"My turn," Kaiba declared. "I draw!"
With his hand replenished via Atem's powerful drawing card, Kaiba now held a massive amount of options at his disposal.
"For the start of my turn, I activate Pot of Extravagance. This card lets me randomly banish 3 or 6 of my Extra Deck Monsters face-down and draw 1 card from my main deck for every three cards that I banish. However, I cannot draw any other cards for the rest of this turn. So, I'll banish 6 Extra Deck Monsters and draw 2 cards."
Little would Kaiba have known that the cards he banished were Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon, Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon, Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, Thunder Dragon Colossus and Thunder Dragon Titan. Although he did not have the deck space to incorporate the necessary cards to summon any of the Thunder Dragon Fusion Monsters, a card like Pot of Extravagance justified the idea of keeping them in the Extra Deck as fodder, since now his hand held 8 cards. As Soul Absorption was also on the field, Kaiba gained even more advantage in the form of Life Points.
Kaiba: 4400 LP - 7400 LP
"Now, I'll activate my Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon's effect again, to target and destroy your Piercing the Darkness Spell Card and two of your face-down cards."
As it did during Kaiba's last turn, Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon laid waste to Atem's three Spell & Trap Card zones and the Pharaoh's powerful Spell Card disintegrated, as did two of his hidden cards, one of which was a pair of red tubes covered by question marks and the other was a magic hexagram encased in a ring.
Atem grunted in frustration. "You destroyed my Magic Cylinder and Spellbinding Circle."
Kaiba smiled. "Just as it should be."
Having gotten rid of two Atem's most powerful Trap Cards and Kaiba now only had two other cards to deal with, one of which he had a big hunch as to what it was.
"Next, I set one card face-down and then, I tribute my Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon, to summon my last Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
This move both stunned and mystified Atem as Kaiba's two already-powerful dragons were replaced by Kaiba's plain Blue-Eyes monster, with no protection or effects, other than Kaiba's Jet Dragon preventing it from being destroyed by effects.
"But why would you give up your two Ultimate Dragons for your ordinary Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" Atem asked.
"You'll find out soon enough," Kaiba smugly replied. "Because just like you, I'm going to call on another dragon. Or more specifically, The Fang of Critias!"
Joining Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon was the dark grey dragon that fought for Kaiba during the Orichalcos crisis and whose power rivalled that of Atem's Timaeus.
"Now, I reveal the card I set this turn: Tyrant Wing, and I'll have Critias merge with it to Special Summon: Tyrant Burst Dragon."
Critias' wings changed form and began to glow brightly like its Trap Card namesake, which normally provided the same wings when it was equipped to other dragons.
Tyrant Burst Dragon – Level 8/LIGHT/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2900
"But I'm not stopping there. Because I now merge Tyrant Burst Dragon with my Blue-Eyes White Dragon and call forth: Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon!"
Enveloped by the bright light of Tyrant Wing and the nature of the merging, Blue-Eyes White Dragon's form began to change and now resembled Critias shape whilst retaining its signature silvery-blue scales and the wings of Tyrant Dragon.
As he prepared to place his newest monster, Kaiba's duel disk formed a new space just above the middle-left monster zone and placed his card there.
Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon – Level 8/LIGHT/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 3400
"Incredible," Atem remarked, for he had never seen this enhanced version of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, let alone wielding the power of Kaiba's Legendary Dragon.
"Well, if you're easily impressed by that then you'll impressed with this next move," Kaiba boasted. "I activate Soul Release, which allows me to banish up to 5 monsters from either of our Graveyards. I'll banish my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon, Deep-Eyes White Dragon and Eclipse Wyvern from my Graveyard."
Kaiba: 7400 LP - 9900 LP
"In addition, now that Eclipse Wyvern has been banished, its second effect now activates, allowing me to add the Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End that I banished with Eclipse Wyvern."
With Chaos Emperor Dragon now in Kaiba's hand, Atem had to be mindful of how many cards were now on the field and in both players' hands, lest its effect burn away any hope he had at victory. But that wasn't the only thing on the Pharaoh's mind.
"Something is wrong," Atem thought. "Why would Kaiba banish 4 of his most powerful dragons from the duel so casually?"
