Yugioh [888-890] (Patreon)

Chapter 888– Sacred Defense Barrier

"Shield & Sword—swap the ATK of all monsters on the field!"

["Labyrinth Wall" ATK 0 → ATK 3000]

["Zaborg the Thunder Monarch" ATK 2400 → ATK 1000]

As everyone knows, the Monarch family bucket all share the same weakness: low DEF.

Every Monarch is 2400 ATK and 1000 DEF across the board. Once you swap their ATK/DEF, they instantly drop in tier from Red-Eyes Black Dragon-class beaters to Avian-class small fry.

But Jim's "Labyrinth Wall" is the exact opposite. After the swap it shoots straight up to Blue-Eyes White Dragon-class big boss.

Right now Kira's Life Points are at 1800. This battle will directly decide Jim's victory!

"'Labyrinth Wall', attack 'Zaborg the Thunder Monarch'!"

Jim shouted the order, holding his breath.

On the surface, it looked like an absolutely perfect chance—a potential one-hit kill.

But would a chance like that really be taken down so easily?

Of course Jim himself had more or less guessed the answer: obviously not.

BOOM!

The moving labyrinth roared as it pulverized the white Monarch on Kira's field. The Monarch exploded, its body bursting into crackling lightning that continued rushing toward Kira—but all of it slammed into a transparent barrier that completely blocked the blast.

Jim sighed helplessly. "Knew it… wasn't gonna be that easy."

"During the damage calculation step, I discarded this card from my hand and activated its effect."

Kira revealed a card from his hand.

"'Kuriboh'. By discarding it from my hand, I can make that battle damage become 0."

Kira then pointed to a Trap in his back row that was just fading away.

"And the moment you declared the attack, I also activated this card.

Trap Card 'Card of Sacrifice.' When the total ATK of the monsters on your field is lower than the ATK of the lowest-ATK monster on your opponent's field, draw two cards from your Deck.

But as a cost, I can't perform any kind of Summon of monsters this turn." (Anime effect)

Jim understood at once. "When your Trap was activated, because of the ATK/DEF swap, I only had 'Labyrinth Wall' on my field with 3000 ATK, while you only had the 1000 ATK 'Zaborg' on your field."

Jim slid another card from his hand.

"I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn. Draw."

Kira flicked his hand.

"I activate my face-down card, Trap Card 'Rite of Spirit'!

Choose a 'Gravekeeper's' monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it to my field."

"Hold on."

Jim raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you say that in this Necrovalley, any act that defiles the dead is a taboo?"

You said any effect that interacts with the Graveyard would be negated, didn't you?

"Oh, that." Kira smiled. "That applies to outsiders. Only when an outsider dares offend this resting ground will they be punished.

But the Gravekeeper clan are the chosen guardians of the royal family, entrusted with holy authority. They have special privileges—they are not bound by the rules of the resting ground."

Jim: "…"

This is a rigged game. Pure, blatant rigging.

So I digging up graves is blasphemy and desecration, but you making corpses sit up is sacred privilege and justice, huh?

But Kira isn't just talking nonsense; it's literally printed on the card. The effect of 'Rite of Spirit' states: the activation of this card will not be negated by 'Necrovalley.'

"I revive 'Gravekeeper's Commandant' from the Graveyard."

['Gravekeeper's Commandant', ATK 1600]

"Then I tribute 'Gravekeeper's Commandant' for a Tribute Summon."

Kira raised his hand. The Commandant was wrapped up in a vortex of sacrificial wind, his body turning pitch-black as he spun. In that darkness, a pair of dark red eyes flared open.

"Darkness and evil's Emperor, awaken from the nether abyss—

—'Caius the Shadow Monarch', Summon!"

A black storm swept across the field, black cape billowing. The wicked Monarch rose slowly from the depths, exuding a crushing malice.

The Shadow Monarch spread his arms. A wave of darkness shot straight into the sky, wordlessly laughing—

—Finally, it's my turn to be on stage!

['Caius the Shadow Monarch', ATK 2400]

When Caius is successfully Tribute Summoned, he banishes any one card on the field from the game. The dark storm swept, the vortex gathering over Jim's field, converging on his back row and lifting one face-down card from the ground.

Trap Card – 'Sakuretsu Armor'!

