The Red Dragon Lord is OP, but Insists on a Pop Culture Invasion!

A card set in the back row is a trap or Magic Card waiting to be activated.

Since their effects are unknown to the opponent until activation, they serve as a powerful deterrent.

Even if you were holding a card that could wipe out their back row, you’d have to wonder if your opponent had set a counter for that very move.

Each set card made the duel’s atmosphere a little more sinister.

Galina, however, clearly hadn’t sensed the malicious intent lurking beneath her opponent’s doll costume.

"Ha! Your life is but a candle in the wind. I’ll finish you this turn! My turn, I draw!" Galina declared, full of vigor.

"Hold on!" Zog interrupted her draw.

"I activate my Trap Card, Drop Off! The card you just drew during your Draw Phase is discarded to the Graveyard!"

Zog flipped over a set card on his field, and an Illusion of a weapon being knocked from someone’s hand appeared.

Galina didn’t even get a chance to see what she’d drawn before she was forced to send the card to the Graveyard.

"My card!" she cried, indignant.

’Even someone as slow on the uptake as me should realize something is off.’

’Am I being played?’

’No, that’s impossible! Absolutely impossible!’

’As long as Blue-Eyes White Dragon is on my field, the scales of victory are tipped in my favor.’

’It’s fine. Just stick to the plan,’ Galina told herself.

"Battle! I attack your Killing Tomato with my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

In truth, with Killing Tomato’s 1100 Defense Power, even her Dragon Dictator could have destroyed it. But Galina played it safe and had Blue-Eyes White Dragon attack instead.

She knew there were ways to suddenly increase or decrease a monster’s Attack Power; Ben had used such cards when they’d played a test duel.

’What if the doll has a Trap Card like that? My Dragon Dictator would be destroyed in a counterattack.’

"Bursting Gale Bullet!"

Galina shouted the attack’s name, full of conviction.

That’s right—Monster Card attacks were actually divided into normal attacks and special Skill moves.

It didn’t affect the actual Attack Power, but it looked cool, and that’s how it was always drawn in the manga.

Plus, if you called out the name of the move, the monster’s Illusion would perform the corresponding Skill animation.

Real-life card game nuts had even more to recite every turn.

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon roared, condensing a huge, white ball of energy in its mouth that shot toward the weak and pitiful Killing Tomato, trailing sparks and lightning.

The Tomato’s Illusion dissipated under the attack.

"I activate Killing Tomato’s effect! I Special Summon Leader Zarug from my deck."

A one-eyed Warrior holding two flintlock Revolvers appeared on Zog’s field.

Attack Power, 1500 Defense Power, in Attack Position.

Galina didn’t care about the monster Zog had Special Summoned. It was just a weakling with 1400 Attack Power. What trouble could it possibly cause?

She stared intently at his two remaining set cards. That "Drop Off" had left a bad taste in her mouth.

However, nothing happened. ’Hmph. Just a bluff. And here I thought he’d set something amazing.’

’My Attack Power is 3000 against his 1400. The advantage is mine.’

"Battle continues! I attack your Leader Zarug with my other Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Before Galina could even finish speaking, Zog flipped over another set card.

"I activate the Trap Card, Holy Protection Shield - Mirror Force -!"

A transparent Protective Shield appeared on Zog’s field, blocking the incoming Bursting Gale Bullet.

Then, Galina could only watch as the gale bullet was reflected, slamming back into her own side of the field.

[Holy Protection Shield - Mirror Force -: When an opponent’s monster declares an attack: Destroy all your opponent’s Attack Position monsters.]

And so, the three Monster Cards Galina had worked so hard to summon were engulfed by the aftershock of the exploding gale bullet, all of them destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.

Staring at her completely empty front row, Galina felt her blood pressure begin to rise.

"Wait, what? Why?! If you had that card, why didn’t you use it before?"

"Because I wanted to activate Killing Tomato’s effect," Zog replied calmly.

"Th-Then I activate Vortex! I’ll destroy that Trap Card!" In her desperation, Galina revealed the last card in her hand.

"Go ahead," Zog said, seemingly unfazed.

"No, wait. I destroyed the Trap Card you just used," Galina repeated, emphasizing her point.

"That’s right, you did," Zog replied.

"Then what about my monsters? The Trap Card was destroyed, so shouldn’t my attack not have been reflected?"

