Who Let Him Play Yugioh? (Re-Upload)

”Final attack! Fiendish Engine Ω, direct attack!”

The red mecha’s engines flared as it raised its blade, slashing toward Kira, whose field was now empty!

”That’s it, it’s over! Give up and surrender your soul!”

Of course, Kira wasn’t about to just give up. ”Activate set card! Trap Card – ’Mirror Force’!”

”You still had a Mirror Force hidden at this stage!?” Bandit Keith was startled.

”That’s right. Mirror Force destroys all your attacking monsters when you declare an attack!”

A pale blue barrier appeared before Kira, blocking the red mecha’s blade. The powerful rebound energy reflected from the shield, turning into a rain of light that swept across Keith’s field.

”Tch, Trap Hole, Magic Cylinder, Mirror Force… you sure have one nasty trap after another,” Keith sneered.

Didn’t you say every card in your deck was carefully chosen, a reflection of your duelist’s soul? I’m starting to think your soul’s a little dirty…

”But that’s not going to work!”

Keith shouted, ”Counter Trap – The Huge Revolution is Over! When the effect would destroy two or more cards on the field, negate that effect and banish it!”

Kira frowned. He even has this kind of card? Facing opponents with strong plot armor, ordinary tactics become less effective.

In the real card game, after the 5Ds era, ”Starlight Road” replaced ”The Huge Revolution is Over” since it offers a similar effect and a free Stardust Dragon. He vaguely remembered back in the day, players would set four cards, and then if the opponent played Heavy Storm, Starlight Road would immediately summon Stardust Dragon.

[Trap Card – Starlight Road: When a card effect would destroy two or more cards you control, negate, and destroy it, then Special Summon 1 ’Stardust Dragon’ from your Extra Deck.]

This era doesn’t have Starlight Road yet, but The Huge Revolution is Over works similarly. The Mirror Force’s unbreakable shield cracked and shattered.

”Battle continues! Fiendish Engine Ω’s direct attack!” Keith raised his voice, ”This time, it’s over!”

”Entering the damage calculation step,” Kira revealed a card from his hand and quickly sent it to the graveyard. ”’Kiteroid’ effect from hand! During the damage calculation of a direct attack, discard ’Kiteroid’ to negate the battle damage once!”

A translucent kite appeared, shielding Kira. Fiendish Engine Ω’s attack landed harmlessly on the kite, unable to pierce it.

”You have that too?” Keith was frustrated.

”You’re tough. Barrel Dragon can’t attack the turn it uses its effect, so my turn ends. Looks like you’ve survived another round.”

Kira noticed that Keith’s Fiendish Engine Ω didn’t summon a token at the end of the turn, but then realized the original anime version didn’t have that effect—only the real card did after adaptation.

The Mystical Elf, who’d been watching nervously, finally let out a sigh of relief. She thought she’d need heart medication watching this duel; she almost cheered when Kira played Mirror Force, and almost despaired when it was countered. The highs and lows of this duel were exhilarating.

Unbeknownst to her, even if Barrel Dragon could attack again, Kira’s graveyard Kiteroid could still block another attack.

That’s what you call the value of a classic hand trap!

”You’ve done well making it this far, kid,” Keith tried a psychological attack after his offense failed. ”But you’ve used up all your tricks, and I’ve already beaten your ace. Even if you miraculously summon another high-level monster next turn, as soon as the Battle Phase begins, Barrel Dragon will destroy it. And the Continuous Trap ’Proton Blast’ will chain its effect, further hindering you. Honestly, your chances are almost zero, so there’s no point in resisting.”

He put his hands on his hips, smugly. ”But it’s not your fault—I’m just too strong!”

Kira, expressionless: ”You lost to a Normie.”

’Normie,’ Kaiba’s nickname for Joey Wheeler, became widely used as Joey became famous.

Keith twitched, angry: ”I’m America’s top card professor! The undefeated dueling expert across the Americas!”

Kira calmly repeated: ”You lost to a Normie.”

