"Smack!"
In the next instant, the Millennium Puzzle on Yusaku's chest erupted with dazzling golden light. Surging current burst out like golden vipers, and crackling lightning spread wildly from the Puzzle's center, swelling into a pillar of light that shot straight into the sky and swallowed Yusaku whole!
"Boom!!!"
A deafening explosion rocked the arena. As the blinding column slowly faded, Yusaku reappeared before everyone's eyes.
And behind him, a hazy silhouette began to take shape.
It was a robed, mysterious figure, arms crossed over its chest, solemn and reverent, murmuring an ancient incantation no one could understand.
The moment the chant ended, Yusaku snapped his eyes open. Divine authority glittered within his golden pupils. He raised his arm high, his voice shaking the heavens.
"Spirits, sing. Primordial power governs all things. Its name, its soul, even its bones. When heaven and earth converge, open the ritual that summons the Sun God!"
"Descend!!! The Winged Dragon of Ra!!!"
Above the field, the thunderclouds churned even more violently, like an enraged primordial beast. Catastrophic power brewed within the black mass. Every rumble of thunder seemed to rattle the earth's very soul, and the entire Duel Platform shook as if offering its most humble submission to the Sun God's arrival.
Brilliant gold tore through the oppressive clouds like unsheathed holy blades. Countless rays of light intertwined in midair, converging like meteors as they streaked toward the floating golden sphere!
The once motionless sphere finally began to change.
Vast, boundless golden wings unfurled first, blotting out the sky. Then came the sacred head, and finally a towering body that looked forged from pure gold. Feather after feather, radiant with sunlight, layered across it as an immortal phoenix formed in breathtaking detail on the field!
The Winged Dragon of Ra - Immortal Phoenix
Level 10 / Divine-Beast / Effect
ATK 0
Staring at Ra's new form, Johannes's pupils tightened. He stumbled back a step, shock written all over his face.
In all the intel he'd collected, he had never seen Ra like this. This was his first time witnessing it.
And he wasn't the only one. Aside from a handful of veteran Duelists, the entire crowd sprang to their feet, eyes wide, faces full of disbelief. They had never heard of this form, never seen it, not even once.
On the field, Yusaku's voice turned icy as it rang through the arena.
"Ra's effect! When this card is Special Summoned from the GY, it can switch directly into Immortal Phoenix form! In Immortal Phoenix form, this card's ATK and DEF become 4000!"
The Winged Dragon of Ra
ATK 0 → 4000
"Not done yet!" Yusaku's voice spiked. "Now for Ra's other effect!"
"In Immortal Phoenix form, I can pay 1000 Life Points to activate its effect. You must send all monsters you control to the GY!"
He looked at Johannes's ashen face, a cold curve at his lips, and said each word clearly.
"This is a forced effect that targets the Duelist. So even if your Nordic Gods are immune to everything, it doesn't matter."
Johannes's pupils shrank. "What?!"
"Then I pay 1000 Life Points and activate Ra's effect!"
Yusaku: LP 8000 → 7000
The moment the effect activated, the golden phoenix in the air released a cry that shook the sky. An invisible shockwave swept the arena like a tsunami, and the air itself trembled wherever it passed.
Yusaku glanced at the countdown timer on his Duel Disk, his tone calm.
"Send your Nordic Gods to the GY yourself. If the countdown hits zero and you still haven't resolved the effect, by Duel rules I win this match immediately."
Johannes clenched his teeth so hard they ground audibly. With obvious reluctance, he pulled the cards from his Duel Disk and slotted them into the Graveyard Zone.
As the three cards left the field, the three arrogant godly phantoms behind Johannes dissolved like sand in the wind, vanishing without leaving even a trace.
"My god!!!" The commentator's scream nearly shattered the microphone, his voice whipping into hysteria. "Yusaku! Yusaku just dismantled Johannes's proud Nordic God lockdown in only two moves!"
On the field, Johannes stared at his now empty Monster Zone and snorted through his frustration.
