Everyone was speechless seeing Seika getting OTK by a first-year Slifer of all people, sure, people didn't know her for her dueling skill, but she was still a third-year Obelisk Blue.
If she lost, it would be understandable, although somewhat damaging to her reputation, but still overall fine.
But... she got OTK by a Slifer Red first year.
This was simply... humiliating.
"Since I defeated senpai, Alexis, you're up." Yumi said in a calm tone, ignoring the fainted senpai that Raye just knocked out.
This form of tag duel is different compared to the form where each player takes turns playing, then switching to their partner upon their second round.
This form is the one where the first player in the team duel, and once their LP drops to zero, the round will immediately switch, forcing that player to switch out and let their partner take over.
The benefit of this type of duel is that both sides get to use the cards and resources left by their teammate.
Here is an example: if Yumi summons out Burst Wingman using Avian and Burstinatrix, then sets a Miracle Fusion, if he gets taken out and Jaden takes over, he could activate that Miracle Fusion to summon Flame Wingman.
Still, this form of tag duel has its downside, like now.
"So... this is the strength of the strongest Slifer Red." Alexis murmurs, feeling both impressed and a bit nervous.
"If only Seika senpai could have given me a better start." She remarked, throwing a jab at Seika, for only being able to leave a continuous spell on the field that boosts ATK.
This is one of the downsides; if your partner were too weak and got OTK'd without even leaving anything useful behind, that would mean you have to start with only your starting hand, while your opponent has a full board set up and waiting for you.
[Yumi, LP 4000]
[Alexis, LP 4000]
"My turn." Alexis placed her slender fingers atop her deck, a bead of sweat trailing down her temple.
"Draw!"
She looked at her hand, swiftly picking out a card and slapping it onto her Duel Disk.
"I activate Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two cards."
She drew quickly, her eyes scanning her hand again before selecting the next card.
"Next, I Normal Summon Cyber Tutu in Attack Position!"
A small, glowing figure burst forth from a beam of light, Cyber Tutu, a petite girl with bright pink hair and a tight, pink one-piece ballerina outfit. A frilly tutu flared around her waist as she twirled into a battle stance.
[Cyber Tutu, 1000 ATK]
Alexis continued sharply, "Thanks to Seika-senpai's Continuous Spell, The A. Forces, my Warrior-Type monster gains 200 ATK for each Warrior or Spellcaster I control!"
[Cyber Tutu, 1000 -> 1200 ATK]
Without pausing, she slid another card into her Duel Disk.
"Now I activate the Ritual Spell- Machine Angel Ritual! By tributing monsters whose total Levels equal or exceed the monster I want to summon, I can bring forth a Cyber Angel from my hand!"
The green spell card flipped up, casting a glow across the field. A glowing altar of light rose from the ground.
"I tribute Cyber Angel Idaten, Level 6-" she announced, sending the card to the Graveyard, "-to Ritual Summon the Level 6 Cyber Angel Benten!"
A streak of light descended upon the altar, and from it emerged a fierce, elegant warrior. Clad in a white and silver bodysuit with crimson arm and leg guards, she wore a golden mask adorned with four horns. Her black hair flowed down her back, tied at the end, and in her hand, she held a brilliant red war fan.
[Cyber Angel Benten, 1800 ATK]
"But I'm not done. I equip Ritual Weapon to Benten, giving her an extra 1500 ATK and DEF!"
A radiant crossbow-like gauntlet formed on Benten's left arm, crackling with power.
[Cyber Angel Benten, 1800 -> 3300 ATK]
Alexis pointed confidently at the face-up spell on her field. "And since I now control another Warrior, The A. Forces boosts their power again!"
[Cyber Tutu, 1200 -> 1400 ATK]
[Cyber Angel Benten, 3300 -> 3700 ATK]
The crowd murmured in awe as Benten radiated strength, her aura overwhelming.
Alexis locked eyes with her opponents, calm but intense.
"I'm just getting started."
"Since your monster's ATK is higher, Cyber Tutu can attack directly!" Alexis declared, thrusting her finger forward before sweeping her arm dramatically.
"Go Cyber Tutu, Yumi direct attack!"
The tiny ballerina warrior leapt into action, spinning gracefully through the air. She bypassed Raye entirely with a nimble jump, aiming a flying kick straight toward Yumi's chest.
