Chapter 616: I Ate Fish for Three Whole Years
Instead of checking if anything had been added to his Deck, Alister was completely taken in by Hayato's "Trust" and directly accepted the Deck. Seeing Hayato leisurely enjoying red wine, Alister, operating under the principle of "why not eat it if it's free," also took out a bottle of brandy from the Aircraft Cabin's wine cabinet and savored it with some cheap candy.
While the two of them were enjoying themselves leisurely, the Private Jet they were on was flying through the clouds above the Pacific Ocean Area towards the higher Stratosphere.
At that time, Dartz's order to Alister, Valon, and Rafael was to intercept and kill the three Duelists who possessed the three "Legendary Dragon" cards—Kaiba, Joey Wheeler, and Yugi. Now, Valon and Alister had both put in effort and taken action, but they only achieved the result of failure. However, even so, they still had to continue executing the current order until Dartz issued a new task.
However, taking a short rest was also acceptable. After all, even Alister didn't know where Kaiba, who had also escaped death from Duel Kingdom Island, was currently flying his jet. And there was even less to say about Valon; he had already sacrificed his life for Dartz's task, and even his soul was intercepted by Hayato halfway from the Orichalcos God and sealed within a card.
As for Rafael, he hadn't made a move on Yugi yet. But actually, while Hayato and Alister were enjoying the drinks prepared for Dartz, Rafael wasn't idle either; he was doing serious business.
"Have Valon's remains been dealt with, Rafael?"
"Yes, Lord Dartz."
Standing behind a device that looked like a projector, Rafael said respectfully. In front of Rafael, the technologically advanced projector emitted dazzling light, projecting a three-dimensional humanoid figure out of thin air right before Rafael.
Although it was a humanoid figure constructed from light out of thin air, the figure's face was quite clear. It was none other than Dartz!
Organization Doma was a secret organization established by Dartz after his failure ten thousand years ago. However, a secret organization couldn't do anything if it only hid behind the scenes. There had to be a "White Glove" that could influence the World while concealing its identity as the "mastermind."
Was the prosperity and demise of the Roman Empire an inevitable part of history?
Who provided the funds and resources for the Age of Discovery?
Was the citizen-initiated revolution truly spontaneously held by the citizens?
And how did Napoleon gain real power?
Throughout the changes of era, Doma's "White Glove" repeatedly appeared behind history. And a glove always gets dirty and needs to be changed. Currently, Doma's "White Glove" is the Paradius Group, a super behemoth that even KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions combined would find hard to compare with.
The equipment Rafael used to make contact with Dartz before him utilized the technology of Paradius Group. But even such a Paradius Group could only be considered a useful "White Glove." If Dartz, who served as the group's President, wanted to, he could discard it at any time.
After all, it was just a pair of "White Gloves." And not only Paradius Group, but even Rafael and the "Doma Three Swordsmen" were actually the same in Dartz's heart.
Listening to Rafael speak in detail, without any concealment, about how he had been monitoring Hayato Kobayashi and his conjecture about whether Hayato had interfered behind Valon's death, Dartz merely said indifferently, "Check the time. The bomber Alister applied for should have already arrived at Crawford Island and started indiscriminate bombing of Pegasus J. Crawford's Castle, right?"
"To complete the task, they seemed to have all staked their lives. However, they still did not complete the task."
Rafael, who was somewhat sad about Valon's death, was interrupted by Dartz's words halfway through speaking. He didn't show any expression, merely lowered his head respectfully and said, "Yes, everything for your will. But they have already done their best."
Looking at Dartz before him, who showed an expression completely untouched when mentioning Valon, who had already lost his life, and Alister, who could basically be said to be unable to survive, so flat it was like mentioning "the green vegetables in the refrigerator have gone bad," it was false to say Rafael had no thoughts in his heart.
Rafael, who joined Doma after losing his family, placed his own cards as a substitute for his deceased family in the most important first place in his heart. But in his heart, Valon and Alister, who were younger than him and joined Doma later, were like his own younger brothers.
Valon, who liked to be lazy but deep down was full of drive, and Alister, who was essentially somewhat kind in his heart but filled with the wrath of revenge. Although Rafael never put pressure on them with the identity of a "senior" or "Elder," Rafael, who was poor at expressing himself, actually took good care of them normally.
And even without such feelings, upon hearing the death news of teammates, Companions, or rather, "friends," who had been together for so many years, even someone with a heart of stone couldn't help but feel sad. But looking at Dartz's expression, it was like the thought, "Even staking their life, they couldn't defeat the opponent, truly useless."
'Lord Dartz, did he not care about our lives at all...?'
Rafael couldn't help but think inwardly. But he quickly found a reason for Dartz himself. 'No, it should be because Lord Dartz cared too much about his ideal of creating a New World. Seeing that the goal was already so close, yet because of the Nameless Pharaoh and the others, he was unable to get any closer.'
'Because of this, Lord Dartz would temporarily overlook Alister and Valon's death news. Yes, that's how it is.'
If Valon and Alister were like younger brothers in Rafael's eye, then Dartz in Rafael's eye was actually like a Teacher, and could even be said to be a "Father."
Ten years ago, Rafael and his family took a Cruise Ship for an ocean voyage because of his birthday. On his birthday, Rafael received the birthday gift his own younger siblings had prepared for him—the Duel Monsters card he had long wanted but was rare and difficult to collect, Guardian Eatos.
First time, going on an ocean voyage together with his family;
First time, receiving the gift of a desired Duel Monsters card.
Two happy things came together, and these two joys brought Rafael even more happiness. What he got should have been happy time like a dream... But why did it turn out like this...?
The route the ship on the ocean voyage was sailing had already been confirmed safe before setting sail. But somehow there was a deviation, and the Cruise Ship strangely sailed to above an Underwater Volcano, and even more unluckily encountered an underwater volcanic eruption.
Amidst the world turned upside down, Rafael tried to reach out and grab his younger siblings who were separated from him, but in that situation, just by a hair's breadth, he missed them, watching helplessly as the distance between them grew. Subsequently, towering waves swallowed everything, and when Rafael woke up, he had landed on a Deserted Island.
On the Island, there was no trace of anyone else besides him. Rafael became the only survivor, like a miracle, in that shipwreck. And what came with him to that Island was only the gift he received from his younger siblings—the card of Guardian Eatos. And from time to time, Rafael became able to see the materialized Guardian Eatos appearing beside him.
The current Rafael naturally knew that he had awakened the ability of a Spirit User at that time and became able to see the existence of card spirits. But Rafael at that time only felt that all of this was an illusion appearing under his mental stress.
Three years, a full three years. Holding onto the faint hope that "Since I survived, maybe my family also survived somewhere," Rafael lived alone on the Island for a full three years without anyone to communicate with, and also ate fish for a full three years, so much so that now Rafael feels nauseated when he sees fish.
During that time, his only spiritual sustenance was the Guardian Eatos card he received. He lived together with the card spirits, calmly and full of anticipation, waiting for the future. And a miracle indeed happened. Rafael on the Island went out to sea because he saw an Island appear in the distance, but found that it was just a phantom. But unexpectedly, he was rescued by a passing ship.
But when Rafael miraculously returned to Human Society, that faint hope that had supported his fragile mind in the past was extinguished by the cruelty of Reality, turning into deep despair.
Besides Rafael, no one else survived that shipwreck. Rafael's family died without corpses or remains, and the relatives who had originally fawned over Rafael's family also revealed their true colors, either plotting for their family's wealth or wanting to utilize the fame of the miraculously returned Rafael.
At that time, Rafael, who was full of confusion towards the World and could only feel a patch of darkness, saw that Sea Island that took him away from the Deserted Island again. Only this time, he did not arrive at the phantom, but met Dartz.
After knowing that Dartz's goal was to make the World return to "zero," Rafael also joined Doma and became one of the current "Doma Three Swordsmen." And on Rafael's path of growth, Dartz acted as his "Teacher," and because of his worship and recognition of Dartz's ideal of "creating a New World," Rafael had a reverence for Dartz like a "Father."
