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“Hello…?” a deep voice greeted as it made its way inside the empty store. Outside the sun started setting and the streets daytime dwellers went back to their homes while the more nocturnal folk prepared to go out and enjoy the City at night. The one that had said so was a massive dragon with the horns and snout of a bull, his wide frame concealed by a tight black shirt that let a small bit of his black chest fur out, contracting with the red scales from his underbelly.

“I’m sorry, we’re closing,” the store’s clerk said; he was cleaning the tables with his back turned to the door so he hadn’t seen the newcomer, but the bull dragon recognized him already from his hat. When he got up and turned around his eyes popped for an instant when he also noticed he knew the person. “Oh, Kalos! What are you doing here?”

“Hi,” the larger man greeted shyly. “You told me to come, remember? You said you would teach me some of the new things in the game”

“Right!” Manny, the human store clerk said as he walked past the bull dragon and locked the door. “You don’t have a Duel Disk, do you? It’s ok, grab one from the counter and we’ll go and play in the back. Here,” he said as he handed him a carefully stacked pack of cards.

“You got me a new Deck?” Kalos asked as he fastened the Disk’s straps around his wrists and followed Manny to the back door.

“I think it’s a good way to get you refreshed in some things,” Manny turned the lights on and the room around them illuminated, revealing a large underground arena with a Dueling Field on the ground. Kalos stared at all of it in awe but when he turned around to ponder the human about this, he saw him already standing on a moving platform by the side. “Are you coming?”

Kalos looked at him with a tinge of shock and then rushed to the platform just as it flared to life and started descending towards the play field. Once on the ground Manny instructed him to stand on the other side and get his Deck and Disk ready for the game.

“Are you ready? Drew your five cards and all?” the man in the hat asked from his side of the Field, already having taken his own stance, and the dragon showed him his hand and nodded in response.“DUEL!”

“…What?”

“It’s customary to say it out loud when you start a game,” Manny explained and the bull dragon nodded again in response. “Cute. Anyway, let me start slow. I’ll play the Field Spell Empowering Armory ,” A gentle golden light washed over the Field and hundreds of shelves materialized randomly around them, each one crammed with armors, weapons and the like. Kalos watched the show struck with the level of detail and Manny giggled at his reaction. “ Empowering Armory gives 300 ATK and DEF points to all Dragon, Warrior and Spellcaster type monsters I control. Also, once per turn it lets me discard one card,” a yellow and green colored card slid down his Graveyard and another slid out of is Deck, “to Special Summon an Empowered monster from my Deck. I Special Summon Dragodeus, the Empowered Warrior ,” a small gray-skinned human appeared on Manny’s Field and pieces of white draconic armor flew around, clasping around his limbs, chest and head with a long mane of white hair bursting from his back until he knelt in his spot (DEF: 1500 > 1800, Lv: 4). “Turn End. Now you go; let’s see how much you actually remember”

“Right, um…” Kalos shifted uncomfortably, still shocked over the level of detail the holograms possessed, but took a card off his Deck nonetheless. “Draw. Let’s see… I Summon Leather Armor Magician ,” a young and buxom black-haired girl appeared on his Field, a witch hat on her head and a black dress from which several leather straps lashed about, covering her body (ATK: 1600, Lv: 4). “Then I play this, Armor Summon Style. This lets me Special Summon a Bull Dragon monster from my Deck since I control an Armor Magician monster, so I Summon Armor Beast, Bull Dragon ,” the card slid from his Deck and he slowly placed it on his Disk, and in the Field it formed as a large quadruped dragon with large horns, muscles and a coat of black fur covering it, not unlike Kalos himself (ATK: 1800, Lv: 4). “Wait, Bull Dragon?”

“Yes,” Manny smiled when the large bulgon started blushing at the card, and he figured thoughts around his head regarding the monster’s massive size were probably driving him crazy. “Anyway, you should probably start by fusing them now”

“Ah, but I don’t have any Polymerization card in my hand”

“You don’t need Polymerization to fuse monsters in this Deck,” Manny explained, getting a confused look from Kalos, who couldn’t quite grasp a concept that exceeded his knowledge from the first anime of the game. “It’s called Contact Fusion; it’s a type of Fusion Summon that doesn’t require Spell cards to work, but it needs the monster to be on your Field to work. The Materials are usually shuffled back in your Deck, but a few cases send them to the Graveyard instead. Try it out!”

“Alright… Let’s see if I got it right. I shuffle Leather Armor Magician and Armor Beast, Bull Dragon , and Fusion Summon Leather Bull Dragon ,” both monsters jumped into a swirling light vortex and the straps from the Magician’s dress tightly fastened around the dragon’s body in the shape of a harness, pushing and accentuating its muscular chest and arms and squeezing between its legs, making it yell a roar of primal bloodlust (ATK: 2400, Lv: 6). “O-Oh…” was Kalos’ reaction at seeing his dragon’s new outfit.

