On the field.
Yusaku glanced at the opponents across from him. Seeing that they had no intention of continuing the challenge, he turned and prepared to leave.
Thanks to them, he had already collected five puzzle fragments. As long as he won three more Duels, he would be able to complete the full map and obtain the route to the Top 32 venue.
"After taking so many Decks from us, you're just going to walk away?"
However, the moment he took a step, an icy voice rang out from the crowd opposite, cutting off his path.
"After taking so many Decks from us, you think you can just leave that easily?"
Yusaku paused and slowly turned around.
The crowd parted into a narrow passage. A student in an indigo uniform stepped forward at an unhurried pace. His name was embroidered in gold thread on his cuff: Yuta Nishimura.
Behind Yuta, a man followed with something that looked like the Millennium Rod in hand. He wore a long black robe, and an ominous smile clung to his face—clearly a member of Gurus.
Seeing the two of them emerge, Yusaku raised an eyebrow.
"Let me guess. All these relentless challenges… you're trying to wear me down, so your man in the back can come in and finish the job?"
The Gurus member in front gave a cold laugh.
"So you finally noticed? Too late."
He stared at Yusaku with a sneer.
"The tournament rules say you can't refuse a challenge invitation. So you're not going anywhere. You'll accept our challenge like a good little boy."
Yusaku merely smiled, then lifted the puzzle fragments from his pocket for everyone to see.
"Oh, is that so? But the rules also say that once you collect the map fragments, you advance to the next round. Thanks to you, I already have five fragments. Three more, and the puzzle is complete."
He paused, eyes on the pair.
"In other words, you still have three chances."
The Gurus member's smile froze for a beat. Then he snorted.
"Cut the crap. We won't need three. Next time, we'll cut you down on the spot."
He looked at Yusaku.
"Same rules as the last Duel. Shared Extra Deck."
The surrounding players froze for a split second—then erupted with excitement.
Another challenge. That meant another mission. And that meant another Deck as a reward.
As they started arguing about who would get to step up, the Gurus member's voice rang out again.
"The guy who won a card off me last time—get out here. This time I'm washing away that humiliation and winning back what I lost to you!"
The players looked at each other. Realizing he wasn't talking about them, they automatically parted again—exposing Kazetaro, who had been hiding in the crowd, happily inspecting his newly acquired Deck.
Under the weight of countless stares, Kazetaro blinked, confused, and slowly looked up. He was about to ask what was going on when someone tugged his sleeve and whispered a reminder.
"Kazetaro! That Gurus guy over there—he's calling you out!"
Kazetaro followed the pointing finger. When he saw the robed man with the Millennium Rod, he paused—then suddenly understood. A bright grin spread across his face.
"So it's you, Karasu! It was just one card, you know. You've really been holding a grudge this long?"
At the name "Karasu," Yusaku looked at Kazetaro with curiosity and chuckled.
"How did you even win his card? For him to hate you this much."
Kazetaro scratched his head awkwardly, just about to explain—when Karasu let out a low, furious growl, his voice packed with anger.
"Last time, you had no shame! You used a bunch of trash Decks to drain my stamina, and only after I was exhausted did you bring out your real main Deck to challenge me!"
He inhaled sharply, gripping the Millennium Rod tighter.
"This time it's a Tag Duel! That disgusting tactic won't work! Enough talk—get on the field! I'm going to duel you properly, fair and square, and win back my card!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kazetaro felt his mission panel trigger again. The reward was still a full Deck. His eyes lit up, and he practically skipped forward.
After Kazetaro stepped up onto the platform, Yusaku looked at the two across from him.
"You know the rules. If you lose, you hand over your Decks to me. If you win, you get the Egyptian God Cards you want."
Then he turned to Kazetaro with a smile.
"And the Decks we win this time—same as always. One set to you, one set to the other senpai."
"No, no, no!" Kazetaro waved his hands quickly, looking completely sincere. "Yusaku-senpai, I already got a Dragon Fist Deck. You don't need to give me the reward this time! When we win, give both Decks to everyone else."
The onlookers were deeply moved and were about to speak—when a voice came from across the field.
"Heh heh heh. Acting like we don't exist, huh?"
Yusaku tilted his head slightly, a faint, teasing smile tugging at his lips.
"Oh? Sorry. I almost forgot you were still over there. Next time we discuss something like that, we'll keep our voices down."
Yuta: "?"
Karasu: "?"
Yusaku lifted his arm and unfolded his Duel Disk.
