The infinitely reviving [Revival Jam], combined with the infinitely activatable [Card of Safe Return], brought Marik an infinite hand.
[Infinite Cards] further removed his hand size limit, allowing the ATK of [Osiris] to be increased indefinitely.
[Slifer the Sky Dragon] automatically activates Thunderforce Attack to destroy monsters, also capable of infinite activations.
Infinite.
Thinking this, Yugi's eyes lit up. He had thought of a way to defeat Marik!
Yugi: "My turn, Draw!"
Despite Yugi being at a disadvantage in terms of monster quantity and quality on the field, hand resources, and Life Points, Marik almost mistook himself for the one in crisis, seeing Yugi's confident expression as he drew.
"We're at this point in the Duel, so we need to replenish our hands, don't we, Marik?" Yugi revealed the card added to his hand. "I activate the Spell Card [Card of Demise]! Because of its effect, all players draw cards until they each have 6 cards in their hand."
This should have been a card for greatly replenishing hands, but since Marik's hand already contained seven cards, he was unable to draw any more and could only watch as Yugi drew to his heart's content, pulling exactly six cards from his Deck into his hand.
Glancing at the cards he drew, Yugi already had a complete counter-strategy in mind, a confident smile spreading across his face: "Marik, you said you'd finish me off on your next turn, didn't you? What a shame, I'm afraid you won't be able. Because I plan to end this Duel right now, on my turn!"
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card [Tribute to the Doomed]! Target one face-up monster on the field; destroy that face-up monster, and as a cost, you skip your next Draw Phase."
Saying this, Yugi raised his hand and pointed at Marik's [Slifer the Sky Dragon] on the field: "The monster I designate is [Slifer the Sky Dragon]! Descend from your divine throne, God!"
"Too slow, too slow, Nameless Pharaoh! Only now do you think to use a Spell Card to try and send a God to its grave? It's too late!" Marik laughed heartily. "I thought you had some new trick up your sleeve, but it's just this old, worn-out move? You think I wouldn't be prepared for this? [Revival Jam] isn't just for show!"
The bandages of [Tribute to the Doomed] surged from beneath the ground like a dense forest, wrapping around [Slifer the Sky Dragon] that was coiling around the "S.S. St. Ann" airship.
But just as the bandages were about to ensnare [Slifer the Sky Dragon], the size of Marik's [Revival Jam] on the field suddenly swelled, transforming into a barrier that firmly blocked the path between the [Tribute to the Doomed]'s bandages and [Slifer the Sky Dragon]!
"What?!" Joey, who had been watching Yugi confidently play his cards and was even ready to cheer him on, was shocked to see [Revival Jam] actively blocked the way. "Why is [Revival Jam] moving? It's not the target!"
"Hmph, idiot."
Kaiba, without even glancing at Joey beside him, coldly observed the field.
More accurately, he was looking at a card opened in Marik's back row.
"Bonds between monsters? Loyalty of servant monsters to a God? Nothing that tedious. That Marik actually considered such a situation; besides [Osiris], he does possess some dueling talent."
Following Kaiba's gaze, Joey also saw the card Marik had opened—
"Although the Egyptian God Cards themselves possess resistance such as 'cannot be destroyed by the effects of monsters Level 10 or lower or by Spell Cards, and other effects only last for one turn', to completely extinguish your hope, I activate this card."
"[Defense Slime]. This is the card I specifically prepared for this exact situation. After all, [Osiris] is not the strongest, [Ra]. Once sent to the Graveyard, it becomes weaker. I've been anticipating this for a long time," Marik said with a sinister grin. "When a monster on my field becomes the target of an effect or attack, I can use its effect, an unlimited number of times, to transfer the effect and attack to [Revival Jam]!"
Upon hearing Marik mention "[Ra] is the strongest" and "[Osiris] is inferior to [Ra]" once more, [Slifer the Sky Dragon] subtly glanced at Marik and let out a disdainful snort, which was perfectly masked by the thunderous roars from the sky.
As Marik activated [Defense Slime], [Revival Jam] became a sacrificial pawn, much like a teammate misled and betrayed by a hunter. [Tribute to the Doomed]'s destructive power, originally aimed at [Slifer the Sky Dragon], was fully transferred to [Revival Jam], which was instantly ensnared by the bandages and destroyed, sent to the Graveyard.
Then, in the next moment, [Revival Jam] revived on Marik's field completely unharmed. Although the Equip Spell Card [Steel Shell] equipped to it was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard due to leaving the field, the effect of [Tribute to the Doomed] was perfectly blocked. Marik also replenished his hand by three cards thanks to the effect of [Card of Safe Return].
