Chapter 49: Opportunity to Win

Malik used other cards to revive Slifer the Sky Dragon, then drew more cards using 【Monster Reborn】.

This way, he can continuously revive Ra and launch endless "One-Hit Kill" attacks on me.

What a terrifying combo.

Sweat beaded on You Tian's forehead.

"Malik, it's still my turn—even if you summoned Ra, you can't attack me."

Malik nodded mockingly and grunted, signaling You Tian to continue.

You Tian frowned again.

Even so, his Death Guardian was now in the Graveyard.

"Master, avenge me! Crush that ugly yellow bird!"

You Tian had no time to chat with the Death Guardian now.

"I set one monster face-down. End my turn."

"Damn! You Tian just ended his turn again! Malik still has Ra on the field!" Jonouchi exclaimed in panic.

"No! Look!" But at that moment, Ra spoke up.

Following Ra's gesture, everyone turned to look at Malik's 【Slifer the Sky Dragon】.

There, Ra once again turned to golden light and returned to Malik's Graveyard.

"The Ra revived by 【Darkness Rebirth】 returns to the Graveyard at the end of the turn," Malik sneered.

Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"But are you ready for the next round of attacks, You Tian?"

Malik grinned wickedly and placed his hand on the Duel Disk.

"My turn, Draw Phase!"

"I activate a Magic Card from my hand: 【Digging for Magic Stones】."

"This card lets me send two cards from my hand to the Graveyard to recover one Magic Card from it!"

"That's right—I'm recovering 【Monster Reborn】! Ahahaha!"

As Malik discarded two cards from his hand, 【Monster Reborn】 returned to his grip.

Everyone: "Damn! Malik's about to summon Ra again!"

"Hehehe! Not done yet!"

"I activate this card from my hand: 【Tribute to the Fallen】!"

You Tian's gaze sharpened.

"This card lets me banish one monster from each player's Graveyard to perform a Level-Up Summon without any Tribute!"

(PS: The real card has a self-restraint that prevents Special Summoning this turn; the anime effect has no such restriction.)

Everyone: "Nani!"

"I banish your 【Death Guardian】 and my 【Executioner Makyura】 to perform a Level-Up Summon—appear, 【Despair from the Darkness】!"

Slowly, the massive, terrifying crimson form of 【Despair from the Darkness】 materialized on the field.

【Despair from the Darkness】 【Attack Power: 2800】

The banished Death Guardian: Master! Also crush this black lump for me!!

You Tian: …

Jonouchi: "Damn it! Malik just summoned a Level-Up monster!"

"Not done yet!" Malik's expression twisted into another exaggerated grin.

"Don't forget—I still have 【Monster Reborn】 in my hand!"

"Yes! Revive once more! Ra!"

Shhh~

【Slifer the Sky Dragon】 descended again—again and again!

"At this moment, 【Monster Reborn】 activates!"

Tsu! Tsu! Tsu! Malik's hand increased by three cards.

You Tian frowned.

This is bad.

"Saa… should I use God Phoenix's effect, or fuse with the god?"

Malik watched You Tian's expression with mocking amusement.

Kimoji!! I love watching others slowly consumed by despair.

"Ahahaha! I'll fuse with the god and crush you myself, You Tian!"

تهانينا،لقداكتشفتالبيضةالملونة

Malik chanted again in that ancient, obscure language.

As he chanted, his body once again began to mist, merging with the god.

【Malik LP: 4600→1】

【Slifer the Sky Dragon】 【Attack Power: 0→4599】!!

Everyone watched Malik in tense dread.

Jonouchi: "Damn! This Ra is stronger than the last one! If You Tian takes this damage head-on, he's done for!"

"Ahahaha! This time, die, You Tian!" Malik roared with laughter.

"First, I'll use 【Despair from the Darkness】 to destroy your face-down monster—then I'll attack you directly with Ra! Go! 【Despair from the Darkness】! Infinite Despair!"

【Despair from the Darkness】 gathered dark energy at its chest—then—whooosh!

Black energy shot toward You Tian's monster.

"I won't let you win! Activate my set card—Quick-Play Magic, 【Iron Wall Mask】!"

Suddenly, a massive iron mask appeared on You Tian's field, blocking Malik's attack.

"Tch. Again with those Light and Dark Mask cards? Playing cheap tricks." Malik sneered.

You Tian wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Malik, the effect of 【Iron Wall Mask】 lasts one turn. Looks like your Slifer the Sky Dragon is back from the dead."

"Hmph!" Malik dismissed it.

"I activate a Magic Card from my hand—【Mysterious Chinese Wok】—targeting none other than Ra."

Hum~ 【Mysterious Chinese Wok】 activated successfully; Ra's Attack Power became equal to Malik's Life Points.

【Malik LP: 1→4600→】

Whoosh! Without Attack Power, Ra vanished like a fire snuffed out, sucked instantly into Malik's Graveyard.

And Malik's body fully restored, unharmed.

(The Death Guardian watching this thought internally: Sigh, big yellow bird, your master's a real beast!)

