"Fiendish Engine Ω attacks directly!"
The red mech spurted flames from its tail engine, its blade raised high, ready to cleave down on Yugen, whose field was already empty!
"This is the end! Just accept your death and hand over your soul!"
Yugen, of course, couldn't just give up resisting as Keith said: "Activate face-down card! Trap Card, 'Mirror Force'!"
"At this point, you still had a Mirror Force!?" Bandit Keith was also shocked.
"That's right, Mirror Force destroys all attacking monsters when the opponent declares an attack!"
A light blue protective layer appeared in front of him, bearing the strike of the red mech's blade. A powerful counter-surge of energy backfired from the protective ring, sweeping back over Keith's half of the field like a rain of light.
"Oh come on, Trap Hole, Magic Cylinder, Sacred Barrier... these troublesome traps just keep coming."
Keith pouted.
He'd said that every card in his deck was carefully selected, the soul of a duelist?
Then he must think Keith's soul is a bit dirty.
"...But it's not enough!"
Keith roared.
"Counter Trap - The Huge Revolution is Over! When two or more cards on the field are about to be destroyed by an effect, negate that activation and banish them from the game!"
Yugen frowned. This guy really knows how to dig deep, he even has something like that.
Sure enough, against an opponent with strong luck, the effectiveness of common tactics easily diminishes.
When Yu-Gi-Oh entered the 5DS era, in the physical card environment, "The Huge Revolution is Over" was basically replaced by "Starlight Road," a trap card with a similar effect that could also summon a free Stardust Dragon. He vaguely remembered that back then, players in that environment often started with four face-downs, and if the opponent used Heavy Storm, it would immediately lead to a Stardust Dragon jumping out.
[Trap Card - Starlight Road. Negate and destroy an effect that would destroy two or more cards on your field, then Special Summon one "Stardust Dragon" from your Extra Deck.]
Though Starlight Road didn't exist in this era yet, The Huge Revolution is Over had a similar enough effect. The indestructible shield of the Sacred Barrier cracked, then shattered into pieces with a crash.
"Therefore, the battle continues! Fiendish Engine attacks directly!" Bandit Keith raised his voice again, "This time it's really over."
"Proceed to the battle damage calculation step," Yugen quickly slid a card from his hand into the Graveyard, "The effect of 'Kiteroid' from my hand! When the opponent declares a direct attack during the damage calculation step, by discarding 'Kiteroid' from your hand, you can negate the battle damage once."
A translucent image of a small kite appeared, protecting Yugen. Fiendish Engine's fatal blow struck entirely upon the kite's illusion, its blade unable to cut an inch further.
"How does he still have something like that?" Bandit Keith was frustrated.
"You're really persistent. Desperado Barrel Dragon can't attack this turn after activating its effect, so my turn ends.
Looks like you've bought yourself another turn."
Yugen noticed that Keith's Fiendish Engine didn't activate its effect to Special Summon a token at the end of the turn, but he quickly realized that the original Fiendish Engine Ω probably didn't have that effect.
After being made into a physical card, Fiendish Engine was reworked into an effect monster, with the ability to boost its own ATK and a mandatory Special Summon of a "Motor Token" at the End Phase. However, in the original manga, this card was a Normal Monster, a blank slate with no effects.
Mystical Elf, who had been watching the entire duel with bated breath, finally let out a sigh of relief. She felt that this duel required her to quickly take heart medication. The moment she saw Yugen's Sacred Barrier, she almost cheered, and then nearly despaired when it was countered.
The brave Lord's ever-changing duels were truly too exciting.
However, she didn't know that even if Barrel Dragon could attack again, Kiteroid in Yugen's Graveyard could still block another blow.
What do you call the value of an ancient, god-tier hand trap?
"To be able to get this far, honestly, you're not bad, kid." After repeated attacks yielded no results, Keith seemed to start trying a mental assault, "But all your tricks have been foiled, and your ace has already been defeated by me.
Even if you miraculously manage to summon an advanced monster from this situation on your next turn, it will be destroyed again by 'Desperado Barrel Dragon' as soon as it enters the Battle Phase.
Not only that, but the effect of the Continuous Trap 'Proton Blast' will also activate as a chain, further hindering your actions. Honestly, your win rate is infinitely close to zero. There's no point in continuing to resist."
Keith put his hands on his hips and said proudly.
"But it's not your fault, it's just that I'm too strong!"
Yugen's expression was blank: "You were defeated by a Normal Monster."
Normal Monster (phàm cốt), the nickname Kaiba gave to Jonouchi back then, which gradually spread as Jonouchi became famous.
Keith's expression twitched, and he said angrily: "I am America's strongest card professor! An invincible dueling expert who has battled across all of America!"
Yugen calmly repeated: "You were defeated by a Normal Monster."
"Damn it, that was just bad luck back then," Keith gritted his teeth, "Now I've returned from hell, and sooner or later I'll find that guy again and win back the victory that belongs to me."
Yugen said: "You were defeated by an elementary school student invited by Pegasus."
Keith: "..."
I'd rather he keep talking about Normal Monsters...
Bandit Keith's face grew even darker: "I know what kind of person you are, you're no different from them. You must think I'm a despicable duelist, right? All that so-called 'duelist's dignity' nonsense?"
He clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead: "Those are just pretty words said by the winners! Muto Yugi, Jonouchi Katsuya, they simply don't understand!
That pain of falling from the highest point, being humiliated, being mocked, having one's self-esteem trampled into worthlessness! Do you think I like this? But not everyone is Muto Yugi!"
His green eyes were filled with bloodshot veins.
"Not everyone can advance so relentlessly. I tried, I struggled, but the outcome never changed! Actually, most people are like that, aren't they? A duel can only have one winner, one victor, the others are just their stepping stones.
It's easy to stand at the top and say pretty words, but the rest of us don't have that many options."
He looked at Yugen with a dark expression.
"Looks like you're a young prodigy too, huh? You haven't experienced what I have. When you know what it's like to fall from a high place into hell, you'll understand me.
By then you'll know that so-called duelist's dignity, bonds with cards, it's all just childish nonsense. Only power, only victory is everything!
To win, you can use any means necessary, whether it's cheating, backstabbing, or selling your soul to a demon, as long as you can win, nothing else matters!"
Yugen: "..."
"What are you doing?" Keith said angrily, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No," Yugen said calmly, "Indeed, in this world, even without the power of Orichalcos, you should already be stronger than most duelists.
And you are indeed right. There's only one person at the pinnacle of dueling, and not everyone is Muto Yugi. But there's one thing you're mistaken about.
Muto Yugi, Jonouchi Katsuya, before they were 'winners,' they were first and foremost 'duelists.'
Dueling isn't just a tool to decide a winner. A duelist is someone who must always believe in their deck, and it's certainly not the relationship of the strong enslaving the weak as you describe. If you don't even understand this point, then that's why you don't deserve to be a duelist."
The Silent Magician, who had left the field, floated in spirit form in the audience. Though still silent, the admiration in her eyes for her master grew even stronger. If there were a 'conquest progress bar,' it would undoubtedly be increasing rapidly now.
Although Yugen intended to take advantage of this to increase his spirit's affection, these words were also his true feelings since he came to this world.