Yugioh [414-416] (Patreon)

Chapter 414: Great Power Always Comes with Risk

Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Summon!

"Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon attacks 'Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning'!" Kaiba shouted. "Ultimate Burst Stream!!"

All three heads of the Ultimate Dragon opened at once, unleashing a white light like a torrent of destruction.

"At this moment, I activate my set card," Kira declared. "Trap Card: 'Card of Sacrifice'."

If the total ATK of all face-up Attack Position monsters you control is lower than the opponent's weakest monster, you draw two cards from your deck. However, the turn you activate this card, you can't summon monsters or change their battle positions in any way. (Anime effect.)

The real card later added the requirement that you must control at least two monsters, making it much less practical.

"You have only 'Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon' on your field, so it's the weakest monster. Black Luster Soldier's ATK is lower than the Ultimate Dragon's."

Kira drew two cards.

"So I draw two cards."

The Ultimate Dragon's blast swept forth, its terrifying power overwhelming everything. Even the Black Luster Soldier could not withstand it. His shield shattered in half a second under the white light, and he too was consumed, leaving the field.

[Kira, LP 4000 → LP 2500]

Kira raised his arm to shield himself, as blazing energy and a shockwave surged over him.

"As expected from President Kaiba—he's not so easily stopped."

"Wait!" Jaden suddenly realized, "Neo Ultimate Dragon can attack three times in one turn, so that means…"

The field was cleared again, and Kira still had to face two more attacks from the Neo Ultimate Dragon!

Even the Kuriboh could only block one hit; against the Ultimate Dragon's might, it was powerless.

Kaiba swept his hand dramatically.

The evolved dragon had surpassed even that weakling monster, Kuriboh!

 "So, in the end, are you only this kind of duelist!? Is this where you fall!?"

Kaiba threw back his head and shouted.

"Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's direct attack! Ultimate Burst Stream, second strike!"

A world-ending shockwave, the light in the dragon's mouth declaring the end of the duel.

Kira revealed a card from his hand.

"Now, 'Kiteroid' activates," he said. "By discarding this card from my hand, I make one instance of direct attack damage become 0."

The invincible kite appeared, its translucent body forming a barrier. Even the Ultimate Dragon's blast couldn't budge it.

"Then the third strike!" Kaiba roared.

"Kiteroid's second effect activates from the graveyard," Kira said. "While it's in the graveyard, I can make direct attack damage become 0 one more time." (Anime effect.)

One card blocking two hits—now that's what you call a legendary card!

 "Hmph, barely hanging on with continuous defense, huh?" Kaiba sneered.

"Defense isn't just for protection, President. Defense is also a form of attack." Kira smiled. "I haven't forgotten the downside of your dragon."

"Hmph." Kaiba replied coolly, "Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's multi-attack effect can only be used once per duel. After using it, at the end of the Battle Phase, it must destroy itself." (Anime effect.)

As he spoke, the Neo Ultimate Dragon was already shrouded in white light, slowly dissolving into countless specks and fading from the field.

Kiteroid single-handedly took down the Ultimate Dragon—a story to brag about forever.

"I set one card and end my turn," Kaiba said.

"My turn. Draw."

Kira glanced at his drawn card and immediately revealed it.

"Spell Card: Pot of Greed! I draw two more cards."

After replenishing his hand, he promptly played one card.

"I summon 'Breaker the Magical Warrior'!"

[Breaker the Magical Warrior, ATK 1600]

The red-armored warrior landed on the field, sword and shield in hand. As he landed, a magical counter lit up on his shield.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes slightly.

That was another one of his monsters.

The red armor belonged to a monster from Yami's deck, famous for the "Berserker's seven consecutive attacks."

Maybe it was coincidence, but the monsters and strategies Kira used overlapped a lot with Kaiba's memories.

"When Breaker is summoned, it gains a spell counter and his ATK increases by 300," Kira said. "But I'll immediately remove that counter to activate his second effect.

Breaker can remove his counter to destroy any Spell or Trap Card on the field."