Kira: "…"

…Right, he suddenly remembered. In the anime Jim also used this card when he fought the Supreme King. Back then he tried to use 'Sakuretsu Armor' to counter the Supreme King's Evil HERO, but Evil HERO had destruction protection, so Sakuretsu Armor continued the tragic fate it's had throughout Yu-Gi-Oh history.

Jim gritted his teeth. "My 'Sakuretsu Armor'…"

"'Sakuretsu Armor' is a powerful Trap that can destroy an attacking monster. What a shame."

Kira chuckled, then waved his hand.

"Next, 'Caius the Shadow Monarch' attacks 'Labyrinth Wall'."

Given how rare it was for him to get a chance to appear, Caius puffed out his chest and got completely pumped up, determined not to let that Jinzo bastard look down on him this time no matter what.

Power gathered in his palms, condensing into a churning sphere of energy. As it grew, that light orb darkened into a pitch-black energy blast. The walls of the labyrinth were pierced and shattered with ease. The instant Jim was hit by that ball of darkness he felt for a moment as if he had fallen into hell. It was clearly just a solid hologram, yet his hands and feet went ice cold.

[Jim, LP 4000 → LP 1600]

Jim staggered back two steps, wiped the corner of his mouth, then gave a slightly ragged smile.

"You really don't give a man any room to breathe."

The ATK/DEF swap from "Shield & Sword" only lasts for one turn. At the end of the turn, 'Labyrinth Wall's ATK reverts to its original 0.

Jim's original plan had been to swap Labyrinth Wall's ATK/DEF, push some damage, then let its ATK drop back to 0 to bait Kira into attacking it and stepping on 'Sakuretsu Armor.' It was a good idea, but he'd overlooked the curse placed on 'Sakuretsu Armor' by the will of Duel World. If it'd been something like 'Mirror Force' instead, it might actually have worked…

"I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Jim took a deep breath.

With 'Fossil Fusion' sealed, a single 'Necrovalley' had locked away most of his Deck's power. Up to now in this Duel, he hadn't even managed to display one-tenth of his usual strength.

He truly hadn't expected it. He had no grudge with the Duel King, and yet this man hit him with something like this…

Jim glanced at his Deck.

This turn's draw had to change something. If it didn't, this was almost certainly his last turn.

"My turn. Draw!"

Jim felt a spark in his heart and immediately slammed the card he drew into his Duel Disk.

"Spell Card, 'Spell Books from the Pot'! Both players draw three cards from their Decks!"

After drawing, Jim's eyes lit up.

"Thank you, my Deck!"

He muttered with a smile, then swept his hand and played the key card that was like a miracle resurrection.

"Field Spell—

—'Sacred Defense Barrier'!!!"

…

Chapter 889 – An Unfair Duel

"I activate 'Sacred Defense Barrier'!"

Ethereal blue flames leapt up, forming a glowing ring that wrapped around the Duel field.

In that instant, it was as if the valley itself collapsed. Billowing dust obscured the blazing sun, and all the rock walls fell away with crashing roars. The forbidden, slumbering royal valley crumbled under the weight of nature and dissolved into nothingness.

The blue flames now ruled the field—that was the realm of stone.

This card was never printed in real life; it's the Field Jim used in his signature anime duel against the Supreme King.

"'Sacred Defense Barrier' is a Field Spell specifically for Rock monsters," Jim explained. "In this domain, whenever any Rock monster is successfully Normal Summoned, you place a Protection Counter on that monster.

A monster with a Protection Counter can, when it would be destroyed—whether by battle or a card effect—remove one Protection Counter from itself instead!"

In other words, every Rock monster on the field effectively gets one extra life.

Of course, that Field itself wasn't Jim's real intended purpose. The important part was that the new Field pushed out the old one.

This was the rule in early Yu-Gi-Oh, and might feel unfamiliar to newer players. Early on, only one Field Spell could exist at a time. Even if the two players used different Fields, a newly activated Field Spell would simply overwrite the old one.

This used to be one of the most common ways to deal with problem Fields—using a new Field to push the old one out. Since that's treated as a rule action, it doesn't start a Chain and can't be responded to.

But that rule has been gone for many years now. In modern Yu-Gi-Oh both players can each have their own Field Spell in their own Field Zone; they don't conflict.

Under GX-era rules, Jim's old-style Field naturally pushed Kira's 'Necrovalley' off the field.

