Vampire Fraulein!
The two gentlemen's eyes went wide instantly, like big bad wolves eyeing little lambs, eager to pounce on her at once.
Even though they spaced out a bit during the background story, they quickly caught up on the basic setup after listening to their comrades' explanation.
At least they learned that the ruler of this dimension was the renowned Vampire Fraulein, one of the four strongest generals under the Supreme King's Twelfth Dimension, known in other dimensions as the "Young Lady."
She hadn't officially appeared yet; as soon as the news was released, images, sketches, serious fan art, and not-so-serious fan art of the Young Lady were flying all over the forums.
Gentlemen were declaring her as their "wife" in a very intimate manner. Some posts had already started the "Peach Banquet," while others were on the path of "I'm first because my pee is yellow."
At this moment, the highly anticipated protagonist stood gracefully before them, causing the wealthy duo to gasp, with their first reaction being—
—Screenshot! Show off!
Once this post goes out, it's sure to blow up!
The girl approached expressionlessly, gently retracting a black umbrella with her delicate hand. She lightly lifted her arm, and a ball of black mist morphed into a sinister-looking black Duel Disc on her arm, its sides adorned like vampire fangs.
Both knew this meant it was time to duel.
Excited by the prospect of dueling, they eagerly vied for the honor of first move.
"Brother Sandbag, this time, you don't need to compete with me, right?" Local Nora Tatsu sneered. "You've already been knocked out once, so why not save your next revive for later?"
Brother Sandbag wasn't pleased: "Hah, and how do you know I'll definitely lose?"
Local Nora Tatsu laughed heartily: "Earthlings know everything, yet you talk as if it's some top secret."
Brother Sandbag frowned: "Card mishap... a card mishap counts, right? Besides, who hasn't had a mishap while dueling?"
"But nobody has mishaps every single time..."
"How about this, to be fair, let's decide by rock-paper-scissors..."
Impatient with their endless bickering, the girl softly spoke: "No need. You... both of you, at once."
Her voice was soft and delicate, like an illusion whispering in their ears. It was vivid yet tinged with melancholy, leaving a lasting impression.
Both at once?
They were momentarily stunned and exchanged a glance.
"Little sister, are you up for it?" Brother Tatsu asked. "This guy may not be much, but I'm super fierce."
"P, he's at most a stick, fierce my foot..." Brother Sandbag was displeased.
Fraulein nodded her small head gently, looking like a delicate porcelain doll that would shatter at a touch.
That kind of image really stirs the protective instincts of homebodies.
But since she said so herself...
"Alright, let's both go then," Brother Sandbag said, "but let me warn you, I'm quite strong, so you might need to brace yourself. That other guy is just an extra, you can ignore him..."
The two kept bickering, but at least they each readied their Duel Discs and took positions.
Upon entering duel mode and glancing down, they saw that the display on their Duel Discs showed "Mixed Battle Mode," rather than the usual team duel.
Mixed Battle Mode is a unique group brawl format from the animation, with relatively relaxed rules. You could fight free-for-all as in the four-way brawl within the DM Dueling Tower, or team up to gang up on one, much like Yugi and his friends battling Dartz in the original series.
Under these rules, not only do you have double the cards and resources compared to the opponent, but even the number of turns you can operate is more. Additionally, field and graveyard can be shared.
For instance, if an ally's field is empty with no monster, you can send your own monster over to cover him.
The trade-off is that the opponent's Life Points are the total of all yours combined.
You can also refer to the 5DS Earthbound Immortal arc where the protagonist team goes 3V1 against a boss, and ZEXAL's first season's protagonist team also going 3V1 against a boss.
Despite this apparent advantage, local Nora Tatsu had an ominous feeling.
"How about... we go one by one after all?" local Nora Tatsu whispered.
"Why?"
"If we go in together and gang up, I feel like we're just like the new boss minions in the anime who get wiped out quickly to make the boss look impressive..."
Brother Sandbag: "..."
Yet the duel had already begun, and it was too late to backtrack.
"Don't worry, it's going to be alright." Brother Sandbag glanced at the five cards in his starting hand and chuckled, "I got this one in the bag."
Local Nora Tatsu raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical.
Could it be the sun really rose from the west, and this guy didn't have a card mishap this time?
"...Alright, I'll trust you this once then."
"Duel!" x3
[Vampire Fraulein, LP 8000]
[Local Nora Tatsu, LP 4000]
[Brother Sandbag, LP 4000]
"First turn... mine." Vampire Fraulein delicately drew a card, "Draw."
Glancing at her hand, she quickly selected two cards without much thought.
"Set a monster, face-down on the field," she said, "and then a Set Card in the back field.
Turn over."
A rather common start, with one set in the front field and one in the back, which gave both Brother Sandbag and Brother Tatsu a boost of confidence.
"Doesn't seem that strong," Brother Sandbag rubbed his hands, "we're halfway to victory!"
Local Nora Tatsu began to indulge in fantasy: "Rumor has it a Vampire lost to Yugi-san, and then went to be his maid. I wonder if..."
The two exchanged a glance, each understanding some gentlemanly secrets only for their kind, then broke into a mischievous chuckle.
"Then let me go first," Local Nora Tatsu said, "Activate Field Magic 'Droid City' from hand!"
The surrounding scene shifted abruptly, the fog dispersed, and the medieval buildings around were replaced by the Steel City. Overpasses crisscrossed, with vehicles occasionally seen driving through bridges and tunnels.
Evidently, local Nora Tatsu decided to stick with his Underworld Robot Deck, which he had pilfered from his student Maru Xiang. His strategy revolved around hordes of traps and the invincible Kiteroid for stalling, combined with submarines and bicycles for surprise wins. Sneaky but effective.
However, Brother Tatsu actually deployed his invincible life-protecting Hand Pit: "I normal summon 'Kiteroid'!"
[Kiteroid, Attack 0]
"Field Magic 'Droid City's effect! Once per turn, destroy one card other than this one on your field, and add one 'Droid' monster from your Deck to your hand.
I destroy 'Kiteroid' on the field and add 'Kiteroid' from my deck to my hand!"
The freshly summoned "Kiteroid" was immediately blown to smithereens, and a new Kiteroid was drawn from the deck.
The "Kiteroid" in the graveyard could block one attack, as could the one in hand. Once discarded to the graveyard, it could block again.
Just with these two Droids, he could negate the opponent's attack three times.
"Then, I set three Set Cards, and end my turn!" Local Nora Tatsu declared.
Two Kites, three back traps, which for a first turn without attacking, was already a fortress-like setup, defenses fortified to the max.
Now it depends on Brother Sandbag.