"Hmph, struggle all you want, Nameless Pharaoh. No matter how hard you try, only a god can defeat a god. If you can't destroy (Slifer the Sky Dragon), then your demise awaits next turn." After uttering a harsh declaration, Marik announced, "I Set one Card and End Turn."
Marik: 2100 LP, Hand: 5
(Slifer the Sky Dragon) ATK 6000 → 5000
(Revival Jam) (Call of the Haunted) DEF 500
(Card of Safe Return), (Dark Snake Syndrome), Set Card
Although Yugi had blocked one of Marik's attacks, as Marik said, Yugi's situation was extremely perilous.
With the exaggerated Attack of (Slifer the Sky Dragon), which gained strength from Marik's large hand support, and (Dark Snake Syndrome), which caused damage every turn and accelerated the Duel, Marik was practically forcing Yugi to choose: either struggle and be crushed by a god, or cower in defense and be slowly eroded by (Dark Snake Syndrome).
However, a true Duelist will not be limited by the choices given by their opponent. Yugi, with a resolute gaze, drew a Card. "My Turn, Draw!"
"I activate the effect of 'Magical Swordsman' in my hand! This card can be Special Summoned from my hand by banishing one Spell Card from my Graveyard!" After Yugi took a Spell Card from his Graveyard, he Special Summoned the card he just drew to the Field. "'Magical Swordsman' can direct attack the opponent, and the damage I take from any battle it is involved in is 0!"
"Since I cannot directly defeat (Slifer the Sky Dragon) and cannot clear (Revival Jam) from the Field, then I'll just Direct Attack you, Marik!"
Under Yugi's gaze, the miniature 'Magical Swordsman' appeared majestically on his Field. But before it could even strike a pose, even though it was Yugi's turn, (Slifer the Sky Dragon) suddenly opened its upper mouth. A bolt of lightning landed on Yugi's Field, blowing the newly appeared 'Magical Swordsman' to smithereens.
"What?!"
Seeing Yugi's confusion, Marik burst into maniacal laughter. "Useless, useless, useless! If (Obelisk the Tormentor) symbolizes the power of a god, and (The Winged Dragon of Ra) symbolizes the eternity of a god, then (Slifer the Sky Dragon) symbolizes the majesty of a god!"
"When a monster is Special Summoned to your Field, (Slifer the Sky Dragon) automatically activates its 'Thunderforce Attack' ability, decreasing their Attack or Defense by a full 2000 points, depending on their Battle Position." Marik pointed at Yugi. "In other words, weak fodder monsters don't even have the right to stand before a god. Even monsters with a little power will be firmly suppressed by a god!"
"Decreasing Attack or Defense by 2000 points..." Yugi frowned, realizing something quite dire.
This effect of (Slifer the Sky Dragon) might not counter other players' Decks much, but it seemed to heavily counter Yugi's Deck. In his Deck, there weren't many monsters whose Attack or Defense could exceed 2000. Crucially, most of them were High Level monsters that required Tributes to Summon.
Even if he managed to summon them through various means, a casual 'Thunderforce Attack' from (Slifer the Sky Dragon) would instantly weaken them to the point of being utterly defenseless. Even Yugi couldn't think of a good way to destroy this troublesome red dragon for a while.
"I'll change (Dark Magician Girl) to Defense Position. My Turn Ends." After turning (Dark Magician Girl) sideways on the Field, all Yugi could do now was to minimize the damage taken and hope the next draw would bring a chance for victory.
Yugi: 2300 LP, Hand: 0
(Dark Magician Girl) DEF 1700
Set Card
"Hehe, so you've run out of options, Nameless Pharaoh." Marik reached out and drew a card, a smug smile plastered on his face. "No need to worry, for you'll soon forget all your worries when faced with the pain I'm about to unleash."
"During my Standby Phase, the effect of (Dark Snake Syndrome) activates again, deducting 200 Life Points from both players. Also, starting from the next turn, the damage we take will double!"
As Marik's voice faded, a sharp pain shot through Yugi's palm. The stinging pain made him clench his teeth. Gritting his teeth, he looked up at Marik, whose face was filled with glee.
Marik: 2100 → 1900 LP
Yugi: 2300 → 2100 LP
"Oh dear, this looks a bit bad. Why are my life points a bit lower than yours? This simply won't do." Marik tilted his head, looking at his life points. He drew a card from his hand and placed it before him, licking the card with his tongue like a pervert, then placed it into his Duel Disk to activate it. "I activate the Spell Card (The Supreme King's Castle)."
