Chapter 263: Dark Magician vs. Dark Magician, and a Card of Inexplicable Purpose
The Supreme King's Castle.
"You said Blue-Eyes White Dragon?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Reports from the front lines indicate a resistance fighter in the northern region using what appears to be Blue-Eyes White Dragon has defeated three of our commanders."
"!!!"
"Your Majesty, you are..."
The Supreme King's army commander, kneeling in report, had never once seen it before: a violent flicker of emotion crossing the golden eyes beneath the Supreme King's dark helm, eyes that had until now been perfectly still.
"A Duelist using Blue-Eyes White Dragon... could it be..."
"Additionally, that same resistance Duelist appears to use HERO monsters."
"What did you say!"
If it were Blue-Eyes White Dragon alone, it could be Kaiba Seto. But a Duelist using both HEROs and Blue-Eyes White Dragon could only be...
"Why does he disappear without a word, then reappear without a word? Just to disturb my resolve? Rei!"
"Return from the gap between moments! Special Summon! Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord!"
[Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord] [Level 10 / DARK]
[Spellcaster / Special Summon / Effect]
[ATK: ? / DEF: 0]
Exodia, known as the Dark Magician, was called the strongest monster beyond even the divine cards. In the game, it possessed the most iconic of all alternate win conditions: assemble all five pieces, and the duel was over.
Because assembling all five in a real duel was nearly impossible, very few duelists had ever actually witnessed an Exodia-based finish.
And now, a card of the same imposing scale and massive physical presence as Exodia itself, conjured from the sacrificed five Forbidden One pieces through the effect of Ritual of the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, stood on the field.
"Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord..." Finesse gave her assessment: "It's huge!"
It was. This monster, shaped after the Dark Magician's form, gave an impression of overwhelming size above all else. Because its original design was composed from five separate cards assembled into one, the presence it commanded on arrival exceeded even a divine card.
Amon declared: "The effect of Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord: for each 'Forbidden One' monster in my Graveyard, this card's ATK increases by 1000!"
The Ritual of the Ultimate Forbidden Lord had returned all Forbidden One pieces in the Graveyard to the Deck. But in exchange, the two Forbidden One cards that were in Amon's hand had been discarded as the activation cost.
"With Left Arm of the Forbidden One and Right Leg of the Forbidden One in my Graveyard, Exodius gains 2000 ATK!"
[Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord] [ATK: ? -> 2000]
"Last, I set three cards face-down. Turn end."
First turn and Amon had already summoned Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, a monster that surpassed the divine cards.
"You should be fine, Amano." Finesse was worried nonetheless. "Did Chiaki really lose to him? Though she apparently mentioned her deck had no Blue-Eyes White Dragon for some reason."
Even extended into the GX era, the parallel exclusion phenomenon reached her. Of course it did. Kaiba Seto in the GX era was still alive and active, so with no Blue-Eyes to use, what else was going to happen?
Chiaki was genuinely something, though: knowing her deck was missing its Blue-Eyes and therefore operating at considerably less than full power compared to even Finesse, she had gone out alone anyway. Could she not have just let the heiress protect her?
But thinking back: Amon Garam had come here specifically chasing the divine cards in Finesse's possession. If Chiaki had not crossed his path and bought some time, Finesse might have been caught by Amon before they could reunite.
"Chiaki, your sacrifice will not be in vain."
Facing Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, Amano pressed his finger to the Duel Disk and drew his opening card for the second turn.
"My turn. Draw!"
But when Amano saw the card he had drawn, he stopped.
He did not have this card in his deck.
Why was this card in his hand, as if fate had placed it there?
He ran through every possible explanation. He arrived at one person.
What the. A card of inexplicable purpose.
At a moment like this, facing Amon and Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, this was the card that had ended up in his hand.
Well. If fate was sending him a signal, who was he to argue?
Amano drove his first card into the Duel Disk's Monster Zone.
"I Normal Summon Left Leg of the Forbidden One in Defense Position!"
[Left Leg of the Forbidden One] [Level 1 / DARK]
[Spellcaster / Normal]
[ATK: 200 / DEF: 300]
A genuinely abstract summon. Under the projecting light of the Duel Disk, a single leg materialized on Amano's field and stood there.
That abstract leg was enough to dissolve the composure that had been on Amon's face until now.
"Left Leg of the Forbidden One? You have not only a divine card, you have the king's power as well? Who are you? Your name."
"Amano Rei."
