"Using the power of [The Winged Dragon of Ra] to save your own life, benefiting yourself at others' expense—that's certainly your style, Marik." Hayato sneered, raising his hand to point at the weakened [The Winged Dragon of Ra] on Marik's Field. "Then, I'll use [Armed Dragon Thunder LV10] to Attack the [The Winged Dragon of Ra] on your Field whose ATK has become 0!"
"Fool, if you can do it, then just try! [The Winged Dragon of Ra]'s true terror will only be revealed once it enters the Graveyard!" Marik didn't care at all about Hayato's plan to Destroy his [The Winged Dragon of Ra]. "However, since you're going to Send it to the Graveyard, I might as well make the most of [The Winged Dragon of Ra]."
"I Activate my Set Card in the Back Row, [Card of Last Will]!"
Above Marik's head, the completely powerless [The Winged Dragon of Ra] watched in despair as [Armed Dragon Thunder LV10], covered in dangerous lightning, approached it, as if seeking revenge for almost being Destroyed last Turn. Marik's Set Card Activated, and what the overjoyed [The Winged Dragon of Ra] waited for was not support, but being Tributed and Sent to the Graveyard.
"Although Gods are not affected by Trap Card Effects, the Effect of [Card of Last Will] is to Tribute one Monster to Activate its Effect. Even a God cannot completely circumvent the Rules." Marik felt no guilt about using [The Winged Dragon of Ra] again. After Sending it to the Graveyard, he drew a Card with a red border. "I add [Slifer the Sky Dragon] from my Graveyard, which has the same Type, Attribute, and Level as [The Winged Dragon of Ra], to my Hand."
"You actually Tributed a God?" Hayato recalled the despairing look [The Winged Dragon of Ra] gave him when it was Sent to the Graveyard just now. "Duel Monsters Cards are inhabited by spirits. I think you should know that, Marik."
"But knowing this, you still treat all your Cards as mere tools, even squeezing out their last bit of value. You are truly unforgivable, Marik!"
Facing Hayato's rebuke, Marik retorted, "So what!"
"My goal is to become the Pharaoh, to become a God who transcends all living beings, a true God! The Three Egyptian God Cards are merely tools in the hands of the Pharaoh. For me, who is destined to become the Pharaoh, it is only natural to command them and squeeze out their value!"
"Marik..." Ishizu Ishtar looked at Marik, who had spoken such blasphemous words, and didn't know what to say.
"Roar!" Hayato had no more words to retort to Marik. All he could do was command [Armed Dragon Thunder] with a gloomy face to continue the Attack that had been rolled back.
[Marik: 5100 → 100 LP]
"That's right, just like this, this pain!" Marik hunched over in intense pain, tilting his head and staring fixedly at Hayato with one eye. "Next Turn, I will immediately return this pain to you, Hayato!"
"My Turn ends." Looking at the frantic Marik, Hayato frowned and ended his Turn.
No matter how he looked at it, this should be his advantageous Turn. What made Marik so confident that he could Defeat him next Turn?
He knew that Marik only had one [Golden Ladybug] in his Hand, and the [Slifer the Sky Dragon] he just retrieved from the Graveyard by Sacrificing [The Winged Dragon of Ra]. Even if he could Summon [Slifer the Sky Dragon] without Tributes, its ATK would only be 1000 due to the number of Cards in his Hand. What could it possibly do?
[Hayato: 1900 LP, Hand 0]
[Armed Dragon Thunder LV10] [ATK 5000]
[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca] [ATK 1]
[Ojama Pajama Party] [Set Card] [Set Card]
Field: [Mausoleum of the Emperor]
"Then, it's my Turn!" Placing his fingers on top of his Deck but not Drawing Cards immediately, Marik widened his eyes and muttered, "I see it, I see the arrival of victory!"
"I reveal [Golden Ladybug] from my Hand to Recover Life Points, then I Activate this Card, [Card of Demise]!"
[Marik: 100 → 600 LP]
"The Duel has progressed this far, and both of our Hands are pretty much depleted, right?" Marik grinned sinisterly, Drawing four Cards from his Deck. "Draw your Cards, King of Games, and enjoy the last Turn of your life!"
