Yugioh [450-455] (Patreon)

Chapter 450: I'm Here to Challenge the Club

A certain city, K District.

Here stood the city's largest underground dueling club. The hall was thick with smoke and dazzling lights. Gamblers shouted hoarsely, and scantily-clad bunny girls wove through the crowd—the place was buzzing with activity.

A burly man stood guard at the door, yawning listlessly, his gaze lazily following the swinging hips of a bunny girl walking by.

Until a soft cough interrupted him.

The man blinked and turned his head, only to see that a new guest had appeared at the door without him noticing.

This guest was dressed rather oddly. He wore a loose white robe and a half-curved, dark glass mask that hid his face behind its decorative surface, making his appearance impossible to discern.

But the guard wasn't surprised. Out of every ten people who came here, seven or eight liked to wear masks to hide their identity—including duelists.

He quickly noticed the dueling disk on this person's arm and immediately straightened up, putting on a fawning smile. "Sir, you're here to gamble with cards, right? This way, please."

The person in white, masked, was Kira. He had decided to follow the advice of that Orichalcos cultist after all.

He coughed politely and said, "Thank you, but that's not necessary. I'm not here to play."

He cleared his throat and said seriously:

 "I'm here to challenge the club."

The guard: "?"

He gave this weirdo a once-over, but didn't bother to report anything—he just snorted and muttered, "Nutjob."

"Well, I tried to resolve things peacefully," Kira shrugged, raising his arm and unfolding his duel disk.

Black energy suddenly burst out in the hall. Another one of the club's bouncers had his life points reduced to zero and was sent flying by the impact of real damage, rolling several times before crashing into a corner, unmoving.

The hall immediately descended into chaos. The gamblers hastily stopped, and the bunny girls screamed, covering their mouths as they saw the fate of the unlucky bouncer.

Things escalated quickly, and soon the club's boss arrived in person. He was a burly man with a round belly and a gold chain, with lackeys lighting his cigar as he entered—an intimidating presence.

"I'm Kurozaki, the boss here."

He clamped his cigar between his lips, sauntered over to Kira, and looked him up and down.

"Good, very good. It's been a long time since anyone dared to make trouble on my turf. What's your name, punk?"

"My name? You can call me Revolver."

"Revolver...? Never heard that name in the underground. Are you new?" Kurozaki muttered. "What club are you from, pink?"

He was, after all, the local kingpin, and couldn't believe that a challenger like this came with no backing. Surely someone powerful was behind him.

"A club?" Kira frowned, thinking, The rules of the underground are really a hassle. He casually answered, "It's called the Knights of Hanoi."

"Hanoi?" Kurozaki was confused. He didn't recall hearing that name either.

"Yeah, a new organization. Right now, it's just me." Kira glanced at the crowd. "But don't worry, I'll be recruiting soon."

Kurozaki was taken aback, then burst out laughing.

So this was just a naive upstart.

He must've recently come into some dark power, thought he'd discovered a new world, and now felt invincible, eager to make a name for himself.

But the fact that he'd taken out so many of Kurozaki's henchmen meant he wasn't completely useless.

Kurozaki threw his cigar to the ground and extended a hand to the side.

A lackey hurried to hand him a new cigar, but was promptly kicked over by Kurozaki.

"I said, give me a duel disk! The cards!"

The lackey, bruised and battered, scrambled to get a duel disk from a companion and handed it to the boss.

Kurozaki put on the duel disk and grinned at Kira.

"Looks like you won't know your place unless I teach you. I won't take your life, though. Let me think... Alright, here's the deal."

He narrowed his eyes and licked his lips.

"The loser must unconditionally obey any request made by the winner. Got it?"

"Agreed," Kira replied eagerly. That was his plan all along.

The man's life was of no use to him—he needed Kurozaki's cooperation for his plan to work.

"No more words. Let's do this!"

"Duel!" ×2

[Kira, LP 4000]

[Kurozaki, LP 4000]

"I'll go first. Draw." Kira said, "I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Hand Destruction.' Both players discard two cards, then each draws two."

Kurozaki snorted, glanced at his hand, and picked two cards to discard.

