"This… is the power of the legendary Duelist, Yugi…"
Everyone present was left dumbfounded. Even Kaiba wore an expression as though he had just witnessed something unbelievable.
Hovering above the raging sea with its wings spread, the Dragon of Demolition let out a thunderous roar after the battle, as if venting years of pent-up fury.
"Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition, Yugi! The destructive power displayed by your black-and-gold dragon trump card… are you challenging the White Dragon itself?!"
Hoshino Alter sighed.
["You really shouldn't make the nice guy angry…"]
After the Battle Phase ended, Yugi inserted four cards into his Duel Disk and declared the end of his turn.
"As the price for unleashing Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition's power, I must pay half of my Life Points during the End Phase."
[Hoshino & Yugi LP: 8000 → 4000]
The Dragon of Demolition's blazing fury had not only scorched King Utgarda's colossal body, but also backfired against Savior Mk. II's armor.
"Well," Hoshino shrugged, "for an effect this absurdly powerful, losing only half your Life Points is practically no cost at all."
"Finally, I Set four cards and end my turn!"
"So many face-down cards!" Eve exclaimed.
Combined with the three cards Hoshino had already Set, Yugi's four newly Set cards brought the total to seven enormous face-down holographic cards.
Projected at Savior Mk. II's gigantic scale, they covered nearly half the ocean.
"That also proves," Zane analyzed, "that even Headmistress and the others are approaching this Duel with extreme caution."
"Exactly!" the Dwarf King agreed. "After all, this is a battle that absolutely cannot be lost."
The moment the turn ended, the shattered rocky body of King Utgarda — blasted apart by Gandora-X and Alpha The Electromagnet Warrior — gradually began restoring itself.
Like time itself rewinding, the broken stone fragments that had sunk into the sea floated back upward, reattaching themselves to the continent-sized body.
[King Utgarda LP: 3900 → 10900]
"…Ah."
Hoshino froze.
Just moments ago she had still been immersed in amazement at Yugi's incredible performance, only to be dragged back to reality by King Utgarda's rapidly recovering Life Points.
"Sorry… my calculations were too optimistic."
Rubbing her temples, Hoshino sighed.
"I thought dealing more than 5,000 damage in a single turn would be enough to actually reduce its Life Points."
Thinking it through now…
King's Proof restored Life Points during every End Phase — including both King Utgarda's turns and Hoshino and Yugi's turns.
"So to actually lower its Life Points…"
She frowned.
"We'd have to deal more than 10,000 damage in a single turn. That's… troublesome."
And that was only under ideal conditions.
As the Duel progressed and more Rock monsters accumulated on both fields and in both Graveyards, the amount of Life Points restored would only grow even more absurd.
For example, this turn Yugi had Normal Summoned Alpha The Electromagnet Warrior, then discarded Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior with Graceful Charity.
As a result, King Utgarda's recovery increased from 5,000 to 7,000 Life Points.
Hoshino Alter muttered:
"Is this guy seriously planning to raise his Life Points until they're as ridiculous as his body size?"
The turn passed to King Utgarda.
After drawing for the turn, although its Life Points had once again exceeded ten thousand, every Megalith monster on its field had been wiped out by Gandora-X.
The effect of King's Proof then activated.
[Once per turn after drawing, it could add one Rock monster from the Deck to the hand.]
The revealed stone tablet depicted a Megalith card engraved with the image of a three-headed demonic dragon.
[Megalith Aratron] Level 8
"So it's choosing a demonic dragon… to oppose the black dragon."
Immediately operating the control console, the Dwarf King analyzed the retrieved stone tablet using Savior Mk. II's mechanical display, which was filled with mysterious numerical readings.
"Good. Even though it looks terrifying, the destructive energy contained in this card is nowhere near Gandora-X."
The Dwarf King quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
But then —
King Utgarda flipped over the face-down stone tablet from last turn.
A gigantic Megalith statue descended onto the ocean once more, accompanied by a piercing ritual chant.
