"Vampires?"
Jaden was surprised.
"Like the one you said Zane ran into? But this isn't the Spirit World."
Kira wasn't surprised. "The Spirit World has humans, and all kinds of similar animals and plants, just like ours. Why wouldn't it have vampires?"
Jaden thought about it and realized that made sense. He'd even forgotten for a moment that since there are vampire decks in the dueling world, there would naturally be vampires in the Spirit World too—just not the same species as Camula.
Jaden wanted to get closer to see what the vampires below were saying. But before he could do anything, someone shouted, "Who's there!?"
"Eh?"
Jaden jumped.
Busted already?
"Vampires' senses are sharper than humans'. Not surprising they noticed something," Kira said, already standing up and stepping out from behind the rock openly.
Seeing that, Jaden followed him out to the front of the unit.
There were maybe a dozen vampires. Up close, the two realized they looked like a routed force.
They were in disarray; some had smears of blood and wounds on their already-pale faces. Others had torn clothes and damaged armor, clearly cut by blades—evidence of a hard fight.
Kira didn't recognize the rank and file, but the one leading them was clearly of a different caliber.
By vampire standards his features were refined—a classic vampire face—with blue hair and aristocratic clothes. He had some cuts on him, but his bearing set him apart from the riffraff at his sides.
He was a higher vampire of standing: Vampire's Curse, Level 6, ATK 2000. In the manga Yu-Gi-Oh! R, it was the ace of one of Pegasus J. Crawford's card professors; by the Labyrinth Brothers metric, it could be called a "legendary monster that has fought Yugi Muto."
Of course, this one here in the Spirit World wasn't that same one.
The vampires' faces changed the instant they saw the two.
"Lackeys of the Supreme King!"
Jaden blinked, confused.
"Me?"
Kira patted his shoulder. "We're riding chocobos and wearing gear borrowed from the Supreme King's army."
"Oh, right," Jaden said.
The chocobos and their gear had all come from the Supreme King's army—hard to miss to the locals.
The Supreme King's forces were rising across a dozen different dimensions, waging conquest. Most dimensions had been subdued, but a number of local powers were still resisting.
These vampires were one such force. They'd been routed after fighting the Supreme King's army, and while retreating, they bumped into what looked like two isolated lackeys—naturally they were enraged and ready to strike.
Jaden raised both hands helplessly. "It's a misunderstanding—"
Kira thought that wasn't entirely untrue. They weren't lackeys of the Supreme King—but Jaden himself had deeper ties to the Supreme King than any grunt…
"Stragglers."
Unlike the agitated grunts behind him, Vampire's Curse stayed cool. The single demonic wing on his back gave a faint flap, and his underlings calmed down.
"Even if we say we have nothing to do with the Supreme King, you wouldn't believe it now, would you?"
"Correct. Begging for mercy with a stupid lie isn't an option."
Vampire's Curse lifted his arm; a living, organic-looking Duel Disk writhed out of it. The base and Monster Zones oozed a deep, blood-red liquid.
"With Duel Disks like those… that makes you duelists. In the Supreme King's army, you must at least be team leaders," he said gravely. "So let's speak the way duelists do."
"Funny, that's exactly what I was about to say."
Kira smiled and unfolded his Duel Disk.
Jaden opened his mouth, realizing he'd once again missed his window to call dibs on the duel. He'd gotten a few good battles in back at the last camp, though, so he closed his mouth and stepped aside to watch.
The materialized Elemental HERO Flame Wingman folded his arms and hovered at his side, glaring at the dozen vampires to ward off any cheap shots. Seeing such a strong HERO guarding Jaden, the vampires hesitated; they didn't dare attack and watched their leader duel the blade-wielder instead.
"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Vampire's Curse, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw."
Vampire's Curse had the first move.
"I Normal Summon Vampire Bat in Defense Position." (anime-only card)
A cloud of red-eyed little bats fluttered onto his field—the same kind Camula used in the anime, a low-level Zombie.
[Vampire Bat, DEF 1200]
"I set one card and end my turn."
"My turn, draw."
Kira glanced at his draw and smiled.
He'd drawn a heavyweight right off the bat.
He didn't stand on ceremony. "First, I summon this: Thunder King—Attack Position!"
[Thunder King Rai-Oh, ATK 1900]
Thunder King, a monster Jaden used in the manga. When it became a real card, it immediately found a home in floodgate strategies and was infamous for spiking players' blood pressure.
A Level 4 with a solid 1900 ATK and the effect, while it's on the field, "neither player can add cards from the Deck to the hand except by drawing." It can also Tribute itself to negate a Special Summon and destroy that monster.
A top-tier standalone card—good stats plus a lockdown effect—staple of "don't-let-'em-play" decks of the era.
But that wasn't the main point.
"Next, I activate this."
Kira flicked out another card.
"The Spell Card Lullaby of Obedience. I pay 2000 Life Points and declare a monster name. If your Deck contains that card, you must choose to either add it to my hand, or Special Summon it in Attack Position to my field."
[Kira, LP 4000 → 2000]
Vampire's Curse started. "Declare my monster?"
"Uh-huh." Kira smiled.
He didn't know his opponent's exact build, but that didn't matter.
Since this was the Spirit World and the opponent was a notable spirit, there was one card he'd definitely be running.
"I declare Vampire's Curse."
"Kisama (you bastard)!"
Vampire's Curse glared.
Right out of the gate with that kind of play?
From my Deck, no less—are you kidding me?
"Tch. Add to hand or Special Summon, huh. Then obviously I choose…" Vampire's Curse said coolly, "Add it to your hand."
"Sorry. You can't."
Kira smiled and pointed at Thunder King on his field.
"While Thunder King is on the field, neither of us can add cards from the Deck to the hand."
Vampire's Curse froze.
Then his eyes bulged and his mouth slowly fell open.
What!?
If you can't add from the Deck to the hand, then that means…
"Right. When Lullaby of Obedience resolves, since I can't add the card to my hand, you can only 'choose' to Special Summon yourself to my field."
Thunder King + Lullaby of Obedience is one of those community-brainworm combos. If your opponent helpfully runs Holactie the Creator of Light, you can even use it to ignore its summoning conditions and plop it onto your field for an instant win.
Yes, Lullaby of Obedience can ignore conditions and summon Holactie; the TCG/OCG even issued a special ruling to address this exact interaction.
If you have Thunder King on the field and activate Lullaby of Obedience declaring Holactie, since you can't add it to your hand, your opponent is "forced" to Special Summon it to your field, granting you the win.
Kira gave a courteous smile and a "be my guest" gesture.
"Come on, summon yourself."
Vampire's Curse: "…"
Then why the hell are you making me choose anything?
PS: Bonus chapter at 500 PS