"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell Card Tomes of the Hundred. Once per turn, by Tributing a Hassan Sabbah on the field, I can destroy one card on the field or draw one card. By the way, this effect can also be activated during the opponent's turn. I'll Tribute Fanatic and draw a card!"
Having been drained of her remaining value, Fanatic was mercilessly sent to the Graveyard by Jiang You.
"?"
Fanatic was truly fuming, but with nowhere to vent her anger. As a final act of defiance, she made a throat-slitting gesture at Jiang You before vanishing from the Battle Zone.
"Then, I activate the Spell Card Archivist of Hidden Knowledge. From the Graveyard, I choose three cards, add one to my Hand, and return the remaining two to the Deck! I'll select Surrender Thy Head!"
"Fanatic and one Hassan (Host)! Among them, I'll add Surrender Thy Head! to my Hand."
Jiang You once again held King Hassan's powerful card in his hand.
"It's not over yet! I activate Delusional Illusion! From my Deck, Hand, or Graveyard, I Special Summon up to three Hundred Faces! The effects of Hundred Faces Special Summoned by this effect are negated! I'll Special Summon two Hundred Faces from the Graveyard in Defense Position!"
Hundred Faces: Defense Points 800 * 2
The reason Jiang You didn't summon three Hundred Faces was because he needed to maintain enough Hassans to activate To Sound the Funeral Bell while also ensuring defensive capabilities. One Hassan could chain Tomes of the Hundred to unleash Hundred Faces before Tiamat activated her Field Spell Card, while the remaining Hassan could be banished without significant consequence.
"Now, I set three cards in my Backrow and end my turn."
Jiang You's remaining two cards were Morning Glory and To Sound the Funeral Bell.
"If this is all you're capable of..."
Tiamat gazed at the two Hundred Faces on Jiang You's field, each with Attack Power and Defense less than 1000, and a look of disappointment crossed her face.
"Mommy can't possibly entrust humanity with what's to come! My turn, draw!"
"It's a shame my Primordial Sea evaporated earlier, so let's recreate it here. I activate the Field Spell Card Primordial Sea!"
Black seawater surged forth from beneath Tiamat's feet, flooding the Duel Space as the Primordial Sea descended once more.
"That thing was never going to stay away for long."
Jiang You had anticipated this outcome. Since Field Spell Cards couldn't target specific cards, the only solution was to destroy all cards on the field. Fortunately, the cards King Hassan had given him filled this gap. He could retrieve the necessary card later using Surrender Thy Head!
"Before that, I activate the Continuous Spell Card Tomes of the Hundred. I release one Hundred Faces and draw another card!"
The Hundred Faces card was released before the Primordial Sea took effect, allowing her to successfully enter the Graveyard. Jiang You replenished his hand to three cards.
"Did one escape?"
Tiamat understood Jiang You's urgency in sending Hassan to the Graveyard. He must have obtained partial information about her cards from somewhere. He was trying to avoid the Primordial Sea's banishing effect, but she couldn't determine his true objective. "If that's the case, I'll need to banish your cards using the field as much as possible. I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card Primordial Regression. It can only be activated while Primordial Sea is on the field. I Special Summon one Tiamat (Self-Sealed) from my Deck in Attack Position."
An ancient song echoed from the sea, and immense magical power converged on the surface.
Tiamat (Self-Sealed)
Attack Power: 0
The young Tiamat transformed on the field, reverting to the form she had when first summoned, tightly bound to the sea's surface. Her figure became more curvaceous, radiating a maternal presence.
"Her intellect remains... In any case, as the summoning cost, the servant summoned by this card cannot attack."
Jiang You glanced at the Trap Card in his backrow, [ Evening Bell, Homeward Bound! ]. While it could affect Tiamat in this state, [ Tiamat (Self-Sealed)'s ] Special Summon effect to manifest her full form would trigger upon her departure, only increasing the pressure. Since Jiang You could win the Duel immediately by Normal Summoning King Hassan and attacking, he refrained from using it.
"Aren't you going to use your Backrow?" Tiamat scanned Jiang You's face-down cards, wishing she had a destruction effect at hand.
"You're too strong, Tiamat," Jiang You replied bluntly. "I can't risk letting your full form descend right now."
Usually, mothers appreciate straightforward children.
"So you already knew the effects?"
The Tiamat summoned by Kingu back then had no consciousness whatsoever, so she had no way of knowing how much Jiang You understood about her powers.
"Even though Mommy knows so little about you, she always feels a sense of distance. Is this what they call 'the rebellious phase'?"
"Is that how you describe it? Actually, if you need me to, I can explain it to you in detail."
Tiamat naturally slipped into the role of Mother, leaving Jiang You to inwardly groan at the bizarre knowledge the Heroic Spirits had been imbued with.
"Pressuring them too much will only backfire. Children need their personal space."
Tiamat understood perfectly how to interact with children, but what she would actually do was another matter entirely.
"Now then, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, Genesis of the Eleven Beasts! This card can only be activated when Tiamat is on the field. Special Summon as many Eleven Beasts-related Magical Beast (Servant) cards as possible from my Deck!"
"Here it comes?"
Jiang You surmised that Tiamat's Deck's lower-tier servants were all Lahmu and Bel Lahmu. The moment she summoned them, he would banish them all directly.
"Come forth, my strongest and most savage children! You who once defied the gods, return to your Mother's side once more and bring her victory!"
Tiamat's cry rang out like a song. "I summon four! Basmu the Venom Dragon, Girtablilu the Scorpion Man, Ugallu the Storm Lion, and Uridimmu the Mad Dog!"
These familiar yet foreign names made Jiang You's eyelid twitch. At first, he'd assumed they were mass-produced Magical Beasts like Gorgon's creations, but beings with proper titles couldn't be so easily dismissed.
He glanced at the Cards leaping from his Deck and gasped. These were Tiamat's originals, their power leagues beyond that of mere cannon fodder. Each possessed abilities rivaling First-Rate Heroic Spirits.
Take Basmu the Venom Dragon, for example. Its Attack Power was a staggering 3000 points. Like Serenity, it had a Battle Phase effect that targeted no specific card, but it went further, sending cards directly to the Graveyard instead of destroying them. Moreover, with each attack declaration, the opponent randomly discarded a card from their Hand, and Basmu couldn't be destroyed by battle.