"But with only 4500 ATK, it definitely can't be a match for The Winged Dragon of Ra, right?"
"Yeah, exactly… The God's ATK is a full 7000 right now!"
Even though it was a top-level Magician, they still found it hard to believe a Monster with that much ATK could stand up to a God.
Off to the side, Muto Yugi couldn't help touching his chin curiously as he looked at this Magician Monster.
Even though it didn't have a "Spirit," the way this Monster existed felt very familiar to him.
"Effect of Quintet Magician—when this card is Fusion Summoned using 5 different Spellcaster-Type Monsters as Fusion Materials, activate its effect: destroy all cards your opponent controls!"
What?!
All of them!!!
Rishid was utterly shocked.
"Eh, eh, eh? A-another comeback!"
"Seriously—if that's the case, doesn't Tenjo just win by attacking?"
"Don't rush it, big bro Rishid still has 'The One Who Unites The Winged Dragon of Ra' on the field!"
Indeed—
Rishid looked at his Continuous Trap.
He still had "The One Who Unites The Winged Dragon of Ra" on his field; as long as he Tributed The Winged Dragon of Ra, he could gain 7000 Life Points.
But—
He glanced at his Set Book of Eclipse.
If he did that, Book of Eclipse would be wasted.
He did the math in an instant and reached a conclusion.
No matter what, Book of Eclipse had to be given up.
Even if he used Book of Eclipse here, all it would do is Set the opponent's two Monsters, and Set Monsters could still be used as Fusion Material. As long as Tenjo Hikari Fusion Summoned any Monster, he'd be finished.
Because he only had 100 Life Points.
But if he used the effect of The One Who Unites The Winged Dragon of Ra to gain 7000 Life Points, then unless Tenjo Hikari somehow hit exactly 2600 ATK, he wouldn't lose.
"I activate the effect of The One Who Unites The Winged Dragon of Ra, dispel the God's wrath, and increase my Life Points by 7000!"
He decisively activated the effect.
The next second—
A massive Magic Array appeared on his field, sweeping over every zone from top to bottom in a full baptism.
Rishid LP: 100 → 7100.
His Life Points… went up.
"A wise decision… however, Mr. Rishid, I think this might be the time for you to consider a bit of 'Temperance.'"
"What do you mean?"
Rishid asked curiously.
"Whether it's out of care for your juniors, respect for the Duel, or reverence for Gods, in any case, you've done very well." Tenjo Hikari spoke as he thought, "Since that's the case, why not consider taking that step forward and going out there with Mr. Yugi to have a look at the world?"
"After all, at this point you shouldn't really need to worry about responsibilities and such, right? You can already live as you wish."
Rishid actually agreed quite a bit with these words, but perhaps because he cared so much for his adopted younger siblings, they instead strictly followed the Gravekeeper Race's precepts, never even considering anything else.
"Those above set the example for those below… Mr. Rishid, is it really that they're too obedient—or… that you are?"
!!
Rishid jolted.
He was right—
That really did seem to be how it was!
"Battle!" At that moment, Tenjo Hikari commanded the Alchemist on his field and pointed at his opponent. "Quintet Magician, direct attack!"
"The Fifth Element – Sabatiel!"
Quintet Magician raised his right hand; five Magic Arrays shone together, earth, water, fire, and wind flickered among them, and on the fourth flash, at the instant of the fifth, a brand‑new, unknown Gemstone seemed to gather in his hand. The next moment, Rishid, upon seeing that Gemstone, felt a sharp sting.
Rishid, LP: 7100 → 2600.
W-what just happened?
He hadn't even had time to react.
Tenjo Hikari glanced at the card in his hand, helpless once more.
Because he knew his opponent was Rishid, a Duelist skilled at using Traps, his prior prep work was focused on cards like "Myutant," "Tyrant Dragon," and "Ancient Gear" Fusion Monsters that could counter Traps. He never expected Muto Yugi to suddenly add the Three Egyptian God to Rishid's Deck at the last minute.
That made his initial prep completely inadequate, and he hadn't properly balanced his "Spirit Power" beforehand either.
If he'd known, he would have put an Earthbound Immortal into his Deck…
No—
Rather, he should just be better prepared in the future. Otherwise, surprise Duels would be a nightmare… He'd try to squeeze in a Tierra in his Extra Deck next time, make room for at least one.