[Megalith Emergence Continuous Trap Effect: Once per turn: Target 1 "Megalith" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it in Defense Position. If that monster leaves the field, place it on the bottom of its owner's Deck.]
[Megalith Phul DEF 2000]
The original Level 2 Megalith monster — the enormous abstract stone statue — materialized once more.
Although its Level and stats were inferior to the other Megaliths, Megalith Phul possessed an irreplaceable Ritual Effect:
It could Ritual Summon directly from the Deck.
[During either player's Main Phase: Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Ritual Monster's Level, then Ritual Summon 1 "Megalith" Ritual Monster from your hand or Deck.]
The stone tablet that had just been searched shattered.
Before Megalith Aratron could even appear, it was immediately Tributed as a Level 8 Ritual Material, sending it straight to the Graveyard.
Yugi observed:
"A Level 8 monster was Tributed… which means it's Ritual Summoning another Level 8 Megalith directly from the Deck."
"Everyone, stay alert!"
The Dwarf King suddenly shouted as the numbers on her monitor skyrocketed.
"The destructive energy in this one isn't even on the same level as that Aratron from before!"
"ROOOAAAR!!"
The light of the Ritual Summon burst forth.
From within emerged an enormous jet-black dragon-shaped stone statue.
Its roar rivaled the overwhelming impact of Gandora-X's arrival.
[Megalith Bethor ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][EARTH][Rock/Effect][ATK 1500/DEF 2600]
Gathering the power of every different Megalith Ritual Monster in the Graveyard, the gigantic dragon statue Bethor radiated an immense destructive aura.
It looked almost like another form of Gandora-X.
[If this card is Ritual Summoned: Target cards your opponent controls, up to the number of different Ritual Monsters in your Graveyard; destroy them.]
King Utgarda currently had four different Ritual Monsters in its Graveyard: Ophiel, Hagith, Phaleg, Aratron.
Total: 4 different Ritual Monsters.
The destructive light unleashed by the black dragon Bethor instantly engulfed:
[Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition]
[Alpha The Electromagnet Warrior]
Two of Hoshino and Yugi's Set cards
[Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition] — Destroyed
[Magic Cylinder] — Destroyed
[Beyond the Azure Sky] — Destroyed
"Wait… Alpha The Electromagnet Warrior wasn't destroyed?"
Carefully examining the destruction log displayed on the screen, the Dwarf King looked puzzled.
Yugi immediately declared:
"The moment Alpha was selected as a destruction target, I activated its effect!"
[During your opponent's turn: You can Tribute this card; Special Summon 1 Level 4 "Magnet Warrior" monster from your Deck.]
Sending Alpha The Electromagnet Warrior to the Graveyard as a Tribute, the Magnet Warrior on Yugi's field immediately disassembled its magnetic body before rapidly recombining, successfully evading the destructive energy released by Megalith Bethor.
"I chain Alpha's effect by Tributing it to avoid destruction, then Special Summon Delta The Magnet Warrior from my Deck in Defense Position!"
[Delta The Magnet Warrior ★★★★ (Level 4)][EARTH][Rock/Effect][ATK 1600/DEF 1400]
Placing the monster card sideways into the Duel Disk's Monster Zone, the newly assembled Magnet Warrior Delta manifested as a gigantic hologram through the mech's Duel Disk.
Even after Bethor's destructive energy subsided, it remained standing firmly on the battlefield.
"Then I activate Delta The Magnet Warrior's effect!"
[If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: Send 1 Level 4 or lower "Magnet Warrior" monster from your Deck to the Graveyard.]
"I send Beta The Electromagnet Warrior from my Deck to the Graveyard!"
Including the Electromagnet Warrior Gamma discarded earlier by Graceful Charity, Yugi had now assembled Alpha, Beta, and Gamma together in the Graveyard.
Continuing its turn, King Utgarda flipped over another stone tablet.
The tablet engraved with Monster Reborn instantly shattered.
