Chapter 26: Evil Reborn
Things had gotten bad in the duel between Jaden and Yako Tenma. Not only had Tenma merged all three of the Wicked Gods into a powerful Fusion monster, but that Fusion monster also spoke. It was clear to Jaden that the monster Tenma had summoned was not an ordinary card. Tenma had brought forth a malevolent power of some kind. Jaden wasn’t the only one who heard Zorc speak. Everyone else heard him too, everyone except for Tenma that is. He seemed completely unaware of everything but the duel.
“At last, reborn after all this time!” Zorc exclaimed. “Now the modern world shall tremble at my feet!”
“What are you?” Jaden asked the fifty-foot demon god.
“I am the reincarnation of Zorc Necrophades.” The demon explained.
“Zorc Necrophades? That’s the demon that the Nameless Pharaoh fought thousands of years ago!” Banner told Jaden from the sidelines.
“Thousands of years ago, and again in the modern age when the Pharaoh reawakened his memories.” Zorc added. “The second time that we fought, my original self was destroyed when the Pharaoh fused the Egyptian God cards into The Creator God of Light, Horakhty.”
“So how exactly have you come back?” Jaden demanded.
“You can thank my little puppet Tenma for that.” Zorc answered as he pointed a clawed finger down at Jaden’s opponent. “When he created the three Wicked God cards, he not only based them on the Pharaoh’s three Egyptian God monsters, but also on my original self.”
“Wait, so the Wicked Gods are really based on the demon that the Nameless Pharaoh fought in ancient Egypt?” Jaden asked in surprise.
“That is correct mortal.” Zorc answered. “And when Tenma created the Wicked Gods, he inadvertently resurrected me in three separate incarnations. The Wicked Eraser is the incarnation of my cunning, The Wicked Dreadroot is the incarnation of my ruthlessness, and The Wicked Avatar is the incarnation of my wrath, the formless essence of my hatred. These incarnations were able to easily manipulate Tenma. It helped that he also carried a hatred of Yugi Muto, the vessel for the spirit of the Pharaoh who destroyed me. Eventually Tenma finally created the Fusion monster that united my three incarnations. Now I am whole again, and in a Duel Monster form that parallels Horakhty no less.”
“So now that you’re back, what do you plan to do?” Jaden asked.
“Simple, my plan is to cover this world in eternal darkness and shadow as I had planed to do thousands of years ago!” Zorc replied. “And the best part is that Pharaoh Atem is no longer around to stop me!”
“So this is the power that you put your faith in Miyuki?” Shizuma coldly asked her old friend as they both watched from the sidelines, with Shizuma still cradling Nagisa in her arms. “This is what you were willing to sacrifice Nagisa for?”
Miyuki didn’t answer. She only looked up at Zorc in horror, realizing that she had made a huge mistake in helping Tenma.
“Pharaoh Atem might not be around anymore to stop you, but I am!” Jaden proclaimed.
“And just how do you expect to stop me mortal?” Zorc asked mockingly. “You’re nothing but a powerless human.”
“I may be human, but I’m not powerless!” Jaden responded as he briefly flashed his Yubel eyes. “Don’t underestimate me Zorc!”
“I see, so you aren’t an ordinary human.” Zorc observed. “This should make things interesting. Now let’s continue this Shadow Game! My puppet Tenma will explain the power of my new form.”
“I activate Zorc’s effect!” Tenma announced as if he was completely oblivious to the conversation that Jaden just had with Zorc. “Zorc rolls a six-sided die! If the result is a four, five, or six, I must skip my Battle Phase, but if the result is a one, two or three, all monsters on my opponent’s side of the field are destroyed! And I should also mention that Zorc has 5000 ATK!”
“5000 ATK? That’ll finish Jaden off in one blow!” Yaya exclaimed from the sidelines.
Appearing in Zorc’s right claw was a large red six-sided die that was small in comparison to Zorc. Zorc dropped the die from his hand. It rolled in the air before hitting the ground with a loud thud. The number on the side of the die that was face up was a five.
“It seems you are safe for one more turn mortal.” Zorc said in an amused tone. “Let’s see what pitiful defense you shall try to put up.”
“I set two cards on the field and end my turn!” Tenma announced.
As Jaden drew his next card, he knew that he needed to somehow destroy Zorc as soon a possible. He looked at the card that he just drew, and was pleased to find that not only was the card he drew an old friend of his, but it was also just what he needed.
“Neos, attack Zorc!” Jaden commanded. “Wrath of Neos!”
“Has Jaden gone nuts? Zorc is twice as strong as Neos!” Kizuna exclaimed from the sidelines as Neos leapt into the air.
“Now I send Honest from my hand to the Graveyard!” Jaden announced. “Now, because Neos is a Light monster, it gains the ATK of his opponent during the battle!”
“That means that Neos is now stronger than Zorc!” Remon exclaimed happily.
As Neos leapt into the air, a pair of white angelic wings appeared on his back. With his new wings, Neos flew high into the air and delivered a punch to Zorc’s demon face. The force of the punch was so strong it caused a huge explosion. Almost everyone watching began to cheer, but when the dust and smoke had cleared, they were all horrified to see that Zorc was still standing without a scratch.
“A valiant attempt mortal.” Zorc said with an evil laugh. “But not good enough.”
“How the heck did you survive?” a shocked Jaden asked.
“I activated my Trap, Waboku!” Tenma explained. “This card negates all damage and monster destruction in battle!”
Neos flew back down to Jaden’s side of the field. The hero’s white wings disappeared as he landed. A look of frustration was on Jaden’s face.
“I set one monster on the field and end my turn!” Jaden announced reluctantly. Tenma mindlessly drew his next card with an insane grin.
“I activate Zorc’s effect!” Tenma announced. The red die appeared again in Zorc’s right claw.
“Time once again to decide your fate mortal!” Zorc said as he dropped the die onto the field. The rolled die landed with the six facing up.
“Yay! Jaden’s safe for another turn!” Tsubomi exclaimed joyfully.
“Not so fast! I activate my other Trap, Dice Re-Roll!” Tenma announced. “This lets me negate the result of a rolled die and roll it again!”
The red die disappeared from the field and reappeared in Zorc’s claw. Zorc dropped the die back on to the field, and everyone was horrified to see that the result was a one. The die suddenly exploded with a flash of purple light, leaving Jaden’s side of the field completely exposed.
“Zorc, attack Jaden directly!” Tenma commanded.
“Zorc Inferno!” the demon god cried as he sent a maelstrom of fire from his hands at Jaden. Everyone watched in horror as Jaden disappeared into the firestorm.
