//------------------------------// // Chapter 40: The Past and the Future // Story: Dueling is Magic! Many Futures // by Wolfgang //------------------------------// Dueling is Magic! Many Futures Chapter 40 The Past and the Future /*********************\ Two D-Wheels and an open-top jeep sped down the wide city road toward the tower that stood above everything else they could see. A silver dragon in black and white armor followed behind them. “Jack, turn left!” shouted Pinkie Pie. Jack glanced back and nodded, then turned sharply. Just as he did, he saw a wall of darkness erupt in their previous path. Jack passed a few intersections before turning right and getting back on the path to Kaiba Corp. Tower. He glanced over his shoulder again and saw that Kazama and Paradox were both still behind him. When he looked forward again, however, another D-Wheel was heading straight for them. He recognized it. Its narrow body tapered to a needle point at the front, and the whole of it rested on a giant wheel in the back. “It can’t be!” Jack shouted as he squeezed the brakes. The Volcanic Wheel of Fortune screeched to a halt. Kazama braked hard to avoid ramming into him. Paradox, however, sped straight past him. “Paradox!” Jack called. Paradox swerved right, then back left and started moving in a wide circle. The new D-Wheel had copied him move for move. Eventually, the two stopped circling one another. “Hello again, Paradox,” said the D-Wheeler riding the strange machine. “Antinomy,” Paradox replied. “I take it you’re here to stop us?” Antinomy shook his head. “Not everyone. Just you.” “Why only me?” Paradox asked. “You know why, old friend,” Antinomy answered. “Fine,” Paradox said. “We’ll settle the score once and for all. If I win, then you escort us to the tower yourself.” “You won’t win, my friend,” Antinomy said. “The past can never conquer the future.” “We’ll see about that, won’t we?” Paradox looked at Jack and the others. “Continue to the tower, but be careful. I believe the Black King will have sent someone else to intercept you.” Paradox’s D-Wheel sped off past Jack toward one of the Duel Highways. Antinomy’s D-Wheel followed him. Jack revved his D-Wheel and started to spin around to follow them when he caught sight of another D-Wheel approaching from behind them. “Crow,” he growled. * * * * * The Delta Eagle raced around the first turn of the highway. Paradox’s D-Wheel followed behind him at a distance, unable to take the turn as sharply due to its size. “DUEL!” Life Point Count Antinomy: 4000 Paradox: 4000 “My turn,” said Antinomy as he drew a card. “I Summon ‘Tech Genus Catapult Dragon’ and activate its effect. Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Level Three or lower Tuner monster from my hand. I Special Summon ‘Tech Genus Cyber Magician!’ ” A small, purple dragon appeared on the field next to the Delta Eagle. Its body was covered in orange-red lines. Atop its head was a catapult launcher. A ball of light appeared on the launcher and was fired into the air. The ball transformed into a small magician in silver armor and a black cape. T.G. Catapult Dragon DR-08 ATK / 900 LV 2 T.G. Cyber Magician SC-01 ATK / 0 LV 1 “Cyber Magician can tune with monsters in my hand. Level One Cyber Magician tunes with the Level Four ‘Tech Genus Rush Rhino!’ ” An armored, bipedal rhinoceros appeared next to the little magician. The magician vanished and was replaced by a single star, which then changed into a green ring that encircled rhino. Its form became an orange outline that was stripped away, leaving four stars that formed a single file line within the ring. “Synchro Flight Control! Limiter removal, Level Five! Booster injection at one-hundred twenty percent. Recovery Network range updated. All Clear! GO! Synchro Summon!” A column of pulsing white light expanded outward from within the stars until it engulfed the green rings around it. “Come on! ‘Tech Genus Power Gladiator!’ ” Out of the light emerged a warrior in traditional Roman gladiator armor. He wore a skirt decorated with long metal plates, chest and shoulder armor, and thick, spiked boots. Long dark hair waved around in the wind behind him. In his right hand was a large broad-bladed axe. T.G. Power Gladiator WAX-1000 ATK / 2300 LV 5 “I Set three cards face-down and end my turn,” said Antinomy. “My turn,” said Paradox calmly. As he did, the Speed Counter on his D-Wheel’s display lit up. Speed Counters Antinomy: 1 Paradox: 1 “I summon ‘Malefic Gateway’ and Set three cards,” Paradox said. “That will end my turn.” Three cards appeared around the front of his D-Wheel and vanished. A blue monster portal opened next to Paradox and an oval-shaped ring emerged from within. The structure was black on one side, with intermittent white rectangles, and white with jagged black stripes on the other, but the hole in the center was rectangular. Malefic Gateway ATK / 0 LV 4 “Seems like a slow pace for you, Paradox,” said Antinomy. “It’s my turn. I switch Catapult Dragon to Attack Mode and activate its effect to Special Summon the Tuner monster ‘Tech Genus Striker’ from my hand.” The dragon changed from blue to red and roared, then launched another ball of light into the air. The ball took on a humanoid shape, then faded to reveal a man wearing a black jumpsuit under sky blue armor. T.G. Striker WA-01 ATK / 800 LV 2 “Battle! Tech Genus Striker, attack Malefic Gateway!” Antinomy’s monster flew forward and up into the air, then came down at the oval structure fist first. “Malefic Gateway’s effect activates!” Paradox shouted. “By revealing a ‘Malefic’ monster in my hand when it’s attacked, Gateway can take on that monster’s Attack and Defense Points. I reveal ‘Malefic Red-Eyes Black Dragon!’ ” The center of the Gateway lit up and filled with rainbow light. A thin, barbed black dragon with red eyes emerged from the gate. As it did, black and white armor appeared on its body, legs, wings, and most of its face, leaving only the lower jaw and a single eye uncovered. Malefic Gateway ATK / 2400 LV 4 “Trap Card, open!” Antinomy said. A card appeared in front of his D-Wheel and flipped up on its bottom edge. “’TG1-EM1!’ This card switches control of a ‘Tech Genus’ monster on my field with one monster on your field.” A large, circular, red-on-white device appeared between Malefic Gateway and Red-Eyes, and Tech Genus Striker. Orange light erupted from the inner circle and four irregularly shaped wings extended from the outer edge of the ring. Each monster froze and the device slowly spun around, swapping the places of the monsters. “In addition to that, Tech Genus Striker’s effect activates,” said Antinomy. “When one of my Spell or Trap Cards targets this card, I can halve its original Attack and Defense Points!” T.G. Striker WA-01 ATK / 400 LV 2 The light faded and the device shattered. Striker was rising in the air with his fist forward. Malefic Red-Eyes opened its jaws and clamped them down on the warrior, destroying him. The dragon disappeared into the Gateway after that. Life Point Count Antinomy: 4000 Paradox: 2000 “Striker’s final effect activates,” Antinomy continued. “When it’s destroyed, I can add another ‘Tech Genus’ monster from my deck to my hand, but I cannot Summon it this turn. I add ‘Tech Genus Jet Falcon’ to my hand.” “Well played, old friend,” said Paradox. “But I’m still in this duel.” “Not for long. Power Gladiator, attack Paradox directly!” Fire jetted out from the soles of the warrior’s boots as he flew into the air and raised his axe over his head. “Continuous Trap, open: ‘Malefic Time-Space!’ ” Paradox said. “To activate this card, I must pay one thousand of my Life Points. While there’s a Field Spell on the field, Malefic Time-Space treats itself as ‘Malefic World.’ ” “That alone won’t save you, Paradox,” Antinomy said. Power Gladiator swung his axe down toward Paradox. “No, but this will,” said Paradox. “In the Damage Step, I activate ‘Malefic Zero-Warp!’ If I control no monsters while Malefic World is on the field, the Attack Points of all your monsters become zero!” Power Gladiator’s axe came down on Paradox’s back, but passed harmlessly through it like a ghost. The gladiator retreated to his master’s side. T.G. Power Gladiator WAX-1000 ATK / 0 LV 5 T.G. Catapult Dragon DR-08 ATK / 0 LV 2 Malefic Gateway ATK / 0 LV 4 “Come on, Antinomy! Is that the best you’ve got for me?” said Paradox. “At the end of the Battle Phase, Malefic Gateway is destroyed for using its effect. Zero-Warp and Gateway’s final effects activate: If Gateway is destroyed, I can add a ‘Malefic’ card from my deck to my hand, then Zero-Warp lets me draw one card when a monster it affected is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.” The mechanisms in Paradox’s Duel Disk pushed a single card out of the middle of his deck, then shuffled the deck as he took the card- a monster called “Malefic Retrograde”- and placed it in the slot that held his hand. He then drew a card from the top of the deck and added it to his hand as well. “I reveal another Trap Card,” said Antinomy. “’TGX3-DX2.’ This returns three ‘Tech Genus’ monsters in my Graveyard to the deck, then lets me draw two cards.” Ghostly images of Striker, Cyber Magician and Rush Rhino appeared above Antinomy. They turned into light and were sucked downward into his deck. After the deck was shuffled, Antinomy drew two cards, then Set one card and ended his turn. As he did, Paradox announced that all of Malefic Zero-Warp’s effects had ended. Paradox drew a card to start his turn. “It seems almost ironically fitting, doesn’t it?” he said. “What does?” Antinomy asked. “Us. This duel. My deck’s theme is the past, while yours is the future. Yet here we are, each of us on the wrong side. Me fighting for the future, and you fighting to dredge up the past.” Paradox laughed. “Why can’t things be simple for once?” “Nothing is ever that simple,” Antinomy said. Paradox chuckled again. “I activate ‘Malefic Descent,’ ” he said as his final Trap Card flipped up. “This lets me reveal any number of non-‘Malefic’ monsters from my hand and place them on the bottom of my deck. After that, I draw one card plus one for each monster I returned to the deck this way. I reveal ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’ and ‘Armed Dragon Level 10.’ “ Paradox slid the cards under his deck, then drew three cards to replace them. “I summon ‘Malefic Retrograde,’ “ Paradox continued. A new black and white structure appeared on the field. It was in the shape of a spiral that widened as it went up. A cloud of dark, multicolored energy floated within its center. Multiple golden gears ran up and down the inside of the spiral structure, appearing to grow and shrink as they approached the top and the bottom. Malefic Retrograde ATK / 0 LV 3 “I activate Retrograde’s effect,” Paradox said. “By Releasing this card, I can add one ‘Malefic’ card from my Graveyard to my hand.” Malefic Zero-Warp slid out of Paradox’s Graveyard and he added it to his hand. “Now I send ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’ and ‘Red Dragon Archfiend’ from my deck and Extra Deck to the Graveyard to Special Summon ‘Malefic Red-Eyes Black Dragon’ and ‘Malefic Red Dragon Archfiend’ from my hand!” The thin black dragon that appeared from Malefic Gateway reemerged onto the field. Beside it appeared the imposing form of ‘Red Dragon Archfiend’ clad in black and white armor, its face and horns covered in a mask. Malefic Red-Eyes B. Dragon ATK / 2400 LV 7 Malefic Red Dragon Archfiend ATK / 3000 LV 8 “Battle! Malefic Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Power Gladiator with Absolute Powerforce!” Paradox ordered. The red dragon’s right hand became engulfed in fire. It slammed its open palm onto the gladiator and crushed him in its fiery grip. Life Point Count Antinomy: 3700 Paradox: 1000 “When Power Gladiator is destroyed, I can draw one card,” said Antinomy. “You’re turn, Red-Eyes! Attack Catapult Dragon with Inferno Fire Blast!” The black dragon spat out a swirling ball of black and red flames. “Not this time, Paradox! I activate two Traps: ‘Sonic Stun’ and ‘Double Type Rescue!’ Sonic Stun negates your attack and Special Summons the Tuner monster ‘Tech Genus Jet Falcon’ from my hand, and ‘Double Type Rescue’ lets me revive Tech Genus Power Gladiator while I have two different Types on the field, but you control more monsters than me!” A portal then opened up in the road and Power Gladiator jumped through. Then a black falcon with a red-feathered head emerged through a portal above Antinomy. A set of curved, artificial blue wings in the shape of an omega and two large jets were harnessed to its back. As it did, a shockwave spread out from the portal, neutralizing and dissipating the dark fireball. T.G. Jet Falcon WB-07 ATK / 1400 LV 3 T.G. Power