Chapter 26: Not Even Remotely a Duel

"By the effect of 'Card of Demise,' I draw!"

Genichiro drew his cards and immediately revealed one from his hand. "I offer the two tokens summoned by 'Fiend's Sanctuary' as tributes for a Tribute Summon!"

A storm of sacrificial energy swirled, and a colossal figure loomed within it. Genichiro paused for a brief moment, then grinned triumphantly.

"Heh, Ryuzaki once owned this card too, but that idiot lost it in Battle City! I, however, would never allow it to leave my deck. Behold, the dragon born from the intersection of light and shadow, harboring the heart of an evil knight—Level 7, Evil Knight Dragon, Summon!"

[Evil Knight Dragon, ATK 2350]

Youxuan thought to himself, *Don't worry, it won't leave your deck. Because I’m going to take it all...*

Still, he gave his opponent some face and feigned surprise. "It's 'Evil Knight Dragon'! Ryuzaki's former ace, a rare card second only to the 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon'!"

Its attack power was exactly 50 points lower than Red-Eyes, making it the perfect second-best.

Genichiro grew even more conceited, hands on his hips. "Being amazed now is just the beginning. Fear, tremble, and then kneel before this power..."

"So strong, truly too strong. That's why I activate my face-down card." Youxuan flipped up a card from his back row. "Trap card, 'Bottomless Trap Hole.' When a monster with 1500 or more ATK is summoned, destroy it and banish it from the game."

A vortex opened on the opponent's field. Before the summoning animation of Evil Knight Dragon had even finished, the entire dragon plunged headfirst into an endless abyss, falling straight into another dimension.

Genichiro: "..."

He was still holding his hands-on-hips pose, but in the face of his field being wiped clean, he looked somewhat like a clown.

To put it politely, he was now considering moving to Gotham to play opposite Batman...

What he really wanted to say was: *If you had this garbage in your back row, what was the point of acting like it was so strong? Is it fun to toy with me?*

The sunny-boy Genichiro, who had been smirking since the start of the match, finally couldn't maintain his smile. Having two of his major monsters countered within a single turn, even he began to feel agitated.

But it didn't matter.

"Hmph, you've got some skills. But don't get cocky. You are about to witness true, desperate darkness!"

Though he said this, Genichiro perhaps didn't even notice that his smile had vanished.

"I open my face-down card, the Spell card 'Foolish Burial'!" Genichiro declared. "This card allows me to send one monster from my deck to the Graveyard. I send 'Balloon Lizard' to the Graveyard." He pulled a card from his deck and sent it to the Graveyard.

"Then I activate my face-down card, the Continuous Trap 'Limit Reverse'!" Genichiro continued. "I can Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard with 1000 or less ATK in attack position. I revive the 'Balloon Lizard' I just sent to the Graveyard!"

[Balloon Lizard, ATK 500]

"And from my hand, I activate the Spell card 'Double Evolution Pill'!" Genichiro continued his play. "I offer one Reptile-type monster on my field as a tribute to Special Summon one Dinosaur-type monster from my hand! I offer my 'Balloon Lizard' as tribute!"

Golden light erupted from the Evolution Pill card, enveloping the lizard. Under the influence of the magic, the small creature evolved rapidly, its size growing at a visible rate until it stood over ten meters tall within moments.

"From the depths of time, breaking free from the shackles of endless ages, descend now! Evolution Summon, Level 8—Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth!!!"

[Wait, the text says 'Superancient Dinobeast'—let's correct to: Superancient Dinobeast!!!]

[Superancient Dinobeast, ATK 2700]

To have been countered twice and still summon an ace monster in a single turn! Who else could do this? Could that Ryuzaki do this?

Genichiro suddenly felt heroic and couldn't help but want to roar with laughter. *Could you possibly pull out another Bottomless Trap Hole to ruin this too?*

"I open my face-down card, Trap card - Trap in the Dark." Youxuan calmly snapped his fingers again. "It can only be activated when my Life Points are 3000 or less. By paying 1000 Life Points, this card's effect becomes the same as the Normal Trap in my Graveyard."