"Amano Rei?" Amon paused. "Is it possible that you are the Amano Rei that Jaden Yuki mentioned so often? You are still alive! Not only that, but you possess the king's power. This is becoming interesting."
The "king's power" Amon was referring to was clearly the five Forbidden One pieces.
He had some, but not all of them.
"Amano." Finesse looked at the field with slight exasperation. "I know you have a thing for feet. But summoning only a foot is not going to beat that, is it?"
The small girl behind Finesse looked down at her own feet. "So that's boyfriend-kun's thing."
Please do not speculate publicly about anyone's preferences, heiress. Some awareness of what it means to be someone's "girlfriend" would be appreciated.
"That's not all that's here, though. This is what I was building toward!"
Having summoned Left Leg of the Forbidden One, Amano held up the card of inexplicable purpose.
"To oppose the ultimate Forbidden God with the power that surpasses gods!"
"I Tribute Left Leg of the Forbidden One on my field, and Special Summon from my hand: The Legendary Exodia Incarnate!"
In that instant, the floating leg on Amano's field was consumed in a towering pillar of blazing magical fire. Walking out of the flame, radiating gold, the Summoned God arrived.
[The Legendary Exodia Incarnate] [Level 10 / DARK]
[Spellcaster / Special Summon / Effect]
[ATK: ? / DEF: 0]
[Cannot be Normal Summoned. Can only be Special Summoned by Tributing 1 "Forbidden One" monster you control.]
Its appearance was almost indistinguishable from the real Dark Magician, its coloring even more orthodox than the black-tinged Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord on the other side.
Both sides at comparable scale. Both at ATK "?".
Two titanic magical gods faced each other down across the barren landscape of the spirit world's Fusion dimension.
Amano raised a hand to declare: "The effect of The Legendary Exodia Incarnate: this card gains 1000 ATK for each 'Forbidden One' monster in my Graveyard!"
The one piece currently in Amano's Graveyard was the Left Leg just used as the Tribute condition.
[The Legendary Exodia Incarnate] [ATK: ? -> 1000]
Amon: "A matching type of effect? But Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord's ATK is still higher!"
"Not after I add this card." Amano pushed another card into the Duel Disk. "I activate Painful Choice!"
Finesse looked up with delight: "Amano, you actually have Painful Choice now too!"
Painful Choice in Eden's economy was unquestionably one of the most powerful support Spell Cards in existence. Even the Wein family had difficulty obtaining a copy through legitimate channels.
"No," Amano said, showing the card. "I'm activating Double Spell."
"Knew it." Finesse shrugged with fond resignation.
Since the other side had played Painful Choice, there was no reason not to borrow it. Using Double Spell to copy the Painful Choice already in Amon's Graveyard, Amano selected five cards from his own Deck and spread them before Amon.
Right Leg of the Forbidden One.
Left Arm of the Forbidden One.
Right Arm of the Forbidden One.
Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous.
Fallen of Albaz.
Albaz, from inside the deck: "Why did you bring me and Ecclesia along for this?"
Ecclesia: "Are they making us fight each other?"
Amon raised one finger toward the cards to make his selection. "I choose Right Leg of the Forbidden One."
Kit: "Neither of you is making it out of this!"
Knowing the effect of The Legendary Exodia Incarnate, Amon naturally was not going to allow too many Forbidden One pieces to pile up in Amano's Graveyard to fuel the Summoned God's ATK.
But even with Right Leg going to Amon's hand, Painful Choice's notorious efficiency meant two more Forbidden One pieces had been sent to the Graveyard regardless.
[The Legendary Exodia Incarnate] [ATK: 1000 -> 3000]
Finesse: "It's already at Blue-Eyes White Dragon level!"
"Attack! The Legendary Exodia Incarnate! Target: Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord!"
The Summoned God's enormous golden fists closed together. Between the palms, a searing magical fireball gathered.
"Fire! 'Magical God Flame Cannon!'"
The blazing force that the colossal Summoned God hurled from one open palm crashed toward the equally colossal Exodius with enough force to swallow the sky.
"Face-down card, activate!" Amon swept up his set card. "Trap Card, Mirror Force!"
The classic defensive Trap. Mirror Force's transparent barrier materialized in front of Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, throwing itself in the path of the roaring magical flame.
But had it actually stopped it?
"It cannot." Amano said.
The next instant, the barrier holding back the torrent of flame shattered. The unstoppable surge of fire washed over and consumed the massive Exodius.
