[Yumi, LP 4000]
[Sartorius, LP 4000]
"My turn! Draw!" Yumi pulled his card and barely gave it a glance before continuing, but before he could move any further.
"I activate the Continuous Trap, Tour of Doom!" Sartorius waved his hand, flipping open one of his face-down cards. "This card's effect also depends on whether it lands upright or reversed."
The trap card rose slightly and began to spin in place, just like the Arcana Force card earlier. Sartorius watched it with a quiet, almost amused expression.
"And of course… it will stop upright."
The card slowed and stopped exactly as he said.
"During your Standby Phase, you cannot Summon monsters this turn," Sartorius stated calmly, a small smile forming on his face.
Yumi clicked his tongue but didn't waste time complaining.
"I activate the Spell Card, Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage! This lets me add a Sky Striker card from my deck to my hand."
A card slid out from his deck, and he caught it cleanly before raising it for his opponent to see.
"I'll add Sky Striker Maneuver – Afterburners. And since I have three or more Spells in my Graveyard, I draw one more card."
He drew again, briefly scanning his hand before moving on.
"I activate Sky Striker Maneuver – Afterburners! I target your Arcana Force IV – The Emperor and destroy it. And since I still have three or more Spells in my Graveyard, I can destroy one Spell or Trap you control as well."
A sharp, concentrated flame gathered at the tip of the card before forming into a blazing arrow. It launched forward, cutting through the air straight toward The Emperor.
But Sartorius didn't move in panic. Instead, he calmly reached up and grabbed one of the floating tarot cards.
"I activate Knight of Swords."
He flipped it over.
"Until the end of this turn, my card cannot be destroyed by card effects."
A spectral knight appeared briefly, stepping forward and slashing through the incoming arrow in one clean motion, dispersing the flames before they could reach their target.
"Heh!?" Yumi was confused, seeing that the tarot card had nothing but its image and number on it.
So where is the effect coming from?
Since when did the card in this world become the anime dub card? Just a picture and numbers with no written effect.
Yumi shifted his gaze toward another floating tarot card, picking it up, he saw that the tarot card, The World, which only had its illustration and number. There is no effect written anywhere.
"Each player can only hold one tarot card at a time," Sartorius said casually, as if explaining something completely normal. "And you may only activate one tarot card effect per turn."
Yumi slowly lowered the card, his expression darkening.
"Bastard! How the hell am I supposed to know which card has which effect?" Yumi said, annoyed.
Sartorius didn't even hesitate to answer shamelessly.
"Learn to read tarot cards."
Yumi's eyelid twitched.
"The hell kind of answer is that?"
What is the difference between this and directly making new rules just because the opponent is too strong to beat normally?
Come to think of it, in the original show, the Light Sartorius was so shameless as to force Jaden into handing over his satellite key to save Aster's life, then instead of deciding things with a duel like he said.
Light Sartorius tries to take the keys right away, planning to ignore the duel entirely. If only Neos hadn't traveled to Earth to stop him, then the Earth might really have been blown up.
Sighing, Yumi looks down at his own hand. "I set three card face-down."
The cards materialized behind him as he straightened up again.
"Turn end."
"My turn! Draw!" Sartorius said, drawing smoothly before glancing down at his hand.
"I Normal Summon Arcana Force VI - The Lovers!"
A strange, elegant figure appeared on his field, resembling an alien woman dressed in black with oversized gloves, her presence both graceful and unsettling.
[Arcana Force VI - The Lovers, 1600 -> 2100 ATK]
"The Lovers' effect activates," Sartorius continued as its tarot card appeared above it, spinning slowly in place. "I predict upright."
The card slowed, then stopped exactly as he called it.
"Now, The Lovers can be treated as two Tributes for an Arcana Force monster."
Without wasting time, he placed another card down.
"I activate Double Summon. This allows me to perform another Normal Summon this turn."
"Quick-Play Spell, Sky Striker Mecha - Hornet Drones!" Yumi cut in immediately, flipping one of his face-down cards. "I summon a Sky Striker Ace Token!"
A holographic projection of Raye appeared on his field, hovering lightly in place.
[Sky Striker Ace Token, 1500 DEF]
Before Sartorius could continue, Yumi followed up without pause.
"Quick-Play Spell, Mask Change II!"
He discarded a card, sending the tarot card in his hand to the Graveyard as if it were any other card.
"I transform the DARK Attribute monster on my field into a Masked HERO with the same Attribute but a higher Level!"
Light wrapped around the token before darkness surged outward, forming into a new shape. A pair of glowing golden eyes opened from within, as the masked armored warrior coated in black armor began to rise from the darkness.
"Henshin! Masked HERO Dark Law!"
