King: No saving this...
"Then I end my turn. During my End Phase, the effect of [Summoned God Exodia] activates, adding [Exodia the Forbidden One] from my Graveyard to my hand."
[Yugi Muto's hand: 0→1] [Summoned God Exodia: ATK 5000→4000]
"My turn, draw!"
[Dark Marik's hand: 0→1]
"Hehehe, I drew a good card!"
After seeing the card he had drawn, Dark Marik's expression became incredibly vicious.
He directly inserted the card into his Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Card [Card of Demise] from my hand. Both players draw until they each have six cards in hand."
"Nani!?"
Yugi had thought Dark Marik had nothing left to use. He had not expected him to draw the strongest draw card at such a crucial moment.
It seemed that defeating him quickly would take a little more effort.
Before long, both of them had drawn until they each had six cards.
[Dark Marik's hand: 1→6] [Yugi Muto's hand: 1→6]
"Hahahaha, I've already drawn a card that can retrieve [Monster Reborn]."
Dark Marik licked his lips, then pinched three cards between his fingers.
"I discard two cards from my hand as the cost to activate the Spell Card [Pot of Greed], adding the Spell Card [Monster Reborn] from my Graveyard to my hand."
[Dark Marik's hand: 6→4]
That meant he could revive the Sun God again. But before that, he slapped another card from his hand onto the Duel Disk.
"I summon [Slifer the Sky Dragon] in Attack Position from my hand."
Amid a flash of light, a metal demon gripping a huge curved blade was projected before Dark Marik.
[Slifer the Sky Dragon: ATK 1800] [Dark Marik's hand: 4→3]
Only then did he activate the card he had retrieved.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card [Monster Reborn]. Rise again, [The Winged Dragon of Ra]!"
As a fierce storm swept through the field, the Sun God appeared behind Dark Marik once more. This time, however, its form differed from before.
A colossal dragon with the head of an eagle, its entire body seemingly forged from gold, appeared before everyone.
[The Winged Dragon of Ra: ATK 0] [Dark Marik's hand: 3→2]
Dark Marik then flipped over one of his Set cards.
"And at this moment, I activate my Set card, [Magic Capture]."
When you activate a Spell Card, discard 1 card from your hand to chain this effect. When the chained Spell Card is sent to the Graveyard, return that card to your hand.
He sent a card from his hand to the Graveyard and retrieved [Monster Reborn] once more.
That meant he could use it again, though it had also cost him quite a bit. That was good news for Yugi.
At that moment, Dark Marik began chanting Ancient Incantation again. The words were different from before. Naturally, Yugi could not understand them; only the King could.
"Watch closely. The power bestowed upon me by ancient incantations, hahahaha..."
As he laughed madly, his body began disappearing at a rapid pace.
"Yugi, I'll let you witness the hidden special ability of [The Winged Dragon of Ra]."
"Open your eyes wide and burn this sight deeply into your mind! Hahahaha..."
Before long, the cackling Dark Marik was reduced to nothing but a single eye.
""Nani!?""
Everyone was stunned by the scene before them.
"Marik's body disappeared..."
Yugi watched the scene with a grave expression.
"The special ability of [The Winged Dragon of Ra] is to merge with the god itself. It leaves the player with only 1 Life Point, then converts the lost portion into Attack Points!"
Dark Marik's body was embedded within the jewel atop the Sun God's head.
[Dark Marik: LP 3000→1] [The Winged Dragon of Ra: ATK 0→2999]
"I see. Converting Life Points into Attack Points—that's your tactic."
Yugi was not particularly surprised by this effect. After all, its real-life card effect had a similar ability.
"That's not all! I can also tribute the other monsters on my field and have the god absorb their Attack Points!"
Slifer the Sky Dragon beneath the Sun God's feet was instantly swallowed by flames.
[The Winged Dragon of Ra: ATK 2999→4799]
"This is [The Winged Dragon of Ra]'s one-turn-kill ability! Hahahaha!"
Of course, that Attack Point total still could not reduce Yugi's Life Points to zero.
Even so, Dark Marik's words made Yugi frown.