His warning senses began to tingle more intensely and somewhere deep in his memory he had seen this pattern before: banishing and returning somehow. Then it dawned on Atem and he realized with horror what was probably going to happen, so much that Kaiba could see and read the expression on the Pharaoh's face.
"I take it you're familiar with what I'm about to do next," said Kaiba. "Then I hope you're prepared, because I activate Dimension Fusion! By paying 2000 of my Life Points, we both Special Summon as many of our banished monsters as possible. So, I'll Special Summon my Deep-Eyes White Dragon and all three of my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragons!"
Kaiba: 9900 LP - 7900 LP
A giant vortex of chaotic energy erupted above the field as Kaiba's dragons descended from the tear and swarmed his field. Atem and the guards stared in awe at the sight of the field engulfed by Kaiba's myriad of Blue-Eyes White Dragon evolutions.
Deep-Eyes White Dragon – ATK: 0
Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon – ATK: 4500
Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon – ATK: 4500
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon – ATK: 4500
The Pharaoh now found himself staring at 12 ravenous heads from 6 different blue-eyed dragons, only for him to recall that rules of game only permit 5 monsters for both players.
"This is impossible," he protested. "The rules of the game only allow us to have up to 5 monsters on our fields. How are you able to have 6 monsters?"
"Well, let's just say I've been working a new experiment," Kaiba cryptically answered. "A new type of monster that can interact with other cards on both fields by pointing directly at them. It's still in its experimental stages, but the zone I've added to the playing field is for all monsters special summoned from the Extra Deck, which is where my Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon was summoned to and allowing me to have 5 other monsters in my main monster zones."
Despite being blind-sided by the new rule, Atem decided to continue with the duel.
"Astounding," Atem was left nearly speechless. "You've managed to bring out every version of your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. But, since you used Dimension Fusion to bring them back, I too can Special Summon a banished monster. I Special Summon my Dark Magician of Chaos in Defense Position."
Atem's black clad spellcaster descended from the void and returned to the Pharaoh's field to protect him from the wrath of Kaiba's dragons.
Dark Magician of Chaos – DEF: 2600
"Once again, since my Dark Magician of Chaos was Special Summoned, his effect activates, allowing me to add a Spell Card from my Graveyard back to my hand. I'll retrieve Piercing the Darkness."
"Likewise, my Deep-Eyes White Dragon's effect also activates after being Special Summoned," Kaiba replied. "I'll use its effect to copy the attack power of my Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon in my Graveyard."
Deep-Eyes White Dragon – ATK: 4000
"But the summoning doesn't stop there. Now, I tribute my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to summon an even stronger monster. Evolve and emerge: Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!"
Kaiba's triple headed behemoth began to crack like an egg and bright rays of light began radiating from inside it. Breaking out of its shell that was Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon appeared a majestic and mechanical looking version of the signature Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon – Level 10/LIGHT/Dragon/Effect/ATK: 3000
Atem began to sweat at the sight of this card, for it once very nearly won a duel for Kaiba, had outside influences not intervened and presented itself as a larger threat than simply losing a duel to Kaiba.
"My Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon starts off with 3000 attack points, but it gains an additional 300 points for every dragon in my Graveyard. And currently, there are eight dragons."
The dragons in Kaiba's Graveyard were Blue-Eyes Abyss Dragon, Dragon Spirit of White, The White Stone of Legend, Paladin of White Dragon, Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Tyrant Burst Dragon and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon – ATK: 5400
"But I'm not stopping there. Next, I'll activate the effect of my Blue-Eyes Abyss Dragon in my Graveyard. By banishing it from Graveyard while I have a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my Graveyard, all my Level 8 or higher dragons gain an extra 1000 attack points."
All six of Kaiba's dragons, whose levels ranged from 8 to 12 began to glow with a soft light as they were empowered by Blue-Eyes Abyss Dragon's effect.
Kaiba: 7900 LP - 8400 LP
Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon – ATK: 4400
Deep-Eyes White Dragon – ATK: 5000
Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon – ATK: 4000
Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon – ATK: 5500
Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon – ATK: 5500
Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon – ATK: 6100
Outnumbered 3-to-1 and facing dragons with an attack strength of 4,000 or higher, the Pharaoh was at a severe disadvantage. That being said, Atem could depend on his Electromagnetic Turtle to keep him safe for a turn via its effect.
