Exodia the Forbidden One!
The moment that card appeared, the spirits hiding nearby and watching the duel all wore expressions of intense anxiety.
Including the previously revealed Left Arm of the Forbidden One, Yubel now held two pieces of Exodia!
"Hmph, it is merely two components..." Kaibaman muttered, his teeth clenching slightly.
"No, I told you. This duel ends this turn." Yubel held a card between her fingers, a strange, chilling smirk curling onto her lips. "I activate the Spell Card: Dark Factory of Mass Production!"
"When this card is activated, I can select two Normal Monsters in my Graveyard and add them to my hand!"
Normal Monsters in Yubel's Graveyard?
All the watching spirits instinctively looked toward Yubel's side of the field. A summoning circle flared into existence on her mat for a brief moment. Two cards transformed into points of light, flying out from the Graveyard and into Yubel's waiting hand.
They were the Left Leg of the Forbidden One and the Right Arm of the Forbidden One.
This meant that Yubel now held four pieces of the set!
Exodia the Forbidden One, the Left Arm of the Forbidden One, the Right Arm of the Forbidden One, and the Left Leg of the Forbidden One!
She was only missing the Right Leg of the Forbidden One.
"Is the Forbidden One truly about to return to this world?" Ash Blossom swallowed hard, her eyes fixed on Yubel's every move. "I've never seen that spirit before, but legend says it possesses power that borders on infinity..."
Only one remained. But how was Yubel going to draw that final piece?
"Heh... hehehe... Hahaha!" Kaibaman froze for a moment before suddenly erupting into laughter.
The spirits looked at him, confused. Kaibaman laughed until he caught his breath, then turned his gaze toward Yubel and Jaden Yuki.
"Impressive. You managed to suppress me while simultaneously recovering four pieces of Exodia. However, the summon ends here, doesn't it? It is a pity you couldn't get that fifth piece into your hand."
Kaibaman closed his eyes and slowly lowered his arms. "Even so, I must congratulate you."
"Oh?" Jaden and Yubel both looked startled.
"Did Kaibaman... just admit defeat?" Ash Blossom blinked, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"I have lost," Kaibaman said, crossing his arms. He didn't look discouraged; if anything, he seemed remarkably composed. "That card's effect would surely have broken through my Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon, wouldn't it?"
Pointing at Yubel, Kaibaman said coldly, "The reason I never attacked that spirit was that I felt a unique aura emanating from her. Had I attacked, I might have been defeated from the very beginning."
"A sharp intuition. As expected of a spirit derived from a legendary duelist," Yubel smiled. "Indeed. Yubel - Terror Incarnate can inflict damage to the opponent equal to the ATK of the monster it battles. Furthermore, I cannot be destroyed by battle, and Jaden takes zero damage."
She glanced at Jaden and gave him a soft smile.
"Is that so? You truly are a terrifying pair of partners..." Kaibaman nodded slowly. "Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon has overwhelming power, but against such a reflection effect, it is helpless. Even though I have lost, as a duelist, I will not surrender! Come! You two, finish this duel!"
Kaibaman let out a sharp shout, and a powerful aura surged around him.
"Wow, even his admission of defeat is so stylish!" Ash Blossom shielded herself from the sudden gale caused by his presence, unable to help herself from commenting.
Then again, looking at it from another angle, this guy acted exactly like a player in the OCG who knew they were doomed and just wanted the opponent to finish their "storytelling" combo so they could get to the next game. But she had to admit, she'd never seen someone admit defeat with so much class.
As expected of Seto Kaiba's derivative spirit, she thought.
"Well, if it ended just like that, wouldn't it be a bit boring?" Yubel's lips curled up as she slowly revealed a card. "Besides, who said I had no way to get the final piece of Exodia into my hand?"
Oh ho, Yubel rejected the surrender! She insists on finishing her combo! Ash Blossom looked on, caught between laughter and tears.
"I summon Witch of the Black Forest!" Yubel slapped the card down.
With a flash of light, a purple-haired witch clad in black robes appeared on her field.
