# Chapter 177: The Dragon King's Return, The Furious Emperor
"My turn! Draw!"
As Kaito finished his draw, Sergey Volkov maneuvered his transformed D-Wheel, dashing toward an Action Card.
Kaito dared not delay and quickly made his play.
"When I control no monsters, this card can be Special Summoned! Appear! Photon Slasher!"
"Field Spell, Geobound's effect activates! I banish the Action Card I just added to my hand to inflict 300 damage to you!" An Action Card disappeared from Sergey's mechanical arm.
Eerie blue flames assaulted Kaito once more, smashing into him.
Kaito LP: 1550 → 1250
Enduring the scorching flames, Kaito gritted his teeth and revealed the last monster in his hand.
"If I control another Photon monster, this card can be Special Summoned!"
"Appear! Photon Advancer!"
"I banish the new Action Card from my hand to activate my Field Spell, Geobound! It inflicts 300 effect damage to you!" Sergey seemed possessed, his mechanical arm frantically slamming the ground.
From within the wall of fire rising from the guardrail beside him, another fireball came crashing down.
Kaito LP: 1250 → 950
"Hahaha, struggle! How pathetic you look, Duelist from the XYZ Dimension!" Inside Security headquarters, the Hook-nosed Man chuckled as he pressed a button beside him. In front of Sergey, the lights representing Action Cards lit up one after another.
"The field's Action Cards are refreshing at a time like this?" the Female Commentator exclaimed in surprise. "Kaito's luck is really bad!"
"Luck? I highly doubt it!" Kaito said bitterly, looking at the glowing Action Card spots ahead.
"I overlay my two Level 4 monsters!" As Sergey grabbed the third Action Card, Kaito extended his hand, and a galactic vortex swirled open before him.
"Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Blaze Shield Soldier! (For details, see Chapter 66, a card created by Reiji Akaba for Heartland City)"
An ordinary warrior, holding a shield emblazoned with a flame design, appeared to protect Kaito.
Blaze Shield Soldier DEF: 2100
"I banish an Action Card from my hand to activate my Field Spell, Geobound's effect! Take 300 points of effect damage!"
The eerie blue fireball assaulted them again, but this time, the newly summoned soldier stood in front of Kaito.
"I activate Blaze Shield Soldier's effect! Once per turn, by detaching one Overlay Material from this card, the effect damage I take this turn becomes 0!"
A crimson orb of light flashed beside the soldier, and the flame emblem on its shield glowed, effortlessly blocking the fireball.
"He blocked it again?" The Female Commentator sighed in relief.
"I set one card and end my turn." Although he had blocked the attack, Kaito only had one card left in his hand and couldn't mount a proper counterattack.
"I haven't been to Heartland City myself, but it's just as they say. Are the duelists there all cockroaches?" The Hook-nosed Man inside Security headquarters couldn't help but feel impatient, seeing Kaito barely survive another turn.
"My turn! Draw!" Sergey, having lost much of his self-awareness, instinctively drew a card.
"At this moment! I activate Blaze Shield Soldier's effect! Once per turn, by detaching one Overlay Material, the effect damage I take this turn becomes 0!" Kaito dared not delay, quickly activating the effect.
"Then, I'll send you to Hell through battle!" The Hook-nosed Man inside Security headquarters slammed his chessboard heavily, sending the black and white pieces scattering.
"I activate the Spell Card, Earthbound Revival! By paying half my LP, I Special Summon one Earthbound monster from my Graveyard with its effects negated!"
"Revive! Earthbound Servant Geo Kraken!"
Sergey LP: 1950 → 975
A pitch-black aura emerged from Sergey's body. The road surface suddenly burst open, and a terrifying, pitch-black octopus erupted from the ground, its countless tentacles flailing erratically.
Earthbound Servant Geo Kraken ATK: 2800
"Next, I activate the Equip Spell, Earthbound Core!"
"This card can only be equipped to an Earthbound monster. The equipped monster gains 500 ATK, and it can inflict piercing damage to Defense Position monsters!"
Earthbound Servant Geo Kraken ATK: 2800 → 3300
At the core of the black octopus, terrifying lightning began to gather, and its monstrous tentacles twisted towards Kaito's monster, ready to crush it.
"Battle! Earthbound Servant Geo Kraken attacks Blaze Shield Soldier!" Sergey said with a maniacal laugh.
"Oh no!" the Female Commentator exclaimed in alarm. "If the attack from Earthbound Servant Geo Kraken goes through, now with a piercing ability and 3300 ATK, Kaito will be defeated!"
"At this moment, I activate my Trap Card, Wall of Power!" At the critical moment, Kaito flipped his last face-down card, and a golden shield formed in front of his D-Wheel.
"When an opponent's monster attacks and would inflict battle damage, that damage becomes 0. Instead, for every 500 points of damage I would have taken, I must send one card from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard."
"The battle damage would have been 1200 points, so I send 3 cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard."
"That was close, he blocked it?" The Female Commentator sighed in relief. Ever since Sergey had transformed into that hideous appearance and repeatedly ignored her warnings, her commentary had unconsciously become biased.
"I end my turn!" Sergey said, flustered and exasperated.
"With that, the monster you used to save yourself is gone! And your hand is empty! Next turn, I'll send you to Hell!" Sergey roared.
"You're the one going to Hell!" Kaito shot back, not yielding an inch. "My turn! Draw!"
As Kaito drew his card, a colossal hole appeared out of nowhere in the sky above.
"During my 2nd Standby Phase after Number 62: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon King, which had two Overlay Materials, was destroyed, I can Special Summon this card from the Graveyard!"
A furious dragon's roar rang out from the colossal hole in the sky. Moments later, a dragon of light clad in azure armor roared as it returned!
"Furthermore, the ATK of a Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon King Special Summoned by this effect is doubled!"
Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon King roared in the sky, unrestrainedly unleashing its rage. Dark red electric sparks began to crackle upon its azure armor.
Sergey looked at the giant dragon in the sky, a tremor of fear rising within him. He hastily turned and sped toward the nearest Action Card.
"You think I'll give you that chance again?" Kaito said, taking a card that was ejected from his Graveyard.
"I activate the Spell Card, Galaxy Cyclone, from my Graveyard! By banishing this card from my Graveyard, I can target one face-up Spell or Trap on the field and destroy it."
Brilliant galactic light streamed from Kaito's fingertips, extinguishing all the burning flames around the racetrack.
(end of chapter)