Chapter 60: Yusei's Trump Card

"Magical Motor - Omega's direct attack!"

Flames erupted from the thrusters behind the crimson mecha. Raising its sharp blade high, it charged straight at Yuxuan, whose side of the field was completely empty!

"This is the end! Accept your doom quietly and surrender your soul!"

It was impossible for Yuxuan to give up resistance as requested. "Activate my set card! Trap Card—*Mirror Force*!"

"To think you still had a *Mirror Force* hidden away even at this stage?!" Bandit Keith gasped in shock.

"Indeed. When the opponent declares an attack, *Mirror Force* destroys all attack-position monsters!"

A pale blue barrier materialized in front of him, taking the brunt of the crimson mecha's descending blade. The powerful recoil energy rebounded from the shield, turning into a rain of light that swept back across Keith's side of the field.

"Tch, *Trap Hole*, *Cylinder*, *Mirror Force*... One troublesome trap after another..."

Keith curled his lip.

Weren't they supposed to say that every card in a deck is carefully selected and represents a duelist's soul?

Well then, I suppose your soul is a bit tainted...

"......But that's not going to happen!"

Keith shouted.

"Counter Trap—*Anti-Aircraft*! When an effect that destroys two or more cards on the field is activated, that activation is negated and those cards are banished from the game!"

Yuxuan frowned. This guy really could pull anything out of nowhere; he actually had this kind of card.

As expected, when facing an opponent with high destiny power, the efficiency of standard tactics tends to plummet.

In the real card game environment of the 5D's era, this "Anti-Aircraft" was basically replaced by the trap card "Starlight Road," which had a similar effect and even let you cheat out a free Stardust Dragon. He vaguely remembered players in that era starting their turns with four set cards, and when the opponent blew them away with a Heavy Storm, out popped a Stardust Dragon directly...

[Trap Card - Starlight Road: Negate the effect of a card on your field that destroys 2 or more cards and destroy it, then Special Summon one "Starlight Dragon" from your Extra Deck.]

Although this era didn't have the famous Starlight Road yet, Anti-Aircraft possessed a nearly identical effect. The unbreakable shield of the Mirror Force cracked with a sharp sound, shattering into dust.

"Therefore, the battle continues! Magical Motor's direct attack!" Bandit Keith raised his voice again. "This time, it truly is the end..."

"Entering the damage determination step of the battle." Yuxuan revealed a card from his hand and swiftly shoved it into the graveyard. "The effect of *Kiteroid* in my hand! When the opponent declares a direct attack during the damage calculation phase, by discarding *Kiteroid* from the hand, battle damage is reduced to 0, but only once."

A translucent phantom of a small kite materialized, guarding Yuxuan's front with its body. Magical Motor's finishing blow smashed entirely against the kite's projection, its blade unable to cleave through even a fraction of an inch further.

"Why is there such a thing..." Bandit Keith muttered in frustration.

"Truly stubborn... *Desperado Barrel Dragon* cannot attack on the turn its effect was activated. My turn ends. It seems you've begged for another turn of life."

Yuxuan noticed that Keith's Magical Motor did not trigger its effect to summon tokens at the end of the turn... Though he quickly realized that the original Magical Motor - Omega from the anime apparently didn't have that effect.

The real-life adapted version of Magical Motor was turned into an Effect Monster, possessing the ability to boost its own attack and the mandatory effect of Special Summoning Motor Tokens during the End Phase in order to stay on the field. However, this card in the original anime was a vanilla normal monster with zero effects.

Miss Silent Magician, who had been watching with her heart in her throat the entire time, finally let out a long breath. She felt like watching this duel required a fast-acting heart medication. She had almost cheered out loud the moment she saw Yuxuan's Mirror Force, only to almost plunge into despair when it was negated...

The grand hero's roller-coaster of a duel was simply too thrilling.

However, she didn't know that even if the Barrel Dragon could attack again, the Kiteroid in Yuxuan's graveyard could still block another blow.

What does the gold standard of an ancient divine hand-trap look like?

