"I send all three Continuous Trap 'Triangle Barrier' to the graveyard!"
Yugen raised the card in his hand high.
"The Eternal Furnace roars, the burning Prison Flame pierces through the heavens and earth, playing the requiem of the Phantom Demon! Awaken—
—Divine Flame Emperor Uriah!!!"
The dome of the altar was stained blood-red, and all the projections began to shake violently. The three Continuous Traps were twisted into spiral fire pillars by an invisible power, converging into a boiling lava vortex at the center of the field.
Fiery claws tore through the magma as if the flowing lava and obsidian formed the shell of the Divine Dragon. The red dragon covered in scales seemed to break out from Hell, the earth shattered, and its dragon head burst through the curtain of flames, with dark red body covered in lava cracks, its pupils reflecting various forms of burning hell.
The moment Divine Flame Emperor descended, countless flaming meteors seemed to bombard the earth. The dragon wings spread open, and each flapping was accompanied by a chain of explosions.
[Divine Flame Emperor Uriah, Attack Power?]
"Phantom Demon..."
Yusei gritted his teeth, even the Dragon Seal on his hand seemed to feel the threat, faintly burning as it warned.
Clero also said, "This pressure isn't weaker than the Earth-Bound God."
Yusei further recalled that fleeting glimpse of the trump card summoned during the night against Dark Markers Poma with Godwin.
Evil God...
The pressure of that thing was not weaker than this Phantom Demon... No, it even seemed stronger.
How many secrets, how many trump cards does this man hide?
The more you know, the more you realize you seem to see only the tip of the iceberg of this man's power.
"The attack power of Divine Flame Emperor Uriah is determined by the number of Trap Cards in the graveyard," Yugen said, "Now there are three Continuous Trap 'Triangle Barrier' in my graveyard.
Each one increases Divine Flame Emperor's attack power by 1000!"
[Divine Flame Emperor Uriah, Attack Power?→Attack Power 3000]
Clero: "Instantly, it becomes attack power three thousand?"
Yugen said, "Divine Flame Emperor Uriah's effect activates!
Once per turn, destroy all Trap Cards among the opponent's face-up and covered cards!
Trap Destruction!"
Divine Flame Emperor roared, the sound wave from its mouth exploded, sweeping towards Clero's backfield cover card.
"Such strong trap suppression... However, my trap isn't afraid of this move!"
Clero shouted.
"Activate Cover Card, Trap Card 'Black Wing Propulsion'!
When there are two or more 'Black Feather' monsters on your field, draw two cards from the deck!" (Original Card)
Yugen raised an eyebrow.
Black Wing Propulsion, this Physical Card also exists, but with an ultimately weak version. The Physical Card requires excluding two Black Feather Tuners on your field to draw two cards, which isn't lucrative. The original version is clearly much stronger.
"I have 'Black Feather - Armored Wings' and 'Black Feather - Shilock of Dawn' on the field, so I draw two cards!"
Clero drew two cards.
Yugen didn't mind, drawing cards as you wish. But with this, Clero has no backfield.
"Then activate the Field Spell 'Lost Paradise'!"
The night sky was torn apart like wounds, with rusty bronze chains hanging down from it. Eerie black trees surged into the sky, with the trunks full of greening eyes.
Lost Paradise is Phantom Demon's strongest field, with a violent effect allowing controllers to draw two extra cards each turn. The Physical Card even strengthened this, granting Phantom Demons additional resistance in the field that can't be targeted by card effects nor destroyed by effects.
The animation version didn't have this resistance. However, even without the field, animated Phantom Demons inherently had certain resistance.
"The effect of Lost Paradise, once per turn, when a Phantom Demon exists on your field, draw two cards from the deck."
Yugen said.
"I have 'Divine Flame Emperor Uriah' on the field, so I draw two cards from the deck."
"Then, the battle commences, 'Divine Flame Emperor Uriah,' attack 'Black Feather - Shilock of Dawn'!
HyperBreath!"
The mouth of the Divine Flame Emperor opened, the air scorched into distorted ripples, with dazzling red spots lighting up deep in its throat.
The red dragon's cervical spine bones exploded with a lava fountain-like brilliance, shooting out a burning spiral torrent. Like the pure white flash of a supernova birth, the Black Feather Warrior began disintegrating into golden light dust from the fingertips.
"Ugh!"
[Clero/Jack/Yusei, LP12000→ LP11000]
The damage from the team duel swept through indiscriminately among the three, the fierce flames scorching everyone's nerves, making them feel as if their souls were burning.
Clero: "Is this what you called the real damage of the Dark Duel..."
In the original work, Clero once had a Dark Duel with Dark Markers Poma, but Poma was dealt with by Yugen, so Clero is now experiencing firsthand a card game bringing real damage for the first time.
Yusei also looked at the opponent with a complex expression: "Real damage of Dark Duel, Godwin, you really..."
Yusei, known as the "Bond Enthusiast" throughout the Yu-Gi-Oh! series, highly values the bonds and companions, which are also the source of his power. Before this, he truly regarded Godwin as his companion.
And because of this, he was even more reluctant to believe that all of Godwin's previous behavior was just a disguise, merely a schemer always using them for the power of the Evil God.
"Of course." Yugen kept performing, "This is not only a gamble on your lives but also a gamble on the Dark Duel of this world.
Have you forgotten? Upon my victory, the gate to the Netherworld will open, and I will gain the power of the Lord of the Underworld, ruling over this dimension!"
Well, he's bluffing. There is no gate to the Netherworld opening, and no one will die regardless of winning or losing this game.
As for the real damage of the Dark Duel...
It's just an embellishment to increase credibility.
"If you don't want to die, or let this world be buried with you, you better show me some real skill quickly."
Yugen shouted sternly.
"Set one card face-down, the turn ends."
Jack: "Don't get too arrogant, Godwin! Whether you were pretending before, whatever sinister plots, you just need to crush them with enough power!"
To be honest, although Jack is completely straightforward, Yugen doesn't entirely disagree with his concept.
"Well, provided you indeed have that kind of power, that's all."
Yugen smiled slightly, whispering to himself.
"So, Jack Atlas... Do you have that ability?"
Jack: "There are monsters on the opponent's field, but I have no monsters on my field, in this case, I Special Summon 'Evil Dragon' from my hand!"
[Evil Dragon, Attack Power 2000]
Yugen: "?"
He immediately thought to say, wait, you still have 'Black Feather - Armored Wings' on the field, there are clearly monsters...
But then he realized, even in team duel rules, it seems to differ from the past life, the field might not be completely shared.
Like that classic battle of one English warrior against three Lu Bu, Paradox faced three generations of Duel King alone, even during teammates' turns, his monster and backfield cover card effects were still controlled by each respective controller, current turn operator couldn't freely use teammates' cards.
This could be seen as, "When the field is empty, teammate's monsters can protect each other, but teammates can't freely use each other's cards," the field isn't completely shared.
"Alright, such details don't matter."
Yugen shrugged and laughed.
"Then, quickly show me your Tamashi."