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[Masked Sorcerer, LP: 0]
With his life points reduced to zero, the Masked Sorcerer's spirit vanished without a trace. It seemed that Silent Magician's final attack had obliterated him entirely, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.
The duel concluded, and You Xuan clapped his hands casually, turning to face the remaining goblin minions. Silent Magician remained on the field after the battle ended, her staff in hand as she stood vigilantly by his side, her cold gaze sweeping over the surrounding circle of goblins.
The goblins who had been watching from the sidelines were frozen in place, their minds still reeling from the final moments of the duel. The image of that overwhelming 5,000+ attack power, the sheer destructive force, and the despairing scream of their leader being reduced to dust left an indelible mark on their terrified souls.
This duelist was terrifying!
The entire squad of goblins stood rigidly in place, too frightened to move. As You Xuan stowed his Duel Disk and began walking toward them, they felt as though they were staring at the grim reaper himself, step by step approaching their doom...
Finally, one goblin in the back row gritted his teeth and blurted out, "I... I just remembered my wife is about to give birth! Brothers, I'll take my leave first..."
Without another word, he turned and bolted.
His departure triggered a chain reaction. Another goblin slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Ah, right! My wife is also giving birth—I'll be off too!"
"Me too! My wife too!"
"Oh, I just remembered—my father died last year and hasn't been buried yet. I need to hurry and take care of that..."
BOOM!
A burst of magical energy exploded in front of the fastest fleeing group of goblins, creating a massive crater in the ground and sending the panicked creatures tumbling. The goblin at the front, unable to stop in time, collided headfirst into the magical blast, disintegrating instantly. There wasn't even anything left to bury.
The remaining goblins were utterly petrified, trembling in fear and unable to move a muscle.
"Don't worry, I'm not some devil," You Xuan said with a faint smile as he approached the spot where the Masked Sorcerer had disintegrated.
He sifted through the pile of ash-like remnants, retrieving the sorcerer's deck from the ground and slipping it into his pocket with practiced ease.
The sight sent shivers down the spines of the remaining goblins, who lowered their heads further, thinking to themselves, If this isn't the devil, then what is?
"I didn't mean to intrude here, nor did I intend to interfere in your battles. I just happened to pass by. If you could tell me how to leave this place..."
Before he could finish, he felt a light tug on his sleeve. Turning his head, he saw Silent Magician pointing behind him, gesturing subtly.
That's when You Xuan noticed figures beginning to appear on the otherwise deserted streets of the town.
Or more accurately, spirits.
Small spirits peeked out cautiously from the shadows of nearby buildings or cracks in doors and windows, drawn by the commotion of the duel. Among them, a blonde-haired, blue-skinned female spirit mustered the courage to step out of the shadows and approach them.
Though most of these spirits were unfamiliar to You Xuan, he recognized this one. Her name was "Holy Elf," a four-star monster with 800 attack and 2000 defense—a relatively weak card that Yugi had summoned in the anime, which was why he remembered her.
"Brave hero, we've finally found you..." the Holy Elf said.
You Xuan: "?"
Hero?
The term immediately brought to mind clichéd scenarios from isekai stories—heroes defeating demon lords and rescuing princesses...
"Ever since disaster befell our world, legends have spread among us. One day, a hero from another world would arrive to defeat the evil god and bring hope."
Oh, so there was an evil god involved now? Sounded like the difficulty level had jumped from "demon lord" to "god-tier."
As more spirits emerged from hiding, though You Xuan couldn't recognize any of them, their appearances suggested they were mostly low-level, one- or two-star spirits.
"Follow me," the Holy Elf said. "I'll show you how to leave this place."
The spirits bound and restrained the remaining black goblins, who cowered under the oppressive atmosphere, not daring to make a sound.
"From some unknown point in time, our world has been invaded. The evil god's minions have ravaged towns and cities, capturing spirits and sealing them into stone slabs to drain their life force and power, fueling the revival of the dark god."
