"Yeah!" Joey seemed quite excited, "The final result is heads! Therefore, all the (Sealed Beast)s on your Field will be Destroyed because they crossed the River of Time!"
Time Wizard's effect successfully Activated. It raised its magic wand high, opening a twisted Temporal-Spatial Hole. From that temporal-spatial hole, seemingly endless power from the River of Time continuously surged forth. Even Ptah's (Sealed Beast)s on the Field, symbolizing myths, had their Runes rapidly dim and erode when faced with the River of Time's cleansing.
After Time Wizard's elaborate special effect, as if powered by an unseen force, concluded, Ptah's Field was already empty, leaving only (The Seal of Orichalcos) and a Set Card.
"Th-this is bad!" Ptah was somewhat flustered. He had originally thought he had constructed an invincible defense, but how could there be a Monster with such an Effect? Is this a Gambling Card? "M-my (Sealed Beast) - Baolong should be able to negate effects because (The Seal of Orichalcos) is on the Field!"
"But Time Magic is fair to everyone; it Activates without needing to Target!" Joey looked quite pleased, "That kind of Privileged Card, I've wanted to Destroy it for a long time!"
Ptah's expression wasn't good: "But your Time Wizard will also disappear from your Field because it Activated a powerful Spell. Even if my Field is empty, you shouldn't think about Attacking me."
Unlike the physical version of the Card, Joey's Time Wizard, whether in its anime or manga version, is the type that "Activates its Effect upon Summon," and "Leaves the Field after Activating its Effect," and he had already used his Normal Summon privilege this Turn to Summon Time Wizard.
Theoretically, Joey, whose Field was also empty, indeed couldn't Attack Ptah. However, having fought his way into the Top 8 from the intense Qualifiers of Duelist Kingdom, Joey had learned a thing or two, and his Dueling level had improved.
"Hehe, that's not necessarily true." Joey rubbed his nose and played a Card from his Hand, "I Activate the Spell Card, (Unexpected Dai)! If there are no Monsters on my Field, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Monster from my Deck!"
"Come forth, (Axe Raider)!"
The legendary strongest Monster, the invincible Axe King, appeared from within a flash of lightning, with sturdy armor, powerful arms, sharp axe blades, and an imposing aura, declaring its name as the strongest simply by entering the Field.
[(Axe Raider) Level 4 / Earth]
[Warrior-Type / Normal Monster]
[1700 ATK / 1150 DEF]
"(Axe Raider), launch a Direct Attack on Ptah!" Summoning the powerful Axe King made Joey's blood boil a little, and he ordered with high spirits, "Joey Slash!"
Using a rather ridiculous Attack name, the (Axe Raider), known as the Axe King, charged towards Ptah, swinging its sharp axe down with force, taking a large amount of Ptah Garlem's Life Points.
"Ugh!"
[Ptah: 4000 LP → 2300 LP]
"Hmph, did you see how strong I am now? You arrogant bastard." Joey smiled smugly and Set a Card, "I Set two Cards, my Turn ends."
[Joey: 3800 LP, Hand 0]
[(Axe Raider) ATK 1700]
[Set Card] [Set Card]
"Damn it, my Turn!" Ptah looked at Joey's smug face, thoroughly annoyed, "I Activate the Spell Card, (Sealed Verses from the Corpse)! When (The Seal of Orichalcos) is on my Field, I can Draw Cards equal to the number of (Sealed Beast)s in my Graveyard."
"Inun, Nunurao, Baolong, and Charmgal – I have four (Sealed Beast)s in my Graveyard, so I can Draw four Cards."
[Ptah: Hand 1 → 4]
Replenishing a large number of Cards in his Hand in one go, Ptah's expression regained a hint of composure. He glanced at the Cards he had just Drawn, and a smile appeared on his face: "That opponent, the one named Joey? It's truly surprising that you could defeat my invincible (Sealed Beast) - Baolong. I might even have to look at you in a new light."
"As a reward, I shall let you witness the invincible army of (Sealed Beast)s!"
"I Activate the Spell Card, (Soul Release)! Target five Cards in total from both players' Graveyards, and Banish them from the Game!"
A blue, transparent Soul rose from beneath the Field, enveloping several Cards that had been Sent to the Graveyard during the previous Battle. Joey was somewhat surprised to discover that among these Cards, apart from one of his own (Panther Warrior)s, the other 4 were all Ptah's own (Sealed Beast)s?!
"Exiling your own Monsters from the Game, can't you hear the Cards crying, you bastard!" Joey's view on Duel Monsters was consistent with Yugi's; they both believed that Cards possessed a Heart (of the Cards). But this Ptah in front of him was actually actively Banishing his own Monsters from the Game?
"Just watch quietly, you commoner. This great lord does things this way for a reason, naturally." Watching (Soul Release) completely clear his Graveyard of (Sealed Beast)s, Ptah smugly played his next Card, "Banishing Monsters was all in preparation for this moment! I Activate the Spell Card, [Dimension Fusion]!"
The Temporal-Spatial Hole reappeared above the Field, but this time, its Initiator was no longer Joey's Time Wizard, but the [Dimension Fusion] that Ptah had just Activated. From the hole in the sky, mystical Runes flew out and landed on Ptah's Field, and the (Sealed Beast)s that had so painstakingly been Destroyed and Sent to the Graveyard reappeared on the Field?!
"Dimension Fusion allows me to Pay 2000 Life Points, then Special Summon all Banished Monsters." Lavishly spending 2000 Life Points, Ptah watched the (Sealed Beast)s re-form on the Field, a satisfied smile on his face, "(Sealed Beast)s are the embodiment of the Verse; they cannot be defeated!"
"He actually Summoned Monsters again?" Joey found it quite troublesome, because he clearly remembered not having any Cards that could Recycle Monsters from the Graveyard, and Time Wizard, which could Counter the powerful Resistance of (Sealed Beast) - Baolong, had just been used last Turn. "In that case, I can also Summon my (Panther Warrior) that you Banished."
A scimitar flew out from the Temporal-Spatial Hole and landed on Joey's Field. The (Panther Warrior), which had been Destroyed earlier, returned to Joey's Field due to Dimension Fusion's Effect.
[(Panther Warrior) DEF 1600]
Although (Panther Warrior)'s DEF were decent, seeing Ptah's Field on the other side, Joey couldn't feel at ease:
[(Sealed Beast) - Inun ATK 200]
[(Sealed Beast) - Nunurao ATK 500]
[(Sealed Beast) - Charmgal ATK 1200]
[(Sealed Beast) - Baolong ATK 2700]
"It's not over yet; I haven't performed a Normal Summon this Turn!" Ptah still had two Cards in his Hand, and he played one of them, "Normal Summon (Sealed Beast) - Boa Bolong."
"This is the end for you, Fodder Monster! Be devoured by my mighty army of (Sealed Beast)s!"
(end of chapter)