Kira pointed to Kaiba's back row, apparently the only card left defending him.

"Destroy that set card."

Breaker swung his sword, a crescent arc of magical energy shooting at Kaiba's field.

"I activate my set card."

Kaiba immediately triggered the targeted card before Breaker's attack landed.

"Trap Card: Waboku. Monsters won't be destroyed by battle this turn, and any battle damage is reduced to 0."

Several blue-robed messengers appeared, chanting and projecting a transparent shield around Kaiba.

The magical blast split the trap in two, but couldn't stop its effect.

Kira: "Then I set two cards and end my turn."

The spectators outside barely dared to breathe.

"Even though the Ultimate Dragon's finishing blow failed, Kaiba had already set up his defense in advance," Zane muttered. "But now, the field is back in Kira's favor."

"Not so fast," Jaden said, still excited. "The next draw could change everything. That's the real charm of dueling!"

"...True."

Zane nodded.

For these two, this was just the beginning.

"My turn! Draw!"

Kaiba swept his hand.

"I set a card.

Then I activate the Spell Card 'Card of Demise'. Draw cards until you have five in hand."

The classic Kaiba draw engine—his hand was instantly refilled.

"But at the start of my fifth turn after this, I must discard my entire hand."

Kira shrugged.

So great power always comes with risk.

In fact, in the original series, this downside was only triggered once, in the Pyramid of Light movie.

That film also finally settled a long-standing debate over this card's effect—whether the five turns included both players or just your own turns.

The movie confirmed it's "your own fifth Standby Phase," so if it counted both, it would be the ninth turn... by then, your graveyard would be overgrown.

"You've at least become a decent duelist over these six months," Kaiba said. "But that's still not enough to satisfy me.

Watch closely, Kira, the real battle begins now!"

Chapter 415: The Ultimate Dragon

"I activate the Spell Card 'The Melody of Awakening Dragon'!"

Kaiba played a card.

"Discard a card to add two monsters with ATK 3000 or more and DEF 2500 or less from my deck to my hand."

Blue data streams flowed into his deck, and two cards popped out.

"From my deck, I add these two cards: 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' and 'Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon'!"

"With 'Parallel World Fusion', all three White Dragons were shuffled back into the deck," Kira commented.

"Alternative White Dragon can be Special Summoned by revealing 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' in hand."

Kaiba slapped a card onto his duel disk.

"By revealing Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand, I summon—now appear!

—Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon!"

A variant of the White Dragon, its transformed, holy body hovered above Kaiba's field, flapping its bony wings and roaring.

[Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon, ATK 3000]

"Alternative White Dragon's effect: once per turn, destroy a monster on the field!" Kaiba yelled. "Destroy Breaker the Magical Warrior!"

Alternative White opened its jaws, gathering brilliant white light, and blasted it out like a shattering storm.

"President Kaiba really doesn't give a single moment to breathe—he's always attacking at full force," Kira muttered.

"If you don't move forward, you're left behind—a weakling who gets eliminated," Kaiba said coldly. "Can you keep up and reach the top, or will you stand still?

Fujiki Kira, prove your worth as a duelist!"

"Alright, if that's how it is…"

Kira slowly raised an arm.

"…I activate my set card.

Continuous Trap: 'Light-Imprisoning Mirror'!

As long as this card is on the field, all effects of LIGHT monsters activated on the field or in the graveyard are negated!"

Zane's eyelid twitched.

It appeared!

"Ah, that trap again!" Mokuba exclaimed.

Also known as the LIGHT-slayer, this trap is deadly against Kaiba's LIGHT-heavy deck. Whether it's VWXZ or the White Dragons, Kaiba's deck, like Yami's, mixes multiple series, but most of his monsters are LIGHT.

The mirror reflected Alternative White Dragon's image; the white light in its jaws faded and disappeared.

"With this, most of Kaiba's monster effects should be sealed. And since its effect has been activated, it can't attack this turn either."

Zane glanced at Kaiba.

Once again, the situation seemed to have reversed…

"So, effect negation, huh? For Blue-Eyes, that's a powerful lockdown. You must think so, right?"

