Apology

Shadow Game.

Any damage directly affects the body and even the soul. At its most extreme, it can even lead to casualties—the loser dies.

That's where the saying "playing for lives" comes from.

However, this can also be considered in reverse.

"As long as my LP doesn't drop to zero, I won't fall."

"But what can you do now?" Keith said slowly. "I cut your LP by more than half in the first turn. You can barely even stand now, can you?"

[Keith Howard LP: 3000]

[Yu Ming LP: 1500]

Of course, these were just "bonuses" provided by the Shadow Game.

More importantly, there was another point:

"Don't forget, my turn isn't over yet."

"That's true."

Currently, not to mention the resources in the graveyard, Keith still had a Cannon Soldier on his field and three cards in his hand, leaving him with a lot of room to maneuver.

"But you don't have any way to reduce my LP anymore, do you?"

Completely unrelated to the card game itself, it was a fundamental truth:

"Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to stand here."

"Tsk, what a sharp-tongued brat."

Hearing this, Keith frowned, but after seeing the cards in his hand, his previously unpleasant expression suddenly relaxed.

"I'd like to see how long that mouth of yours can last—I'll set one card, then activate this card!"

Three luminous swords descended, directly sealing the space in front of Yu Ming.

"Swords of Revealing Light—this card can directly block your attacks for three turns. With that, I'll end my turn."

After his declaration, Keith crossed his arms.

"But actually, there's no need to wait three turns. Once my next turn comes, your life, flickering like a candle in the wind, will be over!"

"Is that so?"

Watching Keith's mocking expression, Yu Ming no longer offered the sharp retorts he had before.

Taking a deep breath, he placed his hand on his deck.

Vaguely, he felt that the smell of burnt meat seemed to dissipate somewhat.

Even speaking felt a little easier.

So...

"My turn, draw."

"Tsk, still that expression."

Watching Yu Ming's calm demeanor, Keith gritted his teeth.

"Then, at this moment, I activate my face-down card!"

Following the command, specters spread across the field, and then a grave appeared.

"Trap Card—Call of the Haunted!"

From the created grave, a moss-covered machine slowly crawled out.

"By this card's effect, Motor Smasher from my graveyard will be revived in its decayed form."

Motor Smasher

ATK/2100

On its rusty body, its gun-like arms still gleamed with a chilling light.

But right now, the focus didn't seem to be on its attack power.

"You should know its special effect, right?"

He sneered, his gaze beneath his sunglasses piercing like a blade, as if to bore holes through Yu Ming.

"Even rusty scrap metal leaves some parts behind, meaning I can perform three bombardments!"

So this effect is only triggered after a Tribute Summon and then sent to the graveyard? But thinking about it, the original work didn't have so many restrictions after being TCG-ified.

Never mind.

"Mm, I know."

But that simple response only provoked stronger dissatisfaction.

"Tsk, why do you still have that same expression?"

Keith clenched his jaw, watching Yu Ming's calm face.

"Do you understand what kind of situation we're in right now? Your measly 1500 LP is nothing but something I can clear in an instant!"

He roared.

"Next turn, you're finished! Understand?! You brat!"

"So, what are you so anxious about?"

With that brief question, the ferocity on Keith's face froze.

"Keith Howard, what exactly do you want?"

Yu Ming slowly added the card he'd just drawn to his hand, looking at it.

"You keep emphasizing your advantage, keep belittling your opponent. Do you want to see despair and anxiety on my face and revel in it, or…?"

He looked at the man who seemed to have gone blank.

"Do you just want to prove something?"

"Ridiculous!"

Snapping back to reality, Keith said coldly.

"What do I need to prove?"

"To prove you're still the American champion?"

"…"

Yu Ming just shook his head, meeting Keith's expression, which seemed like he wanted to speak but couldn't.

"Speaking of which, I think I owe you an apology."

"What…?"

"I admit I used to look down on you, Keith Howard. You're arrogant, selfish, heartless, and consumed by greed… Many people think your downfall began after you were defeated by Maximillion Pegasus, but I believe you deserved to be toyed with by Maximillion Pegasus."

"You brat…"

Yu Ming closed his eyes, watching Keith's face turn ferocious and terrifying again.

