Youyu declared the end of his turn once more, and the fierce battle between the two Destroyer Gods had come to a temporary halt.
"Amazing, absolutely amazing..." The only local NPC, Mana, was so frightened she looked like a broken record, almost like a parrot.
"Just thinking about it is terrifying; what level of battle is this..." Honda swallowed hard.
Yugi remained silent, but he was secretly paying attention, observing and making mental notes.
"It's my turn."
The initiative of the duel returned to the Pharaoh's hands, as a stone tablet descended in front of him.
"Spell 'Spell Reproduction'." He lifted his eyelids, his pupils seemingly glowing dimly under the shadows of the great hall. "By sacrificing two Magic Tablets, I can retrieve a Spell Tablet recorded in my graveyard."
Spell Reproduction, Magic Card, discard two Magic Cards from your hand to add a Magic Card from your graveyard to your hand.
The two stone tablets in front of the Pharaoh transformed into countless golden particles and vanished, as another stone tablet rose from a black vortex, standing horizontally before him.
The Magic Card he retrieved here, of course, was the strongest card replenishment spell in history, Card of Demise!
"Spell - Card of Demise, activate!"
Card of Demise, both players draw cards from their decks until they have six cards in their hands.
A card replenishment method so powerful it's unreasonable, instantly refilling both players' arsenals, new stone tablets fell one after another, lining up in front of the Pharaoh.
The sharp gaze of the ancient king swiftly scanned over the tablets, concluding a new strategy in what seemed like just a brief moment of thought, before he raised his hand to tap on a new tablet.
It seemed he thought the priority was to deal with the troublesome temple Youyu had summoned. The Pharaoh said, "Spell - De-Spell, remove the magical force present on the field!"
De-Spell, Magic Card, you can destroy a face-up magic card on the field.
The target, of course, was the Field Magic "Temple of the Kings". The majestic temple burst open under the spell's power, its massive sarcophagus sinking into the ground, pillars in the great hall collapsing and shattering upon the floor.
The sacred field gradually turned into a phantom, receding like a tide under the spell's effect, revealing walls and floors bathed in golden luster.
The Pharaoh's counterattack was only just beginning: "Temporal Spell - D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation! From the other side of the dimension, call forth the retainer banished from the battle!"
D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation, Equip Magic, discard a card from your hand to Special Summon one monster that is banished, in attack position.
"Banish monster from the game?" Anzu tilted her head, trying to think, "The monsters banished in this duel are..."
"Gods!" Yugi's expression was solemn, "It is the Supreme God, The Winged Dragon of Ra!"
The faces of the others changed dramatically.
"Oh no!"
Space was torn open like a thin layer of fabric, and golden light burst from the rift. The light shone as bright as the blistering sun of summer skies, yet it felt immensely gentle upon the body.
The Pharaoh closed his eyes, crossing his arms, and began to chant incantations.
The faint golden light enveloped his entire body, flowing gently like water. Ancient Priestly Texts softly issued from his mouth, containing supreme might in their ancient syllables. His words and speech pierced through space, summoning the Egyptian God's name banished to the dimension's far end.
The dome was dominantly torn open, and the crimson-golden divine bird appeared amidst the twisting time and space! Its body was as solid as steel, its enormous spread wings glimmered with golden light, its eyes crimson as blood.
The Winged Dragon of Ra, descend!
[The Winged Dragon of Ra, ATK 0]
Everyone on scene knew that the "Winged Dragon of Ra", Special Summoned to the field, would evolve into the invincible form of "God Phoenix"!
The flames twisting in space transformed into armor cladding the Sun God's body, searing heat waves cracked the earth, shattering the ground tiles. The Sun God panted heavily, golden flames visible escaping from the corners of his mouth.
Even with Ra's summoning now, its attack was 0. Although God Phoenix can convert the master's Life Points into attack power, the Nameless Pharaoh's remaining Life Points were only 1700, and fully converting it yielded only 1699 attack power, insufficient to pierce through Clayman's defense.
So here, without a doubt, he would utilize another effect of the Winged Dragon of Ra.
"The Winged Dragon of Ra, activate special ability!" The Pharaoh's voice wasn't loud but carried an undeniable authority, "God Phoenix!"
The golden firebird soared sky-high, swooping down like an immortal phoenix!
The Winged Dragon of Ra, pay 1000 Life Points, send all monsters on your opponent's field to the graveyard.
[Pharaoh, LP 1700 →LP 700]
The scorching whirlwind swept across the field, and Clayman's solid body had no chance to resist against such monumental divine power. In just an instant, it was obliterated, incinerated in the fiery storm.
The aftermath of the flames surged toward Youyu. He crossed his arms, the hem of his coat fluttering, and though merely impacted by the blast, it felt as if every drop of moisture in his body was on the verge of evaporation.
His throat felt parched as if it were smoking, and even his tongue was a bit unresponsive. For a moment, Youyu couldn't help but wonder if the opponent would, like a six-year-old in Duel City, slap them in the face with a 0-attack Ra's winged dragon through sheer mental pressure, forcing them to disconnect...
If that were the case, wouldn't this Pharaoh be too uncouth?
Of course, neither the true Pharaoh nor the testing AI would resort to such lowbrow tactics. The Pharaoh promptly tapped another stone tablet in front of him.
"Spell - Phoenix God's Feather." He said calmly, "Forsake a tablet to return any tablet from the graveyard."
Phoenix God's Feather, Magic Card, discard a card from your hand to return any card from your graveyard to the top of your deck.
