Chapter 48: The Invincible Power

"Die, You Tian! Ahaahaha!"

Malik had already issued his attack command; the Divine Flame Cannon of Slifer the Sky Dragon was hurtling toward the Death Guardian at breakneck speed.

"Master! Save me!"

You Tian: "Hold on! Activate the Trap Card!"

Malik: "Useless! Gods are unaffected by Trap Cards! Burn to ashes, You Tian!"

Boom! In an instant, You Tian was engulfed in flames.

"Aaaah!!"

Everyone: "You Tian!"

Malik: "Success! Ahaahaha!"

Finally, finally, I've sent this bastard into darkness!

Feeling the terrifying heat radiating from the Divine Flame Cannon, Malik spread his arms wide, savoring this peerless sight.

Slowly, he turned his head toward the audience below, toward Game.

"Hmph~ Next up is you, Ga↑me↓."

"Ready to be erased by me?"

Game glared back at Malik with fury. "Kiss my ass, Malik!"

Seeing Game's expression, Malik found it deeply satisfying.

"Oh~? You dared to meet my gaze even after witnessing Ra's terror? Let me properly praise you…"

"Big bro, aren't you done yet?" A snide voice suddenly interrupted Malik's "speech."

"Nani?!" Malik was utterly stunned.

He immediately whipped his head back.

"How is this possible!!!"

The audience below also turned their heads. "You Tian! You're still alive!"

That's right—right then, You Tian stood there, perfectly unharmed. Even his monster, 【Masked Beast Death Guardian】, remained standing intact on his field.

"Impossible! What did you do?! Why didn't Ra's attack work?!" Malik screamed hoarsely.

You Tian merely smiled faintly.

He tapped his Duel Disk lightly, drew a card from his Graveyard, and turned it toward the crowd.

Anzu, watching from the audience, was the first to cry out.

"T-That's… 【Messenger of Harmony】!"

That's right—in the nick of time, the Trap Card You Tian activated was none other than 【Messenger of Harmony】.

【Effect: This turn, your monsters cannot be destroyed by battle, and you take 0 battle damage.】

Anzu Makoto's Deck also contained this card; Game and the others naturally knew its effect.

Game: "This is a Trap Card, but it wasn't used against Ra—no god can nullify it!"

Jonouchi: "Sugoi! You Tian! You blocked Ra's attack with something like this?!"

Kaiba let out a quiet grunt.

I knew you wouldn't go down so easily.

"It's 【Messenger of Harmony】?! The attack of a god was stopped by a card this weak?!" Malik's face turned grim.

"Hmph! Malik, your attack phase is over. You've already used your last hand card, and your Life Points are now down to 1. At the end of this turn, Ra will return to sleep."

Jonouchi raised both hands, mimicking Game's exaggerated, over-the-top expression toward Malik.

"Looks like you've lost this Duel! Hahahaha!"

Malik sneered dismissively.

"Oh~ Really?"

"I activate a Magic Card from my hand."

A cloud of question marks floated above Jonouchi's head.

"What are you talking about? You had no cards left in hand… What?!"

"How is this possible?"

You Tian's eyes narrowed slightly.

At that moment, Malik's hand had inexplicably gained five cards.

"Fool! Look closely at my field!"

Following Malik's words, everyone noticed a Trap Card already set on his field.

Trap Card: 【Last Will】.

【Effect (anime): When a monster on your field changes its Attack Power, you can activate this card. Draw cards from your Deck until you have five in hand.】

Damn! Another overpowered anime fake card!

You Tian frowned tightly.

Originally, Malik's hand had been completely emptied during the previous Duel; You Tian only needed to survive this turn to counterattack next.

Who could have imagined Malik had such a ridiculous card to refill his hand?

"Ahaahaha! Too bad, Game—this Duel has only just begun!"

Jonouchi felt a pang of frustration.

"It's fine! Malik's Life Points are down to 1. If You Tian lands an attack next turn, Malik is definitely done for!"

Game and the others nodded in agreement.

But hearing this, Malik sneered again.

"Sorawadu kana!"

"I will activate a Quick-Play Magic from my hand: 【Fusion Reversal】."

"This card can undo the Fusion between me and Ra. Moreover, all of Ra's Attack Power becomes my Life Points!"

Everyone: "Nani!"

You Tian clicked his tongue.

As 【Fusion Reversal】 activated, the entire body of Slifer the Sky Dragon collapsed straight down.

Beneath it, Malik's damaged original form slowly restored to its complete state.

【Malik LP: 1→4600】

"See that? This is the terror of Ra!"

"My turn isn't over yet! I'll Set one card. Then, from my hand, I activate a Continuous Spell: 【Survival Cards】."

"When any monster is revived from the Graveyard, this card lets me Draw three cards from my Deck!"

(PS: In the anime, 【Survival Cards】' effect is "Draw 3 when any monster revives"; in real cards, it's "Draw 1 when a monster in your Graveyard is Special Summoned.")

Hehe~ You Tian, let me show you the true power of God Phoenix!

"That ends my turn!"

You Tian's brow tightened further.

In the Blue Star version, 【Survival Cards】 only had the effect: "If you revive a monster from your Graveyard, draw one." Even so, it was still banned for ten thousand years on Blue Star.

But in DM, Malik's version—drawing three cards regardless of who revives the monster—was absurd even by absurd standards.

"My turn, Draw Phase!"

You Tian studied Malik's field.

Now, Malik had only one Set card—almost certainly a Trap Card. If I attack, Death Guardian will likely be destroyed.

But if I don't attack, next turn he'll summon Ra again. Combined with 【Survival Cards】, he'll keep accumulating cards in hand.

That would put me at a severe disadvantage.

Realizing this, You Tian made his decision.

"Malik, this turn, I will directly attack you with 【Masked Beast Death Guardian】."

"Go! 【Masked Beast Death Guardian】!"

With the command, Death Guardian surged forward again, charging straight at Malik.

Jonouchi: "Yes! Though Malik successfully restored his Life Points, if You Tian lands this attack, his Life Points will be drastically lowered!"

Just as the Masked Beast's claws neared Malik's face…

"Hmph! It's not that simple!"

"I activate my Set Card: 【Darkness Rebirth】!"

"Damn!" You Tian gasped in shock.

"Ahahaha! This card can activate when your opponent attacks—now, I can choose one Magic Card from your Graveyard and Set it. Naturally, I choose 【Monster Reborn】!"

You Tian's Graveyard glowed again; the next moment, 【Monster Reborn】 flew out and was Set onto Malik's field.

"Not done yet! While in the Graveyard, this card can banish itself to send 【Monster Reborn】 on the field to the Graveyard and directly revive 【Slifer the Sky Dragon】!"

Boom!

Malik's Graveyard erupted once more with towering flames.

Shhh~

As before, 【Slifer the Sky Dragon】 revived again!

"Ahahaha!" Malik laughed maniacally once more.

"Not done yet! If 【Darkness Rebirth】 successfully revives Ra, it can also destroy one monster on your field!"

Everyone: "Nani!"

Malik pointed at You Tian's Death Guardian.

"Go to hell!"

Bang!

"Also, 【Survival Cards】 activates—I draw three cards from my Deck!"

Skrr! Skrr! Skrr! Malik's hand increased by three.

"See that? This is the true power of God Phoenix! Ahahaha!"

You Tian's face grew grim as he stared at it all.