Chapter 936: Salvation: Twin Strikes

You Xuan: “My turn, draw!”

You Xuan drew a card forcefully, then slammed one from his hand onto the field.

“Activate the spell card ‘Burial Rite’s Sacred Draw’! Exclude three spell cards from the graveyard from the game, and draw three cards from the deck!”

Jack barked: “You Xuan, take my cards!”

You Xuan nodded firmly and said: “Exclude Jack’s three spell cards from the graveyard from the game, and draw three cards!”

At this moment, Jack’s entire deck had gone to the graveyard, providing endless spell cards to use as cost. You Xuan casually selected three of them; all three dissolved into golden light and vanished.

“Mr. You Xuan,” You Xuan said seriously, “Isn’t this our first real meeting?”

“Probably,” You Xuan replied coolly.

Although he was already familiar with You Xuan and his group, and they had interacted for a long time, this might truly be their first real meeting. After all, until now, You Xuan and the others had never seen his true face.

“I know almost nothing about you, but I know you’ve been helping us, expending tremendous effort to guide us onto the right path.”

You Xuan declared firmly.

“Whether to honor the trust of my comrades or to honor your intentions, I will give everything I have!”

As he spoke, light converged, and the Dragon Seal on You Xuan’s hand began glowing red, while all Dragon Seal bearers’ seals also emitted radiance, just as Jack’s had moments before.

But what followed was different from what had happened with Jack’s seal.

The small petri dish beside You Xuan, floating above the severed arm, saw its Dragon Seal vanish into thin air.

“So it’s begun.”

You Xuan smiled.

Good, good—the progression so far was flawless. In the original anime, during the climax of You Xuan’s battle against Gothel, the Dragon Head Seal transferred from Gothel to You Xuan, while You Xuan’s original Dragon Tail Seal passed to Cro, who had never been a Seal bearer before.

This transfer of the Dragon Seal marks the protagonists’ ultimate upgrade in the Dark Signer arc.

Perfect. This means I’ve already completed most of my role as the villain—even if my disguise is blown, it doesn’t matter. The outcome of the duel going forward is irrelevant.

Huh?

The next second, You Xuan blinked twice, staring at the Dragon Seal that had suddenly appeared on his arm, momentarily stunned.

Huh?

What is this?

After a brief moment of shock, everyone nearly shouted in unison.

Because they had all seen it.

At this moment, the Dragon Head Seal that had been on the severed arm had transferred to You Xuan’s arm!

You Xuan: “???”

Wait, this wasn’t part of the plan.

What does this mean? The Dragon Head Seal went to me?

That’s not how the script goes!

Meanwhile, You Xuan—who had seemingly lost the Dragon Head Seal that should have been his in the original timeline—smiled with delight: “Of course! See, Mr. You Xuan? Even the Red Dragon acknowledges you as our ally!”

Qiu also smiled, unconsciously pressing his hand against his glowing Dragon Seal.

This mark bound them all together, inseparable even across the farthest reaches of the world—the ultimate proof of the closest companionship.

This man named You Xuan, indeed…

You Xuan sighed helplessly.

He suddenly wondered: Could the Red Dragon, impressed by his bones, be trying to trick him into joining its crew?

It was entirely possible.

At the same moment, the top card of You Xuan’s deck began glowing gold!

“Activate the effect of ‘Burial Rite’s Sacred Draw’—draw two cards!”

You Xuan drew two cards forcefully.

You Xuan raised an eyebrow: “It’s glowing again.”

Is it going to imprint once more?

You Xuan: “Summon ‘Savior Dragon’!”

【Savior Dragon, ATK 0】

It really did imprint again.

You Xuan wanted to complain: Red Dragon, where’s your dignity? In one duel, you’ve imprinted twice!

“When there is a Tuner monster on my field, this card can be Special Summoned directly from the hand,” You Xuan said. “Special Summon ‘Advance Warrior’!”

【Advance Warrior, ATK 300】

“Level 1 Tuner monster: Savior Dragon!”

“Level 1: Advance Warrior!”

“Level 8: Stardust Dragon!”

“Tuning!”

【1+1+8=10】

“The gathered starlight shall illuminate a new miracle. Become a path of radiant light—Synchro Summon, descend from the glow: Savior Star Dragon!!!”

The crimson, dreamlike body of Savior Dragon swelled several times larger, engulfing Stardust Dragon, its form seeming to melt within.

The next instant, the heavens split—not merely torn clouds, but as if dimensions themselves had been ripped open by starlight. Beneath a ring of stars, blue-white radiance like plasma shaped a dragon’s body within the circle; its flight across the sky left trails of starlight resembling a miniature galaxy.

【Savior Star Dragon, ATK 3800】

“So this is the Red Dragon’s power manifested through You Xuan,” You Xuan said. “But Savior Star Dragon’s ATK is only 3800—it won’t defeat the Illusionary Demon Emperor.”

“Moreover, since you summoned ‘Savior Dragon,’ ‘Advance Warrior,’ and ‘Savior Star Dragon’ in sequence, the effect of Illusionary Demon Emperor·Rabiel triggers: Special Summon three ‘Illusionary Demon Tokens’ onto my field.”

【Illusionary Demon Token, DEF 1000】

At this moment, Cro chuckled: “Not necessarily. Our bond runs deeper than that!”

“Exactly!” You Xuan said. “Activate the spell card ‘Soul Liberation’—exclude up to five cards total from both graveyards from the game.”

“I exclude from your graveyard ‘Illusionary Summoning God,’ ‘Chaos Phantom,’ and ‘Illusionary Demon Emperor·Rabiel—Heavenly Devastation Fist,’ and from Cro’s and Jack’s graveyards ‘Blackwing—Armored Wing’ and ‘Crimson Demon Dragon’!”

The image of Soul Liberation flashed across You Xuan’s back row; both Synchro monsters dissolved into phantoms and vanished.

You Xuan: “You excluded cards from my graveyard, removing the monsters most capable of reviving Illusionary Demon power, and sealing off ‘Illusionary Demon Emperor·Rabiel—Heavenly Devastation Fist,’ which could infinitely recycle itself?”

That part was easy to understand—those three cards were all threats even when buried in the graveyard.

"But you excluded your allies' trump card too?" You Xuan said.

Of course, even with his eyes closed, he knew there was a strategy.

You Xuan’s three monsters were swallowed by a vortex of dimensions; on the other side, Armored Wing and Crimson Demon Dragon likewise appeared, then vanished into the other side of the dimension.

Cro grinned: “Thanks, You Xuan! Now this combo can finally work!”

“Activate the face-down trap card: ‘Dimensional Voyage’!”

“Special Summon as many Synchro monsters as possible that were excluded from the game onto your field!” (Original card)

(End of Chapter)