“Your dick’s slipping out,” Manny said when the dragon shifted his legs uncomfortably and Kalos looked down immediately, only to see, with a tomato red blush that the man in the hat was teasing him.

“Stop that! I play Armored Whip and equip it to Leather Bull Dragon!” a leather whip formed around the claws of the dragon and it flicked the weapon once to test it, sending an audible snap on the air. “This card can be equipped to a Bull Dragon monster and increase their attack points by 400 (2400 > 2800)! Furthermore, if it’s equipped to Leather Bull Dragon it inflicts 300 points of damage to my opponent once per turn!” the dragon once again lashed the weapon on the ground, the tip colliding next to Manny and lifting a cloud of dust around him. The man was unscathed, but his life points still decreased (4000 > 3700). “Now, Leather Bull Dragon , attack Dragodeus!” the dragon reared its arm once again and the whip flew towards Manny’s kneeling dragon, crushing him under its weight. “Turn End,” the blushing dragon concluded and crossed his arms around his large chest with a little embarrassed pout.

“You’re so damn adorable,” Manny said with a playful smile that quickly became a wicked grin. “I activate Dragodeus’ effect! During the End Phase of a turn it was destroyed by my opponent’s attack or card effect I can add a Warrior or Spellcaster-type monster with 2000 or less ATK from my Deck to my hand!” an orange and green framed card slid out and Manny revealed it for his opponent to see. “The monster I choose is Magical Abductor , 1700 ATK. Draw! I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 3 Magical Abductor and the Scale 3 Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer!” the two monsters, a woman with long black hair in black and green robes holding a staff with a shining light orbiting it, and a man in white and gold draconic armor covering his entire body appeared on the Field in two towers of light with the number 3 carved in them.

“Pendulum Scale…? Ah wait, that’s for Pendulum Summon, right?” Kalos’ light bulb seemed to turn on as the instruction manual for the game slowly flooded back into his mind. “You get to Special Summon monsters with Levels ranging between the Pendulum Scales of your set monsters. So, for example, if you use a Scale 1 monster and a Scale 8 monster, you can Summon monsters with Levels from 2 to 7,” Manny nodded in approval of the bulgon’s explanation and caused a smile to appear on his face. “But wait… Both of your monsters have the same Scale”

“Oh, do they? Silly me. In that case I’ll activate Master Pendulum’s effect. Once while it’s face up, Master Pendulum can destroy a card on either player’s Pendulum Zone,” the dragon-armored warrior unsheathed his sword and raised it in front of his face, only to turn it around and cleave it down his own body, bursting into pixels. Kalos swallowed and paled at the image, and more disturbingly at the calmness with which Manny had commanded his monster to do it. “Now, I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 8 Dragonpit Magician!” in place of his knight a tall man in a wavy blue and white tunic formed in its own pillar of light, and unnoticed by Kalos a second ball of light started orbiting Abductor’s staff. “With this I can Summon Level 4 to 7 monsters simultaneously. Pendulum Summon! Road Synchron!” a portal formed above between the pillars of light and three beams shot from within; one of them turned into a yellow robot with a pair of steamrollers instead of legs and a wide chest and arms (ATK: 1600, Lv: 4). “And from my Extra Deck, Master Pendulum and Dragodeus!” the other two reformed the draconic warriors on his Field, each one taking his own stance (ATK: 1950 > 2250, Lv: 4; ATK: 1500 > 1800, Lv: 4).

“From the Extra Deck?”

“Pendulum Monsters destroyed on the Field don’t go to the Graveyard,” Manny clarified. “Instead they are stored face-up in the Extra Deck and can be Pendulum Summoned later on. Now, I Tribute Master Pendulum and Dragodeus! Contact Fusion!” both monsters jumped within Manny’s own light vortex and disappeared within. “Vanguard of dragons, swing along the pendulum! Clad yourself in the blue armor of the mechanical beasts and stand as unmovable as the sea! Dinoster Power, the Mighty Dracoslayer!” Master Pendulum emerged from the vortex in a blue armor and large robotic arms and legs attached to him, whistling with hot steam as they attached, holding a laser blade on one hand and an enormous blue shield in front of him as he kneeled down (DEF: 2950 > 3250, Lv: 8).

“Your Deck can also use Contact Fusion?” Kalos asked apparently surprised and still somewhat amazed at the high defense that his own Bull Dragon couldn’t possibly defeat.

