"The duel continues." Ishizu raised her right hand, pointing forward, "I'm going to attack directly with Agido."
The red, spherical monster soared across the field, heading straight towards Youyu. With both the front and back fields cleared, Youyu had no means of defense and unwillingly took the strike from the monster.
[Youyu, LP 4000 → LP 2500]
"Finally, I'll set a card, and end my turn," Ishizu said.
"My turn." Youyu drew another card.
If the opponent can constantly foresee his strategies and always counter them perfectly, this duel would indeed become quite disadvantageous.
But Youyu was far from giving up. After all, Yu-Gi-Oh isn't such a simple game; besides breaking the field and responding, you also have to calculate resource consumption.
Even if Ishizu can consistently block his actions ahead of time, as long as Youyu can deplete her resources faster, there's still a chance for victory.
Though Ishizu claims the duel's outcome is predetermined or whatever, he certainly wasn't going to sit idly by without putting up a fight.
Moreover, despite the current overt pressure, Youyu was actually more concerned about another ace card used by Ishizu in the anime.
An ultra-rare Trap Card, Exchange of the Spirit, regarded by Yu-Gi-Oh players for a long time as the ultimate nightmare, a super forbidden card with powers surpassing its era and version.
This card can only be activated when you have more than fifteen cards in your graveyard, swapping all cards in both players' graveyards and decks.
There once were players who stacked a deck full of forbidden cards and built one of the most famous decks in Yu-Gi-Oh history, commonly known as "Exchange of Spirit," centered around this trap.
The core idea of this deck was to immediately swap both players' decks and graveyards upon draw, dumping the opponent's entire deck into the graveyard, rendering them unable to draw cards and winning the game outright.
In that era, this strategy was undefendable, uncounterable, with no means of resistance, regarded as the ultimate solution in this card game.
Of course, Ishizu's tactic differs from the one-turn-kill Exchange of Spirit devised by players; her deck lacks the powerful draw filtering means that players' decks have, nor the capability to dump half the deck into the graveyard in one turn, so it's not impossible to counter.
But as Ishizu's signature card, Youyu would certainly be on high alert for this card's activation in this duel, avoiding having all his resources blown away, resulting in a direct GG.
"Summon Rapid-Fire Magician!"
A black-robed magician appeared on Youyu's field, tossing colorful magic spheres in his hand.
[Rapid-Fire Magician, ATK 1600]
"Then activate 'Graceful Charity,' draw three cards from the deck, discard two." Youyu waved his hand, "At this moment, Rapid-Fire Magician's effect activates, dealing 400 damage to the opponent upon Normal Magic Card activation."
A red magic sphere was thrown from the magician's hand, soaring through the whistling dueling arena, striking straight at Ishizu's slender figure. Ishizu closed her eyes gently, calmly taking the damage.
[Ishizu, LP 4000 → LP 3600]
"Next up is the Magic Card 'Galaxy Cyclone'." Youyu played the next card, a white, translucent whirlwind rising from his side of the field.
"This card destroys the Set Magic Trap Card on the field, destroying your set card in the back field!"
The cyclone swept out, uncovering Ishizu's set card in the back field. It was a Trap Card, Disgraced Explosive, which can destroy the attacking monster upon the opponent's Tribute Summon and inflict damage equal to the monster's attack points. (Anime effect)
This was also one of Ishizu's signature traps, crucial in her original plan to defeat Kaiba in the anime.
"Rapid-Fire Magician's effect, an additional 400 damage," Youyu said.
[Ishizu, LP 3600 → LP 3200]
"Then I enter battle, using Rapid-Fire Magician to attack!" Youyu directly pointed at Ishizu's monster on the field, "Destroy 'Agido'!"
The black-robed magician acted immediately, with the magic sphere piercing through the round body of the monster, shattering it on the spot.
[Ishizu, LP 3200 → LP 3100]
"My turn ends."
"My turn, draw." Ishizu drew a card and took a glance, "Activate Pot of Greed, draw two cards from the deck."
Ishizu added the cards to her hand but didn't rush into an attack. Her eyes flickered, and she met Youyu's gaze with her inscrutable blue eyes.
"Although there are no set cards in the back field, you've devised an even smarter and more clever trap." She spoke softly, "The card 'Graceful Charity' sent to the graveyard last turn, was it not the Trap Card 'Skill Successor'?"
If Skill Successor is banished from the game, the attack of a monster on the field increases by 800. If I triggered an attack directly, my monster would have been destroyed instead."
The audience was abuzz upon hearing this.
"A trap card in the graveyard!? No one would expect that!" Jonouchi exclaimed in surprise.
"Indeed, it's quite a brilliant strategy." Yugi nodded in approval, while furrowing his brows, "But even with such a covert defense laid by Youyu, Ishizu still saw through it... Is it truly the power of the Millennium Item allowing her to foresee the future?"