"Next, I Normal Summon this card."

Kira slapped down a monster card.

"Amazoness Swords Woman, in Attack Position!"

A wild-looking female warrior leapt onto the field, wielding a long blade, with fiery red hair, dark skin, and rippling muscles.

[Amazoness Swords Woman, ATK 1500]

The Amazoness deck first appeared in Duel Monsters, used by Mai Valentine. It's a classic old-school archetype that also appeared in GX and later anime series.

Kira had gotten this deck earlier—it wasn't particularly rare. Recently, a project team in his lab had produced some new Amazoness cards.

He'd wanted to try it out, but the opponents in Battle City were too tough to test a new deck, so he'd set it aside.

Now, in disguise, it was the perfect chance.

And Amazoness is actually pretty fun to play.

He figured Kurozaki would soon experience that for himself.

Kira: "Set one card face-down. Turn end."

"You're using Amazoness, huh?" Kurozaki grunted. "My turn! But I won't draw!"

As he spoke, flames erupted in his Graveyard, coalescing into a flaming tiger on the field.

"The effect of 'Flame Tiger' in my Graveyard. If I have no monsters on the field, during my Draw Phase, I can Special Summon this card instead of drawing."

"Come on out, Flame Tiger!"

The flaming tiger landed, roaring as if spewing fire.

[Flame Tiger, ATK 1800]

"Next, I activate 'Graceful Charity.' Draw three, discard two."

Kurozaki discarded two cards, then grinned.

"Heh heh... Hahaha! My ace is ready. The setup is complete. Punk, you don't realize it yet, but you're finished!"

Chapter 451: Sudden Assault

"First, I Normal Summon this monster."

Kurozaki slapped down a monster card.

"'Moja,' in Attack Position!"

[Moja, ATK 100]

Kira immediately understood what kind of deck Kurozaki was using.

"Next, the effect of 'King of the Beasts' in my Graveyard."

Kurozaki retrieved a card he had just discarded to the graveyard.

"If 'King of the Beasts' is in the Graveyard, I can Tribute a 'Moja' on my field to Special Summon it from the Graveyard."

"I tribute 'Moja' on my field to revive—

King of the Beasts!"

The tiny Moja disappeared, replaced by a massive, dark beast covered in shaggy black fur, with golden legs supporting its body and a menacing golden mask.

[King of the Beasts, ATK 2500]

The underlings cheered.

"Boss's King of the Beasts!"

"With that guy out, Boss is unbeatable!"

Kira knew a bit about the Moja and Beast King deck. Basically, as long as King of the Beasts is in the Graveyard, there are plenty of ways to Special Summon Moja, and as long as you tribute Moja, Beast King can keep reviving endlessly.

Kurozaki was quite proud, rubbing his nose.

"Revolver, right? You must be new to this scene. Let me teach you a lesson about dueling."

"I activate the Continuous Spell 'Solidarity.'"

"If there's only one original Type among monsters in my Graveyard, all monsters I control of that Type gain 800 ATK!"

Kira nodded: "So your Graveyard is all Beast monsters?"

"Haha, exactly! So all my Beasts get an 800 ATK boost!" Kurozaki laughed.

[Flame Tiger, ATK 1800 → 2600]

[King of the Beasts, ATK 2500 → 3300]

Solidarity is a great boost for single-Type decks.

"Battle! King of the Beasts attacks 'Amazoness Swords Woman'!"

The Beast King loomed forward, its massive shadow threatening the Amazoness Swords Woman. But the fierce female warrior showed no fear, tightening her grip on her sword and preparing to defend.

By pure stats, a low-level Amazoness Swords Woman couldn't compete.

But she was famous in her day as the "Toxic Swordswoman"—a mainstay in stall decks, for good reason.

She fought back, but her blade shattered under the onslaught, and she staggered back, collapsing into fragments.

But even as she left the field, half of her broken sword remained. The sword's fragment spun through the air, then suddenly changed direction and shot straight toward Kurozaki.

"Ugh!"

The impact of the Shadow Game felt like a blade piercing his body. Kurozaki groaned in pain, looking down in shock.

[Kurozaki, LP 4000 → LP 2200]

What's going on?