"Does this evil god have a name?" You Xuan asked, already suspecting it might be a card he recognized from his past life.
The Holy Elf shook her head. "No, no one has ever seen it. We are peaceful spirits, powerless against the evil god's forces. For years, we've been forced to hide and flee."
"But recently, they seem to have grown impatient. Suddenly, they decided to capture all of us at once."
The Holy Elf led him to the outskirts of the town and raised her slender blue arm, pointing toward the sky.
Following her finger, You Xuan looked up. There, the sky was grotesquely torn open, as if a gaping wound had been ripped through reality. The rift formed a swirling black vortex, resembling a ravenous maw.
"What is that...?"
"The gateway to the evil god's domain," the Holy Elf said gravely. "Every day, the rift grows larger, devouring our world bit by bit. When it expands enough, our world may cease to exist entirely."
"I sympathize with your plight," You Xuan said, "but I don't see how I can help."
The Holy Elf smiled faintly.
"For a long time, we've been evading the evil god's minions while waiting for the legendary hero to arrive. A prophet among the spirits foretold that the hero would come from another world, wielding the power of cards to vanquish the evil god's forces and awaken the sleeping warrior."
"The sleeping warrior?"
"Yes, a legendary warrior of unmatched strength who once rose to challenge the evil god's power." The Holy Elf's voice carried reverence. "He was incredibly powerful, even managing to repel the dark forces temporarily. But in the end, the evil god struck. With a single overwhelming attack, it defeated the warrior—the only protector of this world—and sealed away his power. Legend says that only the hero's 'power' can awaken him and spark a miracle."
In the world of Duel Monsters, spirits and duelists shared a symbiotic relationship. Just as powerful spirits granted duelists greater destiny force, spirits could only unleash their full potential in the hands of a skilled duelist. Even the mighty Egyptian God Cards reached their pinnacle only under the command of the undefeated Pharaoh.
"And the warrior's resting place is here."
With that, the Holy Elf led You Xuan to a massive boulder. Carved into its surface was the image of a warrior, reminiscent of ancient Egyptian engravings. Clad in armor, he knelt with his sword planted firmly on the ground, exuding an aura of indomitable willpower.
Unsurprisingly, the figure carved into the stone was none other than Chaos Warrior.
This explained why the ruins were linked to this spirit realm.
"If you wish to return to your world, this is the only way. The legendary warrior possesses the power to open dimensions—it was his energy that called you here, and only his power can send you back."
The Holy Elf spoke softly.
"But you mentioned needing my help to defeat the evil god?" You Xuan asked. "What if I simply leave now...?"
"The evil god itself isn't here. These are merely its minions. No matter how many we defeat, more will come—it's meaningless."
The Holy Elf shook her head.
"The true form of the evil god resides in the world you came from. They invade the spirit realm to enslave spirits and harvest their power as weapons, while simultaneously plotting schemes against your world. Both realms are under threat."
You Xuan frowned.
In my world? Could it be a duelist wielding dark powers?
Well, whoever this "evil god" was, he doubted it would find things so easy in his world.
After all, there were plenty of big shots keeping watch...
He exchanged a glance with Silent Magician, who nodded slightly.
Perhaps due to the bond between duelist and spirit, sometimes words weren't necessary for You Xuan to understand her meaning. She was telling him that the seal here resonated with the magic of the stone slab they had entered through earlier. From here, it should be possible to return.
But just as he stepped forward to touch the stone slab, a muffled explosion erupted beside him.
It sounded like a cannon firing. Before he could react, Silent Magician leapt forward, sweeping her staff. A projectile was deflected by the surge of magical energy in her hands, redirected elsewhere, and detonated into a smoking crater on the plains.
You Xuan turned his head and saw a figure standing atop a hill, seemingly unnoticed until now.
The man had his hands tucked into his pockets, golden hair, sunglasses, and a bandana wrapped around his head in the pattern of the stars and stripes.
"Sorry about that," the man said with a cocky smirk.
"But I'm afraid I can't let you leave so easily."