Chapter 4: Duelists Are Prohibited from Leaving the Field to Beat People Up

A true duelist should possess the composure to remain unmoved even if Mount Taishan collapses before them; no matter the situation, one must stay calm in chaos and never let impulse override rational judgment.

Sato Koji had his eyes closed, taking deep breaths repeatedly, striving to remind himself of this very point—

—that hitting people is a foul.

Because remembering this when facing the scumbag before him was truly a bit difficult.

With his remaining two hand cards unable to do anything, Sato Koji could only grit his teeth and declare the end of his turn. Then it was You Xuan's turn again; happy hour had begun.

"Draw." You Xuan drew a card from his deck.

At this moment, Sato Koji's front and back fields were spotless, like a young girl tempting someone to commit a crime. In this era before Yu-Gi-Oh! was poisoned by an overflow of hand traps, an empty field basically meant running naked, a situation where one could pin the opponent down and act without any psychological burden.

Thus, You Xuan wasted no words and directly slapped down the monster card he had just drawn.

"Summon 'Chief Kagiroi' in Attack Mode!"

A weather-beaten one-eyed warrior appeared on You Xuan's front field, an eyepatch covering one of his eyes.

[Chief Kagiroi, ATK 1400]

"Direct battle." You Xuan ordered, "Use Chief Kagiroi to attack the player directly."

The warrior received the command, pulled out two revolvers, transformed into Yan Shuangying, and opened fire with a rapid bang-bang-bang. A string of projected bullets pierced through Koji, the invisible impact causing him to sway back half a step.

In Kaiba Corporation's latest duel system, monsters summoned by the duel disk were not merely 3D projections; they were equipped with haptic impact devices. While they caused no real injury to the duelists, they simulated realistic impacts and a degree of pain to enhance the immersive experience of the duel.

[Koji, LP 4000 → LP 2600]

Taking the face-to-face damage directly, he took a deep breath.

Fortunately, it was merely a mob monster with 1400 attack points; he could still endure it.

But then You Xuan smiled: "The effect of 'Chief Kagiroi' activates. When this card inflicts battle damage to the opponent, I can choose one of two effects to activate.

First, the opponent discards one random card from their hand.

Second, the top two cards of the opponent's deck are sent to the Graveyard."

Koji's eyelid twitched violently.

"Wait, don't tell me you're going to... you're going to—"

His face began to distort, his expression gradually turning to terror, his body retreating uncontrollably under the drive of instinct.

"Correct, I choose to activate the first effect," You Xuan said. "Erase another one of your hand cards."

As his words fell, Kagiroi raised his revolver. With a single loud bang, a projected hole appeared in one of the two remaining cards in Koji's hand.

Gritting his teeth, Koji sent yet another card to the Graveyard, his eyes nearly bursting from their sockets.

Now he had only one card left...

This was not the only duel he had ever lost in his life, nor was the opponent the most formidable he had ever encountered.

But this was absolutely the duel where he most wanted to hit someone.

Playing until now and damn it, you haven't played a single card, can you believe it?

"Set two more cards on the field, turn end."

Two more face-downs were added to You Xuan's back field.

This time, when Koji saw those two additional abyss-like face-down cards, his attitude was completely different from his earlier contempt; his breathing nearly stalled.

Again? Please no?

I beg you, let me play a card...

By this point, the development had clearly exceeded the expectations of the onlookers. The students on both sides looked at each other, all wearing expressions of being completely baffled.

How to describe this duel?

It just felt weird, very weird.

Want to see fast-paced offense and defense and a contest of power? No, here there is only a hellish person preparing to break someone's mentality.

Want to see rapid summons and magnificent big monsters? No, here there is only a hellish person who looks thoroughly satisfied after breaking someone's mentality.

Anyway, up to this point in the match, one side hadn't managed to play a single card, so there was essentially no tactic to analyze or evaluate. As for the side that had played cards, every move and every card seemed to be subtly permeated by two words—

—Revenge on society.

That is, retaliating against society.

This guy didn't even summon a single monster, didn't attack the opponent's Life Points at all; his entire conduct seemed to silently declare: I may not win, but you are absolutely not going to play Yu-Gi-Oh! today.

Isn't that exactly retaliating against society?

"Junior brother, dueling like this is incorrect."

Koji struggled to maintain the image of a gentle senior, but his twitching facial muscles and trembling voice seemed on the verge of snapping.

You Xuan smiled without speaking, politely making a "please" gesture, indicating it was once again his turn to play Yu-Gi-Oh!

That said, any card gamer knows that Yu-Gi-Oh! is a cruel game; it is enough if only one side gets to play.

Only then did Koji reluctantly raise his duel disk again.

"Then... it is my turn..."

He clenched his teeth tightly.