“You’ll come to see that my Deck can do a lot of things. Now, I activate Dinoster Power’s effect; once per turn I can Special Summon a Dracoslayer monster from my Graveyard, such as the Master Pendulum that I discarded to activate my Field’s effect,” a crane extended from Dinoster Power’s armor and descended inside a black portal, bringing back the white and gold armored dragon warrior (ATK: 1950 > 2250, Lv: 4). “Then, Road Synchron’s effect. When used for the Synchro Summon of a monster other than Road Warrior , it loses 2 Levels (4 > 2)

“I tune my Level 4 Master Pendulum and Level 2 Road Synchron!” The robot transformed into two green colored Synchro rings and surrounded the dragon warrior until it also became four Level stars of its own. “Crush and strike down with the power of authority! Synchro Summon! Goyo Guardian!” from a light that pierced through the Synchro rings stood a tall man with a bandaged chest in an open blue kimono, with kabuki painting on his face and a jutte on his hands (ATK: 2800 > 3100, Lv: 6). “Battle! Goyo Guardian , attack Leather Bull Dragon!” the warrior shoot his jutte at the gargantuan beast with the intention of destroying it, but the weapon stopped as it was grasped by its claw.

“ Leather Bull Dragon’s effect,” Kalos started reading off his card. “Once per turn it cannot be destroyed by battle, and after damage calculation the attacking monster gets a Leather Counter on it,” the straps along the dragon’s arm seemed to come to life and bolted towards Manny’s warrior, covering his body until he was completely bound by it. “Monsters with Leather Counters on them cannot attack or change their battle positions while Leather Bull Dragon is on the Field, but I think damage still goes through (4000 > 3700)”

“I would’ve never expected it,” Manny said but Kalos didn’t believe it for a moment. If he had built the Deck then he must’ve been aware of every card’s effect and how they could combo with each other, so any rookie mistake he made was most likely to allow the bulgon to get a feel of his new Deck. “Very well then. Turn End”

“Draw,” Kalos looked at the cards on his hand, but none of them could give him the edge he needed to defeat either of Manny’s monsters. “What to do? Um… Wait, what does this- Oh! I activate Armored Whip’s effect and inflict 300 points of damage,” the muscular dragon lashed its weapon against its owner’s opponent who once again remained unmoving at it (3700 > 3400). “Then I activate the second effect of Armored Whip! Once per turn I can target a monster with Leather Counters on it and reduce its attack points by 500!” the tip of the whip whizzed across the Field one more time, striking Goyo Guardian in the chest (3100 > 2600). “Now, Leather Bull Dragon , attack Goyo Guardian!” as the whip reared back the dragon’s claw rushed forward and with a loud roar the bound warrior was shredded to ribbons (3400 > 3200). “Ok… I set a card. Turn End”

“Getting a hang of it, I see,” Manny smirked and the dragon coyly laughed at his praise. “Counters can be a bit hard since you have to keep track of where they are; it’s one of the things Solid Vision makes so much easier. Anyway, draw!” Manny’s card was Fortune Lady Water; he didn’t react and simply put it in his hand. “Pendulum Summon! From my Extra Deck I Summon Dragodeus and my two Master Pendulum!” the portal opened again and the three dragon warriors sprung from within (ATK: 1950 > 2250, Lv: 4 x2; ATK: 1500 > 1800, Lv: 4).

“I Overlay my two Level 4 Master Pendulum!” the two monsters transformed into shining beams of yellow light and danced on the air before entering a red swirling portal in front of Manny. “With these two monsters I construct the Overlay Network. Xyz Summon! Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Now, descend! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!” a black-scaled dragon with thin limbs clad in black and white armor and long fangs down its jaws roared as it flew into the Field, loudly landing on Manny’s side, two purple spheres orbiting around it (ATK: 2500 > 2800, Rk: 4).

“You can pull off Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Summon with a non-Archetype personalized Deck?” Kalos gasped at the fairly impressive task and Manny giggled at his reaction, joined by a deep grunt from his black dragon.

“I activate Dark Rebellion’s effect. By detaching 2 Overlay Units I can target an opponent monster and halve its ATK, and then Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon gains that much ATK,” Kalos’ eyes widened as the dragon chomped on the two circling Materials and purple lightning started circling its wings. “ Treason Discharge!” the electric charge shot from the dragon’s wings and struck the monster on Kalos’ Field, visibly weakening it and forcing it to its knees and Dark Rebellion roared with a surge in power (2800 > 1400, 2800 > 3200). “Then I activate Dinoster Power’s effect again!” from another black portal Master Pendulum ascended back on the Field (ATK: 1950 > 2250, Lv: 4).

“I Overlay my Level 4 Master Pendulum and Dragodeus!” the monsters also became two yellow lights and entered another portal, this one black and filled with stars instead. “With these two monsters I construct the Overlay Network. Xyz Summon! Number 39!” a stylized 39 flashed in red and a white sword-shaped structure emerged from the portal, opening to let a pair of muscular arms come out, followed by a wide chest and golden wings. “My battle starts here. I entrust my wishes upon your white wings. Messenger of light, Utopia!” the warrior finished taking form from within his seal, covered in white and golden armor reflecting the light, and with a loud battle cry took a stance with his swords next to the two dragons, with two shining yellow orbs circling its body (ATK: 2500 > 2800, Rk: 4).

