Chapter 295: Final Battle! The Strongest Pharaoh of Light and Darkness
[The "Passionate Duelist" theme kicked in!]
At the end of the Dark Side of Dimensions movie, the Pharaoh's return hadn't come with a single word of dialogue. He'd casually slapped down a Mahad and promptly finished off Aigami, the movie's final boss.
Now Amano was standing right where Aigami had stood.
Amano's hunch going into this Chronicle really had been right. In Dark Side of Dimensions, the character who'd faced off against Kaiba, Yugi, and the Pharaoh in turn had been exactly one person: Aigami.
On the bright side, Atem had at least said one line to him instead of one-shotting him in total silence.
Honestly, the duel having gotten this far, Amano figured he'd already earned himself a pretty solid Chronicle reward.
"Trap Card, activate!" Even so, Amano flipped up his set card just before Mahad's attack could land.
Not for any other reason: they'd fought through this three-way free-for-all for this long for exactly one purpose, to wake the Pharaoh who'd already crossed into the afterlife.
If he got one-shot the instant the Pharaoh returned, that would be a slap in the face to everyone's effort up to this point.
Pharaoh or not, I'm not backing down a single step!
"Trap Card: Burning Fighting Spirit, activate!"
[Burning Fighting Spirit] [Trap Card: After activation, this card becomes an Equip Card and equips to 1 face-up monster you control. If your opponent controls a monster with ATK higher than the equipped monster's original ATK, the equipped monster's ATK becomes double its original ATK during the Damage Step.]
As long as the opponent's monster's ATK was higher than the equipped monster's own original ATK, Amano's monster's ATK would double.
The burning panther's claws collided against the layered golden magic circles filling the sky.
[Palladium Oracle Mahad] [ATK: 2500 to 5000]
[Neo-Spacian Dark Panther] [ATK: 1000 to 2000]
Unfortunately Dark Panther's own ATK was only 1000, so doubled it came out to a mere 2000. Still, even a 1000-point boost was enough to keep Amano alive.
[Neo-Spacian Dark Panther, destroyed]
Amano Rei LP: 3750 to 750
Until my Life Points hit zero, I'm fighting with everything I've got, even against the Pharaoh.
"What a spectacular effect!"
"The new Duel Disk's projection tech feels even more real now, somehow!"
"Is this whole scene around us another new trick from the Duel Disk too?"
The crowd's tolerance for all this was remarkably high. Even with their surroundings transformed into an ancient Egyptian city three thousand years in the past, even with real windblown sand hitting their faces, as long as the duel hadn't stopped, everyone was content to chalk it up as another KaibaCorp stunt.
Once Mahad's radiant attack effect faded, Atem's face broke into a smile. "Amano. Just as I'd expect, you're not someone who goes down that easily."
Yeah. Aigami would already be dead by now.
"But this is the first time in far too long that my partner's heart and mine are one again. I have absolutely no intention of losing this duel!"
Atem slapped his last card down into his back row and lowered the Duel Disk on his arm.
"I set one card. Turn end."
"That set card. It's Thousand Knives, isn't it." Amano saw straight through Atem's bluff at a glance.
It was the card Yugi had searched off Eternal Soul right before it was destroyed the turn before, and it was also the only card left in Atem's hand.
This far into the three-way duel, with Kaiba Seto already eliminated, the two remaining players had entered a genuine endgame. Yugi, locked at 200 Life Points, had no spare hand resources left to work with at all.
Amano, sitting at 750 Life Points now, wasn't much better off either.
Going by the board state alone, the one Dark Magician left on Amano's field still couldn't beat Atem's Mahad.
Even though the two shared the same origin, when the DARK-Attribute Dark Magician battled Mahad, Mahad's ATK doubled to 5000.
"My turn, draw!" Amano drew his card for the turn.
This turn's draw wasn't going to save him either. It didn't change the fact that he had no way to deal with Palladium Oracle Mahad in this endgame.
So it would have to be that card, then. Amano's gaze settled on the Spell Card in his hand that hadn't originally been his.
When Yugi had activated Magical Contract Door to search Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition, he'd handed a Spell Card over to Amano.