"Since my Hand is 0, I Draw six Cards." Hayato Drew six Cards and immediately saw [Rainbow Kuriboh] among them. [Rainbow Kuriboh], which had saved him countless times in the past, appeared now but failed to bring Hayato a sense of security.
If he wasn't mistaken, Marik was very likely going to gather Tributes to Summon a God in a single Turn again. Facing a God's ability to "negate the Effects of all Monsters whose Level is not higher than the God's," [Rainbow Kuriboh] would probably be difficult to use this time.
"Due to [Card of Demise] just now, I added these two Monsters to my Hand." Drawing two Cards from his Hand, Marik revealed them. "[Marshmallon]. When it is added to my Hand by a Card Effect, I can Special Summon it to the Field."
"Then, I Activate the Spell Card [Magical Stone Excavation]. By Discarding two Cards from my Hand, I retrieve a used Spell Card from my Graveyard. The Card I choose is—" Sending the rest of his Hand, including [Golden Ladybug], to the Graveyard, Marik was left with only [Slifer the Sky Dragon] in his Hand. He Drew a Card from the Graveyard that he had just Sent there, and revealed it with a smile.
"—The answer is, the second Activated [Card of Demise]!"
Just now, due to the Effect of [Card of Demise], Hayato's Hand was replenished to 6 Cards, but Marik, with the second Activated [Card of Demise], actually replenished his Hand again, and this time, he also Drew a [Marshmallon].
"I Activate the Effect of [Armed Dragon Thunder LV10]!" Before the Effect of [Card of Demise] resolved, Hayato promptly Activated the Monster Effect. "By Discarding one Card from my Hand, I Destroy one [Marshmallon] on your Field!"
[Armed Dragon Thunder LV10] [5000/0 → 6000/0]
"Heh heh, you think Destroying one Monster can hinder the descent of a God?" Marik looked at Hayato, who took the opportunity to Send [Rainbow Kuriboh] to the Graveyard and Drew another Card by riding the coattails of [Card of Demise], and played a Card from his Hand triumphantly. "[Card of Safe Return] Activate! Each time a Monster in either player's Graveyard is Special Summoned, I can Draw three Cards!"
"Then I Activate [Silent Doom]! I Special Summon one Normal Monster from my Graveyard in Defense Position!"
"Revive [Yowie]! Then, because of [Card of Safe Return], I Draw three Cards!"
"Finally, the Effect of [Pot of Greed]! I Draw two Cards from my Deck."
After a series of Drawing Cards, Marik's originally extra-thick Deck was reduced to a thin layer of less than ten Cards due to his continuous Drawing. In exchange, his Hand count now reached seven.
"There are three Tributes on the Field. Descend once more, [Slifer the Sky Dragon]!" Holding six Cards in his Hand, Marik raised the [Slifer the Sky Dragon] Card above his head.
Amidst lightning and thunder, the figure of [Slifer the Sky Dragon] appeared in the sky for the second time. Its golden eyes glared fiercely at Marik, who had just Tributed it. [Slifer the Sky Dragon], compelled by the Rules, reluctantly let out a roar towards Hayato's direction.
[Slifer the Sky Dragon] [ATK 6000]
"The God has descended again..." Hayato looked at the second appearance of [Slifer the Sky Dragon] and snorted coldly. "You spent so many resources just to Summon a God, but Marik, [Armed Dragon Thunder] on my Field has been accumulating Energy over these past few Turns."
Marik's gaze shifted to [Armed Dragon Thunder] on Hayato's Field. In the Turn it was Summoned, due to the Thunder Force of [Slifer the Sky Dragon] present at the time, [Armed Dragon Thunder] was almost directly Destroyed. Even though it Survived due to the Effect of [Ojama Pajama Party], its DEF was reduced to only 0.
However, after several Turns of growth, the ATK of the current [Armed Dragon Thunder] had reached a height of 6000 points. Even with Marik having six Cards in his Hand now, the ATK of [Slifer the Sky Dragon] was only equal to it.
"Are you trying to tell me that mortals can stand shoulder to shoulder with Gods as long as they work hard?" Marik narrowed his eyes, then laughed. He used his [Millennium Rod] to prop himself up. "The Power of a God is absolute. Your Monster was once suppressed by a God, so no matter how strong you become now, you still cannot escape the Destiny of being suppressed by a God!"
