"This is... a completely real demonic field!"
Jaden, Syrus, and the others immediately sensed the abnormality. The atmosphere surrounding the Pandemonium field shifted, causing a cold sweat to break out on their brows.
Alexis looked at Jiang He with renewed concern. Though she had confidence in his skills, the situation before them was different. This was a legendary Shadow Game, a terrifying duel capable of inflicting real physical harm. Any damage taken in the game would manifest on the duelist's body.
Even if Jiang He won, it seemed impossible for him to escape completely unscathed. No matter how strong a duelist was, it was nearly impossible to finish a high-level game without losing a single Life Point...
"Heh heh heh, that's right! This is a true Shadow Game! No more illusions!" Titan's eyes glowed crimson behind his mask. He laughed, trying to pile psychological pressure onto Jiang He. He had no intention of losing; he knew all too well what it meant to be swallowed by the darkness.
"If you hadn't been swinging that lightbulb around acting like it was the Millennium Puzzle earlier, that speech might have actually worked," Jiang He remarked, clicking his tongue and nodding mockingly at Titan's aura.
As expected of a professional fraud specializing in hypnosis and magic tricks. The performance level was top-tier!
"You...!" Titan choked on his words, his face flushing with irritation. He let out a cold snort to mask his embarrassment.
"Hmph! Then I'll let you witness the true horror of a Shadow Game! It is a forbidden realm that most people can never hope to cross! The duel continues!"
Titan raised a fist triumphantly. "Due to the effect of Pandemonium, as long as this hellish world exists, I no longer have to pay Life Points during my Standby Phase for monsters with 'Archfiend' in their names! Furthermore, when an Archfiend monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard by an effect other than battle, I can add an Archfiend monster of a lower level from my deck to my hand!
"I set one card and end my turn!"
"He used a Field Spell to negate the negative effects of the Archfiend deck..." Alexis said, her eyes wide with surprise.
Jaden and Syrus looked grave. Without the constant drain on Life Points, an Archfiend deck became much more difficult to handle.
"Come on! It's your turn!" Titan barked at Jiang He.
"I didn't need you to tell me. My turn, draw!" Jiang He drew from his deck.
He glanced at the card and allowed a satisfied smile to cross his lips. He hadn't even used his once-per-game Destiny Draw, but he had already pulled the "soul" of this Stealth Bird burn deck.
"I set one monster in face down Defense Position and set three cards. Turn end!"
A classic four-card set.
Alexis, Jaden, and Syrus felt a sudden sense of deja vu.
"Starting with a set monster and three set cards again... could that monster be the Cele..." Syrus muttered to himself, his expression turning strange. He realized what he was about to say just in time and swallowed the rest of the word "Celtic."
"Hmph, trying to fool me with that Obnoxious Celtic Guard again?" Titan sneered, having easily "guessed" the card.
Before being hired by Dr. Crowler, he had defeated a duelist and won two valuable rare cards from them. One of them happened to be the card once used by the King of Games, Yugi MutoObnoxious Celtic Guard. He had struggled with that monster during that duel, so the mere hint of a "Cele..." triggered a reflexive association in his mind.
"Oh no!" Syrus looked devastated, realizing he had leaked information.
"Syrus!" Jaden and Chumley glared at him. This wasn't just a friendly match; a loss here would mean disaster.
However, if it really was the Celtic Guard, they assumed the three set cards in the backrow were likely defensive traps designed for a stall strategy.
But Alexis noticed something off. Her eyes shifted to Jiang He, who remained perfectly calm.
Didn't Jiang He just say this was a new deck? she thought. Is that face down monster really the Obnoxious Celtic Guard?
She had a sneaking suspicion that Titan was being led into a trap by Syrus's slip of the tongue...
"Heh, keep pretending to be calm, kid! My turn, draw!"
Titan caught the card as it ejected from his Duel Disk. "Because of Pandemonium, I don't have to pay 500 LP for the Infernal Queen Archfiend I summoned last turn."
He slapped a card onto the disk in Attack Position. "Next, I summon Terrorking Archfiend!"
A dark light erupted. A monstrous figure appeared amidst blue sparksa red, muscular demon covered in bone-like armor with skeletal wings on its back. It stood before Titan, wielding a massive greatsword, positioned right next to the purple-robed Infernal Queen Archfiend.
[Terrorking Archfiend]
[Level: 4]
[Attribute: DARK]
[ATK: 2000]
[DEF: 1500]
"Terrorking Archfiend cannot be Normal Summoned or Flip Summoned unless I already have an Archfiend monster on the field," Titan explained, pointing to the Queen. "But since she is already here, summoning him is no problem."
"A Level 4 monster with 2000 ATK... that is indeed a formidable card," Jiang He evaluated fairly. Terrorking Archfiend had solid stats and worked well with the archetype's support. In this world, it was undoubtedly a rare find.
"I take it that set card in your backrow is a trap to protect or revive the Infernal Queen, just to ensure you could summon Terrorking this turn?" Jiang He asked with a playful, knowing look.
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