Yugioh [281-285] (Patreon)

Chapter 281: The Chancellor Bears It All

"Tell me something through the duel?"

Jaden's words left Chazz dumbfounded.

Is that true? How come I didn't feel it?

Chazz furrowed his brow, thinking hard.

If he gained anything from this duel, it was pain and frustration. No matter what monsters he summoned or how brilliant his plays, the opponent always brushed them aside as if it were nothing.

If there was any message, all Chazz got was:

—You really suck.

I didn't even go all out, and you were already down.

"Chazz, when you came back from the northern school, you gained not just new cards, but new friends, right?" Jaden said.

Chazz was stunned.

At first, he thought Jaden meant his new classmates, but soon realized—

He meant Duel Spirits.

"Yeah, like me! Your most reliable partner!"

Ojama Yellow Spirit popped out, wiggling his red underpants on Chazz's shoulder.

Still traumatized, Chazz wanted to tear him apart.

Damn, maybe I should just rip this idiot up...

"Right, that's it. I saw him appear several times during the duel," Jaden smiled. "So Chazz also gained a precious card spirit partner."

"Precious? Partner?"

Chazz looked at Ojama Yellow in disgust.

This thing?

Ojama Yellow whimpered: "Boss, did you forget our vows? Or have you moved on from me?"

"Get lost! I never made any promises to you!" Chazz shouted.

"So, Chazz, you have the spirit's power, but you didn't add it to your deck, did you?" Jaden asked. "Why?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Chazz said coldly. "There's no way I'd use that trash in such an important duel."

"But Kira used the Ojama deck and fought beautifully, didn't he?"

Kira: "..."

"There's no such thing as a useless card. They're just waiting for someone to unlock their potential," Jaden said. "Chazz has gotten strong, but you're still chasing power alone, right?

But I think duels need more than just power. Kira chose this deck and this way to duel you, to make that point."

He looked at Kira.

"Right, Kira?"

"Uh, yeah, more or less," Kira nodded seriously.

Well, since Jaden said so, let's go with it.

Can't just say I picked Ojama to humiliate Chazz 'cause it'd be fun...

"Yeah, that's right, Boss!"

Ojama Yellow danced, looking at Jaden and Kira with tears of gratitude as if they were the best people in the world.

"I can be useful too!

Look, Kira used my brothers to beat you to a pulp, left you totally destroyed—"

Chazz's veins popped again.

Maybe I really should rip this clown up...

"But Chazz fought beautifully too," Jaden stepped back, hands on hips, facing the audience.

"See? Everyone thinks so!"

The northern students chanted together:

"King! King! King! Chazz it up!!!"

The cheers thundered, shaking the roof.

 Chazz was stunned.

"But why?" he mumbled. "I lost..."

"Because everyone saw your strength and effort," Jaden smiled.

"Sometimes, the process matters too."

Chazz: "..."

"Don't be ridiculous," Slade said. "Losing is losing. Our dream—"

"You want Chazz to conquer the world of Duel Monsters, expand your influence and build the Princeton Empire, right?" Kira interrupted.

The brothers looked at him.

"You're not wrong. Sometimes results matter more than process," Kira said.

Jaden looked at him in surprise. "Kira..."

"But duels aren't just tools for victory or ladders to fame," Kira said. "To you, Chazz is just a tool.

Dueling is just a means to gain status and wealth. Because of that attitude and pressure, he can't move forward."

Chazz: "..."

He looked at Jaden and Kira, his eyes a little different now.

Jagger stepped forward, about to speak, but Slade stopped him.

He shook his head, and Slade fell silent, giving Chazz a last look.

The brothers left.

The Princeton Group and media soon departed.

It was time for the academy's reward.

"Now then, it's award time for Duel Academy vs. North Academy!"

Professor Crowler took the microphone, standing on the makeshift stage.

"Let's welcome the Academy's special prize hostess!"

Everyone was confused.

Academy hostess?

Is that a thing?

Then, the freshmen stared in shock as the heavily made-up, backless-dress-wearing Ms. Dorothy appeared.

"What!?"

The new students felt their eyes take psychic damage.

"And now, the winning Chancellor, please step up!"

Professor Crowler gestured.

