"The duel's already decided." Kagemaru said. "In the End Phase, the effect of 'Double Payback' will activate, and you'll take 2000 points of reflected damage."
"Unless you can break through all my defenses this turn, tear down this copper wall and iron bastion, and cut my Life Points down to 0... if you can do that, that is."
Youyu ignored him. "I activate the Magic Card 'Double Summon' from my hand. This turn, I gain a second Normal Summon."
"Next, I tribute the 'Phantasmal Raider' on my field for a Tribute Summon!"
"He who rides the sacred wind and blows away all things, the Emperor of Wind——"
"——Raiza the Storm Monarch!!!"
Phantasmal Raider vanished from the field, and a jet-black green whirlwind erupted from the ground! A gigantic figure emerged from within the storm; the Monarch of Wind strode forth on the raging gale, the whirlwind like countless unseen blades savagely slicing at the metal walls and floor.
[Raiza the Storm Monarch, ATK 2400]
"The Monarch of Wind." Kagemaru seemed to understand. "The Wind Attribute Monarch's ability is that, when Tribute Summoned, it can return a card on the field to the top of its owner's Deck. The target is... the Continuous Trap 'Double Payback', isn't it? No, that's not all."
He quickly grasped the change in the situation.
Kagemaru currently had 0 cards in hand; all usable resources were on the field. Right now, his strongest weapon, The Blazing Mars, had its effect negated by Nibelung's Ring and couldn't attack, while all of Youyu's Monarchs had 2400 ATK, and none of Kagemaru's remaining Monsters could break through that value.
Of course, for Duelists of their level, as long as they can still draw, the chance for a comeback will inevitably find its way into their hands.
But by using Raiza the Storm Monarch's effect to bounce the Trap Card to the top of Kagemaru's Card Deck, Youyu not only removed the crisis of reflected damage from the Trap Card, but further shut down Kagemaru's possibility of top-decking a comeback card.
This way, the card Kagemaru draws next turn is guaranteed to be that 'Double Payback'.
Unless, like a certain future protagonist who doesn't play by any card game ethics, he can somehow take a card he's already drawn and print it live into a different one right on the spot...
If he can't do that, chances are very high that Kagemaru will lose.
"A good idea." Kagemaru said coolly. "But I still have this card. Continuous Trap 'Fiendish Chain'!"
Chains shot out of the Trap Card like lances piercing the air, clanging with metal as they bound the Monarch of Wind tightly. Before the Monarch could unleash his divine might, his power was forced back into his body by those eerie chains. The green storm came to an abrupt halt, and the Monarch of Wind let out a muffled groan.
"A Monster bound by Fiendish Chain has its effect negated and cannot attack." Kagemaru said. "A fine attempt. You really were just a step away, but this doesn't change the result."
He could have used Fiendish Chain to bind the Shadow Monarch when he first appeared, but Kagemaru chose not to.
He deliberately took the effect damage from Caius in order to trigger Double Payback's reflection effect, aiming to finish it in one blow.
With the Monarch of Wind's power bound, the situation Youyu faced was still unchanged. At the end of this turn, Double Payback's effect would trigger, and he would lose because of it.
...If this turn still had an End Phase, that is.
"Quick-Play Magic 'Trap Booster'." Youyu revealed a card. "By this effect, I can activate a Trap Card from my hand." (Anime card)
He slid a card into his Duel Disc.
"I'm going to activate the Trap Card 'Dark Tribute Summon'. I add 1 Monster with 2400 or more ATK and 1000 DEF from my Graveyard to my hand.
After that, I can Tribute Summon 1 Monster with 2400 or more ATK and 1000 DEF from my hand in Attack Position!"
"You can still Tribute Summon?" Kagemaru sounded a bit surprised.
The Monarch Deck series wasn't some ultra-mythical Rare Card; even background characters had used them in the original anime. So of course Kagemaru wasn't unfamiliar with Monarch Decks.
Even so, seeing someone like Youyu endlessly pull off Tribute Summons, Monarchs popping out one after another like they cost nothing at all, this really was his first time.
But Kagemaru still remained calm.
In this situation, even if he gets an extra Summon, what can he do?
The Monarch series only covers six Attributes: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Light, and Dark, and he knew the effect of each one clearly. No matter which Attribute Monarch Youyu intended to Summon next, it wouldn't be enough to...
"You're thinking, no matter which Monarch I Summon, it won't be enough to break through this predicament and finish you off this turn, right?" Youyu smiled.
Kagemaru quickly recalled the Monarchs currently resting in Youyu's Graveyard and said calmly, "Your only choice is to retrieve 'Mobius the Frost Monarch' from the Graveyard. Mobius's effect can destroy my 'Double Payback', which is enough to help you drag this duel past this turn..."
"Not necessarily." Youyu smiled. "Have you forgotten? When you activated that first 'Card Destruction', the one who piled up resources in the Graveyard wasn't just you. I also got to discard two cards to the Graveyard."
