Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!-Chapter 118: Abyssal Lockdown

"Duel!" x2

[Kira, LP 4000]

[Ryuga, LP 4000]

"Looks like I'm going first. Draw."

Kira drew a card and immediately played one from his hand.

"I summon 'Elemental HERO Bubbleman' in Defense Position!"

[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, DEF 1200]

Jaden (from outside the field): "Huh? Kira's using the same Elemental HERO deck as me today?"

But actually, he wasn't. Kira only used Bubbleman for Stratos' draw power, and since Stratos was also a Water Attribute, it doubled as ammo for "Abyss Soldier's" bounce effect. freēnovelkiss.com

"Bubbleman's effect: If I control no other cards, I draw two cards from my deck." (Anime effect)

"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity' to draw three cards and discard two." Kira continued, "Then I set two cards and end my turn."

"My turn!"

Ryuga drew, eyeing Kira's Bubbleman.

Elemental HERO... a standard deck. But even though he's a first-year, Crowler recommended him—he must have something special.

Ryuga: "I summon 'Mystery Shell Dragon'!"

A sleek black dimensional dragon, four stars and already boasting 2000 ATK—a rare beater with no drawbacks, highly valuable.

[Mystery Shell Dragon, ATK 2000]

"Let's see what you're up to!" Ryuga declared. "Battle! 'Mystery Shell Dragon' attacks 'Elemental HERO Bubbleman'!"

Kira quickly flipped a back row card: "Activate Continuous Trap—Gravity Bind! All monsters Level 4 or higher cannot attack!"

A powerful gravity field erupted from the Trap Card, pinning Mystery Shell Dragon in place before it could even move.

"Gravity Bind?" Ryuga frowned.

A stall tactic? But Elemental HERO with stall... I've never seen that before.

Ryuga: "I set a card and end my turn."

Kira: "My turn, draw."

At the same time, his Duel Disk's Graveyard zone flashed, and a Monster Card popped out automatically.

"At this moment, the 'Sinister Serpent' I discarded last turn activates its effect. If it's in my Graveyard during my Standby Phase, I can return it to my hand."

He picked up Sinister Serpent.

"Next, I normal summon 'Abyss Soldier!'"

[Abyss Soldier, ATK 1800]

A warrior wielding a trident strode out from a curtain of water.

Ryuga frowned.

Wasn't this supposed to be Elemental HERO?

"'Abyss Soldier's' effect: By discarding a WATER monster from my hand, I can return a card on the field to its owner's hand."

Kira revealed the just-returned Sinister Serpent.

"I discard the WATER 'Sinister Serpent' to return 'Mystery Shell Dragon' to your hand."

Abyss Soldier's trident whirled, a vortex erupted, and Mystery Shell Dragon was swept away, returning to Ryuga's hand.

Ryuga: "!?"

He realized the infinitely recyclable Sinister Serpent could be used every turn as Abyss Soldier's cost—making the bounce effect virtually free.

"What a troublesome combo..."

Ryuga grunted.

"Not bad. But don't forget—Bubbleman and Abyss Soldier are Level 4. With your Gravity Bind, neither can attack."

He pushed up his glasses and smirked.

"Too bad. You cleared my field but still can't attack. Looks like Gravity Bind backfired. Fujiki Kira, you might want to rethink your strategy."

"Thank you for the advice, teacher." Kira remained polite. "But I have my ideas. I activate the Spell 'Terraforming' to add a Field Spell from my deck to my hand."

He revealed the card.

"Field Spell—'A Legendary Ocean'!"

His Duel Disk popped out a special slot.

"I activate it immediately!"

A 3D projection of seawater swept the field. The entire arena was submerged, with the lost city of Atlantis all around and sunlight streaming through the water.

"While 'A Legendary Ocean' is on the field, all WATER monsters in both hands and on the field are treated as one Level lower, and WATER monsters gain 200 ATK!"

[Bubbleman: Level 4 → 3, ATK 800 → 1000]

[Abyss Soldier: Level 4 → 3, ATK 1800 → 2000]

Ryuga: "NANI!?"

The teacher immediately realized how dangerous this combo was.

A Legendary Ocean dropped the Level of Kira's WATER monsters below the Gravity Bind threshold—so Kira's attack lock was lifted, but Ryuga's monsters were still trapped.

This was a classic combo from the old [Abyss Control] deck. The deck had many such single-sided lockdowns—using Royal Decree to lock traps, Gravity Bind and A Legendary Ocean to lock attacks, all aimed at locking down the opponent from different angles.

Not only that, Abyss Soldier's ATK was now boosted to 2000, meaning only a Level 3 or lower monster with more than 2000 ATK could beat it in battle.

Watching from the stands, Alexis mused, "That's just like him—His usual style."

"True," nodded Misawa, who had quietly shown up. "Fujiki Kira is the type who, if given two ways to win, will always choose the one that stops his opponent from playing at all."

"Mhm," Alexis agreed.

Ryuga: "..."

He could already feel his blood pressure rising.

"Bubbleman switches to Attack Position. Battle phase." Kira declared, "Abyss Soldier, direct attack!"

Abyss Soldier surged forward, trident swirling with golden water, aiming straight at Ryuga.

"Not so fast!" Ryuga cried. "I activate the Trap 'A Hero Emerges'! When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Your opponent chooses 1 random card from your hand, then if it is a monster that can be Special Summoned, Special Summon it. Otherwise, send it to the Graveyard!"

A staple of Jaden's card in the anime. Despite the name, it wasn't a HERO support card.

Ryuga had five cards in hand.

Kira picked at random: "Second from the left."

"Hahaha! Too bad, it's this one—"

Ryuga revealed the card.

"Level 6, Dark Driceratops!!"

[Dark Driceratops, ATK 2400]

"Impressive, teacher. My attack won't go through so easily." Kira smiled. "In that case, I'll cancel my attack. Battle phase over, Main Phase 2."

He played another card.

"Set one more card. Turn end."