[ Insect Knight, LP 0 ]
Dueling in the spirit dimension is different from dark duels in the outside world. Here, only the monster spirits of both sides and the effects of the cards are materialized. The damage dealt during the duel is real damage. However, if both sides are just sparring, they can intentionally hold back, stopping upon contact.
It's not like in dark duels, where in one match, only one person can come out alive no matter what.
But of course, Yugen had no reason to hold back against this armored insect. Abyss Soldier showed no mercy, its sword coming down in one strike, directly severing the armored insect's brain.
The latter lay on its back on the ground, blood spurting out five steps, and after dying, its body immediately disintegrated, turning into specks of light and dissipating.
It also dropped a deck.
Yugen stepped forward, picked up the deck, looked around, and couldn't help but frown.
Damn it, it didn't shatter the duel disk.
This was the bad thing about the Spirit World. Many spirit duel disks weren't products of technology or tools, but rather grew out of their bodies, part of their physical form. So, when a person died, their duel disk didn't disappear.
Too bad, otherwise, Yugen thought about carrying a duel disk from another world back. Even if he didn't need it himself, selling it to President Kaiba for research would surely be a considerable income.
Oh well, getting a deck was also acceptable.
Although he had no intention of playing Insects for the time being, and compared to the decks he already had, this one wasn't particularly strong or commonly used, many of the cards in it could fetch a good price.
For example, he immediately thought of Senior Watanabe Hidekazu from the Duel Club. The other party would probably be very willing to offer a fair price.
Judai watched for a long time on the side before finally unable to hold back and said, "Wait a minute, where did he go?"
Yugen was stunned, reacting only after a few seconds.
Ah, right, Judai was still an innocent and naive student. According to the normal timeline, at this point Judai was even seriously debating the existence of dark duels with Titan.
A steadfastly materialistic young man raised under Kaiba's educational philosophy.
"He died." Yugen told him frankly, "This is the rule of this world. In many places, dueling isn't just a game, but a form of combat. Dueling will also determine the life and death of both sides."
The materialistic young man Judai was shocked.
His expression seemed to say, I haven't read many books, don't lie to me. Dueling can even kill people?
However, Yugen then stated that there was nothing to be surprised about. Dueling killing individuals was nothing. Later, there would be dueling that could destroy the world without even blinking.
Judai's worldview was greatly impacted.
The education he had received since childhood told him this kind of thing was too ridiculous, but deep down, a voice seemed to be telling him this was the truth.
What's more, they had crossed over from the dilapidated dorm to this strange continent, encountering Duel Monsters spirits. These were all undeniable facts.
So, Judai, for the first time since birth, had to start facing this possibility.
Dueling might really kill people.
Following that, something suddenly came to his mind. He raised his head, looking at Yugen's back with a somewhat complicated gaze.
In other words, Yugen had just engaged in a duel risking his life?
And he seemed to have known this all along.
Even though he knew, he still so decisively went up to meet this duel.
Was it because as a comrade, he didn't want to let him face this cruel duel alone?
At this time, Yugen was humming a little tune and walking ahead. Judai silently followed, thought for a moment, and suddenly asked.
"By the way, Yugen, did you... take that spirit's deck?"
"Yeah," Yugen said, "What's wrong?"
"Ah, nothing. I just suddenly felt that taking someone else's deck would be a bit strange." Judai scratched his head.
"Someone else's deck? Whose?" Yugen asked curiously.
Judai was stunned: "Huh? Wasn't it just that armored insect spirit's deck?"
Yugen: "Where's that armored insect spirit's person?"
Judai: "Didn't you say... he died?"
"Yeah, if it wasn't his, who else could it be?" Yugen said logically, "This is an unclaimed item, I picked it up."
Judai frowned, thinking.
Huh? That sounds kind of reasonable.
"Besides, a deck is lying around in this desolate wilderness. If I don't pick it up, won't someone else pick it up? What if an evil spirit picks it up and uses it as a weapon to harm good people? Wouldn't that be terrible?"
Judai pondered: "Hmm, sounds kind of reasonable."
"What do you mean 'kind of'? Of course it's reasonable." Yugen waved his hand and continued, "Besides, even if no one picks it up, so many cards being abandoned in the desolate wilderness, exposed to the sun and wind, or bitten and torn apart by wild beasts, how pitiful would it be if they were damaged?
As righteous duelists, we only want to give these poor unclaimed cards a home. Shouldn't we?"
"Yeah yeah right…"
Judai was gradually being swayed.
"Right?"
Yugen patted his shoulder, speaking earnestly.
"Judai, dueling isn't just for fun. Sometimes there will be very serious duels. You'll encounter them sooner or later, won't you?
Cards in the hands of those evil-doers will turn into weapons of harm, and as righteous, sunny duelists, we absolutely cannot stand by and watch our most beloved Duel Monsters be abused!"
Those few words actually struck Judai's heart, immediately stirring up his love for dueling and his heroic spirit of righteousness: "Right!"
"Therefore, if you also happen to face such a situation in the future, remember to never show mercy. Duel disks and decks are tools for those villains to do evil. We can't give them the chance to leave them behind and cause more harm!"
Yugen spoke with righteous indignation.
But after a pause, his tone changed slightly.
"Of course, speaking purely from a Duelist's perspective, snatching someone else's soul-infused deck would feel like a sin. But there's no way around it. Heroes sometimes have to make sacrifices to uphold justice.
However! If Judai, you feel this is too heavy, then I'll take responsibility for it."
Yugen said with a hearty laugh.
Of course, he was just making a casual joke. But if Judai later dueled and bet his life, and really shared his opponent's deck with him, then he would have no choice but to reluctantly accept it.
Dark duels were too deep a rabbit hole. He was afraid Judai wouldn't be able to handle it, so he'd rather take on the responsibility himself for peace of mind.
"Speaking of which, Yugen, I haven't seen this deck of yours before," Judai said.
"Ah, because I just saw this 'Abyss Soldier' card in the Duel Club two days ago, so I built a deck around it as the core."
"Ah~ that's so good." Judai revealed an envious expression, "You and Misawa are the same, I envy those of you with good brains. You can easily come up with so many amazing combinations, so many powerful structures…"
Yugen said to himself in his heart, no no no, I envy you more.
If I had your skill, why would I bother making so many decks with such effort? I'd just throw in a bunch and let them develop freely, wouldn't that be the end of it?