The rain was pouring down in torrents, drenching every corner of the campus and shrouding the scenery the students were so familiar with in a haze of mist and chaos. Thick dark clouds blanketed the sky, the heavy cloud layer hanging so low it felt within reach, as if the entire world had been compressed into something stifling and oppressive.
Ghana Marden stood quietly in the middle of the sports field, letting the bean-sized raindrops mercilessly pound against his body, as if this downpour, this entire world, had nothing to do with him. The roar of the rain around him intertwined with the howling wind to form an impassioned yet chaotic symphony. His Yellow Dormitory uniform, soaked through, clung tightly to his body, outlining a thin and lonely silhouette. Rain slid down from the tips of his hair, dripping onto his face like tears.
And not far in front of him, also standing in the pouring rain, also wearing the Yellow Dormitory uniform, stood Fujiki Yugen in silence.
They stood face to face, letting the rain cascade over them, with no expression and no words, as if their gazes alone were enough to say everything.
After a brief standoff, Marden slowly raised his hand.
Yugen could clearly see that the boy's right hand had already been replaced by some kind of monster's arm, like a Demon's claw. That claw snapped its fingers with a crisp "snap" that rang out clearly in the curtain of rain.
In an instant, the rainfall was cut off from them, and even the roar of the downpour receded far away from the two. Outside was the symphony of raging wind and storm, while the two of them stood within a tranquil Magic Barrier.
"Yubel, huh." Yugen pinched the bridge of his nose. "I really didn't expect that even like this you still managed to find your way onto Marden. What an unlucky kid..."
"Let me guess, even if I politely ask you to get off this kid right now, you're not going to listen, are you?"
Marden—no, Yubel—let out a cold chuckle. "This brat doesn't look like much, but the Darkness in his heart is actually quite delicious."
"I'm afraid you'll have to try blasting me off of him..."
She paused, the corners of her mouth lifting as she pointed at her own body with that Demonic claw. "That is, if you don't mind this kid not being able to handle it."
"All right, I figured as much," Yugen said.
In the short ten minutes since Yubel had personally taken the risk of infiltrating the Academy, Yugen had already blocked her path.
He hadn't planned to settle this just by flapping his gums anyway; in the end, he still had to play cards.
"Before we start, I have a question for you," Yubel said.
"Oh?"
"You and my Judai," Yubel's eyes were filled with hostility, "just what exactly is your relationship?"
"Me and Judai?"
Yugen was briefly stunned. His first instinct was to say they were just somewhat familiar classmates, but then he thought better of it. Seeing Yubel's jealous expression, he couldn't help but laugh, and took the opportunity to change his wording.
"Oh, we're naturally close friends who can confide in each other and have always supported one another and grown together," Yugen said with a smile. "I'm really sorry, you came all the way back from the other side of the Cosmos with great difficulty."
"But as you can see, Judai has been growing just fine even without you. He's even awakened to and mastered the power of the Overlord, because he already has me."
Yugen narrowed his eyes, speaking in a mocking tone.
"Looks like he doesn't need you anymore."
Yubel flew into a rage, screaming incoherently in fury, so angry she didn't even feel like playing cards anymore. She raised that Demonic claw and blasted out a shot of energy.
Of course, when it was still several meters away from Yugen, it crashed into a transparent Magic Barrier covered in intricate patterns and was forcibly stopped. Silent Magician stood before Yugen, Magic Staff in hand, guarding him, while Yugen remained where he was without moving an inch.
"Bastard, bastard, bastard... Close friends? I don't remember ever allowing you to be Judai's friend!"
Yubel screamed her head off.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
As she spoke, that Demon's Hand had already started to transform, the structure of a Duel Disc extending along her arm, a Card Deck already loaded within.
Yugen unfolded his Duel Disc.
So far, things were going pretty well. Yubel's resurrection was incomplete; she probably couldn't bring out a full hundred percent of her strength. Even so, she had evolved and mutated under the Evil power of the Light Fluctuation during the ten years she'd been drifting through the Cosmos, and couldn't be taken lightly.
Disrupting her mentality before the Duel even began could effectively interfere with a Duelist's "momentum" and on-the-spot judgment, further widening his advantage.
Sister Yubel had been drifting in the Cosmos too long without talking to anyone; she might have already forgotten the charm of trash-talk. So Yugen kindly helped her review it, so that once she stuck with Judai again, she could more quickly get into the role of an excellent Back Spirit.
"Duel!" x2
[Yugen, LP4000]
[Yubel, LP4000]
"I'll go first. Draw!"
With six opening cards in hand, Yubel glanced over her six cards one by one, and during that time, her emotions did calm down a little.
Her current condition wasn't great, and the enemy she faced was anything but ordinary. This was not the kind of opponent she could handle while in a hot-headed state.
"I summon 'Sacrificial Lotus'."
Green leaves appeared on her field and quickly spread outward. A bright lotus blossom bloomed amid the foliage.
[Sacrificial Lotus, Attack Power 0]
Sacrificial Lotus was a card Yugen often used as well, though in the anime it first appeared in Yubel's hands. It's a card that can pop back up from the grave infinitely like a zombie during the End Phase. The Physical Card requires there to be no Magic Trap in the back row after the End Phase to activate; in the anime there was no such restriction—so long as it was in the graveyard, it could jump back onto the field unconditionally.
Yubel herself has an effect where, if she doesn't use a Monster as a sacrifice each End Phase, she self-destructs. As such, Sacrificial Lotus formed the best combo with Yubel's true form. Each turn, the Nascent Sacrifice Lotus zombifies back, and is fed to Yubel as a tribute, allowing Yubel to remain on the field continuously.
Well, that's assuming the Nascent Sacrifice Lotus is actually in the graveyard.
The corners of Yugen's mouth lifted slightly.
"Then I set one card face-down and end my turn," Yubel said.
"My turn. Draw."
Yugen drew a card and added it to his hand, then calmly pulled out another card from his hand.
"First, I activate this card..."
"Continuous Magic 'Dimensional Rift'!"
The Magic Card slid into the Duel Disc, and black Lightning immediately burst forth in the sky. Countless bolts seemed to cleave open space itself, revealing a massive fissure, and beyond that fissure was pitch-black chaos, a Dimension leading who knew where.
"As long as Dimensional Rift exists in the Magic Trap Zone," Yugen said, "all Monsters sent to the graveyard on both sides don't go to the graveyard, but are removed from the Game instead."
The Magic version of Great Cosmos!
Yubel's expression changed dramatically.
Not sent to the graveyard—directly removed...
Not good.
Her plan with summoning Nascent Sacrifice Lotus on the first turn was, of course, to get it into the grave as preparation for her true form's appearance later. But with Dimensional Rift on the field now, once Nascent Sacrifice Lotus leaves, it has to be removed directly. Her strategy hadn't even begun to unfold, and a key card had already been wiped out.
The corner of Yubel's mouth twitched.
Seriously, how does some sneaky bastard open with this kind of crap right off the bat?
Do you not need your own graveyard or what!?