Freed from the shackles of Necrovalley, Jim instantly felt reborn; it was as if his whole body relaxed.

"Next I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity'!" Jim said. "I draw three cards, then discard two cards from my hand to the Graveyard."

Clearly Jim wanted to use this opening to load his Graveyard. For Fossils, the Graveyard is crucial—he is running an archeology Deck, after all; every big monster is literally dug up from the grave.

Kira naturally couldn't let him do as he pleased.

"You managed to get rid of Necrovalley. Not bad, not bad. However…"

He smiled faintly and shifted his tone.

"What about this then?"

Jim froze for a moment.

Then he saw it: Kira raised his hand, and that eerie Trap card in his back row flipped up, revealing its grim, twisted talons.

Continuous Trap – 'Macro Cosmos'!

"Effect of 'Macro Cosmos'," Kira declared. "Any card that would be sent to the Graveyard is banished instead!"

Jim: "…"

A starry sky spread out over the sacred rock barrier above them, zooming closer until it felt like the entire field was suspended amid the stars.

From the endless void poured a colossal force—right above Jim's head, a black hole yawned open. Its infinite gravity seized the two cards he'd just discarded and dragged them into another dimension, erasing them from existence.

Jim fell silent.

He really was a fool. Truly.

He had thought that once he dealt with that Necrovalley, his Graveyard would be freed and he'd finally be able to unleash the Fossils he was so proud of.

But who could have guessed that behind Necrovalley, there was something this heavy waiting.

If Necrovalley had only prohibited grave-digging, now Macro Cosmos had simply taken his entire grave and blown it into space.

"Couldn't manage to send your Fossils to the Graveyard properly—what a shame," Kira said cheerfully.

Jim: "…"

He closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths, and quickly pulled himself together again.

He couldn't panic. It wasn't over yet.

Even if his Graveyard had been wiped, he at least still had some resources that had slipped in before. With Necrovalley now gone, he could finally move those around a little.

"I activate the Spell Card 'Fossil Fusion'!"

After enduring hardship upon hardship, Jim had finally played his key card.

"From my Graveyard and yours, I banish monsters and use them as Fusion Materials to Fusion Summon a 'Fossil' Fusion Monster!"

"Still going for a Fusion, huh." Kira smiled.

"From my Graveyard, I banish the Rock monster 'Shell Knight'. And from your Graveyard, I banish the Level 5 'Zaborg the Thunder Monarch' as materials for Fusion!"

Within the shared sanctuary of stone, the ground split apart. 'Shell Knight' from Jim's Graveyard and 'Zaborg' from Kira's both burst from the earth, but their bodies were decayed and crumbling, as if they'd lain underground for countless ages.

The two monsters were drawn into the swirling vortex of Fusion and absorbed into the 'Fossil Fusion' Spell Card. Then a tremendous energy surged from the whirlpool in the center of the card, as if it were cutting across infinite years.

"Fusion materials: a Rock monster plus a Level 5 or 6 monster! Fusion Summon—

—'Fossil Warrior Skull Knight'!!!"

A body made entirely of bone, its skeleton itself like an indestructible suit of armor. He wielded a sword and shield, cloaked in a mantle that seemed steeped in time.

['Fossil Warrior Skull Knight', ATK 2400]

Finally!

Jim felt that this might be the first time in his life that successfully activating 'Fossil Fusion' had given him such overwhelming satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.

Like all the frustration building up this whole time had been instantly swept away!

So this is the strange joy of dueling the Duel King…

"Battle!" Jim shouted. "'Fossil Warrior Skull Knight', attack 'Caius the Shadow Monarch'!"

['Caius the Shadow Monarch', ATK 2400]

Caius straightened up, gathering gloomy power between his hands.

"Same ATK," he snorted. "This guy's planning to drag me down with him?"

"He won't," Kira said calmly.

"He's got the Protection."

"…Eh?" Caius blinked.

BOOM!

Skull Knight's blade cleaved into the wave of darkness that Caius hurled. As expected, they were perfectly evenly matched; an explosion erupted where blade and blast collided.

Both monsters were swallowed up. But Skull Knight raised his shield, bracing himself and managing to weather the shock, merely staggering back a few steps. Caius, on the other hand, was blown to pieces.

"Field Spell 'Sacred Defense Barrier' gave my Rock-type 'Skull Knight' a Protection Counter when he was Summoned!" Jim shouted.

