"Divine Serpent Geh attacks! Direct attack!!!"

The Snake God opened its mouth, spewing out a chaotic vortex. It was like a dark river, surging toward Kira's field with overwhelming force.

"He's attacking even though he knows Kira's formation?" Mokuba was shocked.

"Because of 'Battle Mania's' effect, he has no choice but to attack," Jaden replied, as optimistic as ever. "That means Kira wins!"

Cards from Kira's graveyard exited accordingly, and a fluffy little creature jumped onto the field with a series of "Kuriboh, Kuriboh" cries.

"Clear Kuriboh's effect!" said Kira. "When the opponent declares a direct attack, I banish Clear Kuriboh from the graveyard to draw a card from the deck.

If it's a monster, I special summon it!"

"Hahaha, of course you'll use that effect! The top card of your deck is the Winged Dragon of Ra, which was just returned to the top by the effect of 'Cyber Valley'. If you draw Ra now, the moment the Immortal Phoenix descends, I lose!"

The Arbiter paused, then raised his voice:

"But... will it really be that easy?"

"What?"

The onlookers were all startled.

In this situation, facing this game-ending combo, what else could he do?

"Activate Trap!" the Arbiter shouted, "Trap Card 'Simultaneous Loss'!

Both players must send the top card of their decks to the graveyard!"

"NANNIII!!?"

The entire audience was stunned.

Right at the final moment when Kira's finishing combo was about to succeed, a last-ditch trap unexpectedly appeared! Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel_fіre.net

"Damn, a chain trap resolves before 'Clear Kuriboh'," Zane said. "That means, when Kuriboh resolves..."

"The Winged Dragon of Ra that was originally on top of the deck is already in the graveyard," Jaden frowned.

Kira's finishing Kuriboh–Ra combo was broken.

The top cards from both decks popped out and fell into the graveyard. As Kira's card went to the graveyard, everyone seemed to hear a divine roar in midair, as if Ra lamented and was unwilling to see the combo fail.

"Now, it's time to resolve Clear Kuriboh's effect," the Arbiter announced. "Draw your card."

The Snake God's attack was imminent, infinite attack pressure crashing down like a tidal wave. Kira, under that divine force, stood protected within a golden shield from the artifact on his chest, resisting the evil god's overwhelming aura.

Kira drew a card.

"...I drew, Winged Kuriboh!"

With a wave, a tiny Kuriboh with pure white wings jumped onto the field.

"Kuriboh!"

[Winged Kuriboh, DEF 200]

The evil god's strike swept over Winged Kuriboh like a flood. In the face of infinite attack, its mere 200 defense was negligible, but as the dark impact washed over, Winged Kuriboh's body vanished, yet left behind a transparent barrier that protected Kira from all damage.

Even after it disappeared, the barrier remained steadfast on the field.

"During the turn Winged Kuriboh is destroyed, all battle damage I take becomes zero," Kira said.

"Heh, so you managed to cling on with a trash monster," the Arbiter sneered. "But how long can you stall with tricks like that?"

He set another card.

"Set one card. Turn end."

Jaden was dejected. "Ah, Kira's beautiful counterattack got shut down..."

The others were silent, but all felt it was a pity.

The Divine Serpent Geh was already a Divine monster, now with triple barrier resistance, and its stats were absurdly infinite. Plus, its bizarre effect changed victory conditions, making all tactics like burn, deck-out, or direct attacks on the duelist invalid.

Such a terrifying monster—ninety-nine percent of duelists would surrender the moment it appeared.

Yet Kira not only survived, but also created an opportunity through clever tactics. Even Seto Kaiba, who rarely praised others, secretly approved.

But clearly, his opponent was not just the invincible Snake God, but also the masterful Arbiter behind it.

The Snake God was terrifying, but its controller was even more troublesome.

Against such an opponent and combination, was victory even possible?

"Kira hasn't given up," Jaden suddenly said, then smiled.

"Don't worry, he's Kira after all."

Zane said nothing, just silently watched Kira.

Indeed, no matter the opponent or the seemingly impossible barrier, Kira always proved nothing was impossible.

Even in a situation like this, surely he had a way?

"Activate Spell Card 'Card of Sanctity'—we both draw until we have six cards in hand," Kira said. (Anime Card)

"Next, activate Spell Card 'Hidden Armory.' Send the top card of the deck to the graveyard, then add an Equip Spell from deck or graveyard to hand."

He sent the top card of his deck to the graveyard.

The Arbiter frowned. "Searching for an Equip Spell..."

"From my deck, I add this card," Kira said, drawing the automatically searched card from his Duel Disk, "the Equip Spell 'Premature Burial' to my hand."

As expected.

The target was still Ra!

This duel had somehow become a tug-of-war between reviving Ra and stopping Ra's return. Ra wasn't even on the field, but the core of the battle had become a contest between Divine and Evil gods.

"Activate Equip Spell 'Premature Burial'!" Kira said. "Pay 800 LP to revive a monster from my graveyard in Attack Position!"

[Kira, LP 2800 → LP 2000]

Flames whirled in midair, forming the divine bird's body. The Winged Dragon of Ra's spirit appeared, wings spread, roaring at the Snake God, as if eager to teach its old foe a lesson.

"I said, the dead should stay dead!" the Arbiter roared. "I discard 'D.D. Crow' from my hand—effect activates!

Send it to the graveyard to banish one card from your graveyard. And I can use this effect during your turn, too!"

As the card was sent to the graveyard, a sinister black crow flapped its wings, flying from a fractured void. From the other side of the dimension, it dove at Kira.

Its eyes flashed green, and the Arbiter's voice rose:

"Of course I choose... this card.

Your 'Winged Dragon of Ra' in the graveyard is banished once again!"

PS: Bonus chapters at 3000 PS