Where the Hell Is Your Dragon?

Although there had been no explanation or guidance beforehand, Yu Ming felt that he had completely gotten used to the logic here.

Things like sacrifices, conspiracies, and rituals were all empty fluff—"details" that did not need much attention.

In this place, every contradiction and conflict would ultimately lead to one result:

A duel!

"My turn, draw!"

Of course, there was also the unavoidable experience of going first.

Staring at the five floating card phantoms that had appeared before him without so much as a greeting, Yu Ming silently drew five cards from his deck.

How should he put it? He was used to it. No matter what, this was still a card duel, wasn't it?

So the question was, what mattered most in a duel?

"Ah, I can feel it. This is the power of the evil dragon."

Naturally, the deck.

"It has filled me. It flows through my body... We have become one!"

Setting aside Ogorou Daimon's perverted groan, which sounded like he was having an orgasm, his nonsense had also completely exposed the composition of his deck.

After all, it was Five-Headed Dragon.

If Five-Headed Dragon was his end goal, then the theme of his deck was obvious.

"Dragons..."

"I summon 'Jinzo—Psychic Returner.'"

"Jinzo—Psychic Returner (LV3)"

"Attribute/DARK"

"Type/Machine"

"ATK/600 DEF/1400"

"Huh?"

Watching a cybernetic human with a head so enormous it looked ready to explode appear on the opposing field, Yu Ming suddenly felt his head buzzing.

"Wait, where's your dragon?"

He could not help looking toward Ogorou Daimon, only to see him spreading his arms as if displaying something.

"Come, brat. Witness the terror of the evil dragon's power!"

"So where the hell is your dragon?"

Before Yu Ming could fully vent the urge to complain in his mind, he saw a streak of black light shoot toward him.

The next moment, a tearing impact that felt capable of vaporizing his blood shook his body.

"Quick-Play Spell—'Psychic Wave.'"

Amid the agony that seemed ready to strip away even his consciousness, he clearly heard Ogorou Daimon's voice.

"When 'Jinzo—Psychic Returner' is on the field, I can choose one 'Jinzo—Psychic Shockwave' from my hand or deck and send it to the Graveyard, then inflict damage equal to the ATK of a card chosen by my opponent. Original effect."

In the darkness, he could see Jinzo standing behind Psychic Returner in his classic arms-crossed pose.

Then...

Boom!

The explosion swept through the area in an instant.

Amid the raging smoke, unrestrained laughter burst from beneath Ogorou Daimon's mechanical face.

"This is the power of the evil dragon."

He sighed as though savoring a fine glass of red wine at an upscale banquet.

"With this power, forget Noah Kaiba and the others. Even that Necromancer King, I can..."

"So why the fuck aren't you using the evil dragon?"

But the sudden voice cut everything off.

Ogorou Daimon's eyes widened, but the complaining voice came only from the very center of the smoke.

"You keep talking about the evil dragon's power, yet you're using a Jinzo deck. I don't even know how to evaluate that."

Hoarse. Scorching.

When the smoke that even the bright candlelight could not penetrate finally dispersed, the injured man's figure was fully revealed.

"Yu Ming..."

His skin was shriveled like that of a zombie, as though every drop of moisture in his body had been drained away. Yet even so...

"You can still stand?"

"What else would I do? The duel isn't over yet, is it?"

Yu Ming took a deep breath.

"'Jinzo—Psychic Shockwave' has 2,400 ATK, so I take damage equal to that amount from 'Psychic Wave.'"

Yu Ming LP: 4000→1600

He exhaled foul breath, and boiling vapor spilled from his mouth, veiling his face like gauze before spreading through the surrounding darkness like an inverted waterfall.

Then came the simplest possible question:

"Do you have any other plays?"

Watching that calm expression, Ogorou Daimon suddenly felt an inexplicable unease.

"You..."

The itch of that unease prompted this former elite to raise his head and stare at the phantom of the evil dragon hovering overhead.

Then...

"Hmph."

He laughed.

What was he afraid of, anyway?

"This ritual puts me at an advantage, brat."

"Mm."

"Though I can't attack on the first turn, I have already cut away more than half your Life Points."

"Mm. So do you have any other plays?"

"...Tch. Let's see how long you can keep up that composure."

Faced with that utterly unresponsive attitude, Ogorou Daimon crossed his arms again.

"Next, I set one card and end my turn."

As the Jinzo's mechanical, gloomy voice finally faded, Yu Ming had already placed his hand atop his deck.

"My turn, draw."

Holding the card in his hand, Yu Ming slowly shifted his gaze toward the Psychic Returner that had appeared in front of him.

"The Jinzo series..."

Thinking about it carefully, perhaps he should have realized it long ago. After all, Ogorou Daimon was currently presenting himself in the form of Psychic Shockwave.

Still, it was not much of a problem.

Though reality seemed somewhat different from what he had previously guessed, his deck was not some specialized counter deck to begin with.

Simply put, he would duel the way he always did.

"When there are no monsters on my field, I can activate the Spell Card—'Unexpected Dai.'"

The hoarse voice called forth a rift in space-time, within which a shadow appeared.

"With this card's effect, I Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from my deck—'Spirit of the Books.'"

Black mist drifted outward and gathered into a fluffy ball.

"Kuriboh?"

"Spirit of the Books (LV2)"

"Attribute/DARK"

"Type/Fiend"

"ATK/550 DEF/400"

The little furball looked around, and its utterly nonthreatening appearance naturally drew a malicious jab from its opponent.

"Hmph, just a trash monster?"

A very classic line. Yu Ming remembered that practically every villain with a death wish would shout something like that.

"Don't be so quick to judge. You'll soon witness the power of the 'trash' you just mocked."

Of course, their endings were never good either. Whenever someone raised that kind of flag, retribution from both the plot and tactics would always follow.

And now, Yu Ming intended to do exactly that.

"Equip Spell—'Frontline Revival Compensation.'"

A flash of silver light appeared, and a nameplate materialized in the little monster's hands.

It held the nameplate in both hands, looking somewhat lost, as though it had no idea how to use it.

But as it looked around, a beam of light drew it inside.

"This card can send one Normal Monster on the field to the Graveyard, then choose one monster in the Graveyard and Special Summon it."

"But there are no other monsters in your Graveyard."

Suddenly, Ogorou Daimon seemed to realize something.

"Could it be..."

He looked toward the image projected by the nameplate and saw a figure identical to his current self emerge within it.

"I Special Summon 'Jinzo—Psychic Shockwave' from your Graveyard to my field."