Chapter 187

"My turn, draw."

When Rowan's turn came around, he wasted no time drawing from his deck.

"During your Standby Phase, Raphion, the Timelord goes back into your deck, just like you said!" Titan called out at once, pointing eagerly at the deep green Timelord standing on Rowan's field. Even his own figure, previously hidden in the darkness, stepped forward into view.

"You don't need to remind me of that."

Rowan glanced at the card he'd drawn and answered calmly. On his field, Raphion's deep green form dissolved into a streak of light as he raised his Duel Disk, vanishing back into his deck.

"Heh heh heh, your field's completely empty of Raphion now. Next turn is the end of the road for you!" Titan crowed, delighted at the sight.

"Rowan...!" Alexis couldn't help a flicker of worry crossing her face as she watched from the sidelines.

"Raphion's gone, sure. But why don't I introduce you to another one of my Gods of the Underworld instead."

Rowan flashed a faintly mischievous grin and placed the card he'd just drawn onto his Duel Disk.

"Normal Summon in Attack Position! Metaion, the Timelord!"

A pillar of dark purple light surged up on the field before him. From within it emerged a monster with an orange-red body, a gray, cylindrical mechanical lower half, and an orange-red divine crown atop its head. Just like before, its face was a mirror, reflecting a deity's visage cloaked in dark purple.

[Metaion, the Timelord] [Level: 10] [Attribute: FIRE] [ATK: 0] [DEF: 0]

"Another Level 10 monster with zero attack and defense?!" Jaden and Bastion stared in astonishment at the orange-red Timelord now standing on Rowan's field.

"What?! Impossible! You mean this Timelord isn't just one single card, it's an entire series?!" Across the field, Titan's eyes went wide with disbelief, the words escaping him before he could stop them.

Surprised? Shocked? You bet.

"Looks like your hopes just got crushed. Metaion, the Timelord, attack Archfiend Matador Knight! Providence of God!"

Rowan waved a hand toward the shadowy silhouette of the ram-horned, jester-like fiend knight still faintly visible in the darkness across the field.

"Hmph!!"

The next instant, the orange-red Timelord on his field let out an angry growl, gathering orange energy between its hands, condensing it into a beam of light that shot straight toward Archfiend Matador Knight.

"Activating Dark Arena's Field Spell effect! I get to choose which of my monsters becomes the target of your attack!" Titan called out immediately, gesturing toward the shadowy, indigo, vampire-like fiend on his own field.

"I'm redirecting Metaion's attack onto my Ritual Monster, Archfiend Matador!"

VWOOM!!

Just as Metaion's orange beam of energy was about to land, the deep indigo Archfiend Matador on Titan's field swapped places with Archfiend Matador Knight, the original target, in a blur of shifting darkness.

BOOM!!

The indigo, vampire-like Archfiend Matador fired off a beam of crimson light in return, catching and canceling out Metaion's orange energy beam. Both attacks vanished together in the collision.

"Why wasn't Metaion destroyed?!" Titan stared at the orange-red Timelord on Rowan's field, bewildered.

"Archfiend Matador's effect should destroy any monster it battles...!"

Atticus and Jaden, watching from the sidelines, wore matching looks of confusion. But it didn't take long before Zane's expression shifted, a flicker of realization crossing his face.

"No way...?!"

"There it is! That's the one!"

Rowan looked thoroughly pleased at Zane playing along so perfectly for the crowd, raising a single finger and grinning across the field at Titan, who'd clearly arrived at the same realization.

"Every single Timelord shares a universal effect: it can't be destroyed by battle or by card effects, and it has to return to my deck during my next Standby Phase!"

"And of course, just like Raphion before it, each one also has its own unique effect that triggers after battle!"

Under Titan's increasingly uneasy gaze, Rowan continued with a cheerful smile.

"Metaion, the Timelord's special effect. After it battles, every other monster on the field, aside from Metaion itself, gets sent back to its owner's hand. And for every monster returned this way, I deal 300 points of damage to my opponent!"

"What?! An effect that sends every monster on the field back to their owners' hands?!" Titan's expression went pale with alarm.

"There are currently two monsters on the field that need to go back to Titan's hand. Which means Metaion's about to deal him 600 points of damage!" Alexis called out from the sidelines, her spirits lifting.

VWOOM!!

The next instant, another beam of orange energy surged from Metaion's hands, striking both Archfiend Matador and Archfiend Matador Knight at once. Both monsters let out pained screams as they dissolved into particles from the ground up, vanishing and reforming as two cards that flashed back into Titan's hand.

"GAAAH!!"

Metaion's orange beam of energy didn't stop there either, slamming straight into Titan without pause. He cried out in agony once more as his already pitiful life total of 800 ticked down another 600, leaving him with a measly 200 LP.