Activating Monster Reborn, King Utgarda revived the gigantic war god statue Megalith Phaleg, which had been destroyed by Gandora-X during the previous turn.
At the same time that Megalith Phaleg was Special Summoned, the Field Spell Megalith Portal activated.
It returned Megalith Aratron — which had been Tributed for the Ritual Summon — from the Graveyard back to the hand.
[Megalith Portal Field Spell Effect: Once per turn, when a "Megalith" monster is Special Summoned: Target 1 Ritual Monster in your Graveyard; add it to your hand.]
The radiant war god statue shone once more.
With Megalith Phaleg's continuous effect active, all monsters on the field gained 300 ATK and DEF for each Ritual Monster in the Graveyard.
[Megalith Phaleg ATK 2500 → 3400]
"Because Megalith Phul was revived from the Graveyard and Megalith Aratron returned to the hand, the number of Ritual Monsters in the Graveyard decreased. That's why its overall ATK is 300 points lower than last turn," Zane analyzed.
"But does that really make any difference?" Minazuki asked. "Whether it has 3400 ATK or 3700 ATK, there's no way a mere Magnet Warrior can stop it."
"No. The difference is enormous," Kaiba countered.
Although this was his first time watching Yugi duel personally, Kaiba had fought alongside — and against — Atem enough times to understand the Magnet Warriors quite well.
"Alpha, Beta, and Gamma can combine to form Valkyrion the Magna Warrior with 3500 ATK. And 3500 is a very important number — it falls precisely between those two attack values."
"ROOOAAAR!!"
On King Utgarda's field, the jet-black dragon statue suddenly let out a mournful cry before shattering apart. Once again, the light of a Ritual Summon illuminated the night sky.
Shattering along with it was the stone tablet of Megalith Aratron, which had only just returned to the hand.
[Aratron's Effect: During either player's Main Phase, you can discard this card; Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster, then Ritual Summon 1 "Megalith" Ritual Monster from your hand.]
"So by discarding the Megalith monster in its hand, it's treating it as a Ritual Spell," Hoshino analyzed. "And it's Tributing the Level 8 Megalith Bethor on the field as the Ritual offering."
Reading through King Utgarda's summoning sequence, Hoshino's expression darkened.
"If another Ritual Monster is added to the Graveyard… then Megalith Phaleg's ATK will increase by another 600 points."
"That would make it… 4000 ATK," Hoshino Alter murmured.
However, King Utgarda's offensive exceeded even Hoshino's expectations.
Stepping out from the shattered remains of the black dragon statue amid the Ritual light — was another Megalith Phaleg.
Every Megalith Phaleg on the field granted all monsters on its controller's field additional ATK and DEF.
With two copies present simultaneously, they boosted each other like a pair of master strategists, their buffs stacking together.
[Megalith Phaleg ATK 2500 → 4000 → 5500] ×2
[Megalith Phul DEF 2000 → 3500 → 5000]
"Watch out, Yugi! The attack is coming!" Hoshino shouted.
Since King Utgarda itself never spoke during a Duel, it always entered the Battle Phase without warning.
A colossal stone spear heavier than a mountain tore across the ocean.
The gigantic war god statue's 5500 ATK pierced straight through Delta The Magnet Warrior, which was in Defense Position.
[Delta The Magnet Warrior] Destroyed
"No problem! This is exactly the moment I've been waiting for!" Yugi declared.
"When Delta The Magnet Warrior is sent to the Graveyard, I can activate its effect!"
The magnetic warrior drew together the three Magnet Warriors resting in Yugi's Graveyard.
Their bodies merged amid the raging sea, transforming into the colossal Valkyrion the Magna Warrior.
[If this card is sent to the Graveyard: You can banish three Level 4 or lower "Magnet Warrior" monsters, except "Magnet Warrior Delta," from your Graveyard; Special Summon Valkyrion the Magna Warrior from your hand or Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions.]