"And don't think for a minute I haven't forgotten about your Electromagnetic Turtle," Kaiba taunted. "I activate my Spell Card: Called by the Grave!"
"What does that do?" Atem asked.
"This card targets a card in your Graveyard and then banishes it, whilst also negating its effects until the end of the next turn. I'll use it to banish your Electromagnetic Turtle and stop it from getting in the way of our battle."
The pharaoh's mechanical looking reptile appeared on his field and was grabbed at the neck by a grotesque green hand that began pulling the creature into the ground. Try as it did to resist, Atem's turtle was powerless as it was dragged down into oblivion and leaving Atem vulnerable to Kaiba's dragons.
"Oh no!" Atem exclaimed, realizing that his monsters were now exposed to Kaiba's attacks.
Kaiba: 8400 LP - 8900 LP
"Now that your turtle is out of the way, all of my dragons are free to attack," said Kaiba. "Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon, attack Atem's Dark Magician the Knight of Dragon Magic. Tyrant White Lightning!"
In its familiar style, Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon unleashed a deadly torrent of electrical energy at Atem's shackled dragon.
"Not so fast, Kaiba," Atem countered. "I activate my face-down card: Mirror Force!"
Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon's attack was met by a defensive rainbow-coloured barrier.
"Your attack is reflected back at your field and destroys all of your Attack-Position monsters."
Atem's shield began to shower streaks of the same energy as that of Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon's attack towards Kaiba's field of dragons. But instead of getting angry or frustrated, Kaiba merely smiled.
"Nice try, but your strategy won't against me," Kaiba retorted. "For you see, my Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon is unaffected by Trap Cards or effects, so its attack is unimpeded. And secondly, my Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon is on field, protecting all my other cards from being destroyed by your card effects."
Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon cast itself in front of Kaiba's other dragons and took the entirety of Mirror Force's destructive power, destroying itself for the sake of its draconic brethren.
Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon – ATK: 6400
"You may have saved your dragons from one of my most powerful traps, but I am far from helpless. Since I activated a Spell or Trap Card during your turn, I can Special Summon Magician's Robe from my Graveyard in Defense Position."
Magician's Robe was an inverse of Atem's earlier Magician's Rod; its robes were corporeal, but it had no one inside its robes. It was almost as if the robes were possessed by a ghost.
Magician's Robe – Level 2/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect/DEF: 2000
"You can summon as many monsters as you want, but my victory will come sooner or later. Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon, continue your attack!"
Blue-Eyes' attack broke through the holy barrier of Mirror Force and struck Dark Magician the Knight of Dragon Magic. Both the chained rider and dragon yelled in pain as they both exploded from the attack and the Pharaoh shielded himself from their destruction.
Atem: 6700 LP - 4500 LP
"You may have destroyed my Knight of Dragon Magic, but now its effect activates. If it is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon both a Dark Magician and Gaia the Dragon Champion from Hand, Deck, Extra Deck or Graveyard. So come forth, Magician of Chaos and Gaia the Dragon Champion!"
Two blue orbs of light emerged from the smokescreen that was Dark Magician the Knight of Dragon Magic and materialized into two different monsters: the familiar black and magenta clad Dark Magician lookalike and the same pale green Curse of Dragon now ridden by Gaia the Fierce Knight, now in the form of Gaia the Dragon Champion.
Magician of Chaos – DEF: 2100
Gaia the Dragon Champion – Level 7/WIND/Dragon/Fusion/DEF: 2100
"Since your Knight of Dragon Magic was destroyed by battle and I have a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in Graveyard, my Jet Dragon's effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon it again. Rise again, Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon!"
The unwelcome sight of Kaiba's Jet Dragon re-joined its fellow dragons and was raring and ready to crush the Pharaoh.
Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon – ATK: 3000
Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon – ATK: 6100
"You may have amassed more monsters than when my turn started, but with Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon on the field, that doesn't matter," Kaiba continued. "For you see, my Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon can attack all monsters on your side of the field and your Knight of Dragon Magic was just its first victim. Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon, attack and destroy Magician of Chaos."
With their defensive power topping no more than 2600, Atem's monsters stood no chance against Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon's sheer attack strength of 4400. But with Magician of Chaos on his field, the Pharaoh still had a surprise waiting for Kaiba's monsters.
"I activate my face-down card: Necro Fusion," Atem responded. "But more importantly, since I activated a Trap Card while my Magician of Chaos is on the field, his effect activates and allows him to target and destroy a card on the field. Since your Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon protects your other cards from being destroyed, I'll have my Magician of Chaos destroy your dragon again."
Once again, Atem's Magician began charging his staff with magical energy. Atem did consider using Magician's Rod's effect again to tribute Magician's Robe and retrieve the Rod, but with the threat of Chaos Emperor Dragon lurking in Kaiba's hand, he opted not to.
"Magician, destroy Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon!"
As before, Atem's Magician of Chaos blasted Kaiba's Jet Dragon with his destructive magic.
"Not if I can help it," Kaiba interrupted. "I activate the secondary effect of Return of the Dragon Lords. By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can protect my Dragon-Type monsters from being destroyed by your card effect, so your Magician's effect is neutralized."
A statue of a large dragon appeared in the middle of the field and an aura of light shone over the duelling field, causing Magician of Chaos' magic to fizzle away before even reaching Kaiba's Jet Dragon.
Kaiba: 8900 LP - 9400 LP
Atem grimaced. "In that case, I'll resolve the effect of my Necro Fusion, allowing me to banish monsters from my Graveyard face-down to Fusion Summon a monster. I'll banish Magician's Rod, Magician of Black Chaos MAX, Master of Chaos, Dark Paladin and The Dark Magicians."
Kaiba: 9400 LP - 11900 LP
"You're Fusion Summoning with five monsters?" Kaiba was astounded as all five of Atem's fallen Spellcasters began appearing on the field.
The fivesome ascended into the air and disappeared into a void, similar to Kaiba's Dimension Fusion, and out of it came a dark-blue robed magician surrounded by five magical circles, the same ones as Dark Magical Circle.
"Behold, the supreme spellcaster: Quintet Magician!" announced Atem.
Quintet Magician – Level 12/DARK/Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect/DEF: 4500
"Since I Fusion Summoned Quintet Magician using 5 Spellcasters with different names, his effect activates and destroys all the cards on your field."
Despite being in Defense Position, Quintet Magician channelled his unrivalled magical energies and unleashed it on Kaiba's field.
"Impressive, but again my Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon will see to it that it doesn't happen," Kaiba countered. "Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon, protect my field from Quintet Magician's effect!"
Once again, Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon intercepted the destructive power of Atem's magician and sacrificed itself to protect the rest of Kaiba's cards. Kaiba could only reflect on how lucky he was to choose the right moment to banish Return of the Dragon Lords and in essence stop the majority of his field getting wiped out by Quintet Magician.
Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon – ATK: 6400
"You may have gotten rid of my Jet Dragon, but my Blue-Eyes' attack continues, and with no other face-down cards left for you to activate, your Magician of Chaos is a goner."
With the demise of Magician of Chaos, Atem was left with 4 monsters to defend him. But with Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon's ability to attack all and any of his monsters, the Pharaoh effectively only had his Quintet Magician to protect him from it, and even the magician was a sitting duck as far as Kaiba's stronger Blue-Eyes were concerned.
"Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon, attack again and destroy Gaia the Dragon Champion."
The Pharaoh had never summoned his Dragon Champion against Kaiba, but even against the normal Blue-Eyes White Dragon it would never have stood a chance, let alone a bolstered Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon.
"Now Blue-Eyes, attack again and destroy Dark Magician of Chaos."
It was starting to become a familiar sight as once again, another of Atem's magicians was felled by Kaiba's Blue-Eyes.
"Since my Dark Magician of Chaos has left the field, he is banished once again," Atem solemnly said.
"And another banished card gives me another 500 Life Points," Kaiba added.
