Chapter 1301: Time Lords

"Battle," Kira said. "Abyss Soldier, attack the fake Z-ONE directly!"

Abyss Soldier leaped across the starry sky like a swimming fish. His trident, wrapped in water currents, thrust straight toward the opponent.

The opponent had lost his Time Lord defense and the field was completely empty, but he wouldn't let Kira's attack succeed so easily. The mechanical arm swept out, flinging another card from the hand. The card materialized in mid-air, projecting a noble and elegant female pope holding a golden scepter.

"Trap Card 'Empress's Staff'!" Z-ONE announced. "This card can be activated from the hand when you control no monsters. Negate one monster's attack and inflict 500 damage to the opponent." (Anime card)

The trap was activated directly from the hand. Divine light from the scepter formed a barrier that blocked Abyss Soldier's attack. The trident struck the invisible shield. The backlash current traveled through Abyss Soldier and struck Kira.

[Kira, LP 4000 → LP 3500]

"Haha, even after removing the Time Lord, I still take damage in battle. Not bad, not bad. You look a bit like Z-ONE after all."

Kira spoke lightly. "I set one card. Turn end."

The fake Z-ONE showed no reaction to the mocking praise. He calmly analyzed the situation.

An Abyss Soldier with bounce capability. For someone like Fujiki Kira, it was hard to imagine choosing such a monster by coincidence. He had to assume the opponent had specifically chosen this monster to target his Time Lords.

The fake Z-ONE narrowed his eyes slightly. "A good idea. But if you think the power of the Time Lords is only at this level, you are gravely mistaken."

"My turn, draw."

He manipulated the mechanical arm. The thick fingers drew another card.

"I activate the set card, Continuous Trap 'Empty Machine'!"

A huge ring appeared in front of the fake Z-ONE upon activation, like a single eye, yet containing an infinite world within.

"Empty Machine's effect: When you control no monsters, you can Tribute Summon one Level 10 or higher monster from your hand without Tributing. However, as a cost, the ATK of all monsters on your field becomes 0."

Empty Machine was one of the three Infinite Traps derived from the Time Lords. It also had a real-card version, but the effects differed greatly from the anime version.

"Because of Empty Machine, I can Tribute Summon a new Time Lord from my hand without Tributing."

The fake Z-ONE raised another card. "Descend! Time Lord—Lazion!!!"

Space-time suddenly tore open a blazing red rift. Accompanied by the rumbling of interlocking gears, the new Time Lord stepped onto the battlefield riding a burning torrent of time. Its body was forged from dark red metal, emitting a crimson glow. Eternal flames burned on its shoulder armor, flickering in the high-altitude winds. The crystal structure on its chest sealed the face of a bearded elder. Eyes that could pierce past and future gazed at the present through the crystal, forcing anyone who looked directly to hold their breath.

[Lazion, the Timelord, ATK 0]

"Another new Time Lord," Kira narrowed his eyes.

"The power of the Time Lords is infinite," the fake Z-ONE said calmly. "You seem to know something about them and have prepared countermeasures. But such petty tricks cannot defeat a Time Lord."

He swept his mechanical arm. "Lazion, the Timelord, attack 'Abyss Soldier'!"

Although its ATK was 0, the moment Lazion threw its punch carried an earth-shaking momentum. Divine power turned into a tangible sea of fire that surged toward Abyss Soldier.

"Even though ATK is 0 and no battle damage is dealt, after the battle, at the end of the Battle Phase, it will activate its own unique effect, right?"

Kira shook his head. "Mind reminding me what happens after Lazion battles?"

There were eleven Time Lords after all. Kira only remembered their common effects. He vaguely recalled some that bounced all monsters, all Spell/Traps, or cards from the Graveyard, but he couldn't remember exactly which was which.

The fake Z-ONE replied, "It doesn't matter if I tell you. When Lazion, the Timelord battles, at the end of the Battle Phase, all monsters on the opponent's field and all cards in their Graveyard are returned to the owner's Deck and shuffled." (Anime effect)

(The real card was nerfed—it could only shuffle cards from the opponent's Graveyard. It was far less overpowered than the anime version.)

"Field clear plus milling the opponent's Graveyard. What an excessive effect."

Kira clicked his tongue, then smiled. "But I can't let you do that. I activate the set card, Continuous Trap 'Gravity Bind'!"

Abyss Soldier's longtime partner that Kira had used since early on. Once Gravity Bind activated, transparent gravity waves swept the entire field, like invisible shackles suppressing even the mighty Time Lord.

Even a Time Lord seemed unable to move under the gravity waves and was forced to halt its attack.

"Gravity Bind prevents Level 4 or higher monsters from attacking," Kira said. "All Time Lords are Level 10, right? And unfortunately, it seems all Time Lords can only activate their effects at the end of the Battle Phase after they have performed an attack, correct?"

Fake Z-ONE: "…"

Kira was completely right. Immune to battle destruction and battle damage, with violent field-clearing effects after battle. At first glance the Time Lords seemed invincible, yet they were perfectly countered by Kira's ancient Abyss-themed deck. The Time Lords' destruction immunity was meaningless in front of Abyss Soldier's bounce effects, and Gravity Bind directly locked down the attacks of the entire deck. It was the worst possible matchup for the Time Lords.

"…I set three cards. Turn end." The fake Z-ONE said gloomily.

There wasn't much else he could do. However, Abyss Soldier itself was a Level 4 monster and was also restricted by Gravity Bind. So although the lineup was somewhat annoying, both sides were currently in a staring contest and had entered a stalemate.

Kira: "My turn, draw."

"At this moment, Lazion, the Timelord's other effect activates," the fake Z-ONE declared. "When the opponent draws a card during their Draw Phase, inflict 1000 damage!"

His mechanical arm waved again. Lazion's entire body reignited with flames.

"Time Judgment!"

…