A true duelist should remain calm even when faced with the collapse of Mount Tai, always composed when encountering any situation, and must avoid letting impulse take over and affect rational judgment.
Sato Koji closed his eyes, continuously taking deep breaths, repeatedly trying to convince himself of this point—
—Punching people is against the rules.
Because facing this bastard right now, remembering that point was truly difficult.
With only two cards left in his hand and nothing he could do, Sato Koji could only grit his teeth and declare his turn end. Then it was Yugen's turn again; the fun time began anew.
"Draw." Yugen drew a card from his deck.
At this point, Sato Koji's front and back rows were completely empty, literally like a little girl enticing a criminal. In this era of Yu-Gi-Oh, before it was polluted by excessive hand traps, an empty field basically meant running naked, belonging to a situation where one could activate effects with absolutely no mental burden.
So Yugen didn't waste any more words and directly played the monster card he had just drawn.
"I Normal Summon 'Don Zaloog'!"
The battle-scarred one-eyed warrior appeared on Yugen's field, with an eye patch covering one eye.
[Don Zaloog, ATK 1400]
"Direct battle." Yugen commanded, "Use Don Zaloog to directly attack the opponent."
The warrior obeyed, directly pulling out two revolvers and turning into a gun-wielding燕双鹰 (Yan Shuangying - a character famous for his gun-wielding action) and firing "bang bang bang." A series of illusory bullets passed through Koji's body, the invisible impact making him stagger back half a step.
In Kaiba Corporation's latest duel system, the monsters summoned by the duel disk were not just holographic projections; they also incorporated impact-sensing devices. Although they caused no real harm to the duelist, they were enough to simulate realistic impacts and a certain degree of pain to enhance the immersive dueling experience.
[Koji, LP 4000 → LP 2600]
Taking direct damage, he took a deep breath.
It's fine, it's just a weak monster with 1400 ATK, he can still take it.
But then he saw Yugen smile: "Don Zaloog's effect activates. When this card inflicts battle damage to the opponent, I can activate one of two effects.
One, the opponent randomly discards one card from their hand.
Two, the top two cards of the opponent's deck are sent to the Graveyard."
Koji's eyelids suddenly twitched.
"Wait, do you mean... do you mean..."
His face began to contort, his expression gradually turning to horror, his body involuntarily retreating under instinct.
"That's right, I choose the first effect." Yugen said, "Discard another card from your hand."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Zaloog raised its pistol. With a muffled gun sound, a holographic hole appeared on one of Koji's remaining two cards in hand.
Koji gritted his teeth, sending another card to the Graveyard, his eyes almost tearing.
Now he only had one card left.
This wasn't the only duel he had lost in his life, nor was his opponent the strongest he had ever encountered among all duelists.
But this was absolutely the duel where he wanted to punch the opponent the most!
You mean to tell me, we've played until now and you haven't even played a single monster?!
"I'll set two more cards on the field. Turn end."
Yugen's backrow gained two more set cards.
This time, when Koji saw those two additional dark face-down cards, his reaction was completely different from his previous disdain; his breathing almost hitched.
More? No, please don't?
I beg you, please let me play cards.
The turn of events had clearly surpassed the expectations of the spectating crowd. The students on both sides looked at each other, all with expressions that seemed to say they were at a loss.
How to describe this duel?
It just felt very strange, incredibly strange.
Want to see fast-paced offense and defense and power plays? No, here there was only an "Yin" player set on messing with people's mindsets.
Want to see high-speed summoning and flashy big monsters? Also no, here there was only an "Yin" player satisfied with breaking mindsets.
Anyway, this duel, up to this point, had one side unable to play a single card, so there was basically no strategy to analyze or evaluate. And for the side that was playing cards, every single move, every card, seemed to be vaguely permeated by two words—
—Social retribution.
That is, social revenge.
This pressure, not summoning a single monster, not attacking the opponent's Life Points, all actions and behavior seemed to silently declare: "I may not win, but you are absolutely not going to play Yu-Gi-Oh today."
Isn't this just social retribution?
"Junior, dueling like this isn't right..."
Koji tried hard to maintain the image of a gentle senior, but his twitching facial muscles and trembling voice seemed to be betraying him.
