Want to play cards? I'll use my King's Deck!

The venomous snake's chilling voice came from the other side, as if it could freeze You Xi's very bones.

"If you really did defeat Grafa, I advise you not to be complacent about it."

"That sounds so familiar..."

You Xi felt a strong urge to complain; she never expected to hear such retro-sounding words here.

However, if Viper's claim that it's stronger than Grafa is true, then this battle is likely to be a tough one.

Yu Xi still vividly remembers his duel with Grafa; it was arguably the most dangerous and arduous battle he had ever experienced. He was so close; a single mistake would have cost him his life.

And now, he was facing that terror once again.

"But no matter what, I have no choice but to do it. My first strike!"

While the viper was slowly uttering his threats, Youxi had already drawn all his starting cards.

He selected one card and inserted it into the trap card slot, and a paper box with a soybean face drawn on it appeared in front of him.

When you open it, it's filled with toys.

"First, activate the Continuous Spell: Toy Box, and use its first effect to place Toy Soldiers and Toy Tanks from your deck as Spell Cards face down in the back row."

"Then activate the effect of 'Dark Witch - Diabelstar' from your hand. Send 'Toy Soldier' ​​face-down to the Graveyard, and Special Summon this card from your hand."

"Ha! You've finally managed to summon this legendary thief. Looks like you're not entirely untrustworthy after all, Yuuki. But..."

A hooded witch materialized on his field. The Black Witch, carrying a dagger as long as her forearm, sized up the viper opposite her, frowning slightly: "This opponent seems rather annoying."

Is it the unpleasantness caused by a clash in clothing and style, or is there some other reason?

The dark witch felt a strong aversion and repulsion towards the snake from the bottom of her heart, a feeling she had never experienced even from the dark magician girl who usually liked to compete with her.

"Perhaps it's because Miss Belle's sense of justice cannot tolerate the existence of evil?"

Having spent so much time together, Yuki was already familiar enough with the Black Witch to crack some lighthearted jokes. After casually saying something, he continued, "Activate the effect of 'Black Witch'! If a Special Summon is successful, place 1 'Sin Treasure' card from your Deck to the back row. I choose 'Sin Treasure - Snake Eye'."

"At the same time, the effect of 'Toy Soldier,' which was set to the back row, is activated. This card is resurrected from the Graveyard. Because 'Toy Box' is on the field, the Level 4 LIGHT 'Apostle of Ra' is added to the hand. Then, the set Spell Card 'Original Sin Treasure - Snake Eyes' is activated, sending 'Toy Box' to the Graveyard, and 'Jet Synchron' is Special Summoned from the Deck."

Originally, it would have been better to Special Summon "Snake Eyes", but Yuki did not include the Snake Eyes axis in the deck this time.

Instead, a harmonious light shone above his head.

"Using a 1-star 'Jet Synchron' to upgrade a 4-star 'Toy Soldier', 'The gathered brilliance will unleash new possibilities, becoming a path of dazzling light! Synchron Summon, 'Scrap Speedster'!!'"

"Scrap Speedster, Level 5/Wind/Warrior/Synchro" "ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000"

"[Synchro] Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters"

The tuning ring, transformed from a "Jet Synchron," pierces through the toy soldier's body, and a fierce gale sweeps across the earth. Racing through a world of high speed, the warrior, capable of unleashing infinite possibilities, descends from the light of synchronization.

"C1 'Scrap Speedster', C2 'Jet Synchronizer', the effects of 2 monsters activate!"

Yu Xi shuffled his deck, and several cards popped out.

He took out the cards in order, some into his hand and others onto the duel disk.

"Add 'Scrap Synchron' from my deck to my hand, and Special Summon 'Unknown Synchron,' 'Fragrance Synchron,' 'Stardust Synchron,' and 'Wheel Synchron' to my Main Monster Zone."

Four beams of light flashed as numerous "Synchro" adjustments filled Yuuki's front row. With so many adjustments and non-adjustments, Yuuki could unleash a devastating attack and secure victory.

In fact, he won many of his past games this way.

But the moment the monsters landed, the venomous snakes, which had been silent until now, suddenly moved.

"At this moment, the effect of 'Primal Life Form Nibiru' activates!"

"What!?"

You Xi's pupils contracted instantly, and he looked sharply at the venomous snake, wondering if he had misheard.

However, it does not.

Clamped between the snake's red-painted fingernails was an orange card, the monster depicted on it looking all too familiar to Yuki.

"This card can only be activated during the Main Phase of the turn your opponent Normal or Special Summons 5 or more monsters." The Viper's voice was gentle, yet clearly reached Yuki's ears. "Tribute as many face-up monsters as possible from both sides' fields, and Special Summon this card from your hand—Turn everything to ashes, crush it into dust! Special Summon 'Primal Lifeform Nibiru'!"

"Primal life form Nibiru, Level 8/Light/Rock" "ATK: 3000/DEF: 600"

"Holy crap! What's that thing?"

As the venomous snake raised its arm, a massive meteorite pierced through the clouds and fell from the sky.

Its surface glowed with a red light as it rubbed against the air, carrying an unparalleled aura. Like the true end of the world, it crashed into the dueling arena amidst the Black Witch's horrified scream!

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!"

A powerful shockwave, carrying shattered rocks, scattered in all directions according to the laws of physics. Yu Xi quickly raised both hands to shield her face, using all her strength to avoid being blown away by the blast. Even so, this single meteorite impact gave Yu Xi a considerable sense of shock.

What surprised him even more was the appearance of this monster.

"It's a meteorite... I never expected to see this card here."

"To deal with a deck like yours that relies on explosive attacks, nothing is more effective than a 'Nibiru' card."