However, Dartz's performance today, for the first time, left a rift in Rafael's heart regarding Dartz's image. Everyone in the "Doma Three Swordsmen" was putting in effort, staking their lives for Lord Dartz's plan, but in Lord Dartz's heart, how exactly does he view us?
This rift was pieced back together by Rafael's reverence for Dartz over these ten years, but a rope that is cut and then tied back together will have a knot, and a wound that is torn open and then heals will have a scar. The faint idea that arose in Rafael's heart towards Dartz was ultimately buried.
'In Lord Dartz's eye, the most important thing is his great plan. As long as it is for creating a New World, even if the souls of the three of us are all offered to Lord Dartz, it doesn't matter. This point, whether it was Alister or Valon, had already prepared for it in their hearts.'
Rafael's gaze was somewhat serious. 'I am the same.'
And seemingly sensing Rafael's will in his heart, Dartz looked over. "Speaking of the Nameless Pharaoh, where are they now?"
"They are already on their way to me, Lord Dartz." Although Dartz didn't say it explicitly, Rafael took the initiative to say, "Please rest assured, I will definitely complete your task. For you, I will subdue the Nameless Pharaoh and the Legendary Dragon cards he possesses, even if I sacrifice my life."
Hearing Rafael's assurance, Dartz merely gave a cold smile. As kind as Dartz was when facing Hayato, he was just as strict and cruel when facing Rafael and the others. "Rafael, among the 'Doma Three Swordsmen,' you are the strongest one. I also believe you have the strength to defeat the Nameless Pharaoh."
"But I don't like hearing assurances like 'I will kill him.' Because it sounds just like bluffing. Only useless scum who only threaten people with a small knife but don't dare to actually act would say such meaningless words. I have heard too many such assurances."
"Doing is more important than saying. Before saying such words, go and complete it first. Not 'I will kill him,' but 'I have already killed him.' I hope to hear such words from you next time."
Finished speaking, the projector's light before Rafael dimmed, and Dartz's figure dispersed from before him. Rafael also straightened his back, looking at the location where Dartz had disappeared, and closed his eyes, seemingly thinking about something.
For a long time, like he made up his mind, Rafael walked towards a table in the Room. From an open briefcase filled with Duel Monsters cards on the table, he took out several cards and put them into the Deck Zone equipped on his wrist's Duel Disk.
After adjusting his Deck, Rafael turned and looked out the window. Looking out from a height, outside was already completely dark.
The current time was already six or seven in the evening. Because it was gradually entering winter, with short days and long nights, the time it got dark was getting earlier and earlier compared to summer.
Rafael was currently at the location of Organization Doma's "White Glove"—the Headquarters of Paradius Group. After leaving Yugi, he took Valon's corpse and came here, both to find a place to lay Valon to rest and also to prepare to welcome Yugi and the others, who had completely exposed their destination.
After taking a private car, taking a shortcut, and speeding up to arrive at Industrial Illusions, Rafael then used Dartz's identity to clear out all the Staff who originally worked here, only leaving behind a certain amount of manpower that would be needed next, leaving an empty Industrial Park to wait for Yugi and their arrival.
Under the cover of night, Paradius Park, which was usually as bright as daytime, fell into complete darkness. And within this darkness, there was a quite noticeable beam of light coming straight towards the building where Rafael was located, along the main road in the center of the Park.
Rafael recognized it. That was the RV that Yugi and the others were riding in, which he had seen once before in Conflict Town.
'Have they come, Nameless Pharaoh? It's finally about to begin, my Duel with you.'
Rafael, holding an indescribable feeling, pressed the call button on an intercom by the table. "Begin the action."
Chapter 617: Because the home internet was broken, it dragged on until now
The RV, driven by Kujaku Mai, drove unimpeded into Industrial Illusions' Industrial Park. The Paradius Tower, shrouded in darkness, stood like a giant in the darkness. As the RV approached, it seemed to grow larger, and Yugi, sitting in the passenger seat, felt a deeply oppressive feeling.
"Is that Industrial Illusions? Compared to KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions, the oppressive feeling is so strong." Tristan , poking his head out from the back compartment and bending over, also looked at the distant Paradius Tower. "Hiss~ I inexplicably feel like someone stuck an icicle in my buttocks, sending shivers down my spine."
"Although the analogy is too strange, it's true, I feel that way too." Rex also agreed with Tristan 's view.
It wasn't that Rex was too timid; to his shame, even though he considered himself an excellent Duelist, looking at that distant Building, he felt a sense of tension, as if being targeted by some hunter from an ancient era.
"It is indeed a bit strange. This is the world's strongest and most famous Industrial Illusions, right? But it has such a large Industrial Park, yet it's quieter than a No Man's Land."
While driving, Kujaku Mai also agreed, "Did you see? All the Buildings along the road we just drove on, looking inside through the glass windows, not a single room had its lights on."
Hearing Kujaku Mai say this, Téa , who was taking care of Joey Wheeler in the back compartment as he hadn't fully recovered yet, asked strangely, "No lights? Maybe it's because the American system's unions regulate working hours, and the workers have all gotten off work."
"Oh, Téa , you should read less of those shameless articles written by the domestic media. Capitalists will do anything for profit. Forget about overtime exceeding standard hours, they'll even do things that are against the law," Joey Wheeler said with an "I know everything" expression, lying horizontally on the bed. "And they'll even call it a blessing for the workers."
" Joey Wheeler , you guy, be quiet and rest properly." Kujaku Mai, who was driving, heard Joey Wheeler 's voice and saw in the rearview mirror that Joey Wheeler wasn't lying properly on the bed but was poking his head out, looking proudly at the people in front. She couldn't help but get a little distracted.
As one of the Doma Three Swordsmen, although Valon didn't nurture powerful monsters using inner darkness as a breeding ground like Alister and Rafael, his darkness permeated the Armor Deck, granting those monsters the ability to Direct Attack the Duelist's fundamental vitality.
Furthermore, in the later stages of the Duel, Valon added insult to injury by activating the The Seal of Orichalcos, which directly turned the Duel into a Dark Game. Due to these two reasons, Joey Wheeler suffered considerable damage in his previous Duel with Valon, and because less than six hours had passed, he still hadn't recovered much.
Rather, Joey Wheeler , whose Life Points had experienced two rollercoasters of sharp drops and one sharp rise in that Duel, was already quite amazing to be able to maintain a clear will and not fall into a vegetative state, even though Valon, in a moment of conscience, actively put the Armor on Joey Wheeler to protect him during the final damage that felt like mutual destruction.
But this was already Joey Wheeler 's limit. Although the current Joey Wheeler was saying "It's okay, no big deal," his body was so weak that he couldn't even win a wrist wrestling match against Yugi Mutou and was unanimously told by everyone to lie in bed and rest.
In fact, Yugi and the others bringing Joey Wheeler along now was already the result of Joey Wheeler 's strong resistance. He absolutely refused to go to the Hospital and be left alone, insisting on going with Yugi to brave Industrial Illusions, that Dragon's Pond and Tiger's Den, claiming the reason for not going to the Hospital was that he couldn't afford it.
His reason was quite sufficient, and Joey Wheeler himself had a strong attitude, so Yugi and the others had no choice but to bring Joey Wheeler along. However, they didn't plan on having Joey Wheeler go inside Industrial Illusions with them. At that time, Kujaku Mai and Téa would stay behind in the RV to watch over Joey Wheeler , while Rex, Tristan , and Yugi, the other two boys, would go inside Industrial Illusions.
However, while that was the plan, the premise of the plan was based on them safely arriving at the Industrial Illusions Headquarters Building. Moreover, it's common for plans not to keep up with the change in circumstances, just like now—
Just as Kujaku Mai was distracted looking in the rearview mirror, although she had taken many breaks in between, Kujaku Mai had been driving for about a day. Coupled with driving on a straight, wide avenue in the darkness and No Man's Land after entering the Paradis Industrial Park, Kujaku Mai's attention was inevitably not as concentrated, and she wasn't as serious as when she was driving on the road before.