”I just had bad luck back then!” Keith gritted his teeth. ”Now I’ve returned from hell, and one day I’ll get my victory back.”

Kira: ”You lost to Pegasus’s elementary school hire.”

Keith: ”...”

Maybe let’s just stick with the Normie thing... Keith’s face darkened. ”I know what kind of person you are. You’re just like them. You must think I’m a despicable duelist, spouting all that nonsense about ’duelist’s pride’?”

He clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead. ”That’s just pretty talk for winners! Yugi and Wheeler—they don’t understand! They don’t know what it’s like to fall from the top, to be humiliated and mocked, to have your self-respect trampled into the dust! You think I want to be like this? Not everyone can be Yugi!”

His green-glowing eyes were bloodshot.

”Not everyone can charge ahead like that. I tried, I worked hard, but nothing changed! Isn’t that how it is for most people? There’s only one winner in a duel. The rest are just stepping stones. It’s easy to talk big from the top, but the rest of us don’t have that many choices.”

He looked darkly at Kira.

”You must be another prodigy, right? You haven’t experienced what I have. When you do, you’ll understand: all that talk about pride and bonds with your cards is just childish nonsense. Power and victory are everything! To win, anything goes—cheating, scheming, even selling your soul to demons—as long as you win, nothing else matters!”

Kira: ”...”

”What?” Keith shouted. ”Why are you looking at me like that?”

”No,” Kira replied calmly. ”You’re right—without Orichalcos, you’d still be stronger than most duelists. And you’re right that only one person can stand at the top. But there’s one thing you’re wrong about.

”Yugi and Wheeler—before they were winners, they were duelists.

”Dueling isn’t just a tool to win. A true duelist always believes in their deck; it’s not about the strong enslaving the weak. If you don’t understand that, you don’t deserve to be called a duelist.”

The Silent Magician, now a spirit, listened quietly. Her gaze at her master grew more and more moved. If there were a progress bar for affection, it would be rising steadily.

Kira was intentionally brushing up his coolness and the spirit’s affection, but these words were also his genuine feelings since arriving in this world.

In Yu-Gi-Oh!, winning is important, but if you do anything just to win, you’ll only drift further from the throne.

Keith is the perfect example. He was once a top duelist in America but always had a gambler’s mindset—hiding cards up his sleeve, stealing entry tickets, using every trick. In this supernatural world, a lack of respect for dueling won’t get you far.

Kira was just trying to seize the moment and boost his style and spirit affection, maybe even his destiny power. But unexpectedly, just as the story reached its climax, the carved statue atop the mountain outside the arena suddenly glowed!

The sealed statue erupted in blinding light, forcing everyone to shut their eyes. A powerful magical force was released, forming a storm that engulfed the entire area.

When the light faded, both duelists saw that the image on the mountain rock had vanished!

Keith’s pupils shrank; he sensed something was wrong.

Could it be...!?

Kira looked down in surprise—his top card was glowing.

What the heck? Did my speech not only touch my Silent Magician but also resonate with the spirit sealed here?

The atmosphere reminded him of Kaiba’s famous floor draw scene.

He took a deep breath and placed his fingers on the deck.

Draw of Destiny—!

The golden card arced through the air, and as it left the deck, a whirlwind of energy burst forth, spiraling upward.

Keith panicked. ”That aura, that power, that card—is it...!?”

Sure enough, Kira looked at the card: it was the legendary, once-banned warrior—

—Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning!

Of course, he knew for sure he didn’t have this card in his deck.

But since he’d been isekai’d, drawing a card you didn’t have was just another classic Yu-Gi-Oh! experience.

This wasn’t cheating—this was resonance with the spirits, a mark of a true duelist.

As he added the card to his hand, he seemed to see the imposing spirit of a warrior appear, saluting him with both swords.

It was as if to say: ”My sword is with you.”

Kira nodded in response to the warrior spirit.

”Bandit Keith!” he shouted, ”Prepare to witness the might of my deck’s strongest ace!”

”Tch, so it’s the legendary warrior, huh? Bring it on!” Keith shouted back.

”Then let me show you!”