The viper sneered, "How's he feeling now, you little brat? All that hard work, and it's all for nothing. But as a reward for your useless efforts, I'll give you a gift. The follow-up effect of 'Nibiru' is that upon successful Special Summoning, it will Special Summon 1 'Primal Lifeform Token' to your opponent's field. This Token has the same Level, Attribute, and Type as 'Nibiru,' but its ATK and DEF are the sum of the corresponding stats of the monster that was originally Tributed."

"This is a very powerful fighter, I hope you will cherish it."

What appeared in the Viper Field was a huge, egg-sized meteorite. And what appeared in the Yuki Field was the alien life form that had arrived carrying the meteorite.

Because all of Yuki's monsters on the field were released, even though the Synchrons' stats were relatively low, their sheer number still gave this alien life form considerable combat power.

But You Xi also knew in her heart that this was just an illusion.

"Since you dared to leave such a powerful derivative to me, I don't think you wouldn't have a way to deal with it."

Yu Xi said seriously, "Before the effect of 'Primal Life Form Nibiru' was activated, I also activated the effect of 'Stardust Synchron,' adding 'Stardust Illumination' from my deck to my hand. Then I activated this Spell Card, sending 'Stardust Trail' from my deck to the Graveyard. Next, I Tributed Tokens, reviving 'Stardust Synchron' from the Graveyard, and then reviving 'Stardust Trail.'"

"A 4-star 'Stardust Synchron' tunes a 4-star 'Stardust Trail,' one soul pointing towards light, the other towards darkness. In the collision of light and darkness, a dragon destined to rule the heavens and earth will be born. Synchron Summon, descend, 'Chaos Dragon - Chaos Ruler!'"

"Chaos Dragon, Chaos Ruler, Level 8/Dark/Dragon" "ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500"

A powerful dragon roar resounded through the heavens, and the black dragon wings scattered the synchronized light as they flapped. The demonic dragon, which controlled the power of chaos, hovered in mid-air behind Youxi.

"When Synchro Summoning is successful, the effect of 'Chaos Dragon' activates! Reveal the top 5 cards, add 1 LIGHT/DARK monster from them to my hand, and then send the remaining cards to the Graveyard."

With card searches and additional cards added to the graveyard, Yuki's graveyard suddenly became incredibly fertile, and his hand was replenished to its maximum capacity.

The only downside is that this hand wasn't enough for him to continue his run.

"I set one card face down, end of turn."

"My turn."

The moment after Yuki announced the end of the turn, Viper stretched out her beautiful hand and casually drew a card from the deck.

After glancing over, she let out a slight sound of surprise.

"You drew this card right at the start? Looks like your luck isn't so good. Well then, let's start by slowly plunging you into the abyss of despair."

The side slot of the Viper's Duel Disk opened, and a bright green card was placed inside.

Immediately afterwards, a bright green ring lit up from the Duel Disk and expanded in all directions.

"This is……!"

Upon seeing this scene, which felt extremely familiar, You Xi's expression changed slightly.

Then, the snake's voice confirmed his bad premonition.

"—Field spell: 'Orichalcum Barrier' activated!"

Chapter 199: The "Orichalcos Barrier" activated!

"Field spell: 'Orichalcum Barrier' activated!"

The eerie green ring expanded outwards, merging with the already surrounding azure flames to You Xi's astonishment.

Two rays of light extended and refracted from the two ends of the ring, eventually connecting to form a six-pointed star pattern. The same pattern was also engraved on the snake's hood, making her appear even more ferocious.

Even the intensity of the Feel fluctuations has reached a new level.

"It's actually the 'Orichalcos Barrier'!?"

Since the "Doomsday Bell" came into the open, Youxi has been surprised several times, but this time the surprise is especially great.

He never imagined that he would encounter the "Orichalcos Barrier" in his duel with the "Earthbound God." These were two completely different dark forces... Oh wait! He almost brought the anime world's setting into the mix again.

The animated world is the animated world, and in this world, the distinction between the two may not be so clear-cut.

...Although it still feels quite out of place.

"This is the power of the card that belongs to the depths of my soul."

As the venomous snake felt the powerful energy filling its body, it said, "You could say it's the power passed down through generations of our family. Those who have seen this card should all be dead by now, but judging from your appearance, you seem to know about the 'Orichalcos Barrier'."

"Kid, you didn't see this in the D Alliance's database, did you? No, with your level and status, you wouldn't have any authority to access these things."

"The power passed down through generations of the family?"

Yu Xi repeated part of the snake's words, concluding, "That really is something unrelated to 'Earthbound Gods' and the 'Doomsday Bell.' If they possess such power, why would they join such an organization?"

"Because we are the losers."

The viper said in a calm voice, "You should have studied some modern history about this world."

"Before the establishment of the D Alliance, the world was once engulfed in war. At that time, a major power, relying on its strong military strength, declared war on the world and became the strongest in the world for a time."

"Are you referring to the Audren Empire?"

You Xi had certainly learned about this period of history in class, and not only in class, but also by searching for information online to make up for her lack of common sense about the world.

The Oderen Empire was a long-established great power that adhered to the traditional feudal imperial system. In order to achieve hegemony, it took the initiative to provoke war, becoming the initial trigger for the world war.

Later, after the rise of the Kaiba Corporation, it intervened in the war with its powerful tactics, the convenience of the Duel Disk, and the advantage of having more duelists, ending that catastrophe.

Why would the venomous snake suddenly bring this up? Could it be...?

“Where there is war, there will be victors and losers. The Oderen Empire was the loser at that time. Later, the empire was split up. As the culprit who started the war, the main royal line of the Oderen Empire was purged due to a coup. I am a descendant who was lucky enough to escape the purge.”

The viper removed her hood and mask, revealing a stunningly beautiful face, but her expression was so cold that it was impossible to feel any goodwill towards her.