Chapter 1253: King or Clown?

[Des Frog, ATK 1900]

[Fishborg Blaster, ATK 100]

The Brionac Synchro had been strangled. The invincible spear dragon had been forced back into its pre-Synchro state before it could even descend. And that Trap had gone further by locking Kira out of monster summons for his next turn—essentially forcing him to waste an entire turn doing nothing.

"An anti-Synchro Trap, huh? Pretty brutal," Kira remarked.

Negating the Synchro was one thing, but preventing monster summons was going too far.

"However, by negating the Synchro Summon of Brionac Dragon, you also ’Special Summoned a monster from the Graveyard.’ Thanks to ’Card of Safe Return,’ I draw a card from my Deck."

"Also, I haven’t entered the Battle Phase this turn yet," Kira continued. "So let’s go straight into battle.

Attack directly with ’Des Frog’."

Fake Jack’s field was currently empty. Even with the Synchro negated and no further summons allowed, a direct attack would still deal decent damage.

Des Frog opened its mouth full of sharp fangs. Dark green venom dripped from between its teeth, corroding the ground with a sizzling sound. Its powerful hind legs kicked off the ground, launching its entire body like a cannonball toward the opponent. Bone spikes protruding from its webbed feet gleamed with lethal cold light.

"Foolish!" Fake Jack shouted.

"Did you think I wouldn’t have accounted for this?

I activate my Set card, Trap Card ’No Entry!’ Change all monsters on the field to Defense Position!"

Just as the frog was about to reach its target, steel barriers suddenly rose from the ground. Chains shot out from thin air and precisely wrapped around Des Frog’s limbs. The frog let out a miserable "Guh!" as its charging posture twisted grotesquely in mid-air. It was yanked back to its original position and forced into a curled defensive stance. It unwillingly puffed its poison sac, but the chains held it firmly in place, allowing only a muffled gurgle from its throat.

Kira: "Then I first activate Swap Frog’s effect—once per turn, return one monster on the field to the hand. I return ’Swap Frog’ itself to the hand.

Finally, I Set two cards and end my turn."

The real Jack grumbled, "This bastard’s defense is pretty tight..."

Hearing this, Fake Jack laughed heartily again. "Of course it is! I am the King—the true King, Jack Atlas! Not someone like you, a washed-up impostor who’s already lost his soul, can compare to!"

The real Jack exploded in anger. "Don’t get too cocky, you bastard!"

"Am I wrong?" Fake Jack shot back. "You’ve lost your status as King and your kingly pride. Now you’re nothing more than a clown jumping around!"

The real Jack: "You bastard..."

But before he could say more, Kira spoke up calmly, "Yeah, he’s no longer a King. That so-called Duel King was a joke from the very beginning.

He was just a puppet that Goodwin propped up to achieve his own goals, yet he kept indulging in the dream of being a king. It really is laughable."

The real Jack looked at him in astonishment. "You..."

But Kira continued, "Precisely because of that, he woke up. He broke free from that past and stepped toward the future as a proper duelist.

However, do you know what’s even more laughable? That there’s actually an idiot trying to imitate the clown-like King from that period, acting all smug and ridiculous without realizing it."

Kira shook his head with a smile.

"Jack has already crossed that hurdle and moved on to a new era. Meanwhile, you—this clumsy imitator copying the remnants of the King’s shadow—are the truly ridiculous one."

The real Jack’s expression grew complicated. "Kira..."

He had been angry earlier, but he didn’t know how to refute that impostor version of himself. Deep down, he probably felt some confusion and lacked confidence.

Because somewhere in his heart, he felt the impostor had a point.

He had lost something important. He was no longer as high-spirited as when he had been King, no longer as confident, and he could no longer face every challenger with the mindset of absolute invincibility.

Because the myth had been broken, even he had begun to doubt himself. So the claim that he had lost his kingly pride was also true. Perhaps it was precisely because of this inner wavering—and feeling inferior when seeing his past self reflected in the impostor—that he had lost earlier.

Duels were often about "momentum," especially when both sides used the same deck and similar tactics with comparable skill. If one side’s heart wavered, there was no way to win.

But now, Kira’s words struck like thunder, giving him a sudden awakening.

That’s right.

The reason he was no longer a King was because he had woken from the dream. He had recognized reality and decided to chase an even broader stage alongside Yusei and the others, evolving to a higher level.

So why should he let a shadow from the past—one that should have been discarded long ago—mock him?

He had an epiphany. On the other side, however, Fake Jack grew furious.

"You bastard... you dare look down on the King?" Fake Jack roared. "Then I’ll show you the consequences of angering a King!

My turn—draw!

When I have no monsters on my field, I can Special Summon ’Vice Dragon’ from my hand!"

[Vice Dragon, ATK 2000]

"Of course, the Vice Dragon Special Summoned by this effect has its ATK halved."

[Vice Dragon, ATK 2000 → ATK 1000]

"Then I activate my Set card, Trap Card ’Revival Gift’!

I can Special Summon one Tuner monster from my Graveyard. The effect of the Tuner Special Summoned by this effect is negated.

Revive from the Graveyard, ’Creation Resonator’!"

[Creation Resonator, ATK 800]

"And the follow-up effect of Revival Gift—after reviving the Tuner, Special Summon two ’Revival Gifts’ in Defense Position on the opponent’s field!"

[Revival Gift, DEF 1200] x2

The real Jack’s expression changed drastically. "Oh no, this tactic is..."

"Hahahaha, exactly! This is the true King’s tactic—absolute destructive power!" Fake Jack laughed.

"Using the Level 3 Tuner monster ’Creation Resonator’! Level 5 ’Vice Dragon’! Tuning!"

[3 + 5 = 8]

A scorching air current suddenly swirled across the battlefield. The tuning monsters turned into two spiraling beams of crimson and pitch black that rose into the sky. Lava-like fissures cracked open in the heavens as burning star rings lit up one after another. The glow of the Synchro dyed the entire battlefield blood-red.

"The King’s pulse manifests its dominance here!! Behold the power that makes heaven and earth tremble!! Synchro Summon!! My soul—Red Dragon Archfiend!!"

The star rings exploded with a roar. From the rain of fire, a massive claw covered in lava armor emerged first. The ground turned into boiling magma the instant it touched down. Accompanied by a deafening dragon roar, the broad-winged demon dragon tore through space and descended. Every scale flowed with liquid flame, white-blue mist sprayed from the raised ridges along its spine, and the war cry it let out formed visible soundwave ripples.

[Red Dragon Archfiend, ATK 3000]

"Watch closely—the King’s victories are decided in an instant!" Fake Jack spun his Duel Runner around and pointed at Kira.

"Red Dragon Archfiend—attack all monsters on the field!"