"Jaden Yuki, is it?"
The Necromancer raised his Duel Disk, a strange smile curling on his face.
"You are…"
Jaden hesitated for a moment; it looked like he wanted to ask about the other's origins, but when he saw the Duel Disk raised by the Necromancer, that little bit of curiosity vanished in an instant.
Did it matter who the opponent was? Not at all.
What mattered was—there was a duel to be had.
"I get it, you're a duelist in the tournament, right?" Jaden rubbed his nose, grinning. "Well, come on then! I always give it my all, from start to finish!"
The Necromancer narrowed his eyes, his smile growing even eerier.
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
Both sides activated their Duel Disks, drawing five cards each.
[Jaden, LP 4000]
[Necromancer, LP 4000]
"I'll take the first move. Draw!"
The Necromancer drew his card, his laughter growing more chilling and bizarre.
"Heheheh… I drew this card right away. Looks like the gods themselves want me to finish you off quickly. Fine, then—I'll make this swift."
He selected a card from his hand, a green light flashing in his eyes.
"Field Spell—Seal of Orichalcos!"
Jaden's pupils shrank, his smile vanishing in an instant.
That card!
He'd faced the Swordsman of Doma alongside Kira before, so Jaden knew exactly what this card meant.
This wasn't just about winning or losing a match—it was a battle of life and death. Whoever lost this duel would lose their soul.
Jaden: "You, you're—"
The barrier unfolded, emerald light shooting skyward. The Necromancer squinted, a hexagram mark reflected on his forehead, his robes seemingly billowing with vibrant green energy.
"Oh, so you recognize the Seal of Orichalcos. Then I guess there's no need to explain. But it's too late now—even if you realize it, you can't escape."
The Necromancer let out a bone-chilling cackle.
"Soon, in this duel, you'll come to know the power of the hellish deck I've developed, fusing together the tactics of legendary duelists!"
Jaden: "Why does that sound so familiar…"
"I'll set a monster in face-down defense position, then set two more cards face-down." The Necromancer sneered. "Turn end."
Jaden took a deep breath.
"Alright, my turn! Draw!"
This wasn't just any duel.
He glanced warily at the green light rippling inside the sealed barrier.
Whoever lost in here… would die.
Jaden's expression grew serious.
He had to give it everything he had.
"I summon 'Elemental HERO Sparkman'!"
[Elemental HERO Sparkman, ATK 1600]
"Sparkman, attack the face-down monster!"
The blue-clad HERO leaped forward amid crackling lightning, energy swirling in his palm before launching forth as a blue electric javelin.
"Activate set card—Continuous Trap: 'Gravity Bind'!"
The Necromancer's back row flipped up. Invisible gravitational waves surged out from the trap card, enveloping the field.
"Gravity Bind's effect: all Level 4 or higher monsters cannot attack."
Jaden frowned slightly.
So it's an attack lockdown… just like Kira's traps.
"In that case, I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Quick Summon', letting me Normal Summon a monster from my hand."
Jaden revealed another HERO in his hand.
"Normal Summon: 'Elemental HERO Wildheart'!"
[Elemental HERO Wildheart, ATK 1500]
"Wildheart, attack the face-down monster!"
The wild-looking HERO brandished his sword, dashing forward through the gravitational field and unleashing a ferocious slash at the set monster.
"So that's it—Wildheart is immune to trap effects."
"That's right! 'Elemental HERO Wildheart' is unaffected by traps, so even under 'Gravity Bind' he can attack," Jaden called out.
"Heh, you brought out a counter to Gravity Bind right away. But…"
The Necromancer narrowed his eyes, letting out a strange chuckle.
"Do you really think it'll be that easy?"
The set monster flipped up—a tiny, white, plush creature appeared on the field. Wildheart's blade sunk deep, but was instantly bounced back, striking his own forehead and sending him staggering.
"The monster you attacked is 'Marshmallon'," the Necromancer said. "Marshmallon can't be destroyed by battle. And when attacked while face-down, the opponent takes 1000 damage."
[Jaden, LP 4000 → LP 3000]
"Ugh…"
Jaden winced as the shockwave hit him, stumbling back.
"Ah, got tricked…"
He glanced at his hand, thought for a moment, and picked out another card.
"I'll set a card. Turn end."
"Heheheh, end of your turn, is it?"
The Necromancer's laughter grew even more sinister.
"What's wrong?"
Jaden froze, beginning to sense something was off.
Within the green barrier, an eerie atmosphere had started to rise.
At first it was like the sound of wind, but it slowly transformed into whispers of the dead. The chilling air seemed to carry countless spirits, swirling around him—murmurs, wails, and piercing laughter.
Jaden's eyes widened. He could almost see them.
Translucent, white apparitions, their faces twisted with the world's deepest sorrow and resentment, hollow eye sockets like wells of hatred.
A letter appeared between his palms.
A strange, flickering "D".
Jaden recognized it instantly.
He might be a slacker in class, but he was obsessed with legendary duelists. He owned the original Duelist Kingdom DVD set and had watched every Top 8 match.
So of course he recognized this tactic right away—
—Destiny Board!
Back in the Duelist Kingdom, the legendary duelist Bakura had used this tactic against Yugi Mutou, nearly winning if Yugi hadn't drawn the God Card on his final turn.
Of course, Jaden didn't know that the Bakura who dueled Yugi was actually Yami Bakura, the ultimate boss of DM and Zorc Necrophades himself, who went on to defeat the three Egyptian Gods, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Dragon Master Knight, and even Exodia Necross before finally falling to the Creator of Light.
But all that was never public knowledge—only the main characters of the Egypt Arc knew those secrets. Most outsiders didn't even know the world had ever been threatened by a world-ending demon lord.
"That's right, this is the tactic once used by a legendary duelist." The Necromancer let out a grating laugh. "With Neo-DOMA's technology, even rare, out-of-print decks like this can be fully replicated.
Now, the countdown to your death has begun.
Destiny Board activates: at the end of your opponent's turn, place a 'Spirit Message' card from hand or deck onto your Spell & Trap Zone in the correct order.
The next message for your death is this card…"
A new ghostly spirit floated onto his field, holding a new letter.
"Spirit Message 'E'!"