"You... did you deliberately let my attack go through?" Amir's face was gloomy.
He originally thought he had victory in his grasp and had pushed the Duel King to the brink.
But it turns out everything... was completely under the opponent's control?
Because if "Gladiator Beast Noxious" was summoned from the hand to block the first Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord's attack, the second Van'Dalgyon's attack would surely crush Noxious.
That way, it would be impossible to trigger Noxious's effect at the end of the battle.
"Exactly." Youyu chuckled, "At the end of the battle phase, 'Gladiator Beast Noxious's' effect activates. Return 'Noxious' to the deck and Special Summon a Gladiator Beast from the deck aside from him.
Come forth! Gladiator Beast Darius!"
Noxious turned into a golden light and flew back to the deck. Immediately, a golden light shot out from the deck, transforming into the brawny, horse-headed Gladiator Beast Darius, taking its place on the field.
[Gladiator Beast Darius, ATK 1700]
Amir remained stubborn: "Hmph, even if you summon such a monster..."
"Flip cover card." Youyu snapped his fingers, "Trap Card 'Obstacle Course!'. This card can be activated when you successfully Special Summon a 'Gladiator Beast,' and it allows you to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Gladiator Beast from the hand or deck!"
The deck automatically searched, and a card shot out from it.
Youyu showed the card: "I Special Summon 'Gladiator Beast Bestiari' from the deck!"
A green whirlwind swept up. A bird-shaped Gladiator Beast clad in green armor with a pair of metallic wings descended onto the field.
[Gladiator Beast Bestiari, ATK 1600]
Amir suppressed the ominous feeling in his heart: "Tch, even if you keep calling these small fries, no matter how many there are..."
"Field Magic 'Colosseum - Cage of the Gladiator Beasts' effect!" Youyu pointed to the massive Colosseum, "When a monster is Special Summoned from the deck, you can place an extra counter on it.
Since I Special Summoned two monsters, Bestiari and Darius, from the deck, we'll add two more counters!
Moreover, the attack power of the Gladiator Beasts on my field increases by 100 for each counter on the field. Now the Colosseum has a total of three counters, so the Gladiator Beasts' attack power increases by 300!"
[Gladiator Beast Bestiari, ATK 1600 → ATK 1900]
[Gladiator Beast Darius, ATK 1700 → ATK 2000]
Amir: "Increasing the attack power by this much still doesn't make it a notable monster..."
"Gladiator Beast Darius's effect!" Youyu waved his hand.
Amir began to sweat on his forehead.
When will it end!?
This is supposed to be my turn, mine!
I've only summoned one monster this turn! Could you please show some respect to my turn?
"When Darius is Special Summoned through a 'Gladiator Beast's' effect, you can negate the effect of one 'Gladiator Beast' in your graveyard and Special Summon it!"
A flash of golden light emerged from Youyu's graveyard, and a card popped out.
"Come on! 'Gladiator Beast Secutor'!"
The whirlwind swept up, and the armored Secutor carrying two sky-blue cannons returned to the field, panting heavily.
[Gladiator Beast Secutor, ATK 400 → ATK 700]
It seemed Youyu had finally finished speaking. He made a "please" gesture, indicating he had nothing further to do at the moment and signaled for Amir to continue.
Amir braced himself and snorted: "I set a card, and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn, draw."
Youyu glanced at the card he drew, added it to his hand, and then waved his hand broadly.
"I return 'Gladiator Beast Bestiari' and 'Gladiator Beast Secutor' from the field to the deck for Fusion!"
Bestiari and Secutor shot into the air, transforming into two spiraling whirlwinds! The gusts intertwined in the sky, and the bodies of the warriors intersected, calling forth the name of the ancient king from the Roman Empire within the storm!
"The fusion condition is to return 'Gladiator Beast Bestiari' and any 'Gladiator Beast' from the field to the deck for a Fusion Summon!
Gladiator Beast Gyzarus!!!"
The metallic wings sliced through the whirlwind, and a deep green bird flew out from the eye of the storm! He twisted his form and soared high into the sky, spreading out a body covered by dark green armor, with blood-red gemstones sparkling with a dangerous light.
[Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, ATK 2400]
"Gyzarus's effect!" Youyu raised his hand, "When Gladiator Beast Gyzarus is successfully Special Summoned, up to two cards on the field can be destroyed!"
Mokuba rejoiced: "If you destroy two cards, you can take down both Van'Dalgyons at once!"
"Not going to happen!" Amir raised his hand, "Counter Trap - Solemn Judgment!"
Youyu's eyelid twitched slightly.
Wow!
He's actually got the "No Can Do" old man?
"Solemn Judgment allows you to pay half of your Life Points to negate the Summon of monsters or the activation of Magic Traps and destroy them!" Amir declared, "I pay half of my Life Points to negate the summon of 'Gladiator Beast Gyzarus'!"
[Amir, LP 3500 → LP 1750]
A dignified old man in a white robe appeared on the field, squinting his eyes and clutching a large white beard. He slowly raised his hand, tenderly extending his palm, and in an instant, divine power surged from his palm, seemingly forming a taboo absolute domain.
A fierce lightning bolt descended from the sky, as if infusing the will of heavens, and fiercely struck Gyzarus. The king of Gladiator Beasts let out a groan of agony, but even he could not resist the divine will and could only turn into a wisp of black smoke and exit the stage.
