The remaining shockwave rolled toward Diva's Graveyard, nullifying the effect of [Cubic Wave].
"Got any other tricks?" Yusaku looked over at Diva.
Diva snorted coldly and did not answer.
He slid the card he had drawn at the start of the Duel into his Duel Disk. "I Set one card and end my turn."
"At the end of the turn, the effect of [Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord] activates. It must activate during its controller's End Phase. Both players take 3000 damage."
"You've basically fired off all your effects already, right? Your Highness, I'll take this 3000 damage for you!"
The moment his words fell, the dark-red magic circle under the Dark Cubic Lord suddenly expanded.
A vortex-like field of energy formed, covering the entire arena in blood-red radiance. Dark power surged up from the circle like erupting magma.
As he watched the sigil gradually swallow the entire field, the corner of Yusaku's mouth curved upward. "You're done? Sorry, but my board sticks around longer than your Life Points."
"I activate the effect of [Dragon Master Magia] again! Your activated effect is negated and that card is destroyed!"
Hearing that, Noboru froze. "Didn't your [Dragon Master Magia] already activate its effect once?"
"Sorry, but Dragon Master Magia is a true three-way negate. Monster, Spell, Trap — I can negate each of them once, and I can fire them off in a single continuous chain."
"[Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord] can't be affected by monster effects from monsters whose ATK is lower than its own—" Diva stopped mid-sentence, his expression turning ugly as he watched his monster get erased by the beam fired from the great dragon.
On the field, [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon]'s ATK was a towering 5000, a full 2000 higher than the Dark Cubic Lord.
"Not going to finish that thought?" Yusaku gave him a sidelong glance.
Diva snorted again. "Don't get cocky. The monster you control was brought out by [Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon], so it'll be destroyed during the End Phase. When that happens, you'll only have three monsters left, and…"
He paused, then looked at Yusaku with a smile.
"I still have the Continuous Spell [Cubic Dharma] on my field. It has an effect: while it's in the Spell & Trap Zone, any battle damage I would take from battles involving my 'Cubic' monsters becomes 0."
"When your monsters deal battle damage to my [Cubic] monsters, I won't take any damage. Not only that, I've also got the Trap [Rise to Full Height] in my Graveyard!"
"I can banish this card from my Graveyard and target one monster I control. This turn, you can only attack that monster."
He glanced at Yusaku's monsters. "Only your [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon] is stronger than my [Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord]. When it attacks, I just shift the attack target. Your other monsters can't get past [Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord]!"
"Uh…" Yusaku's expression turned a bit strange as he looked at him. "You really think I'm not going to negate that effect?"
Diva blinked, then his face darkened. "Stop talking nonsense. My effect has resolved. It's your turn."
Hearing that, Yusaku smiled faintly. "Then during your End Phase, [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon] will indeed be destroyed by the effect of [Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon]."
"At that moment, I can activate another effect of [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon]. When this card is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon 1 LIGHT Dragon monster from my Graveyard, except another [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon]."
"I Special Summon [Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon] from my Graveyard!"
[Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon]
[ATK: 3000]
Yusaku revealed a card in his Graveyard. "Next, because a monster on my field was destroyed by a card effect, the effect of [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon] in my Graveyard can activate."
"Its effect: while this card is in the hand or Graveyard, if a card on the field is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon this card. I Special Summon it!"
[Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon]
[ATK: 2500]
Having finished speaking, Yusaku placed his hand on his Deck. "Then, my turn…"
Just as he was about to draw, he suddenly felt a tremor from deep underground. It was not just him — everyone present felt the vibration from below their feet.
It was a strange, low sound, rhythmic like breathing, yet also like the beating of some colossal heart.
Thump… Thump… Thump…
"Did you guys feel that? Why do I feel like something is moving under our feet?"
Someone in the crowd could not help but shout.
On the field—
Diva folded his arms and looked at Yusaku with a faint smile. "You noticed it, didn't you? Something… no, a god is about to be born. Beneath us lies the tomb of the ancient Pharaoh. After the Pharaoh returned to the Underworld, the three Egyptian God Cards remained behind."
"To enter the Pharaoh's tomb, you need the [Millennium Puzzle] that rests within the [Millennium Eye]. But that Puzzle was shattered long ago and scattered all over the world. The power of [Unstoppable Nightmare]…"
"However, our group, Prana, came up with another method. A way to command the power of the God Cards without ever entering the tomb: Duel Energy. For this, we schemed for four years. And today, the energy is finally enough."
He raised his head to look up at the "Quantum Cube" overhead. "Next turn, the energy of the God Cards will be completely gathered. You will witness the unparalleled might of a god!"
Diva's gaze dropped back to Yusaku's field. "You've got all those monsters on your board. In a moment, I'll let you see the power of the God of Destruction for yourself."
