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"DUEL!" x2
[You Xuan, LP4000]
[Xuan Ichiro, LP4000]
"It's my turn to start. Draw."
Xuan Ichiro took the first move. However, he didn't rush to play his cards. After glancing at his hand, he chuckled darkly and licked his lips with a sinister smirk.
"Let this duel be your grand feast of darkness. Allow me to savor your suffering."
"First, I activate 'Pot of Greed,' drawing two cards from my deck."
"Next, I'll play the magic card 'Demon's Sanctuary'!"
The card was inserted into the duel disk, and a magic circle spread beneath his feet. A small, metallic humanoid figure with no facial features emerged onto the field.
[Metal Demon Token, ATK 0]
"The effect of 'Demon's Sanctuary' allows me to summon a 'Metal Demon Token' to my field," Xuan Ichiro explained. "Then, I'll use this 'Metal Demon Token' as a tribute for an advanced summoning!
By the will of darkness, let all enemies tremble beneath the shadows—
Level 6, Dark Triangular Wyvern Dragon, Summon!"
[Dark Triangular Wyvern Dragon, ATK 2400]
"Then I'll set two cards face-down on the field. My turn ends here."
Xuan Ichiro licked his lips again, his grin widening.
"Now it's your turn. Hurry up, let me taste the darkness and pain... Hehehe..."
His expression and mannerisms gave You Xuan the impression of a certain six-year-old Marik.
However, this guy only imitated Marik's style and lacked his essence. Compared to Mr. Marik, the master of exaggerated expressions and a judge-level Yu-Gi-Oh! enthusiast, Xuan Ichiro still fell far short.
"My turn, draw."
You Xuan acted decisively.
"I'll set one monster face-down on the field and four cards face-down in the back row. My turn ends."
Five face-down cards, signaling a friendly setup.
"Huh?" Xuan Ichiro was momentarily taken aback.
Having watched You Xuan's final match against Ryuuzaki, Xuan Ichiro had expected another Machine Deck opening. But to his surprise, it wasn't.
Could it be that this person didn't even use their main deck in the finals?
"Hmph, just setting cards? Such a lukewarm duel will soon turn you into a sacrifice for darkness."
Xuan Ichiro sneered.
"But during your end phase, I'll activate this face-down card—"
One of his face-down cards flipped over.
"Quick-play Spell – Flames of Finality! This card allows me to special summon two 'Black Flame Tokens' to my field!"
[Black Flame Token, DEF 0] x2
"When this card is activated, I can't summon any other monsters using effects this turn... But since it's already your end phase, I wouldn't be able to summon anyway."
Xuan Ichiro explained.
"Now it's my turn again. Draw."
He paused after drawing, eyeing You Xuan's face-down cards in the back row.
"Perhaps you're planning to rely on traps to temporarily stall and defend... but such tactics are useless against me.
From my hand, I activate the spell card – Night Capture!"
The spell card materialized before him, its golden ripples shimmering. A beam of light pierced through the darkness, targeting one of You Xuan's face-down cards in the back row.
"Night Capture destroys one set spell or trap card on your field. Furthermore, when a card is targeted by 'Night Capture,' that card cannot be activated!"
He pointed to the center face-down card on You Xuan's field.
"Destroy the card in the middle!"
You Xuan raised a hand. "At this moment, I activate a face-down card—"
"It's useless," Xuan Ichiro interrupted. "I already said, you can't chain 'Night Capture'—"
"I'm not activating the card you targeted. I'm activating this one next to it."
Another face-down card on You Xuan's field flipped up.
"Trap Card – Devil's Deal! When the opponent activates a spell card, by paying 1000 Life Points, you can discard one random card from their hand."
[You Xuan, LP4000 → LP3000]
As his Life Points dropped, You Xuan felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest. It was as if a thorn had pierced his heart, causing his life force to gush out like a broken dam.
"Urgh..."
You Xuan staggered slightly, his body feeling weak.
The Silent Magician appeared beside him, casting a concerned glance at his master.
"I'm... fine," You Xuan waved it off.
It was his first time experiencing this, so he was still getting used to it.
No wonder it was called a Shadow Duel—losing Life Points felt like losing actual life.
There was no doubt that if his Life Points hit zero in this duel... he would die.
"Hahaha, do you feel it? The agony of a Shadow Duel!" Xuan Ichiro laughed maniacally. "Perfect, just like that. Continue to suffer, feel the darkness slowly devouring your life. That's the joy of a Shadow Duel! Hahaha..."
You Xuan: "..."
The existence of Shadow Duels undeniably awakened many hidden psychopaths. Some latent criminals, madmen, and serial killers became even more powerful and harder to catch after gaining dark powers, while also growing increasingly insane.
Some Shadow Duelists weren't even seeking power or any benefits from these duels.
