Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!

"End Phase. The 'D.D. Scout Plane' that was banished for Emperor's tribute returns to the field in Attack Position."

[D.D. Scout Plane, ATK 800]

"Turn end," Kira said.

Luca's smile faded along with his Worm Zero, returning to his default poker face.

"My turn. Draw." He glanced at his hand, then said with a sinister tone, "Quick-Play Spell: 'Mystical Space Typhoon'—destroy one Spell or Trap on the field.

I'll destroy my Continuous Spell 'Mirage of Nightmare.'

Normally, at my Standby Phase, I'd have to discard four cards due to its side effect, but if I destroy it now, I don't have to."

A cyclone whipped up, and with a burst of black lightning, his own Continuous Spell was obliterated.

"Mystical Space Typhoon, huh." Kira nodded.

Not Emergency Provisions, interesting.

"But was that really the best choice? Rare to draw a removal card," Kira smiled. "Wouldn't you rather get rid of 'Macro Cosmos'?"

"No need for your advice."

Luca waved his hand, eyes flashing with resolve.

"I flip-summon my set monster—'Worm Apocalypse'!"

[Worm Apocalypse, ATK 300]

"When this card is flipped, it destroys one Spell or Trap on the field.

Disappear, 'Macro Cosmos'!"

Finally, Macro Cosmos was destroyed. The deep cosmic background that had haunted Luca since the duel began faded, and the oppressive gloom in his heart lightened—just a little.

"Next, I activate my set Trap—'Needlebug Nest'. Send the top five cards of my Deck to the Graveyard."

He drew five cards, glanced at them, then slid them into the Graveyard one by one.

"Now, I tribute 'Worm Apocalypse' to Tribute Summon—

—Level 8, Worm Queen!"

[Worm Queen, ATK 2700]

"Even though she's Level 8, if I use a Reptile-type monster with 'Worm' in its name as tribute, I only need one."

Luca's tone was dark.

"You're getting a little too cocky, kid. Time for you to witness the true power and beauty of my Worm."

Kira watched as Worm Queen appeared on Luca's field.

Power and beauty? Somehow, I don't think 'Worm' fits either of those.

"Once per turn, Worm Queen can tribute a Reptile with 'Worm' in its name to Special Summon an 'Worm' from the Deck with a lower level than the tributed monster!"

"You only have Worm Queen on your field," Kira pointed out.

"Exactly. The Queen herself is a 'Worm' monster. I'll tribute Worm Queen herself!"

Golden light wrapped around the Queen, dissolving her into countless particles.

"Queen is Level 8, so I can Special Summon any Worm from my Deck with Level 8 or lower." Luca declared.

"I see," Kira said. "'Parallel World Fusion' shuffled all the banished Worms back into the Deck, right?"

A clutch draw in a desperate situation. Not only did he fuse for Worm Zero, if not for Parallel World Fusion shuffling monsters back, Luca would've run out of monsters by now—Macro Cosmos nearly wiped him out.

"From my Deck, I Special Summon this Worm."

Luca pulled out his chosen monster.

"Level 7—Worm Victory, Special Summoned!"

A golden beam descended. First, a pool of dark red, viscous liquid—like blood from the abyss—glistened with an eerie sheen on the ground.

A massive creature slowly emerged from the bloody pool. Its body was covered in hard, red-brown carapace, rough and cold, exuding ominous energy. Six thick, sharp claws looked capable of tearing through anything.

[Worm Victory, ATK 0]

"Victory's ATK increases by 500 for each Worm in my Graveyard," Luca intoned.

"I've got one Worm left from Card Destruction, just tributed Apocalypse and the Queen, and two more from Needlebug Nest—five in total.

So Victory's ATK becomes—"

[Worm Victory, ATK 0 → ATK 2500]

"Now, with the power of 'Seal of Orichalcos,' Victory gains another 500 ATK!"

[Worm Victory, ATK 2500 → ATK 3000]

"Go, Victory! Rip that Scout Plane apart!"

Victory's massive claws came crashing down, smashing the Scout Plane into sparking pieces.

[Kira, LP 4000 → LP 1800]

Kira took the hit, staggering back a few steps.

"Set two cards. Turn end."

"Summoning a new ace attacker right away? That's impressive," Kira remarked.

Luca: "..."

No, stay calm. Don't lose your cool.

Especially don't get physical—hitting people is against the rules, and in a shadow game, the consequences are... severe.

"My turn. Draw." Kira said, "I activate the Spell Card 'Card of Adversity'. If my opponent controls a Special Summoned monster and I have none, I draw two cards." (Anime card)

Kira drew two cards.

"Next, I banish from my Graveyard the LIGHT 'Zaborg the Thunder Monarch' and the DARK 'Apprentice Magician'—"

"Banish a LIGHT and a DARK? Chaos Warrior?" Luca tensed.

"Haha, sorry to disappoint, but not quite."

Kira revealed his card with a grin.

"Guided by the souls of light and darkness, the magician who commands chaos descends—

—Chaos Sorcerer, Summon!"

[Chaos Sorcerer, ATK 2300]

"Chaos Sorcerer..." Luca muttered, "A lower-tier version of the Envoy of the Beginning."

Not as powerful, but still with a dangerous banishing ability.

"Trying to banish my Victory? Not so fast."

Luca shouted, "Quick-Play Spell: 'Book of Moon'! Turn a monster face-down in Defense Position!"

"Oh?" Kira said. "Planning to flip my Chaos Sorcerer face-down?"

"Who said that?" Luca sneered. "I'm flipping my own Victory face-down!"

Victory turned face-down.

"Now I activate the Trap Card 'W Nebula Meteorite'! All face-down Defense monsters are flipped face-up in Defense Position.

Victory, flip!"

[Worm Victory, DEF 2500]

"At this moment, Victory's flip effect activates."

Luca spread his fingers, pointing fiercely at Kira's Chaos Sorcerer.

"When Victory is flipped, destroy all face-up monsters except Reptile-type monsters with 'Worm' in their names!"

PS: Bonus chapters at 2000 PS