"To think even Paradox is using an Xyz Summon… and with two Level 9 monsters at that… what kind of effect does it have?"
Paradox looked proudly at the True King on his field and ended his turn without even Setting a card.
Turn 7
"My turn. Draw."
The moment Yami Yugi drew his card, Paradox immediately activated VFD's effect.
"True King of All Calamities' effect. I detach one Xyz Material and declare one Attribute. Until the end of the turn, all face-up monsters on the field become the declared Attribute, and your monsters of that Attribute cannot activate their effects or attack. This effect can be activated during your turn as well. I declare DARK."
Knowing Yami Yugi's ace was Dark Magician and its many variants, Paradox instantly locked him out. "With this, the monsters on your field can't stand against me. On my next turn, this Duel ends."
VFD crushed the Elemental Grace Doriado used as material, and a dark purple aura spread across the entire field.
"I see. A truly powerful monster. Then I shall answer in kind. I activate the Continuous Spell Dark Magical Circle from my hand. When it activates, I look at the top three cards of my Deck, add a Spell/Trap that lists 'Dark Magician' in its text or a Dark Magician itself to my hand, and return the others to the top of my Deck in any order. I add Dark Magic Twin Burst to my hand."
After adding the anime-original card to his hand, Yami Yugi activated a Ritual Spell:
"I activate Advanced Ritual Art! I send Dark Magician from my Deck to the Graveyard to Ritual Summon Magician of Chaos from my hand. Since Magician of Chaos is treated as Dark Magician while on the field or in the Graveyard, Dark Magical Circle's effect activates—I target True King of All Calamities and banish it!"
With a roar, the True King vanished from the field, and the Magma Neos used as material returned to Jaden's Graveyard.
"You didn't banish Malefic World to destroy Malefic Rainbow Dragon instead?"
Yami Yugi did not answer Paradox's question. He simply Set two cards.
"I Set three cards and end my turn."
Turn 8
"I see. So you finally realize your own helplessness? Once again I activate Malefic World's effect—this time revealing two Malefic Stardust Dragons and one Malefic Paradox Gear from my Deck."
Paradox randomly chose one of the three cards, added it to his hand, and immediately Summoned it.
"I Normal Summon Malefic Paradox Gear and—"
Knowing Malefic Paradox Gear's effect well, Yugi instantly flipped his Set card, Eternal Soul:
"I activate Eternal Soul! Upon your successful Summon, I activate its effect to Special Summon one Dark Magician from my hand or Graveyard. And as long as this card remains in my Spell/Trap Zone, Dark Magician on my field is unaffected by your card effects! I chain Magician of Chaos's effect to destroy Malefic World!"
Two explosions followed—Malefic World shattered under Magician of Chaos's effect, and Malefic Rainbow Dragon self-destructed immediately.
"Then Dark Magical Circle activates—banish the Divine Dragon Token!"
Now, only a single Malefic Paradox Gear with no usable effect remained on Paradox's field.
"Hmph. I banish Malefic Tune from my Graveyard. While it remains in the Graveyard, if a face-up Malefic monster I control is destroyed by anything other than battle, I can banish this card to add one Malefic monster from my Deck to my hand.
"I add Malefic Cyber End Dragon to my hand. Next, I activate Malefic Territory and use it to activate a second Malefic World from my Deck.
"Tch… should've given the original Malefic World some protection. Now, Malefic Paradox Gear tributes itself to Special Summon Malefic Parallel Gear, which searches Malefic Stardust Dragon! Once again—I Synchro Summon!"
Black light exploded upward as Paradox Synchro Summoned once again. A new Malefic Paradox Dragon appeared.
"Malefic Paradox Dragon's effect! Upon Synchro Summon, I Special Summon one Synchro Monster from my Graveyard, ignoring its Summoning conditions! I revive the first Malefic Paradox Dragon that self-destructed earlier due to lack of Malefic World!
"With two Malefic Paradox Dragons present, your monsters lose Attack equal to the combined Attack of all other Synchro Monsters I control—8000 in total! But due to Eternal Soul, Magician of Chaos's Attack remains unchanged."
Paradox then Special Summoned Malefic Cyber End Dragon and entered the Battle Phase.
"Malefic Cyber End Dragon attacks Magician of Chaos—Eternal Evolution Burst!"
[Team Yugi LP: 3000 → 1500]
"Ugh!"
Blasted back by the attack, Yami Yugi hit the ground hard. He pushed himself upright and looked at the cards in his hand, feeling as though he had reached a dead end.
"The first Malefic Paradox Dragon—attack Dark Magician!"
"I discard Kuriboh from my hand to make the battle damage 0!"
He discarded Kuriboh to the Graveyard—but now Yami Yugi had no defenses left.
"The second Malefic Paradox Dragon—direct attack!"
