When Youyu arrived at the final venue, he immediately spotted a certain familiar jellyfish-head kid.
Wasn't this the same Yuki Judai who had just bid farewell to him not long ago?
He was just a size smaller, with a more youthful face, and his height was only just reaching Youyu's waistline—which made the Duel Disc strapped to his arm look kind of funny.
And the moment this kid saw Youyu, he was so excited that he jumped up, waving at him with all his might, eyes sparkling as if shooting out stars.
"Youyu-san!" he shouted happily.
Seeing this happy jellyfish-headed kid, Youyu felt like he understood somewhat.
Apparently, the genius duelist from the KC Chapter, the younger brother of Zigfried Lloyd, the one using the "Fairy Tale Deck," Reyn, didn't even get a chance to cause trouble before being eliminated by Judai who had gate-crashed.
This suggests that the so-called "genius duelist" ultimately couldn't compare to the young, lucky draw prodigy...
Youyu also suddenly understood the meaning of the mysterious smile and the phrase "We'll meet again soon" from the future Yuki Judai before he left.
He stepped onto the stage of the finals, looking at the jellyfish-headed kid who was filled with innocent anticipation and admiration for him, and he couldn't help but smile as he recalled the "pleasant" night spent with Judai...
... The duelist known as You couldn't help but show a faint smile.
Heh.
Fate really is an interesting thing.
The audience for the finals was already seated, and the live scene was broadcast worldwide.
The players temporarily set aside their heated discussion about "One British Lord vs. Three Lv Bu" and focused their attention on this "battle between world protagonists."
Of course, there was no disagreement on the result of the finals.
Although Yuki Judai is also a protagonist, right now, he isn't.
With each generation comes a new god-tier character, and Yuki Judai's generation has not arrived yet.
Though he has the legendary power of "The Supreme King" sealed within him, he's ultimately just a "talented duelist" little boy, and no one believes that the current Judai can beat Youyu.
... Of course, everyone predicted the outcome, but not the process.
The final contestants stepped onto the stage; one big, one small, two duelists exchanged decks under the instruction of the judge—once again the invincible Mr. Izono.
As Judai shuffled Youyu's deck, his small face turned red, and his little heart beat eagerly in his chest, full of excitement.
I'm currently shuffling Youyu-san's deck!
I'm not going to wash my hands when I go home today...
"Youyu-san!" Judai said with a flushed face, "Let's have a fun duel together!"
Youyu slowly shuffled his deck, with a warm smile on his face.
"Alright."
"Mm!" Judai nodded vigorously.
He thought Youyu-san seemed so kind, just like the rumors said, he's a really nice person...
Both sides took their positions, and the finals officially began.
First, it's Youyu's turn. Here, Youyu expressed that he wouldn't bully the little kid, so he started by summoning an Attack Position 400 ATK Fish Monster "Elemental Hero Berry Magician Girl"...
A duelist should always believe in their card deck. For example, although it's not written on the card, if you believe she's an Elemental Hero, then she's an Elemental Hero.
—President Tosawa Mukuro.
Therefore, Youyu first summoned the Berry Magician Girl in Attack Position, activated Berry Girl's effect, and added "Dark Magician Girl" from the deck to his hand.
Then he set two cards in the backfield, ending his first turn with a spring breeze-like smile and "kindly" prompted Judai to start his move.
Judai exclaimed, "Youyu-san, aren't you going to use the cool heroes this time?"
Youyu continued to smile.
Foolish child, you'll soon find out why he didn't use heroes.
Next, it was Judai's turn.
Sure enough, Yuki Judai was also playing a Hero Deck. Previously, Youyu had helped the International Fantasy Society design the early Elemental Heroes, so he generally knew which Elemental Hero cards were just released.
The current Elemental Heroes mainly had the notorious "Big Four Loser Heroes," namely Avian, Burstinatrix, Sparkman, and Clayman. If wealthy enough, one might even splurge for the limited edition Bubbleman, Necroshade, and Bladedge, but that's about it.
The main Fusion Monsters were Judai's iconic early ace monsters, Flame Wingman and Thunder Giant.
So it wasn't hard for Youyu to guess Judai's deck composition.
You see, sure enough, our naive Judai started by revealing the Magic Card - Polymerization, and with the model couple, Avian and Burstinatrix, from his hand—
—Summoning Flame Wingman to quickly challenge you!
Looking at this naive little hero with a bright smile, Youyu thought, for the sake of Judai's own good and to help him grow and mature faster (definitely not for You's own satisfaction), he decided to let Judai realize the cruelty of society ahead of time.
So Youyu said, let's directly reveal the set card—
—Trap Card - Chthonian Polymer!
"This card activates when the opponent Fusion Summons, sacrificing a monster on my field." Youyu smiled, "I gain control of that Fusion Monster.
So I'll sacrifice 'Berry Magician Girl,' and according to this card's effect, Flame Wingman's control is given to me."
"Ah?"
Judai looked at his ace hero, which he fused with three cards, quickly betraying him, and was momentarily dumbfounded.
Oh this...
Staring blankly at the remaining cards in his hand, Judai reluctantly set a card and passed the turn.
It was Youyu's turn. He summoned "Lemon Magician Girl" and directly entered the Battle Phase.
[Elemental Hero Flame Wingman, ATK 2100]
[Lemon Magician Girl, ATK 800]
Youyu waved his big hand—go, Flame Wingman!
Let's show our little Judai the cruelty of society!
But unexpectedly, Judai waved his arm, flipping the set card, and shouted in a childish voice, "Activate the set card! Trap Card - Sakuretsu Armor!"
Youyu almost collapsed.
Nani!? (What!?)
I'm shocked, how dare you carry this kind of thing?
Relying on your protagonist aura, huh?
In this case, Youyu wasn't surprised to hit a trap—he correctly anticipated that Judai might have a trap card in the backfield. He just didn't expect that the set card would be "Sakuretsu Armor."
Sakuretsu Armor, a trap card, activates when the opponent attacks, destroying the attacking monster.
It's well known that Sakuretsu Armor is cursed by the will of the Macro Cosmos in the Yu-Gi-Oh! animated universe. It has seemingly powerful effects that deceive duelists into including it in their decks, but it's said throughout Yu-Gi-Oh!'s animated history, anyone who used this card end up losing the duel...
However, this time Sakuretsu Armor succeeded unusually and really activated to blow away Flame Wingman.
Strictly speaking, it should still count as an allied defeat, since it was NTR'd from Judai's side.
With Flame Wingman destroyed, all that's left is Lemon Magician Girl's direct attack. The small mage in golden robes rose up and unleashed a magic bombardment on Judai, dealing a whopping eight hundred points of massive damage.
[Judai, LP 4000 →LP 3200]