"Ra... the chant for Ra..."
Seeing that The Winged Dragon of Ra on his field was nothing more than a sphere, Joey suddenly remembered he still had a cheat sheet with the chant written out in phonetic kana. He immediately dug through his pocket.
"Found it!"
Joey looked at the cheat sheet in his hand and jumped excitedly. Just as he was about to open it and recite the chant written inside, a gust of wind blew past, snatching the paper from his hands and sending it fluttering off to who-knows-where.
"Σ( ° △ °|||)︴!!!"
While Joey panicked, Youmi heard a weary sigh from within Ra's sphere. Even so, it didn't seem interested in entering Attack Mode.
"Ah... haha... it's fine, I've got a backup plan. I activate the Normal Spell 'Heavy Storm' from my hand to destroy all Spells and Traps on the field!"
Although he was thrilled to have drawn a card Youmi had given him, the current situation was nothing short of embarrassing—especially with his sister and all their friends watching.
"I flip 'Welcome Labrynth', and chain it with 'Jar of Greed'." Even while frantically trying to recall The Winged Dragon of Ra's summoning chant, Youmi didn't forget to mitigate the blow. "Because chains resolve backwards, I draw one card first, then Special Summon 'Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle'."
The demon queen emerged from the card and stepped protectively in front of Youmi, one hand holding down her skirt as it fluttered from Heavy Storm.
"Tch, so you summoned her anyway. Then I... I'll just end my turn like this!"
One of The Winged Dragon of Ra's effects:
When this card is Normal Summoned, you must Tribute 3 monsters to Summon it. After it is successfully Summoned, the Duelist who first recites the chant written on the card gains control of this card. Then, this card's Attack and Defense become equal to the total Attack and Defense of the monsters Tributed to Summon it, and it enters Battle Mode.
While it has not entered Battle Mode, this card cannot attack and cannot be targeted by the opponent's attacks or card effects.
In a sense, this was an ironclad defense.
Turn 4.
"M-my turn~"
Forcing a smile onto her face, Youmi genuinely had no idea how to deal with a fully inert "sun sphere" that wouldn't budge; Normally, Ra's immunity to ordinary Spells and Traps was manageable—but this 'ultimate bachelor anti-targeting protection' was brutal.
"Draw."
Looking at her hand, Youmi could find no solutions.
"Still nothing... I activate 'Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle's' effect to Set 'Jar of Greed' from my Graveyard. Then I Set two more cards and end my turn."
She Set two more cards with a helpless expression, but even if she had to pass, she at least maintained her elegance: "If you won't make a move, then allow me to properly prepare your examination hall~"
Turn 5.
"My turn! Draw!"
"I Set one card and end my turn!"
Turn 6.
"Hm? Joey, you're still not attacking? Then I'll just... er, wait a bit longer. I activate 'Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle' to Set 'Welcome Labrynth'. 'Jar of Greed' activates, letting me draw one card. Then I Set another card from my hand and end my turn."
······
Turn 9.
"My turn. Draw. I..."
Several turns had passed, and still, The Winged Dragon of Ra had not awakened.
Joey scratched his head awkwardly… he didn't have the setup to survive a potential OTK from Youmi after summoning another monster. "I end my—"
As if it couldn't take it anymore, The Winged Dragon of Ra let out a thunderous roar, jolting awake several spectators who had nearly fallen asleep. Ra then transformed on its own into Battle Mode.
"Why are you yelling so loud?!"
Ib and Iblee—who had been resting with their eyes closed—were startled into flickering repeatedly between forms. Ultimately, Iblee took over, pointing at Ra's face and shouting furiously.
"Ra transformed on its own? Ah—Ra will voluntarily enter Battle Mode for Duelists it acknowledges. Does that mean it recognizes Joey?" Marik, groggy from almost dozing off, tried to think and arrived at the only explanation for Ra's sudden transformation.
"About time you woke up," Youmi said inwardly to Ra. "I was starting to think you were going to hide in that shell forever."
"You brat… you definitely know my summoning chant. You dragged this out on purpose to stockpile cards, didn't you?" Ra's dignified voice echoed inside Youmi's mind. "But now it's time to end this. Your 'Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle' is still in Att—wait. When did it shift to Defense Position?"
Lovely Labrynth, currently using her twin axes as makeshift earplugs while yawning, joined the mental conversation: "Last turn, I told Youmi to switch me to Defense before you got impatient and started hitting things."
"I don't know what that's about, but it looks like I can finally use The Winged Dragon of Ra. I activate 'Roll of Fate' from my hand, rolling a die. I draw cards equal to the result, then banish the same number from the top of my Deck."
A virtual die spun, landing on 4.
Youmi's smile almost cracked. She tapped her forehead lightly. "If you had rolled anything 3 or lower, I'd have pretended you didn't even use—"
"Didn't use what?"
Joey, unable to follow her logic, simply drew four cards and banished four.
The banished cards were: 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon', 'Gearfried the Swordmaster', 'Polymerization', and 'Inferno Fire Blast'.
"Ah..." Joey's face twitched with embarrassment after banishing them.
That meant he must have 'Red-Eyes Black Knight' or 'Release Restraint' stuck in his hand. "Youmi's backrow is full after so many turns. She probably has something like 'Dimension Wall', and we already know she has 'Welcome Labrynth' and 'Jar of Greed'. If I use this card now... Give me strength, Mai! I activate 'Harpie's Feather Duster' from my hand!"
"'Jar of Greed', 'Welcome Labrynth', and 'Hallowed Life Barrier' activate in sequence. As the cost for 'Hallowed Life Barrier', I send one card from my hand to the Graveyard." Youmi briefly revealed 'Electromagnetic Turtle' before discarding it. "Now resolving the chain: all battle damage I take this turn becomes 0—including damage to my monsters. I Special Summon 'Arianna the Labrynth Servant' from my Deck. Then I draw one card!"
'"Hallowed Life Barrier" comes from very early-era rulings—when it says monster damage becomes 0, that means the monster cannot be destroyed by battle.
Since 'Ha-Re the Sword Mikanko' currently has no Equip Spell, any battle damage she deals to Youmi is also 0.
One way or another, Youmi wasn't losing this turn.
"Arianna the Labrynth Servant's effect activates. When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add one 'Labrynth' card from my Deck to my hand. I add 'Labrynth Set-Up'."
Previously, no Duelist had ever cleared Youmi's field so thoroughly, so she'd never had a chance to use this Quick-Play Spell. Now she finally might. "Well? Don't tell me you're going to pass just because you can't take my LP?"
Youmi glanced at The Winged Dragon of Ra, now in Battle Mode. "You remember Ra's final effect, don't you?"
Joey nodded. While he couldn't read ancient priest script and had forgotten Ra's chant entirely, he remembered the effect clearly.
"I pay 1000 LP to activate The Winged Dragon of Ra's effect: destroy all monsters on your field."
...
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