Chapter 151: The Two Who Play Counter Cards Against Each Other
"The Ojama King that can lock down Monster Zones?" Yugi had a clear memory of Ojama King, as Chumley had just used it in the previous Duel. "It would be troublesome if you managed to Summon that monster."
Seeing the vortex formed by the Polymerization Spell Card about to pull in Ojama Yellow and the others, and with the silhouette of Ojama King already faintly visible, Yugi no longer hesitated and opened his Set Card in his Back Row: "Activate the Trap Card, Magic Jammer!"
"I discard one card from my Hand to negate the activation of your Polymerization Spell Card!" Yugi sent the only card in his Hand to the Graveyard, a confident smile on his face. "Under the effect of Magic Jammer, the Summon of Ojama King will end in failure."
[Yugi: 3400 LP → 2800 LP]
[Chumley: 3700 LP → 3400 LP]
"Tch, it got negated. Still, I managed to scout out one of your traps." Chumley wasn't discouraged. Instead, he played one of the only two cards in his Hand, besides the three Ojama brothers stuck there. "I activate the Spell Card, Trade-In! I tribute the Noble Knight Artorigus on my Field to draw two cards from my Deck."
[Chumley: 3400 → 2800 LP]
"Although he drew two cards, he lost another 600 Life Points because of his own Skull Invitation," Joey said with a frown. "I don't know if it's my imagination, but I get the feeling that Chumley..."
"Is intentionally sending cards to the Graveyard, right? It's only his second turn, but he's already sent a total of seven cards to the Graveyard," Mai Valentine added, also having noticed something strange about Chumley.
"Chumley, what is he planning?" Sheppard wondered aloud. "Why is he willing to lose Life Points over and over again? What is he trying to send to the Graveyard?"
Back at the Duel Arena, as soon as Chumley had replenished his Hand, he played one he had just drawn. "Just in case, I'll start with the Spell Card, Mystical Space Typhoon! I target your Set Card on the Field, Yugi, and destroy it."
[Chumley: 2800 → 2500 LP]
[Yugi: 2800 → 2500 LP]
Yugi shrugged and revealed the Set Card. As expected, it was Sakuretsu Armor, which had the nickname "Typhoon Bait Armor." Having baited out Chumley's Mystical Space Typhoon, Yugi didn't feel he'd gotten the short end of the stick. Although he didn't understand the smile suddenly blooming on Chumley's face, he still said confidently:
"A wise choice to destroy my Set Card instead of weakening my Dark Magician Girl, Chumley."
"However, with Magic Formula Equipped, Dark Magician Girl has 3000 Attack Points. Do you really think you can assemble the pieces to defeat her with the cards in your Hand?"
Hearing Yugi's clumsy provocation, Chumley just smiled nonchalantly. "Dark Magician Girl... with 3000 ATK thanks to an Equip Card, she's quite a powerful monster."
"But," Chumley played a card, "no matter how great that power is, it can never escape its own nature."
"I activate the Spell Card, Witch's Strike!"
To Yugi's astonishment, Chumley played a card that would never be included in a normal Deck. "When this card is activated, all face-up Spellcaster-Type monsters on the Field are destroyed!"
On Chumley's Field, a massive, flaming cross was erected. The roaring flames followed the residual traces of Magical Energy in the air, spreading towards Dark Magician Girl on Yugi's Field. The cute sorceress's face paled at the sight of the approaching fire. She frantically cast a few spells, but they had no effect on the flames whatsoever. Just like that, she was consumed by the fire and sent to the Graveyard.
"A card that counters the Spellcaster-Type monsters in my Deck? It seems being too familiar with each other isn't always a good thing," Yugi said with a wry smile. "However, although two of my cards were sent to the Graveyard, because of the effect of the Equip Card Magic Formula, when this card is sent to the Graveyard, I can recover 1000 Life Points."
[Yugi: 2500 → 3500 → 2900 LP]
[Chumley: 2500 → 2200 LP]
"Although he successfully destroyed Yugi's Dark Magician Girl, Chumley's Life Points are getting lower and lower," Sheppard frowned, unable to understand the purpose of Chumley's current actions. "And besides the three Ojama monsters with 0 ATK, doesn't Chumley only have one card left in his hand?"
"Even if that card is a monster with high ATK, what can a single Direct Attack accomplish?"
Chumley soon answered Sheppard's question.
With a rather feverish expression, Chumley summoned a very inconspicuous-looking monster from his Hand—a small bird with pale purple feathers, from which wisps of white smoke slowly drifted.
"Although this move is rather despicable, I'm sorry, Yugi. I really, really, really want to beat you!" Looking at Yugi's completely empty Field and Hand, Chumley said triumphantly, "At this very moment, victory is in my grasp!"
"That Chumley guy... he just summoned a normal-looking monster?" Joey was extremely confused. If Chumley had summoned something like Goblin Attack Force or Gaia The Fierce Knight, he could somewhat understand the effort Chumley went through to clear Yugi's Field. But what appeared on Chumley's Field was just an ordinary-looking little bird.
Considering that some monsters in Duel Monsters look ordinary but have outrageously high stats, like a certain Level 1 Bunilla, Joey first checked the ATK and DEF of the monster Chumley had summoned. However, with 200 ATK and 100 DEF, it fell far short of what Joey expected.
"This monster is a very special Spirit Monster. It has the characteristic of returning to the Hand during the End Phase of the turn it was summoned or Flip Summoned. And, as you can see, its ATK is a meager 200 points," Chumley explained the monster's effect. "But, as a trade-off for all that, this monster possesses an extremely powerful effect!"
Yata-Garasu [Level 2 / Wind]
[Fiend/Spirit/Effect]
[ATK 200 / DEF 100]
Although Joey and the others outside the duel couldn't see anything special about the Yata-Garasu Chumley had summoned, Yami Yugi, who was currently in control of the body, and Yugi himself, temporarily dormant within the Millennium Puzzle, both felt an intense threat from the monster.
The feeling was as intense as having a gun pressed against their temple.
"Yata-Garasu's effect is..." Chumley said, casually brushing aside a stray lock of hair from his forehead, his eyes turning sharp. "When this monster inflicts battle damage to the opponent through a Direct Attack, skip your opponent's next Draw Phase!"
The Forbidden Card, Yata-Garasu. If this card ever wants to get off the Forbidden List, it'll probably have to wait until Pot of Greed does.
(end of chapter)