The protagonist of the Yu-Gi-Oh! world might be the same person.

Seeing that Judai was about to leave, Asuka quickly followed, saying, "Judai, I want to go too!"

Judai turned away helplessly, looking at her worried expression, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Asuka. Misutomi only invited me and Atobe, and there might be danger there, so please stay and wait for our news, okay?"

"But......"

Seeing that Asuka wanted to say something, Judai placed his hand on her head and stroked her hair, comforting her, "Be good, listen to me! I'll be back soon to make you something delicious!"

"...Fine, I just can't do anything with you..."

Asuka was immediately charmed.

"You must come back safe and sound, Judai!"

"Yes, I will."

So Jaden turned around and walked away with confident strides, leaving alongside Edward, who looked constipated after eating a big mouthful of dog food.

......

After traveling for a while, the two quickly found the Seahorse Park in the city.

Upon arrival at the location, the gate of one of the buildings suddenly opened.

"'VIRUALWOLD'...a virtual world? Are we to enter this place, Edward?"

"There's no one else here. It seems like they're guiding us inside."

Judai nodded in agreement. "Digging a hole in the virtual world? That makes sense. Let's go in and take a look!"

So the two of them moved forward and passed through the passage inside the gate.

Before long, the two reached the end of the passage, where an electronic door opened, leading them into a spacious, dark room.

"Mizuchi! We're here! Where are you?"

Just as Judai finished shouting, a flash of white light appeared in the room, and the two people's consciousnesses were quickly transferred elsewhere.

When the two opened their eyes again, the scene around them had changed.

What they saw was a rudimentary virtual city, because the surrounding buildings were still in the modeling stage, and the floors and ceilings looked like circuit boards. It was clear that this was just a program that had been completed not long ago.

"It seems we've been completely drawn into the world of virtual reality, Judai!"

Ed said, looking around at his surroundings.

"Hmm, it seems we've reached our destination. It's about time we showed ourselves, Misutomo."

As soon as Judai finished speaking, the surrounding architectural models vanished one by one, turning into a simple electronic space consisting only of circuit boards.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Jaden Yuki! Ed Phoenix!"

The voice of a mature woman echoed in this virtual space.

The two looked toward the source of the sound, where a ripple of water appeared on the floor in front of them, and a beautiful woman dressed as a shrine maiden slowly rose from the water.

"You must be Misuchi."

"What exactly is your purpose? Why are you dragging me into this too?"

Faced with the questions from Judai and Aide, Saiou Misuchi calmly replied, "This is all according to what my brother, Saiou Takuma, wanted! To defeat you and trap you in this world!"

Upon hearing this, Edward couldn't sit still any longer. "Wait, the King of the West must have already made a pact to guide my destiny!"

Misuzu closed her eyes and said softly, "Fate is not a fixed thing; it can be swayed by the people involved. And you, who have become entangled with Yuki Judai, have already deviated from the trajectory of fate, just like him."

"How could that be... that's why they specifically led us here!?"

Ed couldn't believe that his friend had betrayed him so easily.

Jaden, standing to the side, seemed uninterested in such matters of fate. "Instead of that, if we want to leave this place, shouldn't we have a duel?"

Misuzu nodded and replied, "Of course, that's how the program was set up!"

"That makes things easier!"

Chapter 171 Two Miyuki Team Up for a Duel

"Since a duel will allow me to leave this place, then I'll take this duel!"

Just as Judai finished speaking, Saiou Miyuki shook his head and replied, "No, what you are going to do is a team duel. Only through this kind of duel can you leave this world."

"Team duel!? You want me to team up with Jaden? Are you out of your mind? My Hero deck and his Hero deck are the two decks that complement each other best!"

"Besides, you only have one person on your side. How are you going to team up with me and Edward for a duel?"

Faced with their questions, Misuchi calmly replied, "I've already thought it through. All I need to do is call out my companion in the mirror."

As soon as she finished speaking, a mirror split Mijuchi in two, dividing her body in the middle and creating two Mijuchis.

Upon seeing this, Jaden suddenly realized, "I see! If there are two of us, we can team up with ourselves!"

Edward gritted his teeth, his expression turning serious. "Because the clones are essentially controlled by themselves, both sides have the same decks, and their teamwork is actually much better than ours. This is a bit troublesome..."

One of them, Miyuki, spoke up: "The two players in the team share 8000 health points. According to the rules, it doesn't matter which player you attack, right?"

"as you like."

"Then let's get started!"

Then, a Duel Disk with its deck arranged appeared on each of Jaden's and Edward's arms.

"Duel!!" ×4

[Judai Yujo & Ed Phoenix: LP8000]

【Saiō Mijuchi x2: LP8000】

After shouting "Duel!", Misutomo, standing opposite Jaden, took the first round.

"My turn, draw a card!"

[Saiō Mijuchi (right)'s hand cards: 5→6]

Misuzu (right) glanced at her hand, then drew another card and placed it on the Duel Disk: "I summon [Platinum Shikigami - Ukyo] in Defense Position."

hum!

A flash of light appeared on the field, and a human-shaped deity was projected, its right arm wrapped with a white ribbon in the shape of a drill.