"4799 Attack Points... What an interesting effect. If I hadn't activated [Karma Cut] earlier, [Summoned God Exodia] would have been defeated by that ability."
Fortunately, Yugi's reaction had been quick enough earlier.
Having made his preparations, Dark Marik launched his attack.
"Take this, Yugi! [The Winged Dragon of Ra], attack!!"
Divine flames gathered within the Sun God's dragon maw before it fired at the Summoned God.
Prepared for this, Yugi immediately pressed a button. "I activate my Trap Card..."
Without even thinking, Dark Marik cut him off. "It's useless! A god is unaffected by Trap Card effects!"
But could Yugi really have failed to consider that?
Of course not. So...
"Nani!? Impossible!"
Dark Marik witnessed a horrifying sight before him: the Sun God's divine flames were caught in Summoned God Exodia's single hand.
"Nothing is impossible, because the Trap Card I activated is the Continuous Trap [Dark Production Factory]."
You can only activate this card by sending 1 monster from your hand or field to the Graveyard. Draw 1 card from your Deck.
[Summoned God Exodia: ATK 4000→5000]
It turned out that Yugi had already sent [Exodia the Forbidden One] back to the Graveyard.
If this battle went through, Dark Marik would be finished. But could it really be that simple?
Although This Card Doesn't Say So
"Send it back, Exodia!"
Before Dark Marik's panicked eyes, the Summoned God used demonic flames to shove the Sun God's divine flames back.
"Damn it, then I activate—"
Before he could finish speaking, the attack had already arrived.
Bang—!!
The demonic flames instantly engulfed Dark Marik and the Sun God.
"Yeah—! Yugi wins!"
"That's amazing!"
His companions watched the scene before them excitedly.
Not long after, the demonic flames gradually dispersed.
"Huh!? What happened?"
Yugi was confused because Dark Marik was standing before him once more, while the Sun God remained unharmed behind him.
"Hehehehe, hahahahaha..."
Dark Marik could not help bursting into laughter.
"The instant [The Winged Dragon of Ra] attacked [Summoned God Exodia], I activated a Spell Card from my hand..."
The Set card beneath his feet flipped over—
—[De-Fusion]!
"My fusion with the god can be undone with [De-Fusion]. My Life Points recover by the amount of the god's Attack Points, and the Battle Phase is forcibly ended as well."
[The Winged Dragon of Ra: ATK 4799→0] [Dark Marik: LP 1→4800]
Dark Marik: Even though this card doesn't say so, those are its effects!
"Damn it, he escaped by the skin of his teeth!"
Jonouchi felt it was a shame for Yugi.
"What a pity, AIBO..."
The King was also somewhat regretful.
"It is a pity, but Marik can't do anything against Exodia. Even with [Monster Reborn], he won't last long."
Yugi did not care at all.
"Besides, he only has two cards left in his hand now..."
However, after saying that, Yugi suddenly frowned. He realized that the number of cards in Dark Marik's hand was off.
"Hahahaha, did you notice the number of cards in my hand!?"
Dark Marik also noticed Yugi staring at his hand.
"Why are there four extra cards!?"
Including the [De-Fusion] he had activated earlier, Dark Marik should only have one card left in his hand.
"Could it be..."
Yugi glanced at the ground beneath his opponent and discovered that the Set card had vanished at some point.
"That's exactly it. The moment I activated [De-Fusion], I also activated the Trap Card [Pot of Duality]."
This card can only be activated while your Life Points are below 100. Draw 2 cards from your Deck. If your Life Points are below 10, draw another 2 cards from your Deck.
Before Dark Marik restored his Life Points, he had only 1 Life Point remaining. Thus, he had been able to draw four cards at once.
[Dark Marik's hand: 2→1→5]
Yugi nodded, thinking, I see... But I can tell now that Marik's Deck is basically built around the gods, fighting by continuously reviving them.
Although the gods' abilities are powerful, he relies on them too heavily. That's his most fatal weakness. Without the gods, he's nothing.
There was also quite a large gap between them now.
"I Set one card and end my turn."
Dark Marik had already Set a card. Unless something unexpected happened, that card was [Monster Reborn].
[Dark Marik's hand: 5→4]
"My turn, draw!"
Before you continue