Sheppard beamed as he stepped up, and Ms. Dorothy planted a lipstick-red kiss on his face. Sheppard grinned ear to ear.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Foster of the North Academy finally broke down, burying his face in Chazz's chest and bawling.

"Chazz! Next year, you must get stronger, even stronger!"

He sobbed.

"Next year, we must win! Ms. Dorothy, you have to stay with that bastard Sheppard for now, but wait for me—uwaaa!"

Seeing his Chancellor cry, Chazz hesitated, then said awkwardly:

"Uh, Chancellor, sorry. I've decided—I'll stay at the Main Campus from now on."

"Huh!?"

Foster turned to stone.

"Yeah, that's right," Chazz said. "I have unfinished business here."

Foster: "..."

So not only did he lose Ms. Dorothy's kiss this year, but his ace is defecting too?

Chapter 282: Extracurricular Study

"It's true!"

At the seats in the school store, Syrus said excitedly.

"Last night, I got up groggily just wanting to go to the bathroom, but I accidentally walked to Professor Lyman's door…"

"Why would you end up at Professor Lyman's door if you just wanted to use the bathroom?" Chumley retorted. "Sy, can you be any more scatterbrained?"

"Shut up, the real point is coming up!"

Syrus lowered his voice, glanced around warily as if afraid of being overheard, and then continued mysteriously.

"When I got to the door, I saw it wasn't closed. Professor Lyman was sitting at his computer, communicating with someone." He spoke in a hushed tone, "I couldn't catch the details, but it sounded like something about 'ancient tombs,' and that it'd be a waste to just 'bury them.' There was also something about things that are still sleeping.

You have no idea, it sounded really scary."

"What nonsense are you talking about, did you just dream this up?" Jaden chuckled.

"Well, I was a bit groggy," Syrus scratched his head.

Kira was sitting at the same table, eating a golden egg bread from the shop and staying quiet—Jaden, as always, had skillfully drawn a golden egg bread, but he said he was sick of them from eating too many, so he gave it to Kira.

Hearing this, Kira was already calculating in his mind.

Looks like it's time for the extracurricular study.

This matches the plot from the original series. Professor Lyman would arrange an extracurricular activity to search for ruins on the island, but they'd end up triggering a mechanism and enter the Spirit World. There, they'd encounter the Gravekeeper spirits, and Jaden would have to duel.

But it wasn't a deadly shadow game—though the loser would suffer real pain during the duel, they wouldn't actually die.

Looking back, it was probably Professor Lyman's way of testing Judai's abilities—a specially arranged trial.

Now it seemed that the first semester was about to end, so it was just about time for this event.

Sure enough, during class that day, Professor Lyman announced the plan.

After a whole semester, Professor Lyman's alchemy class had driven off nearly all the students. Now, only about a dozen students still bothered to attend, leaving most of the classroom empty.

But Professor Lyman was a good guy—he never cared about absentees, just lectured to himself about things no one cared about, deliberately botched a few alchemy experiments, and muddled through the period.

The bell rang.

"What a great nap!"

Jaden, who had seemed to be sitting upright and listening seriously the whole time, stretched and opened his eyes.

Only then did Syrus realize that his big bro's eyes had been drawn on his eyelids with a pen—he'd been sleeping the whole time.

Syrus gasped, "So big bro was sleeping the whole time?"

"Well, that means it's time to eat," Jaden said cheerfully.

In his world, aside from card games, there was only eating and sleeping—how could he not be happy?

"Wait a moment, everyone, please take these with you," Professor Lyman took out a stack of papers.

"Eh?" Jaden wilted, "Is it homework?"

"No, it's the plan for this Sunday's extracurricular activity," Lyman replied. "There are many ruins hidden in this school, and Sunday's activity is to explore one of them.

Anyone interested can join."

The few students there looked at each other.

…

As expected, not many showed up in the end.

On one side was the Slifer Red trio led by Jaden; on the other, Kira, Alexis, and Misawa made up the research group.

"Say…" Syrus looked curiously at the other trio. "We're here because the Red Dorm head forced us. Why did you guys come?"

"Exploring ruins sounds interesting, doesn't it?" Kira smiled.

And besides, although the Gravekeeper deck isn't top tier, some of its cards are pretty good in the early game—some even show up in World Champion decks. And if you get them from the Spirit World, you might even get spirit versions, so how could I miss this?