"Not so fast!" Yumi's voice rang out as he raised his arm. "I activate a Trap from my graveyard!"
A ghostly hologram flickered to life, showing the faint image of Transaction Rollback rising from the shadows of his Graveyard.
"Ehhhh!??"
Everyone had expected one of Yumi's set cards to spring a surprise, not a card that had already been discarded.
"I pay half my Life Point to remove from play my Transaction Rollback in my grave, to activate the effect of a normal trap in my graveyard."
[Yumi, LP 4000 -> 2000]
"And the card I chose is Elemental Burst. Destroy all cards on your side of the field!"
The ghostly form of Transaction Rollback shimmered and shifted, transforming into a glowing storm of swirling elemental energy. Wind howled, waves crashed, stone erupted, and flames ignited into a blinding burst of destructive force.
Alexis's field trembled as the storm surged forward, ready to wipe out her monsters and Spells alike.
But she was quick to react.
"I banish Machine Angel Ritual from my Graveyard!" she shouted. "When a LIGHT Ritual Monster I control would be destroyed, I can banish this card instead!"
Her Graveyard glowed briefly as the Ritual Spell vanished in a streak of golden light.
That same light wrapped around Cyber Angel Benten, forming a protective barrier that deflected the elemental chaos just in time. The rest of her field, however, wasn't so lucky, Cyber Tutu, Ritual Weapon, and The A. Forces were shattered in a single instant.
Normally, to activate Elemental Burst required a heavy cost: tributing four monsters with Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire attributes respectively. But thanks to Transaction Rollback, Yumi had bypassed that restriction entirely, paying Life Points to unleash the trap's effect from the Graveyard.
Alexis glanced at Yumi, her eyes narrowing.
He had only needed two cards in the Graveyard to nearly dismantle her entire setup. Her advantage was gone, her barrier broken, and all that remained was Benten standing alone against two opponents.
She looked at Raye briefly, then back at Yumi. Her voice was low and irritated.
"...You're annoying."
Of course, she made sure to say this in a low enough tone so no one could hear her.
[Cyber Angel Benten, 3700 -> 1800 ATK]
[Sky Striker Ace - Raye, 2300 ATK]
Alexis took a breath and looked down at her hand.
"I'll set two cards and end my turn."
Two face-down cards appeared, ending her turn.
"My turn! Draw!"
Yumi quickly drew his card before pointing toward Benten.
"Go, Raye! Attack Benten!"
Raye dashed forward, blade in hand, ready to swing down on the warrior lady.
"I activate the trap card, Trap Card- Doble Passe."
In the anime, whenever Alexis duels, she almost always has that trap card, just like Zane always draws Cyber Dragon, like it's glued to her hand.
Her signature trap flipped up.
"When your monster attacks my Attack Position monster, that attack becomes a direct attack on me. As a trade-off, my monster also deals battle damage to you directly!"
Because of Doble Passe, she would take 2300 direct attack damage, and Yumi would only take 1800. She'd lose 500 more LP, so logically, she shouldn't use it.
But based on the anime, Alexis often goes all in, even if she loses more LP, to force a trade.
This could at least keep her monster safe for the next turn.
Until...
"Quickplay spell! Sky Strike Mecha - Widow Anchor! Target one of your effect monsters, negate it, and since I have more than three spells in my grave. I can take control of your monster."
A mechanical anchor swung out, snatching Benten and dragging her toward Yumi's side.
Alexis: "..."
Everyone: "..."
"And since you don't have a monster to exchange blood with me anymore, your Doble Passe loses its effect."
Yumi said confidently.
"And, I'll also change this with my Quickplay spell- Burning Soul. Which let me add a card from my graveyard to my hand."
The entire venue was instantly stunned.
Who was Alexis Rhodes?
A superstar from the middle school division was admitted straight into Obelisk Blue. Even without considering her looks, as a duelist, she was widely regarded as one of the top contenders for this year's rookie king.
People expected a real back-and-forth duel. A clash of power.
But after just this, it looked like the duel was already about to end.
Now it seems that Alexis also won't be able to last more than one round with Yumi.
From the moment Seika lost her match, she had been sitting off to the side with a blank look, like her soul had left her body.
