"The second form of the Winged Divine Dragon unlocked!" Yugen shouted, "Divine Phoenix!"
Raging flames surged, yet they were not ordinary earthly fire. The flames leapt and twisted, rapidly spreading along the giant divine bird's body.
First, the golden wings were ignited, transforming into blazing wings of fire. The flames swiftly covered the entire body of the divine bird, enveloping it completely in a sea of fire. Its outline became blurred and mysterious amidst the dancing flames, no longer visible to the naked eye.
The air boiled under the sun-like flames, and even the wind became scorching and suffocating. The burning phoenix seemed to have become the sole center of the heavens and earth.
Then the immortal bird spread its wings and dove!
The Divine Phoenix can destroy all monsters on the opponent's field by paying 1000 Life Points. In the animation, the effect of the gods has never been clearly and completely expressed, inferring from the practical performances of players. Malik in DM always used this effect during the opponent's turn, so it's undoubtedly a second-speed effect.
A second-speed board wipe, anyone who's played cards should understand the terrifying value of this effect.
However, in the DM finale, when Atom's Three Phantom Gods were destroyed by Tabletop Game using Celestial Pit Dragon, theoretically using the second-speed effect of the Winged Divine Dragon to wipe the board would have nullified Tabletop Game's strategy. But he did not do so.
Additionally, during the Duel City, the Thunder Summoning Bullet released by Atom's Sky Dragon was ineffective against Malik's Winged Divine Dragon, yet in the Battle Ceremony, the Winged Divine Dragon was defeated by a Thunder Summoning Bullet, which also presents inconsistencies.
But the only difference was, at that time, Malik's Winged Divine Dragon was specially summoned, whereas in the Battle Ceremony, it was summoned properly with three sacrifices. So the most reasonable explanation is that only the Winded Divine Dragon summoned through special summoning can transform into the Divine Phoenix.
The immortal bird is immune to any damage and effects that a regular Winged Divine Dragon cannot withstand, unaffected by any card effects in the turn it is specially summoned. Moreover, when Malik's attacking Phoenix withstood both "Thunder Summoning Bullet" and "Superconductive Wave" from the Sky Dragon, it was unharmed, suggesting that the Phoenix cannot even be destroyed in battle, and it deals 0 battle damage to players.
Combining these manifestations, there is also a presumed effect that the "Pay Life Points to destroy opponent's monsters" effect of the Winged Divine Dragon can only be activated when special summoned. This assumption, just within the DM narrative, seems flawless, aligning with the performance and operator actions every god's appearance.
However, when considering the cameo appearances of the Winged Divine Dragon in GX, it reveals a bug. In GX, when Franz used the Winged Divine Dragon against Judai, he used the "Pay 1000 points to wipe the board" effect during his main phase, clearly showing that the Winged Divine Dragon summoned through a regular sacrificial summoning should also have the board wipe effect.
But in contrast, Franz never used the second-speed wipe during Judai's turn to interrupt his operations—clearly, if he did this, he could have interrupted Judai's setup and easily claimed victory.
So if this duel is also considered, then the most reasonable speculation for the animation's Winged Divine Dragon should be that, whether normally or specially summoned, it has the board-wipe effect.
However, only the Winged Divine Dragon summoned through special summoning can enter the completely invincible "Divine Phoenix" state, and its board-wipe effect spell speed rises to second-speed, allowing it to activate during the opponent's turn.
And now, the Winged Divine Dragon Yugen wields is precisely the invincible Phoenix form.
With the Judge's curse against the Pharaoh, the Phoenix spread its wings and dove. The divine fire erupted into a torrent of destruction, rendering the strongest materials as fragile as paper under the sun deity's might, rendering the mightiest defenses meaningless.
The majestic green god figure stood helpless before the divine power, its so-called invincible spear and shield akin to a layer of thin paper before the Phoenix. The unbounded flames easily reduced the Judge's three monsters to ashes, leaving not even fragments.
The Judge raised his arm to shield against the unbearable heat of the flames, then got up with a grim expression.
"Worthy of the strongest Phantom God, indeed a formidable force. But this attack will also plunge you into the deepest abyss!"
The Judge's eyes flashed with green light, and the Orichalcos Barrier shone with unprecedented brilliance, seemingly vibrating.
"Let's see which is stronger, the so-called Phantom God or my power, through this duel!"
"When the Orichalcos Xilinos leaves the field, by paying at least 10,000 Life Points and discarding all remaining cards in hand, it can be activated!"
A card from his deck popped out, seemingly with a life of its own, landing on his Duel Disc. Simultaneously, a terrifying dark vortex opened, filled with endless deep darkness where even the Sun God's light couldn't penetrate.
The outline flickered amidst the twisted lights and shadows, ancient and malevolent forces writhing within.
When the entity appeared, everyone could see clearly that it was a terrifying Snake God.
Its colossal body shimmered with ominous gleams of scales, like the darkest stars in the night sky, or a surging dark stream in the abyss. Its eyes, like burning Netherworld flames, pierced the darkness, and its tongue flicked in the air, emitting a "hiss" sound, as if the world trembled in that shadow.
The world might be vast, but witnessing this monstrous divine power, it seemed only the Winged Divine Dragon before it could contend.
The Winged Divine Dragon let out a sharp screech, and the serpent was not to be outdone, screeching back in defiance.
[Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes, Attack Power ∞]
"Attack Power...infinite!?"
The spectators were all stunned.
This was the first time in their lives they had seen an infinite attack power, exceeding the limits of dueling rules, embodying infinite power beyond numerical measurement!
Even Kaiba couldn't help but be moved.
Although he faced Dazi in the past, he never personally witnessed this terrifying Divine Beast. Because before Dazi used this ultimate move, he had already fallen before Silenos. And when Atom defeated Dazi, reviving his and others' souls, Vennominaga had been taken down by Atom.
Therefore, in history, only the Pharaoh has ever defeated this giant serpent.
"Wait, look at his Life Points!" Keihei said.
[Judge, LP 10000→LP 0]
Everyone was astonished.
This monster and its effects were entirely beyond reason, and people couldn't comprehend it for a moment.
How could he still stand and continue playing cards when his Life Points were already zero? Shouldn't he have lost already?
"Vennominaga's first effect is that it changes the victory condition after entering the field," the Judge sneered.
"As long as Vennominaga is on the field, neither my life points hitting zero nor depleting my card deck count as a defeat.
To defeat me, only one way remains—
—defeating this infinitely powerful Vennominaga!"