"Seeing the bright smile on Ishizu Ishtar's face, Hayato couldn't help but grin as well: "Of course! As they say, 'A King's Duel is all about entertainment,' I'll bring smiles to everyone through this Duel."
'Although I haven't gathered all the pieces of the puzzle leading to victory yet, I still have enough Life Points remaining. In that case...'
"I change Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion to Defense Position, then Set a card, and End Turn." Hayato Set a card from his hand and turned Gaia sideways on the field. "Sorry, Gaia, but for the sake of hope still far in the future, take a little rest."
[Hayato: 3500 LP, Hand 0]
Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion [ATK 600 → DEF 300]
[Set Card]
Ishizu Ishtar: "My Turn, Draw!"
"Are you trying to survive this Turn by keeping Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion in Defense Position after its abilities were lowered, and then search for a new chance at victory? In that case, I just need to Summon more monsters."
Saying this, Ishizu Ishtar played the card she just drew: "I Activate the Spell Card Gravekeeper's Stele! From my Graveyard, I add two Gravekeeper's monsters to my hand."
Joey Wheeler in the audience seats looked at the card Ishizu Ishtar activated with some helplessness: "And this card is still unaffected by Necrovalley's effect, right? Just like Hayato said, the Gravekeeper's Deck is totally a double-standard Deck! It's just like a woman—"
He stopped halfway through his sentence, suddenly felt a chill down his spine, as if something dangerous was staring at him. He looked around and saw Yugi Mutou, Seto Kaiba, and Marik Ishtar all seriously watching the Duel on the field, while Mokuba Kaiba was managing the live broadcast feed.
Only Mai Valentine was looking at him with a smile that seemed strange no matter how you looked at it: "Oh? Joey Wheeler, why did you stop talking? What exactly is the Gravekeeper's Deck's double standard like?"
"N-Nothing!" Joey Wheeler quickly turned his head back, looking seriously towards the field. As Ishizu Ishtar activated the Spell Card Gravekeeper's Stele, a giant Stone Tablet rose from the ground. From the Stone Tablet, which was covered in mysterious writing, two phantoms flew out and landed in Ishizu Ishtar's hand.
"Gravekeeper's Priestess, and Gravekeeper's Summoner?"
Hayato recognized the monsters Ishizu Ishtar added to her hand. They were Gravekeeper's Priestess, which she had Tributed earlier to Summon Gravekeeper's Oracle and which has the effect to Revive a monster from the Graveyard, and Gravekeeper's Summoner, which was sent to the Graveyard earlier by Painful Choice.
"First, I Normal Summon Gravekeeper's Priestess from my hand, and then activate its effect because of its Summon." Playing a card from her hand, Ishizu Ishtar smiled slightly. "I don't need to explain its effect a second time, do I?"
"Revive one Gravekeeper's monster with a Level of 4 or lower from the Graveyard." Hayato stated Gravekeeper's Priestess's effect for Ishizu Ishtar.
"Sigh, looks like I still can't rest in peace. Ishizu Ishtar, you really know how to make people work." Gravekeeper's Priestess, who was Normal Summoned from the hand to the field, complained while casually drawing a magic circle with his staff. From Ishizu Ishtar's Graveyard, Gravekeeper's Descendant was Summoned to the field.
Gravekeeper's Priestess [ATK 500 → 1000]
Gravekeeper's Descendant [ATK 1500 → 2000]
Gravekeeper's Descendant, with his blond hair and arrogant expression, immediately voiced his dissatisfaction upon arriving on the field: "Huh? Why did This Great One have to stay in the Graveyard for so long? It's been absolutely boring since the start."
Gravekeeper's Priestess and Gravekeeper's Descendant had conflicting opinions. Gravekeeper's Priestess felt that young people didn't understand how happy it was to get some rest. In his opinion, staying in the Graveyard was great; always being on the field was just troublesome.
"Heh, old antiques should just stay in their coffins forever."
"Stinky Kid." "You bastard acting like you're old and wise."
Before Ishizu Ishtar's Battle Phase even began, the conflict between Gravekeeper's Descendant and Gravekeeper's Priestess was so intense it seemed like they would fight any second. Seeing the mess on the field, Gravekeeper's Oracle put on a stern face and tapped the ground with her staff: "Quiet! Both of you, shut your mouths!"
As the oldest and highest-ranking Gravekeeper's Oracle spoke, Gravekeeper's Priestess and Gravekeeper's Descendant, who couldn't stand each other, could only obediently shut up.
As for Gravekeeper's Visionary? He was just watching from the side, unable to move due to Rainbow Kuriboh's effect.
Meanwhile, Ishizu Ishtar also played a card from her hand: "Although I've already used my right to Normal Summon this turn, I Activate the effect of Throne of Necrovalley, which I added to my hand last turn! I Summon a Gravekeeper's monster from my hand!"
