Youyu looked at the "Dark Magician Girl" he drew in his hand and fell into a long and strange silence.
You might say his bond with the card deck isn't strong enough... but that doesn't seem right.
After all, the card deck really "responded" to him, and the only card in the entire deck with a spirit gracefully came to his hand.
However, what he wanted was a Mystical Space Typhoon...
"Master, I'm sorry!"
The spirit of the Dark Magician Girl appeared beside him, apologizing with a standard ninety-degree bow, her small hands uneasily gripping her Magic Staff.
Youyu sighed softly, unable to really blame her.
It's not like she chose to appear at such an inconvenient time, and the Dark Magician Girl was quite helpless to be shuffled into this position.
Perhaps to blame was him not being a "true Duelist" who could draw the card he wanted at a critical moment.
Besides, just for her sincere apology and the way her neckline bent down to reveal such whiteness, Youyu certainly couldn't blame her...
...If worst comes to worst, maybe a light pat on the butt could suffice. (crossed out)
If that's the case, using the simplest and most brutal method is the only option — whatever the trap is, just step on it.
"Battle!" Youyu chose to go straight into the Battle Phase, "Attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon with Dark Magician!"
The Dark Magician with an attack power of 5300 raised his Magic Staff, and particles of Magic Power seemed to gather from every corner of the air, like iron filings drawn to a magnet.
The dark currents clustered with visible dark waves on the Dark Magician's staff, forming a sphere, with the waves of Magic Power swirling around the magician like a dark iris.
And sure enough, Kaiba's backfield card activated at this moment.
"Open the Set Card!" Kaiba shouted, "Trap Card - Waboku!"
The Trap Card flipped up, revealing three benevolent women on the field. They stood protectively in front of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, gently praying with their eyes closed, the Magic Power emanating from their bodies forming a transparent spherical shield, protecting Kaiba's entire half of the field.
The impact of the Dark Magic crashed against the transparent shield, scattering like water against a stone.
Kaiba smiled lightly, "The turn Waboku is activated, all battle damage you take that turn becomes 0, and your monsters won't be destroyed by battle."
Youyu understood, of course it was Waboku.
This Trap is one of the stalling Divine Artifacts produced in Yu-Gi-Oh! DM. The turn it's activated is practically invincible. Unlike Negate Attack, this card doesn't even need an opponent attack declaration, it can be freely activated at any point during the turn.
So even if he drew a Mystical Space Typhoon just now, it wouldn't matter because Kaiba could chain this Set Card in advance, meaning Youyu couldn't defeat Kaiba this turn either.
Unless he used the Magic Card - Night Beam, otherwise, it's pointless. And clearly, Youyu doesn't have Night Beam in his inventory right now.
(Magic Card - Night Beam, destroy one of your opponent's Set Magic Trap Cards, the chosen card cannot be activated at that time.)
So it seems his Dark Magician Girl can't really be blamed...
"Turn end."
With nothing else he could do, Youyu directly ended his turn.
"My turn."
The operations returned to Kaiba once more, but he didn't rush to draw a card. Instead, he fixed his gaze on his card deck, his eyes growing increasingly fervent.
Up to this point, he had completely abandoned his previous dismissive attitude and was now truly treating this opponent with all his strength.
He realized his fingers resting on the card deck were subtly trembling, every cell in his body seemed to be activated. An uncontrollable zeal for battle surged from the depths of his heart, rising to his brain along with the boiling blood in his veins.
Kaiba Seto hadn't felt this way for a long time.
The last time he felt such blood-pumping intensity, with every cell in his body charged for battle, a sense of burning restlessness and insatiable craving — it was seemingly during his duel with Muto Yugi.
Even though his duel with Pegasus also pushed him into a struggle, Pegasus cheated with the power of the Millennium Eyes and used Kaiba's brother Mokuba's soul as leverage, so it never truly ignited these feelings.
Kaiba once thought that only Muto Yugi could bring him this maximum stimulation, pushing him to his limits and unfolding his full potential. Now, he realized he might have been wrong.
Moreover, this time, the opponent was also a master of the "Dark Magician," making him momentarily think he saw the shadow of his rival.
Kaiba's gaze grew increasingly fervent.
This time, he would put everything on the line, determined to utterly crush the Monster before him!
... He must draw "that card!"
"... Draw!"
Kaiba raised his voice, drawing the top card from his card deck in the same instant.
