"Ed Phoenix!"
The black-robed figures recognized Ed's identity, feeling even more surprised in their hearts.
"Who's in charge here?" Ed asked, his gaze swiftly sweeping over everyone present.
The black-robed figures looked at each other in dismay.
After a moment, the leader of the black robes stepped forward.
"I am." He pointed to himself, "I am the bishop here, you can talk to me about anything."
"You?" Ed sized him up for a moment, then nodded slightly, "Alright. Let's settle this swiftly..."
He glanced down at his watch.
"I've got about an hour left, and then I have a flight to catch. So apologies, I'll wrap this up quickly."
Such a dismissive attitude ignited the anger of those present, but the bishop gestured for everyone to calm down and said, "The rising star of the pro circuit, Ed Phoenix, we've heard of your name as well.
But if I'm not mistaken, our church doesn't have any grudge against you."
"Indeed, there isn't." Ed smiled, "I'm just helping out a friend by dealing with you, but time is limited... So if you're in charge, I'll take care of you first."
The bishop snorted heavily, flinging his robe.
"It seems we have no choice but to fight. However, defeating me will not be that easy."
With that, he also unfolded his duel disc.
"Duel!" x2
[Ed, LP4000]
[Bishop, LP4000]
"I'll go first, draw!"
The bishop went first, drawing a card, then slowly pulling out a card from his hand.
"First, set a monster face-down on the field."
"Then activate this card..."
He inserted another card from his hand into the duel disc.
"Magic Card 'Light Sealing Sword'! For the next three turns, based on the opponent's turns, their monsters cannot declare an attack!"
Ed frowned slightly, somewhat displeased.
"Hey, you're not using this delaying tactic because you know I'm in a rush, are you?"
The bishop ignored him, continuing on his own, "My turn is over."
"Alright then... It's my turn."
Ed looked up, speaking in a deep voice.
"Draw!"
"Activate Magic Card 'Destiny Draw', discard a 'Destiny Hero' monster from my hand, and draw two cards from the deck!"
Ed chose the Destiny Hero from his hand to discard, simultaneously drawing two cards.
Then, he revealed one of the newly drawn cards.
"Activate Magic Card 'Pot of Greed', draw two more cards from the deck."
"Next is the Magic Card 'D-Spirit'! If there are no Destiny Heroes on my field, I can special summon a Level 4 or below Destiny Hero from my hand."
Ed revealed the Destiny Hero in his hand.
"Special summon 'Destiny Hero: Diamond Man'!"
[Destiny Hero: Diamond Man, Attack Power 1400]
"Diamond Man's effect allows me to look at the top card of the deck once per turn. If it's a Magic Card, send it to the graveyard and activate that Magic Card's effect next turn.
If not, place it at the bottom of the deck."
Ed drew a card.
Of course, Ed's record with diamond draws has never failed in history.
"Magic Card 'Adversity's Treasure Scroll'." Ed revealed his hand, "So it's sent to the graveyard, and next turn its effect will activate."
"Next, I activate the Magic Card 'Transcend Destiny'!" Ed declared, "Select a 'Destiny Hero' monster in my graveyard and special summon a 'Destiny Hero' whose level is half or less from my deck.
However, the monster special summoned by this effect must be destroyed at the end of the turn."
The bishop said, "The Destiny Hero you just discarded with magic..."
"That card was 'Destiny Hero: Demon', Level 6." Ed smiled, "Thus, I can special summon a Destiny Hero of Level Three or below from the deck.
Come On! Destiny Hero: Demon Man!"
The one that appeared was indeed the Destiny Hero floating beside him before the duel began, its arms crossed, crouching defensively on the field.
[Destiny Hero: Demon Man, Defense Power 800]
"Then the effect of 'Destiny Hero: Demon' in the graveyard allows me to remove this card from the game to special summon a card with the same name from the deck.
I remove Demon from the graveyard to special summon another Demon from the deck.
Come On! Destiny Hero: Demon!"
[Destiny Hero: Demon, Attack Power 800]
"Then I use the three monsters: Demon, Diamond Man, and Demon Man on the field as tributes! Summon the supreme Destiny Hero to the battlefield—
—Destiny Hero: Dogma!!!"
A dazzling beam of light descended from the sky, hitting the center of the battlefield. A heavily armored warrior appeared within the radiance, his gaze sharp as an eagle, body tall and straight, with his armor gleaming coldly.
[Destiny Hero: Dogma, Attack Power 3400]
"Three tributes to summon such a high-level monster on the first turn. As expected of the professional star, Ed Phoenix."
The bishop paused, squinting with a cold smile.
"However, no matter how powerful the monster you summon, under the seal of the 'Light Sealing Sword', it cannot attack."
"I know that."
Ed chuckled softly.
"Besides, I haven't performed a Normal Summon yet.
Next, I summon 'Destiny Hero: Tenacious Man' in attack position."
[Destiny Hero: Tenacious Man, Attack Power 800]
"Finally, I set two cards face-down in the back field, turn ends."
"Such an aggressive start, but in the end, it just ended like this." The bishop sneered, "Then it's my turn, draw!"
The bishop drew a card.
But before he could do anything, a sudden flash of light appeared in the eyes of Dogma. A domineering energy burst from his body, and a similar energy shot up beneath the bishop's feet, as if intending to crush him entirely.
"Ahhh!"
The bishop cried out in pain. This attack came out of nowhere, catching him completely off guard, nearly toppling him over.
[Bishop, LP4000 → LP2000]
"What the...!?"
He looked at Dogma across from him in shock.
Ed smirked coldly: "Destiny Hero: Dogma, as long as this card exists on the field, during each opponent's standby phase, their Life Points become halved." (Original effect)
This effect was weakened in the physical card. The real card only allows for halving LP during the opponent's next standby phase after Dogma is successfully special summoned; it's a one-time effect, while in the original animation, it activates every turn.
"To burn away half the life points right off the bat... It's a dangerous thing."
The bishop glared at Dogma coldly.
"It cannot be allowed to stay!"
Having made up his mind, the bishop immediately revealed the magic in his hand.
"Activate Magic Card 'Black Core'!
By discarding a card from my hand, I can remove a face-up monster on the field from play!"
The bishop discarded a card to the graveyard.
"Remove 'Destiny Hero: Dogma' from play!"