Osiris held his god card proudly, and placed it gently on his golden duel disk.
"A ten star monster, that requires the sacrifice of three other creatures just to breathe life into it. And I happen to have three on the field right now."
Bakura gulped, and managed to cover his eyes. He instantly thought of Battle City, how terrified he was when the pharaoh managed to summon that same God. His cards had failed him. His strategies had failed him. And it was at that moment that the traitorous tomb keeper had suggested he throw Ryou in front of the dragon's attack.
He did so, of course, but before the final blow could be struck, Bakura had changed his mind.
"He couldn't take that attack then." Bakura whispered under his breath, too quiet for Ryou to notice. "He can't take it now."
The three monsters on Osiris' side of the field, the phoenix, spirit reaper, and angel, vanished into a fine mist. And from that haze, the mighty saint dragon Osiris rose.
"It'll kill him." He whispered. Bakura could hardly believe his own words. He tried to silence his thoughts, but they just kept coming. "It'll kill him, and then they'll kill me. And it's all my fault. He's about to… to die…"
Ryou felt his knees buckle at the sight of the dragon.
His mind also raced back to Battle City. The last time he faced the dragon's double mouth, he was too groggy to appreciate how fearful it actually was. If it weren't for his yami taking control of the body, he might have lost much more than the duel that day. He just as easily could have lost his life.
"That… that was then… This is now." Ryou tried to talk himself out of his fears. "This time… I have a reason to fight… and… and to win. I… I can handle anything that Osiris will throw at me… As long as… as long as my yami is by my side…"
He glanced back at the thief, who still had his head buried in his palms.
"I'll stop Osiris… I have to." He shouted aloud. "I'm taking you out of here, yami! Even if it's the last thing I do!"
"It will be." Osiris interrupted, immediately attacking with his dragon.
Ryou didn't even have time to move before the lightning blast struck the Dark Necrofear. The dragon's power was directly related to the number of cards in Osiris' hand. The deity held three cards, so its attack strength was 3000.
The Dark Necrofear could do nothing to stop the attack. She fell to the ground, burnt to her very core. Blue skin cracked and crumbled. Even her precious baby was reduced to a mere pile of ash.
"I activate her special ability!" Ryou shouted. "I'm allowed to take one of your monsters and… and bring it to my side of the…"
"It doesn't work that way." Osiris smiled. "Monster effects do not work on divine monsters. And magic effects only work for one turn. Your fiend is in the graveyard, powerless."
Ryou trembled. Osiris was right. And before his eyes, the Necrofear collapsed, devoid of her last vestige of power.
"… oh god…" he gasped, quickly trying to think of another strategy. He sorted through his hand at least twice before looking back up at his opponent.
"And next time, that lightning blast will be aimed at your life points!" Osiris added. "I end my turn."
"Oh god…" he gulped again. He glanced to the side. His yami didn't even move.
Timidly, he drew another card.
But as he saw the familiar picture on the magic card, he slowly started to gain some confidence back.
"… No. It won't." Ryou shouted, pulling both himself and his yami out of their momentary delirium. "This time, it will be aimed… aimed at… at your life points."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I activate Snatch Steal." He held up the magic card, and slid it into an opening in his duel disk. "And since it's… it's a continuous magic card, it works, but only for one turn. And one turn is all I need!"
Bakura jumped up, the chains pulling him quickly back down. Anubis kept a tight hold on them.
"Give that asshole a taste of his own medicine!" he screamed.
"Silence, wretched thief!" Anubis shouted back, pulling him down again. White lightning appeared around the edges of his staff. "Before you force me to silence you."
"I'm stealing your god…" Ryou announced slowly. With the card played, the saint dragon Osiris slithered around Ryou, and settled to face Osiris.
"Now… now what do I remember about… about this god card?" Ryou even let a smile escape his lips. "Its power is based on how many cards are in my hand. And there are five cards in my hand."
Osiris froze.
"And I attack your life points directly… With all 5,000 of your dragon's attack points!"
The thief grinned, still struggling against Anubis' chains. He could hardly believe how skillful a duelist his hikari really was. One turn ago, he was about to die, and now, he was attacking the god with a god! With himself! The irony was enough to make him fall over in laughter.
The dragon powered up a mystical lighting blast, and struck Osiris square in the chest. The deity was blown back into another podium behind him. As the smoke cleared, the damage could be felt as well as seen. The podium had broken with such an impact, and Osiris was weakly attempting to stand back up.
His life points, once so strong, were now lower than Ryou's. He only had 2200 remaining.
"And that's not all." Ryou added as the smoke started to clear. "Now, I play a ritual magic card!"
Bakura quickly sat up. He only knew of one ritual card in his entire deck. And unless Ryou had completely redone his deck, he knew exactly what the boy was about to do. The main surprise was, of course, that Ryou would even perform such a ritual.
"I play Contract with the Dark Master." He announced. "And in order to complete this ritual, I must sacrifice any number of monsters that equals eight or more levels. And since your god is a level ten, and it is currently in my control, I choose to sacrifice it!"
Bakura voiced a loud gasp, which was quickly silenced by Anubis. The jackal-headed deity, unable to stand the thief's insolence any longer, had taken it upon himself to strike him upside the head.
His cheek slammed into the floor with such force that it broke apart the stones. Regardless, he still twisted his head around to see the duel.
"And now… The dark master Zorc can enter the game!" Ryou shouted, much more assuredly than anyone would have expected.
Osiris froze as he saw the dark god step out of the shadows. The air steamed with sulfur, and tasted like ash. Even the chamber floor, as holy as it was, withered away at the touch of Zorc's feet.
"L…Lord of the Dead… m..meet Lord of the Darkness…" Ryou shouted timidly. The creature roared, lifting its ivory horns into the air. Red eyes pierced Osiris' very being, draining him of his strength and purpose. "And… and since I already attacked this turn… It's your move…"
Bakura was nothing short of awestruck at his hikari's last move.
Not only did he just summon a monster that he literally sacrificed his life in order to stop. But he also sacrificed a god to unleash another god. He used cards, which in their very nature condemn one's soul into the darkness. Metaphorically speaking, to make a contract with the dark master in this game was no different than putting the seven items back in the millennium stone and reciting the lost name of the pharaoh. But Ryou had already done that too.
"That was how he got here in the first place." Bakura whispered, as Anubis thrust his boot into Bakura's back. He slammed into the floor again. "He gave in to the darkness… just to see me…"
His hand pressed against his chest, Bakura clutched the green stoned necklace his hikari had gave him. Suddenly, it meant more than all the power of the millennium ring.
"Hear that, asshole!" Bakura shouted, completely ignoring Anubis' heavy heel. "How does it feel to be beat by the God of Darkness?"
"Silence." Osiris roared. He glanced scornfully at the thief, and then turned back to Ryou. "I knew you would make that move. It was only a matter of time."
Ryou blinked.
"Summoning an Egyptian god was only part one of my strategy. I should be thanking you for setting up the field for the next round!"
"The… the next round?" Ryou asked weakly. Osiris merely nodded.
"Where you, and the demon you fight for, shall both be destroyed!"