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Chapter 863: Incarnation of Despair
[Decoyroid] [DEF 500] X3
[Super Vehicroid - Mobile Base] [ATK 0]
[Super Vehicroid - Stealth Union] [ATK 3600]
Spending two cards from his Hand, Sho Marufuji quickly summoned four monsters to his Field, filling up his Front Row. Although it looked packed, none of them were a match for Ryo Marufuji's Cyber End Dragon.
"I don't know what's going on, but what's the point of summoning a bunch of weak monsters? Is he going to Link Summon an Underworld God or something?" Hayato ranted, but when Marik asked what "Link Summon" and "Underworld God" meant, he brushed him off by saying, "An Underworld God is someone you have to marry."
"Normally, if multiple monsters with the 'Taunt' ability appear on the Field, they can lock the opponent's attack, like the combo of Special Summoning [Command Knight] with [Command Knight]. But Decoyroid is an exception."
As the designer of the [Roid] Deck, Pegasus explained, "This card's effect isn't that they can only attack *it*, but that they can only attack Decoyroid. This means that no matter how many Decoyroid appear, they cannot lock the opponent's attacks; they merely provide three extra substitutes."
"As for Super Vehicroid - Stealth Union, I also recognize its effect. It has the ability to equip one non-Machine Type monster on the Field once per turn, increasing the equipped monster's ATK. However, when it attacks, its original ATK is halved, and it can only attack twice. It has no influence on Cyber End Dragon."
"Uh, doesn't that effect sound like your Relinquished, Pegasus?" Tristan ranted. "Copying yourself isn't copying, huh? It's even a weaker version. You're something else, Pegasus."
Atem also looked at Sho Marufuji's monsters on the Field with some surprise. "It looks like his goal seems to be just to summon as many monsters as possible. But if he can't concentrate the power of his cards, it will be useless against his opponent."
"Also, Hayato, I always feel like you really dislike That Person. Could the dark power on his body be from you—no, even you wouldn't do such a thing."
Hayato was a bit displeased to hear this. "What do you mean, 'even you wouldn't do such a thing'? What kind of image do you guys have of me?"
Hearing Hayato's words, Joey Wheeler, Pegasus, Atem, Valon, and the others first recalled their specific impressions of Hayato in their hearts, and then subtle smiles appeared on all their faces.
Marik ranted even more directly, "Sometimes people should have some self-awareness, Brother-in-law. Seriously, with your past actions, you could directly play the mastermind who tempts evil dragons in those Dragon Quest scripts without it feeling out of place—oof!"
After taking a serious hand chop from Hayato that felt like splitting mountains and cracking stones, Marik squatted down, covering the large bump that had swollen on his head, while Sho Marufuji continued his Turn.
"I activate the Equip Spell Card Machine Assembly Line and equip it to Super Vehicroid - Mobile Base, increasing its ATK/DEF by 300 points. Next is the Spell Card Level Down!. I select Decoyroid on my Field as the target, declare a Level from 1 to 3, and activate the card to make its Level the declared Level. I choose Level 1."
"Finally, this card, the Spell Card Wishing on a Shooting Star. I select the Decoyroid on my Field whose Level was changed to Level 1 by Level Down! as the target and activate it. This makes the Level of monsters on my Field with the same ATK or DEF as Decoyroid become the same Level 1 as Decoyroid until the End Phase."
He played three more cards in succession. After completing these seemingly meaningless operations, Sho Marufuji suddenly looked up and said to Ryo Marufuji, "Always looking up to you, I had fallen into a valley from which I could no longer descend, sinking into Despair. I thought I would never be able to surpass you, until I unexpectedly obtained this card."
"New cards I had never seen before appeared in my Deck, and my luck when drawing a card was completely different from before. Deeply immersed in Despair, I can change everything with this card, even defeat you, Ryo Marufuji."
"And now, with four Level 1 monsters whose Levels have been decreased to the limit assembled on my Field, the summoning condition for this card has been met!"