Only one card remained in his hand, and it was an Equip Spell; obviously, it was useless since he couldn't even summon a monster.

This was the draw that would decide his fate.

But a true duelist would never shrink back. Just as the legendary Duel King Yugi Muto said: Believe in your deck, and your deck will surely respond.

He believed in the bond between himself and his deck!

Sato Koji placed his finger on his deck, taking a deep breath while silently chanting in his heart.

Pear paste! Give me a Level 4 monster!

Then came a draw that seemed infused with soul, tracing a cool arc.

The instant he opened his eyes and glimpsed that card, Sato Koji's pupils shook with earthquake-like intensity, and he nearly burst into laughter toward the sky.

It's here!

Not only had he drawn a summonable monster, but it was "Reptilianne Viper," a Level 4 with 1850 attack points. It was precisely, mockingly, 50 points higher than those popular 1800-ATK beaters currently sought after in the market, making it the strongest low-level monster in his deck.

Indeed, the deck had responded to his wishes!

However, just as the corner of Koji's mouth curled upward, as if the horn of counterattack was about to sound,

when he looked up and clearly saw another face-down card on the opponent's back field that had been flipped up at some unknown time, his smile instantly froze.

Trap Card - Drop Off, Unit Two.

Activated during the opponent's Draw Phase; the card they just drew is sent directly to the Graveyard.

Sato Koji: "..."

"According to the effect of Drop Off," You Xuan said politely, "please discard that card as well."

Koji's lips were nearly bitten until they bled. With a ferocious expression, he sent this crucial comeback card, "Reptilianne Viper," to the Graveyard; looking down, he saw that his hand still contained only that lonely, left-behind Equip Spell.

"Turn... turn end," Koji declared gloomily.

"Then it is my turn again, draw."

You Xuan glanced at the card he drew; it was another Trap.

His hand was overflowing with red pits, but the opponent clearly had no cards left to pit. So he added this card to his hand, casually waved his hand again, and said, "Chief Kagiroi, direct attack."

[Koji, LP 2600 → LP 1200]

"Kagiroi's effect activates again. Naturally, it's still the first effect."

You Xuan pointed at the last card in his hand.

"Discard that one too."

Watching his last hand card go to the Graveyard, Sato Koji suddenly thought that perhaps he should have set that card on the field last turn; although it wouldn't have meant much, at least it would have saved the card...

His mentality had collapsed, and he had completely forgotten about that.

Although it seemed to have no impact on the situation, anyway.

"Turn end."

"Then my turn, draw."

This time, Koji drew a card but didn't even look at what he drew; instead, he stared straight at You Xuan's back field with wide eyes.

As if asking, No traps, right?

So I'm drawing? Really drawing?

Over on his side, You Xuan smiled and signaled for him to proceed.

Finally having painfully crossed the Draw Phase and entered the Standby Phase of this turn, Sato Koji was almost on the verge of tears.

In the past, he might never have dreamed that drawing a card... could be such a luxurious happiness.

Seeing the card he had drawn in his hand, his spirits lifted even more.

Resentful Killing Doll, Level 4, ATK 1600.

Normally just an ordinary monster, but its 1600 attack points could save his life at this very moment. Because although Chief Kagiroi's effect was disgusting, his attack points were only 1400.

Finally, he could beat down that sword tomb piece of trash that discarded his hand every turn!

Impatient, Sato Koji shouted, "I summon 'Resentful Killing Doll' in Attack Mode, attack 'Chief Kagiroi'! Hit him, damn it, die, die..."

"Don't get excited, don't get excited, bro, calm down, duels should be played with a smile."

You Xuan reminded him with a chuckle.

"And don't rush just yet; before that, we haven't reached the Battle Phase. Because at the previous timing, I activated a Trap Card."

He pointed to a face-down card standing up on his back field.

"Trap Card - Compulsory Evacuation Device. Return one monster on the field to its owner's hand.

I will return 'Resentful Killing Doll' to your hand."

The trap activated; before the cursed puppet wielding an axe could even steady its footing, it transformed into a card of light and flew back into Sato Koji's hand.

Sato Koji: "."

This was his only remaining hand card.

Moreover, he had just used his sole Normal Summon opportunity for this turn.

Thus, it was obvious he had no more moves to make.

What would happen next was clear: he could do nothing but end his turn, after which that damn Zalorg would attack him again, forcing him to discard this last card in his hand.

Oh, wait—no, he wouldn't even last until then. With only 1200 LP remaining, one more hit would finish him off.

However, You Xuan ultimately failed to reduce Sato Koji's LP to zero.

Because before the next turn could begin...

Sato Koji was disqualified and declared the loser on the spot when surrounding students urgently restrained him for attempting a direct attack on his opponent during the duel.

(End of Chapter)