[Ceruli, Guru of Dark World, DEF 300]
The Queen stared blankly at the Guru that had suddenly appeared on her side, utterly confused.
She did indeed enjoy charming her opponent's monsters to fight for her. But when the opponent voluntarily shoved one over, something just felt very wrong.
"Effect of Ceruli, Guru of Dark World," Kira continued. "When this card is Special Summoned by the effect of a 'Dark World' card, the opponent chooses one card in their own hand and discards it."
The Queen frowned. "So the point is to discard one of my cards?"
"No, no, no. The text says 'the opponent chooses one of their own cards to discard.'"
Kira added with a squinting smile.
The Queen froze for half a second, then suddenly understood.
Right. Now that Ceruli is on my field, from his perspective, 'the opponent' is actually Kira.
At first glance this card seemed utterly nonsensical. It handed the opponent a free monster, then forced its own controller to discard a card. If you looked at it in isolation and not within the archetype, it seemed like pure self-sabotage garbage. Most people would scratch their heads raw and still not understand why such a traitor card even existed.
But even the Queen instantly realized that, within the Dark World system, this seemingly pointless card suddenly became extremely useful.
Dark World monsters all wanted to be discarded by card effects to trigger their abilities.
And if the discard came from the opponent's effect, they would unlock even stronger, hidden effects.
Dark World Guru not only created a way for you to discard your own card, it even "defected" to the opponent's side before doing so, pivoting itself into an "opponent's effect". Any Dark World card triggered by Ceruli's effect would then have its power greatly amplified.
"Exactly. Now that Guru is on your field, I'm the one who discards a card from my hand," said Kira.
He revealed a card in his hand.
"I discard 'Sillva, Warlord of Dark World' from my hand."
The Queen's eyes tightened. "Another effect that triggers when discarded?"
"Haha, as expected of Your Majesty. Astute as ever." Kira chuckled. "Congratulations, you're correct. Your prize is this—
—When Sillva is discarded from hand by a card effect, he Special Summons himself!"
[Sillva, Warlord of Dark World, ATK 2300]
"And if he was discarded by the opponent's card effect, he gains an additional effect." Kira's eyes narrowed. "The opponent chooses two cards in their hand and places them on the bottom of their Deck in any order."
The Queen: "!"
Her expression darkened as she glanced at her hand.
I have to pick two cards to return…
So that was his objective all along?
By forcing Dark World Guru onto her field, he'd turned Guru into an "opponent effect." Since he couldn't deal damage this turn due to One Day of Peace, he'd simply turned his sights on her hand instead.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Dark World Dealings'. Both players draw one card, then each discards one card from their hand."
The Queen frowned, drawing a card, then discarding another. Kira did the same.
As soon as he discarded his card, a mighty force erupted from his Graveyard. A massive pitch-black silhouette flashed over his field, accompanied by a deep dragon's roar.
"The card I just discarded was 'Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World'," Kira said solemnly. "When Grapha is discarded by a card effect, I can destroy one card on the opponent's field."
He crooked his finger.
"Destroy 'Allure Queen LV7'."
The Queen shrieked as she was engulfed in the Dragon Lord's breath and obliterated within the darkness. The Royal Guard grit their teeth, but they could only shield the Queen from battle destruction. Against destruction by card effect, they were helpless.
Allure Queen was the core of her entire deck. All her other cards existed to support the Queen. Once the Queen fell, the Royal Guard, "Allure Dance," all of it—lost their purpose and became mere blank cardboard.
"And then there's the other effect of Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World," Kira went on. "While this card is in the Graveyard, I can return any one 'Dark World' monster I control, other than Grapha, to my hand to Special Summon Grapha from the Graveyard.
I return 'Sillva, Warlord of Dark World', who was just Special Summoned by his own effect, to my hand, and revive—
—Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World!"
Surging darkness exploded. The giant shadow seemed to push open the Gate of the Dark World and step through into reality. The demon dragon descended with regal might!
[Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, ATK 2700]
Kira: "Then I activate the Spell Card 'Dark Corridor', adding one 'Dark World' monster from my Deck to my hand, then discarding one card."
This card had only received a real physical printing much later, but it had shown up in the anime quite early.
"I add 'Ceruli, Guru of Dark World' from my Deck to my hand," Kira said lazily. "Then I discard that same 'Ceruli, Guru of Dark World'."
The Queen: "!"
