novelGlobal Chapter 699 - 699
Chapter 699 - 699
[Sakuretsu Armor] Destroyed"Even though you knew that card would never successfully activate, why do you still insist on running it?" Uria asked in confusion.
Pulling the destroyed Trap Card out from her Duel Disk and sending it to the Graveyard area, Akasha explained:
"Uria, you wouldn't understand. This is wisdom accumulated from years of using Trap Cards."
"Huh? What kind of wisdom can you possibly get from a single Sakuretsu Armor?"
"d(･｀´･d*) Because Sakuretsu Armor has a 100% failure rate when it comes to actually resolving. It's basically a causality weapon—just like how 'catching blades barehanded' always succeeds. At critical moments, it can perfectly absorb enemy firepower."
Raviel narrowed her eyes in disdain.
"I didn't understand a word you just said, but I'm pretty sure you're talking nonsense…"
Dragging his scorching great blade across the ground, Guan Sheng shattered Akasha's back-row card before immediately entering the Battle Phase.
"Battle! Crush her! Fire Fist - Gorilla, attack the face-down Defense Position monster!"
"The enemy commander's head shall be mine!"
Swinging his massive blade repeatedly, Fire Fist - Gorilla carved blazing circular trails through the air as he slashed toward Akasha's face-down monster.
"Ahaha, a monster from a Chinese story, huh? What a coincidence."
Flipping over the monster targeted by Fire Fist - Gorilla, Akasha revealed a smile as though her plan had succeeded.
"In that case, my side will use a monster from Chinese mythology and legends! The monster I set face-down is—Zoodiac Ramram!"
[Zoodiac Ramram ★★★★ (Level 4)][EARTH][Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 400/DEF 2000]
Materializing onto Akasha's field, the fluffy-haired little goat-horned boy bravely raised a gigantic shield to confront Guan Sheng's blade.
"Zoodiacs? I've never seen Akasha use a deck like this before," Jaden said in surprise at the unfamiliar monsters.
"Oh please, Jaden. Aren't you the one constantly pulling out weird new monsters like Neo-Spacians and stuff?" Akasha shot back proudly. "With 2000 DEF, I've got the advantage here!"
"Pathetic defense is meaningless. Quick-Play Spell Card—Ego Boost!"
Naglfar inserted another blazing card into his magma Duel Disk. Behind Fire Fist - Gorilla suddenly appeared a towering phantom wielding a massive blade, draped in green robes, with a beard flowing several feet long.
"Oh crap, even a Stand showed up?! How are we supposed to fight that?!"
Even Minazuki instantly recognized the iconic figure.
"Calm down, Minazuki. Isn't the important part of the card name the word 'Boost'?" Alexis analyzed seriously.
[Quick-Play Spell Effect: When a monster declares an attack, target 1 face-up monster on the field; that monster gains 1000 ATK until the end of the Battle Phase.]
[Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Gorilla ATK: 1600 → 2600]
"Blessed by ancestral power! Amidst ten thousand soldiers, I shall claim the enemy commander's head!"
Now possessing superior attack power, Fire Fist - Gorilla unleashed a merciless heavy slash wrapped in azure dragon flames, instantly shattering the shield held by Zoodiac Ramram.
Akasha sighed regretfully.
"Even though both use shields and have 2000 DEF, it still falls a little short compared to Hoshino-nee's Mash…"
[Zoodiac Ramram] Destroyed
"Then Fire Fist - Gorilla's effect activates! Once per turn, when this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, I can Set one 'Fire Formation' Spell directly from my deck!"
Naglfar retrieved a Spell Card from his magma Duel Disk and set it into his back row, though he showed no intention of activating it immediately.
"Then my side too!"
Pointing toward the sheep insignia left behind after the destruction of her Zoodiac monster, Akasha declared:
"Zoodiac Ramram's effect activates—!"
[If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can target 1 other "Zoodiac" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it.]
"I Special Summon Zoodiac Bunnyblast, the monster I discarded earlier with Graceful Charity, from my Graveyard!"
[Zoodiac Bunnyblast ★★★★ (Level 4)][EARTH][Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 800/DEF 800]
A cute rabbit-eared girl wielding an enormous rifle materialized onto Akasha's field atop the lingering sheep insignia.
"Sheep, rabbits… these monsters are really adorable," Alexis commented. "It totally feels like Akasha's style~"
"No, no, absolutely not!"
Jaden frantically waved his hands.
