044 The Dragon of Friendship—The Dark Demon Dragon!

PS: Some people keep insisting that fusion monsters can't attack during the turn they're summoned, even citing duels in the city arc as proof. Yes, it's true that in later rules, fusion monsters couldn't attack on the turn they were summoned unless you had the original anime Spell Card "Quick Attack." But that's from the city arc, when the rules were more complete. Right now, we're still in the Kingdom era, and that rule doesn't exist! If you don't believe me, go search for the anime on Bilibili. When Kaiba summoned the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, did he attack during the turn it was summoned? He certainly did! (My little temper flares.) I'll delete this note after tomorrow morning's latest chapter goes up.

...

As the Red-Eyes Black Dragon unleashed a triumphant roar across the dueling field, everyone except the two duelists—Yugi and Joey—stood stunned, even Pegasus, whose power allowed him to see into others’ thoughts, was taken aback.

Yugi Boy had summoned Joey Boy's ace monster? Unbelievable!

No one had anticipated Yugi would call forth the Red-Eyes Black Dragon; it left every spectator in awe.

"Yugi! I know your skills are formidable! I know your deck's synergy is high! It's simply beyond anything I can match right now!"

Truly worthy of being called the "Nameless Pharaoh"—in just two days, he'd grasped the concept of series decks and their power!

Without the five pieces of the Dark Magician, it would be difficult for him to win with his current deck alone! Is there synergy? Yes, but only minor combos.

As for deck strength, his strongest cards are the Dark Magician, the fusion monster Gaia the Dragon Champion, and the six-star Demon Summoner.

But look at Yugi’s deck! Fusion monsters formed from pairs of heroes, each with special abilities—except, perhaps, for Clayman. Plus, the system-provided “Grand Hero” trial card: summon it, defeat an opponent's monster, and you can disregard summoning conditions to bring out "Pseudo-Eternal Hero" or "Pseudo-Shining Flame-Wing Hero." How can anyone contend with that?

Therefore, whether it's to win this duel and challenge Pegasus to save his grandfather’s soul, or to honor the rare opportunity to duel a powerful opponent like Yugi, he must respond with his strongest cards and fight with all his might.

Yugi requested to borrow Joey’s Red-Eyes Black Dragon for the duration of the duel. To truly defeat Yugi, he must summon the monster that represents their friendship—the Dark Demon Dragon!

Its attack power, a staggering 3200 points, is the strongest monster Yugi’s deck can currently produce. If even this can't defeat Yugi, he truly doesn’t know what else besides the Dark Magician could possibly secure victory.

"I see... I understand!"

Having grasped the situation, Yugi's blood began to stir. Yugi had borrowed Joey’s card to give his all in this duel; so Yugi, too, would bring out his most powerful monster!

"Summoning successful: Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Attack Yugi’s Wildland Hero! Black Flame Shot!"

With everything clarified, Yugi passionately declared the dragon’s attack, only to be met by a gale so powerful no monster could withstand it.

"At this moment, Trap Card 'Attack Nullification' activates! The dragon’s attack is negated, and your turn is skipped!"

Attack Nullification exists at this point as a Spell Card version, though the effects of both are largely the same.

Since the card Yugi had been holding onto remained unused, Yugi naturally forced the end of his opponent's turn.

"My turn! Draw!"

Seeing the card in his hand, Yugi’s eyes lit up. With this, he could charge ahead without hesitation!

"I set a card, then Wildland Hero, attack the hat to the right of the last two!"

Yugi pointed decisively to the hat on his right, and Wildland Hero obediently carried out the command, slashing straight down!

YA☆DA★ZE!

"So you finally found the Dark Magician’s hiding place..."

"But Yugi, your Wildland Hero is now in a dangerous position!"

This time, Yugi was lucky enough to locate the hat concealing the Dark Magician out of the last two.

But a new problem arose: Dark Magician boasts 2500 attack, while Wildland Hero only has 1500—a deficit of a full thousand points!

"Hmm hmm! Sore wa dō kana?"

Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, Yugi played his final card:

"Spell Card 'Right Hand for Shield, Left Hand for Sword' activates!"

"What? Yugi has that card too?"

As the player who uses the Left and Right Hand spell cards most often, Joey naturally spoke up first; he hadn’t expected Yugi’s deck to include it as well!

"Left and Right Hand spell cards, Yugi, you know their effect, don’t you?"

"Yes. When activated, all face-up monsters on the field swap their attack and defense points until the end of the turn."

Yugi responded gravely; there was little else he could do, as all three of his monsters had high attack and low defense—except for Clayman, whose defense is 3000. As for Demon Summoner, its defense was notably low, only 1200.

This spell card was given to Yugi as a reward by the system when he watched Joey activate his own during the duel that morning. The gifting mechanism wasn’t clear to Yugi, but it didn’t stop him from adding the card to his deck. Since his hero deck wasn’t yet a full series, the Left and Right Hand spell card served as a precaution.

Now, it turned out to be a wise choice!

"Now, Clayman, whose attack is now 3000, will shield Wildland Hero from the attack!"

Before Yugi could react, Yugi quickly had Clayman block the blow, then countered to defeat the Dark Magician.

(Game: 1400LP → 500LP)

"Now, Yugi! It’s your turn again!"

Having defeated one of Yugi’s ace monsters, Yugi passed the turn, though he could already guess what Yugi would do next.

Why? Because his opponent was Yugi Mutou—the "Nameless Pharaoh"! Drawing the perfect card, creating new cards—he does it as easily as breathing!

"Ah! My turn, draw!"

After drawing, Yugi silently played his card on the console without even looking at it.

"Yugi! Prepare to face the strongest monster born from the friendship between Joey and me! Spell Card 'Fusion' activates!"

Yaparri!

"Here it is! The Dragon of Friendship—Dark Demon Dragon!"

"Roar!"

A fusion of Demon Summoner and Red-Eyes Black Dragon, a symbol of friendship!

(Dark Demon Dragon, 9 stars, Attack: 3200)

"Direct battle! Dark Demon Dragon! Attack Yugi’s Wildland Hero! Meteor Flame!!"

With 3200 attack, Dark Demon Dragon against Wildland Hero’s 1500 attack—with this blow, if the duel system deems it successful, the duel will end in Yugi’s victory!

However, if the duel really ended here, then he wouldn’t be our protagonist “Yugi”—

"At this moment, Trap Card 'Soul Barrier' activates!"