The figure inside the Life Support Pod fell into a brief silence.
Indeed, he had overlooked that.
But the cards he threw into the Graveyard—could they really happen to be Monarchs that could perfectly turn the duel around?
"It seems you don't know." Youyu said slowly. "The six Monarchs of Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Light, and Dark are indeed the foundation of the 'Monarch' Deck.
But what most people don't know is that the power of each Monarch isn't limited to what you see on the surface. Within them lies strength that most have yet to tap into—brand-new forms, the advanced Monarchs!"
"What?"
"According to the effect of 'Dark Tribute Summon', the card I'm taking back to my hand is this one."
Youyu picked up a card that had popped out from the Duel Disk Grave Zone and flipped it over.
"Caius the Mega Monarch!"
Kagemaru's heart jolted.
There's actually a Monarch he doesn't know about!?
"Although Caius the Mega Monarch is a Level 8 Monarch, he can use 1 Tribute Summoned Monster on the field as a Tribute to Tribute Summon himself!
So I Tribute 'Caius the Shadow Monarch' to Tribute Summon—
the Monarch of malice and curses, whose grudge and wickedness have fused and evolved into a brand‑new form—
—Caius the Mega Monarch, Summon!!"
The jet‑black Monarch burst up from the earth. The ground shattered, fragments flung into the air and crushed to powder within the Monarch's pitch‑black domain.
He was like a King striding forth from the underworld itself, bearing a grotesque and hideous form: demon‑bright twin pupils, evil light flashing; ghostly wraiths circling him like vengeful spirits; an abstract, skull‑like face that looked as though it might devour someone at any moment.
[Caius the Mega Monarch, ATK 2800]
As burly and towering as a black mountain, overwhelming in his might—at the instant the Monarch's feet struck the ground, the King's domain spread outward, and with it spilled a freezing, bone‑deep darkness and miasma of evil.
"An advanced form of the Monarchs... there's even something like this?" Kagemaru was taken aback.
"Effect of Caius the Mega Monarch, activate!" Youyu pointed at the towering dark Monarch. "When this card is Tribute Summoned successfully, I can banish any 1 card on the field from the game, and inflict 1000 damage to the opponent.
And! If the Tribute used for the Tribute Summon was a Dark Attribute Monster, this effect can target up to 2 cards!"
"What!?"
Caius the Mega Monarch began to move. His massive arms rotated, and the wide, sweeping motion stirred his entire domain! Darkness converged from all directions, waves of it locking separately onto the Trap 'Double Payback' on Kagemaru's field and the 'Creator God' in his front row.
The Shadow Monarch's power seemed to cause space itself to collapse; both Monster and Trap were dragged into a black vortex— even that 'Creator God' was powerless to resist.
The dark waves did not abate, transforming into countless black currents that crackled and exploded across Kagemaru's life‑support apparatus. The electronic display before the robot flickered on and off, sparks danced across the control console, and the system seemed on the verge of overload.
The water in the Life Support Pod was churned into a murky swirl, and the dull thud of impact sounded out from within—it sounded like Kagemaru's body slamming into the glass wall behind him.
[Kagemaru, LP 2000 → LP 1000]
From inside the Life Support Pod, a cold, razor‑sharp gaze shot out, fastening directly onto the massive, shadow‑black Monarch.
"Caius the Mega Monarch... what terrifying power..."
"Battle!" Youyu swept his arm. "Caius the Mega Monarch, attack 'The Blazing Mars'!"
The dark Monarch charged! It was as if his entire domain moved with his every step. Vortices of darkness roared in midair, majestic power surging, gathering into that swinging iron fist, like a jet‑black cannon shell just fired!
"If the battle goes through, that's 200 damage." Kagemaru calculated rapidly. "That means, on the next turn..."
"At this moment, I activate the effect of the Trap Card 'Skill Successor' in my Graveyard!" Youyu swept his arm grandly.
Kagemaru was shocked yet again.
He even had a pit set in the Graveyard!?
"I banish the Trap Card 'Skill Successor' in my Graveyard from the game!" Youyu declared. "Only this turn, 1 Monster on the field gains 800 ATK!
I boost the ATK of 'Caius the Mega Monarch'!"
[Caius the Mega Monarch, ATK 2800 → ATK 3600]
[The Blazing Mars, ATK 2600]
[Kagemaru, LP 1000]
"Damn!" Kagemaru realized something was wrong.
The Dark Monarch's full‑force strike!
The torrent of darkness blew away the flames; his hammer‑like fist smashed the golden dragon's head apart. The dragon let out a shrill, mournful scream as its sturdy golden shell split with a brittle crack, and the half‑body Knight's armor standing upon its back shattered as well, until all of it crumbled into ash.
[Kagemaru, LP 1000 → LP 0]