After dispatching a batch of monsters, Youyu continued to follow the silver-haired girl, encountering no further obstacles until they passed through the valley.
In truth, the Duel Monster Spirit Realm is not like a fairy tale kingdom; not all spirits are inherently friendly to humans.
Like the spirit of Jinzo that appeared in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Animation, which wanted to capture the souls of students as sacrifices for its revival...
...of course, it still had to be done through card dueling.
So it lost a duel to Yuki Judai, and not only did it fail to revive successfully, but it was also obliterated by a formidable "Solemn Judgment" during the duel, struck by a sudden lightning bolt from the sky...
Therefore, while there are many spirits like Kuriboh and Dark Magician Girl, who are naturally friendly and kind, there are also plenty who covet human souls and see people as fodder and nourishment.
Though Youyu occasionally sensed unfriendly glances shooting towards him from time to time, they were always fleeting.
It seemed as though the silver-haired girl exuded a sacred and inviolable aura, causing all malicious monsters and spirits to weigh their options, eventually choosing to retreat wisely.
This girl definitely has a remarkable background!
Youyu turned to Dark Magician Girl and asked, "Can you roughly sense her strength?"
Dark Magician Girl shook her head, "No, but I know she should be quite strong... stronger Magic Power than me."
As she said this, she bit her lip, appearing somewhat unwilling.
Youyu was stunned, "Magic Power? So she's also a spellcaster?"
"Should be," Dark Magician Girl nodded.
With a clear path, Youyu quickly guessed where the girl intended to take him.
Soon, as Youyu looked up, he could see in the distance, amidst the leaden clouds in the sky, the faintly revealed evil golden eye.
Youyu immediately recognized what it was—it was the Evil God that had briefly appeared in Domino City but was immediately repelled by the Legendary Dragon Timaeus controlled by Yugi.
That was the Eye of the God of Orichalcos.
Youyu seemed to suddenly guess something. He asked the girl ahead, "Do you want me to help deal with that thing?"
The silver-haired girl hesitated for a moment, then gently nodded.
"Ah, I know!" Dark Magician Girl suddenly thought of something, "The reason you could come to the Spirit Realm is also due to the influence of that thing!"
She pointed to the eye in the sky, "That evil presence simultaneously shook the foundation of our world and yours, affecting the barrier between worlds, allowing you to come to the Spirit Realm."
Youyu turned and asked the silver-haired girl, "Is that so?"
Although he didn't even know her name, Youyu instinctively felt that this girl might be more reliable than his own spirit...
The girl tilted her head, pondered for a moment, and hesitantly nodded.
"That's correct, but not entirely true."
A raspy, commanding male voice resonated in front of them.
Boots stepped onto the ground, blocking their path was a general clad in heavy armor with a long sword at his waist. His armor was an ominous dark red, his eyes as red as blood, and he was shrouded in a faint dark aura.
The general stood in their way, looking directly at Youyu and said, "But why, among others, it is precisely you who came here, perhaps it is destiny."
His presence was completely different from the other monster spirits encountered earlier, clearly on a different level.
The silver-haired girl, who had maintained a poker face throughout, now had a slightly changed expression. She took a step forward to stand in front of Youyu, confronting the crimson-armored general.
The general looked down at her with a sneer.
This person really seems different from the mundane riffraff encountered before.
The girl bit her lip but showed no intention of backing down.
Instead, Youyu stepped forward, "It's okay."
Youyu hadn't recalled the background of this girl yet, but he recognized the image of the general immediately.
Youyu narrowed his eyes, "Grand General... Shien, right?"
The general revealed a hint of surprise, "You know me?"
Grand General Shien, well-renowned in the Yu-Gi-Oh! card series, is part of the "The Six Samurai" deck.
In the outside world, Youyu had never seen this card or the Six Samurai series, yet unexpectedly encountered them in the Duel Monster Spirit Realm.
Moreover, it was also the first spirit willing to speak since Youyu arrived in the Spirit World.
"You said not entirely right?"
Zanji didn't answer directly. He paused for a moment and said, "Since you came from the Evil God's temple, surely you know about the ancient war, right?"