Kaiba: 11900 LP - 12400 LP
"Finally, attack once more and destroy Magician's Robe."
Despite it being its fifth attack, Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon lost no stamina as it once again effortlessly wiped out another of the Pharaoh's defenders.
"Since Magician's Robe was special summoned by its effect and has left the field, it too is banished."
Kaiba: 12400 LP - 12900 LP
Now Atem only had Quintet Magician to protect him.
"Your Quintet Magician may stop my Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon, but my other dragons will show no mercy," Kaiba taunted. "Deep-Eyes White Dragon, obliterate Atem's Quintet Magician!"
Despite having an impressive 4500 Defense Points, Quintet Magician was simply no match for Deep-Eyes White Dragon's newfound offensive might and was effortlessly pulverized into nothing. Now Atem had nothing left to protect him against Kaiba's three evolutions of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
"Now your field is wide open to a direct attack. Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, attack the Pharaoh directly and end this duel! Shining Neutron Blast!"
Much like all of Kaiba's previous Blue-Eyes monsters, Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon let loose a stream powerful energy, only this time it was headed straight for Atem.
"Not if I have anything to say about," Atem retorted. "I discard Kuriboh from my hand to negate the damage from your attack."
A large swarm of brown spherical furballs with large eyes suddenly appeared between Atem and Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon's Shining Neutron Blast, with each one exploding on contact with the attack until both were no more.
Kaiba grimaced in frustration. "You may have dodged one attack, but you won't be able to dodge this. Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack him directly! Hyper Neutron Blast!"
As it did before, Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon unleashed another destructive blast of lightning at the Pharaoh.
"You say I won't be able to dodge this attack, but that's where you're wrong, Kaiba. Since I've taken battle damage this turn, I discard Magikuriboh from my hand to Special Summon Dark Magician Girl from my Graveyard in Defense Position. With her on my field, my Life Points are safe from your attack."
Dark Magician Girl – DEF: 1700
Although she lacked any meaningful defensive power, the youthful Dark Magician Girl was determined to do whatever it took to protect her master, even if it cost her her life.
Kaiba was growing impatient with every thwarted attack. "In that case, I'll have my dragon attack your Dark Magician Girl instead. Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, blast Dark Magician Girl back to the Graveyard!"
With those words, Dark Magician Girl's fate was sealed and could only let out an agonising shriek as she was blasted into oblivion, a disturbing image that reminded the Pharaoh of her brutal demise at the hands of the Egyptian God Slifer the Sky Dragon when it was under Marik Ishtar's control.
"Forgive me," Atem solemnly said in his mind, as his faithful servant was no more.
Having managed to avoid two attacks that would've wiped out his Life Points, all that Atem had to face was Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon
Kaiba wasted no time. "I still have one more dragon that I can attack with. Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon, attack him directly! Neutron Strike!"
Despite using its effect that would've prevented it from attacking, Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon was not considered the same monster that was tributed earlier in the turn, and as with its predecessors, Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon combined the powers of its three individual heads and blasted the Pharaoh with all their rage and might.
"This duel isn't over, not by a long way," Atem countered. "I activate the effect of the monster I discarded on my last turn via my Kuribandit: Kuribohrn. By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon as many Kuriboh monsters as possible from my Graveyard. Be reborn: Kuriboh, Clear Kuriboh, Ankuriboh and Magikuriboh!"
Kaiba: 12900 LP - 13400 LP
An apparition of a white furry Kuriboh, wearing an angelic headdress, appeared over the Pharaoh's field as four of its fallen kind were restored to life: the original brown Kuriboh, the dark hued Clear Kuriboh, the purple & aptly named Ankuriboh and Magikuriboh, who looked like a Kuriboh that was trying to cosplay as Dark Magician.
Kuriboh – Level 1/DARK/Fiend/Effect/DEF: 200
Clear Kuriboh – Level 1/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect/DEF: 200
Ankuriboh – Level 1/DARK/Fiend/Effect/DEF: 200
Magikuriboh – Level 1/DARK/Fiend/Effect/DEF: 200
None of them had any means of stopping Alternative Ultimate Dragon, but as far as Atem was concerned his Life Points were safe from its attack.
