Yugioh [787-789]

Chapter 787: Collecting Decks

"Phew—"

Joey let out a sigh.

He won.

If he said this meant nothing to him, that would definitely be a lie. After so many years, this was his first real confrontation with Pegasus, the original opponent from the Duel Kingdom.

At the very least, this proved one thing: he hadn't wasted his years.

Yes, even after experiencing so much, he was still just a mortal. But at least he was continuously getting better.

"Pegasus?"

Joey stepped across the field towards Pegasus.

After the duel, Pegasus was kneeling on the ground. His long hair hung down, obscuring half of his face, making him look even more sinister, as if he had been consumed by darkness.

Joey frowned slightly.

During the duel, he had already sensed something was off. The subtle impacts of real damage during the duel, though not fatal, were certainly beyond the level of an ordinary match.

Joey was no stranger to similar situations, and this was far from the worst he had faced. After all, he had encountered the Tragoedia, experienced top-tier dark games, and even fought Valon in the arena of the Orichalcos.

So he naturally understood that such an extraordinary duel could be life-threatening.

Pegasus slowly looked up. At that moment, his single eye no longer held any hostility; all the disdain and mockery from earlier seemed to vanish like an illusion.

He even looked somewhat grateful.

"Thank you, Joey Boy," he said. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me."

"Eh?"

The sudden change took Joey by surprise.

But he quickly regained his composure.

As he had suspected, the Pegasus he had just faced was not the real Pegasus, but rather one who had been manipulated, or at least influenced in some way.

Through the duel, the current Pegasus seemed to have returned to normal.

In fact, Pegasus had never looked down on Joey. In the original GX, when he mentioned Joey, he noted that among the top duelists in the world he knew, Joey ranked just behind Yugi and Kaiba.

Although the context in which he said this might have been a casual mention over drinks, it still demonstrated that Joey had substantial weight in his mind.

"Listen, we don't have much time."

Pegasus took a deep breath and said earnestly.

"Joey Boy, that boy, he's already been targeted."

"Boy? Who are you talking about? Jaden!?"

Joey quickly recalled that before the duel began, the focus of their conversation seemed to be Jaden. Pegasus had mentioned the threat of the Darkness of the Universe, which easily led Joey to think of Jaden's recent victory over the Supreme King.

Someone was targeting Jaden Yuki.

Could it be the same person who controlled Pegasus?

"What kind of person?"

"Still that Light of Destruction. It hasn't been completely eradicated from Earth; in fact, it's even more serious. More light is coming, I can feel it, I know."

Pegasus's breathing grew rapid, and his voice increasingly strained.

"While I was... manipulated, I didn't feel like myself. It was as if another personality had been stuffed into my head. But my consciousness was always awake; I could see what I was doing, as if I were being forced.

But I remember, the Light of Destruction... it borrowed my power to create a card—a Duelist card—one that it couldn't have completed on its own."

"I remember completing it; it was a card with dangerous power. But I can't recall the specifics, just that..."

Pegasus grimaced, clutching his head as if in agonizing pain.

"Go tell the current Duel King, tell Fujiki Kira."

His words faltered, and he lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground.

"Pegasus? Pegasus!"

Joey tried to help him up, but Pegasus's head tilted, and he fainted, unresponsive no matter how much Joey shook him.

"Light of Destruction? Targeting Jaden?"

"And the Duelist card created by Pegasus."

Joey scratched his head.

"What's going on?"

…

"Mello?"

Kira had returned to Kaiba Corp after a while, sorting through a new batch of cards while casually chatting with his associate, Mokuba.

Mokuba had just informed him about the ambush of the Industrial Illusions' card professor, an acquaintance of Kira's, the mech guy, Kirk Dixon.

Recently, during Kira and their group's efforts to defeat the Supreme King, the card professor led a mission to track down illegally leaked cards, which was ambushed. The Industrial Illusions team almost suffered total loss, and mech guy Carl was still in the hospital, delirious.

"The Industrial Illusions was the first to notice the existence of the Light of Destruction and began formulating a response," Mokuba said. "Perhaps this marks the official declaration of war against the Industrial Illusions by the Light of Destruction."

"Then I guess the two Tenma brothers are probably in a real bind right now?" Kira casually remarked while searching through the cards.

"Pretty much. They're desperate to turn the Earth upside down to find that Mello."

"So who exactly is this Mello?" Kira wondered.

