Chapter 178

"Wonn!"

The instant Rowan sent both copies of Ceruli, Guru of Dark World from his hand to the Graveyard, two faint glimmers of light rose up on Atticus's side of the field.

They took shape as two squat, ashen-gray demonic old men clutching wands, crouched in defensive stances atop the two sideways cards that had just appeared before Atticus.

[Ceruli, Guru of Dark World] [Level: 1] [Attribute: DARK] [ATK: 100] [DEF: 300]

"Nani? What is this?!"

Atticus froze, staring in helpless confusion at the two monsters Rowan had just Special Summoned directly onto his field instead of his own.

"Is that the effect of those two Ceruli, Guru of Dark World?" Zane and Bastion, watching from the sidelines, both wore looks of surprise as they worked it out.

"That's exactly it. Ceruli, Guru of Dark World's special effect. When it's discarded to the Graveyard by a card effect, it can be Special Summoned to the opponent's field in Defense Position."

Rowan confirmed it outright.

Then, still smiling, he casually set two more cards face-down and pulled out one last, crucial card, giving it a little flourish.

"With two copies of Pot of Greed sitting in my back row, I'll activate a Spell Card from my hand. Slash Draw!"

"He set two copies of Pot of Greed... face-down?!" Alexis and Chazz were both floored by the sheer audacity of the move.

Who in their right mind set Pot of Greed face-down on the field and just left it there unused?!

Even Atticus, standing across from Rowan as his "rehabilitation" opponent, looked completely stunned.

"Setting cards as strong as Pot of Greed face-down without even using them... does that mean he genuinely doesn't need them?" Zane seemed to catch on to the implication behind Rowan's bizarre play, his voice tinged with disbelief.

At that, every set of eyes locked onto the Spell Card that had just appeared on Rowan's field: Slash Draw.

The card's artwork showed a figure with one hand resting on the hilt of a katana, poised and ready to draw.

Clearly, that card was the key to all of this.

Even Atticus, his opponent, couldn't tear his eyes away from it.

"This card's effect: activate by discarding one card from my hand. Mill a number of cards equal to the number of cards on your field from the top of my deck to the Graveyard, then draw one card."

"If that drawn card is also Slash Draw, destroy every card on the field. For each card destroyed this way, deal 1000 damage to my opponent!"

Rowan explained it with a broad smile, discarding a card from his hand, then resting his hand on top of his deck.

Like a swordsman gathering himself before the draw, he activated his Divine Draw skill: the pinnacle Superior Still Water Clarity.

A distinct, powerful aura rippled off of him in that instant.

Once per duel, guaranteed to draw exactly the card he wanted, even a card that wasn't in his deck at all, but one he personally owned. That was the true nature of the Divine Draw.

"He's actually running a card that's a total gamble on the draw, one built entirely around trust in his own deck?!" Nurse Fontaine, Bastion, and Syrus all wore matching looks of astonishment.

This guy, actually playing a card that wasn't the least bit Underworld for once?

But unlike them, Zane, Jaden, and Chazz's expressions had all gone suddenly, sharply serious.

"That feeling. There's no mistaking it."

They'd already sensed it, that same familiar, overwhelming duelist's presence radiating off of Rowan.

If it was this guy, drawing exactly the card he wanted didn't seem so impossible after all.

And somehow, they couldn't shake the feeling that the duelist's aura coming off Rowan this time felt even heavier, even more oppressive, than anything they'd sensed from him before.

As it turned out, they weren't wrong.

Because this time, what Rowan was pulling off wasn't the simple version of his Divine Draw skill from before.

This was the true, pinnacle level of the Superior Still Water Clarity: the ability to draw a card straight out of his deck that hadn't even been placed in it to begin with.

To make absolutely sure that having all three copies of Slash Draw in hand on the same turn wouldn't come down to some absurdly small probability event, and to guarantee Alexis's brother the fullest, most complete "demoralization experience" possible, Rowan had, without a shred of decency, deliberately shuffled one of his three copies of Slash Draw into an entirely different deck.

"I think I'll call this particular draw technique... 'Now that's a fast blade!'" Rowan couldn't resist throwing in one last cocky line right as he drew.

The next instant, as the card slid free from the top of his deck...

"BOOM!!"

Both of the crouched monsters on Atticus's field, along with the two set copies of Pot of Greed on Rowan's own side, all detonated at once in a flash of light.

And Atticus's Life Points, sitting at a full 4000, were wiped out in an instant.

"That card Rowan just drew really was... Slash Draw."

Alexis, Bastion, and Zane all stared, stunned, as they watched Atticus's Life Points hit zero, catching a clear glimpse of exactly what card had just come off the top of Rowan's deck.

Atticus, meanwhile, simply dropped to his knees, staring blankly at his own zeroed-out Life Points and the hand of cards he hadn't so much as touched all duel.

He sank into a deep, stunned silence.

[Ding. Atticus's Emotion Points +300]

He felt like he'd just been through an entire duel. And also like he hadn't dueled at all.

Aside from the sheer, gut-punch pain of a one-hit kill, there hadn't been a single moment of actual dueling joy in any of it.