"You really can't be fooled, huh." Youyu chuckled, "But even knowing this, it's not so easy to dismantle a trap in the graveyard, right?"
"True, using ordinary means, one cannot affect a trap in the graveyard." Ishizu said blandly, drawing a card from her hand, "So I'm going to summon this card.
Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer!"
A masterful monk appeared on the field, wearing prayer beads around his neck, robed in monk attire, his bald head polished to a shine.
[Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, Attack 1800]
"As long as Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer is on the field, the opposing player cannot banish cards from either graveyard," Ishizu said, "This way, your 'Skill Successor' cannot be activated."
Youyu: "..."
"Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, attack Rapid-Fire Magician."
It turns out that compared to the juggling magician, the monk proved to be superior. Kycoo swiftly appeared before the magician, executing a dazzling array of martial arts that suspended the magician like a punching bag, and promptly crushed him.
[Youyu, LP 2500 → LP 2300]
"And at this moment, Kycoo's other effect also activates," Ishizu said. "When Kycoo inflicts battle damage to the opponent, banish up to two monsters from the opponent's graveyard.
I banish Rapid-Fire Magician—Soul Abolition!"
Kycoo began intoning spells, the complex incantations transforming into mysterious power that bridged reality and the Netherworld, capturing the souls of monsters in Youyu's graveyard and expelling them from the game.
Jonouchi, in the audience, looked anxious: "Hey, isn't this a completely hopeless situation?"
Shizuka also looked worried: "Will Youyu-san lose?"
Though she had only just met Youyu, she nonetheless felt inexplicably anxious for him... proving that people are indeed visual creatures; looks really can add points.
"No, he won't!" Jonouchi grit his teeth, "Youyu is an incredibly strong Duelist. From dueling him, I can feel it. He will definitely find a way to break through."
"Set two cards." Ishizu said, "Turn end."
"Then it's my turn, draw!" Youyu said, "First, I use another Pot of Greed to draw two cards.
Activate from my hand the Field Magic - Fusion Gate! This way, we can perform a Fusion Summon without Fusion Magic."
"Flip Cover Card." Ishizu pointed to a card at her feet, "Quick-Play Magic - Mystical Space Typhoon. Destroy Fusion Gate."
Lightning descended, a whirlwind arose, transforming into a tornado that shot straight through the air towards the opened chaotic vortex.
The vortex of Fusion Gate was instantly torn apart by the storm, the magic card forcibly ejected from Youyu's Duel Disc's field zone, losing its effect.
"Then I summon 'Elemental Hero Solidman'!"
A new hero drawn by Youyu from the System Card Pool prior to the match took the stage, a warrior clad in strong white armor.
[Elemental Hero Solidman, Attack 1300]
"Solidman's effect, upon successful summon, allows another Level 4 or below Hero Monster from the hand to be summoned," Youyu called out loudly. "Come forth! Elemental Hero Blazeman!"
This time, a hero engulfed in flames appeared. He wore a red visor, his fist clenched tightly, the scorching flames surrounding him causing the air to seem to sway.
[Elemental Hero Blazeman, Attack 1200]
"Blazeman's effect, upon summon or special summon, allows the Magic Card 'Polymerization' from the deck to be added to the hand," Youyu stated. "Then activate Magic Card - Polymerization! Fusion Solidman and Blazeman on the field..."
"Flip Cover Card," Ishizu calmly pointed to another card beside her, "Counter Trap - Magic Jammer!
Discard a card from the hand, negate the activation of the magic and destroy it."
Ishizu discarded a card from her hand, and on the field appeared a magic array enveloped with black mist. The fusion magic card appeared at the center of the array, surrounded by swirling black mist, boundless magical power, sealing the card's power.
Youyu seemed to have every move countered, with all actions locked.
However, this was not outside of Youyu's expectations.
Youyu kept a close eye on Ishizu's hand throughout—until now, Ishizu's last card in hand had already been discarded into the graveyard as the price for "Magic Jammer."
Her resources had been thoroughly exchanged by Youyu, leaving not a single card.
Yet, after the black magic array vanished, a vortex suddenly appeared on the ground at Ishizu's feet. A pillar of incandescent light shot into the sky, straight into the heavens.
Youyu furrowed his brows.
What was this? Did Ishizu have this card in her deck?
"You've been anticipating my 'Exchange of the Spirit,' haven't you?" Ishizu suddenly spoke.
Youyu: "..."
"Though I don't know how you are aware of my tactics, the Millennium Necklace informed me that you would prepare against that strategy," Ishizu said calmly, "So this time, I chose another tactical scheme.
The card I discarded when I activated 'Magic Jammer' is a monster with powerful special abilities. Its conditions can be triggered whenever a Counter Trap is activated by my side.
I banish two Fairy-type monsters from the graveyard, 'Agido' and previously discarded from 'Graceful Charity,' 'Zolga' to summon from the graveyard—
—Sacred Arch-Airknight Parshath!"