NOVEL WEB Chapter 450
"So it really is rotating in turns… and I've already skipped two of mine. Kaiba, you jerk, couldn't you have given me a heads-up?"
Even if he hadn't gotten a Duel Disk before and couldn't summon monsters, to just skip his turns without a word—did Kaiba think he didn't care about saving face?
"In a situation like this, I alone am more than enough. You just sit back and enjoy the show."
With a smirk tugging at his lips, Kaiba remained full of confidence—even when facing this ancient form of dueling for the first time.
"Now you'll understand—no matter how many small fry monsters you summon, they're still just small fry. They're nothing in the face of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Spell Card—Rage with Eyes of Blue!"
[Rage with Eyes of Blue – Quick-Play Spell Effect: Banish this card, and as many cards as possible from your hand, field, and GY, face-down. If you do, Special Summon up to 3 copies of "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" from your Deck. You cannot Normal or Special Summon monsters the turn you activate this card, except "Blue-Eyes White Dragon."]
"Descend, my three ultimate dragons! With your magnificent forms reigning over the heavens and earth—obliterate all enemies!!"
Slamming down the card, Kaiba unleashed a triple roar that tore through the earth itself. Even Bruce, standing by outside the pyramid, could hear the dragons' cries.
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon ATK 3000] ×3
"—Invincible! Unmatched! Supreme! This is the perfect form of Blue-Eyes White Dragon!!"
Commanding three Blue-Eyes with the power of his soul, the sheer overwhelming might left Anubis stunned.
"Woof… To think someone in this era could summon and control three Blue-Eyes White Dragons at once... Kaiba's soul rivals that of the Pharaoh himself!"
"They're just three combat units, what's so amazing about that?" Hoshino Alter questioned, puzzled by the Anubis beneath her feet.
"But I've noticed something—the concept of Deck and Graveyard in this era is really vague. That Spell Card even summoned the Blue-Eyes that was just destroyed."
With a wave of his hand, Kaiba launched his assault. His three Blue-Eyes targeted the line of Pharaoh's Servants standing before Nitocris.
"Be destroyed! Triple Burst Stream of Destruction!!"
The blast of energy erupted at once, their radiant light engulfing the Pharaoh's entire burial chamber—and wiping out every Spirit Monster on Nitocris's field.
"We did it, woof! Wiping out all her monsters with Blue-Eyes in one go—even if he has Pharaoh-level soul, that's gotta hurt!"
Last turn, Kaiba had used Blue-Eyes with Attack Guidance Armor to great effect, pushing Nitocris into a difficult spot. And now with this triple strike, it looked like Kaiba's boast—"Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am The Honored One"—wasn't just hot air.
Nitocris bit her lip and growled, "Foolish... It's hard to even put into words, but it's just foolish! In the face of the Pharaoh's might, you struggle in vain—do you think it makes you look cool?"
"Hmph~" Kaiba scoffed, and Hoshino Alter could already tell he had that "I've been cool from start to finish" look of smug satisfaction on his face.
"For once, the invincible Kaiba isn't eating dirt. That's... suspicious."
But before Hoshino Alter could finish her thought, a third sarcophagus had already risen on Nitocris's field. Three distinctly different sarcophagi now stood in a row, further lowering the already-chilling temperature of the burial chamber.
"I'm angry. I'm really, really angry! Today, I will bring down the Pharaoh's divine punishment upon you all. Arise, The Third Sarcophagus!"
Marlene shivered and turned to Sid in confusion. "What's with the three sarcophagi she summoned? There were three in King Aknamkanon's tomb too. Sid, do you have any idea?"
Sid's expression turned grim. "No… These sarcophagi aren't the same as the ones in the tomb. In Aknamkanon's burial chamber, two of the three were used to hold guardian spirits. But all three here belong to the Pharaoh."
"All three are for the Pharaoh? Wait—you're saying she's summoning three Pharaohs!?"
Marlene gasped, feeling as if her entire body was being filled with icy dread.
Even one Pharaoh was hard enough to deal with. If they added three more, they were definitely doomed. No way they were making it out alive.
"There won't be three Pharaohs. These sarcophagi all belong to the same Pharaoh—but that actually makes it more dangerous," Sid continued.
"A Pharaoh wouldn't just use one sarcophagus. A typical Pharaoh would have a rough stone one, and inside it, a more elaborate one to preserve the body."