Yugen smiled, politely making a "please" gesture, reminding him it was his turn to play Yu-Gi-Oh again.
That being said, all card game veterans know that Yu-Gi-Oh is a very cruel game; if one side can play, that's usually enough.
Koji reluctantly raised his duel disk.
"Alright, then it's my turn."
He gritted his teeth.
His last remaining card in hand was an Equip Spell, which was clearly useless since he couldn't even summon a monster.
This was the draw that would decide his fate.
But a true duelist would never back down like that. Just as the legendary King of Games Yugi Muto said, "Believe in your deck, and your deck will surely respond to you."
He believed in the bond between himself and his deck!
Sato Koji placed his finger on his deck, taking a deep breath while silently praying.
Please! A four-star monster!
Next was a draw that seemed to infuse with soul, making a dashing arc.
The moment he opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of that card, Sato Koji's pupils dilated in shock; he almost wanted to laugh uproariously.
It's here!
Not only did he draw a monster he could summon, but it was also "Gagagigo," a four-star monster with 1850 ATK. Compared to the currently popular 1800 ATK good normal monsters on the market, it was exactly 50 ATK points higher, almost as if to mock them, making it the strongest low-level monster in his deck.
Indeed, his deck responded to his heartfelt wish!
Just as Koji's lips curved into a smile, as if the trumpet of a counterattack was about to begin.
When he looked up and saw that the opponent's backrow had somehow flipped up another face-down card, his smile instantly froze.
Trap Card - Drop Off, copy number 2.
Activated during the opponent's Draw Phase, the card drawn by the opponent is directly sent to the Graveyard.
Sato Koji: "."
"According to Drop Off's effect," Yugen said politely, "that card should also be discarded."
Koji's lips almost bled from biting them. He furiously threw this key "Gagagigo" that could have turned the tide into the Graveyard. He looked down and saw that he only had that one solitary Equip Spell remaining in his hand.
"Turn... Turn end." Koji declared dejectedly.
"Then it's my turn, draw."
This time, when Koji drew a card, he didn't even look at what he drew. Instead, he stared intently at Yugen's backrow.
It was as if he was asking, No traps, right?
So I'm drawing now? Really drawing?
Yugen on his side smiled and gestured for him to proceed.
Finally, having painstakingly gotten past the Draw Phase and entered the Main Phase, Sato Koji almost wanted to cry.
He probably never would have imagined in his wildest dreams before that drawing a card... could be such a luxury.
Upon seeing the card he drew, his mood was even more stirred.
Malice Doll of Demise, four stars, 1600 ATK.
Normally, it was just an unremarkable monster, but 1600 ATK at this moment could be life-saving. Because even though Don Zaloog's effect was disgusting, its ATK was only 1400.
Finally, he could take down that irritating thing that kept discarding his hand every turn!
Sato Koji couldn't wait: "I Summon 'Malice Doll of Demise' in Attack Position, and attack 'Don Zaloog'! Go destroy it, goddammit, go to hell!"
"Don't get agitated, calm down, buddy. You should play duels with a smile."
Yugen chuckled, reminding him.
"And don't rush. It's not yet the Battle Phase. Because earlier, I activated a Trap Card."
He pointed to a face-down card that stood up in his backrow.
"Trap Card - Compulsory Evacuation Device. Return one monster on the field to the owner's hand.
I want to return 'Malice Doll of Demise' to your hand."
The trap took effect. The cursed doll with a hammer hadn't even found its footing before it transformed into a golden light and flew back into Sato Koji's hand.
Sato Koji: "."
This was his only card in hand.
And he had just used up his one Normal Summon opportunity for this turn.
So, clearly, he had no more cards to play.
What happened next was obvious. He could do nothing but end his turn, and then that damn Zaloog would attack him again, discarding his last card in hand.
Oh, wait, he wouldn't even have to wait that long. Because his LP was only 1200, and one more hit would finish him.
However, Yugen ultimately did not succeed in reducing Sato Koji's LP to zero.
Because before the next turn.
Sato Koji, due to attempting to directly attack the opposing duelist during the duel, was hurriedly pulled back by the surrounding spectators and immediately forfeited the match.