"To be honest, you've done well to make it this far, kid." Having failed consecutive attacks, Keith seemed to begin psychological warfare once more. "But all your tricks have been neutralized, and your trump card has been defeated by yours truly. Even if you miraculously manage to summon a high-level monster from this situation next turn, the moment you enter the Battle Phase, it will simply be destroyed by *Desperado Barrel Dragon* again. Not only that, the effect of the continuous trap *Gun Fire* will chain-trigger as a result, further interfering with and hindering your actions... Frankly speaking, your win rate is infinitely close to zero, and continuing to resist is meaningless."

Keith put his hands on his hips and said smugly, "But it's not your fault; it's just that yours truly is too strong!"

Yuxuan replied expressionlessly, "You were beaten by a vanilla."

Vanilla—the nickname Principal Kaiba once gave to Joey, which gradually spread as Joey the Blade became famous.

Keith's expression twitched, and he raged, "I am America's strongest card professor! A dueling expert undefeated across the entire American continent!"

Yuxuan calmly repeated, "You were beaten by a vanilla."

"What the hell—that was just bad luck at the time!" Keith gnashed his teeth. "Now I've returned from hell, and sooner or later I'll find that guy again and win back my rightful victory..."

Yuxuan stated, "You were beaten by a grade-schooler hired by Pegasus."

Keith: "............"

Shall we go back to talking about the vanilla instead...?

Bandit Keith's face grew increasingly gloomy. "I know what kind of person you are; you're no different from them. You must think I'm a despicable duelist, right? All that bullshit about 'a duelist's pride'?"

He clenched his fists, veins throbbing on his forehead. "Those are just pretty words spoken by winners! Whether it's Yugi Mutou or Katsuya Jounouchi, they don't understand at all! The pain of falling from the highest peak, being humiliated, being mocked, and having your self-esteem trampled into worthlessness! Do you think I like being this way? But not everyone is Yugi Mutou!"

His green-tinted eyes were bloodshot.

"Not everyone can charge forward like that. I've worked hard, I've tried, but the result hasn't changed at all! In truth, most people are like this, aren't they? A duel can only have one victor, one winner, and everyone else is nothing more than stepping stones for them. Of course it's easy to stand at the absolute peak and spout pretty words, but the rest of us don't have that many options."

He looked at Yuxuan with a gloomy expression.

"It seems you're also a young prodigy, aren't you? You haven't experienced what I've experienced. Once you know what the hellish landscape of falling from the heights is like, you'll understand me. By then, you'll realize that whatever duelist's pride or bonds with cards are just childish, playing-house bullshit. Only power and winning are everything! To win, you can use any means necessary—whether it's cheating, backstabbing, or selling your soul to the devil. As long as you win, nothing else matters!"

Yuxuan: "......"

"What?" Keith raged, "Why are you looking at me with that gaze?"

"No," Yuxuan said calmly. "Indeed, in this world, even without relying on the power of The Seal of Orichalcos, you are probably already stronger than most duelists. And you are indeed right about one thing: there is only one peak in a duel, and not everyone is Yugi Mutou. But you're mistaken about one thing. Whether it's Yugi Mutou or Katsuya Jounouchi, before being 'winners,' they are first and foremost 'duelists.' Dueling is not merely a tool to decide victory. A true duelist is someone who trusts their deck no matter what—it is by no means a master-and-slave relationship where the strong enslave the weak as you describe. Failing to understand even this is why you are unworthy of being called a duelist."

Miss Silent Magician, who had already retreated, was floating nearby in spiritual form and listening. Though still silent, the gaze she directed toward her master was deeply moved. If there were a relationship progress bar, it would undoubtedly be skyrocketing right now...

Although Yuxuan deliberately seized the opportunity to farm the spirit's affection, these words were also his genuine realization since arriving in this world. In the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, pursuing victory is not wrong, but resorting to any means solely for the sake of victory will only push one further and further away from that throne.

Bandit Keith was a classic example. Having once conquered America, he couldn't be said to lack talent, but he always maintained a gambler's mindset as a duelist. Hiding cards in his sleeves, stealing opponents' entry tickets—he used every dirty trick in the book. But in this transcendent world, such a disrespectful attitude toward dueling could never take you far.

