Seto Kaiba, LP 4000 to LP 5000.
Two new face-down monsters appeared on his field. Ken Fujimoto stared in silence, watching his opponent gain both monsters and life.
"More walls won't save you," Ken Fujimoto shouted. "Savage Doom Dragon's special effect lets it attack all of your monsters once each. The attack continues. Savage Doom Dragon attacks the Wicked Token!"
The dragon's breath crashed down, a black storm sweeping across the field. When the smoke cleared, the idol still stood, and Seto Kaiba remained in the same relaxed stance, only the corner of his coat fluttering.
"Counter Trap 'Negate Attack'," Seto Kaiba said. "The opponent's monster attack is negated, and the Battle Phase ends."
He paused, then gave a faint, mocking smile. "You worked hard for a rat, but in the end, this is all you amount to."
"Tch." Ken Fujimoto bit his lip, unable to do anything more.
"I set two cards and end my turn," he said at last.
At the end phase of the turn, the side effect of Raging Death Dragon triggered, forcing it to lose 500 ATK at each of its controller's end phases, Michi Fujimoto announced. The numbers on the field shifted as its power fell.
Raging Death Dragon dropped from ATK 3500 to ATK 3000.
"Only that much?"
Seto Kaiba stood there with his arms crossed, wearing a look of open contempt. He did not move an inch as he spoke.
"Huh?" Ken Fujimoto froze for a moment. He wondered if he had heard wrong.
Only that much? What more did you want?
In a single turn, he had brought out the field-sweeping Raging Death Dragon and a Great Demon Beast with a full 6000 ATK. He had even had room to set his back row for extra insurance. By any fair standard among modern Duelist, this was top-tier play, and he was very satisfied with his own performance.
If he had failed to finish the duel, it was only because his opponent was too hard to kill.
"Then My Turn!." Seto Kaiba calmly performed a Card Draw and drew a card. "Let me show you what a real gap in strength looks like."
"First, I activate Graceful Charity. I draw three cards from my Deck, then discard two cards from my hand."
Two cards slid from Seto Kaiba's Duel Disk into the Graveyard.
"Flip Summon two Nimble Momonga. Then I tribute the Wicked Token on the field and one Nimble Momonga to perform a Tribute Summon!"
Seto Kaiba raised the card in his hand, and it burst with blinding light as a violent wind surged behind him.
"If that is endless darkness, then submit to Dragon of Light and let all darkness be stained away."
"Level eight, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I summon!"
A pillar of light shot into the sky, and the white dragon's wings appeared first within the glow. A sacred white dragon emerged as if flying out of ancient ages, its form solidifying with a roaring gale and overwhelming dragon pressure. The moment it landed, it felt as though it ruled the entire field.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon stood on the field with ATK 3000.
"So it finally appeared, Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Ken Fujimoto forced down his unease. "But even the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon only has 3000 ATK, the same as my weakened Raging Death Dragon. It is not even a match for my Great Demon Beast."
"You ignorant frog at the bottom of a well. You know nothing of the power of Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Seto Kaiba shouted. "Open your eyes and witness the absolute force of Dragon of Light that destroys everything."
"From my hand, I activate the Spell Card Burst Stream of Destruction!"
Ken Fujimoto's eyelid twitched. "That is a Spell with the same name as Blue-Eyes White Dragon's attack?"
"At the cost of my Blue-Eyes White Dragon being unable to declare an attack this turn, destroy all monsters on your field!" Seto Kaiba clenched his right fist. "Be crushed under the power of Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Blue-Eyes White Dragon opened its jaws, and endless light poured forth, turning into a white storm that erased everything in its path.
"It is not that simple!" Ken Fujimoto swung his arm down. "I flip my face-down Trap Card, Safe Zone!"
"This card lets me select one Attack Position monster I control. As long as Safe Zone remains on the field, that monster cannot be targeted by your card effects and cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects!"
He pointed straight at his 6000 attack monster.
"I use Safe Zone to protect my Great Maju Garzett. It cannot be destroyed!"
An invisible barrier took shape on the field, like a force field wrapping around Great Demon Beast and granting it near total immunity. With 6000 ATK and protection that strong, this was the source of his confidence.
"Oh, not bad. But!" Seto Kaiba raised his voice and played another card from his hand.
"Before your Safe Zone can take effect, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Inherited Soul from my hand!"
"I tribute one Effect Monster I control to send one Effect Monster you control to the Graveyard. I tribute my other Nimble Momonga and choose your Great Maju Garzett to send it to the Graveyard!"
He paused and added with a cold smile, "Your Safe Zone has not taken effect yet, so your Great Demon Beast can still be chosen. Disappear."
A violent vortex of energy burst from the card and swallowed Gazett in an instant. Trapped under overlapping effects, the unfortunate Great Demon Beast could not escape its fate.
"Damn it. Then I activate another face-down!" Ken Fujimoto shouted. "Trap Card Destruction Therapy!"
"I destroy one monster I control and recover LP equal to that monster's ATK. So before your Inherited Soul resolves, I destroy my Great Maju Garzett myself!"
Boom.
The clash finally settled, and Great Demon Beast fell by its owner's hand. The released energy flowed back into Ken Fujimoto's body, and he took it all in with trembling relief.
Ken Fujimoto's LP jumped from 4000 to 10000.
"My Life Points are ten thousand now!" Ken Fujimoto swelled with confidence.
The monster was gone, but ten thousand LP still stood. Could he really be defeated in one blow now?
"The turn Inherited Soul is activated, I can only attack with one monster." Seto Kaiba said evenly. "But after using Burst Stream of Destruction, Blue-Eyes White Dragon could not attack anyway."
"Next, I activate the Spell Card High-Level Card Draw. I tribute one Level eight or higher monster I control to draw two cards from my Deck. I tribute my Blue-Eyes White Dragon and draw!"
After drawing, he barely glanced at the cards before activating another.
"I activate Trade-In. I discard a Level eight monster from my hand and draw two cards. I discard another Blue-Eyes White Dragon and draw again."
Unease crept back into Ken Fujimoto's chest. Sending Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the Graveyard again and again could not mean anything good.
Then again, it did not matter. He had ten thousand LP, and this turn the opponent could only attack with one monster. One monster dealing ten thousand damage was a joke.
"Quick-Play Spell, Ultimate Fusion!"
The final Spell Card floated before Seto Kaiba in a burst of golden light, like a sentence being read aloud.
"From my hand, field, and Graveyard, I return Fusion materials listed on Polymerization to the Deck and perform a Polymerization Summon!"
"From the hand, field, and Graveyard?" Ken Fujimoto cried out. "You can fuse like that?"