Had Yugi actually anticipated this exact situation that far back?
All so that he could fight the Pharaoh to the fullest, right to the end.
"First, I set one card!"
And now, at last, it was Amano's turn to say that classic line.
"I think the cards the two of us have left in hand aren't quite enough to carry this duel any further, are they."
After setting his one remaining card, Amano swept the Spell Card Yugi had handed him forward.
"Spell Card: Card of Sanctity, activate!"
Coming from Yugi, it could only be the legendary anime-effect version of Card of Sanctity.
[Card of Sanctity] [Spell Card: All players draw until they each have 6 cards in their hand.]
Amano and Atem exchanged a wordless glance, both resting their fingertips on their Decks at the same instant.
Amano & Atem: "Draw!"
Both of their hands filled to six cards in an instant.
They'd both drawn up to six at the same time, but since Card of Sanctity had been activated on Amano's own turn, he could put all six of those cards to use immediately, which naturally gave him a much bigger advantage than Atem.
The best-case outcome was for Amano to finish off Atem's 200 Life Points on this very turn, before Atem ever got the chance to use those six cards at all.
"I Normal Summon the Level 1 Tuner, Cosmic Compelled Rabbit!"
[Cosmic Compelled Rabbit] [Level 1 / LIGHT]
[Spellcaster / Tuner / Normal]
[ATK: 0] [DEF: 1500]
The single most representative Normal Tuner monster in Amano's Deck materialized in projection beside Dark Magician.
The Pharaoh only had 200 Life Points left. Let his old friend carry him into one more charge.
With the very first Synchro of kings!
"I tune the Level 1 Tuner, Cosmic Compelled Rabbit, with the Level 7 Dark Magician!"
Level 1 + Level 7 = Level 8!
"The roar of a king shall now shake heaven and earth! Carve this singular, sovereign power into your very being!"
"Synchro Summon! Soul of fury! Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend!"
[Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend] [Level 8 / DARK]
[Dragon / Synchro / Effect]
[ATK: 3000] [DEF: 2500]
A burning demon dragon tore free of the Synchro flames, wings spread, soaring beneath the sand-choked sky of ancient Egypt.
Rin Seiya clutched the television in front of her, thrilled. "It's Scarlight! If it's Scarlight, my underclassman might actually win this!"
Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend was also a DARK-Attribute monster, so if it battled Palladium Oracle Mahad, Mahad's ATK would double to 5000 as well.
But if it was Scarlight, there was no need to battle at all.
[Once per turn, during your Main Phase: You can destroy all Special Summoned monsters, other than this card, with ATK less than or equal to this card's. Then inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each monster destroyed by this effect.]
If Amano activated Scarlight's board-wipe effect, it would destroy Mahad outright and deal 500 damage to the Pharaoh, more than enough to cut down his remaining 200 Life Points.
Even if Atem managed to pull out some strange Kuriboh to block it, Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend's own direct attack would still be waiting after that.
No matter how blatantly the deck seemed to print exactly the right cards, Amano refused to believe Atem could pull two Kuribohs perfectly tailored to counter this back to back.
Atem swept a hand forward, the cloak that had once been his school uniform billowing behind him in the Egyptian wind.
"The instant Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend is Synchro Summoned, I activate the effect of Kuriboh Guardna in my hand!"
[Kuriboh Guardna: During your turn or your opponent's turn, you can discard this card from your hand, then apply 1 of these effects: The next instance of battle or effect damage you would take this turn becomes 0. Or, set 1 Quick-Play Spell or Trap that mentions "Ritual of Light and Darkness" from your Deck; it can be activated the turn it is set.]
Amano hadn't expected Atem to actually be holding a hand-trap Kuriboh that could cancel out battle or effect damage.
But this card's effect could only cancel one instance of damage. It couldn't block both Scarlight's board-wipe damage and a follow-up direct attack in a row.
"I choose the second effect. I set the Continuous Trap, Mind Shuffle, from my Deck in my back row, and activate it immediately!"