More importantly, the key card isn't even a Gravekeeper monster, but their signature Field Spell:

Necrovalley.

As long as this card is on the field, all effects that would affect the graveyard—spells, traps, monster effects—are negated. Also, neither player can banish cards from the graveyard.

Just from that description, you can tell how nasty this card is. Even in modern Yu-Gi-Oh!, it completely shuts down graveyard-focused decks on its own.

"Ruins do sound pretty cool," Chumley chimed in. "They're near the volcano, usually off-limits. Without a teacher, we'd never get in."

Alexis added, "I've heard rumors that the ruins might be tied to Shadow Games, so I wanted to see for myself."

Because of her missing brother, Alexis was sensitive to anything related to Shadow Games or missing students. She was always present at such incidents.

"Alright, everyone's here," Professor Lyman said enthusiastically. "Let's go!"

The group packed up and set off for the mountain ruins.

"According to the information, this ruin is an ancient tomb," Lyman explained as they walked. "There are rumors it's a forbidden tomb—but that's just a rumor, ahaha."

Hearing this, Alexis paid more attention.

A forbidden tomb… It might be related to the missing students.

Maybe there'd be clues about her brother.

Alexis never let any clue slip by, though so far, she'd always come up empty. But perhaps perseverance pays off—Kira actually knew there really was a clue about her brother this time.

In the anime, according to the Gravekeeper spirits, only one person before Jaden's group had ever won their Shadow Duel ritual—Atticus Rhodes.

Atticus had won half of a dark relic in that duel; the Gravekeeper chief later gave the other half to Jaden.

In the later Sacred Beasts arc, when Jaden faced a Shadow Duel, the two pieces combined into a key artifact.

This was the only dark artifact Kira had a clear lead on, and the easiest way to get it. So, while to others this was just extracurricular study, Kira had a clear goal.

He remembered the plot well—just follow Professor Lyman's lead.

After trekking most of the day, the group finally reached their destination under Lyman's guidance.

The entrance to the ancient ruins lay near the volcano of Duel Academy. Supposedly, it housed the ancient Duel Arena tombs, and though old, it looked like a dueling field from the outside.

Perfect—they'd brought the students to the planned site.

Lyman squinted and chuckled inwardly.

Time for the next part of the plan: have his cat, Pharaoh, accidentally trigger the buried dark artifact and bring everyone to the Gravekeeper Spirit World.

But just as he was thinking this, a green light suddenly shot skyward, and the earth trembled!

The blue sky instantly dimmed, and the blazing sun split into three, transforming into three suns hanging above. Rainbow light radiated down, forming a giant net across the sky, enveloping the whole area.

The students were all shocked—even Lyman, the mastermind, was surprised.

What's going on?

This was his plan, but he hadn't even activated it yet!

Lyman turned blankly and saw Kira standing innocently at the side, hands open.

"Professor, did I just touch something I shouldn't have?"

Lyman: "..."

Chapter 283: The Valley of the Gravekeepers

It all seemed to happen in an instant.

A display of supernatural phenomena, then the sun split into three, burning in the sky. The lonely ruins stood under the blazing suns, covered in centuries of dust and moss.

When they came to their senses, everyone was already in the center of the ruins, surrounded by a group of ancient-soldier-looking men who'd popped up out of nowhere.

Professor Lyman threw his hands up and screamed, "What's going on!?"

"Aren't you the one who brought us, Professor?" Sryus cried, holding his head. "Shouldn't you be explaining right now?"

"I have no idea!"

Of course, he was still acting. Lyman knew exactly where they were: the Spirit World, the Valley of the Gravekeepers, guarded by Gravekeeper duel monster spirits. As trespassers, their fate was to be mummified and stay here forever.

Coming here was part of his plan.

But in his script, it should have been his cat who accidentally triggered the mechanism, warping everyone here. He didn't expect Kira to beat him to it!

Lyman acted all panicky, sneaking glances at Kira.

Since their first meeting, he'd sensed something off about this student. Over time, that feeling only got stronger.

Sometimes, he really felt he couldn't see through this student.

He himself was supposed to be the secret mastermind, hiding a bellyful of secrets, but sometimes he felt Kira knew just as much as he did.

