Yu-Gi-Oh!: This isn't a duel!

Chapter 248 The Interrupted Duel! Capture from the Virtual World

Seeing his vital field magic vanish before his eyes, Andre Anfo's face instantly turned extremely ugly, and even his usually elegant posture stiffened slightly.

If only the area magic is destroyed, there might still be room for recovery.

After all, he still has his own Quick-Play Spell in his hand, which he can use to Special Summon [Fogare the Monument] from the Extra Deck to search for or reclaim the field.

But what bothers him most right now is the depletion of resources and the deadlock in the situation.

The tricky part is that all the quick-play spell cards in [Divine Monument] have the strict restriction that "only one can be activated per turn".

He had just surrendered the [Divine Stele of Radiant Flame], which destroyed the monster, in order to clear the field.

To preserve [Divine Stele Fountain], he also used [Divine Stele of Frozen Curse], which had a negated effect. Both of these crucial interaction cards were now on cooldown.

At that moment, he raised his head.

In the center of that ravaged battlefield, the purple behemoth named [Dreamlike Shadow Griffin] still stood there unscathed.

Its pair of eerie purple electronic eyes coldly looked down at Andre Anfo, as if mocking his powerlessness.

Under the oppressive rule of this behemoth, Andre Anfo, having lost the sustain of the Divine Monument Spring and used up his key removal card, is now like a wild beast with its fangs pulled out, completely trapped in a desperate situation.

"Since the field has been compromised, let's respond with a purer form of defense."

Andre Anfo's eyes remained calm beneath the mask, and he did not lose his composure despite the shattering of the Divine Stele Spring.

He held the remaining cards in his hand and smoothly inserted them one by one into the back slots of the Duel Disk:

"However, I'm not without ways to handle that situation. I'll let you be smug for a little while longer!"

"I'm placing four cards face down!"

"Round over!"

As four massive virtual card backs emerged in the back row, forming an impenetrable trap defense, Andre Anfo prepared to face his opponent's next offensive.

However, at that very moment—

"Waaaaah—! Waaaaah—! Waaaaah—!!!"

A sharp, piercing, and extremely high-frequency electronic alarm suddenly rang out throughout the entire data space, instantly drowning out all the background music.

The sound seemed to act directly on the nerves, sending chills down one's spine.

"Crack—Boom!"

The closed world of spirits, which was originally set up for a duel, was suddenly torn apart from the outside by a violent external force.

Amidst a flurry of flying code fragments, a lithe young woman clad in a black high-tech stealth suit and wearing a tactical mask, carrying a sharp stream of dark green data, burst through the barrier like a humanoid missile and landed heavily in front of everyone.

The tactical light blade in her hand gleamed with the cold light of a law enforcer, and her chilling electronic voice vibrated in everyone's eardrums through the loudspeaker:

"【Evil★Gemini Kiskiller Lira】!"

"Coordinates confirmed! You are under arrest!"

"Disarm immediately and surrender!"

Upon seeing this uninvited guest, Kiskill's previously aggressive expression instantly turned extremely ugly, and she spat out in displeasure:

"Tch! These dogs came so fast!"

Without any hesitation, almost instinctively, she grabbed Lila's hand beside her. The pink data stream that had been maintaining the duel arena instantly disintegrated, turning into countless turbulent currents that interfered with the surrounding spatial coordinates.

Normally, a sacred duel ritual would never be interrupted until a victor was determined.

But there are always exceptions to everything.

For example, the duelist loses consciousness, or—a higher level of "special authority" forcibly intervenes.

Unfortunately, the guy in front of them possessed the highest law enforcement authority specifically targeting virtual beings like them.

As native inhabitants of the virtual world, if the twins are phantom thieves walking the line between law and order, then the other is the iron-blooded police officer maintaining order—the [S-Force].

They possess the authority to break down the barriers of the spirit world and forcibly halt the process, but this authority can only be unlocked when there is a clear "arrest warrant".

Although their identities were exposed by that annoying Sunny many years ago, they ended up in this real world by chance while on the run.

I thought that after so much time, the wanted poster from that world would have expired long ago, but now it seems...

"That damn bounty, it still hasn't been withdrawn?!"

The Pokémon world, which was used to maintain the duel arena, has been shattered and its rules have collapsed, making it clear that this duel can no longer continue.

Although I was very unwilling to let these two humans go, retreating was the only option when I was attacked from both sides!

"Lira-chan, let's go! Back to the 'dark web' to lie low!"

"learn."

As Kissgill quickly repaired the breach in the Elven Realm to block the pursuers, the two figures instantly transformed into two streaks of light, one red and one blue, which disappeared into the intricate network data stream.

"Don't even think about escaping!"