And during the time Kujaku Mai was distracted, Rex, who was watching the road ahead, saw something strange and difficult to believe, his pupil shrinking. He anxiously shouted, "Hey Kujaku Mai, watch the road, watch the road! There seems to be someone ahead!"
Called out by Rex, Kujaku Mai quickly snapped back to attention. She reflexively lightly stepped on the brake to decelerate, but it was just a fraction of a second off, making the braking distance insufficient. Seeing the figure illuminated by the headlights getting closer and closer, she exclaimed, "Oh no, we're going to hit them!"
Just like a speeding tanker truck cannot slam on the brake to decelerate even if it sees a pedestrian ahead, this large RV that Yugi and the others were riding in couldn't avoid the pedestrian in front by turning the steering wheel like a motorcycle. In an instant, the RV violently crashed into the "pedestrian."
"Bang!"
The result of a vehicle colliding with a pedestrian is undoubtedly the pedestrian being blasted away and falling onto the Ground not far away. But even though they hit a person, the people in the car felt as if the RV had hit a concrete pile. The reaction force was so great that Rex and Tristan in the back row, who weren't seated properly, almost fell, and even Joey Wheeler almost rolled off the bed.
Yugi in the passenger seat also rubbed his forehead, which he had accidentally bumped. He also didn't expect someone to suddenly appear on the road. Kujaku Mai had been using the high beams to check the road conditions since before, yet that person seemed to have appeared out of nowhere from the Underground.
But now was not the time to dwell on where that person came from. Having been blasted away by the RV, he didn't know if the opponent was alright. Thinking this, Yugi was about to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out to check the situation.
But Kujaku Mai stopped him: "Wait Yugi, don't get out yet!"
"That thing isn't human!"
As Kujaku Mai's voice fell, the "humanoid" figure that had just been blasted away got up from the Ground. Only then did Yugi see the opponent's true appearance clearly.
Deep purple skin covered in gray armor that didn't look like a fake, a tall body that stood nearly three meters high like a giant. More importantly, the opponent's face wasn't a human face but had a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, baring a mouth full of sharp teeth with a grin. That was no human; it was clearly the image of an Orichalcos Soldier that had crawled out of Hell!
On the Orichalcos Soldier's left hand was an arm blade that looked like an extended Duel Disk, engraved with familiar runes. That pattern had appeared on the The Seal of Orichalcos. And the Orichalcos Soldier's forehead was even stamped with a The Seal of Orichalcos emblem, just like the Duelists who had used the The Seal of Orichalcos in Duels, emitting an ominous green light.
After the blasted away Orichalcos Soldier got up from the Ground, it showed no sign of having been hit head-on by a several-ton RV just now. With a roar, it actually lunged fiercely towards Yugi and the others, clinging to the front of the car, trying to pierce the windshield with its sharp claws and attack Yugi and the others!
A fierce and evil Orichalcos Soldier—if it were a typical young girl, she might be scared stiff and unable to move, or only scream and shrink back. But Kujaku Mai was truly a strong woman. Seeing the Orichalcos Soldier extend its hand, she actually slammed on the accelerator and roared, "You guy, who's dirtier than a toad that fell into a toilet, get away from me! Like a baseball hit by a home run!"
"Bang!"
Although there wasn't much acceleration distance, the RV's engine had full horsepower. In an instant, it rammed into the Orichalcos Soldier's waist, hitting it for the second time. And this time, Kujaku Mai kept the accelerator pressed down hard, directly knocking the Orichalcos Soldier to the Ground and then running over it with the several-ton RV.
After driving and "hit-and-running" the Orichalcos Soldier, Kujaku Mai looked out through the windshield, whose visibility had been restored, and found that another Orichalcos Soldier had appeared not far away. Moreover, its appearance wasn't from coming out of a hidden corner, but from a small The Seal of Orichalcos magic circle appearing on the Ground, from which it directly rose.
"There's a second one? No, there's one over there too!" After seeing the second Orichalcos Soldier, Kujaku Mai quickly discovered a third, and a fourth. These soldiers, as if they had wandered into the wrong show from a fantasy World, continuously emerged one after another from magic circles like bamboo shoots after rain.
"Over here too!" "And over here too!"
Not only from the front, but accompanied by Rex and Tristan 's exclamations, everyone discovered that large numbers of Orichalcos Soldiers were also appearing from both sides, clearly forming an encirclement around the RV where they were!
Kujaku Mai even glimpsed in the rearview mirror that the Orichalcos Soldier that had been hit before was getting up from the Ground unharmed and walking towards them again!
"Tsk, everyone, hold on tight!" Gritting her teeth, Kujaku Mai skillfully shifted the gear lever and stepped on the accelerator. "Don't underestimate me! My driving skill was learned in Hawaii!"
"Whoa!!!" X5!
The several-ton RV was driven by Kujaku Mai's fierce driving skill with the spirit of a super race car accelerating from a standstill. At the cost of almost everyone in the back row being thrown around, the RV weaved left and right, bypassing the Orichalcos Soldiers who hadn't yet formed a dense formation, squeezing through the gap.
Even Yugi, sitting in the passenger seat, was only able to stay seated because he hadn't unbuckled his seatbelt earlier.
However, this was only possible because the Orichalcos Soldiers' encirclement hadn't yet shrunk. Kujaku Mai wasn't some Rider with A+ Riding Skill who could surpass race cars on a bicycle. As the Orichalcos Soldiers continuously rushed forward to obstruct, even hitting the car with their bodies to force the RV to stop, the vehicle's speed became slower and slower.
Once the RV was forced to stop and unable to move, it was difficult to believe what these Orichalcos Soldiers would do to the people inside the RV!
Seeing an Orichalcos Soldier seize the opportunity created by its companions and approach the RV, raising the arm blade in its hand and sweeping it horizontally as if to cleave the people inside the car, suddenly an off-road vehicle appeared from nowhere beside them. At this crucial moment, it happened to crash into the Orichalcos Soldier that was about to attack, saving everyone!
"Yahoo! Rishid, did you see that? A home run!"
From the off-road vehicle came a familiar voice. Yugi looked over and saw the White-Haired One sitting in the driver's seat proudly show off his foresight to the woman sitting in the passenger seat. "Although not having a roof meant getting roasted all the way here, the high horsepower of these off-road jeeps really came in handy after all!"
Looking at his appearance, he was just like a three-year-old who bought a toy, found it unexpectedly useful, and was proudly show off his cleverness to his parent. It was none other than Marik. And the woman sitting in the passenger seat was naturally Ishizu, while Rishid sat in the back.
The Tomb Keepers trio, here they come!
Noticing Yugi's line of sight towards him, Marik turned his head. "Yo, Nameless Pharaoh, we're here to help too. Although we were held up by a bunch of thugs trying to cause an accident on the way and spent some time, but we shouldn't be too late, right?"
"No, Marik, you've come at the perfect time." In an instant, the meek Yugi Mutou and the assertive Dark Yugi switched places. Yugi looked at Marik and smiled. "However, now is not the time for small talk."
"That's true," Marik replied with a grin, glancing ahead. He stepped on the accelerator, making the Jeep dart out and fiercely crash into another Orichalcos Soldier. "The goal is Paradius Tower. Let me clear the path. Follow me, you blonde girl over there."
"Who are you calling a blonde girl? I have a name, you bastard!" Kujaku Mai, called "blonde girl" by Marik, stepped on the accelerator and followed Marik, who was clearing the path ahead. "I just feel annoyed being helped by that guy named Marik."
Kujaku Mai naturally wouldn't know what kind of torment she would experience when facing Marik during Battle City in the timeline where Hayato didn't interfere. However, she didn't dwell on the annoyed feeling in her heart. What was most important now was to first arrive at Paradius Tower.
If before the attack, the group only thought that they could obtain information about Organization Doma from Dartz, the President of Industrial Illusions, the fact that entering Paradius Tower was so difficult and even had these strange Orichalcos Soldiers blocking the path indicated that this place held unusual importance for Organization Doma. The value of the information they could obtain would absolutely greatly increase.
