"Then it's my turn!"
Rebecca's aura changed.
"I activate the Spell Card [Tribute to the Doomed]!"
Yugi glanced at his [Celtic Guardian], unsure why Rebecca would use that card.
However, Yuto understood—it wasn't about destroying a monster on the field, but sending one from her hand to the Graveyard.
Rebecca discarded a card, and moments later, dark energy erupted from below, tearing Yugi's [Celtic Guardian] apart.
"Next, I Set one Monster in face-down Defense Position!"
Yugi's eyes narrowed. As America's number one duelist, there was no way this was her true level.
"My turn! I Summon [Summoned Skull]—go!"
A golden lightning bolt struck down, flipping Rebecca's Set card.
"You fell for it! My Set card was [Millennium Shield]!"
The lightning rebounded off the massive shield, hurling back the attack.
[Yugi, LP: 2000 → 1500]
The moment Solomon Muto saw [Millennium Shield], memories of Egypt came flooding back—of a duel long ago with an old friend. And that surname, Hawkins…
"Rebecca, could it be… are you Professor Arthur Hawkins' granddaughter?"
"So you finally remembered? YES! The granddaughter of the man you stole the American edition [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] from!"
"That's not—"
"My turn!"
Rebecca cut him off sharply, not wanting to hear his explanations.
"I activate the Spell Card [Ring of Magnetism]!"
Yugi looked surprised. That Equip Spell lowered a monster's Attack—why would she use it?
"Next, I Summon [Cannon Soldier] to the field!"
Yugi's expression hardened. He sensed what was coming.
"I'll pass my turn."
"Alright, then I Summon [Witch of the Black Forest]! And I tribute her—[Cannon Soldier], attack!"
Boom!
Yugi's Life Points dropped again.
"Great job, Teddy! Soon we'll get back the [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] that was stolen from us!"
"Rebecca! Grandpa would never steal anything!"
"Nonono! A thief is a thief! I'm not listening!"
Rebecca stomped her foot angrily.
"Rebecca, will you at least hear me out? Let me tell you a story—about my dearest friend… and your grandfather, Arthur Hawkins."
Rebecca turned her head away but didn't object.
"It was years ago, in Egypt. Back then, I was fascinated by the newly emerging Duel Monsters game. When I heard there were many rare cards in Egypt, I traveled there."
"There, I met your grandfather, Arthur Hawkins. He was excavating ruins. As we explored deeper, we discovered that the ancient Egyptians played a game remarkably similar to Duel Monsters…"
"According to the inscriptions, Arthur even proposed the existence of the God Cards—but the archaeological community didn't believe him. And just as we were about to leave the ruins, a cave-in occurred."
"A cave-in…?"
Rebecca had turned back completely now, listening intently.
"The rescue team never came. We ran out of food. The water left was barely enough for one. So we decided to duel—the winner would claim the water."
"That duel was just like this one. Arthur's first card then was also [Witch of the Black Forest]. You learned that tactic from him, didn't you, Rebecca?"
"Mm… and then what happened?" she asked, curiosity overcoming her anger.
"That duel… was like this one. Let's continue, and I think Yugi will make the same choice I did back then."
"You old fool! Hmph! Yugi Muto, it's your turn!"
Yugi looked at his grandfather. Solomon nodded—they both understood.
Yuto, however, didn't. Was this some kind of family telepathy?
"My turn! I Summon [Catapult Turtle]!"
A massive turtle with a launcher on its back appeared.
"[Catapult Turtle] can tribute one of my monsters to inflict damage equal to half its Attack to my opponent!"
Rebecca wasn't impressed.
"Next, I activate the Spell [Brain Control]! It lets me take control of one of your monsters for a turn!"
Yugi pointed at [Millennium Shield]. "Come to me!"
"No! I hate that card!" Rebecca cried, clutching Teddy and stepping back.
"Now, [Catapult Turtle], launch [Millennium Shield]!"
The golden shield was placed on the launcher and fired skyward, vanishing into light. Since its Attack was 0, Rebecca took no damage.
"Next—Battle Phase! [Summoned Skull], attack!"
Under a storm of lightning, [Cannon Soldier] shattered.
"Ugh! No! No! No!" Rebecca yelled, drawing her next card. "My turn!"
Yuto leaned casually against a pillar, fiddling with Téa's hand, no longer watching the duel.
Clearly, once Rebecca's identity was revealed, the Muto family had decided to humor her. They'd already planned to give her the [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] anyway.
Otherwise, Yugi could've just attacked with [Summoned Skull] first last turn, then fired it off for the win.
Thinking that, Yuto turned back, deciding to add a little debuff of his own.
"Go for it, Yugi!" he shouted. "The girl's only got 200 Life Points left! Finish her off!"
Then he went back to playing with Téa's fingers.
Sure enough, the next turn, Yugi's entire field was wiped out by Rebecca, who summoned a massive monster with 2700 Attack!
Yugi used [Swords of Revealing Light] to stall for three turns before finally surrendering.
"I won!"
"Yes, I lost."
Rebecca hugged Teddy tight and cheered in delight.
As the dueling platform slowly lowered, Rebecca ran straight to Solomon.
"[Blue-Eyes White Dragon]!"
Her small hand stretched out, expectantly.
Solomon reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, opening it.
"Here—but it's not the American edition you're thinking of. This is the Japanese [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] my dear friend Arthur Hawkins gave me."
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
Everyone froze in shock.
"That can't be…" Rebecca gasped.
"The [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] Bandit Keith told you about must be the one Kaiba acquired recently. Grandpa's Japanese one—he got it from me."
"Grandpa?"
"Arthur!"
An elderly man with white hair and a suit entered the dueling hall.
"It's been a long time, Solomon."
"It really has…"
...
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