The storm stopped in midair, and the lightning dispersed together with it under the protection of a white magic circle. The field returned to silence as if nothing had happened.
"Tch, so it even has that ability. Then I activate the Spell Card 'Pot of Greed' and draw two cards from my Deck."
The sorcerer drew his cards, then smoothly pulled two more into his hand. His movements showed no hesitation, as if every step was planned.
"Spell Card 'Sacrificial Doll'. Tribute one monster on my field to Special Summon a monster from my hand that can be Normal Summoned.
I send my set monster to the graveyard, then Special Summon this card!"
The face-down monster flipped over, revealing a red, sinister demon hound. Its body dissolved within a storm of dark shadows, forming the image of a summoning circle.
"Level seven, Holy Night Dragon, summon!"
A storm of holy flames burst out from the circle, and a massive dragon spread its wings and spiraled onto the field. Its presence immediately dominated the battlefield.
Holy Night Dragon, ATK 2500.
The goblin lackeys in the back began shouting again. Their cheers were loud and full of blind admiration.
"The Sorcery Master is amazing!"
"He summoned such a powerful monster in an instant. That kid does not stand a chance at all!"
The Masked Sorcerer also let out a satisfied snort. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Yugen.
"You were cautious. Last turn you did not attack my set monster. Were you wary of a flip effect?
But it was useless. The monster I set was 'Demon Hound Eight Ghosts'. When this card is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add one Level eight Fiend-Type monster from my Deck to my hand.
Even though you did not attack it, sending it to the graveyard as a tribute with 'Sacrificial Doll' still triggers the effect."
The Masked Sorcerer searched his Deck and pulled out the demon he wanted, then smiled coldly. His confidence was now complete.
"The demon I searched is this card. After receiving my god's blessing and evolving myself into my most brutal and evil form.
The Masked Beast·Death Guardian Mage!"
Yugen said nothing.
So this thing counts as your evolution form. It was also a monster that appeared in DM, used by Lumis and Umbra and Marik Ishtar. A Level eight Fiend with ATK 3300, it must be Special Summoned by tributing two monsters on your field, including at least one of Masked Sorcerer-Cursed Throat or Melchid the Four-Face Beast.
"Also, I have not used my Normal Summon this turn," the sorcerer said with a cold laugh, raising his voice. "Therefore next, I Normal Summon myself!
Masked Sorcerer-Cursed Throat, summon!"
As expected, when the card in his hand was slapped onto the Duel Disk, a shadowy duplicate separated from his body and appeared in the open space on the field.
Masked Sorcerer-Cursed Throat, ATK 1500.
The sight was strange, but Yugen remained calm. He knew this was something one had to accept as part of Yu-Gi-Oh! tradition, and that the truly bizarre part was still to come.
"The Sheep Tokens summoned by 'Scapegoat' cannot be tributed for a Tribute Summon, but they can be used as tributes for other effects."
The sorcerer clasped his hands together as if chanting a spell, then shouted clearly.
"Therefore, I tribute one Sheep Token and myself!"
Both the sorcerer's duplicate and a Sheep Token vanished at the same time, as if swallowed by rapidly expanding darkness. A chaotic vortex erupted, claws tore through the blackness, and a grotesque demon with three masks emerged.
The Masked Beast-Death Guardian Mage, ATK 3300.
The goblin lackeys became restless again. Their voices were filled with awe and excitement.
"It appeared, the Sorcery Master's strongest evolved form!"
One of them even mocked Yugen directly. "Ha, you are already a dead man. It is too late to surrender now!"
"It is not over yet. Next is the Spell Card 'Spellbook of the Burial Curse'! Banish 'Pot of Greed', 'Sacrificial Doll', and 'Mystical Space Typhoon' from the graveyard, then draw two cards from my Deck!"
After summoning The Masked Beast, the sorcerer's voice sounded sharper and more twisted. His excitement was clearly growing.
"Then I activate the Equip Spell 'Crawler Rage'. The equipped monster becomes Reptile-Type, and its ATK increases by 800.
I equip it to 'Holy Night Dragon', increasing its ATK by 800!"
Holy Night Dragon, ATK 2500 to ATK 3300.
"Hm?" Yugen frowned slightly.
Holy Night Dragon had been Special Summoned by the effect of 'Sacrificial Doll', and monsters summoned by that effect are unable to attack during the turn they are summoned.
"Heh, you must be wondering why I strengthened Holy Night Dragon, right? The answer is this!"
The sorcerer slammed down another card from his hand and shouted.
"Spell Card 'Cross Attack'!"
The Spell Card appeared on his field with rolling golden light, which enveloped both Holy Night Dragon and The Masked Beast.
"Cross Attack lets me choose two monsters on my field with the same ATK. This turn, one of them can attack directly, while the other cannot attack!"
The lackeys suddenly understood and began shouting again.
"So that is it. By using equipment to raise Holy Night Dragon's ATK to match The Masked Beast, he can make a direct attack!"
"And monsters summoned by 'Sacrificial Doll' already cannot attack this turn. He even made use of that!"
"A direct attack with ATK 3300. One hit like that and the kid's Life Points will be almost gone!"
"This is Lord Sorcerer's Duel. It is too strong!"
Yugen remained silent.
It really was a very anime-style combo. Even though he felt he was starting to grasp the idea of lucky draws and dared to experiment more with his deck, this kind of acrobatic combo still felt hard to adapt to.
"My 'Holy Night Dragon' now has the same ATK as 'The Masked Beast-Death Guardian Mage'. Therefore, I choose to sacrifice Holy Night Dragon's attack, and allow The Masked Beast to attack directly!"
The sorcerer let out a sharp laugh.
"Direct attack with 'The Masked Beast-Death Guardian Mage'. Feel the power of destruction!"
The massive demon lunged forward, its claws coming down toward Yugen's head. The strike was fast and overwhelming.
But in the next moment, something unexpected happened.
Silent Magician suddenly leapt out on her own and stood in front of Yugen. She spread her arms and blocked the demon's claws with her slender body, then burst into golden light and vanished.
"Nani?!!" the sorcerer shouted in shock. "What is going on? Why would a monster jump out to block the attack on its own?"
"Heh, that is the bond between a Duelist and his monster," Yugen said seriously. "The power of bonds can create miracles. Someone like you would never understand."
The sorcerer stared at him in confusion.
What was he even talking about. He suddenly recalled rumors about a Duel King from some unknown world who could talk rules into submission, but his thoughts were cut off when he noticed a Trap Card flipped face-up in the back row.
Trap Card, Earthbound Spirit's Temptation. When the opponent declares an attack, the attack target can be reselected.
"Tch, so you noticed it," Yugen said with a click of his tongue. "That is right. I used the Trap's effect to reselect the attack target of 'The Masked Beast-Death Guardian Mage'.
So the attack target changed from me to Silent Magician. And because of that attack, I lost 1300 Life Points."
Yugen, LP 4000 to LP 2700.