"Because of the effect of "Card of Safe Return," I draw three cards from my Deck," Marik said, drawing three cards, including an Egyptian God Card, under Yugi's wary gaze. At this moment, his hand contained a total of seven cards. "Then, I Tribute "Metal Reflect Slime" on my field!"
"A Trap Card was Tributed?!" Having not experienced a Duel against Odion, Yugi and the others were still quite unfamiliar with the existence of Trap Monsters.
Seeing the surprise on Yugi's face, Marik said proudly, "Although it's a Trap Card, "Metal Reflect Slime" can be used as a Monster."
"The Monster I am about to Summon, besides Fusion Summoning, can be Special Summoned by Tributing one Level 10 Aqua-Type Monster with 0 ATK. The Monster that descends here is the supreme existence among Slimes—the "God Slime"!!!"
Within the vortex that suddenly appeared on Marik's field, the metallic silver "Metal Reflect Slime" was pulverized by the endlessly swirling vortex. Its colors were eroded and permeated by the murky vortex, like dye bleeding into clear water. Finally, the Monster that appeared on Marik's field was a pool of still, lifeless water.
Just as Yugi thought the pale silver puddle was the "God Slime" Marik spoke of, the liquid suddenly began to boil. From within the liquid, the image of a Monster quite familiar to Kaiba slowly rose.
Its massive wings, which unfurled to blot out the sky and whip up gales, its fierce fangs and majestic gaze, its powerful limbs and slender body—what else could it be but Kaiba's proud Ace Monster, the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon"?
Aside from being entirely composed of semi-transparent metallic liquid, Marik's "God Slime" looked exactly like Kaiba's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". What annoyed Kaiba even more were the "God Slime"'s System Panel stats, which seemed almost intentionally designed.
"God Slime" [Level 10/WATER Attribute]
[Aqua/Fusion/Effect Monster]
[ATK 3000/DEF 3000]
Its ATK and DEF were both equal to the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon"'s standard 3000 ATK, causing even Yugi to frown.
If one ignored the fact that its liquid composition prevented it from roaring and its distinct body color, the "God Slime" gave Yugi the exact same feeling as Kaiba's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon".
However, Yugi wouldn't be afraid of merely the power of a "Blue-Eyes White Dragon"; he didn't know how many "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" he had already defeated.
"God Slime" is a Monster without a fixed form; it can transform into any shape. But since I'm facing you, using the image of Seto Kaiba's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" felt more appropriate, wouldn't you agree?" Marik said, raising a card from his hand.
Yugi saw the card's red border; it wasn't the brownish-red of a Trap Card, but an extremely vivid red. 'Is that "Slifer the Sky Dragon"? But Marik only has two Monsters on his field, doesn't he?'
"Watch closely, Nameless Pharaoh! At this very moment, my ultimate Combo is about to be completed!" Marik exclaimed, his face filled with excitement. As he raised "Slifer the Sky Dragon" in his hand above his head, thunder roared in the heavens, even though no Field Spell Card was activated, as if the airship had flown into a massive thunderstorm.
"When "God Slime" is Tributed for a Tribute Summon, it can be counted as three Tributes! I Tribute "God Slime" to Tribute Summon a Divine-Beast!" Marik slapped the card onto his Duel Disk. "When Thunder and Chaos Converge, Ancient Spellbooks Bound in Chains, Unrivaled in Power and Limitless!"
"Summon, "Slifer the Sky Dragon"!"
Not from within the thunder-flashing storm clouds, a red dragon coiled and swam around the airship. Its exaggerated size made Yugi involuntarily recall Jörmungandr, the colossal serpent from Norse Mythology said to be long enough to encircle the world.
The red dragon, with its two massive mouths, one above and one below, poked its head out from behind Marik. Although it still harbored some resentment from the last Duel when Marik had Tributed himself during his Duel with Hayato, bound by the rules of Duel Monsters, "Slifer the Sky Dragon" let out a roar at Yugi, proving it wasn't slacking off.
"Slifer the Sky Dragon" [Level 10/DIVINE Attribute]
[Divine-Beast/Effect Monster]
[ATK X000/DEF X000]
"(Slifer the Sky Dragon)..." As Marik Summoned the third Egyptian God, which had been slow to appear, a smirk involuntarily played on Kaiba's lips. After the sky-scraping Giant "Obelisk the Tormentor" and "The Winged Dragon of Ra," which tore through the sky like a solar disc, was it now the Great Dragon "Slifer the Sky Dragon"?
"Obelisk the Tormentor"'s ATK could soar to infinity, and "The Winged Dragon of Ra" could use the power of Life Points. Although "Slifer the Sky Dragon"'s currently displayed ATK/DEF was a peculiar X000/X000, Kaiba believed that as one of the Egyptian God Cards, its power would certainly not disappoint.