Yuxuan originally just wanted to seize the appropriate atmosphere to emulate the protagonist group in boosting his aura and the spirit's favor, hoping it might slightly increase his destiny power. But never did he expect that right as the atmosphere reached its climax, the statue on the cliff outside their dueling arena... suddenly lit up.

The sealed statue instantly burst forth with boundless brilliance, glaring enough to make it difficult to keep one's eyes open. A powerful burst of magic was released from it, forming a towering magical storm that engulfed the entire bounded field.

After adapting to the harsh light and managing to open their eyes, the two saw that the image originally carved into the rock... had actually vanished!

Keith's pupils constricted, and he instantly felt a sense of ominous dread at this strange development.

This progression... Could it be?!

When Yuxuan looked down, he was even more surprised to find that the top card of his deck... had actually started to glow.

What the hell? What's going on?

Could it be that his reasoning and appealing to emotion—words originally spoken for his own Silent Magician—had actually resonated with the sealed spirit here?

This situation and atmosphere immediately reminded him of President Kaiba's legendary top-decking scenes on the floor...

He took a deep breath and placed his finger on top of the deck.

Shining Draw—!

The glowing card was drawn out in a magnificent arc. The moment the card left the deck, a shocking wave of energy erupted, and the storm of energy spiraled upward into the air with him at its center.

Keith grew increasingly panicked: "That aura, that power, that card... Could it be...!?"

Sure enough, Yuxuan narrowed his eyes and saw that the card drawn to his hand was none other than the legendary warrior of the forbidden card category—

—*Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning*!

Well, of course, he knew full well that this card was definitely not in his deck.

However, since he had already transmigrated, drawing a card that wasn't actually in his deck felt a bit like NTR—just one of those mandatory experiences one had to appreciate in Yu-Gi-Oh!

This isn't cheating; this is resonance with a spirit, the mark of a powerful duelist.

Yes, exactly like that.

As the card joined his hand, he vaguely seemed to see the illusory form of a majestic warrior manifesting as a spirit, holding its sword in both hands and bowing to him in salute.

It seemed to say: *My sword shall be with you.*

Thus, Yuxuan nodded, acknowledging the warrior spirit's response.

"Then, Keith!" he shouted loudly. "Let me show you—the ultimate trump card that forms the soul of my deck!"

"Tch, could it be the legendary warrior... Fine, bring it on. Who's afraid of who?"

Bandit Keith also shouted loudly.

"Then let yours truly see it!"

"Alright!"

With that, Yuxuan raised a card high in his hand, as if boundless divine might was being released from it.

"Then I shall unleash the power of this card right here—"

Bandit Keith held his breath, gritting his teeth and concentrating hard as he awaited the appearance of the legendary warrior sealed within this spiritual land.

The spirit of the Black Luster Soldier also held the hilt of its sword, breathing in and gathering its focus, ready to step down onto the field the moment that card fell, using the sword in its hand to secure victory for its new master.

Then he heard Yuxuan continue: "—using your 'Desperado Barrel Dragon' and 'Magical Motor - Omega' as tributes to Special Summon this powerful monster to your field! Awaken from the magma of the abyss, the power of destruction and rebirth—"

"—Level 8, *Lava Golem*!"

Bandit Keith: "???"

Black Luster Soldier: "???"

You summoned... what the hell???

Following that, Bandit Keith watched with bulging eyes as his two great mechanical ace monsters were swallowed up by a pillar of magma erupting from the ground, instantly melting into molten iron. Amidst the glowing red magma, a burning, menacing hand slapped down onto the field, and a burning giant slowly rose up, its imposing figure towering over Keith's field while a scalding cage materialized to lock Keith inside.

[Lava Golem, DEF: 2500]

"The effect of *Lava Golem*," Yuxuan said faintly. "This card can be Special Summoned to the opponent's field by tributing two monsters on their field. However, during the turn I use this effect, I cannot conduct a Normal Summon."

He paused and smiled at Keith.

