Chapter 56: Activating the Barrier
Chapter 56: Activating the Barrier
"Begin the Battle Phase!"
You Xuan gave the order without hesitation.
" 'Silent Magician,' attack the opposing monster!"
The Silent Magician's staff spun gracefully, and a white magic circle appeared under her feet. Surging white light converged in her hand, transforming into a torrent that pushed towards her opponent's field.
The opposing monster flipped over, revealing a grinning, giant tomato on the defense position card.
[Killer Tomato, Defense Points: 1100]
Of course, the giant tomato stood no chance against the might of the Silent Magician, and it was instantly shattered into powder by the rushing light.
"Hah! You fell for it!" Kise, the Bandit, shouted. "At that moment, my set card was also activated!"
The set card flipped over, revealing a trap card projection.
"Trap Card—Comrade-in-Arms! When a monster is sent to the graveyard, destroy one monster on the field!"
Kise curled his lips into a cold smile and pointed at You Xuan's field.
"Destroy that eye-catching magician! Send 'Silent Magician' to oblivion!"
Golden light burst from the trap card, and the destroyed Killer Tomato seemed to shoot out from the card as a vengeful spirit, dragging the Silent Magician towards the abyss.
"Then, I activate the quick-play spell 'I Stand as a Shield' from my hand!"
You Xuan waved his arm, and the rolling data stream materialized into the image of a magic card in front of him.
"When your opponent activates an effect that includes 'destroy a monster on the field,' pay 1500 Life Points to negate the activation and destroy that card!"
The magic took effect, and the vengeful tomato spirit abruptly changed direction, bypassing the Silent Magician and hitting You Xuan directly. He grimaced and took a half-step back, his lips twisting in pain.
[You Xuan, LP: 4000 → 2500]
"As expected of a Shadow Duel, the damage is real."
Seeing her master take the blow meant for her, the Silent Magician's expression turned to one of shock. She held her staff and looked at him with a mixture of concern and uncertainty.
"Hmph. A Duelist taking damage in place of his monster? In the end, cards are nothing but weapons, tools to be used. A true strong Duelist knows how to utilize each piece to its fullest potential." Kise's voice was laced with scorn.
He paused for a moment, a sneer playing on his lips as he continued, "The strong dominate the weak—that is an unchanging truth. A Duelist is a warrior who can enslave the strongest of creatures. Victory comes at any cost, and everything except the commanding King can be discarded!"
You Xuan eyed him with a vacant gaze, thinking that this guy must be delusional.
"Damn right, at any cost." He muttered to himself. "If I didn't take that hit for her, wouldn't I just be giving him a free shot next turn with an empty field?"
However, a sudden realization struck him, and he saw this as an opportunity to increase his bond with the Silent Magician. Putting on a show of pain and effort, he grit his teeth and said, "You're wrong! A true Duelist believes in his monsters and his deck!
Every card in a Duelist's hand is carefully selected from an endless pool, each one a unique partner that resonates with their soul. You, who do not understand this, are unworthy of being called a Duelist, no matter how strong the power you gain!"
You Xuan thought to himself that while he may have failed composition in school and been hunted down by his language arts teacher, he had never missed a generation of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. Each generation's protagonist had their own lengthy monologue about bonds, believing in your deck, and the like, and after so many years of exposure, improvising a similar speech was child's play.
Indeed, this speech seemed to be having the desired effect. When the Silent Magician looked at him again, her icy face was filled with emotion. You Xuan guessed that if he could see her affection points, there would be a [Goodwill +99] floating above her head, and this should be enough to increase their bond.
With a stronger bond, perhaps his luck with draws would improve as well.
You Xuan was quite pleased with himself and even felt a bit grateful to Bandit Kise for this opportunity.
"Ugh, so annoying." Kise scowled, his face cold.
"It's the same with this and that. You're just like those disgusting guys. Duelist's dignity, trusting the heart of the cards... Shut up already! It's you guys who are the most despicable!"
You Xuan surmised that Kise was referring to Yugi and Joey.
After losing to Pegasus, Kise had given in to his dark impulses and would do anything to win. Before the Duelist Kingdom tournament, he had even attempted to steal Joey's qualification card to ensure his own victory. During the tournament, he resorted to cheating by hiding cards up his sleeve, a true embodiment of a win-at-all-costs mentality.
"Then let me bury your naive ideals and your so-called 'partners' together!" Kise declared, his voice rising in volume.
"At the moment Killer Tomato was destroyed, its effect was already activated! When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can Special Summon a DARK-attribute monster with 1500 ATK or less from my deck in Attack Position!"
"I Special Summon 'Sly Sniper'!"
[Sly Sniper, ATK: 1500]
"Now, I'll set a card and end my turn."
[Silent Magician, ATK: 3000]
"My turn, draw!"
After drawing, Kise's movements noticeably paused.
A brief silence ensued, followed by a contortion of his facial muscles as he struggled to hold back a smirk.
