The spirit form of Silent Magician floated nearby, listening in silence. Though she said nothing, the way she looked at her master was filled with emotion.
Yugen knew he was partly raising affinity with a Spirit, but these words were also his genuine understanding since coming to this world. Winning was not wrong, but pursuing victory at any cost only pushed one farther from the throne.
Just then, the carved stone figures on the mountain outside the Duel field suddenly lit up. The sealed carvings burst into blinding light, releasing a torrent of magic that swept across the entire barrier.
When their eyes adjusted, both of them saw that the images carved into the rock had vanished. Keith's pupils shrank as unease rose in his chest.
At the same time, Yugen looked down in shock as the top card of his Deck began to glow.
He took a deep breath and placed his fingers on the Deck. A flash accompanied the Card Draw.
The glowing card flew out in a brilliant arc, and the moment it left the Deck, a massive shockwave erupted, spiraling into the sky. Keith panicked.
"That aura, that power. That card is…"
Yugen looked closely and saw that it was the once forbidden Legendary Warrior. Of course, he knew perfectly well that his Deck never contained this card.
Still, in this world, drawing something not originally in your deck felt almost normal. This was not cheating. This was resonance with a Spirit.
As the card entered his hand, he faintly saw the dignified warrior spirit appear and salute him with a sword. Yugen nodded in return.
"Then, Keith," he shouted, "I'll let you see it. The strongest trump card of my Deck's soul!"
"Tch. So it's a Legendary Warrior. Fine, let's do it," Keith shouted back. "Show me already!"
Yugen raised the card high, divine power pouring from it. Keith held his breath, waiting for the legendary warrior to descend.
Then Yugen continued, "I tribute 'Desperado Barrel Dragon' and 'Machina Megaform' on your field, and Special Summon this monster to your field.
Awaken from abyssal lava, the power of destruction and rebirth. Level 8, Lava Golem!"
Bandit Keith froze.
Both of his Machine King monsters were swallowed by rising lava and melted into liquid metal. From the molten mass, a burning giant claw slammed onto the field, and the towering Lava Golem rose on Keith's side, trapping him inside a scorching cage.
"Lava Golem's effect," Yugen said calmly. "By tributing two monsters on your opponent's field, it can be Special Summoned to that opponent's field. The turn I use this effect, I cannot Normal Summon.
This monster has power that rivals Blue-Eyes White Dragon's ATK."
Keith's jaw nearly hit the ground.
He stood there in total chaos, unable to process what had just happened. This was not how it was supposed to go.
At that moment, Yugen smiled. "Now, the effect of 'Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning' in my hand. By banishing one Light and one Dark monster from my Graveyard from Yugi Muto, I Special Summon it.
I banish the Light 'Silent Magician' and the Dark 'Jinzo'! (ANIME EFFECT)"
The two figures appeared, flying into a swirling vortex. Light and darkness intertwined as the gate of chaos opened.
"Heaven and earth, be divided. Level 8. Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, summon!"
The armored warrior emerged amid a raging vortex, sword cutting through chaos itself. Even the green barrier shook under that overwhelming presence.
"Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, attack 'Lava Golem'!"
The warrior struck, cleaving the defensive Lava Golem apart. Its molten body collapsed.
"Effect activation. When this card destroys a monster by battle, it can make a second attack. (ANIME EFFECT)"
Yugen raised his hand. "Finish it. Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, direct attack!"
The golden blade fell from the sky, and as the sword light closed in, Bandit Keith screamed in despair.
His Life Points dropped to zero, and the duel ended there.
Bandit Keith left with a howl.
"So you went to Spirit World?"
A few minutes later, Kei Kaiba looked at Yugen in surprise after arriving at Ruins. After winning the Duel against Keith, The Seal of Orichalcos immediately shrank and pulled away Bandit Keith's soul. Right after that, the surroundings spun wildly, and after a brief, floating passage, Yugen was sent back to Ruins.
When Yugen landed, he let out a long breath. At least he was finally back. It had been dangerously close.
He had moved fast enough just before the transfer, yanking Duel Disk from Bandit Keith's hand and clutching it to his chest as he was pulled away. Even he admired his reflexes, since a moment slower would have meant being sent off without grabbing the loot, which would have been a real loss. The thought made his shoulders loosen at last.
Because something had happened at Ruins, Mokuba Kaiba had personally rushed over to confirm the situation.
"Seems so."
"And you ran into people from Shin Doma?"
"So that's what they're called?" Yugen said, resting his chin on his hand. "Do they have any connection to the old Doma?"
Mokuba Kaiba replied, "So far, there's no direct link. We only know they also use The Seal of Orichalcos and hunt the souls of Duelist through Duel."
Yugen nodded in understanding. "So the ones Seto Kaiba has been investigating all this time, it was them?"
In an instant, he understood why an organization like this was worth Seto Kaiba personally tracking down. Eight years ago, Seto Kaiba had felt the power of Doma firsthand and had seen what kind of might The God of Orichalcos possessed. Now that the Egyptian God Cards were gone, if that Dark God were to awaken again, he would naturally become one of the main defenses of this world.
Even setting that aside, for Seto Kaiba himself, this was surely an unforgettable turning point in his life as a Duelist. Back then, against the former leader of Doma, Dartz, he had joined forces with his old rival Yami Yugi in a two-on-one fight and still lost the Duel, nearly having his soul devoured by The God of Orichalcos. In the end, it was only because Yami Yugi pulled off a desperate reversal with an improvised card that they barely survived.
So ultimately, it was Yugi Muto who turned the tide and destroyed Doma. Now that Atem was gone, if there were a chance to settle the score with The God of Orichalcos, the president would never let it pass.
"Then the 'The Arbiter' Seto Kaiba mentioned before is the leader of Shin Doma?" Yugen asked cautiously. "Is it Dartz?"
Mokuba Kaiba shook his head. "The identity is still unknown, only the code name. I don't think it's him. It seems more like someone else found a way to awaken the power of Orichalcos that was sealed by Yugi Muto, I mean, by Pharaoh Atem."
Yugen tried to recall the DM storyline. Atem had used himself as a 'vessel of the heart' to seal The God of Orichalcos, the embodiment of this world's dark will, and Dartz had vanished along with ancient Atlantis as it sank into the sea. He had exited the stage, but since he had not truly died, it was still possible he could return.
"But even Keith has joined Shin Doma, and now they're actually attacking Spirit World," Mokuba Kaiba said. "It's impressive you managed to beat him."
Yugen nodded seriously. "Yeah, it was extremely dangerous, and winning in the end was really just luck. Thinking it over, I feel my Deck still isn't strong enough. If only I had more Rare Card."
Mokuba Kaiba scratched his head. "But you've already seen all the card stock our branch has here. Oh, right."