"Then I'll take the first move, Yugi! Draw!"
With a triumphant declaration right from the start, Kaiba drew a card from his Duel Disk.
"I summon the monster card Familiar Knight in Defense Position!"
[Familiar Knight ★★★ (Level 3)] [Dark] [Warrior/Effect] [ATK 1200 / DEF 1400]
A knight clad in silver-white armor raised his square-shaped shield as he materialized on Kaiba's field, taking a half-kneeling defensive stance.
"Then, I set one card face-down and end my turn!"
[Kaiba: 4 Hand Cards | 1 Set Card]
"My turn—draw! I summon the monster card [Queen's Knight] in Attack Position!"
[Queen's Knight ★★★★ (Level 4)] [Light] [Warrior] [ATK 1500 / DEF 1600]
Taking his turn, Yugi placed Queen's Knight onto his Duel Disk—a monster whose attack power exceeded Familiar Knight's defense by exactly 100 points.
"Attack, Queen's Knight! Royal Strike!"
The queen, clad in armor, swung her sword, sending a shockwave that effortlessly cleaved through Kaiba's monster.
[Familiar Knight destroyed]
"—Familiar Knight's effect activates! When this card is destroyed by battle, both players can Special Summon a Level 4 monster from their hand!"
Taking the place of the fallen Familiar Knight, Kaiba slapped a card onto his Duel Disk.
"Special Summon—[Rare Metal Dragon]!"
[Rare Metal Dragon ★★★★ (Level 4)] [Dark] [Dragon/Effect] [ATK 2400 / DEF 1200]
[This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set.]
A dragon with a body shimmering in metallic light materialized on Kaiba's field. With 2400 attack points, it rivaled the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
Jonouchi gasped in disbelief. "A Level 4 monster with 2400 ATK?! That's insane!"
Hoshino analyzed calmly, "No, Rare Metal Dragon can't be Normal Summoned. In other words, Kaiba deliberately let Familiar Knight be destroyed just to Special Summon this card from his hand."
"Since that effect lets both players Special Summon a monster, I'll take advantage of it too, Kaiba!"
Yugi followed suit, placing another Level 4 monster onto his Duel Disk. A golden-armored knight materialized, standing proudly beside the pink-armored Queen's Knight in perfect harmony.
"I Special Summon King's Knight from my hand! And now, I activate its effect—to Special Summon Jack's Knight from my Deck!"
[King's Knight ★★★★ (Level 4)] [Light] [Warrior/Effect] [ATK 1600 / DEF 1400]
[Jack's Knight ★★★★★ (Level 5)] [Light] [Warrior] [ATK 1900 / DEF 1000]
Jack, Queen, and King—the three Knights had assembled on Yugi's field during the first turn, forming an imposing formation to rival Kaiba's Rare Metal Dragon.
—Outside Kaiba Land—
"The two are evenly matched! As expected from the top duelists who gave us that spectacular show during Battle City!"
Somehow, a self-proclaimed 'professional commentator' had appeared in front of the giant screen, enthusiastically narrating the duel for the growing crowd.
"Don't be fooled by Kaiba Seto's Rare Metal Dragon's high attack power! Right now, Yugi Muto has already assembled the tributes needed to summon a God Card! If he draws a Divine Beast next turn, this duel could end in just two turns—an absolute victory! Trust me, I'm a professional!"
Whether or not the commentator was actually a professional was debatable—but his ability to hype up the crowd was undeniable. Within moments, the onlookers burst into heated discussion.
"Looks like Kaiba's going to lose to Yugi again."
"I knew Yugi was the strongest duelist! He might even surpass the Duel King!"
"The Duel King also has a God Card. And that black sphere-like one looks way more terrifying—it even beat The Winged Dragon of Ra!"
While the crowd debated the duel's outcome, an important figure anxiously pushed through the sea of people.
"I set one card face-down and end my turn!"
[Yugi: 3 Hand Cards | 1 Set Card]
"My turn—draw! I summon Peten the Dark Clown in Defense Position!"
[Peten the Dark Clown ★★★ (Level 3)] [Dark] [Spellcaster/Effect] [ATK 500 / DEF 1200]
A jester-like spellcaster appeared, crouching playfully on Kaiba's field.
"I end my turn!"
"?!"
Yugi's eyes narrowed. Despite having a 2400 ATK Rare Metal Dragon on the field, Kaiba had voluntarily ended his turn without attacking.
"Did he see through my Set card…?"
Yugi instinctively glanced at his face-down trap: Mirror Force—a card placed to protect his Knights by reflecting Kaiba's attack back at him.
Hoshino sensed something was off. "This isn't Kaiba's usual aggressive style… He must be planning something."
"My turn…"
As Yugi's fingers touched his Deck, he felt that familiar, overwhelming force course through his fingertips. The sensation made him unconsciously smirk with confidence.
"I never expected to draw it on my second turn… Draw! Slifer the Sky Dragon!!"
Mokuba panicked. "Brother's in danger! Yugi drew a God Card on the second turn!"
