The Duel forcibly interrupted both their actions, dragging them into a Duel Space and neutralizing all external influences. Even Nero's singing from outside was completely blocked.
In this state, the Mental Pollution emanating from Jiang You was also isolated, allowing White Lancer Artoria to return to her normal state.
"A Duel... It seems to be like Nero's Golden Theater. My original Noble Phantasm is preserved, but it has still undergone some kind of mutation."
White Lancer Artoria stared grimly at Jiang You. She had been no match for him before; now, her chances seemed even slimmer.
"What could it be? An unfair duel, perhaps?"
"Stop muttering to yourself over there!"
Jiang You could hear her perfectly clear. When has a duel like this ever been fair? In a normal game, if the second player didn't draw a counter, they might as well surrender immediately. Most card games couldn't escape the problem of the second player being stuck in a losing position.
"Can you at least let me explain first? Don't treat me like I've fallen to evil or something."
"I refuse! Words can be deceiving, but a Spirit Origin never lies. How could Jiang You possess such a malevolent Spirit Origin?!"
Azathoth represents cosmic chaos, but to Earth's creatures, such unordered terror is undeniably evil.
"Actually, this is my original Spirit Origin. I only just found out myself."
Jiang You had no idea what the programmers were thinking. He'd thought Atem was already a heavyweight, but this new identity seemed to be straight out of the final act. It was hard to imagine a more absurd Spirit Origin.
"It seems my Unique Skill also carries strong Mental Pollution when active."
Unlike Nero, Jiang You could deactivate his Unique Skill. When turned off, he was essentially the same as his Caster self, with the Lovecraftian effects completely suppressed.
"So I can't even use it to show off normally. Seems a bit useless, doesn't it?"
Jiang You had always been bothered by his lack of a powerful aura. He'd hoped this Unique Skill would finally solve his problem of being constantly mistaken for a mere minion, but the Mental Pollution was so intense that even Heroic Spirits couldn't endure it. To prevent everyone around him from going insane, he had no choice but to keep it deactivated. "Is it better now? Take another look."
White Lancer Artoria carefully sensed Jiang You's state. He had indeed returned to his original form, the malevolent aura completely gone. Yet her face grew even paler. "To think you can disguise yourself to this extent..."
"So in your eyes, I'm destined to be the villain, huh?"
White Lancer Artoria had already made up her mind. What could he do? "Words are useless! I'll beat you until you kneel!"
"So a fight is unavoidable! Fine. Even if the hope is slim, I have to try. Jiang You, just wait! This time, I will be the one to correct you!"
White Lancer Artoria seemed to have made another firm resolve. "I'm initiating a Shadow Game! If you lose, you evil thing, you'll crawl back to wherever you came from and return Jiang You's body to him!"
"Wait, if I actually lose, how would that even be enforced?"
Jiang You was confused. This body is mine. If I have to 'crawl back to wherever I came from,' does that mean I'll be forcibly logged out?
In the end, he didn't need to worry about it, because the Shadow Game failed to activate.
"...It didn't work? Aren't Shadow Games supposed to be able to forcibly enact anything that's instinctively possible?"
White Lancer Artoria tried to initiate the Shadow Game again, but it failed once more.
"I told you, I am myself! Can't you just listen to me for once?!" Jiang You tried to prove his identity.
"So your Noble Phantasm has mutated!" White Lancer Artoria's gaze sharpened. "The rules of the Duel have been altered!"
"You're completely impossible to reason with!"
Jiang You gave up trying to convince her. "Fine! All that matters is winning, right? I'll go first!"
Jiang You LP: 4000
White Lancer Artoria LP: 4000
Come to think of it, very few people have dueled me twice. Gilgamesh doesn't count—one was a replica, and the other was from a different timeline.
Jiang You drew five cards. As he looked at his hand, a wild, unrestrained smile spread across his face.
He actually made expressions like this occasionally during duels, but White Lancer Artoria had rarely seen it—and had a tendency to selectively ignore it when she did.
"Don't make that kind of expression with Jiang You's face!"
"What kind of image do you even have of me?"
Jiang You always felt his reputation fluctuated wildly in their eyes.
"This is a totally normal expression for duelists to make!"
"Impossible! How could a human make such a face?!"
It seemed White Lancer Artoria's knowledge of ganmen geijutsu was still far too limited.
"Anyway, my turn! I activate the Field Spell Card, Underworld!"
He had acquired Eresh's card long ago but had never used it. Now that he had cards that synergized with it, he naturally added it to his Deck.
"Once per turn, I can send the top five cards of your Deck to the Graveyard! For each Servant sent to the Graveyard by this effect, I Special Summon one 500/500 Undead Token to my side of the field!"
"This is... the Goddess of the Underworld's card!"
White Lancer Artoria had encountered Eresh back in Fuyuki. "Even after becoming like this, can he still use other cards?"
"'You say that as if I had my own cards... though, I suppose I actually do now.'"
Jiang You still had several Blank Cards in his deck, ready to be imprinted when needed. It was strange—he seemed to have a sixth sense, a kind of premonition, for when a Blank Card would be his next draw. He wondered how the dev team had implemented this. Has their immersion technology advanced again?
"You sent two Servants to the Graveyard, so I'll summon two Undead Tokens!"
Undead Token ATK: 500 x 2.
Good, I still have a chance! White Lancer Artoria glanced at the Servants in her Graveyard—two Knights of the Round Table. She happened to have cards in her hand that could utilize resources from the Graveyard. In a way, Jiang You had just paved the way for her next move.
"Judging by your expression, you're planning to Special Summon from the Graveyard, aren't you?"
Jiang You hadn't milled her deck just to get Tribute fodder. "Sorry, but they can't help you now! I activate the Continuous Spell Card: Chaos Dream!"
A space of chaos descended, and the whispers that had once emanated from Jiang You's Spirit Origin resurfaced.
"Oh, and by the way," Jiang You said, "this card's effect banishes a total of five cards from both our Graveyards at the end of the turn... and then skips your turn."
Of course, he had to tell her about such a game-breaking effect.
"!!!"
White Lancer Artoria instantly recognized the card's danger. After all, this was an environment where hand traps were exceedingly rare.
"In other words, you have no more turns to act!"
Jiang You's smile grew increasingly manic. Denying his opponent the chance to play Yu-Gi-Oh! was truly an addictive feeling.