No, sometimes it seemed like Kira was also acting, maybe an even bigger boss than he was…

Of course, it was just a fleeting thought. But even Lyman felt it was a bit much, so he quickly dismissed it.

"There they are again, those who trespass the King's Valley."

A squad of soldiers with spears ringed them, while a man walked out from behind.

Kira immediately recognized him: the Gravekeeper Chief, the dueling spirit who'd faced Jaden in the anime.

Kira's lips curled into a faint smile.

Target located.

"What's this?" Jaden frowned. "Old man, you don't look like someone from Duel Academy."

Syrus whined, "Big bro, isn't that obvious?"

The Gravekeeper Chief gave them a cold glance, clearly unwilling to speak much, and waved his hand, "Take them away. Make them into mummies and bury them."

"Eh!?" Syrus nearly wet himself, "Why!?"

Lyman did his best to act scared: "Help! I don't want to die, nya!"

The chief ordered his men to deal with the group and turned to leave, but Kira called out with a smile: "That's not right, is it, Gravekeeper Chief, Duel Monster Spirit of the Valley?"

The chief paused, a bit surprised, and turned back.

"You know where you are?" He narrowed his eyes.

"That's right," Kira replied, "But it seems the chief here has forgotten a bit."

"Oh?"

"The honorable Gravekeeper clan never denies a warrior the chance to fight for themselves." Kira gestured at his duel disk.

The chief raised his eyebrows in surprise: "You know about the sacred ritual?"

Normally, anyone who trespassed into the Valley would die, but there were exceptions. Over the years, many had entered—innocents, explorers, or greedy thieves.

Most were executed and buried, except one person:

Atticus Rhodes, Alexis' brother. He'd defeated the chief in a duel and earned his freedom.

"You seek to win your lives through battle?" the chief said. "Interesting. Of all who've come here, you're the first to challenge me to the ritual."

"Let's set the rules then—the wager," Kira said.

"The rule? If you beat me, you can leave alive," said the chief coldly. "If not, you'll sleep here forever like the rest."

"Is that so? But that seems unfair, doesn't it?" Kira smiled. "If that's the rule, then we're betting all our lives, but your side isn't risking much."

"You question the rules of the Necrovalley?" the chief frowned, stepping forward. But in that instant, he felt a strange pressure from Kira.

For a moment, he thought he glimpsed a phantom warrior behind Kira, someone even more formidable, watching him coldly from the void.

The chief's pupils shrank, and he instinctively took a step back.

"You?"

"I think your rules are a bit too domineering," Kira said, "They should be changed."

The chief: "…"

He wanted to say he could have them all killed with a snap of his fingers, and the ritual was a mercy, but after seeing that phantom, he reconsidered.

He also noticed as he looked again at the group surrounded by spears, that they all seemed unusual.

The glasses-wearing guy hugging a fat cat and whining seemed useless at first glance, but on closer inspection, there was a faint, special energy within him—perhaps suppressed, but not to be underestimated.

The red-suited, jellyfish-haired kid also seemed unremarkable, but something was hidden within, waiting to erupt.

The blonde girl in blue wasn't as strong, but still had a unique energy—there were spirits in her deck.

Even the chubby, koala-like guy, though weak, seemed to have a faint spirit's protection.

Turns out, every one of them was special!

The chief finally gave them his full attention, then glanced at Syrus.

Hmm, this ordinary one really does seem useless.

He almost wondered how Syrus managed to tag along.

"Well, name your wager," the chief said. "If you think it's unfair, you can even have my soul as the stake."

Kira shook his head, "No need for that—I'm not a killer, taking lives brings me no joy or benefit.

If I win, you not only let us go but also become our friends. When needed, you'll lend us your strength. How about that?"

The Gravekeeper clan all carry the duty of guarding the valley. For spirits, following someone else is worse than death.

But Kira didn't want the spirits themselves—he only wanted their cards.

If it's just the cards, for spirits, it's like lending out a copy. They stay and guard the valley, but their power can be used by the duelist.

"To make friends? Interesting," the chief chuckled.

"Then let's see if you're worthy of that."

He turned and waved for the soldiers to lower their spears.

"Come with me," the chief said. "To the sacred dueling field."

Chapter 284: The Necrovalley

"Damn, turns out you really can duel in ruins!?"