Kira raised the card, unleashing an overwhelming aura.

”I’ll now unleash the power of this card—”

Keith held his breath, focusing all his energy, waiting for the legendary warrior’s spirit to appear.

The Black Luster Soldier spirit gripped his sword, ready to descend and win victory for his new master.

And then Kira continued: ”I tribute your ’Desperado Barrel Dragon’ and ’Fiendish Engine Ω’ to Special Summon a powerful monster to your field!

From the abyssal lava, awakened with the power of destruction and rebirth—

—Level 8, Lava Golem!”

Keith: ”???”

Black Luster Soldier: ”???”

What did you just summon???

Keith’s eyes widened as his two ace machines were swallowed by a surge of molten lava, instantly melting. From the red-hot magma, a burning hand slammed down onto the field, and a towering giant rose on Keith’s side, a scalding cage locking Keith in.

[Lava Golem, DEF 2500]

”Lava Golem’s effect,” Kira said calmly. ”You can Special Summon it to your opponent’s field by tributing two of their monsters. But the turn you use this effect, you can’t Normal Summon.”

He grinned at Keith.

”It’s a monster with attack power matching Blue-Eyes White Dragon.”

I just gave you an eight-star boss monster!

Keith’s jaw almost hit the floor.

Matching Blue-Eyes my ass—who even wants this ugly freak?!

My Desperado Barrel Dragon, my Fiendish Engine Ω...

Keith was in shambles.

No, wasn’t the setup, the draw, and the atmosphere all building toward summoning the legendary Black Luster Soldier for an epic ace vs ace showdown?

Why break the script with Lava Golem!?

Where’s your ace? Where’s your soul? Is your soul just this thing???

The Black Luster Soldier spirit, ready to leap forth, froze in confusion.

Uh? Not summoning me?

Wait...

He suddenly realized:

At this point, Keith had zero cards in hand, and no resources left, and every card in his graveyard was revealed. ”Lava Golem” not only eats any two monsters but also has another effect:

[During each of its controller’s Standby Phases, it inflicts 1000 damage to them.]

[Keith, LP 500]

In other words, Kira didn’t need Black Luster Soldier—this duel was already won.

His grand entrance was unnecessary.

Should I just leave...?

Kira smiled: ”Activating the effect of ’Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning’ from my hand! By banishing one LIGHT and one DARK monster from my graveyard, I Special Summon it!

I banish ’Silent Magician’ (LIGHT) and ’Jinzo’ (DARK) from my graveyard!”

Even though victory was assured, this legendary spirit deserved a debut.

With Keith’s hand and field empty, and all graveyard cards revealed, Kira could win in any fashion.

Or, if he waited for Lava Golem to burn Keith next turn, Keith would get one last draw—however slim, there was still a theoretical chance to survive.

But if he finished it now, even that tiny chance was gone.

Silent Magician and Jinzo’s spirits appeared, flying into the swirling chaos.

”One soul guides the light, one soul guides the dark—the gate of chaos opens!”

Kira raised his arm.

”Heaven and earth unfold! Level 8—

—Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, summon!”

In a mighty vortex of light and darkness, a heroic warrior in armor appeared, sword gleaming as he cleaved through the chaos, so powerful that even the green barrier trembled.

[Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, ATK 3000]

”’Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning,’ attack ’Lava Golem’!”

The black soldier leaped forward, a sword of creation cleaving Lava Golem in two, its body collapsing and melting.

”Envoy’s effect! When this card destroys a monster by battle, it can attack again!”

Kira gave the order.

”Final blow! Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, direct attack Bandit Keith!

Dimensional Slash – Double Break!”

The warrior soared, spinning in mid-air, golden light swirling around his blade, releasing a strike that transcended time and space!

As the sword energy approached, Keith screamed in despair.

In his final moment, his mind was filled with resentment, anger, and regret, all coalescing into a single thought—

—Damn you, Lava Golem!!!

[Bandit Keith, LP 500 → LP 0]

PS: Lava Golem: ”???”

Justice to Lava Golem! xD