Exodia: The phantom god is invincible? Say that again after witnessing my flames.

"Watashinotan... fallen!"

After drawing his card, Yugi did not immediately make his move, but instead looked at the puppet controlled by his opponent and spoke:

"Marik! The Egyptian God Cards truly are the most powerful monsters in the world of Duel Monsters! But only if you can summon them to the field! Yet aside from the three Egyptian Gods, there exists another monster that can claim victory in a duel without ever appearing on the field!"

"A monster that can win the duel without ever being summoned... Masaka!"

The moment these words left his lips, after a few seconds of contemplation, Yugi, Kaiba, and Marik all realized at once which existence he was referring to!

It was true: the three Egyptian Gods were the pinnacle of power among Duel Monster cards, but only if you could summon them and keep them on the field, allowing them to wield their supreme might over other monsters!

But "that existence" required no summoning to secure victory! Of course, it had its own conditions: possessing all five unique cards in your hand!

The ultimate monster of victory by rule—Exodia the Forbidden One!

But currently, the only complete Exodia set in existence was in Yugi's hands. How could Yugi's deck possibly contain it?

Are you the new president of Industrial Illusions? Oh, that explains everything.

Whether printing a legitimate set himself or dispatching subordinates to gather a second complete one, either was a simple task.

But another problem arose: Even if your deck did contain all pieces of Exodia, how could you guarantee assembling them in your hand during a single duel? And all in one turn, no less? After all, as soon as the next turn started, Marik would order Slifer the Sky Dragon to attack!

"Impossible, you say? Then watch closely! See how I assemble all five pieces of 'Exodia the Forbidden One' in this very turn!"

Yugi declared with absolute confidence.

"First, I activate three copies of the Normal Spell Card 'Gift from the Cosmos' from my hand in succession!"

Three blue gift boxes tied with pink ribbons descended from above, landing before Yugi with three resounding pops. A torrent of cards flew out from the boxes into Yugi's right hand, which held his cards.

"For every monster with 'Neo-Spacian' in its name on my field, 'Gift from the Cosmos' allows me to draw a card from my deck."

"Furthermore, as Fusion Monsters, 'Glowing Moss' and 'Aqua Dolphin' can, by rule, also be treated as 'Luminous Moss' and 'Rippling Dolphin'."

"Thus, each 'Gift from the Cosmos' lets me draw six cards from my deck, so with three copies, plus the effect of Royal Magical Library, I can draw a total of nineteen cards!"

Yugi and the others: !!!

A collective gasp filled the air, as if the three had single-handedly triggered global warming; even Slifer behind Marik exhaled a visible cloud of frosty mist!

(Magical Citadel counters: 4, Library counters: 1, hand: 22, deck: 9)

Looking at Yugi’s duel disk, where his deck had suddenly dwindled to a thickness of barely five millimeters, the three men’s eyes went wide as dinner plates.

My god! Nineteen cards drawn in one go! And the entire deck compressed down to barely ten cards!

Utterly inhuman extravagance!

Yet at this moment, Yugi’s expression was as if he’d lost his parents. (Ah, an orphan protagonist? Well, nevermind then.)

‘...Dammit! I just drew nineteen cards in one shot! My deck is down to less than ten! And yet, out of all these twenty-something cards in my hand, not a single Exodia piece!’

Just as Yugi was mired in this internal crisis, his system suddenly made its presence known.

System: [Reminder: Your Luck stat is ‘50’.]

Yugi: “……” &%￥@* (Due to excessive cursing, the author has revoked his protagonist privileges.)

Taking a deep breath and steadying his mind, Yugi carefully selected three identical spell cards from his massive hand and played them:

"Next, I activate three copies of the Normal Spell Card 'Dark World Dealings' in succession! Both players draw one card from their deck, then discard one card from their hand to the graveyard."

"In short, it’s a weaker version of 'Graceful Charity'."

He added this for clarity.

Marik drew three and discarded three; his hand size did not change, so Slifer’s attack and defense remained unaffected. But Yugi drew four and discarded three—remember, the “Royal Magical Library” on his field has no limit to the number of times its second effect can be used per turn, as long as it has enough spell counters. Thus, he could draw cards “infinitely”!

(Magical Citadel counters: 7, Library counters: 1, hand: 23, deck: 5)

Even after this spree of draws, Yugi still hadn’t gotten a single Exodia piece. But upon glancing at the remaining cards in his deck, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Five cards left in the deck!

That meant the system’s character skill—Yugi Mutou’s exclusive “Grandpa’s Deck”—had ensured the last five cards were the five pieces of Exodia!

"Next, the spell card 'Graceful Charity'—I draw three from my deck, then discard two from my hand."

Thanks to Graceful Charity, Yugi finally drew “Left Arm of the Forbidden One,” “Right Arm of the Forbidden One,” and “Left Leg of the Forbidden One.”

Only two pieces remained!

"Finally, I activate my trump card—'Holy Grail'! I flip a coin! If it lands face up, I draw two cards! If it’s blank, my opponent draws two!"

*Ding~*

The Holy Grail tilted, releasing the coin hidden inside. It clattered to the floor and spun like a top.

As everyone’s hearts leaped to their throats, the coin at last came to a stop.

"The final result is... What! Blank side?!"

Seeing the blank face up, Yugi suddenly felt darkness creeping in at the edges of his vision.

Damn it! Back in Duelist Kingdom, it was always heads—why, now in the city arc, is it always tails?!

The three: “……”

"I don’t believe this! Two more Holy Grails—activate!"

With the desperation of a gambler, Yugi slammed down his remaining two Holy Grails.

And, as expected—

Both landed blank!

Yugi: ▄█▀█● System! I’m begging you! Please! Just let me get heads, just once!!!

Yugi & Kaiba: “……” For some reason, although Yugi was on the verge of collapse, the others couldn’t help but find the scene somewhat amusing.

"...The effect of Royal Magical Library lets me draw a card from my deck, and this card, 'Infernal Reckoning,' is the last spell I’ll play this duel—though after its activation, I’ll have to discard my entire hand at the end of the turn. But somehow, I don’t think that drawback will matter in this duel."

["Infernal Reckoning," Normal Spell: (1) If you have three or more cards in your hand, you can activate this card. Draw one card from your deck, then, at the end of this turn, discard all cards in your hand.]

Even as he spoke, Yugi drew his final two cards; thus, all five pieces of “Exodia the Forbidden One” were at last gathered in his hand.

Facing Exodia, whose body was still chained but whose movements were now unbound, even the mighty Slifer the Sky Dragon instinctively shrank back its long crimson neck.

For in a duel, no matter if you are a God Card, you must obey the rules!

And Exodia is the ultimate rule—when all five pieces are in hand, nothing else happens; you win, instantly!