"Fath... Father...?"
Ed stared blankly at the bloodstained, sinister hero on the field, momentarily lost in shock.
His father was devoured by the Blood Demon D that he created himself... This must be a lie, right?
No, this can't be real. How could anything so absurd...
But in the next moment, he witnessed a scene that left him thunderstruck.
Upon the ghastly bone wings of Blood Demon D, a human face mysteriously began to appear. The face writhed continuously, gradually forming the features of a mouth and nose, and even wearing the glasses Ed was so familiar with.
Though the face was within the body of Blood Demon D, shadowy and unclear, the image immediately overlapped with the one in Ed's memory.
"Dad!?"
At that moment, Ed was nearly beside himself with shock, his mind unable to comprehend this irrational scene.
"Yes, it's indeed your beloved dad." DD laughed heartily, "He was the first soul devoured by the Blood Demon D he himself created, and he's been trapped in the card of Blood Demon D all these years.
Of course, he's been dead for a long time; the only thing left in Blood Demon D is a soul that cannot find peace. Quite ironic, isn't it?"
Ed clenched his fists, trembling with rage.
"DD, you scum!"
Even more bizarre, the face on Blood Demon D turned around, struggling to look his way, and then spoke.
"Ed... Ed, you've grown up..."
"Father!"
Ed could hardly restrain himself from rushing forward, but as he took a few steps, he collided with an invisible barrier, blocked from advancing any further.
It was then that he realized this duel was also beyond the realm of normality. Some sort of barrier enclosed the combatants, preventing outsiders from entering.
He could only cling to the outer edge of the barrier, shouting desperately, "Dad!"
"Seeing you've grown into who you are today, I have no regrets left," Mr. Phoenix said solemnly from within Blood Demon D. "Listen, Ed. I made a mistake... a very grave mistake.
In fact, before Blood Demon D was born, I had already heard the voice of the light that would destroy the world."
"The voice of the light?" Ed was stunned.
"Yes. I tried to resist, I really did, but I... failed." Mr. Phoenix looked remorseful, "It's said that in those days, Mr. Beckas was in a nearly controlled state when he created the Three Phantom Gods, as he couldn't resist the power of the gods.
Now, I fully understand that state. I was also unable to resist the influence of the Light of Destruction and was forced to design this forbidden card that should never have been born in this world.
Not only because it's too powerful, but also because this card was born to destroy. And as you can see, I have paid the price for it..."
"No, Dad!" Ed cried hoarsely, "There must be another way..."
"There is no other way. The remnant light energy within this Ultimate D must be destroyed along with the souls that have been imprisoned within it all these years," Mr. Phoenix said sternly.
"And this is just the beginning. The light has started to spread across the Earth, and now a much stronger light has arrived. The world is already on a path to destruction. The only one who can stop all this is the strongest Duelist."
He looked at Ed with gentle eyes.
"I thought you might be the one to free me, Ed. But that would be too cruel for you, and if you don't have to do it, all the better.
Live well, Ed. You must surpass me and become a far better person than I was."
Having said that, he ignored Ed's calls and turned to look at Yugen.
"I have heard it all within Blood Demon D. You are now the Duel King... So, I entrust this to you, defeat us and save this world. Perhaps, it might even absolve some of my sins. Thank you."
Then the face disappeared, and Blood Demon D's bone wings returned to their original state.
DD laughed heartily: "Such a deeply moving speech. It seems that sometimes you just can't have it both ways, right?"
He squinted his eyes smugly.
"In order to end this with me, you must personally destroy every soul sealed in Blood Demon D over the past ten years, including all those innocent ones. Can you do it, Duel King?"
Yugen pondered for two seconds.
Then slowly raised his head, muttering to himself, "It seems I've really been underestimated..."
"What?"
"Nothing." Yugen smiled slightly.
The Light of Destruction attempts to restrain him with moral fetters, quite a strange approach.
But the major prerequisite for so-called moral binding is that you must have morality in the first place.
"It's my turn, draw!" Yugen said, "Activate Magic Card 'Angel's Charity.' Draw three cards from the Card Deck, then discard two cards from the hand."
"Then, since one of the cards discarded is the Magic Card 'Card of Compensation,' draw two more cards from the Card Deck."
DD frowned slightly.
This guy, his fighting spirit truly seems unaffected in the slightest.
But it doesn't matter; Blood Demon D is invincible. With Blood Demon D sealing Monster Effects at this moment and being untargetable by any card, and with the might of D Power now conferred, it was as good as winning.
Blood Demon D riding on your face, he honestly didn't know how he could lose this.
"Cover a Monster in face-down Defense Position."
Yugen waved his hand, setting a card in the front field.
"Activate Cover Card, Continuous Trap 'Blood Compensation.' Pay 500 Life Points to perform an additional Normal Summon.
I pay 500 Life Points to cover another Monster in face-down Defense Position."
[Yugen, LP3800 → LP3300]
"Covering two Monsters at once?" DD questioned, "Are you trying to strengthen your defenses against Blood Demon D?"
But as he spoke, he immediately knew it wasn't that simple.
Blood Demon D has now acquired the power of the Chaos Warrior, and it can banish two Monsters in a turn and attack multiple times. Even if there are two trifling obstacles serving as walls, they are of no consequence; his opponent should know this well himself.
"Activate Cover Card." Yugen casually waved his hand, flipping over the final card set in the back field, "Trap Card 'Light of the Desert.' Turn all Monsters on your field into face-up Defense Position."
DD immediately guessed something: "Reversed Monsters with effects, perhaps?"
But he quickly laughed again.
"It's still useless! I told you, when the power of D is at the top of your own Card Deck, Blood Demon D unleashes its latent power! The Effect Monster effects on the opponent's field are all negated, even if they are reversed effects!"
"Not necessarily." Yugen smiled, without explaining, continuing on his own pace, "My Reversed Monsters are these two.
'Transformation Pot,' and 'Nightmare Penguin!'"
[Transformation Pot, Defense Power 600]
[Nightmare Penguin, Defense Power 1800]
"Transformation Pot's effect, when flipped, both players discard all cards in hand, then draw five cards from their respective Card Decks," Yugen said, "Nightmare Penguin's effect, when flipped, choose one card on the opponent's field and return it to the hand of its owner!"