Marik had certainly considered the possibility of losing—such as his opponent also running [Revival Jam] and endlessly reviving from the Graveyard until he decked out, or being defeated by effect damage; however, he had never once imagined failing to even summon [Slifer the Sky Dragon].
In the following turns, Yami Yugi used [Magical Stone Excavation] to retrieve [Dark Magic Inheritance], searched for [Dedication through Light and Darkness] to Special Summon [Dark Magician of Chaos], then recovered Spell Cards from the Graveyard and easily defeated Marik, who never managed to retrieve [Slifer].
"I lost… I couldn't even summon the God Card… no, I lost the God Card itself…" Marik trembled, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. "Was it because of you? You're the one advising Joey Wheeler and Yugi Muto, that's why I—"
He started forward in anger, but a hand pressed against his forehead as if restraining himself. "No… that's not right. Yesterday, you only discussed deck-building with them. Before that, you probably didn't even know we existed—certainly not about my cursed connection with the Nameless Pharaoh. So that's it… I was simply unlucky?"
His own subordinates had thrown themselves like experience fodder into duels with Youmi and Joey. One even used an [Exodia] deck that needed time to gather the pieces, and then Youmi's [Mind Crush] taught Joey that very tactic, which in turn reached the Pharaoh—who used it perfectly against him. Marik could only lament fate's cruelty, powerless to resist it.
"I can't bear to watch this, little brother Marik." Watching him stew in regret and resentment, Youmi looked into his eyes and said, "Hey, how about learning to duel properly before talking about revenge? Even with a God Card, you couldn't wield its power effectively. That's why you lost, isn't it?"
Youmi pulled over a nearby whiteboard, apparently used for planning, and drew a few quick marks. "If you'd just activated [Imperial Order] immediately after [Pot of Greed], you could've avoided that hopeless position. That said, your fatal mistake was overconfidence—chaining it only after [Dark Magic] was activated."
"Feels like these past few days I haven't been dueling much—just teaching people how to duel… " Youmi muttered before pausing mid-sentence, hand under her chin, frowning in thought.
Then, dismissing the tangent, she tapped the whiteboard again. "Anyway, I realized something from that match… Marik, you're not good at dueling, are you?"
"I… I admit I'm not very good, but the strength of a God Card is absolute! I thought as long as I could summon one, I couldn't lose."
Despite being consumed by revenge for so long, Marik's composure wasn't completely broken. He raised his head, explaining his thought process—though his voice grew weaker as he spoke. "But I only focused on getting [Slifer the Sky Dragon] into my hand, never considering what to do if I couldn't summon it. I even allowed the Nameless Pharaoh to use [Mind Crush] to snipe it directly… because I revealed the God Card's name before the duel even began."
"The information about the God Card should've been my greatest advantage when unknown, but I exposed it myself."
Marik slumped onto the couch and slammed his thigh in frustration.
"[Mind Crush] is only one way to counter such threats. It's a tactic for when you can deduce or confirm the opponent's key card, but don't think it's the only method of stopping a God Card." Youmi nodded approvingly at Marik's self-analysis, then wrote a card name on the board—[Exchange of the Spirit Voice]—no, [Lullaby of Obedience].
"[Lullaby of Obedience]. This card is perfect when the opponent's Deck contains a powerful monster—such as a God Card.
"You pay 2000 LP to either add or Special Summon that ace monster from your opponent's Deck. But what makes this card strong isn't just summoning that monster—it's removing it from your opponent's Deck altogether."
"Let's take Seto Kaiba as an example." Youmi sketched a hilariously off-model portrait of Kaiba's long face on the board, and Marik couldn't suppress a laugh. "If Kaiba's Deck suddenly loses one [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]—the one he always draws first—fine, then I'll remove another. If he loses [X-Head Cannon], then he can't form [XYZ-Dragon Cannon], right?"
Looking at the abstract doodle on the whiteboard, Marik couldn't help but mutter, "You seem to have quite a grudge against Kaiba…"
"That's your imagination." Wiping the board clean, Youmi sighed, looking at Marik as though disappointed. "Marik, as the leader of the Rare Hunters, I don't care how you manage your subordinates… regardless, consider this a word of advice. With that level of skill, going after your enemies for revenge is far too naive."
"Naive?" Marik was taken aback by the word. "I've sworn vengeance on the Pharaoh, built an entire organization, turned against my own sister… and you call me naive?"
"You don't even have the basic strength required for revenge. You brought your underlings here just to feed Yugi free Locator Cards. Isn't that naive? Or should I call it genius?"
Youmi flashed four puzzle-shaped Locator Cards. "If I hadn't taken out your grunts and that clown Pandora, who wanted to go sightseeing in Gotham, how many cards would you have gifted Yugi by now? What, planning to help him reach the finals?"
Youmi's words struck home, leaving Marik red-faced and silent.
After a long pause, Youmi turned her back to him and said, "I was never interested in 'making deals with tigers,' but now it's clear… you're just a paper tiger yourself. Goodbye.
"Or rather, at this rate, I suppose it's goodbye forever, little brother Marik."
"Wait!"
Marik sprang to his feet, stumbling as he rushed to block her path. "Everything I said still stands! I can even add more if you wish!
"You helped Joey improve from an amateur to a real Duelist, and even helped the Pharaoh find a way to counter a God Card before it appeared. Please, help me too! Whether it's teaching me to duel or something else, I must take revenge on the Nameless Pharaoh! I'll do whatever it takes!"