Kaiba groaned angrily, especially at the thought of his hard-won victory being stopped by furballs. Additionally, having seen the first three Kuribohs in action, Kaiba pondered on where Ankuriboh had come from until he remembered that Atem discarded two monsters via Kuribandit and surmised that Ankuriboh was the other monster that was discarded.
"Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon, attack and destroy Kuriboh."
The cute little fiend squealed as it was hit by the dragon's breath and exploded.
"Since you've Special Summoned new monsters to the field, my Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon can see more action. Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon, destroy all three of Atem's Kuribohs!"
Instead of attacking them one by one, Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon blasted the entire of wall of Kuribohs into nothing but smouldering smoke.
"You may have destroyed all of my Kuribohs, but since you've attacked with all your dragons, my Life Points are now secure," said Atem.
Kaiba smirked. "It is true that all the monsters currently on my field have attacked, but you're sorely mistaken if you think I'm done. I play from my hand the Quick-Play Spell: Silver's Cry."
Behind Kaiba appeared his Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, except that it wasn't the monster card itself (for it was banished face-down), but rather the Spell Card's image as it roared at the sky, as if it was beckoning for something.
"This card lets me target a Normal Dragon Monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it. Return to life, Dragon Spirit of White!"
Answering Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon's call was a dragon that liked very similar to Blue-Eyes White Dragon, except that it was much whiter and, in certain ways, looked like a young version of it.
Dragon Spirit of White – Level 8/LIGHT/Dragon/Effect/ATK: 2500
Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon – ATK: 6100
"Impossible!" Atem protested. "Your dragon is an Effect Monster. So how are you able to summon it through Silver's Cry even though it's not a Normal Monster?"
"Don't you recall? When I used my Dragon Shrine to send Dragon Spirit of White to my Graveyard, its effect allows it to be treated as a Normal Monster while in the Graveyard, which allowed me to use the second effect of Dragon Shrine and Special Summon it with Silver's Cry."
Kaiba's answer satisfied the Pharaoh. At 2500 Attack Points, Dragon Spirit of White had no chance of depleting Atem's Life Points, but the damage that would be inflicted would be such that it wouldn't take much to finish the remainder of his Life Points.
"Dragon Spirit of White, go! Attack Atem directly!"
Like all of Kaiba's previous dragons, Dragon Spirit of White reared up and unleashed a stream of blazing light from its mouth, bathing Atem in its deadly breath and causing him to cry out in pain.
Atem: 4500 LP - 2000 LP
The pharaoh struggled against the aching pain of his body and muscles as he recovered from the attack.
"You may have gotten my Life Points down to 2000, but as long as I have a single Life Point, I'm still in this duel," Atem defiantly asserted. "And with your field full of dragons that have all attacked, you can't finish me off with your Chaos Emperor Dragon."
But Kaiba smiled again. "I may have attacked you with all my current monsters, but there's still one more monster that has yet to attack."
"But that's impossible, your field is completely full!"
"Then observe as I activate my Trap Card: Dragon's Rebirth! This card lets me banish a Dragon -Type Monster that I control and Special Summon another Dragon from my hand or Graveyard. So, I'll banish my Dragon Spirit of White. Be reborn and rise again, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
Kaiba: 13400 LP - 13900 LP
The Pharaoh watched as Kaiba's Dragon Spirit of White disappeared to ether and taking its place was the triple-headed progenitor of most of Kaiba's strongest dragons.
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon – ATK: 4500
Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon – ATK: 5800
Kaiba's board was complete. He now had all three variations of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon out simultaneously, two Level 10 Blue-Eyes evolutions and a Blue-Eyes empowered by his Atlantean dragon Critias, with most of them also boosted by the banished Blue-Eyes Abyss Dragon. He was one attack from victory and had no intention of holding back.
"You put a good fight, Atem, but in the end my victory was inevitable," said Kaiba. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack Atem directly and end this duel. Neutron Blast!"
While Atem had faced attacks from Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, both in this duel and during his duels against Kaiba in the world of the living, he had never faced the full wrath and might of the dragon through a direct attack from it. Nevertheless, he was not about to give up… if he could help it.