“Wow,” Kalos swallowed at the powerful monsters in front of him and he could feel their impatience to strike down on his own weakened dragon.

“That’s an appropriate reaction. Battle! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon , attack Leather Bull Dragon!” Manny’s dragon took off again and charged up its large jaws with electricity before diving for Kalos’ monster.

“I activate my Trap, Armor Defense! I discard an Armor Magician monster and for this turn all damage reduces to 0,” pieces of armor flew around the field and assembled in front of Kyriu’s Bull Dragon, letting Dark Rebellion’s fangs cleave through it without reaching the monster itself. “Then I use Leather Bull Dragon’s effect to protect it from destruction, and put a Leather Counter on Dark Rebellion!” the straps shot from the dragon’s back and trapped Dark Rebellion behind the empty armor, sending it angrily snapping at the leather back on Manny’s Field.

“Alright then. Utopia , attack Leather Bull Dragon!” the white and golden warrior stepped forward with its two gold swords in hand just as the armor reformed around the dragon’s body. His swords clanked several times against the armor, chipping away until it tore open from a slash and exposed the red and black flesh for a final strike against the monster. With a weak grunt the dragon exploded, sending a shockwave that forced Kalos to cover his eyes. “Turn End. It’s your move now. What are you going to pull off this time?”

“Draw…” Kalos looked up at the monsters and swallowed. After his Bull Dragon was destroyed Dark Rebellion had tore the bindings off its body with its sharp jaws and now glared at him furiously. A monster with 3200 ATK was certainly something to be nervous about, but he still tried his best to play, even if the sensation of the dragon’s eyes broke his focus. “Let’s see, I could, um… Maybe this or that?”

“Relax,” Kalos raised his head and behind the threatening holograms saw Manny smiling at him. “Just breathe and choose a move. Check your hand, your Graveyard and your Field until you feel comfortable with your play. Nobody’s rushing you”

“Right,” just like he said the bulgon took a deep breath and looked back at his hand, only this time the solution jumped right at him. “I Summon Prisoner Armor Magician!” several chains lashed and clanked against one another, all of them rolled around the thick arm of a muscular executioner that emitted a deep grunt from his black mask as he stepped forward on the Field (ATK: 600, Lv: 2). “I activate Prisoner Armor Magician’s effect, and Tribute it to Special Summon an Armor Magician monster from my Graveyard!” the chains crashed against the ground and pulled upwards an iron maiden around the monster, loudly closing around it. “I Special Summon Knight Armor Magician!” the iron maiden burst and from within came a strongly built, blue skinned humanoid with silver armor on his shoulders, chest and legs, and a knight’s helmet on his head that only showed a pair of glowing yellow eyes, with multiple swords and maces floating around him (ATK: 1900, Lv: 5).

“If I recall correctly, Knight Armor Magician’s effect lets you Special Summon a Bull Dragon monster from your Deck when Special Summoned himself, right?” Manny’s question was unnecessary; as Kalos swiped his card out of his Deck he was certain the man in the hat was already aware of the effect and was simply clearing things out for him, just in case.

“I Special Summon Armor Beast, Bull Dragon!” in a flash of light the hybrid appeared again with a roar on Kalos’ Field (ATK: 1800, Lv: 4). “I shuffle Bull Dragon and Knight Armor Magician! Contact Fusion!” the dragon and the man jumped in the shining vortex and the silver armor rested around the dragon’s limbs and chest, it’s muscles bulging to fit the wide spaces until it became a large mass of powerful flesh and scales roaring to fight. “ Knight Bull Dragon (ATK: 2700, Lv: 7)!”

“…Well?” Manny asked when his opponent had stopped talking for a moment to admire the thick muscles of his monster, tensing and beating with power. Kalos looked at him surprised and a deep red blush set on his face. “I know, it looks pretty real. If you’re interested there are hacks online to get their armors off and-

“I activate Weapon Magician’s effect!” Kalos’ blush intensified as he dropped a card on his Graveyard and a girl with messy white hair in a tattered black dress appeared for a moment on his Field, holding a large object covered in bandages. “While I control a Bull Dragon Fusion Monster I can discard it to add an Armored Equip Spell to my hand. I activate the Equip Spell Armored Sword and Shield!” the petit magician unraveled the object, a massive sword and shield that fell on the dragon’s claws with a loud thud (2700 > 3100). Because of the distracting sound Kalos didn’t notice a third orb appearing around Manny’s Magical Abductor. “ Knight Bull Dragon! Attack Utopia!” the dragon pressed forward, brandishing its sword violently against the white warrior that patiently waited for the strike.

“I activate Utopia’s effect, detaching an Overlay Unit to cancel your attack. Moon Barrier!” one of the yellow orbs was absorbed by the monster’s chest and his wings retracted in front of it, creating a shield with which Bull Dragon’s sword collided.