On the face of the Continuous Trap, the two monsters representing the Pharaoh's Ritual line, Chaos Soldier and the Chaos Sorcerer, stood one behind the other, alternating positions.
Rather than using the Kuriboh to cancel damage, Atem had chosen to use it to set and activate a Trap Card instead.
Amano thrust an arm toward the roaring dragon in the sky. "Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend's effect, activate! Destroy every monster with ATK equal to or less than Scarlight's, and deal 500 damage to you for each one destroyed!"
Scarlight dove down out of the ancient Egyptian sky, its claws wreathed in tyrannical flame, hurling its destructive force down at the 2500-ATK Mahad.
"Mind Shuffle's effect!"
[Mind Shuffle: When your opponent activates a card's effect, you can return 1 Level 7 or higher monster you control to the hand to activate this effect. Special Summon 1 monster that mentions "Ritual of Light and Darkness" from your hand, with a different name from the returned monster, ignoring its Summoning conditions.]
"Come back, Mahad."
Facing the demon dragon's fire crashing down from the sky, Palladium Oracle Mahad dissolved into light and vanished from Atem's field.
Standing in Mahad's place to weather the dragon's fire head-on was another monster from Atem's hand.
"The powers of light and darkness intertwine, and the gate of chaos opens here!"
"Two hearts converging shall awaken a new miracle!"
"Descend! Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Light and Darkness!"
One of the two Ritual Monsters representing the Pharaoh, Black Luster Soldier arrived the instant it swapped places with Mahad, sword raised, splitting the demon dragon's furious fire clean in two.
[Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Light and Darkness] [Level 8 / EARTH]
[Warrior / Ritual / Effect]
[ATK: 3000] [DEF: 2500]
A tic of exasperation twitched at the corner of Amano's eye. Truly worthy of the fully awakened Pharaoh: he was Summoning Ritual Monsters without even needing a Ritual Spell anymore.
"That's not right!" Rin Seiya, still clutching her television, objected. "It's 3000 ATK too, exactly the same as Scarlight's. Shouldn't it get destroyed too?"
Scarlight's effect destroyed every Special Summoned monster with ATK equal to or less than its own. And "equal to or less than 3000" in card-game language meant 3000 was included too.
Kaiba Chiha, who'd had three of her own Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragons blown away by that exact wording during the entrance exam, had every right to speak on this point.
Atem raised the card for his newly Summoned Chaos Soldier high overhead. "As long as Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Light and Darkness remains in the Monster Zone, it cannot be destroyed by battle, and is unaffected by my opponents' activated effects unless they target this card!"
In other words, affecting Chaos Soldier through a card effect required a targeting effect specifically.
And a non-targeting, board-wide AOE effect like Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend's had no way to touch Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Light and Darkness at all.
Atem, his cloak still billowing, pointed at Chaos Soldier standing amid the field with the dragon's fire cut clean in two, and added one more effect. "When Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Light and Darkness is Special Summoned, I can banish 1 card my opponent controls!"
Cutting through Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend's flame alone wasn't enough. Chaos Soldier swung a second radiant blow, this time straight at the dragon itself, still soaring through the ancient Egyptian sky.
Whose turn is this supposed to be? Ritual Summoning a monster on my turn and then slicing up my own monster too?!
"Set Trap Card, activate!"
Fortunately, one of Amano's set cards from the turn before was still unused.
"Synchro Call, activate!"
[Synchro Call] [Trap Card: Perform a Synchro Summon using 1 monster you control and 1 monster in your GY.]
"I Synchro the Cosmic Compelled Rabbit in my Graveyard with Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend on my field!"
A second Synchro, timed precisely to dodge Chaos Soldier's banish effect.
A ring of Synchro starlight burst from the Graveyard zone of Amano's new Duel Disk, passing straight through the demon dragon's body and spreading its flames even further.
Level 1 + Level 8 = Level 9!
"Demon king unleashed from the darkness of the abyss! Let your burning fury erupt without restraint!"
"Synchro Summon! Level 9!"
"Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss!!"
[Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss] [Level 9 / DARK]
[Dragon / Synchro / Effect]
[ATK: 3200] [DEF: 2500]
[1 Tuner + 1 non-Tuner DARK Dragon-Type Synchro Monster]
Amid roaring flame, the Level 8 Synchro Scarlight evolved into the Level 9 Synchro Abyss, steel blades extending from its arms and slamming down furiously into the sands of ancient Egypt.
Having Synchro'd again, Amano's Abyss now sat at 3200 ATK, exactly 200 higher than Chaos Soldier's. But Atem had been unusually cautious, Special Summoning Chaos Soldier in Defense Position, so it wouldn't take any battle damage regardless.
And Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Light and Darkness itself was already immune to being destroyed by battle in the first place.
Amano wasn't about to back down either, sweeping a hand toward the dragon on his own field. "Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss's effect, activate!"
[You can target 1 face-up card your opponent controls: negate its effects until the end of this turn. This effect can also be activated during your opponent's turn.]
Chaos Soldier was only vulnerable to targeting effects, and Abyss's effect happened to be exactly that, letting it negate Chaos Soldier's destruction immunity.
"The instant your monster's effect activates, I Special Summon Multiplying Kuriboh! from my hand!"
[Multiplying Kuriboh!] [Level 1 / DARK]
[Fiend / Effect]
[ATK: 300] [DEF: 200]
[When an opponent activates a monster's effect, or when an opponent's monster declares an attack: You can Special Summon this card from your hand.]
Amano hadn't expected Atem to actually have two Kuribohs in hand, and both of them were beyond anything he'd known about.
This particular Multiplying Kuriboh! had multiplied to the point of spilling right off the edges of its own card, an oversized card in its own right.
Kaiba Seto, who'd been watching the duel with a serious expression, visibly winced.
Kuriboh multiplying without limit counted among the painful Duelist Kingdom-era memories he'd rather not dwell on.
"Atem's actually gotten even stronger than before."
Kaiba Seto had assumed that only he, living in the present, would keep evolving as a duelist over time. He hadn't expected the Pharaoh, off in the afterlife, to keep growing stronger too.
By now, Atem's field was buried under a sea of countless Kuribohs, so many that even Chaos Soldier was half-submerged in them.
"Amano, fair warning: you'd better not try attacking Chaos Soldier this turn, or this duel ends right here. This is Multiplying Kuriboh!'s effect."
[Once per turn: You can activate this when an opponent's monster on the field has its effect activated, or during damage calculation for an opponent's monster's attack. Add 1 "Dark Magician" or 1 monster with 300 ATK/200 DEF from your Deck or GY to your hand, or Special Summon it. After that, you can make that opponent's monster's ATK become 0.]
If Amano declared an attack, Atem wouldn't just get to revive Dark Magician, he'd also be able to drop Amano's Abyss straight down to 0 ATK.
An attack at 0 ATK crashing into Chaos Soldier would be nothing short of Amano committing suicide.
"I set three cards. Turn end."
Having negated Chaos Soldier's protection and still not being able to attack through it, Amano looked over what was left in his hand and had no choice but to set his cards and end the turn.
He'd have to hope that Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss's own built-in Quick Effect negation, together with his set Traps, could survive the Pharaoh's offense next turn.
"The instant the turn ends, I activate the other effect of my Continuous Trap, Mind Shuffle."
[You can activate this during your turn or your opponent's turn. Add 1 monster that mentions "Ritual of Light and Darkness" from your Deck to your hand. After that, discard 1 card from your hand.]
"I add Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos from my Deck to my hand, and discard Palladium Oracle Mahad from my hand to the Graveyard."
The turn passed. It was Atem's turn to begin.
"My turn, draw! I activate the Spell Card Graceful Charity. I draw 3 cards, then discard Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos and the Ritual Spell Chaos Form from my hand to the Graveyard."
Having filtered his draw, the Pharaoh swept the monster card from his hand straight out onto the Monster Zone in front of him.
"I shuffle the Ritual Monster Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos from my Graveyard back into my Deck, and Special Summon this card from my hand!"
"With light and darkness as the offering, the edge of a magic blade and the flood of chaos converge here into a wholly new power!"
"Descend, chaos swordsman who tears through light and dark!"