"Akasha's style should be endless Trap Hell! Don't let the cute appearances fool you!"
"Jaden-sama, you seem to understand Akasha-senpai really well," Blair puffed out her cheeks in jealousy.
"Of course I do. We've been childhood friends ever since we were little~" the hopelessly dense Jaden proudly declared.
"I think there's more to these monsters than just cute animals," Bastion remarked again with his usual encyclopedia-like insight.
"Don't just focus on how cute they look. Like Akasha mentioned earlier, these are genuine monsters based on Chinese mythology and legends."
"I knows this one!"
Wanting to impress Jaden, Blair eagerly answered first.
"It's the Chinese Zodiac, right? The twelve guardian animals representing twelve different creatures. That's why they're called the Twelve Beasts!"
Bastion nodded.
"Exactly. The Chinese Zodiac, also called the Twelve Earthly Branches, consists of twelve animals assigned according to a person's birth year. The cycle repeats every twelve years, and the year matching your own zodiac sign is called your 'benming year.' Supposedly, wearing red underwear during your benming year brings good luck."
"(｀･･´) Zodiac year… red underwear?"
Suddenly realizing something, Uria quietly lifted her skirt slightly to peek at the red shorts underneath.
"I see… so they bring good luck. That's pretty nice."
"Finally, I set two cards and end my turn."
After ending the Battle Phase, Naglfar inserted two more face-down cards into his magma Duel Disk. Guan Sheng's ATK also returned to normal after the boost from Ego Boost expired.
[Naglfar: 2 Hand Cards | 3 Set Cards]
"My turn, draw!"
Starting her turn, Akasha pointed toward the cute rabbit soldier on her field.
"It's time to unleash the full power of the Zoodiacs' combined strength!"
Immediately afterward, despite only having a single monster on her field, Akasha's side began radiating the light of an Xyz Summon.
"Wait, she's performing an Xyz Summon using only one monster?! Is that even possible?!" Minazuki exclaimed in disbelief.
"Of course it is! If it's the legendary Twelve Beasts from mythology, then they can surpass the normal limits of Xyz Summoning!"
Drawing a card from her Extra Deck, Akasha directly stacked it on top of Zoodiac Bunnyblast.
"I overlay on top of Zoodiac Bunnyblast to Xyz Summon—Zoodiac Broadbull!"
[Zoodiac Broadbull ☆☆☆☆ (Rank 4)][EARTH][Beast-Warrior/Xyz/Effect][ATK ?/DEF ?]
[Once per turn, you can also Xyz Summon "Zoodiac Broadbull" by using a "Zoodiac" monster you control, except another copy of itself, as material.]
The Zodiac markings shifted and inherited their forms. Within the radiance of the Xyz Summon, Broadbull appeared wielding a gigantic battle axe.
"Zoodiac Broadbull gains ATK and DEF equal to the stats of the 'Zoodiac' monster attached beneath it as material!"
Since Bunnyblast had been used as material, Broadbull's ATK also became 800.
"Then Zoodiac Broadbull's effect activates! Once per turn, I can detach 1 Xyz Material to add 1 Beast-Warrior monster that can be Normal Summoned from my Deck to my hand!"
After searching her deck and revealing the Beast-Warrior monster she added, Akasha immediately Normal Summoned it.
"The monster I searched is—go! Zoodiac Ratpier!"
[Zoodiac Ratpier ★★★★ (Level 4)][EARTH][Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 0/DEF 0]
"It has 0 ATK…" Blair muttered.
"And since Broadbull detached its material to activate its effect, its ATK also dropped to 0," Jaden added.
"Two monsters with 0 ATK! Let's go, Akasha!" Minazuki cheered excitedly.
"There's no way she can 'go' with that kind of field," Alexis immediately retorted.
"When Zoodiac Ratpier is successfully Summoned, I can send 1 'Zoodiac' card from my Deck to the Graveyard. I send the Trap Card Zoodiac Gathering to the Graveyard."
As the card was sent into the Graveyard slot of her Duel Disk, the newly summoned Zoodiac Ratpier also began shining with Xyz energy.
"N-No way… she can overlay summon again?" Bastion exclaimed in shock. "This combo of the Zodiac… could it be that every individual Zoodiac can perform its own Xyz Summon?!"
"Exactly. And only now, after the Xyz Summon restriction has been lifted, can this strategy display its true power!"
Once again, Akasha rapidly drew two cards from her Extra Deck and performed two consecutive overlay summons in a single instant.