"I remove a Protection Counter to prevent Skull Knight's destruction!"

Now in ghost form, Caius started swearing. "Fair match! That one doesn't count! I want a rematch! I demand a rematch!"

…

Chapter 890 – Gladiator Duel

"Rematch! I demand a rematch!"

Caius felt utterly humiliated. He'd finally gotten a chance to show up and then got casually blown away like some random scrub. His pride couldn't take it.

But very soon he gained a deeper understanding of a certain truth: be careful what you wish for.

Because sometimes…wishes actually do come true.

He was still shouting when suddenly the world lurched. Before he could process what was happening, he suddenly found himself back on the field.

He blinked and looked down at his own body.

No longer a semi-transparent ghost, but a solid—well, virtual-solid—holographic form.

Why though? Hadn't he just been blasted to pieces?

Then he noticed that at some point, Jim's back row had gained a new Quick-Play Spell.

"Before the battle resolved, I activated the Quick-Play Spell 'Half Life'," Jim explained with a smile. "I can target any one monster on the field.

This turn, if that target would be destroyed by battle, once only, I can halve that monster's ATK and make that destruction not happen!" (Anime card)

['Caius the Shadow Monarch', ATK 2400 → ATK 1200]

Caius finally understood. That was why he hadn't been sent off.

But why? Who uses their own card to stop an opponent's monster from being destroyed?

Kira reminded him: "Skull Knight's monster effect."

"You've already noticed?" Jim grinned. "Right. Skull Knight's effect: if your opponent controls a monster, during the Battle Phase he can attack once more."

Caius: "!"

Now he saw it.

If he'd been destroyed and left the field, Jim would have had no monsters to attack and Skull Knight couldn't have used his extra attack. By pulling Caius back, Jim ensured "there is a monster on the opponent's field," fulfilling the condition for a second attack.

And on top of that, Caius's ATK had been halved, letting Skull Knight land heavy damage with the follow-up blow!

Caius flew into a rage.

So the plan is to beat my corpse then, huh?

Jinzo drifted out from the side, openly mocking him. "You wanted a rematch. Make it count."

Caius swore, "Shut the hell up! This doesn't count—"

The second half of his sentence was cut off by Jim's shout: "Skull Knight's additional attack!"

Another slash came down. The first time at least he'd managed an even trade; this time, Caius looked like a total scrub, cursing non-stop as he was helplessly cut down and kicked off the field again.

[Kira, LP 1800 → LP 600]

The Shadow Monarch retreated with a black scowl. Jinzo floated there with arms crossed.

Caius glared at him. "You say one word…"

Jinzo didn't hesitate: "Trash."

Caius exploded. The two ghosts immediately started brawling on the sidelines.

"Nice offensive sequence."

Kira nodded with a faint smile, acknowledging Jim's play.

Jim didn't answer.

But this was very likely his last hurrah.

With Necrovalley followed by Macro Cosmos, his Graveyard was nearly empty and he had no way to load any new resources. His Fossil Deck might as well have been turned to stone.

"Set one card. I end my turn," Jim said quietly.

"My turn. Draw."

Kira glanced at the card he'd drawn and smiled lightly.

"To pilot a Fossil Deck and push this far in such an overwhelmingly unfavorable situation… not bad at all. With my LP down to just six hundred, looks like I'll have to get at least a little serious…"

Jim wasn't surprised; he gave a wry smile instead. "So the King hadn't been serious at all, after all."

"From my hand, I activate a Spell Card."

Kira revealed the card in his hand.

"Spell Card 'Unexpected Dai.' If I control no monsters, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from my Deck."

He swept his hand.

"I Special Summon 'Gladiator Beast Andal'!"

['Gladiator Beast Andal', ATK 1900]

"Gladiator Beasts?" Jim was stunned.

He'd never heard of that Deck.

"Then I Special Summon 'Test Tiger' from my hand!"

['Test Tiger', ATK 600]

"While I control a 'Gladiator Beast', I can Special Summon 'Test Tiger' from my hand.

Next, Test Tiger's other effect: I tribute this card, return one 'Gladiator Beast' I control to the Deck, and Special Summon any 'Gladiator Beast' from my Deck.

I tribute Test Tiger, return 'Gladiator Beast Andal' to my Deck, and Special Summon any 'Gladiator Beast' I want.

Come forth! 'Gladiator Beast Augustus'!"

