It's Over

If this card inflicted battle damage on the opposing player, then during their next Draw Phase, they had to discard their entire hand before drawing.

That was the effect of "Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi" after it dealt damage.

At first glance, it seemed incredibly powerful, but most Spirit Monsters had increasingly absurd summoning conditions. They either "could not be Special Summoned" or "could not be Normal Summoned," on top of common effects like "return to the hand at the end of the turn."

All he could say was...

"Ridiculous."

Yu Ming could not help but sigh.

Spirit Monsters were ridiculous, and Noah Kaiba, who could use Spirit Monsters as the core of his deck, was even more so...

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing."

Faced with Noah's slightly puzzled gaze, Yu Ming merely smiled.

"I just think you're really strong."

Anyway, for these anime characters, there was no such thing as a bad hand. Something like Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi could be summoned whenever they said so, as naturally as breathing.

Under those circumstances, the drawbacks of Spirit Monsters could basically be ignored.

No searching whatsoever—they simply pulled everything from their opening hand as if the cards had been glued there.

Of course, he definitely could not put it that way in this world.

They had their own specialized way of saying it:

"This isn't a battle fought by me alone."

Stroking his deck, Noah spoke softly.

"Rather than saying I'm strong, it would be more accurate to say my companions are willing to be strong... I'm grateful that they're willing to lend me their power."

That was basically how they put it.

Friendship, bonds.

Souls, pride.

The duelists in anime shouted about such things, then used cards that physical-card players considered unimaginably bricky and absurd to pull off wave after wave of baffling combos and board states.

And then...

"How could this happen?"

And then, this situation appeared.

"How can there be a monster with an effect like this?"

When Yu Ming looked toward the other side of the field, he saw two demons staring at each other.

Pitch-Black King was already looking around in utter confusion, while Dark Invader kept his head lowered.

Although his face was completely hidden in the shadow of his hood, Yu Ming could tell that Mr. Invader was clearly in a foul mood.

After all, in a tag duel, having all their cards cut away before they could even make a play was enough to make anyone see red.

What was worse, this was a Shadow Game—a true life-or-death best-of-one. No matter what happened, they had to grit their teeth and keep playing.

And so...

"It isn't over yet."

After a bout of emotional turmoil, the demon clenched his teeth and spoke.

"We still have one last card!"

No, man, is that really your line?

Seeing the utterly resolute expression on Mr. Demon King's face, Yu Ming suddenly felt a strange, subtle sensation well up within him.

He could not help glancing at the gate, now reduced to nothing but ruins, before looking at the scattered furnishings around them.

"Anyone who didn't know better would think we were the invaders."

"Draw, partner. Let them witness our power."

The Demon King clearly had not heard Yu Ming's jab. He merely looked toward his comrade.

"No matter the outcome, I'll stay with you until the very end!"

However, it seemed that his burning passion had been misplaced.

"..."

After the Demon King's words faded away, an unbearable silence lingered in the air.

The eerie quiet extinguished the ambition the Demon King had only just managed to kindle. The pitch-black demon carefully called out:

"Are you alright?"

When there was still no response, the Demon King could not help reaching out and poking that dark-golden body. What followed immediately was the sound of something splitting apart and collapsing.

Clang.

Cracked armor and metal fell to the ground. As the dark gold faded away, the body sprawled on the floor reverted to ordinary flesh and blood.

"You bastard!!"

The Demon King erupted into curses.

"You coward, you actually dared to abandon me and run away by yourself!"

Well damn, was this demon friendship?

"Cough... cough, cough."

Watching the Demon King rage and curse all by himself, Yu Ming felt his throat itch.

"But then again, do demons have ways to escape even within a Shadow Game?"

"Yes."

Noah nodded.

"They are naturally skilled in methods of manipulating consciousness, souls, and bodies. The one standing here earlier clearly wasn't the real person."

So in other words, it was something like the remote control and possession methods Marik used?

"I see. Then it looks like it would be quite difficult to punish them through a Shadow Game."

"It actually isn't difficult, but right now, we simply lack the strength to do so..."

"Even so, I won't give up!"

Their brief conversation was interrupted. Yu Ming and Noah looked ahead.

"Even if I'm the only one left, I'll continue fighting."

The smell of scorching still hung in the air as the battered demon slowly rose to his feet.

Then, he slowly placed his hand over his deck.

"My turn, draw!"

"...What can I say? That's really passionate."

Watching this scene, Yu Ming's mouth twitched.

"Don't tell me he really drew some card that can turn this around..."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

The Demon King threw back his head and laughed wildly. His harsh, grating voice directly scrambled Yu Ming's thoughts.

"I did it!"

Staring at that deranged roar, Yu Ming looked at Noah.

"Do you have a counter?"

Noah nodded.

"Yes."

Then, he pressed a button on his Duel Disk.

"Trap Card."

"Now, the card in my hand is—urk..."

Just as the Demon King raised his card high, a phantom descended from above, angelic yet Buddha-like. With the effortless composition of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, it plucked the card from the Demon King's hand.

"'Drop Off'—discard the card your opponent drew during their Draw Phase and send it to the Graveyard."

"..."

Watching the Demon King freeze in place like a sculpture, utterly stunned, Yu Ming could not help covering his face.

Though they were enemies now, he sincerely wanted to offer his sympathies.

"I-It's fine. Then I'll just end... end my turn like this."

After a long sigh, he heard the Demon King roar in a trembling voice.

His hand was at zero, and his field was empty, yet his voice only grew louder.

"Your hand is zero too! Even if you draw a Monster Card next turn, you still can't defeat me in one blow!"

Yu Ming saw those scarlet eyes sweep toward him, filled with a determination and frenzy bordering on savagery.

"Next turn... as long as I make it to next turn, I still have a chance!"

Good!

What spirit!

Yu Ming wanted to say that, but after checking the Set Card, he could not help sighing.

"Mr. Demon King, why don't you surrender? Sometimes, continuing to persist isn't necessarily a good thing."

"Enough nonsense! Hurry up and start!"

"..."

Seeing that the other party did not appreciate his concern at all, Yu Ming could only sigh.

"Fine... my turn, draw."

"Yu Ming, don't forget to check the Set Card."

Hearing Noah's reminder, Yu Ming's mouth twitched again.

He had actually checked the Set Card long ago, and that was precisely why he had felt that way.

After all, that Set Card was far from simple...

"Trap Card—'Earthbound Ritual.'"

This was Noah's card, a support card specifically for Spirit Monsters from the anime.

Though it had not yet been made into a physical card, its effect was very simple:

"Add 1 Spirit Monster from your Graveyard to your hand. (Original effect.)"

So the question was, was there a Spirit Monster in the Graveyard?

There was.

Though Noah had not explained it earlier, the card he discarded through "Spirit Energy Stabilizer" had been a Spirit Monster.

And its identity was...

"Caw!"

"Caw!"

When the Trap Card activated, streams of light and a hoarse cry slowly overflowed from the Graveyard Zone, gathering into a card.

It was a crow...

"I add 'Yata-Garasu' to my hand, and then..."

He slapped it down.

"Summon."

At this point, the game was completely over.

"'Yata-Garasu,' attack the player directly."

Pitch-Black King LP: 5200→5000