"Battle!" Youyu ordered directly, "Sky Galloping Dragon Knight - Gaia! Attack 'Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder'!"
Four thousand defense power indeed makes Hamon a nearly indestructible wall, but unfortunately, in front of the invincible "Gaia," it's not much different from ordinary small fry.
The Sky Galloping Dragon Knight charged at full speed, with the skeletal wings of the dragon beneath him flashing, as if riding a golden storm. The knight's lance merged into the golden torrent, piercing Hamon's chest with a single strike!
"Effect of 'Spiral Spear Strike,'" Youyu said, "When Gaia destroys a Defense Position monster, it deals piercing damage!"
[Kagemaru, LP 4000 → LP 2800]
The spiral spear energy pierced through the phantasm's body, and fragments of golden bones reflected a dazzling sheen, scattering everywhere.
"Second effect of 'Spiral Spear Strike,' when the 'Dragon Knight Gaia' on my field deals battle damage using the piercing effect, I draw two cards from my deck and then discard one card from my hand."
Two new cards drawn, Youyu quickly picked one to send to the graveyard.
"Dark Magician of Chaos!" Youyu said, "Direct attack!"
The dark magician spun and leaped, his magic staff whirling like a long stick, with the destructive spell roaring forward as if burning everything.
With 2800 attack power, Kagemaru's Life Points coincidentally remain 2800. If this hit goes through, Kagemaru won't even have the chance to summon a second phantasm before being instantly defeated!
But just before the destructive spell hit, Hamon's broken mountain-like body did not disintegrate. Numerous golden bone fragments were attracted like magnets, forming a transparent golden barrier that firmly blocked the Chaos spell's damage.
Kagemaru sneered: "'Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder' being destroyed in defense position means the damage I take this turn is 0."
Then he smirked mockingly: "What a pity, you displayed such a powerful total attack lineup with such momentum, yet it doesn't seem to have worked."
Youyu wasn't surprised, as if he had predicted this outcome: "Battle phase ends. I will now activate the Magic Card 'Pot of Greed' drawn from the effect of 'Spiral Spear Strike', drawing two more cards from my deck.
Then turn ends."
"Ha, the terror of the phantasms is just beginning!" Kagemaru shouted, "My turn, draw! I want to summon this guy...
...Chaos Summoning Beast, attack position!"
A black demon appeared on Kagemaru's field. It had a long tail filled with sharp spikes and devilish wings, its image strange and unsettling.
[Chaos Summoning Beast, Attack 0]
"Effect of Chaos Summoning Beast," Kagemaru said, "By using it as a tribute, I can special summon the Three Phantasms in my hand, ignoring summoning conditions!"
Youyu raised an eyebrow: "Coming so soon?"
"That's right." Kagemaru slowly pulled out a card, grinning fiendishly, "Watch closely, Duel King. The great Power of Phantasms that surpassed ordinary monster limits!
The Prison Flame Phantasm purifies everything with scorching flames –
— Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, summon!!!"
Heaven and earth trembled, earth shook, fragments began to jump restlessly, and cracks spread swiftly along the ground tiles.
The aura of destruction expanded to its peak, swirling clouds in the sky formed vortex-like holes. Ultra-hot flames turned the clouds fire-red, boundless energy brewed at the vortex center, like a scorching volcano hanging inverted in the sky, inevitably spewing out breath of destruction!
The crimson dragon crashed down with that breath. Prison Flames consumed everything, metal melted in flames, and scorching molten iron spread across the ground.
Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, summon!
Youyu looked up at this figure, which was almost a twin to the Sky Dragon, and murmured softly: "So soon, the second phantasm."
"The attack power of Uria, Lord of Searing Flames depends on the number of Trap Cards in the graveyard." (Animation effect)
Kagemaru paused: "Of course, I currently have no Trap Cards in the graveyard, so Uria has no attack power."
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, Attack 0]
Uria, originally Urial in the Bible. Mentioned in many works, it is generally said to be one of the four archangels along with Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael under the divine entity.
Urial also means "God's Light" and "God's Fire," and as the phantasm, Uria is known as "Lord of Searing Flames," perhaps also connecting slightly to the legend.
"But now that I have summoned a new phantasm, the Field Magic 'Fallen Paradise' effect can activate again." Kagemaru roared, "Activate the effect of 'Fallen Paradise'!
Once per turn, when there's a phantasm on the field, I can draw two cards from the deck."
Two new cards in hand, Kagemaru quickly revealed one of them.
