Isono quickly raised his right hand. "Duel start!"
[Yugi Muto: LP 4000] [Dark Marik: LP 4000]
"Hehehe, I'm going first. Here I go!"
Dark Marik licked his lollipop, then raised it high.
The eye on the Millennium Rod emitted a golden glow, and the top of Duel Tower was swiftly shrouded in black mist.
"This is a Dark Game!"
It was Yugi's first time facing such a brutal battle head-on. In the past, King had always taken over during Dark Games, so he was still somewhat nervous about dueling a Dark Duelist for the first time.
Of course, since Yugi could switch places at any time, he was not too afraid.
"Hehehe, I've prepared the ultimate Dark Game for our duel. Once either side loses, their soul will be devoured by darkness."
Because Dark Marik was still relatively weak and could not pull in other souls as hostages like in the original story, he could only wager the souls of both duelists.
"All right, the gates of hell are about to open. Hehehehahaha..."
After he finished laughing, Dark Marik finally adjusted his previously fearful state of mind.
Only then did he draw a card.
"Let's begin. My turn, draw!"
[Dark Marik's hand: 5 → 6]
He held up three cards. "I summon [Underworld Guide] in Defense Position..."
Dark Marik played that card once more.
[Underworld Guide: DEF 800]
"Then I set two cards and end my turn."
Only after setting two cards did he declare the end of his turn with satisfaction.
[Dark Marik's hand: 6 → 3]
"My turn, draw!"
[Yugi Muto's hand: 5 → 6]
After drawing, Yugi unhesitatingly inserted a card from his hand into his Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card [Bitter Choice] from my hand."
Choose 5 cards from your Deck and show them to your opponent. Your opponent chooses 1 of those cards. Add the chosen card to your hand, and discard the rest to the Graveyard.
An illustration is available here and can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
[Yugi Muto's hand: 6 → 5]
The five cards Yugi selected were displayed in a row before Dark Marik.
—[Exodia the Forbidden One], [Left Arm of the Forbidden One], [Right Arm of the Forbidden One], [Left Leg of the Forbidden One], [Right Leg of the Forbidden One]!
Dark Marik could not help clicking his tongue. "Tch! So it's [Exodia] again."
However, he quickly broke into a grin.
"But sending [Exodia] to the Graveyard means you've given up on your previous strategy. Hehehe..."
That immediately relieved much of his pressure.
After that, he selected one card to add to Yugi's hand.
Yugi directly slapped that card onto his Duel Disk.
"I summon [Left Arm of the Forbidden One] from my hand."
With a flash of light, a giant yellow hand was projected before Yugi.
[Left Arm of the Forbidden One: ATK 200]
"Fool! Yu↑gi↓ is actually using the same strategy as that old man!"
When President Kaiba saw Yugi summon one of the pieces, he looked as though he hated to see iron fail to become steel. In his eyes, playing this way meant abandoning Exodia's strongest ability.
While that was true, what Yugi intended to summon was not trash like Gozaburo's [Exodia's Undead].
At that moment, Yugi picked up another card from his hand.
"I tribute one [Forbidden One] monster on my field to Special Summon this card from my hand."
As he spoke, the Left Arm on Yugi's field vanished, and he slapped the card in his hand onto the Duel Disk.
"Here it comes! The Demon God's true form—[Summoned God Exodia]!"
A pentagram opened a gate to another world, and a complete Exodia stepped through it, descending onto Yugi's field.
[Summoned God Exodia: ? → 5000]
An illustration is available here and can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
[Yugi Muto's hand: 5 → 4]
"[Summoned God Exodia]!? Impossible! I've never even heard of such a card! And its attack power actually reached 5000..."
President Kaiba, who had been in a foul mood, was stunned by the sudden development.
Yugi began explaining its effect. "[Summoned God Exodia]'s attack power is determined by the monsters in the Graveyard."
This card gained 1000 attack power for every [Forbidden One] monster in the Graveyard.
That was why Summoned God Exodia's attack power was five thousand.
Yugi continued, "And this card is unaffected by the effects of other cards!"
"What!? A power comparable to the God Cards actually exists!"
Dark Marik immediately panicked.
That was the most crucial point. Yugi had summoned this monster specifically to guard against Dark Marik's God Card. Complete immunity did not care whether the source was a god or a monster.