[Youxuan, LP 3000 → LP 2000]

"The one I choose is, of course, this..."

The trap card in his back row transformed as a stream of data rolled over it, taking on a new appearance.

"Trap card - Bottomless Trap Hole! When a monster with 1500 or more ATK is summoned, destroy it and banish it from the game!"

Genichiro: "!!!"

He gaped, reaching out toward the great monster he had worked so hard to bring out, as if trying desperately to save it. But what was gone was clearly gone. The Superancient Dinobeast looked at him with a sense of helplessness, then tilted its body and plunged into the deep pit, following the path of the Evil Knight Dragon into another dimension.

Genichiro: "............"

*Another trap hole? Is it another damn trap hole? Do you wholesale these things at home?*

Genichiro began to wear a mask of agony. He couldn't keep up the "sunny" act anymore.

It was actually quite eerie. Clearly, of the two people on the field, he was the Dark Duelist, the one meant to bring darkness and pain to his opponent. Yet, halfway through the match, he realized the mask of agony was on his own face.

For the first time since becoming a Dark Duelist, he realized his opponent was darker than him!

In comparison, he suddenly felt his own darkness was merely superficial, nothing more than torturing opponents to the brink of collapse through mental and physical damage.

But his opponent was on another level. This guy didn't need any external power; it was as if his gloom was innate, deep in his marrow. He didn't need any supernatural forces; he could drive him to a breakdown just by playing cards...

This scene made him want to say, *Buddy, even though I'm a Dark Duelist, I still think the way you play is a bit too dark...*

If a monster like this became a Dark Duelist, what would happen?

"I set two cards on the field, turn end," he said gloomily. There was nothing else he could do.

But there was still a chance. Although he had been countered until he couldn't function, he had confidence in his own back row. His defense line wasn't so easily broken.

"My turn, draw," Youxuan said. "First, I activate the Spell card 'Card of Sanctity' from my hand! I can draw until I have two cards in my hand, but I cannot activate other Spell cards this turn." (Anime card version)

He drew two cards.

"Next, I flip my face-down monster. Flip Summon, 'Witch of the Black Forest'."

[Witch of the Black Forest, ATK 1300]

"Then, I offer 'Witch of the Black Forest' as a tribute to Special Summon this card from my hand..."

Youxuan pulled out the card, paused for a moment, and looked to his side. The shadow wrapped in a robe, floating beside him like a phantom, maintained her cool, expressionless, fair face, but gave him a slight nod.

Whether it was because of the transcendental connection between master and spirit, even without words, he seemed to receive her message.

Youxuan nodded gently. "I'm counting on you."

He turned his attention back to the duel. "Sacrificing 'Witch of the Black Forest,' Special Summon—Silent Magician!"

An ancient magic circle with pale blue patterns, moonlight like water, and rippling halos expanded. A slender, cool figure appeared wrapped in white robes, silver hair cascading like a waterfall, her staff shimmering with a brilliance as deep as the stars.

[Silent Magician, ATK 1000]

"So it appeared, the spirit." Genichiro watched the Silent Magician warily. However, she remained calm as water, eyes fixed forward as if she didn't care about him at all.

"Silent Magician cannot be Normal Summoned; it can only be Special Summoned by offering a Spellcaster-type monster on my field as a tribute," Youxuan said. "And at this moment, the effect of 'Witch of the Black Forest,' sent to the Graveyard as a tribute, activates. When this card is sent to the Graveyard from the field, I can add one monster with 1500 or less DEF from my deck to my hand."

With a condition of 1500 or less DEF, this incredibly powerful search effect once made her a Forbidden card. In the current physical card environment, the Witch of the Black Forest has been nerfed, but such restrictions naturally didn't exist in this early-era anime world.

Genichiro just scoffed, completely unimpressed. "Heh, a monster with 1500 or less DEF? Aren't those all just garbage..."

