Baki looked at Jaden Yuki's Giant Shield Guard and, helplessly, ended his turn.
Seeing this, Jaden silently drew a card.
"My turn. Draw!"
"I summon Elemental HERO Clayman in Defense Position!"
Clayman's 2000 DEF hit the field. Immediately after, Jaden flipped over one of the three cards he had set on his first turn.
"I activate the Spell Card, Marshmallon's Glasses. As long as this card and Marshmallon are both face-up, all your attacks must target Marshmallon!"
After resolving the effect, Jaden switched Giant Shield Guard to Defense Position as well.
He didn't attack.
He simply ended his turn and gestured for Baki to continue.
Baki stared at the Marshmallon protected by Marshmallon's Glasses.
An indestructible-by-battle monster.
He drew a card.
Then hesitated.
After struggling for a long time, he reluctantly summoned Tiger Axe-a vanilla monster with 1700 ATK-set one card, and ended his turn without attacking.
This duel was miserable.
His monsters clearly had higher ATK than Jaden's, yet he couldn't use that strength at all. It was infuriating.
Still, he hadn't given up.
Or rather, it wasn't time to give up yet.
He wasn't completely helpless against Marshmallon. He just hadn't drawn the answer yet.
As for the card he'd set-
It was a very powerful Trap.
Unfortunately, it only worked if the opponent attacked.
And right now...
Baki could only sigh internally.
Jaden saw his expression and smiled.
"My turn. Draw."
After drawing, Jaden did something that made Baki freeze.
He sent all three monsters on his field to the Graveyard.
"Huh!?"
Baki's eyes widened.
He had dueled for a while now, but he had never seen a monster that required three Tributes to summon.
Before, he had been demoralized by Jaden's suffocating stall tactics.
Now, he was shocked for an entirely different reason.
So that's it.
Those annoying cards weren't just to stall.
They were to prepare Tributes.
-A three-tribute summon!
Baki's heart raced.
That meant-
Jaden was about to summon an absurdly powerful monster.
Baki glanced at the Trap Card he had set out of boredom.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
Finally...
Is it my turn to have fun?
Jaden, unaware of Baki's thoughts, sent the three monsters to the Graveyard and spoke calmly.
"Baki, just as your strongest monster-your ace-exists in your Deck..."
"I also have my strongest monster."
He pulled a card from his hand.
The moment Baki felt the pressure coming from Jaden, his body shuddered.
Jaden raised the card.
"No."
"It's not a monster."
"It's a God."
He slammed the card down.
Slifer the Sky Dragon descended onto the field.
Before Baki could even read the effect, his eyes locked onto one thing.
"Four... four thousand ATK!?"
Up until now, the highest ATK monster he had seen was Summoned Skull at 2500.
In a format with only 4000 LP-
Two direct attacks meant defeat.
And 4000 ATK...
-Wouldn't one direct attack end the duel!?
No.
Wait.
Baki suddenly realized something and immediately looked at his face-down card.
If I activate my Trap the moment he attacks-
Then-
-I win!
Jaden pointed straight at Tiger Axe.
"I attack your Tiger Axe with Slifer the Sky Dragon."
Baki smiled.
"Attacked? You just said attack, right!"
Jaden paused.
Baki flipped his face-down card.
"I activate Magic Cylinder! I negate your attack and deal damage equal to the attacking monster's ATK! That means I inflict 4000 damage to you! I-"
"Wait."
Jaden interrupted him.
"If it were a normal monster, it would work exactly as you said."
"But Baki."
"I already told you."
"This isn't a monster."
"It's a God."
"A God...?"
Jaden lifted Slifer and showed him the effect text.
He didn't need to explain much.
Only one line mattered.
Spell Cards, Trap Cards, and monster effects are negated against the God.
This version of Slifer had been replicated by the old men. The wording was direct, unmistakable, impossible to misinterpret.
Baki froze.
Slifer's attack went through unhindered.
Tiger Axe was obliterated.
2300 damage slammed directly into Baki's LP.
3000.
3001.
3002.
3003.
Logically, this was the kind of LP total where plot armor should kick in.
But in reality-
It was already over.
Baki had no card that could deal with Slifer the Sky Dragon.
A few turns later, he was completely crushed.
"...I lost."
Baki knelt on the floor, head lowered, staring at his deck.
Jaden gathered his cards, then crouched beside him and patted his shoulder.
"In that case, once I finish what I need to do..."
"I'll be counting on you for that match later."
Baki stood up slowly.
As he put his deck away, he hesitated for a long time before finally asking:
"Jaden... why do you fight?"
He had come to duel Jaden because he was lost.
Fighting itself was starting to confuse him, so he'd wanted a distraction-something to clear his head and avoid thinking about everything.
Now, hearing Jaden mention another match, he finally voiced the question.
Jaden answered without hesitation.
"Because it's fun."
"...Huh?"
Baki had grown up becoming stronger for his mother.
After her death, his motivations had changed, though he'd never clearly defined them.
Now, looking back, he realized that he was probably still fighting because his father fought.
So hearing someone as strong as Jaden give such a simple answer-
It was almost incomprehensible.
Jaden saw his expression, thought for a moment, and smiled.
"If you still don't understand, then come with me later."
"Where are we going?"
"A prison."
"I'm going to visit a guy there next."
"He's not that strong, but after you see him, you might find the answer to what you're confused about."
Thinking of Oliva, Jaden adjusted his wording slightly.
"He's not like me."
"But he's definitely one of those weirdos-one of those fools who never give up on the idea of becoming the 'strongest on earth,' and who stubbornly sticks to his own way."
"And guys like that usually know exactly what they want."
Jaden looked at Baki directly.
"Right now, you can't even see yourself clearly."
"That makes you weak."
"Weak in every sense of the word."
So-
"I hope you grow a little after meeting him this time."