"I Activate the Spell Card, [The Force]! I halve the ATK of your [Armed Dragon Thunder] on the Field, and then increase the ATK of my [Slifer the Sky Dragon] on the Field!"
An invisible wave connected [Armed Dragon Thunder] on Hayato's Field with Marik's [Slifer the Sky Dragon]. Watching the ATK of [Armed Dragon Thunder] continuously decrease and the ATK of [Slifer the Sky Dragon] continuously increase, Hayato couldn't help but recall his first Duel after arriving in the world of [Yu-Gi-Oh!].
At that time, he used Yugi's Monster, [Gaia The Fierce Knight], equipped with [Dragon Killer Sword]. Then Yugi used that very Card, [The Force], to decrease the ATK of his [Gaia The Fierce Knight] and increase the ATK of [Summoned Skull], turning the tables on him.
[Armed Dragon Thunder LV10] [6000/0 → 3000/0]
[Slifer the Sky Dragon] [6000/6000 → 8000/5000]
"This is the final blow, Hayato! [Slifer the Sky Dragon], Attack [Armed Dragon Thunder]! Superconductive Wave - Thunder Force!"
A whopping 5000 points of Damage! Let's see how you can block this move!
Marik looked at Hayato, trying to see expressions like "fear," "disbelief," or "unable to accept" on his face.
But he was disappointed. Facing the terrifying ATK of [Slifer the Sky Dragon] that surpassed everything, Hayato raised his lowered head and revealed a smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Marik, if you had used other Cards, maybe I really would have been helpless. But this Card, [The Force]... I don't want to lose to it!" Hayato smiled and flipped open the Card he had Set on the Field very early on. "Trap Card Activate!"
"Traps are ineffective against Gods!"
Marik said fiercely, but Hayato replied with a cold snort, "I didn't say my Trap Card was targeting a God. Trap Card, [Armed Dragon Lightning]!"
Facing the giant lightning cannon spat out by the Divine Dragon in the sky, [Armed Dragon Thunder], stripped of half its Power by [The Force], struggled to puff out its chest. It almost exerted its Full Power, squeezing out as much Power as possible from its body to meet the Attack.
But how could a mortal thing contend with a God? Especially when the God also possessed the Power it had stripped away.
Facing a 5000-point ATK difference, [Armed Dragon Thunder] met the Attack without fear.
And at this moment, as Hayato's Set Card Activated, several Dragon Roars echoed in its ears.
Behind [Armed Dragon Thunder LV10], a trace of strange yet familiar electric current surged into its body. Looking back, it was astonished to find several illusory Giant Dragon shadows surrounding it.
"That Set Card is!" Marik suddenly remembered that when Hayato Summoned [Armed Dragon Thunder LV10], he seemed to have used the Effect of the Tributed [Armed Dragon Thunder LV7] to add an [Armed Dragon] Card from his Deck to his Hand. It seemed to be the very Card he just Activated!
"[Armed Dragon Lightning] can only be Activated by targeting one [Armed Dragon] Monster on my Field." Hayato explained unhurriedly. "Every type of [Armed Dragon] Monster sleeping in my Graveyard will become a source of Power for [Armed Dragon Thunder LV10] because of this."
The illusory shadows around [Armed Dragon Thunder LV10] gradually became clearer, but in the instant they fully revealed themselves, they turned into electric light and surged into the body of [Armed Dragon Thunder LV10].
[Armed Dragon LV3], [Armed Dragon LV5], [Armed Dragon LV7], [Armed Dragon Thunder LV7], [Armed Dragon LV10]—a total of five [Armed Dragon] Monsters all turned into lightning and surged into the body of [Armed Dragon Thunder LV10]. Its lost Power was replenished, and it even became stronger!
[Armed Dragon Thunder LV10] [3000/0 → 8000/0]
"Its ATK is equal to the God's again? This is bad!" Marik watched in astonishment as the ATK of [Armed Dragon Thunder] soared, suddenly remembering that this Monster had the Effect of "cannot be Destroyed by Battle"!
Its ATK is equal to [Slifer the Sky Dragon]'s, and it cannot be Destroyed by Battle. In other words, [Slifer the Sky Dragon]'s Attack cannot even result in a mutual Destruction!?