Amir laughed heartily once more.
"Hahaha! Seems this was your trump card for a comeback." He sneered, "But apparently, I'm still stronger right now. Having accepted the power from that gentleman, my duel is now flawless!
In the next turn, the combined assault of Van'Dalgyons will drop the curtain on this duel! In the eternal darkness, remember with regret who defeated you, Duel King!"
"...Aren't you mistaken about something?" Youyu said.
"Hm?"
"Who gave you the illusion of 'having another turn'?"
"!?"
Amir's heart started pounding again.
No, this guy's ace card should have been decisively dealt with just now.
Solemn Judgment can negate a monster's summon, effectively canceling the opponent's move, which means Caesar shouldn't have appeared at all, and the "destroy two cards" effect cannot be triggered.
Does he have another trump card up his sleeve?
Youyu soon provided an answer: "Magic Card - Monster Reborn, revive a monster from the graveyard!"
Seeing the gigantic resurrection symbol appear, Amir felt relieved, chuckling.
"Are you confused?" he sneered. "Even if you want to use 'Monster Reborn' to bring back 'Caesar,' it won't work! 'Gladiator Beast Gyzarus' is a Fusion Monster, and it can only be specially summoned by other means after being Fusion Summoned.
But your Fusion Summon was negated by 'Solemn Judgment,' so even with 'Monster Reborn,' it cannot be resurrected..."
"Who said I wanted to resurrect Caesar?"
"?"
As they spoke, a card had already ejected from Youyu's graveyard.
"What I'm bringing back from the graveyard with 'Monster Reborn' is... 'Elemental Hero Prisma'!"
Amir: "!!??"
Elemental Hero!?
That's right, it was one of the cards discarded to the graveyard at the start of the turn using "Graceful Charity"... but why is there an Elemental Hero?
The Elemental Hero with a body like a diamond flew out from the graveyard, the prism on its body refracting a brilliant array of colors.
If a casual player were here, they might not find it strange.
Because in a "Gladiator Beast" deck, having Prisma as a staple... isn't it common knowledge?
"Elemental Hero Prisma's effect!" Youyu declared, "Once per turn, show a Fusion Monster to the opponent, then send one of the Fusion Material Monsters needed for that Fusion Monster from the deck to the graveyard!
Then, just for this turn, Prisma can be treated as a card with the same name as the one sent to the graveyard!"
Youyu revealed a Fusion Monster Card.
"The Fusion Monster I'm showing is 'Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz'! Its fusion requirements are 'Gladiator Beast Spartacus' plus any Gladiator Beast!"
Youyu pointed at Prisma.
"Prisma's effect! Reflective Change!
Send 'Gladiator Beast Spartacus' from the deck to the graveyard, and until the end of the turn, Elemental Hero Prisma can be treated as 'Gladiator Beast Spartacus'!"
As the card was sent to the graveyard, Prisma's entire body reflected dazzling light, with the reflection of a Gladiator Beast clearly refracted within its prism-like body.
"Next, I return Prisma, treated as 'Gladiator Beast Spartacus,' along with 'Gladiator Beast Darius' on the field, to the deck! Then Fusion Summon!
Arise here and now—
—Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz!!!"
Prisma and Darius merged into the vortex on the ground, with dark currents surging, followed by an earth-shattering explosion. A massive black figure emerged from the vortex, holding a massive, imposing war axe in its coarse and solid hand. The gigantic sharp axe smashed into the ground, carving out a deep crack, with the billowing dust forming a transparent curtain.
[Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz, Attack Power 2600]
"A new Gladiator Beast..." Amir gritted his teeth, "But its power still isn't enough..."
"The effect of the Field Magic 'Colosseum - Cage of the Gladiator Beasts'!" Youyu raised his hand, "There are currently three counters on the Colosseum, thus the attack power of the Gladiator Beast increases by 300!"
[Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz, Attack Power 2600 → Attack Power 2900]
"Tch." Amir clicked his tongue, "Barely surpasses Van'Dalgyon..."
"Battle!" Youyu declared, "Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz, attack Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord!"
The king wielded the war axe in his hand!
The heavy axe cleaved through the air with unstoppable momentum, leaving a golden arc!
Van'Dalgyon resisted with all its might, its claws releasing electric currents, and its mouth spewing out chaotic torrents.
But the rules of the duel are absolute, even if it's just a difference of 100 points.
The electric current was swept aside by the axe, and the torrent was also split apart, the iron-hard skin of Van'Dalgyon couldn't protect it, as the war axe broke through its body with a crisp sound of tearing flesh.
A muffled roar echoed as Van'Dalgyon's body exploded, with the impact sending Amir stumbling back two steps.
[Amir, LP 1750 → LP 1650]
He stepped back two steps, wiped his mouth, squinting his eyes and mumbling, "Tch, don't get too cocky. It's just a meager 100 damage..."
"The effect of Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz." Youyu spoke lightly, "When it destroys an opponent's monster in battle, it inflicts damage equal to that monster's defense value."
Amir's expression changed slightly.
"The defense value... Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord's defense is 2500..."
"Exactly." Youyu raised his right hand slowly.
"Disappear."
Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz loomed before him.
Amir's pupils shrank.
"No, wait, hold on..."
The war axe swung down, trailing a magnificent golden arc.
"Aaaaahhh!!!"
[Amir, LP 1650 → LP 0]