"Trap Cards cannot obstruct a god! That is the immunity of The Legendary Exodia Incarnate!"
[This face-up card is unaffected by the effects of other cards.]
Clean, absolute immunity. It surpassed ordinary divine cards and placed The Legendary Exodia Incarnate in a category above them.
The Summoned God's 3000 ATK drove into Exodius's 2000. The flame spread through and behind it, consuming 1000 of Amon's Life Points.
Amon LP: 4000 -> 3000
But when the flames cleared, Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord was still standing.
Amon's cold smile. "Similar immunity, I see. But Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord's indestructibility is a step above."
[This card cannot be destroyed by battle. This card is unaffected by your opponent's Spells, Traps, and monster effects.]
On top of full immunity, Exodius could not be destroyed by battle. In the GX era of the game, that combination of resistances amounted to near-invincibility.
After the Battle Phase, Amano pushed two more cards into the back row.
"I set two cards. End Phase, and The Legendary Exodia Incarnate's mandatory effect activates."
[During your End Phase: Add 1 "Forbidden One" monster from your GY to your hand.]
"I add Left Leg of the Forbidden One from my GY to hand."
On paper, this effect existed to recover Forbidden One pieces. In Amano's practical situation, it actually worked as a limitation: since he lacked the head piece, he could never assemble all five Exodia pieces no matter what he did.
And with the Forbidden One piece leaving the Graveyard, The Legendary Exodia Incarnate's ATK decreased accordingly.
[The Legendary Exodia Incarnate] [ATK: 3000 -> 2000]
"My turn to strike back. My turn. Draw!"
Amon drew and immediately threw a card to the opponent's field.
"Grinder Golem's effect: this card can be Special Summoned to your field!"
[Grinder Golem] [Level 8 / DARK]
[Fiend / Special Summon / Effect]
[ATK: 3000 / DEF: 300]
[Cannot be Normal Summoned. Special Summon this card to your opponent's field by Special Summoning 2 "Grinder Tokens" (Fiend/DARK/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) to your own field in Attack Position. The turn this card is Special Summoned, you cannot Normal Summon.]
A mechanical giant with rotating steel saw-blades at its core, forcibly Special Summoned to Amano's field.
At least Grinder Golem did not function like the Kaiju monsters Kuroshio Nagi had used, which Tributed the opponent's monsters before landing. Even fully immune, The Legendary Exodia Incarnate would be consumed by a Kaiju.
Instead, the counterpart: Amon's side of the field now had 2 "Grinder Tokens" at 0 ATK.
The small village girl watched with a puzzled tilt of her head. "He sent a monster as strong as Blue-Eyes White Dragon to boyfriend-kun's field, and only summoned two zero-attack monsters himself. He seems really nice."
No one was that nice. Children were genuinely too trusting.
Amon flipped both of his remaining set cards at once, both the same Trap.
"Dark Spirit Art - Greed activates: Tribute 1 DARK monster on my field, draw 2 cards! You can negate this effect by revealing 1 Spell Card from your hand."
Amano had no Spell Cards. The two cards currently in his hand were the completely obvious Left Leg and Right Leg of the Forbidden One.
Eve: "Keeping that many feet in hand. Finesse had it exactly right."
Amon Tributed his two Grinder Tokens through both copies of the same Trap, drawing four cards. For someone running the Dark Magician-adjacent system, draw power was not going to be a bottleneck.
But because Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord was already on the field, Amon's victory path differed from the traditional method of assembling all five pieces in hand.
Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord's win condition: five differently named Forbidden One monsters in the Graveyard, while this card is on the field.
Amon threw the next card to Amano's field. "I Special Summon the second Grinder Golem to your field!"
Amano's Monster Zone had just gone from one monster to three.
"I then activate Diffusion Wave-Motion!"
[Diffusion Wave-Motion]
[Spell Card: Pay 1000 LP. Target 1 Level 7 or higher Spellcaster monster you control; this turn, no other monsters can attack, and the targeted monster can attack all monsters your opponent controls once each. Monsters destroyed by those attacks cannot activate their effects.]
Amon LP: 3000 -> 2000
"I grant Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord the ability to attack all monsters!"
Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord was a Level 10 Spellcaster. Its immunity applied to effects from the opponent's cards only; Amon's own Diffusion Wave-Motion applied to it without any issue.
"Battle! Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, attack The Legendary Exodia Incarnate!"
The magical war resumed across the barren landscape, this time with Amon pressing the attack.
