"Joey, Joey! Wake up, now!"
"Mmm... quit it... lemme sleep five more minutes..." Joey Wheeler rolled over, smacking his lips and mumbling incoherently.
"Yugi's duel is about to start! Don't you want to see it?"
"Yugi's duel is starting?" Joey repeated blankly. He was silent for a second before suddenly bolting upright. "WHAT?!"
He straightened his back and scanned the arena. Sure enough, Yugi and Kaiba were already standing on the dueling platform. Even their Life Points were no longer at 4000.
"Tristan! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?!"
"I tried dozens of times, but you were sleeping like a dead pig! If Serenity weren't here, I would've punched you awake long ago," his best friend Tristan said irritably.
Catching the suppressed giggles from his sister, Serenity, and Mai Valentine, Joey's face turned beet red. He let out a forced laugh to change the subject. "Anyway, what about the last match? Who won? It wasn't Marik, was it?"
"It was Aomori," Mai answered, her expression grim. "He used yet another new deck this time. Some archetype called 'Dark World.' He ripped Marik's hand apart in no time, leaving him with no monsters or face-down cards on the field."
"Dark World? Sounds like his style," Joey muttered. A painful memory flashed through his mind, and he quickly redirected his focus. "What about the God Card? Didn't Marik have a God Card?"
"Marik never even got the chance to use it. Aomori took it as his ante."
"No way... Even that arrogant Marik didn't stand a chance. Then Yugi..." Joey began to fret for his friend.
"What are you thinking, Joey? The semifinals aren't even over and you're already worrying about the finals?"
"Of course! Since when is Kaiba a match for Yugi? He's a career runner-up, nothing more."
Despite his bravado, Joey watched the duel above with rapt attention. The battle was a rollercoaster of twists and turns that kept him on edge, but in the end, Yugi's superior skill carried the day.
"Hahaha! Told ya! How could Kaiba ever beat Yugi?" Joey bragged, secretly wiping cold sweat from his forehead.
His friends, having seen right through him, simply rolled their eyes in unison.
"The final battle is next." After claiming Kaiba's God Card, Yugi locked eyes with Aomori, who was standing by the sidelines. Both saw an intense fighting spirit reflected in the other's gaze.
…
The next day, the Battle City Finals commenced at the Sky Arena.
The victor would not only earn the title of "Duel King" but, more importantly, would claim all three Egyptian God Cards, possessing the power to rule the world.
"Aomori, I acknowledge your strength. In an ordinary duel, I might not be your match," Yugi said with solemn gravity. "But for this duel, I have a reason I absolutely cannot lose."
Whether for his own lost memories or the dreams of his friends, failure was not an option!
"Oh? Is that so?" Aomori shook his head nonchalantly. "I don't really have a 'must-win' reason. However, don't expect me to go easy on you. I'm going all out."
"I would expect nothing less. Let's have a heart-pounding duel with no regrets!"
As they faced off, their combined presence was so overwhelming that even the spectators felt a physical pressure from the clash of their auras.
"So much power... I wish I could have a battle like that with Yugi," Joey said wistfully.
"Hmph. A mere mediocre talent like you? Even if you fought Yugi, you'd be crushed in a few turns just like last time," Kaiba sneered. "Only I am worthy of dueling at their level!"
"What did you say?!"
"The truth."
"You jerk!"
Amidst the high stakes and feverish anticipation, the final battle began!
"I'll take the lead! Draw!" Yugi declared.
He has a habit of going for OTKs, so I must be extremely cautious. Plus, he always changes his deck. This one is likely different from his previous ones.
Checking his hand, Yugi moved quickly. "I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard (ATK: 1400 / DEF: 1200) in Attack Position! I set two cards and end my turn."
"Cannot be destroyed by battle with a monster that has 1900 or more ATK?" Aomori was well-acquainted with this card. If equipped to boost its ATK to 1900, it became a solid wall. It was a simple yet effective card.
