"F-Father?"
Aster stared blankly at the blood-red, monstrous HERO on the field, stunned.
My father was devoured by the Plasma he created...? That has to be a lie.
No, impossible. How absurd—
But the next moment, he saw something that shattered his reason.
A human face began to emerge grotesquely on Plasma's bone wings. It squirmed, sprouting a nose and mouth, and even wore the glasses Aster knew so well.
Even though it was embedded in Plasma's body—shadowed and indistinct—its form instantly overlapped with Aster's memories.
"Dad!?"
Aster was so shocked he could barely think.
"Yes, your beloved father," The D laughed. "He was the first soul devoured by the Plasma he designed, and he's been trapped in the card ever since. Of course, he died long ago. What remains in Plasma is an unquiet soul. Ironic, isn't it?"
Aster clenched his fists, shaking with fury.
"The D, you scum!"
More disturbingly, the face on Plasma turned with effort, looked his way, and spoke.
"A-Aster, you've grown..."
"Father!"
Aster nearly rushed forward but collided with an invisible barrier and was blocked.
He realized then this duel had transcended the ordinary. Some kind of barrier encased the combatants; no outsider could enter.
He could only claw at the barrier and shout, "Dad!"
"Seeing how far you've come, I have no regrets," Mr. Phoenix said solemnly from within Plasma. "Listen, Aster. I made a mistake—a grave one.
Before Plasma was born, I heard it—the voice of the Light that would destroy the world."
"The voice of Light?" Aster froze.
"Yes. I tried to resist—truly—but I failed," Mr. Phoenix said with remorse. "They say Pegasus created the Egyptian God Cards under something like mind control, because he couldn't resist the Gods' power.
I fully understand that state now. I couldn't resist the influence of the Light of Destruction, and I designed this forbidden card—a card that should never have existed.
Not just because it's too strong, but because it was born for destruction. And as you can see, I paid the price..."
"No, Dad!" Aster rasped. "There must be another way..."
"There isn't. The Light energy lodged in this Ultimate D must be destroyed along with the souls imprisoned within it."
Mr. Phoenix's voice hardened.
"And this is only the beginning. The Light has begun to spread on Earth. A far stronger Light has arrived; the world is on a path to ruin. Only the strongest duelist can stop it."
His gaze softened.
"I thought the one to release me would be you, Aster. But that would be too cruel. If you don't have to do it yourself, all the better.
Live well, Aster. Surpass me. Become far better than I ever was."
He turned from Aster's cries to face Kira.
"I've heard it all from within Plasma—you're the current Duel King. Please defeat us and save this world. Perhaps... it will lighten my sins. Thank you."
The face faded; the bone wings returned to normal.
The D laughed. "Such moving words. Seems you can't have it both ways, can you?"
He narrowed his eyes smugly.
"To end this with me, you'll have to personally consign every soul sealed in Plasma over the past ten years to oblivion—every innocent one. Can you do it, Duel King?"
Kira thought for a couple of seconds.
Then he raised his head and, as if to himself, said, "Looks like they really underestimated me..."
"What?"
"Nothing," Kira smiled faintly.
The Light of Destruction trying moral blackmail to shackle him—now that's rare.
But moral blackmail only works if you have morals to leverage.
"My turn. Draw!" Kira said. "I activate the Spell 'Graceful Charity': draw three, then discard two."
"Since one discarded card is the Spell 'Card of Compensation,' I draw two more."
The D frowned.
This guy's resolve hasn't wavered at all.
No matter. Plasma is invincible. Right now, it shuts down monster effects and can't be targeted. With D - Force effect, victory is basically assured.
With Plasma on your face, how do you lose?
"I set a monster face-down in Defense."
Kira set a card to the Monster Zone.
"I activate my set Continuous Trap 'Ultimate Offering.' Pay 500 LP to get an additional Normal Summon. I pay 500 and set another monster face-down."
[Kira LP 3800 → 3300]
"Setting two monsters at once?" The D said. "Trying to shore up your defense against Plasma?"
But as he said it, he realized it couldn't be that simple.
Plasma has BLS's power now: it can banish two monsters a turn and can attack multiple times. Two little walls mean nothing, and the opponent knows that.
"Flip a set card," Kira said, revealing his last backrow. "Trap 'Desert Sunlight.' Switch all my monsters to face-up Defense Position."
The D instantly guessed. "Flip effects, huh?"
Then he laughed again.
"Useless! I told you, with D - Force on top of my Deck, Plasma unleashes his hidden ability—your monsters' effects on the field are all negated, flips included!"
"Not necessarily," Kira smiled, offering no further explanation. "My flip monsters are these two: 'Morphing Jar' and 'Nightmare Penguin'!"
[Morphing Jar DEF 600]
[Nightmare Penguin DEF 1800]
"Morphing Jar's effect: when flipped, both players discard their entire hands, then draw five cards. Nightmare Penguin's effect: when flipped, target one card your opponent controls and return it to the hand!"