"Come forth! I banish the three Magnet Warriors in my Graveyard and Special Summon Valkyrion the Magna Warrior from my Deck in Attack Position!"
[Valkyrion the Magna Warrior ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][EARTH][Rock/Effect][ATK 3500/DEF 3850]
"You're summoning it in Attack Position at a time like this?" the Dwarf King exclaimed. "The enemy's ATK has already reached 5500! Wouldn't it be wiser to defend and preserve your Life Points?"
Almost without pause, another massive stone spear came hurtling across the battlefield.
The second Phaleg launched its attack mercilessly toward Valkyrion.
"Defense isn't an option."
"If we retreat here, the battles that follow will only become even harder!"
Yugi flipped over another face-down card.
With Magic Cylinder already destroyed, he activated the second Trap he had prepared.
"The only way to carve out a chance against King Utgarda's endlessly growing Life Points is to keep pressing forward!"
"Trap Card — Soul Strike!"
[If your LP is 4000 or less, when an attack is declared involving a monster you control and an opponent's monster: Pay half your LP, then target 1 face-up monster you control; it gains ATK equal to the deficit between your current LP and 4000 until the end of your opponent's turn.]
"Because of Gandora-X's effect, my Life Points were already reduced to exactly 4000, allowing me to activate Soul Strike!"
The Dwarf King stared in disbelief.
"He even turned the backlash of the Dragon of Demolition to his own advantage… How terrifying."
"But if he pays half his Life Points and drops to 2000," Akasha said nervously, "then Valkyrion only gains 2000 ATK, doesn't it?"
Since the increase equals the amount by which the player's Life Points fall below 4000…
3500 + 2000 = 5500 ATK.
Just enough to match Megalith Phaleg.
However…
Thanks to the Field Spell Megalith Portal, every Ritual Monster possessed a once-per-turn effect that prevented it from being destroyed by battle.
Even if both monsters had equal ATK, the one destroyed would still be Valkyrion the Magna Warrior.
The earlier clash with the Black Knight King had already proven that.
"The increase isn't enough…" Kaiba frowned.
"Hoshino… I'm counting on you!" Yugi called toward the neighboring cockpit.
"Heh. Well said, Yugi."
Hoshino smiled.
"The only way to carve out a chance against King Utgarda's endlessly expanding Life Points is to keep pressing forward! I couldn't agree more."
Flipping over her own face-down card, she chained it to Soul Strike, activating her Trap before Yugi's resolved.
"Trap Card — Hope of Escape!!"
[If your opponent's LP is at least 1000 higher than yours: Pay 1000 LP; draw 1 card for every 2000 points difference between your LP and your opponent's.]
"I chain it and pay 1000 Life Points first!"
[Hoshino & Yugi LP: 4000 → 3000]
[King Utgarda LP: 10,900]
"After that, I draw one card for every 2000 Life Points separating us."
"With a difference of 7900, it isn't quite 8000 — but I still get to draw three cards."
Hoshino swiftly drew three cards from her Deck.
However, the true purpose of Hope of Escape wasn't replenishing her hand…
It was lowering her own Life Points even further.
"Now," Yugi declared, "the chained Soul Strike resolves!"
"I pay half of my remaining 3000 Life Points!"
[Hoshino & Yugi LP: 3000 → 1500]
"Soul Strike increases Valkyrion the Magna Warrior's ATK by the amount my Life Points fall below 4000!"
"Which means…"
"2500 ATK!"
[Valkyrion the Magna Warrior ATK 3500 → 6000]
Even knowing King Utgarda's Life Points would continue climbing forever…
At this moment —
Neither Hoshino nor Yugi chose to retreat.
Hope of Escape × Soul Strike
The gigantic Valkyrion raised its massive magnetic greatsword.
With a single slash, it split the sea apart.
The tremendous tidal vortex unleashed by the giant warrior instantly shattered the incoming stone spear into countless fragments.
[King Utgarda LP 10900 → 10400]