[Masked HERO Dark Law, 2400 ATK]
The masked warrior stepped forward, his gaze locking onto Sartorius and the Arcana Force monsters without hesitation.
Sartorius didn't flinch.
"Then I Tribute Arcana Force VI – The Lovers," he said, raising his hand as light gathered beneath his monster. "To Normal Summon… Arcana Force XXI - The World!"
The Lovers dissolved into light, replaced by a massive mechanical entity with two large claw-like arms and a heavy, oppressive presence.
[Arcana Force XXI - The World, 3100 -> 3600 ATK]
The monster card above it spun into view.
"My prediction is upright."
It stopped exactly as he said.
"Now, The World… attack Masked HERO Dark Law!"
The massive construct raised its arms, gathering a dense sphere of white energy before launching it forward.
"Quick-Play Spell, Battle Fusion!" Yumi responded instantly, flipping his final face-down. "When our monsters battle, Dark Law gains ATK equal to your monster's ATK until the end of the Damage Step!"
[Masked HERO Dark Law, 2400 -> 6000 ATK]
Sartorius's expression shifted the moment he saw Dark Law move without hesitation, slipping past the incoming blast in a clean motion before leaping upward.
"I won't allow it! Trap Card, open!" Sartorius snapped, flipping his face-down. "Half Unbreak! The World cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, and any damage I take involving it is halved!"
A single, direct Rider Kick slammed into The World's body, sending the massive monster crashing backward.
The World hit the ground behind him with a heavy impact, cracking the surface and kicking up dust.
[Sartorius, LP 4000 -> 2800]
Dark Law landed cleanly and stepped back beside Yumi, his presence steady and unmoved.
Sartorius clenched his teeth before quickly reaching for one of the floating tarot cards.
"Dark Law," Yumi said immediately.
The masked HERO raised his hand and fired a concentrated beam of dark energy from his finger straight at Sartorius's hand. The tarot card was swallowed by darkness right in Sartorius's grip, disappearing completely.
He turned sharply toward Yumi.
"…Darkness," he growled.
Yumi met his gaze head-on.
When The World had been kicked back, Yumi had noticed the cracks it left behind weren't just visual. The impact had carried into the environment itself. That told him everything he needed to know.
With him directly unleashing his power and the Light of Destruction's direct influence.
The monsters that step onto this field weren't just projections.
And using this knowledge, he would simply let his monsters destroy those tarot cards before they could be used.
"What's wrong?" Yumi asked, a faint smile forming. "Worried now that you can't rely on those cards?"
"I don't need them to defeat you!" Sartorius shot back, clearly irritated now as he looked down at his field.
"I activate the effect of Sowing of the Fool!"
The Continuous Spell spun again before stopping.
"This time, it resolves upright. I target Arcana Force XXI – The World, and send cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard equal to its value!"
He pulled a large stack of cards from the top of his deck and sent them to the Graveyard one after another.
Twelve cards vanished into the slot.
Sartorius exhaled slowly, regaining his composure as he looked back at Yumi.
"I switch The Emperor into defense position."
The dark creature crouched low, its multiple tendrils crossing right before it.
[Arcana Force IV - The Emperor, 1400 DEF]
"Turn end."
Yumi raised a brow upon seeing this, but he said nothing. Unless needed, he won't be foolish enough to go and tell his opponent about his Dark Law's continuous effect that has carried the HERO archetypes for years.
"My turn. Draw!" Yumi said, pulling a card from the top of his deck and glancing down at it briefly.
"During your Standby Phase, the effect of Tour of Doom activates," Sartorius interrupted, raising his hand.
The continuous trap began spinning again, just like before.
"It will stop upright."
The card slowed and landed exactly as he called it.
"You cannot Summon monsters this turn."
Yumi didn't respond to that. He simply shifted his gaze back to his hand as if the restriction didn't bother him much.
"Spell Card, Pot of Greed. I draw two cards."
He drew quickly, adding them to his hand before immediately continuing.
"Spell Card, Take Over 5. I send the top five cards from my deck to the Graveyard."
He pulled the cards cleanly from the top of his deck and sent them to the Graveyard slot without hesitation.
"Shadow Mist's effect activates. When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I can add a HERO monster from my deck to my hand."
A card slid out from his deck, and he caught it between his fingers.
"I'll add Sky Striker HERO - Yumi."
He didn't pause for long before activating it.
"I activate the effect of Sky Striker HERO - Yumi. I can equip this card to a Sky Striker Ace or a HERO monster I control, and it gains 1000 ATK."
A Yumi dressed in a magenta Sky Striker-style outfit appeared behind Dark Law, hands moving across several floating red digital panels as if inputting commands directly into the field.
[Masked HERO Dark Law, 2400 -> 3400 ATK]
Yumi lifted his hand slightly.
