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"Direct Battle Phase."
You Xuan issued the command without hesitation.
"'True Silent Magician,' attack the face-down monster!"
The Silent Magician twirled her staff twice with practiced ease. Beneath her feet, a white magic circle expanded as waves of radiant light surged into her hands, transforming into a torrent that surged forward toward Keith's field.
The face-down card flipped over, revealing a grotesque, grinning tomato-like creature.
[Killer Tomato, DEF 1100]
Of course, the Killer Tomato stood no chance against the overwhelming power of the True Silent Magician. A single surge of radiant energy obliterated the tomato into fine powder.
"Hah! You fell for it!" Keith shouted triumphantly. "At this moment, my trap card activates!"
His set card flipped up, and the holographic projection of the trap materialized above the field.
"Trap Card – Fellow Traveler! When a monster is sent to its controller's graveyard, you can destroy one monster on the field!"
Keith's lips curled into a sinister grin as he pointed at You Xuan's field.
"That pesky magician ends here! Destroy 'Silent Magician'!"
Golden light erupted from the trap card. The destroyed Killer Tomato seemed to manifest as a spectral form, an eerie vengeful spirit seeking to drag the Silent Magician into oblivion alongside it.
"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'My Body as a Shield' from my hand!"
You Xuan swung his arm, and streams of data coalesced into the image of a spell card before him.
"When an effect that includes 'destroy a monster on the field' is activated, by paying 1500 Life Points, negate its activation and destroy it!"
The spell took effect. The vengeful spirit of the Killer Tomato abruptly changed course, bypassing the Silent Magician and slamming directly into You Xuan. He staggered back half a step, wincing slightly.
[You Xuan, LP 4000 → LP 2500]
"So it's a Shadow Game, huh? The pain feels real..."
Seeing her master take the hit meant for her, the Silent Magician's expression turned alarmed. She gripped her staff tightly, her frosty features now tinged with concern and confusion.
"Ho? A duelist actually taking damage for their monster?" Keith sneered coldly. "In the end, cards are nothing more than weapons, mere tools. A true warrior knows how to exploit every piece on the board."
He paused, smirking arrogantly.
"The strong dominate the weak—that's an unchanging truth. A true duelist is a commander who subjugates even the mightiest creatures. Victory demands any price, and everything but the king leading the charge can be sacrificed!"
You Xuan studied him with narrowed eyes, internally questioning whether this guy was delusional.
What nonsense about sparing no expense? If he hadn't blocked the attack for the Silent Magician, would he just leave his field empty for Keith to strike next turn?
But then again, he realized this might actually be an excellent opportunity to boost his bond with the Silent Magician. Grasping this idea, You Xuan immediately feigned great pain and effort, gritting his teeth as he declared:
"You're wrong! A true duelist believes in their monsters and trusts their deck! Every card in a duelist's arsenal is carefully selected from endless possibilities, resonating with their soul—irreplaceable partners. Someone like you, who doesn't understand that, isn't worthy of being called a duelist, no matter how much power you wield!"
Though he had always struggled with essay writing back in school, You Xuan had never missed an episode of Yu-Gi-Oh. Each protagonist had delivered passionate speeches about bonds and trust in their decks. Drawing inspiration from years of watching, crafting such a monologue came naturally to him.
Sure enough, the speech seemed to have the desired effect. When the Silent Magician looked at him again, her icy expression was filled with gratitude. You Xuan guessed that if there were visible affection points, a "+99 Affection" notification might have popped up over the silver-haired girl's head. This should definitely strengthen their bond!
A stronger bond could mean better top-deck draws.
Pleased with himself, You Xuan almost felt grateful to Keith for providing such a perfect setup.
"How annoying."
Keith scowled, muttering under his breath.
"This and that... you're just like those disgusting guys. Duelist dignity, trust in your cards...
Shut up! People like you are the most despicable of all."
You Xuan surmised that Keith was referring to Yugi and Jounouchi.
After losing to Pegasus, Keith had spiraled into despair, adopting an "ends justify the means" mentality. Before the Duelist Kingdom tournament, he even tried to steal Jounouchi's entry card to disqualify him. During their duel, he resorted to sleight-of-hand tricks like hiding cards in his sleeves—a classic example of someone willing to do anything to win.
"Then allow me to bury both your naive ideals and your so-called 'partner' together!"
Keith raised his voice, shouting dramatically.
"At the moment Killer Tomato was destroyed, its effect already activated! When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon a DARK monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck in face-up attack position."
"I special summon 'Sneak Snipe!'"
[Sneak Snipe, ATK 1500]
"Then I'll set one card face-down. Turn end."
[True Silent Magician, ATK 3000]
"My turn, draw!"
This time, after drawing his card, Keith noticeably froze for a moment.
A brief silence followed, during which his facial muscles began to twitch, and a smirk slowly spread across his face, uncontrollable and manic.
