Kira looked at Zigfried, squinting slightly.
Dark power.
The Zigfried Lloyd before him now was undoubtedly a dark duelist. This was strange, since Kira was sure he hadn't been one before.
The Zigfried Lloyd of the past was just an ordinary man—talented at dueling, quite strong. He even beat gambler Joey at the first KC Grand Championship.
Many beat Joey in the anime, but in terms of significance, this guy was the biggest.
Joey is known as a growth character. Unlike Yugi, who was maxed out from the start, Joey had the classic shonen underdog vibe.
At first, he barely knew the rules; the whole Duelist Kingdom arc he was a beginner. But he grew stronger through tough battles.
By the time Zigfried showed up in the KC Grand Championship, it was near the end of DM, right before Egypt. Joey had already faced the Winged Dragon of Ra, wielded the Legendary Dragons, and defeated the three swordsmen of Doma—he was at his peak.
For Zigfried to beat that Joey, and even hold back in that duel, shows his skill as a duelist.
But even so, he should still be just a regular human.
"Even you've become a dark duelist…" Mokuba couldn't help saying.
"You left me no choice,"
Zigfried Lloyd said coldly, waving his hand.
"Battle. Valkyrie Vierte, attack the face-down monster!"
The Valkyrie drew her sword; the white horse charged. Her blade flashed, slicing the card in two.
[Mother Grizzly, DEF 1000]
Though the monster left the field, its ghostly image lingered, roaring.
"You destroyed 'Mother Grizzly'," Kira explained. "When she's destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon a Water monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck in attack position."
"Water monsters with less than 1500 ATK?" Zigfried snorted.
Understandably so—Water monsters were pretty weak in this era.
His snort clearly meant "all weaklings."
Kira drew a card from his deck and smiled.
"I special summon the 1000-ATK Water monster, 'Catapult Turtle'."
The old green turtle landed on the field, heavy railgun on its back crackling with energy.
[Catapult Turtle, ATK 1000]
Zigfried didn't think much of it, but Mokuba, seeing the turtle, winced.
That thing again.
"I set a card face-down and end my turn," Zigfried said.
"My turn. Draw," Kira declared. "Now, I summon—
'Magical Scientist,' in defense position!"
[Magical Scientist, DEF 300]
Here it comes!
Mokuba recognized the combo, knowing how deadly it was; he almost felt sorry for Zigfried.
Zigfried frowned in thought.
"Magical Scientist? I remember it can pay life points to special summon Fusion monsters, right?"
His eyes widened, realizing.
Magical Scientist could summon a Fusion monster, and Catapult Turtle could tribute monsters to deal half their ATK as damage—
That was basically an OTK without even needing to battle!
Realizing this, Zigfried gasped inwardly.
What a sinister combo!
"I activate my set card—trap card 'Hallowed Life Barrier'!" Zigfried said. "By discarding one card, this turn my monsters can't be destroyed by battle, and all battle and effect damage I'd take becomes 0!"
He discarded a card, a transparent shield appearing to protect him.
Almost the strongest shield in the game—once activated, nothing could break through it.
"Oh? Careful, aren't you?" Kira smiled. "Fine. So it's pointless to attack this turn.
I switch Catapult Turtle to defense position."
The old turtle hunkered down, shell withdrawn.
[Catapult Turtle, ATK 1000 → DEF 2000]
"I set another card and end my turn."
Zigfried took a deep breath.
Close one. If he remembered right, there was a Fusion monster called 'Ryu Senshi' that could negate traps by paying LP.
If he hadn't thought ahead, and Kira used Magical Scientist to summon Ryu Senshi, then tried to use Hallowed Life Barrier, it would've been negated.
One misstep and he'd be dead.
Kira frowned slightly. He'd noticed Zigfried was more alert than most duelists. He'd clearly never seen this combo before, but immediately understood the tactic and responded decisively.
"So it's like that—he's not to be underestimated. Good."
"My turn. Draw!"
Zigfried immediately played his card.
"Spell card 'Spell Books from the Pot'—both players draw three cards."
Speeding up the draw, his pale face twisted in a strange smile.
"Hahaha! Victory smiles upon me—thanks to this card!
Spell card 'Ride of the Valkyries'!"
He held the card high; its magic seemed to dispel the darkness, summoning a white cloud. Sacred warhorses rode the clouds, carrying valiant Valkyries like gods descending.
"'Ride of the Valkyries' lets me special summon any number of 'Valkyrie' cards from my hand!"
This card had now been printed, and was even stronger than the anime version—including immunity to battle damage if three or more Valkyries are summoned, and letting you banish it from the graveyard to search for 'Mischief of the Time Goddess.'
"Appear! Valkyrie Erste! Valkyrie Zweite!"
Two Valkyries landed, one on either side of Vier.
[Valkyrie Erste, ATK 1600]
[Valkyrie Zweite, ATK 1600]
"Zweite's effect—when summoned, destroy a monster on your opponent's field!"
Zigfried pointed at Kira's turtle.
"Catapult Turtle, begone!"