A whole vial of blood, just like that... gone?

Clearly, it was a direct attack with a power of 2900 points, yet Jounouchi showed not the slightest hint of panic. He moved only when the Spinosaurus, charging at full speed, was almost upon him.

“The Spinosaurus’s attack cannot deal direct damage to me.”

The moment he spoke these words, as if some magical force had intervened, the Spinosaurus—its claws extended and less than half a meter from Jounouchi—suddenly stopped its assault!

Ryuzaki: ?

The halted Spinosaurus retracted its claws, and with a distinctly human-like expression of frustration, it turned away under its master’s puzzled gaze and returned to Ryuzaki’s field.

“What’s going on?” Now it was Ryuzaki’s turn to be confused.

“My other set card, the Continuous Trap ‘Red-Eyes Armor Spin,’ has already been activated!”

Unnoticed, Jounouchi’s last set card had been flipped face-up. On the field, the “Red-Eyes Black Dragon” that had been sent to the graveyard earlier by “Red-Eyes Insight” now let out a mighty roar, its jet-black wings beating as it soared up from the abyss to return to Jounouchi’s side.

“The moment I realized that Blast with Chain couldn’t stop the Fire Attack of your Tyrannosaurus, I activated the Continuous Trap ‘Red-Eyes Armor Spin’!”

A faint smile played on Jounouchi’s lips as he spoke. Having brushed up on his knowledge of Duel Monsters and the new dueling rules, he had timed his trap perfectly, reviving his ace monster from the graveyard—sent there earlier by Insight.

“As long as I control a ‘Red-Eyes’ monster, I can use Armor Spin’s effect to Special Summon a Normal Monster from my graveyard!”

Though the trap card was activated just in time, perhaps for dramatic effect, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon was revived at the very moment the Spinosaurus was about to deal direct damage to Jounouchi, triggering the “battle rewind” described in the new rules when a new monster appears on the opponent’s field mid-battle.

Glancing at the Black Dragon in Defense Position, which had only 2000 Defense Points, Ryuzaki decided, after the battle rewound, to have Spinosaurus continue its attack.

This time, with no other card effects interfering, the Black Dragon was sent to the graveyard, and Ryuzaki promptly activated Spinosaurus’s effect:

“Spinosaurus’s effect activates! When it destroys an opponent’s monster by battle and sends it to the graveyard, I can Special Summon a ‘Spinosaurus Token’ in Attack Position on my opponent’s field!”

A much smaller, rather cute Spinosaurus appeared on Jounouchi’s field. While this token was stronger than the previously summoned “Jurassic Token,” the difference wasn’t vast.

(Spinosaurus Token: Dinosaur-Type, FIRE Attribute, Level 1, ATK 300, DEF 0)

“End of turn.”

[Ryuzaki: 5000 LP, Hand: 0, Monster Zone: Jurassic Spinosaurus, Jurassic Tyrannosaurus, Spell/Trap Zone: Great Earthquake, Field Zone: Jurassic World]

“My turn. Draw!”

“Jurassic World… Not only does it boost the ATK and DEF of monsters, it also grants certain types a shield that resists trap effects… This is troublesome.”

“As long as Great Earthquake remains, I can’t use my three remaining Spell/Trap Zones!”

At this moment, none of the four cards in Jounouchi’s hand could remove Ryuzaki’s Spell or Trap, but he did have Pot of Greed to cycle his deck.

“I activate the Spell Card ‘Pot of Greed’… YA☆DA★ZE!”

Jounouchi’s surprise was clear as he drew his second card. For Ryuzaki, whose field was now unprotected by any set cards, the Storm card—one that Jounouchi had thought decent enough to include in his deck—would be invaluable.

“First, I activate the Spell Card ‘Monster Reborn’! Come back from the grave, the very embodiment of the infinite possibilities of dueling—Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”

“Roar!!”

Thanks to Monster Reborn, Red-Eyes Black Dragon returned to the field with no tribute required.

“Next, I activate the effect of ‘Red-Eyes Armor Spin’! Rise once more! Red-Eyes Thunder Emperor – Malevolent Demon!”

As previously mentioned, Gemini monsters, whether first summoned or in the graveyard, count as Normal Monsters by rule, so Armor Spin could indeed revive it from the graveyard.

“Now, I activate the Spell Card ‘Storm’! I destroy my Armor Spin, and then destroy your Field Spell ‘Jurassic World’!”

A two-for-one trade!

Previously, Jounouchi might never have made such a disadvantageous move, but now he was determined to destroy Ryuzaki’s Field Spell!

The effect of Armor Spin had already been used; keeping it would only clog his Spell/Trap Zone. As for why he didn’t destroy “Great Earthquake,” it was because the cards he needed to set or play this turn didn’t require all five zones.

Thus, Jounouchi chose to destroy the Field Spell first, weakening Ryuzaki’s monsters and stripping their trap immunity!

Besides… He had a feeling that “Jurassic World” wasn’t limited to just those two revealed effects, that perhaps it had more… Possibly?

(Jurassic Spinosaurus, ATK: 2900 → 2600)
(Jurassic Tyrannosaurus, ATK: 3100 → 2800)

“Jounouchi! Even though you’ve destroyed my field, your monsters are still no match for my dinosaurs!”

Ryuzaki’s combined stats totaled 5400, Jounouchi’s only 4900. Whether by total or by individual power, Ryuzaki had the edge—how could Jounouchi hope to win?

“If I can’t beat you one-on-one, why not fuse the two of mine into a whole new being?”

“What?!”

From what Ryuzaki knew, there were no Fusion Monsters requiring both a Black Dragon and a Level 6 Fiend as materials.

“Spell Card ‘Polymerization’! I fuse my ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’ with ‘Red-Eyes Thunder Emperor – Malevolent Demon’!”

No known Fusion Monster used those two, but that didn’t mean Jounouchi didn’t have one in his arsenal!

“Fusion Summon—Demon Dragon, Dark Infernal Dragon!”

A massive monster, its body sheathed in black skeletal armor with molten, magma-colored muscles beneath, emerged from the swirling vortex of fusion, its flame-wreathed wings beating as if it had just flown out of the underworld.

(Demon Dragon, Dark Infernal Dragon: Level 9, ATK 3200)

“To summon Dark Infernal Dragon, you need a Normal Monster with ‘Red-Eyes’ in its name, and a Level 6 Fiend-Type Normal Monster.”

After explaining the fusion requirements, Jounouchi, under Ryuzaki’s awed and then gritted gaze, played one more card from his remaining two—one that ignored the new duel rule that “Level 7 or above Fusion Monsters cannot attack the turn they are summoned”:

“Spell Card ‘Fusion Quick-Strike’! This turn, the Fusion Monster I summoned can attack! Go, Dark Infernal Dragon!”

With 3200 ATK, Dark Infernal Dragon easily bested Ryuzaki’s dinosaurs, none of which now reached 3000 points.

A magma-encrusted punch shattered Ryuzaki’s Tyrannosaurus with ease!

(Ryuzaki: 5000 LP → 4600 LP)

“As soon as Dark Infernal Dragon finishes its attack, Ryuzaki, your Life Points will be reduced to roughly half of the full 4000!”

“What?!”

Startled by Jounouchi’s sudden declaration, Ryuzaki glanced at his duel disk’s counter—and was immediately floored.

2100 LP!

ミﾟДﾟ彡

Where did my Life Points go? I had a solid 2500 a second ago!