At Luya's command, the phantom of [Flying Kamakiri #1] appeared. Its twin wings stirred up a surge of green wind that swept over Luya's Deck.
As the green gust lifted the top of Luya's Deck, a youth wearing a deep-purple headcloth, a white child's mizugoromo, and a light-purple tunic appeared on Luya's Field. Though his eyes held an innocent purity, a faintly dangerous air emanated from him.
[Kuusei Fuchin – Scaramouche] Level 6│WIND│Machine│1500 ATK/1500 DEF
Effect: When Tribute Summoning a Demon God/Divine-class monster, this card can be treated as 3 Tributes.
With Scaramouche's appearance, the audience erupted.
"That card has 6 stars, but only 1500 ATK!?"
"Yeah!"
"It looks cool coming out, but why is the Attack so low?"
"No idea..."
"Still, the shopkeeper must have his reasons, right?!"
"This card's effect... when summoning a Demon God or a Divine, it can be treated as three Tributes!"
"Whoa!"
"Is the shopkeeper planning to summon a god next turn!?"
"Last time, in the Duel with Hall Master Hu, the Demon God of the Stove that Xiangling summoned had 5400 ATK right out of the gate!"
"It was crazy strong... and couldn't be destroyed by all sorts of effects."
"What god is the shopkeeper going to summon this time!?"
"No idea..."
"Could it be one of the Egyptian God Cards?!"
After Luya resolved [Flying Kamakiri #1]'s effect, Scaramouche arrived on Luya's Field. Looking all innocence, Scaramouche was about to become an offering to a god...
After Xingqiu's attack with [Conqueror of Demons – Xiao], there were no monsters left that could continue attacking. Thus, he moved to Main Phase 2 to Set or Summon. But the only card in Xingqiu's hand was [Dark World Warrior – Dark Sword], and his Normal Summon for the turn had already been used. So his turn ended!
As Xingqiu's turn ended, [Cloudlance Sword Saint LV6] began to emit a faint water-blue glow as a pillar of water fell upon it.
"Activate [Cloudlance Sword Saint LV6]'s effect! When [Cloudlance Sword Saint LV6] destroys a Defense Position monster, during the End Phase you can send it to the Graveyard to Special Summon [Cloudlance Sword Saint LV9]!"
This time, the one who descended was a middle-aged man. He held no visible sword in his hands—yet a keen blade rested within his heart.
[Cloudlance Sword Saint LV9] Level 9│WATER│Warrior│3000 ATK/2000 DEF
After Xingqiu Special Summoned [Cloudlance Sword Saint LV9] to the Field, Hu Tao couldn't help showing a trace of panic in her eyes at the sight of yet another 3000 ATK monster. She looked to Luya with worry, praying he could play the ace that would turn the tide!
But Luya still wore that same expression—utterly unperturbed. Ganyu and Yanfei, though unfamiliar with the exact rules of a Duel, could sense from the situation which side was at a disadvantage...
Luya and Hu Tao's Life Points were still at 1. One more touch and they would lose...
Under the eyes of all present, Luya placed his hand atop the Deck. He drew, face relaxed.
[Last Whisper of Wind] (Trap)
Whatever it was didn't matter anymore. Luya's hand size had already reached 7! In addition, he still had a face-down lifesaver on the Field: [Sinner's Waltz]. Yet Hu Tao had already held out long enough to pass the turn to Luya! So it seemed that card would have no chance to be used...
If he simply Tributed Scaramouche to Summon Slifer, with 6 cards in hand, Slifer's ATK would hit 6000! But that wasn't Slifer's limit! Luya still had [Pot of Greed] in hand.
"I activate [Pot of Greed]!"
No sooner had he spoken than a deep-green pot with a mouthful of big yellow teeth appeared before Luya, grinning slyly. Xingqiu and Chongyun had nothing on the Field that could stop it. [Pot of Greed] resolved successfully!
Two tiny hands stretched out from the green pot, resting atop Luya's Deck. One hand, one card—two cards drawn.
[King of the North Wind] (Monster)
[Dance of the Flower God] (Ritual Spell)
Luya took the two cards and added them to his hand. His card count rose to 8.
Hu Tao, seeing the fan of cards in Luya's hand, was astonished! She had a hunch Luya was about to do something big.
Luya pulled out [Slifer the Sky Dragon] from his hand. As his fingers pinched the card, a faint current seemed to run from it into Luya's hand. It was as if he could hear the Sky Dragon roaring within the card!
"I activate [Kuusei Fuchin – Scaramouche]'s effect! When used to Tribute Summon a Demon God/Divine-class monster, treat it as three Tributes!"
The moment Luya finished speaking, murmurs spread among the customers.
"Whoa! The shopkeeper really is going to summon a god!"
"Which god do you think it is?!"
"The Egyptian Gods... or one of The Seven?"
"Could it be Morax?!"
"Probably not... Morax requires the Ritual Spell [Rite of Descension] and a Tribute totaling at least 10 Levels' worth of Dragon monsters to appear."
"And this Scaramouche clearly doesn't meet that requirement."
"Then it must be one of the Egyptian God Cards!"
"Which one will it be!?"
Hearing the customers, Ganyu and Yanfei were already beyond shocked... Morax? A Ritual Spell called the Rite of Descension? And what are the Egyptian God Cards?! How could gods be involved in a Duel?
Ganyu and Keqing stared at the Field with utmost seriousness, afraid to miss a thing! This was a chance to see a god! Even Zhongli, himself the Demon God Morax, began to anticipate the monster Luya was about to Summon. He turned his gaze toward the card in Luya's hand.
"I Tribute [Kuusei Fuchin – Scaramouche]! I Summon [Slifer the Sky Dragon]!"
