Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist - Duel 023

"Defeat the Darkness!" is the twenty-third chapter of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist manga and the eighty-second chapter of Yu-Gi-Oh! in the Japanese version.

It was first released in the Weekly Jump magazine. It has been reprinted in volume 3 of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist and volume 6 of the bunkoban.

Dark Yugi reveals his "Swords of Revealing Light" card to the Player Killer of Darkness, which he asserts will defeat the Player Killer in five turns.

Summary[]

Dark Yugi holds up a card and tells the Player Killer of Darkness that it is the key to defeating him and he has five turns left. He warns the Player Killer to get ready to lose as he shall show him the "real darkness" as his Life Points trickle away. The Player Killer laughs and advises Dark Yugi to consider his situation before opening his mouth. While "Castle of Dark Illusions" is on the field, the Player Killer can hide his monsters in the darkness, where Dark Yugi cannot attack them. As long as "Castle of Dark Illusions" keeps the field dark, the Player Killer says that he cannot lose. Dark Yugi replies that no true Duelist gives up a fight when someone else tells them that they will not lose. He at least credits the Player Killer with having a shred of pride.

Dark Yugi tells the Player Killer that he shall show him the card he will defeat him with and reveals the "Swords of Revealing Light" in his hand. He explains that the swords have the power to block enemy attacks for three turns and even if they try to hide in darkness, the swords will find them. He proclaims that the Player Killer's monsters will be destroyed by this card. The Player Killer worries, but says that the darkness cannot be conquered by a card of that level. Dark Yugi laughs that he will sees what he means in five turns.

Dark Yugi Summons "Curse of Dragon" in Defense Mode and places one card face-down in his Spell & Trap Card Zone, before ending his turn. The Player Killer thinks that the face-down card must be "Swords of Revealing Light". Dark Yugi then points out that it is now four turns until the Player Killer dies.

Anzu asks Mai if it is okay for Dark Yugi to show his cards, like he just did. Mai says that it is not against the rules and theorizes that Dark Yugi might be planning on using another weapon against the darkness; something other than a card. She says that there is one thing that can get through the darkness and that Anzu knows what it is.

The Player Killer Summons "Reaper of the Cards", which uses its "Card Eraser" ability to attack Dark Yugi's face-down card. He celebrates, thinking he has destroyed Dark Yugi's trump card. However Dark Yugi points out that he never said that the card he played was "Swords of Revealing Light". The Player Killer realizes that "Reaper of Cards" has stopped moving and asks what is going on. Dark Yugi then reveals that the card he actually played was "Spellbinding Circle" and by attacking it, "Reaper of the Cards" has now become trapped in its hexagram. Dark Yugi explains that when playing Spell or Trap Cards, "Reaper of the Cards" is something you should be cautious of, but now that he has it trapped in the hexagram, he does not have to worry about that.

Dark Yugi begins his turn and plays "Swords of Revealing Light" and another Spell Card face-down. As the Player Killer wonders what kind of cards were just played, Dark Yugi asks him if he has noticed the rope around his neck. The Player Killer laughs that Dark Yugi is the one with the rope around his neck, but Dark Yugi insists that the Player Killer is climbing to the gallows, one step per turn and there are now three turns left. The Player Killer sees a vision of himself climbing the stairs to gallows and is surprised by how lifelike it seemed. Dark Yugi laughs that darkness is a mirror that throws people's fears back at themselves; fear that swallows people with weak hearts, like the Player Killer. The Player Killer gets very mad and this point and warns Dark Yugi that he will twist his head off the next time he talks.

Anzu sees that Dark Yugi's threats have put the Player Killer off balance, making Dark Yugi win by talking. She wonders if this is what Mai was talking about. Mai takes note of how the Player Killer is being scared in his won territory by the power of Dark Yugi's words. She is impressed by the self-confidence Dark Yugi displays.

The Player Killer draws his ultimate card, "King of Yamimakai", with 2600 ATK, and Summons it. Dark Yugi heard the card's name from the Player Killer and although he cannot see it, he thinks its ATK seems high. He laughs that it is the card that is going to kill Dark Yugi and it will all be over before he can play his trump card. "King of Yamimakai" attacks "Curse of Dragon" with its "Evil Shock Wave" attack. However "Reaper of the Cards" is still trapped between the two monsters inside the hexagram. The reaper acts as a shield for "Curse of Dragon" and gets destroyed instead, dropping the Player Killer's Life Points to 1200.

Dark Yugi begins his turn and activates "Swords of Revealing Light". As the swords surround the Player Killer's monsters, they light up the surrounding area, exposing the Player Killer's monsters. Dark Yugi says that the darkness is over and the Player Killer now has two turns to live.

Featured cards[]

The following cards appeared in this chapter. Cards in italics debuted here.

Anime adaption[]

The end of episode 14 and the beginning of episode 15 of the anime are based on this chapter. A number of changes are made, including:

• Joey (Jonouchi), Tristan (Honda) and Bakura were also present at the Duel.
• When Mai said that Yami Yugi (Dark Yugi) might be using a weapon other than cards, Joey asked what she meant. Bakura said that she must mean words and Tristan asked what they meant by that.
• PaniK's (Player Killer of Darkness') monsters gained Field Power Bonuses from being played at night. His monsters original ATK were different, such that they became close to their manga ATK after the Field Power Bonus. e.g. "Reaper of the Cards" had 1800 ATK in the manga. In the anime it had 1380 ATK, which rose to 1794 after the Field Power Bonus.
• The vision of the gallows was dropped.