Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

“Although I lost the [Vampire Red Baron] that I just summoned, and also used up a face-down card, you lost your strongest trump card [Ancient Mechanical Thermonuclear Dragon] and a card in your hand. You win!” Camilla said arrogantly, feeling that he had a great advantage. “The advantage is mine!”

"You only have four cards left, what can you possibly do?"

She had no recollection that when Chronos summoned the Ancient Mechanical Thermonuclear Dragon, he had only used one card from his hand.

Professor Chronos glanced at the cards in his hand and pulled one out, saying, "Actually, it's not four cards, it should be five. Although the destruction of the previous [Gear Street] card was an accident, it's fortunate that I activated that card first and protected this card, no way."

"Spell card activated, Pot of Greed, I draw two cards from my deck."

The moment the god-tier card that could unconditionally exchange two cards appeared, Camilla's eyebrows shot up. She scrutinized Chronos's "Pot of Greed," which had spat out two cards into his hand, and Professor Chronos's face, saying, "Instead of using 'Pot of Greed' first, you used that Field Spell Card with an effect that allows it to be destroyed? You're so despicable! Could it be a card spirit of 'Pot of Greed'?!"

“There’s no such thing as a card sprite!” Professor Chronos hadn’t seen any sprite abilities, so he naturally didn’t believe in their existence. He looked at Camilla with displeasure and said, “Although [Gear Street] was destroyed, thanks to [Pot of Greed], I drew a card that can replace it.”

"The Continuous Spell Card [Ancient Gear Fortress] is activated. This card protects my [Ancient Gear] monsters from being targeted by my opponent's card effects or destroyed by their effects during the turn they are Normal or Special Summoned. Also, my opponent cannot activate the effects of Spell/Trap/Monster cards in response to the effects of [Ancient Gear]!"

Although the Gear Street was destroyed, when the Ancient Mechanical Fortress was activated as a replacement, a huge fortress successfully rose behind Professor Chronos. Countless huge mechanical gears turned on the steep cliff face that was almost vertical to the ground, providing power to the impregnable fortress city on the mountaintop.

However, although the Ancient Gear Fortress has an extremely powerful protective effect, Professor Chronos is not activating it to protect the Ancient Gear monsters that do not actually exist on his field. Instead, he wants to use another card he has drawn to summon other Ancient Gear monsters by borrowing its power.

"The other card I drew is [Ancient Gear Launcher]. It can be activated by targeting one face-up card on my field—that is, this [Ancient Gear Fortress]—when I have no monsters on my field." Professor Chronos played the second card he drew from [Pot of Greed], pointing to [Ancient Gear Fortress], "Destroy [Ancient Gear Fortress], and Special Summon one [Ancient Gear] monster from my Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"

"The monster I wish to Special Summon is... Use your ancient power to shatter everything to ashes! [Ancient Mechanical Giant—]"

He took a card from his deck and called out the name, but just when everyone thought he had finished reading it, Professor Chronos added the last name from the back of the card.

"—Ultimate Strike!"

"What!?" Not only Camilla, but also Asuka and Caesar stared wide-eyed at Professor Chronos, who was using a power far exceeding what he had shown in his previous duel with Jaden.

To Camilla's astonishment, a gear-shaped launching device appeared below the Ancient Mechanical Fortress. After a brief search, its red sight locked onto the Ancient Mechanical Fortress atop the mountain, and a bright yellow beam of light was fired, instantly striking the fortress city on the mountain!

Instantly, the mountain range shattered, and the intricate mechanisms disintegrated. Yet, from within the locked fortress city, a mountain giant rose—no, a colossal monster made with the same gear-mechanical structure, which had always served as the power core of the fortress city, now freed because the [Ancient Mechanical Fortress] had been destroyed!

Compared to the Ancient Machine Titan, the core gears used for propulsion in the Ancient Machine Titan - Ultimate Strike have been changed from white iron to a cyan gold color. It also appears to have incorporated magnetic coating technology to enhance its operating speed. This comprehensive upgrade in materials and coatings means that while the Ancient Machine Titan - Ultimate Strike's performance is slightly lower than the Ancient Machine Titan, it gains greater explosive power and sustained damage, making it a "Pro-Plus-Ultra" version of the Ancient Machine Titan!