At the ancient dueling arena, seeing Kira and the chief take their places, Jaden was frustrated.

Why does Kira always beat me to the duels?

"But Kiran actually managed to bargain with them just now…" Syrus couldn't help but say.

Chumley nodded, "Yeah, he always seems so calm, no matter the situation. I was scared out of my mind just now…"

Lyman hugged his cat and silently watched Kira.

He felt more than ever that this student was not just a genius, but seemed to have everything under control.

This was supposed to be his secret plan—he'd deliberately led everyone here.

But now it felt like everything was going according to Kira's script.

…

"Duel!" x2

[Kira, LP 4000]

[Gravekeeper Chief, LP 4000]

"I'll go first. Draw." The chief said seriously, drawing two cards, setting a monster face-down in defense, and a card in the back row. "Turn end."

"My turn, draw."

Kira immediately revealed the card he'd drawn.

"Spell Card 'Graceful Charity'—draw three cards, discard two."

He drew, then discarded two cards.

"One discarded card is 'Card of Compensation.' When this is sent from hand to grave, I draw two more."

"Hmph, building up graveyard resources already?" The chief sneered. "In this valley, any attempt to disturb the dead won't be tolerated."

Kira could guess his thoughts—basically, "my deck is all about graveyard play."

The Gravekeeper deck gives him that confidence.

But Kira just smiled, "Next, I summon 'Abyss Soldier'."

[Abyss Soldier, ATK 1800]

"Abyss Soldier's effect, once per turn, discard a Water monster to return a card on the field to the hand."

Kira discarded a Water monster.

"I send 'Sinister Serpent' to the graveyard, and return your back row card to your hand."

Abyss Soldier's trident unleashed a torrent, sweeping away the set card.

"I chain and activate my set card, 'Needlebug Nest'—send the top five cards of my deck to the graveyard," said the chief.

Five cards went to the graveyard; Kira squinted at him.

Who was it that said sending cards to the graveyard was defiling the dead?

So, tomb raiders must die, but it's fine if the gravekeepers do it?

"Abyss Soldier, attack the set monster," Kira said.

Abyss Soldier lunged and struck.

[Gravekeeper's Recruiter, DEF 1500]

The trident pierced the Recruiter, who exploded.

Chief: "When Recruiter goes to the graveyard, I can add a Gravekeeper monster with 1500 or less DEF from my deck to hand."

A golden light flickered in the chief's deck as he prepared to search.

"Not so fast," Kira revealed another card. "I discard 'Skull Meister.'

When a spell, trap, or monster effect activates in the opponent's graveyard, I discard this from my hand to negate it."

The Recruiter's ghost appeared, ready to chant, but Skull Meister's shadow locked him down.

"This is the sacred valley," Kira said sternly. "Disturbing the dead, defiling the sacred gravekeepers, will not be tolerated."

The chief: "?"

That kind of makes sense, but isn't that my line?

"As a gravekeeper with a sacred duty, betraying your own rules should be punished even more harshly." Kira set three cards face-down. "Turn end."

The chief: "..."

Why does it feel like he just seized the moral high ground?

"Hmph, my turn, draw."

The chief drew his card.

As if to say, "Fine, I can't outtalk you—let's settle this with cards."

"I activate 'Pot of Greed'—draw two."

He drew, then continued, "Next, Spell Card 'Fissure!' Destroy your monster with the lowest attack!"

The ground split under Abyss Soldier, swallowing him.

"Since he's the only monster, Abyss Soldier is destroyed. Now, I normal summon 'Gravekeeper's Descendant.'"

[Gravekeeper's Headman, ATK 500]

"Upon summon, I can special summon a Level 4 Gravekeeper from my grave. Revive—Gravekeeper's Heretic!"

[Gravekeeper's Heretic, ATK 1800]

"Then I activate 'Double Summon.' I can normal summon twice this turn. I tribute Descendant—

By sacred power, I summon:

—Gravekeeper's Chief!"

[Gravekeeper's Visionary, ATK 2000]

"Eh?" Chumley gasped. "Only one tribute for an 8-star monster?"

"Visionary only needs one tribute if it's a Gravekeeper monster," the chief explained. "Plus, Visionary gains 200 ATK for every Gravekeeper in the graveyard!

