Chapter 5

"Black Magician Attack!" Pandora waved his hand, "Dark Magic!"

The red Black Magician floated in the air, his green wand waving. A wave of magical power surged from the tip of the wand, forming sharp blades like black mist, carrying entangled currents as they lunged towards the opposite field.

The Electric Knight, with only 1600 attack points, clearly couldn't withstand the Black Magician's strike. The dark magic easily pierced through his body, and the warrior of light groaned under his mask. Electric currents gushed out like a flood, and his body shattered instantly under the magical impact.

"Ugh..."

Youyu raised his hand to protect himself but couldn't withstand the shock of his life points dropping. The pain forced him to kneel, drenched in sweat, feeling as if he had just run a marathon.

[Youyu, LP 2400 → LP 1500]

"Indeed, just a weakling." Pandora sneered, shaking his head. "I don't know how a weak duelist like you managed to get a Duel Disk, but meeting me is the unluckiest thing that could happen to you. It looks like your dueling career is about to end here."

He took another card from his hand and inserted it into the Spell/Trap Zone of his Duel Disk.

"I place a card face-down and end my turn."

Youyu knelt, hearing the hot, heavy breaths coming from his nose.

On the opposite field stood a Black Magician with 2500 attack points—though it didn't sound very high, for Youyu's initial deck with the Electric Knight, it was an insurmountable peak.

His field was empty, and he had 1500 life points left, while Pandora was almost unscathed. Although it wasn't yet a lock on life points by Yu-Gi-Oh! standards, the situation was already very unfavorable.

However, in this seemingly hopeless situation, Youyu couldn't help but smile.

He had already succeeded in his strategy halfway.

He knew it was almost impossible to win Pandora with this initial deck of blank cards. Though he was prepared to accept failure, he couldn't come unprepared.

In simple terms, there was a strategy guide for dueling Pandora in the forum. Players only needed to prepare one card, a crucial card that could directly turn the tide of the duel.

Youyu had, of course, prepared that card in advance, but unfortunately, he hadn't drawn it yet.

This wasn't surprising; with a 40-card deck, the probability of drawing a specific card wasn't high.

Not everyone could draw whatever they wanted like the King, a false African.

But it didn't matter because, while players couldn't draw perfectly, they had a system-granted skill—

—Fate Draw.

Fate Draw, known as "D-Draw" by the players of the Linked World, could only be used once per duel, and only when the player's life points were extremely low or the difference with the opponent was significant, and the field situation was extremely unfavorable.

After meeting the trigger conditions, during the player's next draw phase, they could choose to activate the "Fate Draw" skill, which would lock in the "Fate Card" they had set when building their deck.

It's worth noting that this skill could only draw the card the player had set, so when setting the Fate Card, players often chose more versatile and powerful cards that could turn the tide in most dire situations.

For example, Nobleman of Crossword...

(Trap Card, Sacred Shield - Mirror Force, destroys all face-up attack position monsters on the opponent's field when the opponent declares an attack)

However, such a card would definitely be top-tier rarity, and Youyu's initial account definitely didn't have it.

He had set another card, specifically prepared for this mission.

"Draw!"

Youyu glanced at the card he drew and added it to his hand.

"I summon Elemental Hero Heat!"

A flame erupted on the field, and a tall, fiery-haired female hero leaped out.

[Elemental Hero Heat, Attack 1200]

"Hmm? Choosing to attack instead of reinforcing your defense?" Pandora began his tactical chant.

"If I don't attack, I can't smash that smug face of yours."

Emmm... This dialogue seems familiar?

(Note: In the Yu-Gi-Oh! DM anime, Pandora is voiced by Takehito Koyasu, the same as DIO Brando in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.)

Pandora's lips curled into a contemptuous smile, and he pressed a button on his Duel Disk.

"Even if I don't know what you're trying to do... I activate the Magic Card - Call to the Dark!"

Pandora's face-down card flipped up, revealing a green Magic Card... There was no Quick-Play symbol next to the card's name.

What? Activating a Magic Card in the opponent's turn??

According to the official Yu-Gi-Oh! rules, Magic Cards can only be activated during the Main Phase of the player's turn, and only Quick-Play Magic Cards can be activated in the opponent's turn.

...Oh, this is the Yu-Gi-Oh! DM era, my bad.

In the DM anime, the King could even activate Brain Control, Heart Change, and Monster Reborn during the opponent's Battle Phase.

Dark clouds began to gather on the field, accompanied by crimson lightning. A giant demon's claw emerged from the depths of the clouds, grabbing Youyu's Elemental Hero Heat and dragging her into the darkness.

"Ha-ha-ha! Call to the Dark is a Magic Card that drags a monster on the field into the dark abyss, leaving your field empty again!" Pandora laughed triumphantly. "Whatever you're planning is useless!"

Youyu pondered for a moment.

He thought and inserted a card into the Spell/Trap Zone of his Duel Disk.

"Then I place a card face-down and end my turn."

"Indeed, just a weak duelist, already out of options? Well, that's to be expected when facing my Black Magician. Ordinary duelists can't win against me."

Pandora became even more arrogant, his nose almost pointing to the sky.

"My turn! This is your last turn!"

After drawing a card, he became even more overconfident.

"Ha-ha-ha, let me show you what a true master of magic can do!" He raised the card he had just drawn. "Let me show you a powerful card that can summon the highest-level magician in an instant!

I activate the Magic Card - Black Magic Curtain!"

A sinister skeleton appeared on the field, wearing a six-pointed star emblem on its chest and a black, fluttering curtain below.

"This card allows me to special summon a 'Black Magician' from my deck by paying half of my life points! Come forth, Black Magician!"

[Pandora, LP 3800 → LP 1900]

The skeleton extended its bony arm to reveal the curtain, and a red figure leaped out, performing a somersault in mid-air and landing in a crouch on the field.

[Black Magician, Attack 2500]

Youyu was "shocked": "Black Magician... there are two!?"

"Ha-ha-ha, that's right! I have three copies of the top-tier rare card, Black Magician, in my deck!" Pandora continued to inflate. "Cards are the source of a duelist's power, and that's the biggest difference between me and a weak duelist like you!

Go, Black Magicians! Dark Magic!"

The combined attack points of the two Black Magicians totaled 5000, and Youyu had no monsters to act as a wall on his field.

But instead of panicking, he smiled, almost wanting to say, "We'll see about that," to sound cool... but decided against it since he wasn't the main character.

"Wait a moment," Youyu looked up and gave Pandora a sly smile. "Before your Black Magicians attack, I'll activate this card...

...Reveal the face-down card, Magic Card - Witch Hunt!"