"I won! That was such a fun duel!"
Judai was satisfied.
"But it seems like it's about time we head back." Judai regretfully put away his Duel Disc and said, "If we don't get going, it'll be dawn soon. If someone finds out we went to the forbidden area of the abandoned dormitory, it won't be good..."
It was the first time he'd had such fun playing cards with elves, and Judai was a bit reluctant to leave.
"Uh, about that, I think it's already too late to worry," Yugen reminded him. "At that time, it should have been only the two of us transported to the Elf Realm. So, think about what the rest of them would do?"
Judai blinked, only then realizing.
Oh right, Hayato and the others would definitely seek help from the school. So, actually, it might not have taken long for them to be discovered after they were sent here.
Ah, this...
Judai thought it over. It seemed like trespassing into the forbidden area could result in expulsion, which was quite a serious affair. But even if that was the case, by now it seemed too late to do anything about it.
So, Judai thought for a while and unfolded his Duel Disc once more.
"Forget it, forget it, let's have another round for fun before going back."
Yeah, since it's come to this, let's play cards first.
The elves, already beaten and collapsing in all directions: "..."
Still playing?
This Hero fellow must be made of cards, right? Why does he never get tired...
"Ahem, let's leave the duel for next time. Before we go back, there's one more place we need to visit," Yugen interrupted him.
Judai: "Huh?"
The place Yugen wanted to visit was, of course, the ruins of the Phoenix God.
The reason they ended up in this dimension from the abandoned dormitory was still unknown, and Yugen didn't know if there would be another opportunity to return once they left. Since they were already here, there was no reason to miss out on visiting such a big ruin, so he figured they should at least take a look around.
A tribe forgotten by time sat lifelessly within thick groves.
Yugen and Judai, one after the other, passed through the dense forest to a nearby settlement. The desolate walls and overgrown yards evoked a sense of desolation and loneliness, with speckled sunlight filtering through the treetops, casting long shadows on the dilapidated buildings.
"This looks pretty impressive..."
Judai gazed up at the ancient, gigantic statue of the Phoenix God in the center of the village, momentarily entranced.
The statue, having weathered countless storms, had become dull, surrounded by overgrown vegetation, with wildflowers swaying in the breeze.
"It seems like... it wants to say something..."
Judai slowly approached, reaching out towards the statue.
Yugen silently watched, saying nothing.
Hmm, he didn't feel or hear anything. To him, it just looked like an abandoned village and a decrepit statue.
Bringing Judai along seemed like a good idea after all. Judai had the near-cheating "Elf Affinity" ability, so even if there was the slightest remnant of the elves' consciousness, he would likely be able to catch it.
Yugen didn't interrupt, just quietly encouraging Judai in his heart.
Come on, print out a "Nephthys' Phoenix God" with your invincible Overlord's Power.
If he could bring the whole card deck, along with a Phoenix God elf, even better...
Bang!
Just as Judai was about to get close to the statue, the steps ahead of him suddenly exploded. An intense flash of light accompanied by a storm unexpectedly hurled Judai backward, making him tumble.
"Kurikuri!"
The Feathered Chestnut Ball showed concern.
"I'm fine, partner... What happened?"
Judai got up, bewildered.
An abrupt change, a hooded figure in black suddenly descended from the sky like Superman, landing on the altar of the statue.
From his person, he took out a card.
The Silent Magician and the Chaos Warrior appeared, standing protectively beside Yugen. The man in black raised the card in his hand high. From this distance, Yugen couldn't make out what it was, but based on the blurry image and his memory, he managed to recognize what it was.
The card was Nephthys' Phoenix God!
"Stop him!" Yugen ordered.
Both elves leaped forward.
Then a green light shot up to the sky, the radiant emerald beam reached the heavens, forcing the elves to temporarily retreat. It was as if the sky was piercing, with the insignia of the Hexagram appearing beneath the man's feet and surging toward the card in his hand.
That was the power of Orichalcos.
Following that, the ancient statue of the Phoenix God began to glow golden, as if coated with armor of gold. The blazing gold light was released from the massive statue, resembling a bottomless black hole in the man's hand, irresistibly drawing the gold light into it.
In an instant, the gold light was drawn into the card in his hand, and the statue of the Phoenix God seemed to dim further.
The green light gradually faded. The man in black lowered his arm and looked at the Phoenix God card in his hand, frowning slightly.
"Just a remnant of power." The man muttered to himself.
"You!" Judai quickly jumped up, "What did you do?"
The man glanced at him, his gaze sweeping over their red and yellow school uniforms.
"So, I heard there were duelists from the real world, turns out you're students of Duel Academy." The man said, "Didn't do much, just searching for Nephthys' elf.
But unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be here either. Even this village only has the fading light of the Phoenix God's power, right?"
Yugen had a good guess. The card in the man's hand was a "Nephthys' Phoenix God" card brought from the outside, but it didn't have an elf residing in it. He was searching for the Phoenix God elf, wanting to use this card as a vessel, leveraging the power of Orichalcos to capture and seal the Phoenix God.
And even without activating the "Orichalcos Barrier" card in a duel, the energy this person just emitted was already stronger than when Thief Keith used the barrier back then.
Looks like a tough adversary.
"Duel Monsters are supposed to be a duelist's companions!" Judai was angry. "Duelists and cards should be in a relationship of mutual trust and support, not using power to enslave them!"
"Oh, really?"
The man evaluated him.
"I see, there really are quite a few naive kids like you."
Judai frowned, "What did you say?"
"Duelists may treat monsters as trustworthy companions, but Duel Monsters may not always reciprocate the duelist's intent," the man said calmly, "Ultimately, winning in a duel is all that matters.
As a leader, having absolute authority is all you need, there's no reason to befriend servants."
"I won't agree with you on that," Judai said, "In that case, let's prove it with a duel!"
"It doesn't matter to me, that's what I intended."
The man had already revealed his Duel Disc, saying coldly.
"You who have intruded into the realm of the gods, it was never possible for me to let you leave. It will be I, Sher of the New Doma Three Musketeers, who sends you on your way."
The uniquely designed Doma Duel Disc unfolded with a click, indicator lights coming on.
"You two can come at me together."