Chapter 183: Your Monster Is Crying, So To Stop Its Tears, I'm Going To Snatch It
Having just finished a Duel, Yami Yugi did not appear to proxy duel in this match against Rebecca. Instead, he hid inside the "Millennium Puzzle", intently watching Yugi's Duel unfold.
Rebecca's strategy was quite peculiar—she repeatedly Summoned cards like "Sangan" and "Witch of the Black Forest" to be destroyed, then searched her Deck for monster cards to add to her Hand. After that, she Summoned three "Millennium Shield"s to the Field, each boasting a whopping 3000 DEF.
Even Yugi couldn't immediately grasp the meaning behind her moves. He even began to suspect that Rebecca, like his own grandfather, was using an "Exodia" Deck. On the sidelines, however, the more Solomon Muto watched the Duel unfold, the stronger his sense of déjà vu became.
This sense of déjà vu continued until Rebecca equipped two of her "Millennium Shield"s on the Field with a "Magnetic Ring" each, constructing an impenetrable defense, and then Summoned "Cannon Soldier."
"Th-That combo is!" Solomon stood up from his seat in shock. "Rebecca, your full name couldn't be—"
"Rebecca Hopkins, that's right, that's my full name, Solomon Muto." Although standing on the Duel Stage, Rebecca had long noticed Grandpa Sugoroku who had approached the side of the Duel Arena. "My grandfather is Arthur Hopkins, the man you stole the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" card from!"
"Traveling all the way to Japan, I came here to avenge my grandfather and take back the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" card!"
"Rebecca, actually…" Seeing the hatred in Rebecca's eyes, Solomon wanted to explain, but she was in no mood to listen.
"Hmph, those are just excuses anyway. Who would believe you!" Rebecca declared with soaring spirits, Summoning another "Witch of the Black Forest" from her Hand. "If you want to convince me, then defeat me in a Duel first!"
"I activate the effect of "Cannon Soldier" on my Field! I send "Witch of the Black Forest" to the Graveyard to inflict 500 points of damage to you!"
Without a shred of mercy, Rebecca used her own monster as a Tribute, loading it into "Cannon Soldier". With a "boom," a cannonball easily flew past Yugi's "Dark Magician" on the Field, directly chipping away 500 of his Life Points.
[Yugi: 4000 → 3500 LP]
"First, you lock down attacks, then you Tribute monsters to reduce my Life Points, and then you use monsters whose effects trigger when sent to the Graveyard to search for cards from your Deck. Is that your strategy, Rebecca!" Yugi frowned. "Your monsters are crying!"
"Hmph, Duel Monsters don't feel pain."
Rebecca was unconcerned by her actions. In her view, as long as she could win, it didn't matter how monster cards were treated during a Duel.
Yugi had encountered this attitude before. Bandit Keith, Pegasus… could it be that all American Duelists shared this mindset?
Then, under Hayato's speechless gaze, Yugi Summoned the invincible "Catapult Turtle", used "Brain Control" to snatch Rebecca's "Millennium Shield", and Tributed it, successfully breaking through Rebecca's attack lock.
As for the other "Millennium Shield," while its massive 3000 Defense Points were indeed formidable, Yugi casually activated "Magic Formula." It was a mysterious spellbook that would make "Dark Magician Girl" blush, but when "Dark Magician" opened it, his expression remained unchanged. His ATK simply rose to 3200, and he smashed the "Millennium Shield" to pieces with one swing of his staff.
In the blink of an eye, the burn damage lineup Rebecca had constructed was easily countered by Yugi, which greatly vexed her. At the same time, Grandpa Sugoroku still hadn't given up on trying to convince Rebecca, but she remained unwilling to listen.
"You've been so noisy since the beginning, Solomon Muto!" Rebecca glared at Grandpa Sugoroku from the Field. "That's right, my grandfather's unique views on archaeology weren't understood by the public, but you were just an ordinary colleague!"
"With just an ordinary relationship like that, how could Grandpa possibly have given a card like "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" to you! So, you must have been the one who stole it!"
As Rebecca spoke, she drew a card from her Deck. "I will win. I only need victory; nothing else matters!"
"I activate the Spell Card, "Judgment Bomber"! I discard five cards from my Hand to destroy all monsters on the Field!"