"Just an ordinary third-rate duelist, and the backstory we dug up is pretty mundane with no reference value at all," Mokuba said with a shrug. "The Light of Destruction attached itself to him; who he was before doesn't matter anymore.

It's like this person had a completely unremarkable life but suddenly gained incredible power, making even top duelists unable to compete with him."

As Mokuba spoke, his voice trailed off, and he frowned slightly, as if recalling something.

Why did this life story sound so familiar?

As he pondered, his gaze inadvertently turned to Kira.

It suddenly became a bit awkward.

Kira glanced sideways at him.

"What are you looking at?" He raised his hand. "I swear, I am definitely not possessed by the Light of Destruction.

If I tell one lie, let lightning..."

He thought for a moment.

"...strike that Mello."

Mokuba pondered.

"Hmm, that's quite persuasive."

"Really?" Kira raised an eyebrow.

Mokuba looked at him with a straight face.

"No, I just think that since they call it 'Light of Destruction,' the person it possesses probably wouldn't be as dark as you."

Kira: "…"

A brief silence.

Kira cleared his throat, stood up, and said, "Alright, that's about it for today; I finally have a complete deck."

"Let me see what you picked today."

Mokuba leaned in curiously; he was always interested in Kira's decks.

Kira didn't hide it and generously handed it over.

Mokuba took a look.

"…Volcanic?"

Chapter 788: What Am I Panicking About?

Volcanic is a name that should be quite familiar to many old Yu-Gi-Oh players.

This deck was once a legendary set and, for Kira, was even once deemed the "strongest deck" by him and his friends.

Back in the day, everyone played cards together with their friends, not understanding the official tournament's banned and limited list, and all their knowledge of Yu-Gi-Oh came from the anime. So the rules naturally followed the anime's format.

For instance, like in the anime, everyone had a baseline life point of 4000.

For many duelists, life points were just a trivial matter, existing only in the distinction of "having" or "not having." But for a deck like Volcanic, the difference between 4000 life points and 8000 life points was a completely different concept.

The reason is simple: this is a deck that practically wears its self-destructive nature on its sleeve.

When talking about Volcanic, the first thing that comes to mind is its representative weapon, the "Blaze Accelerator." From the basic form of "Blaze Accelerator" to the upgraded form of "Tri-Blaze Accelerator," and then the subsequent actual card upgrade, the "Volcanic Blaze Accelerator," all make up the core of Volcanic.

The common feature of several cannons, and the basic strategy of Volcanic, is to discard Fire monsters as ammunition to blow up cards on the opponent's field and directly inflict damage.

Including other Volcanic-type monsters, most have the common trait of dealing direct damage.

Moreover, because the Blaze Accelerator has the restriction of "you cannot attack this turn after using it," this deck naturally synergizes well with various lockdown strategies.

Thus, a legendary deck that combines destruction, direct damage, lockdown, and other self-defeating traits was born. Especially in the era of 4000 life points during offline matches with friends, it was practically a weapon of mass destruction, to the point that it eventually evolved into a situation where "no one would play with someone using Volcanic."

Thus, friends who specialized in Volcanic were left with no choice. To allow their classmates to continue enjoying playing Yu-Gi-Oh, they had to promise not to use Volcanic weapons first.

This kind of self-destructive deck was naturally favored by players who enjoyed revenge against society in the slower early environments. Not to mention that this deck appeared in the anime and even had quite a brilliant performance there, naturally boosting its popularity.

In the anime, the holder of Volcanic was Axel Brodie, a mercenary who appeared during the Yubel arc.

From the moment he appeared, he displayed a level of sophistication that set him apart from most side characters in the anime. His first battle was against the protagonist, Jaden.

The anime clearly indicated that his strength was above that of Jaden at that time.

Axel, as a mercenary, accepted a commission to "draw out all of Jaden's potential," but the client required him to lose, and he had to lose spectacularly, allowing Jaden to win with difficulty.

Thus, Axel deliberately let Jaden win, but according to the flow of that duel, he could have likely won.

Unlike Aster Phoenix, who also defeated Jaden before—Aster came out at his peak, having previously defeated the power ceiling of the series, Zane and Jaden, but then pretty much went downhill.

However, Axel later achieved a one-for-one exchange against the Supreme King Jaden with his Volcanic, maintaining his activity in fans' discussions about the "MVP side characters of Yu-Gi-Oh GX" nomination lists for years.

