Chapter 1132: Starlight Path
Chapter 1132: Starlight Path
"Right at the moment you summon a monster", Youxuan said, "activate the Cover Card, Quick-Play Spell 'Quick Summon.'
This allows you to Normal Summon a monster from your hand."
Youxuan waved his hand and covered another monster card.
"I'll cover another monster in face-down Defense Position on the field."
Placido: "?"
He paused, frowning as he stared at the newly covered monster on Youxuan's field.
Seeing that Youxuan had immediately summoned another monster after summoning the Core of Wisdom, and covering it in face-down Defense Position—
Ah, so it's a flip effect, then?
Placido, the ghost controlling the duel from the shadows, sneered inwardly, believing he had seen through Youxuan's strategy. He thought Youxuan was trying to use a flip effect to interfere, likely with a powerful effect that could remove his monsters when flipped.
But such a low-level tactic wouldn't work against him, one of the Three Great Emperors of Taiyi!
"From my hand, I activate the Magic Card 'Black Hole'!"
The ghost dramatically raised the Magic Card in his hand.
"I'll destroy all monsters on the field!"
The card was inserted into the Duel Disk, and a powerful energy burst forth. The space was torn apart, and a black hole, as if from the far reaches of the galaxy, appeared above the field, exerting an endless gravitational pull that dragged everything into its bottomless void.
"Hehe, you might have thought to use a flip effect to interfere with me, but my duel is above such tactics!"
Placido boasted arrogantly.
Using Black Hole to clear the field meant that no matter what abilities the monsters had, they would be crushed before they could even flip!
However, Youxuan, facing the destructive black hole in the sky, stared at the vortex for a moment before breaking into a mocking laugh.
Placido frowned. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, just find your superficial understanding amusing", Youxuan smiled.
Placido was angry. "What do you mean?"
"It seems you think I covered the second monster just to set up a flip effect. No, I used 'Quick Summon' because I saw you summon the Core of Wisdom."
Youxuan paused, then continued with a sinister smile.
"The Core of Wisdom, the absolute core card for the activation of the Imperial Machine Emperor.
When the Core of Wisdom is destroyed by a card effect, you can Special Summon the five components of the Imperial Machine Emperor from your hand or Deck, which can then combine to form your ace monster, the Imperial Machine Emperor, correct?"
Placido: "!!!"
He was truly shocked, genuinely shocked.
How could this guy know about the effects of the Imperial Machine Emperor?
The Imperial Machine Emperor was a card from a destroyed future, not of this era, and only the Three Great Emperors of Taiyi possessed it. Their plans in this era had yet to begin, and they had never acted in public. Yet, the moment they started dueling, the secret of the Imperial Machine Emperor was already exposed. How could this be possible?
"The core can only summon the Imperial Machine Emperor when it is destroyed by a card effect, so your Deck is filled with cards like 'Black Hole' that can destroy everything on the field.
By destroying your own core, you can summon the Imperial Machine Emperor while clearing the opponent's field, a two-for-one deal. Therefore, after summoning the core, your next move was easy to predict."
Youxuan spoke calmly, slowly waving his hand to reveal the back row.
"And this card is the reason I covered a new monster before you activated 'Black Hole.'"
"Activate Cover Card—"
"—Trap Card 'Starlight Path'!"
The trap flipped, and a path of starlight stretched straight into the galaxy, transforming the shining stardust into a sacred sanctuary. It instantly suppressed the destructive celestial bodies in the sky.
Youxuan: "Starlight Path can only be activated when a magic, trap, or monster effect that destroys two or more cards on my field is activated."
Thus, the condition for Starlight Path was only met when he had two monsters on his field.
"Negate that destruction effect and destroy it. Then, I can special summon this card from the extra deck—
"—Stardust Dragon!!!"
Placido's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "What!?"
The starlight barrier shattered, and countless glittering stars swirled in the air, coalescing into the form of a slender white dragon. The Stardust Dragon's bony wings spread, sprinkling a shower of stardust as it spiraled and ascended into the sky.
[Stardust Dragon, Attack Power 2500]
Placido was stunned, truly shocked.
Stardust Dragon? How is that possible?
Isn't this the emblem of the Dragon Markers? Isn't it the one and only card held by Yusei Fudo?
This guy...
"Are you from another time?" Placido asked through the ghost's mouth, his tone dark. "Who are you, really?"
In this dimension, the Stardust Dragon is in Yusei Fudo's possession, that much is certain.
While it's not impossible to create a copy, the technology in this dimension is not advanced enough to replicate a card like the Stardust Dragon. Even the Imperial Machine Emperor could do it, but it would come at a significant cost. In the original story, the Imperial Machine Emperor created a fake robot with three copies of "Red-Eyes Black Dragon", and while he succeeded, it was a costly endeavor.
Moreover, there's a clear difference between a copy and the original. Placido could sense that the Stardust Dragon before him was the real deal, not a mere replica.
So, there was only one answer. This card must have come from another dimension, another timeline.
He didn't recognize it, but this Stardust Dragon originally belonged to Paradox, who had stolen it from his colleague.
"Alright, your Black Hole effect didn't go through, and your Core of Wisdom wasn't destroyed. Therefore, you can't summon the parts of the Imperial Machine Emperor from your deck."
Youxuan smiled playfully.
"Alright, so what will you do next?"
"..."
Placido pondered for a moment, then gritted his teeth.
The appearance of the Stardust Dragon had completely disrupted his plan.
Indeed, in the anime, the only way to summon the Imperial Machine Emperor was by using a card effect to destroy the Core of Wisdom on his field.
The monster effect of the Stardust Dragon, which negates and destroys effects that would destroy cards, was the worst possible match for his strategy.
While the Imperial Machine Emperor is known as the "Synchro Killer", he can only kill if he can be summoned. With the Stardust Dragon already on the field, the Imperial Machine Emperor's chances of appearing were slim to none.
So now, the situation was that Placido wanted to self-destruct, but the Stardust Dragon was preventing him from doing so, creating a rather delicate stalemate.
"Come on, the mighty Imperial Machine Emperor, the Synchro Killer, can't even handle a single Stardust Dragon? Can't be, can't be?" Youxuan continued his taunting.
"Damn... don't underestimate me."
Placido huffed heavily and scanned his hand.
There was still a way!
"Set a card to the back row, my turn ends!"
(End of Chapter)
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