Gladiator WAX-1000 ATK / 2300 LV 5 “So you activated both in a Chain,” said Paradox. “That way, you could get the benefits of both cards at the same time, while still getting around their timing requirements. Well played. I Set two cards face-down and end my turn.” “My turn!” said Antinomy. “I activate Catapult Dragon’s effect to Special Summon ‘Tech Genus Psyborg Hunter’ from my hand.” A metal frame in the shape of an upside-down "A" appeared. In the center was a clear container that held a brain, a line of nerves extending down into the machine. The frame began to glow and a humanoid shape made of green energy appeared around it. T.G. Psyborg Hunter PS-01 ATK / 1200 LV 3 “Psyborg Hunter’s effect activates. When it’s Special Summoned, I can add ‘Tech Genus Metal Skeleton’ from my deck to my hand. Next, I Normal Summon Metal Skeleton.” Antinomy's new monster was a skeleton encased in a transparent blue material. Six long spikes extended from its back and its eyes glowed bright red. T.G. Metal Skeleton ZO-02 ATK / 1100 LV 2 “Level Three Psyborg Hunter tunes with the Level Two Metal Skeleton!" Antinomy said. "Synchro Flight Control! Limiter removal, Level Five! Regulator open! Thruster warm up, OK! Uplink: All Clear! GO! Synchro Summon!” A column of pulsing white light expanded outward from within the stars until it engulfed the green rings around it. “Come on! ‘Tech Genus Hyper Librarian!’” A white-robed man holding a metal tablet aloft appeared. A white cape fluttered behind him in the wind revealing the purple lining on the inside. His sleeves and the right side of his robe were black and he wore a blue visor over his eyes. T.G. Hyper Librarian SCX-1100 ATK / 2400 LV 5 "I'm not done yet," Antinomy continued. "Level Three Jet Falcon will be tuning up the Level Two Catapult Dragon. Limiter removal, Level Five! Booster launch, OK! Inclination, OK! Ground support, all clear! GO! Synchro Summon!" As he spoke, the armored bird flying above him fired up the jets on its back, then disappeared as three stars burst from its body. The stars changed into green rings that moved around the red dragon. Its body vanished as well, leaving two stars behind. A column of light engulfed the stars and the rings and a new monster emerged. "Come on! 'Tech Genus Wonder Magician!' " The monster was a woman with long, bright pink hair and a pale green stripe across the right side of her face. She wore a dress and three-pronged spellcaster's hat, both colored deep red. Four long, metal wings rested on her back. T.G. Wonder Magician SCX-1000 ATK / 1900 LV 5 "Hyper Librarian and Jet Falcon's effects activate," said Antinomy. 'When Jet Falcon is sent to the Graveyard as Synchro Material, it inflicts five hundred damage to my opponent, and when a monster is Synchro Summoned, I draw one card by Hyper Librarian's effect." Antinomy drew a card from his deck, swiping his left hand out to the side with the card between his fingers. As he did, the wings on Wonder Magician's back began to glow and she fired a burst of energy from the palm of her hand at Paradox. Player: Paradox LP: 500 Hand: 2 Paradox's D-Wheel swerved left and right, but he quickly regained control. "Is that all you've got?" he shouted. "Not even close," Antinomy replied over his shoulder. "You might not think so, but I entered this duel with no doubts, no reservations about where I stand. Even now, dueling one of my best friends in all of time, I possess a Clear Mind! Level Five Synchro Tuner, Wonder Magician, tunes with the Level Five Synchro Monster Power Gladiator!" Wonder Magician's body vanished and left five stars behind. The stars became rings which encircled the Gladiator, stripping him of his form and leaving five more stars behind. Violet light gathered at the tip of the Delta Eagle as its speed increased. "Limiter removal, Level Ten! Main bus booster control: All Clear! Infinite power is now released and heads beyond dimensions!" Antinomy chanted. "GO! Accel Synchro!" The Delta Eagle vanished in a flash of light. Paradox sped up and raced past where Antinomy had just been. Another flash appeared behind him as the Delta Eagle raced back onto the road, a green robot flying above it. In its hand was a gun with a large blade mounted underneath the barrel. "Come on! 