Mokuba, having collaborated with Kira for so long and observed many of his duels, had some understanding of Kira's dueling philosophy.

So now, after briefly browsing through the deck, Mokuba immediately grasped Kira's intentions.

His expression became somewhat strange as he handed the deck back to Kira and asked, "So… which unfortunate soul will be lucky enough to be tested against your new deck?"

"Hard to say."

Kira shrugged but then continued, "However, I have a feeling I might need to use it soon."

"Oh? Do you already have a target in mind?"

Mokuba felt a bit sorry for the victim he had never met.

"Sort of. I suspect we might soon face a slightly tricky opponent, so it should come in handy—uh, hold on, I need to take a call."

Kira pulled out his personal terminal. By now, he was a public figure, and his contact information was relatively confidential. Not many could reach him directly.

He swiped the screen and saw it was Joey.

"Mr. Joey, was your meeting with President Pegasus successful?"

Kira had heard Jaden mention that Joey was going to Duel Kingdom's island for an appointment.

"It's about that. The situation is a bit complicated; to put it simply, Pegasus seems to have been manipulated, something about the Light of Destruction…"

Kira raised an eyebrow.

"Light of Destruction? Pegasus?"

"Yes. And we just had a duel."

Kira nodded. "You're still talking to me, so it seems Pegasus wasn't lucky."

"Haha, you saw right through me."

Joey couldn't help but smugly touch his nose, but he quickly shook his head.

"That's not the point. Pegasus is unconscious now, but before he passed out, he told me some important things. For example, he mentioned a crucial card… something about a Duelist card.

He said he couldn't complete it on his own, so he manipulated Pegasus and used the power of the Duel Monsters to create that card."

"Ha?"

Kira was taken aback.

A Duelist card completed with Pegasus's power… which one?

"Also, Pegasus mentioned that they have their sights set on that kid."

"Who?"

"Jaden Yuki!" Joey said. "They said Jaden is getting close to the source of darkness or something. In short, it seems like the faction of the Light of Destruction is very concerned."

Kira thought for a moment.

Well, Jaden originally possessed the powers of the Gentle Darkness, which were already linked to the forces of Darkness of the Universe. Now he had acquired the power of the Supreme King, so if there were a God's eye perspective from the Light of Destruction looking down from above the Earth, it would indeed make Jaden appear like a walking black hole on the surface.

It was reasonable for him to be targeted.

"I've tried to contact Jaden, but it seems all communication has been cut off; I can't reach him no matter what, not even on Duel Academy Island."

Joey sounded a bit anxious.

"I'm afraid something has already happened. I'm on my way back. You should consider…"

"Calm down." Kira interrupted him. "You know Jaden's abilities and have seen the power of the Supreme King. So do you think if someone really tried to attack Jaden while we're all away, is that something to really worry about?"

Joey paused, thinking for two seconds.

Then he scratched his head in confusion.

Oh right, what's there to worry about?

Chapter 789: The White Knight

The gentle sunshine fell softly across Duel Academy's lawn. Jaden Yuki held a fishing rod, lazily seated by the seaside, and let out a long yawn.

"Man, I'm so bored."

Jaden smacked his lips twice, his head bobbing like he was practicing a nodding technique, looking ready to fall asleep at any moment.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

The GX Tournament at Duel Academy had been nearing its finale over the last two days—also the most exciting climax of the event. The students looking to muddle through and the filler duelists had largely been eliminated by this stage, leaving only elites and experts.

It should've been like that.

So where did everyone go?

Jaden was frustrated.

When the GX Tournament first began, he was excited, thinking he'd get to face all sorts of powerful opponents. But as the tournament went on, he realized no one wanted to play with him.

No surprise. Jaden's pretty famous at the academy, and the GX Tournament has that rule where you can't refuse your first duel challenge of the day. So most students would detour as soon as they spotted him from afar.

It was like that in the original anime too, except Sartorius would occasionally send strong duelists after him to try and steal the Satellite SORA keys Jaden was safekeeping. Thanks to Sartorius's "friendly sponsorship," he'd at least get a few duels here and there.

But now even his biggest sponsor, Sartorius, had been taken out early by Kira, leaving Jaden truly bored, killing time fishing by the sea. It was a perfect reflection of his mindset—waiting for a willing fish to bite, hoping a passing duelist might save him from the boredom of having no one to play cards with.

"You're Jaden Yuki, right?"

