Tri-Horned Dragon got boxed right away, but it was still within expectations.
He'd survived worse—like losing Red-Eyes to Joey's Time Wizard. Compared to that, this was nothing.
"But my turn isn't over."
Rex drew another card.
"I activate the Continuous Spell—Mirage of Nightmare. During your standby phase, I draw until I have four cards in hand, but during my standby phase, I must randomly discard that many."
Kira remained expressionless.
Ah, the anime world, where banned cards get played like it's nothing.
"Then I set two face-downs and end my turn."
Kira drew: "My turn. Draw."
"At this moment, 'Mirage of Nightmare' activates. I draw up to four cards," Rex announced.
The power of banned cards—Rex's empty hand was instantly refilled.
But Kira calmly played his draw: "Spell Card—Pot of Greed. Draw two more cards."
What a fair game! Anyone else could play banned cards.
After drawing, Kira continued, "Now I summon the 'Machina Gearframe' I searched last turn."
A monster card slammed onto the field.
"Machina Gearframe in attack mode."
[Machina Gearframe, ATK 1800]
"Gearframe's effect activates. On summon, I add a 'Machina' card other than Gearframe from my deck to my hand."
"So that's it—the Peacekeeper destroyed the last turn searched Gearframe, and Gearframe can search Fortress. Looks like Kira's setup was all for 'Machina Fortress'!"
"This is getting interesting," Sasaki smiled.
"I add 'Machina Fortress' to my hand."
Kira then revealed Fortress and another monster card.
"Now, Fortress's effect. Even though it's a Level 7 monster, I can discard Machine monsters whose levels total 8 or more from my hand to special summon it from hand or grave.
I discard 'Machina Megaform' Level 8 to special summon 'Machina Fortress'!"
A card hit the grave, and the heavy metal fortress appeared, its huge treads and pale blue armor announcing the justice of firepower.
[Machina Fortress, ATK 2500]
"Battle. First, Fortress attacks the face-down Tri-Horned Dragon!"
[Tri-Horned Dragon, DEF 2350]
The fortress's cannon locked on and fired with a roar, blasting the hidden dragon to dust before it ever saw the light of day.
"Now, Gearframe attacks directly!"
The red mech dashed forward, its metal body kicking Rex down.
[Raptor, LP 2600 → LP 800]
The crowd was in an uproar.
The legendary Rex Raptor, expected to dominate, was being crushed by a rookie.
"Truly an unexpected turn of events," the commentators murmured.
"Rex Raptor's situation is dire," Kogashi said.
"Totally overwhelmed, only 800 LP left. Kira hasn't lost a single point!"
Sasaki frowned, double-checking Kira's untouched LP.
He'd bulldozed his way through every match with no sign of pressure. Now even Rex Raptor was getting crushed.
Where did this monster come from?
KIra's turn continued.
"I use Gearframe's other effect. Once per turn, I can equip it to another Machine monster I control as a Union."
Gearframe leaped and combined with Fortress.
"If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle or effect, Gearframe is destroyed instead. And once per turn, I can special summon Gearframe back from the equip zone."
"What a combo!" Kogashi exclaimed. "Gearframe not only searches Fortress, it can equip itself for protection!"
"And it protects itself too," Sasaki added, "so Rex Raptor can't just attack the lower-ATK Gearframe. Plus, next turn, Kira can bring it back for a finishing blow."
"Offense and defense—this combo is too strong," Kogashi said. "Is Fujiki Kira a rookie?"
Sasaki was speechless.
"I set two more cards. End turn."
Kira looked at Rex's continuous spell and sighed.
His deck had three ways to destroy spells, but he hadn't drawn any. If he had, he could have destroyed Mirage of Nightmare and pretty much sealed the win.
Another day of hoping for a top-deck...
"Dammit, you dare to play ..."
Rex gritted his teeth.
After drawing, Rex's standby phase started.
"Now, Mirage of Nightmare's drawback triggers—I should discard four cards. But!"
He flipped his face-down card.
"I activate the trap 'Reckless Greed'! I draw two cards, but skip my next two draw phases."
A high-risk, high-reward card. Rex drew two more.
"And then, Quick-Play Spell 'Emergency Provisions'!"
He flipped his other face-down.
"I send any number of my spell/trap cards except 'Emergency Provisions' to the graveyard, and gain 1000 LP for each! I send both 'Reckless Greed' and 'Mirage of Nightmare' to the graveyard, gaining 2000 LP!"
Both cards vanished in a golden glow and became Rex's LP.
[Raptor, LP 800 → LP 2800]
"Beautiful move!" Kogashi exclaimed. "Chain Reckless Greed into Emergency Provisions. Even though the trap's been activated, it can still be sent for healing!"
"Exactly. Plus, by sending Mirage of Nightmare, he avoids having to discard in his standby phase," Sasaki agreed.
"Rex Raptor is still Rex Raptor—his dueling skills are top-notch."
Rex wiped his nose, proud of his pro moves. "Too bad, looks like all your attacks last turn were wasted."
But Kira was unmoved.
To him, it wasn't high-level play—just a question of where Rex bought his superglue.
He'd always wondered why, in the anime, 'Mirage of Nightmare' and 'Emergency Provisions' were always played together—never saw someone miss the combo...