In a wide cavern chamber, insects of all shapes were locked in battle. Some were huge like armored beetles, others small and swift, darting between the crowd. Roars and impacts echoed against the stone walls as they tore at each other with fangs and claws, shells cracking and fluids splashing across the ground.
This was their nest.
Their leader had gone out and never returned. Shirogane, Inzektor Knight was gone as well, and the hive had no one in command. The remaining insects were fighting to decide who would rule next.
One of them suddenly noticed the man at the entrance.
"The smell of a human!"
"A human? Here?"
"Kill him!"
They dropped their internal fight at once and rushed toward him in a wave, claws raised as if to tear him apart.
The man merely lifted his head. Green light shone from beneath his hood, and a six pointed mark appeared on his forehead like a slowly turning spell circle.
A blast shook the cavern.
Minutes later, it was over.
The insects lay scattered across the floor. Broken shells and dark fluids mixed together in strange patterns. The man stood at the center, the six pointed mark still glowing as his black robe stirred without wind, while a massive shadow behind him slowly faded, leaving traces of blue flame in the air.
"W wait, we are on the same side," a mantis like insect coughed, blood dripping as it pleaded.
"We did not know a messenger of the god had arrived."
The man asked coldly, "Has a Duelist from another world come to this Dimension?"
Several insects nodded at once.
"Yes. We heard that even Bone King's wife ran off with the other side, and then he joined them too."
"That sounds like a rumor," another insect muttered. "That is too ridiculous."
"It is true. My information network is reliable."
The man raised a hand and they fell silent.
"Where is your leader?" he continued.
The insects looked embarrassed.
"Our boss heard that Bone King was defeated. He said he would go meet those people."
"And then?"
"He has not returned."
The man fell into Silence, as if thinking.
The mantis insect carefully asked, "Messenger, since the boss is gone, perhaps we need a new The Agent? Maybe I could..."
The man shot it a cold look, and it shrank back at once.
"One last question," he said, green light flickering in his eyes. "In this Dimension, is there a Phoenix God Ruins?"
Back at the camp in the Spirit World.
"Come on, come on, line up if you want to practice a Duel."
Judai Yuki was all smiles.
"One at a time. No pushing. Everyone will get a turn."
When he heard that Yugen had actually coached Spirits in dueling, Judai Yuki could not sit still. Something that fun obviously needed him involved.
So he gathered the Spirits who wanted to learn from heroes of another world and started putting them through intense Duel training.
The warriors quickly noticed that this Hero-sama had a completely different style.
If dueling the previous one felt like being unable to play the cards in your hand, then dueling this one felt like every move you made was casually undone in unexpected ways.
For example, when a monster Spirit called "Magical Merchant" faced Judai Yuki in a Duel.
Judai Yuki said, "I activate the Spell Card 'Polymerization'! I use Elemental HERO 'Bubbleman,' 'Avian,' and 'Sparkman' for a triple Polymerization!
Appear, my strongest hero, 'Elemental HERO Tempest'!"
Elemental HERO Tempest, ATK 2800.
"Nani?!?!" the Magical Merchant cried. "A monster with 2800 ATK! But as long as I am on the field and there is a Continuous Spell or Continuous Trap in play, I cannot be destroyed by any means!"
Magical Merchant, DEF 200.
"I have the Continuous Spell 'Dark Door' on the field. During each Battle Phase, only one monster can attack. Even Tempest cannot break through my defense!"
"Relax," Judai Yuki said confidently. "I activate my set Quick-Play Spell 'De-Fusion'! I Release Tempest's Polymerization and Special Summon 'Avian,' 'Bubbleman,' and 'Sparkman' to the field!
Then I activate the Spell Card 'Feather Shot'! By giving up the attacks of my other monsters this turn, Avian can attack a number of times equal to the number of monsters I control. I have three monsters, so it can attack three times!
Next, I activate the Spell Card 'H-Heated Heart'! 'Elemental HERO Avian' gains 500 ATK and can deal piercing damage!"
Elemental HERO Avian, ATK 1500.
Magical Merchant, DEF 200.
"Nani?!?!" the merchant shouted. "Three attacks, and piercing..."
"That is right! Go, Avian. Feather Shot, triple strike!"
The Magical Merchant screamed as his Life Points dropped to zero.
"I win!" Judai Yuki grinned and made a victory sign. "That was a fun Duel!"
The merchant said nothing.
Watching from the side, Yugen could not help but think.
Feather Shot was one of those strange cards in the Elemental HERO package. Avian only had 1000 base ATK, so giving it multiple attacks usually meant very little. It even required sacrificing the other monsters' attack chances.
Normally, it looked like a useless card.
But Judai Yuki would simply say, I drew what I needed and won. Any objections?
His training continued.
"I activate the Trap Card 'Golden Blade Strike'! I tribute 'Elemental HERO Gold Blade' on my field to destroy one monster you control and deal damage equal to its original ATK!"
"I activate the Counter Trap 'Feather Wind'! If 'Elemental HERO Avian' is face up in Attack Position, the activation of your Spell and Trap Cards is negated and that card is destroyed!"
Yugen watched in silence.
It was true that Judai Yuki's Deck looked full of awkward pieces at first glance, but when he actually played, it had negations, removal, and solid pressure.
As for whether the Spirit could learn any Duelist's Secret Tome from this, that was another question.
Judai Yuki would probably say, A Duel? You just draw the card you need and win, right?
"We won! That was such a fun Duel!"
Judai Yuki looked completely satisfied.
"But we should probably head back soon." He put away his Duel Disk with some regret. "It will be daylight soon. If someone finds out we went to the Forbidden Zone of the Abandoned Dorm, that could be bad."
It was his first time dueling Spirits like this, and he clearly did not want to stop.
"About that, I think it already does not matter," Yugen reminded him. "Only the two of us were sent to the Spirit World. Think about what the others would do."
Judai Yuki froze, then realized what he meant.
Of course. Hayato Maeda and the others would have reported it to the school. That meant it was likely discovered shortly after they were transported here.
He scratched his head and thought it over. Sneaking into the Forbidden Zone could lead to expulsion, which was serious. But at this point, there was nothing they could do about it.
After a moment, Judai Yuki unfolded his Duel Disk again.
"Forget it. Let's duel a bit more before we go back."
Since it had already come to this, they might as well keep playing.
The battered Spirits stared at him in silence. They had already been knocked around, and he still wanted more.
"Let's save the Duel for next time. There's somewhere we need to visit before we leave," Yugen cut in.
"Eh?"
The place Yugen wanted to see was the ruins of the Phoenix God.
He still did not know why they had entered this Dimension through the Abandoned Dorm, and there was no guarantee they could return after leaving. Since they were already here, there was no reason to ignore such a large ruin. At the very least, they had to take a look around.
The forgotten tribe sat deep within thick forest, silent and lifeless.
Yugen and Judai Yuki walked through the dense trees one after the other and reached the edge of the village. Broken walls and weed covered courtyards stretched before them, and sunlight filtered through the branches, casting long shadows over the ruins.
"This looks amazing..."
Judai Yuki gazed up at the massive statue of the Phoenix God in the center of the tribe and stared for a long moment.