Five magic circles lined up one after another between [Quintet Magician] and Youmi as if locking onto him.
[Quintet Magician] aimed its staff inlaid with a green crystal at the center of those circles, gathered up magical power, and fired a converged cannon-like blast of magic.
"Ho, looks like you'd really hit it off with a certain 'white devil', but this isn't that filming set. I banish [Electromagnetic Turtle] from my Graveyard. This effect can only be used once per Duel—end the Battle Phase!"
The [Electromagnetic Turtle] that had been sent to the Graveyard long ago popped out from Youmi's Duel Disk, and an electromagnetic barrier appeared in front of Youmi, blocking [Quintet Magician]'s converged blast. "All right, please proceed to your Main Phase 2~"
Youmi gave a slight bow, not feeling the slightest sense of danger from the two huge monsters on Yami Yugi's field.
Were they really that much at ease, or just too pumped up?
In her world, there had been plenty of thrilling duels as well, but actually being able to see the cards she controlled and fight such offense-and-defense battles against her opponent with this level of audiovisual impact was enough to set her blood boiling.
"That's Youmi for you. I knew you wouldn't go down that easily. I Set two cards and end my turn."
Yami Yugi Set two more cards, and during the End Phase, retrieved [Joker's Straight] from his Graveyard to return [Queen's Knight] to the Deck.
And Youmi's [Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle] also returned to the field as the effect of [Interdimensional Matter Transporter] ended. Since it wasn't a Normal or Special Summon, [Slifer the Sky Dragon]'s thunder bullet effect did not activate.
Turn 4
"Well then, since you've put on such a spectacular performance, it'd only be right for me to return the favor, wouldn't it?
"Due to the effect of [Reckless Greed], I skip my Draw Phase and go straight to the Standby Phase. Anyway, it looks like you don't have anything to do there, so I'll move on to my Main Phase."
Looking at the card they'd won back in the quarterfinals, Youmi pondered how to claim victory.
As for something like [Self-Destruct Button], that was fine to mess around with during the semifinals seeding, but in a real match, there was no way they'd use such a traitor-prone method.
Better stick with plan A for now.
"I activate the effect of [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] in my hand, reveal this card to my opponent, then add 1 [Mikanko] card other than [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] from my Deck to my hand, afterwards choose 1 card in my hand and discard it.
"I add [Great Mikanko Ceremony] to my hand, then discard [Mikanko Reflection Rondo] from my hand."
Youmi briefly revealed [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] and [Great Mikanko Ceremony] in their hand one after the other, then sent a card from their hand to the Graveyard.
Seeing Youmi add a Quick-Play Spell to hand, Yami Yugi blinked in mild surprise. "So it's also a Ritual Monster whose effect can be activated from the hand. And the card it searched doesn't seem to be a Ritual Spell either. So it's different from my [Black Luster Soldier - Legendary Swordsman]?"
"So you have that card too... Not that it's surprising.
"I activate [Great Mikanko Ceremony] to Special Summon 1 [Mikanko] monster from my hand, ignoring its Summoning conditions. A monster Special Summoned by this effect returns to its owner's hand during the opponent's End Phase."
Youmi Special Summoned [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] from their hand. Because [Slifer the Sky Dragon]'s thunder bullet effect is mandatory, it immediately spat out a thunder bullet that slammed into [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko], but when the smoke cleared, what appeared was a completely unscathed deity with "lemon slices" coiled around her.
"Isn't this the same Deck that wiped out Gansley in an instant?"
Watching from the sidelines as well, Joey voiced his confusion. "Eh? Why wasn't [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] destroyed by [Slifer]'s effect? Its Attack is only 0… shouldn't [Slifer] have blown it to bits on the spot?"
"That's why a nobody is a nobody; you don't even understand something this simple." Kaiba snorted, clearly not intending to actually answer Joey's question. "A monster whose battle damage with 0 Attack is inflicted to the opponent instead—now that's the best way to use [Slifer]."
"Let me be the one to explain." Marik knew full well Kaiba would never bother to go into detail, so he spoke up on his own. "[Slifer the Sky Dragon]'s thunder bullet activates whenever the opponent Normal, Flip, or Special Summons a monster. Depending on its position, that monster's Attack or Defense is reduced by 2000. If this effect makes its Attack or Defense become 0, then that monster is destroyed. So the condition for destruction is that it's [Slifer]'s thunder bullet that reduces its Attack or Defense to 0."
