"Speed Attack Magic 'Tornado,' destroy the magic trap on the field!"
Kagemaru played the Magic Card in his hand.
"First, that annoying trap." Kagemaru shouted, "Continuous Trap 'Super Gravity Net' be gone!"
The black tornado swept the trap into the air, a lightning strike from the sky shattered it into pieces. The gravitational bindings immediately disappeared, and the transparent, invisible force field on Yugen's field quickly dissipated into nothingness.
"With this, the attack blockade is gone!"
"Indeed." Yugen nodded and smiled, "So, I suppose the chairman is prepared to deal with the Phantom Demon, right?"
Kagemaru hummed heavily but remained silent.
"Special Summon 'Micro Wind Air Hummingbird'!"
[Micro Wind Air Hummingbird, Attack Power 700]
"Special Summon, is it?" Yugen remarked.
Kagemaru: "When there is a monster with 5 stars or more on the opponent's field, Micro Wind Air Hummingbird can be Special Summoned from the hand." (Original Card)
"I see." Yugen nodded.
"Then, use 'Micro Wind Air Hummingbird,' 'Convection Air Hummingbird,' and 'Genetic Werewolf' as sacrifices to perform an Upper-level Summon for the ultimate Air Hummingbird!!!"
As the card was raised by the mechanical arm, a force as if able to contend with the Phantom Demon unfolded.
The transparent cyclone formed a storm, and within that storm was a force akin to the breath of nature and the will of the sky! Unlike all previous hummingbirds, it was not an ordinary storm, but a spectacle of countless fine transparent cyclones intricately woven together.
The cyclone danced and rotated, as if the wind itself had gained life. The living-like whirlwind gathered full wings, and the gigantic divine bird descended surrounded by airflow.
The ultimate cyclone, Divine Air Hummingbird, Summon!
[Divine Air Hummingbird, Attack Power 1000]
"This seems to be your trump card." Yugen said indifferently.
Divine Air Hummingbird, the last card from the three Physical Cards of the cyclone. Moreover, its Physical Card version should be enhanced compared to the manga in terms of appearance conditions.
The manga stipulated that Divine Air Hummingbird must be Upper-level Summoned using three sacrifices, but the Physical Card version does not require that, or rather, cannot be done.
The Physical Card version of Divine Air Hummingbird cannot be Normally Summoned, only Special Summoned by excluding two monsters on the field and one monster from the graveyard.
"Divine Air Hummingbird's effect, absorb one monster on the opponent's field and gain that monster's Attack Power and Defense Power values!"
Kagemaru shouted.
"Absorb Thunder Emperor Harmon!"
His eyes turned as if into a sea of crimson.
"Let the Phantom Demon become my power!"
Divine Air Hummingbird's divine power activated, an irresistible hurricane that the Phantom Demon couldn't escape! In the storm, an invisible hand seemed to pin the Thunder Emperor's body, forcibly dragging it over, sealing it within the cyclone below the divine bird.
The Thunder Emperor roared, but the electric light covering its body was incessantly drawn out, pouring into the hummingbird's body.
[Divine Air Hummingbird, Attack Power 1000 → Attack Power 5000]
Attack Power Five Thousand!
"Direct attack from Divine Air Hummingbird!" Kagemaru roared, "Die, just die for me!"
"The power of the Phantom Demon is mine! Mine!"
The gathering celestial thunder converged into the storm, and amidst countless wind blades, it was unleashed towards Yugen! The endless thunder roared around him, leaving countless deep pits and billowing black smoke reaching the sky.
Inside Kagemaru's Life Support Pod, bubbles gurgled. The old man was gasping heavily.
Won... won.
He had made a comeback from the brink using his Divine Air Hummingbird, his most trusted trump card...
[Yugen, LP 600]
Kagemaru: "!?"
"Why..."
"That was close, just at that moment, I activated the Trap 'Super Z Stamina Enhancer,' which allows recovery of 4000 Life Points when taking over 2000 battle damage."
"Ugh."
Kagemaru muttered.
"What a tough opponent, even after taking a direct attack of five thousand won't fall... Well, I'll cover a card, the turn ends."
"We can't let things be too easy, can we?" Yugen dusted off his clothes, saying, "So, when you thought you had won, how did you feel?"
"Joyful? Or a sense of satisfaction from finally succeeding?"
"Teacher Dade Temple spoke of you to me, truly believing you were once a hero."
Yugen looked at Kagemaru through the glass and the murky water of the Life Support Pod.
"I can hear it, he admired the past you. He admired what you did, the ideals you once had, and the things you fought for."
"But look at yourself now, look at this room. What you've done, what you've plundered from others. Seeing yourself become indistinguishable from the things you once fought against, how does that make you feel?"
"What do you think?"
Kagemaru laughed coldly twice.
"I think, the past me was a joke. Hot-bloodedness, ideals, were nothing but naivety of youth."
"Once a person dies, nothing is left. In the face of life and death, so-called ideals and beliefs seem so laughable. A person carries nothing when they die, if you can't even manage to live, what else has meaning?"
He looked up at Yugen.
"What right do you have to speak about me?"
Kagemaru said coldly.