"Hehehe. You Tian, congratulations—you survived this turn's One-Hit Kill. But next turn, you won't be so lucky!"

"I set one card, end my turn!"

Seeing this, everyone finally exhaled in relief.

"Thank goodness You Tian had a defensive card."

You Tian himself also let out a breath of relief.

Looks like Light and Dark Mask really are my benefactors! If I survive, once we disembark from the Airship, I'll definitely send them both a silk banner.

"My turn, Draw Phase."

You Tian turned to look at the card he drew.

【Day and Night】? This is troublesome.

He turned his gaze to Malik's field.

Malik currently has one monster with 2800 Attack Power—【Despair from the Dark】—a card to draw more cards—【Survival Card】—and 4600 Life Points.

On my field, the only covered monster is 【Divine Magic Master】.

The 【Dimensional Wall】 I specifically added to my Deck to counter the ThreePhantomGods is already in the Graveyard. The 【Dark Mask】 that can recover 【Dimensional Wall】 is also in the Graveyard.

Right now, my only chance of winning is to Summon 【Amazon's Female Swordsman】 and try to exploit the Fusion state of Slifer the Sky Dragon.

But Malik's definitely still holding a Magic or Trap Card like 【Fusion Reversal】 to separate himself from Slifer the Sky Dragon.

Even if I Summon 【Amazon's Female Swordsman】 now, I doubt I can land a decisive blow!

Sigh~ If only he had Obelisk the Tormentor.

Thus, You Tian began a long ponder.

Hehehehe~

Watching You Tian's distress, Malik felt inexplicably pleased.

Yes! Struggle desperately before the gods, then helplessly fall into despair! Ahahaha!

The crowd below was also deeply anxious.

"Why isn't You Tian playing a card?!" Jonouchi cried out.

"He's not refusing to play—he can't play." Game frowned.

Jonouchi: "Can't play?"

"Hmph! Mediocre fools remain mediocre!" Kaiba spoke up.

Jonouchi: "Kaiba! You bastard!"

"You Tian only has two cards in hand, one covered monster on the field, and one useless Magic Card—【Dark Song】."

Whoosh! Kaiba extended his hand, pointing at Malik's field.

"Malik has not only a powerful monster but also a constant way to refill his hand."

"Without a doubt, among his three hand cards are ones to recycle 【Monster Reborn】 and Summon Ra again."

"As long as Malik wants, he can use Ra's One-Hit Kill every turn."

"A Duelist without the ThreePhantomGods cannot win against them—no matter what card he plays!"

Hearing Kaiba's analysis, the crowd fell silent.

"Precisely~" Malik spoke calmly.

"You Tian, even if you somehow obtained a Millennium Artifact and survived Ra's One-Hit Kill, the power of the ThreePhantomGods is beyond the reach of a second-rate Duelist like you who relies on cheap tricks like Niu Tounren!"

You Tian stared at Malik with a serious gaze, saying nothing.

As they said, using this Deck against the ThreePhantomGods is indeed difficult. But I had no choice—I've had only one day since arriving here to optimize my Deck, and I simply lack enough tools to counter the ThreePhantomGods.

Jonouchi felt frustrated. Could You Tian really lose here?

He turned his head back to Game.

"Game, is there truly no way to defeat the ThreePhantomGods?"

Game frowned, deep in thought.

"It's hard. But victory in a Duel is often visible—and invisible at the same time. If You Tian is a true Duelist, I think…"

Kaiba glanced sideways at Game.

Victory? In this situation, if it were me, could Obelisk the Tormentor break the deadlock?

Victory? Visible yet invisible victory? You Tian murmured softly.

His gaze returned to Malik's field.

"Despair from the Darkness," "Graceful Revival," set cards, three cards in hand, a "One-Hit Kill" usable every turn, the cards in the Graveyard, the banished Dharc the Dark Charmer…

These things churned ceaselessly in his mind.

Just like that, You Tian thought for a full four minutes.

During this time, Isono beside the Duel Stage kept checking his watch.

"Mr. You Tian, I must remind you, the operation time per turn is limited to only five minutes. If you still don't act, you will be declared the loser directly!"

Damn! That Isono guy, so heartless. If only I'd known yesterday, I would've made him give me two more hours of massage!

And that "the operation time per turn is limited…" nonsense.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck You Tian's mind, and he once again turned his gaze toward Malik's field.

So that's it! The path to victory was here all along!

Then, in that case, I can only use "Divine Magic Master" to recycle that card!

Hmm? Watching You Tian's expression, Game in the audience seemed to sense something.

At last, You Tian began to act again.

"I flip-Summon the 'Divine Magic Master' on my field."

"'Divine Magic Master's' flip effect activates—I can recycle one Magic Card from the Graveyard."

"And the card I want to recycle is this one—'Monster Reborn'!"

"Monster Reborn"? Malik looked at You Tian with a mocking grin.

Oh? Could it be, this guy…

You Tian broke into a brilliant smile.

"I set two more cards face-down!"

Success or failure hinges on the next turn!

"End turn!"