Chapter 599: Unsealing Ritual (4k, Happy Dragon Boat Festival)

"With that, I end my turn."

There were no flashy maneuvers, no chain of cards; all Edo did was demonstrate his understanding and control over 【Destiny】.

"Draw."

It was Amon's turn. After drawing a card, he lowered his head to take a look.

The number of cards Edo could control was five. The Air-Circulator had drawn him one card, and he would draw another during his Draw Phase—meaning, to draw Exodia, he needed at least three more cards.

Not only that.

Because he had already checked the top five cards of his deck in advance, Edo wouldn't leave any draw-enabling cards for him...

Trying to hold out with his current hand was useless, because next turn, Edo would again modify the top of his deck, placing the sealed Exodia at the fifth card from the top.

This was what Edo called "a destiny that can never be reached."

Amon glanced at his cards: "If this is destiny, then I am willing to discard everything."

"Normal Spell Card, Hand Destruction."

Amon played the card he hadn't used in the first turn.

Both players discarded their entire hands and then drew an equivalent number of cards.

Seeing this, Edo sent all the cards in his hand to the Graveyard, then looked at his opponent. He saw Amon send the Sealed Left Arm, Right Arm, Left Leg, and Right Leg to the Graveyard in sequence, a sight that made the people and spirits behind them shudder.

Immediately after, Amon drew six cards, and Edo drew three. Once again, they looked at their respective hands.

Amon saw "Exodia the Forbidden One" in the third position of his hand and fell silent for a moment.

Sure enough, obtaining the power of Exodia wasn't something that could be achieved through mere skill and luck.

One had to complete the "ritual"... the ritual of gathering all five cards.

Now, this card was clearly unusable.

Moreover, even if he recovered it from the Graveyard, he would still have to face that Ruler who modified the deck.

Therefore, he had to prioritize dealing with that troublesome Ruler.

"Activate Field Spell Card, Fog Castle."

In this dim, bone-strewn Forgotten Dimension, a massive castle slowly emerged from the thick fog.

Subsequently, five signal fires ignited atop the Fog Castle, casting a ghostly glow.

"When Fog Castle is on my field, this card can be Normal Summoned without Tributes."

From within the dense fog, a figure leaped out of the darkness and stood on the field.

Its stature wasn't particularly tall; compared to the Ruler, it even appeared somewhat small.

Fog King, Level 7, Water, Spellcaster, ATK 0.

"ATK... 0?" The Lion Sorcerer nearby saw the card and was surprised. "You're actually using a monster like this?"

Tiancheng Guang's expression gradually turned serious.

Fog King... was not an easy monster to deal with.

"While Fog King is face-up on the field in Attack Position, the effects of all other monsters on the field are negated." Amon looked calmly at the Ruler.

The floating, majestic Ruler of the Destiny HEROes swayed under the erosion of the fog and involuntarily descended to the ground.

"But, if its ATK is only 0, even if it negates the Ruler, it can't defeat it, right?" a spirit asked.

"Activate Equip Spell Card, Royal Sword."

Fog King raised its hand, and a giant sword fell from the sky, landing in its grasp.

"This card can only be equipped to Fog King. During the End Phase of a turn in which this monster battles, place 1 Crest Counter on this card. For every Crest, its ATK increases by 800."

I see, so it increases its ATK this way?

But reaching the Ruler's 2900 ATK won't be that easy—

"Battle! Fog King attacks Destiny HERO - Ruler!"

"In terms of ATK, I have the advantage!"

"No—Fog King's monster effect: when this card attacks, I can make the ATK of this card and the opponent's monster 1!"

"Then—they will both be destroyed and disappear!"

"Still no, because Fog Castle will protect the King!"

Fog King swung its massive sword, hacking down toward the Ruler. The Ruler raised its cape, clenched its fists, and the "D" on its chest erupted with a massive cannon blast—

Boom!!

The Ruler was destroyed. On the other side, Fog King was sent flying back by the impact, standing weakly on another pavilion of the royal castle.

Looking back, the "pavilion" where it had just appeared—that monster zone—had fallen into darkness.

"If a monster I control is destroyed by battle, I can extinguish one pavilion to prevent that destruction."

At the same time, on the pavilion, Fog King held the great sword before it. The sword lit up, flashing with a brand-new blade light.

Fog King, ATK: 0 -> 800.

"So that means that monster can avoid destruction by battle at least four times?" the spirits looked at Fog King.

Four times without being destroyed by battle, and its ATK would reach 3200, surpassing Blue-Eyes White Dragon—that's already quite high!

No, even more, it's possible it could directly increase to 4000...

