Shadow Mist vanished in a swirl of dark mist, igniting in purple-black flames. A powerful arm swept through the air, breaking the flames and revealing the dark exoskeletal armor born beneath.
It was a warrior styled like a mythical "ghost," adorned with a red belt, and equipped with sharp red claws on its hands and feet.
Masked Hero Anki, summoning!
[Masked Hero Anki, Attack Power 2800]
Bakura chuckled: "I've been waiting a long time for the Duel King's masked hero."
"The effect of 'Elemental Hero Shadow Mist'!" Youyu declared, "When she's sent to the graveyard, add a 'Hero' monster from the deck to the hand.
The one I add to my hand is 'Elemental Hero Airman'."
The card of Airman automatically popped out of the deck, and Youyu drew it, with the deck shuffling automatically afterward.
"Battle!" Youyu gestured, "Masked Hero Anki, attack Zombie Master!"
Anki kicked off the ground, leaping into the air, twisting around with legs wreathed in purple-black flames, and launched a flying kick straight at Zombie Master!
Boom!
The white-haired Zombie Master let out a painful grunt as it was pierced by the hero's kick and exploded. The masked hero executed a nimble backflip, landing steadily on the field in front of Youyu.
[Bakura, LP 4000 → LP 3000]
Bakura raised an arm to shield himself, sneering: "Hah, that hurts quite a bit."
"The effect of Masked Hero Anki!" Youyu continued, "When it destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the graveyard, add a Quick-Play Magic 'Change' from the deck to the hand.
I add the second 'Masked Change' from the deck to my hand."
With the second transformation card in hand, he played it without hesitation.
"Quick-Play Magic - Masked Change! Send a Hero monster to the graveyard to Special Summon a Masked Hero of the corresponding attribute!" Youyu pointed to the hero who had just finished battling, "I send 'Masked Hero Anki' to the graveyard, and transform again!
Knight born from the abyss, embodiment of dark law! Descend now—
—Masked Hero Dark Claw!!!"
A dark whirlwind enveloped Anki's body, swiftly outfitting him with a new, angular armor. The aerodynamic exoskeleton design, armor adorned with sharp serrated edges, and a helmet shaped like a wolf fang with open jaws, exuding a mysterious and powerful aura.
[Masked Hero Dark Claw, Attack Power 2400]
"Continue the battle," Youyu commanded again, "Masked Hero Dark Claw, follow-up attack! Target Diabound Kernel!"
Bakura's eyes lit up.
As expected, a trap!
The dark hero came slicing through the air, leaping high, with serrated leg armor trailing a black arc sweep!
Diabound absorbed the full impact of the Masked Hero's kick, a muffled 'thump' spreading across its chest, letting out a painful cry, its head thrown back as it flew out, exploding into a dazzling fireball mid-air.
[Bakura, LP 3000 → LP 2400]
A significant reduction in life points within a single turn, yet Bakura chuckled instead of being angry, as though his plan had succeeded.
"Hahahaha! You've fallen into my trap at this moment!" he raised his hand, "Activate the Set Card - Tablet of Resurrection! This card can revive a monster destroyed and sent to the graveyard!" (Animation card)
The set card flipped open, an ancient, earthy yellow tablet descended from above, crashing to the ground, engraved with the Monster Reborn revival symbol.
With a roar, the tablet cracked apart, and the recently destroyed serpentine demon Diabound twisted its repulsive tail, hissing as it returned once more to the field.
"And then, Diabound's ultimate hidden ability!" Bakura sneered, "Diabound can gain the special effects of all monsters it battled against in this duel!
So your hero's ability now belongs to me! Hahahahaha!"
Bakura threw his head back, laughing heartily.
Well... although he claimed that Dark Claw's ability was now his, it was apparent that Bakura wasn't aware of the ability fondly called "Friendship Ending Hero" Dark Claw, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to laugh now...
"Is that so." Youyu smiled faintly, "However..."
