"This is a battle with the title of King of Games on the line, and this stage is..."
Whoosh—!!!
Cheers erupted from all around.
"Sky Arena!"
"""Kaiba..."""
After the President finished speaking, the audience projections in the arena continuously cheered his name.
"Yu↑gi↓, countless ties have accumulated between us. Under the hand of destiny, we will settle who is superior, just like the gladiators of ancient Rome who fought with their lives on the line for glory and freedom!"
King: AIBO, are we really dueling in a setting like this?
Yugi: ...(covering his face)
This was way too cringey, way too embarrassing.
But the President, intoxicated by his own sense of aesthetics, did not care what they thought.
Seeing Yugi hesitate awkwardly without drawing, the President unhesitatingly claimed the first turn.
"Then I'll take the first turn. Draw!"
[Seto Kaiba's hand: 5→6]
After glancing over his hand, the President said, "Yu↑gi↓, ever since you regained [Exodia], I've been considering how to break through your deck. And this is my answer..."
As he spoke, he inserted a card from his hand into his Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card [Dark Revelation]."
Declare the name of 1 Monster Card. If that Monster Card exists in the opponent's deck, add 1 copy of that card to the opponent's hand.
[Seto Kaiba's hand: 6→5]
"Of course, I declare [Exodia the Forbidden One]!"
Following the President's words, Yugi added that card to his hand.
[Yugi Muto's hand: 5→6]
Then the President inserted a second card into his Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Card [Different Revelation]."
Declare the name of 1 card. Confirm the opponent's hand. If the declared card exists in the opponent's hand, banish 1 copy of the declared card from the game; if the declared card does not exist in the opponent's hand, randomly banish 1 card from your own hand from the game.
[Seto Kaiba's hand: 5→4]
The President raised his right hand toward Yugi. "Naturally, I declare [Exodia the Forbidden One] again. Now, let me take a look at your hand!"
Yugi frowned. "I see. You want to seal away Exodia's power from the very beginning!?"
Neither he nor the King had expected the President to erase the possibility of Exodia from the root, but banishing a key piece right from the start was indeed a highly effective solution.
And Yugi truly had not considered banishment, nor had he prepared any countermeasures for such a situation.
Still, he did not mind. Even without Exodia, this deck was far from unplayable.
The key issue was that his hand would be exposed to his opponent. That was the only troublesome part.
Of course, he still had to reveal his hand.
—[Exodia the Forbidden One], [Ultimate Seal God Exodius], [Right Leg of the Forbidden One], [Shining Angel], [Mirror Force], [Hand Destruction]!
"Hmph↓! More cards I've never seen..."
Other than the second card, the President recognized every card in Yugi's hand.
Though he could not see what that card did, he could tell that it was a support card for Exodia.
In his eyes, with one piece missing, that card's effect was essentially useless.
Even though it was a Level 10 monster, it was no longer worth worrying about.
Soon, after the President finished confirming the cards, Yugi placed the repeatedly declared Exodia piece into his card case.
[Yugi Muto's hand: 6→5]
The President continued his play. "I summon [Giant Virus] from my hand in Defense Position."
Giant Virus appeared once again.
[Giant Virus: DEF 100]
"Finally, I set one card. That ends my turn."
He quickly ended his turn.
[Seto Kaiba's hand: 4→2]
After banishing an Exodia piece, the President's plays became conservative again.
Because he had seen Yugi's hand, he felt that this much defense was enough.
"Come on, Yugi!"
He provoked Yugi, expecting him to attack.
"My turn, draw!"
[Yugi Muto's hand: 5→6]
Yugi glanced at the card he had drawn, then ignored it and placed a card from his hand onto his Duel Disk. "I summon [Shining Angel] from my hand in Defense Position."
The card's artwork flashed with light, and Shining Angel was summoned onto Yugi's field once again.
[Shining Angel: DEF 800]
[Yugi Muto's hand: 6→5]
Seeing Yugi refrain from attacking, the President was somewhat dissatisfied. "Why aren't you attacking!?"
The King also looked at Yugi in confusion.
Yugi smiled. "Too naive, Kaiba! I know exactly what [Giant Virus] can do."
When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, activate it. Inflict 500 damage to the opponent. Then, you can Special Summon any number of [Giant Virus] from your deck in Attack Position.
"Once I attack it, I'll take 500 damage, while leaving you with two Tributes."
Wasn't it stupid to step into a trap when you knew it was there?
So, Yugi was better off holding his ground here.
"Tch! You saw through it!?"
