Yu-Gi-Oh!: This is the real duel!

[Please perform a Persuasion check; 1d20, a score greater than 5 is required for success.]

Chapter 304 Dark Duel! Yugi Muto VS Bakura!

Only five?

You Che smiled faintly.

It seems that although he is not a priest, his status as a spirit user is enough to overwhelm these people.

He casually tossed it aside, passed the inspection, and then returned to the palace with the priest Set.

Upon returning to the palace, Seth first had Kisara's injuries treated, and then settled her in a room.

Kisara certainly harbors a powerful white dragon within her heart, but whether she can summon it remains to be seen. Priest Set knows very well that Kisara most likely won't be able to freely transform into a spirit, and he still needs to carefully consider what to do next...

In the dilapidated village shrouded in black mist, ghosts wander among the ruins.

Bakura, the Thief King, sat in a dark basement. Before him lay an ancient stone slab with seven slots for Millennium Artifacts. By placing the corresponding items into these slots, the sleeping Great Demon King—Zork—could be awakened!

At this moment, as he enjoyed the dark power here, he looked at the basement door with a cold smile. He knew very well that someone would soon come here, bringing with them one of the millennium artifacts.

A short while later, the air suddenly rippled, and an old, white-haired man emerged from the distorted space. He wore the Holy Duel Disk on his arm, and his left eye was adorned with the golden Millennium Item—the Millennium Eye!

"You've finally arrived, Aknadin," Bakula smiled faintly, toying with the skull in his hand. "Now that you're here, hand over the Holy Duel Disk to me."

Somewhat exhausted, Akhenaten recalled the Shadow Ghoul, and the distorted space immediately returned to normal. He said, "Then... what power should I use to fight next?"

Bakura smirked: "From the moment you put on the Millennium Eye, I granted you a wish. This wish cannot be fulfilled directly, but I can give you the power to make it happen. Consider it the price for your loyalty. I will bestow upon you the power of darkness, making you a Dark High Priest who transcends the mortal realm!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Bakula stood up from his chair. He waved his hand, and black energy emanated from the cracks in the stone slab in front of him, enveloping Aknadin. The dense dark energy continuously seeped into Aknadin's body. He screamed violently a few times, and then fell silent.

When the black mist dissipated, Akhenaten had transformed from an ordinary human into a terrifying demon. His body was several times larger than before, radiating a deathly dark energy. The moment he became the Dark High Priest, the Thousand-Year Eye fell out of his eye socket, and a mask made of dark matter was etched onto his face, covering the eerie hole...

Intense pain spread throughout Aknadin's body, and he felt as if he were suffocating. But suddenly, it was as if he had entered a completely new world after death. After the horror and fear reached their extreme, he gradually adapted and began to enjoy the feeling of being swallowed by darkness.

"Huh...huh..."

The Dark High Priest breathed heavily, feeling a sharp pain in his arm from the Holy Duel Disk. He immediately removed the Disk and handed it to the high and mighty Bakura.

"Now... what do you need me to do..." the Dark High Priest asked, his voice now indistinguishable from that of a demon.

Bakula smiled faintly and said, "There's nothing else for you to do, so go and fulfill your own wish."

The Dark High Priest was taken aback. His wish was for his son, Seth, to become the Pharaoh!

Yes, Seth is his son.

In order to complete the task assigned to him by the dynasty, he had to abandon his wife and daughters and go to the palace to serve. He asked his wife to tell his son that his father was a soldier who had died in battle. After saying this, the middle-aged Aknadin resolutely bid farewell to his hometown and embarked on his journey.

But every day after that, he felt sad and tormented by it.

His wife is understanding, and his son is an outstanding student among his peers, possessing extraordinary talent.

Aknadin was tormented by guilt until he obtained the Thousand-Year Eye, which amplified the darkness in his heart. His original guilt towards his son turned into resentment and dissatisfaction towards the dynasty.

As the younger brother of the late king, his son Set also possessed the bloodline to inherit the throne. Under the constant influence of darkness, he ultimately made a wish to the Thousand-Year Eye: that Set would become the true Pharaoh, not the weak and incompetent son of the late king…

In the years that followed, he longed for that day to come every moment, and when Seth became a priest through his own power, his obsession became even stronger.

Despite being abandoned by himself since childhood, Seth still managed to rise from the brink of despair and become a revered priest.

This further proves that Set was more deserving of the position of Pharaoh than anyone else.

From that moment on, Akhenaten, guided by darkness, secretly plotted and continuously provided Set with help and support. Now, he had become a wanted criminal by the dynasty. Since that was the case, there was no need for him to continue pretending. He wanted to kill the Pharaoh, destroy all obstacles, and make his son the supreme being!

“But…” Aknadin, who was already the Dark High Priest, did not understand Bakula’s intentions.

“There are no ‘buts’,” Bakula smiled. “I need a little more time, so go and fulfill your wish. If you can kill the Pharaoh, all the better; if you can use other means, that’s fine too. In short, I have already bestowed upon you the power of darkness; the rest is up to you.”

"Yes!!" The Dark High Priest was secretly delighted. He spread his rotting wings, left the basement, and flew towards the royal city.

In the dark underground, Bakura was alone again. He stretched his body, preparing to carry out the next operation.

Currently, he has only obtained one of the three items and used only one. There are two slots left, one of which must not be moved. That slot must be reserved for the God of Evil Hourglass, which is used to count down the arrival of Zorc. The prerequisite for unlocking this item is to collect all seven Millennium Artifacts and place them in the stone slab.

He wasn't in a hurry to do that task; he needed to find something more crucial. With that, he could easily obtain all the artifacts.

