Chapter 319: From Hell

"Judai Yuki, is it?"

The Necromancer raised his Duel Disk, a bizarre smile plastered on his face.

"Who are you?"

Judai was puzzled for a moment, initially wanting to ask about the other's origins, but that sliver of curiosity vanished the instant he saw the Duel Disk the Necromancer held aloft.

Did it matter who the opponent was? It didn't matter at all.

What mattered was that there were more cards to play.

"I get it, a duelist from the tournament, right?" Judai rubbed his nose and gave a cheeky grin. "Then let's do this! I always go all out from start to finish!"

The Necromancer narrowed his eyes, revealing a strange, soft chuckle.

"Duel!" x2

Both sides simultaneously unfolded their Duel Disks and drew five cards.

【Judai, LP 4000】

【Necromancer, LP 4000】

"I'll take the first move. Draw."

The Necromancer drew a card, then let out an even more eerie and chilling laugh.

"Hehehe, I drew this card right off the bat. It seems even the gods are urging me to finish you off quickly. Then, let me make this a swift execution."

He pulled a card from his hand, a green glint flashing in his eyes.

"Field Spell—The Seal of Orichalcos!!!"

Judai's pupils contracted, his smile vanishing in an instant.

It was this card!

Having faced the swordsman of Xin Xin Duoma alongside Fujiki You Xuan, Judai knew exactly what the activation of this card signified.

It meant this was no longer just a tournament match, but a struggle for life and death. The loser of this battle would lose their soul.

Judai: "You... you are..."

The barrier expanded, green light shooting into the sky. The Necromancer squinted, a hexagram mark reflecting on his forehead, his robes seemingly billowing under the overflowing green radiance.

"Oh, you actually recognize The Seal of Orichalcos. Then I suppose no further explanation is needed. It's already too late to realize it now; you can't run anymore."

The Necromancer let out a cackling, sinister laugh.

"Very soon, you will realize in this duel the power of the Hell Deck I developed after mastering the tactics of legendary duelists!"

Judai: "Why does that sound like something I've heard somewhere before..."

"I set one monster in face-down Defense Position, then set two cards face-down." The Necromancer sneered. "Turn end."

Judai took a deep breath.

"Then it's my turn, draw!"

This was no ordinary duel.

He scanned his surroundings uneasily, watching the green light rippling within the sealed barrier.

Whoever loses in this barrier... dies.

Judai's expression turned solemn.

He had to be on his absolute guard.

"I summon 'Elemental HERO Sparkman'!"

【Elemental HERO Sparkman, ATK 1600】

"Sparkman, attack the face-down monster!"

The Elemental HERO warrior in the blue bodysuit soared into the air, riding lightning. Electricity condensed in his palm like a vortex, transforming into a blue current javelin that pierced forward.

"Activate face-down card, Continuous Trap 'Gravity Bind'!"

The Necromancer flipped his backrow, and an invisible gravitational wave was instantly released from the trap card, enveloping the entire field.

"The effect of Gravity Bind: all monsters level 4 or higher cannot attack."

Judai frowned slightly.

Attack lockdown, a trap similar to Fujiki You Xuan's...

"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Quick Summon', allowing me to Normal Summon one monster from my hand." (Original card)

Judai revealed another Elemental HERO from his hand.

"I Normal Summon 'Elemental HERO Wildheart'!"

【Elemental HERO Wildheart, ATK 1500】

"Wildheart, attack the face-down monster!"

The wild Elemental HERO drew his blade, charging forward directly against the restraint of the gravitational waves, swinging his sword to unleash a domineering blast of air toward the face-down monster.

"I see, Wildheart possesses the power to ignore traps..."

"That's right, 'Elemental HERO Wildheart' is unaffected by any trap effects, so he can attack even under the restraint of 'Gravity Bind'," Judai shouted.

"Heh, you actually brought out a way to break Gravity Bind immediately. However..."

The Necromancer narrowed his eyes, humming with a strange laugh.

"Is it really going to be that easy?"

The face-down monster flipped up, and a small, white, dainty monster appeared on the field. Wildheart's blade struck, but it only sank in, and immediately after, it was bounced back by a powerful elastic force. The blade rebounded against Wildheart's own forehead, the recoil force making him stagger back.

"The monster you attacked is 'Marshmallon'," the Necromancer said. "Marshmallon cannot be destroyed by battle. And when this face-down card is attacked, the opponent takes 1000 points of recoil damage."

【Judai, LP 4000 → LP 3000】

"Ugh..."

Swept by the shockwave, Judai winced, staggering back half a step.

"Ah, I got played..."

He glanced at his hand, thought for a moment, and selected another card.

"Then I set one card, turn end."

"Hehe, turn end, is it?"

The Necromancer let out an even more sinister, cackling laugh.

"What?"

Judai was taken aback, seemingly beginning to realize something was wrong.

Within the green barrier, a somewhat eerie atmosphere had begun to permeate.

At first, it sounded like the wind, but it gradually evolved into the sound of the dead whispering. The cold wind seemed to carry countless ghosts, swirling around him. Among them were gibbering, weeping, and sharp, shrill laughter.

Judai widened his eyes, as if he truly saw them.

Transparent, white specters, their faces seemingly bearing the deepest sorrow and resentment in the world, their hollow eye sockets like abysses of hatred.

A letter emerged between his palms.

A flickering, eerie letter "D".

Judai instantly recognized what this was.

Although he was a poor student who never listened in class, he was fascinated by the legendary duelists of the early days. He owned the collector's discs of the original Battle City, and he hadn't missed a single match after the quarterfinals.

So, naturally, he immediately recognized this tactic—

—Destiny Board!

The tactic used by Bakura Ryou, the legendary duelist from Battle City who had faced Yugi Mutou and had nearly won if Yugi hadn't drawn the Egyptian God card in the final turn.

Of course, student Judai didn't know that the Dark Bakura who dueled Yugi back then was actually the final boss of DM, the Great Thief Zorc. In the Egypt arc, he had successively defeated the three Egyptian Gods, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Dragon Master Knight, and even the ultimate boss Exodia the Forbidden One, only to finally fall to a single "Toilet Cleaner" blast from the Creator God of Light.

But those were undisclosed parts, secrets known only to the protagonist group who participated in the Egypt arc. Most of the outside world was completely unaware that the entire plane had once been threatened by a world-destroying demon king.

"Correct, it is indeed the tactic used by the legendary duelist of that year," the Necromancer cackled. "With our New Xin Xin Duoma technology, even this out-of-print rare deck can be perfectly replicated.

And now, the countdown to your death has begun.

Destiny Board activates; during the opponent's End Phase, place one 'Dark Spirit of the Message' card from your hand or deck into your Spell & Trap Zone in the correct order.

And the next message of death leading to your demise is this card..."

A new evil spirit drifted out onto his field, holding a new letter in its hand.

"... Dark Spirit of the Message E!"

(End of Chapter)