoring 1000 LP when the monster left the field.