"Don't get cocky! So you sent my Nordic Gods to the GY. So what?"
"Your field already has a Divine-Beast! With Rivalry of Warlords up, you can't Summon any other monsters! And with only a single 4000 ATK Winged Dragon of Ra, you can't possibly end the Duel this turn!"
He snapped his head up, madness flashing in his eyes.
"In the End Phase, my Nordic Gods will revive from the GY! Then it's my counterattack! I'll use those three immortal gods to crush you completely!"
"Counterattack?" Yusaku gave him a flat glance. "Sorry. You're not getting another turn."
Johannes's pupils contracted, his face blank with disbelief. "What, you can Summon other gods too?!"
"Why can't I?"
Before his words even finished, Yusaku raised a card high. Its golden face glittered under the lights.
"I activate the Spell, The True Name! Its effect: I declare a card name, then reveal the top card of my Deck. If it's the card I declared, I add it to my hand, and then I can Special Summon a DIVINE monster from my Deck!"
"The True Name?" Johannes frowned, then scoffed as if something had clicked.
"You want to use that to bring out a second God? Keep dreaming."
His voice rose, dripping with contempt.
"You're running a standard 40-card deck. You've got 32 cards left. That means your chance of declaring correctly is one in thirty-two! That's tiny. I don't believe you can hit it!"
"One in thirty-two?" Yusaku laughed softly. His coat flapped as if struck by an unseen wind. "The bond between me and my Deck is something a guy who can only hide behind Trap locks could never understand."
"I trust my Deck. So that so-called probability doesn't exist. My chance of declaring correctly is 100%."
Johannes: "???"
In that instant, a faint blue glow rose from the top card of Yusaku's Deck. He placed his hand on it, his voice echoing across the arena.
"The card name I declare is: Tearlaments Merrli!!!"
The moment he spoke, the Merrli hovering behind him turned into a beam of light and flew straight into the card.
Yusaku drew it out. He didn't even glance at it before holding it up for everyone to see, confidence burning in his golden eyes.
"Since the revealed card matches my declaration, by The True Name's effect, I can Special Summon a DIVINE monster from my Deck!"
Johannes staggered back several steps, shaking as he shouted, "No way! Impossible! You actually declared it right?! This can't be real, I don't believe it!!!"
All around the stadium, people stood up in a daze, staring at Yusaku like their brains had stopped working.
"He actually guessed it. How is that possible?" someone blurted.
Even the other Duelists froze. What shocked them most wasn't the card choice. It was the fact he nailed the declaration.
A few seconds later, the arena finally exploded into chaos.
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!"
"No way, Merrli!"
"It's here! It's here! Yu-Gi-Oh's highest mountain and longest river!"
"My roommate has a terminal illness, and his dying wish was to see Tearlaments in action, and he actually got to see it!"
On the field, Yusaku's coat snapped in the wind again, and the sky over the stadium changed color once more.
Rolling black clouds swallowed the heavens. Countless golden bolts flashed within them, and an even more terrifying pressure crashed down, forcing people to hunch low as if their bodies couldn't resist.
"By The True Name's effect," Yusaku's voice cut through the thunder, "I Special Summon a DIVINE monster from my Deck!"
Before the sentence even ended, the card in his hand flared with a faint red blaze, then erupted into brilliant light.
"When the heavens roar in chaos, gather the ancient grimoires within the chain. Their power reaches infinity!"
"Descend!!! Slifer the Sky Dragon!!!"
A bolt of lightning so huge it looked capable of splitting the world slammed down from beyond the clouds, striking behind Yusaku. Amid the deafening thunder, a massive, regal figure slowly emerged.
A sky-covering, deep-blue dragon materialized from the lightning itself. Its colossal body coiled in the air, loop after loop, scales gleaming with cold metallic shine under the stormlight.
It opened its maw and released a roar like unending thunder, the shockwaves whipping up transparent streams of air. The sheer oppressive force felt like it shook the ground beneath the arena.