"That's more like it," Youmi thought to herself. Such determination—how could she ignore it? "Ho—so instead of giving up, you're offering compensation in exchange for my help? You're far bolder than I expected, little brother Marik."
Crossing her arms, Youmi turned slightly, a mischievous smirk forming on her face.
"Anything at all, huh? Then, as the first step of your 'training'... how about giving me a nice 'woof'?" With a teasing glint in her eye, Youmi tilted her head, dodging Sphere Kuriboh's judgmental look of 'I can't believe you're like this,' and straightened up with a chuckle. "Just kidding. For now, let's start simpler—call me 'Onee-san.'"
Youmi, meanwhile, thought: 'Honestly, I kind of wanted him to say 'Auntie,' but that might set up some weird flag.'
······
Youmi had never actually joined the Rare Hunters, nor even put her name among them, yet she now sat in the seat that rightfully belonged to Marik.
Watching Marik, who was waiting for her to review his Deck, and Odion, who still hadn't quite grasped the situation, she sighed. "It feels like I've somehow become the mastermind behind the scenes without realizing it. Was I always this kind of person?"
"What are you saying, Youmi… Onee-san?" Because Odion was present, Marik couldn't manifest his darker self. Fully focused on listening to Youmi, he also caught her muttered words, though he failed to understand their meaning.
"It's nothing. Forget it. Marik, you and that… what was his name… Odion, right? If you want revenge, don't resort to dirty tricks. Use your own skill and face it head-on. You said you wanted to be Pharaoh, didn't you? Does this method suit that ambition?"
As she went through Marik's Deck, Youmi's expression grew increasingly grim.
Honestly, if you ignored [The Winged Dragon of Ra], she couldn't even see how this Deck could win an ordinary duel. No wonder Joey managed to counterattack and defeat a God Card… it wasn't just Joey's luck and dueling ability; Marik's deck-building was plain terrible.
"Anyway, disband your Rare Hunters. They're inefficient. At this rate, Yugi Muto's going to reach the quarterfinals just by being carried there by your grunts. Don't get yourself eliminated before you even have the chance to duel him properly."
"But… there's also the chance to defeat the Nameless Pharaoh before the quarterfinals—"
Marik barely got the words out before Youmi shot him a chilling glare—an aura like that of a demon lord's—making him freeze instantly.
"You don't seriously think a day or two of special training would make you strong enough to defeat Yugi Muto before the quarterfinals, do you, little brother?" Her tone was calm, yet Marik couldn't tell whether she was angry. "You have to know your own limits. You still need polishing. Frankly, even Odion over there—or Joey before he reworked his Deck—could probably beat you right now."
Of course, Youmi wasn't angry. In fact, she was quite amused. This kind of scenario she'd only ever seen in anime or games—living it firsthand was unexpectedly satisfying.
Resting her chin on her hand, Youmi pulled [The Winged Dragon of Ra] from Marik's Deck. Though she couldn't read the ancient hieratic script, as a being close to a card spirit, merely touching it allowed her to sense the divine power within and interpret its effect.
"I… I'll think about it, but—" Marik looked at the [The Winged Dragon of Ra] in Youmi's hand and said, "That's the third God Card, the last one the Rare Hunters possess—[The Winged Dragon of Ra]. Since its text is written in hieratic, allow me to explain its effects—"
One glance from Youmi silenced him. "I'm not illiterate. I know what it does. What I want to ask is… why, after including [The Winged Egg of Ra]—uh, I mean, [The Winged Dragon of Ra]—would you not build a Deck that actually synergizes with it? Instead, you've crammed it with meaningless filler. Isn't that just for show?"
"That's because…" Marik began explaining how, in the Duel City quarterfinals, he planned to use monsters modeled after torture devices to attack directly and break his opponent's spirit, rendering them 'unable to continue dueling.'
Youmi rewarded that confession with a long, exasperated eye roll.
Sure, in OCG rules, there was technically such a condition—'if the opponent can no longer continue the duel, the other player wins'—and it even spawned a few memes.
Albeit, for someone to actually pursue that as a legitimate win condition? Youmi couldn't help but scoff.
"You know, relying on a strategy no self-respecting Duelist would use just proves how under-skilled you are, little brother Marik."
The [The Winged Dragon of Ra] in her hand seemed to bristle, as if releasing divine pressure or wrath; yet, the force was at once neutralized by the power granted from [Ten Thousand Dragon], replaced instead with a faintly warm aura.
What was this… like catching a mischievous kid messing with her glue stash, only to realize he was actually helping fix a leaky faucet? Youmi couldn't tell.
"Here's what I want from you: using your collection of copied and printed cards, build your strongest Deck under one condition—no [The Winged Dragon of Ra]. Then duel Odion. If you win, I'll teach you how to defeat Yugi Muto."
She nudged a card box beside her with her foot, sliding it neatly in front of Marik. "If you can't, then start from the basics."
Marik lowered his gaze to the box, thinking deeply for a long moment. "If I start from the basics now, would I still have a chance to reach the Duel City quarterfinals and duel the Nameless Pharaoh for revenge?"
"So quick to give up, huh? Is Odion that terrifying?" Youmi looked between Marik and Odion, noticing Marik's involuntary shiver whenever he glanced at his caretaker. There must've been some serious trauma there. "If it's someone else teaching you, I can't say. But if it's me… maybe~"
Silver eyes gleaming with delight, Youmi extended the devil's contract toward Marik.
...
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