"Tributes? Didn't you already have enough on your field?"
The Three Evil Gods: "???"
The three brothers who had already been summoned looked at each other; in each other's eyes they saw nothing but confusion, and that uneasiness they couldn't quite hide...
The next moment, Yugen had already swung his arm grandly.
"From your field, I use 'Evil God: Divine Incarnation', 'Evil God Eraser', and 'Evil God: Root of Fear', the Three Evil Gods, as tributes to bestow upon you the mightiest of Phantom Gods!
The ever‑changing flames of heaven and earth burn away evil, turning darkness into light—
—Winged Divine Dragon of Ra, Sphere Mode, summon!!!"
Sure enough, as his thunderous voice fell, three pillars of fire shot up to the sky, each one perfectly enveloping one of the Evil Gods. The three brothers of Evil Gods all let out roars that were somewhere between pain and fury, flailing claws and long tails as they struggled desperately.
But it was useless. The fathomless darkness they unleashed was burned to ash by the flames, and their blows brimming with Divine Power were all completely wiped out against the blazing curtain.
Though it was done by leveraging the rules of a Duel, this scene truly looked like the power of a single Phantom God easily suppressing the Three Evil Gods.
All tributed!
The Three Evil Gods alike dissolved into the flames, the three pillars of fire merging into one, piercing straight into the heavens.
Golden light tore through the darkness, so dazzling that the dark phantom of the Evil God shrieked under its radiance, its eyes stung to the point of tears.
Wherever the golden glow passed, darkness melted away like packed snow, making everyone practically feel the burning sensation on their skin. The dark domain screamed, wailed, and whipped up a golden storm within the space.
Then that sacred existence descended.
Round and plump, its whole body smooth, a golden sphere that burned like a blazing sun.
Kaiba went dazed for a moment, a faraway look flashing in his eyes.
Winged Divine Dragon of Ra...
And he had seen this form before, with a deep impression.
Because this was exactly the form it had when he first saw the Sun God.
That was still during the Top 8 of the original Duel City; Malik's Winged Divine Dragon was a mystery to everyone in terms of its abilities. Peacock Dance had snatched Winged Divine Dragon from Malik, gathered her tributes and tried to summon it to counter‑kill, but she didn't know that Winged Divine Dragon could only be controlled by someone with the recognized bloodline, and that it required the aid of an Ancient Priest Spell.
Mai had neither the bloodline nor the chant, so although she summoned Winged Divine Dragon, it didn't heed her commands. Thus when it appeared, it took on the Sphere Mode, exactly like it now.
But even having seen that scene, Kaiba never would've imagined that after so many years, some little prodigy would print this form of Winged Divine Dragon as a card—and actually set such infuriating summoning conditions...
What the hell, tributing the opponent's Monsters!
Even Judai couldn't help but look full of admiration.
"Before this I thought, Fusioning away one Evil God was already pretty badass... turns out Yugen's still more insane, he just gulped down three at once..."
By now the three brothers on the other side had exploded.
All three brothers got tributed, and the target of the tribute was their lifelong nemesis, arch‑enemy Winged Divine Dragon!
This was no longer a simple Duel disadvantage, it had risen to the level of divine‑rank humiliation and personal vendetta!
Divine Incarnation was already beside himself with rage: "Damn you, Winged Divine Dragon! How dare you... how dare you..."
"Calm down, big bro." Eraser spoke up. "You mustn't lose your temper in a Duel, you gotta keep your mindset steady. Look at me, I just got Fused away last round, and this round I turned into a tribute again, and yet here I am..."
Divine Incarnation: "Shut up, you useless piece of trash!"
So Eraser didn't dare say another word.
"Why so agitated?" Yugen chuckled. "This is a god, you know, the Supreme God. I gave it to you, the control is yours. Aren't you going to thank me?"
The Evil God glared furiously, but said nothing.
Yet his eyes already said it all.
Thank your eighteen generations of ancestors, I thank.
Fine, fine, so this is how you wanna play?
The Evil God gnashed his teeth, then let out a low snort after a moment.
"Don't get cocky too soon." the Evil God said darkly. "Did you forget? Evil God Eraser's effect!
When this card is sent to the Graveyard, send all cards on the field to the Graveyard!"
As he spoke, Divine Incarnation barked out an order.
"Eraser!"
The big brother gave the order, and the little brother hurriedly stepped up. A mass of dark aura surged from the Graveyard of the Duel Disc, shaping into Eraser's murky, shadowy outline. Eraser let out a low snort, swung his claws, and an endless darkness opened up on the field. Terrifying Divine Power erupted, and an overwhelming suction was about to swallow that golden sun in mid‑air.
But in the next instant, blinding radiance burst from the golden sphere. Myriad golden rays instantly drove back that darkness, unable to approach the sphere in the slightest.
"Just as I expected."
Yugen smiled and said,
"You haven't forgotten, right? A lower‑tier god's ability doesn't work on a higher‑tier god. Winged Divine Dragon has the same divine rank as Divine Incarnation; a low‑class divine power like Eraser's is ineffective."
Yeah, the card text doesn't say that, but that's just how it's ruled.
In fact, Yugen figured that under normal circumstances, his egg probably wouldn't have this kind of juice. After all, it was a card he printed himself, imbued with fragments of the Power of Phantom God, but it still wasn't the true Phantom God, just somewhat connected.
But today was different.
Today's opponents were the Three Evil Gods, the Phantom Gods' old arch‑enemies—this was a matter of divine face. If the true Winged Divine Dragon could sense through its avatar card what was happening here, there was no way it would sit back and watch.
It was a dignified Supreme Illusion God; if it actually got swallowed by some Eraser that was below its rank, how would it show its face in the Divine Realm later?
On the contrary, Yugen had just tributed the Three Evil Gods to summon its egg form—this was a huge prestige boost. Even if the Elf of Winged Divine Dragon hadn't originally been dwelling in this card and was only watching remotely, it should have shown up by now.
Since the true Elf of the god had arrived, there was no way it would allow itself to be erased by a lower‑tier god.
So when Eraser's power came roaring through, the egg still floated there with divine nonchalance, as if it had just taken a black‑flame bath, entirely unfazed.
Divine Incarnation cursed in fury: "Useless trash! You can't even handle something this simple, what good are you?"
Eraser, already in the Graveyard, felt terribly wronged.
What do you mean, can't even handle something this simple?
This is Winged Divine Dragon, same rank as you, boss—if I could take it out, that'd be what's really wrong...
The Evil God forced his anger down and let out a heavy snort.
"But the other small fry on your field don't have that kind of ability." the Evil God said.
Yugen nodded and picked up two Monster Cards on his Duel Disc to show them.
"Iron Knight - Jia Fried and Blast Flame Maiden are both sent to the Graveyard by Eraser's effect."
At least this way, Yugen's field was cleared as well.
The Evil God's gaze immediately turned razor sharp.