Rather, the stronger the power displayed by the other Egyptian God Cards, the happier he became, because he was confident he could win straight through the next few Duels; he already considered the Egyptian God Cards as good as his.
"Unlike "Obelisk the Tormentor"'s fixed values, or "The Winged Dragon of Ra" whose power is determined by Life Points, "Slifer the Sky Dragon"'s power source is the cards in my hand." Marik said, showing his hand size.
Because "Card of Safe Return" was continuously active, Marik now had a full six cards in his hand.
"Each card in my hand increases "Slifer the Sky Dragon"'s ATK and DEF by 1000 points! This means "Slifer the Sky Dragon"'s ATK is currently a formidable 6000!" Marik declared, pointing towards the two Monsters in Attack Position on Yugi's field.
"That "Dark Magician" seems to be a very important card to you, doesn't it, Nameless Pharaoh? Then, let it be swallowed by Divine Punishment and sent to the afterlife along with it!"
""Slifer the Sky Dragon", Attack "Dark Magician"!"
"Hyper Beam Thunder!"
"Slifer the Sky Dragon" [ATK 6000]
"Dark Magician" [ATK 2500]
In the previous turn, Yugi Summoned two monsters in Attack Position to his field to significantly reduce Marik's Life Points. He had initially thought that with the ATK of "Dark Magician" and "Dark Magician Girl," even a monster on the level of "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" would at most inflict 1000 damage to him.
What Yugi hadn't anticipated was that Marik could quickly gather the Tributes to Summon an Egyptian God, draw an Egyptian God Card in one turn, and that "Slifer the Sky Dragon"'s effect was perfectly suited for Marik, who held a large hand: "boost ability based on hand size."
Lightning gathered into a sphere in "Slifer the Sky Dragon"'s lower mouth. With its breath, untamed lightning was constrained by divine power into a cylindrical beam, striking towards "Dark Magician" and hitting it directly in the blink of an eye.
The white flash and deafening thunderous roar were like a high-grade flashbang, blinding everyone to the situation on the field. Joey anxiously shouted towards the duel field: "Yugi!!!"
Even after destroying "Dark Magician", "Slifer the Sky Dragon"'s 6000 ATK would still inflict a massive 3500 Battle Damage. This was an utterly unbearable amount of damage for Yugi, who only had 2300 Life Points remaining.
Could it be that Yugi lost?
Not only Joey, but Tristan, Téa, and the others in the airship's infirmary also watched the broadcast on the television with worried expressions.
"Hmph, then drown in the underworld, Nameless Pharaoh." Marik said confidently, crossing his arms. Although the outcome hadn't been declared yet, he didn't believe Yugi had any way to survive that attack. "Do you dare defy me, who wields "Slifer the Sky Dragon"?"
He even turned his head to look towards the audience seating. Seto Kaiba, and Hayato, you two are next.
Just as Marik looked towards the audience seating, Yugi's confident chuckle rang out from his lightning-shrouded field: "Hmph, not so fast!"
"What?!" Marik whipped his head back, aghast, to find Yugi standing on his field completely unharmed! Although "Dark Magician" had indeed been destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, his Life Points hadn't taken a single point of damage!?
"The instant "Slifer the Sky Dragon" attacked, I activated the effect of "Kuriboh" from my hand." Yugi showed the card in his hand. "By discarding "Kuriboh" from my hand, I reduce the damage I would take from this Damage Calculation to 0."
"Kurikuri~"
"Slifer the Sky Dragon"'s attack had instantly destroyed "Dark Magician"; even a top-tier Spellcaster couldn't resist divine power. However, just as the aftermath of "Slifer the Sky Dragon"'s attack was about to hit Yugi, the "Kuriboh" in his hand leaped out and blocked the attack for him.
Sending the "Kuriboh" card to the Graveyard, Yugi's gaze softened. "Thank you, Kuriboh. You saved my life."
"I won't forget your sacrifice."
Watching Yugi, Marik on the duel field and Kaiba in the audience seating simultaneously let out a soft "Tsk."
"Tsk, just a fodder monster."
Marik was annoyed that his sure-win finishing attack had been blocked, while Kaiba was irritated by the repeated appearance of the "Kuriboh" card.
In his understanding, Duel Monsters were definitely better the stronger they were. Yet, the two Duelists he could grudgingly acknowledge—Yugi and Hayato—both liked to include weak monsters in their Decks, with "Kuriboh" and "Rainbow Kuriboh" being the most representative examples.
Kaiba even had a strange feeling: 'Do powerful Duelists all like to use "Kuriboh"? Should I go back and look for other "Kuriboh" cards that I could use?'
(end of chapter)