Youyu understood that "Evil God's temple" most likely referred to Doma's headquarters, and nodded, "I know."
"A thousand years ago, a man named Dartz colluded with the Evil God intending to destroy the world. However, his father, along with a group of heroes opposing him, opened the door to the Spirit Realm, releasing three Legendary Dragons and Duel Monster Spirits to fight the Evil God to the death.
In the end, although the Evil God was defeated, the Spirit Realm paid a heavy price. The Legendary Dragons fell into slumber, and the Spirit Realm was severely weakened.
But the Evil God did not perish; it merely lay dormant in the shadows, waiting for the moment to return, and aiming to become stronger than ever."
He pointed to the evil eye in the sky.
"Look! That is the Eye of the Evil God, now it has infiltrated the Spirit Realm, constantly using its evil power to consume this world. It won't be long before it emerges in the human world as well..."
Youyu asked, "So, you've called me to the Spirit World to help you deal with that big eye?"
He remembered that in the animation, both Yugi and Dark Yugi went to the Spirit World because the Dark Magician Girl Spirit asked for their help.
As he spoke, Youyu turned his gaze towards the silver-haired girl. After all, she was the first spirit he saw upon waking, so Youyu guessed she was most likely the NPC releasing the mission.
Kuriboh: "Kuririri!"
...Oh right, strictly speaking, the first spirit he saw was Kuriboh.
But Kuriboh didn't seem like the type to serve as a mission NPC...
The silver-haired girl shook her head indicating it's not her business.
"No one called you, human warrior. Your arrival in the Spirit Realm is entirely guided by fate," said Grand General Zanji.
Youyu: "?"
"As I said, a thousand years ago, Dartz's father opened the door to the Spirit Realm, establishing a connection between the two worlds. Duel Monster Spirits and the God of Orichalcos went to war.
And now, a thousand years later, the God of Orichalcos is resurrecting, the three Legendary Dragons are awakening. The ancient battle will soon be continued, and the door that was once shut is about to be unsealed..."
Youyu suddenly thought of something when recalling his duel with Dartz, where the entire temple, from ceiling to walls to floor, was filled with sealed Duel Monsters.
"You mean, that door... is in the room where I dueled Dartz?"
"The duel generated extremely strong energy, that force impacted the barrier between the two worlds, which was already on the verge of unsealing, causing you to be drawn into the Spirit Realm.
And now, if you wish to return to your world, the only way is to defeat the Evil God invading this realm."
"Extremely strong energy produced during the duel," Youyu instantly thought of the last Thunderforce Attack fired by Slifer the Sky Dragon he was controlling.
...So the Sky Dragon is to blame for this?
"Perhaps it's a coincidence, or perhaps it's the inevitability of fate," said Zanji, "The human Duelist appearing here at the Spirit Realm's time of need, perhaps you truly can lend us a hand, defeat the Evil God, and save both worlds."
It seems that after being confronted by Timaeus, the God of Orichalcos wasn't doing too well. Now it's hiding in the Spirit Realm absorbing nutrients and regaining strength.
Youyu pondered, if he could directly unleash the Sky Dragon now... perhaps he could take advantage of the Evil God not being fully awake, skip the card dueling process, and take it down directly?
This might actually be possible...
But then there's the issue.
Why is this General blocking the way?
Grand General Zanji said calmly, "I haven't seen a human warrior in many years, and I don't know how strong the human contenders are now.
Before you pass through here, you must first prove you possess the qualification.
If you lose, your soul will become my nourishment. If you win, I am willing to become your servant, at your command."
As he spoke, a swirl of black air manifested, transforming a red Duel Disc onto the General's arm.
"...Through the sacred warrior ritual, prove your worth, human warrior!"
Youyu: "..."
After all this, it's just another card duel...
He guessed, perhaps the General had been unable to find a worthy opponent for too long, and upon seeing someone with a Duel Disc, he developed a craving for cards...
After all, this is the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!
Here, even if Sadako crawled out of a TV in the middle of the night, clutching a Duel Disc and insisting on card dueling, it wouldn't be surprising...