Youyu couldn't help but feel both suspicion and association with the content of this painting.
This ancient mural, whose creators remain unknown, raises the question of whether it is a faithful reproduction of scenes from history or a prophecy born from some era's oracle.
Gazing at the painting, Youyu felt a strange and ominous premonition.
The "Three Egyptian God" representing the pinnacle of DM power, the top-tier demons from the GX era "Three Phantasm," the Nordic deities "Star Realm Polar Gods" from 5DS, and the demons that revived in that era, materializing from the Nasca lines, the "Earthbound Immortal"...
Judging from the painter's expression, it seems to depict a grand-scaled battle. The battle of gods and demons, the clash of deities from different systems, each side represents their own faction.
Youyu grew increasingly curious about the origins of this mural. Perhaps when Koizumi Keita returns, he could ask him about the story behind this painting.
Unfortunately, this plan was destined to be in vain.
The lights in the exhibit suddenly went out, accompanied by a soft sound like an engine stalling.
But it wasn't just this exhibit. The lights of the entire duplex building went out, as if someone had cut the cables.
"Damn it," Koizumi Ken muttered indistinctly, then turned apologetically to Youyu, "Sorry, Mr. Youyu, sometimes this happens here.
It's a remote area, you know. Let me make a few calls..."
Youyu remained silent.
His experience facing formidable opponents had trained him to react instinctively; he knew this couldn't be a coincidence. This was a signal, like a cat's fur standing on end as an alarm for a battle about to commence.
This was a provocation.
The main door swung open as if smashed by a heavy hammer, and a figure stood in the doorway. Within the pitch-dark, airtight exhibit, light poured in from outside, casting the figure in the entrance as shadowy and imposing.
Youyu had never met him in person, but based on the information collected these days and promotional photos in magazines, he recognized the visitor at once.
It was none other than the lost peerless duelist, the second-generation Duel King following Youyu and Muto Yugi.
Hibiki Koyo.
However, Youyu quickly realized that something was off with his condition. His facial muscles were extremely stiff, and it seemed that even slight changes in expression would be challenging. His movements were very mechanical, like a machine walking.
Although his eyes were not empty, they seemed to lack something essential. More crucially, this Duel King was enveloped in black miasma, appearing sinister and fierce.
"First Duel King, archetypal Hero User Youyu," Hibiki Koyo said coldly, "I've wanted to duel you for a long time."
"Controlled, are you?" Youyu murmured.
This naturally reminded Youyu of the manga plot of "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX."
In which Hibiki Koyo, as the world champion, lost in a Dark Duel against Tragoedia, after which his consciousness was enveloped in darkness and he remained bedridden for many years, until the end when Yuki Judai and Manjome Jun together defeated Tragoedia and he was freed.
Moreover, the dark miasma emanating from Koyo was indeed similar to what Youyu had encountered earlier with Tragoedia.
So he had reason to believe that Hibiki Koyo was now under Tragoedia's control.
But unlike the puppets remotely controlled by Tragoedia previously, Tragoedia hadn't directly dismissed Koyo's consciousness, only performed a sort of "brain control" on his mind.
Evidently, this was to retain the Duel King's own strength, making him Tragoedia's most capable enforcer.
"It's really connected to the lobster... Fine, then."
Youyu activated the Duel Disc, gesturing for Koizumi Ken behind him to step aside.
"Second-generation Duel King, huh? I've also long wanted to have a duel with you and see how it goes."
The first and second-generation Duel Kings, both known as "Heroes," perhaps they were always destined to have a duel, whether sooner or later.
Youyu took out a Card Deck, carefully considering before inserting it into the Duel Disc.
At this moment, his duelist level was clearly marked on the system's personal panel with a star level—
—Level Ten.
This level already matched the rank of the Three Egyptian God in Duel Monsters. Though he had just crossed the threshold of this level, Youyu estimated it should be similar to Atem during the initial Duelist Kingdom arc in DM.
The greatest advantage of a high level is the audacity in Card Deck construction.
Real Card players, when constructing a deck, often use cards from the same series or interlinking systems. This ensures high operational efficiency of the deck, reduces the chance of having unused cards, facilitating smooth plays.
But this weakness is also apparent.
A deck constructed around a single series must have a central theme, and the deck's system must have a core theme. For example, some decks have all monsters of the same race, some have the same attributes, while others heavily rely on a core card for operations.
This makes the deck vulnerable.
For example, the tactics of Dartz during the Orichalcos arc—if blocked by The Seal of Orichalcos, his strategies couldn't unfold. Similarly, the more familiar Cyber Dragon, with all monsters as Machine-Type, rendered the deck almost defenseless against the power of "System Down."
If the opponent had prior information, knowing your deck's system, theme, and crucial points, targeting it becomes very easy.
Even the strongest top-tier decks have their own weaknesses. The Yu-Gi-Oh card pool is staggeringly deep, and if you know ahead what the opponent plays, it's easy to counter them to death.
However, in the animated worldview, this isn't always the case.
For instance, if Youyu were to duel against Muto Yugi, there would be no way to strategize against Yugi's deck construction.
Simply because there's no starting point.
Yugi's deck, without exaggeration, is like a chaotic mix. His deck holds a mess of intertwined systems, each can be used to construct an entire new deck with smooth operations.
For example: Black Magician Deck, Magnet Warrior Deck, Black Luster Soldier Deck, Dragon Slayer Swordsman Deck, Dark Knight Gaia Deck, Magician Girl Deck, etc., etc....
A huge variety of races, attributes, tactics, and strategies all cobbled together—how do you even target that?
Yet perhaps this is the superior way of deck construction for the truly powerful. Youyu thought that as long as he remained bound by conventional deck systems, he would never truly become the top-tier force defined by the Yu-Gi-Oh world.
This is also why, upon crossing the tenth-level threshold, he decided to boldly attempt this.
A completely new Card Deck he had never tried before, one with countless possibilities, adaptable to all situations.
The opponent would never foresee how they will be defeated.
"Duel!" x2
[Youyu, LP 4000]
[Hibiki Koyo, LP 4000]