No, where are my cards?

[Congratulations, Host, for defeating the duelist 'Jinzo (Emissary of Five-Headed Dragon)'. You have gained 400 points from this duel.]

A warm current, repairing his injuries and spreading through his body, made Yu Ming sigh in relief as the System's prompt appeared.

As everyone knows, Shadow Duels are the ultimate means for duelists, and winning a Shadow Duel signifies a temporary end to all the messy business.

If a soul was imprisoned, it would be freed. If one didn't know which alternate dimension they'd arrived in, they'd be sent back after the duel.

Just like Jaden Yuki's experience in GX, even though it made no sense, after he completely resolved his conflict with Yubel, the fusion crisis of the twelve dimensions was not only averted, but everyone easily returned home. While not particularly virtuous, the aftermath was perfectly managed.

"In that case, I should be able to go back easily too, right?"

Yu Ming hoped so.

But unfortunately, there's a saying: Heaven doesn't always grant one's wishes.

When he gently waved away the text prompt in front of him, the scenery remained unchanged. The gloomy environment, like some kind of cult sacrificial ground, inexplicably gave him a headache.

"So, do you know what's going on?"

Finally, Yu Ming turned his gaze to the monstrous creature beside him.

Mist Demon — it was still out, likely because Yu Ming hadn't returned the card to his hand yet.

"So, is it because the settlement isn't fully complete?"

Yu Ming looked at the ferocious, hideous demon and spoke.

"Do you want to try settling the effect?"

While such a thing would definitely be impossible under real card rules, in the anime, Joey Wheeler used the animation effect of Meteor of Destruction at the end of a duel to take the attack of Red-Eyes Black Dragon, achieving a kind of pseudo-draw.

So...

"Try giving me your 1000 damage?"

Yu Ming didn't know if this would work, but he felt he had to try.

But unfortunately, the demon's hideous head shook like a rattle.

Before Yu Ming could persuade it further, it transformed into a black mist and returned to the deck. Even the card in the monster zone of his Duel Disk disappeared.

"Alright, if you don't want to, then don't."

Seeing the demon's strong resistance, Yu Ming merely shrugged.

"And if it's not your problem, then there's only one possibility."

His gaze slowly shifted forward. Directly beneath the still-not-dissipated illusory Evil Dragon, the sparking Jinzo was wriggling like a maggot.

Supporting himself with his hands, Ogorou Daimon shakily got up.

"Don't think I'll fall just like that..."

"But you've already lost."

"One match doesn't mean anything..."

"But you didn't say that before."

"The power of the Evil Dragon is beyond your imagination..."

"And yet, with the Evil Dragon's power, you went first, drew your opening hand, and I still OTK'd you."

"..."

On his massive bald head, the clearly visible veins pulsed and swelled.

Then, a roar mixed with resentment followed:

"Aaaah!"

Yu Ming wondered if Ogorou Daimon, in his Jinzo form, also possessed a Psychic Shockwave-like ability. When that roar reverberated, Yu Ming's ears truly ached.

"So you two are so loud, getting furious just because someone states what actually happened, afraid people won't know you're upset..."

"Brat!!"

Before Yu Ming could finish, an even stronger sound wave completely drowned out his voice.

Yu Ming even felt as if sand had gotten into his eyes.

"I will give everything to make you taste my wrath!!"

Whoosh

Amidst the roar, surging energy began to gather, but it wasn't an attack.

"I offer myself as a sacrifice!"

As Yu Ming rubbed the corner of his eye, he could even see Ogorou Daimon dissolving into a black light.

Black mist surged upwards, pouring into and filling the illusion of Five-Headed Dragon. Then, its third head gradually solidified.

It turned, opening its scarlet eyes like the main body.

Amidst the roar, sounds mixed with dragon roars echoed.

"Now, feel the power of the Evil Dragon, you brat!"

Watching the scene unfold, Yu Ming couldn't help but scratch the back of his head.

"So this is how it ends, huh?"

He wasn't sure who decided it, but it seemed like anything with a source of power would eventually drag out whatever was behind it for various reasons:

Things like Dartz and the Great Leviathan, Yusuke Fujiwara and Darkness, Seto Kaiba and Anubis from the Pyramid, and even Dark Yugi and his Pharaoh's Enforcer—it had practically become a fixed trope.

So...

"A duel?"

Yu Ming asked, looking at the roaring Evil Dragon.

"Of course, if you're willing to surrender and release the souls you've imprisoned, that wouldn't be out of the question."

"Hmph, seeing the Evil Dragon's form, and you still have the courage to fight?"

"Why wouldn't I? It'd be such a shame not to actually play a round."

Those were Yu Ming's true feelings. It would be a shame in every sense of the word.

Not to mention Five-Headed Dragon, the opponent's main card was the Jinzo series.

Ignoring field issues and various support cards, in the DM environment, just one Jinzo was enough to make Yu Ming salivate.

He felt like he was in a stage where he lacked everything. Even now, he was stuffing all sorts of Dark-attribute Fiends into his deck. As long as it was Dark-attribute, it could be considered an improvement, let alone a versatile card that only required one tribute and had no summoning restrictions!

Thinking about this, Yu Ming suddenly got a little excited.

He couldn't let it go! Absolutely couldn't let it go!

"Then come on, let me see how long you can last against this world-destroying power!"

I'll beat you! I'll beat you! I'll beat you! I'll beat you!

Jinzo is mine, and that anime version of Five-Headed Dragon is mine too!

"Duel—"

"ROAR!!"

Suddenly, the Evil Dragon let out a howl, easily interrupting Ogorou Daimon's enraged declaration.

"Evil Dragon-sama?"

Before the head symbolizing the Dark attribute could show its human-like confusion, the Evil Dragon flapped its wings.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

As the strong winds raged, the massive dragon body leaped upwards.

Bang

As the five elements spun, the entire world seemed to tremble, and then visible cracks appeared.

And then...

Rumble

It crumbled!

"No, dude..."

Amidst the violent roar, Yu Ming felt a blinding white light flash before his eyes.

And when he finally adjusted to the glare, what greeted him was the familiar sight of the conference room he had just seen.

Under the crystal chandelier, the figures around the round table were sprawled everywhere, except for the boy in the very center, who had put down what looked like a book he was reading.

"Are you awake now?"

"...No, where's my card?"