'Tech Genus Blade Blaster!' " said Antinomy. T.G. Blade Blaster MAXX-10000 ATK / 3300 LV 10 "Hyper Librarian's effect activates on Blade Blaster's Synchro Summon," said Antinomy as he drew a card. "Battle! Blade Blaster, attack Malefic Red Dragon Archfiend with Blade Shot!" The robot flew forward with the jets on its back and raised the weapon above its head. "I activate the effect of Malefic Retrograde from my Graveyard, and Chain to it with the Trap 'Malefic Redirect'!" said Antinomy. "Retrograde's effect changes any damage I take this turn into Life Gain, while my Trap changes the target of your attack to Malefic Red-Eyes." The black dragon roared and flew ahead of its red comrade to take on the robot. "Blade Blaster's effect activates," said Antinomy calmly. "By discarding one card from my hand, I can negate the activation of your Trap Card and destroy it." Blade Blaster used its left hand to bat Red-Eyes out of its path. "I play another Trap: 'Malefic Shock Wave'! Blade Blaster's effects are negated, and you cannot activate its effects in response!" Red-Eyes quickly spun around and bit down on the robot's arm. It turned around and sliced the blade through the dragon's shoulder and into its chest. Red-Eyes roared and slashed at its foe, leaving three gashes in its chest. Then the robot pulled the trigger and fired its gun into Malefic Red-Eyes until it was destroyed. It looked at its arm, crushed and nearly useless from the dragon's bite. Three of the bullets that shot their way through Paradox's dragon approached him, but struck a translucent green dome. As each one hit, Paradox's Life Points increased. "Malefic Redirect's final effect," Paradox announced. "If you destroy my monster by battle, I can add one 'Malefic' monster with a higher Level from my deck to my hand. I add 'Malefic Rainbow Dragon' to my hand." Player: Paradox LP: 1400 Hand: 3 "I Set one card face-down. Turn over." Antinomy said. "My turn! But instead of drawing, I'll activate Malefic Time-Space's effect to add a random 'Malefic' monster to my hand." The automatic shuffler whirred as Paradox's deck was shuffled. It stopped and a single card stuck out. Paradox took it and smiled. "I send 'Cyber End Dragon' from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard to Special Summon 'Malefic Cyber End Dragon' from my hand!" An enormous machine appeared behind Paradox. Its body was serpentine with two huge wings, black with thin white veins, spreading out behind it. Three differently-shaped heads writhed on long necks. Each one was covered by a different mask. The right head wore a black mask, the left wore a white mask, and the middle head wore a half-black half-white mask. Malefic Cyber End Dragon ATK / 4000 LV 10 "Malefic Cyber End Dragon, attack Tech Genus Blade Blaster with Eternal Evolution Burst!" Paradox ordered. Each of the dragon's heads roared and spit out a fireball at the green robot. It raised its crushed left arm in front of its face. "Trap Card, open! 'TGXA-SH!' " Antinomy said. A wide shield with the letters "TG" emblazoned on the front appeared. The rim of the shield glowed with a flowing green light. "During this turn, 'Tech Genus' monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle, and damage I take from their battles is halved." Each fireball struck the shield. Sparks splashed off of it, hitting Antinomy as they did. "Malefic Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Hyper Librarian!" Paradox said. The red dragon spat out a stream of fire at the white-robed man, but the tablet he was holding changed into a shield identical to Blade Blaster's. The fire slid off the shield and hit Antinomy's D-Wheel. Player: Antinomy LP: 1350 Hand: 2 "I Set two cards face-down," said Paradox. "Your turn." "Draw!" said Antinomy. Speed Counters Antinomy: 6 Paradox: 6 "I reduce Blade Blaster's Attack Points by one thousand to Special Summon 'Tech Genus Gear Zombie' from my hand, then I Normal Summon 'Tech Genus Drill Fish' from my hand." Two new monsters appeared above Antinomy. The first was a zombie, thin and gaunt with mottled green skin and gears sticking out of its head, arms and legs. The second monster was a red fish with a silver underbelly and a long yellow drill mounted on its snout. T.G. Gear Zombie ZO-06 ATK / 600 LV 1 T.G. Drill Fish FS-05 ATK / 100 LV 1 "Level One Gear Zombie, tune with the Level One Drill Fish!" Antinomy said. "Limiter removal, Level Two! Regulator open! Navigation, All Clear! GO! Synchro Summon!" The mechanical zombie vanished and a single star became a green ring that surrounded the red fish. Its body vanished and a lone star was enveloped by a column of pulsing green-white light. "Come on! 