System: Deck Rental Event Begins

After dealing with the Rare Hunter who tried to steal Jounouchi’s Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Yugi approached the duelist who had been watching from the sidelines. After a brief conversation, he excused himself, saying he didn’t want to interrupt the other’s chip collection efforts, and left.

So, what was on Yugi’s mind at this moment?

“If I recall correctly, there’s a circus tent set up in a small park around here.”

Indeed, after parting ways with his friend, Yugi planned to get a head start on his next objective: to track down and defeat the magician Pandora, notorious for wielding a crimson-skinned Dark Magician.

By systematically rooting out the hidden members of the Ghouls syndicate lurking in the city, Yugi surmised that their true leader—the tomb keeper Marik Ishtar—would soon be forced to intervene personally, perhaps even appearing in the city ahead of schedule.

Having promised to fulfill a certain someone’s request, and having gained much in return, Yugi wasn’t one to go back on his word. The sooner he resolved this matter, the better. He had no desire to be hounded by what he considered a trivial concern.

Back to the present.

After some searching—and with a tip from his brother Kaiba, who was stationed at the company headquarters—Yugi finally located Pandora’s hidden base in a secluded little park.

As Yugi stepped through the park’s entrance, the distinctive tinkling of a bell-shaped ornament reached his ears.

“A circus clown… there’s no mistaking it now.”

Sure enough, a person dressed as a clown stood not far from Yugi. When the clown noticed Yugi looking his way, he promptly placed his right hand over his chest, bowed with exaggerated formality, and extended his left arm in a courteous gesture, inviting Yugi to proceed to the left.

Playing along, Yugi glanced in the direction indicated, feigning understanding. The clown, satisfied, attempted a backflip into the bushes behind him.

“You expect me to just walk in? Says who!”

At Yugi’s unexpected retort, the clown lost his balance mid-flip and crashed to the ground with a thud.

Dusting himself off, the clown rose, only for Yugi to continue:

“If your master wants a duel, he can come out here and face me on solid ground! Otherwise, I’m leaving now.”

The clown was stunned into silence.

To all appearances, Yugi seemed to have foreseen every detail of this encounter, as if he’d always known exactly what would happen here.

Saying nothing more, Yugi cast a glance at the clown, then turned and strode toward the open street.

Panicking, the clown flailed about in the air, then bolted into the circus tent behind him. He couldn’t afford to let his master’s target slip away!

…

A few minutes later.

“Well, well—Pandora, once a world-renowned magician, now a member of the Ghouls syndicate.”

Yugi greeted the man before him, who wore a wine-red suit, a blue-black tie, a mask, and a tricolored top hat, with a smile.

“My apologies, Mr. Yugi. You weren’t my original target, but unfortunately, you’ve crossed our master, so I’ve decided to make you my new objective.”

As he spoke, Pandora extended his left arm, revealing his duel disk. While Yugi had been searching for him, the conversation Yugi had had with the Rare Hunter had already come to the attention of Marik Ishtar, wielder of the Millennium Rod.

Enraged, Marik immediately issued an order to all Ghouls members: no matter what, defeat this so-called president in a duel! Whoever succeeds will have the Rod’s mark erased from their mind and be elevated to Marik’s personal confidant.

To have spoken to him so insolently—no matter if you are the president of Illusion Inc. or the champion of Duelist Kingdom, you will pay the price for your disrespect!

I’ll make you taste the agony of defeat!

“Is that so? In that case, let’s not waste words. Let’s duel!”

Seeing that Pandora was equally terse, Yugi activated his own duel disk, launching the mini projector into place.

“Duel!”

Pandora: 4000 LP

Yugi: 4000 LP

“Well, well, I get to go first… I draw.”

With a deft flourish known as the “Stripper’s Trick”—a sleight of hand that places a chosen card atop the deck—Pandora ensured he opened with his ace monster: the red-garbed Dark Magician.

“I already have the Dark Magician’s signature spell card in my hand. All I have to do is wait for my next turn, and I’ll summon him to unleash a devastating assault!”

His face revealed little beneath the mask, but Pandora’s thoughts were already racing as he began his play:

“I’ll set one monster face-down, then set two cards in the back row. My turn ends!”

The set monster was Mystic Tomato. That way, even if the opponent destroys it next turn, its effect will let me special summon another monster from my deck, ensuring I always have a defensive wall or tribute fodder on the field.

[Pandora: 4000 LP; Hand: 3; Monster Zone: 1 face-down; Spell/Trap Zone: 2 face-down]

“My turn. Draw!”

Glancing at his hand, then at Pandora’s setup, Yugi’s lips curved in a faint smile.

“Pandora! You call yourself the world’s greatest Magician Duelist, don’t you?”

“That’s right! No one on this planet knows better than I how to wield Magicians in battle!”

Speaking of his craft, Pandora’s pride swelled. Once a world-famous magician, now a Ghoul, he had always specialized in combining magic—both in tricks and in cards. His deck was a testament to his mastery.

Among Magician Deck duelists, Pandora would claim second to none.

“Oh, is that so? Then today, I’ll show you what a true Magician Duelist looks like!”

With that, Yugi slapped a card onto his duel disk’s monster zone.

“I summon, in attack position: Witchcrafter Madame Verre!”

A mature beauty with softly curled khaki hair, rimless glasses, and a chic green dress appeared—the genius witch of the Witchcrafter archetype, making her debut in this world.

(Witchcrafter Madame Verre, Level 1, ATK: 300)

Beautiful! And so… no, wait—a Spellcaster I’ve never seen? No matter. Only 300 attack points—it’s nothing but a weakling!

Pandora had seen countless Spellcasters in the world of Duel Monsters, but never one so elegant or intelligent. Still, 300 attack points put her on par with the lowliest of monsters—nothing to worry about!