Still, the President was not annoyed. After all, his opponent was Yugi.
"Finally, I set one card. My turn is over."
Yugi also ended his turn cleanly.
[Yugi Muto's hand: 5→4]
Exodius
"My turn, draw!"
[Seto Kaiba's hand: 2→3]
Seto Kaiba glanced at the card he had drawn, then immediately slapped it onto his Duel Disk. "Hmph↓! It seems aces always come to my hand. I offer [Giant Virus] as a Tribute and summon [Crystal Dragon] from my hand in Attack Position!"
Light flashed across the card's artwork, and an azure dragon made entirely of crystal was projected before the President.
[Crystal Dragon: ATK 2500]
[Seto Kaiba's hand: 3→2]
"Here it comes..."
Yugi became alert. He recognized this monster as well.
After this monster took the field, the President decisively launched an attack. "Go! First, send Yugi's monster straight to hell! [Crystal Dragon], attack!"
Crystal Dragon spread its wings and fired countless crystal arrows from its entire body at Shining Angel.
Yugi hurriedly pressed the button and flipped over the card he had set last turn. "At this moment, I activate the Trap Card [Mirror Force]! Destroy all Attack Position monsters on my opponent's field!"
A barrier of light instantly unfolded before Shining Angel.
However, the President had already prepared the appropriate countermeasure.
He pressed his own button and flipped over his set card. "Too naive. Did you think I would have no preparations after knowing you had that card in your hand? I activate my set card, [Dark Sacrifice]!"
Can only be activated when an effect of a Spell, Trap, or Monster Card that would destroy cards on the field is activated by the opponent. Negate that effect. Then, send 1 Level 3 or lower Dark Attribute Monster from your deck to the Graveyard.
"I send a second [Giant Virus] from my deck to the Graveyard and negate the effect of [Mirror Force]!"
The barrier before Shining Angel shattered instantly, and Crystal Dragon's attack fell upon it in full.
Bang—!!
Shining Angel vanished.
But having this monster destroyed was exactly what Yugi wanted. "The moment [Shining Angel] is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon a monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck."
After selecting a card from his deck, Yugi directly slapped it onto his Duel Disk. "Come forth! [Silent Swordsman LV3]!"
Amid a flash of light, a young swordsman in a blue coat appeared on Yugi's field.
[Silent Swordsman LV3: ATK 1000]
The President naturally knew Yugi would activate the effect, but he did not care. "Then I will activate [Crystal Dragon]'s special ability as well."
Once per turn, during the Battle Phase of your turn in which this card battled, activate this effect. Add 1 Level 8 Dragon-Type monster from your deck to your hand.
"I choose [White Spirit Dragon]."
[Seto Kaiba's hand: 2→3]
"[White Spirit Dragon]..."
Yugi frowned.
Seeing Yugi's expression, the King asked curiously, "AIBO, do you know that card?"
Yugi nodded. "I do. It's a powerful monster that can remove a Spell or Trap Card when it is successfully summoned. And while it exists in the hand or Graveyard, it is treated as a Normal Monster."
"In other words, if Kaiba added it to his hand at this time, he is probably holding [Ancient Rules] right now."
Upon hearing that, the King frowned as well. "A card specifically meant to deal with AIBO's set cards?"
"Probably..."
But Yugi felt that things were not that simple.
Next, the President inserted another card from his hand into his Duel Disk.
"Finally, I set one card. My turn is over."
A set card appeared in his back row, and the President's turn ended once more.
[Seto Kaiba's hand: 3→2]
"All right, it's your turn now, Yugi!"
As the President finished speaking, Yugi drew a card.
"My turn, draw!"
[Yugi Muto's hand: 4→5]
Yugi did not look at the card he had drawn for now. He pointed at Silent Swordsman and said, "[Silent Swordsman LV3]'s effect activates. During my Standby Phase, I send this card to the Graveyard to level it up, then Special Summon [Silent Swordsman LV5]."
Silent Swordsman instantly grew into a tall swordsman.
[Silent Swordsman LV5: ATK 2300]
The President's gaze turned serious. "What!? You can summon a high-level monster that easily?"
"It seems [LV] monsters are quite strong..."
Though that was what he thought, he had no intention of specifically adding an [LV] monster package to his own deck. White Bride was enough for him.
Only then did Yugi glance at his hand before slapping a card onto his Duel Disk. "I return all monsters in my Graveyard to my deck and Special Summon [Ultimate Seal God Exodius] from my hand."
Before you continue