Slifer the Sky Dragon
Divine-Beast / Effect
ATK 0
"Still not done!" Yusaku called. A Quick-Play Spell appeared in his hand, its blue card face blazing under the lights.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, The Breaking Ruin God! Its effect: I Special Summon Obelisk the Tormentor from my hand or GY!"
In the next instant, countless rays of golden light burst from the Graveyard Zone, so bright they nearly blinded the crowd.
Johannes's pupils shrank to pinpoints as he stared at Yusaku's Graveyard. When he saw the card resting there, his face drained of color.
"When did you send Obelisk to the GY…"
He cut off mid-sentence as realization hit, and he whispered in horror, "Was it… Graceful Charity at the start?"
"That's right. Graceful Charity."
Yusaku slammed his palm down on the Duel Platform.
"Duel!!!"
He raised his arm and pointed straight at the sky, his voice tearing through the stadium.
"When light and darkness converge, begin the ritual that summons the Obelisk. When it arrives, the scorching gale will scour the land, and the living will become corpses!"
As soon as he finished, the clouded sky turned a dark purple at a visible speed. The clouds weren't ordinary storm clouds anymore. They were thick like ink, rolling and howling as if countless ancient beasts lurked inside.
Black clouds covered the entire horizon. Hundreds, then thousands of blue lightning bolts ripped through the sky in a web, and the crack of thunder was so loud it felt like the heavens were breaking apart.
"Descend!!! Obelisk the Tormentor!!!"
The instant the final summoning line fell, the space behind Yusaku fractured like shattered glass, spiderweb cracks spreading through the air.
From the dark-violet rift, countless golden ancient Egyptian glyphs spiraled out like fireflies, weaving together into the silhouettes of three towering obelisks!
"Boom!!!"
A roar that felt like it could shatter souls rang out as a titan of absolute destruction rose slowly from the ground. Its body looked like it had been carved from millennium ice, muscles knotted with explosive power. Its massive eyes glinted with icy light as it looked down on the stadium like it was staring at insects.
Obelisk the Tormentor
Level 10 / Divine-Beast / Effect
ATK 4000
Now the three Egyptian Gods stood together, looming behind Yusaku, their cold eyes locking onto Johannes all at once.
The scene was eerily similar to the beginning of the Duel.
Only now, the scales had completely flipped.
At the start, it was Johannes's Nordic Gods looking down on Yusaku with overwhelming pressure.
Now it was Yusaku's Egyptian Gods staring down at Johannes's empty field like he was nothing.
The commentator's voice practically tore through the sky.
"A comeback!!! Yusaku just Summoned all three Egyptian Gods in a single turn!!!"
On the field, Yusaku slowly lifted his arm and pointed at Johannes's pale face, his tone flat.
"Then the Duel is over."
"Obelisk, direct attack!"
In the next instant, Obelisk raised a fist like a mountain. Blue flame wrapped around it and exploded outward, heat so intense the air warped into ripples.
As the punch swung down, the Duel Platform seemed to groan under the strain. Cracks spread like a spiderweb across the surface, and stones burst loose ahead of the impact, slamming into the floor with dull thuds.
The mountain-sized fist, carrying apocalyptic force, smashed straight toward Johannes!
"Boom!!!"
Johannes: LP 8000 → 4000
"Not finished!" Yusaku's voice rang out again, decisive and absolute.
"Ra, direct attack!"
The golden phoenix cried out, wings spreading wide enough to blot out the sky as it charged. A tide of divine flame surged forward, and the air ignited wherever it passed.
Facing that oncoming gold inferno, Johannes, who had barely managed to stand, turned desperate. His legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees, whispering in disbelief and bitter despair.
"How… how is this possible… My Nordic Gods… actually lost…"
"Boom!!!"
The explosion shook the arena once more. Endless golden flames erupted on Johannes's field, swallowing him completely.
Johannes: LP 4000 → 0
(End of Chapter)
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