"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Dimitri, LP 4000]
"Looks like I'm going first," Kira glanced down at his Duel Disk.
"Heh, it doesn't matter," Dimitri stood with his hands on his hips. "Now that I've acquired the strongest deck, there's no way I can lose. First or second, it's all the same to me. Against the students of this academy—even you—dueling is just a game."
"You sure are deep in character, huh…"
But deep down, Kira thought: What's impressive isn't the deck itself, but the person using it.
"Oh well, since I'm up against that deck, maybe this deck of mine is the perfect match," Kira smiled, accepting the first turn without hesitation. "My turn, draw!"
"I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity': draw three cards from my deck, then discard two from my hand."
"And next, this card."
He raised his arm, and the image of a Spell Card projected before him.
"Quick-Play Spell—Spellbook Organization. I can look at the top three cards of my deck."
He drew three cards at once, rearranged them, and placed them back on his deck.
"I can arrange them in any order I like, then return them to the top."
Dimitri muttered, "Rearranging the deck order… to increase the chance of a combo?"
He'd analyzed every notable duelist's deck at the academy, but Kira's strategies were always a mystery to him. The way he built his decks and played them was never the same. From the finished decks alone, it was impossible to grasp his line of thinking.
But Dimitri had noticed that Kira liked to pull out all sorts of weird, unexpected combos.
"I set a monster, then set a card. Turn end," Kira said.
"Whatever you're planning, it's useless against me now! My turn, draw!" Dimitri said. "I'll also activate Graceful Charity! Draw three, discard two."
"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Silent Doom'! I revive a normal monster in Defense Position from my graveyard!"
[Queen's Knight, DEF 1600]
"And then, I Normal Summon 'King's Knight'!"
[King's Knight, ATK 1600]
The duel was taking place near the Yellow Dorm, and though it was late, it wasn't deserted. A Yellow Dorm student passing by pointed, "Hey, there's a duel going on over there!"
"Huh? Someone in Yellow dares to duel with Kira?"
"Wait, didn't I hear the Duel King's deck was stolen? Do you think that guy looks like…?"
"NANI!?"
Seeing Kira dueling in Yellow Dorm was already a spectacle, but with the Duel King's Deck rumor, a crowd quickly gathered.
The master of Yellow Dorm facing the Duel King's deck!
It was like the duel of the year.
"Heh, perfect. Looks like even more people will witness the moment I become Yellow Dorm's number one," Dimitri boasted. "Watch closely. This is the King's Duel!"
"King's Knight's effect! When this card is summoned and 'Queen's Knight' is on my field, I can Special Summon 'Jack's Knight' from my deck!"
[Jack's Knight, ATK 1900]
A fan in the crowd was excited: "I know this! It's the Three Knights for summoning the Egyptian Gods! Yugi used them to summon the God Cards!"
Or, to put it less nicely, the three tribute fodders.
"Hmph, too bad there are no God Cards in this deck. But my monsters' teamwork more than makes up for that!" Dimitri shouted. "I activate the Spell Card 'Royal Straight' from my hand! I tribute 'Queen's Knight', 'Jack's Knight', and 'King's Knight' to Special Summon this card from my deck!"
The three knights turned into points of light and vanished, their energies converging to open a summoning portal. Violent golden energy burst forth, and a dignified swordsman appeared, hand on his sword.
"Royal Straight Slasher, summoned!"
[Royal Straight Slasher, ATK 2400]
Royal Straight—originally a Normal Spell, which years later Konami turned into a Quick-Play Spell, buffing it.
The swordsman's dramatic arrival sent the crowd into a frenzy.
"A legendary monster!"
"It's the monster that Yugi used! So cool!"
Dimitri basked in the cheers as if all the praise were for him. He waved to continue.
"Royal Straight Slasher's effect: Once per turn, I can send one Level 1, one Level 2, one Level 3, one Level 4, and one Level 5 monster each from my deck to the graveyard, then destroy all cards my opponent controls!"
He pulled five cards from his deck and sent them to the grave.
"Five monsters from Level 1 to 5 to the graveyard—now all your cards are destroyed! Royal Straight Annihilation!"
The swordsman slashed, and a whirlwind of sword energy swept the field! Kira's set monster and face-down card were lifted and shredded. The crowd glimpsed the set card: "Mirror Force".
"Mirror Force's defense was broken!" a student exclaimed. "Amazing, a legendary monster summoned and a field wipe in the very first turn!"
"This is the Duel King's deck? It's so strong!"
"Hahaha, I told you! With this deck, I'm invincible!" Dimitri laughed. "No matter how many traps, no matter how many tricks, they're useless! Not even Yellow Dorm's unspeakable legend can withstand it!"
Watching Dimitri's swelling ego, Kira wanted to say, "Actually, do you know how the owner of that deck got defeated in the end? He definitely wouldn't agree with your traps are useless theory."
"Go, Royal Straight Slasher! Attack directly!" Dimitri continued, "Royal Break Slash!"
The swordsman, having cleared the field, charged at Kira.
"You think you've got it in the bag at this level? Looks like you didn't learn much from the Duel King's deck," Kira chuckled.
"What?" Dimitri frowned.
"Let me give you a hint," Kira slowly raised his arm. "The true ace of Duel King Yugi Muto."
Dimitri's heart skipped a beat.
Yugi's true ace? Is it Dark Magician…?
"The effect of 'Clear Kuriboh' in my graveyard activates," Kira said. "When you declare a direct attack, I can banish this card from my graveyard to draw one card. If it's a monster, I Special Summon it and your attack is redirected to that monster."
Dimitri: "!"
A Kuriboh… in the graveyard!?
Clear Kuriboh was a card Yugi used in his last public duel with Seto Kaiba years ago.
Of course, Atem was gone by then, and Yugi was dueling alone.
Meanwhile, the deck Dimitri got was the one Atem used, and even it didn't have Clear Kuriboh.
Dimitri clicked his tongue, "But even so, you have to draw a monster card…"
Dimitri: "!?"
He suddenly realized—last turn, Spellbook Organization—
The top card of Kira's deck was arranged by himself. So if he activates Clear Kuriboh's effect, it's going to be a monster.
"According to Clear Kuriboh's effect, I draw," Kira calmly drew, and slapped the card onto the field without looking.
"In defense position, I Special Summon 'D.D. Warrior Lady'! Now, according to Clear Kuriboh, your 'Royal Straight Slasher' must attack D.D. Warrior Lady."
Dimitri: "NANI!?"