Chapter 52: Death Frightener

"I see, you do have a bit of skill."

The Masked Sorcerer's gaze swept coldly from You Xuan to the two magicians flanking him on either side of the field like bodyguards, letting out a frigid snort.

"But after receiving the power of evolution bestowed by my god, I am now invincible."

"My turn, draw!"

After drawing a new card, the Sorcerer immediately revealed it.

"First, I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Mystical Space Typhoon' to destroy your face-down card in the back row!"

A black whirlwind erupted, carrying lightning as it surged toward the face-down card in the back row.

"Silent Magician's effect," You Xuan interrupted. "Once per turn, negate the activation of a Spell Card."

The storm halted abruptly, dissipating alongside the thunder under the protection of the white magic circle.

"Tch, so you have such an ability too? Then I activate the Spell Card 'Pot of Greed' to draw two more cards from my Deck."

The Sorcerer drew his cards, then pulled two more from his hand.

"Spell Card 'Scapegoat Doll'. By tributing one monster on my field, I can Special Summon one normally summonable monster from my hand!"

"I will send my face-down monster to the Graveyard, then Special Summon this card!"

The face-down monster on the field flipped over, revealing a sinister red hound; its body dissolved in a storm of shadows, forming the image of a summoning circle.

"Level 7, Sacred Night Dragon, summon!"

A storm of holy fire erupted from the summoning circle as a giant dragon spread its wings, spiraling out onto the field.

[Sacred Night Dragon, ATK 2500]

The goblin minions in the back began shouting again: "Master Sorcerer is awesome!"

"He summoned such a powerful monster in an instant; that kid stands no chance!"

"."

The Masked Sorcerer also snorted triumphantly: "You are cautious; you didn't attack my face-down monster last turn. Were you guarding against a Flip Effect?"

"But it was useless. My face-down monster was 'Fiend Hound - Eight-Tailed Dog'; when this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add one Level 8 Fiend-type monster from my Deck to my hand."

"Although you didn't attack it, sacrificing it via 'Scapegoat Doll' to send it to the Graveyard triggers this effect just the same."

The Masked Sorcerer drew the Fiend he had searched from his Deck, then smiled coldly.

"The Fiend I searched for is precisely this card. After receiving my god's blessing and evolving myself, this is my most ferocious and evil form—"

"—Masked Beast - Death Frightener!"

You Xuan: "."

So this thing counts as your evolved form?

It was also a monster that appeared in DM, used by both the Light and Dark Masked Brothers and Ma Like. A Level 8 Fiend with 3300 ATK, it requires two monsters on your field, including at least one of ['Masked Sorcerer - Cursed Throat'] or ['Melchid Four-Face Beast'], as tributes to Special Summon.

"And I haven't Normal Summoned yet this turn," the Sorcerer chuckled coldly, raising his voice. "Therefore, next, I will Normal Summon myself!"

"[Masked Sorcerer - Cursed Throat], summon!"

Indeed, the moment he slapped that card onto his Duel Disk, an image resembling a clone manifested on the Sorcerer's body, separating directly onto an empty space in the front field.

[Masked Sorcerer - Cursed Throat, ATK 1500]

Ultimate Technique: I Summon Myself!

The scene looked somewhat bizarre, but You Xuan remained calm. He knew this was an indispensable part of the Yu-Gi-Oh tradition to appreciate, and even stranger things were yet to come.

"The Sheep Tokens summoned by 'Scapegoat' cannot be tributed for a Tribute Summon, but they can serve as tributes for other effects."

The Sorcerer interlocked his ten fingers as if chanting a spell, then shouted aloud.

"Therefore, I tribute one 'Sheep Token' along with myself!"

Advanced Ultimate Technique: I Sacrifice Myself!

The Sorcerer's clone and a Sheep Token on the field vanished simultaneously, as if swallowed by a rapidly expanding mass of darkness. A chaotic vortex erupted, claws tearing through the gloom as a grotesque Fiend wearing three masks emerged from the chaos.

[Masked Beast - Death Frightener, ATK 3300]

The goblin minions stirred again: "It has appeared, the Master Sorcerer's strongest form after evolution!"

One minion even taunted You Xuan directly: "Ha, you're already a dead man; even if you surrender now, it's too late!"

"Not yet finished! Next is the Spell Card 'Burial of a Different Dimension', banishing 'Pot of Greed', 'Scapegoat Doll', and 'Mystical Space Typhoon' from the Graveyard to draw two more cards from my Deck!"

