A golden idol rose up on Seto Kaiba's field, forming a solid barrier.
Wicked Token, DEF 1000.
"Tch, it had to be that idol," Ken Fujimoto muttered, frowning as he continued.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Double Summon' from my hand. This lets me Normal Summon twice this turn. I tribute Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror to perform a Tribute Summon."
"Ruler of darkness, king of chaos. Level 6, Great Maju Garzett, summon!"
Great Maju Garzett, ATK 0.
"Great Maju Garzett's effect. Its ATK becomes twice the original ATK of the monster used for its Tribute Summon. Since Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror is already in the graveyard, its original ATK is treated as 3000."
"So Garzett's ATK becomes."
Great Maju Garzett, ATK 0 to ATK 6000.
"Six thousand!" Ken Fujimoto laughed loudly. "That's double the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's ATK!"
Seto Kaiba curled his lip slightly. "Hmph. Now it's only a little less boring."
"What?" The lack of acknowledgment stung, and irritation flashed across Ken Fujimoto's face.
"As expected of Seto Kaiba, your standards are different," Ken Fujimoto said grimly. "But I'm not done yet. I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Gateway to Dark World' from my hand."
"This card can only be activated in a turn where a level eight monster from my field was sent to the graveyard. This turn, Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror was sent there as a tribute. Therefore, I can Special Summon this card from my Deck! (ANIME EFFECT)"
He spread his Deck and pulled out the chosen card.
"Where raging flames and the shadow of death intertwine. Level eight, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon, summon!"
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon, ATK 3500.
"S-Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon!" Mokuba Kaiba exclaimed. It was not just its power, but its history as a former ace used by villains expelled from Kaiba Corporation.
"Oh, this brings back memories," Seto Kaiba said with a quiet snort.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Shield Crush' from my hand. I can target one Defense Position monster on the field and destroy it!"
The magic flared as Ken Fujimoto pointed at Seto Kaiba's field. "I destroy that face-down monster!"
A beam of light shot forward, but just before it hit, black mist erupted and twisted into a vortex that swallowed the attack whole.
"What?" Ken Fujimoto cried.
"Trap Card 'Dark Bribe'," Seto Kaiba said calmly. "When you activate an effect that would destroy a card on the field, that effect is negated. (ANIME EFFECT)"
The magic faded away, leaving Ken Fujimoto's spell image dissolving into nothing.
"Tch, blocked again," Ken Fujimoto muttered.
"After negation, I can also send one DARK monster with level three or lower from my Deck to the graveyard." Another card was automatically retrieved from Seto Kaiba's Duel Disk and sent away.
Grinding his teeth, Ken Fujimoto pressed on. "Then I activate the Spell Card 'Pot of Greed' from my hand. By banishing three Spell Cards from my graveyard from play, I draw two cards. (ANIME EFFECT)"
Three green cards rose from his graveyard. "I banish 'Double Summon', 'Gateway to Dark World', and 'Shield Crush' to draw two cards!"
He drew, then raised his hand. "Battle Phase! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon attacks the face-down monster!"
The dragon unleashed a filthy vortex of breath, smashing the set monster to pieces.
"Hmph. You destroyed 'Nimble Momonga'," Seto Kaiba said coldly, drawing two more cards through an automatic search. "When 'Nimble Momonga' is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I recover 1000 LP. Then I can Special Summon any number of 'Nimble Momonga' from my Deck in face-down Defense Position."
Seto Kaiba, LP 4000 to LP 5000.
Two new face-down monsters appeared on his field. Ken Fujimoto stared in silence, watching his opponent gain both monsters and life.
"More walls won't save you," Ken Fujimoto shouted. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon's special effect lets it attack all of your monsters once each. The attack continues. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon attacks the Statue of the Wicked!" (ANIME EFFECT)
The dragon's breath crashed down, a black storm sweeping across the field. When the smoke cleared, the idol still stood, and Seto Kaiba remained in the same relaxed stance, only the corner of his coat fluttering.
"Counter Trap 'Negate Attack'," Seto Kaiba said. "The opponent's monster attack is negated, and the Battle Phase ends."
He paused, then gave a faint, mocking smile. "You worked hard for a rat, but in the end, this is all you amount to."
"Tch." Ken Fujimoto bit his lip, unable to do anything more.
"I set two cards and end my turn," he said at last.
At the end phase of the turn, the side effect of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon triggered, forcing it to lose 500 ATK at each of its controller's end phases, Michi Fujimoto announced. The numbers on the field shifted as its power fell. (ANIME EFFECT)
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon dropped from ATK 3500 to ATK 3000.
"Only that much?"
Seto Kaiba stood there with his arms crossed, wearing a look of open contempt. He did not move an inch as he spoke.
"Huh?" Ken Fujimoto froze for a moment. He wondered if he had heard wrong.
Only that much? What more did you want?
In a single turn, he had brought out the field-sweeping Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon and a Great Demon Beast with a full 6000 ATK. He had even had room to set his back row for extra insurance. By any fair standard among modern Duelist, this was top-tier play, and he was very satisfied with his own performance.
If he had failed to finish the duel, it was only because his opponent was too hard to kill.
"Then My Turn!." Seto Kaiba calmly performed a Card Draw and drew a card. "Let me show you what a real gap in strength looks like."
"First, I activate Graceful Charity. I draw three cards from my Deck, then discard two cards from my hand."
Two cards slid from Seto Kaiba's Duel Disk into the Graveyard.
"Flip Summon two Nimble Momonga. Then I tribute the Wicked Token on the field and one Nimble Momonga to perform a Tribute Summon!"
Seto Kaiba raised the card in his hand, and it burst with blinding light as a violent wind surged behind him.
"If that is endless darkness, then submit to Dragon of Light and let all darkness be stained away."
"Level eight, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I summon!"
A pillar of light shot into the sky, and the white dragon's wings appeared first within the glow. A sacred white dragon emerged as if flying out of ancient ages, its form solidifying with a roaring gale and overwhelming dragon pressure. The moment it landed, it felt as though it ruled the entire field.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon stood on the field with ATK 3000.
"So it finally appeared, Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Ken Fujimoto forced down his unease. "But even the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon only has 3000 ATK, the same as my weakened Blue-Eyes Ultimate Spirit Dragon. It is not even a match for my Great Demon Beast."
"You ignorant frog at the bottom of a well. You know nothing of the power of Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Seto Kaiba shouted. "Open your eyes and witness the absolute force of Dragon of Light that destroys everything."
"From my hand, I activate the Spell Card Burst Stream of Destruction!"
Ken Fujimoto's eyelid twitched. "That is a Spell with the same name as Blue-Eyes White Dragon's attack?"
"At the cost of my Blue-Eyes White Dragon being unable to declare an attack this turn, destroy all monsters on your field!" Seto Kaiba clenched his right fist. "Be crushed under the power of Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Blue-Eyes White Dragon opened its jaws, and endless light poured forth, turning into a white storm that erased everything in its path.
"It is not that simple!" Ken Fujimoto swung his arm down. "I flip my face-down Trap Card, Safe Zone!"
"This card lets me select one Attack Position monster I control. As long as Safe Zone remains on the field, that monster cannot be targeted by your card effects and cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects!"
He pointed straight at his 6000 attack monster.
"I use Safe Zone to protect my Great Maju Garzett. It cannot be destroyed!"