"This is a powerful monster with an attack power rivaling the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, you know."

I'm directly gifting you a Level 8 boss monster!

Bandit Keith's jaw dropped so wide it practically hit the floor.

What the hell kind of rivalry with Blue-Eyes White Dragon... Get lost! Who the hell wants your ugly mug?

My Barrel Dragon, my Magical Motor...

Keith was completely thrown into disarray.

Wait, given the atmosphere just now, with that cheating-like development, shouldn't he have slapped down the legendary warrior Black Luster Soldier and had both sides' aces clash passionately to decide the victory?

Why aren't you playing by the rules, dammit? What kind of garbage is Lava Golem?!

What happened to your trump card? What about your soul? Is your soul this piece of crap?!

The Black Luster Soldier spirit, which had been preparing to draw its sword from its scabbard, also froze in place, utterly bewildered by this turn of events.

*Ah? You're not summoning me?*

Following that, the legendary warrior suddenly realized something.

At this point in the duel, Bandit Keith's hand was empty, his backrow resources were exhausted, and every card in his graveyard was public knowledge. He had virtually no means of fighting back.

And *Lava Golem* had one more effect besides gobbling up two of the opponent's boss monsters:

[During each of your Standby Phases, inflict 1000 damage to this card's controller.]

[Bandit Keith, LP 500]

In other words, Yuxuan didn't actually need him at all; this duel was already won.

His magnificent grand entrance seemed to have been completely redundant.

The legendary warrior fell into deep thought.

*Should I leave then?*

Yuxuan smiled. "The effect of *Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning* in my hand. This card can be Special Summoned by banishing one LIGHT monster and one DARK monster from my graveyard. I banish the LIGHT-attribute *True Silent Magician* and the DARK-attribute *Jinzo* from my graveyard!"

Even though the match was already won, since this rare spirit had acknowledged him—and was a rather high-tier legendary spirit at that—he figured he should at least give it a chance to make its debut performance so as not to hurt its feelings.

Because, as just mentioned, Keith's hand and backrow were completely empty at this stage, and his graveyard was wide open. Winning with any posture made no difference.

Or rather, if he had waited for Lava Golem's effect to burn the opponent to death on the next turn, Keith would have had one final chance to draw a card before that happened. Though the probability was infinitesimally small, that single draw still held a theoretical possibility of clinging to life.

However, executing a kill within this turn would completely obliterate even that microscopic possibility.

The figures of Silent Magician and Jinzo appeared one after another, floating into the air on either side of Yuxuan and shooting straight into the chaotic vortex.

"One soul guides the light, one soul guides the darkness, the gates of chaos open here!"

Yuxuan raised his arm.

"The opening of heaven and earth! Level 8—"

"—*Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning*, Summon!"

The overwhelmingly powerful vortex of light and darkness manifested, and the spirited warrior appeared on the field clad in armor. With a sharp slash, it cleaved through the chaos, carrying the inviolable majesty of a deity. Even the eerie green barrier was faintly shaken by that immense power.

[Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, ATK: 3000]

"'Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning', attack 'Lava Golem'!"

The Black Luster Soldier leaped forward, delivering a slash as if bringing forth the creation of all things. The defense-position Lava Golem was cleaved right down the middle, its body collapsing and melting away.

"The effect of *Envoy of the Beginning* activates! When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, it can make a second attack in a row!"

Yuxuan raised his hand to issue the command.

"The final blow! Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, direct attack on Bandit Keith!

Space-Time Piercing Blade - Beginning Dual Slash!!!"

The Black Luster Soldier soared into the air, spinning gracefully. Golden light danced and swirled along with the blade, converging upon it to burst forth with boundless radiance—a strike descending as if transcending time and space itself!

Looking at the incoming sword aura and the countless sword shadows seemingly materializing before his eyes, Bandit Keith screamed in despair.

As his consciousness faded, his mind was filled with frustration, anger, and regret, blending with endless pain. A thousand words ultimately condensed into a single phrase—

—What the hell kind of Lava Golem is this, dammit?!

[Bandit Keith, LP 500 → LP 0]