Including Heretic, the two from Needlebug Nest, Headman, and Recruiter, that's four in total.

So, Vosionary gains 800 ATK!"

[Gravekeeper's Visionary: ATK 2000 → 2800]

"And now—this card!"

The chief solemnly drew and held up a card.

"The valley we have guarded for generations, the forbidden resting place of kings—

—Field Spell: Necrovalley, activate!"

As the card hit the field, time seemed to stop.

The surroundings froze like an eternal painting, the valley wreathed in the ancient forest, mist among the treetops as if a transparent veil covered the sacred ground.

"So it appears at last—the resting place of kings," Kira smiled, eyes gleaming.

This was what he'd come for—the must-have artifact.

Chapter 285: Kira is Best at Turning the Tables

Necrovalley, activate!

 "Necrovalley is the sacred domain of the Gravekeeper clan. For generations, we have guarded this holy land with our very lives, and in return, it grants us its power!"

The Gravekeeper Chief declared loudly.

"As long as Necrovalley is on the field, all Gravekeeper monsters gain 500 ATK and DEF!"

[Gravekeeper's Visionary, ATK 2800 → ATK 3300]

"It reached 3300 ATK that easily?!" Syrus couldn't help but exclaim.

Kira watched this scene and fell silent for a moment.

But what surprised him wasn't that the Gravekeeper's Visionary easily broke the 3000-ATK "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" threshold, but the fact that "Necrovalley" actually had a hidden effect!

In the competitive meta, this notorious field card had been around for over a decade. Yet, more than 90% of the time, players only used its "graveyard lock" effect. The first effect had become so overlooked that it was practically a "hidden" effect among veteran duelists.

"Of course, the 'Gravekeeper's Heretic' is also a Gravekeeper monster, but while Necrovalley is on the field, Heretic is unaffected by any card effects," the Chief said solemnly. "This includes the effect of Necrovalley itself, so Heretic's ATK does not increase."

[Gravekeeper's Heretic, ATK 1800]

Kira glanced over.

So immune, it even ignores its own Necrovalley's effect... That's "heretic" enough.

"Battle!" the Chief shouted. "After eternal rest, you shall forever atone for trespassing in this sacred valley!

 'Gravekeeper's Visionary,' direct attack!"

Kira calmly responded, "Then I activate the trap 'Draining Shield.' Your monster's attack is negated, and I gain Life Points equal to its ATK."

A rainbow-colored barrier, like flowing water, formed in front of him. The Visionary's deadly strike crashed into it, her power absorbed and turned into nourishment for Kira's body.

[Kira, LP 4000 → LP 7300]

"Looks like it's not my time for eternal rest yet, Chief." Kira smiled.

The Chief snorted. "Then, 'Gravekeeper's Heretic,' direct attack!"

The Heretic's power, boosted by the Necrovalley, was not to be underestimated. He leaped across the field, aiming straight for Kira's face.

But after just absorbing so much LP, Kira was unbothered, and he had no intention of letting it go through anyway.

"Then, I activate a monster effect from the graveyard."

"Not so fast!" the Chief barked. "While 'Necrovalley' is on the field, all effects that affect cards in the graveyard are negated, and cards in the graveyard cannot be banished!"

"That's not quite true." Kira smiled.

"What?"

"The Necrovalley only restricts effects targeting cards in the graveyard," Kira explained. "Your valley forbids any contact with the departed, but who says the departed agree with that?"

"What are you implying?"

"I mean, while you can't activate effects on cards in the graveyard, cards in the graveyard that activate their own effects can still be used." Kira gestured. "I activate the effect of 'Kiteroid' in my graveyard.

While this card is in the graveyard, I can make the damage from a direct attack become 0, once."

If this were Duel Links, Kiteroid's effect would require banishing itself from the graveyard, which the Necrovalley forbids. But the anime version doesn't require banishing, so it's not restricted by the Necrovalley.

Thus, the Heretic's attack was blocked by a transparent kite barrier.

"Ohh, perfectly blocked—classic Kira!" Jaden laughed. "Kiteroid is a lot like my 'Necro Gardna'—both are awesome monsters."

"And Kira's also a fan of Submarineroid and Cycroid," Chumely chimed in. "Thinking about it, 'Roids' really are a deck with potential."