[Decoyroid] [Level 2 → Level 1] X3
[Super Vehicroid - Mobile Base] [0/5000 → 300/5300] [Level 10 → Level 1]
"Four Level 1 monsters? What kind of strange summoning condition is that?" Joey Wheeler, who thought he had grown a lot after experiencing so many duels, was also perplexed by the summoning condition of a certain card that Sho Marufuji mentioned. "A requirement for Level? Is it a Ritual Summon? But even if the Level is exceeded for a Ritual Summon, it shouldn't matter, right?"
"He only has two cards left in his Hand. Is it a Ritual Monster and a Ritual Spell Card?" Joey Wheeler guessed, unable to figure it out.
But Marik, who could see the dark power on the cards beside him, denied Joey Wheeler's conjecture. "No, there is only one card emitting dark power. If it were a Ritual Summon, this situation shouldn't occur either. Ritual Spell Cards should have some special traces. But speaking of Rituals, I remember there are also special Ritual Summons, right?"
As he spoke, Marik glanced at Hayato beside him. More than the bump on his head, what made him faintly ache was the experience of being negated to death by Hayato, who Ritual Summoned Herald of Perfection using a Hand full of Fairy cards when he foolishly challenged Hayato to a Duel before.
What made his corner of the mouth twitch even more was that Hayato had firmly claimed he was using a "pure [Drytron] Deck" before the Duel. He knew Hayato's personality, so why did he believe him then? No, why did he even foolishly decide to Duel Hayato in the first place?
What he said last time was completely correct. Rishid, whose Deck was full of Trap Cards, Older Sister Ishizu, who used an Exchange of the Spirit Deck for an OTK, plus Brother-in-law Hayato Kobayashi, they were all Underworld Duelists except for himself, the Sunshine Boy who liked to give others powerful monsters.
"The Ritual Summon of [Drytron] is a rare exception where ATK replaces Star Level. It's not impossible to need cards of exactly the same Level, but in that case, he could have just used two Level 2 Decoyroid to gather the Tributes before." Hayato also looked strangely at the four Level 1 monsters on Sho Marufuji's Field. "To summon something that requires four Level 1 monsters, he can't possibly be using [Lyrilusc] or a [Drytron] black card that even I don't have."
"Even a properly summoned [Numeron Gate] only needs three Level 1 monsters to overlay..."
As he casually spoke words that others couldn't understand at all, Hayato suddenly froze when he mentioned Numeron Gate. From Numeron Gate, Hayato thought of its User, the famous scoundrel Don Thousand, and from thinking about Don Thousand, Hayato linked the word "Despair" that Sho Marufuji had been continuously muttering since just now to another person.
"No way, it can't be that card, right? It also happens to require four Level 1 monsters..."
Seeing the surprised expression on Hayato's face, Valon said curiously, "Do you know what card that Kid Sho Marufuji is going to summon, Hayato Kobayashi?"
"Yes, if my conjecture is correct, that's a quite terrifying card."
Exactly as Hayato had guessed, Sho Marufuji held up a card in his Hand. An updraft inexplicably generated around him, making the hem of his clothes rustle and sweeping up his hanging hair, revealing a wild expression that shouldn't have appeared on his cowardly face.
And on Sho Marufuji's Duel Disk, the zones where the four Decoyroid and Super Vehicroid - Mobile Base were located were suddenly covered in pitch-black, and crimson characters appeared on them. Connected together, they formed "Error," representing a mistake.
"By overlay network construction with the four Level 1 monsters in Face-up Position on my Field, the shadow born from the light of hope, the god of destruction that gives Despair and destroys hope, my Despair and darkness have deeply attracted you! Come here, crossing the shadow of Dimension!"
Pitch-black suddenly spread out from under Sho Marufuji's feet, occupying most of his Field space and even extending to the zone behind him, scaring the onlookers who quickly moved away a certain distance. And within this pitch-black, a massive monster rose from the shadow, standing tall behind Sho Marufuji.