A voice came from behind.

"That's me—huh?"

Jaden realized, eyes lighting up.

Duel, at last?

He immediately tossed aside the fishing rod and sprang up. Turning around, he saw a guy dressed head-to-toe in white, wearing black sunglasses—an especially cool, aloof look.

Jaden quickly calmed down.

"You're not from the academy, are you?"

"Hmph. Correct." The man sneered. "My name is Gelgo, a duelist from the Pro League. But now, guided by the Light, I've found a path far more meaningful than the professional circuit."

Neos's silhouette appeared behind Jaden, reminding him, "An enemy sent by the Light of Destruction, Jaden."

Jaden nodded. "I know."

He'd already had a hunch when he saw the all-white getup. Kira had told him that people dressed in white from head to toe were especially noteworthy—most likely affiliated with the Light of Destruction.

"Am I your target?"

"Of course, Jaden Yuki." Gelgo took a step forward. "Duel King Fujigi Kira, and the legendary duelist Joey Wheeler—those two being by your side has been quite a hassle.

But now they're both gone. A heaven-sent opportunity."

"Huh?"

Jaden blinked, then laughed.

"Seriously, looks like they've decided I'm the soft target."

In his original worldline where he handled everything big and small and always charged at the front, Jaden would never have imagined that one day he'd be treated like the easy pick.

"Perfect timing. I was just fretting about having no opponent." Jaden smiled. "Since you're here, you can keep me company."

"Duel!" x2

[Jaden, LP 4000]

[Gelgo, LP 4000]

"I'll go first. Draw!"

Jaden took the first turn.

"I summon Dandylion in Defense Position."

[Dandylion, DEF 300]

He then drew a card from his hand, but didn't play it right away. He stared at it for a moment with a strange expression.

In the end, he said nothing and slid it into his Duel Disk.

"I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Gelgo chuckled. "The guidance of the Light shows you possess extraordinary power. Let me see if that's true.

My turn, draw!"

Gelgo drew.

"I activate the Spell Card Graceful Charity. I draw three cards, then discard two."

"Next, I activate Monster Reborn to revive the monster I just discarded to the Graveyard!"

He pulled a card from his Graveyard.

"Reveal yourself—White Knight Swordsman!" (Anime card)

A swordsman in white armor swung his longsword. The shield on his left arm was set with a red, gem-like object, and a pristine white cloak billowed behind him.

[White Knight Swordsman, ATK 1200]

The White Knight is an unprinted archetype, exclusive to the Light of Destruction, and in the anime it was the trump deck of the Whitewashed Chazz.

But with the worldline altered and the Society of Light repeatedly stumbling on Duel Academy Island, many of its members were captured by Chazz. With Chazz not Whitewashed, the White Knight deck naturally ended up in someone else's hands.

"At this moment, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Inferno Reckless Summon!" Gelgo declared. "Inferno Reckless Summon can be activated when your opponent controls a face-up monster and a monster with 1500 ATK or less is Special Summoned to your field.

Special Summon as many copies of that monster as possible from your hand, Deck, and Graveyard in Attack Position!"

He paused, then added,

"Of course, you can also Special Summon copies of the monster on your own field."

Jaden shrugged. "My Deck doesn't have any other Dandylions."

"Then I won't be shy!" Gelgo said. "I Special Summon two more White Knight Swordsman from my Deck!"

[White Knight Swordsman, ATK 1200] x2

"Battle Phase." Gelgo issued the attack command. "White Knight Swordsman, cut down that chaff monster serving as a wall!"

The swordsman dashed forward and thrust. Dandylion's small body couldn't withstand it and was pierced through, bursting into fragments.

"Then Dandylion's effect activates!" Jaden said. "When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I Special Summon two Fluff Tokens to my field.

Come forth, Fluff Tokens!"

The departing Dandylion released countless golden motes that gathered into two clusters, coalescing into tiny tufts that hovered to shield Jaden left and right.

[Fluff Token, DEF 0] x2

"Then the remaining two Swordsmen of the White Knight—attack!"

The other two swordsmen vaulted forth, one slashing horizontally, the other vertically. Both Fluff Tokens vanished under their blades.

"A monster with a deathrattle-style effect—originally you planned to use the tokens for Tribute Summons, didn't you?" Gelgo smirked. "Unfortunately, such shallow tactics don't work before the White Knights."

He slid two more cards into place.

"I set two cards and end my turn!"