With Marik clearing the path, everyone finally arrived in front of Paradius Tower. As the two vehicles successively arrived nearby, searchlights suddenly shone down from both sides of the road, illuminating the surroundings brightly.
A voice came: "I have been waiting for you for a long time, Mutou Yuugi. No, Nameless Pharaoh."
Chapter 618: A Promise Must Be Kept
Stimulated by the bright light, Kujaku Mai slammed on the brake and twisted the steering wheel to avoid colliding with Marik ahead, bringing the RV to a spectacular drift stop.
Yugi, sitting in the passenger seat, used the inertia to open the car door. Without waiting for the car to stop, he unbuckled his seatbelt and leaped out, landing simultaneously with a briefcase he had thrown out beforehand. He tossed his hair back and looked at That Person standing in the light.
Spiky yellow hair stood up, a dark grey vest under a deep blue trench coat – it was Rafael, who had been waiting for a long time at Paradius Tower.
"Rafael," Yugi took out his Duel Disk and Deck from the box. He straightened up and looked at Rafael on the Stairs, putting on his Duel Disk as he spoke, "Were those things sent by you?"
"Those Orichalcos Soldiers?" Rafael glanced at the Soldiers chasing the RV in the distance and said calmly, "I wanted an opportunity for a one-on-one Duel with you. To prevent your Companions from interfering, I sent them out to try and separate you."
"However, after all, they are just tools without sanity. They couldn't even threaten your Companions to force you to Duel me."
Yugi frowned, "There's no need for that. To get Hayato back, and to settle accounts for the sinful acts of taking others' lives, the people of Doma are opponents I wouldn't let go of anyway. Besides, I was already planning to defeat you one-on-one, Rafael."
Up until now, Yugi had Dueled Rafael twice. One was in a KC Cup public event where Rafael wasn't serious, and the other time Rafael had included Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, which didn't fit his style, in the Deck. In both Duels, Rafael had not shown his true strength.
Even without going full power, Yugi could still feel the unique aura of a True Duelist from Rafael at that time. Simply defeating an unserious Rafael couldn't calm his Duelist Spirit.
But now, Rafael, one of the Doma Three Swordsmen, and Yugi, the User of the Legendary Dragon, had an irreconcilable stance conflict, naturally providing the condition for a full power Duel. However, the last time Yugi met Rafael, his attention was completely attracted by Hayato, who had appeared for the first time since his disappearance, and he hadn't dueled a full power Rafael.
But now, finally, there was an opportunity for the two of them to duel one-on-one with full power.
"Yugi!" In the RV, Tristan , who was sitting in the back row, slowly opened the car door and glanced behind. The Orichalcos Soldiers they had just managed to shake off were still relentlessly pursuing them, closing the distance with the RV. He anxiously called out to Yugi.
The RV's bumper, which had collided with the Orichalcos Soldiers, was completely shattered due to the rebound shock from their sturdy armor. The car body, which had been scraped against by the Orichalcos Soldiers before, was also full of scratches. The RV, originally worth a hundred thousand US dollars, was now estimated to have depreciated to less than five thousand US dollars. Tristan had struggled with the deformed door for a long time because of this before finally opening it.
It was hard to imagine what the outcome would be for Yugi if he were caught by those Orichalcos Soldiers without the protection of the car body.
Honda wanted to tell Yugi to get back in the car first to shake off those Orichalcos Soldiers, and then find a way to enter Paradius Tower when it was a bit safer, at least without Rafael blocking the way at the entrance. But when Yugi heard Tristan 's call, he just turned his head and said to Tristan with confidence, "You guys leave first with the others, Tristan . I'll be fine."
From the fact that Rafael was standing alone at the entrance of Paradius Tower waiting for Yugi, it could be seen that although he had arranged for the Orichalcos Soldiers to attack the group, he merely wanted to disperse the others so they wouldn't interfere with his duel with Yugi. And at this moment, Yugi had gone out alone as Rafael wished, so those Orichalcos Soldiers he had arranged had no reason to attack Yugi.
"But—" Tristan hesitated, unsure whether to believe what Yugi said. After all, those fierce-looking Orichalcos Soldiers just now were so scary and very aggressive. But looking at Yugi's confident gaze, his trust in his friend convinced Tristan . "I understand. Be careful, Yugi."
"After we shake off these guys, we'll be back!" In the driver's seat, Kujaku Mai called out, stepped on the accelerator and accelerated, causing an Orichalcos Soldier who had closed in on the RV to swing its arm blade at empty air.
As Marik and Kujaku Mai drove away, it was indeed as Yugi had conjectured; the Orichalcos Soldiers had no idea of attacking Yugi, and didn't even approach Paradius Tower by a single step, chasing after the two cars that drove away.
"Next, no one is troublesome, but this is not the place for a duel." Rafael glanced at himself standing on the Stairs and Yugi standing below the Stairs. To prevent Yugi from saying things like "This is a trial," he chose to transfer the Battlefield and turned around first, walking towards the open gate behind him. "Come with me, Nameless Pharaoh."
As if he wasn't afraid of a sneak attack at all, Rafael upright revealed his completely defenseless back and walked into the open gate. Out of caution, Yugi did not follow closely immediately, but fell behind by a couple of steps, maintaining a distance, and walked into the gate a few seconds later.
But after walking into Paradius Tower, Yugi immediately froze, because he found that Rafael, who had just walked in moments before, had disappeared in the blink of an eye?
Where did he go?
Yugi looked left and right, but saw a pure white feather slowly drifting down in mid-air in front of him. Seems like it was a bird's feather? How strange, why would there be something like that indoors?
Just as Yugi was about to reach out a hand to catch that unusual feather and observe it carefully, he found that the white feather was gradually becoming transparent as it drifted down, like an illusion. At the same time, a "ding" sound came from not far away.
Turning his head to look, an Elevator door automatically opened because it had arrived at the first Floor, revealing an empty elevator car. The display screen above the Elevator showed an upward arrow.
Although Yugi wasn't quite sure what was going on with the suddenly disappeared Rafael and that feather just now, the situation before him clearly indicated that Rafael was inviting him to step into the Elevator. Especially since the Elevator door, which should have only opened for a few seconds, remained open as if waiting for Yugi to enter.
Although he became more suspicious that it was a trap, Yugi still walked towards the Elevator. Just as he walked inside the Elevator, the Elevator door proved it wasn't broken; it automatically closed, and without pressing any button, the Elevator ascended towards the upper floors. This made Yugi even more certain that Rafael was most likely waiting for him on the Floor where the Elevator would stop.
Yugi, or rather, Dark Yugi, had always been the type who, even knowing clearly it was a trap, would at most be a little careful but would not avoid it. Because of this personality, he had suffered losses from Hayato and Yugi Mutou more than once in duels. However, even so, Dark Yugi would not become slick and engage in evasive behavior because of this. Although a bit stubborn, this was also Dark Yugi's personality.
Now that he had entered the enclosed Elevator car, Yugi didn't feel nervous. Instead, knowing that a battle would inevitably be waiting for him when the Elevator stopped, he directly took out the Deck he had brought with him before, spread it open, and partially exchanged cards with his spare cards, starting to adjust the composition of the cards in the Deck.
Even knowing clearly that there was a camera behind his head in the Elevator, Yugi believed that with Rafael's personality, he wouldn't peek at other people's cards. After all, that would involve the risk of hospitalization.
(Someone is furious: Achoo!)
The Eye of Wjat/Udjat on the Millennium Puzzle flickered with golden light. Yugi Mutou's figure floated beside Dark Yugi, who was arranging his Deck.
"The Other Me," Yugi Mutou said with a worried expression, looking at Dark Yugi, "I don't know why, but I have a bad premonition in my heart. You must be careful."
Yugi Mutou naturally knew The Other Self's personality inside and out. It wasn't that he wasn't serious in duels; rather, he was too serious, to the extent that he always attacked with full power in duels, which made him very easily fall into others' traps.
Yugi Mutou's personality was exactly the opposite; he was better at defense than attack. The strengths and flaws of the two people could be said to be complementary existences. However, compared to Yugi Mutou, who had gradually grown up and overcome his flaws due to the influence of many friends like Dark Yugi, Joey Wheeler , Hayato, and even Kaiba, Dark Yugi had actually gone further and further in "attack" without compensating for his flaws.
