Anubis raised his thick eyebrows and didn't speak for a moment.
Actually, Youyu could probably guess what he was going to say. After all, the villains repeat the same few lines over and over, and the meaning is roughly the same.
At most, it's probably something like trying to pull Youyu over, saying things like, "Look at this big, round pie."
Anyway, it's all about painting pies, isn't it? Who wouldn't? Who doesn't paint more perfectly round pies than you on the E3 game show?
Anubis: "If you join me, with our power, we can easily destroy both the King of Light and the detestable King of Darkness! We can bring destruction to this world!"
Youyu squinted.
Is he insane? Why would I want to bring destruction to this world?
Kaiba gives me cards, gives me a place, and even gives me bonus money to spend. And you? Your idea of temptation to recruit me is... world destruction?
Am I just bored out of my mind to hang out with you?
If it was a temptation like "Orichalcos's Divine Strikes," Youyu might actually consider it...
Orichalcos's Divine Strikes, a well-known fake card in Yu-Gi-Oh!. It destroys and banishes all cards in the opponent's deck, hand, field, and graveyard, and its activation and effect cannot be negated by any card.
"Although you are different from others, you have nothing to do with the Pharaoh or the Priests," Anubis frowned. "We have no reason to fight to the death.
You should face reality. Although you are a rare strong duelist, you are still not my match.
Your soul is being stripped away by the Pyramid, and you cannot utilize your power."
He paused, then smiled slightly.
"Moreover, you should also have realized that, within this secretive Pyramid, even your most loyal followers cannot help you."
Youyu was startled for a moment, suddenly realizing something.
Now that you mention it... it does seem like the case.
Dark Magician Girl, Silent Magician, and many other spirits in his hands... none of them seemed to react in this duel.
Youyu glanced at the massive Crystal Pyramid and the eerily dark red eye at the waist of the Pyramid.
...Is it because of this?
Remember in the storyline of the anime, when the Pyramid of Light was activated, Yugi's soul was also excluded from the duel. Dark Yugi and Yugi couldn't communicate during the duel.
So perhaps the same thing has happened to Youyu's spirits.
Although the duelist level on the system panel wasn't affected, and he could still vaguely feel his connection with the spirits, unless they were summoned in the duel, they couldn't help Youyu.
No Egyptian God, no spirits; this time he truly had to rely entirely on himself to fight.
"A general without subordinates, no matter how powerful, is powerless to turn the tide," Anubis continued to seduce, "Give up, you have no chance of winning.
What can you do alone?"
...No, that's not right.
Even in this isolated space, within this cold Pyramid, he wasn't alone.
A blur of a figure, like a poorly tuned image, struggled to pierce the isolation barrier of the Pyramid, with a body shrouded in pale blue lightning, appearing beside Youyu.
His figure was fuzzy, difficult to clearly make out, but exuded a familiar aura that made Youyu feel incredibly accustomed, as if he had been with him for years.
The ethereal hand gently rested on Youyu's shoulder, silently saying—
—It's okay, I'm here.
Youyu felt like he understood.
Why in previous duels when he saw Mist Water and the whirlwind, and today when he summoned Light Fang, he felt a subtle aura unique to certain spirits.
And what Paradox mentioned, the strong spirit unique to the Duel King that fostered from countless battles fought together.
The answer is Masked Hero.
Not any specific attribute or card, but all "Masked Heroes" monsters he owned.
More accurately, all of these "Masked Hero" cards are the same hero, the same spirit, just in different forms.
The reason he sensed the spirit's aura from a few Masked Hero cards earlier was because they truly were a spirit.
But upon closer inspection, they didn't seem like spirits because a single card wasn't a complete spirit.
All the "Masked Heroes" he held together make up the truly complete spirit exclusive to the Duel King.
With this understanding, Youyu suddenly had a bold idea.
An attempt he had never tried before, but now inexplicably feels confident he can succeed in one go.
"My turn, draw!"
After drawing, Youyu activated the Set Card directly.
"Trap Card - Damaged Mask activated!" Youyu said, "Ignores summoning conditions to Special Summon 'Masked Hero' from the graveyard, but the monster is destroyed at the end of the turn!" (manga card)
A flash of golden light from the Duel Disk Grave Zone, and a card popped up.
"Return to the field, Masked Hero: Mist Water!"
A stream of water gushed from the ground, and the blue and white armored, red-lensed Masked Hero returned to the field riding the water.
Although the armor still bore numerous battle damages, and the red lens on the left eye had cracks as if on the verge of shattering, he stood there defiantly, turning his head slightly, giving Youyu a slight nod.
Like a comrade who could be entrusted with his life.
[Masked Hero: Mist Water, Attack Power 2400]