【Ancient Mechanical Titan - Ultimate Strike】【8☆/Land】

[Mechanical Race/Effect]

[3000/3000]

"Impossible! Another monster with 3000 ATK and DEF!?" Camilla couldn't accept the reality that his deck only had one 3000 ATK monster, while Professor Chronos's deck seemed to be able to summon one at will. "Are all ancient machines monsters?"

"Hmph, although [Ancient Gear Giant - Ultimate Strike] is actually the same as [Ancient Gear Giant], a monster that can only be Normal Summoned and not Special Summoned, [Ancient Gear Shooter]'s 'Special Summon without Summoning Conditions' can break this restriction." Professor Chronos said, taking out another card from the graveyard. "Not only that, [Ancient Gear Fortress] also has a similar ability to [Gear City]."

"This effect can only be activated if 'Ancient Gear Fortress' in the Spell & Trap Zone is destroyed. Special Summon one 'Ancient Gear' monster from my hand or Graveyard. After this effect is activated, I cannot Special Summon Nanone unless it is an 'Ancient Gear' monster until the end of this turn."

"Special Summon back the previously released [Ancient Mechanical Thermonuclear Dragon] from my Graveyard to the field!"

[Ancient Mechanical Thermonuclear Dragon] [ATK3000]

The two enormous monsters, no longer restricted by the indoor space and fully displaying their massive, mountain-like mechanical giants, and the nuclear-powered gear dragons soaring in the air radiating surging heat, not only astonished Camilla and Asuka who were nearby, but also caught the attention of Judai and Marufuji Sho from a distance.

Their goal was to reach the central volcano of the island, and the lake near the Blue Dormitory was also on their way. They pedaled their bicycles with extra effort, trying to catch up with the duel that was taking place in the distance.

Meanwhile, Camilla watched as Professor Chronos so easily summoned back the [Ancient Mechanical Thermonuclear Dragon] that she had painstakingly sent to the graveyard. Her already fair skin turned even paler, and she gritted her teeth, seemingly extremely unwilling to accept that she had been outmatched by Chronos.

"You actually Special Summoned the monster back? But do you think you're the only one who can Special Summon monsters from the Graveyard?" Camilla, seeing Chronos' two monsters appear, wasn't going to be outdone, and immediately pressed the button to activate her face-down card, wanting to prove herself. "Trap Card [Vampire Move] activated. This card can only be activated if there are no cards in my Field Zone and the only face-up monster I control is a Zombie-Type monster."

"I activate 'Vampire Empire' from my Deck, and then Special Summon 1 DARK monster with 'Vampire' in its name from my Graveyard in face-up Defense Position!"

"I activate the Field Spell Card [Vampire Empire], and Special Summon [Vampire Baron] from my Graveyard in Defense Position!"

【Vampire - The Red Baron】【DEF1000】

"At the same time, the effect of [Survival Card] allows each player to Special Summon one monster from their Graveyard, so I can draw six cards." Camilla's hand, which had been reduced to only one card, suddenly swelled up, and the two Special Summons from the Graveyard replenished Camilla's hand with a large number of cards.

The desolate city shrouded in mist rose, and the red moon illuminated an ancient castle on the mountain. The smug Camilla did not notice that when she summoned the [Vampire Red Baron] with only 1000 defense points, Chronos showed a look of delight. She felt that she had summoned another monster with a defense rating, making her even more secure.

When a monster in defense position is attacked, it cannot be damaged even with infinite attack power. This is a common feature of Duel Monsters, and even gods cannot break through this. I only have one monster in attack position, [Vampire Red Death], on my field. Although the quality of my monsters is not as good as my opponent's, I have three against two in terms of numbers. I don't know how I can lose.

