Having discovered the correct way to access the Elf Realm, Yugen was no longer as tense. He pondered for a moment; he had come here through the stone tablets of the ruins, but upon entering, he hadn't seen any similar stone tablets or anything resembling a door in the vicinity.
So, how does one go back?
He thought about it for a moment and looked at his own elf: "Silent, what do you think?"
The Silent Magician shook her head, apparently also clueless. After all, the Elf Realm is vast, and although it's collectively called the Elf Realm, it's actually divided into many different dimensions. This place didn't seem like a dimension she was familiar with. But she tilted her head in thought, then pointed with her hand to a place not far down the hillside.
Looking in the direction she pointed, Yugen saw what appeared to be a town.
"I see, shall we inquire from the local elves?"
Indeed, there were no better options at the moment. In the anime, the common people of the Elf Realm are generally quite friendly, and the locals might know a way out.
Yugen descended the hillside and reached the town. The streets were paved with bluestone, and the stones along the street bore the mottled marks of time. The white brick buildings had windows inlaid with colorful glass, and their walls were carved with complex totems and patterns, along with some unrecognizable scripts.
Strangely enough, there wasn't a single person in sight within the city.
Stores stood lonely, with doors and windows tightly shut. The hanging signs swayed gently in the wind, and the breeze stirred fallen leaves, producing a rustling sound.
"Is this normal in the Elf Realm?" Yugen asked.
The Silent Magician shook her head, grasping her magic staff tightly with a vigilant expression. It was clearly not normal.
She guarded Yugen's side as they continued forward. After walking for a few minutes, they seemed to hear some strange noises from behind a row of buildings.
Yugen remained calm, following a narrow alley to trace the sound, choosing first to hide in the shadows to observe the situation. He spotted a few small elves scrambling in panic, and he recognized one of them—a tiny body with a large key slung over its shoulder, quite distinctive. It was the Heart Key Fairy from the Duel Monster cards, a One-Star Mortal Bone with 400 Attack Power.
Pursuing these few elves were the black goblins similar to those he had just encountered. The goblins charged forward screaming, continually firing arrows.
The arrows seemed imbued with some kind of magic; any hit elves immediately shrieked in despair and collapsed onto the ground, instantly transforming into a heavy stone tablet that thudded onto the earth.
Yugen was shocked. Whoa, getting hit by this arrow transforms you directly into a card?
He wondered if it only affected elves.
Remembering his earlier forest encounter, he felt a bit of lingering fear. A close call, thankfully my Holy Defense came out swiftly...
It appeared that the elves originally living in this town were under attack from an alien race, possibly turned into stone tablets, hence the place seemed deserted.
Suddenly, Silent became alert, swiftly moving to guard him from behind. Turning around, Yugen saw a band of black goblins had appeared at the alley's entrance without him realizing it.
"Boss, that's him!" a goblin screeched, "A duelist has invaded our territory!"
The goblin mob split to the sides, opening a path. A mysterious monster spirit wearing a mask with a sinister aura emerged slowly.
Yugen thought he might have seen this monster before.
[Cursed Throat Masked Sorcerer]
A Four-Star Mortal Bone with 1500 Attack Power, used by Malik's Light and Dark Mask Brothers in DM.
But the elf's combat power wasn't important at the moment. What he noticed at once was that this elf was different from the others.
It had a Duel Disc-like apparatus on its arm.
"An unexpected visiting duelist." the sorcerer chuckled, "But if you dare intrude upon my god's domain, surely you've prepared yourself to become a sacrificial offering."
With a dismissive wave, he sent his minions packing and extended his Duel Disc in a flourish.
Or rather, although it was similar to a Dueling Disc, it had a more organic feel than the technological ones in reality, appearing as if formed from flesh and bone, growing from his arm.
"Victory or defeat among duelists can only be determined through the duel ceremony. All you lackeys, back off, this one's mine."