“I chain Knight Bull Dragon’s effect! Once per turn, when an opponent monster activates an effect during the Battle Phase, I can cancel that effect and destroy that monster!” a crack showed where the sword had hit the barrier and the dragon bashed it with its shield, breaking it down and pushing forward against the warrior, pinning him to the ground until he burst in a shower of yellow particles. “Since a monster was destroyed before I could complete my attack a replay occurs. Knight Bull Dragon , attack Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!” the hybrid redirected its attack towards the black-scaled dragon despite the difference in power being in its favor, but instead of questioning this behavior Manny simply smiled at it. “I activate Armored Sword and Shield’s effect! When Knight Bull Dragon is equipped with it, if it attacks a monster with more attack points then it gains half the difference between that monster’s defense (DEF: 2300) and its own attack (ATK: 3100 > 3500)! Go, Knight Bull Dragon!” the creature’s muscles flexed as it raised its blade one more time and cleaved right through Dark Rebellion’s flesh, the black dragon crying out in pain before exploding and leaving its owner’s side. Manny still remained undisturbed however (3200 > 2900). “I set a card! Turn End”

“Mmm, it seems like I underestimated you. Not everyone quite grasps how replays work. You’re also getting more excited, aren’t you?” Kalos didn’t say anything; some part of him didn’t want to give his opponent that satisfaction. But his cocky grin said all that needed to be said. “Draw,” Fortune Lady Dark. With this, Manny’s plan was set. “ Magical Abductor’s Pendulum effect; every time a Spell Card is played she gains a Spell Counter. Then, once per turn I can remove three Spell Counters and add a Pendulum Monster from my Deck to my hand,” Kalos watched in dreadful realization as the three floating orbs were absorbed by the wizard’s staff and she used it to draw complex glyphs in the air. A card in Manny’s Deck started to glow and he slowly took it out and added it to his hand. “Pendulum Summon! Fortune Lady Water!” a portal opened between both Pendulum monsters and three lights dove out. The first one showed a woman with pale blue skin in a revealing black leather dress, long blue hair and a scythe with a blue gem on the tip (ATK: 1200 > 1500, Lv: 4). “Black illusion that reigns over fortune! Fortune Lady Dark!” the second was another woman with the same dress and scythe, pale purple skin and wavy purple hair (ATK: 2000 > 2300, Lv: 5). “Appear! Wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!” the third was a large red colored dragon with a white armor around its chest extending behind its back, and white horns under which a red eye and a green eye flashed along a loud roar from it (ATK: 2500 > 2800, Lv: 7).

Kalos recoiled for a second at the speed with which Manny recovered his Field advantage and at the three new monsters staring down at him, each one already waiting for a chance to strike him down. But he quickly recovered and glared back at those monsters, ready to take them on. His own Knight Bull Dragon had a higher attack anyway, so he felt somewhat confident.

“It’s good that you stand forward. Fortune Lady Water’s effect lets me draw two cards if I control another Fortune Lady monster when she’s Special Summoned, which includes simultaneous summons,” Fortune Lady Water and Dark crossed their staves and a gentle light washed over Manny as he drew two cards. “Oh! Interesting. I Summon Road Synchron!” another yellow armored robot drove its way into the Field with steam coming out of the tubes on its back (ATK: 1600, Lv: 4). “I tune my Level 4 Fortune Lady Water and my Level 2 Road Synchron!” the robot turned into two Synchro rings that surrounded the witch until she became four Level stars of her own. “In the barrier that holds down the three dragons of Apocalypse your mighty roar echoes through their reflection! May the mirage that is your form never be forgotten! Synchro Summon!” a white paw fell heavily on the ground from within the Synchro rings, accompanied by a frighteningly powerful blizzard that almost blew Kalos out of the Field. A massive white tiger with golden-lined black armor stood in the middle of the blizzard, its silvery fur fluttering majestically in the wind as it let out a shattering roar befitting of a king. “ Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier (ATK: 2000, Lv: 6)!”

“Ice Barrier…?” Kalos muttered as the name of the Archetype reminded him of two of the most renowned banned cards in the game, and he shivered more out of fear than from the cold of the blizzard.

“I activate Dewloren’s effect,” Manny said with a calmed smile as Dewloren produced another thundering roar that made the shelves of weapons around them tremble. “Once per turn Dewloren can return any number of face-up cards from my side of the Field to their owner’s hand, and for each card returned to the hand this way it’ll gain 500 ATK until the end of the turn,” and with that the Field around them and the two Pendulums in light pillars around Manny returned to his hand, leaving only the empty arena (2000 > 3500). “Then, I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 3 Magical Abductor and the Scale 8 Dragonpit Magician ,” once again the two magicians rose from a pair of shining columns of light and settled above numbers with their respective Scales, an orb of light floating around Abductor’s staff. “Then I activate the Field Spell Empowering Armory ,” the shelves and armors reformed from the ground all around them and as soon as they did a second orb of light formed around Abductor’s staff.