After summoning the Masked Beast, the Sorcerer's voice seemed to become sharp and distorted.

"Then, from my hand, I activate the Equip Spell 'Reptilian Rage'; the equipped monster becomes a Reptile-type, and its ATK increases by 800."

"I equip it to 'Sacred Night Dragon', raising Sacred Night Dragon's ATK by 800!"

[Sacred Night Dragon, ATK 2500 → ATK 3300]

"Hmm?" You Xuan frowned.

Sacred Night Dragon was Special Summoned via the effect of the Spell Card 'Scapegoat Doll', and monsters summoned by that effect should be unable to attack during this turn.

"Heh, you must be wondering why I strengthened Sacred Night Dragon, right? The answer is this—"

The Sorcerer played another card from his hand, shouting loudly.

"Spell Card 'Cross Attack'!"

The Spell Card materialized on his field amidst rolling golden light, enveloping both his Sacred Night Dragon and Masked Beast in a golden glow.

"'Cross Attack' allows you to select two monsters on your field with equal ATK. This turn, one selected monster can attack directly, while the other cannot attack!"

The minions realized once again.

"I see, by equipping the card, he raised Sacred Night Dragon's ATK to match the Masked Beast, allowing it to attack directly!"

"Not only that, but since Sacred Night Dragon summoned via 'Scapegoat Doll' couldn't attack this turn anyway, he utilized even that limitation."

"A direct attack with 3300 ATK; after this strike, that kid's Life Points will be like a flickering candle in the wind!"

"This is Master Sorcerer's duel; so powerful..."

You Xuan: "."

Truly a combo with distinct anime characteristics.

Although he felt he had slightly grasped the knack of God Draws and dared to attempt bolder deck builds, he was still unaccustomed to such acrobatic combos for the time being.

"Since the ATK of my 'Sacred Night Dragon' has been raised to match 'Masked Beast - Death Frightener', naturally, I choose to sacrifice Sacred Night Dragon's attack so that the Masked Beast can attack directly!"

The Sorcerer laughed sharply.

"Attack directly with 'Masked Beast - Death Frightener'! Feel the power of destruction!"

The giant Fiend lunged forward, its claws crashing down violently toward You Xuan's head.

But in the next moment, a miracle occurred!

Silent Magician actually jumped out on her own to block in front of You Xuan! She spread her arms, using her slender body to forcibly block the Fiend's claws, vanishing into golden light with a crisp sound.

"Nani!" the Sorcerer exclaimed in shock. "What is happening? Why did a monster jump out on its own to take the hit?"

"Hmph, this is the bond between a Duelist and their monsters," You Xuan declared righteously. "The power of bonds can trigger miracles; someone like you would never understand."

The Sorcerer: "???"

What the hell?

He suddenly recalled hearing rumors that the Duel King from some unknown world possessed terrifying strength capable of talking even the rules out of existence. Could it be that today he had encountered the legendary...

However, immediately after, his gaze fell upon a Trap Card in the opponent's back row that had somehow been flipped face-up.

Trap Card - Temptation of the Earthbound Spirit. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can reselect the attack target.

"Tch, so you noticed after all," You Xuan pursed his lips. "Correct, I used the Trap's effect to reselect the attack target of 'Masked Beast - Death Frightener'."

"Therefore, your attack target changed from me to Silent Magician. And due to that attack just now, I lost 1300 Life Points."

[You Xuan, LP 4000 → LP 2700]

Only then did the Masked Sorcerer breathe a sigh of relief.

Luckily his sharp eyes caught the back row. That kid actually tried to bluff him; he nearly thought he had bumped into the legendary King of Oral Rules...

"Talking so grandly, yet in the end, you just used your own monster as a wall," the Masked Sorcerer sneered.

You Xuan paid him no heed. Where his Silent Magician had vanished, a white magic circle spontaneously opened once more. Waves of magical power burst forth like a storm, spiraling straight up into the clouds.

"Nani?" The Masked Sorcerer was startled again. "Wasn't she defeated?"

"No, what you did was merely release her true power. When Silent Magician is destroyed by battle or by an opponent's card effect, I can Special Summon one 'Silent Magician' monster other than itself from my hand or Deck, ignoring summoning conditions."

"From the intersection of chaos and order blooms a silent radiance; the Magician of Light descends here—"

"—Silent Magician LV8!"

A transparent magical storm whipped up, white robes fluttering; the white-robed mage who had just left the field drifted forth once more, emanating an aura of magical power even greater than before.

Silent Magician LV8, summon!

(End of Chapter)