"I activate the effect of Clear Kuriboh in my Graveyard. By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can draw 1 card from my deck and if it's a Monster Card, I can Special Summon it to the field and redirect your dragon's attack to that instead."
Kaiba: 13900 LP - 14400 LP
While it did sound like a clever and cheeky way to avoid Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's attack, Atem still had to draw a Monster Card in order to summon it, which was a one-in-three chance, and it had to be a monster that had no Special Summon restrictions. It was all-or-nothing and Atem had doubts in his head as to whether he would draw the right card, but he remembered to believe in his deck and trust the Heart of the Cards to guide him.
"My king!" echoed a familiar voice that only Atem could hear as he drew his card.
By some instinct, Atem knew what he had drawn and by the guidance of the card, placed it on his DiaDhank-styled duel disk. It was a monster but was a human rather than a beast and resembled Atem's late friend, who gave his life to serve his king against the forces of evil and eventually became Atem's signature servant, the Dark Magician. It was Mahad, or rather he was known as Palladium Oracle Mahad.
Palladium Oracle Mahad – Level 7/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect/DEF: 2100
The ultimate stream of destruction was redirected towards Atem's new servant and found its mark without fault. Despite his impending doom, Mahad held no fear at the face of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's attack and met his end willing, safe in the knowledge that his master lived to fight for one more turn and that he had thwarted Kaiba's last-ditch effort at victory. Kaiba could do nothing but growl in barely contained rage at the sight of his final attack being intercepted and seeing his rival survive for another turn.
"Since Palladium Oracle Mahad was destroyed, his effect activates, allowing him to be reborn as the monster that should be familiar to you," Atem smiled. "I Special Summon my Dark Magician back to the field."
As had happened so long ago, during Mahad's final act against his nemesis Thief King Bakura, Mahad's spirit was reborn into the purple Spellcaster that Atem could always depend upon.
Dark Magician – DEF: 2100
"Not only that, but since a Spellcaster Monster was destroyed, the second effect of my Magikuriboh also activates, allowing me to add it from my Graveyard back to my hand."
Having used both of its effects, Magikuriboh was of no more use for the rest of the turn but having it in his hand for the next turn would give Atem one more resource should he need it.
Although attacking and destroying Dark Magician wouldn't damage Atem's Life Points, Kaiba would see to the spellcaster's removal from the field and his sight, for the magician's smug presence was taunting him for his inability to finish off the Pharaoh.
"So be it," Kaiba looked scornfully. "Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon, attack for the last time and destroy the Dark Magician! Tyrant White Lightning!"
For the ninth and final time of the turn, Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon fired yet another burst of lightning at Atem's monster, finding its mark perfectly and obliterating the purple robed spellcaster, leaving Atem's field completely empty.
"You may have survived this turn, but I promise you that your next turn… will be your last," said Kaiba. "Since my Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon battled, I can activate its effect to target and set one Trap Card in my Graveyard. I set my Negate Attack from the Graveyard and end my turn."
Although Kaiba had other Trap Cards to choose from, notably Ring of Destruction (which would have guaranteed his victory), he did not feel like ruining his perfect end board of dragons and was confident in their abilities and that the remaining cards in his deck and hand would be enough to see off any threat the Pharaoh could muster.
"Before your turn comes to an end, my Ankuriboh's effect activates," Atem interrupted. "Since it was sent from my field to the Graveyard this turn, I can add Monster Reborn from my Graveyard back to my hand."
With the acquirement of Monster Reborn, Atem's options were better, but against Kaiba's six dragons and with the added complication of Negate Attack set on the field and Chaos Emperor Dragon in Kaiba's hand, his odds were not promising. Even if he did summon Dark Cavalry via Monster Reborn (whose Attack Points would be over 8000), Kaiba would be left a space to be able to summon his Chaos Emperor Dragon and burn the rest of Atem's Life Points, and if Atem did nothing, then Kaiba's dragons would finish him off. Not only that, but with Kaiba standing healthy at a staggering 14,400 Life Points, it was a virtually impossible task to bring them to 0, especially as the card that could've accomplished it, Diffusion-Wave Motion, was currently in the Graveyard.