"So that's the kind of card it was." Aster frowned.
He had hoped to end the Duel with that last strike. He didn't expect Sartorius to draw something like that.
Still, as long as Destiny HERO - Plasma remained on the field, invincible and supreme, no monster could challenge it.
And with The World absorbed, Plasma's Attack was more than enough to overpower nearly any monster.
"I set one card and end my turn."
"My turn. Draw!" Sartorius swiftly drew a card from his Deck.
"At the end of your draw, Drawhand's effect activates. If sent to the Graveyard, it revives during the next Standby Phase. If Special Summoned this way and by a HERO effect, both players draw 1 card."
They both drew once again.
Sartorius looked at the card he'd just drawn.
"Interesting, Aster. It seems you've achieved something truly remarkable."
He smiled faintly. "Just like the destiny of The World, your fate too... is beginning to change."
"But the Duel won't end that easily!"
"Even if your Plasma is nearly invincible, it's not truly invincible!"
"Your trust in your friends, your hope for the future—those are your weaknesses!"
"What?"
Sartorius narrowed his eyes and slowly drew a card with his left hand.
"Spell Card: Graceful Charity. Draw three cards, discard two."
Even without Drawhand's effect, the card he drew this turn was already quite useful.
He slowly drew three cards and examined them, speaking as he did:
"Your Graveyard currently has Destiny HERO - Celestial and Destiny HERO - Dreamer."
While scrutinizing his cards and choosing what to discard, he continued:
"Celestial can be banished when you have no cards in hand to draw two cards. Dreamer can be Special Summoned during battle damage calculation to prevent your HERO from being destroyed and nullify battle damage."
Aster said nothing.
They were childhood friends. Sartorius knew Destiny HEROes well—better than anyone else.
And Aster, too, understood Sartorius deeply. That's why he was so stunned by cards like The Hierophant and The World—cards he had never seen before.
"Even so, that doesn't mean you're invulnerable." Sartorius raised two cards and sent them to the Graveyard. "The simplest solution is to hit you indirectly—by attacking your other monsters, or bypassing Plasma."
"I don't have cards like that."
"Exactly... so instead—"
"Activate Spell Card: Necro Sacrifice!" Sartorius slammed a card onto his Duel Disk with a vicious grin.
"Select 1–2 monsters from my Graveyard and Special Summon them to your field. For each one summoned, I reduce the number of required Tributes for my Special Summon this turn by one. Oh, and you choose their position."
"..." Aster frowned.
Indeed. That would let him strike past Plasma.
Anyhow, more importantly—
"I choose Arcana Force 0 - The Fool and Arcana Force VII - The Chariot from my Graveyard!"
Strange angels once more appeared on Aster's field.
[Arcana Force VII - The Chariot] Level 4│LIGHT│Fairy│1700 ATK/1700 DEF
[Arcana Force 0 - The Fool] Level 1│LIGHT│Fairy│0 ATK/0 DEF
"...Defense Position."
"Too bad. The Fool can't be in Defense Position. So it stays in Attack Mode! And since they were Special Summoned to your field, they're unaffected by Plasma's effects.
Also, both their effects now activate!"
As he spoke, the card images of both monsters began spinning in front of Aster.
Their effects were mandatory—even if they were on Aster's field.
"Stop!"
CLANG!
The Fool landed upright. The Chariot landed reversed.
"Ha ha—exactly the result I wanted!"
Sartorius laughed maniacally. His expression twisted, his hair flaring wildly behind him like demonic wings.
"Upright Fool's effect: it is unaffected by your Spells, Traps, and Monster effects!
Reversed Chariot's effect: control of this card is transferred to the opponent—me!"
"Tch..." Aster muttered as the Chariot left his field.
Faced with Plasma, Sartorius had pinpointed two crucial weaknesses in an instant.
He really did have formidable Duel instincts.
"But the Chariot is in Defense Position—"
"Hahaha! You think I overlooked that!?"
Sartorius raised a card high as a beam of light surged from behind him, exploding outward to envelop the entire station, the dimension, and beyond.
"Behold ultimate power drawn from the cosmos!"
"Thanks to Necro Sacrifice, I reduce my Tribute requirement by 2. I Tribute Arcana Force VII - The Chariot to Special Summon—
"The ultimate Arcana Force!
"Arcana Force EX - The Light Ruler!"
As Sartorius roared, the clouds parted in the sky above. Light poured through, illuminating this world shattered by demonic invasion.
A black angel linked to two enormous dragons slowly descended from the heavens.
[Arcana Force EX - The Light Ruler] Level 10│LIGHT│Fairy│4000 ATK
"Wh-what is this monster?" Aster struggled to breathe. Even with Plasma at his side, fear crept in.
Hikaru narrowed his eyes slightly.
As expected… This Sartorius was far stronger than in the original. A card that had taken ages to obtain in the anime—this Sartorius already had it.
"Looks like this really is the final strike, Aster!" Sartorius' flaring hair flapped wildly like demonic wings. "No matter how strong a monster is, if its Duelist falls, it means nothing!
"Accept your fate—Aster!!"
Aster took a deep breath. "Not happening, Sartorius. I've been ready for this."
"Activate Continuous Trap—Remove Brainwashing!!"
Sartorius visibly froze.
"As long as this card is on the field, control of all monsters reverts to their original owners!"
The Fool returned to Sartorius's field, its 0 ATK pointed squarely at him.
Sartorius stood paralyzed.
Seeing him stall, Aster couldn't help but smile.
"Welcome back, Sartorius."
This was the card Aster most wanted to use in their Duel.