Now, for the first time, she smiled.
Brightly.
The gloom around her was gone, replaced by a shining grin.
"And since the number of monsters you control changed, a battle replay occurred."
Yumi said before waving his hand.
"Go Raye, strike her down!"
The mecha-rider heroine continues her charge, blade in hand.
But Alexis didn't flinch. Instead, she pressed a button on her Duel Disk, her final face-down card flipping up.
"Trap Card activate, Call of the Haunted-"
"Counter Trap!"
Yumi cut her off as his final set card flipped up.
"Red Reboot!"
A massive red button appeared on the field, glowing ominously before being slammed down by a digital animation. Crimson circuit lines burst out across the field before disappearing.
"When you activate a Trap, I can negate its activation and reset it face-down. Then you can set another Trap directly from your Deck, but you can't activate Traps for the rest of this turn."
Yumi explained calmly.
The audience exploded.
Why was such a toxic card ever printed!?
Alexis's eye twitched. A visible tick mark formed on her temple. She clenched her teeth and glared at Yumi.
"Are you seriously taunting me right now?" she muttered.
What was the point of setting a new Trap if there wasn't going to be a next turn?
Yumi suddenly pulls out a spell from his hand.
"Quickplay spell- Master Magician's Incantation Unit No.2!"
Playing the second copy of his Master Magician's Incantation letting him use a normal spell like it was a quickplay spell.
He continues. "You already see this combo, so I won't explain any further."
"And the card that I will activate is...
-Gift of the Martyr!"
This was the card he retreated thanks to Burning Soul.
"I will send Benten to the graveyard and increase Raye's ATK by it original ATK for the end of this turn!"
Benten's body burst into glowing light particle that quickly flew into Raye, increasing her power.
[Sky Striker Ace - Raye, 2300 -> 4100]
Everyone in the audience has already seen this combo, since Yumi just use it to beat up Seika not too long ago.
And now Alexis is also getting the same treatment, what make it even more ironic that in the GX anime. Season 4, Jaden also uses Gift of the Martyr to tribute Benten to perform an OTK.
"Ace Striker!"
Raye leapt forward, blade slicing down as she reached Alexis-
Bonk!
[Alexis, LP 4000 -> 0]
A clean hit to the head. Alexis stumbled back slightly as a comical bump appeared on her head, just like the one Seika had earlier. Seika, now sitting with the brightest grin on her face, was positively glowing watching Alexis get OTK'd.
Getting OTK by an opponent is humiliating; getting OTK by a powerful duelist is something to be proud of.
Like how some people who were defeated by Duel King Yugi Muto would later go around calling themselves legendary duelists just because they lost to the Duel King.
Their situation is like the ninja next door who fought the First Hokage by throwing a kunai 800 meters away.
"Gotcha! That was a fun duel."
Yumi grinned, shamelessly quoting Jaden's sub catchphrase like it was his own.
As the holograms faded, Raye turned to Yumi with a warm smile, raised two fingers in her iconic V-sign victory pose, and vanished.
The simps in the stands lost it.
"She did the pose! She did the pose!!"
"Waaah, Raye-samaaaaa!"
"Wow! That was amazing! And you didn't even use Raye's other form, so strong!" Jaden chimed in, wide-eyed and excited… completely unaware he was rubbing salt into the fresh wounds of two recently obliterated Obelisk Blue girls.
A member of the pageant committee awkwardly approached Yumi. "Um… Yumi-san, so who are you voting for?" he asked respectfully.
In Duel Academy, strength commanded respect. That's why by Season 4, no one dared trash-talk Jaden, even if he is still a Slifer Red.
Trash-talking someone weaker than you? Sure.
But if you try that with someone who could fold you in two like a paper crane, you're asking to eat dirt.
"Jaden, pick whoever you like. I'll do the same." Yumi shrugged.
Jaden nodded and filled in his vote, still buzzing from the duel. He may not have played, but watching his friend wreck the field was satisfying enough.
Later, Yumi headed off to print more cards while Jaden rejoined his crew.
Despite everything, Alexis won by a single vote.
...And still felt like she'd lost way more than she gained.
Across the venue, Celina blinked in confusion, holding a cup of noodles as she saw her name appear on the rankings board.
"Huh? I got a vote? But… I didn't even enter!?"