"Activate Magic Card 'Painful Choice'! Choose five cards from the deck. Opponent selects one for me, and the remaining four are discarded to the graveyard."
Kagemaru drew five cards from the deck in one go and showed them all to Youyu.
Youyu took a closer look, good heavens, all five are freaking Trap Cards.
That means no matter which card he chooses, the remaining four cards sent to the graveyard will become 4000 attack points for the Lord of Searing Flames. So here he just needs to pick one that's relatively less threatening to him...
... Wait a minute, why do you still have this?
Youyu almost instinctively pointed to one of them.
"I choose 'Sakuretsu Armor'."
It is well known that in the anime, 'Sakuretsu Armor' is cursed by the will of the Macro Cosmos. Throughout the history of Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, this card has appeared quite a bit, continuously featuring over the years. However, the number of times it successfully activated after being Set is zero...
"Heh, handing such a powerful trap to me willingly?" Kagemaru seemed unaware of the curse the card carried. "Then you'll pay for your arrogance, Duel King."
He accepted the card "given" by Youyu with satisfaction and added, "Then I'll discard the remaining four trap cards to the graveyard, increasing Uria's attack power by 4000 points!"
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, ATK 0 → ATK 4000]
On Youyu's side, the Keeper of Dragon Magic is in defense position, and the invincible 'Gaia' with an attack power of 5200 still intimidates Uria. Thus, Kagemaru's choices are evident.
Kagemaru raised his arm high: "Go! Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, attack the 'Dark Magician of Chaos'!"
The Lord of Searing Flames opened its huge mouth, as if all the free-floating particles in the air converged rapidly, forming a vortex of flames gathered into Uria's mouth!
There was no trap in Youyu's backfield to defend with—naturally, he knew trap cards were useless against Phantasms.
This not only means that Phantasms possess "immune to trap card effects" resistance but also, just like Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder is the Phantasm skilled in magic, Uria, Lord of Searing Flames can manipulate traps. The anime version of Uria has the ability to destroy all trap cards on the opponent's field once per turn.
Therefore, with Uria present, traps are nearly ineffective against Phantasms.
The Dark Magician of Chaos was instantly shattered under the fiery blow of the Lord of Searing Flames. Youyu felt the scorching cyclone freely coursing through his body, the impact churning his stomach, his bones seemingly on the verge of melting from Hellfire.
[Youyu, LP 4000 → LP 2800]
"Set one card, turn ends." Kagemaru said.
Youyu straightened up, briefly glancing at the new Set card in Kagemaru's backfield.
A Set card... could it be the 'Sakuretsu Armor' that joined his hand just now?
It's incredible that he dares to Set something cursed by the will of the Macro Cosmos. So, he's just relying on the support of Phantasms to act recklessly?
"My turn, draw card!"
As the text on the Duel Disc's electronic display cycled, the moment the display screen jumped to "Standby Phase," Kagemaru loudly declared: "Witness the true might of the Phantasms with your eyes wide open, Duel King!
Unleash the power of Divine Flame now! Activate Set Card, Continuous Trap 'Hyper Blaze'!!!"
Youyu's gaze shifted slightly.
So it's not Sakuretsu Armor?
Hyper Blaze, the card name itself is Uria, Lord of Searing Flames' ultimate move, and the card image depicts Uria in the middle of unleashing a breath attack. Even a fool could deduce this is Uria's exclusive trap card!
"The effect of 'Hyper Blaze'! Once per turn, by discarding a card from the hand, you can special summon any Phantasm from the graveyard, ignoring summoning conditions!"
Kagemaru discarded a card from his hand to the graveyard.
"Revive to this field, once again to deliver righteous judgment from the heavens—
—Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, descend again!"
The Netherworld was pierced, and the image of the Phantasm descended with the thunder! A golden skeleton held up its majestic and terrifying body, and the moment the Phantasm's foot touched the ground, it seemed as if the world let out a wail!
[Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, ATK 4000]
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, summoned once more!
Youyu cocked an eyebrow: "Here we go again? You Phantasms really just don't quit, huh..."
It involuntarily reminded him of the time battling the Pharaoh's millennium human engine, the unending appearance of the Three Egyptian Gods.
"And, when activating the effect of 'Hyper Blaze,' the card I discarded from my hand is the trap card 'Sakuretsu Armor.'" Kagemaru said, "Thus, Uria, Lord of Searing Flames' attack power also increases!"
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, ATK 4000 → ATK 5000]
Youyu: "..."
Well then, actually discarded 'Sakuretsu Armor'... instead of Setting it?
Could this be the correct way to "activate" Sakuretsu Armor?