The Death Dharma Master

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"So that's how it is. You're not completely useless."

The Masked Sorcerer swept his gaze over the two magicians on You Xuan's field—his Silent Magician and Trickster—and sneered coldly.

"But after receiving the power of evolution bestowed by our god, I am now invincible."

"My turn, draw!"

After drawing a card, the sorcerer revealed it immediately.

"Magic Card Pot of Greed, draw two more cards from my deck."

He drew the cards and then selected two more from his hand.

"Magic Card Tribute Doll. By sacrificing one monster on my field, I can special summon a monster from my hand that can normally be summoned!

I'll send the face-down monster on my field to the graveyard and special summon this card!"

The face-down monster flipped up—it was a sinister red hound. Its body dissolved in a storm of shadows, forming a summoning circle.

"Level 7, Holy Night Dragon, summon!"

A storm of holy flames erupted from the summoning circle, and a massive dragon spread its wings, soaring onto the field.

[Holy Night Dragon, ATK 2500]

The goblin minions behind him began cheering again: "Master Sorcerer is incredible!"

"Summoning such a powerful monster in an instant! That guy doesn't stand a chance!"

"..."

The Masked Sorcerer smirked smugly. "You were cautious last turn, avoiding attacking my face-down monster. Were you wary of its flip effect?

But it was futile. My face-down monster was Demon Hound - Eight Fiend Dog. When it's sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add a Level 8 Demon-type monster from my deck to my hand.

Even though you didn't attack it, the effect still triggers when it's tributed via Tribute Doll."

The Masked Sorcerer retrieved the demon he had searched for from his deck and gave a chilling smile.

"The demon I'm retrieving is none other than this card—the most fearsome and evil form I've achieved after receiving my god's blessing and evolving myself—

—Masked Beast - Death Dharma Master!"

You Xuan: "..."

So this thing counts as your evolved form?

It was also a monster that appeared in Duel Monsters, used by both the Ghouls and Marik. A Level 8 demon with 3300 ATK, it required at least two monsters on the field as tribute, including Masked Sorcerer - Cursed Throat or Melchid the Four-Faced Beast, to be special summoned.

"And I haven't performed a normal summon this turn yet." The sorcerer sneered coldly, raising his voice. "Therefore, next, I'll normal summon myself!

Masked Sorcerer - Cursed Throat, summon!"

Sure enough, as he played the card onto his duel disk, a shadowy duplicate of the sorcerer emerged, separating itself onto the field.

[Masked Sorcerer - Cursed Throat, ATK 1500]

Ultimate Technique: I Summon Myself!

The scene was somewhat eerie, but You Xuan remained calm. He knew this was part of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s traditional quirks, and even stranger things were yet to come.

"The Sheep Tokens summoned by Scapegoat cannot be used as tribute for advanced summoning, but they can be sacrificed for other effects."

The sorcerer clasped his hands together, as if chanting a spell, and then shouted loudly.

"Therefore, I'll sacrifice one Sheep Token and myself!"

Advanced Ultimate Technique: I Sacrifice Myself!

Both the sorcerer's duplicate and one Sheep Token vanished, swallowed by a rapidly expanding mass of darkness. A chaotic vortex erupted, and claws tore through the darkness as a grotesque demon with three masks emerged.

[Masked Beast - Death Dharma Master, ATK 3300]

The goblin minions stirred again: "Behold, the strongest form of the Master Sorcerer after his evolution!"

One minion even mocked You Xuan directly: "Hah, you're already dead! It's too late to surrender now!"

"Not finished yet!"

After summoning the Masked Beast, the sorcerer's voice grew sharper and more distorted.

"Next, I'll activate the Equip Magic Card Reptiloid Fury from my hand. The equipped monster becomes a Reptile-type, and its ATK increases by 800.

I'll equip it to Holy Night Dragon, increasing its ATK by 800!"

[Holy Night Dragon, ATK 2500 → ATK 3300]

"Hmm?" You Xuan frowned.

Holy Night Dragon was special summoned via the effect of Tribute Doll, and monsters summoned this way couldn't attack during the same turn.

"Heh, you must be wondering why I'm powering up Holy Night Dragon, right? The answer is this—"

The sorcerer played another card from his hand, shouting loudly.

"Magic Card Cross Attack!"

The magic card appeared on his field, glowing with golden light that enveloped both Holy Night Dragon and Masked Beast - Death Dharma Master.

"Cross Attack allows you to select two monsters on your field with equal ATK. This turn, one of them can attack directly, while the other cannot attack!"

The minions were enlightened once more.

"I see! By equipping Holy Night Dragon to match the ATK of Masked Beast - Death Dharma Master, it can now attack directly!"

"Not only that, but Holy Night Dragon summoned via Tribute Doll couldn't attack this turn anyway. Even that was exploited..."

"A direct attack with 3300 ATK! One hit from this will leave that guy's life points hanging by a thread!"

"This is the true strength of Master Sorcerer's dueling... incredible..."

You Xuan: "..."

It was indeed a combo worthy of anime-style theatrics.

Though he felt he was starting to grasp the basics of pulling off miraculous draws and building bolder decks, such acrobatic combos were still a bit overwhelming to handle...

"The ATK of Holy Night Dragon on my field has been raised to match Masked Beast - Death Dharma Master. Naturally, I choose to sacrifice Holy Night Dragon's attack so that Masked Beast can attack directly!"

The sorcerer cackled shrilly.

"Attack directly with Masked Beast - Death Dharma Master! Feel the power of destruction!"

The massive demon lunged forward, its claws slashing down toward You Xuan with overwhelming force.

But then, a miracle occurred!

The Silent Magician suddenly leaped out to shield You Xuan! She spread her arms, using her slender body to block the demon's claws, and with a flash of golden light, she vanished.

"What?!" The sorcerer gasped in shock. "What just happened? Why did your monster jump out to take the hit?"

"Hmph, this is the bond between a duelist and their monster," You Xuan declared solemnly. "The power of bonds can create miracles—something like you wouldn't understand."

The sorcerer: "??? What nonsense is this?"

He suddenly recalled rumors of a legendary duelist from some unknown world who could bend the rules with sheer force of will. Could it be that he had encountered such a legend today...?

But then his gaze fell on a trap card that had been flipped face-up on You Xuan's backfield.

Trap Card - Earthbound Spirit's Temptation. When an opponent declares an attack, you can change the target of that attack.

"Tch, so you noticed, huh?" You Xuan smirked. "That's right—I redirected the target of Masked Beast - Death Dharma Master's attack using the trap effect.

Thus, instead of me, your attack targeted Silent Magician. And because of that attack, I lost 1300 life points."

[You Xuan, LP 4000 → LP 2700]

The Masked Sorcerer finally exhaled in relief.

Good thing he had spotted the trap in time. So this brat tried to fool him... almost made him think he'd run into a legendary rule-breaker...

"Talk all you want about bonds—aren't you just using your own monster as a wall?" The Masked Sorcerer sneered.

You Xuan ignored him. At the spot where Silent Magician had disappeared, a white magical circle opened in midair. A surge of magical energy erupted like a storm, spiraling upward into the sky.

"What?!" The Masked Sorcerer gasped again. "Didn't she just get destroyed?"

"No, you've merely unleashed her true power. When Silent Magician is destroyed by battle or an opponent's effect, you can special summon another Silent Magician monster from your hand or deck, ignoring summoning conditions.

From the intersection of chaos and order, a radiant light shines forth—a magician of light descends—

—Silent Magician LV8!"

A transparent magical storm swirled, and the white-robed mage reappeared, her presence radiating an even greater aura of power than before.

Silent Magician LV8, summon!