Chapter 7: Jonouchi: This is Technological Magic!

I tried to italic the sound effect, but its so fking troublesome, so ill leave it at that.

---

"Now it's my turn." 

With a confident grin, Jonouchi raised his left hand, where a flashy Duel Disk was attached, and looked at the bound Kyoko Sakura. 

He drew a card from his deck with his right hand.

"Let's go!" 

"Tiger Axe Warrior!"

He slapped the card onto his Duel Disk, summoning a strange creature that materialized before him—a humanoid tiger wielding a massive axe.

"Roar!" 

"!"

Unable to move her arms, Kyoko tried to manipulate her spear's length and form, but found it wasn't working. Desperately, she leapt backward to dodge.

Boom!

The giant axe slammed into the ground, leaving cracks in its wake. 

"Raaah!!" 

The tiger roared and charged forward, swinging its axe again and again.

Swish! Swish! 

Even with the strange hexagram restricting her movements, Kyoko's agility wasn't impaired. She dodged each strike with lightning speed.

"Lancer! Why aren't you counterattacking?" 

Kenneth, watching the battle unfold through his familiar, questioned why Kyoko was only dodging.

"I can't! This weird hexagram has sealed my ability to attack!"

Kyoko snapped back angrily, hearing the accusation. 

If she could fight back, she would have done so already. The hexagram had limited her abilities, leaving her on the defensive.

"Lancer should have high magic resistance. Even so, she's affected by Caster's magic?" 

"It seems the opponent isn't as simple as we thought."

---

"Tch, regular attacks aren't working?" 

Frustrated by her inability to break free, Kyoko decided to use a different ability.

Crack!

Like thorns, chains shot through the air and pierced the tiger in front of her, causing it to shatter like glass.

"So, only my regular attacks are sealed..." 

Realizing this, Kyoko turned her gaze toward the mechanical device on Jonouchi's left arm.

"That must be the source of your magic, right?!"

Without hesitation, she aimed her attack directly at his Duel Disk.

Whoosh!

A red thorn-like chain shot out toward Jonouchi.

"Not so fast." 

Remaining calm, Jonouchi quickly placed another card on his Duel Disk.

"Roar!"

This time, a warrior clad in a helmet and wielding a heavy axe appeared. He swung his axe, deflecting Kyoko's chain.

"Now, attack!" 

Under Jonouchi's command, the warrior leaped toward Kyoko, axe raised high.

"Hmph, like I'd get hit by such a slow attack!" 

Kyoko scoffed, easily sidestepping the warrior's strike.

Boom!

The axe struck the ground, shaking the area.

"!?"

Just as Kyoko was about to taunt her opponent, she noticed a sound coming from another direction.

Swish!

Acting on instinct, Kyoko pulled herself away using her thorn chains, narrowly avoiding another attack.

"So, you can summon more than one familiar at a time?" Kyoko muttered, frowning. 

Jonouchi didn't seem like much of a threat at first, but his magic and familiars were unexpectedly unique. They were something no one had encountered before.

---

"Your movements are quick... looks like it won't be easy to take your Dragon Ball by force." 

Even with his two monsters attacking in tandem, Jonouchi was impressed. Unlike a regular duel with its structured turns and defenses, this battle allowed Kyoko to dodge freely.

Boom! Bang! 

But his monsters couldn't land a hit.

'You can't treat this like a regular duel...'

Though it took on the form of a duel, this was no ordinary card game.

3001 

3000 

2999

'Letting this drag on isn't going to work...'

Jonouchi glanced at his Duel Disk's life points and frowned. 

Without a Master to supply him with magical energy, his life points (LP) were steadily draining. To avoid being forced out of the game, he had to conserve his LP carefully.

Given that the girl had been able to defeat his "Iron Knight Gearfried" in one strike, her attack power was at least 1800. If she landed a hit, it would be dangerous.

'I'll have to gamble on this...' 

Looking at the set cards and the card in his hand, Jonouchi made his decision. 

He reached for the top of his deck and drew a card.

'Here we go again—another card that wasn't in my original deck...' 

Jonouchi's frustration mounted as he realized he still didn't know what was in his new deck. 

Some cards he recognized, but others were completely unfamiliar.

Change of Heart 

'That's one of Mokuba's cards, right? It lets me take control of the opponent's monster...'

If he could control Kyoko with it, he might be able to turn the tide of the battle.

'But even if I control her, I can't force her to take herself out...' 

He wasn't here to kill anyone, just to collect the Dragon Balls. He didn't want to take extreme measures in this fight.

"Wait, I've got it." 

"Let's do this!"

An idea came to Jonouchi's mind as he activated the card.

"What?!"

A black-and-white image appeared, and Kyoko immediately felt an ominous sensation. 

A ripple of invisible energy passed through the air, and for a moment, her eyes lost their light.

"Alright, go grab your Master's Dragon Ball for me!"

Though he wasn't sure how long the control would last, Jonouchi figured it would be enough. 

He quickly issued his command.

Whoosh!

As Kyoko vanished, Jonouchi suddenly realized something important.

"Wait... should I have removed her restraints first?"

He belatedly recalled that her normal attacks had been sealed by the "Hexagram Curse."

---

"Caster seems to have taken control of Lancer?" 

"Isn't that too powerful?"

Hiding in a nearby alley, Waver watched the entire scene unfold and felt a growing sense of panic. 

Whether it was the strange familiars or the mysterious magic, everything about Caster was completely foreign to him. And now, Caster had even managed to control an enemy Servant.

"The most unpredictable opponent so far..." 

Lelouch remained silent for a moment before giving Caster a high evaluation. 

If it were him, the first thing he would do after controlling Lancer would be to make her commit suicide, then steal the Dragon Ball from her Master. 

That would eliminate a lot of risk. After all, no one knew what kind of Noble Phantasms or hidden abilities Lancer might possess.

Lelouch, once confident in his Geass ability, now felt some hesitation about facing Caster. 

He couldn't gauge just how many tricks this Caster had up his sleeve.

Judging from the mechanical Duel Disk on Jonouchi's arm, it was clear that it was filled with unknown cards, which meant that there could be traps waiting at any moment.

Both attacking and confronting Caster directly would likely trigger some kind of magic, making any encounter dangerous. 

The safest strategy would be to snipe him from afar.

His mecha, still under his command, seemed like the best tool for the job. 

But the problem was, would long-range attacks trigger Caster's magic as well?

---

Translator's Note:

Change of Heart: A card that lets you take control of one monster on your opponent's side of the field until the end of the turn. 

It allows you to manipulate your opponent's forces, but with a time limit. High resistance can reduce the control duration. 

Luckily, Kyoko encountered Jonouchi, who has a conscience. If it were anyone else, Lancer might be heading toward another "tragic end."