"I underestimate it!" Akasha heard Marik's nervous voice echoing in her head. "I didn't expect the Heroic Spirit cards to be like the God Cards, choosing their masters!"
Marik, who was well-versed in the qualities of the God Cards, knew that only those with Millennium Items could use them. It was a constraint imposed by the powerful card spirits that accompanied the cards.
"Every card has a restriction? How can that be?" But applying this restriction to Hoshino's deckled Marik to an unbelievable conclusion.
"Could it be that every Heroic Spirit card contains a spirit comparable to a god?!" This shocking truth hit Marik, a rare card hunter, hard. The rarity of a card that housed a spirit was completely different from the expensive rare cards sold on the market. These cards represented not just Duel Monsters but also symbols of world history.
"It's fine! Even without card effects, I can still fight!" Akasha, snapping back to reality, recovered faster than Marik. In terms of dueling skills, Akasha was undoubtedly superior to Marik.
"If we're talking about normal monsters, then that one over there is just a normal monster too." Glancing at the Queen's Knight on Yugi's field, Akasha seemed to be confirming something.
"I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
Akasha's remaining hand cards: 3
"My turn, draw!" Yugi began his turn.
"Did you just say normal monsters? Heh, let me tell you, Queen's Knight is far from just a normal monster!" Yugi firmly denied Akasha's earlier assumption.
"Now, let me show you the true strength of the Royal Knights!" Yugi dramatically placed his card on the duel disk.
"I summon [King's Knight] in attack position!"
[King's Knight ★★★★ (4 stars)][LIGHT][Warrior/Effect][ATK 1600/DEF 1400]
A regal knight in golden armor materialized next to the Queen's Knight through the holographic projection.
"When Queen's Knight and King's Knight are on the field together, they can call forth a valiant ally!"
Yugi pointed to the two knights standing side by side. "Now, I activate [King's Knight]'s special effect!"
[King's Knight Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned while you control [Queen's Knight]: You can Special Summon 1 [Jack's Knight] from your Deck]
"Come forth, the knight who protects the king and queen!" Yugi skillfully searched his deck and placed the final knight on the field.
"I special summon [Jack's Knight] in attack position!"
[Jack's Knight ★★★★★ (5 stars)][LIGHT][Warrior][ATK 1900/DEF 1000]
A knight in shining silver armor appeared, standing guard before the King and Queen.
"He summoned two knights in a single turn?" Marik, observing from afar, clearly sensed that the situation was becoming dire.
"Now that the Royal Knights have gathered in full, prepare to face justice!" Yugi stretched his hand forward, entering the battle phase. "Attack her Medea Lily, King's Knight! Royal Slash!"
With a loud cry, the gold-armored King's Knight swung his sword heavily at the small figure of Medea Lily.
"I will fight no matter what!" As the King's attack approached, Akasha swiftly activated a set card, "At the moment of the attack, I activate my counter trap card, [Memory of Qualia]!"
[Memory of Qualia Counter Trap Card Effect: ①: Can be activated when your opponent declares an attack. Until the end of the turn, your [Lily] monsters cannot be destroyed by battle.]
"As expected, even if the monster effects can't be activated, the spell and trap cards without spirit can still be used," Yugi muttered, slightly furrowing his brow. He had already guessed this outcome when Akasha chose to continue the duel.
"But thinking you can beat me with just spell and trap is pure wishful thinking!" As Akasha activated her trap card, Yugi decisively pressed the activation button on his duel disk.
"Counter Trap, [Solemn Judgment]!"
[Solemn Judgment Counter Trap Card Effect: ①: When a monster(s) would be Summoned, OR a Spell/Trap Card is activated: Pay half your LP; negate the Summon or activation, and if you do, destroy that card.]
"I pay half my life points to negate and destroy your Tactile Memory!"
[Yugi's LP 4000 → 2000]
[Memory of Qualia] negated
"Tch, using Solemn Judgment at this point, is aiming to break Akasha's defenses while she can't use monster effects." Marik clicked his tongue in frustration. He had seen a glimmer of hope when Akasha activated her trap, but it vanished in seconds.
"Hehe, was it wise to waste your Solemn Judgment like that?" Akasha smirked as if she had expected this outcome all along.
"Now you have no way to counter my second face-down card. What happens next... even I can't guarantee!" she taunted with a mischievous smile.
"Hmm?"
With a grin, Akasha flipped her second face-down card. "I activate the trap card [Child's Alarm]!"
[Child's Alarm Trap Card Effect: ①: When a [Lily] monster on your field is targeted for an attack or effect, you can activate this card. Special Summon a Level 6 or lower [Heroic Spirit] monster from your deck, then switch the target of the attack to the Special Summoned monster.]
"!!!" For the first time, Yugi, who had maintained a composed expression, was taken aback.
As the trap activated, a loud alarm echoed across the previously quiet and deserted street.
"Yugi, if you don't want to get caught up in something troublesome, you better make a run~" Though Akasha had an angelic face, her smile was as devious as a devil's.
Just imagine, in the middle of the night on an empty street, a child's alarm blaring. When the police or nearby residents arrive, they find a man standing with a little girl.
"That would be a disaster no matter how you look at it!" Despite his advantageous position, Yugi broke out in a cold sweat, all because of a single trap card.
"This is truly bad. If things escalate, it will cause trouble for my partner (Yugi)." Hearing the alarm blaring in his ear, Yami Yugi couldn't help but think this. Although he was indifferent to things outside of dueling, he did possess basic common sense.
Especially now, during the Battle City event, it was clear that there were far more police patrols at night than usual, to maintain the peace in Domino City.
