Chapter 52: Death Magician
Chapter 52: Death Magician
"I see, you're not too shabby yourself."
The Masked Sorcerer's gaze swept across the two Magicians flanking You Xuan like loyal guardians, and he let out a cold hum.
"But after receiving the power of evolution bestowed by my god, I am now invincible.
My turn, draw!"
The Sorcerer drew a new card and revealed it immediately.
"First, I play the quick-play spell card 'Whirlwind' to destroy your face-down card in the back row!"
A black whirlwind, laced with lightning, swept towards the face-down card.
"The effect of the Silent Magician activates," You Xuan interrupted, "once per turn, negating the activation of a Spell Card."
The storm came to an abrupt halt as the lightning and the white magic array protected it dissipated.
"Tch, fine. Then I activate the Spell Card 'Greed Jar', allowing me to draw two more cards from my deck."
The Sorcerer drew cards, then drew two more from his hand.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Sacrificial Doll'. By tributing a monster on my field, I can Special Summon a monster from my hand that can be Normal Summoned!
I'll send this face-down monster to the graveyard and then Special Summon this card!"
The face-down monster was flipped, revealing a sinister red hellhound. Its body dissolved in a storm of shadows, forming a summoning array.
"Level seven, Saint Dragon, I summon you!"
A storm of sacred fire erupted from the summoning array, and a giant dragon with outstretched wings spiraled into the field.
[Saint Dragon: 2500 ATK]
The goblin underlings at the back shouted again: "Sorcerer Master is so cool!"
"He instantly summoned such a powerful monster. That kid doesn't stand a chance!"
".'
The Masked Sorcerer smirked, "You're cautious, I see. You didn't attack my face-down monster last turn because you were wary of its flip effect, huh?
But it won't help you. The monster I had face-down was 'Hellhound - Eight-Headed Hound'. When this card is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add a Level 8 Demon-Type monster from my deck to my hand.
Even though you didn't attack it, tributing it with 'Sacrificial Doll' still triggers this effect."
The Sorcerer drew the demon he had searched for from his deck and smiled coldly.
"The demon I searched for is this card. After receiving the blessing of my god and evolving, I take on my most vicious and evil form—
—'Masked Beast - Death Magician'!"
You Xuan: ". . ."
So, this is your evolved form?
It was also a monster that had appeared in Duel Monsters, used by the Light and Dark Mask Brothers, as well as Marik. An eight-star demon with 3300 ATK, it could be Special Summoned by tributing two monsters on the player's field, including ["Masked Sorcerer - Curse Throat"] and ["Melchitt Quadrant"].
"And I haven't even Normal Summoned yet this turn," the Sorcerer said with a cold smile, raising his voice, "So, next, I Normal Summon myself! ['Masked Sorcerer - Curse Throat'], I summon you!"
As expected, when he slammed the card in his hand onto the Duel Disk, an image of the Sorcerer appeared, separating from him and materializing in the empty space in the front row.
[Masked Sorcerer - Curse Throat: 1500 ATK]
Ultimate Move - I Summon Myself!
The scene was a bit bizarre, but You Xuan remained calm. He knew this was a traditional part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! experience, and even stranger things were yet to come.
"'Scapegoat' cannot be used as a tribute for a Tribute Summon, but it can be used as a tribute for other effects."
The Sorcerer clasped his hands together, as if reciting an incantation, and then shouted.
"So, I tribute one 'Sheep Token' plus myself!"
Advanced Ultimate Move - I Sacrifice Myself!
The Sorcerer's clone and a Sheep Token on the field vanished as if devoured by a rapidly expanding darkness. A chaotic vortex erupted, and from within the darkness, a three-faced demon with claws emerged.
[Masked Beast - Death Magician: 3300 ATK]
The goblin underlings stirred once more: "It's here! The Sorcerer Master's strongest form after evolving!"
One of the underlings taunted You Xuan: "Hah! You're already a dead man! Surrendering now won't change your fate!"
"It's not over yet! Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Burial Goods' to banish 'Greed Jar', 'Sacrificial Doll', and 'Whirlwind' from my graveyard and draw two more cards from my deck!"
After summoning the Masked Beast, the Sorcerer's voice seemed to have taken on a sharp, twisted tone.