"Because my Life Points are currently lower than yours, I can gain 2000 Life Points due to the effect of (The Supreme King's Castle)!"
Marik: 1900 → 3900 LP
"He actually recovered the life points he lost, that Marik!" In the Audience Seating, Joey instinctively gripped the railing. "Don't lose to that guy, Yugi!"
Hearing Joey's encouragement for Yugi from the Audience Seating, Marik sneered at Yugi. "Such touching camaraderie, isn't it, Nameless Pharaoh? Too bad, this turn, your life points will vanish under the gaze of your friends!"
"I activate the Spell Card (Magical Planter)! I Send (Call of the Haunted) from my Field to the Graveyard, then Draw two cards from my Deck." As Marik Sent (Call of the Haunted) to the Graveyard, (Revival Jam), which was on the Field only due to (Call of the Haunted)'s effect, was instantly Destroyed and Sent to the Graveyard along with it.
"Because (Call of the Haunted) left my Field, (Revival Jam) will be destroyed. However, due to its own effect, (Revival Jam) will revive and return to the Field, and I will also replenish my hand by three cards due to the effect of (Card of Safe Return)!" Marik said smugly, drawing another three cards from his Deck.
(Revival Jam) ATK 1500
Due to his continuous replenishment of his hand, he only had 6 cards in his hand at the start of the turn, but now the number of cards in his hand had increased to a full 9. With the increase in his hand, the Attack of (Slifer the Sky Dragon) also increased again!
(Slifer the Sky Dragon) ATK 9000
"I activate the Equip Spell Card (Steel Shell). This card can only equip an Aqua-Type monster. I equip it to (Revival Jam)." Marik played a card. Subsequently, on the slime-like body of (Revival Jam), a spiky, turtle-shell-like carapace appeared, which (Revival Jam) used as gauntlets.
(Revival Jam) 1500/500 → 1900/300
"Battle Phase, begin! First, I'll use (Revival Jam) to attack (Dark Magician Girl)!" Marik ordered, a sinister smile on his face. "After destroying this monster, you'll have no barrier left to defend against a god's attack!"
(Dark Magician Girl) DEF 1700
At this moment, Yugi also activated the Set Card he had on the Field.
"At this instant, I activate my Set Card, the Trap Card (Soul Shield)!"
Facing (Revival Jam) as it swung its turtle shell to attack, (Dark Magician Girl), with only a fragile magic wand in her hand, chanted a spell. Suddenly, a sturdy shield materialized in her hand. (Revival Jam)'s attack struck the shield, but it was like cotton hitting tofu, completely unable to destroy it, and ultimately, the attack was repelled.
Simultaneously, Yugi's life points began to decrease.
Yugi: 2100 → 1050 LP
"The effect of (Soul Shield) is: I pay half of my Life Points to negate battle destruction, and end the Battle Phase."
Having paid half of his already low life points, leaving just over 1000, Yugi's voice sounded a little weak. "Because it targets the Battle Phase itself, not the god monster, even if a god possesses resistance to Trap Cards, it cannot attack this turn."
Marik glared at Yugi, visibly annoyed. "Hmph, you managed to cling to life again. Your vitality is truly tenacious. Delaying time and again only makes me more eager to end your life points with a god, Nameless Pharaoh!"
"Heh, before that, your hand count is already at 8 cards, right? The hand limit is 6 cards. You still need to discard 2 cards before you can End Turn."
Hearing Yugi's words, Marik smirked contemptuously. "Do you think I wouldn't have considered something like that? I said it before, the power of a god is infinite, and correspondingly, the number of cards in my hand is also infinite!"
"I activate the Continuous Spell Card (Infinite Cards)! As long as this card remains on the Field, both players have no hand limit." After placing the card in his Spell & Trap Zone, Marik smugly fanned the cards in his hand. "Because of (Infinite Cards), even though I still have 7 cards in my hand, I don't need to discard any cards. End Turn."
Marik: 3900 LP, Hand: 7
(Slifer the Sky Dragon) ATK 7000
(Revival Jam) (Steel Shell) ATK 1900
Set Card, (Dark Snake Syndrome), (Card of Safe Return), (Infinite Cards)
Marik was signaling to Yugi, indicating that he didn't need to discard any cards and could continuously stack the god's power to infinity. To maximize the power of (Slifer the Sky Dragon), he had specifically filled his Deck to its maximum card count, and there was still a thick stack left in his Deck even now.
However, as Yugi heard Marik's words, he couldn't help but think of something.
(end of chapter)