139 La, the Thrice-Blooming, Resurrection Bird!

After explaining why he could continue the fight, Youyi activated the third effect of Elemental HERO Core, which had been sent to the Graveyard:

"Elemental HERO Core's third ability: when it is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can select one 'Elemental HERO' Fusion Monster in my Graveyard that has no summoning restrictions and is Level 8 or lower, and Special Summon it, ignoring its summoning conditions!"

Because the timing was "when," rather than "if," Youyi looked at the targets available in his Graveyard before Core arrived there. There were exactly two eligible candidates: Elemental HERO Sunrise, which had been fusion summoned alongside the now-banished Elemental HERO Wildedge during his second turn, and Elemental HERO Absolute Zero, which Yugi had been wary of, summoned via the Quick-Play Spell "Instant Fusion."

Sunrise possessed three effects, any one of which would be immensely useful in the current situation. Absolute Zero, by contrast, had one fewer effect, and one of his existing ones—gaining ATK based on the number of other WATER monsters on the field—was virtually useless here. Furthermore, his "nuke the field upon leaving" effect was ineffective against a god.

Thus, Youyi chose to revive the bull-headed hero, Sunrise.

"According to Sunrise's effect, upon successful Special Summon, I can add the final 'Miracle Fusion' from my Deck to my hand, and his own strength increases by 200 points due to his LIGHT attribute!"

With the final Miracle Fusion added to his hand, Youyi waited for his next turn to turn the tide.

"Battle ends."

Even a god, with over ten thousand points of power, could only conduct one battle. But hearing Yugi declare the end of the Battle Phase, Youyi smirked:

"At the end of the Battle Phase in which Elemental HERO Core battled, I can select one monster on the field and destroy it!"

Since Yugi had previously "bullshitted" his way through the Winged Dragon of Ra's second ability by using the Spell Card "Polymerization" to forcefully fuse with the god, Youyi decided to play the same game, forcing the effect of the Core now in his Graveyard!

"Destroy a monster on the field? Youyi, surely you don't mean to destroy the Winged Dragon of Ra?"

Yugi, unfamiliar with the exact text of Core's effect, blindly accepted that the effect had been activated successfully, but he was puzzled by the target. There were only two monsters on the field: his Winged Dragon of Ra and the newly revived Sunrise. Not to mention the god's inherent resistance to destruction, any effect targeting a god required the source to be of the same rank. If Yugi recalled correctly, Core was Level 9—an impressive monster, but still one star short of a god!

"Is that so?"

"What?"

To Yugi's astonishment, Youyi smiled and pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

"The moment Core was attacked, his level rose to match the height of the god!"

Behind Youyi, the translucent, skyscraper-sized figure of Elemental HERO Core stood, meeting the Winged Dragon of Ra eye-to-eye.

"A Level 10 Core, thanks to my other face-down card, the Quick-Play Spell 'Level Change'!"

Only then did Yugi notice that Youyi’s back row was empty. He had clearly had two face-downs earlier; the other must have been "Angel Dice" to boost Core's power. Youyi reached into his Duel Disk's Graveyard slot, retrieving the card to display it.

"'Level Change' allows me to increase or decrease the level of one face-up monster on the field by one."

"The Winged Dragon of Ra is a god, but Core is no weakling! He is a hero born from the core of our mother, the Earth! And since the god currently resides within the Earth, Core's destruction effect applies!"

Yugi: !!!

While shocked, Yugi pondered: this logic of Youyi's... it actually seemed to hold up. Glancing at his last two cards in hand, Yugi remained silent and conceded to Youyi's activation, allowing the Winged Dragon of Ra to be destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.

Seeing his bluff accepted, Youyi breathed a sigh of relief. While his company had developed the Duel System and naturally allowed him, the President, to bend the rules, Yugi—as his opponent—had every right to veto such nonsense.

With the battle resolution complete, Youyi waited for Yugi to make his next move, preparing to counterattack on his own turn. But then, Yugi played another card that left him stunned:

"Quick-Play Spell 'Surprise Attack from the Darkness'! A monster I summoned or Special Summoned this turn can attack one more time! If that monster is in the Graveyard, it is revived to conduct its attack!"

Youyi: !!!!

*Are you kidding me?! Is he literally an infinite card-printing machine?!*

First, the "Ritual Djinn" used as a tribute, then "Card of Sanctity" to replenish his hand, and now a card originally used by Marik in the anime, "Surprise Attack from the Darkness"! *There's a limit to how many cards you can conjure out of thin air!*

"Revive, Winged Dragon of Ra! Activate your second ability once more! Fuse me with the god! Let its power become 10,499 again!"

This time, Ra was revived from the Graveyard, meeting the conditions for its second ability without the need for an extra Polymerization; Yugi's Life Points became the fuel for the Sun God once more!

"Second attack! Winged Dragon of Ra! Attack Youyi's 'Elemental HERO Sunrise'!"

Sunrise's DEF was pitifully low at 1200, and because Youyi had revived it in Attack Position, if this attack landed, his remaining 1 LP would drop to zero instantly!

But, would this match really end like this? Ending on the second attack of a god?

The answer was:

"The true god, the god of all gods—Kuriboh, save me!!"

"Kuri-kuri!"

Sunrise was instantly engulfed by the God Phoenix's blast, but the massive piercing damage was blocked by a timely, giant-sized Kuriboh!

"I discard 'Kuriboh' from my hand; I take no battle damage!"

A true duelist, when faced with fatal damage, will always have a Kuriboh in hand that automatically jumps out to shield its master! Because it is a god! It is the true deity of cards!

Since no battle damage was taken, the time for the Winged Dragon of Ra's resurrection had expired, and it had to return to the Graveyard.

However—

"Youyi! This is my final move! If you can block this third attack, then the victor of this duel will be decided!"

Youyi: !?

*What? You have another way to revive Ra?*

In Youyi's stunned and bewildered gaze, Yugi played his final card. It was a card almost everyone possessed, yet one strictly limited to one copy per deck in the city tournament—

"Normally, Spells cannot be used during the Battle Phase, but when the target is a god in the Graveyard, this card upgrades from Speed 1 to a 'Quick-Play Spell'! And among the three Egyptian Gods, He is the only one who can enter battle immediately after being revived!"

Monster Reborn + The Winged Dragon of Ra = Ra's resurrection! The classic combo!