His monster was destroyed, so why was he the one taking damage?

"When Amazoness Swords Woman battles, if her controller would take battle damage, the opponent takes that damage instead," Kira explained. "And this only triggers if I would take damage. So, whether she wins or loses, the opponent takes the hit. That's why she's called 'Toxic Swordswoman.'"

Kurozaki scowled, but quickly snorted.

"Hmph, just a sneak attack. No big deal. My undying King of the Beasts—wait, what!?"

He suddenly stared at his field in shock.

The King of the Beasts, which had just defeated Amazoness Swords Woman, began to fade, then vanished completely.

Kurozaki was stunned.

"Where's my King of the Beasts!?"

He looked up to see Kira's back row had activated a trap.

Continuous Trap—Amazoness Onslaught.

He'd never seen it before—it was a brand-new core Amazoness card, just developed by Kira's lab, used here for the very first time.

"Amazoness Onslaught," Kira said. "When an 'Amazoness' monster you control battles an opponent's monster, after damage calculation, that monster is banished."

Kurozaki: "!!!"

What kind of broken banish effect is this?

I take the battle damage, and then my monster is banished too?

He immediately realized how serious this was.

His whole deck revolved around Moja and King of the Beasts. King of the Beasts was his ace, with most of his cards supporting it. No matter how it was destroyed, as long as it was in the Graveyard, he could revive it by tributing Moja.

But if it's banished...

Kurozaki's face darkened.

And with that cursed "Amazoness Onslaught" being a Continuous Trap, as long as it's on the field, every Amazoness becomes a banisher.

"Hey, what's wrong? Not making a move?" Kira squinted.

"Didn't you want to show me the power of your dueling?"

Kurozaki: "..."

He gritted his teeth and growled, "Don't get cocky, punk. Now your field is empty, and I still have Flame Tiger."

"Go! Flame Tiger, direct attack!"

Flame Tiger lunged at Kira.

"Now, the other effect of 'Amazoness Onslaught' activates," Kira said.

Kurozaki's heart skipped a beat.

Another effect?

"Once per turn, during the Battle Phase, I can Special Summon an 'Amazoness' monster from my hand, and it gains 500 ATK until the end of the turn."

Kira revealed a card in his hand.

"Special Summon 'Amazoness Spy' in Defense Position."

A cloaked, masked woman crouched defensively in front of Kira.

[Amazoness Spy, DEF 1200]

"Since I summoned a monster, you can choose whether to continue your attack or not," Kira smiled.

"But you should know, as long as 'Amazoness Onslaught' is on the field, any monster that battles an Amazoness will be banished."

"So what's your choice? Attack, or not?"

Kurozaki: "..."

Chapter 452: Amazoness Combo

"Alright, battle rewind, then..."

 Kira asked with a playful smile, "Wouldn't it be better to stop now?"

Stop?

Kurozaki hesitated—he did consider it. But the way Kira said it, almost mocking, made his blood boil.

Back down in front of this unknown bastard?

Even if he stopped now, Kira could just crash the Spy himself next turn and still trigger the trap's effect. Plus, if he left a monster on the field, Kira could tribute it for a higher-level summon. That wouldn't be good either.

To hell with it—charge!

"Who said I'd stop?" Kurozaki roared. "Flame Tiger, attack 'Amazoness Spy'!"

Flame Tiger lunged, tearing apart the Spy. But thanks to the trap, the Tiger too faded away, banished to another dimension.

Now Kurozaki's field was empty.

Kurozaki's face was grim.

But at least both sides had no monsters left.

"Spy's effect," Kira said. "When it's destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can return another 'Amazoness' monster from my Graveyard to my hand."

He revealed the other Amazoness in his Graveyard.

"I return 'Amazoness Swords Woman' to my hand."

Kurozaki: "..."

He suddenly felt like coughing up blood.

Even the henchmen were stunned, glancing nervously at Kurozaki: "Boss, that unlucky swordswoman got recycled again..."

Kurozaki kicked the lackey over.

"I saw it myself!"

He gritted his teeth.