The fire that gathered at Exodius's palm launched outward: a spiral of red and black flame hurling toward the Summoned God.
Both cards were at 2000 ATK. In the same instant the attack was declared, Amon activated the monster's effect.
"When Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord attacks, its effect activates!"
[When this card attacks: Send 1 "Forbidden One" monster from your hand or Deck to the GY.]
"I send Exodia the Forbidden One from my Deck to the GY! By the effect, Exodius gains 1000 ATK!"
Sending the first Forbidden One piece with the first attack: with each monster it hit, the GY count climbed, and Exodius climbed with it.
[Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord] [ATK: 2000 -> 3000]
[The Legendary Exodia Incarnate: Destroyed]
"Face-down Trap, activate!" Amano flipped his set card.
"Useless! Traps cannot affect a god!" Amon pressed.
"This Trap isn't aimed at the god." Classic standoff, god vs. Trap: Amano showed the card face.
"Trap Card, Rainbow Life. I discard 1 card from my hand, and any damage I take this turn is negated and becomes Life Point recovery instead!"
(Anime version of Rainbow Life)
In the fire of the magical god's assault, The Legendary Exodia Incarnate, lacking the battle-destruction immunity of Exodius, fell. On top of that, Diffusion Wave-Motion's effect sealed the Summoned God's on-destruction trigger.
Amano LP: 4000 -> 3000 -> 5000
After all, a card of inexplicable purpose could only do so much. That much was the limit.
But Amon's tone sharpened. "My battle is not finished. Diffusion Wave-Motion allows Exodius to attack every monster on your field this turn. And every attack can send another Forbidden One piece from the Deck to the Graveyard!"
The Forbidden One piece count in Amon's GY was now 3. Amano's field still had the two Grinder Golems that had been forcibly summoned.
With Rainbow Life still active, every hit Amon landed this turn would keep pushing Amano's Life Points higher rather than lower.
But Amon was not interested in Life Points.
"When all five Forbidden One pieces are assembled in the GY, Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord's win condition activates and I claim victory from the rules of the game itself!"
However many Life Points Amano had left was irrelevant. Five pieces in the Graveyard while Exodius was on the field, and Amon won.
"Second attack! Take this, Amano Rei!"
"'Ultimate Magical God Flame Cannon!'"
"And when Exodius attacks, I send Right Arm of the Forbidden One to the GY!"
[Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord] [ATK: 3000 -> 4000]
With four pieces now assembled in Amon's GY, the magical flame that roared from Exodius's hands, matching the output of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, incinerated the 3000-ATK Grinder Golem in an instant.
[Grinder Golem: Destroyed]
Amano LP: 5000 -> 6000
"This is the final strike! When the attack lands, I send Left Leg of the Forbidden One to the GY as the fifth piece, and your defeat will follow!"
"Come forward and take victory for me, Exodios!"
Amon moved to declare Exodius's last attack.
"Now!" Amano seized the precise moment he had been waiting for, and flipped his last set card.
"Hero squad, move out! Trap Card, Necro Fusion!"
"Necro Fusion?" Amon had not expected this. Facing the final strike of an Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord with full immunity and indestructibility, Amano was launching a Fusion counterattack.
Amon had only been at Duel Academy as a temporary transfer student this term, a very short stay. But in that time he had heard Jaden Yuki speak more than once about how outstanding the Fusion ability of a Duelist named Amano Rei was.
At the time, Amon had assumed it was simply Jaden missing a close friend he believed was gone, talking about him to anyone who would listen.
But looking at this now, perhaps Jaden had not been exaggerating.
A Fusion that could oppose Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord. And what were the Fusion Materials?
"Using the effect of Necro Fusion, I banish Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous and Fallen of Albaz from my GY as Fusion Materials!"
The two who had just been sent to the Graveyard by Painful Choice.
"It's your turn, Albaz! Ecclesia!"
Both from inside the deck: "GOT IT!"
The hero squad assembled from the Graveyard, igniting the reversal Fusion at the critical moment.
Amano raised his hand toward the brilliant Fusion spiral blazing overhead.
"Pure white flame, tear open the opening for a reversal against the ultimate magical god's fire!"
"Rewrite causality with the sanctified flame!"
"Fusion Summon! Albion the Sanctifire Dragon!"
If you're enjoying the story, toss a Power Stone or drop a review — it helps more than you'd think.
Advance chapters → patreon.com/Eatinpieces