Yusaku ignored his words and instead looked down at his feet.
The moment he had tried to draw, he had felt something strange around him.
In that instant of distraction, he had glimpsed a silhouette.
He could not see it clearly, but even blurred, that shadow exuded a kingly presence. A golden object hung upon its chest, a flowing cloak billowed behind it, and upon its brow, the Eye of Wdjat seemed as if it could pierce through all evil in the world.
The original King of Games, huh?
Yusaku shook his head, tossing those thoughts aside, and placed his hand back on his Duel Disk. Just as he was about to draw again, that silhouette surfaced once more.
Seeing this, Yusaku's hand stopped in mid-motion. The tremor from below returned, and the phantom overlapped right in front of him.
"Are you asking me to awaken its power? In that case…"
Yusaku looked down beneath his feet and raised his arm high.
Seeing this, Diva's folded arms suddenly stiffened. The confident smile on his face shattered into raw astonishment, his pupils constricting to needle-points. "You… what do you think you're doing?"
For the first time, his voice carried a nervous tremor he himself had not noticed, his eyes locked on Yusaku's raised arm as a flood of ominous premonitions washed over him.
Down in the stands, Kazetaro and Kouki were like someone had hit a pause button. Then, as if spring-loaded, they suddenly shot to their feet, fingers stabbing toward the stage, mouths wide enough to stuff a fist into, the "Holy shit" squeezed out of their throats nearly breaking.
This scene was also captured by Cheese Crit's live stream. For a heartbeat, the barrage on the screen froze, then the chat was instantly flooded by an endless wall of[Holy shit!].
"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! I was just joking earlier — he's not seriously about to do it, right?!"
"Holy shit!"
"Holy shit!"
"…"
As she watched the stream, Cheese Crit was just about to ask what was going on when she realized the entire wall of "holy shit" had vanished. In its place, the screen was suddenly filled with summoning chants she did not even recognize, appearing in even greater numbers than before, completely burying the video feed.
The sheer density of messages even caused the image to stutter for a moment.
"BOOM!!!"
Yusaku's palm slammed down onto the Duel Arena. The impact did not feel like it struck the floor, but as if it crashed directly into everyone's heart.
In an instant, golden light erupted from the cracks in the arena.
All eyes turned back to the stage, just in time to see lances of searing radiance burst out from the gaps in the flooring the moment Yusaku struck it.
It was not a gentle glow, but superheated pillars of light, roiling and surging like molten rock. In a heartbeat, the golden radiance swallowed Yusaku whole.
The brilliance was so intense that it could not be stared at directly. Many in the audience instinctively shielded their eyes, yet they could not stop themselves from peeking through their fingers, terrified of missing even a single instant.
"DUEL!!!"
Yusaku's shout cut through the light, clear as day even across the entire plaza.
On his field, [Stardust Dragon], [Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon], and [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon] transformed into three streams of dazzling light, hurling themselves into that golden radiance like moths to a flame.
Yusaku thrust his hand upward, pointing straight at the heavens, his voice echoing across the whole square.
"When light and darkness converge, the ritual of summoning the spire begins! When it descends, searing tempests will scour the land, and all the living shall be reduced to corpses!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the originally clear sky was swallowed by darkness at a speed visible to the naked eye. The clouds were not ordinary storm clouds, but ink-black masses, thick and rolling, roaring as if countless great beasts were slumbering within.
The surging black haze blanketed the firmament. Dark-blue lightning tore through the clouds, not in mere single bolts, but in hundreds, in thousands, spreading like a spiderweb across the sky. The cracking thunder was deafening, as if the heavens themselves were shattering.
The earth began to quake violently. Hairline fractures crept along the edge of the Duel Arena.
Thunderous rumbling and quake-like tremors rolled across the stage.
"Is this an earthquake?!" someone cried out in panic.
No one answered. The air itself seemed to have solidified into palpable pressure. Even the wind felt like it had been frightened into stillness. Every gaze was glued to the device in the center of the Duel Arena that housed the [Unstoppable Nightmare] system.
"Descend!!! — Obelisk the Tormentor!!!"
As the final words of the summoning chant fell, the space behind Yusaku fractured like glass, spreading out in a web of cracks. From the dark-violet void beyond, countless golden Egyptian glyphs poured forth like fireflies, assembling in the air into the phantom image of a colossal obelisk.
"BOOOOM—!!!"
A roar powerful enough to shatter the soul shook the world as a giant that commanded the power of destruction slowly rose from the ground.
It did not appear as a simple solid body, but first as a framework woven of countless golden characters. Each time those sigils pulsed, the contours of its muscles grew clearer — those were not mere bulges of flesh, but mountain ranges of living stone, over which liquid starlight flowed like rivers. Its skin was a gradient of obsidian and gold, each inch reflecting the cosmos that had just bloomed behind it.
