The all-powerful middle schooler

Ruri Gokou was somewhat at a loss.

As a nationally popular card game, she, being a typical homebody, naturally knew about it and had even watched some of the anime. However, considering that collecting official card sets was too expensive and beyond the reach of her family, she had never played it.

'Also, Sato Yugo, that name sounds familiar. Have I heard it somewhere before?'

She was even more surprised.

"To ensure the fairness of the duel, this battle will be completed under the witness of the Eye of Ugart. As for the deck, you will choose to build it yourself; that is the card pool."

Sato Yugo pointed to the side, where a strange eye appeared from the wall, beneath which were several wooden boxes containing various Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.

"This is creepy... Something's off about this art style, isn't it? Am I overlooking something?"

Ruri Gokou glanced at that eye and immediately felt as if she were being stared at intently.

She pondered this question while assembling her deck.

Then it occurred to her.

The other party only told her what would happen if she won, but not what would happen if she lost.

"Can I ask what happens if I lose?"

Ruri Gokou installed the Duel Disk, placed the assembled cards inside, and asked casually.

"If you lose, you must leave behind your 'Duelist Soul'!"

A ferocious look appeared on Sato Yugo's bloodless face.

Oh no…

Ruri Gokou had a bad feeling.

I thought it would be a typical fantasy story with a typical opening, encountering unexpected events, receiving help from external forces like magical pets, accidentally resolving the events, and then gradually becoming stronger, uncovering a larger world...

But now it seems that the difficulty of this first hurdle is not something a novice could solve by accident.

"duel!"

The two of them started by imitating the pattern from the animation.

"By the way, can this thing really be materialized like in the anime?"

Ruri Gokou got the first move, picked up a monster card in her hand, and felt inexplicably excited.

For some card game veterans, being able to play such a game is worth the price of admission, even if it means dying.

When she watched the anime, she had imagined such a day coming.

What I didn't expect was that this would actually happen, and that it would be such a terrifying dark game.

five minutes later.

"As expected, there's still a gap between reality and fantasy..."

"I lost."

"Am I... not the main character?"

Sweating profusely, Gokou Ruri suddenly knelt down, her cards scattered on the ground. The initial excitement of being able to summon monsters for battle was replaced by a pervasive sense of fear.

"As agreed, I will take your duelist soul!"

With vacant eyes, Sato Yugo stretched out his right hand, billowing black energy surging forth. Just as he was about to unleash his power to extract the girl's soul...

A flippant voice suddenly rang out in the hall, interrupting the process.

"Okay, it's my turn to play."

40 The strongest in modern times vs. the strongest in history (Yu-Gi-Oh! players should not watch)

"Who are you? When did you get there?"

Sato Yugo's lifeless eyes seemed to reflect shock as well.

This is the 'Duelist Domain' formed by its power. In other words, it is the master of this area. Although it is not at the level of a god, it can still control the entrance and exit.

Regardless of how the other party was able to enter, it still sensed the other party's presence after entering, which made it realize that the human in front of it was no ordinary person.

"You've been here for a while, but I saw you guys playing cards, so I waited a little while... To be honest, I'd like to try it out too."

"Izumi Hasegawa said with a look of amusement," she said.

Through his observations over this period, he has confirmed the true nature of 'Sato Yugo': a kind of rule-based anomaly formed by fragments of annihilated laws and the soul after death. Due to his obsession as a human, he has developed a special ability to materialize cards. However, due to its nature, this ability is also flawed, requiring the other party's consent to initiate a duel.

Such limited power is not yet in his eyes, but he is very interested in the content of the field.

"Hasegawa, you, what are you doing here!?"

Still shaken, Gokou Ruri suddenly looked up, her expression one of surprise.

"Because you've been playing here for too long, we've been getting impatient, so I came over to check it out. I didn't expect you to be such a bad player, yet you still dared to issue a challenge... It's good to be confident as a strong player, but not holding back your cards is still too clumsy."

Hasegawa Izumi, hands in her pockets, casually turned her head to the side and said.

'A trump card? Huh? There can't be something like that!'

Ruri Gokou was stunned for a moment.

It's normal for ordinary people to feel powerless in the face of supernatural forces!

After the initial surprise, Sato Yugo's initial shock as a human was quickly suppressed.

“I don’t care what means you used to enter my territory, but my battle with her is over, and I will collect her soul as agreed.”

His malice surged from his entire being as he continued the action he had just begun.

"I already said, it's my turn to play now, so... what you should be thinking about now is how to fight me and whether you can win... although thinking about it is useless anyway."

In an instant, Izumi Hasegawa appeared in front of the girl, stretched out her right hand, and formed a semi-circular barrier of spiritual energy, repelling the surging black mist that could devour souls.