Activating "Judgment Bomber," which requires discarding cards to the Graveyard as a cost, Rebecca successfully cleared the entire Field of monsters. As a result, she sent five monster cards from her Hand to the Graveyard, leaving her with only one card.
"Then, I Summon "Shadow Ghoul"-chan! Its ATK increases based on the number of monster cards in the Graveyard!" Summoning her last monster with a triumphant air, Rebecca said with a smile, "I have eleven monsters in my Graveyard, so "Shadow Ghoul"'s ATK will rise to 2700! I've already won!"
[Yugi: 3500 → 800 LP]
Yugi sighed and looked at Rebecca. "In other words, you've been sending monsters to the Graveyard all this time just to increase the ATK of "Shadow Ghoul"?"
"Heh heh, you've figured it out too late, Yugi Muto!"
"That's not it, Rebecca. The most important thing in Duel Monsters is to believe in the Heart of the Cards," Yugi said, drawing a card from the top of his Deck. "Just to raise a monster's ATK, you keep sending cards to the Graveyard. Don't you think that's going too far?"
Hayato glanced at Yugi strangely. 'Why do I suddenly feel like he's taking a shot at me?'
"Are you an idiot? A Duel is a Duel! You don't need any 'Heart'. As long as you can achieve victory, you're a true Duelist!" Rebecca waved her hand impatiently. "I'm not interested in your nonsense. If you want to lecture me, do it after you've won!"
Next, Yugi activated the "Swords of Revealing Light" he had just drawn, stalling Rebecca's assault. He didn't activate any other cards, only using "Monster Reborn" to revive "Dark Magician" and then continuously drawing cards, as if there was some game-winning card in his Deck.
"Hmph, stalling for time by locking down attacks with "Swords of Revealing Light" and waiting for a comeback card? Useless, useless, useless! My "Shadow Ghoul"-chan is invincible! After this turn ends, you will face your defeat, Yugi Muto!"
Téa looked at Yugi with some concern. "Will Yugi be able to draw the card he's waiting for?"
"He definitely will, it's Yugi after all," Joey said with conviction. "Don't lose to that smug little kid, Yugi!"
Amidst the cheers, Yugi drew a card. But after drawing it, he didn't add it to his Hand. Instead, he glanced at Grandpa Sugoroku outside the Field. The grandfather and grandson nodded in tacit understanding; everything was said without words.
Under the surprised gazes of the others, Yugi placed the card he had just drawn back on top of his Deck. "I surrender."
"S-Surrender?!"
"Yes. Rebecca, you win." With a smile, Yugi looked at Rebecca on the opposite Duel Stage, who was jumping up and down with excitement.
Rebecca, upon receiving Yugi's confirmation, was exceptionally excited. The moment the Duel Stage returned to its original position, she eagerly jumped down and ran in front of Grandpa Sugoroku, holding out her hand proudly and declaring, "I am the victor! I beat Yugi Muto! So, hurry up and hand over the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon," you thief, Solomon Muto!"
Grandpa Sugoroku said nothing, merely giving a wry smile as he took a small box from his pocket and opened it, revealing the "Blue-Eyes" he treasured. However—
"Th-This is! The "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" is torn! This was Grandpa's most precious card!" Rebecca's fist clenched tightly, nearly strangling the neck of her teddy bear, Terry. "No wonder, no wonder you didn't intend to return it to me from the start!"
"It's not like that, Rebecca-chan." Solomon's face was also a bit embarrassed. To have his old friend's precious card end up like this, he couldn't come up with any excuses. "Actually, I was trying to give it back to you just now—"
"Excuses! Just excuses!" Rebecca was furious. "If I hadn't been the winner of the Duel, you would have planned to hide this forever, wouldn't you!"
"That's not true, Rebecca," a voice came from behind her. "The one who won... was actually Yugi-kun."
"Huh?" Rebecca turned around, annoyed, wanting to see which idiot was spouting nonsense. Yugi had already surrendered; she was clearly the winner. But when she turned, she was stunned. "G-Grandpa?!"
Although "Your monsters are crying" is Yugi's favorite thing to say, in reality, he uses his own monsters as cannon fodder just as often. What a double standard.
(end of chapter)