“Wait, if you played Magical Abductor again,” Kalos started as Manny’s greater scheme dawned on him, “that means you can activate her effect again as well, doesn’t it?”

“I activate Polymerization! With this I fuse Odd-Eyes and Fortune Lady Dark!” the red-scaled dragon and the witch jumped together into the swirling vortex and a bright light covered the Field. “Black witch of illusions, become the bright light in the eyes of the dragon! Fusion Summon!” from within the vortex stepped the red skinned dragon, one of its eyes turned into a white sphere with a golden rune engraved on it and golden halos formed around its fangs and behind its backs, letting out a shrill roar “Arcane dragon wielder of ancient magic! Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (ATK: 3000 > 3300, Lv: 8)!”

“It’s here,” Kalos breathed when he saw the final Spell Counter form around Magical Abductor’s staff and the knowing grin in Manny’s face.

“I activate Dinoster Power’s effect and Special Summon Master Pendulum from the Graveyard,” the crane descended down the black portal again and brought back the dragon warrior in his white and gold armor (ATK: 1950 > 2250, Lv: 4). “And then I activate Magical Abductor’s effect to add D/D Orthros to my hand,” one more time Manny’s monster drew her runes and a glowing card was added to his hand. “Battle! Dewloren , attack Knight Bull Dragon!” the white tiger leapt and bared its fangs at the armored hybrid, sinking them down on its neck until the dragon screamed in agony at the frostbite extending all over its skin and crashed loudly on the ground, shattering into hundreds of pieces of ice that rained down on Kalos’ body, forcing him to cover his face with his arms (3700 > 3300). “And now I can win from exact damage. Funny how things work out, don’t you think?” the bulgon looked up and saw the man in front of him and the red-scaled Rune-Eyes already rearing for an attack of its own. “ Rune-Eyes , direct attack!”

“I activate my Trap Card, Bull Dragon Nest! When I get targeted for a direct attack I can Banish a Bull Dragon Fusion Monster from my Graveyard and Summon a Bull Dragon baby Token for each monster my opponent controls,” Knight Bull Dragon slid out of Kalos’ Graveyard and immediately four red eggs materialized on his Field, each one bursting open to reveal a small, chubby toddler version of his hybrid monster burping and snoozing out of their shells (DEF: 0, Lv: 1 x4).

“During the End Phase of this turn, if you still control a Bull Dragon Baby Token, Bull Dragon Nest will add a Bull Dragon monster from your Deck to your hand. Even with a replay, I can only attack with two monsters while you control four, which means you’ll get to use your card’s effect,” Kalos grinned. Despite Manny having cracked his strategy there was hardly anything he could do to stop it now, meaning he would get a new Fusion Monster out next turn and strike back. “But when Rune-Eyes is Summoned using a Level 5 or higher Spellcaster-type monster it can attack three times on monsters”

“What?”

“ Shiny Burst!” a triangle of energy drew inside the circular golden halo on its back and with a mighty roar Rune-Eyes shot a wave of power that filled the arena with nearly blinding light; the only thing Kalos managed to see were three of his Tokens vanishing in the light, leaving their last sibling to cry alone. “Poor little guy, all lonely and lost. Master Pendulum!” Kalos watched in horror as the dragon warrior jumped against the last wailing Token and could take it no more. He looked away until the dragon’s sounds stopped, and when he opened his eyes again his Field was empty. Manny’s calmed smile on the other side of the Field finished marking just how violent was his style and for a second the bulgon considered surrendering just to stop facing his bloodthirsty aggressiveness. “Turn End. During the End Phase Dewloren’s ATK returns to normal (3500 > 2000)”

Kalos looked at his Deck for a second. Manny’s style was methodic, calculated and yet flexible enough to turn the tables and regain his advantage in a single turn. He, on the other hand, was a casual player with an unfamiliar Deck. His best option to avoid a complete bashing was giving up where he was and going home; he could revise the Deck and practice more, and simply come back at any other moment. But one single, little thing kept him from doing so.

“Draw!” he was having too much fun. The card he drew, the only card in his hand… “I Summon Leather Armor Magician!” his leather-clad witch appeared again on the Field with a wink and a smile directed at her owner (ATK: 1600, Lv: 4). “I activate Leather Armor Magician’s effect! When she’s Normal Summoned I can add a Normal Spell Card from my Graveyard to my hand!” the card slid out and he immediately slammed it on his Duel Disk. “I activate Armor Summon Style! Since I control an Armor Magician monster I can Special Summon a Bull Dragon monster from my Deck! Come, Armor Beast, Blue Dragon!” a new monster appeared in a flash of light, tall and muscular like the previous Bull Dragon but covered in blue scales instead, giving a somber look when mixed with its black fur and the low grunt it emitted (ATK: 1500, Lv: 4).

“ Blue Dragon …?”

