"Gaia the Dragon Champion, attack Dark Magician!"
The knight, mounted on his Wyvern, dove down. His sharp lance pierced through the flames breathed forth by the Wyvern, its spiraling shaft catching the fire as it lunged toward Dark Magician.
"Not so fast! I activate my Set Card!" Yugi declared, flipping over a card in his back row, revealing one etched into the very DNA of all duelists—
The sublime power of the Knights of Hanoi!
"The effect of Mirror Force is, when your monster declares an attack, to reflect that attack and destroy all Attack Position monsters on your field!" Yugi said with a triumphant smile.
"Nani! How can such a cheap card exist? Where's my counter-flash defense!" Chumley's face showed mock surprise, but his hand moved as if he'd anticipated this. "Just kidding! The fact that you'd activate a Trap on attack declaration was also within my calculations!"
"Activate the Spell Card, De-Fusion!"
On Yugi's field, a curved mirror appeared. It looked fragile enough to shatter at a touch, but in truth, it was strong enough to block the attack of a God. It rose to protect Dark Magician. Just as the lance of the diving Gaia the Dragon Champion was about to strike the mirror, the De-Fusion Chumley activated took effect.
Seeing the mirror rise, Gaia knew the situation was bad. With a push of his legs, he stood up on the back of Curse of Dragon. Planting one foot on Curse of Dragon's head, he gave a mighty shove, launching himself into a graceful 720° spin in mid-air before landing precisely back on Chumley's field—and unlike Hashimoto Daiki, his feet didn't land out of bounds.
Curse of Dragon, who had been flying perfectly fine, was kicked in the head for no reason. It twisted its head, forgetting all about the attack, and returned to Chumley's field to pick a fight with Gaia. However, it could only watch as the former Gaia the Dragon Champion mounted a warhorse that had appeared from nowhere, turning back into Gaia the Fierce Knight and standing side-by-side with another Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight, looking just like a pair of twins.
Meanwhile, Yugi's Mirror Force had been active for quite some time but, having no attack from Chumley's monster to wait for, reflected nothing at all.
"Just before the attack landed, the effect of De-Fusion returned my Gaia the Dragon Champion to its two Material Monsters, triggering an attack replay. And just like that, I've evaded your Mirror Force." Chumley's rule bending was so plausible that not only was Yugi convinced, but so was he.
Yugi reluctantly sent his activated Mirror Force to the Graveyard. "However, to avoid being destroyed, your Gaia can no longer merge with Curse of Dragon. If their attack points aren't combined, they can't defeat my Dark Magician."
"Tch, you're right," Chumley said, sighing helplessly as he watched his Gaia, now on its warhorse, dodge an attack from Curse of Dragon. "I Set one card and end my Turn."
[Chumley: 3000 LP, Hand: 1]
[Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight ATK 2300]
[Gaia the Fierce Knight ATK 2300]
[Curse of Dragon ATK 2000]
[Set Card] [Set Card]
Yugi: "My Turn, I Draw."
"I Activate the Spell Card, Pot of Greed, and Draw two cards." At first, even Yugi himself didn't pay it much mind, but after Chumley pointed it out, he too realized just how incredibly useful Pot of Greed was. An effect that let you replenish your hand with no conditions attached would never be outdated.
A Monster Card was added to Yugi's hand, and this very card made his eyes light up.
"Spell Card, Monster Reborn! I call back one monster from the Graveyard to my field."
"Oh? Are you going to Revive Dark Magician in your Graveyard, or maybe Dark Magician Girl?" Chumley mentally reviewed the cards Yugi had sent to the Graveyard so far. The ones with the highest Attack were the master and apprentice duo.
The ankh symbol appeared on Yugi's field, but much to Chumley's surprise, the monster Yugi revived wasn't one of the Dark Magicians. Instead, it was the Queen's Knight that Chumley had destroyed earlier.
"What can you do by reviving that monster on the field? Wait, don't tell me!" Chumley suddenly remembered that Yugi's JQK knight series consisted of three cards.
Yugi smiled confidently. "First, I Normal Summon King's Knight from my hand! Then, because Queen's Knight is on the field, the effect of King's Knight can be activated. From my Deck, I Summon one Jack's Knight to the field!"
After Queen's Knight was revived by the ankh, a knight in imposing orange-red armor appeared. As soon as he arrived, King's Knight scraped his longsword across the ground, and a young soldier in pale blue armor materialized before him, kneeling on one knee as if swearing fealty to his lord.
"The three knights, J, Q, and K, have gathered on the field." Chumley looked at Yugi. "In that case, you must have that card in your hand, right?"
Yugi nodded with a smile, but to Chumley's surprise, he didn't activate a card from his hand. Instead, it was one of the two cards he had Set last turn. "Spell Card, Polymerization! Using my Queen's Knight, King's Knight, and Jack's Knight on the field as Fusion Materials, I Summon the supreme knight who stands at the apex!"
"The supreme being who presides over royalty, an invincible glory that knows no defeat, Fusion Summon! Appear, Arcana Knight Joker!"
The tripartite power of Jack, Queen, and King merged into one under the light of Polymerization. A mighty figure descended onto Yugi's field, accompanied by a razor-sharp sword aura. Its true name was Arcana Knight Joker, the supreme knight named after the Ace Card—Arcana Knight Joker. Just by resting a hand on the hilt of the longsword at his waist, he made Chumley feel as if he were being pointed at by a sharp blade.
[Arcana Knight Joker Level 9/LIGHT Attribute]
[Warrior-Type/Fusion/Effect]
[ATK 3800 / DEF 2500]
"Entering the Battle Phase! I'll use Arcana Knight Joker to attack your Gaia the Fierce Knight!" Yugi seemed to have gotten carried away after summoning Arcana Knight Joker, attacking with no regard for the Set Card in Chumley's back row.
How could Chumley possibly pass up such a great opportunity?
"I activate my Set Card, Sakuretsu Armor!" A ray of light shot out from Chumley's back row, wrapping around Arcana Knight Joker as it slowly walked toward Gaia. Cracks began to appear all over its armor, looking like it was about to explode. "I target your attacking Arcana Knight Joker and destroy it!"
"Useless! Arcana Knight Joker symbolizes the final trump card, the 'Joker'! It won't be defeated so easily!" Yugi flashed a confident smile, revealing a Trap Card from his hand as if he had expected this all along. "When Arcana Knight Joker is targeted by an effect, by discarding one card of the same type from my hand, Arcana Knight Joker becomes immune to that effect!"
"Yare yare, so it's a card of the same type." Arcana Knight Joker looked invincible as he strode composedly toward Gaia the Fierce Knight, slowly drawing the longsword from his waist. With a "clang," a slash of light seemed to freeze in place on Gaia's body. Arcana Knight Joker then turned and walked back, sheathing his sword as he went.
Click.
The moment the sword returned to its scabbard, Gaia the Fierce Knight, as if network lag had just been resolved, suddenly cried out in pain. He was destroyed by Arcana Knight Joker and sent to the Graveyard.
[Chumley: 3000 -> 1200 LP]
Chumley, his Life Points having taken a nosedive, glanced at his Sakuretsu Armor that had once again failed to activate, and then at the Sakuretsu Armor Yugi had discarded to the Graveyard. He spoke with resignation, "Just as I expected. Call me a dog if I ever set Sakuretsu Armor again."
---
This card is from the manga "Yu-Gi-Oh! R," used by Yugi. Friends who are interested can check it out. I remember it was used not long after the beginning. It never appeared in the Duel Monsters anime, but it did appear in the ZEXAL anime.
(end of chapter)