"Ruler's monster effect!" Just as the spirits marveled at Fog King's power, Edo raised his hand and shouted, "When Ruler is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon up to 3 Destiny HEROes with Level 9 or lower from my Graveyard!"

It even has a 'last will' type effect?

The watching spirits couldn't help but exclaim again.

This monster was already quite excellent.

"I Special Summon Disc Commander, Diamond Dude, and Doom Lord from my Graveyard!"

Disc Commander, DEF 300; Diamond Dude, ATK 1400; Doom Lord, DEF 1000.

Edo looked at his field.

Normally, Special Summoning Disc Commander from the Graveyard would allow him to draw two cards.

However, because of Fog King's presence, he couldn't activate the effect.

"End turn."

"My turn, draw!"

"At this time, because of the effect of Diamond Dude activated last turn, I will directly resolve the effect of Destiny Draw from the Graveyard—no need to discard from my hand, I draw two cards directly from my deck!"

He drew quickly and scanned them.

"Although I can't destroy it by battle, I still have to take battle damage—and since Fog King's effect only makes the opponent's monster's ATK 1 when it attacks, so...

I Tribute Disc Commander on my field to Tribute Summon Destiny HERO - Dashguy!"

The disc spun on the field, followed by the sound of whirring wheels. Before long, a pitch-black warrior sped over and appeared on Edo's field.

Destiny HERO - Dashguy, Level 6, Dark, Warrior, ATK 2100.

"Battle! Diamond Dude attacks Fog King!"

Diamond Dude threw countless diamonds, which smashed into the thick fog. Fog King didn't hesitate, quickly jumping to another pavilion.

Amon, LP: 4000 -> 3400.

"Then, Dashguy attacks Fog King!"

Amon, LP: 3400 -> 2100.

Thus, after another fierce kick from the HERO, Fog King leaped, landing on the fourth pavilion.

At the same time, a brand-new crest lit up on Fog King's sword.

Fog King, ATK: 800 -> 1600.

"If you can't get past the monster, you just win by dealing damage directly? The logic is truly clear." The Lion Sorcerer nodded.

On the other side, Amon laughed. He looked at Edo and said, "Edo, when there are 4 Crests on the Royal Sword, I can send it and the equipped monster to the Graveyard to inflict 4000 damage to the opponent!"

What?

The group of spirits exclaimed in shock.

There were already 2 Crests!

Hearing this, Edo frowned. He looked at the card in his hand, pondered for a moment, and set a card.

"Set one card, end turn."

"My turn, draw—"

Amon drew a card and glanced down at it.

"Spell Card, Graceful Charity. Draw three cards from my deck, then discard two."

Everyone watched silently as he drew. Then, after carefully examining his hand, he actually sent Exodia the Forbidden One and another card to the Graveyard.

"Battle! Fog King attacks Dashguy!

Activate its effect, making both monsters' ATK 1!"

Thick fog slowly enveloped Dashguy, and its power gradually balanced with Fog King's. Sure enough, as Fog King attacked, Dashguy couldn't resist, was swept away by the fog, and disappeared from the field. At the same time, the third Crest on the Royal Sword was filled by the fog.

Fog King, ATK: 1600 -> 2400.

"Wow, if it attacks again, won't it inflict 4000 effect damage directly? Doesn't that mean he wins!?"

"He doesn't even need Exodia to win—"

"Set two cards, end turn."

"My turn!"

After the initial exchange of words, the two entered the zone, saying nothing else beyond what was necessary for the duel.

Now, they only wanted to win this duel.

Edo drew a card, glanced at it, and smiled.

"I drew Quick-Play Spell Card, Mystical Space Typhoon!"

"Oh no!!" Aiko's expression changed drastically.

To draw Mystical Space Typhoon at such a critical moment—

"It seems my 【Destiny】 has the advantage after all."

Edo smiled: "Mystical Space Typhoon's effect, destroy your Royal Sword."

A gale roared, and the sword made of thick fog was lifted by the wind, then swirled, flew, and finally vanished from sight.

"You fell for it, Edo Phoenix!" Unexpectedly, Amon decisively flipped a Trap Card at this moment: "Trap Card, Crown Blast!"

"When Royal Sword on my field is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can activate this. I can turn the Crests of Royal Sword into pavilion markers on the field!"

Following his move, the Crests flew out of the Royal Sword, expanded, and finally turned into a massive fireball.

Because of the fireball's appearance, Fog King's figure gradually dissipated until it was no longer visible.

"This is? Why?"

Edo was puzzled.

Doesn't this mean he has no monster zones left to use?

"You'll know soon enough," Amon said calmly.

Edo hesitated, looking at the card in his hand.

"Regardless... since Fog King is no longer on your field, I can activate Diamond Dude's effect. Reveal the top card of my deck... Normal Spell Card, Harpie's Feather Duster. Activate next turn."

