"Impudent!"
"Insolence!"
No sooner had Kira stepped in—dressed in his Revolver limited skin—than the Egyptian soldiers inside the hall began shouting.
"You dare trespass in the sacred hall and disturb the pharaoh's rest!"
"Judgment! He must be judged!"
Hearing this chorus of ancient Egyptian foot soldiers, Kira couldn't help but find it funny. He even wanted to say—
—Come on. Your great Egypt is long gone.
Judgment for what, exactly?
The soldiers leveled their spears and rushed forward, glaring. But Kira could feel it: though these pharaoh's guards had revived in the modern era alongside their lord, the dark power within them was feeble—nothing special.
Surrounded by spearpoints, he neither flinched nor stepped back, as if none of them existed in his eyes. He addressed only the awakened pharaoh, Abidos the Third.
"I've heard the undefeated pharaoh spanned three thousand years to awaken in search of a true warrior. Now that a challenger has come to your doorstep, you won't shy away, will you?"
A minister bristled at this man speaking past them directly to the pharaoh: "How dare you! Do you think just anyone can address the pharaoh—"
Before he could finish, the pharaoh cut him off sharply: "Stand down."
"Yes, my pharaoh."
The minister fell silent and withdrew.
The pharaoh raised a hand. The remaining soldiers also backed off in a hurry, not daring to speak.
"Indeed, I awoke to seek a powerful warrior."
He stepped forward and lifted his Duel Disk, golden as if cast in sunlight, gleaming brilliantly.
"But only the strong may face me," the pharaoh declared. "If you cannot satisfy me, then stay and slumber forever in my tomb."
"Buried with the pharaoh, huh? Fine."
Kira smiled and unfolded his Duel Disk.
"But Shadow Game rules: if I win, Pharaoh will have to do me a small favor."
The soldiers grew restless again: "You dare threaten the pharaoh—"
Abidos the Third waved them to silence.
"Very well. I accept," he said with a nod. "I am the pharaoh, but above all, a duelist. A duel must have rules. Come."
"Duel!" ×2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Pharaoh, LP 4000]
Tania didn't follow into the depths of the hall, but watched from the doorway.
"The pharaoh they call the god of dueling."
She looked at Kira's back.
"Heh… can you perform as freely as you did earlier, against a god?"
"My turn. Draw."
The pharaoh took the first move.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Pot of Greed' to draw two cards."
He drew two.
"Then I set a monster in face-down Defense."
Simple moves. But the pharaoh slowly raised his head; it felt like a cold light shone from within the golden mask.
"From this moment, your countdown to annihilation begins," he said icily, sliding two cards forward. "This card will mark the start of your defeat.
I set two cards face-down. I end my turn."
Two cards appeared in his back row.
"Is that so? I guess I should start getting nervous. My turn. Draw."
Kira drew.
He could pretty much guess what Abidos the Third had set.
Nineteen times out of twenty, it was the Continuous Trap "The First Sarcophagus."
From what the pharaoh had said when dueling Jaden, and from his flashbacks, you could tell—he had one game plan and never changed it in his life.
Activate the Continuous Trap "The First Sarcophagus," then at the end of the opponent's turn, you can activate the Continuous Spell "The Second Sarcophagus" from your deck; at the end of the next opponent's turn, you can activate the Continuous Spell "The Third Sarcophagus."
Once the three Sarcophagus are assembled, you Special Summon his ace from the deck, the "Spirit of the Pharaoh," ATK 2500.
At a glance, it's a deck that bricks like crazy, operates at glacial speed, and works hard to summon a finisher that… isn't all that.
But His Majesty pharaoh believed his tactic was unbeatable all his life—because no opponent of his ever escaped being smashed by the invincible Spirit of the Pharaoh.
And yet, to be fair, he wasn't necessarily bad.
With a deck that bricks like that, he played his whole life without ever missing the First Sarcophagus when he needed it, or drawing the Sarcophagus in the wrong order. Without serious destiny draw chops, most people couldn't pilot it.
Well, knowing his three-thousand-years-unchanged three-axe routine, things got much easier.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Spider Web' to retrieve a card your opponent sent to the GY one turn earlier. I take 'Pot of Greed.'" Kira said. "Then I activate 'Pot of Greed' to draw two."
"Next, I Normal Summon 'Jinzo – Jector.'"
[Jinzo – Jector, DEF 2000]
"Jector's effect—tribute itself to add a 'Jinzo' monster from the deck to my hand."
A card popped from his deck; Kira took it.
"I add 'Jinzo' from my deck to my hand.
Then I scan all your set Spell/Trap cards."
"You wish to peer into my back row?" the pharaoh growled.
Cables like tangled hair whipped behind the android as it offered itself up. Its phantom-like form hovered over the field, eyes flashing beams that swept the pharaoh's back row.
As expected—one of the two set cards was the Continuous Trap "The First Sarcophagus."
The other was the Trap Card "Mirror Force."
"Oh, you even have Mirror Force," Kira quipped with a smile. "Pharaohs sure do have similar tastes in cards."
After all, that card first gained its legend in Atem's hands.
"To pry into my back row is to trespass upon the sacred, inviolable royal sanctum," the pharaoh said darkly. "There will be a price."
"I'll be waiting," Kira said. "Jector's follow-up effect: if the scan confirms traps among your set cards, I can Special Summon up to that many 'Jinzo' monsters from my hand."
"You claim both my back row cards are traps…"
"Right. That means I can Special Summon up to two 'Jinzo' from my hand. I only have one, though.
So I'll call this guy."
Kira swept his arm.
"Come—Jinzo!"
Electric arcs flared. Red light flashed in the mech's eyes. The android folded its arms and descended with authority, landing in Kira's monster zone.
[Jinzo, ATK 2400]
"Attack the face-down monster."
Back on the field again, the android seized the chance to shine. Its right palm thrust forward, a telekinetic orb blasting toward the set monster.
Creatures that looked like products of modern industry—like this one—were something a three-thousand-year-old king had never seen. Abidos was instantly amazed.
"You saw my Mirror Force and still attacked?"
He sensed a trap, but in a split second decided there was no other choice.
"Very well. I accept your challenge!" the pharaoh cried. "I activate the Trap 'Mirror Force'!
When an opponent declares an attack, destroy all Attack Position monsters they control!"
"Sorry, Pharaoh—no, you won't."
Kira smiled.
"While Jinzo is on the field, neither player can activate Trap Cards, and all Trap effects are negated."
The pharaoh: "!"
Modern technology, sir.
Times have changed.