The Pharaoh forsook a stone tablet from his hand and once again selected the invincible "Card of Demise", returning it to the top of the deck.
Youyu's eyebrow twitched.
Returning the Card of Demise... to ensure there wouldn't be a resource lapse next turn?
"That moment, the special ability of the monster 'Skull-Mark Ladybug' sealed within the discarded tablet activates." The Pharaoh stated, "Our soul power will be replenished."
Skull-Mark Ladybug, when it enters the graveyard, restores 1000 Life Points to its owner.
[Nameless Pharaoh, LP 700 → LP 1700]
"In this way, even the Life Points paid for the Winged Dragon's effect have been replenished." Jonouchi clenched his fist, "Damn, so strong, unbelievably strong, it's like the real other Yugi is dueling here!"
"And not only that," Yugi said, "'Phoenix God's Feather' retrieved 'Card of Sanctity', so the available hand for the next turn is still at maximum value..."
But even Yugi didn't expect that the Pharaoh didn't need to wait until the next turn.
"Magic 'Pot of Greed'." The Nameless Pharaoh summoned the big, green jar before him, "Draw two more Tablets."
Two new Tablets landed before him—everyone clearly knew that one of them was the 'Card of Sanctity' that was just placed back at the top of the deck!
"Set one Tablet on the field." Clearly to avoid wasting resources, the Pharaoh first set the surplus Tablet face-down, then immediately activated the other, "Magic 'Card of Sanctity!'"
Both sides draw cards from the deck until they have six cards in hand.
Of course, because he already activated this replenishment Divine Card once this turn, Youyu's hand was already full at six cards, so he could only helplessly watch his opponent's card drawing like flowing water... no, more like the cascading flow of Tablets.
The hand is refilled to six cards, and the Nameless Pharaoh can continue his actions.
"Magic - Monster Reincarnation!"
Monster Reincarnation, Magic Card, discard a card, add a Monster Card from the graveyard to your hand.
Another Tablet was discarded, and the Tablet sleeping in the graveyard slowly rose from a dark whirlpool. The solid earth-brown Tablet clearly inscribed with murals of an ultra-ancient giant, each deep line seemed to burn with pale blue flames.
That is... Obelisk the Tormentor!
Obelisk is retrieved into the hand, and the Pharaoh immediately reveals another Tablet in his hand.
"Magic - The Trihorned Magical Beast." (Comic card)
The Trihorned Magical Beast equips to a monster on your field. When the equipped monster is used as a Tribute for a Tribute Summon, this Equip Card can also act as a substitute for a tribute monster.
Here, the Pharaoh equipped this Equip Card to the "Kuriboh" on the field, so counting this Equip Card, Kuriboh can serve as two tribute monsters for a Tribute Summon.
Adding the Winged Dragon to that, the Pharaoh's monsters on the field now number three!
Jonouchi panicked: "Hey, hey, don't tell me he's going to...!?"
"Kuriboh, The Trihorned Magical Beast, the Winged Dragon of Ra, equivalent to three tributes for the sacrifice!"
The Nameless Pharaoh's voice resonated like a great bell, with his authoritative titles echoing loudly in the hall.
"Scorching gales sweep the earth, suppressing everything with absolute Divine Power—
—Obelisk the Tormentor!!!"
Three beams of light soared into the sky, surrounded by swirling winds, sapphire pillars pierced the heavens in an endless storm, as the blue giant descended once more in this sacred duel!
[Obelisk the Tormentor, Attack Power 4000]
"Obelisk again!" Jonouchi gritted his teeth in the fierce wind, "Since the Winged Dragon's attack power isn't enough, are they using Obelisk for the final strike?"
Honda also said, "Damn, Youyu's monsters on the field have already been wiped out by the Divine Phoenix's ability..."
"Obelisk the Tormentor, direct attack." The Nameless Pharaoh's cold voice was like a death god's pronouncement, "Fist of Fate Shock Wave!"
Once again, Obelisk punched, bringing a divine gale that swept all away!
Having fought to this stage, Youyu certainly wouldn't be willing to accept defeat easily: "Activate Trap - Iron Will! Pay half of the Life Points, all battle damage becomes 0 this turn, forcing the end of the Battle Phase!" (Anime card)
[Youyu, LP 1000 → LP 500]
Half the Life Points exchanged for a solid barrier blocked Obelisk's divine punch, monster-level force causing the transparent wall to shake violently.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness, blocked it again..." Jonouchi exhaled deeply.
The feeling throughout this duel was as if you'd need ten or so boxes of heart-saving pills, popping three to five each round, otherwise, you really couldn't handle the heart strain...
As attacks and defenses were called, the onlookers' emotions were like a roller coaster, up and down, afraid a single breath would lead to a heart attack.
"Now set three Tablets, ending the turn," the Pharaoh said.
"Great, blocked this turn's attack too," Yugi said, "Youyu's hand is still ample, this turn he can summon a counter-attack with an Egyptian God Card..."
But before he finished, he saw the Pharaoh already flipping over another Tablet.
"Trap activated."
The Tablet flipped open, a ghastly skull-like ugly face emerged on the field, one eye socket larger than the other, with a large "Seal" character atop its head.
Continuous Trap - Mask of Restrict!
"Uh-oh." Yugi's face immediately darkened.
"What? What's happening now?" asked the clueless but very concerned Honda.
"Mask of Restrict prevents any monster from being tributed as long as it's on the field," Yugi said grimly.
"Which means," Jonouchi said, also dark-faced, "Youyu can't summon Egyptian Gods through regular means now."