"Black Chaos the Ultimate Magical Swordsman!"
[Black Chaos the Ultimate Magical Swordsman] [Level 8 / DARK]
[Spellcaster / Special Summon / Effect]
[ATK: 3000] [DEF: 2500]
[This card cannot be Normal Summoned. "Black Chaos the Ultimate Magical Swordsman" can be Special Summoned once per turn, only by shuffling 1 Spellcaster or Warrior-Type Ritual Monster from your hand or GY into the Deck.]
The ultimate swordsman, gripping a massive dragon-slaying blade, cut open a fresh gate of chaos and descended onto Atem's field with a flourish.
Back at the villa in Eden, Amano Shio was about ready to hug the living room TV the same way Rin Seiya was.
"Why can he Summon a Blue-Eyes White Dragon-tier monster this easily?! 3000 ATK is basically as common as stray dogs on the street at this point!"
"Shio-nee, you're blocking the whole screen. We can barely see anything," Saotome Rei pointed out.
"Amano's opponents are actually this strong?" Finesse chewed nervously on the nail of her left thumb. "Compared to them, the pros in the upper districts might as well be nobodies off the street."
Black Chaos the Ultimate Magical Swordsman's ATK had also reached 3000, but Amano's Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss, at 3200, still came out ahead.
"Black Chaos the Ultimate Magical Swordsman's effect, activate!"
[Once per turn, during your Main Phase: You can banish 2 cards your opponent controls.]
No cost whatsoever, just a blunt, simple banish of two of the opponent's cards, once per turn.
"I chain Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss's effect, negating 1 card on the field!"
"It won't work, Amano. Your effect can't stop Black Chaos the Ultimate Magical Swordsman!"
[As long as you have a Ritual Spell Card in your GY, this card is unaffected by your opponent's activated effects.]
Among the cards Atem had just discarded with Graceful Charity, one had clearly been a Ritual Spell.
Chaos Soldier could at least be affected by a targeting effect. The ultimate swordsman was flat-out unaffected, full stop.
"No. The card I'm negating is your Continuous Trap, Mind Shuffle!"
"Then I chain Multiplying Kuriboh! too. When my opponent's monster activates an effect, I Special Summon Dark Magician from my Graveyard again, then make that monster's ATK become 0!"
[Dark Magician] [ATK: 2500]
[Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss] [ATK: 3200 to 0]
With Abyss knocked down to 0 ATK, the ultimate swordsman's banish-2-cards effect simply ignored the dragon entirely and went straight for two of Amano's back-row cards.
[Mark of the Hero, banished]
[Nioh Stance, banished]
Fortunately, Amano had set his spare hand cards before activating Card of Sanctity to squeeze out the maximum benefit, so his back row still had two more set cards in reserve.
"I switch Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Light and Darkness to Attack Position, and enter the Battle Phase!"
Atem led what could only be called a terrifying lineup into the Battle Phase this turn, a radiant blade pointed straight at the 0-ATK Abyss.
"'Light and Dark Chaos Slash'!"
"I activate the Trap Card Scarlet Cocoon, equipping it to Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss!"
[Scarlet Cocoon: Target 1 Dragon-Type Synchro Monster you control: activate this card, then equip it to that target as an Equip Card. (2) When the equipped monster battles an opponent's monster: Until the end of that Damage Step, negate the effects of all face-up monsters your opponent controls.]
Scarlet Cocoon's effect didn't need to be manually activated. It could genuinely negate both of Atem's Chaos monsters during the battle.
But Chaos Soldier and the ultimate swordsman both sat at a raw 3000 ATK regardless. Even with their effects negated, that number alone was more than enough to force its way through Amano's field.
"I activate another Trap Card!" Amano flipped up both his remaining set cards at once, playing every trump card he had left. "Trap Card: Synchro Barrier!"
[Synchro Barrier] [Trap Card: Release 1 Synchro Monster you control to activate this card. Until the End Phase of your next turn, all damage you take becomes 0.]
"I release Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss, making all damage I take over the next two turns become 0!"
