huh?

At first, it was only a faint breeze, but it quickly formed a literal tornado.

The enormous vortex was like a merciless disintegration machine, devouring everything in its path.

And when the dust finally settled, the foul, fishy breeze still lingered in the air.

Of course, they still stood atop the Undying World.

"Anyway, according to the effect of 'Tornado,' I destroy your 'Pandemonium.'"

Yu Ming swept his gaze over the bone-strewn, zombie-infested landscape and took a deep breath.

"Now please continue your plays, Mr. Hades."

Under the young man's gaze, the archdemon merely furrowed his brow. Like rusted machinery that needed time to resume operation, he only came back to his senses after a long silence.

"To freely command wind magic of this level... it seems your mastery of White Magic surpasses my expectations..."

"No, why are you bringing up that nonsense again? Do you know your crappy commentary nearly made me miss my activation..."

"But even so, you still have no right to stand between him and me!"

"..."

For a moment, Yu Ming felt as though he might have some kind of illness.

When Hades roared loudly, Yu Ming felt dizzy, his heart trembled, and even his eyes flashed with a strange burning sensation, as if his eyeballs could melt at any moment.

"I..."

He really wanted to say something else to curse at him. A peculiar heat surged up from deep inside him, even rising into his throat.

The scorching sensation, as though his throat had been roasted, ultimately made him give up on being a trash-talker.

After all...

"I will expend a portion of magic power to fill this undead phoenix's wings!"

Hades really did not listen to anyone.

Even after getting cursed at for so long, he had somehow ignored every single word.

In this situation, forget insulting his family—even dragging out his entire family tree would have been useless.

"Come to think of it, Hades, do you even have a mother?"

Boom!

Amid the blazing flames, Yu Ming sighed.

"Forget it."

Since the other side refused to speak like a person, all he could rely on now was himself.

After taking a deep breath, he looked straight ahead.

There, amid a shrill phoenix cry, the manifested feather had already burned to ashes.

"'Phoenix God's Feather.'"

If nothing unexpected happened, it should have been this card.

"Through the power of this wing, I shall guide the road to the demon lair once more."

"Discard 1 card from your hand, then target 1 card in your Graveyard; place that target on top of your Deck."

That was the card's text. There was nothing particularly problematic about it.

The key was that Hades only had one card left in his hand!

Whether he wanted to retrieve the Field Spell from his Deck or continue extending his plays, counting the Set Card in his back row, he only had those two cards to work with.

And with the card pool of the DM era, even factoring in some cards that appeared later, it was nearly impossible to get anything going from that.

So...

"There should be some kind of 'Pot' card, right?"

Pot of Greed?

Card of Demise?

Pot of Avarice?

Or perhaps...

"'Compensation.'"

"Ah?"

"When I destroy this special vessel, the magic power it has stored shall reward me!"

Ignoring that mystical nonsense, Yu Ming merely looked upward.

A faint light was blooming in Hades's Graveyard, where the phantom of a card burning with pale blue flames slowly emerged.

Compensation Pot of Greed (anime-only card)

Golden words shimmered across the card's surface:

When this card is sent from the hand to the Graveyard: Draw 2 cards. (anime effect)

"Oh, damn. Something like that exists?"

"At last, the road to ascension has returned to my hand."

After a series of plays, Hades finally retrieved that Field Spell.

And what he intended to do next was obvious.

"Come, witness its power!"

Rumble...

Under that tremendous power, the field changed once more.

Beneath flashes of demonic lightning, searing winds dispersed the stench of rot brought by the corpses.

Amid the demons' wails, the demons' nest returned.

Pandemonium - The Infernal Demon Lair

"With that, the preparations are complete."

Standing in the center of the altar-like field, Hades slowly raised a hand.

"Young wizard, witness this might!"

Boom!

Lightning flashed, and a huge figure appeared.

Yu Ming had also seen that battle-axe-wielding stance before, as a duelist.

"'Berserk Demon,' huh?"

Berserk Demon (Lv. 6)

Attribute/DARK

Type/Fiend

ATK/2000 DEF/0

"My battle-hardened servant, devour the weak!"

Boom!

The berserker slammed down a fist and tore the cavalry apart.

"It will lock onto the enemy and bring me victory."

Berserk Demon

ATK/2000 → 3900

At the same time, the destroyed remains did not completely disappear.

They were cast onto the altar and finally merged into the burning pale blue flames.

"The power of 'Pandemonium' shall turn demon remains destroyed outside battle into a path, guiding the arrival of their kin!"

"When a 'Demon' monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard by a method other than battle, you can select 1 'Demon' monster from your Deck with a lower Level than the destroyed monster and add it to your hand..."

Yu Ming silently corrected the wording into proper rules terminology and sighed.

"I guide 'Hell Soldier Demon' into my hand."

And that was not the end.

"My loyal servant, guide the path of the netherworld."

At Hades's roar, the remaining spear traced out a blood-red vortex.

Of course, someone had demonstrated this combo before as well, Special Summoning a 'Demon' from the Graveyard through the effect of 'Demon Cavalry.'

It was just that he had summoned a different one.

"It shall bring the sleeping gatekeeper before its master."

As Hades chanted, the orange demon spread its dark green wings.

Archfiend General (Lv. 4)

Attribute/DARK

Type/Fiend

ATK/2100 DEF/800

"Do you see? This is the path of Red Magic. This is the ascension of demons!"

"...Yeah, so could you hurry up and continue?"

"Now, you shall personally experience their power!"

"Oh my god..."

As Yu Ming could not help but slap his forehead, the massive demon finally began to move.

Its gaze locked firmly onto "Demon Soldier" as it charged forward in the most primitive manner possible.

Then...

One axe strike came down!

Boom!

3900 versus 2500. A pure contest of numbers, with no suspense whatsoever.

Bang!

Yu Ming LP: 4000 → 2600

Splat!

When the monster was destroyed, a wound resembling an axe slash appeared across Yu Ming's chest.

Blood spilled out, staining his black shirt, as if pushing that darkness toward a sticky abyss.

"Ugh..."

The agonizing pain of the Shadow Game assaulted his mind, forcing Yu Ming to close his eyes.

But he still needed to respond!

"When the equipped 'Claw of Hermos' is destroyed by battle and this card is sent to the Graveyard, I activate its effect. That destroyed monster is Special Summoned to my field, this card is equipped to it again, and after that, if this card leaves the field, it will..."

He felt nothing. That inexplicable emptiness caused Yu Ming's voice to grow quieter and quieter.

"Be banished?"

When he opened his eyes with uncertainty, nothing had happened in front of him.

But he was certain that he had activated the card's effect.

So there was only one answer...

"I summon Vengeful Spirits from the East."

When Yu Ming looked toward Hades, he saw the man extend a withered finger.

And amid the furious roar of "Demon Soldier," the phantom of a girl slowly appeared.

And that girl...

That card...

That monster's name was...

"'Shiranui Solitaire'—she shall drag your familiar into the abyss!"

Suddenly, Yu Ming's initially furrowed brows relaxed into a strange curve.

He wanted to say something, but...

"huh?"

Sorry, I wrote in a bug. I originally wrote Called by the Grave for dramatic effect, but then realized I seemed to have gotten the basic definition of the Damage Step wrong.

After considering it all, I changed it to Shiranui Solitaire. I hope it does not make the chapter any less funny.

Yu-Gi-Oh rules are such a pain. I got lazy and released a bug without testing it.