That crude sarcophagus was likely the First Sarcophagus, and the more ornate, nested one would be the Second Sarcophagus.
"But to have a third sarcophagus within those two—only one Pharaoh in history was honored with that: the legendary first Pharaoh from 2,000 years ago—Menes!"
"The first Pharaoh?!" Hoshino Alter gulped as she looked at the exquisitely crafted Third Sarcophagus Nitocris had summoned.
If Sid's theory was right, then inside it lay the first Pharaoh of Egypt—Menes, founder of Egyptian civilization around 3100 BCE, just like Gilgamesh but younger.
"Nitocris, you're actually able to summon a Pharaoh with that much historical weight? That's... pretty impressive. I thought it was just gonna be filled with a bunch of Medjed."
"A sinner like you actually knows of Lord Medjed? T-That's blasphemy!"
Nitocris flinched slightly, suddenly finding the girl before her not so simple. Injecting her soul into the sarcophagi, she declared solemnly:
"Menes, the First Pharaoh, the one who first attained immortality—his soul guards the resting place of all Pharaohs!"
Under the surge of magical power, the sarcophagi began to stir. Starting with the First Sarcophagus, they opened one by one, each containing the next within, like a Russian nesting doll.
"With these three united sarcophagi, I now summon the great soul of the Pharaoh! Manifest—Soul of the Pharaoh, Guardian of the Eternal Realm!"
The triple-nested sarcophagi vanished in a flash of light, replaced by a massive stone slab bearing the image of a mysterious Pharaoh. Using the three sarcophagi she'd spent the entire duel assembling, Nitocris summoned the strongest monster that could only appear within the Pyramid of Eternal Pharaohs.
[Spirit of the Pharaoh ★★★★★★ (Level 6)][LIGHT][Zombie/Effect][ATK 2500/DEF 2000]"Umm... how do I put this..." Hoshino Alter frowned at the tall, mysterious figure. "It doesn't look all that powerful. I mean, it's supposed to be a trump card, but it's probably about on par with Okita."
The stats weren't impressive, and it liked to hang out in the graveyard too. Honestly, it might get along pretty well with Okita.
Slamming her staff against the ground, Nitocris shouted angrily, "You dare! What do you mean 'Okita level'!? That's outright disrespect to the great Spirit of the Pharaoh!"
The floor cracked from Nitocris's furious strike, shaking violently and kicking up dust, making Hoshino Alter cough uncontrollably.
"W-What's going on!?" Kaiba stared ahead, stunned as a dust cloud billowed forward.
The violent shaking came from Nitocris suddenly summoning a massive number of stone slabs. The densely packed monoliths lined up before her like a row of standing dominoes.
"By the divine power of the Pharaohs, all the Pharaoh's Servants you destroyed earlier have been restored! They return to the field, reborn! Witness the consequences of your wicked actions!"
[Pharaoh's Servant ATK 1900] ×10
Kaiba had defeated a total of seven Pharaoh's Servants, and with three more revived due to field effects, there were now exactly ten Pharaoh's Servants gathered on Nitocris's field.
"Hey, isn't that too many for the zones...?" Ten Pharaoh's Servants plus the Spirit of the Pharaoh made it eleven monsters in total. Even if Nitocris was using two Duel Fields at once, she was still one zone short.
"Forget it. Nitpicking every time is exhausting." Hoshino Alter had long since given up on expecting things to make sense. Even ancient duels had the concept of turns, but duels like this resembled real combat more. As long as one's soul had the strength, summoning countless monsters was up to the opponent.
Kaiba sneered with disdain.
"What do you think this is, a market? Laying out this many weaklings? How many times do I have to tell you—no matter how many small fry you bring, they're still small fry."
Though the swarm tactic looked overwhelming, not a single one had more power than the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"Kaiba, would you quit raising flags already?! At least wait until I summon a monster to defend with..."
Suppressing the urge to slap Kaiba in the face, Hoshino Alter protested. While none of the eleven monsters could surpass Blue-Eyes in raw strength, if they ignored the three dragons and ganged up on her directly, the outcome would be brutal.
"Hmph, you've really forgotten the pain once the wound healed! Allow me to show you firsthand the greatest power under the command of the Spirit of the Pharaoh—'Soul Convergence' Stone Tablet!"
