"Silent Burning!"
A sphere of magical light blasted from the staff, roaring straight toward The D.
The D. snorted heavily. "So you're attacking anyway. Hah, that's a king's confidence, I guess? The confidence that no matter what formation I set up, your power can simply steamroll it.
But it won't be that easy."
He raised his hand and shouted:
"Activate set card: Trap Card 'Mirror Force'! When an opponent's monster declares an attack, destroy all Attack Position monsters on your opponent's field!"
As his words fell, not only did power surge from the Mirror Force itself, but a shocking energy burst forth from his body as well.
Kira's brow knit slightly.
He recognized it: the power of light, and a remarkably strong light at that.
That was unexpected. In his memory, in the original storyline, the Light of Destruction had already left The D.'s body and the card "Destiny HERO – Plasma," possessing Sartorius instead.
The D. still had remnants of the Light of Destruction within him, which gave him a dark persona like Sartorius's and power beyond reason—the broadcast cut at the World Championship and the arena explosion were caused by that power—but what remained should have been minimal, not enough to worry about.
Yet now the light he felt was clearly abundant, nothing like a mere remnant after the Light of Destruction's departure.
So Kira thought a moment and asked directly, "So the Light of Destruction never left you?"
"Oh?"
The D. looked mildly surprised.
"You seem to know quite a bit, Duel King. Heh, indeed. Back then, I did gain the power of light. But afterward, the light left me for a time to seek a new host. What I had was only a remnant…"
He lowered his head, his eyes hidden again behind the glare on his lenses, but his laugh grew eerier.
"But now, I have regained the light's guidance! The light has chosen me once more, and I'm stronger than ever!"
"So it chose you again—did someone approach you and restore your light waves? Let me guess," Kira asked. "Mello, was it?"
"Well now, was it or wasn't it?"
The D. pushed his glasses and sneered.
"Worry about surviving the present crisis first.
Mirror Force's power—your entire lineup of aces is going to be wiped in one go!"
It was as if the violent light-wave within him gathered into a hemispherical shield of white light. The Silent Magician's full-powered strike slammed into that barrier and rebounded fiercely.
The rebounding white light converged midair into a massive demonic silhouette. It bared its fangs and let out an indistinct roar, claws of white light raised high, crashing down toward Kira's field like thunder.
But of course, Kira had prepared for traps.
"Activate Ryu Senshi's effect."
Kira commanded.
"As long as Ryu Senshi is on the field, by paying 1000 Life Points, negate the effect of a Trap."
[Kira, LP 4000 → LP 3000]
The D.'s face finally shifted, and his earlier doubts were resolved. "So that's it—a trap-countering method. No wonder you summoned that monster even at the cost of lowering your Attack."
"Ryu Senshi, negate the effect of 'Mirror Force.'"
At Kira's order, Ryu Senshi drew his sword. Two-handed on the hilt, he seemed to gather strength; a translucent dragon spirit wrapped around the blade, like the dragon's very soul.
With a single slash, the dragon spirit shot forth like an arrow, straight at the shattering white light in the sky.
"An attack the strongest shield can't block—worthy of a king's strike. However…"
The D. shouted:
"Back then I stood at the world's summit, and now that I've once again been blessed by the light, I have surpassed the summit!
Activate set card: Quick-Play Spell 'Effect Shut'! When an Effect Monster's effect activates, negate that activation and destroy that monster!" (Anime card)
The second set card flipped. A beam of magical energy, like a flying arrow, shot toward the dragon soul cleaved by Ryu Senshi.
"Ryu Senshi can only negate traps, and Effect Shut is a Spell—Ryu Senshi can't counter it!"
The D. barked.
"Ryu Senshi's effect is negated by Effect Shut, Mirror Force goes through, your monsters are still all getting wiped!"
He let out a sinister, triumphant chuckle.
"What a pity. Looks like the power of light wins out after all."
"Not necessarily," Kira said. "'Silent Magician,' effect activate.
Once per turn, when a Spell Card is activated, negate that activation."
"NANI?"
Startled, The D. turned sharply toward the Silent Magician.
There's another ace?
The Silent Magician silently incanted; the raised staff gained a magical aura. A white magic circle burst from her staff toward the field.
Mirror Force's white flash, Ryu Senshi's dragon soul, Effect Shut's beam, and Silent's anti-magic—four forces converged at center field, like Kira's light and The D.'s light dismantling each other's plays.
"Ryu Senshi to defend against traps, Silent Magician to restrict spells. I see—that's the point of this formation," The D. said.
"No wonder you bear the title of King. It's a terrifying lineup. Anyone else would get OTK'd before even getting through the first turn."
Anyone else.
Kira noted the phrasing. Clearly, he meant Kira wasn't "anyone else."
In other words, even now, The D. still had a counter.
The D.'s eyes flashed. "Blessed again by the light, I will never lose to anyone! Witness the true strength of me, who has surpassed the summit! Activate set card: Counter Trap 'Vanity's Call'!"
His last set card flipped—a noble Speed 3 Counter Trap!
"'Vanity's Call' can only be activated at Chain Link 4 or higher," The D. declared. "Pay half your Life Points; negate the activations and effects of all cards in that chain, and destroy them all!"
Kira frowned slightly. "So you had this up your sleeve."
Such an unruly trap—fitting for a man blessed by the light.
Ryu Senshi can only negate Normal Traps; Counter Traps are beyond his purview.
And even if Ryu Senshi didn't specify Normal Traps only, and were like Atem's 'Sorcerer of Dark Magic' type monsters that negate any traps, unless explicitly stated, they still can't negate the noble Counter Traps.
Because even effects you can activate in the opponent's turn are Speed 2 by default, and Counter Traps are Speed 3—Speed 2 can't chain to Speed 3. So even anti-trap experts like Sorcerer of Dark Magic can't chain to Counter Traps.
The D. laughed wildly. "Destroy! Destroy them all!"
...
2 Bonus chapter at 500 PS