Kaiba's eyes flashed with the spirit of a lion.

"But over the years, Blue-Eyes has evolved beyond that!

I activate the Quick-Play Spell—Ultimate Fusion!"

A cyclone of light and wind swirled above the field, as if tearing the space apart.

"Ultimate Fusion is a Blue-Eyes exclusive fusion spell, usable only in the Main Phase," Kaiba declared. "By shuffling fusion materials from my hand, field, or graveyard back into the deck, I Fusion Summon a Blue-Eyes Fusion Monster!"

A card left Kaiba's graveyard, joined by another in his hand and the Alternative White Dragon on his field.

"The Blue-Eyes I discarded, another in my hand, and Alternative White Dragon (counted as Blue-Eyes White Dragon)—these three Blue-Eyes fuse into one!"

"Light-Imprisoning Mirror only negates activated LIGHT effects; Alternative White Dragon is treated as Blue-Eyes White Dragon by a continuous effect, so the mirror can't stop that," Zane muttered.

Jaden, more fired up than anyone, shouted, "Oh, it's coming! Something amazing is about to appear!"

A triple fusion of the White Dragons—the original and legendary strongest dragon, shining like the brightest star in the sky.

Its body was covered in white scales, blazing with an incandescent glow. Its wings commanded the wind and clouds, radiating pure majesty and power.

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon descends!

[Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, ATK 4500]

"Take the field in your ultimate form!" Kaiba roared. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, as long as 'Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon' is in the graveyard, cannot be affected by any of the opponent's effects!" (Anime effect.)

"Whoa, isn't that invincible!?" Jaden exclaimed.

Even Zane was moved: "This is the so-called strongest dragon in Duel Monsters—Kaiba Seto's Ultimate Dragon."

Kira raised his arm, blocking the radiant dragon, eyes narrowed.

He could feel it—the dragon's power was enough to rival the gods.

To face such a monster and duelist…

 He couldn't help but smile.

Was it his imagination, or did the Millennium Puzzle seem to tremble as the Ultimate Dragon appeared, its godlike pressure descending?

Even the Eye of Horus engraved on the artifact seemed to flash with golden light.

"Even in front of the Ultimate Dragon's strongest form, you're still calm, huh?"

Kaiba smirked, raising his hand.

"Then take this destructive power! Ultimate Fusion also has a follow-up effect—depending on how many Blue-Eyes White Dragons used as material were on the field, I destroy that many cards on the field.

That mirror card can't affect Ultimate Dragon now, but it's still an eyesore.

Destroy 'Light-Imprisoning Mirror'!"

A blazing light bomb dropped, shattering Kira's mirror.

"Now, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's direct attack!"

All three heads opened, unleashing a sky-splitting blast!

 A pillar of white light, hot as the sun's core, divided the sky.

"Kira!" Jaden couldn't help but worry.

An Ultimate Dragon immune to all effects—could Kira handle it?

"I activate the trap 'Half Counter'," Kira said. "When one of my monsters is attacked, its ATK and DEF increase by half the attacking monster's original ATK during damage calculation.

So Breaker's ATK increases by half of Ultimate Dragon's ATK, that's 2250."

[Breaker the Magical Warrior, ATK 1600 → 3850]

Breaker was powered up, but still couldn't withstand the dragon's might. His sword and shield shattered, and he was vaporized by the blast.

[Kira, LP 2500 → LP 1850]

"Hah, Half Counter, a powerful trap. It could've taken out Ultimate Dragon if your monster's original ATK was above 2250, but you had to use it now. Too bad."

Kaiba smirked.

Kira was silent.

True. If his monster's original ATK was over 2250, Half Counter could have turned the tables on Ultimate Dragon.

"This is the strongest power I have now with Blue-Eyes. If you can defeat it, bring it on!"

Chapter 416: The Soul of the Spirit

Kira didn't really get why, but Kaiba seemed to be getting fired up again as the duel progressed.