Its gaunt torso seemed quite majestic because it was enlarged to a certain extent. Its lower body was covered by a skirt hanging from its waist, while its upper body was fitted with sturdy armor, and its arms were covered by a pair of armguards. However, the most eye-catching part of this monster was not its other parts, not even its head which was somewhat similar to both [Lord of Phantasms] and [Obelisk the Tormentor], but the disc-shaped backpack equipped with several giant sword blades behind it.
"Is that, Divine Will Gundam?"
Someone in the crowd subconsciously ranted about the appearance of the monster before their eyes. Staring at Ryo Marufuji, Sho Marufuji slapped the card onto his Duel Disk, calling out the name of the monster in his Hand,
"Whatever it takes, as long as I can surpass him, as long as I can defeat Ryo Marufuji, come forth, Incarnation of Despair that unifies all darkness and chaos!!"
"God of Despair - Antihope!!!"
God of Despair - Antihope [Level 12 / DARK]
[Fiend-Type / Special Summon / Effect]
[5000 / 5000]
"A Level 12 monster, and its ATK even surpasses the legendary Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, reaching 5000 points!?" Even Ryo Marufuji couldn't maintain his calm expression when he saw God of Despair - Antihope appear on Sho Marufuji's Field, looking at his younger brother in surprise.
His gaze was quite complex. He had heard Sho Marufuji's words just now. His own existence had completely overshadowed Sho Marufuji's brilliance. Before hearing Sho Marufuji confess his feelings today, Ryo Marufuji had never thought that his style of always going all out would cause such immense pressure on his younger brother, even making him feel Despair.
Respect the Duel, so did I do something wrong by giving my all in duels? Ryo Marufuji gripped his fist tightly and looked towards the giant God of Despair - Antihope. Although he didn't possess the ability to see spirits and couldn't directly observe the existence of dark power, this giant monster before his eyes was already a being that could make onlookers feel profound fear just by being there.
"God of Despair - Antihope cannot be Normal Summoned. It can only be Special Summoned from my Hand or Graveyard by sending the four Level 1 monsters in Face-up Position on my Field to the Graveyard." With his back to God of Despair - Antihope, Sho Marufuji showed a smile. "Fall into the deepest Despair, and then ultimate power will come to my hand. It can even absorb that dazzling light of yours that you've had all along!"
"Sho..." Looking at Sho Marufuji, Ryo Marufuji took a deep breath and said solemnly, "That kind of monster, how did you get it? This is absolutely not a normal Duel Monster."
"Are you jealous, Ryo Marufuji? The appearance of this monster is thanks to you," Sho Marufuji said with a cold laugh. Because they were looking at each other, it allowed Ryo Marufuji to clearly see that his originally normal eye sockets were now blackened. "He said he was the remnants of a certain shattered world of Despair. Because of the Despair you inflicted on me, he was attracted and came to my side."
"I am about to defeat you, surpass you, under the blessing of its power, under the god-like invincible power of God of Despair - Antihope!"
Hearing Sho Marufuji's words, Ryo Marufuji shook his head. "That's not a god at all, just a demon. Relying on external force, completely lost...?"
Ryo Marufuji's gaze became firm again. Since his own younger brother went down the wrong path, then what he can do is win this Duel and correct his mistake.
"Enter my Battle Phase. Because of God of Despair - Antihope's effect, all monsters on my Field other than it cannot attack. So I use it to attack the opponent's monster on the Field, Cyber End Dragon!"
"My hidden Despair will always be your nightmare!" Sho Marufuji waved his hand and said, "Anti-Hope - Despair Slash!"
The giant Incarnation of Despair left the Ground and floated up, overlooking the Ground like a deity, releasing radiance from behind. But, the light spreading from behind God of Despair - Antihope was not the common white light; instead, it was the completely opposite pitch-black light, striking towards the direction of Cyber End Dragon!
Although Cyber End Dragon's ATK was already very high at 4000 points, it was still no match in front of God of Despair - Antihope's 5000 ATK. Once this attack hits, Cyber End Dragon will inevitably be destroyed. And to protect the Cyber Style Ultimate Technique he finally managed to summon, Ryo Marufuji decisively pressed the button to activate his Set Card on his Duel Disk.
