Jonouchi wore a displeased expression.
"Just as I thought, Jonouchi-kun, one of your facedown cards is [Magic Arm Shield], isn't it!?"
Yugi looked at Jonouchi's two facedown cards.
"Tch!"
Jonouchi clicked his tongue and glanced at one of his facedown cards.
—[Magic Arm Shield].
When the opponent had two or more face-up monsters on their field and you controlled a monster, this card could be activated when an opponent's monster declared an attack by targeting one face-up monster on the opponent's field other than the attacking monster. Take control of that face-up monster until the end of the Battle Phase, then transfer the attack target to that monster and calculate damage.
Since both [Silent Magician LV4] and [Valkyrie] on Yugi's field were in Defense Position, they could not be targeted by the opponent's effects due to [Power in Parallel]. Thus, [Magic Arm Shield] had been rendered useless.
"Go, [Buster Blader]! Destruction Sword Flash!"
Yugi commanded Buster Blader to attack. Buster Blader immediately rushed forward and cleaved the Iron Knight apart.
[Katsuya Jonouchi: LP 4000 → 600]
Yugi's other purpose was not to reduce Jonouchi's Life Points to zero just yet. He was waiting for an opportunity.
"Since my Life Points are currently higher than Jonouchi-kun's, the effect of the Equip Spell [Big Benkei] is reversed."
[Buster Blader: ATK 5200 → 1300]
Yugi then inserted his final card into the Duel Disk.
"I'll set one final card and end my turn."
Yugi ended his turn just like that.
[Yugi Muto's hand: 1 → 0]
"My turn, draw!"
[Katsuya Jonouchi's hand: 0 → 1]
Jonouchi immediately activated the card he had drawn.
"Spell Card [Pot of Greed]. I draw two cards from my deck."
[Katsuya Jonouchi's hand: 1 → 2]
Jonouchi looked at the cards he had drawn.
"Ah... Red-Eyes..."
Jonouchi stared blankly at the card.
"Did Jonouchi-kun draw his soul card, [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!?"
Yugi immediately realized this was a good opportunity.
"Jonouchi-kun, remember! Remember the bond between [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] and us!"
He immediately shouted at Jonouchi.
"It's useless, Yugi. Jonouchi can't break free from my Mind Control... What!?"
Marik had been about to say something when he saw a sight he had never expected.
"Ahhh—!!"
Jonouchi clutched his head and screamed. He seemed to recall fighting alongside Yugi and [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] during Duelist Kingdom.
Jonouchi could no longer bring himself to strike.
Marik could only strengthen his control.
"Damn it, activate the Spell Card [Fireball]!"
A fireball appeared again and shot toward Yugi.
[Yugi Muto: LP 1500 → 1000]
"The condition has been met!"
King cried out as he looked at one of Yugi's facedown cards. But the priority now was to awaken Jonouchi-kun's heart.
At that moment, Jonouchi flipped over his final facedown card.
"It's not over yet! I activate the Trap Card [Level Modulation Laboratory]!"
Reveal one Monster Card from your hand to your opponent, then roll one die. If the result is 1, send the revealed monster to the Graveyard. If the result is 2 through 6, that monster's Level becomes equal to the rolled number until the End Phase of this turn.
A die rolled across the ground before quickly coming to a stop.
—4.
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon: Level 7 → 4]
"I summon [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] from my hand in Attack Position."
A pitch-black dragon appeared on Jonouchi's field.
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon: ATK 2400]
Illustration available in the updated version.
"Red-Eyes... Black Dragon..."
Jonouchi stared blankly once again at that familiar silhouette.
Marik had no choice but to keep strengthening his control.
"Damn it, die! [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], attack! Black Flame Bullet!"
Black flames spewed from the dragon's mouth and shot toward Buster Blader.
"Oh no, if that monster's attack goes through, Yugi will lose..."
Anzu said worriedly.
Yugi hurriedly flipped over one of his facedown cards.
"Don't even think about it, Jonouchi-kun! I won't die until you wake up! I activate the Trap Card [Formidable Opponent Blocking the Way]! I choose [Silent Magician LV4]. This turn, you can only attack that card. And because [Valkyrie] is on my field, you cannot attack any other Spellcaster monsters. Your attack has been sealed."
The Black Flame Bullet vanished at once.
"Please, wake up already! Jonouchi-kun, I believe you can do it!"
Yugi shouted with unwavering determination in his eyes.
"Roar—!!"
As if answering Yugi's words, the black dragon roared.
"Yugi... Red-Eyes... Gahhh!!"
Jonouchi's headache grew even worse.
Marik's control over him was growing weaker and weaker.
"Wake up, Jonouchi-kun! Overcome Marik's will, then let's duel once more in Duel City!"
Yugi kept encouraging Jonouchi.
Although Marik continued to exert pressure on him, Jonouchi finally regained consciousness.
"Yugi!!"
The awakened Jonouchi immediately looked at Yugi.
"Yeah. Leave the rest to me, Jonouchi-kun."
Yugi let out a sigh of relief and smiled at him.
At the same time, a self-piloting helicopter suddenly appeared and flew toward Anzu. Then the President drew a card and threw it at the Gryus lackey holding the remote control, knocking the remote from his hand. Before the lackey could react, the President rushed forward and knocked him unconscious.
Afterward, the helicopter hooked onto the crane and crashed into the sea with it. Anzu had been saved.
"Now it's our turn to escape safely. I activate the Trap Card [Ring of Destruction]."
Destroy one face-up monster on your field. Both players take 1000 damage.
Illustration available in the updated version.
"I destroy [Buster Blader]."
A ring embedded with explosives slipped onto Buster Blader's hand, then exploded.
[Yugi Muto: LP 1000 → 0] [Katsuya Jonouchi: LP 600 → 0]
Once both of their Life Points reached zero, the two counters opened, revealing their respective keys.
"Now! Jonouchi-kun, the keys inside the boxes can unlock our shackles!"
As he spoke, Yugi quickly took out the key. Jonouchi did the same, and the two of them soon unlocked their shackles.
After that, the timer bomb counted down to zero, and the anchor was blown into the depths of the sea.
With that, everyone had been saved.
Finals Venue
At dusk, by the shore.
"Yugi... I-I... I'm really sorry!"
Jonouchi apologized miserably.
"Don't say that anymore, Jonouchi-kun."
Yugi shook his head.
"But I actually did that to you, Yugi..."
Jonouchi clenched his fists.
"We're all safe. That's enough."
Yugi comforted him gently.
"But..."
Jonouchi seemed to want to say something else.
"Didn't we just agree to duel again in Duel City!? I'm not letting you off the hook!"
Yugi's tone became somewhat forceful.
"Yugi, you... I really can't win against you..."
Jonouchi gave a wry smile when he saw Yugi's serious expression.
"Alright. I'll pull myself together, Yugi."
Jonouchi regained a little of his spirit.
"Brother, I'm so glad you're alright."
Jonouchi's younger sister, Shizuka, hugged him tightly.
"Sorry, Shizuka. I made you worry."
Jonouchi said with a guilty expression.
"That's right! I even brought Shizuka here to find you. You can't afford to stay so down!"
Honda said as though he were frustrated by Jonouchi's failure to live up to expectations.
"Thanks, Honda."
With the support of his friends and family, Jonouchi finally recovered.
Before you continue