Chapter 1284: Evening Sun

"Lemon Magician Girl's direct attack!"

Facing the direct attack from the Magician Girl, the fake Leo's face turned icy. He said darkly, "At this moment, activate a Set card—Trap Card Descending Lost Star! Select 1 Synchro Monster from the GY; Special Summon it in Defense Position with 0 DEF, and negate its effects."

A beam of light shot out from the fake Leo's GY.

"Revive Power Tool Mecha Dragon from the GY!"

A gust of wind carrying the smell of machine oil swept across the battlefield. The Power Tool Dragon that crawled out of the GY vortex was unrecognizable. Its once-shiny alloy armor was covered in web-like cracks. The left power claw hung limply, held only by a few cables. Hydraulic oil dripped like black blood from the joints. The once-precise gears now creaked like rusty door hinges. Only the right-eye sensor still emitted a faint red glow, flickering like a faulty light bulb.

Even though revived, the mechanical dragon now resembled a puppet whose soul had been removed. Every half-step caused tiny gear parts to fall from its body, producing eerie metallic echoes in the quiet night.

[Power Tool Mecha Dragon, DEF 0]

"DEF 0 and effects negated," Kira said with a light smile. "This won't stop the Magician Girls' attack."

"I know!"

The fake Leo flipped the second back-row card.

"Therefore, I activate another Set card—Trap Card Synchro Barrier! Tribute 1 Synchro Monster you control; until the end of the next turn, all battle and effect damage you take becomes 0!"

He pointed at the newly revived, battered Power Tool Mecha Dragon.

"Power Tool, become the shield that protects Luna!"

The mechanical dragon's mechanical red eyes, which had already gone dark, flashed briefly. Then its body disassembled into a transparent barrier. Lemon Magician Girl's magical impact slammed fully into the shield, washing over it like flowing water without causing any damage.

"Oh? Sacrificing yourself to protect the important person—Power Tool really is your avatar," Kira said with a light smile. "No matter what, you must protect your sister… right?"

"Exactly!"

The fake Leo patted his chest firmly.

"I will definitely protect Luna, no matter when or where!"

However, facing her brother's touching heartfelt words, the gloomy Luna behind him only said coldly, "That's what a scarecrow like you is supposed to do. Don't act like it's something impressive, Leo."

"Fine, fine." Leo hung his head.

Indeed, even though they were replicas, the reproduction of the originals' personalities was remarkably lifelike.

Z-ONE's personality replication technology was truly black technology. Every replica robot he created could almost perfectly impersonate the original and replace them. If not for such capability, Z-ONE would not have chosen to erase his own original personality and identity to attempt saving the world as the "savior Yusei Fudo."

"Synchro Barrier's protection lasts until the end of the next turn, so any attack I make during this period is meaningless.

Battle Phase end. I won't attack."

Kira pointed at the Lemon girl on the field again.

"Lemon Magician Girl's monster effect activates. Once per turn, Tribute 1 'Magician Girl' monster on the field other than this card and add 1 Spellcaster monster from your Deck to your hand.

I Tribute Apple Magician Girl and add a second Kiwi Magician Girl from my Deck to my hand."

The Lemon girl let out a cute "Ha!" and pointed her staff to the side. A transparent magic circle opened beneath the Apple girl's feet. She transformed into red light and vanished within it. Then a card popped out of the Deck and was drawn into Kira's hand.

"Turn end."

The fake Leo: "Retrieved a second Kiwi, huh… It's a Level 5 monster with only 1800 ATK—nothing to fear."

The gloomy loli Luna spoke again in a heavy tone: "Leo, you're doing it again—always reckless and brainless. That Magician Girl definitely has some nasty ability hidden."

"I get it, Luna," the fake Leo said, still unconvinced. "This isn't reckless or brainless—it's the power of courage! In a duel, as long as you believe, you can charge forward without hesitation!

My turn, draw!"

At this moment, the battlefield scene changed once again.

"The instant we enter this turn's Standby Phase, the Fairy Tale Field continues its evolution!" the fake Leo declared. "The Fairy Tale enters its third chapter! The third Fairy Tale Field activates! This Field is Fairy Tale Chapter 3 – Evening Sun!!!"

The afterglow of the setting sun flowed like honey. The fairy-tale world underwent a wondrous change. The scorching bright day gradually faded, replaced by a warm, gentle twilight hue. The candy-colored buildings along the street vanished as if erased by a rubber, giving way to a tranquil magic forest. Tiny lights like fireflies twinkled among the branches of the ancient towering trees.

The sun god in the sky had completely transformed as well. Its angry, twisted face had relaxed; the blazing fiery red had faded into a gentle orange-yellow. It yawned lazily, eyes half-closed. Even the previously upright flame eyebrows drooped softly. Small ZZZ sleep symbols floated gently at the sun's edge in time with its even breathing. Occasionally a cloud would drift by and playfully cover its napping face, like tucking the sun under a thin blanket.

"The effect of the third Field, Evening Sun, is: Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 Synchro Monster from your GY in Defense Position!"

The fake Leo lifted the somewhat oversized Duel Disk with his small arms.

"Revive once more from the GY, Power Tool Mecha Dragon!"

The sun in the sky burst with twilight light. The repeatedly "deceased" mechanical dragon was forced to work overtime again and returned to Leo's field.

[Power Tool Mecha Dragon, DEF 2500]

"Next, activate Spell Card Card of Burial Magic," the fake Leo said. "Banish 3 Spell Cards from your GY: Axe of Despair, Twin Swords of Flashing Light – Tryce, and the Field Spell Fairy Tale Prologue – Journey's Dawn. Draw 2 cards from your Deck."

He drew two cards, then showed a look of delight. "Here it comes, Luna! Now we can also summon your—"

But before he finished, the fake Luna interrupted mercilessly: "You talk too much, Leo. Just summon it already."

"Oh!"

The fake Leo immediately puffed out his chest.

"Watch—this is the power of Leo and Luna working together as one!"

...