Upon seeing this, the black-clad girl who had chased in first noticed the data on her goggles jumping wildly.

With a flash, she transformed into a dark green arrow of light, chasing after the two streaks of light and disappearing from the spot.

Deep within the vast virtual world, two streaks of light, one red and one blue, frantically darted and changed direction ahead, while behind them, a dark green light clung relentlessly like a leech.

This sudden change happened so fast that in the blink of an eye, the once fierce battlefield was reduced to a mess.

Lucien pushed up his glasses and exchanged a glance with Andre Anf beside him, both momentarily stunned.

However, before Lucien could even ask—

"BOOM—!!"

The elven realm, which had just been temporarily repaired by Kiskill, suffered another heavy blow. This time, without the support of the twins' power, the entire fragile spatial barrier shattered completely.

The night wind from the real world blew in.

At the broken opening, several figures dressed in identical uniforms and exuding a powerful aura arrived one after another. Although they did not speak, their cold gazes instantly locked onto the two remaining people on the field, and they surrounded them in a fan shape.

That was the S-Force's follow-up reinforcements.

Seeing the group of unfriendly law enforcement officers, Andre Anfo laughed instead. He elegantly adjusted his collar, as if this was all part of his plan.

"Haha, since the main characters have already left the stage, we supporting characters will not disturb you in carrying out your official duties."

He grabbed Lucien's arm, his tone slightly relaxed:

"Lucien, let's go. The banquet is over."

Lucien understood immediately and quickly turned the intricate mechanical watch face on his left wrist.

"Time Leap - Start".

"Om-"

A distorted temporal force field instantly enveloped the two of them.

A second before the law enforcement officers were about to launch their attack, the two figures vanished into thin air as if erased by an eraser, leaving only a faint ripple of time.

Although they are not afraid of these so-called "war police", what they are doing is essentially stealing the original power of the virtual world through dueling rituals.

It's best to avoid getting caught red-handed by official agencies in this kind of situation.

In any case, even if the duel was forcibly stopped, their goal had already been perfectly achieved.

[Museum - Top of the Clock Tower]

Hundreds of meters away, the cold night wind howled past.

Two figures appeared out of thin air on the huge mechanical dial of the clock tower, accompanied by a distorted wave of time.

Andre Anfoe gracefully brushed off the few data dust particles clinging to his coat, gazing at the red and blue police lights piercing the night sky in the direction of the museum in the distance, a satisfied smile curving his lips beneath his mask.

He reached down and untied an exquisite crystal prop from his waist—a golden hourglass that emitted a faint glow.

Inside the previously empty glass wall, a fine, quicksand-like substance is now slowly condensing.

It was not ordinary sand, but rather presented an extremely smooth pixelated texture, shimmering with a dreamlike glow of interwoven red and blue, as if the most brilliant part of the twin stars' souls had been peeled off and sealed within it.

Those were red and blue – the sands of data.

"Although the process was somewhat bumpy, and even attracted those barking hounds..."

Andre Anfo gently shook the hourglass in his hand, watching the beautiful stardust flow like a galaxy under the moonlight, his voice low and joyful:

"But we did accept this original data on the 'Gemini'."

He turned around, his black trench coat fluttering in the night wind, as if blending into the deep darkness.

……

[The following morning, at the Tianxing Arbitrators headquarters cafeteria]

The eastern sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn, and the air still carried the lingering chill of the previous night.

Inside the Celestial Arbitrators' internal canteen, the rising steam and the aroma of food mingled, dispelling the morning chill.

You Yang was sitting by the window, stirring the soy milk in his bowl with a look of utter despair.

Although it was a pleasant breakfast time, he exuded a low-key, sleepy aura.

This is understandable, after all, no one would be in a good mood if they were woken up in an extremely strange way when they were sleeping soundly.

The cause of the matter was simple—he was woken up by hunger.

Or more accurately, he was "awakened" by the protesting sounds coming from someone's stomach.

The accommodation provided by Lilith was very large with many rooms. You Yang and Ling Shiqing originally slept in separate rooms.

But at some point, Ling Shiqing, like a silent cat, quietly slipped into You Yang's room.

When You Yang opened his eyes groggily, he saw a dark figure standing straight at the head of the bed.

Ling Shiqing stared intently at him without saying a word, only the rumbling of her stomach echoed in the quiet room, which startled You Yang so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.

After figuring out that the old lady was just hungry, You Yang had no choice but to get up and be led here by her—or rather, by her familiar memories of the base.

"Smack, smack."

Sitting opposite her, Ling Shiqing was concentrating on dealing with the mountain of steamed buns and fried dough sticks piled up in front of her.

Her eating manners were not rude; in fact, one could say they possessed a kind of mechanical elegance ingrained in her very being.