Just as the second Malefic Paradox Dragon readied its breath attack, Youmi suddenly spoke beside Yusei.
"Hey, Yusei, I believe that even if Stardust Dragon's power was stolen, you still wouldn't remove it from your Deck, right? So why not believe in a miracle here?"
As the dragon's breath was about to engulf the four of them, Youmi said calmly, "Believe in the bond between you and Stardust Dragon. Even stripped of its power, it can still protect you. No matter what tricks Paradox uses, he can't sever that connection."
Youmi lifted his hand slightly and pointed at his facedown card—its meaning completely obvious.
"Youmi… don't tell me—"
Yusei's eyes widened at the facedown, then he nodded. "I activate Youmi's facedown! This is—Stardust Re-Spark!
"When an opponent's Special Summoned monster declares a direct attack, if that monster's Attack is greater than my Life Points, I can activate this card. That attack is negated, and I draw one card. Then, I can Special Summon one Stardust monster from my Extra Deck or Graveyard!"
Paradox stared in disbelief as Yusei revealed Youmi's card. "What?! But your Deck… don't tell me?!"
"Even if you stole it from me, I still kept it in my Deck. My partner… Stardust Dragon—even as a blank, powerless card!"
Yusei pulled out the card from his Extra Deck—the blank Synchro Monster stripped of its effect and artwork—and slammed it onto the field.
"Please—lend me your strength! Gathered wishes will become a new shining star! Become the glowing path of light! Synchro Summon—take flight, Stardust Dragon!"
The blank card began to glow—text and artwork reappearing as Stardust Dragon revived. At the same time, Malefic Paradox Dragon's attack was forced back into its maw, and the revived Stardust Dragon soared, spreading its wings upon Yusei's field.
Meanwhile, Paradox watched as the stolen Stardust Dragon in his own Extra Deck began to fade from existence.
"This… impossible! Even if you've reclaimed Stardust Dragon, it's only a temporary reprieve! Next turn, Malefic Paradox Dragon's effect applies—your Stardust Dragon will have 0 Attack, utterly useless! …Wait—Eternal Soul and Dark Magical Circle…!"
He finally remembered how his previous Malefic World was destroyed. If next turn Eternal Soul Special Summoned Magician of Chaos (treated as Dark Magician), Dark Magical Circle could banish Malefic Territory, and any Spell could break Malefic World again—his whole field would be wiped.
Still, if it's only Stardust Dragon…
Turn 9
"My turn!"
Yusei placed his hand on the top of his Deck. All four Duelists were running on empty—if they couldn't win this turn, Paradox would finish them next turn for sure.
"Lend me your strength—Stardust Dragon! Everyone!"
The Signer Mark on Yusei's arm glowed brilliantly. He drew his top card and immediately Normal Summoned it.
"I Normal Summon the Tuner monster, Majestic Dragon!"
The pink little dragon twirled through the air, landing beside Stardust Dragon.
Meeting Yusei's gaze, Yami Yugi activated his effect card: "I activate Eternal Soul! I Special Summon Magician of Chaos from my Graveyard, triggering Dark Magical Circle to banish Malefic Territory!"
"I activate Level Eater's effect in the Graveyard! I reduce Magician of Chaos by one Level to Special Summon it! Then, I tune the Level 1 Majestic Dragon with the Level 1 Level Eater and the Level 8 Stardust Dragon! Gathered starlight will illuminate a new miracle—become the shining path! Synchro Summon—Majestic Star Dragon!"
Bathed in the radiance of salvation, Stardust Dragon transformed into its evolved form. Immediately, Yami Yugi flipped another facedown.
"I choose one monster on my field—its Attack is doubled until the end of this turn! During this turn, my Dark Magician cannot attack. I choose Majestic Star Dragon!"
[Majestic Star Dragon, ATK: 3800 → 7600]
"Also, Magician of Chaos activates! I destroy Malefic World! Without it, all your Malefic monsters are destroyed!"
Paradox's LP was 7700—but Magician of Chaos couldn't attack this turn. He still had a chance.
"Now's the time, Yusei! Use my facedown~!"
Jaden clenched his fist excitedly.
"Understood, Jaden! I activate your facedown. This is… Gift of the Martyr! I send one monster I control to the Graveyard—then I choose one monster I control. The chosen monster gains Attack equal to the Attack of the monster sent, until the end of this turn.
"I send Yugi's Magician of Chaos to the Graveyard to increase Majestic Star Dragon's Attack by 2500! Now—Majestic Star Dragon attacks directly with 9100 Attack! Shooting Sonic Boom!"
"So I really was too arrogant after all?!!!"
The Majestic dragon folded its wings, turning into a streak of blue radiance that shot straight into Paradox. Both he and his D-Wheel crashed violently into the ground.
[Paradox, LP: 7700 → 0]
...
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