"Watch closely—this is the might of the Xyz Alliance!" Aka Natsuyama raised his hand high, his voice ringing with pride.
"I overlay two Level 4 monsters to construct the Overlay Network—!"
"Dark sovereign of the abyssal void, wielder of infernal power… return from exile and reclaim your throne!"
"Xyz Summon! Roar—Fiendish Dragon Lord, Ophion!!"
— Fiendish Dragon Lord – Ophion
— Rank 4 / ATK: 2550
The twin Bloodstone Warriors merged into spiraling energy, and from the vortex emerged a dragon clad in obsidian-black scales, its body exhaling frigid air like a tomb left open.
As the chilling beast landed with a growl, In Koujin's eyes went wide.
"Oh no! That one—this is bad!"
Kyūyō Tenma turned to him. "That monster's trouble?"
In Koujin nodded grimly. "Very. And it's a hard counter to Li Yuu's Blue-Eyes deck. As long as Ophion has an Xyz Material, neither player can Special Summon monsters of Level 5 or higher."
A cold wave swept through the crowd.
Everyone knew—Blue-Eyes monsters were all Level 8.
That lockdown meant Li Yuu couldn't bring out his ace cards at all!
No Blue-Eyes White Dragon. No Chaos MAX Dragon. Nothing above Level 4 could touch the field.
Li Yuu arched an eyebrow. His smirk curled with interest.
"Oh? That's the card you brought? Now I get why you had the guts to challenge me."
Sure, his record-breaking practical exam had put him in the spotlight—but it had also revealed his deck's core strategy.
Ye Kun had quickly pinpointed Blue-Eyes' greatest weakness—and as luck would have it, Aka Natsuyama just happened to have the perfect counter with his Fiendish archetype.
It was a setup.
Ye Kun had thrown a surgical strike—using his underling to humiliate Li Yuu on the battlefield.
"Hahaha!" Aka Natsuyama cackled with glee. "Now you see the terror of my ace—Fiendish Dragon Lord, Ophion! This is what the Xyz Alliance is all about!"
"Your little Blue-Eyes? Fossils from a bygone age, buried in the trash heap of history. So what if you aced an exam? Real duels aren't dress rehearsals—they're war!"
He jabbed a finger toward Li Yuu.
"Your precious Chaos MAX Dragon is a Level 8 Ritual Monster. Without Ritual Summon, it's unplayable. And now? Sealed."
"Give up now, and maybe you can keep a shred of dignity."
Li Yuu scoffed. "Done posturing yet?"
Aka Natsuyama scowled. "Still so arrogant? Hmph. You must've drawn some counter card. But let me be clear—Ophion's power doesn't stop here!"
He flicked his wrist, detaching one Xyz Material.
"I activate Ophion's effect! By detaching 1 material, I add the Quick-Play Spell Infestation Pandemic from my deck to my hand."
Then, with a flourish, he set three cards to his back row.
"One of those is Pandemic, which shields all Fiendish monsters from other Spells and Traps this turn."
"Another is Mirror Force—if you attack, your field gets wiped."
"Now I've locked your summons, set my defense, and reinforced with counterplay."
Aka Natsuyama's smugness was palpable.
His setup was airtight. Victory was only a few turns away.
He folded his arms and sneered.
"Your move, loser. But whatever you draw—nothing can save you now."
"Oh?" Li Yuu gave a faint smirk. "Sore wa dou kana?"
Aka Natsuyama blinked. "Nani?!"
At that moment, Li Yuu drew his next card with a sharp flick—and the air around him shifted.
A thunderous aura exploded outward.
He looked down at the drawn card—and smiled.
"Yeah. You locked out high-Level monsters."
"But what if the monster I summon… doesn't have a Level at all?"
Aka Natsuyama's mind froze. "What…?"
He had considered that possibility.
But deep down, he didn't think Li Yuu had that kind of card.
Until now.
Li Yuu flipped the card into view.
"I drew—Rank-Up Magic – The Seventh One!"
Behind him, seven stars lit up in a divine constellation, pulsing with overwhelming energy.
"What?!" Aka Natsuyama's confident expression shattered. "That card…?! How do YOU have that card?!"
In the distance, Ye Kun—who had just taken a leisurely sip of coffee—spat it all over his lackey's face.
But the lackey didn't react.
He, too, was frozen in shock.
"The Seventh One?! That's… The Seventh One?!"
Even In Koujin and Kyūyō Tenma were stunned.
In Koujin stared at the shimmering card in Li Yuu's hand, voice trembling with disbelief.
"That's The Seventh One—a legendary spell of the Xyz Alliance!"
"Why would someone running a Blue-Eyes deck have it? Who… who even is this guy?!"
He pressed on, half to himself:
"The Seventh One allows you to Special Summon one of seven legendary Xyz monsters directly from your Extra Deck…"
"…the 'Above 100' [No.] monsters. Each with a name number between 101 and 107. Collectively, we call them the Over-Hundred Numbers."
"But which one… which one is he summoning?!"
Dozens of monsters flickered through his memory—but In Koujin already had a guess.
Meanwhile, Aka Natsuyama's face had gone as purple as a bruised pig.
He simply couldn't believe it.
The Over-Hundred Numbers weren't just rare—they were restricted, often national-level secrets.
How could some nobody from the outer districts have one?
"I refuse to believe it! There's no way an outsider like you has an Over-Hundred Number!!"
Li Yuu just smiled.
He didn't bother explaining.
He didn't need to.
He slapped The Seventh One into his duel disk with a decisive click, voice like a judge passing sentence.
"Main Phase 1—I activate The Seventh One!"
"From my Extra Deck, I Special Summon a [No.] monster numbered 101 or above."
"And immediately—Rank-Up into its evolved form!"
"My call is—"
"Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon!!!"
— No.107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon
— Rank 8 / ATK: 3000
A spatial rift tore through the sky.
From the tear descended a majestic, white-armored dragon, wings glittering with cosmic light, its body warping the very fabric of time.
Its feet touched the earth with the weight of a god.
And in that moment—the duel turned upside down.