"Hmph... hahaha—HAHAHAHA!"
Keith's reaction immediately put You Xuan on edge.
Judging by his demeanor, it seemed he'd drawn something extraordinary.
"Hah, it's over, kid." Keith laughed maniacally. "I've drawn this card, the ultimate manifestation of divine power bestowed upon me! Behold, I will use this card to awaken the darkness within me—the hatred, the rage, the darkness that will consume this world!"
A slot on the side of his Duel Disk clicked open. Raising the card high above his head like a devout believer, Keith unleashed a blinding green light from the card.
"Field Spell –
– Orichalcos Seal!"
You Xuan: "!?"
For a split second, he thought he must have misheard.
Wait, what?
Orichalcos? Wasn't that from Yu-Gi-Oh DM? Shouldn't that be ancient history in this world—something from nearly a decade ago?
Hadn't Dartz, the leader of their organization, been defeated by the Pharaoh's cheesy monologues, and hadn't the Orichalcos gods been utterly crushed by the three Egyptian God Cards? How could this still exist?
But as the card slotted into the Field Zone of Keith's Duel Disk, You Xuan realized he hadn't misheard.
Green electricity began crackling from Keith's Duel Disk, surging through his body. His clothes billowed in the emerald whirlwind as he threw his head back, roaring like a Saiyan powering up. Green flames seemed to erupt around him.
Finally, the green light converged on his forehead, forming a six-pointed star sigil that glowed with an eerie green hue.
"Ahh~ Power, I can feel it... POWER!"
Keith roared, and green light exploded from his body. Simultaneously, the battlefield beneath them was engulfed by glowing green hexagrams, and a towering barrier shot into the sky, sealing them inside.
The Seal of Orichalcos, once activated, could not be undone. The loser's soul would become nourishment for the dark god, and neither duelist could leave until one fell.
Of course, in the anime, this card was also known as the "Whoever Uses It Dies" seal—every single person who activated it ended up losing. Its curse was so potent that it even contributed to one of the Pharaoh's rare defeats...
So all this talk about some "dark god" returning—it was Orichalcos again?
"But didn't your so-called dark god get obliterated by the three Egyptian God Cards?" You Xuan couldn't help but ask.
"Foolish," Keith spat. "The Orichalcos is the embodiment of humanity's darkness, the dark will of this planet! No matter how many times it is defeated, it will always return!"
You Xuan suddenly remembered that Dartz, the antagonist of the Doom arc in DM, had indeed said something similar.
"As long as humans and this planet exist, the Orichalcos will never perish."
So while the three Egyptian God Cards had defeated it, sealing it away temporarily, its ambition had not vanished. In fact, it might have grown even more menacing over time.
You Xuan tried to imagine the perspective of the Orichalcos. If it were to awaken now and peek into the human world, it would likely be overjoyed.
The Pharaoh was gone, the three Egyptian Gods were sealed away—surely this was the perfect time for the Orichalcos to rise again.
You Xuan felt a headache coming on.
This wasn't some trivial issue he could ignore. Who said the world of Yu-Gi-Oh was safe? He had barely landed, and already the apocalypse seemed imminent...
But of course, he doubted it would come to that. While the new protagonist, Jaden Yuki, hadn't yet grown into his role, this era still had Seto Kaiba. After years of refining his White Dragon strategies, Kaiba might very well hold his own against the old boss.
And even if the Orichalcos somehow got past Kaiba, there was still the final boss: Atem's reincarnation, Yugi Mutou. The guy who defeated the Pharaoh eight years ago—no one knew how strong he truly was now.
And if by some miracle the Orichalcos managed to overpower even Yugi, the Pharaoh would probably pull off a sit-up routine from his coffin just to show off...
Seriously, did anyone think the Pharaoh going to the afterlife meant permanent retirement?
So no, the apocalypse wasn't happening anytime soon—at least, not something You Xuan needed to worry about right now. What mattered was surviving this duel and staying alive.
While the anime suggested that whoever used the Orichalcos Seal inevitably lost, You Xuan could already feel a shift in Keith's presence. To him, Keith suddenly seemed taller, radiating an oppressive aura.
It wasn't hard to guess: Keith's "duelist fate power" had skyrocketed.
In the anime, the Seal of Orichalcos acted as a kind of cheat device, a dark artifact capable of borrowing a fraction of the Orichalcos god's power. Even an ordinary user could temporarily gain strength rivaling that of a champion duelist.
The anime depicted the seal as powerful enough to empower a random nobody to wield Obelisk the Tormentor, even resisting attempts by Atem to break it with the Millennium Puzzle.
Thus, the worst-case scenario was that the seal significantly amplified Keith's dueling prowess.
"Ahh~ Kimoji (comfortable), the feeling of power is truly unmatched..."
Keith's eyes gleamed with green light as he grinned maliciously.
"Now, are you ready to die?"