Youxuan: "I add 'Jinzo' from my deck to my hand."

Genichiro nearly coughed up blood. "...That thing has 1500 or less DEF!?"

[Jinzo, ATK 2400, DEF 1500]

That was one of the ace cards of the "ordinary" Jonouchi in the anime, a new card from the supply pack just given by Master Takeuchi. Its defense hit the limit exactly at 1500.

This was the power of the Witch of the Black Forest. You never know what monsters might be lurking in the card pool with 1500 or less DEF.

"The effect of 'Candy Clown' in my hand: I can Special Summon this card to my field in attack position."

[Candy Clown, ATK 0]

"Then, I offer Candy Clown as a tribute for a Tribute Summon—Level 6, Jinzo!"

The Candy Clown's form dissolved into points of light, converging to form a swirling summoning storm. Massive energy erupted from the storm—a metallic body, the sound of mechanical friction, and crackling electrical arcs.

Jinzo, Summon!

[Jinzo, ATK 2400]

Genichiro felt like he was falling apart. As the ace that Jonouchi used to dominate back in the day, few people didn't recognize Jinzo. It was famous for its absolute suppression of "Trap negation," so it was clear that as long as this thing was on the field, Genichiro's back-row trap formation was just for show.

But the part that made him break down the most was... *...This big, burly thing also has exactly 1500 defense? Exactly 1500?*

Genichiro even began to suspect that his opponent had secretly changed the values on the card on the spot just to pull off this combo...

"Silent Magician gains 500 ATK for each card in my hand. I have two cards in hand, so her ATK increases by 1000."

[Silent Magician, ATK 1000 → 2000]

With this, the total output reached 4400. One full-scale attack, and Genichiro would be finished...

"Battle, it's over." Youxuan waved his hand. "Silent Magician, Jinzo, direct attack!"

Milky magical light swirled on the staff, and power began to accumulate between Jinzo's palms, sparks crackling.

"Not so fast!" Genichiro shouted. "I open my face-down card, the Quick-Play Spell 'Half Shut'! One monster's ATK on the field is halved, and it cannot be destroyed by battle this turn. I choose your 'Jinzo,' its ATK is halved!"

Although his traps were locked, he still had spells. Even if he couldn't stop the attack entirely, the total output would drop to 3200, and at least he would save his own skin...

"Muda." Youxuan snapped his fingers. "Silent Magician, effect activate. Once per turn, when a Spell card is activated, I can negate the activation of that Spell!"

Genichiro: "!" *There's something like that too?*

Wait... The Spell activation is negated, and because Jinzo is on the field, the traps are completely locked... *Isn't that a double lock on Spells and Traps!?*

Only now did he realize the terror of this setup. The Spellcaster Witch of the Black Forest could Special Summon Silent Magician, and the Witch sent to the Graveyard could search for Jinzo. At the same time, the Silent Magician on the field could negate Spells, and Jinzo could lock down Traps...

*How the hell is one supposed to fight this?*

The 'Half Shut' activation was instantly suppressed by the magical binding of the Silent Magician and shattered into dust.

Realizing that all was lost, Genichiro desperately tried to flip his last remaining back-row card. "Activate! Activate, damn you! 'Mirror Force,' reflect it back! Reflect the hell back..."

But the Jinzo on the opposite side crossed its arms, a red glint flashing in its mechanical eyes, as if saying—*Sit down.*

Invisible psionic waves swept across the field, and the Mirror Force, which had just shown signs of activation, was immediately pressed back down with no further movement.

Genichiro fell into despair. *Heh. This is negated, that is negated... I'm fighting you? I can't even play this duel. Only the opponent can play. I've been deprived of the right to duel.*

Silent Magician and Jinzo launched their final onslaught, the surging flow of light pushing across Genichiro's entire half of the field, and Genichiro, tears streaming down his face, was swallowed by the shockwave.

[Goizuka Genichiro, LP 4000 → LP 0]