The stone tablet activated. The ten Pharaoh's Servants all turned toward the Spirit of the Pharaoh, kneeling on one knee and offering their soul energy, channeling it into the mighty Pharaoh.
"I sacrifice all Pharaoh's Servants on the field, combining the power of ten souls into the Spirit of the Pharaoh! Feel the Pharaoh's overwhelming force!"
[Spirit of the Pharaoh ATK 2500 → 21500]
The ten stone tablets shattered in response, and in return, the Spirit of the Pharaoh's ATK skyrocketed to 21,500. Before the towering Pharaoh, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon now looked like the real small fry.
"No matter how strong a soul may be, even the Blue-Eyes White Dragon cannot withstand a single blow from the Pharaoh's soul!" Nitocris, ready to counterattack, channeled her roaring spirit into the Spirit of the Pharaoh.
"Damn it..." A cold sweat trickled down Kaiba's temple. Right now, summoning three Blue-Eyes was already the limit of what his soul could handle. He had no idea how to respond to such overwhelming force.
"Wait!"
Just as Kaiba felt like he had one foot in the underworld already, Hoshino Alter's voice rang out like salvation.
"—According to the rules, it's my turn now! Don't just assume I'll pass like last time!"
Even though Nitocris had summoned the Spirit of the Pharaoh after Kaiba's attack, based on the previous turn order, it was now Hoshino Alter's turn—she hadn't taken an action for two full turns.
"Ah, I forgot." Nitocris's arm slowly lowered, and she ceased her attack, realizing she'd gotten so excited over summoning the Spirit of the Pharaoh that she'd ignored the turn order.
"Ahem... Sorry..." Nitocris gave a forced cough to cover the faint blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. "To think I got so caught up in the duel that I forgot the rules... As a Pharaoh, I clearly still have room to grow."
"Hoshino?" After his usual misfortunes, Kaiba turned to look at Hoshino Alter, who had been idling up to this point. "You think you can beat a monster like that?"
"Easy-peasy~" Hoshino Alter shot Kaiba an OK sign with a confident smile. "But I'll need to borrow a bit of your Blue-Eyes' power."
Drawing the card that would bring her victory, Hoshino Alter finally began her long-delayed turn.
Nitocris suddenly declared, "At this moment, the Pharaoh's Servants that were just sacrificed revive and return to the field!"
Thanks to the effect of the Imperial Tomb, which allowed Pharaoh's Servants to revive indefinitely, the shattered stone tablets reformed all at once, creating a truly spectacular sight.
[Pharaoh's Servants ATK 1900] ×10
[Spirit of the Pharaoh ATK 21500]
However, through the repeated revivals over the past few turns, Hoshino Alter seemed to have figured out the pattern.
"Pharaoh's Servants can revive infinitely without consuming soul... but only during the end or start phase of a turn, right? Heh, I've found your weakness!"
Sliding the card across her golden Duel Disk, she prepared to call the Heroic Spirit that would launch his final counterattack against the First Pharaoh.
"Now, I offer the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons on the field as Tribute! Tribute Summon—"
"Hoshino, you bastard! This is your idea of 'borrowing power'?! You're using my Blue-Eyes as Tribute!? You don't even need a Tribute for a high-level summon!"
Hoshino Alter had previously used one Blue-Eyes as a Tribute to summon Siegfried, which already had Kaiba in a bad mood. This time, she went even further and sacrificed all three in one go. Kaiba was so heartbroken his teeth were practically grinding to dust.
"All for victory! With the power of the White Dragons, I call forth a blazing legend—Tribute Summon: Heroic Spirit – Karna!"
White light became scorching flames, igniting within the Pharaoh's tomb. It was likely that the ancient Pharaoh Aknamkanon never imagined his pitch-dark tomb would one day be lit up so brilliantly.
[Heroic Spirit – Karna ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][FIRE][Warrior/Effect][ATK 2800/DEF 2500]
"When Karna is Tribute Summoned using three monsters, he can equip 'O Sun, Become My Armor'!"
This special effect could only be triggered by offering three monsters as Tributes. That was the real reason she had sacrificed the Blue-Eyes. Unlike the equipment she used in the fight against Yugi—'Vasavi Shakti'—this time Karna emerged from the flames clad in golden armor.
(*****)
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