Lightning crackled in the sky. The energy of Yugi's Jack, Queen, and King Knights surged into the storm above—fueling the descent of an ancient deity.
"The sky rumbles with thunder and chaos, linking to the ancient magical tome of infinite power! I offer my three knights as tribute to Tribute Summon—Slifer the Sky Dragon!"
[Slifer the Sky Dragon ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)] [DIVINE] [Divine-Beast/Effect] [ATK ??? / DEF ???]
The colossal sky dragon, crimson like flames, roared as it crackled with lightning above the Pharaoh's head.
"Slifer's attack power is equal to the number of cards in my hand times 1000—and I currently have three cards in hand!"
[Slifer the Sky Dragon ATK 3000]
"—Slifer's ultimate move! Thunderforce!!"
Even though Rare Metal Dragon had considerable attack power, it was still insignificant before the might of a god. A blinding lightning cannon pierced straight through the dragon's metallic armor.
[Rare Metal Dragon destroyed]
[Seto Kaiba LP 4000 → 3400]
"Kaiba, summoning a god on the second turn—the outcome of this duel is already decided!"
To preserve both his hand size and Slifer's attack power, Yugi chose not to play any additional cards and ended his turn.
"Hmph, hmph... So you've finally summoned a god, huh? Do you know how long I've been waiting for this moment, Yugi?!"
Kaiba chuckled coldly, utterly unfazed by the oppressive aura of the divine beast before him. In fact, his arrogance only grew more pronounced.
"My turn—draw! I activate the Spell Card Obligatory Summon!"
[Obligatory Summon – Spell Card
Effect: Select one face-up monster on your opponent's field. Your opponent must Special Summon as many monsters from their Deck as possible with the same Attribute as the selected monster.](Anime exclusive Card)
"I choose your Slifer the Sky Dragon! Thanks to my Spell Card's effect, Yugi, you must now Special Summon as many monsters from your Deck as possible with the same Attribute as Slifer!"
"Wait a minute!" Hoshino, puzzled, was completely thrown off by Kaiba's strategy. "Obligatory Summon forces Special Summons based on Attribute… but Slifer's Attribute is 'Divine'!"
Kaiba spread his arms dramatically and declared, "That's right, Yugi! Summon all of your gods—let the three Egyptian Gods gather on this battlefield of destiny!"
Jonouchi was equally stunned. "Has Kaiba lost his mind?! Facing all three gods at once—does he plan to just give up?!"
"Kaiba, you…" Yugi furrowed his brows. Kaiba's dueling style had always been aggressive, but never reckless. Forcing the Special Summon of all three Egyptian Gods was a move so unorthodox, it only deepened Yugi's sense of unease.
"Then, as you wish—come forth, gods! Obelisk the Tormentor! The Winged Dragon of Ra!"
[Obelisk the Tormentor ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)] [DIVINE] [Divine-Beast/Effect] [ATK 4000 / DEF 4000]
[Winged Dragon of Ra ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)] [DIVINE] [Divine-Beast/Effect] [ATK ??? / DEF ???]
For the first time in history, the true Egyptian Gods stood together on the battlefield. Although Marik had once summoned three gods simultaneously, his versions had only been imperfect copies.
The divine pressure of the authentic gods—embodying the sun, the earth, and thunder—was so overwhelming, it made it difficult to even breathe.
Honda scoffed. "All three gods are out—this duel's basically over. Looks like Kaiba really is using this as a publicity stunt for his company, forcing the Egyptian Gods into play just to make a spectacle."
Mokuba snapped back, "My brother would never do something like that! When it comes to dueling, he's always serious—he gives it everything he's got!"
At that moment, a familiar figure burst past the security guards, rushing into KaibaLand in a panic.
"This is bad, Yugi-boy! He's already summoned all three gods?!"
That unmistakable voice, laced with a strange accent, belonged to none other than the creator of Duel Monsters—Maximillion Pegasus.
"Pegasus?! What are you doing here?" Hoshino, momentarily stunned, hadn't expected to run into the final boss of Duelist Kingdom in a place like this—not after all this time.
"Hoshino-girl?" Pegasus paused briefly, noting Hoshino's tan complexion. "It's been two months, but you've changed quite a bit—very big, I must say. But knowing you're here puts me a little more at ease."
His signature 'construction-site English' was as nostalgic as ever—odd-sounding, yet still understandable.
Seeing the concern on Pegasus's face, Hoshino pressed him. "So, Pegasus—when you said this is bad, were you talking about Yugi summoning all three Egyptian Gods?"
"No! It's the cards Kaiba-boy took from me! The only card I ever created to counter the gods was Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon—but Kaiba-boy took two cards from me!"
"What was the other one?!"
Pegasus's expression darkened with fear. "A card that must never be used—The Pyramid of Light!"
"Pyramid of Light?!" Hoshino gasped.
The two key details that Da Vinci had revealed to her through Ruby—the name Seto Kaiba and the Pyramid of Light—were now aligning before her eyes.
"—I activate the Continuous Trap Pyramid of Light!"
"Mmpf—Pegasus, you got here too late!"
(*****)
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