'Tech Genus Recipro Dragonfly!' " The light vanished and a man-sized orange dragonfly appeared. Four wings spun around a motor that encased the center of its body, becoming a blurred circle. T.G. Recipro Dragonfly INX-1100 ATK / 300 LV 2 "I draw one card with Hyper Librarian's effect. Next, I activate Recipro Dragonfly's effect. By returning Tech Genus Blade Blaster to the Extra Deck, I can Special Summon the Synchro Monsters I used as its Synchro Materials from the Graveyard. Revive, Tech Genus Power Gladiator! Tech Genus Wonder Magician!" Blade Blaster changed into pure light and split in two, each half becoming Antinomy's previous monsters. "It's time I ended this," said Antinomy. "I'm glad I could duel with you again, George, but we both know how this ends. You lose. The past cannot conquer the future, and I cannot betray Yusei. Level Five Wonder Magician tunes with the Level Five Power Gladiator and Level Two Recipro Dragonfly!" Once again, Wonder Magician's form vanished and five stars drew five rings in the air. Power Gladiator and Recipro Dragonfly moved into the rings and vanished, leaving seven stars behind that moved into single file. "Limiter removal, Level Max! Regulator open! All Clear! Infinite power, break through time and space to open the unknown world! GO! Delta Accel!" Rings and stars were engulfed in a column of pulsing light. From within emerged an enormous black and orange robot holding a halberd in both hands. T.G. Halberd Cannon MAXXX-∞ ATK / 4000 LV 12 "Hyper Librarian's effect lets me draw one card when a monster is Synchro Summoned," Antinomy said. "I activate 'Speed Spell - Sideswipe!' If I have four or more Speed Counters, one monster I control can attack twice this turn, but if its Level is higher than my Speed Counters, it loses a hundred Attack Points times the difference during the second attack. Next, I banish TGXA-SH from my Graveyard to activate its second effect. During my current turn, each 'Tech Genus' monster I control cannot be destroyed by battle once." "So you intend to destroy both of my monsters with Halberd Cannon," Paradox said. "Leaving you open to a direct attack from Hyper Librarian," Antinomy finished "Battle! Halberd Cannon, attack Malefic Cyber End Dragon!" The massive robot swung its halberd up and into the mechanism on its back, then gripped the sides of the mechanism and pulled it down over its head. Paradox saw that the pole of the halberd now doubled as the barrel of a cannon. The cannon roared as an explosion forced its way out of the barrel. Paradox didn't see the blast that struck Malefic Cyber End Dragon, only the explosion that followed. His monster had been destroyed. Suddenly Halberd Cannon flew through the smoke, its halberd drawn back behind it. It swung the blade at Malefic Red Dragon Archfiend, slicing through its chest and destroying it as well. "You've got nothing left that can save you, Paradox," said Antinomy. "Hyper Librarian, direct attack!" Player: Paradox LP: 1000 Hand: 1 "I play the Trap 'Malefic Zero-Warp!' " Paradox said. "If Malefic World is in play and I control no monsters, the Attack Points of every monster on your field drop to zero during this turn." "Malefic Time-Space changes its name to 'Malefic World' while it's on the field," said Antinomy. "You expected this, didn't you?" "That's one reason I use this deck, Johnny," said Paradox. "The point isn't to conquer the future with the past, it's to learn from the past so we can change the future." Antinomy remained silent for a moment. Then he Set two cards face-down and ended his turn. "My turn!" Paradox said. "I activate the Speed Spell 'Drift Summon!' If I have six or more Speed Counters, I can play this card. This turn, any effect that negates or responds to my Summons is negated!" "Halberd Cannon can negate one Summon for each of its Synchro