Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

"No! Ed Phoenix, you're just a foolish mortal who can't even save himself, can't even protect the people he cherishes, and is incapable of doing anything but dreaming unrealistic dreams!"

No matter how hard you try or struggle, it's all in vain!

Regardless, the future will ultimately choose me, the King of the Ritual, and the victory of my secret rituals!

This is an absolute, unchangeable, and inevitable truth!

645 Necromancer's Offering, a Demon of Arcane Power

"...My turn, draw a card!"

"I activate the Spell Card [Dr. D] from my hand, banish one [Destin HERO] monster from my Graveyard, add one [Destin HERO] monster from my Graveyard to my hand, or Special Summon it."

"...Except for the defenders in the graveyard, I Special Summon the Discman who was previously sent to the graveyard!"

With the activation of the magic card, following the elimination of another hero, another Destiny Hero has left the graveyard and gone to an unknown place.

In exchange, Edward, who activated this card, also gained the right to revive a monster from the graveyard once.

"...Disc Man? I remember this monster, it seems to have the effect of letting the holder draw two cards when it is revived."

Watching Edward's actions, Yusei stroked his chin, revealing a thoughtful expression.

Unlike physical cards in the OCG which have many restrictions, Edward's Disc Man has no restrictions and is the original effect.

Theoretically, this hero could even repeatedly jump back and forth from the graveyard, acting as an adult form of [Pot of Greed], frantically replenishing his hand with cards.

"...When the effect of [Destiny HERO - Discman] is activated, if this card is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I can draw two cards from my Deck!"

The silver hero, whose body was embedded with discs, revived from the graveyard with his arms crossed and crouched in front of Edward's body.

As the monster appeared, Edward took the opportunity to reach into his deck and draw two more cards.

"Next, I summon [Destiny HERO - Devilman] in Defense Position and activate its effect to send one of my opponent's monsters to the future, two turns from now!"

Pointing to the [Secret Ritual Power 21 - World] floating above the altar, which exerted immense pressure on everyone, Edward suddenly waved his hand: "...The Path of Destiny is open! Exit the stage, World!"

"...You will be excluded from the game until my preparation phase two rounds later!"

Raising one of his arms, Devilman used his special ability to send Saiou's world into the future.

After activating this effect, the Devilman will be unable to declare an attack this turn.

"……snort!"

Seeing his monster temporarily leave the scene, Saiou narrowed his eyes, and a dangerous look appeared on his face.

Although the world has temporarily departed, Edward dares not change his monster's attack stance.

Ed, who now has only 900 health points, will lose all remaining health points and be defeated in the duel if he is attacked in any round.

"...Well done, Edward!"

If the world is no longer on the field, then Saiou will naturally be unable to activate the effect of "World Lock" again and skip Edward's turn.

Realizing Edward's plan, Jaden Yuki couldn't help but clench his fist and let out an excited shout.

As expected of a strongman who defeated himself, even in the face of such a dangerous situation, he was still able to think of a way to break the deadlock.

"Finally, I activate the Continuous Spell Card from my hand—[D-Composition]!"

"This card's effect is that whenever a face-up [Destiny HERO] monster on my field is destroyed, this card gains an additional [D-counter]."

"...The round is over."

The effects of [D-Composition] actually have a follow-up, but Edward did not fully explain it at this time.

After activating this card, she waved her hand to end her turn, handing the initiative to Saiou's side.

Kenzan: "Did you see that? Saiō! Your monster is gone!"

Manjoume: "Is this the strongest secret ritual power? How utterly laughable~~~~"

Marufuji Sho: "Wow, that's amazing! Edward... he turned the tide of the game in one fell swoop!"

Seeing that Edward was gradually turning the tide, the onlookers did not forget to mock Saiō at this moment.

The feeling of being suppressed by the world's pressure just now made them launch a barrage of verbal attacks against the King of the West without reservation.

"Hehehehe... What's there to be proud of? It's just that the world was excluded under certain conditions... Besides, even the two monsters that were summoned are in defense mode."

With a disdainful laugh, Saiō uttered a mocking tone: "Edward, you talk about changing your fate and act all motivated, but in the end, it's all just this much!"

"...That's right! Against that stubborn and unbreakable wall of fate, you won't even be able to leave a scratch!"

"Hehehehehe... You just have to endure the pain and pretend to work hard!"

Edward: "..."

Prince Sai: "...Edward, let me end this farce. Fate has already begun to mock us!"

As he said this, Saiō placed his palm on top of the deck and drew a card: "My turn, draw!"

"I activate the Spell Card [Necromancer Tribute] from my hand, select one or two monsters from my Graveyard, and Special Summon them to my opponent's field... Then, based on the number of monsters Special Summoned, the number of Tributes I need to Summon a monster is reduced."

The illustration on the magic card activated by Saiou depicts a terrifying alien life form with countless outstretched arms.