Although there was the saying "Strength can overcome cunning," even without compensating for his flaws and relying on his strength in attack, Dark Yugi had the strength to compete on the same stage as Hayato and Kaiba. But he was just afraid that someone would target his personality and deliberately attack his weak point.
Because he himself had done that more than once, Yugi Mutou knew deeply that The Other Self was very easily fooled.
Since there were no other people here, Dark Yugi also didn't choose mental communication, but chose the more accustomed method of speaking directly: "Aibo, believe me. I will definitely achieve victory."
"Before pulling the sword from Timaeus, we made a promise with Dark Magician Girl in the Spirit World that we would definitely defeat Doma and save the two Worlds."
"Things that were promised must definitely be done, right?"
Yugi Mutou naturally also remembered what Dark Yugi said. After all, it was the two of them together who pulled the sword at that time, and they also together agreed to Dark Magician Girl's request. Although Dark Magician Girl's expression at that time was quite awkward, like she had just sent off a plague god, slightly gleeful, it was probably because she saw the hope of the world being saved and was happy.
However, even if Dark Yugi mentioned the promise from back then, Yugi Mutou still felt a bit worried.
In this recent period, Grimo's attack stole the Slifer the Sky Dragon card, and he suffered a crushing defeat by Hayato's Starving Venom Fusion Dragon at Industrial Illusions. He always felt that because of the pressure of the promise and the repeated setbacks, The Other Me was getting more and more impatient.
He hoped that nothing unexpected would happen in the upcoming duel.
The display screen inside the Elevator did not show the Floor it was rising to. Yugi only felt that the Elevator had been rising for a while before finally having the feeling of gradually decelerating and about to stop. He didn't know which Floor it had reached. After a "ding" sound rang out, the Elevator door opened, and a cool breeze blew into the Elevator car.
Yugi, who had already finished adjusting his Deck, put the Deck into his Duel Disk, allowing it to deploy. He looked towards the outside of the Elevator and found that he had actually arrived at an outdoor Rooftop at this moment. Rafael, with his arms crossed over his chest, was standing not far away with closed eyes. It seems like he had been waiting here for a long time.
Yugi, who walked out of the Elevator, looked up at the sky above him. It was a dim and lightless night sky, with the stars avoiding, leaving behind only patches of dark clouds. So that means he had actually taken the Elevator from the first Floor of Paradius Tower all the way up to the Rooftop on the top floor? No wonder it felt like some time had passed.
However, what attracted Yugi's attention more than himself standing on the Rooftop was a pair of transparent wings spread out behind Rafael. A few pure white feathers drifted down from the wings as they spread open. Rafael at this moment truly lived up to his name, as if he were an angel "Raphael" who had walked out of mythology into the modern era.
"Even until now, I still don't understand, Rafael." Yugi did not rush impatiently to start a life-and-death struggle with Rafael. He looked at Rafael, who opened his eyes as his wings disappeared, and said, "From my previous duels with you, I can feel that you have unparalleled unique feelings towards Duel Monsters. You are a True Duelist."
"You, who loves Duel Monsters, why would you join Organization Doma?"
"Do you know, Hitler was also a vegetarian. Regarding Duel Monsters, regarding my Deck's feelings, I will not deny them, but I don't think this conflicts with me being a member of Organization Doma," Rafael said calmly, facing Yugi's questioning.
Yugi frowned and denied, "That's wrong. If a True Duelist possesses the power of Duel Monsters, they would absolutely not use it for committing evil deeds!"
"Evil? You think Doma is doing evil, Nameless Pharaoh." Rafael's gaze met Yugi's. He looked directly into Yugi's eyes without wavering. "But that's wrong. Power and even the World have never been clearly black and white. I don't think anyone or any faction can be differentiated simply by such simple and meaningless labels as 'Justice' and 'Evil'. Sweet soda and bitter tea can both quench thirst."
"Nameless Pharaoh, you only take 'responsive' action when I, when Doma, take action. This habit has already bound your body and mind. Although you certainly have quite excellent talent, that kind of idea of 'self-defense' bound in your heart absolutely cannot make you actively raise the idea of 'killing me'."
"I believe this gap in will can better differentiate people than 'Justice' and 'Evil'. In my eyes, you are just a passive 'responder'."
Rafael raised his Duel Disk. "The 'will' to take action and kill the opponent without hesitation when necessary, that is the real difference between you and me. Let me tell you about this gap in will with a duel, Nameless Pharaoh!"
"Duel!"
Rafael: 4000 LP
Thanks to "Duel Qing" for the 500 Points Tip. Thank you, old friend.
How satisfying it was to torment Phoenix Enforcer with a lighter before; that's how miserable it is this month getting head-chopped by Dark Law's neighbor. It seems like more and more people are playing Heroes in Master Duel. I played five games today and encountered three.
End of Chapter
Chapter 619: The Immeasurable Impact on Teenagers
"Responder"?
Hearing this, Yugi frowned. He had heard this term before; it was spoken by Grimo, a bald man who was a member of Organization Doma and had previously attacked Solomon Muto and stolen the Slifer the Sky Dragon card. If he remembered correctly, Grimo seemed to be a Subordinate of Rafael.
Although Yugi didn't quite agree with Rafael's statement that "Will distinguishes people more than good and evil," he couldn't refute Rafael's description of a "Responder."
Compared to the gentle Yugi Mutou, Dark Yugi's methods when taking action were much tougher and more cruel. When it was necessary to act, he would always strike decisively without the slightest hesitation, and he was capable of using Dark Games to drive his enemies insane or Crush their Hearts.
However, even though he strongly disliked admitting that Rafael's evaluation was true, Yugi's Heart had already acknowledged the "Responder" saying. He could only passively respond to things that had already happened and couldn't prevent everything before it occurred.
But Yugi didn't feel there was anything wrong with being such a "Responder," nor did he believe that the difference in strength between him and Rafael, or the outcome of their Duel, would be determined by this kind of Will.
Since Rafael had already raised his Duel Disk first, Yugi naturally wouldn't avoid the Duel. He also raised his unfolded Duel Disk and said with an imposing presence, "In a Duel, we, who are two in one, will not lose!"
"Duel!"
[Yugi: 4000 LP]
"Distinguishing differences in philosophy through a Duel, that suits me perfectly. Then I'll take the First Turn." Rafael seized the First Turn, saying, "My Turn, Draw."
As Rafael drew a card, he was surrounded by a faint, sacred white radiance. Seeing this, Yugi Mutou inside the Millennium Puzzle felt an ominous premonition rise in his Heart again and quickly reminded him, "The Other Me!"
"This Killing Intent, like being targeted by a beast... I'll be careful, Partner." Dark Yugi also felt Rafael's serious intent immediately. He lowered his head and glanced at the cards in his Hand. "However, I've also drawn a quite perfect Hand."
Rafael looked at the card he drew and raised an eyebrow. His Hand was quite good; he had drawn some excellent cards.
"I Activate the Spell Card Double Summon, allowing me to perform a second Normal Summon this Turn." He first played a Double Summon. This card has quite varied uses; it can be used to prepare Tributes and perform a Tribute Summon within one Turn, or it can be used to promptly Trigger the Effect of a Gemini Monster. However, Rafael chose a third method of use.
"During the Main Phase, I Normal Summon two Monsters from my Hand onto the Field in Face-Down Defense Position." Drawing two cards from his Hand, Rafael Summoned two Monsters onto the Field at once thanks to Double Summon. Then he drew another card. "Next is the Quick-Play Spell Card Book of Taiyou from my Hand."
"The Effect of Book of Taiyou, I remember, is the Ability to change a Set Monster into Face-Up Attack Position. Compared to Defense Seal, which is Limited to Set Monsters," Yugi instantly thought of Rafael's possible strategy. "You could have Normal Summoned Monsters in Attack Position directly, but you specifically Summoned them in Defense Position first and then used Hand resources. Could it be..."