What?! Superpowered people really exist in this world!

Ruri Gokou almost cried out in horror, but her nearly despairing mood was suddenly revitalized.

"Oh? It seems you're special too."

Sato Yugo watched this scene and believed he had gleaned some insight into the other party's true nature.

With such abilities, it would indeed be difficult for him to overpower his opponent, given the power he could control.

However, if we follow the rules of the game, then things might not be so simple!

"Based on what you just said, are you saying that you also want to challenge me?"

His voice seemed to rise from the abyss.

"You seem to have misunderstood something. I need to clarify something... You are the challenger!"

Hasegawa Izumi smiled confidently and held up one finger.

"Arrogance will only bring you destruction. Do you think you're 'Yugi Muto'? How dare you say such a thing? Let me see if your card skills are as good as your stubbornness."

Sato Yugo's human anger was ignited in that instant, and negative emotions materialized into a dark aura that surged in all directions.

"Then I'll borrow the Duel Disk, Miss Black Cat."

Without needing to say anything more, Hasegawa turned around and gestured, preparing to play cards.

"Oh."

Completely bewildered, Gokou Ruri took the duel disk from her hand.

"Wait, are you really going to play cards with that guy? I just suddenly remembered who he is. He seems to be the modern-day Yu-Gi-Oh!, who has won the world championship three times. He's undoubtedly the strongest!"

"You seem quite strong, and you sneaked in undetected. Let's leave here first! We usually save our trump cards for when we're in dire straits. The best strategy is to avoid getting ourselves into that situation, right?"

Suddenly, her expression changed, and she quickly tried to persuade him.

“Run away? There’s absolutely no need. Didn’t I tell you? I’m quite interested in playing cards, and this is a rare opportunity to try it out. Besides… if he’s the ‘strongest in modern times,’ then I’m the ‘strongest in history.’”

Izumi Hasegawa's confident smile remained unchanged.

Miss Black Cat's idea was good, but she clearly misjudged the difference in strength between the two sides.

Perhaps this card player has reached an unparalleled level in playing cards, but now... there's an enemy from out of nowhere!

"Hey."

Ruri Gokou sighed and stepped aside to watch the duel.

Although she didn't understand where Hasegawa got his confidence from, she could only place her hopes on him now.

"come on!"

She clenched her fist and silently offered her blessings.

……

"duel!"

Both of them said that sentence in unison.

Hasegawa Izumi drew five cards from her deck and glanced at them.

"Neospaceman: Dark Jaguar", "Winged Dragon of Ra", "Neocosmic Expansion", "Neospaceman: Water Dolphin", and "Light-Sealing Sword"... A perfect hand!

Before the duel began, the two sides had already decided the order of play by flipping a coin.

"I'm going in! My turn, draw!"

With a flick of his right hand, Sato Yugo removed a card from the deck, replenishing his hand to six cards.

“I will show you the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand.”

Sato Yugo's gaze was cold and piercing. He held the card between two fingers and extended it, presenting the front of the card to him.

"Oh? Is it coming?"

Hasegawa Izumi instantly realized what was going to happen next.

"Then, I Special Summon 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' from my hand!"

Sato Yugo flicked his right hand in a very domineering gesture, which he had learned a lot from a certain company president.

"Show yourself, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

With a whoosh, blue light burst forth from the ground, and a dragon-like creature with enormous wings flew out, its eyes displaying a unique cyan hue, its entire body covered in metallic scales that shimmered with a deep light.

"...I will Normal Summon another monster and set one card face down."

With that, his turn ended.

The monsters that are usually summoned appear from behind, giving them a mysterious appearance.

So, what card will it be?

"Summoning such a powerful monster right at the start, plus a face-down card, can Hasegawa handle it?"

Ruri Gokou's gaze sharpened, and she instantly felt worried for the person fighting.

"My turn, draw cards."

Hasegawa Izumi casually drew a card, and the card was—'Super Electromagnetic Turtle'.

He quickly made a plan in his mind, summoned the card face down, and then activated a spell card in his hand.

"I activate the Sword of Light."

A dazzling light appeared on the ceiling, and three ancient-looking lightsabers descended from the sky and landed on the opponent's field.

This card has two effects.

①: As part of the effect processing when this card is activated, if your opponent controls a face-down monster, all of those monsters are turned face-up.

②: As long as this card is in the Spell & Trap Zone, your opponent's monsters cannot declare an attack.

It was at this moment that the monster that Yugo Sato had set up on the underside revealed its true form—the "Ancient White Stone".

Sure enough, it's you!

"End of round."

He then immediately ended the round.

"Hmph, trying to block my attacks? Not so easy! My turn, draw a card!"