Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes, summoned!
Adrian: "So it's at Obelisk-level attack power…"
"And, Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes cannot be targeted by any card effects, and cannot be affected by any card effects at all!"
Viper shouted angrily.
"Now it's over! Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes, attack 'The Tripper Mercury'!"
A killing blow—carrying unstoppable might, the Serpent God's twin arm-heads blasted forward in unison!
Kira: "In that case, I activate—"
"MUDAA!" Viper cut him off, shouting, "The Serpent God does not accept any card effects!"
"I know."
Kira smiled and revealed a card from his hand.
"But what I'm activating is 'Kuriboh' in my hand. By discarding it, I can make one instance of Battle Damage become 0."
It didn't try to affect a monster, nor did it target anything. Even an invincible, fully effect-proof god couldn't do a thing about Kuriboh.
"Tch."
Viper snorted.
"But either way, Mercury's already been destroyed. And you'd better be careful."
He narrowed his eyes, voice dropping low.
"Once you're scratched by the Serpent God's venom, you die instantly. Even a tiny graze means certain death," Viper said coldly. "Once you take Battle Damage from Vennominaga, from that moment on the countdown starts. Three turns later, it's an automatic victory for me!"
A chill ran through Adrian's heart.
What a terrifying ability!
Absolute resistance to effects, sky-high ATK, and on top of that, an auto-win condition built into the rules. No wonder the Duel King repeatedly tried to prevent that monster from being summoned. No wonder Viper was so obsessed with calling it forth.
It truly was a godlike monster, one that practically ruled the entire Duel once it appeared!
Viper laughed loudly. "Do you see? This is godlike power, absolutely invincible—"
"My turn, draw," Kira cut in without mercy. "I activate the Spell Card 'The Shallow Grave'. Each of us chooses one monster in our own Graveyard and Special Summons it in face-down Defense Position."
(Anime Effect)
"From the Graveyard?"
Viper let out a cold chuckle.
"You think reducing the number of Reptiles in my Graveyard will lower the Serpent God's ATK? Heh. That makes hardly any difference.
Very well, then rise again—Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes!"
[Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes – DEF 0]
"Then I revive 'The Tripper Mercury' from my Graveyard," Kira said.
Viper snorted indifferently. "Mercury's effect needs three Tributes to activate. Besides, even if it had an effect, it doesn't work on the Serpent God. So it's completely—"
"Yeah, I know. That's not the point."
Kira smiled.
"Originally, I'd planned to do everything I could to stop your Serpent God from appearing. But the possibility you'd get it out was already within my expectations.
And since Professor has shown me your strongest monster, I'll answer by using my strongest monster."
He paused, his smile fading.
"A monster even the Serpent God can be easily defeated by—a truly ultimate, vicious evil."
Viper's eyes narrowed slightly.
Even the Serpent God could be easily beaten…
Does something like that even exist?
No, wait, the Duel King' ace card—could it be…?
He had lost his head in anger a moment ago; now, suddenly sobering up, Viper's burning rage was wiped clean away, replaced in an instant by an indescribable, boundless terror.
"Y-you're going to—"
"I Tribute your 'Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes' and 'Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes' on your field to give you this powerful monster as a gift.
From the molten lava of the abyss it awakens, bearing the power of destruction and rebirth! Come forth, my very soul—
—Level 8, Lava Golem!"
Under Professor Viper's endless despair and fear, his eyes bulged as he watched helplessly. The surging lava roiled, magma erupted, and his Venom King—his invincible Serpent God—were both swallowed by that hopeless sea of lava.
The annihilating magma then converged upon him, forming a cage of iron. The bars, scorched red-hot, made the entire cage look as if it were on fire.
In that instant, Viper suddenly felt that this was the iron cage that bound him.
Not just in this Duel—but in his entire life. As if at some unknown point, his life had been sealed inside a tiny cage, unable to go anywhere.
And outside that cage, just opposite him, seemingly only an arm's length away—he saw that child again.
The boy stood there in confusion, slowly turning around. The look in his eyes, as he gazed at Viper, was like that of someone examining a stranger.
Viper's emotions shattered. He screamed with all his might. His left hand clutched the bars of the cage so hard that the red-hot metal seared his palm open, while his right hand stretched forward frantically. He drove his whole body against the blistering gaps as if trying to force himself through.
But it was useless. He couldn't do anything.
Right there before him, at what seemed like just an arm's length away, the lava erupted. The blazing flames swallowed the boy's features, twisting them into the shape of a fiery demon. Within the burning blaze an abstract, monstrous face emerged—huge eyes, a gaping, grinning mouth—then swelled into a colossal giant of living flame.
Lava Golem.
The very embodiment of the demonic Duelist in front of him, as if this terrifying fiend were a projection of his opponent's soul.
Viper crumpled to his knees in defeat. This broad-shouldered, hulking dark-skinned man was trembling uncontrollably now, tears rolling down his face.
"I'm not begging you… just… don't… don't take him away…"
Once more, he recalled the despair and helplessness he'd felt when he first heard the tragic news.
In an instant, the person most important to him had left his world. And there was nothing he could do.
Just like in this Duel. He couldn't win. All his attacks were pointless. Even just to summon his own ace monster had taken everything he had.
And even when he'd staked it all to summon that invincible god that carried all his hopes—it still didn't matter.
His strongest monster, his so-called guaranteed-victory god, turned out to be nothing more than a slightly larger portion of fodder.
In the end, he was still trapped in this cage, forced to stare straight at his most painful memories, utterly powerless.
"…During your Standby Phase, Lava Golem's effect activates: its controller takes 1000 damage."
Kira's calm voice sounded.
Viper knelt there, head hanging. He made no sound.
[Viper, LP 800 → LP 0]
"The child you want to save has long since died," Kira said coolly. "The dead cannot return to life. The deceased should be allowed to rest. You should have accepted that long ago. No matter if you choose to fall into demonhood, no matter how many innocents you sacrifice, it won't change a thing.
Well, it's not entirely your fault. Someone exploited the darkness in your heart and amplified it many times over… I'm right, aren't I?"
Silence for a moment.
Then, from Viper's kneeling body, a surge of evil energy suddenly welled up.
That energy concentrated, almost taking on physical form.
It was a gigantic eye, staring at Kira with a mix of curiosity and irritation, sizing him up from top to bottom.
"You. What are you?"
The voice sounded somewhat female, yet also a bit like a young boy.
That voice questioned him.
"Why did you take away my toy?"