"Then, I activate the Equip Spell Card 'Reptilian Rage' from my hand, changing the equipped monster's type to Reptile and increasing its ATK by 800.
"Hmm?" You Xuan frowned.
According to the effect of the magic card 'Sacrificial Doll', a monster summoned using this effect should not be able to attack during the same turn.
"Hehe, I bet you're wondering why I bothered to power up the Saint Dragon, right? Well, here's the answer—"
The Sorcerer played another card from his hand and shouted, "Magic Card 'Cross Attack'!"
The magic card appeared on the field, enveloping the Saint Dragon and the Masked Beast in rolling golden light.
"Cross Attack: Select two monsters on your field with the same attack power. During this turn, one of the chosen monsters can attack directly, while the other cannot!"
The goblin underlings exclaimed in realization once more.
"I see! By equipping the Saint Dragon with Reptilian Rage, its attack power matches that of the Masked Beast, allowing it to attack directly!"
"Not only that, but by using 'Sacrificial Doll' to summon the Saint Dragon, it couldn't attack this turn anyway. You've turned that restriction into an advantage!"
"With an attack power of 3300, this direct attack will leave that kid's life points hanging by a thread!"
"Now that's what I call a duel, so powerful!"
You Xuan: "."
This is indeed a combo befitting an anime.
Although he was starting to grasp the concept of luck-based draws and was becoming bolder in his strategies, he still needed time to adapt to such acrobatic combos.
"By equipping the 'Saint Dragon' and raising its attack power to match the 'Masked Beast - Death Magician', I can, of course, choose to have the Saint Dragon take the fall and allow the Masked Beast to attack directly!" the Sorcerer explained with a sharp laugh.
"I attack with 'Masked Beast - Death Magician'! Feel the power of destruction!"
The massive demon charged forward, its sharp claws slicing through the air as it lunged at You Xuan.
But then, a miracle happened!
The Silent Magician suddenly stepped forward and stood in front of You Xuan, blocking the demon's claws with her outstretched arms. With a loud snap, she turned into a burst of golden light and vanished.
"What the—?!" the Sorcerer exclaimed in surprise. "What just happened? Why would a monster jump in to take the hit?"
"Hmph, it's called the bond between a duelist and their monsters," You Xuan replied sternly. "The power of that bond can create miracles, something you wouldn't understand."
Sorcerer: "???"
What nonsense is this?
He suddenly recalled a rumor he had heard about a Duel King from an unknown world, a legend who possessed the terrifying ability to bend even the rules to their will. Could it be that he had encountered this mythical being today?
But then, his eyes landed on a trap card that had been flipped face-up in You Xuan's back row.
Trap Card - Earthbound Spirit's Temptation: When an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can change the target of that attack.
"Tch, so you saw through my plan?" You Xuan said with a smirk. "Well done. I used the effect of the trap card to redirect the attack of the 'Masked Beast - Death Magician'.
As a result, the target of your attack changed from me to the Silent Magician. And due to that attack, I lost 1300 life points."
[You Xuan: LP 4000 → LP 2700]
The Masked Sorcerer breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, his sharp eyes had caught a glimpse of You Xuan's back row. That kid had tried to pull a fast one on him, but he almost fell for it, thinking he had encountered the legendary rule-bender.
"You make it sound so noble, but all you did was use your own monster as a shield," the Masked Sorcerer sneered.
You Xuan paid him no heed. In the space where the Silent Magician had disappeared, a white magical array appeared once more. A storm of magical energy surged forth, swirling upwards toward the sky.
"What?! But she was defeated!" the Sorcerer exclaimed in surprise.
"No, all you did was unlock her true power. When Silent Magician is destroyed in battle or by an opponent's card effect, you can Special Summon another 'Silent Magician' monster from your hand, deck, or graveyard, ignoring the Summoning conditions," You Xuan explained.
From the junction of chaos and order, a silent radiance blooms, and thus the Light Magician descends—
—Silent Magician LV8!
A transparent storm of magic swirled, and the white-robed magician, who had just left the field, reappeared with her robes billowing. The magical aura surrounding her was even more potent than before.
Silent Magician LV8, Summon!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