Syrus clutched his head: "Stop roasting me, guys!"

"…"

"He even blocked that?" the Chief said gravely. "Very well, I'll let you survive another turn.

Battle Phase ends. I activate the Spell Card 'Gravekeeper's Stele'—I add two 'Gravekeeper' monsters from my graveyard to my hand.

And this effect cannot be negated by 'Necrovalley.'"

Golden light shone from his Duel Disk's graveyard zone as the Chief retrieved two cards.

"I return 'Gravekeeper's Headman' and 'Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier' from my graveyard to my hand," he said, "Of course, as the number of Gravekeeper monsters in my graveyard decreases, Visionary loses 400 ATK."

[Gravekeeper's Visionary, ATK 3300 → ATK 2900]

"Digging up graves so brazenly in the sacred Valley?" Kira shook his head. "Where's your Gravekeeper pride? Your bottom line? Your principles?"

This counterattack left the Chief momentarily speechless. He hesitated, then said, "We Gravekeepers are entrusted with guarding this sacred valley and have been granted special rights…"

After all, the Gravekeeper deck is built around "Necrovalley," and the archetype itself has ways to ignore its own field's restrictions. It's all about the one-sided lockdown.

"Sacrilege, truly sacrilege! Even as an outsider, I can't bear to watch." Kira sighed dramatically. "You disregard the rules, disrespect the dead, and freely disturb their eternal rest…"

The Chief: "…"

He felt something was off with Kira's words, but before he knew it, the moral high ground had been taken, and he was at a loss for a rebuttal.

Unable to retort, he felt his fellow Gravekeepers' gazes turn doubtful as if they were wondering whether Kira had a point.

Even worse, the Chief found himself feeling guilty.

"My turn, draw," Kira said. "First, in the Standby Phase, my 'Sinister Serpent' returns from the graveyard to my hand.

Then, I set a card face-down."

A set card appeared before Kira.

"Then I activate the Spell Card 'Card of Adversity.'

If my opponent controls a Special Summoned monster and I control none, I draw two cards.

You have a 'Gravekeeper's Heretic' Special Summoned from the graveyard, so I draw two cards."

But before that, he revealed another card from his hand.

"Quick-Play Spell 'Serial Spell'! When I activate a Normal Spell, I discard all cards in my hand; this card's effect becomes that of the activated Spell.

So, 'Serial Spell' copies 'Card of Adversity'—I draw two more!"

The Chief frowned. "Trying to refill your hand by these means…"

"I'm not done yet. Next, I activate the trap 'Good Goblin Housekeeping.'" Kira said. "Draw cards equal to the number of 'Good Goblin Housekeeping' in my graveyard plus one, then return a card from my hand to the bottom of my deck."

Good Goblin Housekeeping is a card whose potential is often overlooked, but in the past, it was the heart of the broken "Greed Engine," even spawning entire decks focused on it.

The optimal combo was three Good Goblin Housekeeping plus Pot of Benevolence—draw twelve, then return three to the deck.

Kira also uses this combo, though he hasn't drawn it all yet.

The Chief frowned: "A mass draw combo?"

"Not just that." Kira smiled. "I activate my last set card from last turn, Quick-Play Spell 'Chain Summon.' It can be activated only if this turn I've activated three or more cards in a chain. This turn, I can Normal Summon up to three times."

The Chief frowned but said nothing.

After everything resolved, Kira finished drawing. But he didn't immediately make his move; instead, he calmly glanced at his opponent.

"Looks like you Gravekeepers have forgotten your pride. You won't beat me this way."

"You've got a way with words," the Chief retorted, regaining his composure. "But all you can do now is talk tough.

Your graveyard is sealed, and I still have Visionary out. Without your graveyard resources…"

"Relax," Kira cut him off with a smile. "Let me show you what happens when you abandon your duty as Gravekeepers and disturb the eternal rest of the dead.

I activate this from my hand—the Spell 'Lullaby of Obedience!'

I pay 2000 Life Points and declare the name of a monster. If that monster is in your deck, I can either add it to my hand or Special Summon it to my field, ignoring summoning conditions!"

[Kira, LP 7300 → LP 5300]

"The card I declare is…"

Kira pointed at the Chief's deck.

"…Gravekeeper's Chief!"

The Chief: "?????"