On the Duel Field.
Bathed in the nourishment of that golden pillar of light, Yusaku's frame subtly seemed to grow taller. His long coat fluttered without any wind to justify it, snapping violently in the gale. Every sweep of the hems carried a domineering authority, like he was looking down on the world itself.
His once-black hair, steeped in holy power, turned into a blinding, pure gold from tip to root. Each strand lifted upright—like golden flames burning high, fierce and dazzling.
On his forehead, an Eye of Horus—of the same origin as the Millennium Puzzle—slowly emerged. Within that golden iris was a majesty and indifference beyond mortal reach, as if an ancient will that had slept for a thousand years had finally, completely awakened.
Yusaku slowly opened his eyes. Those golden pupils held not the slightest ripple of emotion—cold, calm, and godlike, as though he were gazing down upon all living things. He swept his arm and flicked the last card in his hand onto his Duel Disk.
"I activate a Trap Card—[The Revived Sky God]!"
As his voice rang out, the Trap instantly appeared on the field, rippling with a faint golden glow before becoming fully visible.
"This card's effect: Special Summon 1 [Slifer the Sky Dragon] from my Graveyard! After that Summon succeeds, each player draws until they have 6 cards in their hand!"
"Summoning a god?!" Karasu's eyes shrank violently as he blurted out. "When did you send [Slifer the Sky Dragon] to the Graveyard?! And how the hell can you activate a Trap Card from your hand?!"
Hearing that, Kazetaro—standing off to the side—cast him a flat glance, his tone edged with contempt.
"Maybe take a look at what's actually in my senpai's Graveyard."
Karasu froze for a beat, then hurriedly worked his Duel Disk to pull up Yusaku's Graveyard.
And when he saw [Slifer the Sky Dragon] lying there in silence—along with [Makyura the Destructor] (anime-style effect: after being sent from the hand to the Graveyard, you can activate Trap Cards from your hand)—
Karasu's pupils tightened to pinpoints. "When were these two cards sent to the Graveyard…?"
Halfway through, something clicked.
"When [Dark Magician Girl the Magician's Apprentice] and [Ext Ryzeal] activated their discard-to-Special-Summon effects—those cards were sent then!"
"You're not completely hopeless." Yusaku glanced at him, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Aren't you all desperate for my God Card? Fine. Then let me show you what absolute power from the gods really looks like."
The instant those words fell—
Rolling black clouds flooded the entire sky at an alarming speed. Azure lightning slithered through the cloud layer, tearing it apart as bolts crashed down with cataclysmic force.
Yusaku raised his arm high, his coat cracking in the storm.
"When thunder roars and chaos blankets the heavens, gather the ancient chained grimoire—its power reaches infinity!"
"Descend upon this field!!! Slifer the Sky Dragon!!!"
As his declaration ended, a gigantic, blinding bolt of lightning smashed down from beyond the sky itself, striking behind Yusaku. Amid the deafening thunder, an immense, awe-inspiring silhouette began to take form.
A colossal azure dragon—so massive it seemed to blot out the heavens—emerged from the lightning. Its enormous body coiled in great rings through the air, scales gleaming with an icy sheen under the strobing light.
It slowly opened its gaping maw and loosed a roar toward Karasu and Yuta—an overt threat.
The sound was thunder upon thunder, unending and explosive. The violent pressure whipped the air into transparent, slicing streams. An invisible wave of oppression slammed into the earth like a hammer, shaking the entire arena.
[Slifer the Sky Dragon]
[Divine-Beast / Effect]
[ATK: 0]
The moment Slifer appeared, Karasu and Yuta suddenly felt as if their bodies had become several times heavier. Their legs went numb and stiff without them realizing it. Every breath out of their noses turned thick and laborious, and even their thoughts felt like they were moving through sludge.
The duelists who came running at the commotion saw that monstrous presence in the sky—and the soul-deep pressure it radiated—and each and every one of them locked up on the spot. Not a single person dared take another step forward.
Staring up at the dragon circling overhead, someone muttered, voice trembling with shock and fear.
"This kind of shiver… this kind of pressure… is that really a monster a human can control?"
"Still not done!"
After drawing up to six cards, Yusaku flipped his wrist.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card—[Pot of Greed]! I draw two cards!"
Two fresh cards slid into his hand. He continued without hesitation.
"Then I activate the other effect of [Soul Servant] in my Graveyard! During my Main Phase, I can banish this card from my Graveyard, then I draw cards equal to the number of different kinds of [Palladium Oracle] monsters, [Dark Magician], and [Dark Magician Girl] on both fields and in both Graveyards!"
"Right now, my Graveyard has [Dark Magician] and [Dark Magician Girl], so I draw two cards!"