The opponent will definitely try to deal maximum damage by continuously attacking their attack-positioned [Vampire Red Reaper], and then you can use the effect of [Vampire Red Reaper] to offset the destruction by consuming Life Points, so that you can keep three monsters in the next turn.

You can Normal Summon any low-level Vampire monster and trigger the effect of Vampire Queen to steal your opponent's powerful monster. Then, Vampire Baron can spend Life Points to exchange for control of Vampire Heiress and another of your opponent's monsters. In other words, you will have control of both of your opponent's monsters next turn.

Not to mention that I also have a "Vampire Heiress" card in my hand, which is a monster that can be Special Summoned when the opponent declares an attack. How can I say that I'm invincible?

The winds of victory are blowing from behind me, Camus!

While mentally rehearsing and setting his own goal, Camilla heard Chronos check his hand and say, "I enter the battle phase, and then use [Ancient Mechanical Giant - Ultimate Strike] to attack [Vampire Red Baron]!"

"【Ancient Gear Giant - Ultimate Strike】has the same ability as 【Ancient Gear Giant】, which can inflict battle damage on the opponent when attacking a Defense Position monster by a value exceeding its Defense stat," Chronos paused, then added, "In addition, the upgrade of 【Ancient Gear Giant - Ultimate Strike】 compared to 【Ancient Gear Giant】 is that when its attack destroys a monster, I can discard one Machine-Type monster from my hand to activate this effect, allowing it to continue attacking. This effect can be used a maximum of twice per turn."

"In other words, if I have an extremely full hand, [Ancient Mechanical Giant - Ultimate Strike] can perform up to three consecutive attacks, destroying all of your [Vampire Red Reaper], [Vampire Red Baron], and [Vampire Sorceress] on the field, no way!"

Wait, wait a minute, that effect is cheating! I've never heard of such a cheesy monster!

Camilla's mind went blank as she watched Chronos command the Ancient Mechanical Titan - Ultimate Strike to smash its massive, gate-like iron fist into her weak, pitiful, and helpless Vampire Baron.

—Here's a joke: [Ancient Machines] lets you place defense position monsters with low defense in front of your deck.

"Snapped!"

Just like a raccoon slapping a tomato, [Vampire Red Baron] and his mount were smashed into a pool of blood unsuitable for children. The strong wind blew back all the so-called "wind of victory" blowing from behind Camilla, causing Camilla's hard-earned points to plummet again!

(【Red Baron】: I got up, one punch and I'm done for. What's there to say?)

—That's how it should have been.

But at that very moment, Camilla threw a card from his hand.

Chapter 1123 Move! Why aren't you moving?!

"When the opponent's monster declares an attack, I activate the effect of [Vampire Heiress] in my hand!"

Just as the Ancient Mechanical Giant - Ultimate Strike was about to smash down with its iron fist, Camilla quickly played a card from his hand and said, "Special Summon this card from my hand in Defense Position!"

With her last card played, Camilla Special Summoned another "Vampire" monster to her field. However, compared to "Vampire Red Death" and "Vampire Witch," the "Vampire Heiress" that appeared this time looked the youngest and most beautiful. Her fair skin was covered by a long dress with a mesh pattern, the front of which was pulled up above her knees, revealing her black jade feet. Her golden hair had some red highlights at the edges, and a black parasol covered her head, giving her an elegant appearance.

However, when people look at the shadow behind the girl and can only see the shadow of the parasol, they immediately realize that she is not human.

[Vampire Heiress] [5 stars/Dark]

[Undead/Effect]

[600/2000]

Chronos's Ancient Mechanical Giant - Ultimate Strike was slightly paused by the appearance of the Vampire Heiress, but continued under the command of its master, Professor Chronos.

"Although I don't know what you're trying to do by Special Summoning a monster at this time, even if a Battle Recycle is triggered because of a new monster appearing on your field, I'll still choose to attack [Ancient Mechanical Giant - Ultimate Strike] with [Vampire Baron]!"