As this card was activated, the graveyard area of ​​the Saiou Duel Disk began to emit a strange white light.

"Ed... I'm Special Summoning [Arcane Power 3 - Empress] and [Arcane Power 4 - Emperor] from my Graveyard to your field... Of course, you can decide the battle position; I think you'll choose Defense Position, right?"

"Hmm... I choose to defend."

As Saiou said, after hesitating for a moment, Edward put the two monsters that Saiou had resurrected on his field into Defense position.

“Heh… It’s rare for me to give you a gift.” Shaking his head with a mocking expression, Saiou continued, “In the case of a Summon or Special Summon, the effects of the Empress and the Emperor will also be triggered, and different effects will be obtained depending on whether they are in the forward or reverse position.”

"Hmm... Is it my turn to use the effect of the correct position this time?"

Looking at the two monsters that had appeared on his field, Edward muttered to himself.

If I remember correctly, the Emperor's normal effect is to increase the ATK of any Mystic Power monsters on your field by 500, while the Queen's effect is to allow you to perform a Normal Summon of a Mystic Power monster when your opponent performs a Normal Summon.

Although these effects are useless to Edward, using these two monsters as meat shields is a good option.

"...No! It's the effect of reversed position!"

"Varied……?!"

With a wicked smile playing on his lips, Saiou addressed Edward, who looked on in astonishment, and said slowly, "I've said it before, fate is my companion, so I will decide the monster's right or wrong position."

As if they had been given a cheat code, the cards above the heads of the two Mystic Power monsters ultimately stopped in unfavorable reverse positions, just as Saiou had predicted.

"The Queen's reversed position effect is that when your opponent normally summons a monster, you discard one card from your hand."

"The Emperor's reverse position effect is to reduce the attack of any [Arcane Power] monsters on your field by 500 points."

With his hands outstretched in front of him, Saiō explained to the crowd the effects the monsters had received.

"When you make the choice yourself, it has an advantageous effect, but when it's the other side's turn, it becomes all sorts of disadvantageous factors... Sai-o, what a despicable fellow!"

"...What kind of bullshit destiny is this? Judging from this...it's just a plaything for Prince Sai!"

"I cannot accept this!!!"

The so-called choice is nothing more than a fig leaf that Saiō uses to cover up his own shortcomings.

After realizing this, everyone understood why the King of Jai had remained so calm.

"Based on the effect of [Necromantic Offering], I can now summon a high-level monster without having to release a monster."

Holding a single card in his hand, Saiou slammed it onto the deck of the Duel Disk: "I summon [Arcane Power 15 - Demon] (Attack: 2500) in Attack Position!"

Amidst the swirling white mist, a three-eyed alien demon emerged from the fading light, waving its numerous arms.

That figure, which instills fear in people subconsciously, is proof that countless acts of malice have materialized into a physical form.

"A...demon?!"

Upon hearing this word, Edward paused slightly. At that moment, she couldn't help but recall the divination results about his fate that the King of the West had once told her.

Edward's Fate card is [The Pope], which means salvation.

Saiō's Destiny Card is the [Demon], representing chaos and destruction, a symbol of ruin.

The card 【Secret Power 15 - Demon】 is the embodiment of the 【Demon】 that was feared by the King of the West.

"Hehehehehe... Ed, since I have summoned a monster, according to the Queen's effect, you must send one of your cards to the graveyard."

"Hmm..." With a slight frown, Edward sent a spell card from his hand to the graveyard due to the Queen's negative effect.

Meanwhile, the card located at [Secret Power 15 - Demon] slowly stopped rotating and stopped in a position that was advantageous to Saiou.

"...Battle has begun! The demon, now in a favorable position, has launched an attack on the Emperor! Demonic Calamity!!!"

Pointing at the monster on the field, Saiou immediately gave the order to attack.

As his words fell, the demon stretched out multiple arms and pierced through the emperor who was on guard.

"Hehehehehe... At this very moment, the positional effect of [Arcane Power 15 - Fiend] activates! When this card battles, destroy one monster on the field and inflict 500 damage to the controller of that monster!"

Edward: "What...?!"

After destroying the emperor, the demon swung its arm again, shattering the demon man into golden specks of light.

The aftershocks of its power reflected back onto Edward, taking away 500 points of her health.

(Aide LP: 900→400)

"Well……"

Since the monster is destroyed, a D counter is automatically added to the Continuous Spell Card [D-Construction].

Ed's health was further reduced to a dangerous 400 points. He subconsciously placed his palm on his chest and took a deep breath.

At that moment, a feeling of utter despair welled up inside her.

With 400 health points remaining, if the demon attacks again in the next round, even these last remaining health points will vanish...

"...The round is over."

Having finished his attack, Saiō declared the end of the round.

Seeing Ed sinking into self-doubt, Saiō curled his lips into a confident smile: "Hehehehe... I advise you to give up, Ed. I have already seen through your fate."