Yu-Gi-Oh!: This is the real duel!

"I'm fine..." You Che replied through gritted teeth. His voice was extremely hoarse, and his body began to tremble slightly. Even so, he held the Duel Disk in front of him and stood resolutely in the flames of the Winged Dragon of Ra.

Wang Yang clenched his fist and roared angrily, "Malik!! If it weren't for this underhanded tactic, Yuzuriha would have won already! You... you're clearly threatening the duelist with the cards' lives!!"

"Regardless of the outcome of this duel, I will ruthlessly defeat you through a duel!! I will make you pay for everything you've done!!!"

Dark Malik laughed wildly and unrestrainedly:

"Hahahahahaha!!"

"Pharaoh, you are so naive!!"

"Say that when you have the chance to stand before me and duel!"

"Whoosh————————————————"

As he spoke, Dark Malik suddenly swung his Millennium Staff, pointing it at the Disruptive Yellow Evil beside You Che and laughing:

"You Che, what's the point of all this?"

"Your monster has been switched to Attack Position by my Defense Seal. If Ra's Winged Dragon attacks, you and your Pokémon will be buried together!!"

"Since you're so eager to protect those few scumbags, then I'll mercifully burn you all to ashes!!"

"Entering battle phase!! Winged Dragon of Ra!! Attack Disrupt Yellow!!!"

"Clang!"

The cry, almost capable of shattering the hearts of mortals, rang out once more. Riding on the raging flames, the Winged Ra, radiating golden divine light, spread its wings and soared into the sky!

In an instant, the dark clouds above the Duel Tower were tinged with a brilliant color. The Winged Dragon of Ra flapped its enormous wings, and a dazzling beam of fire shot from its beak, blasting towards the monsters on the ground!

"Youche!!!!!"

Looking up at the raging flames rushing towards him, Youche's heart was instantly filled with fear, but soon, this fear was dispelled.

Holding the Duel Disk horizontally in front of him, Yu Che gritted his teeth and resolutely pressed the button behind the slot with his trembling hand.

Overjoyed at his victory, Dark Marik laughed loudly, thoroughly enjoying the scene before him: "What other cards do you want to activate? Trap Cards are useless against Gods! Even if you activate Attack Nullification, it won't stop the Winged Dragon of Ra's attack!!"

Just as the flames were about to explode on Huang's body, Youche roared hoarsely, "I'm not trying to stop the Winged Dragon of Ra's attack, I'm trying to make the Winged Dragon of Ra attack me!!"

"Continuous Trap Card activated - Astral Barrier!!!"

"If an opponent's monster attacks a monster on your field, that attack becomes a direct attack on yourself!!!"

Yu Che then flipped over another face-down card and shouted, "And this card too—Shield Barrier!! The damage I took from this battle is now zero, and I can draw one card from my deck!!!"

"What?!" Dark Malik was taken aback at first, then sneered, "Compared to directly stopping a god, this method is quite clever."

"However, a god is a god!!"

"Even if you take zero damage in combat, as long as the Winged Dragon of Ra attacks you, it can completely annihilate you!!"

"Wandering Chariot, howl in endless fear and pain!!"

"boom-----------------------"

A strike that stretched across the sky suddenly descended, but just before it hit Huang, it changed direction and exploded on Youche, who was standing nearby!

The moment it saw its master being attacked, the Armed Dragon wanted to step forward and shield him, but this was a dark duel, and the merciless rules bound it firmly within the card. It could only watch helplessly as Yuzuriha was blasted dozens of meters away!

The powerful impact blasted Yuzuriha from the monster zone directly onto the fence at the edge of the Duel Tower, and billowing black smoke split the entire top of the Duel Tower in two!

Looking at the plumes of black smoke rising from the raging flames, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

"Traction!!!"

"Malik, you bastard!!"

Jōnei and the others rushed toward the spot where Yūchi had been knocked down, but a heavy energy barrier blocked their way.

Dark Malik chuckled mockingly, "This is a duel of darkness; outsiders have no way to interfere! If you want to collect that guy's corpse, just wait until this game is over! Hahahahahaha!!"

Faced with this guy's mockery, no one could do anything about it.

Standing atop the Duel Tower, where the wind howled, everyone could only wait for the barrier created by the Dark Duel to dissipate.

however……

It was unclear how much time had passed, but the gloomy and heavy energy did not dissipate. Instead, the smoke that had enveloped You Che was slowly blown away.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Leaning against the railing of the Duel Tower, Youche coughed violently. He felt as if his whole body was being roasted, but the excruciating heat was dissipating at a rapid pace.

He clearly felt a solid and heavy energy slowly flowing into his body, as if a huge funnel was slowly pouring nectar into his bottle. Although the energy was flowing very slowly, it was full of power and vitality.

What exactly happened...?

Youche was still somewhat dazed.

He only knew that the duel was not over yet, but he could not stand up and could only quietly enjoy the energy that came from nowhere.