Bakula put the Holy Duel Disk on his arm, played with it for a while, then grinned wickedly and left the village to continue his next mission...

The Valley of the King's Long Sleep.

Using their memories of the present world, Yugi Muto and his companions successfully located Yugi's tomb.

Simon, the official in charge of building this place, was very efficient. The entire mausoleum was almost completely repaired, and even the guard mechanisms had been activated.

When they arrived at the tomb, Yugi Muto's eyes widened in surprise. He discovered that everything here was exactly as his grandfather had told him!

Before arriving in Egypt, Muto Sugoroku told him about his adventures when he was young. With Muto Sugoroku's experience and everyone's skills, the four of them quickly passed through one obstacle after another and finally arrived at a dark and secluded corridor.

Bakura's clones, which had transformed into Honda, repeatedly tried to sabotage him, but each time they were cleverly thwarted.

Finally, the four of them rested in the corridor, and the three of them, including Yugi Muto, were extremely happy.

"Great! If we follow this path, we should be able to find the Pharaoh's name!!" Jonouchi exclaimed excitedly.

Yugi Muto nodded happily and said, "Yes! That's right, in that case, we've won this dark game!!"

Peacock Dance was already getting impatient: "Since that's the case, let's go all out!!"

Just as everyone was preparing to move forward triumphantly, Honda suddenly blocked their path, revealing a sinister and evil sneer.

"Hey, Honda, what... are you going to do?" Jonouchi was taken aback.

Sensing something amiss, Yugi Muto was shocked: "No, he's not Honda!!"

"Hehehe~ That's right~" The fake Honda reverted to his true form; his real identity was actually a clone of Bakura. "I never expected that a mere vessel like you could reach this level~ I truly underestimated you~ However, before you find the King's Name, you'll have to pass this final test~"

"We're not afraid of you! There are three of us, and you're just one!" the man shouted.

Bakula sneered, "Don't be ridiculous, the final challenge I'm talking about is the Dark Duel!!"

"In RPG games, various other game genres are often incorporated, and dueling can naturally be part of this dark game."

"Come on, container, let me see how much you weigh!"

"All along, it was the Pharaoh who helped you win battle after battle. Now that he's not here, how will you defeat me?"

A duel in the dark?!

All three of them felt a chill run down their spines.

Mai looked at the small Yugi Muto with some worry. She had only seen other Yugi duels, but had never seen him duel. She was a little worried about whether Yugi Muto could defeat Bakura!

But Jonouchi said confidently, "Go for it, Yugi! We believe in you!! If we defeat this guy, we're not far from winning this dark game!!"

At this moment, Bakula had a Duel Disk on his arm, but it was not a modern one; rather, it was something similar to a Sacred Duel Disk. With a wave of his hand, streaks of yellow sand condensed in the air and transformed into a hand card that floated in mid-air beside him.

Yugi Muto resolutely raised his arm, and the same Duel Disk appeared: "For my other self, I will definitely win this duel!"

"All along, another version of myself has been fighting for me!!"

"But this time, I'm going to fight for him!!"

"Come on!! Let's duel!!!"

Yugi Muto, LP: 4000

Bakula, LP: 4000

"My first turn, draw!!" Yugi Muto roared, and countless grains of sand condensed around him, forming his sixth card. "Set one card, then set one monster!! End of turn!!!"

As he spoke, the two cards formed from yellow sand suddenly vanished. Then the ground trembled, and two stone slabs rose from the earth, one horizontal and one vertical, both lying flat on the ground!

"Hmph~ What a passive approach~" Bakura sneered. "Then it's my turn, time to draw cards!!"

"You can't possibly beat me like this!!"

"Attack signal summons—Death Knight!!"

"Attack the monster that's in defense mode!!!"

Another stone slab rose from the ground and stood upright on the battlefield, its engraved patterns radiating dazzling golden light. Then, a ghostly swordsman riding a black horse appeared out of thin air and launched an attack on Yugi Muto's monster!

The Death Knight

【Four stars】

[Dark Attribute/Demon Race]

[Attack/Defense: 1900/1800]

Yugi Muto's eyes flashed, and he shouted loudly, "Cotton Candy's effect activated! This can only be used when this face-down Defense Position card is attacked. The attacking duelist takes 1000 damage!! Furthermore, Cotton Candy cannot be destroyed by battle!!"

"Rumble rumble rumble rumble ——————————————"

The previously covering stone slab was lifted, and a white monster sprang out from the burst of light. It easily blocked the Death Knight's attack and reflected the damage back at the enemy.

【Marshmallow】

【Samsung】

[Light Attribute/Angel Race]

[Attack/Defense: 300/500]

Dark energy surged toward Bakula, who clenched his teeth and glared at the creature before him with utter loathing.

"Beep beep beep beep————————————"

Bakula, LP: 4000 → 3000

At the start of the duel, Yugi Muto gained the upper hand, which prompted Jonouchi and Mai Kujaku to cheer repeatedly.

"Great! Game! Play like this!!" Jonouchi cheered loudly, "Show him your deck!!"

Peacock Mai looked at Yugi Muto's slender back and pondered silently.

Is this the game's own deck?

really……

Marshmallow is not a card that would be included in another game, and summoning a defensive monster on the first turn is also not the style of another game.

If the other game is a sharp sword, then this gentle game is like a thick and sturdy shield. One player is known for his fierce attacks, while the other excels at defense and counterattack.

"Tsk!!" Bakula said coldly, "You dared to use such a troublesome card on me, then I'll set one card face down, end of turn!"