"Quick-Play Spell 'Mystical Space Typhoon'—destroy a Spell/Trap on the field!"
Kagemaru slammed down the spell.
"First, that eyesore of a trap," he barked. "Continuous Trap 'Gravity Bind'—begone!"
A black whirlwind lifted the trap into the air; a bolt split it to pieces. Gravity's shackle vanished, and the invisible field on Kira's side dissipated.
"With that, the attack lock is gone!"
"Indeed," Kira nodded with a smile. "So, I take it you've prepared a counter to the Sacred Beast?"
Kagemaru snorted heavily without answering.
"Special Summon 'Breeze Sphere'!"
[Breeze Sphere, ATK 700]
"A Special Summon?" Kira said.
Kagemaru: "If the opponent controls a Level 5 or higher monster, Breeze Sphere can be Special Summoned from the hand." (manga card)
"I see," Kira nodded.
"Then I Tribute 'Breeze Sphere', 'Troposphere', and 'Gene-Warped Warwolf' to Tribute Summon the ultimate Sphere!"
The moment that card was lifted by the mechanical arm, a force that could contend with a Sacred Beast blossomed.
Transparent cyclones wove a storm, breathing with the will of the sky itself! The aura was unlike any prior Sphere—not a mere tempest, but a tapestry of countless micro-cyclones.
The eddies danced and spun, as if the wind itself had gained life. The living gale gathered into broad wings; the colossal divine bird descended wreathed in air.
The ultimate current: The Atmosphere—Summon!
[The Atmosphere, ATK 1000]
"That looks like your ace," Kira said flatly.
The The Atmosphere is the last of the three "Sphere" cards to be printed. Its printed summoning condition is actually "buffed" compared to the manga.
The manga required three Tributes for a Tribute Summon, but the printed card can't be Normal Summoned at all.
The printed version can only be Special Summoned by banishing two monsters from your field and one from your GY.
"The Atmosphere's effect: absorb one monster your opponent controls, and gain that monster's ATK and DEF!"
Kagemaru shouted.
"Absorb Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!"
His eyes seemed to turn blood-red.
"Sacred Beast—become my power!"
The Atmosphere's power activated; even a Sacred Beast couldn't escape the irresistible gale! Invisible hands in the storm seized Hamon and dragged it under, sealing it within the bird's atmospheric ring.
Hamon roared, but its lightning was siphoned away, flooding into the bird.
[The Atmosphere, ATK 1000 → ATK 5000]
Five thousand attack!
"Direct attack with the The Atmosphere!" Kagemaru roared. "Die—just die!"
"The power of the Sacred Beast is mine! Mine!"
Heaven's thunder coursed into the storm, which hurled forth under a crown of wind blades! Endless lightning exploded around Kira, gouging craters and billowing black smoke.
In the life pod, bubbles gurgled. The old man panted harshly.
Win… I won.
He'd turned the tables from the brink. Once more, with his most trusted ace…
[Kira, LP 600]
Kagemaru: "!?"
"Why…"
"Close one. In that instant I activated the Trap 'Nutrient Z'—if I'd take 2000+ battle damage, I can gain 4000 LP once."
"Uh."
Kagemaru muttered.
"Troublesome guy—he takes a 5000 direct hit and still won't fall… Then I'll set one and end."
"We can't let things be too easy, can we?" Kira dusted himself off. "So, in that instant when you thought you'd won—how did it feel?"
"Joy? Or the satisfaction of finally succeeding?"
"Professor Lyman told me about you. He truly believed you were once a hero."
Through the glass and murky fluid of the life pod, Kira looked at Kagemaru.
"I could hear it—he respected who you were. Your deeds, your ideals, what you fought for."
"And look at you now. Look at this room. What you've done—these people you've exploited. Seeing yourself become indistinguishable from what you once fought—how does that feel?"
"How does it feel?"
Kagemaru chuckled coldly.
"I think the past me was a joke. Hot-blooded passion? Ideals? Just youthful naivety."
"Once you die, nothing remains. In the face of life and death, ideals are laughable. In a life where we leave with nothing, if you can't even stay alive, what else matters?"
He looked at Kira.
"And what right do you have to judge me?"
Kagemaru's tone was ice.
"I can tell, Duel King. You aren't some paragon of justice. You're not one to sacrifice everything for righteousness."