"I can feel it, Duel King. You aren't an enthusiast of justice, not one who would sacrifice everything for beliefs, for the right things."
"Tell me, King. Do you truly care about anyone other than yourself?"
"How are you any different from me?"
Yugen smiled.
"Perhaps not. But..."
He paused.
"At least every morning, I can face myself in the mirror."
Kagemaru was momentarily speechless.
"Draw a card."
Yugen drew a card and calmly said.
"Activate the Magic Card 'Take Over 5'; send the top five cards of the Card Deck to the graveyard."
He drew five cards, and sequentially sent them to the graveyard with a swish.
"It's over." Yugen calmly said, "Activate the Trap Card 'Battlefront Return'. Special Summon a Monster from the graveyard in defense position."
"Resurrecting from the graveyard..." Kagemaru frowned, "But this card can't ignore the revival restrictions; you can't bring back the Phantom Demon."
"I know. However, what I want to resurrect is this card..."
Yugen calmly revealed another card from the graveyard.
"Phantom Demon Summoning God, revive."
[Phantom Demon Summoning God, Defense Power 0]
"Phantom Demon... Summoning God?"
Kagemaru held his breath. The very name made him feel uneasy inside.
"Yes, I have an entire team dedicated to researching Phantom Demons and have developed a few related cards... You wouldn't think I came unprepared with unmanageable Three Phantom Demons for a duel with you, right?
That would be too disrespectful to the chairman."
Yugen chuckled.
"Phantom Demon Summoning God's effect activates. Sacrifice itself to return any one of the Three Phantom Demons from the graveyard to the hand.
I sacrifice the Phantom Demon Summoning God to return this card from the graveyard..."
He took a card that emerged from the graveyard and displayed it.
"Add 'Divine Flame Emperor Uriah' to my hand."
"Divine Flame Emperor..." Kagemaru held his breath again.
"Indeed. And after that, you can Special Summon any 10-star Monster of the Flame Race, Thunder Race, or Demon Race with the same Attack Power and Defense Power from your hand, ignoring Summon conditions."
Hmm, although it's not explicitly stated, I've basically revealed their identities.
"Therefore, I Special Summon this card from my hand, ignoring the Summon conditions.
Ruler of the Flame Inferno, scorch the earth with divine flames—
——Divine Flame Emperor Uriah!!!"
As if a cousin of Osiris the Sky Dragon, the churning Red Dragon appeared in mid-air and let out a roar filled with divine power!
[Divine Flame Emperor Uriah, Attack Power 0]
"This is the Divine Flame Emperor..."
Kagemaru was again dazed.
Damn it, it should have been mine, it all should have been mine.
This damn Duel King...
"The Divine Flame Emperor's Attack Power is the number of Trap Cards in the graveyard times 1000 points." (anime effect)
After being turned into a Physical Card, even the summoning conditions of the Divine Flame Emperor were modified to require Continuous Traps.
"In my graveyard, plus the two just sent down by 'Take Over 5', there are a total of nine cards. Therefore, the Attack Power of the Divine Flame Emperor becomes..."
[Divine Flame Emperor Uriah, Attack Power 9000]
"Attack Power... nine thousand?" Kagemaru's expression twitched.
"Of course, Traps are useless against Phantom Demons. But just to be cautious..."
Yugen snapped his fingers.
"Trap Destruction!"
The Divine Flame Emperor roared skyward, a transparent sound wave erupted. Kagemaru's covered cards were forcibly flipped, and in the sound wave were crushed to fragments.
Continuous Trap - Soul Barrier. When a Monster is on the field, it can negate battle damage.
Originally, it was his last card to save himself.
"Soul Barrier, indeed. Even against a Phantom Demon that is unaffected by Traps, it can block damage and save your life, but unfortunately, Traps are forbidden in front of the Divine Flame Emperor."
Yugen said.
"The Divine Flame Emperor Uriah, once per turn, destroys all Trap Cards on the opponent's field—including face-down cards." (anime effect)
After being turned into a Physical Card, it was changed to just destroy one covered card. But it wasn't limited to destroying only Traps, and the opponent couldn't chain Magic Traps in response to this effect; the anime version didn't have a restriction on chaining, so it has its pros and cons.
"Divine Flame Emperor Uriah, attack the Divine Air Hummingbird."
Yugen issued the final command.
The Divine Flame Emperor slowly opened its mouth, a scorching hellfire roiling inside.
With the last card blown away, facing the Phantom Demon he had longed for, and watching the hellfire in the monster's mouth, Kagemaru's gaze momentarily lost focus.
He thought about the past.
He thought about his former self, his past ambitions, a time when he could so easily risk his life to fight for what he believed was right; it felt as if he was watching someone else.
Perhaps that person had already died long ago.
Here today, falling at the hands of the Phantom Demon he had pursued so relentlessly, might just be fate's cruel jest.
Either way, it was finally over.
The old man closed his weary eyes, speaking with a vague voice.
"What a..."
"Tiring life it's been."
The Inferno Cannon from the Divine Flame Emperor's mouth was unleashed.
Hyper Breath!
The Divine Air Hummingbird was engulfed in a stream of flames, shattering along with the Thunder Emperor below its air current.
[Kagemaru, LP 3100→LP 0]