[Slifer the Sky Dragon] [ATK 7000 → 10000]
"This is bad. I really didn't expect Marik to have prepared a card so perfectly suited for [Revival Jam]," Mai Valentine sighed. "With this, even if Yugi summons an incredibly powerful monster that could withstand [Slifer the Sky Dragon]'s Thunderforce Attack and then destroy it, Marik can just use [Defense Slime] to redirect attacks to [Revival Jam] infinitely."
"Doesn't this make Marik's field defense completely invincible? Who can break through that!" Joey exclaimed anxiously, pounding a railing with his fist, then clutching his hand with a pained expression as his knuckle hit the hard metal.
At this moment, Chumley chuckled: "To achieve victory, you don't necessarily have to break through the opponent's field, Joey."
"Chumley, have you figured something out?" Ishizu turned her head, looking at Chumley with some confusion. She gazed into the future with the [Millennium Necklace], and while she couldn't discern the ultimate outcome, she saw that [Osiris] remained on the field until Croquet raised his hand to declare the Duel's end.
Chumley nodded, speaking with characteristic insight: "All I can say is, Yugi's strategy has been executed. Those who understand have seen it, and those who don't won't grasp it even with an explanation."
"However, to return infinity for infinity, it's truly all the fault of the Traitor Dragon."
Marik, having activated [Defense Slime], wore a smug expression as he turned his gaze to Yugi, who had his head bowed across the field, and arrogantly declared: "[Tribute to the Doomed] is not worthy of destroying a God; it can only destroy weak monsters like [Revival Jam]."
"Oh no, actually that's not quite right, because [Revival Jam] can revive an infinite number of times, hahahaha!" Marik cackled, his expression twisting. "So, Nameless Pharaoh, can you tell me how you're feeling right now? Despairing due to helplessness? Enraged by shame? Or perhaps fearing your imminent death?"
"I'm happy."
Yugi spoke, his face now turned up, wearing a confident smile.
"I'm very happy, Marik, because your counterattack was entirely within my plan!"
"Just as the antidote to a deadly poison is often found nearby, Marik, you completely failed to notice that the method to defeat the infinitely powerful [Slifer the Sky Dragon] was right beside it—namely, the equally infinitely reviving [Revival Jam]!"
"What?!" Marik still hadn't grasped Yugi's meaning.
"Was [Tribute to the Doomed] a card for me to deal with [Slifer the Sky Dragon]? Not at all, it was merely a diversion. Just as misdirection is key in magic, my true objective was simply to probe the Set cards in your back row."
Yugi pointed at Marik's activated [Defense Slime]. "It's fortunate that you chose to Set this card in your back row, rather than something troublesome like [Solemn Judgment]. I'm starting to understand the 'baiting traps' mindset that Chumley used to talk about."
"Have you heard the saying, 'The unknown is the greatest terror'? With all your Set cards now revealed, you have no means left to counter me, Marik!" As he spoke, Yugi played a card from his hand. "I activate the Spell Card [Brain Control], which allows me to gain control of one monster on your field until the end of the turn!"
"While I don't quite understand what you mean, there's something I forgot to tell you. One of the general effects of the Egyptian God Cards is that 'their control cannot be changed.' That means even if you use [Brain Control] on [Slifer the Sky Dragon], it will be useless!"
Marik finished speaking, but to his surprise, the light wave emitted from the [Brain Control] card had not targeted his [Slifer the Sky Dragon] on the field from the start. The chosen target was clearly the [Revival Jam] that had just been revived onto the field?
"You're taking control of *that* fodder monster?"
Under Marik's confused gaze, Yugi took control of [Revival Jam] and then activated another card from his hand: "The second-to-last step to victory. Spell Card [Magical Stone Mining]! I discard the last two cards from my hand to add one Spell Card from the Graveyard to my hand."
"The card I'm recovering is [Tribute to the Doomed]," Yugi said, adding the card from the Graveyard to his hand, and then playing it again. "This is my final step towards victory! I activate the effect of [Tribute to the Doomed] once more, targeting—"
"—the [Revival Jam] whose control has been transferred to my field!"
Seeing Yugi actually activate [Tribute to the Doomed] targeting [Revival Jam], Marik couldn't help but sneer: "You must have lost your mind from despair, Nameless Pharaoh? What's the use of destroying [Revival Jam] by targeting it?"
"After being destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, it will return to your field again due to its own effect. It's entirely wasted effort."
Just as Marik said, [Revival Jam], having just been transferred to Yugi's field and thinking it could finally rest without repeatedly jumping between the field and Graveyard, was once again dragged underground by the bandages of [Tribute to the Doomed], only to revive in the next second.
Similarly, Marik's [Card of Safe Return]'s effect was triggered when a monster was Special Summoned from the Graveyard, allowing him to draw three cards.