Immunity to all damage, lasting until the end of Amano's own next turn. A gentle wall of Synchro starlight wrapped around him tightly, holding against an all but hopeless board state.
But once the card had resolved, Amano didn't have a single card left on his field.
It looked like nothing more than the last stubborn thrashing of someone on their way out.
Nanami Misaki said, "If he was going to release his own Synchro monster anyway, why bother activating Scarlet Cocoon on top of it?"
Rin Seiya, gripping the screen without blinking, said seriously, "Because that card has another effect!"
With Amano immune to damage for two full turns, there was no point in Atem continuing to attack. He simply ended the Battle Phase for the turn.
"As resilient as ever, Amano."
The impression Amano had left on most people, back in the DM era, was of someone who simply refused to die.
Which, honestly, was more or less true in Eden too.
"You're the one who's as strong as ever, Atem."
If anything, wasn't he a little too strong at this point?
Amano was starting to genuinely doubt whether his DM-era self had actually managed to tie the Pharaoh at the KC Cup at all.
That version of him must have been something else.
Before ending his turn, Atem looked over his hand. He'd expected to close the game out in one shot this turn, but with Amano holding the line, he now had to think about defense for the turn to come.
Even with his field completely dominant and Multiplying Kuriboh!'s protection in play, 200 Life Points was still, in the end, a dangerous number to sit on.
If Amano managed to Summon two monsters with 3200 or more ATK in a single turn, Atem himself would be in real trouble.
"Then, Spell Card: Swords of Revealing Light, activate!"
Countless blades of shining light plunged down and filled Amano's completely empty field.
Swords of Revealing Light's effect sealed the attacks of any monster on Amano's field for three turns.
Giving such an elaborate response to an opponent with an entirely empty field was, in its own way, Atem's mark of respect for a duelist of the highest caliber.
"Finally, I set one card. Turn end!"
Between the two set cards now in Atem's back row, one was unknown, and the other was the Normal Spell Thousand Knives, ready to pair with the Dark Magician he'd just Special Summoned to destroy a monster.
Judging purely by the gap on the field, the next turn should have been Amano's last.
"I've got exactly one shot at this!"
After just one turn of this battle, Amano understood clearly: in a normal duel, there was no way he could beat this strongest version of Atem, freshly returned from the afterlife.
But this wasn't a normal duel. It was the endgame left behind by a three-way free-for-all. Which meant he still had a chance.
Call it an unfair three-on-one if you wanted, but Kaiba Seto's ferocious offense really had ground Yugi's Life Points down to a bare 200, and on top of that, Yugi himself had handed him a Card of Sanctity.
At the very end of this duel across a timeline thrown into chaos, he still had this one last sliver of hope to beat Atem.
Amano raised the new Duel Disk, gleaming beneath the ancient Egyptian sky, and declared an effect. "During your End Phase, I activate Scarlet Cocoon's effect from my Graveyard!"
[During the End Phase of the turn this card was sent to the GY: You can target 1 "Red Dragon Archfiend" monster in your GY; Special Summon it.]
"Rise again, burning through the last of a king's flame, and roar out your unbroken defiance! Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend!"
Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend's card name could be treated as "Red Dragon Archfiend."
[Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend] [ATK: 3000]
Rin Seiya: "It's the Red Dragon Archfiend line! Amano hasn't given up yet!"
Kaiba Chiha: "Going with Scarlight for the finish, huh, you menace!"
Sealed by Swords of Revealing Light, Amano no longer had any way to force a breakthrough by battle. His last hope had to rest entirely on Scarlight's effect damage.
He couldn't destroy the unaffected Chaos Soldier or the ultimate swordsman, but the Kuriboh and Dark Magician on Atem's field were still vulnerable to effect destruction.
And the anime-original version of Scarlight's effect could destroy a Normal Monster like Dark Magician just fine.
"That play won't work, Amano Rei." Kaiba Seto's brow furrowed hard.
The instant Scarlight had reappeared, everyone watching had understood exactly what Amano's last-ditch plan was.
But there was no way Atem hadn't seen it coming.
Multiplying Kuriboh!'s effect could chain to an opponent's monster effect and drop that monster's ATK straight to 0.