"So, is Yugi going to leave?" Akasha asked, her voice tinged with urgency. This was her final ploy. She wasn't arrogant enough to believe she could defeat Yugi with her ineffective deck. If she could force Yugi to give up the duel, that would be ideal.
"Akasha, you're not in a great position either, are you?" Yugi in her voice and laughed. "If I don't intend to leave, the one in real trouble is you. Rather than worrying about the police, you'd have a harder time if Hoshino woke up first."
Right now, they were outside Kame Toy Shop, so unless Hoshino was a very heavy sleeper, she should arrive first.
"Tch…" Akasha clicked her tongue, annoyed that her true feelings had been seen through by Yugi. "So, you're betting on who gets here first? If I win, Yugi, you'll face social death."
"No, I'm not betting on either!" Unexpectedly, even in this situation, Yugi raised his duel disk, insisting on continuing the duel. "I'll defeat you in this battle phase, right here and now!"
"!!" Akasha was momentarily stunned. More than Yugi's persistence in dueling, she was shocked by his confidence. "Yugi, do you think my alarm only sounds an alert?"
"Because of the effect of the trap card Child's Alarm, I'll special summon a 6-star or lower Heroic Spirit monster from my deck to take the place of Medea Lily as your attack target!"
With that, Akasha quickly placed a pre-selected card onto her duel disk. "Come forth, and special summon in attack position—[Heroic Spirit – Emiya]!"
[Heroic Spirit – Emiya ★★★★★★ (6 stars)][WIND][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 2300K/DEF 2000](Hoshino upgrade Emiya: changes From Fire to Wind and ATK From 2200 To 2300)
A red figure swiftly moved through the dark streets, naturally placing himself between King's Knight and Medea Lily.
"Sigh…" Emiya sighed. "To think I'd be dragged into such childish games. What's Master even doing?"
"Even if I can't use monster effects, Yugi, your Knights can't break through Emiya's defense! And by forcing King's Knight to attack Emiya, he'll destroy himself with his attack!"
"Heh, do you think the knights' strength ends here?" Yugi smirked, clearly having anticipated this outcome.
"Next, I'll show you the true power of the legendary trinity of knights!"
Already foreseeing the situation, Yugi activated a set card from his duel disk. "Quick-Play Spell—[Flash Fusion]!"
[Flash Fusion Quick-Play Spell Effect: Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters you control as Fusion Material. Destroy it during the End Phase.]
"I will send King's Knight, Queen's Knight, and Jack's Knight on my field to the graveyard as Fusion Materials!" Raising the card high, Yugi's three knights transformed into beams of light, converging into one point.
"Now, the three knights unite their souls! In this glorious moment, I summon the name of the greatest knight!" As the light gathered in the card raised by the Pharaoh, he placed the final monster card onto his duel disk.
"Fusion Summon—[Arcana Knight Joker]!"
[Arcana Knight Joker ★★★★★★★★ (9 stars)][LIGHT][Warrior/Fusion/Effect][ATK 3800/DEF 2500]
[Queen's Knight + Jack's Knight + King's Knight. This card can only be Fusion Summoned by the listed Fusion Materials.]
[Once per turn, when a Spell/Trap Card, or monster effect, is activated that targets this face-up card on the field (Quick Effect): You can discard the same type of card (Monster, Spell, or Trap); negate the effect.]
The radiant light of the knight shone over the dark streets, dispelling the shadows like the light of a hero driving away the darkness.
"A… attack power of 3800?!" Akasha's eyes widened in shock as she watched Yugi quickly summon this monster. It was now that she truly felt the terror of standing before a legendary duelist.
"Continue the attack! Arcana Knight Joker, attack Emiya!"
Responding to Yugi's command, the Arcana Knight Joker gathered light into its sword and launched a swift attack toward Akasha's Emiya.
"Shining Divine Sword Strike!"
With an incredible 3800 attack points—enough to crush the Blue-Eyes White Dragon—the attack easily broke through Emiya's defense.
[Akasha LP 4000 → 2500]
The dazzling light that pierced the darkness was so bright that Akasha had to squint to see.
She raised her small arm to shield her eyes and bit her lip. "Even though you've destroyed Emiya and reduced my Life Points by 1500, Yugi, your attack is over…"
"My attack isn't over yet!" Cutting her off mid-sentence, Yugi once again played a card from his hand onto the duel disk.
"Quick-Play Spell—[De-Fusion]!"
[De-Fusion Quick-Play Spell Effect: Target 1 Fusion Monster on the field; return that target to the Extra Deck, then, if all the materials that were used for its Fusion Summon are in your GY, you can Special Summon all of them.]
Surrounded by a white glow, Arcana Knight Joker split back into three.
"Due to the effect of De-Fusion, King's Knight, Queen's Knight, and Jack's Knight are specially summoned back to my field!" From the three beams of light, the familiar Royal Knights once again took form on the battlefield.
[King's Knight ATK 1600]
[Queen's Knight ATK 1500]
[Jack's Knight ATK 1900]
"Akasha, this will be my final attack! Since the knights were Special Summoned during the Battle Phase, they can still attack!"
Yugi swung his arm forward, declaring his final assault.
"Jack's Knight, attack Medea Lily! Royal Slash!"
[Heroic Spirit – Medea Lily] destroyed
"Finally, King's Knight and Queen's Knight, direct attack! Royal Cross Slash!"
Both knights lunged forward, their swords slicing through the air, drawing a glowing cross across Akasha.
[Akasha LP 2500 → 0]
In just one turn, Yugi effortlessly fulfilled his declaration of victory before the battle. The whole process took only a few seconds.
(*****)
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