“ Blue Dragon is always considered a Bull Dragon monster by its own effect,” Kalos explained. “Furthermore, when Special Summoned, Blue Dragon lets me shuffle an Armor Magician on my side of the Field,” Leather Armor Magician vanished and the dragon let out a roar as its scales shone with a bright blue light. “Then I can check the top three cards on my Deck and Special Summon an Armor Magician from among them; otherwise, all cards are sent to the Graveyard,” he drew his three cards and instantly spotted the one he was hoping for. “I Special Summon Golden Armor Magician!” a muscular black-skinned humanoid landed on the Field, his bright yellow eyes flaring to life as a golden knight armor covered every inch of his body, leaving nothing but his head exposed (ATK: 2200, Lv: 6). “ Golden Armor Magician’s effect! When he’s Special Summoned I can add a monster from my Graveyard to my hand,” his Weapon Magician slid out of the Duel Disk and he quickly grabbed it before looking at Manny from beyond their monsters with a decided expression.

“I shuffle Blue Dragon and Golden Armor Magician! Contact Fusion!” the dragon and the gold-clad monster jumped together in the Fusion vortex and a bright golden light bathed the Field. “Supreme beast donning the hand of Midas!” Kalos chanted and Manny couldn’t help but smile. “Rein the world with your iron fist and command your followers with your powerful voice! Golden Bull Dragon!” a massive throne made of solid marble shook the entire arena as it ascended from the ground, and sitting upon it was the naked and massive frame of Bull Dragon. Elaborately designed and decorated pieces of gold armor flew around its body, clasping and covering every inch of red and black skin with their golden glimmer and turning its horns into solid gold until nothing except its head and an incipient part of its chest were left to the view. The dragon’s arm rested on its throne and held its head with a look of indifference directed at the little creatures that stood before it (ATK: 3000, Lv: 8).

“And the glorious king dignifies us with his presence at last!” Manny clamored to the bulgon’s surprise. “You have surprised me so far, Kalos! Let’s see what else you have though”

“I activate Weapon Magician’s effect to add Armored Excalibur to my hand and equip it to my Bull Dragon!” the white-haired girl appeared again holding an object covered in bandages, hurriedly revealing it as a golden sword that fell on the dragon’s armored claws, only for it to lazily cleave it on the ground in front of him, a hand resting on the hilt (3000 > 3400). “ Golden Bull Dragon! Attack Dewloren! Crush Regal!” the dragon barely moved as its arm raised the sword and tapped the ground with the tip, sending a golden shockwave that collided against the white tiger. Manny remained unmoving, but his smile had disappeared from his face (3200 > 1800), and despite his points dropping his monster remained on the Field. “ Golden Bull Dragon’s effect! When it attacks an opponent monster that monster isn’t destroyed, and after damage calculation I take control of it! Charisma Regal!” the dragon cocked a smile and its eyes shone an eerie golden color that reflected on Dewloren’s eyes, and the tiger quickly made its way to sit next to the throne, allowing the armored claw to pet it. “ Dewloren , attack Rune-Eyes!”

“You will attack Rune-Eyes with the much weaker Dewloren?” Manny asked without any real concern, his eyes darting towards the beast in gold that kept staring down at him.

“ Golden Bull Dragon’s final effect! When a monster I control that my opponent owns attack a monster with more attack points then both monsters are destroyed before damage calculation!” Dewloren rushed and leapt against the magic dragon, its fangs and claws etching themselves down the thick hide like they had done so before, only that instead of ice both monsters were covered by a layer of gold that turned them into statues in the middle of battle. “And then, my opponent gets damage equal to the difference between both monsters’ attack points! Go! Loyalty Regal!” the hybrid’s eyes flared again and with a loud grunt it raised its heavy weapon and crashed down the golden statue, sending bits of it flying on Manny’s way (1800 > 500). “Turn End…”

“You used a Summon chant just now,” Manny commented and got a gentle laugh from Kalos. “You’re finally starting to enjoy this, aren’t you? I mean really enjoy it in all of its glory”

“I guess I am,” Kalos smiled and looked up at his massive monster, swearing for a moment that the dragon flashed him a charming smile that made him blush again.

“That’s good. It means I don’t have to hold back any more. Draw,” the same smile returned to Manny’s face, but as he drew his card Kalos couldn’t help but feel a sort of wave emanating from him; it made him shudder and made that smile take a wicked edge. “Pendulum Summon! Fire Hand!” the portal opened again and just as Manny had announced a giant hand made of magma and sharp rocks acting as claws appeared (ATK: 1600, Lv: 4). “ Nefarious Archfiend Eater of Nefariousness!” next to it showed a devilish looking marmot with its brown fur on edge and its large bat wings flapping as it gnawed on a demonic skull (ATK: 1500, Lv: 4). “And from my Extra Deck! Revive! Wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!” lastly the large red-scaled dragon returned, its red and green eyes flashing hungrily along its powerful roar (ATK: 2500 > 2800, Lv: 7).