Some simply enjoyed making their opponents suffer.
You Xuan quickly composed himself and continued. "The effect of 'Devil's Deal' forces you to randomly discard one card from your hand. Discard the leftmost card."
"Do as you wish."
Xuan Ichiro casually placed the selected card into the graveyard, unfazed.
"But according to the effect of 'Night Capture,' the face-down card you covered will still be destroyed—"
"Not quite." You Xuan snapped his fingers. "At this moment, I'll activate the card you targeted with 'Night Capture.'
Trap Card – Thunder Crash!"
"Heh, are you stupid?" Xuan Ichiro looked at him with pity. "I already said, the card targeted by 'Night Capture' cannot be activated.
Are you deaf or... WHAT!?"
To his astonishment, You Xuan's 'Thunder Crash' flipped face-up and activated. Xuan Ichiro's eyes widened in disbelief. His expression screamed one word—
WHY!?
How could the card targeted by 'Night Capture' still activate?
Was this guy some kind of platinum-tier member of Kaiba Corporation with cheat-enabled duel disks?
"You really don't understand, do you?"
You Xuan calmly explained.
"Read your card's effect again. 'Night Capture' only says that the targeted card cannot chain to its activation. My 'Thunder Crash' didn't chain to 'Night Capture.'
I chained it to my own 'Devil's Deal.' Any problem with that?"
A giant question mark seemed to appear above Xuan Ichiro's head.
He clearly didn't understand.
"Is... that so?" The Shadow Duelist hesitated, his face filled with suspicion.
Are you pulling my leg?
"Bro, you really came to gamble with your life without understanding this?" You Xuan narrowed his eyes.
"I... Of course I understand this."
Xuan Ichiro muttered vaguely.
"I was just... testing your skills, cough cough... Yes, that's it."
Although he still didn't fully grasp it, since the field had already been resolved this way, it must be correct.
But truthfully, You Xuan wasn't bluffing. This was basic knowledge for any seasoned card game player. While cards targeted by 'Night Capture' couldn't activate in response, inserting another effect into the chain bypassed the restriction.
"Not bad, kid." Xuan Ichiro narrowed his eyes. "No wonder you defeated Ryuuzaki. You're no ordinary duelist... Hmm, a soul worth sacrificing indeed."
You Xuan ignored him and proceeded with the effect resolution.
"The effect of 'Thunder Crash' allows me to destroy any card on the field by discarding one card from my hand."
He sent a card from his hand to the graveyard.
"I'll destroy your 'Dark Triangular Wyvern Dragon.'"
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and a demonic hand reached out, unleashing a bolt of lightning. The thunder struck Xuan Ichiro's wyvern dragon, obliterating it instantly.
"Additionally, the card I discarded to activate 'Thunder Crash' was the spell card 'Compensation Treasure Chest.' When this card is sent from the hand to the graveyard, I draw two cards." (Anime-only card)
Ah, the thrill of anime-exclusive draw engines. So satisfying.
"Tch... Not even 'Night Capture' could protect my 'Dark Triangular Wyvern Dragon'..."
Seeing his powerful monster destroyed without firing a single attack, Xuan Ichiro frowned in irritation.
But it didn't matter much.
Xuan Ichiro set another card from his hand onto the field.
"I'll set one card face-down on the field, then activate the spell card – Treasure Chest of Life Drain!"
You Xuan: "!"
WOC, 'Treasure Chest of Life Drain'!?
The ultimate draw engine favored by Seto Kaiba in the anime. The user could draw cards until they had five in their hand, but at the cost of discarding their entire hand five turns later.
Anyone who had ever played Yu-Gi-Oh! knew that in five turns, the opponent's graveyard would have grass growing several feet high...
Compared to this, even the infamous 'Pot of Greed' felt like child's play.
Years later, this card was nerfed and released as a real card, reduced to drawing three cards instead of five. It also came with restrictions: no special summons, no dealing damage to the opponent, and discarding the entire hand at the end phase. Even in its nerfed state, it remained viable in competitive play.
Such an overpowered draw engine was something no card game enthusiast could resist. Naturally, You Xuan had searched for it, but hadn't found it on the market. In the original story, it seemed only Seto Kaiba had used it, likely due to limited distribution or being exclusive to the wealthy...
Never did he expect to encounter it here.
It was truly tantalizing.
But it didn't matter.
You Xuan figured that if this was a Shadow Duel, winning would mean the opponent's soul would vanish. If the person was gone, their deck would become ownerless. And if it was ownerless, taking it would be justified. Leaving such a divine card to gather dust on the streets would be a waste...
So it wasn't about coveting someone else's card—he simply hated seeing resources wasted.
Just as Xuan Ichiro was about to draw, his movements instinctively paused.
For some reason, he suddenly felt uneasy...
...Had the opponent's gaze just turned hungry?