"Since you want to challenge us that badly, we'll grant your wish. Come on."
Kazetaro hurriedly raised his arm as well, inserting the Dragon Fist Deck he had just obtained.
Across from them, the two snorted, drew out their Decks, and slammed them into their Duel Disks.
"Duel!" x4
As their voices overlapped, the Duel Disks hummed and expanded into pale-blue holographic panels. Data streams raced across the surfaces, and both sides' starting Life Points appeared clearly.
[Yusaku / Kazetaro, LP 16000]
[Karasu / Yuta, LP 16000]
At the moment the Duel began, the turn order locked in on the Duel Disk indicator.
First: Yusaku. Second: Karasu. Third: Kazetaro. Fourth: Yuta.
"Then it's my turn. Draw. Main Phase!"
Yusaku's fingertip flicked across the Duel Disk's card slot. With a crisp shff-shff of cards sliding against each other, he drew five starting cards and fanned them neatly in his palm, each card face gleaming with faint magic.
He lowered his gaze, scanned his hand, and paused his fingers briefly over a few cards. After a moment's thought, he pulled one out and revealed it, his voice carrying across the Duel Field.
"First, I activate the effect of Dark Magician Girl the Magician's Apprentice from my hand—this card can be Special Summoned from the hand by discarding 1 card. Also, if it's Special Summoned this way, its name becomes Dark Magician Girl!"
Karasu and Yuta both frowned, confusion plain in their eyes.
They'd seen Dark Magician before, and the classic silhouette of Dark Magician Girl was burned into their memories—but as far as they knew, Dark Magician Girl didn't have an effect that let her Special Summon herself like this.
What kind of card was this?
Yusaku ignored their surprise and immediately inserted a card from his hand into the Duel Disk.
"I discard 1 card to activate the effect—Special Summon Dark Magician Girl the Magician's Apprentice from my hand!"
The instant his words fell, a vortex of black magical power erupted at the center of the field. The swirling energy took shape rapidly—
And then a slender, golden figure sprang forth from the heart of the whirlpool. The blonde girl landed lightly, as if featherweight, a refined, flat-headed wand in her hand, her skirt fluttering as soft magic shimmered around her.
[Dark Magician Girl the Magician's Apprentice]
[Level 6 / Spellcaster / Effect]
[ATK 2000]
The spectators immediately descended into chaos.
"Damn, it's my wife's new skin!"
"Hahahaha, Dark Magician Girl got a new outfit!"
"What do you mean your wife? She's obviously mine!"
"Brothers, move aside. My pee is yellow—I'm waking up the two of you who are still dreaming!"
Hearing the ridiculous heckling, Yusaku pinched the bridge of his nose in resignation. He had still underestimated how shameless these people could be.
But the interruption didn't slow his tempo. The moment the monster hit the field, he spoke again without hesitation.
"I activate Dark Magician Girl the Magician's Apprentice's other effect!"
"If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add 1 Shining Sarcophagus from my Deck to my hand. I activate that effect—add Shining Sarcophagus to my hand!"
Shining Sarcophagus?
At the unfamiliar name, Karasu's brows instantly knotted, his eyes sharpening with suspicion.
Another card he'd never heard of. In his understanding, the Dark Magician series didn't even have a card like that. He had no idea what it did—or what nightmare it might lead to.
If he didn't stop this now, he would get blindsided later.
He dropped his gaze to his hand, locked onto one card, hesitated for a fraction of a second—and then made his decision. He had to break Yusaku's search tempo. He couldn't let the opponent expand freely.
Karasu snapped the card up and pointed at Yusaku, voice hard.
"Wait! I activate Effect Veiler from my hand!"
"This card can only be activated during your opponent's Main Phase. I target 1 monster you control, and negate its effects until the end of the turn!"
He drove the card into his Duel Disk. Violet energy circuits flared across the panel.
"I target your Dark Magician Girl the Magician's Apprentice—effect negated!"
A translucent, blue-tinged barrier materialized out of thin air like a cage, locking around the blonde girl on Yusaku's field. The magical shimmer around her dimmed at once, and her effect was forcibly cut off.
Yusaku didn't panic in the slightest. Instead, the corner of his mouth lifted into a knowing smile.
"Thank you."
Karasu: "?"
Yusaku raised another card from his hand.
"Honestly, I already had the card I wanted to search. I only declared the effect to test whether you had any hand traps."
He smiled wider.
"Didn't expect you to actually have one—and to give it up that easily."
Karasu: "???"
(End of Chapter)
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