Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!-Chapter 101: Please Begin Your Performance

"It's better if I use this deck against you," Kira said, pulling a deck from his case and inserting it into his duel disk.

"Hmph, it doesn't matter what you use," the Insect knight replied confidently. "Before the power my god has granted me, all decks are equally weak. Through battle, you will become my master's sacrifice!"

"Duel!" x2

"I'll go first, draw!" Kira said. "I play the Spell Card 'Pot of Greed' to draw two cards. Then I set a monster face-down. Next, I activate—"

A spell card appeared in front of him.

"Spell Card—Foolish Burial! I send one monster from my deck to the Graveyard."

Kira pulled a card from his deck.

"I send 'Sinister Serpent' to the Graveyard!"

He drew two more cards.

"Set two cards face-down. Turn end."

The Insect Knight: "My turn, draw!

I activate Spell Card 'Card Destruction'! We both discard our hands and draw the same number."

He drew, then revealed another card.

"Now, from my hand: Aztekipede, the Worm Warrior! I can Special Summon it by banishing an Insect in my Graveyard."

He pulled out a card from his graveyard.

"I banish 'Delta Flyer' from the Graveyard to Special Summon 'Aztekipede, the Worm Warrior'!"

The ground rumbled as the monstrous bug burst out, dripping with slime.

[Aztekipede, the Worm Warrior, ATK 1900]

"Now, I play 'Monster Reborn' to revive a monster from my Graveyard! I'll revive 'Resonance Insect'!"

[Resonance Insect, ATK 1000]

Kira raised an eyebrow.

Regardless of the deck's strength, 'Resonance Insect' is a good card.

When it's sent from the field to the Graveyard, you can add a Level 5 or higher Insect from your deck to your hand. If it's banished, you can send another Insect from your deck to the Graveyard.

Seeing this card, Kira couldn't help but think of Watanabe Shuichi's 'Doom Dozer'. In early formats, Doom Dozer was a powerful Insect boss—banish two Insects from your Graveyard to Special Summon a 2800 ATK beater, and you could trigger 'Resonance Insect' along the way.

Well, Kira wasn't interested in playing Insects, but it never hurts to keep one of these around. After all, once this duel's over, the cards will probably be up for grabs.

"Battle. First, 'Aztekipede, the Worm Warrior' attacks your face-down monster!"

The Aztekipede burrowed underground and burst out from Kira's field. The card flipped, revealing a sword-wielding penguin.

"'Penguin Soldier' effect," Kira said. "When flipped, I can return up to two monsters on your field to your hand. I'll choose 'Aztekipede, the Worm Warrior' and 'Resonance Insect'."

The Insect Knight: "!"

Both monsters bounced back, leaving his field empty.

"Tch, a bounce effect..."

The two Insects weren't just for attacking—'Resonance Insect' had been his backup plan. If the opponent destroyed it, he could search for his ace, 'Doom Dozer', and go for a final assault.

But now that they'd bounced back, his plan was foiled.

No matter.

"I haven't done my Normal Summon yet," the Insect knight said. "I set a monster and one face-down card, then end my turn."

He set 'Resonance Insect' again—same effect.

The Insect knight sneered inwardly.

Go on, destroy my Resonance Insect. That will be your downfall.

"My turn, draw," Kira said. "At this moment, my 'Sinister Serpent' in the Graveyard activates. During my Standby Phase, I can return it to my hand." (Old effect)

It might seem weak, but the ability to recycle itself every turn made it a powerful resource engine, eventually getting it banned. The real card was only unbanned when its effect was nerfed in 2015.

But in this world, 'Sinister Serpent' still had its old effect, and looked like a total junk card, so Kira easily got three copies.

"Spell Card 'Graceful Charity'—draw three, discard two."

He sent two cards to the Grave.

"Now, the discarded 'Witch of the Black Forest' activates—when sent to the Graveyard, I can add a monster with 1500 or less DEF from my deck to my hand. I choose..."

He drew a card and showed it.

"'Abyss Soldier', DEF 1300."

After shuffling his deck, he added 'Abyss Soldier' to his hand, then revealed another card.

"Continuous Spell 'Water Hazard'! Once per turn, if I control no monsters, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower WATER monster from my hand. I Special Summon 'Abyss Soldier'!"

[Abyss Soldier, ATK 1800]

The Insect knight kept a straight face.

Come on, attack and destroy my Resonance Insect...

"'Abyss Soldier's effect," Kira continued. "Once per turn, I discard a WATER monster to bounce any card on the field. I discard 'Sinister Serpent' to return your face-down monster to your hand."

The Insect Knight: "!?"

Again!?

For the second time, 'Resonance Insect' was bounced back to his hand. The Insect knight's face twitched.

Is my insect ever going to stay on the field...?

Kira: "Then I Normal Summon a second 'Abyss Soldier'."

[Abyss Soldier, ATK 1800]

Again!?

The knight's eyes narrowed.

That can't be allowed!

"I activate my Trap Card—'Trap Hole'!" he shouted. "When a monster with 1000+ ATK is summoned, destroy it!"

"Not so fast."

Kira calmly flipped a face-down card.

"Continuous Trap—'Royal Decree'! All Trap Cards on the field are negated."

The Insect Knight: "NANI!?"

He could only watch as his Trap Hole was crushed by the power of Royal Decree.

Even Jaden, watching, looked surprised.

Kira runs that card? Doesn't that mess with his traps?

"Battle—double direct attack with 'Abyss Soldier'!"

Both soldiers rushed forward, tridents slashing water trails across the Insect knight, who screamed and was knocked down.

[Insect Knight, LP 4000 → LP 400]

"In one turn, he's down to just 400 Life Points..."

Jaden's eyes sparkled as he watched Kira.

So cool!

He wanted to duel Kira even more now.

"You bastard...!"

The Insect knight struggled up, blood pouring from his wounds.

"My Battle Phase is over, but my turn isn't."

Kira revealed one more card.

"I activate my second 'Abyss Soldier's effect—discard a WATER monster to bounce a card on the field. I discard another 'Sinister Serpent'."

Jaden: "?"

The Insect Knight: "?"

Both were momentarily confused.

Bounce again?

But the Insect Knight's field was empty—there was nothing to bounce.

"'Abyss Soldier' can bounce any card, including my own. So, I'll return my own 'Royal Decree' to my hand."

Jaden: "!"

The Insect Knight: "!!!!!!"

Wha—whaaat!?

Even the Insect Knight realized the problem now.

Whenever he wanted to use traps, Kira would activate Royal Decree and lock him down. But whenever Kira wanted to use his traps, he'd just bounce Royal Decree back to his hand.

The Insect knight was panicking.

So only he couldn't use traps!?

"I set three cards face-down and end my turn."

Now, Kira's field showed one face-up Royal Decree and two mysterious face-downs.

Kira smiled and gestured politely.

Go ahead—please begin your performance.

PS: Sinister combo!

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