The duel was swiftly resolved. The Orichalcos Barrier began to contract, the Hexagram mark rotating in reverse, until it shrank beneath the feet of that towering livestock.
The Elf's soul was drawn along the green light, absorbed into the air, disappearing without a trace.
Even as he finally knelt on the ground, the envoy's face remained filled with shock and deep regret—
—regret that he hadn't turned and fled the moment he encountered this monster.
If heaven could give him another chance, he would never have dueled with such a creature.
"The card deck is good, but its strength could use some improvement."
Yugen stepped forward. The body of the large livestock, having lost its soul, quickly glowed with golden light, disintegrating into dots of light that scattered into the air.
Yugen bent down to pick up the card deck.
Although this opponent's card deck was strong, it felt like its Destiny Power wasn't quite up to par, even with the barrier's support it was still a notch below Yugen's current level. So, while it was considered an upper-tier card deck from that era, it wasn't too troublesome to deal with.
Or rather, with his consistent training and the deepening support of Elf Power, Yugen's current Destiny Power might only be slightly inferior to the top experts in the original work, but within the entire Dueling Realm, even without considering card construction, his raw power already made him a master.
So, to him now, this card deck was somewhat wasted in the envoy's hands.
But that didn't matter.
From now on, it will be in the right hands and show its true value.
If the envoy could know that his card deck would shine brighter in someone else's hands, he might rest in peace, right?
Yugen pocketed the card deck, quite satisfied with this gain.
In fact, his current body is virtual, just a projection of consciousness coming to the Elf Realm, and once he logs off, he would spontaneously evaporate in this realm, so the card decks collected here can't be taken directly.
But that's fine. If he can't take it, his Elf can bring it back to reality for him.
Besides, although this divine envoy came close to a Green Baboon-level build, it was mainly specialized with "Green Baboon core" tactics, with its strength coming predominantly from the individual power of the Green Baboon cards. But the card deck he used was actually different from an upper-tier build.
Yugen thought that back home, by studying it, there might still be room for optimization and adjustment. Once the construction is refined, it should be a fairly powerful card deck.
Aside from the card deck, he also picked up some small items.
For instance, a shard of Orichalcos, which he recognized, acting as a kind of identification within the Orichalcos cult hierarchy.
However, he also found a blank card this time.
This somewhat surprised Yugen.
Blank cards weren't unseen in the original anime, often they were quite extraordinary. They first appeared likely during the Orichalcos arc in the DM era, the blank card printed by Beckas.
Everyone knows the biggest advantage of a blank card is "whatever you want comes to you", a deliberately left blank space allowing you to print on demand based on the duel's situation, with the types and texts of effects entirely up to your imagination and creativity.
However, printing cards isn't something just anyone can do, usually, you have to be something of a seafood, and preferably a Yugen, and the atmosphere has to be just right…
Yugen was only pondering that while his Destiny Power had improved, printing cards might still be a bit premature. A blank card felt not quite manageable for him.
But the Great Opening soon told him he was overthinking it.
"This is a Task Card," said the Chaos Warrior.
"A Task Card?"
"Yes, it's something we've captured from the Evil God's minions in past battles, though it's my first time seeing it too," the Chaos Warrior explained, "In simple terms, it's a tool used by the Evil God to issue tasks to its minions."
"When summoned by the Evil God, an image appears on the previously blank Task Card, with some simple task instructions in the text below."
"I see."
Yugen thought for a moment.
So if instructions appear on this Task Card later, does it mean they might have a chance to learn about New Doma's movements in the Elf Realm to some extent?
If lucky, they might even get involved.
If so, wouldn't that mean unknowingly getting a step closer to infiltrating the enemy?...
Of course, Yugen hadn't actually planned on delving deeply that way; it was all a matter of fate. Being inexplicably recognized as an envoy in the bunker, even more inexplicably becoming Deputy Prison Director, was never his intention.
The saying goes, "Plans can't keep up with changes", and even the best planning can't compare to when fate lines up. Perhaps this is also how "Destiny Power" is manifested.
Anyway, with today's daily task complete, it was about time to wrap up and leave.
After packing up his gear, Yugen stood up and swaggered out through the main door. Every demon he encountered along the way looked at him as if they'd seen a ghost, avoiding him like the plague, likely even more fearful than if they encountered Satan himself.
But it's understandable.
The duel just now had indeed created quite a commotion. The moment the Orichalcos Barrier was activated, it attracted a wide number of eyes nearby. Anyone qualified to possess a barrier here belonged to the upper echelons of the Divine Cult, considered high and mighty by the general populace of the city.
Then they saw with their own eyes that Divine Cult figure being pinned down and slammed within their own barrier, and finally, they even witnessed a terrifying being with Infinite Attack Power...
This isn't reality; the duel isn't just a virtual projection. A creature imbued with Infinite Attack Power in a duel brought such soul-level pressure to these witnessing Elves, just a glance could petrify them entirely.
Especially upon witnessing the Divine Envoy Lord being turned into a pixelated mess by a Gruus Alien Insect, it would keep them sleepless for at least a week.
As Yugen exited, a female of the Demon Race daringly trotted up to him, then pulled out a large handful of bills and handed them to him.
"Sir... you've forgotten something..."
"Hmm?"
Yugen was startled.
Wasn't this the entrance ticket he paid when he came in?
Since it was the Deputy Prison Director's money spent, he wasn't concerned; Demon Realm currency couldn't be used outside anyway, not to mention he still had plenty. So Yugen magnanimously waved his hand, "No worries, you all keep it."
The demon smiled ingratiatingly, "Please keep it. Honestly, we don't dare take it if you give it..."
Yugen didn't waste much time with her, casually took it, and left.
Since then, no one in Phantom City ever saw this Duelist again.
But from that day onward, the legend of this mysterious "passing Duelist", whose true identity no one knew, was left in Phantom City.