It Opened?

"Duel!" x2

Kira, LP 4000

Genichiro, LP 4000

"I'll take the first turn. Draw."

Genichiro took the first turn. But he was in no rush to play anything. After looking over his hand, he merely let out a few sinister chuckles before licking his lips.

"I'll use this duel to let you properly enjoy a feast of darkness. Let me savor your pain."

"First, I activate 'Pot of Greed' and draw two cards from my Deck."

"Next, the Spell Card 'Sanctuary of Demons'!"

The card slid into the Duel Disk, and a Magic Circle unfolded beneath his feet. A featureless metallic little figure floated out of the barrier and onto the field.

Metal Fiend Token, ATK 0

"The effect of Fiend's Sanctuary lets me Special Summon one 'Metal Fiend Token' to my field," Genichiro said. "Then I'll use this 'Metal Fiend Token' as a tribute for a Tribute Summon!

Guided by the will of darkness, make all enemies tremble beneath the shadows—

—Level six, Dark Triangle Bird Dragon, summon!"

Dark Triangle Bird Dragon, ATK 2400

"Then I set two cards, and End Turn."

Genichiro licked his lips again.

"Now it's your turn. Hurry up and let me taste darkness and pain. Hehehe."

That expression and those movements gave Kira the distinct impression of Six-Year-Old Marik.

But this guy had only captured the form, not the essence. Compared to Mr. Marik, a meme face master on the level of a Yu-Gi-Oh! judge, he was still far behind.

"My Turn, draw."

Kira was equally decisive.

"I Set one monster in my Monster Zone, Set four cards in my back row, and End Turn."

He directly set five cards as a gesture of goodwill.

"Hm?" Genichiro froze for a moment.

Having watched Kira's finals match against Ryuzaki, Genichiro had assumed he would open with mechas again. Yet that was not the case.

Could it be that what this guy had used in the finals had not even been his Main Deck?

"Heh, merely setting cards? Such a lukewarm duel will soon turn you into a sacrifice for darkness."

Genichiro sneered.

"But during your End Phase, I'll activate this Set Card."

One of his Set Cards flipped over.

"Quick-Play Spell—Fire of Doomsday! This card lets me Special Summon two 'Black Flame Tokens' to my field!"

Black Flame Token, DEF 0 x2

"During the turn I activate this card, I can't summon any other monsters with effects. But this is your End Phase anyway, so I couldn't summon monsters in the first place."

Genichiro said.

"Now it's my turn. Draw."

After drawing, he paused and glanced at the Set Cards in Kira's back row.

"Perhaps you want to rely on Traps to stall for time and defend yourself, but tactics of this level are useless against me.

I activate the Spell Card 'Night Beam' from my hand!"

The Spell Card materialized before him amid ripples of golden light. A golden glow, like a sword piercing the night, shot toward one of Kira's Set Cards.

"Night Beam lets me target one Set Spell or Trap in my opponent's back row and destroy it. Furthermore, when targeted by 'Night Beam,' that Set Card cannot be activated!"

He pointed at the card in the middle of Kira's back row.

"Destroy that Set Card in the middle!"

Kira waved a hand. "Then, at this moment, I activate a Set Card."

"Useless," Genichiro said. "I told you, you can't respond to the activation of 'Night Beam.'"

"The targeted card can't be chained to 'Night Beam.' I know. But I'm not activating the Set Card you targeted. I'm activating the one beside it."

Another Set Card in Kira's back row flipped over.

"Trap Card—Deal of Magic! When the opponent activates a Spell Card, I can pay 1000 Life Points to randomly discard one card from their hand."

Kira, LP 4000 → LP 3000

The instant his LP dropped, it felt as though his heart skipped a beat, followed by an intense stab of pain.

It was as if a thorn had pierced his body, opening a gap in his heart. The essence of his Life Force poured from that gap like floodwaters bursting through a dam.

"Urgh."

Kira's body went weak, and he swayed.

Silent Magician appeared beside him and looked toward her Master with a measure of concern.

"I-I'm fine." He waved a hand.

It was only his first time. He just was not used to it yet.

As expected of a Dark Duel. Losing LP felt like truly losing his life.

There was no doubt that if one's Life Points reached zero in a duel like this, they would die.

"Hahaha, do you feel it? This is the pain of a Dark Duel!" Genichiro laughed loudly. "Good, just like that. Keep suffering! Feel darkness devouring your life bit by bit—this is the joy of a Dark Duel! Hahaha!"

Kira: "..."

The existence of Dark Duels had undoubtedly stimulated the awakening of many hidden psychopaths. Some latent criminals, madmen, and serial killers became even worse after gaining Dark Power, making them stronger, harder to catch, and increasingly insane.

Some Dark Duelists did not even pursue great power or seek to gain anything through Dark Duels.

Some simply enjoyed making their opponents suffer.

Kira quickly adjusted and continued, "The effect of 'Deal of Magic' requires you to randomly discard one card from your hand. Discard the card on your far left."

