At the tournament venue, after the host finished introducing the two Duelists, the referee instructed them to shuffle each other's decks.
"I really didn't expect my opponent to be such a cute girl," Rex Raptor said with a grin. "Don't worry—I'll go easy on you. I won't let you lose too badly."
"Well, aren't you generous," Kisaragi replied flatly.
Once both decks were shuffled, the referee stepped between them and flipped a coin. It landed on the back of his hand, and he covered it with his other palm.
"Call it—heads or tails!"
"Heads," Kisaragi said.
"Then tails for me," Rex replied.
The referee lifted his hand.
Heads.
"Kisaragi Aoi, choose—first or second!"
"I'll go second," she said.
"Then I'm going first!" Rex declared.
They faced each other atop the Duel machines, placing their decks onto the duel platforms.
"National Duelist Tournament—Top 8, Match One: Kisaragi Aoi versus Rex Raptor! Duel start!"
"Duel!"
"Duel!!"
Rex Raptor: 4000 LP
Kisaragi Aoi: 4000 LP
Rex Raptor's Turn
"My turn—draw!"
"I Special Summon Fleet-Footed Raptor from my hand in Attack Position!"
A greenish dinosaur burst onto the field, letting out a sharp, hissing roar.
Fleet-Footed Raptor (ATK 1400 / DEF 400)
"This card can be Special Summoned from the hand. Next, I tribute Fleet-Footed Raptor—and Normal Summon Dark Trigon Bird Dragon in Attack Position!"
Dark Trigon Bird Dragon (ATK 2400 / DEF 1500)
"Then I set one card. Turn end! (Cards in hand: 3)"
Rex's eyes gleamed.
Heh. This is how I turbo out high-level monsters. And Dark Trigon Bird Dragon has piercing—if it attacks a Defense Position monster, the excess damage goes straight to her Life Points.
Watching from home, Honda muttered, "Rex actually brought out a tribute monster on turn one… He really did claw his way here through the qualifiers."
Yugi stayed calm. "That's not a big deal for Kisaragi. I just want to see what kind of deck she's running."
Kisaragi Aoi's Turn
"My turn—draw!"
After my Duel with Kaiba, the system unlocked more decks for me, Kisaragi thought. Perfect timing—I can test their power here.
"I send Herald of Heaven, Zeradias from my hand to the Graveyard to activate its effect. I add The Sanctuary in the Sky from my Deck to my hand!"
"Next, I activate the Field Spell The Sanctuary in the Sky!"
The arena's holographic environment shifted—clouds rolled across the battlefield, and behind Kisaragi rose a pure white temple, like a dwelling for angels.
"I Normal Summon The Agent of Creation — Venus in Attack Position!"
The Agent of Creation — Venus (ATK 1600 / DEF 0)
"I activate Venus's effect. I can pay 500 Life Points to Special Summon one Mystical Shine Ball from my hand or Deck."
"I pay 1500 Life Points—Special Summoning threeMystical Shine Balls from my Deck!"
Kisaragi Aoi: 4000 → 2500 LP
Mystical Shine Ball (ATK 500 / DEF 500) ×3
"Turn end! (Cards in hand: 4)"
The crowd immediately erupted.
"Does that girl even know how to Duel?! Her opponent has a 2400 ATK monster, and she's paying a huge chunk of Life Points just to summon tiny monsters—and in Attack Position, too!"
"Yeah! Maybe there's some shady deal that got her into the Top 8!"
Up in the VIP seats, the event representative wiped sweat from his brow.
Oh no… the very first match is already getting questioned by the audience.
Even Pegasus murmured, half-amused, half-intrigued, "Even I can't tell what Miss Kisaragi is trying to do."
Kaiba, however, didn't look bothered. He didn't understand her line either—but he trusted she had a reason.
Even Yugi frowned at the TV. "What is she planning…?"
Across the field, Rex scoffed. "Hey, are you looking down on me—or do you seriously not know how to Duel?"
"Instead of running your mouth," Kisaragi snapped back, "hurry up and start your turn."
"Tch. Fine—don't blame me!"
Rex Raptor's Next Turn
"My turn—draw!"
"I Normal Summon Two-Headed King Rex in Attack Position!"
Two-Headed King Rex (ATK 1600 / DEF 1200)
"Next, I activate my Continuous Trap Fossil Excavation! I discard one card, then target one Dinosaur in my Graveyard—Special Summon it!"
"I Special Summon Fleet-Footed Raptor from my Graveyard!"
Fleet-Footed Raptor (ATK 1400 / DEF 400)
Fans in the crowd cheered.
"Whoa! That's Rex Raptor for you—three Dinosaurs on the field in no time!"
Rex had enough name recognition that he actually had supporters here.
"Battle! My Dinosaurs—attack her three Mystical Shine Balls!"
"Oh—and I 'forgot' to mention," Rex added smugly. "My Dark Trigon Bird Dragon deals piercing damage when it attacks a Defense Position monster. The excess becomes battle damage to you!"
Three impacts detonated into clouds of smoke as Kisaragi's field was wiped clean.
"Hah! You're about to take 1900 piercing damage!"
Kisaragi's Life Points didn't move.
"Why—?! Why didn't your Life Points drop?!" Rex blurted.
"Because of The Sanctuary in the Sky," Kisaragi replied coolly. "While it's in the Field Zone, any battle damage involving Fairy monsters becomes 0 for their controller."
"Tch. So that Field Spell has that kind of protection too…," Rex muttered, staring at his monsters with a crooked smile. "Turn end! (Cards in hand: 2)"
Kisaragi Aoi's Next Turn
"My turn—draw!"
"I Normal Summon The Agent of Mystery — Earth in Attack Position!"
The Agent of Mystery — Earth (ATK 1000 / DEF 800)
Rex sneered. "Another trash mob?"
"I activate Earth's effect. When it's Normal Summoned, I can add one 'Agent' monster from my Deck to my hand. But if The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I can add Master Hyperion instead."
"So I add Master Hyperion from my Deck to my hand!"
Rex's grin returned. "Hmph. Sure, you added a boss monster—but you already used your Normal Summon this turn. You can't Normal Summon again."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter50)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter50)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter50)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 10
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 10
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