But the field was getting tense. An ATK 4500, nearly invincible monster. In future meta, it wouldn't be unbeatable, but most decks wouldn't have an answer for it.

In this era, it was absolutely overpowered. Kaiba's deck really could dominate the world.

But even now, it wasn't unsolvable.

Still, with Kira's hand empty and field clear, if he only drew a defensive monster, he couldn't withstand Kaiba's next assault.

Most of his usual traps and counters wouldn't work either. The Ultimate Dragon was immune to almost everything, even god cards.

But that was only natural.

Kaiba Seto is not someone you can beat with just tactics.

To win this duel, Kira had to go one step further.

He closed his eyes, fingers on his deck.

Like Jaden said, don't think about what you'll draw next.

Don't hope for anything, don't fear anything. Don't think—just feel.

Live in the moment, as a duelist. Feel the energy flowing through his deck, the pulse of every card, every spirit.

Kira drew.

He kept his eyes closed the whole time, never even looking at what he drew.

In one smooth motion, without looking, he played the card.

"I activate the Spell Card—

—Card of Sanctity!"

A rainbow shot into the sky, then shattered into seven colors, as the Card of Sanctity's power rained down.

The spectators gasped.

"Did he know what he drew without looking!?"

Mokuba was stunned.

He remembered—it had happened before, with Yugi. Even Kaiba had been amazed.

But Jaden just nodded.

"Of course," Jaden smiled. "A true duelist is connected to his deck by soul. Sometimes, when the feeling is right, you can sense your deck's response without even seeing it."

Jellyfish-head acted as if it was nothing special.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, but couldn't help but smile.

That guy's card—again.

Exactly the same. Exactly.

Back then, he'd cornered Yami the same way, even started celebrating his victory. But just as he was popping the champagne, Yami made an impossible draw—Card of Sanctity.

That's the feeling!

Kaiba's heart roared, the image of his old rival overlapping with the boy before him.

"Both players draw until they have six cards in hand!"

Kaiba drew with him, laughing.

"Hah, you've created a chance for yourself—but can you seize it?"

With today's card effects, even drawing six might not be enough to take down Ultimate Dragon.

But—

As the cards entered his hand, Kira felt it.

A strange energy, as if a new spirit drifted in one of the cards.

Not Black Luster Soldier, not Silent Magician, not any of his usual spirits.

People have said that duelists and monster spirits have mystical bonds. Sometimes a card used for long enough gains its own spirit.

At this moment, he felt the birth of a new spirit—one awakened through countless battles, truly his own.

He smiled.

Here it comes.

"First, I summon this guy," Kira said, showing a monster card. "Grinder Golem."

"Huh? An 8-star monster?!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"But not on my field—on yours, President Kaiba," Kira said. "Grinder Golem can be Special Summoned to the opponent's field by tributing two of their monsters.

And two tokens appear on my field."

[Grinder Token, ATK 0] x2

"Then Grinder Golem is Special Summoned to your field, President."

A vortex appeared, and the monstrous Grinder Golem rose on Kaiba's side, bristling with terrifying spikes.

[Grinder Golem, ATK 3000]

"Whoa, Kira summoned a monster that looks straight-up villainous!" Jaden joked.

The crowd was stunned.

Give your opponent such a strong monster? Why?

This was a GX-era card, but no one back then could have guessed it would someday be banned.

Simple reason: Grinder Golem could spawn tokens on your field and itself on the opponent's, so with Link monsters that bounce monsters back to hand, you could easily fill your field with tokens and gain massive advantage.

But in the early days, no one realized.

Kaiba frowned, suspecting Kira's plan.

"You… don't tell me…"

Kira smiled.

"Your Ultimate Dragon is so strong—this is Kaiba's power.

Now, let me show you my ace—the strongest monster with my soul!"

He revealed a card.

"I tribute your 'Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon' and the 'Grinder Golem' I just summoned to your field!

From the abyss of lava, awakened with the power of destruction and rebirth—

Level 8, Lava Golem!!!"

PS: Sorry Silent Magician but Lava Golem is the true waifu! xD