He pulled the cards—and didn't pause for even a heartbeat before slamming one of them onto the field.
"I activate the Continuous Spell—[Primite Lordly Lode]!"
"As this card is activated, I add 1 [Primite] card from my Deck to my hand, except [Primite Lordly Lode]! I add—[Primite Drillbeam]!"
The searched card slid cleanly into his palm. Yusaku's voice rose sharply.
"Now I activate [Primite Lordly Lode]'s other effect!"
"I declare the name of a Normal Monster, then I Special Summon that declared Normal Monster from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard in Defense Position! For the rest of this turn, I can't activate effects that require me to consume my own monsters!"
"I declare the Normal Monster in my Deck—[Dark Magician]! Special Summon it in Defense Position!"
A pitch-black magic circle suddenly bloomed open in the center of the field. Surging magic power became a roaring torrent that swept across the arena.
A tall, slender figure burst out of the circle on a cutting gust of wind. The staff in his hand carved a sharp arc through the air like a boomerang before he landed with perfect control.
[Dark Magician]
[Level 7 / Spellcaster / Normal]
[DEF: 2100]
After the monster hit the field, Yusaku drew out another card, lifted it with his fingertips, and revealed it again.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card—[Giant Trunade]! Return all Spell and Trap Cards on the field to their owners' hands!"
Yusaku raised his eyes to Karasu, his gaze sharp as a blade.
"I choose to return my face-up Continuous Spells—[Toy Box], [Shining Sarcophagus], [Primite Lordly Lode]—and my last set card back to my hand!"
As he spoke, a howling green cyclone erupted and swallowed every card on Yusaku's backrow, lifting them all before dropping them with pinpoint accuracy back into his grasp.
Catching them without so much as a fumble, Yusaku immediately drew out one card and slammed it down hard onto his Duel Disk.
"Then I activate the Continuous Spell—[Temple of the Kings]!"
The moment the card resolved, Yusaku's half of the field transformed in a thunderous upheaval.
Brilliant golden tiles spread across the ground at visible speed. An ancient, majestic palace rose from the earth amid heavy rumbling, every column and eave steeped in solemn, sacred grandeur.
The golden palace rapidly claimed the entire field. The surrounding light seemed to be swallowed into dimness, leaving only the flickering torches along both sides of the grand hall—casting a faint, mysterious glow over walls packed tight with ancient inscriptions, weathered by time.
Behind Yusaku, a golden, archaic sarcophagus carved with intricate patterns slowly rose from the ground.
After activating the card, Yusaku turned his head toward Karasu. His voice was calm, yet the intimidation in it was absolute.
"You can activate 1 Trap Card the turn it was Set."
With that, he rotated his wrist and set a card face-down.
"Then I Set one card."
The instant the set card touched the field, Yusaku snapped his hand up, voice like thunder.
"Now I flip it! I activate the Trap Card—[Sixth Sense]!"
"This card's effect: I declare 2 numbers from 1 to 6. Then my opponent rolls a die once. If the result is one of the declared numbers, I draw that many cards. If it isn't, I send cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard equal to the number rolled!"
The crowd of onlookers froze for a split second—then the arena erupted into a wave of shocked shouting.
"Holy—Sixth Sense?! That's been banned forever!"
"If you guess right you profit, if you guess wrong you STILL profit—this is just taking everything!"
"This card was basically made for Tearlaments—why call it Sixth Sense? It should be called [Bitter Sixth Sense]!"
"How is that bitter at all?!"
"..."
On the Duel Field.
Yusaku folded his arms and stared at Karasu with a detached expression, enunciating each word clearly.
"My declared numbers are 5 and 6. Roll."
Before he even finished speaking, a crystal-clear die appeared out of thin air at Karasu's feet, sitting there quietly—waiting to be thrown.
Karasu: "..."
He looked down at it, brow knotted tight, his face dark enough to drip water. If he rolled a 5 or 6, he'd just hand Yusaku five or six free draws. But if he missed, he'd still be feeding Yusaku a huge Graveyard setup. Either way was poison. And the effect had already been activated—he had no right to refuse.
Karasu snorted, scooped up the die, and hurled it hard.
The cube clattered and spun wildly across the ground, rolling under everyone's gaze—then finally slowed, wobbling… and stopped.
The face pointing upward was a huge—
"6."
Kazetaro let out a small laugh. "That luck is something. Right on the money—rolled a six."
As he spoke, Yusaku reached into his Deck and drew six cards. In an instant, his hand size surged up to sixteen.
Karasu let out a cold snort, forcing the words out stiffly.
"So what if you drew a ton? You can only set four at most, and you'll only be allowed to keep six cards in your hand anyway!"
"That's not necessarily true."
(End of Chapter)
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