[Platinum Shikigami - Ukyo: Defense 600]

"Set a card..." She buried a card in her hand in the back row, then played a spell card, "and then activated the Continuous Spell [Moon Mirror] from her hand."

[Saiō Mijuchi (right)'s hand cards: 6→3]

As Misuzu (right) placed the magic card into the spell card slot, an egg-shaped object appeared beside her, with many closed eyeballs protruding from it, as if it were an egg that was pregnant with Cthulhu's life.

At the same time, an opening appeared in the ceiling, which was covered with the texture of circuit boards, and a full moon appeared in front of the two of them.

"What are those? I've never even heard of these cards before..."

"Who knows..."

(Misuzu's deck is basically composed of original cards, so I won't go into details below.)

Miyu (right): "In the first round of a team duel, neither side can attack. The round ends!"

With her turn ending, the turn's turn shifted to Jaden.

"My turn, draw a card!"

After glancing at his hand, Jaden slammed it onto the Duel Disk: "I summon Elemental HERO Forestman in Defense Position."

A flash of golden light appeared on the field, and a green-skinned bald man with half his body made of wood appeared, standing in a defensive stance in front of Jaden.

【Elemental Hero Forest Knight: Defense 2000】

"End of round."

Judai didn't cover anything, ending his turn quite decisively.

"My turn, draw a card!"

[Saiō Mijuchi (left) holding cards: 5→6]

After seeing the card in her hand, Misuzu (left) immediately placed it on the Duel Disk: "Summon [Platinum Shikigami - Sakyo] in Defense Position."

Another human-shaped deity was projected in front of her, its shape identical to Ukyo's, only its appearance was reversed, making them look like they were looking in a mirror.

[Platinum Shikigami - Sakyo: Defense 800]

"Then place two more cards in ambush, and the turn ends."

[Saiō Mijuchi (left)'s hand cards: 6→3]

"My turn!"

Ed Phoenix's hand cards: 5 → 6

Edward followed the lead of the previous two, "Summon [Destiny Hero Disc Man]!"

As he slammed the card onto the duel disk, another flash of light appeared, and a disc-shaped figure with a disc attached to its body appeared in front of him.

[Destiny Heroes Discman: Defense 300]

"Then lay a trap with one card, and the turn ends."

Ed Phoenix's hand cards: 6 → 4

With that, the first round of the four players' conservative approach came to an end, and the second round would officially begin.

"My turn!"

[Saiō Mijuchi (right)'s hand cards: 3→4]

Miyu (right) looked at the cards she had drawn, her eyes narrowed as if she were thinking about something. "I'll lay a trap and end my turn."

[Saiō Mijuchi (right)'s hand cards: 4→3]

"Not attacking...?" Edward frowned, noticing her lack of offensive drive. "What on earth is she planning?"

"I don't know... but I should at least try to find out..."

So Judai drew another card from his hand.

"My turn, draw a card!"

[Yuki Jaden's hand cards: 5 → 6]

"Then during this preparation phase, the monster effect of Forest Warrior on the field is activated, adding one [Fusion] card from the deck to your hand."

Immediately, a card popped out of his deck.

[Yuki Jaden's hand cards: 6 → 7]

After obtaining the Fusion card, Jaden revealed it along with two other cards in his hand: "Activate the Spell Card [Fusion] to fuse Winged Man, Explosive Lady, and Forest Man on the field!"

Two heroes who died from overwork appeared beside Jungleman, and at the same time, a fusion power that distorted space suddenly erupted on the field, engulfing the three monsters and releasing a dazzling white light.

[Yuki Jaden's hand cards: 7 → 4]

Then Jaden raised his right hand and shouted, "Show yourself, [Elemental HERO Core Knight]!"

Before long, the light faded, and a red-white giant with a crimson core exposed stood behind him.

【Elemental Heroes: Core Warrior - Attack Power 2700】

"When Earth Core Warrior's battle ends, it can destroy one monster on the field!" Jaden immediately waved his hand and shouted, "Go! Earth Core Warrior, attack Platinum Shikigami Ukyo!"

Upon receiving the order, Core Warrior immediately spread his arms, and a thick, crimson beam of light shot out from the core on his chest, hurtling towards Ukyo and about to incinerate him.

However, at that moment, Misuzu (right) quickly swung her hand and shouted, "Activate the Trap Card [Sacred Barrier - Mirror Binding]!"

Chapter 172 God of Darkness

7. As the Trap Card was activated, a mirror appeared in front of Misuzu (right), absorbing the Earth Core Warrior's energy beam.

Lu explained, "The effect of [Sacred Barrier - Mirror Restraint] is that when Sakyo and Ukyo are on the field, destroy an Attacking Monster and one of your opponent's monsters with an Attacking Monster ATK lower than the Attacking Monster's ATK."

6. "The shadows created in the mirror will be under my control, destroying Core Man and any Disc Man with attack power lower than its own!"

The next second, the image of Earth Core Man appeared in the mirror, and then the image made the same move as Earth Core Man before, releasing a scorching beam of Earth Core light, which bombarded Jaden.

"Tenth generation!!"

4. "Don't rush, Ed... dodge it right away!"