For a moment, the entire top of the Duel Tower was eerily quiet.

You Che was resting, while the others were completely shocked by what they saw.

As the smoke from the battle raised by the Winged Dragon of Ra dissipated, all that could be seen was a phantom blackish-purple hand gradually appearing. The enormous hand stood firmly on the edge of the Duel Tower, supporting Youche's weakened body.

Then, just like halfway through a sand painting, countless particles of deep purple light gradually formed an arm, shoulder, and even torso along the hand in the cold wind...

Finally, a powerful giant, even taller than the Duel Tower, appeared before everyone's eyes. Although it was only a faint phantom, the impact and shock it brought left everyone present speechless and utterly astonished.

"What...what is that?!" Jonouchi asked in a trembling voice.

No one knew how to answer.

Seto Kaiba frowned and ordered the referee, Isono, standing beside him: "Check the duel projection system immediately! If any unauthorized hacking is discovered, it must be dealt with as quickly as possible!!"

Iso, who had been in a daze, snapped out of it and quickly pulled out his phone from his pocket.

But before he could finish speaking, the tall, dark purple giant vanished like sand art scattered by the wind...

"Tsk..." At the same time, You Che, whose strength had recovered somewhat, struggled to stand up from the ground. He shook his head vigorously and staggered towards the unfinished duel.

"How is this possible?!" Malik shouted in disbelief. "You're just an ordinary person! How could you withstand an attack from a god?!"

"Hoo..." You Che exhaled a breath of stale air from his burning lungs, and, having regained some clarity, raised his head and gave a faint smile in return.

Just now, while recovering his strength, he also noticed the presence of the Sleeping Giant Gudu.

As he felt the profound and gentle energy, as thick as a mountain range, You Che realized that he had gained the approval of the God of Weakness.

This recognition is certainly not just because of the divine attack he just blocked for the card spirit.

He rescued the weak elves from Pegasus at the end of the Duel Kingdom; he resolutely pushed away the Armored Dragon when he was punished by the gods during the battle with Rishid; and he protected the disruptor without reservation during the Noah incident...

Each and every one of these events contributed to this outcome.

As Youche resolutely blocked the two attacks from the previous moment, the postgraduate entrance exam from Gudu was finally completed.

"Another... card spirit!!" Malik glared angrily at Yuzuru, then sneered as he folded the card, saying, "But so what! Yuzuru!!"

"You can withstand the attack of a god, but you cannot change the outcome of this duel!!"

"By now, your deck must be almost depleted from the duel, right?"

"At this final juncture, I, possessing the divine card—the Winged Dragon of Ra—clearly have the upper hand!!"

"Set one card face down, end your turn!!"

The onlookers were still in shock, both delighted that You Che was unharmed and still stunned by the giant shadow they had just witnessed.

Looking at the deck in the Duel Disk, Yu Che let out a soft breath. The connection between them was incredibly clear. Even before drawing a card, he already knew what the next card would be!

"Whoosh————————————————"

The moment the card was swept from the deck, a dark purple light flashed by, and You Che's gaze sharpened.

That was his own God Card—Sleeping Giant Gudu!

【Sleeping Giant · Gudu】

[Ten Stars]

[Earth Attribute/Warrior Race]

[Attack/Defense: 0/0]

[Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned. It can only be Special Summoned by Tributing a monster you control with ten Gudu Counters. Once per turn, reveal this card in your hand to your opponent, then target one Level 1 Normal Monster you control and place one Gudu Counter on that monster. This card is unaffected by other card effects; during damage calculation when this card battles a monster, this card's ATK and DEF become that monster's ATK plus 1000 during damage calculation.]

Without a doubt, with this card's combat power, defeating Ra Winged Dragon would be extremely easy.

But the problem is, how do I summon it?

Looking at the "Card of God" in his hand, Youche quickly pondered.

If I had the spell card "Thunderbolt," I could easily summon it, and with that specific monster, I could keep the Sleeping Giant on the field forever.

The problem is that I don't have either of those two cards in my deck.

Should we summon it in a proper manner?

I do have a Level 1 Normal Monster card, which is a special Spirit Card I obtained during the Noa incident – ​​the Mediocre Demon.

but……

How can I make it last for ten rounds?

You Che gritted his teeth, looked at the few cards remaining in his deck, and announced loudly:

"Activate the Magic Card - Seven Star Sword!!"

"Ban an Armed Dragon Level 7 from your hand from the Duel, and draw two cards from your Deck!!"

“Shuashua——————————————”

Youche bet everything on the next two cards.

If he can't summon Sleeping Giant this turn, Malik will definitely launch a fierce attack next turn; this is his last chance!

As a certain card appeared, a bold idea suddenly flashed through You Che's mind, and at that moment, he had a sudden realization:

"Activate the Spell Card - Mining the Spellstone!!"

"Discard two cards from your hand, and retrieve monsters from your graveyard to your hand!!"

"Activate the Spell Card - Resurrection of the Dead!"