123 A legendary moment of psychological annihilation—the ripple effect spreads!

"My turn, draw!"

"I activate the Spell card 'Monster Reborn'! Come forth! My soul!"

In the previous turn, Yugi had just used his own Monster Reborn to revive his ace, "Dark Magician," from the graveyard. Now, it was Kaiba's turn to draw the Reborn from his own deck. Naturally, the soul he intended to resurrect was his beloved "Blue-Eyes."

"Direct attack! I activate the effect of Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon! Yu-gi! All monsters on your field will once again be switched to Defense Position! Furthermore, both their ATK and DEF will be reduced to 0!"

As long as Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon remained on the field, the effect granted by using Blue-Eyes White Dragon as a tribute for its Ritual Summon would remain active.

"Attack! Destroy Yugi's Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl!"

Kaiba was deeply wary of this fusion monster, which shared the same Attribute, Type, Level, and stats as the previously encountered Dark Paladin. Fearing it might possess an even more formidable effect, he designated it as the first target of his Battle Phase.

"At this moment, I activate the Trap card 'Battle Stun'!"

Just as Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon gathered energy in its jaws, Yugi's voice echoed through the Battle Phase, interrupting the dragon's power buildup.

"Battle Stun has an effect similar to 'Negate Attack.' If the conditions are met, I can negate the attack of one monster and forcibly end the Battle Phase!"

The core strategy of Kaiba's deck—crushing the opponent with high-level monsters backed by raw attack power—was well known. In Yugi's deck, there were few cards that could outmatch Kaiba's Blue-Eyes series in pure offensive output. Thus, to prevent being overwhelmed, Yugi had included several cards like "Battle Stun" to disrupt Kaiba's onslaught.

"Under the effect of Battle Stun, if you have any monsters in your hand, you could show me one to negate this activation. But since you have no cards in your hand, Kaiba, you can only watch as it resolves."

"Tch!"

Staring at his empty hands, Kaiba had no choice but to grit his teeth in resignation. He was growing increasingly irritated by Yugi's repeated interruptions.

However, the next words from Yugi made him smirk.

"Kaiba! By destroying your attacking monster, 'Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon,' your Battle Phase for this turn ends!"

With no face-down cards or hand cards left to stop the effect, Yugi declared the end of Kaiba's turn.

"Hmph! Are you sure about that?"

"What?"

Yugi was momentarily stunned by Kaiba's retort, but the scene that followed made his eyes widen in disbelief. The destructive beam from the "Battle Stun" trap struck the Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon squarely, sending plumes of smoke into the air.

Yet, just as Yugi prepared to chain his next move, his Duel Disk displayed a warning in red text: *Destruction negated, battle continues.*

"Sorry, Yugi! My Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon cannot be destroyed by card effects!"

"ROAR!"

The smoke cleared, revealing the Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, completely unscathed and roaring with vitality.

"So, if I cannot destroy the attacking 'Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon,' I cannot end the Battle Phase... Is that the drawback of 'Battle Stun'?"

Kaiba saw the same red text on his own Duel Disk and drew his conclusion. "Excellent! Yu-gi! I shall gladly claim victory in this duel!"

Yugi had no hand cards, and his only face-down card had already been used and rendered ineffective. Kaiba had two souls on his field and a piercing Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, while Yugi had only two monsters with 0 Defense. The outcome was certain.

"Heh heh! Are you sure about that?"

"What?"

Yugi repeated the exact phrase Kaiba had used earlier. *Could it be... does this guy still have a countermeasure?* Kaiba instinctively looked toward Yugi's monsters, which were standing guard. It seemed Yugi's final hope rested with the master and apprentice.

"The effect of my magicians! Once per turn, when a Spell or Trap card is activated, I can draw a card from my deck! If that card is a Spell or Trap, I can set it, and if it is a Quick-Play Spell or a Trap, I can activate it the moment it is set!"

Everything—the final result of this match—depended on this single draw.

"Fall!"

*YA-DA-ZE!*

"I truly end the Battle Phase! Counter Trap, 'Negate Attack'!"

Yugi had drawn the very card Kaiba had been wary of.

Kaiba: "..."

*Damn you, Yu-gi!*

While Kaiba raged inwardly, Yugi began his new turn.

"Kaiba! This draw will be my final normal draw of this duel! This is the final turn!"

Looking at his depleted deck, Yugi set his sights on the conclusion. Whether he could reclaim the lost memories of the "Nameless Pharaoh" depended on this moment.

"My last turn! Fall!"

A golden arc of light flashed as Yugi drew his final card.

"Spell card, 'Card of Sanctity'! Both players draw until they have six cards in their hands!"

This was the first time "Card of Sanctity" had been played in the match, and it would be the last.

"Spell card, 'Dragon's Mirror'! I search my deck for the Warrior-type monster 'Buster Blader'!"

The dragon-slayer was retrieved.

"Next, the Spell card 'Magical Dimension'! I pay 1000 Life Points to revive 'Dark Magician' from the graveyard!"

After a brief rotation, the Dark Magician returned to the field, only to be sent back to the graveyard by the next spell.

"Spell card, 'Polymerization'! I fuse the 'Dark Magician' on the field with the 'Buster Blader' in my hand!"

*Is it coming...?*

Watching the fusion vortex, Yugi felt a surge of anticipation. The iconic scene from the anime was about to be realized in reality.

"Fusion Summon! Appear, Dark Paladin!"

The fusion of the mage and the dragon-slayer created the ultimate anti-dragon warrior!

"Dark Paladin's effect! He gains 500 ATK for every Dragon-type monster on the field and in either graveyard!"

"What?!"

Kaiba realized instantly that this was a monster Yugi had specifically included to counter his dragon deck.

Kaiba's field: 2 Blue-Eyes White Dragons, Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon.
Kaiba's graveyard: The White Stone of Ancients.

The ATK was identical to the moment the Dark Paladin ended the duel in the animation.

"At the very end! Yu-gi! Let's end this struggle with this card! Spell card, 'Diffusion Wave-Motion'!"

Empowered by the spell, the Dark Paladin raised his blade, black magical energy surging along the edge.

"I sacrifice 1000 of my own Life Points to allow the Level 8 Dark Paladin to attack all monsters on your field once each!"

"Come! Take this, Kaiba! Dark Paladin's attack! Magical Knight's Strike!"

As Yugi activated his final card, three glowing black crescent waves surged from the blade, striking down the Blue-Eyes White Dragons and the Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon.

"The winner of the first match of the finals—Yugi Muto!"

Seeing his President's Life Points hit zero, Isono felt a pang of regret but professionally announced the result.

"The second match of the finals, Kaiba vs. Yugi, will begin at approximately two o'clock."

Due to Joey's blunder leading to a double-knockout with Mai, the final winner would be determined by a comparison of the battle scores among the three.