However, Aomori currently had a hundred ways to send that card to the Graveyard.
"My turn, draw!" Aomori smiled. "I activate the Spell card Card Destruction! Both players must discard their entire hands and draw the same number of cards."
"Refreshing hands? No, he's likely setting up his Graveyard..." Yugi's face darkened as he discarded his hand and drew three new cards.
"I activate Harpie's Feather Duster! Destroy all Spells and Traps on your field!"
"Not so fast! I chain my face-down card, Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your Harpie's Feather Duster!"
The two cyclones collided and neutralized each other.
"Eh? You can do that? Fine, whatever." Aomori shook his head and continued. "I summon Hero: Glasses (ATK: 1700 / DEF: 1100)! I activate his effect: by discarding one 'Hero' card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can summon a Level 3 or lower 'Hero' from my deck. I choose to discard Hero: Mumen Rider. Per his effect, when he enters the Graveyard, I can add one 'Hero' card from my deck to my hand."
"Next, I summon Hero: King (ATK: 500 / DEF: 400). I activate the Equip Spell Hope Gundam, increasing his ATK by 900 and DEF by 500. But thanks to Hero: King's effect, the bonuses are doubled when equipped with Hope Gundam, bringing his ATK to 2300! Finally, I activate Monster Reborn to bring Hero: Mumen Rider back to the field!"
"This..." The audience was stunned by the rapid-fire chain of moves.
"Three monsters out of nowhere? Talk about cheap!" Joey complained. "At least their Attack isn't that high."
"Idiot. The point is he has three monsters on the field; he can summon The Winged Dragon of Ra at any moment," Kaiba said grimly. "He is a powerful foe indeed, but where did those strange cards come from?"
Kaiba felt he had more research to do; there were far too many cards he had never seen before.
"The God Card... Ra..." Joey swallowed hard, looking at Yugi. "Yugi will be fine. He has two God Cards of his own."
On the field, Yugi remained focused. His setup is fast, but I anticipated this. Come on, attack Obnoxious Celtic Guard. His remaining face-down card was a trap specifically prepared for Aomori.
"Hmm, that backrow is probably a trap. I don't have any more removal, so should I swing?" Aomori pondered for a moment before his lips curled into a smirk. "Screw it! Who's afraid of a trap?"
"Hero: Mumen Rider, attack Obnoxious Celtic Guard now!"
"Hah! Just what I was waiting for!" Yugi cried. "I activate my Trap: Mirror Force! When an opponent's monster declares an attack, all Attack Position monsters on their field are destroyed!"
A shimmering barrier appeared, reflecting Mumen Rider's charge back at Aomori's field. All three of his monsters were vaporized.
"Yes! Yugi, nice one!" Joey shouted, seeing the momentum shift.
"Not bad, Yugi. But Aomori isn't the type to be that reckless. There must be more to it," Kaiba observed.
Indeed, Aomori's smile never wavered. "Don't celebrate just yet. Since Hero: Mumen Rider was sent to the Graveyard again, I get to draw another 'Hero' card. Furthermore, I activate Hero: King's effect! If he is destroyed by an opponent's card effect while equipped with Hope Gundam, I can Special Summon a Level 7 'Hero' from my deck!"
He pulled a card from his deck and slammed it onto the Duel Disk.
"Come forth, Hero: Genos (ATK: 2600 / DEF: 2200)!"
A blond man with a fully mechanized body appeared on Aomori's side.
"2600 Attack?" Joey gasped, but then relaxed. "Wait, his ATK is over 1900, so he can't destroy Obnoxious Celtic Guard in battle!"
"Heh, he has an effect too," Aomori said. "By giving up his attack for the turn, once per turn, he can destroy up to two monsters on the opponent's field with 1500 or less ATK. Go, Hero: Genos! Use Incineration Cannon!"
Genos's eyes flared. He threw his hands forward, unleashing a torrent of flames that reduced the Celtic Guard to ash.