"Tsk, it's time for a card showdown yet again,"
Yugen knew that duels in the Elf Realm resembled Dark Duels, matches deciding life and death. A duel was inevitable, but only this lone elf seemed capable of playing cards, so dealing with this one meant others were mere foot soldiers.
"Duel!" x2
[Yugen, LP 4000]
[Masked Sorcerer, LP 4000]
"I will begin the first turn, draw a card."
The sorcerer claimed the randomly determined first move.
"First, set a Monster Card on the field, and add a Covering Card, ending my turn."
A pretty standard opening sequence.
Yet, his goblin underlings started beating drums and cheering.
"The Master's magic power is unmatched!"
"How dare you challenge our master mage, you're doomed."
"..."
Yugen paid no heed to the minions' mental harassment: "My turn, draw."
He sent a card from his hand to the graveyard, revealing another card.
"Using the 'Deceitful Mage' effect from my hand. Although this card is a level five monster, it can be Special Summoned by discarding a card from my hand.
Therefore, I discard a card to Special Summon 'Deceitful Mage'!"
[Deceitful Mage, Attack Power 2000]
"Then, the card I just discarded to the graveyard is the speed attack magic 'Silent Magic Burst'.
The card that just entered the graveyard was automatically restored by a golden light coming from the Duel Disc's graveyard zone.
"By banishing this card from the game, I can add a 'Silent Magician' monster from the deck to my hand.
Therefore, I banish 'Silent Magic Burst' and add 'True Silent Magician' from my deck to my hand."
Yugen completed his deck search and placed the next card.
"Normal Summon 'Magical Warrior - Destructors'!"
[Magical Warrior - Destructors, Attack Power 1600]
"Upon a successful summon, Magical Warrior - Destructors sets a mana indicator, increasing its Attack Power by 300 points.
But I intend to activate its other effect. By removing its mana indicator, I can destroy your backfield Covering Card."
The magical warrior swung his sword, directing magical sword qi toward the sorcerer's rear field.
But the sorcerer waved a hand: "Then I activate the Cover Card, the speed attack magic 'Scapegoat'. Special Summon four 'Sheep Derivatives' to my field."
Four lazily-colored sheep leaped onto the sorcerer's field.
[Sheep Derivative, Defense Power 0] x4
"With 'Scapegoat' activated, I can't summon any other monsters this turn, and these sheep can't be used as tributes for Upper-level Summon." He paused with a chuckle, "Of course, this isn't my turn, so I wouldn't be summoning anyway."
Yugen thought it was true, considering how old-fashioned it felt; you couldn't summon during the opponent's turn. In modern Yu-Gi-Oh!, talking for three to five minutes during your opponent's turn was typical.
"Then I use the 'Magical Warrior - Destructors' that used its mana indicator as tribute."
The magical warrior's body turned into golden light, spinning as it descended into the magic array on the ground. From the explosion of pure, holy white light, the magic array's center gathered starlight, and a graceful figure stepped forward, her white robe gently swaying in the breeze, silver hair cascading with a subtle glow.
"Silent Magician, Summon!"
[True Silent Magician, Attack Power 1000]
"Silent Magician cannot be Normal Summoned but can be Special Summoned by tributing any Mage Race on my field," Yugen explained, "Furthermore, the Silent Magician's Attack Power increases by 500 times the number of cards in my hand.
Currently, I have three cards in hand, so its Attack Power boosts by 1500."
[Silent Magician, Attack Power 1000→Attack Power 2500]
The goblins watching behind became instantly agitated.
"Summoning two monsters with over 2000 Attack Power in the first turn!"
However, the sorcerer remained calm, stating only coolly: "Silence."
The rabble fell silent immediately.
"..."
"Proceeding to the battle phase," Yugen commanded, "Silent Magician, Deceitful Mage, attack two 'Sheep Derivatives' separately."
As expected, the half-awake sheep had no defense against the assault of two grand mages, and two were instantly obliterated in succession.
"Then set a Covering Card in the backfield, ending the turn."
[Silent Magician, Attack Power 2500→Attack Power 2000]