Professor Chronos said with a hint of smugness, "After this attack, you will not only suffer 2000 points of combat damage, but my [Ancient Mechanical Giant - Ultimate Strike] will also gain a follow-up effect because it successfully destroyed the monster!"

"Tsk, that ugly face is exactly like the humans who killed my people!" Camilla said unhappily, looking at Chronos who seemed to have the upper hand. Then she curled her lips into a smile. "However, the vengeful fire of our vampire clan, which has been prepared for hundreds of years, is more powerful than we could have imagined!"

"My Zombie monsters can only activate the effect of [Vampire Heiress] once during damage calculation when battling an opponent's monster. The Life Points I need to pay are the maximum amount of 3000!" Camilla said, holding up three fingers, actually intending to pay off the Life Points of a [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] all at once!

[Camula: 4900→1900LP]

In an instant, a large patch of crimson mist rose from Camilla's body and dissipated. She also instantly revealed a painful expression. Although the 500 basic points she paid each time added up to a considerable amount, she could still bear it because she paid them in separate installments. However, this time, paying 3000 basic points in one go was almost too much for her to handle.

Although he didn't know the effects of [Vampire Heiress], Professor Chronos couldn't understand Camilla's logic at all: "Even if she got hit, she would only lose 2000 life points, but she paid out 3000 life points all at once!?"

"Heh, you idiot, blame yourself for being a teacher. Did you think I was your student? You actually revealed your monster's effect before even attacking." Camus pointed at [Vampire Red Baron] and said, "[Ancient Mechanical Giant - Ultimate Strike] deals extra damage to me when attacking a Defense Position monster, and can add another attack when destroying a monster. So, the way to counter this chain effect is simple: just raise my monster's Defense to a level where it can't be destroyed by battle!"

"Because of the effect of [Vampire Heiress], the attack and defense of [Vampire Red Baron] only increase when calculating damage in the battle against [Ancient Mechanical Giant - Ultimate Heavy Strike], and the value is the base score I paid, which is 3000 points!"

"Mama mia!?"

【Ancient Mechanical Titan - Ultimate Strike】【ATK3000】

[Vampire - Red Baron] [2400/1000→5400/4000]

Amidst Professor Chronos's incredulous expression, the power within the [Vampire Red Baron], who should have been smashed into a pool of blood, surged dramatically. Facing the attack of [Ancient Mechanical Giant - Ultimate Strike], it instantly transformed into a cloud of mist devoid of physical collision volume, dodging the mechanical giant's iron fist while simultaneously reforming in mid-air. With a thrust of its spear carrying the force of gravity, it pushed the giant mechanical humanoid back in a counterattack!

"【Red Baron Vampire】is more than just a pretty face; he's nothing more than a human creation. Watch me push him back!" Camilla exclaimed excitedly, even grinning and sticking out his long, strange tongue, his expression ferocious. "Because a monster in Defense Rank has higher defense, not only can you not inflict combat damage on me, but you're the one who will suffer the damage!"

"And because of the effect of [Vampire's Domain], if my [Vampire] monster inflicts battle damage on the opponent, my Life Points are restored to that amount!"

Professor Chronos: 4000→3000LP

[Camula: 1900→2900LP]

[Vampire - Red Baron] [DEF 4000 → 1000]

"Ugh!" "Hmm~"

Two different voices rang out simultaneously on the field. The difference was that Camilla was groaning comfortably because she had absorbed the life force from Professor Chronos, while Professor Chronos was groaning because he was injured for the first time in the duel and was experiencing a completely unexpected and unusual pain.

Losing his footing and instinctively taking a half-step back, Professor Chronos clutched his chest, his eyes wide with surprise and disbelief.

'This pain, could it really be the so-called "Dark Game"?' Until just now, Professor Chronos, who had always thought that he and Camilla only had ideological differences and that the other was just a delusional person who liked to create fantasies, experienced the real pain caused by the Dark Game and realized that what Camilla said was not false.

Although the principle is unclear, what she is playing with herself at this moment is undoubtedly a true dark game, so she might really be a vampire?