"I won't let you do that! I activate my Set Card—"
(End of Chapter)
[Decoyroid] [DEF 500] X3
[Super Vehicroid - Mobile Base] [ATK 0]
[Super Vehicroid - Stealth Union] [ATK 3600]
Spending two cards from his Hand, Sho Marufuji quickly summoned four monsters to his Field, filling up his Front Row. Although it looked packed, none of them were a match for Ryo Marufuji's Cyber End Dragon.
"I don't know what's going on, but what's the point of summoning a bunch of weak monsters? Is he going to Link Summon an Underworld God or something?" Hayato ranted, but when Marik asked what "Link Summon" and "Underworld God" meant, he brushed him off by saying, "An Underworld God is someone you have to marry."
"Normally, if multiple monsters with the 'Taunt' ability appear on the Field, they can lock the opponent's attack, like the combo of Special Summoning [Command Knight] with [Command Knight]. But Decoyroid is an exception."
As the designer of the [Roid] Deck, Pegasus explained, "This card's effect isn't that they can only attack *it*, but that they can only attack Decoyroid. This means that no matter how many Decoyroid appear, they cannot lock the opponent's attacks; they merely provide three extra substitutes."
"As for Super Vehicroid - Stealth Union, I also recognize its effect. It has the ability to equip one non-Machine Type monster on the Field once per turn, increasing the equipped monster's ATK. However, when it attacks, its original ATK is halved, and it can only attack twice. It has no influence on Cyber End Dragon."
"Uh, doesn't that effect sound like your Relinquished, Pegasus?" Tristan ranted. "Copying yourself isn't copying, huh? It's even a weaker version. You're something else, Pegasus."
Atem also looked at Sho Marufuji's monsters on the Field with some surprise. "It looks like his goal seems to be just to summon as many monsters as possible. But if he can't concentrate the power of his cards, it will be useless against his opponent."
"Also, Hayato, I always feel like you really dislike That Person. Could the dark power on his body be from you—no, even you wouldn't do such a thing."
Hayato was a bit displeased to hear this. "What do you mean, 'even you wouldn't do such a thing'? What kind of image do you guys have of me?"
Hearing Hayato's words, Joey Wheeler, Pegasus, Atem, Valon, and the others first recalled their specific impressions of Hayato in their hearts, and then subtle smiles appeared on all their faces.
Marik ranted even more directly, "Sometimes people should have some self-awareness, Brother-in-law. Seriously, with your past actions, you could directly play the mastermind who tempts evil dragons in those Dragon Quest scripts without it feeling out of place—oof!"
After taking a serious hand chop from Hayato that felt like splitting mountains and cracking stones, Marik squatted down, covering the large bump that had swollen on his head, while Sho Marufuji continued his Turn.
"I activate the Equip Spell Card Machine Assembly Line and equip it to Super Vehicroid - Mobile Base, increasing its ATK/DEF by 300 points. Next is the Spell Card Level Down!. I select Decoyroid on my Field as the target, declare a Level from 1 to 3, and activate the card to make its Level the declared Level. I choose Level 1."
"Finally, this card, the Spell Card Wishing on a Shooting Star. I select the Decoyroid on my Field whose Level was changed to Level 1 by Level Down! as the target and activate it. This makes the Level of monsters on my Field with the same ATK or DEF as Decoyroid become the same Level 1 as Decoyroid until the End Phase."
He played three more cards in succession. After completing these seemingly meaningless operations, Sho Marufuji suddenly looked up and said to Ryo Marufuji, "Always looking up to you, I had fallen into a valley from which I could no longer descend, sinking into Despair. I thought I would never be able to surpass you, until I unexpectedly obtained this card."
"New cards I had never seen before appeared in my Deck, and my luck when drawing a card was completely different from before. Deeply immersed in Despair, I can change everything with this card, even defeat you, Ryo Marufuji."
"And now, with four Level 1 monsters whose Levels have been decreased to the limit assembled on my Field, the summoning condition for this card has been met!"