"At the same time, I change Doom Lord on my field to Attack Position and attack the opponent directly!"

If the attack succeeded, he could win immediately—

"Open set card, Threatening Roar!" Amon pushed his glasses up slightly. "This turn, you cannot declare an attack."

Edo frowned deeply.

This way, he couldn't attack.

But—that Fog Castle seemed to hide some powerful effect, making him feel vaguely uneasy.

What exactly was it?

He suddenly heard a rumbling sound. Instinctively, he looked up and saw that the massive, black-energy-emitting seal gate in the sky was slowly opening. A presence filled with resentment seemed to be descending from the heavens.

Many spirits were so scared they hid behind the Lion Sorcerer or Tiancheng Guang, shivering as they looked at the sky.

The entire world seemed to be shrouded in this resentment!

His pupils constricted—

Could it be!

He thought of a possibility.

Is he still not letting go of 【Exodia】!?

Edo gritted his teeth. Actually, he had prepared specific counter-cards for this duel... although it didn't seem useful right now, this phenomenon... he had to set them.

"Set two cards, end turn."

"My turn, draw!" Amon drew a card and glanced down.

Factory of 100 Dark Machines!

Beautiful!

With this, he could recover the Normal Monsters from his Graveyard—

He silently set the card: "I set one card. Next, activate the effect of Fog Castle!"

"By sending this card, which has all 5 pavilions lit, and my hand to the Graveyard, I can add 4 monster cards from my Graveyard to my hand!"

"What!?" Edo was shocked.

How could such a thing happen!

It was—

A full recovery!

Fog Castle began to collapse slowly. In the sky, the monster filled with resentment began to tear apart the gate that locked it.

The spirits began to shiver; the entire world seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

This newly born "Mo Wang Underworld" world looked like it was about to be completely destroyed!

"I add Exodia the Forbidden One, the Sealed Left Arm, the Sealed Right Arm, and Fog King from my Graveyard to my hand!"

These four?

"Then, it's not over yet, Edo—" Amon wore a look of certain victory. "Open set card—Normal Spell Card, Factory of 100 Dark Machines. This card can recover two Normal Monsters from the Graveyard!

With this, I win—Edo!"

Edo's pupils contracted. Seeing Amon about to add the cards from his Graveyard to his hand, he acted quickly and opened his set card: "Trap Card, Mind Crush!"

!!!

"Declare a card name. If the opponent has that card in their hand, that card and all copies are discarded!"

"I declare... Exodia the Forbidden One!"

"Aoooooo!!!!"

In the sky, the Dark Mage erupted with a terrifying roar. Endless resentment poured toward Edo, making him almost unable to breathe. Amon watched this scene, stunned and frozen in place.

Bang—

The Exodia in his hand was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. At the same time, the other two parts of Exodia in the Graveyard also returned to his hand.

Four cards—

Still not enough!

"... Hahahaha—Edo, is this your persistence?"

Edo looked calmly at his opponent.

"But—it's not over yet!"

There's more!?

Edo widened his eyes.

"Activate the effect of the Spell Card in the Graveyard, Ultimate Forbidden Ritual!"

This is...

The card sent to the Graveyard last turn?

Following Amon's call, in the sky, that terrifying gate had already been broken free from by Exodia!

A giant hand descended from the sky, reaching for the spirits. The group of spirits scrambled away in a panic, leaving only Aiko standing there calmly.

"Aiko!??" Edo called out to her.

But—

Aiko merely closed her eyes, waiting for the palm to grab her.

Amon's face was expressionless, the reflection in his glasses completely obscuring his eyes. He lowered his head slightly and said, "Sure enough, unsealing Exodia isn't something that can be done with clever tricks... the ritual of unsealing must still be performed."

In the Graveyard, Exodia the Forbidden One popped out automatically.

"When Ultimate Forbidden Ritual is in the Graveyard, and I have 5 different cards with 【Forbidden One】 in their names in my hand and Graveyard, I can activate this. Return all cards with 【Forbidden One】 in their names from the Graveyard to the Deck. Send 2 cards with 【Forbidden One】 in their names from my hand to the Graveyard, and Special Summon 1 【Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord】 from my Deck or hand!"

What is that!?

Following Edo's surprise, in the sky, the gate had been completely shattered!

A monster covered in black energy, completely different from the legendary Dark Mage, stepped out and descended.

It grabbed Aiko. Aiko let out a shocking scream, and then, in pain, she fell directly into a coma!

Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, Level 10, Dark, Spellcaster, ATK?

The unsealing ritual of the Ultimate Forbidden Lord has officially begun!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 600 =====