"Come forth, Gravekeeper's Summoner!"
Following Gravekeeper's Visionary, Gravekeeper's Oracle, Gravekeeper's Priestess, and Gravekeeper's Descendant, a fifth Gravekeeper's monster appeared on Ishizu Ishtar's field.
Gravekeeper's Summoner [ATK 1200 → 1700]
"With this, the combined Attack Points of the monsters on my field are enough to destroy Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion and then clear your field, Hayato-kun. However, I'm quite curious about the card you Set."
As Ishizu Ishtar spoke, she counted on her fingers: "Spell Shield Type-8, Mirror Force, Sakuretsu Armor, or some other type of card? No matter what kind of card it is, once it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, its effect can't be activated, right?"
Hayato's gaze couldn't help but fall upon Gravekeeper's Descendant on Ishizu Ishtar's field.
When Ishizu Ishtar used Painful Choice earlier, the five monsters she sent to the Graveyard were shown to him. If he remembered correctly, Gravekeeper's Descendant's effect seemed to be to Tribute one Gravekeeper's monster and then destroy one card on the field?
"That's right! I Activate Gravekeeper's Descendant's effect! I Tribute Gravekeeper's Priestess on my field, and then choose one card on the opponent's field to destroy!"
Gravekeeper's Priestess was also startled: "Nani?!"
He suddenly turned his head to look at Gravekeeper's Descendant, who was standing beside him with a malicious look: "You! Why are you looking at me with such ill intentions!"
"Gravekeeper's Descendant sneered, 'Heh heh, blame it on your Attack Points being the lowest.' Seeing this, Gravekeeper's Priestess tried to struggle. 'Wait a minute! Don't forget I revived you earlier! How about I buy you dinner?'"
Gravekeeper's Descendant laughed with considerable pleasure: "But I refuse!"
The staff came down, physically smashing Gravekeeper's Priestess into the Graveyard. A mass of ominous, blood-red energy gathered at the tip of Gravekeeper's Descendant's staff.
"The card I will destroy is the Set card in your backrow! Compared to Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion's currently weak Defense Points, that Set card is a greater threat!" Ishizu Ishtar said with a smile. "What's more, Gravekeeper's Descendant's effect doesn't have a once-per-turn restriction! After destroying the Set card, it'll be Gaia's turn!"
The blood-red energy surged towards Hayato's Set card in the backrow. Just as Ishizu Ishtar watched with expectation, Hayato proactively activated the Set card: "Should I call this luck or destiny, Ishizu Ishtar? The card I Set is truly perfect for dealing with this situation!"
"Quick-Play Spell Card, Book of Eclipse!"
"What?!" Ishizu Ishtar was surprised to find that the card Hayato activated was actually Book of Eclipse, which she had used in a previous duel!
Unlike generic cards like Monster Reborn or Pot of Greed, Book of Eclipse isn't commonly used. It's no wonder Hayato would exclaim whether this was a coincidence or destiny, with both players using the same card one after another in the same duel.
However, Ishizu Ishtar didn't have the luxury of marveling at the wonders of destiny right now.
"I don't need to explain Book of Eclipse's effect again, do I? After this card is activated, all monsters on the field in face-up Position will be changed to face-down Defense Position."
As Hayato's words fell, the blood-red energy shattered Book of Eclipse on Hayato's field. However, before it shattered, six pages flew out from Book of Eclipse, each landing on one of the five monsters on Ishizu Ishtar's field, flipping them over.
Along with them, Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion in Defense Position on Hayato's field was also Set back into a card.
Consequently, Rainbow Kuriboh, which was equipped to Gravekeeper's Visionary, was destroyed and sent to Hayato's Graveyard because the equipped monster was changed to face-down Defense Position.
"The monsters were flipped face-down... But Hayato-kun, I haven't reached my limit yet." Ishizu Ishtar said. "Although Gravekeeper's Descendant and Gravekeeper's Summoner cannot change their battle position because they were Summoned this turn, Gravekeeper's Oracle and Gravekeeper's Visionary are not affected by this restriction!"
"I Flip Summon two monsters, and then use Gravekeeper's Visionary to attack Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion on your field!"
A torrent of magic power appeared on the field. Although Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion, which was flipped face-down, was Released from Gravekeeper's Oracle's effect's influence by this, its 2300 Defense Points were ultimately slightly less than Gravekeeper's Visionary's 2500 Attack Points, which were boosted by the field. It was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.
With Rainbow Kuriboh's disappearance, Gravekeeper's Visionary regained its ability to attack, and even annihilated Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion in one blow to prove itself.
"And with that, you have no monsters on your field, Hayato-kun." Ishizu Ishtar ordered. "Direct Attack the opponent duelist, Gravekeeper's Oracle!"
An invisible wave of magic power flew from Gravekeeper's Oracle's hand and struck Hayato's body.
[Hayato: 3000 → 500 LP]