[Decoyroid] [Level 2 → Level 1] X3
[Super Vehicroid - Mobile Base] [0/5000 → 300/5300] [Level 10 → Level 1]
"Four Level 1 monsters? What kind of strange summoning condition is that?" Joey Wheeler, who thought he had grown a lot after experiencing so many duels, was also perplexed by the summoning condition of a certain card that Sho Marufuji mentioned. "A requirement for Level? Is it a Ritual Summon? But even if the Level is exceeded for a Ritual Summon, it shouldn't matter, right?"
"He only has two cards left in his Hand. Is it a Ritual Monster and a Ritual Spell Card?" Joey Wheeler guessed, unable to figure it out.
But Marik, who could see the dark power on the cards beside him, denied Joey Wheeler's conjecture. "No, there is only one card emitting dark power. If it were a Ritual Summon, this situation shouldn't occur either. Ritual Spell Cards should have some special traces. But speaking of Rituals, I remember there are also special Ritual Summons, right?"
As he spoke, Marik glanced at Hayato beside him. More than the bump on his head, what made him faintly ache was the experience of being negated to death by Hayato, who Ritual Summoned Herald of Perfection using a Hand full of Fairy cards when he foolishly challenged Hayato to a Duel before.
What made his corner of the mouth twitch even more was that Hayato had firmly claimed he was using a "pure [Drytron] Deck" before the Duel. He knew Hayato's personality, so why did he believe him then? No, why did he even foolishly decide to Duel Hayato in the first place?
What he said last time was completely correct. Rishid, whose Deck was full of Trap Cards, Older Sister Ishizu, who used an Exchange of the Spirit Deck for an OTK, plus Brother-in-law Hayato Kobayashi, they were all Underworld Duelists except for himself, the Sunshine Boy who liked to give others powerful monsters.
"The Ritual Summon of [Drytron] is a rare exception where ATK replaces Star Level. It's not impossible to need cards of exactly the same Level, but in that case, he could have just used two Level 2 Decoyroid to gather the Tributes before." Hayato also looked strangely at the four Level 1 monsters on Sho Marufuji's Field. "To summon something that requires four Level 1 monsters, he can't possibly be using [Lyrilusc] or a [Drytron] black card that even I don't have."
"Even a properly summoned [Numeron Gate] only needs three Level 1 monsters to overlay..."
As he casually spoke words that others couldn't understand at all, Hayato suddenly froze when he mentioned Numeron Gate. From Numeron Gate, Hayato thought of its User, the famous scoundrel Don Thousand, and from thinking about Don Thousand, Hayato linked the word "Despair" that Sho Marufuji had been continuously muttering since just now to another person.
"No way, it can't be that card, right? It also happens to require four Level 1 monsters..."
Seeing the surprised expression on Hayato's face, Valon said curiously, "Do you know what card that Kid Sho Marufuji is going to summon, Hayato Kobayashi?"
"Yes, if my conjecture is correct, that's a quite terrifying card."
Exactly as Hayato had guessed, Sho Marufuji held up a card in his Hand. An updraft inexplicably generated around him, making the hem of his clothes rustle and sweeping up his hanging hair, revealing a wild expression that shouldn't have appeared on his cowardly face.
And on Sho Marufuji's Duel Disk, the zones where the four Decoyroid and Super Vehicroid - Mobile Base were located were suddenly covered in pitch-black, and crimson characters appeared on them. Connected together, they formed "Error," representing a mistake.
"By overlay network construction with the four Level 1 monsters in Face-up Position on my Field, the shadow born from the light of hope, the god of destruction that gives Despair and destroys hope, my Despair and darkness have deeply attracted you! Come here, crossing the shadow of Dimension!"
Pitch-black suddenly spread out from under Sho Marufuji's feet, occupying most of his Field space and even extending to the zone behind him, scaring the onlookers who quickly moved away a certain distance. And within this pitch-black, a massive monster rose from the shadow, standing tall behind Sho Marufuji.
Its gaunt torso seemed quite majestic because it was enlarged to a certain extent. Its lower body was covered by a skirt hanging from its waist, while its upper body was fitted with sturdy armor, and its arms were covered by a pair of armguards. However, the most eye-catching part of this monster was not its other parts, not even its head which was somewhat similar to both [Lord of Phantasms] and [Obelisk the Tormentor], but the disc-shaped backpack equipped with several giant sword blades behind it.
