Chapter 10: They Won’t Let Him Off Even After He’s Buried

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“Dimensional Slash” was one of the mainstream decks active in the early competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! scene. Although it never clinched the world championship title, it once proved its formidable strength in the early meta and was even capable of challenging the reigning champion decks.

You Xuan’s initial deck was inspired by the champion’s hand-destruction strategy, but lacking certain components and facing a different current environment, he only borrowed the concept and adjusted the build accordingly.

“Dimensional Slash” is one of the deck configurations he is currently testing.

As the name suggests, the core idea of this deck is to banish the opponent’s cards to another dimension. It mainly relies on cards like “Dimensional Warrior Woman,” which can forcibly banish both its own and the opponent’s monsters in a violent one-for-one exchange. The player’s side uses low-level monsters that are quick to summon and activate, often trading off the opponent’s high-level monsters that required significant resources to bring out, thus creating an advantage in resource management.

Just like You Xuan is doing now.

Moreover, because the opponent’s destroyed monsters are banished instead of sent to the graveyard, this deck severely disrupts the mainstream strategies of the era that relied heavily on graveyard resources. Back then, many monsters triggered effects upon being sent to the graveyard to search the deck, and these effects were completely nullified against Dimensional Slash, causing great frustration.

You Xuan never personally experienced that ancient meta but could imagine how duelists who first encountered the Dimensional Slash deck must have felt. After all their hard work to summon massive monsters, only to have them sent to the banished zone with a mere attack, their morale surely shattered...

...just like Wanjoume is feeling now.

The Dimensional Warrior Woman made a desperate last stand, slashing open a rift in space like a dimensional slash, creating a black hole on the field. The overwhelming gravitational pull caught both warriors—the Sword Saint and the Warrior Woman—sucking them into the void, vanishing beyond the event horizon.

Losing their equipped targets, two equip spells on the field shattered with a pop, scattering into golden fragments.

Wanjoume reacted swiftly, but the powerful monster he had painstakingly summoned was banished without dealing a single blow. The sudden loss nearly took his breath away.

But Wanjoume took a deep breath and quickly steadied himself.

Calm, stay calm.

It was just the loss of a single level-eight monster, two equip spells, and four cards in hand...

Nothing serious.

“When the equip spell ‘Crystal Sword’ is sent from the field to the graveyard, draw one card from the deck.”

Wanjoume drew a card from his deck, finally gaining a small advantage. He glanced at the card and immediately set it face-down in the spell and trap zone.

“I set one card face-down and end my turn.”

“My turn. Draw.”

You Xuan added the drawn card to his hand, then revealed another card from his hand.

You Xuan said, “Summon ‘Wilderness Warrior Woman.’”

[Wilderness Warrior Woman, ATK 1100]

“Direct attack,” You Xuan commanded, waving his hand. “Wilderness Warrior Woman, attack your opponent directly.”

The warrior drew her sword and leapt toward Wanjoume.

But Wanjoume had a countermeasure. With a wave of his arm, he flipped a set card face-up.

“Activate trap card, ‘Absorption Shield’! Negate your opponent’s attack and recover life points equal to the attacking monster’s attack!”

A transparent rainbow barrier appeared before Wanjoume. The warrior’s sword struck the shield, but the force was absorbed and transformed into a warm golden light that restored his vitality.

[Wanjoume, LP 4000 → LP 5100]

“Hah, unfortunate for you. But this level of attack was entirely expected,” Wanjoume boasted smugly.

You Xuan remained unfazed. Anyone who plays this game knows that life points only matter when they reach zero; as long as you have any left, it’s not a crucial resource compared to others.

“Then I set a card face-down and end my turn,” You Xuan said.

“My turn!” Wanjoume drew a card and immediately revealed it. “Spell card—Pot of Greed! Draw two more cards from the deck.”

Pot of Greed, a staple among the GX protagonists, a must-have in every duel.

“Summon [Dark Warrior of the Underworld—Dark Sword], attack position!”

The card’s image materialized: a warrior clad in black steel armor wielding twin blades, covered in jagged silver fangs.

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[Dark Warrior of the Underworld—Dark Sword, ATK 1800]

“Now you’ll see that my monsters are the elite of the elite, totally different from your low-level trash!” Wanjoume raised his hand triumphantly. “Go, Dark Sword! Destroy the Wilderness Warrior Woman!”

He curled his lips, snorting with pride.

Though the spooky opponent had banished his big monster, it didn’t matter. Dark Warrior of the Underworld—Dark Sword was a valuable and powerful four-star monster with a respectable 1800 attack.

