Night falls, Duel Academy, in the forest clearing.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Yugen asked.
"Of course."
The burly man gritted his teeth and nodded firmly.
That was Leader Zarug. He wore a large coat, sunglasses perched on his nose, seemingly to cover his prominent Eye of Horus. He had a Duel Disc on his hand, standing in a stance opposite Yugen, with a death-defying expression.
"The team trusts me and entrusts their lives to me, so I can't betray their trust."
Zarug shouted.
"I must become stronger, only then can I fulfill my duties as a leader!"
"Boss!"
The Black Scorpion cheer squad on the side was deeply moved.
For us, the boss is actually willing to undergo such a torturous duel with a demonic duelist like him...
It's really touching.
"Alright, if you insist..."
Yugen smiled and also activated his Duel Disc.
A few minutes later.
"Activate the Magic Card 'Black Scorpion - Tragedy of Love'. When Zarug and Kazumi coexist on your field, send Kazumi to the graveyard, and destroy all monsters on the opponent's field."
"Then discard one card from your hand, give Zarug the Equipment Magic 'Flashing Dual Swords - Thunder Shock', reducing the equipped monster's Attack Power by 500, but allowing it to attack twice in one turn. Directly attack with Zarug twice."
"Then, due to Zarug's effect, when inflicting battle damage, the opponent discards a card from their hand at random. So you discard two cards from your hand."
"..."
"Activate the Trap 'Fallen', any card drawn during the opponent's Draw Phase is discarded immediately. Come on, discard the card you just drew."
Zarug: "......"
Lost.
And lost to himself...literally.
Zarug momentarily flushed.
One shot forcing the opponent to discard a card, what kind of nonsense is this!?
Plus, with that detention fallen and strongly summoned soldiers, after a flurry of combos, he barely got to play any cards, and his hand was already empty.
How am I supposed to duel like this? No cards, no duel!
What an annoying piece of work...
...Oh, maybe the annoying one is myself.
Then never mind.
Zarug questioned life.
Seriously, why had he never realized how insidious his own effects were before? Could it be because this was the first time in life he found himself on the opposite side?
"How was it?"
Yugen smiled at Zarug, whose Life Points hit zero.
This man was sturdy enough to immediately bounce back and, with a determined look, said.
"Again!"
"Alright."
So Yugen obliged, reshuffling his card deck back into his Duel Disc. The duel commenced again.
"..."
Only a few minutes later.
"Activate the Continuous Trap 'Call of the Living Dead', special summon 'Black Scorpion - Rapidly Escaping Zik' from the graveyard. Then Zik directly attacks."
"Zik's effect upon inflicting battle damage, returns one card on the field to the hand. Returning 'Call of the Living Dead' to the hand. And because Call of the Living Dead leaves the field, Zik is destroyed."
"Executioner Demon Asura's effect, I can activate Traps from my hand this turn. Therefore, reactivate the Continuous Trap 'Call of the Living Dead', special summon Zik and directly attack."
"Zik's effect, bouncing Call of the Living Dead back...
"..."
Zarug, whose Life Points once again hit zero, sat bewildered on the ground and turned his head.
Who am I? Where am I? Who killed me?
Then he blankly stared at Zik in the cheer squad, who was equally puzzled by the situation on the field.
At this moment, all eyes were on Zik.
The looks seemed to say, "Bravo, young man. Who knew you were this crafty."
Zik himself was also utterly confused.
Huh? Was I always this good?
"How was it?" Yugen smiled.
Zarug gritted his teeth, "Again!"
"Okay." Yugen nodded.
But only two turns in.
Yugen: "...I activate the Magic Card 'Forced Transfer', allowing both players to select one of their monsters to exchange control. I choose my 'Black Scorpion Thief Gang'."
Zarug gritted his teeth, "Then I'll exchange my 'Leader - Zargul'."
Saying so, he stepped onto the opponent's field.
"Hahaha, Zarug Boss sure is humorous. But it doesn't matter which one is exchanged." Yugen chuckled, "Then I'll summon the 'Hell Security Police'."
[Hell Security Police, Attack Power 100]
"Hell Security Police attacks the 'Black Scorpion Thief Gang' transferred to the opposing field... Of course, the Police, with an Attack Power of only 100, will self-destruct.
However, the Hell Security Police effect, when this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, Special Summon a Demon Race level 1 monster from the Deck."
Yugen smiled slightly.
"Itself being a Demon Race level 1. So I Special Summon a second Hell Secur... "
"Stop, hold it!"
Zarug placed his hand on the card deck.
"I surrender!"
A speedy surrender, cannot be chained or countered, forcibly activated at any point, a rule-level interruption to the opponent's storytelling, saying no to imprisonment.
Joking, this depressive combo he'd encountered firsthand when first seen. Next undoubtedly, the Hell Security Police would proceed to crash and kill themselves on the Thief Gang three consecutive times, the Thief Gang's effect would send three Jackpot Pot 7s to the graveyard, leading to a direct rule win...
The Black Scorpion Five-man Team exchanged glances.
Suddenly it felt like, we five are quite powerful too...
Strange.
All these years, they never had such a feeling. While they never felt like weak Duel Monsters, they also wouldn't say they're strong.
The stats were just there, effects were average, the strongest in the family was only Takaga, a 5-star Attack Power of only 1800, just so-so in the Duel Monsters Realm.
Zarug looked at the man before him with a complex expression.
Standing so nonchalantly, with a gentle smile, appearing harmless like a decent fellow...no wait, like someone harmless.
But anyone who's dueled him would feel like staring at a towering demon.
No, it's not that Zarug is powerful, nor that Zik is powerful, and certainly not the Thief Gang.
It's this guy.
Even ordinary cards like those of the Thief Gang, seemingly insignificant characters like them, could bring out unexpectedly strong power in his hands.
Zarug suddenly recalled the long-standing legends in the Duel Monsters Realm about such divine-level duelists in the outside world.
"Even the weakest card can show its value."
"There are no weak cards, only weak duelists."
It's said to have been spoken by a great duelist, a godlike king, even the Elf Realm shares this. But in the past, Zarug always scoffed at it.
A joke.
The greatest generals need elite warriors to win battles. Duel Monsters inherently have strengths and weaknesses, the strong prevail over the weak.
No matter how skilled a duelist, could they take down gods with just us five from the Thief Gang?
So Zarug never believed it.
But now, he believes.
This man's duels are as dark as a demon, yet as powerful as a god.
If it's this guy, maybe it's possible.
Or maybe...the brothers really encountered the rumored Duel God.
"Boss, training still?"
Zik asked cautiously.
But Zarug just glared at him.
"Training? Training my ass!"
He stood up, dusted off his clothes, and said righteously.
"We're just Duel Monsters, mere soldiers, just follow the general's orders. What cards are we even playing?"
"Huh?"
Zik was stunned.
Boss, you didn't say so before.
"Previously we did not have a wise leader, so we had no choice but to fight ourselves. But now..."
Zarug strode forward, stepping up to Yugen with an exceptionally sincere look in his lone eye.
"If you would not abandon..."
"Stop, hold it!"
Yugen made a halting gesture.
A sudden premonition suggested that letting him continue would be somewhat ominous.