Search it and discard it immediately…
Right, that Guru's effect is—
"Correct. When Guru is discarded, he Special Summons himself to the opponent's field," Kira said with a small smile.
So the Queen had to watch, teeth grinding, as yet another punchable little demon geezer appeared on her side.
[Ceruli, Guru of Dark World, ATK 100]
"And now Guru's effect triggers again: since he was Special Summoned by the effect of a 'Dark World' card, the opponent must choose a card in their own hand to discard."
The Queen's pupils shrank.
Even before he showed his choice, she already knew exactly which card he would discard.
Just earlier, in order to Special Summon Grapha from the Graveyard, he had returned a certain "Dark World" monster from his field to his hand…
"Of course, I discard 'Sillva, Warlord of Dark World' from my hand," Kira announced with a smile.
"When Sillva is discarded by a card effect, he Special Summons himself."
[Sillva, Warlord of Dark World, ATK 2300]
"And if he was discarded by the opponent's card effect, he forces the opponent to choose another two cards from their hand and return them to the bottom of their Deck."
Kira beckoned again.
"Come now, pick two more to bottom-deck."
He paused, then added with a grin:
"You can even choose the order you like. Very user-friendly, right?"
The Queen: "…"
I swear to—
Her face flushed red with fury, her generous chest heaving all the more violently. But after clenching her teeth in anger for quite some time, she realized there was absolutely nothing she could do. In the end, she could only, sullenly, place two cards—her last two cards—on the bottom of her Deck.
She now had no hand at all.
"Battle phase," Kira declared. "Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, Sillva, Warlord of Dark World, Brron, Mad King of Dark World.
Attack the two monsters remaining on your field: 'Ceruli, Guru of Dark World' and 'Queen's Bodyguard'!"
The Dark World forces launched a sweeping assault that completely wiped out everything on the Queen's field.
Her once snow-white face was now iron-blue tinged with a faint blush—purely from rage.
Last turn, she had proudly summoned her strongest form, absorbed two of his most powerful high-Level monsters, and established a dominant position on the board. Yet in a single turn, that advantage had been utterly annihilated. No, not just her board—the very foundation of her resources had been shattered. Even her hand had not been spared!
In one turn, her entire field was cleared and every last card in her hand was stripped away, literally driving her into a desperate corner where she had no bullets left. The only reason she was still alive was because of the temporary protection offered by "One Day of Peace".
But once this turn ended, that protection would also vanish.
The Queen lowered her gaze to her Deck, her face grave.
No matter what, this final draw would decide everything.
Was she really going to lose here?
She clenched her teeth.
Don't be ridiculous.
She was the Allure Queen, one of the Evil God's most trusted believers. She had already resolved to bring back the Duel Spirit her Evil God desired, no matter the cost.
How could she possibly lose here of all places—and in such a pathetic manner?
She would use this final draw to create the most magnificent turnaround!
"Activate my set card," Kira said unhurriedly. "Trap Card 'Time Seal'. Skip your next Draw Phase."
The Queen froze.
…What?
Her mind stalled for a few seconds, then she slowly lowered her head and saw a circular, clock-like magical seal appear over the Deck slot on her Duel Disk.
Her Deck had been sealed.
"Alright, my turn is over." Kira gestured politely. "It's your turn. You just can't draw this turn.
Aside from that, nothing special. Do as you please."
The Queen bit her lip.
Nothing special, my ass.
Do as I please?
Do what, exactly?
Stare at you?
Only now did she realize that it had all been an illusion.
There was never any "last chance".
There was never any "God-tier draw to create a miracle".
Her field was empty. Her hand was wiped out. On top of that, even the chance to top-deck had been taken from her.
Even if some god of destiny descended to play the rest of this Duel for her, there would be nothing left to salvage.
Even if you were some legendary "God Draw" player who could draw cards that didn't even exist in your deck, you'd still need to at least draw, right?
Even if you were a legendary "Printer God" who could reprint cards on the spot in front of your opponent, you'd still need to have cards in hand to print from, right?
The Queen stared at her field with a bitter face, completely motionless for a long time like a wooden puppet.
Kira, on the other hand, displayed impeccable gentlemanly patience. He didn't rush her at all, just watched her with that mild smile.
Until the time limit was up.
"If you're not going to make a move, then I suppose it's my turn again."
Kira drew a card and waved his hand.
"Sillva, Warlord of Dark World, Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, attack directly."
[Queen, LP 0]