[Witch of the Black Forest]
[Level: 4]
[Spellcaster-Type]
[ATK: 1100 / DEF: 1200]
"Eh? Witch of the Black Forest? When that card is sent to the Graveyard, she can search her Deck for a monster with 1500 or less DEF," Ash Blossom noted, startled. "I know she wants to use that to get the fifth piece, but she has no way to send the Witch to the Graveyard right now, does she?"
Even if she wanted to use the effect of Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer, she would have to wait for the next turn when he returned from the Graveyard.
"Let the curtain fall on this duel." Yubel slowly opened her right hand. "At the moment my turn ends, the effect of Yubel - Terror Incarnate activates!"
The two heads of the demonic dragon rose high. A powerful wave of destructive energy instantly swept across the field shared by Jaden and Yubel.
"Uwaaaaah!"
Vision HERO Trinity's body was instantly incinerated into ash. Disappearing along with him was the newly summoned Witch of the Black Forest.
"In the end, I am the only one allowed to remain by Jaden's side," Yubel whispered. A cold, crimson light flashed in her eyes.
That chill made the spirits, led by Ash Blossom, shudder uncontrollably.
"Was... was that directed at us?" Ash Blossom felt cold sweat pouring down her forehead as flames swept the field.
She destroyed all her own monsters just so no one else would be near Jaden? This woman is a total obsessive! She's crazy!
"Yubel..." Jaden looked at her sickly, possessive smile, his eyes turning solemn.
Having been inseparable from Yubel for over a decade, Jaden had thought she wouldn't become the paranoid wreck she was in the original story. But looking at her now, it was clear that many of those chaotic emotions were still hidden deep within her heart. It was just that, unlike the original timeline where she completely broke down, she had simply locked these feelings away.
However, with the activation of Yubel - Terror Incarnate's effect, some of those suppressed feelings had leaked out. It was likely because more and more spirits were gathering around Jaden lately. Yubel's patience was reaching its limit.
"Heh... hehehe..." Watching the monsters turn to ash, Yubel smiled coldly, letting out a long breath as if a great weight had been lifted from her mind. "Since Witch of the Black Forest was sent from the field to the Graveyard, the final component of Exodia is now gathered."
Yubel revealed the card she had pulled from her Deck.
The Right Leg of the Forbidden One!
In that instant, the cards in Yubel's hand transformed into five pillars of light that pierced the sky. Thunderclouds rolled and churned. A golden giant, as massive as a mountain range, materialized behind Yubel.
CRACK!
The sound of iron chains snapping echoed through the air.
"Roar!" Kaibaman's Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon let out a defiant shriek.
Exodia's left arm lunged forward, snapping its remaining chains. As if handling a mere toy, it gripped the Chaos MAX Dragon in its massive fist.
"This... this power... this pressure..." Kaibaman's legs wouldn't stop trembling as he stared up at the titan.
It was the true Exodia.
BOOM!
Exodia tightened its left fist. The Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon was instantly crushed into fragments, vanishing from the field.
The giant lowered its head, gazing down at the trembling spirits as if they were ants. Finally, its gaze lingered on Jaden. It stared into the eyes of the young man, whose own pupils were beginning to shimmer with a dull, golden light.
"This power..."
"An interesting youth."
"If only for a moment... I saw the darkness in your eyes."
Exodia's physical form began to dissolve into smoke and dust.
"Do you crave my power?"
"If you wish to possess it... then break my seal completely."
"Boy with the Soul of the Supreme King."
Jaden watched in silence as Exodia's form faded away. The words the spirit had spoken still echoed in his ears. He shook himself back to reality and looked around, seeing low-level spirits who had fainted from the sheer pressure, and Kaibaman, who was still wearing a dazed expression.
They seemingly hadn't heard Exodia's words.
Was he talking only to me?
Jaden looked down at his Duel Disk. The display already showed that the match was over. The words [Jaden Yuki & Yubel WIN] were strikingly bright on the screen.
"It's over, Jaden." Yubel retracted her Duel Disk and walked over. Noticing Jaden's strange expression, she frowned. "What's wrong, Jaden?"
"No... it's nothing..." Jaden shook his head, burying the encounter deep in his heart.
Was it an illusion? Or did Exodia truly notice me?
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