Chapter 53: Double Strike of Silence

"Attack power is actually a staggering 3,500?!"
The Masked Sorcerer cried out in shock.

When the Museum Director had first revealed the Silent Magician, he had mysteriously hinted at the LV series. Naturally, both Silent Magician LV4 and LV8 had to exist. It was just that Yuxuan hadn't really used them much until now.

"Hmph, so that's how it is. The power of this spirit... is actually greater than the strongest form of my Masked Beast - Des Guardius. Is this your trump card?" The sorcerer snorted.

Yet, there was still a chance.

He cast his gaze upon the very last card in his hand.

[Trap Card: Defensive Fire.
Effect: When an opponent's monster attacks a monster on your own field, the attacked monster's ATK increases by the ATK value of another face-up monster on your field.]

Maintaining a poker face, the sorcerer set his final card.

"I set one card face-down. Turn end."

Next turn, the opponent would undoubtedly attack with Silent Magician. The moment that happened, triggering Defensive Fire would add the Holy Night Dragon's ATK to the Masked Beast, instantly boosting the Masked Beast's ATK up to a massive 7,000 points.

Silent Magician's attack would be reflected, dealing a massive 3,500 points of damage to the opponent in an instant. At that point, the opponent's Life Points would be reduced to a flickering candle in the wind at a mere 2,700, and a single strike would seal the victory!

This was his comeback move.
He, the Masked Sorcerer, had claimed this duel.

Inwardly, he was smirking with triumph, though his cold mask concealed his expression.

"My turn, draw."

Yuxuan drew his card, then calmly pulled a card from his hand and removed The Trickster from his Duel Disk.

"I offer 'The Trickster' as a tribute..."

"Hmm?" The sorcerer frowned beneath his mask.

A Tribute Summon?

Yet a single tribute could only summon a Level 5 or 6 monster. And right now, the three big bosses standing on both fields all boasted attack powers in the three-thousands; small fries of that caliber couldn't possibly interfere with this situation...

...Nani!?

When he saw The Trickster dissolve into points of light, followed by the appearance of a mechanical body, overflowing electrical currents, and glowing red mechanical eyes emerging from the sacrificial aperture of light, the sorcerer's eyes widened in disbelief.

Jinzo!?

[Jinzo, ATK 2400]

"It's trap lockdown... ugh..."

The sorcerer's expression beneath his mask instantly twisted as he gritted his teeth, glaring at his own back row.

The absolute nemesis of traps, a renowned trap-killer even in this spirit realm. The appearance of this monster instantly rewritten the situation, turning his comeback trap into a worthless piece of scrap paper.

"How is it possible... Did you see through my tactics!?" The sorcerer said in shock.

"Who knows." Yuxuan shrugged.

In his past life, he would have just found it funny and thought, *Bro, it's not me, you just have bad luck, and I happened to draw this thing.*

But this was the world of Yu-Gi-Oh.

Of course, it wasn't as if he had intentionally aimed for the card "Jinzo." Summoning whatever you called for was the Pharaoh's superpower; ordinary duelists couldn't pull that off.

Still, right before drawing, he had indeed paid a little extra attention to the opponent's back row and momentarily entertained the thought of "if only I could draw some back-row removal."

And though he hadn't drawn actual removal, this had arrived instead.

Although it still seemed a far cry from the realm of mixed-archetype engines and various combos in competitive decks, by borrowing the power of spirits, one could subtly influence the trajectory of a duel to a certain extent.

Naturally, this was quite metaphysical, not guaranteed to work, and tied to the opponent across the table—what people called "Destiny Power."

"Next, I activate the Magic Card 'Shrine of Mist'—no, 'Power Bond'—wait, 'Limiter Removal'? Ah, 'Power'." Yuxuan continued, "Select two face-up monsters on the field. Until the end phase, one targeted monster's ATK is halved, and the other monster gains that much ATK.

I choose to halve the ATK of 'Masked Beast - Des Guardius' on your field, and add that value to 'Silent Magician'."

[Masked Beast - Des Guardius, ATK 3300 → ATK 1650]
[Silent Magician LV8, ATK 3500 → ATK 5150]

"ATK... 5,150!?"

The goblin underlings in the audience were so scared their legs turned to jelly.

