Chapter 40
Rowan hadn't confirmed Bastion's assumption about the Dark Magician deck, but he hadn't denied it either.
That familiar non-answer drew a collective look from Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, Jaden, and Syrus, their expressions all twisting into something vaguely uncomfortable.
This again...
With that thought settling in, they turned to look at Bastion across the field, full of energy and confidence, and felt a quiet, inexplicable wave of sympathy wash over them.
"Blast! I forgot to warn Bastion!"
Over by the field's edge, Professor Crowler seized his golden mushroom hair with both hands and nearly leapt off the ground in alarm.
"Let's duel!"
"Let's duel!"
But it was already too late. Rowan and Bastion had started.
Both called out at once, drawing their five opening hands from their Duel Disks.
The 4000 LP counter materialized beside each of them simultaneously.
"I'll go first -- draw!"
Bastion pulled a card and immediately played it.
"Spell Card from my hand -- Graceful Charity! As someone running a Dark Magician deck yourself, Rowan, you should know exactly what this does."
"Draw three cards, then discard two."
As he explained, Bastion drew three more from his deck and sent two cards from his hand to the Graveyard.
"Graceful Charity... does that mean Bastion is running a Dark Magician deck too?" Syrus guessed, blinking in mild surprise.
That earned him a sideways glance from Alexis and the others.
Why "too"?
A certain someone was absolutely running that deeply cursed Lava Golem deck from last night, and everyone present knew it.
Rowan didn't catch the chatter from the observation area, but from across the field he could just make out one of the two cards Bastion had discarded -- the top one appeared to be a dark-colored, dragon-shaped monster.
"Planning to get something into the Graveyard so you can Special Summon it later. That's why Graceful Charity is in there," Rowan noted quietly to himself.
"Next -- I Summon Oxygeddon in Attack Position!" Bastion took a card from his still-sizeable hand and placed it onto his Duel Disk.
A rush of blue-green vapor swept across the field in a flash of light, twisting and expanding into the shape of a winged dragon made entirely of gaseous matter.
It let out a roar.
Oxygeddon Level 4 / WIND ATK 1800 / DEF 800
"I'll set two cards face-down. Turn end!"
Bastion declared with a confident grin.
He had a clear plan for dismantling a Dark Magician deck.
Those two set cards were more than enough to cut off any setup Rowan attempted and destroy whatever monster he managed to summon.
And with the rare cards he'd received from Professor Crowler, he could accelerate straight into a powerful monster within the next two turns and launch a relentless high-pressure offensive before Rowan could establish any footing.
He was almost certain this duel was already his.
Even if Rowan turned out not to be running a Dark Magician deck at all, Bastion's win rate remained extremely high.
"Come on then, Rowan!"
"Already laying groundwork for next turn," Rowan said lightly, as if he'd read the whole plan at a glance.
He placed his hand on his deck and drew.
"My turn -- draw!"
He looked at the card.
A small, satisfied smile crept onto his face.
"Ra Yellow's Bastion Misawa might be in for a rough time..." Alexis observed from a distance, arms folded, recognizing that expression immediately.
Her tone was carefully neutral.
The two girls beside her nodded. Jaden and Syrus nodded. Nobody disagreed.
They all knew that look far too well.
"I set one monster face-down in Defense Position, then set three cards face-down. Turn end!"
Rowan slid all four cards from his hand onto the Duel Disk one after another.
On the field in front of him, one horizontal card and three vertical cards materialized in a T-shaped row.
Four sets on turn one. T-formation. Your move.
"Nani...?" Bastion paused.
What monster was hiding face-down in that Defense Position slot? And three set cards on top of that.
It was starting to look less and less like any Dark Magician deck he knew.
Out in the observation area, the watching students were equally baffled. Four face-downs on the opening turn?
Was he trying to make everyone guess?
"Doesn't matter what deck it is -- I'm going in! My turn, draw!"
Bastion drew sharply and pressed forward.
"I Summon Hydrogeddon in Attack Position!"
A card hit the Duel Disk.
Beside Oxygeddon, a surge of brown vapor erupted from the light on the field, condensing into the shape of a four-legged beast crouching low to the ground.
Hydrogeddon Level 4 / WATER ATK 1600 / DEF 1000
"And from my hand, I activate the Equip Spell -- Living Fossil!"
Bastion held up one of the three remaining cards in his hand.
"This card targets one monster in my Graveyard. That monster is equipped, its ATK is reduced by 1000, its effect is negated, and it's Special Summoned to my field!"
"The monster I'm targeting is the one I discarded to the Graveyard last turn with Graceful Charity -- a second Hydrogeddon!"
"Come back -- Hydrogeddon!"
A flash of light pulsed out from his Duel Disk's Graveyard slot.
On the field, another surge of brown vapor rose and took shape, a second crouching four-legged beast appearing alongside the first.
One Oxygeddon. Two Hydrogeddon.
"Going for a Special Summon," Rowan said, seeing exactly where this was headed.
He glanced at his three set cards.
His expression grew noticeably... sunnier.