Saio: "?"
Can't summon monsters specially...
What the heck is this?
Isn't this screwing myself over?
He immediately realized. No wonder his opponent generously gave him this thing.
He suddenly suspected that this person might have already known the upright effect of the Chariot and deliberately summoned this thing to give to him?
For card decks that heavily rely on special summons, giving this thing to the opponent is practically a death sentence. Especially entering the Synchro Era, everyone's main deck generally consists of low-attack, low-level small monsters, with all the ace monsters in the extra deck.
Then the opponent gives you this thing, so the strongest monster you can summon has an attack power of no more than 1000 points, dying right on the spot...
There's even a supplementary note on the back of this thing.
"This card cannot be used as a tribute except for the 'Osiris's Sky Dragon,' 'Obelisk's Giant Divine Soldiers,' and 'Winged Divine Dragon of Ra' upper-level summon."
Wow, it directly names the Three Phantom Gods, how cool, such high class...
...What the heck!
Saio laughed in anger.
It means this stupid thing stands on the field like a pile of crap blocking your special summon, and you can't even sacrifice it. Because the card says that the noble Sun God's Apostle only accepts sacrifices as offerings to gods, and lesser beings shouldn't even think about it.
"Tch, I'm blocking you, and you're blocking me, huh? Fine, fine..."
Saio shouted.
"Then let's see who laughs last! The battle phase continues!
Secret Ceremony Power 4-Emperor, direct attack!"
On this side, the Emperor hasn't attacked yet, and the Sun God's Apostle that just rushed over can also attack. So although Yugen's special summon block was a bit annoying, the favorable situation hasn't changed, and he still holds the duel's lead.
Yugen snapped his fingers.
"Activate cover card, Continuous Trap 'Super Gravity Net'."
The backfield trap flipped over, and a domineering gravity wave was released, binding the entire field. All the monsters couldn't lift their heads under the oppressive gravity, unable to move a step forward.
"During the existence of the Super Gravity Net, all monsters of level 4 or higher on both players' fields cannot attack," Yugen said. "Your two Secret Ceremony Powers, as well as the 'Sun God's Apostle' that you just took control of, are all level 4, and thus can't attack due to the effect of the Super Gravity Net."
Saio: "Uh..."
First a summoning block, now an attack block?
"Fine... my turn ends."
Mizuchi was at a loss for words.
Indeed, this evil brother's tactics were impressive, locking the opponent into immobility. But even the Duel King isn't to be messed with, after that combo of moves, Saio is also left with not much to do now.
This bizarre duel was something she had never seen before, estimating it might even be the first of its kind worldwide since Duel Monsters awakened in modern times.
Both sides mutually shut down and locked each other, so what is the point of this?
A match to see who'd summon the courage first to attack the opponent's duelist, perhaps?
Yugen: "My turn, draw."
"At the start of the standby phase, the Continuous Trap 'Death God's Tour' needs to spin again, determining the upright and reverse positions."
Saio said.
"But my fate is already decided, so of course, it's still in the upright position!"
Sure enough, the Continuous Trap stopped spinning, still in the upright position.
In a regular duel field, at this time, one should suspect if the opponent is cheating. But considering the opponent is Saio, this is just his exclusive superpower—just as protagonists have the Divine Draw or card printing abilities, so it's nothing surprising.
"With the upright effect, this turn you still can't perform any summon, special summon, or flip summon," Saio hummed.
Come on, let's cause mutual harm.
Let's see who runs out of patience first!
"Alright then, I'll set a monster in face-down defense position," Yugen said leisurely, "and then set another card, ending the turn."
Mizuchi: "..."
Are you two really planning to lock eyes and stare at each other until the end of time?
But Saio didn't have the patience for this.
Facing the Duel King as the opponent, he wasn't as confident as he appeared. Especially when even facing such an unfavorable situation where summons aren't possible, the opponent remained calm and indifferent.
Even when his every card was upright as if by some miracle, the opponent acted like it was all within expectations.
Normally, wouldn't you be angrily accusing him of cheating?
Yugen's calmness made him a bit uneasy. If possible, he didn't want to stare blankly with the opponent like this.
Then the opportunity came.
"My turn, draw!"
Saio drew a card, his eyes flickering slightly.
Great Storm, which can destroy all magic traps on the field. This would lift the attack block... but at the cost of also destroying his own powerful suppressor, 'Death God's Tour.'
Is it time to flip the table now and launch a total attack?
Or keep the Death God's Tour in play and wait for another chance...
He glanced at Yugen. For some reason, that calm smile made him more nervous.
No, he couldn't let this drag on too long after all.
Now he has an overwhelming advantage on the field, he must seize the opportunity...
"Activate Magic Card 'Great Storm'!" Saio raised the card in his hand. "Destroy all magic and trap cards on both sides of the field!"
The strongest table flip, a pitch-black storm raged, as if turning the field over. The terrifying wind pressure lifted Saio's own field traps into the sky, dispersing the murky black fog, and the God of Death wielding the scythe turned to dust.
The traps in Yugen's backfield were similarly crushed to pieces in midair, and the Super Gravity Net's binding burst into golden light points.
"Willing to sacrifice the Death God's Tour just to unleash an attack, huh," Yugen chuckled, "But the other card you just blew away was the Trap Card 'Fake Mark.'
When this card is destroyed on the field, draw one card from the card deck. If it's destroyed by the opponent's magic effect, draw an additional card."(Original Card)
Yugen drew from the card deck.
"So I draw two cards from my card deck."
"But this way, the attack block is lifted!"
A dangerous white glow flashed in Saio's eyes.
"End it this turn!
Battle! First, using 'Secret Ceremony Power 4-Emperor,' attack the face-down monster!"
The set monster flipped over under the Emperor's strike, revealing a small frog with a halo above its head.
[Yellow Springs Frog, Defense Power 100]
"Hey, it's such a trash."
The last unknown card on Yugen's field shattered and dissipated under the Emperor's blow, and Saio finally felt assured.
"Then next is 'Secret Ceremony Power 7-Chariot's' direct attack!!!