Chapter 151

Under the watchful eyes of the Gravekeeper Elder and the others, Rowan smiled and drew one card from the three still left in his hand, holding it up for all to see.

"Since I haven't made a Normal Summon this turn, I Summon in Attack Position: Gravekeeper's Curse!"

"Hmph!"

A golden glimmer rose once more, and a black-skinned figure in dark robes emerged from the light, a curse rod gripped in both hands, chuckling softly as it took shape.

It appeared on the field before Rowan.

[Gravekeeper's Curse] [Level: 3] [Attribute: DARK] [ATK: 800] [DEF: 800]

"That's the same strange Gravekeeper as before... the one that deals 500 damage to its opponent just by being summoned...!"

Standing near the altar, watching the duel, Jaden Yuki felt his skull start to ache the moment he saw that curse rod come out again.

He took an instinctive step back.

Across the field, the Gravekeeper Elder, standing as Rowan's opponent atop the stone pillar, felt his scalp prickle at the sight of that all too familiar sorcerer.

Then he heard Rowan speak, his smile dazzling.

"Gravekeeper's Curse's special effect. When this card is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned, it deals 500 damage to my opponent."

"Gravekeeper's Curse, Avada Kedavra!"

Rowan swept a hand through the air, and on the field before him the black-robed sorcerer raised its curse rod, a wash of golden energy rippling up its body as it began to chant.

The Gravekeeper Elder froze for a beat at that.

Avada Kedavra?

Shouldn't the incantations of his own tribe's sorcerers be called forbidden curses?

"Argh!"

He didn't even get the chance to voice the complaint.

In the next instant a wave of cursed golden energy slammed into him, and he clutched his head, crying out in pain.

His Life Points, sitting at 3500 LP, ticked down by 500, settling at 3000 LP.

"Still not quite enough to take the old man down in one shot. Shame," Chumley said, standing on Rowan's side of the field, watching the Elder's remaining 3000 LP with something like disappointment.

"No." Alexis Rhodes had already caught something the others hadn't.

"Rowan's got several monsters out there, and he's put almost all of them in Defense Position. But the weakest one on the field, Gravekeeper's Curse, he Summoned in Attack Position instead. That's not carelessness."

"His offense isn't done. Not even close."

Jaden, Professor Banner, and Syrus all nodded at once, the same feeling settling over them.

They all felt it now, the same premonition rising in unison.

Whatever Gravekeeper's Curse's effect had just done, it was only the opening act.

"Let me give you one more piece of good news, Mister Gravekeeper."

Before either the group or the Elder himself could process it, Rowan was already smiling wide, spring in every line of his face, one hand raised toward the black-robed figure he'd just Special Summoned, the one with a magic cannon slung over its shoulder.

"Gravekeeper's Cannonholder's special effect. I can Tribute one 'Gravekeeper's' monster on my field, other than itself, as ammunition, dealing 700 damage to my opponent."

"What?! Tributing a Gravekeeper monster as ammunition to inflict damage?!" The Elder's face went taut with sudden understanding.

"You don't mean..."

Then came Rowan's voice, calm and faintly amused.

"That's exactly what I mean. I'm loading Gravekeeper's Curse into the cannon, and firing it straight at you."

As the words left his mouth, the black-robed sorcerer that had just dealt 500 damage dissolved into a beam of golden light and dropped into the barrel resting on Cannonholder's shoulder.

An instant later, the cannon swung to bear on the Elder, still standing atop the distant stone pillar.

"BOOM!"

Before he could even fully register the danger, the cannon fired, a bolt of golden energy detonating right in front of him in a burst of light.

His white robe tore open along the shoulder. He clutched at the shallow wound, crying out.

His Life Points, 3000 LP, dropped another 700, landing at 2300 LP.

"Mister Gravekeeper, I think you've already guessed what's coming next."

The instant the Elder's composure returned, Rowan met his eyes with an easy smile and gestured toward the two face-down cards still waiting on his field.

"Activating my set Trap. Rite of Spirit!"

The card flipped up, depicting the Gravekeeper Elder himself, flanked by foot soldiers and spearmen, performing a ritual before a serpentine idol, summoning something forth.

At the sight of that painfully familiar Trap Card, the Elder's face went green.

He looked more miserable now than he had after either hit.

It was, after all, the exact same card sitting in his own deck. He knew precisely what it did.

[Ding. Gravekeeper Elder's Emotion Points +900!]

"This card lets me choose one 'Gravekeeper's' monster from my Graveyard and Special Summon it, and its effect isn't bound by Necrovalley's lock."

"And since I only have one Gravekeeper monster in my Graveyard, well... it's coming back. Gravekeeper's Curse."

Rowan's smile widened further as he lifted the Duel Disk on his left arm.

A soft light rose from the Graveyard slot, drifting down onto the field, and once more the black-robed sorcerer took shape, curse rod in hand.

"Every time Gravekeeper's Curse is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned, it deals 500 damage to my opponent. And combined with Cannonholder's ammunition effect..."

Cold sweat rolled down Professor Banner's face, his scalp crawling as he spoke.

"In other words, that poor man is about to go through Rowan's double torment combo... again?!"

Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley all understood in the same instant, and even Alexis felt her scalp prickle.

All four of them leaned back on reflex, as if trying to put distance between themselves and something unclean.

On one side, Cannonholder loaded its cannon. On the other, Curse murmured its incantation. It was torment layered on torment.

There wasn't a trace of the living world left anywhere near that field.