As a result, his Hand Cards were full of cards he couldn't use at the moment. That was also why he hadn't been Setting many cards—he really didn't have anything worth Setting.
Still—
Tenjo Hikari thought for a moment, then calmly ended his turn again.
"...My turn, Draw!"
All right—
"Spell Card, Monster Reincarnation. I discard the Sphere Mode in my hand to add The Winged Dragon of Ra from my Graveyard back to my hand."
"Then, I Normal Summon Gravekeeper's Curse."
Gravekeeper's Curse, LV 3, Dark Attribute, Spellcaster-Type, 800 ATK.
Tenjo Hikari folded his arms and roughly guessed what was coming.
"When Gravekeeper's Curse is Summoned·Flip Summoned·Special Summoned, it inflicts 500 damage to the opponent."
A strange Divination Instrument came slicing down from the sky, piercing straight through Tenjo Hikari's body.
Tenjo Hikari LP: 2600 → 2100.
"With this, it really will be over." Rishid narrowed his eyes slightly. "I activate the Spell Card, Magical Stone Excavation. I discard two cards from my hand, then target one Spell Card in my Graveyard and add it to my hand.
The one I choose… is of course 'Soul Crossing'!"
"Ah—" At this moment, among the Gravekeeper Race GX Contestants who actually understood Duels, someone let out an excited low cry. "Big bro's got this!"
"Really, really?! How's he gonna win, how's he gonna win?!" Several little kids asked him, thrilled.
"It's simple. Soul Crossing lets him Tribute the Monsters on Tenjo Hikari's field as well as his own as Sacrifices for the God. Big bro's Life Points are 2600, Tenjo Hikari's are 2100, which is 500 less. Big bro can pay 2500 Life Points to make the God's ATK 2500, then just attack directly and win!"
So that's it—
The kids all turned back to the Duel in excitement, some of them already starting to cheer.
Only a very small number of them were still hoping—hoping that Tenjo Hikari would pull off one more comeback!
"What, you think he's got a second copy of 'Temperance'?"
"If there's a second copy, can you even call it 'Temperance' anymore?"
"Eh? Ah, oh—um…" A few of the younger kids didn't quite get what he meant.
But in any case, what it meant was that Tenjo Hikari really had no way to block this time.
"Here we go, outstanding junior. Tenjo Hikari, this Duel is about to draw to a close. The power of the Gods cannot be defied—Quick-Play Spell Card, Soul Crossing! I Tribute the Monsters on your field and mine as Sacrifices to call forth…
!?"
It can't resolve?
He stared blankly at the Spell Card in his hand, unable to believe it.
"No way. Even Monsters with 'This card is unaffected by Spell Card effects' shouldn't be able to resist a Rule Summon Spell like this!"
"You're right, that is how it works in the Rules." Tenjo Hikari nodded lightly. "But at the same time… that's also how it works in terms of 'effects.'"
?!
Rishid looked over at Tenjo Hikari.
"Quintet Magician is… the pinnacle of Alchemy? The ultimate Alchemy?"
"Exactly!!" The corner of Tenjo Hikari's mouth curled up. "Quintet Magician is the ultimate Magician, the final result of Fusion, so…
As long as he's on the field, he cannot be destroyed by effects, cannot be used as Fusion Material, and cannot be… Tributed!"
Damn—
Rishid looked at the two cards he'd just discarded to the Graveyard.
If he'd kept those two cards, he could have dealt with this situation and made preparations for what came next!
Temperance…
He took a deep breath and looked at the God's Card in his hand.
It really did seem that way. Because he was struck down by the God and fell unconscious, he never made it in time for Marik's Duel against Yugi. That had always been his regret.
Because he hadn't been able to finish his Duel with Jonouchi either, he'd always regretted that too.
Because of one regret after another, he had continued to cling to the Gravekeeper Race's traditions, hoping that by doing so, he could prove his repentance to the Gods…
But in the end, he'd just been caring too much… is that it?
"You don't have any way to continue your turn, do you?"
Rishid nodded and motioned for Tenjo Hikari to proceed with his own turn. Tenjo Hikari didn't waste words; after drawing, he once again commanded his Monster: "Then, Quintet Magician, launch your second attack!"
"The Fifth Element – Sabatiel!"
Rishid, LP: 2600 → 0.