Then he opened his eyes, a barely concealed smile of triumph curling at his mouth, as if victory was already within his grasp.
"...I activate the Magic Card - Silent Doom!" Kaiba began the operation, "Revive a normal Monster in defense position from the graveyard, but the Monster revived by this effect cannot attack... Come forth! I revive another 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon!'"
A beam of light shot up, and another White Dragon with azure eyes emerged from the ground, shielding its front with its wings like a shield.
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Defense Strength 2500]
Youyu squinted his eyes: "A second Blue-Eyes... was it discarded from the hand when activating 'Cost Down' earlier?"
But even with a second Blue-Eyes, the situation on the field won't change; relying on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon can't defeat the Dark Magician with 5300 attack power.
Kaiba should be aware of this.
"Next is another Magic Card... Foolish Burial!"
Kaiba played another renowned Divine Card among Yu-Gi-Oh! players.
"Due to this card's effect, I can choose any Monster from the Card Deck to send to the graveyard. I will choose... 'Peten the Dark Clown!'"
Kaiba selected a Monster Card with a clown design from the Card Deck and sent it directly to the graveyard.
"Next, I'll activate Peten's effect the moment he hits the graveyard! When this card is sent to the graveyard, remove it from the graveyard and Special Summon another 'Peten the Dark Clown' from my hand or Card Deck! I Special Summon the second Peten from the Card Deck!"
[Peten the Dark Clown, Attack Power 500]
At this moment, Kaiba's field already had Peten the Dark Clown and two Blue-Eyes White Dragons, a total of three Monsters.
Youyu suddenly had a bad premonition.
Kaiba's eyes suddenly widened, revealing a nearly ferocious grin.
"Take a good look at this... this is Divine!"
He raised the card in his hand high.
"Using Peten the Dark Clown and two Blue-Eyes White Dragons on the field as sacrifices... Come forth! Destroyer God, Obelisk the Tormentor!!!"
Black clouds covered the sky at some unknown point and azure lightning tore through the clouds, crashing down.
A dark silhouette appeared on the horizon, like a gigantic hand parting the clouds. Crimson eyes lit up behind the clouds, as if a divine being was watching over the earth.
A colossal shadow emerged from the clouds, accompanied by deafening thunder.
The sky-ripping pale lightning illuminated the massive blue body, the giant mastering destruction power appeared heavily on Kaiba's side of the field.
For a brief moment, Youyu felt as if his body was locked in.
It was an illusion akin to his soul being seized, a powerful sense of pressure rose from the depths of his body. His limbs felt numb, and his brain refused to think.
Until the Dark Magician Girl in spirit form stood protectively before Youyu, wielding her little Magic Staff to activate some ability, relieving Youyu's mind somewhat.
"Master, are you alright?" she hurriedly asked.
"I'm fine, thanks." Youyu breathed a sigh of relief.
As expected of the Egyptian God, ordinary Duelists would find it a huge burden to endure such divine pressure during a duel.
Youyu refocused on the duel.
However, even as Obelisk the Tormentor, the panel attack power is just 4000, according to the rules, it still can't defeat Youyu's Dark Magician.
Unless Kaiba still has another ace up his sleeve. For instance, find a way to gather two more sacrifices, activate the Tormentor's absurd special effect according to the animation version - destroy all Monsters on the opponent's field, dealing 4000 damage to the opponent player.
If the President pulls this off, Youyu admits defeat; he truly couldn't counter that move.
Blowing up the entire field and causing 4000 damage in an instant, except for forcefully using Kuriboh to prevent effect damage, who could withstand that?
However, under such circumstances, gathering two more sacrifices should... be impossible, right?
Unless the President can print a card on-site...
Unfortunately, it seems he won't witness the President's next move.
Because just seconds after Obelisk the Tormentor appeared, the Duel Disc in Kaiba's hand started to "crackle" with electric currents.
The holographic images across the scene flickered like flames, then vanished in an instant.
Even the massive Tormentor that overshadowed the sky flickered before transforming into a ghostly image and disappearing.
Black smoke wafted from the Duel Disc in Kaiba's hand, accompanied by a faint burning smell.
Youyu was familiar with this scent.
...It's the smell of a graphics card overheating.
Kaiba's newly developed Duel Disc seemed unable to withstand the pressure of materializing the Egyptian God image... it burned out.