A pitch-black storm swirled, and a bird-beast gladiator warrior with a sharp beak and massive black wings descended with domineering presence.

['Gladiator Beast Augustus', ATK 2600]

"When Augustus is Special Summoned by a 'Gladiator Beast' effect, I can Special Summon a 'Gladiator Beast' from my hand in Defense Position."

Kira slapped down another card from his hand.

"I Special Summon 'Gladiator Beast Bestiari'!"

['Gladiator Beast Bestiari', DEF 800]

"Bestiari's effect: when Special Summoned by a 'Gladiator Beast' effect, he destroys one Spell or Trap on the field."

Kira crooked his finger at Jim's back row.

"I destroy your face-down card."

Jim's set card flipped and burst apart with a crack.

'Sakuretsu Armor'.

Kira: "…"

This time he was honestly speechless.

Seriously?

'Sakuretsu Armor' No. 2?

To be fair, 'Sakuretsu Armor' was a "powerful" generic Trap for its time, not just in the anime but in the real card game meta back then. Kira had met plenty of duelists who loved running it; that in itself wasn't strange.

But two consecutive Sakuretsu Armors? This was a first.

With that in mind, when he looked at Jim again, an unexpected respect welled up in Kira's heart.

A real man.

Jim: "?"

He was still busy lamenting how his second 'Sakuretsu Armor' had died young before it even fired… So why did he suddenly feel like the Duel King was looking at him with a weird kind of admiration?

"Next I Normal Summon 'Gladiator Beast Equeste'."

['Gladiator Beast Equeste', ATK 1600]

"Then I return Augustus, Bestiari, and Equeste—all three 'Gladiator Beasts' I control—to the Deck for a Triple Contact Fusion!"

Jim was shocked. "A triple Contact Fusion?"

"That's right. 'Gladiator Beasts' can Fusion Summon without Polymerization," Kira said. "Fusion materials: 'Gladiator Beast Augustus' plus any other two or more 'Gladiator Beasts'!

Wavering souls of ancient gladiators, gather under the Emperor's name and offer forth your supreme might—

—'Gladiator Beast Andabata'!!!"

Designed personally by Pegasus himself while under the light of the "Light of Destruction", and boasting an anime-exclusive effect, the triple Fusion 'Gladiator Beast Andabata'!

['Gladiator Beast Andabata', ATK 1000]

"And then Andabata's effect: when he's Fusion Summoned, I can Special Summon one 'Gladiator Beast' Fusion Monster, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"

Kira raised yet another card.

"A gladiator bird of ancient times that survived countless battles, merging with the soul of the gladiator to become a seasoned champion! Fusion Summon—

—'Gladiator Beast Gyzarus'!"

Bearing the name of a Roman emperor, the champion of the arena—the green bird-beast warrior descended in a whirling emerald gale!

['Gladiator Beast Gyzarus', ATK 2400]

"Two Fusion monsters like that in an instant…" Jim was stunned. "What terrifying burst potential…"

"You're surprised already? It's still a bit early for that."

Kira smiled.

"Gyzarus's effect: when he's Summoned, I can destroy up to two cards on the field."

Jim: "!"

So not only had Kira blown away his back-row 'Sakuretsu Armor' defense, he could keep destroying more…

Even though "Gladiator Beasts" was a Deck he'd never heard of, the destructive power he was seeing ranked among the strongest of any Deck he'd faced.

Jim still didn't realize that his own Fossil Deck, if properly developed, would have similarly enormous potential.

But that was a matter for the future. In GX's era, Fossils didn't even exist as real cards yet, while Gladiator Beast had already taken a World Championship.

On Jim's field he only had two cards left to begin with: Skull Knight up front and 'Sacred Defense Barrier' in the back. Under the storm of Gyzarus's wings and cyclones, both were obliterated in an instant.

Of course, even that Skull Knight was not granted the mercy of a Graveyard; he too was banished by Macro Cosmos.

That meant even if Jim somehow survived this turn, it would be almost impossible for him to maintain any fighting force afterwards.

And Kira's Gladiator Beasts weren't even at their limit.

He'd simply stopped there because Jim's field was completely empty. If there had still been targets, he could have kept going.

"Battle."

Kira's voice was calm.

"'Gladiator Beast Gyzarus'—attack directly."

[Jim, LP 1600 → LP 0]