"My turn, draw!"
Raku swiftly pressed his hand onto the top of the Duel Disk and swept it outward. Five cards spread out between his fingers in a fan.
The immense and violent pressure pouring from the golden monster ahead continuously surged forward, nearly draining the surrounding air.
"Partner, activate Magical Meltdown!" Aleister's voice rang directly beside Raku's ear, speaking rapidly. "With your current damaged Soul Power, summoning powerful monsters is too difficult! But activating Magical Meltdown can temporarily amplify your Soul Power!"
Raku glanced at his hand.
"Got it!" He slapped the rightmost card into the Field Zone at the edge of the Duel Disk. "I activate the Field Spell from my hand–Magical! Melt! down!"
Buzz!
As the card was placed, a complex red magic circle expanded outward from beneath Raku's feet, spreading wildly across the ruined hall. The red patterns formed from pure magical power even overwhelmed the dim glow emanating from [Eldlich the Mad Golden Lord].
In an instant, Raku felt an intense surge of heat throughout his entire body.
It was like boiling magma had been forcibly injected into dried-up veins. The pain, accompanied by the rising power, pushed his Soul Power to an extremely terrifying peak.
"Magical Meltdown's first effect: when this card is activated, you can add 1 "Aleister the Invoker" from your Deck to your hand."
Raku pulled the designated card from the automatically presented Deck.
"I add Aleister from my Deck to my hand, then–Normal Summon Aleister!" He placed the card horizontally into the Monster Zone. "Activate second effect: when this card is Normal Summoned or flipped, you can add 1 "Invocation" from your Deck to your hand."
Within the red magic circle, light gathered.
The figure clad in a mage's robe, holding a massive staff, casually stepped out from the formation and stood before Raku.
"Hm? No Ecclesia?"
Raku looked at Aleister's back and voiced his question.
Aleister turned his head, tapping his staff against the ground, letting out a light chuckle.
"If I had abducted Endymion's wife, the one dueling you now would be the 'Sacred Magic King'."
A surprisingly well-founded reason.
Raku did not dwell on the topic. His gaze locked onto his hand.
"Then, like this, activate Invocation's first effect: use monsters from the hand as Fusion Materials to Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster. When Fusion Summoning an "Invoked" Fusion Monster, you can also use monsters from your field, or banish monsters from either your Graveyard or your opponent's Graveyard as Fusion Materials."
"I use [Qadshaddoll Keios] from my hand and Aleister on the field as Fusion Materials–"
Raku's voice was amplified endlessly within the raging wind.
"Fusion Summon! Mechaba!"
Aleister on the field raised the massive staff with the triangular tip. A far larger fusion summoning circle, inscribed with ancient runes, manifested in midair.
Amid intertwining light and darkness, a chariot knight clad in silver-white heavy armor broke through the phantom of the summoning circle. The knight wielded a massive sword in one hand and a giant shield engraved with a solar crest in the other, hovering directly in midair.
"Due to Invocation, Qadshaddoll Keios is sent from the hand to the Graveyard, and Aleister is banished from the field." Raku immediately declared the chain. "Activate Qadshaddoll Keios's second effect: if this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, you can send 1 "Shaddoll" monster from your hand to the Graveyard."
He drew out a card from his hand and smoothly inserted it into the Graveyard slot of the Duel Disk.
"I send [Shaddoll Squamata] from my hand to the Graveyard. Then, Shaddoll Squamata's second effect: if this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, you can send 1 "Shaddoll" card from your Deck to the Graveyard, except "Shaddoll Squamata."
The Deck popped open once more.
"I send [Shaddoll Hedgehog] to the Graveyard."
As the card was sent, the Duel Disk emitted a crisp notification sound.
"Shaddoll Hedgehog second effect: if this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, you can add 1 "Shaddoll" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Shaddoll Hedgehog."
Raku revealed the retrieved card.
"I add [Shaddoll Beast] to my hand!"
The entire sequence flowed smoothly without the slightest pause. The extremely complex Graveyard setup felt like instinct at this moment.
"Then! From my hand, activate [Shaddoll Fusion]!"
Raku slammed a Spell Card with a purple vortex pattern into the Spell/Trap Zone.
"I send the Shaddoll Beast I just added and [Shaddoll Falco] from my hand to the Graveyard, then–Fusion Summon!"
A viscous purple-black mist began to spread within the red glow of Magical Meltdown.
"Its body is a forbidden transgression–when shadow and darkness overlap, the puppet of calamity shall become the wind of despair, shrouding the light of the Sacred Tree and guiding the world to its end–"
He slammed the dark purple Extra Deck card into the Monster Zone.
"Winds of Despair–Winda!"
The purple-black mist exploded.
A ferocious purple shadow dragon extended its head from the dense fog. Upon its back stood a green-haired girl with her eyes closed, her limbs controlled by countless purple threads.
Winda.
The moment she appeared, the backlash from dark magic violently struck Raku's body.
Raku felt an intense compression within his chest.
At once, a sweetness rose in his throat.
"Pff–"
He turned his head and spat out a mouthful of blood. Several droplets of dark red blood splattered onto the dust-covered, broken floor tiles of the hall.
Winda, standing atop the purple Shaddoll dragon, slowly turned her head. Those unfocused eyes glanced in Raku's direction.
Raku raised the back of his right hand and casually wiped the corner of his mouth.
This feeling of nearly tearing apart was truly unpleasant. Had this damaged soul finally reached its limit?
"Looks like my Soul Power is still a bit insufficient."
His expression did not change in the slightest, as if the one coughing up blood was not himself. He switched back to operating the Duel Disk.
"Auto chain!"