The Toxic Swordswoman reflects damage, and "Amazoness Onslaught" banishes anything that battles her. Now she even has a self-recycling effect...

Kurozaki had faced countless strong foes, survived many crises to become king of the underground. But he'd never faced such a vomit-inducing combo.

He waved a hand.

"I activate 'Magic Planter'—send 'Solidarity' to the Graveyard to draw two cards!" (Anime effect)

He drew two cards, then quickly set three more.

"Set three cards. Turn end!"

"My turn, draw."

Kira calmly played the card he'd just retrieved.

"I summon 'Amazoness Swords Woman.'"

[Amazoness Swords Woman, ATK 1500]

"Direct attack."

She strode forward, blade slashing. Kurozaki quickly responded: "Activate set card, Quick-Play Spell 'Fires of Doomsday'!

I Special Summon two 'Doomsday Token'!"

Two flame-shaped humanoids appeared to block. Swordswoman cut down one token.

"Battle Phase, activate 'Amazoness Onslaught' effect. Once per turn, Special Summon an 'Amazoness' from my hand."

Kira played another card.

"Special Summon 'Amazoness Scouts.'"

This time, two young girls appeared, armed with swords and bows, just as brave as their grown-up sisters.

"'Onslaught' gives the summoned monster +500 ATK until end of turn."

[Amazoness Scouts, ATK 500 → 1000]

"Attack the other 'Doomsday Token.'"

With zero DEF, the damage pierced through the token.

Kira: "Set one card. Turn end."

"My turn, draw!"

Kurozaki drew with a grave look—he now saw Kira as a serious threat. If he lost in front of all his henchmen, even if his soul was spared, his days as a kingpin would be numbered.

"Spell Card 'Card of Adversity!' If the opponent controls a Special Summoned monster and I have none, draw two cards!" (Anime card)

He drew two, then immediately played another.

"'Graceful Charity'—draw three, discard two."

After discarding, he flipped another set card.

"Trap Card 'Disgraceful Charity!' This turn, all cards both players sent to the Graveyard by Spell effects return to their hands." (Anime card)

 Kira raised an eyebrow.

From the name alone, you could tell it was made as a pair with the famous "Graceful Charity." But while Graceful Charity was printed, this one had been forgotten.

He eyed Kurozaki thoughtfully.

He'd only come to gather intel, but now it seemed this card was destined for him.

"All cards discarded by Graceful Charity return to my hand."

Kurozaki picked up the two cards, replenishing his hand. As he drew, his eyes lit up.

"Hahaha, here it is! With this card, your damn Swordswoman is finished!"

"I activate 'Smashing Ground'!"

Kurozaki shouted.

"Destroy the monster on your field with the highest DEF!"

Amazoness Scouts had only 1100 DEF, but Swordswoman had 1600. So Swordswoman was targeted.

Kira remained calm: "Amazoness Scouts's effect activates. Tribute her to make all Amazoness monsters I control this turn unaffected by monster effects and cannot be destroyed by Spell, Trap, or monster effects—even during your turn."

Scouts sacrificed herself, golden light covering Swordswoman. She roared, slashing the rift that was about to engulf her.

"Tch, so you have that too."

Kurozaki scowled at Swordswoman.

Reflects damage, banishes monsters, now immune to effects—could you believe it?

But he didn't give up. He pressed on.

"I summon 'Beast Striker'!"

[Beast Striker, ATK 1850]

"Beast Striker lets me discard one card to Special Summon 'Moja' from my deck."

He discarded a card.

"Special Summon a second 'Moja'!"

[Moja, ATK 100]

A henchman hesitated: "But Boss's King of the Beasts was banished—even if you summon more Moja..."

Kurozaki smirked.

"Hah! I prepared for this. The other card I discarded with 'Hand Destruction' in the first turn was also 'King of the Beasts'!"

"Two King of the Beasts!"

The henchman was impressed.

"Only one Beast King can be face-up at a time, but Boss prepared two in case one got dealt with!"

"Boss, you're brilliant!"

The lackeys fawned. Kurozaki puffed up, feeling a bit better after being tormented by Kira's Amazoness combos.

"I tribute one 'Moja' to revive King of the Beasts from the Graveyard—

King of the Beasts!"