"Ah, judging from the expression on your face, have you finally realized that the Dark Games are real?" Camilla looked at Professor Chronos's expression and knew that he had already believed in the existence of the Dark Games. He sneered, "If you kneel down in front of me now, I might let you go. Anyway, I'd rather duel with the others over there than with you, you ugly bastard."

—This is a lie. Once the Dark Game begins, ordinary methods are no longer sufficient to interrupt the duel. Besides, Camilla's Dark Game wasn't even started by her own power, let alone actively interrupted. She said this purely to see the once arrogant Chronos reveal his pathetic and ugly state in front of her, and to see his despair at knowing that his ugly appearance couldn't save his life.

However, to her surprise, even though Chronos had already convinced her of the existence of the Dark Games with her own body, he still tried his best to straighten his chest and said, "Don't joke around, nothing happened at all!"

"Seemingly unaffected by the Dark Game," Chronos said. "Protecting students is a teacher's duty. Don't even think about touching a single student in this school until you defeat me!"

"You're still bringing this up now? I deliberately paid an extra 1000 base points just to show you the power of the Dark Games. Is it really necessary to be so stubborn?" Paying 2000 base points would have been enough for [Vampire Red Baron] to block the attack of [Ancient Mechanical Giant - Ultimate Strike], but I deliberately paid an extra 1000 points to damage Professor Chronos's base points. Camilla said, "You've already tasted the flavor of the Dark Games, haven't you? Still denying it?"

"I am a teacher at the Duel Academy, so I absolutely cannot condone the Dark Games. Duels are meant to give hope and courage to young people, not to incite terror and darkness. Duels should be about light." Professor Chronos paused, then continued, "I will bury your so-called darkness with a fair and square duel!"

"Although [Ancient Mechanical Giant - Ultimate Strike] failed to destroy the monster and gain the opportunity for an additional attack, my [Ancient Mechanical Thermonuclear Dragon] has not yet made an attack."

Pointing at Camilla's [Vampire Red Reaper] on the field, Professor Chronos declared, "I'm using it to attack the opponent's [Vampire Red Reaper] in Attack Position!"

The enormous mechanical dragon seemed to sense the will of its pilot. The flow within the nuclear energy transmission channels on its body accelerated, and a surge of energy overflowed from its back. However, this energy was not used for attack but for support. The main force of the attack came from the fierce flames accumulated in its dragon head. After a brief suppression, the raging flames were released in a form similar to a light cannon. Even with the propulsion that had been released in advance to counteract the reaction force, the ancient mechanical thermonuclear dragon in the air was still pushed back several meters.

Seeing the attack from the Ancient Mechanical Thermonuclear Dragon, Camilla dismissively said, "Muda muda muda! You've already experienced it once, why do you still want to try and feel the pain of the Dark Game? The effect of the Vampire Heiress isn't just limited to one use. This time, I can pay a full 2800 base points to boost the attack power of the Vampire Red Death!"

As Camilla spoke, she tried to pay her basic points, only to find that the blood mist transformed from life force was instantly evaporated just as it was about to leave her body. At the same time, a stinging pain and dizziness were constantly assaulting her body!

"W-How could this be?" Camilla couldn't understand what had happened. Since she couldn't release it on her own, she would summon the [Vampire Heiress] and urged her monster, "[Vampire Heiress], move! Why aren't you moving!"

However, if Camilla could feel the heat and stinging around her, how could the vampire heiress not feel it? In fact, she knew the source of that pain even better than Camilla.

“Compared to other monsters in the ‘Ancient Gear’ series, ‘Ancient Gear Thermonuclear Dragon’ innovatively incorporates nuclear power, which imbues its attacks with the power of the ‘nuclear’. Just releasing it can interfere with the power of other beings!” Professor Chronos explained to the puzzled Camilla, “When ‘Ancient Gear Thermonuclear Dragon’ attacks, the opponent cannot activate monster effects, spells, or trap cards until the end of the damage step!”

"With this profound and radiant strike, pierce the darkness!"

"X-BURNER!"