"Chain Link 1 Shaddoll Beast, Chain Link 2 Shaddoll Falco–resolving in reverse order!"
Raku watched the constantly appearing light screens on the Duel Disk.
"Resolve Shaddoll Falco second effect: if this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, you can Special Summon this card in face-down Defense Position!"
A Monster Card phantom covered in a purple card back quietly appeared beside Winda.
"Then Shaddoll Beast's second effect! If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, you can draw 1 card."
He steadily drew another card from the top of his Deck and added it to his hand. With Mechaba and Winda both established on the field, a suppressive board was completely formed.
"And, I activate Invocation's second effect in the Graveyard: if this card is in the Graveyard, you can target 1 of your banished "Aleister the Invoker"; shuffle this card into the Deck, and if you do, add that monster to your hand."
"I recover Aleister, then Invocation returns to the Deck. End of my turn."
The moment Raku declared the end of his turn, the massive [Eldlich the Mad Golden Lord] standing at the center of the hall let out a deafening roar beneath its mask, its thick golden claw crushing a nearby broken stone pillar into pieces.
"ROARRR!"
The thunderous roar burst forth from beneath that massive golden mask. The tangible soundwaves even blew away all the ashes lodged within the cracks of the floor tiles.
Amid the raging wind, the irrational monster did not operate through the Duel Disk. Instead, it violently swung its massive claw downward.
A dark red glow gathered before it, forming the phantom of a massive Spell Card.
[Seven Cities of the Golden Land].
This unreasonable pressure signaled the official start of its turn.
A violent red glow flickered within the hollow eye sockets of the Mad Golden Lord as it directly activated the Continuous Spell Card's effect.
"ROAR!"
Two card phantoms radiating ominous golden light were swiftly grabbed from midair and shoved into the mass of viscous dark red liquid at the center of the altar.
Those were two [Eldlich the Golden Lord].
Raku observed the monster's actions, his gaze narrowing slightly.
It had just activated Seven Cities of the Golden Land's first effect: During your Main Phase: You can Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using only Zombie monsters from your hand or field as Fusion Material.
This playstyle… had it already lost its sanity?
Raku stared at the frenzied Mad Golden Lord, his mind racing.
The Fusion condition was "Eldlich the Golden Lord" monster plus a Level 5 or higher Zombie monster. Yet it had chosen to expend its valuable archetype resources, directly using two Golden Lords to manifest itself once more in this Shadow Duel.
It could have simply used the Golden Lord's effect to send cards and clear his field or force out negations.
There was no structure at all; purely a pursuit of extreme violence.
The dark red liquid within the altar began to boil forcefully, then transformed into a thick beam of dark light that shot into the sky before crashing onto the Mad Golden Lord's massive body.
Boom!
Even more grotesque golden spikes pierced out from the gaps in its armor.
[Eldlich the Mad Golden Lord] stepped onto the field personally.
With that bone-chilling roar, it did not pause for even a moment and directly entered the Battle Phase.
That massive body erupted with terrifying speed. Like a rampaging bull out of control, its enormous weight slammed against the shattered floor tiles, producing heavy thudding sounds–Boom! Boom!
Its target was clear.
It charged straight toward the silver-white chariot knight standing before Raku–Invoked Mechaba.
I see.
Raku watched the rapidly approaching behemoth, calmly analyzing the situation.
Despite this thing having lost its sanity, its beastly instincts were still sharp. While Winda could lock down Special Summons, the Golden Land's resource cycle was extremely strong.
Moreover, pure Golden Land wasn't a high-speed deck; it could really play a grind game. You Special Summon one, I Special Summon one–eventually, the resource-heavy Golden Land would definitely come out on top.
So leaving Winda on the field was actually more beneficial to it. In contrast, Mechaba, with its omni-negate, was a fatal threat to its plays.
"Not happening."
Raku decisively pulled out a card from his hand.
"I activate Aleister's first effect: during either player's turn, send this card from my hand to the Graveyard, then target 1 Fusion Monster I control; that monster gains 1000 Attack and Defense until the end of this turn!"
He forcefully placed the card into the Graveyard Zone.
The phantom of Aleister, standing at the edge of the field, cooperated, raising his staff. A beam of emerald magical energy precisely infused into Mechaba's body.
The silver-white knight's armor burst with dazzling light.
Mechaba's Attack skyrocketed instantly!
[Invoked Mechaba, ATK: 2500 → 3500]
However–
The charging Mad Golden Lord had a terrifying 3800 Attack!
BOOM!!!
A deafening clash of metal echoed through the hall.
Mechaba raised its giant shield engraved with the solar crest in an attempt to block, but the monster's brutal claw cleaved straight through both shield and body.
3500 against 3800.
The silver-white chariot knight did not last even a second. Amid a piercing and shattering sound, it broke into countless fragments of light.
After destroying Mechaba, the Mad Golden Lord did not stop its berserk charge.
That massive golden body, carrying terrifying momentum, crashed toward Raku, who could not evade in time.
Bang!
Raku didn't even have time to make any defensive move. He only felt as if his chest had been crushed by a runaway train.
His whole body was sent flying in a miserable state.
His dark gray coat whipped chaotically in midair before he slammed heavily into a broken marble pillar.
Cough–Pff!
Raku collapsed onto the ground, immediately coughing up a large mouthful of blood. Within that glaring dark red fluid were even horrifying fragments of internal organs.
[Raku, LP: 8000 → 7700]
The unbearable pain caused Raku's vision to blur for a moment.
At the center of the hall, the berserk monster shook its claw stained with fragments of light. Two massive face-down card phantoms appeared before it before the two cards were set onto the field.
...
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