Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!

"When did you figure it out?"

Iwao asked casually.

"For some time now," Kira replied coolly. "One of my spirits is very sensitive to the scent of Orichalcos."

As he spoke, Black Luster Soldier's spirit materialized at his side, hand on sword, watching warily.

"I see… Black Luster Soldier, huh? I knew I shouldn't have let him escape. What a nuisance."

Iwao muttered, then pulled off his disguise.

The bulky man shrank, turning into a lean man.

Luca, one of New Doma's Three Swordsmen.

"Let me guess, from the very first time we met, it's been you, right?" Kira asked. "What about the real Iwao?"

"What do you think?"

Luca shrugged.

"If I'm taking his place, I can't risk him ruining my plans, can I?"

He smiled and pulled out a card.

It was the Seal of Orichalcos Card. In a duel under the Seal of Orichalcos, the loser's soul is sealed in such a card.

And on it was the real Iwao.

"I see." Kira nodded. "So what was a Doma Swordsman doing among a bunch of refugees?"

"Mainly looking for that guy you just eliminated. I thought he might be hiding among the survivors."

Luca said nonchalantly.

"Tragoedia is a powerful monster—the organization could use him.

And I also wanted to find that legendary duelist…"

"Joey Wheeler, right?" Kira said.

"Yeah." Luca shrugged. "Too bad, never found a lead. He really is in high demand—lots of people looking for him."

He paused and smiled.

"Of course, meeting you was a pleasant surprise. I can sense you're special too—your dueling style is unique yet as strong as any top duelist. And that inexplicable confidence…"

He narrowed his eyes, smiling.

"So you were so sure I was the enemy, locking me in with the zombies without hesitation? Didn't you consider even a ten percent chance you might be wrong?"

"No need," Kira shrugged, glancing at Black Luster Soldier. "A duelist only needs to trust his spirit monsters. If you can't do that, how can you step onto the field?"

"Haha, fair enough. I'm starting to like you."

Luca licked his lips and unfolded his duel disk.

"Shame I still have to kill you. Our factions are different, and you just happen to have something we want."

Kira didn't say more, also opening his duel disk.

"Duel!" x2

[Kira, LP 4000]

[Luca, LP 4000]

"I'll go first. Draw."

Luca drew, then narrowed his eyes.

"Starting off with this card… looks like even if I wanted to go easy, the gods wouldn't allow it.

Activate Field Spell—'Seal of Orichalcos'!"

The seal activated in a burst of green light. A hexagram spread under their feet, and the mark appeared on Luca's forehead. He let out a roar as green fire seemed to erupt from him, his aura swelling.

"Only the winner can leave this field—you know that, right?" Luca said. "Next, Spell Card 'Card Destruction'!

Both players discard all cards in hand, then draw the same number."

Kira didn't speak, quickly discarding his hand and drawing new cards.

"Then I set a monster in defense position," Luca said. "And set a back row card. Turn end."

Kira: "My turn. Draw."

Thanks to Kaiba's earlier intel, he knew Luca's deck was based on Worms. He had to watch out for dangerous flip effects.

But it didn't matter.

Kira glanced at his new hand—he had a plan.

"Activate 'Allure of Darkness.' Draw two cards, then banish a DARK monster from my hand."

He drew, then revealed a card.

"Banishing 'D.D. Scout Plane'."

The white, orb-shaped scout appeared above, sucked into a dimensional vortex.

"Next, banish the 'Shield Crush' discarded last turn from the graveyard."

The spell card's image appeared and was also banished.

"Special Summon 'Spell Striker'!"

[Spell Striker, ATK 600]

"Spell Striker can be special summoned by banishing a spell card from the graveyard," Kira said. "Then, tribute 'Spell Striker' for a tribute summon!

Shake the earth with your power—Earth Monarch, Granmarg, appear!"

A golden beam shot from the ground, splitting it open. Granmarg's massive golden body, like a mountain clad in gold armor, emerged in a swirl of smoke.

[Granmarg the Rock Monarch, ATK 2400]

Luca's face changed slightly. "Summoning a Monarch right away? That effect is…"

"Granmarg's effect: destroy a set card on summon," Kira said. "Destroy your set monster."

Granmarg hammered the ground, the shockwave splitting the field. Luca's set monster was revealed.

As expected, a Worm Yagan.

Its flip effect would have bounced a monster back to the hand, costing Kira his Monarch if he'd attacked recklessly.

But Granmarg's effect destroyed it before it could flip.

"Granmarg, direct attack," Kira ordered.

Granmarg's huge fist crashed down like a mountain. The solid blow slammed into Luca, knocking him back into the barrier, his chest heaving.

[Luca, LP 4000 → 1600]

He knelt, clutching his chest, steadying himself after the Monarch's blow.

"Tch, a Monarch to counter flips… and you banished 'Shield Crush' from the graveyard too—another anti-flip card.

So, you adjusted your deck specifically after getting intel from Seto Kaiba, huh?"

He stood, wiping blood from his mouth, unfazed.

"Looks like I underestimated you."

PS: Bonus chapters at 1000 PS