"Is that, Divine Will Gundam?"
Someone in the crowd subconsciously ranted about the appearance of the monster before their eyes. Staring at Ryo Marufuji, Sho Marufuji slapped the card onto his Duel Disk, calling out the name of the monster in his Hand,
"Whatever it takes, as long as I can surpass him, as long as I can defeat Ryo Marufuji, come forth, Incarnation of Despair that unifies all darkness and chaos!!"
"God of Despair - Antihope!!!"
God of Despair - Antihope [Level 12 / DARK]
[Fiend-Type / Special Summon / Effect]
[5000 / 5000]
"A Level 12 monster, and its ATK even surpasses the legendary Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, reaching 5000 points!?" Even Ryo Marufuji couldn't maintain his calm expression when he saw God of Despair - Antihope appear on Sho Marufuji's Field, looking at his younger brother in surprise.
His gaze was quite complex. He had heard Sho Marufuji's words just now. His own existence had completely overshadowed Sho Marufuji's brilliance. Before hearing Sho Marufuji confess his feelings today, Ryo Marufuji had never thought that his style of always going all out would cause such immense pressure on his younger brother, even making him feel Despair.
Respect the Duel, so did I do something wrong by giving my all in duels? Ryo Marufuji gripped his fist tightly and looked towards the giant God of Despair - Antihope. Although he didn't possess the ability to see spirits and couldn't directly observe the existence of dark power, this giant monster before his eyes was already a being that could make onlookers feel profound fear just by being there.
"God of Despair - Antihope cannot be Normal Summoned. It can only be Special Summoned from my Hand or Graveyard by sending the four Level 1 monsters in Face-up Position on my Field to the Graveyard." With his back to God of Despair - Antihope, Sho Marufuji showed a smile. "Fall into the deepest Despair, and then ultimate power will come to my hand. It can even absorb that dazzling light of yours that you've had all along!"
"Sho..." Looking at Sho Marufuji, Ryo Marufuji took a deep breath and said solemnly, "That kind of monster, how did you get it? This is absolutely not a normal Duel Monster."
"Are you jealous, Ryo Marufuji? The appearance of this monster is thanks to you," Sho Marufuji said with a cold laugh. Because they were looking at each other, it allowed Ryo Marufuji to clearly see that his originally normal eye sockets were now blackened. "He said he was the remnants of a certain shattered world of Despair. Because of the Despair you inflicted on me, he was attracted and came to my side."
"I am about to defeat you, surpass you, under the blessing of its power, under the god-like invincible power of God of Despair - Antihope!"
Hearing Sho Marufuji's words, Ryo Marufuji shook his head. "That's not a god at all, just a demon. Relying on external force, completely lost...?"
Ryo Marufuji's gaze became firm again. Since his own younger brother went down the wrong path, then what he can do is win this Duel and correct his mistake.
"Enter my Battle Phase. Because of God of Despair - Antihope's effect, all monsters on my Field other than it cannot attack. So I use it to attack the opponent's monster on the Field, Cyber End Dragon!"
"My hidden Despair will always be your nightmare!" Sho Marufuji waved his hand and said, "Anti-Hope - Despair Slash!"
The giant Incarnation of Despair left the Ground and floated up, overlooking the Ground like a deity, releasing radiance from behind. But, the light spreading from behind God of Despair - Antihope was not the common white light; instead, it was the completely opposite pitch-black light, striking towards the direction of Cyber End Dragon!
Although Cyber End Dragon's ATK was already very high at 4000 points, it was still no match in front of God of Despair - Antihope's 5000 ATK. Once this attack hits, Cyber End Dragon will inevitably be destroyed. And to protect the Cyber Style Ultimate Technique he finally managed to summon, Ryo Marufuji decisively pressed the button to activate his Set Card on his Duel Disk.
"I won't let you do that! I activate my Set Card—"
(End of Chapter)
