Chapter 1300: Duels Are Information Warfare

"DUEL!"

Kira's Duel Runner engine erupted with star-like blue flames. The magic-formed wings on both sides were crystal-clear. Silent's magic wings refracted starlight and flapped rhythmically as they climbed, leaving fine sparkling dust in the air. The tires rolled over invisible air currents as the entire machine rose vertically, as if lifted by an angel's hand.

Both sides continued to gain altitude. The city below gradually shrank into a glowing chessboard. Glass curtain walls reflected moonlight, and traffic flowed like slow-moving fireflies. The two became silhouettes frozen between the clouds. Kira's wings suddenly spread fully, stirring up a ring-shaped shockwave. At three hundred meters altitude, amid the howling wind, came the mechanical sound of the Duel Disk activating.

"I've been looking forward to dueling Z-ONE for a long time," Kira said with a light smile, "even if it's just a knockoff."

He felt that although the knockoff had copied the personality and deck, it probably still couldn't compare to the original. Even so, it shouldn't be underestimated. Especially since the opponent claimed his deck was the same as the real Z-ONE's—the crystallization of Z-ONE's lifelong research. With those words, Kira was basically certain what deck the opponent was using.

Fake Z-ONE took the first turn: "My turn, draw."

He manipulated the huge mechanical arm. Thick metal claw-like fingers drew a card from the deck.

"I Special Summon 'Time Maiden'."

Although he said "summon," there was no visible Duel Disk—at least not in the traditional sense.

The fake Z-ONE's dueling equipment was similar to Z-ONE's in the anime. He simply threw the card in his hand forward. The monster card floated in front of his floating device and directly opened a summoning vortex.

The monster stood tall, surrounded by faint pale light. Time itself seemed to flow slowly and clearly around her. She had long hair as deep as the night sky, with star-like sparkles glimmering between the strands.

[Time Maiden, ATK 0]

"Time Maiden cannot be Normal Summoned. It can be Special Summoned when there are no cards on your field." (Anime effect)

The fake Z-ONE continued. "However, when this card is Tributed for the Tribute Summon of an Angel monster, it can be treated as two monsters. Therefore, I Tribute Time Maiden as two monsters!"

The maiden's body became transparent as energy was released. Her form split into two, then both dissolved into light particles.

"Tribute Summon! Appear——Metaion, the Timelord!!!"

The curtain of space-time was torn apart by holy power. Ten thousand rays of golden light poured down from the sky. Metaion, the Timelord slowly descended within the brilliant flood of light. Its metallic body shone with eternal luster. A human face was sealed within the inverted triangular crystal on its chest—its expression alternating between compassion and majesty. The image was quite eerie.

[Metaion, the Timelord, ATK 0]

The real Z-ONE, watching from a slightly lower altitude, murmured, "So it really is the Time Lords…"

This was indeed the main deck he was currently using. It originated from the eleven Time Lords based on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life and possessed god-like power.

"I set one card. Turn end."

The fake Z-ONE spoke in a hoarse voice. "Your turn, King from another world. If you have the confidence to surpass the power of gods, then try it against a Time Lord."

"The power of gods, huh? Honestly, I've seen all kinds of weird gods already."

Kira chuckled. Well, it was true that this was his first time facing a Time Lord.

However, the reason Z-ONE's Time Lords were so dominant in the original anime—pushing Yusei and Aporia to the brink—was not only because each card had powerful effects. Kira believed an even more important factor was the information gap. Time Lords were all highly unconventional monsters. If you didn't know their effects in advance and hadn't prepared specific countermeasures, it was very easy to lose to them.

Conversely, if you already knew every Time Lord's effect and their common traits, you could design targeted strategies in advance. In Kira's view, the Time Lords were not that invincible.

"My turn, draw."

Kira said. "I activate the Spell Card 'Take Over 5'. When this card is activated, send the top five cards of your Deck to the Graveyard." (Anime card)

Kira sent five cards from the top of his deck to the Graveyard in one go.

"Time Lords should face opponents suited for them. I'll use this deck against you."

Kira played a card from his hand. "Normal Summon 'Abyss Soldier'!"

A stream of water appeared out of thin air hundreds of meters in the sky, forming a watery iris. A trident slashed the iris open, and an armored aquatic warrior stepped out.

[Abyss Soldier, ATK 1800]

"Abyss Soldier's effect activates," Kira said. "Discard one WATER monster from your hand to return one card on the field to its owner's hand."

Kira sent a card from his hand to the Graveyard. "I discard one card from my hand and bounce 'Metaion, the Timelord' back to your hand!"

Fake Z-ONE: "!"

Bounce!?

The real Z-ONE below also raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly beneath his heavy iron mask.

"Oh? Interesting. You knew the Time Lords' weakness before the duel even started?"

Time Lords were mostly Level 10 high-level monsters with ATK 0. They also shared common abilities: they could not be destroyed by battle or card effects, and they dealt 0 battle damage to the opponent. Additionally, after battling, each Time Lord could activate its own powerful effect. For example, Metaion returned all monsters on the opponent's field to the hand at the end of the Battle Phase and inflicted 300 damage for each monster returned.

Unable to be destroyed and guaranteed field-clearing after battle—this near-cheat-level power had put even Yusei in a tough spot in the anime.

However, the Time Lords' resistance was limited to "destruction." They had no resistance against bounce effects like Abyss Soldier's. This was why a single Time Lord could leave the Synchro Dragons used by the Dragon Signers helpless, yet be perfectly countered by this unremarkable Level 4 monster, Abyss Soldier.

Abyss Soldier swung his trident fiercely. As if responding to an ancient call, seawater rapidly gathered from the surrounding void, forming a swift current. The water flow followed the trident's trajectory like a silver lightning bolt and shot toward Metaion, the Timelord. In an instant, the current tightly wrapped around Metaion. The enormous impact made resistance impossible. Metaion was pulled by an invisible hand and turned into a stream of light, returning to the fake Z-ONE's hand.

The look in the fake Z-ONE's eyes beneath his mask instantly became complicated.

"You… know the Time Lords' weakness?"

…