"I overlay Zoodiac Boarbow on top of Ratpier, then overlay Zoodiac Tigermortar on top of Boarbow!"
Uria: "Ah… the pig got skipped over."
Raviel: "Say that again, I dare you."
[Zoodiac Tigermortar ☆☆☆☆ (Rank 4)][EARTH][Beast-Warrior/Xyz/Effect][ATK 0/DEF 0]
"Gaooo~!"
The small tiger girl rode atop her tiger war chariot, letting out a roar that looked "super fierce" but was actually adorable.
However, because the Rat and Boar beneath Tigermortar both had 0 ATK, no matter how intimidating she sounded, Tigermortar's own attack power remained 0.
"When Zoodiac Ratpier becomes material for a Beast-Warrior Xyz Monster, it grants that Xyz Monster an additional effect—"
[You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Special Summon 1 "Zoodiac Ratpier" from your hand or Deck.]
Using the effect granted by Ratpier, Akasha detached the Boarbow beneath Zoodiac Tigermortar and Special Summoned a second Ratpier from her deck.
[Ratpier LV4 DEF: 0]
"Next, I overlay on top of Zoodiac Tigermortar! —Roar forth, Dragon of the Twelve Zodiac! Zoodiac Drident!"
[Zoodiac Drident ☆☆☆☆ (Rank 4)][EARTH][Beast-Warrior/Xyz/Effect][ATK 0/DEF 0]
The tiger transformed into a dragon. A draconic sigil floated through the sky, condensing dragon power into a gigantic lance capable of piercing anything.
"I continue using the effect granted by Ratpier through Zoodiac Drident! I detach Tigermortar as material to Special Summon a third Ratpier from my deck!"
[Zoodiac Ratpier LV4 DEF: 0]
"Now this is the real deal—two genuine Level 4 monsters!"
Looking at the two Ratpiers successfully summoned onto her field, Akasha felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
"What kind of terrifying combo potential is this…?"
Among everyone overwhelmed by the dizzying chain of overlay summons, only Bastion truly grasped the situation.
"From the start of this turn until now, Akasha hasn't used a single card from her hand, yet she still built a field like this!"
Broadbull and Drident, along with two Ratpiers. Even though all of them had 0 ATK, the near-from-nothing chain summoning was astonishing.
Running her fingers across the two Ratpier cards on her Duel Disk, Akasha finally stopped using the Zoodiacs' own overlay effects and instead chose to properly construct an Xyz Network using two actual monsters.
"Now, I overlay my two Level 4 Ratpiers! My battle begins here! White wings that carry hope—appear now! Messenger of Light, Number 39: Utopia!"
[Number 39: Utopia ☆☆☆☆ (Rank 4)][LIGHT][Warrior/Xyz/Effect][ATK 2500/DEF 2000]
Bathed in brilliant light of hope, the white-winged Number 39: Utopia slowly descended onto Akasha's field, carving out a pure and radiant space within the scorching duel arena.
Uria stared in shock, her mouth hanging open.
"I thought when you said you fought in the name of 'Hope,' you were just trying to sound cool. I didn't expect there to actually be a Hope monster…"
"T-This… this is…"
Jaden stammered while staring at the radiant warrior descending from the light.
"This is way too cool! Akasha, I can't believe you were secretly hiding such an awesome card!"
Minazuki added:
"And this has the same kind of absolute protagonist aura as Headmistress's Souji or Jaden's Neos!"
"What's there to be so surprised about~"
Even though Akasha said that casually, the pride on her face was impossible to hide.
"After all, I am the rightful heir of the Hawkins family!"
Looking at the card her father, Rowick, had given her during spring break, Akasha genuinely felt a bloodline connection with Duel Monsters themselves.
"Although I have no idea why Dad even possessed an Xyz Monster from this brand-new summoning system… Kashar Hawkins is officially entering the battlefield!"
Entering the Battle Phase, Akasha grasped the light of hope in her hand and directly ordered Number 39: Utopia to attack Fire Fist - Gorilla.
"Ikkai! Number 39: Utopia attacks! —『Hope Sword Slash』!"
The radiant white wings traced a flawless blade trajectory through the air. With the overwhelming attack power of a true ace monster, Utopia's slash surpassed Guan Sheng's great blade and shattered the Fire Fist warrior within the purifying light of hope.
[Fire Fist - Gorilla] Destroyed
[Naglfar LP 8000 → 7100]