"Gather myriad thunder unto yourself, declare our Power to the God, and strike back, [Armed Dragon Thunder]!" Hayato looked at [Armed Dragon Thunder] standing in front of him and roared, "Fulminate Mercury - Crimson Thunder Control!!!"
Massive amounts of lightning wildly pulsed on the surface of [Armed Dragon Thunder]'s body. Facing the Attack descended by the God, [Armed Dragon Thunder] gathered all the lightning together. The color of the lightning evolved from the initial bright yellow to sky blue, and finally compressed into a beam of red-black liquid plasma, which it hurled towards [Slifer the Sky Dragon]'s Superconductive Wave - Thunder Force.
A powerful energy collision occurred. An 8000 ATK versus 8000 ATK clash is not like low-level Battles where they cancel each other out. The sheer Power brought about an Explosion that swept across the entire Field.
[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca] also knew this was no time to slack off and quickly shielded the onlookers, Ishizu and Rishid, with its wings, deflecting some of the Explosion's impact for them.
Meanwhile, [Armed Dragon Thunder] faithfully guarded Hayato. It unleashed all the violent lightning in one go, but besides the lightning, its physical body was also a powerful weapon.
The nuclear-like shockwave shattered the [Mausoleum of the Emperor] beneath their feet even further. If he didn't know that Battles wouldn't Destroy Field Spell Cards, Hayato would even doubt if [Mausoleum of the Emperor] could still be used.
The smoke and dust gradually dissipated. [Slifer the Sky Dragon], which had clashed with [Armed Dragon Thunder], disappeared from Marik's Field. Marik had no Monster to help him block the Damage, so he was directly blown away by the impact just now and fell onto the ground on his back.
Hayato looked at the fallen Marik and was about to mock him for having two Gods but neither appeared to protect him when he was Attacked, but then his expression changed as he looked at Marik's Life Points.
[Marik: 600 → 8600 LP]
His gaze shifted to Marik's Spell & Trap Zone, and Hayato instantly found the reason for his Life Points skyrocketing so much.
[Mystical Wok]
Getting up from the ground, Marik, completely unharmed, felt the powerful energy he had absorbed from [Slifer the Sky Dragon] and showed a triumphant smile on his face. "This Combo is quite impressive, isn't it? Speaking of which, I have you to thank, Hayato."
"In your countless Duel records from the past, the Card [Mystical Wok] appeared more than once. It was a great help," Marik said with a sinister grin. "To use your words, perhaps it would be—"
"Rather than letting [Slifer the Sky Dragon] and [Armed Dragon Thunder] destroy each other, I might as well stir-fry it and eat it."
"My Battle Phase ends, and then, I enter Main Phase 2." After speaking, ignoring Hayato, Marik looked at the five Cards remaining in his Hand. "First is this Card, [Soul Release]. I can choose a total of five Cards from both Graveyards and banish them."
"I will banish all those troublesome [Ojama] Monsters from your Graveyard!"
Under the Effect of [Soul Release], [Ojama Yellow], [Ojama Black], [Ojama Green], and [Ojama King], as well as [Armed Dragon LV3], were banished from the Graveyard.
Marik continued, "Then, I Activate the Effect of [Monster Reborn]! From my Graveyard, I Revive [The Winged Dragon of Ra]!"
The Ankh rune shone, and the golden [The Winged Dragon of Ra] reappeared on Marik's Field. However, this time there were no Tributes to provide it with Power, so [The Winged Dragon of Ra]'s ATK was only 0.
"Just as I said before, [The Winged Dragon of Ra]'s Power is only fully manifested when it reaches the Graveyard." Marik's Life Points, which he had just gained from [Slifer the Sky Dragon], dropped by 1000 points. In exchange, [The Winged Dragon of Ra]'s Power became abundant again, and its body ignited with Flames. "In the Turn it is Special Summoned, I pay 1000 Life Points to Activate its Effect!"
"I Send all Monsters on your Field to the Graveyard! Go, [The Winged Dragon of Ra]! Immortal Phoenix!"
The original 3K, plus the one I owed from yesterday, I combined them into one. This chapter is 5K.
Then, I will update one chapter tomorrow. There will be another chapter later, and this Duel will be finished directly.
Soon, Duelist Kingdom hasn't actually started yet.
(End of this chapter)