"See, idiot? Your so-called 'final step towards victory' was completely futile; it even provided me with more cards in hand!" After drawing his cards, Marik suddenly felt something was amiss. His tone was no longer as arrogant, but rather laced with confusion as he said, "My hand size increased, and the ATK of [Slifer the Sky Dragon] has increased again..."
[Slifer the Sky Dragon] [ATK 10000 → 13000]
"And then? What happens after [Revival Jam] is Special Summoned to my field, Marik?" Yugi asked.
Marik's eyes suddenly widened, and he frantically looked up at [Slifer the Sky Dragon] coiled around the airship. "Because a monster was Special Summoned to *your* field," he muttered, realization dawning, "[Osiris] will automatically activate Thunderforce Attack?!"
"No! Wait, wait a minute!" It was only now that Marik understood what Yugi was trying to do, and he anxiously shouted at the [Slifer the Sky Dragon] overhead: "[Osiris], stop it! Stop!"
However, [Slifer the Sky Dragon] merely cast a contemptuous glance at the terrified Marik. Its mouth opened, and it spat out a "Thunderforce Attack," striking the [Revival Jam] that had just revived on Yugi's field.
The rules of Duel Monsters were not something Marik could defy with his unilateral will. The strength of [Slifer the Sky Dragon] lay in its "Thunderforce Attack," which could reduce any monster's ATK or DEF by 2000, but its greatest flaw was precisely that its "Thunderforce Attack" was mandatory and activated infinitely.
[Tribute to the Doomed] acted like a match igniting a firecracker's fuse. The "bomb" embodied by Yugi's setup with [Revival Jam] exploded with a bang upon being "lit." The "Thunderforce Attack" effortlessly destroyed [Revival Jam] and sent it to the Graveyard, after which [Revival Jam] revived on the field once more. Simultaneously, under the mandatory force of the Shadow Game, Marik was forced to draw three cards from his Deck.
Then, the "Thunderforce Attack" fell again.
[ATK 16000]
[ATK 19000]
[ATK 22000]
As Marik's hand continued to increase due to the effect of [Card of Safe Return], the ATK of [Slifer the Sky Dragon] grew ever more terrifying. Within this so-called infinite Combo, its ATK advanced by leaps and bounds towards "infinity."
However, while [Card of Safe Return], [Slifer the Sky Dragon]'s "Thunderforce Attack," Marik's hand limit, and [Revival Jam]'s revival were all infinite, the only factor limiting this infinite Combo was Marik's finite Deck.
Under the barrage of "Thunderforce Attack" time and time again, Marik's deliberately packed Deck rapidly diminished. At this very moment, his hand had gathered many powerful cards – [Solemn Judgment], [Divine Wrath], [Forbidden Chalice], and so on. Even if Marik had Set any one of these cards, he would have had a chance to interrupt Yugi's unfolding infinite Combo.
But there were no 'what ifs.' In the current situation, he was helpless against the state of the field, only able to watch his Deck size dwindle. As his Deck count decreased, Marik's eyes narrowed, as if he were devising some new trick.
Nine cards.
Six cards.
Three cards.
Zero cards.
After just four revivals of [Revival Jam], Marik's Deck count finally reached zero. After he drew his last three cards, [Revival Jam], which had just revived and looked utterly exhausted, once again saw [Slifer the Sky Dragon] open its mouth, preparing to spew "Thunderforce Attack."
"This is the end, Marik. This strike is the last one," Yugi said, looking at Marik's gloomy expression. "Come on, [Slifer the Sky Dragon]! The final 'Thunderforce Attack'!"
Despite it being Marik's monster, Yugi found it remarkably easy to command [Slifer the Sky Dragon].
The "Thunderforce Attack" descended. Amidst [Revival Jam]'s 'overwhelmed' expression (though slimes have no expressions), it was sent to the Graveyard once more and revived. Marik's hand hovered over the Deck zone of his Duel Disk, only to find it empty. Holding a thick stack of cards that could be called a Deck rather than a hand, Marik was like someone walking through a desert with gold, possessing wealth but nowhere to use it. He declared defeat due to being unable to draw.
"Hmph, Nameless Pharaoh, as expected, you're a troublesome opponent." Marik's expression was displeased, but he, the duelist who had just lost, suddenly burst into laughter. "Speaking of which, there's something I forgot to tell you."
"You haven't forgotten that this Duel is a Shadow Game, have you? Those who lose a Duel must offer their soul to the darkness!" As Yugi watched with surprised eyes, Marik gripped the [Millennium Rod] that had been clipped to his waist during previous duels. He twisted the handle, then pointed the sharp tip of the [Millennium Rod] at his own chest and plunged it in!
"Cough! Ughhhhhh!"
In previous duels, Marik had only shown pleasure even when repeatedly taking damage. Yet, at this moment, his face was filled with agony, and as his muscles twitched, both halves of his face simultaneously displayed starkly different expressions!?
(end of chapter)