Bakutaro spread his legs slightly and stood at the center. He reached his right hand over his hand, neatly pinching the topmost card between his index and middle fingers.
He didn't slap the card directly onto the Duel Disk.
Bakutaro's right hand traced an exaggerated half-arc through the air, his wrist flipping. The card held between his two fingers turned from back to front, the card art facing Niobe for half a second. The entire motion flowed seamlessly, exactly like those close-up shots in weekend morning tokusatsu shows when the red ranger pulls out a transformation device.
"Transformation command, card, set!" Bakutaro shouted, slamming the card heavily into the far-right Monster Zone of the Duel Disk.
The spotlights around the Duel Arena seemed to flicker along with his movement.
"I activate the first effect of Super Quantum Red Layer: If I control no monsters, this card can be Special Summoned from my hand!"
A deep explosion resounded across the Duel Arena, and holographic flames surged upward over two meters high.
"Super Quantum Warrior, First Layer!" Bakutaro raised his left fist toward the sky. "The roar of crimson magma! The blazing warrior–Red Layer!"
From within the flames, a warrior clad in crimson heavy armor stepped forward, carrying a broad-bladed greatsword. [ATK:2000] The prominent V-shaped visor on his helmet glowed like blazing fire.
With Red Layer's appearance, the amber-gold light in Bakutaro's eyes grew even brighter, and his red spiky hair seemed to stand on end.
"Next, I Normal Summon Super Quantum Green Layer from my hand!"
He swept the second card sideways onto the Duel Disk.
A swirl of emerald wind rose beside the red warrior.
"Super Quantum Warrior, Second Layer!" Bakutaro spun once, thrusting his right hand to the side. "The thunder of the verdant sky! The sage blessed by wind–Green Layer!"
As the whirlwind dispersed, a masked mage wearing a green coat and holding a staff floated in midair. [ATK:1600]
"And Green Layer's arrival calls for more allies!" Bakutaro didn't even pause for breath. "Green Layer's effect activates: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 "Super Quant" monster from my hand!"
He slammed the third card into the center Monster Zone.
"And the one I Special Summon is the female warrior from my hand!"
Blue ripples spread across the field.
"Super Quantum Warrior, Third Layer! The echo of the deep blue ocean! The dancer of the tides–Blue Layer!"
A female warrior clad in blue light armor, wielding dual tonfas, landed steadily after a graceful front flip, splashing shimmering water projections. [ATK:1200]
Red, green, blue.
The three warriors stood in a line on the Duel Arena.
Hidden in the shadow of a streetlamp, Phila rested her chin on her knees, her ruby-like eyes fixed on the stage effects, her mouth slightly open.
"With the three warriors gathered, the base of the Super Quantum Warriors will also appear!" Bakutaro reached toward his Deck, pressing his index finger against the edge of a card that automatically popped out. "Blue Layer's first effect activates: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, add 1 "Super Quant" card from my Deck to my hand, except "Super Quantum Blue Layer"."
He drew the card, holding it between his fingers.
"I add Super Quantal Mech Ship Magnacarrier from my Deck to my hand, then activate the Field Spell–Super Quantal Mech Ship Magnacarrier!"
The card was inserted into the Field Zone on the side of the Duel Disk.
The ground of the Duel Arena trembled slightly. Holographic light beams interwove wildly above the trio. The roar of massive turbine engines drowned out the noise from the surrounding Duel Arenas.
A colossal porcelain-white battleship slowly descended from illusory clouds, its surface pulsing with blue luminescence like a heartbeat. Its massive landing gear slammed heavily behind the Duel Arena.
"Now this is getting fired up!" Bakutaro clenched both fists tightly at his waist. "Super Quantum Warriors, assemble once more!"
Boom!
Three massive bursts of colored smoke exploded at the edge of the field behind Bakutaro, red, green, and blue special effects practically turning the place into a full-on tokusatsu set.
Raku sat cross-legged in midair and couldn't help but laugh.
Earlier, seeing that red-haired guy named Bakutaro acting so over-the-top, he had assumed with that hair color and temperament, he'd be running something like a Battlin' Boxer deck.
Turns out…
That red wasn't just any red.
It was the red of a sentai leader.
On the other side of the Duel Arena.
Niobe raised the back of her hand to shield her forehead, blocking the glaring light from the explosive projections.
She looked at the imposing line of warriors across from her and the massive battleship looming overhead.
"That's way too cool!" The electric-blue sparks in Niobe's eyes nearly leapt out of their sockets. "You can even call out a battleship! You really know your stuff when it comes to romance! Hey, hey, what's that big carrier supposed to do?"
"You'll find out soon enough!" Bakutaro swung his right arm forward, pointing straight at the enormous porcelain-white battleship in the sky. "Of course the Super Quantum squad has its own robot!"
