Now that he thought about it, he realized he had not really done anything the whole time. The cards in his hand were either discarded before he could play them, destroyed the moment they hit the field, or simply taken to the other side.
Honestly, if it were not for his respect for Hero-sama, he might have torn off his Duel Disk and drawn his sword to attack directly.
But after calming down and thinking it through, especially when he imagined mastering such techniques himself and using this kind of Duel to bring joy to those hateful Dark God Minions, the corners of his mouth twitched.
"Heh. Hehehehe."
He could not help laughing out loud.
The surrounding Spirit looked at one another with concern.
Had Marauding Captain been broken by that Duel?
At that moment, a warrior rushed in from outside.
"Marauding Captain! Report!"
He was breathing hard.
"The outsider you asked me to find, the one in red with hair like a jellyfish. We think we found him!"
At the same time, Judai Yuki was eating.
If it had been any other student who suddenly fell into another world, they might have panicked. But the thick skinned Judai Yuki did not.
After a brief shock, he quickly accepted the situation and wandered around. He even helped an old woman push a cart loaded with goods by the roadside.
Unable to refuse her warm invitation, he joined her for a meal and ate three large bowls before finally walking out, rubbing his round stomach.
"No, no, this is not the time to eat, burp." Judai Yuki let out a long breath. "Yugen seems to be here too. I need to find him quickly. And we have to get back to Duel Academy before dawn, or we will be expelled."
Floating beside him, Winged Kuriboh chirped, "Kuri kuri."
Kuriboh seemed to say that expulsion was not their biggest problem right now.
"Huh?" Judai Yuki suddenly grabbed Kuriboh, only now realizing something. "Wait, why can I touch you, Winged Kuriboh?"
Until now, busy eating, Judai Yuki had not realized this was the world of Spirit.
"Kuri!"
Kuriboh suddenly cried out, flapping its wings and ramming into him, knocking him aside.
Judai Yuki fell to the ground, and in that instant a poisoned needle shot past his face and struck the dirt with a sharp snap.
"What?"
Judai Yuki turned in surprise and saw a figure standing on a nearby slope. It wore armor, carried a sword and shield, and stood upright like a human, but its head resembled an insect.
An insect knight.
"Why does that look familiar?"
He slapped his forehead, then realized.
"Wait, aren't you a card?!"
Insect Knight, Level 4, ATK 1900. A Normal Monster.
The Insect Knight snorted. "So you are a Duelist. That weak Spirit blocked my attack? My scout reported that Bone King fell to an otherworld warrior. Was it you?"
Judai Yuki blinked. "Wh what king?"
The Insect Knight leaped down and prepared to attack again, but suddenly his expression changed as if sensing something.
A fierce sword aura slashed toward him from behind without warning.
It was too sudden for him to react. The soil behind him burst open and an insect Spirit sprang out, throwing itself in front of the blade and exploding into fragments.
It was a subordinate from the Insect Knight's Deck, summoned at the last moment to block the strike. Even so, the remaining force knocked the Insect Knight rolling twice across the ground.
He looked up to see a warrior of chaos descending from the air, blade wrapped in light and darkness, cleaving down with immense force.
"Legendary Warrior!"
The Insect Knight was shocked. But even as he rolled, he had already drawn a card and activated it at once.
"Sakuretsu Armor!"
Trap Card Sakuretsu Armor, a shield capable of destroying powerful Spirit in a single blow.
The explosive energy shot toward the descending Black Luster Soldier, only to strike a faint golden barrier and vanish.
It was useless.
"You have protective magic too?" the Insect Knight shouted.
The light surrounding Black Luster Soldier was from Power of the Guardians, an Equip Spell that gathered counters when the monster attacked and could protect it from destruction by battle or effect.
At that critical instant, the Insect Knight felt a chill at the back of his head.
From the corner of his compound eye, he saw a silver haired mage in white robes already behind him. Magic gathered at her staff, ready to erupt toward him.
He was caught between two sides with nowhere to escape.
However.
"Counter Trap, Negate Attack!"
A powerful vortex burst out from him. The energies from Black Luster Soldier and Silent Magician were twisted into the spinning current, followed by a violent backlash that forced both attackers to retreat.
"Whew. That was close."
The Insect Knight stood up and coldly examined the two Spirit, then shifted his gaze past them.
Toward the direction of the Duelist who had been commanding them from the shadows.
"So there is more than one outsider here?"
Yugen stepped out from where he had been watching. "Looks like we still have to settle this with a Duel."
The brief clash just now felt like a scene from the memory world of a king, where monsters fought directly.
Perhaps that was why Duelist had to decide things with cards. Unless one side controlled overwhelmingly powerful Spirit like the Egyptian God Cards, it was almost impossible to determine a winner when monsters could be used without cost or limit.
"I see. Then you must be the Duelist who defeated Bone King. Whoever you are, those who enter the domain of the god must become sacrifices."
The Insect Knight raised his Duel Disk.
"Enough talk. Come!"
"Duel!"
Beside them, Judai Yuki was still stunned, barely understanding what was happening. But one thing was clear. Yugen was about to play cards with the enemy.
Judai Yuki muttered softly, "I kind of wanted to Duel with a Spirit too."
For the protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh! who had played more matches across the entire LV Series than anyone else, this was probably the first time in his life that a Duel delivered to his door had been taken by someone else.
"Using this Deck against you should be more appropriate."
Yugen casually pulled a Deck from the card case behind him and slotted it into his Duel Disk. The Insect Knight agent gave a cold laugh and said it did not matter what Deck he used. Before the power granted by the Dark God, every Deck was equally weak, and this Duel would become a ritual offering.
"Duel!" both declared at once.
"My turn. Card Draw." Yugen Do activated Spell Card Pot of Greed and drew two cards from his Deck. He set one monster face down, then revealed another spell. "Spell Card Foolish Burial. Send one monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. I send Sinister Serpent to the Graveyard."
He set two more cards and ended his turn.
"My My Turn!. Card Draw." Insect Knight immediately played Spell Card Card Destruction, forcing both sides to discard their hands to the Graveyard and draw the same number of cards. After drawing again, he revealed a monster. "Giant Drill Worm can Special Summon itself by banishing an Insect-Type from my Graveyard."
He banished the discarded Dragonfly and Special Summon Giant Drill Worm. The ground split open and a massive worm burst out, its jaws slick with mucus.
Giant Drill Worm, ATK 1900.
"Next, Spell Card Monster Reborn. I revive a monster from the Graveyard. Come back, Resonance Insect."
Resonance Insect, ATK 1000.