Dark Marik was going to have quite the headache next.
The God That Never Took the Field
"Here I go, Marik!"
After summoning a Summoned God with complete immunity, Yugi had no need to test the waters. He could enter the Battle Phase without concern.
"Battle! [Summoned God Exodia], attack [Underworld Guide]! Demon God Flame Cannon!"
Following the attack command, the Demon God hurled demonic flames that instantly blasted the fiend apart.
Afterward, Yugi said, "According to [Underworld Guide]'s monster effect, when this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, its effect that destroys one monster on the field automatically activates. However, [Summoned God Exodia] is unaffected by that effect."
Dark Marik's expression was ugly. "Tch, what an irritating ability..."
It was an effect he had no way whatsoever to deal with.
Finally, Yugi inserted two cards from his hand into his Duel Disk.
"I set two cards and end my turn."
[Yugi Muto's hand: 4 → 2]
"And [Summoned God Exodia]'s other effect activates."
Activates during your End Phase. Select 1 [Forbidden One] monster in your Graveyard and add it to your hand.
"It even has an effect that recovers [Exodia]!? What a terrifying card... It's far stronger than the card Gozaburo used!"
President Kaiba instantly understood just how vast the gap was between Yugi and his adoptive father.
At that moment, Yugi had already taken a card from his Graveyard.
"I add [Exodia the Forbidden One] from my Graveyard to my hand."
[Yugi Muto's hand: 2 → 3] [Summoned God Exodia: ATK 5000 → 4000]
"Its attack power dropped... I see! Although [Summoned God Exodia] is powerful now, as long as my attack power is high enough, I can still destroy it! Hahahaha..."
Seeing Dark Marik muttering to himself, everyone was speechless.
King: Has this guy gone insane? Does he think AIBO's set cards are just for decoration?
Jonouchi: Exactly...
President: ...
They knew all too well how ridiculously ruthless Yugi could be. Hadn't that brat been buried under a mountain of Traps before and left questioning his life?
Dark Marik's coming misery was already easy to foresee.
"My turn, draw!"
[Dark Marik's hand: 3 → 4]
Dark Marik eagerly drew a card.
"Hahahaha, it's here!"
The veins on his face bulged wildly.
"Did he draw a God Card?"
Yugi immediately realized what that card was.
Dark Marik's smile grew even more unrestrained. "Hehehe, you're right. This card is the strongest god, [The Winged Dragon of Ra]."
"Then I discard this card as the cost to activate the Spell Card [Monster Reincarnation], adding one monster from my Graveyard to my hand. I add [Underworld Guide] to my hand."
This two-for-one exchange looked costly, and it truly was costly, but his goal was merely to send the God Card to the Graveyard.
[Dark Marik's hand: 4 → 3]
However, that move truly shocked the spectators.
King could not understand it. "Impossible! He actually discarded such a powerful God Card..."
Yugi shook his head. "No. [The Winged Dragon of Ra] must have some hidden special ability, which is why he deliberately discarded it."
"A hidden special ability... Now that you mention it, that is indeed possible..."
King no longer dwelled on it.
He simply did not know what the other side intended to do.
But the answer would soon be revealed.
At that moment, Marik picked up two cards from his hand.
"I set one card from my hand, then summon [Yōkei Sho]."
[Yōkei Sho: ATK 1700] [Dark Marik's hand: 3 → 1]
"He summoned a monster in Attack Position!? There's a scheme!"
Realizing this, the quick-reacting Yugi hurriedly pressed a button and flipped one of his set cards.
"I discard [Exodia the Forbidden One] to activate the Trap Card [Karma Cut]!"
Discard 1 card, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; banish that face-up monster. If cards with the same name as the banished card exist in your opponent's Graveyard, banish all cards with that name as well.
[Yugi Muto's hand: 3 → 2] [Summoned God Exodia: ATK 4000 → 5000]
"Of course, I'm banishing [Yōkei Sho]!"
The instant Yugi finished speaking, Yōkei Sho vanished from Dark Marik's field.
"Tch! How decisive..."
Since his monster had been banished, Dark Marik could only temporarily abandon his original plan.
"Well~~, I'll let you escape disaster for now, Yugi!"
Before you continue