Just as Yugi figured it out, Rafael also Flipped one of his Set Monsters on his Field: "I change Master Craftsman Gamil on my Field from Face-Down Defense Position to Face-Up Attack Position, and thus Activate its Effect!"
Before Rafael appeared an old man standing by a blazing furnace, bare-chested, wearing a green hat with the character "Craftsman" printed on it. His body was full of strong muscles. In his Left Hand, he held a heavy iron hammer, forcefully smashing it down onto a Long Sword taking shape in his Right Hand, clearly a blacksmith.
But Master Craftsman Gamil clearly wasn't like some civil officials or scientists from a certain country; his Stats were quite disappointing compared to his muscles.
[Master Craftsman Gamil] [Level 2☆/FIRE]
[Beast-Warrior Type/Flip/Effect]
[500/500]
"When Master Craftsman Gamil is Flipped, I Activate its Effect: Add one Equip Spell Card from my Deck to my Hand."
Following Rafael's words, Master Craftsman Gamil also stopped working on the weapon in his Hand. The quenched Long Sword was surrounded by radiance and sent into Rafael's Hand, turning into a card. Because of that layer of radiance, Yugi couldn't tell what card Rafael had Searched.
After Searching an Equip Spell Card from his Deck and Adding it to his Hand, Rafael seemed to have no intention of Activating that card. Instead, he Set the remaining two cards in his Hand, excluding the Searched Equip Spell Card, in his Spell/Trap Zone: "Finally, I Set two cards from my Hand. Turn End."
[Rafael: 4000 LP, Hand 1]
[Set Monster]
[Master Craftsman Gamil] [ATK 500]
[Set Card] X2
"Although you're very confident, Rafael, the Field you set up on your First Turn is unexpectedly simple." Yugi looked at Rafael's Field, which only showed the revealed Master Craftsman Gamil, and said dismissively, "You specifically put a Monster with low ATK in Attack Position, are you trying to lure me into Attacking?"
Hearing Yugi's words, Rafael remained expressionless, making it impossible for Yugi to guess his intentions.
"My Turn, Draw." Drawing a card, Yugi didn't rush to Activate it. He first played a card from his Hand. "My Main Phase, I Normal Summon Magician's Rod from my Hand in Attack Position."
As Yugi placed the Monster Card on his Duel Disk, the Phantom of Dark Magician appeared before him. Its entire body was a void composed of blue mystical power, with only the Emerald Green Wand in its Hand having a physical form. Or perhaps, it was the mystical power released from the Wand that formed the Phantom of Dark Magician.
[Magician's Rod] [Level 3☆/DARK]
[Spellcaster Type/Effect]
[1600/100]
After Summoning Magician's Rod, Yugi deliberately paused for a moment, carefully observing Rafael's expression. Magician's Rod has 1600 ATK Points, which is just within the range that can Trigger troublesome Summon Traps like Trap Hole and Bottomless Trap Hole. Yugi wanted to use Magician's Rod's Effect to probe Rafael's two Set cards in the Spell/Trap Zone first.
However, Rafael watched Magician's Rod appear but showed no intention of Activating his Set cards in the Spell/Trap Zone. Yugi didn't get discouraged. After ruling out the possibility of Summon Traps in his Heart, he continued his Field setup.
"When Magician's Rod is successfully Summoned, I Activate its Effect: Add one card with 'Dark Magician' in its card text from my Deck to my Hand. The card I Add to my Hand is the Spell Card Bond Between Teacher and Student."
"Then, I Tribute Magician's Rod on the Field and Activate the Spell Card Tribute Doll!"
After using Magician's Rod's Effect to Search for the needed card from his Deck, Yugi didn't hesitate to Tribute Magician's Rod, which temporarily had no usefulness, as a Sacrifice.
Following the Activation of Tribute Doll, an ancient, pentagonal Tablet rose behind Magician's Rod. Several metal spikes, seemingly from nowhere, pierced Magician's Rod on Yugi's Field, pinning the Phantom of Dark Magician to the Tablet, unable to move, like a Puppet waiting to be slaughtered.
"The Effect of Tribute Doll is that I can Special Summon one Level 7 Monster that can be Normal Summoned from my Hand without Tributing. Appear with Magician's Rod as a Sacrifice, my loyal Servant!" Yugi held the card high above his head and shouted, "Come forth, Dark Magician!"
"Bang!"
Magician's Rod, pinned to the Tablet, was instantly Crushed. But as if time was flowing backward, the mystical power released from the Wand began to gather, reforming into the image of Dark Magician. However, this time the Dark Magician that appeared was not a phantom body of mystical power, but an imposing presence with a physical form!
[Dark Magician] [ATK 2500]
Compared to Rafael, Yugi's play was clearly much more spectacular. He quickly completed a Search from his Deck and a Special Summon of a Higher-Level Monster, and the cards lost during this process were only two. He still had a full four cards left in his Hand.
"Sending important Monsters to the Graveyard, tsk, treating Monsters so irresponsibly." However, Rafael's expression showed a slight discomfort due to Yugi's play.
Compared to Valon, who liked a peaceful Life, and Alister, whose eyes were only filled with Revenge against Kaiba, Rafael, as the relatively most "Normal" of the Doma Three Swordsmen, actually had an unusual habit, one could even call it an obsession. He would never Send his own Monsters to the Graveyard, and at the same time, he always disliked others Sending Monsters to the Graveyard.
Even Valon and Alister, who were also members of Doma, due to their respective Dueling Styles—such as Phoenix Gravity, which can Revive a large number of Armor Monsters from the Graveyard in one go, and Machina Force, which is skilled at Graveyard recursion and revival—inevitably had actions that involved Sending Monsters to the Graveyard, which had once caused Rafael's dissatisfaction.
However, Rafael was only slightly annoyed; it wasn't to the extent of some Vegetarians who eat vegetarian food themselves and force others to do the same. At most, he was just in a bad mood.
But there was one person whom Rafael's annoyance had escalated to the level of resistance and disgust. That Person, while being arguably the most famous Duelist globally, not only failed to set an example for others but also promoted his Dueling Style in various ways, leading many teenagers who were just starting to play Duel Monsters astray. The impact on teenagers is immeasurable.
Look at those Newbie Duelists now, every single one of them is shouting "Abandon Old Friend," "Necessary Sacrifice," with smiles on their faces. I can't smile; my tears are welling up inside.
Therefore, after that guy joined Doma, even with Dartz's order, Rafael still found it difficult to trust him. Rather, the fact that he hadn't gotten into a fight with him due to the long-suppressed disgust in his Heart was already considering the bigger picture.
(Hayato on the airplane: Achoo!)
Seeing Yugi's actions of Sending Magician's Rod to the Graveyard to Summon Dark Magician, and recalling that Yugi was also Hayato's Companion before, Rafael's mood also turned bad. He couldn't help but want to vent his annoyance with Hayato on Yugi. He took a few deep breaths to adjust his mindset, preventing unrelated emotions from entering this Duel, which Rafael himself had actually been looking forward to for a long time.
"Tribute Doll can indeed Special Summon a Higher-Level Monster onto the Field without Tributing, but if I remember correctly, Dark Magician Special Summoned by the Effect of Tribute Doll cannot Attack this Turn."
Yugi nodded: "That is correct. After all, powerful cards often come with great risk. But Rafael, the core of my strategy this Turn isn't on Dark Magician. His appearance merely provides a springboard for the Monster that is about to appear next."
As he spoke, Yugi drew a card from his Hand, showed Rafael the front of the card, and lightly tapped the side of the card. "Although Magician's Rod has left my Field, you shouldn't have forgotten this card I just Searched, right?"
"Because Dark Magician exists on my Field, I Activate the Spell Card Bond Between Teacher and Student from my Hand!"
Although Dark Magician, who had just stepped off the Tablet, was slightly weakened by the Influence of Tribute Doll, the mystical power on its body hadn't weakened at all. With a light tap of the tip of its Emerald Green Wand on the Ground, a magic circle nearly two meters in diameter was instantly outlined and constructed on the Ground.