"Whatever you like."

Genichiro casually placed the selected card into the Graveyard and continued calmly.

"But according to the effect of Night Beam, your Set Card still has to be destroyed."

"It won't." Kira snapped his fingers again. "At this moment, I activate the Set Card targeted by your 'Night Beam.'

Trap Card—Raigeki Break!"

"Heh, are you stupid?" Genichiro looked at him as if he were caring for someone intellectually disabled. "I already told you that a card targeted by 'Night Beam' can't be activated.

Can't understand human speech or what? What?!"

As he watched Kira's "Raigeki Break" genuinely flip over, Genichiro's green eyes widened. His entire face seemed to be written with one word—

—WHY?

Why could the Set Card targeted by Night Beam still be activated?

Could he be some esteemed KaibaCorp platinum member whose Duel Disk came with cheat privileges?

"I see that you really don't understand."

Kira explained calmly.

"Read your card effect again. 'Night Beam' only says that the targeted card cannot be activated in response to the activation of 'Night Beam.' But my 'Raigeki Break' wasn't activated in a chain to your 'Night Beam.'

I chained it to my own 'Deal of Magic.' Is there a problem with that?"

A huge question mark seemed to appear above Genichiro's head.

He did not seem to understand.

"Is that how it works?" The Dark Duelist was doubtful.

His face plainly said, You're not Kouhu-ing me, are you?

"Man, you came here to gamble your life without even understanding this?" Kira narrowed his eyes.

"Of course I understand something like this."

Genichiro mumbled vaguely.

"I was only testing your skill level. Ahem. That's right, that's all."

Although he still did not quite understand it, since the field had already processed it this way, it was presumably correct.

But heaven and earth could bear witness—Kira really was not Kouhu-ing. This was merely the basic application of Yu-Gi-Oh! rules by a card player. Although a Spell or Trap targeted for destruction by Night Beam could not be activated in response to Night Beam, inserting another effect into the middle of the chain naturally bypassed that activation restriction.

"You've got some skills, kid." Genichiro narrowed his eyes. "As expected of someone who defeated Ryuzaki. You're no ordinary Duelist. Well, only a soul like yours has value as a sacrifice."

Kira ignored him and continued resolving effects.

"Then, the effect of the Trap Card 'Raigeki Break' lets me discard one card to destroy any card on the field."

He sent one card from his hand to the Graveyard.

"I destroy your 'Dark Triangle Bird Dragon.'"

Pitch-black clouds gathered and churned in the sky. A demonic hand stretched out, releasing astonishing lightning from its fingertips. The thunderbolt struck Genichiro's Triangle Bird Dragon, instantly blasting it to pieces.

"Also, the card I discarded as the activation cost for 'Raigeki Break' was the Spell Card 'Card of Compensation.' When this card is sent from the hand to the Graveyard, I draw two cards." (Anime Card)

Anime Draw Engines really were satisfying. Draw to your heart's content.

"Tch, even Night Beam couldn't protect Dark Triangle Bird Dragon..."

Watching his high-level monster get trapped before it could even attack once, Genichiro clicked his tongue in displeasure.

But it was not a big problem.

Genichiro Set one of the cards from his hand.

"I Set another card, then activate the Spell Card—Card of Demise!"

Kira: "!"

Holy crap, it was actually "Card of Demise"?

President Kaiba's favorite Draw Engine in the anime. Its user could draw from the Deck until they had five cards in hand, though they had to bear the enormous cost of discarding their entire hand five turns later.

But anyone who had played cards knew that after five turns in Yu-Gi-Oh!, grass would already be several feet tall on the opponent's grave.

Compared to this thing, even Pot of Greed, which could get you imprisoned for life, was garbage.

Years later, this card had undergone Physical Card Adaptation after being brutally nerfed. Drawing up to five became drawing up to three, and after activation there were restrictions against Special Summoning during this turn, dealing damage to the opponent, and even a requirement to discard the entire hand in the End Phase. Yet even after being nerfed to that extent, it still had practical value in the Real Card Environment.

No card player who had transmigrated would possibly neglect to seek such an outrageous Draw Engine. Kira had naturally looked for it as well, but had not seen one on the market for the time being. In the original work, it seemed only President Kaiba had used this card. Perhaps it had been released in limited quantities, possibly as some rich-man-exclusive edition.

He had not expected to run into one here.

He really wanted it so badly.

But that was fine.

Kira figured that since this was a Dark Duel, if he won this match, the other guy's soul would naturally be gone. If the man was gone, then his Deck would become ownerless property. And if it was ownerless property, then picking it up was only natural. Otherwise, leaving such a god-tier card lying by the roadside to gather dust would be far too wasteful.

So he was not deliberately trying to steal someone else's cards. He simply could not stand to see resources wasted.

Genichiro, who was about to draw, instinctively paused.

He did not know whether it was an illusion, but he suddenly felt uneasy as he realized—

The kid across from him seemed to have suddenly developed a hungry look in his eyes.