Chapter 325: Dueling Should Be Enjoyable
Chapter 325: Dueling Should Be Enjoyable
【Skull Servant, LP 0】
The Skull Servant stumbled and fell to his knees, his face contorting in unwillingness even as his Life Points dropped to zero.
He was so close. It was the final turn before the Spiritual Energy Plate's activation. If only this turn had ended, if only the final Death Message had been triggered, he would have won.
If only he could have made it to the End Phase...
But what seemed like a small gap turned into an eternity. That End Phase would never come again, and he would never get to witness the completion of the Spiritual Energy Plate.
Even in his dying moments, his eyes remained fixed on the Skull Shaman that stood on Jaden's field.
Skull Shaman...
That damn Elemental Hero had sacrificed his invincible Marshmallon and robbed him of victory.
Who would've thought a Sacrifice-themed deck could be so damn potent?
Is this what it means to be an Elemental Hero?
As the barrier retracted, You Xuan stepped forward, offering a smile as he bumped his fist lightly against Jaden's.
"You're doing well, Jaden," You Xuan said with a smile. "Looks like you understood what I meant."
"Heh, it's because I've seen your 'Magma Neos' in action several times that I was able to think of it immediately," Jaden replied, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"But this is really amazing. I think I'm starting to understand why you like 'Magma Neos' so much.
Being able to easily get rid of a monster with such high defense is really fun and gives a great sense of accomplishment."
As his soul began to be drawn out by the shrinking barrier, the Skull Servant, on the brink of death, happened to overhear their conversation, and his heart surged with rage.
Achievement? Your damn achievement?
In that moment, the Skull Servant attained enlightenment. The joy of dueling was built upon the suffering of one's opponent, and a sense of accomplishment arose from their defeat.
Your joy was proportional to your opponent's gloom. The Skull Servant sighed, gazing skyward.
My apologies, God, but I gave it my all.
If he had any last regrets or wishes in his dying moments, it was that the guy who kept claiming that he was "just a red dorm bottom-feeder" would hurry up and join him in escorting the Serpent God.
Bottom-feeder? Dead last? That jellyfish haircut guy?
Heh.
.
The Skull Servant lay on the ground, motionless and silent.
Jaden looked at the motionless figure on the ground, at a loss for words.
"What's wrong?" You Xuan asked, stepping forward with a smile as he patted Jaden's shoulder. "Don't you think that was an interesting duel?"
"Ah, well..."
Jaden hesitated, glancing at the Skull Servant lying on the ground, unresponsive.
"Hmm, how should I put it?" Jaden said, his voice trailing off. "While I felt the joy of dueling and found it interesting in itself, I just feel like it's not really appropriate to say that right now."
You Xuan was taken aback.
Surprise, surprise! So, there are times when you feel something is inappropriate?
He always thought that was Jaden's innate skill of sarcasm at play.
"Dueling should still be enjoyable," Jaden said, shaking his head. "It should be something that everyone can enjoy together. Like this duel, where someone has to sacrifice their life..."
You Xuan turned to him, his expression unreadable. Were you about to say that something like this shouldn't even be called a duel?
To be honest, You Xuan didn't have a deep realization about Jaden's statement that "dueling should be fun." After all, in the world of Duel Monsters, duels had always been cruel, with each generation bearing heavy burdens. Perhaps, since ancient times, duels had been cruel combat rituals designed to determine victory and defeat.
Even setting that aside and focusing solely on the card game, You Xuan had long realized that it was a cruel game.
Jaden turned to You Xuan and said firmly, "New Domino's You Xuan, we must defeat this organization and stop them from continuing any further."
"Naturally," You Xuan nodded heavily.
"Even for the sake of preserving the meaning that duels represent and the future of the dueling world, such a dangerous organization with misguided ideals must be overthrown."
As he spoke, he leaned forward and plucked the card group from the Death-Lord's duel disk.
As a dangerous individual who utilized dark powers, it was only natural that his card group be confiscated. Even if You Xuan hadn't taken it, the administrators, or rather, the Kaiba Corporation, would have sent someone to seize it.
After the confiscation, the card group would naturally be forfeited to the Kaiba Corporation. Given You Xuan's relationship with Koyo, he knew that something as trivial as a card group wouldn't be an issue if he simply asked for it back.
So, what he was doing now was merely skipping the tedious intermediate process.
By doing so, the clean-up team that would arrive later to clear the battlefield wouldn't need to confiscate the cards, saving them the trouble of inventory, storage, and registration procedures. You Xuan wouldn't have to make a request to Koyo, and the corporation's staff would also be spared a lot of hassle.
In the end, everyone would be satisfied.
Death-Lord: "..."
At the same time, You Xuan searched the corpse and found a Puzzle Card, representing qualification for the Duel City tournament.
However, he didn't keep this card for himself but instead handed it to Jaden, who stood behind him.
After all, Jaden had won this duel, so the Puzzle Card rightfully belonged to him.
"And there are also rare cards."
You Xuan spread out the card group he had just taken.
"Feel free to choose."
Jaden shook his head. "I don't have any cards that I particularly want."
"Ah well, those are the tournament rules. If you really can't decide, just close your eyes and pick one at random."
After some back and forth, Jaden reluctantly drew a card to comply with the rules.
While he was curious about the Spirit Plate, a legendary dueler's card group, it was only because he saw it as an opportunity to face a formidable opponent. However, he was a die-hard Elemental Hero user and had never considered changing his main deck.
"But I really didn't expect that not only would they target me, but they would also go after you." You Xuan frowned.
Jaden asked curiously, "Why are they after us?"
"Perhaps I have something they want." You Xuan replied, "I think they might believe that since we have a good relationship, they could use you to get to me."
"Whoa, that's scary!"
Jaden took a sharp breath, his curiosity about his own situation turning into tension as he thought about his friends being involved.
"Indeed."
You Xuan shook his head in agreement.
"What despicable cowards, resorting to such underhanded methods to target two ordinary Duel Academy students like us."
"Exactly!"
Jaden shared his friend's indignation.
"To use such means against ordinary students, can they even be considered duelists?"
"That's right. That's why I think it's too dangerous to let them continue. Fortunately, I'm cooperating with the Kaiba Corporation, and we already have a lead."
"Then let's go! We can't let them get away with this!" Jaden agreed, his enthusiasm matching You Xuan's.
(End of Chapter)
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