[Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle] stood on the field, but because Youmi's platform was too high, she wasn't hovering midair inside the Duel Tower—instead, she appeared beside Youmi to avoid any embarrassing exposure.
Youmi's two activations of [Solemn Judgment] had heavily influenced everyone else's strategic planning.
Take Seto Kaiba's setup, for example. His original plan had been to arrange for Joey to be his first-round opponent, since with only one Egyptian God Card, he wasn't confident he could defeat Yugi Muto outright. His ideal approach was to crush Joey Wheeler on his own turn, then immediately surrender, ensuring that he and Joey would be placed in the same bracket.
However, now, with Youmi's Life Points before the cliff, if Kaiba failed to eliminate Joey immediately, then unless he managed to wipe out Yugi's LP and force Yugi to duel Youmi, he might end up facing Youmi himself in the first round—something clearly disadvantageous.
"Alright, it's my turn next, isn't it? Though before that, I've got something to do." Youmi flipped over her two Set cards, both showing beautifully designed gift cards. "Normal Trap—[Gift Card]. My opponent gains 3000 LP. Since I activated two, Joey, you gain 6000 LP~"
[Joey Wheeler, LP: 4000 → 10000]
"Eh? A card that heals me? What are you planning..." Joey looked up toward Youmi, whose platform now towered far above him.
Youmi understood the Duel Tower's preliminary duel rules well. Since Deck changes were allowed before the main tournament bracket, she had included cards like [Bad Reaction to Simochi] and [Darklord Nurse Reficule], which turn LP recovery into damage.
Given that the Duel City rules prohibited inflicting damage without cost or condition, but they didn't prohibit giving your opponent LP.
Still, rather than relying on a one-turn-kill combo with [Bad Reaction to Simochi], the other card she had Set was the true key to her plan.
The others hadn't realized her intention yet.
"Damn woman… you saw through my strategy?!" Kaiba glared fiercely at her.
To him, Youmi's two cards were landmines meant purely to disrupt. Remembering how Ishizu had predicted all of his moves back in the quarterfinals, Kaiba suspected Youmi might also have some kind of foresight ability—after all, Noah had called her a duelist far beyond this era.
"Youmi... I see. A brilliant move." Yami Yugi wasn't discouraged by the shift in his potential opponents. Whether he faced Youmi or Joey first didn't matter—he had to win to reclaim his past.
Meanwhile, beside him, only he could hear the voice of his other self, Yugi, murmur thoughtfully. "Other me, I don't think her plan is that simple."
Turn 5
"My turn. Draw~" Youmi drew one card, smiled, and declared, "I activate the Normal Spell [Pot of Greed] to draw two cards from my Deck."
Because of the subtle resonance between Yugi and Youmi, Yami Yugi chose to trust his partner's instinct—that Youmi still had a hidden ace left to play. Seeing her now playing [Pot of Greed] just to cycle cards, he immediately acted. "[Dark Paladin]'s effect activates! I discard one card to negate and destroy your [Pot of Greed]!"
The grinning green jar shattered under Dark Paladin's magic blast—even so, Youmi smiled instead, sending a chill down Yami Yugi's spine.
That smile... he'd seen it before, during another duel.
Though their direct link had only been established during Duelist Kingdom, their memories had long been shared.
In his memory, the last time his partner smiled like that was—
"Don't tell me...!"
"Well, guess I have no choice then [Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle]'s effect activates! I Set [Welcome Labrynth] directly from my Deck, and then..." Youmi raised her last card. "I Set one card and end my turn"
"This is bad... other me, I think Youmi drew her key card from the start. [Welcome Labrynth] was just bait. If she could use it to summon [Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle], that would've been ideal… even if not, she's probably baited out our Spell and Trap negates, or even lowered her own LP with [Solemn Judgment]!"
Yugi shook his head. "If I'm right, that last Set card... there's nothing we can do to stop her now. Looks like your first-round opponent will be Kaiba."
Turn 6
The turn passed to Kaiba. Just as he drew his card, Youmi's Set card flipped open.
Youmi covered part of her face with her hand, hiding a playful smile. "[Self-Destruct Button]. It can only be activated when my opponent's LP is at least 7000 higher than mine. Both players' LP become 0. Since this free-for-all defines 'opponent' by the activator's choice—I choose Joey. Let's see what you're really made of see you in the next duel"
[Youmi, LP: 1000 → 0]
[Joey Wheeler, LP: 10000 → 0]
As both duelists' LP hit zero simultaneously, Duke Devlin and [Iblee] let out surprised exclamations below.
Moments later, as the turn order finalized and the platforms lifted to the top, both Duke and [Iblee] appeared beside Youmi, asking in unison, "Why did you activate the second [Solemn Judgment]?"
If she'd only wanted to raise Joey's LP high enough to trigger [Self-Destruct Button], one [Solemn Judgment] would've been enough. After the first, Youmi's LP dropped to 2000, and Joey's rose to 10000 from two [Gift Cards]—well above the 7000 threshold.
"Oh, that? Because I don't care who I face in the first round." Youmi scratched her hair awkwardly. "I played [Gift Card] and [Self-Destruct Button] just to stir things up. Yugi and the others probably all had someone specific in mind for their first match, right? As long as their plans fall apart, I'm satisfied~"
Nearby, Seto Kaiba seemed to miss a step and stumble, though thankfully without injury.
"Truly impressive, Miss Youmi," Ishizu said calmly, having already explained Youmi's play to Marik earlier—so neither of them were surprised.
Yami Yugi approached, smiling wryly. "You never fail to surprise me, Youmi."
"Now, the matchups for the Duel City semifinals have been decided. After the duelists have rested, the first battle will begin!"
...
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