Bakura's laughter abruptly stopped.
Because he discovered that Diabound, just revived on the field, was gradually becoming an illusion, disappearing into thin air.
"What!?" Bakura was shocked, "Why? Where did my Diabound go?"
He then noticed his just-activated Set Card "Tablet of Resurrection" had somehow been reset to the field, failing to activate successfully.
He suddenly looked up, focusing on Youyu's "Masked Hero Dark Claw" on the field. For a moment, he couldn't help but feel as if this dark hero exuded an almost inexplicable powerful aura, as if its very presence altered a particular realm, rewriting all rules within.
"Is it because of this monster?" he frowned.
"Correct." Youyu smiled, "While 'Masked Hero Dark Claw' exists on the field, all opposing cards sent to the graveyard are banished from the game.
Your 'Diabound Kernel,' the moment it was destroyed, was wiped directly from the game and does not exist in the graveyard. The 'Tablet of Resurrection' failed to find a revival target from the graveyard, hence it failed to activate."
After a pause, Youyu chuckled lightly: "It looks like your Duel Disc model is too old and reacts too slowly, otherwise, the normal process would never have allowed the 'Tablet of Resurrection' to activate successfully.
Thinking about it, why not consider buying the new generation Duel Disc developed by Kaiba Group? It has corrected numerous bugs, improved performance, and, facing such situations, would not make such a basic handling error..."
Bakura glared at him fiercely.
Was he seriously trying to sell me something during a Dark Duel?
Even from the moment Dark Claw appeared, the crowd behind had already erupted. They went frenzy capturing screenshots, spreading the heroic figure of the Dark Hero across forums, causing even more commotion.
"Whoa, it's Friendship Ending Hero!"
"Oh no, Sok's mindset is going to explode!"
"What kind of crime did this BOSS commit to getting hammered by Youyu with Dark Claw? It can't be true..."
"I get it! It must be because after getting hammered by Dark Claw, Sok developed such a psychological shadow regarding card games that he switched to playing RPGs during the 'King's Memory Saga'!"
"Damn, the plot connects right back..."
"..."
Bakura glared viciously at this noisy crowd.
Annoying!
Can't even play a card game in peace.
He glared with frustration at "Masked Hero Dark Claw," snorting.
Just a slightly troublesome masked hero? Next turn I will...
Bakura froze, realizing the problem all of a sudden.
Wait, all cards sent to the graveyard are banished...
He suddenly realized his "Undead-Type" deck was entirely centered around graveyard resources. Whether it's turning both graveyards into undead types with "Zombie World," or having Zombie Master, Gozuki, Mezuki, and other monsters bounce repeatedly in the graveyard, they all served to maximize graveyard resources.
But now... his graveyard was gone!!!
At this moment, Great Evil God Sok finally realized the gravity of the graveyard's significance.
He once more lifted his gaze towards the "Masked Hero Dark Claw," suddenly feeling that this ordinary-looking hero with average attack power seemed menacingly terrifying!
This one Masked Hero standing on the field had directly paralyzed half of his entire deck!
Watching Bakura's facial muscles twitch, looking like he had swallowed something grotesque, Youyu felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
Hahahaha!
To say in the 'Yu-Gi-Oh! DM' era, most decks rarely utilized graveyard resources much. Apart from a single "Monster Reborn," most duelists' monsters that reached the graveyard were practically useless. Unlike mainstream decks of later generations which heavily relied on graveyard resources.
But Youyu just so happened in the DM era, to blockade a boss who loved nothing more than exploiting the graveyard with Dark Claw!
Even though Bakura switched decks constantly and had countless tactics, he adored those quirky undead-type creatures, and none of his decks were unrelated to the graveyard.
Masked Hero Dark Claw shows, I love duelists like you the most!
You going to resurrect?
You going to load the graveyard?
You going to retrieve from the grave?
Your Undead-Types are supposed to be awesome, so why no cards coming out?