"Battle Phase!"
"Third Sun - Helios, direct attack!"
With an attack power of seventy-five hundred, and Yugen's remaining life points at only 2200, it could wipe them out in one blow even with three lives.
The three blazing suns seemed to ignite simultaneously, gathering divine rays of sunlight into their hands. The bandages fluttered, appearing as if about to be set ablaze by the sun, transforming into a fire dragon that danced towards Yugen's field.
But the fire dragon did not strike true; instead, it crashed into some kind of invisible barrier!
An overwhelming impact, blue radiance blossoming to its utmost. It was a nearly invisible, seemingly fragile but in fact unbreakable hemispherical barrier that burst forth with a dazzling brilliance upon the fiery impact—like the brightest star merging into a river against the boundless Great Cosmos backdrop, akin to the purest sapphire shining in the deep sea.
Divine Protective Shield - Reflective Mirror Force!
"It turned out to be Reflection Mirror Power?"
Daidouji raised his arm to shield against the glare, frowning.
"Indeed," Yugen replied, "Divine Protective Shield - Reflective Mirror Force, when the opponent declares an attack, all attack position monsters on the opponent's field are destroyed!"
The ultimate shield, a desperate counterattack!
The retaliating flames engulfed the three suns in one fell swoop, and all three bodies were obliterated under the sacred light, burning into ashes.
However...
"A beautiful counterattack, worthy of the Duel King's defense." Daidouji chuckled softly, "But it's a pity that what you're facing is the sun."
"And the sun is immortal!"
As his words fell, the particles that had just turned to dust by their own power's backlash swiftly gathered once more. The stars were reignited, the three bodies reformed, and above the bandaged bodies, the scorching sun was even more dazzling than before!
"Resurrection ability?" Yugen frowned.
He had an impression that the Third Sun possessed resurrection ability, but only remembered the version after physical card transformation.
In its physical card form, the Third Sun's effect was, "If this card is sent to the graveyard by battle destruction, it special summons with an increase of 500 attack and defense points at the end phase of the turn."
He couldn't recall the specific effect in the animation version, and because, in this world, the Third Sun was Daidouji's unique self-made version, unused in front of outsiders, Yugen had no way to find records even if he tried.
According to its physical card effect, first, it must be destroyed by battle, then sent to the graveyard, and it must be end of turn for resurrection.
Yet now, the Third Sun was destroyed by effect; because of the Great Cosmos, it wasn't sent to the graveyard but excluded, and still in the battle phase now, none of the three conditions were met.
Yugen thought that the animation version should have been enhanced compared to its physical card, but even with enhancement, it might not have met all three resurrection conditions.
But it seemed he underestimated the animation's effect.
"Third Sun - Helios's effect," Daidouji said. "If this card is destroyed, it can special summon with an increase of 500 attack points!"
[Third Sun - Helios, attack power 7500→attack power 8000]
"So it's even stronger now, huh?" Yugen said.
"Indeed, the sun is immortal," Daidouji chuckled softly. "Every time it's defeated, it only becomes stronger!
And since it's still the battle phase, the 'Third Sun - Helios' that was special summoned onto the field again during the battle phase naturally had its attack count reset and can continue to attack!
Go, Third Sun, attack directly once more!"
The three blazing suns ignited again, the burning flames converged into the hands of the three bandaged figures. Simultaneously, the fire dragons burst from their palms, converging into a single form mid-air, metamorphosing into a burning Phoenix!
The blazing Phoenix swooped across the field, flying straight towards Yugen, separated by a Galaxy, one could already feel the surging heat wave, almost making one's heart race.
"Then, activate the trap 'Guardian Defense Wall.'" Yugen said, "Make the battle damage 0, then I draw a card from my deck."
Following the divine shield, the second layer of defense, a milky-white transparent barrier appeared before Yugen. The burning Phoenix crashed into that transparent barrier, burning away to oblivion in moments.
Yugen drew a card.
"Hahaha, do you have even more follow-up moves? As expected of Yugen, not so easy to defeat."
Daidouji laughed heartily, squinting his eyes.
"But now that the Triple Sun has been summoned, the goddess of victory is already beckoning to me.
Triple Sun has an attack power of eight thousand and is immortal! Every defeat only makes it stronger!"
"Truly formidable," Yugen nodded.
In an era when field-clearing methods were not yet as varied as later stages, resistance to destruction was indeed impressive.
The animation effect of the Triple Sun roughly equated to having resistance to both battle and effect destruction. Moreover, unlike most similar category cards, its effect did not require being "sent to the graveyard" for activation. As long as it's destroyed, even exclusion doesn't affect its resurrection.
Not to mention each resurrection also increases its attack power by 500 points, getting literally stronger with each strike.
Compared to the weakened Helios after its physical card transformation, this seemed somewhat more fitting to its BOSS ace card image, somewhat worthy of its troublesome summoning conditions.
Monster and endgame strength cannot be judged in isolation from summoning cost and difficulty. This has always been the case, even in today's era of rapidly expanding summoning speeds.
If one were to disregard activation rates, stability of unfolding, etc., and only discuss endgame, then today's casual card decks are all invincible, with endgame quality even surpassing mainstream competition.
Who doesn't have an invincible endgame these days?
Daidouji's Triple Sun might seem formidable, but first, it had to shoot out from the original sun through the Great Cosmos, then upgraded twice consecutively with specific Magic Cards to summon this ultimate form. The resource requirement for this was indeed high.
"My turn is over," Daidouji said, "Come on, Yugen! Show me your potential..."
But as he spoke, the corner of his mouth lifted in a slight smile.
"No, for you, it shouldn't be called potential but the aura of a king, right?"
"An eight-thousand attack monster that can resurrect infinitely, the teacher really knows how to put pressure on others."
Yugen smiled.
"Well, as a teacher's student, I can't let the teacher down with any challenge... My turn, draw a card."
Yugen showcased his hand.
"Magic Card 'Adversity's Treasure Scroll.' If the opponent has special summoned monsters and I have none, draw two cards." (Original Card)
Yugen drew two cards, then calmly played another card.
"I summon 'Yoshitsune' in defense mode."
[Yoshitsune, defense power 800]
"Yoshitsune's effect, once per turn, select one of your excluded Undead Monsters, return that monster to the top of your deck."
Daidouji's eyelids twitched.
An excluded Undead, could it be...
"Of course," Yugen smiled slightly, revealing a card, "I place 'Face of the Undead' back on top of the deck."
Daidouji: "......"