Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!
Chapter 173: Spell Canceller

Chapter 173 - 173: Spell Canceller

"My turn. Draw," Kira said. "At the start of my Standby Phase, the effect of 'Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys' in my Graveyard activates.

When Phoenix God is destroyed by an effect and sent to the Graveyard, it's reborn from the ashes during my next Standby Phase!"

Gekko's expression shifted: "Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys? When did that..."

He quickly realized—he remembered the card destroyed the last turn that had caught his attention.

"The Disciple of Nephthys destroyed..."

"That's right. The card destroyed by Disciple of Nephthys last turn was 'Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys'," Kira said. "And since it was destroyed by an effect, not discarded, Phoenix God's effect can trigger.

Rise from the ashes in a blaze of divine fire!"

Gekko frowned: "So you can destroy it from your hand to trigger its resurrection..."

Blazing divine fire gathered in the sky, as red as a burning sunset, like molten iron in a forge. The scorching beam pierced the clouds, transforming into the form of a fiery divine bird.

[Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, ATK 2400]

Misawa instantly realized: "That's right! Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys can destroy all Spells and Traps on the field, and all those Equip cards on Mr. Gekko's field are still Spells!"

Alexis understood too: "Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys is the nemesis of this Equip combo!"

Kira raised his arm, the divine bird blazing behind him.

"Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys's effect: when revived this way, destroy all Spells and Traps on your opponent's field!"

"Using the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys against Armament Reincarnation effect?" Gekko frowned. "The most troublesome monster for me right now.

But—"

He raised his arm and flipped a set card.

"Activate Trap—Illusory Shackles!" (Original card)

A magic circle emerged from the trap, binding Phoenix God. Its flames dimmed, as if shackled and unable to break free.

"Illusory Shackles curses a monster on the field!" Gekko said. "That monster's effects are negated, and its ATK drops by 500!"

[Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, ATK 2400 → 1900]

Alexis sighed in regret: "So close! If Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys's effect went through, it would have wiped the field..."

But Kira wasn't surprised at all. After all, at this level, with four Equip monsters up front and four set cards in the back, it would have been strange if there was no countermeasure.

"Main Phase. I activate the Spell Card 'Advance Draw'," Kira said. "Tribute a Level 8 or higher monster on my field to draw two cards.

I tribute the cursed Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys to draw two cards."

Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys dissolved into light and disappeared, the light scattering into the deck. Kira drew two more cards.

He glanced at one of the cards he drew, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Here it comes.

Gekko instinctively sensed something was wrong.

Did he just draw a game-changer?

"I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity': draw three cards, then discard two from my hand to the Graveyard."

Kira drew, then discarded two cards.

"Next, I summon this card. I tribute 'Disciple of Nephthys' on my field—"

Kira slapped a card onto the Duel Disk.

"Tribute Summon! The bane of spells, the magic-sealing weapon—

— Spell Canceller, summoned!"

[Spell Canceller, 1800 ATK]

"NANI?!"

Gekko lost his composure.

Spell Canceller?

He actually pulled that out now...

"That's right. While Spell Canceller is on the field, neither of us can activate Spell Cards, and all Spell effects on the field are negated."

Kira explained.

"The effect of 'Armament Reincarnation' is to summon Equip cards from the Graveyard as monsters, and their Equip effects become their monster effects. But they're still Spell Cards, so all their effects are negated by Spell Canceller."

Yeah, this would be a nightmare for the rulings department in real life. Maybe that's why 'Armament Reincarnation' never became a real card.

If he had to guess, if it were made real, maybe it would summon tokens and equip the Equip cards from the grave to them, which would be more logical...

But this is the anime world, so it's still the original effect. Kira knew about this iconic strategy before the duel, which is why Spell Canceller was added as a tech against it.

Otherwise, Spell Canceller wouldn't normally be in his Chaos Nephthys deck.

Spell monsters are rare, but can be treated similarly to Trap monsters, which are both Trap and Monster Cards and are affected by effects for both.

So, Spell monsters should be the same.

"Now, all your Equip monsters lose their effect boosts," Kira said. "Their ATK and DEF return to their base 500."

[United We Stand, ATK 4500 → 500]

[Mage Power, ATK 4500 → 500]

[Axe of Despair, ATK 1500 → 500]

Except for Jewel Sword, which was summoned in Defense Position, all the other Equips went from mighty monsters to 500-ATK sitting ducks.

"Now, chaining to Spell Canceller's summon, I activate my set card—"

Gekko responded immediately.

"Trap Card—Torrential Tribute! When a monster is summoned, destroy all monsters on the field!"

At this moment, using Torrential Tribute is a huge loss for him. He has five monsters, and Kira only has one. Counting his Torrential Tribute, it's a 6-for-1.

But he sensed that if he didn't do this, leaving a field full of 500-ATK monsters, he might not survive the next turn.

And even if he did, if he missed this timing, he might be too suppressed by the Spell Lock to retaliate next turn.

A surging blue torrent, like a roaring flood, swept across the field like a thousand galloping horses.

Though he lost everything, Spell Canceller went out in a blaze of glory, trading itself for an entire army. Gekko's half of the field exploded one after another in a spectacular scene.

Total annihilation!

"Such decisiveness... I've used my normal summon for this turn, so I can't summon another monster. But..."

Kira calmly drew another card.

"I banish the LIGHT monster 'Blade Knight' I discarded this turn, and the DARK monster 'Apprentice Magician' in my Graveyard."

Gekko's eyelid twitched.

Is the assault not over yet?

And this summoning method, these requirements—could it be...

"With the souls of Light and Darkness as a tribute to the field of chaos, I summon the legendary strongest warrior! The world splits—"

Kira raised his monster card, a blinding golden light bursting forth.

"Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, descends!"

Amid the chaos, the blade of light and dark splits the sky. Light and darkness intertwine like yin and yang, cutting through chaos, as the armored warrior wields his sword, descending like a divine weapon.

[Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, ATK 3000]

Gekko's face grew serious: "After clearing the field, he immediately summons Black Luster Soldier..."

"Black Luster Soldier, direct attack!" Kira declared. "Chaos Dual Slash!"

A wave of light and darkness surged, the sword pointing to the sky. The powerful surge formed a vortex of intertwined light and dark, transforming into countless sword shadows sweeping across Gekko.

"Ugh...!"

The multi-dimensional sword illusions struck Gekko, staggering him back several steps and dropping him to one knee, clutching his chest.

[Gekko, LP 4000 → LP 1000]

Kira: "Then, I set a card and end my turn."