The instant Amano's Scarlight activated its effect, its own ATK would be reduced to 0.
[Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend: Once per turn, during your Main Phase: You can destroy all Special Summoned monsters, other than this card, with ATK less than or equal to this card's. Then inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each monster destroyed by this effect.]
If Scarlight's ATK got chained down to 0 the instant its effect activated, it wouldn't even be able to destroy the Kuriboh, let alone deal Atem a single point of damage.
"My turn, draw!" In what looked like a completely hopeless position, Amano drew his card for the turn and looked at its face.
"This card is!" Amano's eyes went wide with a jolt.
Of all the times to draw this exact card. He wasn't even sure he could actually Summon it.
But fate had already decided he was fighting with it regardless.
Atem said, "During your Standby Phase, I activate Mind Shuffle's effect, adding Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos from my Deck to my hand, then discarding 1 card from my hand."
Even holding an overwhelming advantage, Atem showed no sign of underestimating his opponent, still working to expand his own board.
Regardless, Amano's final strike would have to land this turn, one way or another.
"I activate the Equip Spell Card: Different Dimension Reincarnation!"
[Different Dimension Reincarnation] [Equip Spell Card: Discard 1 card, then target 1 of your banished monsters: activate this card. Special Summon that monster in Attack Position and equip it with this card. If this card leaves the field, destroy that monster.]
It could Special Summon a banished monster, and after Final Geas had resolved, every monster Amano had used in this three-way duel had ended up banished.
Pulling this card out at a moment like this carried real weight, whether or not it actually worked.
Atem continued, "The instant your card's effect activates, I chain Mind Shuffle's effect, returning the Level 7 Dark Magician on my field to my hand, and Special Summoning Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"
Just as Amano opened his own gate to a dimensional Summon, Atem opened one final gate of chaos.
"Descend onto the stage of the final battle, ultimate and supreme, black magic born of chaos!"
[Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos] [Level 8 / DARK]
[Spellcaster / Ritual / Effect]
[ATK: 2800] [DEF: 2600]
[As long as this card remains in the Monster Zone, Spell/Trap Cards you control cannot be destroyed by your opponent's effects, cannot be banished by your opponent's effects, and this card is unaffected by your opponent's activated effects unless they target this card.]
On top of the same special protection Chaos Soldier carried, the Black Chaos magician could also protect every card in the Pharaoh's back row from being destroyed or banished.
As long as the all-important Swords of Revealing Light stayed protected, Amano wouldn't be able to attack no matter what he Special Summoned from his banished zone.
It was clear the Pharaoh took Amano's last-ditch Special Summon from the banished zone seriously enough to guard against it.
"Quite the spectacular field, Atem."
"Facing you, I naturally have to give everything I have, Amano Rei."
"Though the monster I'm Special Summoning from my banished zone probably isn't worth this grand a welcome!"
The monster Amano brought back from his banished zone through Different Dimension Reincarnation's effect, its card data gathering back together at his fingertips.
"The monster I'm Special Summoning is: Priestess Who Receives the Star Chalice!"
"Huh?!"
Amano's final, desperate play left everyone watching the duel stunned.
There were still plenty of powerful, worthwhile monsters sitting in Amano's banished zone: Stardust Dragon, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, cards like that.
But Amano staked his final gambit in this desperate corner on Eve.
"Are you kidding me, Amano Rei?!" Kaiba Seto gritted his teeth in anger. "That small-fry monster?!"
"It's his ace." Of all people, at a moment like this, Kaiba Chiha, who'd once looked down on that exact small-fry monster more than anyone, was the one who saw through to the truth.
Leaving aside the spectators who had no idea what was really going on, Chiha was probably the one whose feelings right now were the most complicated of all.
Both Eve and Scarlight, sitting on Amano's field, were monsters that had once defeated her personally.
And she still remembered vividly, from the tag duel with Ivaliss back in District 32, Amano telling her that Eve was the ace of his entire Deck.
He'd said something else too. An ace card was one thing above all: it would never let you down.
Even here, at the absolute edge, facing down a Pharaoh who was crushing him on every front, Amano had still chosen to meet him with Eve.