"The great Dark Magician has a disciple. Come forth, Dark Magician Girl!"
Following Yugi's voice, the playful Dark Magician Girl bounced out of the magic circle lively. As soon as she appeared, she wanted to get close to Yugi, but upon noticing that Yugi's opponent was Rafael, especially the pendant on his chest embedded with an Orichalcos Fragment, she immediately showed an expression as if facing a formidable enemy.
She recognized the power on that stone; its aura was almost identical to the aura of That Existence that wanted to Destroy both the Spirit World and the Human World!
[Dark Magician Girl] [ATK 2000]
After Searching for the Dark Magician Girl card from his Deck and placing it on his Duel Disk next to Dark Magician, Yugi continued, "Bond Between Teacher and Student can only be activated if Dark Magician exists on my Field. Special Summon one Dark Magician Girl from my Deck, Hand, or Graveyard."
"And after that, I Set the Normal Spell Card Dark Magic Attack in my Spell & Trap Zone from my Deck."
Another card was Searched by Yugi's Duel Disk. Yugi inserted that card into the slot in the Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk, then immediately pressed the activate Set Card button: "A Normal Spell Card can be activated in the turn it is Set. Because Dark Magician exists on my Field, I activate the Normal Spell Card Dark Magic Attack!"
"Destroy all cards in your Spell/Trap Zone!"
(Tsk, I encountered someone playing Machina in Master Duel just now, almost got run over by Machina Fortress. Fortunately, my Infernoid had superior skill.)
(But, I always feel like even Master Duel is hinting at how I should write the next plot.)
(End of Chapter)
"Activate the Magic Card Dark Magic Attack! This card can only be activated if Dark Magician exists on my Field. Destroy all Spell & Trap Cards on the Opponent's Field!"
In fact, Bond Between Teacher and Student can search for a total of four types of Magic Cards to set in Yugi's Spell/Trap Zone, each possessing one of these four effects: "destroy monsters", "destroy Spell/Trap Cards", "destroy all cards", and "increase ATK". They can be freely chosen and used depending on the situation.
However, Dark Magic Barrage, which increases ATK, couldn't be used because Dark Magician couldn't attack this Turn. Dark Burning Magic, which can destroy all cards, is a Quick-Play Spell Card that can only be activated the Turn after it is set. And compared to destroying monsters, Yugi felt it was temporarily more important to first eliminate the relatively greater danger posed by Rafael's Spell/Trap Zone cards.
Instead of continuing to guess and probe what Rafael's two Set cards in the Spell/Trap Zone were one by one, Yugi chose to directly flip up all the cards in his Spell/Trap Zone to save trouble. Regardless of whether they were Magic Cylinder, Trap Hole, or any other card, once destroyed, there would be no need to worry about them.
Obeying the power of the activated Magic Card, Dark Magician gathered magic in front of itself. A massive magic bullet blasted out, aimed directly at the two Set cards in Rafael's Spell/Trap Zone. But just as the magic bullet was about to shatter the Set cards in Rafael's Spell/Trap Zone, that magic bullet suddenly dispersed into scattered magic.
Without knowing when, Rafael pressed the button to activate his Set card. A card opened up in his Spell/Trap Zone; it was the Counter Trap Card Magic Drain.
"Chain Dark Magic Attack! I activated the Set card Magic Drain! This negates the activation of your Magic Card Dark Magic Attack and destroys it. However, you can negate this effect by discarding a Magic Card from your hand."
Hearing this, Yugi glanced at his hand and said with a helpless expression, "I forfeit discarding a card from my hand."
It wasn't that Yugi was making a choice; if he had a Magic Card he could discard, he would have done so long ago. But unfortunately, he currently didn't have a single Magic Card in his hand. They were either Monster Cards that couldn't be played this Turn for now, or Trap Cards that couldn't be activated from the hand.
Because there were no other Magic Cards to transfer the target, Magic Drain, following Dark Magic Attack, took effect on Dark Magician itself, making him, who was already not in good condition, become even weaker. The magic bullet that could have swept away Rafael's Spell/Trap Zone also completely dissipated.
Looking at the single remaining card in Rafael's Spell/Trap Zone, Yugi pondered for a moment and said decisively, "Then, now I will enter the Battle Phase! I attack with Dark Magician Girl!"
But Yugi's hand did not point towards the face-up Master Kotetsu on Rafael's Field. Instead, it pointed at the monster in face-down Defense Position. "The target of my attack is that Set monster!"
"Dark Burning Attack!"
Master Kotetsu, with only 500 ATK, was in Attack Position. It was hard for Yugi not to guess that the Set card Rafael hadn't used might be a card that greatly increases ATK to achieve a counter-attack.
Although the other monster is very likely a Flip monster like Master Kotetsu, even if I don't attack it, Rafael can still Flip it and activate its effect next Turn; it's just a matter of time. Attacking that monster will at least not be met with a counter from Rafael's Set card.
As for whether Dark Magician Girl could destroy that face-down monster, Yugi was quite confident in Dark Magician Girl. As a Level 6 monster, Dark Magician Girl's ATK was only two-thirds of Blue-Eyes White Dragon's ATK, which seemed a bit embarrassing. But destroying a monster that can be Normal Summoned without Tributing should always be possible, right?
Dark Magician Girl is not just for show.
Then, under Yugi's gaze, wielding her staff enchanted with "Power +3", Dark Magician Girl's attack flipped up the card covering the face-down Defense Position monster on Rafael's Field. But just as the monster under the card was about to be hit by the "Skull Crushing Technique (physical)" performed by Dark Magician Girl, a pair of strong hands suddenly grabbed the staff.
"Nani?!"
A fierce, demon-like monster stood up from the flipped card. Yugi had seen that monster before; that was Backup Gardna, which Rafael had used once before in the KC Cup. And Yugi remembered that monster was not a Flip monster whose effect triggers when flipped. But among Level 4 monsters, it possessed an extremely excellent, even arguably one of the best, full 2200 DEF!
[Backup Gardna] [4☆/Dark]
[Warrior-Type/Effect]
[500/2200]
Dark Magician Girl, with weak ATK, encountered a monster with excellent DEF. The result was...
"Ugh!"
Backup Gardna's powerful punch smashed Dark Magician Girl's staff, sending this young magician back to Yugi's Field. Tears welled up in her eyes, as if she was about to whimper and cry, and the scattered magic impact on Yugi took away some of his Life Points.
[Yugi: 4000→3800LP]
A mere 200 Life Points was nothing significant, but what was rather annoying is that after this Turn, Yugi had performed a bunch of flashy plays, his hand size had decreased from six cards at the start to three cards now, but he had only managed to get rid of one Magic Drain from Rafael's Spell/Trap Zone. Neither of the two monsters on the Field had been destroyed, and even the Master Kotetsu in Attack Position also continued to remain unharmed.
The two Trap Cards in his hand were set in the Spell & Trap Zone. Yugi only left one Monster Card in his hand and said helplessly, "Dark Magician, due to the effect of Tribute Doll, cannot attack this Turn. I set two cards. My Turn ends."
[Yugi: 3800LP, Hand 1]
Dark Magician [ATK2500]
Dark Magician Girl [ATK2000]
[Set Card] X2
Although the plan to suppress Rafael in one go fell through, Yugi didn't feel that he, who had only lost a little bit of Life Points, was at a disadvantage. It was merely a slight setback. After all, judging from the field setup, it was undoubtedly his side, with two powerful monsters, that had the advantage.
And it was Rafael's Turn again. Before starting to draw, he placed his finger on the Deck, closed his eyes, and a faint white light appeared around his body again. Feeling the aura from the card, Rafael revealed a smile. "It's coming..."
"Then, My turn! Draw!" Drawing the card he sensed, Rafael didn't even look and played a card from his hand. "Activate the Magic Card Gravity Axe - Grarl!"
The Equip Spell Card searched by Master Kotetsu's effect last turn was indeed held by Rafael. And Yugi could also understand the reason Rafael didn't activate it last turn. After all, no matter how powerful an Equip Spell Card is, it wouldn't provide a powerful boost for the two weak monsters on Rafael's Field, both with only 500 ATK.