"No, no, no," Zog explained. "My Trap Card had already successfully activated before you destroyed it. Destroying a card is not the same as negating its effect. You need to understand the difference."

Vortex—or Cyclone as it was also called—was considered a god-tier card back when Zog played as a kid. According to the consensus among his friends, if a card was destroyed, how could it possibly still have an effect?

So everyone used it as a universal counter.

But that was just wishful thinking among friends. Vortex couldn’t actually stop an effect from activating.

Clearly, Galina shared that misunderstanding. Reality, however, was cruel.

"So... my Vortex did nothing at all?" Galina asked, her voice trembling as the realization dawned on her.

"Um, you could put it that way."

"Then... can I take the card back? Just pretend I never played it."

A move outside the rules of the game. She was resorting to tactics from outside the game.

At that moment, Galina’s inner drama queen took over. Her eyes welled with tears as she asked pitifully, though the three massive fireballs floating beside her—the same kind as Carl’s—clashed horribly with her pleading tone.

"Go on, take it back."

"Really?" Galina immediately broke into a smile.

’Next turn,’ she schemed, ’I’ll definitely destroy that last set card of his.’

’I still have a chance.’

’Hmph. Stupid doll. You’ll regret being so soft-hearted.’

"Really."

Hearing this, Galina immediately snatched the Vortex she had played and returned it to her hand.

"I end my turn." She finished, filled with hope for a miraculous top-deck that would turn the tables next turn.

Inside the doll costume, Zog grinned like a supervillain. ’The fun,’ he thought, ’is just getting started.’

"My turn, I draw!"

Zog reached a paw toward his deck. He drew and flipped the card over, revealing a rather unremarkable two-star monster.

’Alright. Now my opponent doesn’t get to play Yu-Gi-Oh! anymore.’

"I summon a monster: Eight-Tailed Crow, in Attack Position." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A rather unremarkable-looking crow appeared on Zog’s field.

Galina glanced at it. ’It only has 200 Attack Power. I can take that.’

"Battle! I’ll use Leader Zarug to attack you directly!"

As Zarug’s Illusion fired both its guns, Galina’s life points dropped from 4000 to 2600.

"Doesn’t hurt!" Galina said through gritted teeth.

’Of course it doesn’t hurt,’ Zog thought. ’I didn’t add any impact feedback to the Dueling Discs. It’s just a card game. If it actually hurt to take damage, every duel would just turn into a real-life PvP match afterward.’

"And then I’ll activate Leader Zarug’s effect. When it inflicts battle damage to an opponent, they must discard one random card from their hand."

"What?!" Galina cried out. "Wait, don’t tell me... Are you going to..."

’But that’s the last card in my hand! The one I worked so hard to get back! How could you... how could you...’

Galina’s expression twisted. She instinctively tried to back away, but Zarug raised his guns and fired, sending the Vortex she’d gotten back through her off-the-books plea to the Graveyard.

Her field and her hand were now completely empty.

"I still have a chance... I still have a chance."

Galina repeated the words like a mantra, trying to maintain her sanity through self-suggestion.

"The other one is just a 200-Attack-Power crow... There’s still next turn. As long as there’s a next turn, there’s hope."

"I use Eight-Tailed Crow to attack you directly," Zog commanded.

The crow’s Illusion flew over and pecked Galina, taking another 200 life points.

"Alright, your turn must be over now," Galina said, rallying her spirits. She was betting everything on her next draw.

"Nope. Not done yet." Zog’s voice drifted menacingly from within the doll costume, sounding like a Devil coming to collect on an unfair Contract.

"I activate the effect of Eight-Tailed Crow! When it inflicts battle damage to an opponent, they skip their next Draw Phase."

"What?!"

Galina’s eyes shot wide open.

"Skip... my Draw Phase?"

’I have no cards in my hand, and I can’t draw next turn. Then on his next turn, he’ll just attack again... and I still won’t be able to draw...’

As the logic of the situation settled in her mind, her gaze fell upon the unremarkable crow, her eyes filling with terror.

As the crow’s Illusion flew closer, her pupils gradually lost focus. Her thin lips, now drained of all color, trembled uncontrollably.

Finally, on the verge of a complete breakdown, Galina bared her teeth and shrieked, her face a mask of utter desperation.

"Stay away from me!"