“I Tribute Odd-Eyes and Archfiend Eater! Contact Fusion!” the dragon and the marmot jumped together in the Fusion vortex and a dark light washed the Field, lining their owner in a sinister shadow. “Terrifying beast that swallows purgatory. Become one with the mysterious dragon to create a new power!” a shattering roar echoed across the Field and the red-scaled dragon stepped out of the portal with a large skeletal armor attached to its body and black fur covering its shining scales. “Come forth! The ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (ATK: 3000 > 3300, Lv: 8)!”

“I Summon D/D Orthros!” a hellish silver wolf with two heads appeared in a black light, standing on its hind legs as the rest of its body and the snake it had for a tail were bound by dark blue shackles (ATK: 600, Lv: 4). “I tune my Level 4 Fire Hand and Level 4 D/D Orthros!” the wolf turned into four green Synchro rings that surrounded the flaming limb, turning it into four stars of its own. “Gathering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the light its path shines upon! Synchro Summon!” a pillar of light pierced through the rings and from within a pair of large white wings extended; as the light dissipated a bright blue and white scaled dragon soared across the arena, glimmering with its own blinding radiance as it let out a shrieking roar “ Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500 > 2800, Lv: 8)!”

“I activate Dinoster Power’s effect and Special Summon the second Master Pendulum from my Graveyard,” one last time the crane extended from the monster’s body and fished out the draconic warrior who went to stand next to his twin (ATK: 1950 > 2250, Lv: 4). “I Overlay my two Level 4 Master Pendulum!” the monsters transformed into two bright yellow lights and sank inside a galactic portal that formed in front of Manny. “With these two monsters I construct the Overlay Network. Xyz Summon! Appear! Number 101!” a 101 flashed in neon blue and a pair of large silvery white thrusters ascended from within, each once decorated with purple details and connected by a cabin covered in white spikes and a red sphere in which a humanoid silhouette could be seen, a pair of blue spheres orbiting around it. “Unappeased Soul placed aboard the Ark. Arise from the abyss so deep not even light can reach it! Silent Honor ARK (ATK: 2100, Rk: 4)!”

“Fusion, Synchro and Xyz in the same turn…?” Kalos breathed out in shock. “This is what Pendulums can really do then?”

“I activate Silent Honor ARK’s effect! By detaching two Overlay Units I can target a Special Summoned monster my opponent controls and attach it to Silent Honor ARK as an Overlay Unit!” the blue spheres were absorbed by the red centerpiece and the frontal thrusters charged and shot a blue stream of energy at the golden dragon in front of them.

“I activate Armored Excalibur’s effect! If an equipped Golden Bull Dragon is targeted for a card effect I can cancel that effect,” the dragon raised its weapon and slashed the energy stream, swatting it away as if it was a bug and watching the golden blade light up in flames of the same color, “and destroy the card that used that effect!” the sword raised again and the arm holding it made a swinging motion to drop it heavily on top of the ship monster, but it was stopped by a pair of white claws that caused an expression of surprise in the otherwise undisturbed smug grin of the Bull Dragon.

“I chain Stardust Dragon’s effect! When a card effect that destroys monsters activates, I can Tribute Stardust to cancel that effect and destroy that card! Victim Sanctuary!” Stardust roared as its body shone with glaring white light and burst into particles, taking the sword from the hybrid’s hands with it (3400 > 3000). “And since your card’s effect was taken out of the Chain, Silent Honor ARK’s effect goes through! Eternal Soul Asylum!” another stream of blue energy got Golden Bull Dragon on the chest, slowly shrinking him into a blue light that started orbiting the ship-like monster on Manny’s Field.

“What…?” Kalos had silently witnessed all of this in disbelief, seeing how his massive advantage crushed in front of him in just a few swift movements, and the last of Manny’s monsters, that furious dragon in skeletal armor huffed at him and reared in preparation for its final strike.

“I’m glad I got you to enjoy the game more though, so no hard feelings. Battle! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon , direct attack! Hell Dive Burst!” the bestial dragon rushed forward with growing speed and leapt all the way to the arena’s ceiling, engulfing its own body in bright red flames and dive bombing Kalos, resulting in a massive explosion that lifted a cloud of dust and sent the bulgon flying back (3300 > 0).

“Ow…” the bull dragon managed to weakly let out from his position on the floor as the holograms around him vanished. Manny’s face appeared in front of him with a curious expression and the he looked away from the mocking grin he knew would form on his lips. “I lost…”

“Of course you lost. It’s your first game with a Deck somebody else made for you,” Manny explained and offered a hand to the much larger man to help him up. “It was still a great game and all you need is to check the Deck and modify it as you see fit. Besides, you’re still cute”

“Stop saying that,” Kalos blushed and the two friends laughed as they made their way out of the arena and the store, the lights turning off behind them as they came out into the night.