In the original story, there wasn't much detail about Bandit Keith and Maximillion Pegasus's public challenge match.

It was merely used as a way for Seto Kaiba to convey Maximillion Pegasus J. Crawford's terrifying nature to the protagonist, Little Yugi.

But the essence of that match could actually be linked from beginning to end.

Firstly, Shadow Game himself confirmed that Maximillion Pegasus's Millennium Eye didn't have the ability to foresee the future or see cards drawn from the deck.

However, in that public match, Maximillion Pegasus gave up in the first game, relying on pre-arranged notes to defeat Keith at that time.

That could only mean one thing:

"You cheated back then, didn't you?"

"…"

"But even so, you're still very capable."

Amid the champion's silence, Yu Ming continued.

Of course, he wasn't trying to excuse or whitewash the guy in front of him.

To some extent, this sentence was actually directed at himself.

Just as he had promised in the Heart Room:

"I won't underestimate you again, champion."

"…"

Keith was stunned.

Perhaps the current development was completely different from what he had imagined; the former champion had no idea how to respond to such a straightforward sentiment.

He didn't continue to curse, only swallowing his foul words.

"It's too late to flatter me now, kid."

"No, this isn't flattery. I will utterly defeat you out of respect for your skill."

In other words…

"I will win."

"Win?"

"Yes."

"You?"

"Yes!"

On this point, he would never back down.

Only that victory!

"Then let me see how you plan to achieve victory in this situation!"

He waved his hand.

Yu Ming's gaze returned to the battlefield known as the duel.

Right now, the barrier from Swords of Revealing Light blocked all normal attack routes, and he still had two monsters on his field.

But at the same time, his back row was very clear, with only two already activated cards.

In other words—a quick, unrestricted play!

"Prepare…"

With a hoarse voice, he closed his eyes.

Not just the phase, but also the preparation he needed.

And then…

"Main Phase."

He spoke.

Theoretically, there shouldn't be any hand traps to activate in this kind of situation in this era, so let's just begin!

"I set two cards in my back row, then activate this card."

Zzzt

Suddenly, the sealed room was torn open, and a chaotic interdimensional passage opened.

"Spell Card—'Unexpected Dai'."

Yu Ming had obtained this card from an interdimensional pre-built pack. The pack itself didn't form an archetype, but the card art clearly depicted a group of people traversing different dimensions.

Of course, that wasn't important now.

What was important was that this card was a huge boost to his deck and card pool, because its effect was:

"You can only activate this card if you control no monsters. Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from your deck. I choose…"

Buzz buzz buzz

From the unstable interdimensional passage, a fierce warrior stepped forth.

"'Warrior of Darkworld - Dark Blade'."

The rift closed, and on the field, only the warrior holding two swords remained standing.

Beneath its rare silver helmet, a pair of eyes radiated a surging, powerful battle spirit.

Warrior of Darkworld - Dark Blade (lv4)

Attribute/Dark

Type/Warrior

ATK/1800 DEF/1500

A long time ago, when Yu Ming was still a child and didn't know how to play cards, he really liked this card.

Not for any other reason, just because it looked cool.

But unfortunately, after he truly got into this crappy game, this card never appeared in front of him again—to be precise, it couldn't fit into his builds.

Basically, he could only play it in situations like now, when he had nothing else.

"…"

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but at that moment, Yu Ming felt as if the warrior on the field had turned its head.

After exchanging a glance with him, he also reined in his scattered thoughts.

"I'm counting on you. I'll give you a weapon."

It seemed to nod.

Then…

"Equip Spell—'Axe of Despair'."

A giant axe spun and flew over. The warrior put down its two swords and gripped the axe tightly.

Immediately after, its eyes glowed with a bloodthirsty red light.

"This card increases the equipped monster's ATK by 1000."

Warrior of Darkworld - Dark Blade

ATK/1800→2800

"It increased its ATK by so much in one go. The kid's got some skill."

After all, this was an earlier period. In the relatively slower environment of the current game, a high-ATK monster that could stay on the field was enough to impress.

But this wasn't over yet!

"Then, I activate this card."

Boom

An esoteric formation gathered, and a green light tore open a path.

"I activate the Ritual Spell Card—'Advanced Ritual Art'."

"A Ritual Summon?!"