This wasn't a virtual projection from the real world, but a battle between entities with true physical presence in the spirit realm. Every single point of power amplified onto a spirit was entirely genuine. Facing Silent Magician LV8 at this moment, the residual shockwaves of magical energy she inadvertently radiated caused these low-level goblins to lose their wits in sheer terror.

"It's not over yet. Next is the Magic Card 'Diffusion Wave-Motion'." Yuxuan waved a hand, "If there is a monster on the opponent's field, pay 1,000 Life Points, and select one Level 7 or higher Spellcaster-Type monster you control.

This turn, only the selected monster must attack all monsters on the opponent's field, one attack each."

A card dedicated to Spellcasters, one of the Dark Pharaoh Atem's favorite finishing moves. In Battle City, it was precisely this card that wiped out the President's entire family of Blue-Eyes White Dragons to deliver the decisive blow.

[Yuxuan, LP 2700 → LP 1700]

Masked Sorcerer: "!?"

Over 5,000 attack points plus an AOE attack?

Some of the goblins turned pale with fright, and the sharper ones had already turned around, preparing to make a run for it...

"Battle."

Declaring the entry into the Battle Phase without hesitation, Yuxuan swept his hand forward, locking first onto the avatar of the sorcerer himself—his so-called evolved, ultimate form.

"Silent Magician LV8, attack 'Masked Beast - Des Guardius'."

Silent Magician soared into the air, her form spinning as surging white light gathered into a vortex at the tip of her staff, resembling a wave of pristine white. The demon's chest was violently pierced, emitting a sharp, agonizing shriek before exploding into golden dust.

"Argh!"

As if linked to his own projection on the field, the Masked Sorcerer let out a piercing scream upon taking the blow. The residual magical wave spun his entire body backward, cracking the mask on his face.

[Masked Sorcerer, LP 4000 → LP 500]

Yet, ignoring the excruciating pain, his body spinning in the magical tempest, he suddenly burst into hysterical laughter.

"You fell for it, you brat! This is my true hidden contingency!
The moment 'Masked Beast - Des Guardius' is destroyed, its hidden effect activates! I equip the Magic Card 'Mask of Remnants' from my deck to a monster on your field!"

A beam of golden light shot out from the deck, transforming into a hideous mask that flew straight toward Silent Magician's face!

"'Mask of Remnants' is a Magic Card that only exerts its true effect when equipped through the effect of Masked Beast - Des Guardius!"

The sorcerer screamed viciously from mid-air.

"As Des Guardius's dying wish, I can take control of the equipped monster! So come, your Silent Magician shall be mine—"

"Useless."

Yuxuan dropped the word. The hideous mask didn't even reach Silent Magician before it collided with an invisible layer of white magical barrier, shattering into pieces with a sharp snap.

"Nani!?" The sorcerer shrieked.

"LV8 Silent Magician is the ultimate spellcaster possessing magic resistance sufficient to defy any spell. She is completely unaffected by any Magic Card effects from the opponent."

"How... is this possible?" The sorcerer's face beneath the mask twisted.

Damn it, if he had known about this effect beforehand, he should have used the Mask of Remnants to seize control of that Jinzo instead...

...Though it probably still wouldn't have made a difference.

As long as Jinzo remained on the field, it locked down all traps across the entire board; it wouldn't matter which side it was on, his traps still couldn't be activated.

And since Silent Magician could attack all his monsters this turn, death was certain either way.

Could it be that this guy, this human's dueling... completely surpassed him in every possible aspect!?

Gazing at the infinitely majestic white-robed spirit and feeling the raging magical storm, the sorcerer felt for a moment as though his very consciousness was being swallowed by overwhelming terror.

"The 'Mask of Remnants' has no effect on Silent Magician. The battle continues.
Silent Magician LV8's attack, second strike, attack 'Holy Night Dragon'—
—Silent Magebomb!"

The sacred white-robed spellcaster stepped upon a magical array and drifted upward. Her staff swept down once more, unleashing a surging torrent of white light that obliterated the Holy Night Dragon along with the Masked Sorcerer caught in the storm, abruptly cutting off his lingering screams.

[Masked Sorcerer, LP 500 → LP 0]