"Revive! Dark Magician!"
Jonouchi and Yugi exclaimed simultaneously, "What!?"
Everyone knows that the Dark Magician is the signature card of Duel King Muto Yugi, and its rarity is only second to the likes of Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
Though it's not unique, at least up until now, they've never seen anyone besides Yugi possess a Dark Magician.
A dark red coffin sank into the ground amid billowing smoke, and a pitch-black vortex rose from the ground.
A beam of dark red light shot from underground to the sky, and a slender figure leaped into the air. A massive magic array unfurled beneath his feet, spewing forth a torrent of dark energy. A shimmering green magic staff, seemingly pulled by the energy flow, shot out from the array, resembling a boomerang in its airborne spin, landing precisely in the owner's hand.
The red figure swept the staff horizontally, a transparent wave erupted centered around him. The current lifted his robe's dark red hem, making him appear imposing without expressing anger.
[Dark Magician, ATK 2500]
The crowd couldn't stay calm; many people started clapping and cheering.
Witnessing such a professional-level, top-tier duel in a city street, featuring mythic creatures like Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Meteor Black Dragon, and Dark Magician—it was an incredible gain for ordinary Duelists!
"Oh... Oh no!" Yugi watching on the sidelines looked solemn, "Jonouchi has declared battle, but now that the fusion of Meteor Black Dragon has ended, only the weaker Meteor Dragon remains on his field! This way, it will be counterattacked by the Dark Magician!"
Youyu: "?"
What? There's such a thing?
Battle Recall?
But wait, before this, Jonouchi just ordered the attack, and Meteor Black Dragon is no longer on the field! Can the battle continue when the target has disappeared?
Then, Youyu widened his eyes as he saw his Dark Magician let out a clear shout, leaping in front of Meteor Black Dragon. With a single-handed air strike, a massive wave of black magic was unleashed like a tidal wave, crushing Meteor Dragon into pieces with a scream.
"Meteor Dragon!" Jonouchi gritted his teeth and shouted.
[Jonouchi Katsuya, LP 3200 → LP 2500]
Youyu watched dumbfounded as his Dark Magician autonomously destroyed his opponent's monster, then lightly landed back on his field, leaving him in shock.
Wow, can the audience take the heat for me?
Jonouchi's Meteor Dragon was summoned after his attack declaration, as was Youyu's Dark Magician. All the monsters originally engaged in battle had disappeared, yet the battle continued!?
(Note: According to Yu-Gi-Oh! rules, if the number or type of monsters on the field changes during the battle step, a "Battle Recall" occurs, allowing players to freely choose to continue attacking or to cancel.)
Subsequently, Youyu linked it to a scene in a certain animation...
...
Muto Yugi: "I attack your 'XYZ-Dragon Cannon' on the field with 'Slifer the Sky Dragon'! Brace yourself, Kaiba, Superconducting Wave!"
Kaiba Seto: "Ha ha ha, at this moment I activate a set card, 'Interdimensional Matter Transporter'! I exclude my monster from the game, transferring it to interdimensional space! This way, Slifer loses its attack target, making this attack ineffective!"
Muto Yugi: "Don't try to muddle me, Kaiba. Excluding your monster triggers Battle Recall, so I can directly attack you with Sky Dragon, you're losing, Kaiba!"
Kaiba Seto: "No way! The Duel rules are set by me, I say they're ineffective!"
...
Well, DM during that period indeed might not have mentioned Battle Recall.
This further reinforced Youyu's resolve to find President Haima to optimize the card game rules, otherwise, getting confused could lead to disastrous losses.
Hmm... but never mind this time. (After all, I gained an advantage.)
"Well, it's my turn!" said Youyu, "Battle! I attack Jonouchi directly with Dark Magician!"
The Dark Magician leapt, pointing the emerald staff forward. A transparent vortex stirred on the staff, the magic wave arrowed through Jonouchi's body.
The latter snorted lightly, knees buckling from the impact, pierced by the solid image of black magic from chest to back.
[Jonouchi Katsuya, LP 2500 → LP 0]
Jonouchi Katsuya, defeated.
...
Ten minutes later, a few people returned to the card shop.
"Ahhh! So unwilling, I lost!" complained Jonouchi, stretching his arms with some irritation.
"There's nothing to be done, the opponent was too strong," Yugi smiled.
"But no matter what, I was the Duelist Kingdom runner-up, scraping off only a little bit of damage in the end, it feels kind of humiliating," Jonouchi sighed.
Indeed, although the process seemed intense, ultimately Youyu only lost 100 LP at the start, nearly keeping full health throughout.
Youyu laughed: "It's just luck, luck."
It's not as if he's being humble; there's indeed an element of luck in card games. Not everyone can open with a perfect hand like the King. If someone had that capability, I imagine they could crush mainstream decks with any gimmick deck?
After this match, he felt great; beating Jonouchi this time offered as much experience as he amassed challenging street duelists for half a week!
This way, tonight he can try his luck in the system card pool.
"You're too modest, you're one of the strongest Duelists I've encountered," Jonouchi said earnestly, then turned the conversation, "But losing this time doesn't mean next time will be the same! If we meet at the Duel City tournament, I won't hold back!"
"Anytime is fine," Youyu agreed easily, but quickly reminded, "But without a Duel Disc, you can't compete, right?"
Jonouchi was instantly petrified.
Seems... that's true.
The excitement from the match made him forget why he started playing in the first place...
Miss Anzu also made a helpless smile beside him, "Indeed, since Jonouchi's Duelist level is only 2 stars, Haima's evaluation is 'Normal Monster,' making it impossible to compete..."
"Aaaaah, damn it! That bastard Haima!"
Seeing Jonouchi about to explode, his good buddy Honda quickly pulled him out of the shop.
Anzu and Yugi also retreated. But Yugi stopped briefly before leaving, turning at the door.
"I'm sorry for the disturbance today," he said.
Youyu waved his hand, "It's no problem, you're welcome to come again!"
If possible, he'd like to grab Jonouchi every day for duels to gain experience...
"Yes!" Yugi nodded, "Let's do our best in the Duel City tournament!"
Finally, everyone left.
Youyu turned, noticing Chinai's gaze fixed on him again. The kind of eyes seeming to harbor unknown impulses startled him.
"Wh...what?"
"Nothing," Chinai said seriously, "Just surprised, you're different than you appear, unexpectedly capable..."
Hey, what does 'different than you appear' mean? Were you thinking I was just a decorative pillow?
And capable is definitely a must, how can a man be incapable?