"Battle. Dark Law, attack The Emperor. Rider Kick."
Dark Law moved instantly, closing the distance without hesitation. He leapt upward, twisting his body mid-air before driving a clean kick straight into The Emperor.
The dark creature staggered from the impact, its body forced backward before crashing into the wall behind Sartorius. It exploded as cracks spread from the point of impact.
[Arcana Force XXI - The World, 3600 -> 3100 ATK]
"I set one card, turn end." Yumi placed down the final card in his hand.
A face-down card materialized behind Dark Law and right beside Sky Striker HERO - Yumi.
"My turn. Draw!" Sartorius pulled the card from the top of his deck.
"I activate the Spell Card, Cup of Ace!" he said, placing it down with a controlled motion. "Depending on whether it lands upright or reversed, either I draw two cards, or you do."
The card began to spin above the field, the faint glow of its magic reflecting in Sartorius's eyes. Unlike before, his confidence wasn't as overwhelming, but he still smirked slightly.
"It will land upright."
The spinning slowed, then stopped exactly as he called it.
"I draw two cards."
Two cards slid from his deck into his hand, but the moment they did, Dark Law's glowing eyes flared.
"Dark Law's effect," Yumi said calmly, not even raising his voice. "When you add cards from your deck to your hand outside your draw phase, I can banish one of them."
Dark Law lifted his arm and pointed forward, a thin beam of dark energy firing straight toward Sartorius's hand.
Sartorius reacted immediately this time.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Mystical Space Typhoon! I target and destroyed that copy of you on the field!" he snapped, slamming one of the cards down. A violent cyclone erupted and shot toward the back row, tearing into the figure of Sky Striker HERO - Yumi.
The projection shattered into fragments of light, the red digital screens flickering out.
[Masked HERO Dark Law, 3400 -> 2400 ATK]
The dark beam still connected, and one of the cards in Sartorius's hand vanished into nothingness.
He clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed, but he didn't stop.
"I activate Reverse Reborn!" he continued, placing his final card down. "I target Arcana Force XIX - The Sun in my graveyard and Special Summon it!"
This was one of the cards previously sent to his grave, thanks to the effect of Sowing of the Fool.
For a brief second, nothing happened.
There was no light, no summoning circle. And no new monster is being special summoned.
Sartorius frowned, glancing down at his Duel Disk before his expression shifted slightly as he realized what was wrong.
His graveyard slot was empty, replaced by an ominous void-like effect.
"Dark Law's continuous effect," Yumi said with a smirk, his tone steady. "Anything sent to your graveyard is banished instead."
Sartorius stared at the field for a moment, then exhaled through his nose. His face was as calm as a Buddha's, before it twisted, and the menacing white aura coated his entire body once more.
Sartorius: (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
What the hell!? How come such a dark and twisted power falls into the hands of a hero?
A power like this should be in the hands of a villain! Not a hero!
Who is the real bad guy here!?
In the game of Duel Monsters, many Duelists treated their graveyard like a second hand; with proper cards, they could help bring out powerful monsters without any tribute or sacrifices.
To banish one's graveyard is like chopping off one of their hand.
This is also why many hero users respected Dark Law and why many opponents fear this hero.
"Battle. Arcana Force XXI - The World, attack Masked HERO Dark Law!"
The massive construct raised its arms again, gathering that familiar sphere of white energy between its hands. The light grew brighter, crackling as it prepared to fire.
Before the attack could go through, Yumi moved.
"Quick-Play Spell, Command Silencer."
A large, carved totem materialized behind Dark Law, releasing a sharp, piercing sound that cut through the air. The energy sphere flickered, then dispersed as if the command itself had been canceled.
"When you declare an attack, I negate it and end the Battle Phase. Then I draw one card."
Yumi drew without looking away, the totem fading away right after.
Seeing that his attempt to finish off Dark Law had failed, his gaze shifted back to his field. But there was nothing he could do. Sowing of the Fool was now a double-edged knife, pointing directly at him, as he saw Yumi actually have cards that have effect triggered from the grave.
Allowing him to send more cards to his grave is no different from shooting himself in the foot.
And he can't use it other effect to send his own cards now, not when Dark Law was still standing across from him.
He tried reaching for another floating tarot card, but the moment he touched it, Dark Law sniped it down instantly.
"Damn you... Darkness." He said through gritted teeth, a throbbing vein now visible on his forehead. His long hair suddenly rose as the menacing white aura covering his body intensified, but there was nothing he could do.
For the first time since the duel started, Sartorius didn't look like he was fully in control.
"...Turn end."
He said it reluctantly, his voice lower, his eyes still fixed on Yumi, filled with nothing but pure hatred.
It seems that this holder of Darkness is even more twisted than the previous generation.