Marik pointed at [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] on Youmi's field. "[Ohime the Manifested Mikanko]'s original Attack and Defense are both 0. Even after being reduced by 2000, they're still 0, so no value actually changed. Naturally, it won't be destroyed by [Slifer]'s effect."
"So that's how it is..."
"I activate [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko]'s effect, targeting 1 Equip Spell in my own Graveyard. I equip that card to 1 appropriate monster on the field. I target [Mikanko Reflection Rondo] and equip it to [Quintet Magician]."
[Mikanko Reflection Rondo] popped out from Youmi's Duel Disk, and Youmi took it in hand. "[Mikanko Reflection Rondo]'s effect states that as long as I control a [Mikanko] monster, I gain control of the equipped monster. Once this effect resolves, [Quintet Magician] will be mine~"
"I have no response."
[Mikanko Reflection Rondo] successfully equipped, and Youmi seized control of [Quintet Magician].
"Battle Phase. I attack [Slifer the Sky Dragon] with [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko]!"
[Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] has the standard [Mikanko] effect where battle damage is inflicted to the opponent instead, so if this attack goes through, Youmi will win the Duel outright.
Yami Yugi watched as [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] swung her "lemon slices" and charged in to strike. He flipped the card he had Set before activating [Card of Sanctity] last turn: "Counter Trap, [Negate Attack]. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, target that attacking monster and activate this card. That attack is negated. After that, end the Battle Phase!"
Since Youmi didn't have [Red Reboot] in hand, they could only watch as [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko], mid‑sprint, suddenly lost all strength and fell to her knees—blocking even [Quintet Magician] and [Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle] from rushing in to fight.
"I see. Looks like the simple brute‑force method won't work. Then it's time for plan B."
Youmi selected a card from their hand like picking out a sheep, glanced toward Yami Yugi, nodded, and murmured to themself, "Twelve cards, huh… Then I'll start with this… I activate [Soul Release], choosing up to 5 cards from both Graveyards combined to banish.
"I choose your [King's Knight], [Jack's Knight], the [Delta the Magnet Warrior] sent by [Joker's Straight], [Dark Burning Magic], and [Secrets of Dark Magic] from the Deck to banish. That removes five cards. But the remaining ones… are a bit annoying…"
When Youmi activated [Soul Release], it wasn't hard for everyone to figure out what Youmi's plan B was.
"She's reducing the Pharaoh's Graveyard count… Don't tell me—?"
Marik, watching, suddenly felt his DNA jolt violently, memories surfacing. He turned to Ishizu with 99% psychological trauma in his eyes, only to see her smiling gently and nodding. "I see. So that was the card Youmi‑nee was allowed to take back under those rules. After replenishing her hand this much, if she pulls it off, the Pharaoh is in trouble."
Checking the remaining components of the Deck, Youmi activated another card: "I activate [Painful Choice], reveal five cards from my Deck. You pick one for me to add to my hand, the rest go to the Graveyard."
"Counter Trap, [Dark Bribe]. I negate and destroy [Painful Choice]. You draw one card from your Deck."
Yami Yugi immediately flipped one of his Set cards—knowing full well how "painful" this [Painful Choice] would be.
"Then I draw one… Oh? I drew it. I activate [Magical Stone Excavation], discard two cards from my hand to target one Spell in my Graveyard and return it to my hand. The Spell I'm taking back is [Soul Release]. The cards I discard as cost are [Executioner - Mashoora] and [Trickstar Reincarnation]."
Seeing Youmi retrieve [Soul Release] again, Yami Yugi was thoroughly puzzled. "To take back [Soul Release] here… What exactly are you planning…?"
He didn't know what Youmi was aiming for, but she undoubtedly had something in mind.
"I activate the effect of [Executioner] in my Graveyard. This turn, I can activate Trap Cards from my hand."
Youmi looked down at the [Exchange of the Spirit] in her hand—fully prepared.
"Chain to [Makyura the Destructor]'s effect— I activate [Mind Crush]. You must declare a card name to activate it. If the declared card is in your opponent's hand, they discard all copies of it. If not, you discard one random card. I declare [Soul Release]! Mind Crush!"
Yami Yugi flipped another Set card—his [Mind Crush], originally prepared for dealing with Kaiba.
"I discard [Soul Release] from my hand. But in that case… I activate [Card Destruction] from my hand. Both players discard their entire hands, then draw the same number of cards from their Decks. I chain to this effect and activate [Exchange of the Spirit]!"
...
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