No sooner had Luya spoken, Scaramouche's body began to grow insubstantial—and then split into three versions of himself, each different in appearance. Their attires differed as well:
The Balladeer—crafted by a god, with breathtaking features, ear-length hair, and eyes the same purple as his creator's.
Scaramouche—true to the name he took, a boy dressed in garb reminiscent of kabuki.
The Wanderer—clad in a pilgrim's plain robes; his kasa hat themed on an eight-petaled golden lotus and a lotus leaf, adorned with two teal streamers tipped with metal charms.
The three eras of Scaramouche appeared simultaneously upon the Duel Stage. The patrons marveled at the beauty of his visage... but then—three bolts of lightning crashed down!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
All three Scaramouches were reduced to ashes at once!
Immediately after, a crimson silhouette slowly emerged—a massive twin-jawed dragon head with gaping maws, terrifying to behold. Its tail lashed through the air...
Slifer the Sky Dragon!
Its body was a brilliant, vivid red—colossal, like a moving mountain. A true sovereign of the skies, master of thunder and lightning.
At Luya's summons, Slifer the Sky Dragon appeared; that scarlet leviathan burst into view. Its arrival sent shockwaves through the crowd, as if it had descended from another world. Crimson scales shimmered with a mysterious light. Its wings unfurled, blotting out the sun, exuding an absolute sense of majesty!
In the Sky Dragon's eyes gleamed wisdom and power, as though it could perceive all things. With Slifer descended, it would now display its formidable might and arcane abilities.
[Slifer the Sky Dragon] Level 10│DIVINE│Divine-Beast│? ATK/? DEF
Effect: This card can only be Normal Summoned by Tributing 3 monsters you control.
①: The Summon of this card cannot be negated.
②: When this card is successfully Summoned, the effects of Spells/Traps/Effect Monsters cannot be activated.
③: This card's ATK/DEF increase by the number of cards in your hand ×1000.
④: If your opponent Normal/Special Summons a monster in Attack Position: while this card is face-up on the Field, those monsters lose 2000 ATK; if their ATK becomes 0, destroy them.
⑤: During the End Phase of the turn this card was Special Summoned: Send it to the Graveyard.
With Scaramouche Tributed—[Slifer the Sky Dragon] descended here!!!
"Ah!!!"
"What a gorgeous dragon!"
"My goodness, that's [Slifer the Sky Dragon], one of the Egyptian God Cards!"
"Man, isn't this even cooler than Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
"It's insanely cool!!!"
This first-run Duel Stage was four times the area of a normal stage. So, the monsters Summoned were also four times as large; combined with Slifer's already enormous body, the sight had the audience absolutely fired up!
At this moment, Zhongli's eyes were fixed on [Slifer the Sky Dragon], unwilling to look away for even a second. Though he himself was a god, the feeling of summoning a god like this stirred a longing in him!
"Huh? Why does [Slifer the Sky Dragon]'s ATK show as ???"
"Does it depend on something?"
"No idea..."
Smiling, Luya explained:
"[Slifer the Sky Dragon]—for every card in your hand, Slifer gains 1000 ATK and DEF!"
Luya raised his seven cards high.
"I have seven cards in hand!!! Therefore, [Slifer the Sky Dragon]'s ATK and DEF are 7000!"
No sooner had he finished than [Slifer the Sky Dragon]'s ATK and DEF instantly changed from ??? to 7000!
"Whoa!!!"
"7000 ATK!?"
"Doesn't that just one-shot Xingqiu and Chongyun?!"
"And since there are no Spells or Traps left on their Field... the shopkeeper's already won, right?!"
"Even if they had Spells or Traps, it wouldn't matter!"
"Slifer can shut those down on Summon!"
"And this is the Bluff Duel Stage—what could possibly beat a god?! Absolutely nothing!"
The customers had barely finished when Luya shouted:
"[Slifer the Sky Dragon], attack [Conqueror of Demons – Xiao]!"
The Sky Dragon's twin maws began to charge with lightning. Seeing that, Hu Tao knew victory was assured... so she asked Luya, "Since the Sky Dragon has two mouths, why can't it attack two monsters?"
Luya listened to her—and found it reasonable, so he bluffed:
"Because [Slifer the Sky Dragon] has two mouths—It can attack two targets at once!"
The Bluff Duel Stage seemed to accept Luya's bluff. Both of Slifer's mouths gathered spheres of lightning in tandem.
Luya continued:
"[Slifer the Sky Dragon], attack [Cloudlance Sword Saint LV9]!"
As his words fell, two bolts of electrical plasma blasted from Slifer's twin jaws! At the same time, thunderclouds gathered overhead, and lightning crashed down to meet the plasma's path!
"Superconductive Wave!!!"
With a towering 7000 ATK, [Slifer the Sky Dragon] obliterated both of Xingqiu and Chongyun's monsters—[Cloudlance Sword Saint LV9] and [Conqueror of Demons – Xiao]—in one strike...
[Chongyun & Xingqiu, LP: 0]
Luya and Hu Tao claimed victory in this Duel!
Hu Tao jumped up in excitement, then happily threw her arms around Luya in a quick hug. Turning to Xingqiu and Chongyun with a smile, she said, "We won—what a fun Duel!"
After witnessing Slifer's strike, the spectators were thrilled beyond belief!
"So exhilarating!"
"To think... we got to see a card like that in person..."
"The Egyptian Gods are as mighty as the legends say!"
"That 7000 ATK is seriously high!"
"It's the highest I've seen!!!"
"Truly incredible!"
Seeing their first Duel, Yanfei and Ganyu were also swept up in excitement. Their interest in Dueling soared, and they silently wrote their names on the tournament sign-up sheet.
...
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