Chapter 105: Playing Cards Can Kill You

[Beetle Armor Knight, LP0]

Dueling in the Spirit Dimension differs from dark duels in the outside world. Here, both parties’ monster spirits and card effects are physically manifested, and damage dealt during the duel is real damage—but if both sides are merely sparring, they can intentionally hold back and stop short of fatal blows.

Unlike dark duels, where only one person can walk out alive after a single match.

Of course, for You Xuan, there was no reason to hold back. The Abyss Soldier’s unrelenting slash cleaved straight through the beetle’s skull.

The latter lay back on the ground, blood spraying five paces, then immediately dissolved into light particles as it perished.

And dropped a deck.

You Xuan stepped forward, picked up the deck, and glanced around, frowning.

Damn, didn’t even drop a dueling disk.

The Spirit Realm’s downside is this: many spirits’ dueling disks aren’t technological or tool-made artifacts, but rather grow organically from their bodies, becoming part of their physical form. So when the user dies, the dueling disk vanishes too.

Too bad—if he’d taken one back, even if he couldn’t use it, selling it to Kaiba’s CEO for research would’ve been a hefty income.

Whatever. At least I got a deck. Not bad.

Though he had no immediate intention of using insect cards, and this deck wasn’t particularly strong or versatile compared to the ones he already held, many of its cards should fetch a good price.

For instance, he immediately thought of Senior Watanabe Shuichi from the Dueling Club—he’d gladly pay a fair price.

Jūdai watched for a long while before finally blurting out: “Wait, where did that guy go?”

You Xuan froze, then realized a few seconds later.

Oh right—Jūdai was still a naive, innocent student. In the normal timeline, at this point he’d still be seriously debating Titan over whether dark duels were even real.

A staunch materialist, raised under Kaiba’s education.

“He’s dead,” You Xuan told him plainly. “That’s the rule in this world. In many places, dueling isn’t just a game—it’s a form of combat. Dueling decides life and death.”

The materialist student Jūdai was stunned.

His expression screamed: I’m not stupid—don’t lie to me. You can die from playing cards?

But You Xuan quickly added: nothing to be shocked about. Dying from a duel? That’s nothing. Later on, duels can destroy worlds and reverse time.

Jūdai’s worldview suffered a massive shock.

His upbringing told him this was absurd, yet deep inside, a voice whispered that it was true.

Besides, they’d already crossed over from a ruined dormitory into this strange continent and encountered spirit monsters—undeniable facts.

So for the first time in his life, Jūdai had to confront this possibility.

Playing cards might really be deadly.

Then he suddenly thought of something, looking up at You Xuan’s back with a complex expression.

So… You Xuan just risked his life in that duel?

And he already knew this.

Meaning he still stepped forward without hesitation, even knowing the stakes.

Was it because, as a partner, he didn’t want Jūdai to face such brutal duels?

Meanwhile, You Xuan had already strolled ahead, humming a tune. Jūdai followed silently, then suddenly asked:

“By the way, You Xuan—did you take that spirit’s deck?”

“Yeah,” You Xuan said. “What of it?”

“Oh, nothing. Just felt weird taking someone else’s deck,” Jūdai scratched his head.

“Someone else’s deck? Whose?” You Xuan frowned.

Jūdai blinked: “Huh? Didn’t you just say it was the beetle spirit’s deck?”

You Xuan: “Where’s the beetle spirit now?”

Jūdai: “Didn’t you say… he died?”

“Exactly. If he’s gone, how can it still be his?” You Xuan said matter-of-factly. “It’s ownerless. I picked it up.”

Jūdai frowned, thinking.

Huh? That actually makes sense.

“Besides, if a deck’s just lying out in the wilderness, if I don’t pick it up, won’t someone else? What if some evil spirit grabs it and uses it as a weapon to oppress the innocent? Wouldn’t that be terrible?”

Jūdai pondered: “Huh… yeah, that makes sense.”

“What do you mean ‘makes sense’? Of course it makes sense.” You Xuan waved his hand. “And even if no one picked it up, leaving so many cards exposed to wind, sun, or beastly teeth—wouldn’t that be a tragedy?”

“As upright duelists, shouldn’t we give these poor, ownerless cards a home?”

“Yeah, yeah!”

Jūdai was slowly being convinced.

“Right?”

You Xuan patted his shoulder, speaking solemnly.

“Jūdai, dueling isn’t always fun. Sometimes it’s heavy. You’ll face it eventually, won’t you?”

“When evil hands hold cards, they become weapons of harm. As light-bringers of justice, we can’t let our beloved Duel Monsters be abused!”

These words struck Jūdai’s heart, instantly igniting his passion for dueling and heroic justice: “Yes!”

“So, if you ever face such a situation, remember: never hesitate. Dueling disks and decks are tools of evil. We must never leave them for the wicked to use again!”

You Xuan spoke with righteous conviction.

But after a pause, his tone softened.

“Of course, from a duelist’s perspective, taking someone’s deck—something as sacred as their soul—might bring guilt. But there’s no choice. Heroes must sometimes sacrifice to uphold justice.”

“But! If Jūdai, you find this too heavy, let me bear it instead.”

You Xuan grinned.

Of course, he was just joking. But if Jūdai ever won a life-or-death duel and offered him the opponent’s deck, he’d just have to reluctantly accept it.

Dark duels run too deep—he feared Jūdai couldn’t handle it. Better he took the burden himself.

“By the way, You Xuan, I’ve never seen this deck before,” Jūdai said.

“Oh, I just saw this card, ‘Abyss Soldier,’ in the Dueling Club two days ago, so I built this deck around it.”

“Wow~ That’s awesome,” Jūdai said enviously. “You and Sanzawa—you’re both so smart. You come up with such incredible combos and powerful builds so easily.”

You Xuan thought: No, no—I’m the one who envies you.

If I had your talent, why would I bother assembling all these decks? Just throw them all together and let them figure it out themselves.

(End of Chapter)