"Hehehe... Hahahaha—!"
This reaction immediately put You Xuan on guard.
It seemed like Kise had drawn something incredible.
"Heh, it's over, kid." Kise laughed triumphantly. "I've drawn 'that card,' the ultimate embodiment of divine power!
Watch closely as I awaken the darkness within me. The hatred and rage that have built up over the years, the darkness that will consume this world!"
One of the compartments on the side of his Duel Disk snapped open with a loud crack.
- Orichalcos Barrier!"
You Xuan: "!?!"
In the first moment he heard those words, he thought he had misheard.
Wait, what the heck?
Wasn't Orichalcos from the DM arc? Shouldn't it be ancient history by now in this world?
Didn't your boss, Dartz, get creatively out-talked to death by the King, and wasn't that Orichalcos god taken care of by the three Egyptian Gods? How is this still a thing?
But as the card was absorbed into the Duel Disk along with the field area, You Xuan was certain he hadn't misheard.
Kise's Duel Disk began to buzz with green electricity, and the surging energy filled his entire body. The hem of his clothes fluttered in the swirling green wind, and he tilted his head back, like a Super Saiyan powering up, shouting, "Ahhhhh!" His entire body seemed to be engulfed in green flames.
Finally, the green light converged on his forehead, swirling into a hexagram mark that emitted a dusky green light.
"Ah~ I can feel the power!"
Bandit Kise exclaimed, the green light bursting from within him. At the same time, a green hexagram mark appeared beneath the feet of both duelists, the green light shooting up into the sky and forming an impenetrable barrier.
The Orichalcos Barrier, in the anime, once activated, could not be stopped, invalidated, or removed from the field by any means. The souls of the losing duelists would become nourishment for the evil god, and neither could leave until one of them fell.
Of course, this card was also known as the "User-Killer Barrier" in the anime, because anyone who had ever used it had lost. This unbeatable curse even created one of the few losses for the invincible Pharaoh.
So, it turns out that the so-called "evil god" is actually the Orichalcos God?
"But didn't your damn evil god get taken out by the Egyptian Gods?" You Xuan couldn't help but ask.
"Foolish." Kise sneered, "The Orichalcos God is the dark side of the human heart, the dark will of this planet! No matter how many times it is thwarted, it will always rise again!"
Only then did You Xuan remember that Dartz, the DM arc's boss, had indeed said something like that.
"As long as humans and this planet exist, the Orichalcos God will never perish."
So, while the Egyptian Gods defeated it and seemingly destroyed it, they had actually only sealed it away. Its ambition remained unchanged.
No, perhaps it had become even more arrogant by this day.
You Xuan tried to put himself in the Orichalcos God's shoes. If this thing woke up and peeked into the mortal world now, it would probably be delighted.
The Pharaoh had retired, and the Egyptian Gods had been sent back. Wouldn't the world now belong to the Orichalcos God?
You Xuan suddenly felt a headache coming on.
This wasn't some trivial matter that had nothing to do with him. Who the heck said the world of Duel Monsters was safe? I've barely landed and now it's already doomsday again?
Of course, he didn't think the world would end. Although the new generation's protagonist, Judai Yuki, hadn't come into his own yet, this era still had Seto Kaiba. CEO Kaiba had spent years researching new Blue-Eyes forms, and now, facing the old boss, he might not lose.
And even if it got past Kaiba, there was still the ultimate boss, Yugi Muto. No one knew how strong Yugi, eight years later, had become.
And as a last resort, even if it performed exceptionally well and could take down Yugi, the Pharaoh would still sit up in his coffin and show it a thing or two.
Heck, who actually believed the Pharaoh was permanently sealed away in the afterlife?
So, the end of the world wasn't coming, and it wasn't something You Xuan needed to worry about right now. What he needed to focus on was winning this duel and saving his life.
Although, in the anime, the barrier was a sure sign of the user's impending loss, but as the card was played, You Xuan could clearly sense a change in his opponent's aura. Bandit Kise seemed to tower over him, accompanied by an intangible sense of oppression.
It was easy to guess that this was a significant boost to Kise's "Destiny Power" as a duelist.
The Orichalcos Barrier, in the anime, was akin to an external godly power, a dark artifact that could borrow a portion of the Orichalcos God's power. Once played in a duel, even if the user was just an ordinary person, they would temporarily gain the Destiny Power to rival strong duelists.
As seen in the anime, this barrier was so powerful that it could grant a random bystander the ability to control the Obelisk's giant God, and even Atem's attempt to destroy the barrier with the power of the Millennium Puzzle failed.
So, in the worst-case scenario, the barrier's enhancement of the user's Destiny Power might not be negligible.
"Ah~ Kimoji (comfortable), the feeling of power is indeed completely different."
Bandit Kise's eyes gleamed with green light, and he let out a sinister smile.
"Now, are you ready to die?"
(End of Chapter)
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