Was this human's Duel really superior to his in every way? As he stared at the imposing white-robed Spirit and felt the crushing magic pressure, fear swallowed his thoughts.
"'Mask of Last Words' has no effect. The battle continues."
"Silent Magician LV8, second attack. Target 'Holy Night Dragon.' Silent magic blast!"
The holy mage rose on a glowing magic circle and brought her staff down once more. A flood of white light erased Holy Night Dragon and the storm-lifted Masked Sorcerer together, cutting off his scream in an instant.
Masked Sorcerer's Life Points dropped from 500 to 0.
With Life Points at zero, when the storm of magic faded, Yugen could no longer sense the Spirit of the Masked Sorcerer. It looked like the final strike from Silent Magician had blasted him apart completely, leaving nothing behind.
With the fight finished, Yugen clapped his hands and calmly turned toward the remaining Goblin lackeys. Silent Magician did not disappear when the Duel ended, instead standing beside him with her staff ready, guarding him while watching the ring of Goblin with cold eyes.
The surrounding Goblin were frozen in place. The final scene of that Duel was still burned into their minds, the crushing blow of over five thousand ATK, the terrifying force, and their boss being ground to dust with a desperate scream. To them, this Duelist was utterly terrifying.
A whole group of Goblin stood stiffly, not daring to move at all, watching Yugen put away his Duel Disk and walk toward them. It felt as if they were watching death itself approach step by step.
At last, a Goblin in the back gritted his teeth and shouted, "I just remembered my wife is about to give birth, brothers, I have to go first." As he spoke, he turned and bolted.
Once someone took the lead, the entire group scattered at once. Another Goblin slapped his forehead and yelled, "Right, mine too, my wife is also giving birth, I am leaving." More voices followed in panic, each finding an excuse as they fled.
A Magic Bolt exploded in front of the fastest group of Goblin, blasting a huge crater into the ground and throwing the small monsters everywhere. One at the front failed to stop in time and slammed straight into the sphere of magic, shattering instantly and leaving nothing to collect. The rest were so terrified that they froze in place, not daring to move at all.
"Relax, I am not some kind of demon." Yugen smiled as he spoke and walked over to where the Masked Sorcerer had been reduced to dust.
He bent down and picked up the Deck that had fallen among what looked like ashes, slipping it smoothly into his pocket. Seeing this, the Goblin lowered their heads even further, thinking that he was being far too modest, since even a demon would look gentle next to him.
"I did not come here on purpose, and I did not intend to get involved in your fight," Yugen said. "I was just passing through, and I only want to know how to leave this place."
Before he could finish, he felt someone tug gently at the corner of his clothes. He turned his head and saw the young mage pointing behind him as a quiet reminder.
Only then did Yugen notice that figures were beginning to appear on the empty streets of the town. More precisely, they were Spirit.
Small Spirit hid in the shadows of buildings and behind doors and windows, cautiously peeking out. Drawn by the noise of the earlier Duel, they were quietly watching.
A blue-skinned, blond female Spirit gathered her courage and stepped out of the shadows, walking toward them. He recognized her at once, since she had appeared in the anime summoned by Yugi Muto, a Normal monster known as the Holy Spirit.
"Brave one, you have finally appeared," she said.
Yugen blinked. "Brave one?"
From the moment disaster struck, legends had spread here of a hero from another world who would come, defeat the evil god, and bring hope. Hearing there was even an evil god made it sound more troublesome than a demon king.
More Spirit stepped out one after another, gaining courage as they watched. Yugen could not recognize most of them, but from their appearance they seemed to be mostly one or two star Normal Spirit.
"Come with me," the Holy Spirit said. "I will tell you how to leave this place."
The Spirit bound and imprisoned the remaining black Goblin. Under someone's overwhelming presence, the lackeys all kept their heads down and did not dare make a sound.
"Long ago, this world was invaded," the Holy Spirit explained as they walked. "The evil god's minions rampaged through the towns, capturing Spirit and sealing them into stone slabs to drain their lives and power to revive their god."
"Does that evil god have a name?" Yugen asked, guessing it might be a card he once knew.
She shook her head. "No one has ever seen it. We are a peaceful race of Spirit, and we have been hiding for years because we cannot resist its minions. Recently, they suddenly decided they wanted all of us at once."
The Holy Spirit led him to the outskirts of the city and raised her slender blue arm toward the sky. Yugen followed her finger and saw the sky split open, torn into a shockingRift gap, forming a black vortex like a gaping mouth.
"That is…?" he asked.
"A path to the evil god," she said with worry. "The rift grows larger each day, swallowing more of our world. When it opens wide enough, our world may cease to exist."
"I sympathize with what you are facing," Yugen said. "But I do not think I can help."
She smiled gently. "We have waited for the legendary hero while hiding from the minions. A prophecy says the hero will descend from another world, use the power of cards to break the minions, and awaken the sleeping warrior."
"A sleeping warrior?" Yugen asked.
"Yes, a legendary warrior with unmatched strength," the Holy Spirit replied. "He once drove back evil, but the evil god struck him down in a single blow and sealed his power. Only when the hero arrives and uses his power can the warrior awaken again and create a miracle."
In the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Spirit and Duelist depended on each other. Powerful Spirit enhanced a Duelist's fate, while only strong Duelist could draw out their full potential, just as the Egyptian God Cards were strongest only in the hands of the undefeated Pharaoh Atem.
"And the warrior is here," the Holy Spirit said.
As she spoke, she led Yugen to a massive rock formation. Carved into the side of the mountain was the image of a warrior, like an ancient Egyptian tablet, armored and kneeling with his sword planted in the ground, his eyes full of defiance.
Just as he expected, the carving depicted the Chaos Soldier. That was why the ruins were connected to this part of the Spirit World.
"If you wish to leave and return to where you came from, this is the only way," she said softly. "The legendary warrior has the power to open space. It called you here, and only it can send you back."
"But you want me to help you defeat the evil god," Yugen said. "What if I just go back?"
"The evil god itself is not here," she replied, shaking her head. "These are only its minions. No matter how many you defeat, more will come, and it means nothing."
"The true body of the evil god is in the world you came from," she continued. "It invades the Spirit