But using it now still didn't quite make sense to Yugi. After all, the monsters on Rafael's Field hadn't increased; they were still just two monsters with 500 ATK. And the worst he had to face was Dark Magician Girl with 2000 ATK.
Surely Rafael wouldn't have Backup Gardna, with its excellent DEF, give up that advantage just to rely on an Equip Spell Card with an unknown boost and attack Dark Magician Girl, right?
But Rafael precisely equipped the Gravity Axe - Grarl from his hand onto Backup Gardna, which was still in Defense Position. A seemingly quite heavy giant axe appeared in its hand.
Looking at that giant axe, it fundamentally didn't look like a weapon prepared for a monster of average size. Even the sturdy Backup Gardna looked quite strained holding that weapon.
[Backup Gardna] [500/2200→1000/2200]
With the use of the Equip Spell Card, Backup Gardna's stats also indeed increased, but only its ATK increased, and it was only a mere 500 points. Even if Yugi changed both of his Magician monsters on the Field to the relatively weaker Defense Position and let Backup Gardna attack, they wouldn't possibly be destroyed.
But the next instant, Rafael played the last card in his hand, letting Yugi know what the true goal of activating that Equip Card with unclear meaning truly was.
"Guardian Grarl in my hand is a monster that can only be Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned if Gravity Axe - Grarl exists on my Field. And when there is only one monster, Guardian Grarl, in my hand, I can Normal Summon Level 5 Guardian Grarl without Tributing."
A card in his hand was raised by Rafael with presence, but gently placed down. He said loudly, "Meet my family, Nameless Pharaoh! Come forth, Guardian Grarl!"
As Rafael placed the card down, a Lizardman-like monster appeared on his Field, much more imposing and sturdy than Backup Gardna. With bandages binding its body, besides the battle skirt that looked heavy, its upper body also wore a vest connected by iron chains.
And after Guardian Grarl appeared, Yugi saw that it actually, from the strained Backup Gardna's hand, lightly took over that Gravity Axe - Grarl?
The Equip Spell Card that was already equipped to a monster actually transferred?
"Before, in the KC Cup, I didn't use Backup Gardna's effect to hide my capabilities. Its ability is that once per turn, it can transfer one Equip Card equipped to it to another monster on the Field that can be a correct target. I transfer Gravity Axe - Grarl to Guardian Grarl."
"Did the Equip Spell Card that was a condition for its appearance return to the hand of its original user? And the monster that could already be Summoned without Tributing has again been equipped with an Equip Spell Card that increases ATK." Yugi looked at Guardian Grarl, who picked up Gravity Axe - Grarl and whose ATK began to increase.
[Guardian Grarl] [5☆/EARTH]
[Dinosaur-Type/Effect]
[2500/1000→3000/1000]
A full 3000 ATK! It was already on par with the standard Duel Monsters ATK unit, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!
But compared to those things, what Yugi was more concerned about at this moment was Rafael's Duel Disk, or rather, the card of Guardian Grarl that Rafael had just placed on his Duel Disk.
Compared to the other Master Kotetsu on Rafael's Duel Disk, there were white spots covering the entire card on the cards of both Backup Gardna and Guardian Grarl. That wasn't any special mark or a characteristic of cards with special rarity; it was more like wear and tear on the cards due to being used for too long.
Just now Yugi was still thinking Backup Gardna might be an individual case. Now it seems that Master Kotetsu is the exception instead.
But Duel Monsters cards are as strong as a two or three-story building. Ordinary use cannot damage the cards at all; even vigorously scrubbing the cards won't scratch the card art and card back. Even in the hands of certain trench coat-wearing men who would die if they didn't hum when speaking, are good at Dueling AI, are addicted to Dueling, and suffer from Dragon Enthusiast, Duel Monsters cards can even be used as lethal weapons; when used for card throwing, they can even cut through metal.
Just how long have Rafael's cards been used? And doesn't [Industrial Illusions] have a service where cards that aren't particularly rare can be recycled and exchanged for new ones after paying a certain fee? Although the Guardian Deck is rare, it's not to the extent of Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Why doesn't Rafael exchange them?
Yugi didn't ask this question unrelated to the duel, but instead buried the confused feeling in his heart for now. Because Guardian Grarl, who had picked up the weapon Gravity Axe - Grarl, had already assumed an attack preparation position as Rafael extended his finger.
"Enter Battle Phase! You can go, Guardian Grarl! Attack Dark Magician Girl!" Rafael ordered. "Decisive Slash!"
"Roar!"
The Dinosaur-Type monster Guardian Grarl, which looks like a Lizardman, had been waiting for this order for a long time. It immediately raised the giant axe in its hand and attacked Dark Magician Girl on Yugi's Field. And seeing this, Yugi immediately pressed the Activate Set Card button, flipping up one of the two cards in his Spell/Trap Zone.
"Because I anticipated you might have a way to increase your monster's ATK, I specifically set this card! Activate the Magic Card Desert Sunlight!"
From the card opened in Yugi's Spell/Trap Zone, brilliant golden radiance suddenly radiated. Bathed in this familiar light, the two monsters, Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, were about to change to Defense Position.
A long time ago, when Yugi and Hayato were chatting during class because they didn't want to listen, Yugi heard him talk about a special strategy. That was an OTK counter strategy centered around an Equip Card named Amulet of Ambition.
Although Amulet of Ambition can only be equipped to Normal Monsters, it possesses the ability to gain a massive boost when a lower Level monster attacks a higher Level monster. When a Level 1 monster attacks a Level 7 monster, its ATK can even soar by a full 3000 points. Even a Level 1 Little White Rabbit can kick and kill the powerful Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
If combined with some cards that enhance ATK, one might even be defeated instantly if careless. At that time, Yugi was shocked that Hayato could think of such a strategy that brought out the ultimate power of Normal Monsters. And just now, when Rafael searched for an Equip Spell Card even by having Master Kotetsu in Attack Position, Yugi remembered this strategy he had heard before.
This Desert Sunlight card, which can change all monsters on my Field to face-up Defense Position, was prepared precisely to prevent taking too much damage in one go. Now it just came in handy.
However, Yugi's idea was good, but he didn't expect that with the activation of Desert Sunlight, Guardian Grarl let out a roar, and purple ripples also spread out from the Gravity Axe - Grarl in its hand, covering the entire field!?
Under the influence of these ripples, Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, who wanted to change position, were instantly frozen in place, unable to move. They could only watch with wide eyes as Guardian Grarl approached, dragging the giant axe that released powerful gravity.
Then, Guardian Grarl actually spoke human words: "Rafael said, 'You can go!'"
On that card, there was actually a card spirit existing!?
The biggest characteristic of the Guardian series cards is that when the monster is Summoned to the field, the corresponding Equip Spell Card must be on the field. This means it's very easy to have a bricked hand, but in dm, it's not a problem.
Also, unlike the anime and real card game, in the real card game, after a Guardian that has already been Summoned is destroyed, it also needs the corresponding Equip Spell Card on the field to be Special Summoned from the Graveyard. But in the anime, this restriction is only for the first appearance; after appearing normally once, it can be Special Summoned even if that Equip Spell Card is no longer on the field.
Also, the correct names of the Equip Spell Cards corresponding to the Guardians, such as Gravity Axe - Grarl corresponding to Guardian Grarl ('Guardian-Grarl'), its English name is actually "Gravity Axe - Grarl", which is "Gravity Axe - Grarl". The names of the weapons are all their own names.
But during localization, perhaps the translator felt this name wasn't very pleasant to hear and simply removed names like "Grarl", "Ceal", "Kay'est", "Tryce", replacing them with names like "Roar", "Blaze", "Ripple", "Thunderclap", which are full of chuunibyou vibe and sound cool without being understood.
However, in this book, to make it easier to remember which card it is, I will continue to use the translated version, names like "Roar". After all, Butterfly Dagger - Elma you might not be very familiar with, but the name Butterfly Dagger - Echo is quite famous.
As for the rarity here, just consider it today's useless trivia plus one.
(End of Chapter)