"My Guard..." Yugi sighed. His opponent was truly skilled and wouldn't leave him any openings.
"I set one card and end my turn." Aomori was down to a single card in hand.
"My turn, draw!" Yugi declared. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards."
Looking at his hand, Yugi smiled. "It seems Lady Luck is with me. I activate Monster Reborn to summon Queen's Knight from my Graveyard! Next, I activate the Spell Double Spell! By discarding a Spell, I can use a Spell card in my opponent's Graveyard—I choose Monster Reborn! Come forth, King's Knight! And by his effect, I Special Summon Jack's Knight from my deck!"
"He summoned the Three Musketeers of Face Cards in one go... Is he calling out a God?" Kaiba asked, surprised.
Yugi smiled and held up a card. "I Tribute my Three Musketeers to summon Obelisk the Tormentor (ATK: 4000 / DEF: 4000)!"
The sky turned turbulent as a blue-skinned titan rose from the ground. Its glowing red eyes locked onto Aomori, and a violent aura buffeted Aomori's hair.
"So this is a God." This was Aomori's first time standing face-to-face with an Egyptian God. "This level of pressure... not bad at all."
"ALRIGHT!" Joey cheered. "A God Card is on the field! Yugi's got this!"
"Don't be so sure. Aomori has a God Card of his own," Kaiba reminded him.
"Pfft, he's only got one card left. What can he do with that?"
Yugi didn't hesitate. He ordered Obelisk to attack. Genos was pulverized by the titan's fist, and Aomori took 1400 points of damage.
"Now! I activate Hero: Genos's secondary effect! When he is destroyed by battle, I can trigger his Self-Destruct, dealing the same amount of damage to my opponent!"
"What?!" Caught in the blast, Yugi's Life Points plummeted to 2600, matching Aomori's.
"These card effects are incredible," Yugi exhaled, setting one card before ending his turn.
"My turn, draw!" Aomori glanced at the card he drew and laughed. "Looks like my luck isn't so bad either. I activate the Spell Card of Sanctity! Every player draws until they have six cards in their hand."
Aomori drew five cards, instantly replenishing his arsenal.
"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your only face-down card! Next, I summon Hero: Gale Rider Fubuki. By her effect, I discard three cards to Special Summon Hero: Terrible Tornado. And because of Hero: Terrible Tornado's effect, Obelisk the Tormentor is destroyed!"
To the shock of everyone watching, Obelisk, one of the three mighty Egyptian Gods, was torn to shreds by psychokinetic force.
"Fubuki, go! Finish this!"
A flurry of wind blades flew toward Yugi. After a loud crash, Yugi's Life Points remained unchanged.
"The moment you attacked, I discarded Kuriboh from my hand to negate the damage," Yugi explained.
"Kuriboh saves you yet again. Too bad you don't have a second one." Aomori smiled. "I activate my face-down Ritual Spell: Arrival of One Punch Man! By Tributing Fubuki and Tornado on the field and banishing five 'Hero' cards from my Graveyard, I Special Summon One Punch Man: Saitama (ATK: 5000 / DEF: 5000)!"
"What?! A monster with higher Attack than a God?!" The crowd was in an uproar.
"Go! Serious Punch!"
Saitama took a step forward, his expression dead serious, and threw the final blow.
BOOM!
Yugi's Life Points hit zero instantly.
"I... I lost..." Yugi said, somewhat dejected. However, he quickly pulled himself together, walked over to Aomori, and held out his hand.
"Well played. You are the undisputed Duel King. I accept this defeat."
"Mm, I think so too." Aomori smiled and shook his hand. "Thank you. Thanks to all of you and this world. I had a lot of fun."
"Hm?"
"So... about those God Cards? I believe they belong to me now."
"...Fair enough." Yugi painfully handed over the two God Cards. "They aren't easy for an ordinary person to control. Be careful."
"Don't worry. I will."