The golden plate on its chest did not sit still; the glyphs carved into it writhed and shifted, forming the profile of a Pharaoh's face. Most terrifying of all were its eyes — though still closed, ghostly blue soul-flames burned within its sockets.
[Obelisk the Tormentor]
[Level 10 / Divine-Beast / Effect]
[ATK: 4000]
"Obelisk the Tormentor?!"
Diva staggered back three steps. His Duel Disk slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a clang. His eyes were wide, his lips trembling soundlessly, his face as white as paper. All of his earlier mockery had vanished without a trace, leaving only raw shock and complete bewilderment.
He pointed at the Tormentor with a shaking finger, lips trembling, yet unable to form a single word. Every last drop of color had drained from his face, leaving nothing but naked terror.
For four long years, they had schemed to seize the power of the Gods — and now, that very power had manifested before them in overwhelming fashion, wielded not by them, but by their enemy.
The instant the Tormentor descended, Cheese Crit's live room crashed completely.
Kazetaro and Kouki stood frozen in place, staring at the towering phantom behind Yusaku.
At this point, they no longer even knew what to say.
Watching what unfolded on the field, the spectators below the stage erupted into an unprecedented uproar. Some people shot to their feet, glowsticks dropping from their hands unnoticed. Others simply gaped, screaming without realizing it.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell [Mystical Space Typhoon], targeting your Continuous Spell [Cubic Dharma] to destroy it!"
A cyan whirlwind howled across the arena, shredding the dark aura-wreathed Continuous Spell on Diva's field in an instant.
"And I'm not done yet." The edges of Yusaku's Duel Disk flared blue. "I offer [Cosmic Blazar Dragon] and [Dragon Master Magia] as tributes and activate a special ability of [Obelisk the Tormentor]! Soul Energy… MAX!!!"
Two blazing orbs of light surged up from the void, transforming into sacrificial energy that poured into Obelisk's colossal frame.
As the effect took hold, Obelisk's attack power climbed higher and higher.
[Obelisk the Tormentor]
[ATK: 4000 → 8000 → … → ∞] (anime effect)
Diva's eyes were glued to the ATK display on the Duel Disk. He watched as the number "4000" was wiped away by an invisible hand and replaced with that symbol of absolute power — "∞". His pupils dilated into empty circles as all the blood in his body seemed to freeze in that moment.
"In… infinite? That's impossible…" He forced out a warped croak from his throat.
"The Duel is over." Yusaku pointed toward Diva's Monster Zone. "Battle! Obelisk the Tormentor, attack [Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord]!"
"No! I still have a Trap!" Diva latched onto his last lifeline and slammed his hand down on his Duel Disk. "I activate the Trap Card [Mirror Force]! When an opponent's monster declares an attack, destroy all Attack Position monsters they control!"
As the Trap flipped, a holy barrier of light rose from the ground, forming a hemispherical shield that enveloped Diva's field. Runes flowed across its surface, radiating an aura of inviolable sanctity.
Yusaku gave that barrier a cold glance, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint smirk. "You schemed for the power of the Gods, yet you don't even understand their resistances?"
"Gods are unaffected by Trap Cards."
"W-What?" Diva's voice quavered with absolute despair.
"To covet the power of the Gods and still be ignorant of their effects…" Yusaku looked at Diva, his eyes indifferent. "Gods are unaffected by Trap Cards."
Diva screamed in pure hopelessness. "What!?"
As Yusaku's words fell, the Tormentor moved.
It slowly raised a fist the size of a mountain, blue flames bursting to life around it in an instant. The soul-searing heat twisted the air itself into ripples.
With that single swing, the Duel Arena seemed unable to withstand the force. Cracks raced across the surface like a spiderweb, and chunks of stone were blasted free by the shockwave even before the blow landed.
The gigantic fist, wreathed in soul-burning azure fire, descended. The sheer power unleashed by the strike sent fractures ripping across the arena, countless shards of stone exploding outward.
"BOOM!"
"BOOOOM—!"
The colossal blow crashed into the Mirror Force barrier. The sacred light-shield held for not even a second before shattering like fragile glass, fragments of radiance scattering in all directions with a piercing whine.
The fist did not lose an ounce of power after breaking the shield. It slammed straight into the Dark Cubic Demon Lord's body, and the resulting blast of blue energy swallowed the entire Monster Zone.
Diva was swept up by the edge of the explosion and flung bodily from the platform, crashing to the ground outside the arena. His Duel Disk emitted a shrill alarm as his LP plummeted from 5000 to zero in an instant.
[Diva, LP 5000 → 0]
ps: Obelisk is using its anime effect here; the printed effect is honestly too weak. Technically a direct attack could have ended the Duel already, but since Obelisk is on the field, it feels much more fitting to finish it with the anime version instead…
(End of Chapter)
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