Materials," Antinomy said. "You remembered?" "I did," Paradox answered. "I send 'Rainbow Dragon' from my deck to the Graveyard and Special Summon 'Malefic Rainbow Dragon' from my hand!" The sky darkened and a rainbow appeared overhead. A deep roar echoed through the city and a serpentine dragon flew out of the rainbow. The Malefic mask covered its face and white-tipped black armor coated its wings. Malefic Rainbow Dragon ATK / 4000 LV 10 "Next, I activate 'Malefic Panic!' This card resurrects as many of my fallen 'Malefic' monsters as possible! Return to the field, Malefic Red-Eyes! Malefic Red Dragon! Malefic Cyber End Dragon! And Malefic Gateway!" Malefic Monsters ATK / 0 "I activate Malefic Rainbow Dragon's effect! All other 'Malefic' monsters I control are sent to the Graveyard, and Malefic Rainbow Dragon gains one thousand Attack Points for each one!" The other four monsters turned into different colored lights and disappeared into the gems on either side of Rainbow Dragon's body. It roared as a rainbow nimbus surrounded it. Malefic Rainbow Dragon ATK / 8000 LV 10 "Battle! Malefic Rainbow Dragon, attack Halberd Cannon! Over the Rainbow!" The dragon roared and a white beam shot out of its mouth, and a rainbow shockwave appeared around it. As the beam approached Antinomy's monster, a card flipped up. "I activate 'Labyrinth of Kline!' " said Antinomy. "The original Attack and Defense Points of your monster are switched and my monster cannot be destroyed by battle this turn." "Malefic Rainbow Dragon's original Defense is zero," said Paradox. "That means its Attack Points will be..." "Four thousand points," Antinomy finished. Malefic Rainbow Dragon ATK / 4000 DEF / 4000 The white beam twisted in the air, turning in on itself. Halberd Cannon swung its blade and sliced through the beam. Then, aiming its weapon forward, it flew straight at the dragon and cut through its body, destroying it. Paradox grit his teeth. "I acitvate the second effect of 'Speed World Two,' " he said. "By paying seven Speed Counters, I can draw one card." He drew a card, looked at it, then Set it face-down. "Your turn." Speed Counters Antinomy: 8 Paradox: 1 "Tech Genus Halberd Cannon, direct attack!" Antinomy ordered. The giant robot combined its halberd with the device on its back, pulling it down over its head and aiming the barrel of the cannon directly at Paradox. It fired. "Trap Card, open! 'Malefic Flash Revive!' " Paradox shouted. "When you attack, this card Special Summons a 'Malefic' monster from my Graveyard and forces you to attack it! Revive, Malefic Rainbow Dragon!" Another rainbow began to form over Paradox, but Antinomy activated another card. "Counter Trap, 'TGX1-NG' activate! This negates the activation or summon of an opponent's card and destroys it, then destroys one 'Tech Genus' monster I control." Halberd Cannon removed its weapon and flew forward, striking at Paradox's Trap Card. Both monster and Trap were destroyed, but out of the smoke flew the green form of Tech Genus Blade Blaster. "When Halberd Cannon leaves the field, its final effect activates, letting me Special Summon 'Tech Genus Blade Blaster' from my Extra Deck," said Antinomy. "You've lost, George." Player: Paradox LP: 1000 Hand: 0 "Blade Blaster... attack." /*********************\ Next time on Dueling is Magic! Many Futures Chaos has broken out in Kaiba Corp. Tower as Twilight makes her escape! If that wasn't enough, Rarity and Yeager have arrived and are making their assault at the entrance, and Pinkie and the others are closing in! But Yusei's plan is beginning to take form... Chapter 41 Reunion of Harmony /*********************\ Featured Card T.G. Blade Blaster MAXX-10000 EARTH Level 10 Machine / Accel Synchro / Effect 1 Tuner Synchro Monster + 1 or more non-Tuner Synchro Monsters Can be Synchro Summoned during your opponent's turn. When your opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card: You can discard 1 card; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it. Once per turn, during your opponent's turn: You can banish this face-up card until the End Phase. When this card is destroyed: You can draw 1 card, and if you do, Special Summon the Material Monsters used in this card's Synchro Summon from the Graveyard. ATK / 3300 DEF / 2200