Who asked him to play Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 1606 Rafael's Obsession
A starlight path appeared within the synchronized halo, and a giant azure dragon emerged from the radiance, its chains clanging against each other with a metallic clatter.

Chain-linked Dragon!

That's right, it's the same Lock Dragon used by the warden in the Synchro Dimension prison. It belongs to the warden's "Chain" deck, which is a deck that mainly uses card reduction as its tactic. However, it's only appearing here as a regular Level 6 Synchro stepping stone.

"Next, add the second Level 2 Tuner 'Infernal Beetle', along with the Level 6 'Chain Dragon', and then level up!"

【2+6=8】

"When the dead and the living merge into nothingness, the dragon is released from its eternal cage! Synchro Summon, Rank 8—"

—Eternal Fire Death Dragon!!!

The ace of the Eternal Flame family, with a jet-black and deep body, broad dragon wings, a ferocious and terrifying face, and especially a pair of eyes that exude unparalleled wisdom.

[Eternal Fire Death Dragon, Attack Power 3000]

Special Summoning Infernal Fiend to search for Infernal Cannon is exactly the kind of tempo that the former champion Infernal deck loved to unleash. Infernal Cannon, which can summon any two monsters from the graveyard with just one card, is arguably the ace of the current Infernal deck, and this single card holds endless possibilities.

This move was merely a small test for Yonghuo, but Rafiru was quite surprised by what he saw, and now he showed a look of surprise.

Synchro Summoning?

Even the world's top duelists had never seen the future summoning method before, so they couldn't help but feel surprised and uncertain. At the same time, they naturally thought of what Dartz had said to them before they left.

Duelists from another dimension, possessing dueling powers unknown to them.
Raferu's heart skipped a beat, and he wondered if this was the other-dimensional warrior that Lord Dartz had mentioned. He immediately became more serious and paid more attention to Yu Xuan.

Of course, Rafael wouldn't back down. He was a glorious duelist, believing in his own strength and, even more so, trusting his deck. Whether his opponent was a god or used an unknown summoning spell, he would persist in his duel and secure victory—nothing more.

“Infernal Death Dragon, monster effect activated.” You Xuan said, “If you have zero cards in your hand, once per turn, you can choose one monster on your opponent’s field and destroy it. Then inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster’s ATK.”

Rafael was startled: "Such a powerful effect?"

And speaking of having zero cards in hand, it seems that was true just now. They were saying that you can Special Summon Infernal Demon when you draw it when your hand is empty, and that Infernal Cannon's effect can only be activated when your hand is empty.
Rafiru quickly guessed what was going on: "Is your deck based on a strategy of 'zero cards in hand'?"

"As expected of a King-level duelist, you understand it very quickly." You Xuan smiled. "That's right, this is the 'no-hand combo' of the Infernal Flame deck."

Raphael understood immediately. No wonder this guy threw away all his cards to activate "Treasure of the Underworld" right from the start; having no cards in hand was the very tactical basis for this deck's playstyle.

Such a tactical approach is indeed rare in the dueling environment Rafael is familiar with. Normally, hand cards represent the ammunition for a duel, the basic resource for battle, and the more the better. But this deck goes against the grain, using no hand cards as the fundamental tactic.

At this moment, the Infernal Death Dragon opened its dark, gaping maw, unleashing a spiraling, chaotic vortex that seemed to be mixed with the filth of hell, locking onto Rafael's "Guardian Grall" on the field and hurtling towards it. In a direct confrontation, Grall, wielding the Gravity Axe, would have roughly equal attack power to the Infernal Death Dragon, and neither would gain the upper hand. However, if this attack succeeded, Grall would be directly destroyed, and Rafael would suffer an additional 1500 points of damage.

Rafiru's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he immediately prepared a countermeasure: "Then activate the face card, the Continuous Trap 'Dimensional Guardian'!"
This card can target any monster you control in Attack Position and apply Protection to that monster!

As soon as he finished speaking, a gigantic phantom of a guardian appeared in the sky above the arena, with the background resembling an endless void from another dimension. The guardian descended with energy like a transparent shield, protecting the giant lizard, Grall, on Rafael's field.

The Eternal Fire Death Dragon's deadly breath struck Grall head-on, but was only blocked by the dimensional barrier, failing to harm its true form in the slightest.

"The monster protected by the Dimensional Guardian cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effects," Rafael said. "If that monster leaves the field, this card will also be destroyed."

The attack of the Eternal Fire Death Dragon failed, but You Xuan didn't take it to heart. He simply said, "The Eternal Fire Death Dragon cannot declare an attack during the turn in which its effect has been activated."

My turn is over.

He declared it over, then smiled at Rafael and said, "Well, it's a bit of a shame we didn't manage to destroy it. But you really are just as rumored."

Rafael: "Hmm?"

"You protected the monster with a trap. It's said that your duels are characterized by 'never letting a monster into the graveyard,' right?" Yu Xuan laughed.

From the perspective of Yu-Gi-Oh! today, it seems ridiculous. After all, for modern duelists, the graveyard is almost like a second hand. Not using the graveyard is a huge disadvantage in itself, not to mention how much resources are needed to protect monsters from going to the graveyard.

The insistence on "not letting monsters into the graveyard" represents Rafael's own obsession and demonstrates the extraordinary bond between the character and his monster.

He suffered a shipwreck as a child, forcing him to bury all his family members, leaving a huge void in his young heart. The appearance of the guardian spirits filled that void; to him, the guardians who accompanied him in the days after his family was gone were like a second family.

He had already buried his family once, which is why he had this strange obsession that he absolutely could not let his monster enter the cemetery again.

Even in the early days of DM, this was a very strange thing. From a normal person's point of view, such an obsession seemed to put him at a natural disadvantage in duels.

Even so, Rafael is still a world-class duelist, and the Guardian deck isn't particularly strong even in DM. Therefore, the best explanation is that his unwavering bond with the elves amplifies his destiny to an extreme degree.

“Indeed. The guardians protect me with their bodies, and I will do everything in my power to protect them. This is my duel,” Rafael said calmly. “No matter what difficulties we face, we will overcome them together; no matter what enemies we encounter, we will defeat them together. This is our way of fighting!”

My turn, draw a card! "

(End of this chapter)