"Carry us into one more charge, the very first Synchro of kings!"
Amano roared, pointing up at the burning, revived Scarlight in the sky, and declared its effect.
"Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend's effect, activate! Destroy every monster on the field with ATK equal to or less than this card's!"
"I chain Multiplying Kuriboh!'s effect. When a monster's effect activates, I make Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend's ATK become 0!"
Countless Kuribohs on the Pharaoh's field surged up into the sky over ancient Egypt, three thousand years in the past, trying to hold back the dragon's all-destroying flame.
[Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend] [ATK: 3000 to 0]
"You can't hold this back, Atem!"
Though most of the raging tide of flame was absorbed by the sheer bodies of the countless Kuribohs, one single stream of fire punched straight through that desperate wall and burned its way toward Amano's own field.
With Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend's ATK cut down to 0, any monster on the field with ATK of 0 or less would be destroyed.
[Priestess Who Receives the Star Chalice] [ATK: 0]
Eve, sitting at 0 ATK herself, was the only monster on the entire field that Scarlight, reduced to 0 ATK by Multiplying Kuriboh!, could still destroy.
"By Scarlight's effect, I destroy Eve, and deal you 500 points of effect damage!"
"Fire Eve off as the final, certain-kill shot! This is our combo, the one that gets our blood boiling!"
The demon dragon roared as it tore through the wall of countless Kuribohs, slamming its fire-wreathed claws down onto the sands of ancient Egypt, three thousand years in the past, kicking up a scorching wave of flame that seemed to cross time itself.
[Priestess Who Receives the Star Chalice, destroyed]
Eve, wrapped in searing flame, her slender frame wreathed in the final dragon's fire, launched herself like a projectile straight at Atem.
Eve: "This looks a lot like being sacrificed, but I'll let it slide, just this once, Amano! For the sake of winning this duel!"
"Yeah. For the sake of winning this duel!"
"Give the Pharaoh a flaming punch, Eve!"
[After that, inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each monster destroyed by this effect.]
"These 500 points of final damage are my decisive blow, everything I have riding on this one shot, Atem!"
It had nothing to do with Atem's extravagant board of monsters, and it ignored Swords of Revealing Light's three-turn attack lock entirely.
The effect damage from Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend destroying Eve was the single finishing blow Amano had been able to come up with.
Against a Pharaoh who'd arrived in this three-way endgame with only 200 Life Points to his name, this was the one and only opening Amano was ever going to get.
"Go! 'Absolute Authority Flame'!!"
Eve's fist, carrying the full heat of the dragon's wave, slammed hard into the Pharaoh, and finally took the king's last Life Points with it.
Atem LP: 200 to 0
"He, he won?" Kaiba Chiaki couldn't believe it.
This had been Amano's absolute everything. If it hadn't been enough, she genuinely had no idea what more he could have done.
Watching Atem's Life Points tick down to zero, Amano finally let out a breath.
But only a few seconds of relief later, a cold sweat had already soaked through the back of his shirt.
Atem LP: 0
Why, with Life Points sitting at exactly zero, had the duel still not ended?
As the demon dragon's flame died down, Atem, his cloak still stirring in the last of the heat wave, had already flipped up the final set card at his feet.
Trap Card: Soul Relay!
[Soul Relay] [Trap Card: Activate only when your Life Points hit 0. Special Summon 1 monster from your hand. Your condition for losing the duel becomes the monster Special Summoned by this effect leaving the field.]
Good news: the Pharaoh's Life Points had been wiped out.
Bad news: the Pharaoh had just locked himself in at 0 Life Points.
Thunder cracked violently across the Egyptian sky, three thousand years in the past, dark clouds churning overhead.
"You really are something, Amano Rei!"
"Then let me answer you with this card!"
The Pharaoh raised the special, fire-red card in his hand high overhead.
"When the sky thunders with chaos, gather the ancient grimoire bound in chains, and let its power reach the infinite!"
"When good and evil converge, begin the ritual to Summon the judge of hell!"
"Camino Summon!"
"Slifer the Sky Dragon!"
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