Chapter 030: Shattered Spirit, I Hope You Like It! (Gentlemanly Bow)

PS: Could you SD readers post more SD chapter comments? (ಡ_ಡﾞ)
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"I set another card face-down and end my turn."

Just as before, Yuuya set a single card in his back row.

"My turn. Draw!"

Keith stared at the lone face-down card behind Yuuya’s monsters, swallowing hard. He desperately hoped it wouldn’t be that “Hero Barrier” again—he didn’t want his high-attack monster to be blocked when it attacked! And then, during Yuuya’s turn, have his monster destroyed by some crazy combo!

With that anxious hope, Keith glanced at the card he had just drawn. As soon as he saw it, his worry vanished instantly.

"Kid, next, whether it’s your special attacks or any more of those barrier traps, against 'this,' none of your tricks will work!"

"Oh?" Yuuya’s interest was piqued by his words. For his opponent to speak so highly of a monster card, it had to be that one with “Dragon” in its name.

Under Yuuya’s expectant gaze, a mechanical dragon—its body forged from gunmetal gray and violet steel, with revolver-shaped cannons for a head and arms—materialized on Keith’s field.

(Revolver Dragon, Level 7, ATK: 2600)

"Revolver Dragon, as its name suggests, comes equipped with three gun barrels. Each barrel has a fifty-fifty chance of being loaded with a bullet."

"And because it has three barrels, Revolver Dragon can launch up to three attacks each battle phase—one for each gun!"

"However, there’s a catch to this powerful effect! Like I said, each barrel only has a fifty percent chance of being loaded. How many real attacks you get each turn depends on your luck!"

Keith grinned smugly. Revolver Dragon was the ace of his deck, a card he’d paid dearly to obtain from someone else.

In every duel, as long as he summoned Revolver Dragon, even with bad luck, at least one barrel always fired a real shot.

Now, he just needed to see how lucky this kid would get. If all three shots landed, he’d deal 2600 x 3 - 1680 - 1400 - 2240 = 2480 points of damage to Yuuya!

If all three hit, it’d be a clean sweep. What’s there left to say? (Green-helmeted guy with a blade of grass in his mouth.jpg)

"Click. Click. Click..."

The three barrels of Revolver Dragon began to spin, each cylinder whirling as six chambers rotated. The ominous muzzles pointed at Yuuya’s three monsters, making them instinctively shrink back a step.

Truth be told, faced with such a gambling effect—especially when each barrel could unleash a 2600-point shot—these virtual monsters couldn’t help acting startled, as if gripped by human anxiety.

"Click!"

The spinning stopped at last. Now came the true test of luck.

"Bang!"

First shot—fired.

"Bang!"

Second shot—fired.

"…"

Third shot—empty.

"See that? Fifty-fifty chance. I wasn’t lying!"

Even though only two shots landed, that was still pretty good, and it proved Keith hadn’t exaggerated his monster’s abilities.

"Two bullets—let’s see you dodge these!"

Both shots targeted the duo who’d shredded the slot machine—Burstinatrix and Avian.

If the shots landed, even if he couldn’t one-shot his opponent with three, he’d still leave Yuuya barely hanging on!

But would Yuuya let those shots connect?

"At this moment, I activate the set card—'Polymerization'!"

Keith: !!

He stared dumbfounded at the swirling fusion vortex projected above the two monsters’ heads.

"I fuse Burstinatrix and Avian! Fusion summon—Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"

Just as the bullets were about to strike, the vortex sucked the two heroes into its depths. The two shots whizzed past, dissipating harmlessly, and then the vortex spat out the newly born Flame Wingman.

"Boom!"

"Damn it! He actually used the fusion process to avoid battle!"

What a cunning trick—Keith was caught completely off guard! By setting "Polymerization" in advance, Yuuya could activate it during his opponent’s turn and use the fusion process itself to evade Revolver Dragon’s attacks!

What a calculating kid!

"Enjoyed firing those shots, did you? Hmph! Now it’s my turn to strike back!"

With a snort, Yuuya looked up at Flame Wingman and signaled him to counterattack.

