He almost cried when the search succeeded. The effect had finally resolved.
"Doom Dozer's effect!" he shouted. "By banishing two Insect-Type in my Graveyard from the field, I Special Summon it! I banish Resonance Insect and the Resonance Insect I discarded earlier!"
The ground split open as a massive insect burst forth, its shell covered in sharp ridges.
Doom Dozer, ATK 2800.
"Then Resonance Insect's follow up effect activates! When it is banished, I send an Insect-Type other than itself from my Deck to the Graveyard. I send Skull Ladybug!"
Golden light shone from his Duel Disk as a skull marked ladybug spirit appeared behind him.
"Skull Ladybug's effect restores 1000 Life Points when sent to the Graveyard!"
Insect Knight, LP 400 to 1400.
He clenched his fist. "Battle! Doom Dozer attacks Abyss Soldier!"
Get rid of this Underworld Soldier!
"Activate my set Trap Card, Dimensional Prison," Yugen said calmly. "When the opponent declares an attack, banish that monster from the Yugi Muto."
Space cracked open and a Dimension Rift appeared. Doom Dozer charged too fast to stop and plunged straight into the other side.
Insect Knight: "Aaaah!"
This time it was not bounced. It was sent to the Different Dimension.
"Millennium Scorpion, attack!"
The strike went through without interference. The giant claws crushed one Abyss Soldier in half.
Yugen, LP 4000 to 3800.
"Millennium Scorpion gains 500 ATK when it destroys a monster by battle. I set two cards and end my turn!"
Millennium Scorpion, ATK 2000 to 2500.
Insect Knight took a deep breath. On the surface, next turn the remaining Underworld Soldier would bounce his scorpion and attack for game.
But he glanced at his two set cards.
He still had one last chance.
"My Turn!, Card Draw."
A flash of golden light appeared in Yugen's Graveyard, and two cards slid out smoothly. The air around the field shifted as he calmly added them to his hand.
"The effects of the two Sinister Serpent in my Graveyard activate. During my Standby Phase, if Sinister Serpent is in the Graveyard, I can return it to my hand."
Two cards were pulled from the Graveyard and returned to his grip.
Insect Knight's face twitched. More ammunition. He had already figured out how the engine worked. Sinister Serpent was the endless fuel that kept the Underworld Soldier firing without limit.
Sure enough, Yugen immediately sent one of the retrieved Sinister Serpent back to the Graveyard.
"I activate the effect of Abyss Soldier. By discarding a WATER monster from my hand, I can return any card on the field to its owner's hand. I discard the WATER monster Sinister Serpent."
"I knew it!"
Insect Knight shouted, flipping his set card. "Trap Card Memory Loss! When your attack position monster activates its effect, negate that activation and change it to defense position!"
Judai blinked. "Huh? But shouldn't he know there's still Solemn Warning on Yugen's field?"
Yugen raised an eyebrow. It looked like the opponent had prepared something specifically for Solemn Warning.
"Interesting. Then I accept the challenge," Yugen Do said. "I activate my Continuous Trap, Royal Decree. All Trap Card on the field have their effects negated."
The power that had once suppressed the field surged again, pressing down across the arena.
"As expected!" Insect Knight responded. "Counter Trap, Reverse Check! When a Trap Card is activated, negate that activation and shuffle it back into its owner's Deck!"
The counter force took effect. Solemn Warning was stopped mid activation and turned into a streak of golden light, shooting back into Yugen's Deck on his Duel Disk. The Deck automatically shuffled.
"Even a trap killer like Royal Decree is harmless if its activation is negated before it applies. And because later effects resolve first, when Memory Loss resolves, Royal Decree is no longer on the field. So my Trap Card Memory Loss resolves successfully. The effect of Abyss Soldier is negated, and it is changed to defense position!"
Insect Knight laughed loudly. "Stay there, Abyss Soldier!"
Bound by the Trap, Abyss Soldier was forced down into a guarded stance.
Abyss Soldier, ATK 1800 to DEF 1300.
"Now your combo is broken," Insect Knight said proudly.
He had seen it clearly. Whether attacking or cycling, Abyss Soldier was the core of the strategy. Negate it, and the threat was gone. Next turn, his insects would launch their comeback.
"Open my set card, Continuous Trap Call of the Haunted," Yugen Do said. "Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard in attack position. I choose the other Abyss Soldier in my Graveyard."
Insect Knight fell silent.
A vortex opened in the Graveyard, and a surge of water burst forth. The aquatic soldier rose from the abyss and stepped back onto the field, the swirling portal behind it howling faintly.
Yugen nodded slightly, as if praising the earlier counter. But what about the second one?
Seeing the future unfold, Insect Knight's face twisted. "Wait, don't, please…"
But Yugen did not activate its effect right away. Instead, he revealed another card from his hand.
"Equip Spell, Blazing Piercer. I equip it to your Millennium Scorpion."
Insect Knight stared. "What?"
"Blazing Piercer gives the equipped monster 400 ATK. When it attacks a defense position monster, if its ATK exceeds DEF, it inflicts piercing damage," Yugen explained with a smile. "A gift. No need to thank me."
Millennium Scorpion, ATK 2500 to 2900.
"When Millennium Scorpion destroys a monster by battle, it gains 500 ATK, so now it's at 2900," he continued. "But strong power comes with risk. When Blazing Piercer leaves the field, the equipped monster is banished from the field."
Insect Knight froze as realization hit. "You… you're going to…"
"Correct. No prize," Yugen said lightly. "I activate the effect of the second Abyss Soldier. I discard another WATER Sinister Serpent to return any card on the field to its owner's hand. I choose Blazing Piercer."
The Equip Spell turned into a streak of light and flew back to Yugen's hand.
"Since I'm the owner, it returns to me. But because Blazing Piercer left the field, the equipped monster is banished from the field. Millennium Scorpion is banished."
A Rift opened in the Dimension, and Millennium Scorpion was dragged upward and swallowed into the void.
Insect Knight looked at his empty field and felt like crying.
Using Abyss Soldier alone would only return a monster to the hand, keeping it as usable resource. But combining it with Blazing Piercer's side effect removed the monster entirely. Blazing Piercer could be reused, and Sinister Serpent could keep coming back. The whole loop cost almost nothing.
Insect Knight gave up struggling and put on a pained expression.
"Battle," Yugen ordered. "Abyss Soldier, direct attack."
As the grim soldier rushed forward with its blade raised, Insect Knight let out a long breath and closed his eyes.
After several turns of watching his monsters bounced, banished to Different Dimension, and locked down by Solemn Warning, this simple, direct strike brought him an unexpected feeling.
Relief.
Insect Knight, LP 1400 to 0.
Insect Knight, LP 0.
In the Spirit Dimension, a Duel was different from the outside world's Shadow Duel. Here, monsters and Card effects fully manifested, and any damage dealt during a Duel was real. However, if both sides were only sparring, they could hold back and stop before things went too far.
It was not like Shadow Duel, where only one person could walk out alive.
But there was no reason to show mercy to that beetle. Abyss Soldier struck down without restraint and split the insect's head open with a single slash.