"Tell me, King—do you truly care for anyone besides yourself?"
"How are you any different from me?"
Kira smiled.
"Perhaps I'm not. But…"
He paused.
"At least every morning, I can look the man in the mirror in the eye."
Kagemaru fell silent.
"Draw."
Kira drew calmly.
"Activate Spell 'Take Over 5'. Send the top five cards of my deck to the GY."
He flipped five cards and slid them to the GY one by one.
"It's over," Kira said evenly. "Activate Trap 'Back to the Front'. Special Summon a monster from my GY in Defense Position."
"From the GY…" Kagemaru frowned. "But that card can't ignore summoning restrictions. You can't revive a Sacred Beast."
"I know. I'm reviving this—"
He tapped another card ejected from the GY.
"Phantasmal Summoning Beast—revive."
[Phantasmal Summoning Beast, DEF 0]
"Phantasmal… Summoning Beast?"
Kagemaru held his breath. The name alone felt ominous.
"Yes. I've got a dedicated research team for Sacred Beast. We've developed a card or two… You didn't think I'd waltz in, wielding Three Sacred Beast I couldn't control, and duel you unprepared, did you?
That would be disrespectful to the Chairman."
Kira smiled.
"Phantasmal Summoning Beast's effect: Tribute itself to return any one of the Three Sacred Beast from the GY to the hand.
I tribute Phantasmal Summoning Beast to add this from my GY…"
He took a card from the GY and revealed it.
"'Uria, Lord of Searing Flames' to my hand."
"Uria…" Kagemaru held his breath.
"Right. And after that, I can Special Summon from my hand, ignoring summoning conditions, one Level 10 FIRE, LIGHTNING, or FIEND monster with equal ATK and DEF."
Yeah, that pretty much reads the trio's ID numbers aloud.
"So, ignoring summon conditions, Special Summon from my hand—
The ruler of the inferno, who sears the earth with godflame—
—Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!"
A red dragon, akin to a cousin of Slifer the Sky Dragon, manifested and roared, brimming with divine might!
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, ATK 0]
"So this is Uria…"
Kagemaru was stunned again.
Damn it. It should be mine—mine.
That damned Duel King…
"Uria's ATK equals 1000 times the number of Trap Cards in the GY." (anime effect)
In its printed form, along with its summon condition, it was changed to count only Continuous Traps.
"My GY has nine Traps total, including two just sent by 'Take Over 5'. Therefore, Uria's ATK becomes—"
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, ATK 9000]
"ATK nine thousand?" Kagemaru's face twitched.
"Of course, traps don't affect Sacred Beast. But just to be safe…"
Kira snapped his fingers.
"Trap Destruction!"
Uria roared, and transparent shockwaves erupted. Kagemaru's set backrow was forcibly flipped and ground to dust in the wave.
Continuous Trap—Spirit Barrier. While you control a monster, you take no battle damage.
It had been his last safety net.
"Spirit Barrier, huh. Indeed, even against Sacred Beast who ignore traps, it could still negate battle damage and keep you alive. Too bad traps aren't allowed in Uria's presence."
Kira continued.
"Uria, Lord of Searing Flames—once per turn, destroy all Trap Cards your opponent controls, including face-down ones." (anime effect)
In the printed card, it was changed to destroy only one set Spell/Trap. But it isn't limited to traps, and the opponent can't chain spells/traps to it; the anime lacks the "cannot be chained" clause—pros and cons.
"Uria, attack the The Atmosphere."
Kira gave the final command.
Uria slowly opened its maw, hellfire boiling within.
With even his last card blown away, Kagemaru, utterly out of options, faced the Sacred Beast he'd longed for. He watched the inferno gather in its jaws, his gaze unfocused.
He thought of the past.
His former self, his former aspirations—the ease with which he once threw his life into what he believed was right. It felt like watching someone else.
Perhaps that person had already died long ago.
Now, to fall here, struck down by the very Sacred Beast he had pursued—perhaps that was fate's mockery.
One way or another, it was finally over.
The old man closed his weary eyes and murmured:
"What a…
…weary life."
Uria's infernal cannon blasted forth.
Hyper Breath!
The Atmosphere was engulfed and shattered, along with the Hamon sealed within its ring.
[Kagemaru, LP 3100 → LP 0]