He reached toward the Duel Disk and drew a card from his hand.
"I activate the first effect of the Field Spell Super Quantal Mech Ship Magnacarrier: Discard 1 card, then target 1 "Super Quantum" monster I control. Special Summon 1 "Super Quantal Mech Beast" Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck with the same Attribute as that monster by placing it on top of the targeted monster as an Xyz Summon!"
Bakutaro forcefully shoved the card from his hand into the Graveyard slot of the Duel Disk.
"I discard Shiny Black "C" Squadder from my hand and target my favorite warrior, the FIRE-attribute Red Layer!"
The air above the Duel Arena warped from the intense operation of the holographic projections.
"Blazing flames, volcanic eruption–Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger, Xyz Summon!"
Scorching fire exploded beneath Red Layer's feet. A phantom volcano projection rose from the ground out of nowhere, thick magma pouring down from its crater.
Amid heavy metallic grinding, a crimson heavy machine burst out from the volcano. It spun and transformed rapidly in midair, metal armor snapping into place, finally taking the form of a majestic red steel lion that crashed onto the Duel Arena.
Red Layer leapt upward from below.
The red warrior arced through the air and jumped straight into the gaping maw of the steel lion.
With a click, the lion's jaws shut tightly. A blinding red light lit up in its mechanical eyes as it let out a deafening roar. [ATK:2600]
On the other side of the Duel Arena.
Niobe's gunmetal-gray hair, streaked with dual highlights and defying gravity, trembled slightly from the roar.
"So this is Super Quantum?!"
Gripping the metal railing with both hands, Niobe leaned forward so far her upper body nearly extended out of the Duel Arena, her electric-blue eyes locked onto the red mechanical lion across from her.
This pure heavy-mecha aesthetic, combined with that full-on tokusatsu-style boarding sequence, was a direct hit to the soul for a mechanic like her who grew up scrambling around abandoned factories.
"That's way too cool!" Niobe couldn't help shouting, completely forgetting she was in the middle of a duel.
Bakutaro stood behind the lion, rubbing his nose smugly.
"Hmph, of course it is!"
Niobe looked at the boy across from her wearing the Slifer Red jacket.
To her, the Obelisk Blue uniform was nothing more than a troublesome outer layer; she couldn't understand why someone this strong would be wearing the red uniform.
"You're Nendo, right?" Niobe called out loudly, grinning. "Why are you in Slifer Red?"
Bakutaro lowered his hand, momentarily stunned.
"Huh? Oh, that?" He scratched his red spiky hair. "Because I like red."
Outside the Duel Arena.
Raku floated in midair, watching the scene.
Was it ridiculous? A little… but more than that, it was pure. How long had it been since he'd dueled with this kind of pure passion?
Raku lowered his head to look at Phila. She was still a little afraid, but there was now a trace of longing in her eyes. This kind of unreserved passion… it really was part of Yu-Gi-Oh.
Niobe was also taken aback.
"Just because you like red?" Her interest deepened.
Bakutaro clenched his right fist and slammed it against his chest, then raised a big thumbs-up.
"Heroes should definitely be red!"
The answer came without the slightest hesitation or pretense.
Niobe froze for two seconds, then burst into hearty laughter, the large red floral scrunchie tying her hair swinging wildly behind her head.
Raku sat cross-legged in the air, watching the two who were perfectly on the same wavelength.
These two fools.
Raku's lips curled slightly.
Still, Bakutaro was playing his hand pretty recklessly; just to bring out the Mech Beasts, his hand consumption at the start was astonishing; after all, before getting support, the Super Quantum deck really did have a costly setup.
On the Duel Arena, Bakutaro didn't stop moving.
"This is far from over!" He drew another card from his hand and displayed it in midair. "I discard the Spell Card Super Quantal Alphan Spike from my hand! Then I activate the Field Spell's effect again!"
The card was sent into the Graveyard slot.
"I target the WATER-attribute Blue Layer on my field!" Bakutaro pointed toward the blue female warrior.
The projection on the field immediately shifted from a volcanic landscape. Azure seawater flooded into the arena, waves crashing against the railings.
"The vast blue ocean, surging tides–Super Quantal Mech Beast Grampulse!"
From the depths of the ocean, two streamlined blue submarine machines broke through the surface. They drew close in midair and combined, metal compartments folding and shifting, transforming in a dazzling aqua-blue light into a deep-sea warship mech with dual cockpits. [ATK:1800]
Blue Layer pushed off with both legs and jumped into one of the cockpits. The hatch closed, and a water-blue V-shaped visor lit up in the darkness.
The red steel lion and the blue deep-sea warship stood side by side on Bakutaro's field, their massive forms occupying nearly half of the Duel Arena, the roar of their engines making the air tremble.
After this whole sequence, he had no cards left in his hand.
...
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