"As a Warrior-type monster, Flame Wingman gains a 30% boost from the field. Second, fused from the Fire-element Burstinatrix and Wind-element Avian, Flame Wingman’s power gains another 20%. Finally, since your Bandit Keith’s monster is a Machine-type and my Flame Wingman’s attack is a fire blast with explosive destructive force, his attack power gets a further 30% boost!"

Keith and his three cronies: !!!!!!!!

They were stunned speechless! (ΩДΩ)

(Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, Level 6, ATK: 2100 → 2730 → 3150 → 3780)

"Go! Flame Wingman! Flame Shoot!!"

Wings billowing fierce cyclones, he tore through the air, lifting Revolver Dragon into the sky. Facing it head-on, Flame Wingman slowly raised his right hand, energy crackling. In an instant, a jet of flame engulfed the spinning dragon.

"Boom!"

The shattered remains of Revolver Dragon fell like meteorites, wreathed in searing flames, crashing toward Keith in a rain of steel and fire.

(Keith: 1600 LP → 420 LP)

"It’s not over, not yet!"

As the smoke cleared, and seeing his life points down to a three-digit number—below the critical 500—Keith gritted his teeth and flipped over his face-down card.

"I activate the trap card—'Time Machine'!"

A massive black machine rose from the field, and as Keith began to laugh again, a fully repaired Revolver Dragon rolled out from within.

"Time Machine, as the name suggests, activates at the moment my monster is destroyed, sending it back in time and returning it to my field just as it was before!"

"With this, the revived monster can attack once more, exploiting the time gap! Revolver Cannon, fire!"

Without missing a beat, Keith commanded Revolver Dragon to attack again.

"Attack? At most, you’ll only destroy my Sparkman."

With Flame Wingman’s attack power at 2730, Revolver Dragon attacking him would be suicide. So, the only valid target was Sparkman.

Also, when Revolver Dragon attacks, it doesn’t simply follow the duelist’s command—it targets at random, its barrels choosing a monster and spinning the cylinder for that fifty-fifty shot.

So, if Keith’s luck was bad, just like last time, he’d get two shots—the first might destroy Sparkman, but the second could miss Flame Wingman, allowing Yuuya to counterattack and destroy Revolver Dragon again!

"Hmph! If I dare to attack, of course I have a plan!"

Now understanding Flame Wingman’s power, Keith slyly slipped from his sleeve a fourth “7 Card”—one he’d prepared before the duel, not in his deck!

You think you can take Bandit Keith’s star chips? Not a chance!

"I equip a second '7 Card'—to my Revolver Dragon!"

With the boost from "7 Card," Revolver Dragon’s attack power increased by 700 before firing. Now, even if the two shots included Flame Wingman, he didn’t have to fear a counterattack destroying his monster again.

As Revolver Dragon prepared to launch its next volley, Yuuya, calm and unhurried, pressed his hand to his forehead as if trying to recall something.

"Emmm, maybe my memory’s failing me? I forgot to mention—my Flame Wingman actually has a special effect as a fusion monster."

Keith: ?

As Yuuya spoke, even the spinning barrels of Revolver Dragon seemed to slow in anticipation.

"If I remember right, Flame Wingman’s effect is… is… Oh! That’s it!"

As if struck by inspiration, Yuuya’s eyes lit up. He fixed his gaze on Keith, whose face was draining of color, and spoke in a voice as cold as the devil’s whisper:

"When Flame Wingman destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the graveyard, in addition to normal battle damage, he inflicts damage to your life points equal to half that monster’s original attack."

Keith and his cronies: !!!!!!!!

Danger! A big, blood-red "DANGER!"

"Flame Wingman! Sparkling… Breaker."

Landing before Keith, Flame Wingman raised his right arm, the dragon’s jaws opening to unleash a blazing spark point-blank, just ten centimeters from his face.

"Ahhh—"

The hyper-realistic virtual projection made Keith scream aloud in terror.

(Keith: 420 LP → 0)

Descending from the platform, Yuuya ignored the three cringing henchmen huddled together to the side. He walked up to the now-unconscious Keith, casually removed the duelist’s glove encrusted with ten star chips, and whispered with a devilish grin:

"Flame Wingman’s sparkling finish—has a rather nice flavor, don’t you think? I hope you enjoyed it."