Could You Xuan really summon a second Dimensional Warrior Woman out of nowhere to banish my monster again?

The black-armored swordsman charged forward, slashing with his twin blades. The warrior was instantly cleaved in half, exploding on the spot.

[You Xuan, LP 4000 → LP 3300]

You Xuan’s expression remained calm after losing the monster. He drew cards from his deck.

“The effect of Wilderness Warrior Woman activates. When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon an Earth-attribute Warrior monster with 1500 or less attack from my deck in face-up attack position.

The one I’m summoning is...”

He drew out the searched card from his deck.

“...Summon [Dimensional Warrior] in attack position!”

[Dimensional Warrior, ATK 1200]

Wanjoume: “!”

Not again!?

He knew this monster well. Dimensional Warrior’s effect was identical to Dimensional Warrior Woman’s: when battling a monster, both that monster and this card are banished.

This was the second key monster in the Dimensional Slash deck.

Seeing Dimensional Warrior stand on the opponent’s field, Wanjoume’s eye twitched involuntarily, feeling a dull ache.

No...

How do these spooky cards keep coming flying out of the deck!?

No, stay calm. Don’t lose control...

Wanjoume glanced at a card in his hand.

He wasn’t completely without a way to deal with these spooky tactics.

“I set a card face-down and end my turn,” Wanjoume declared.

You Xuan’s eyes scanned the card Wanjoume had just set.

Looks like there might be a counter to Dimensional Warrior?

He smiled faintly.

No matter.

“My turn. Draw.”

You Xuan confirmed the card he drew and immediately revealed it.

“Summon ‘Spirit Exorcist · Hai Kong’ in attack position.”

Appearing was a bald monk clad in robes, with a fierce expression, holding prayer beads ready to strike like a weapon.

In short, he looked like a monk who loved “enlightenment through reason.”

[Spirit Exorcist · Hai Kong, ATK 1800]

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Wanjoume narrowed his eyes, studying the monk.

With an attack of 1800, it was on par with his Dark Sword. Was this going to be a mutual destruction? Or something else...

“Battle phase,” You Xuan said. “First, Dimensional Warrior attacks Dark Warrior of the Underworld—Dark Sword.”

Just as expected.

“Don’t even think about it... flip your set card!”

Wanjoume’s eyes gleamed sharply as he flipped over his card.

“Trap card—Explosive Armor! When your opponent’s monster declares an attack, destroy that monster immediately!”

A confident smile tugged at his lips.

“Hah, trying to banish my monster using its effect? Too bad, that trick won’t work twice on me! The one getting destroyed is your own monster!”

You Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Explosive Armor, huh?

Yu-Gi-Oh! fans know that throughout the game’s history, this card has made many appearances in the anime but has never successfully activated its effect. It’s almost as if anyone who tries to use it is cursed by some cosmic will...

Naturally, that curse would not be broken by You Xuan.

“Flip a card,” You Xuan flipped one of his own set cards.

“Counter trap—Thief’s Seven Tools. Pay 1000 life points to negate and destroy the activation of a trap card.”

Wanjoume’s eye twitched again.

What!? How do all your spooky cards have backup protection!?

[You Xuan, LP 3300 → LP 2300]

Wanjoume’s trap was negated, and his Explosive Armor shattered into fragments, continuing its unfortunate streak of failure.

The battle proceeded: Dark Sword slashed through Dimensional Warrior, but in its dying moment, Dimensional Warrior ripped open a dimensional rift, a black hole that sucked both monsters into the vortex, vanishing without a trace.

[You Xuan, LP 2300 → LP 1700]

With that, Wanjoume’s field and back row were completely empty.

“And then Spirit Exorcist,” You Xuan continued, “attacks Wanjoume directly.”

Hai Kong stepped forward, swinging his prayer beads like a weapon. The beads struck Wanjoume’s forehead with a sharp slap, the impact buzzing his head as if he felt the weight of Buddha himself.

[Wanjoume, LP 5100 → LP 3300]

“At that moment, Spirit Exorcist’s effect also activates,” You Xuan said. “When Hai Kong inflicts battle damage to your opponent’s life points, you can banish up to two monsters from their graveyard.”

Though he could choose two, Wanjoume’s graveyard was nearly empty, as all his monsters had been banished to the other dimension. Only two monsters remained: the initial tribute “Female Swordswoman – Canaan” and another monster he had discarded earlier.

You Xuan targeted those last two monster cards.

Not only the field but even the last monster resources in the graveyard were banished.

Wanjoume was completely thrown off.

This was excessive.

Even the monsters already in the graveyard weren’t spared?