Chapter 453: Cause of Death—Suicide

King of the Beasts, summoned again!

[King of the Beasts, ATK 2500]

In his mind, Kurozaki quickly calculated and thought about his options.

If he had his Beast Striker crash into Amazoness Swords Woman now, he'd only take 350 points of damage—totally manageable.

But if this attack goes through, and the Amazoness Swords Woman is dealt with, the opponent's field would be empty. If King of the Beasts' attack connects, it'd be a massive 2500 points of damage, enough to completely turn the tables.

After a brief thought, he decided it was worth it.

And there was another reason.

The more he looked at that Amazoness Swords Woman standing there, the angrier he got. Even if he had to take some damage himself, he needed to take her down, otherwise he'd feel this pent-up frustration in his chest.

Screw it, let's go!

"Beast Striker, attack 'Amazoness Swords Woman'!"

Kurozaki, having made it this far, was always ruthless. Now, with his anger flaring, he was determined to go all out, eyes red with fury, looking like he was ready to fight to the death.

"So this is what a real veteran looks like," Kira said admiringly. "Charging forward without fear, facing pain and death head-on with courage."

"Exactly! A real man shouldn't fear blood, nor hold anything back in a duel!" Kurozaki declared, chest up and proud. "A little injury is nothing!"

"Amazing, truly amazing."

Kira clapped in praise, then casually waved his hand.

"Well, let me add some fuel to your fire, so you can burn even brighter!

Activate Trap Card, 'Massivemorph'. Double the ATK and DEF of one monster on your opponent's field."

Kurozaki, who was just showing off his manliness, suddenly froze, the fire in his eyes instantly extinguished and replaced by fear.

Double the opponent's monster's attack?

Who lets their opponent smoke a cigarette mid-duel?

But at this point...

"I'll double the ATK of the attacking 'Beast Striker'!"

[Beast Striker, ATK 1850 → ATK 3700]

Beast Striker's body swelled rapidly before their eyes, its frame doubling in size, now towering over Amazoness Swords Woman like a mountain.

ATK 3700—stronger than the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon!

But holding such power, Kurozaki felt no joy, only the urge to cry.

Dammit.

With 3700 ATK, if he hits Swordswoman, he'll take 2200 points of reflected damage.

And he only has 2200 LP left.

One hit back, and even the world's greatest detective would only be able to conclude, looking at his mangled corpse, that this was a suicide.

Gritting his teeth, Kurozaki struggled: "Activate set card, Trap Card 'Alchemy Cycle'!

Set the original ATK of all my monsters to 0!"

[King of the Beasts, ATK 2500 → ATK 0]

[Beast Striker, ATK 3700 → ATK 0]

Equivalent to crippling himself to survive.

With that, the once-mountainous Beast Striker shrank rapidly, until it was like a harmless chihuahua, looking up pitifully at the suddenly-taller Amazoness Swords Woman.

She casually swung her sword. Sword light flashed, and Beast Striker was sliced in two.

"Uwah!"

[Kurozaki, LP 2200 → LP 700]

Barely clinging to life, Kurozaki still spat blood and was sent flying, rolling twice on the ground.

A quick-witted underling rushed to help: "Boss!"

"Boss, are you alright?"

"Get lost!"

Kurozaki shoved the guy aside and struggled to his feet.

His LP was now a candle in the wind, and the most infuriating thing was that none of his lost LP this duel was from the opponent's attacks—it was all self-inflicted, including just now, when he dropped his own monsters' ATK to zero and self-destructed.

On the scene, it still looked like suicide.

 "When a monster affected by 'Alchemy Cycle' is destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard, I draw a card from my deck," Kurozaki said coldly.

"Sorry, you can't," Kira cheerfully pointed to his back row. "With 'Amazoness Onslaught' on the field, any opponent's monster that battled an Amazoness monster is banished instead of sent to the graveyard."

Kurozaki's face twitched.

Again with the banishing! Not even letting him draw a card!

What's the point of this duel?

No, I can't lose my cool.

Kurozaki took a deep breath and looked at his remaining cards.

Alchemy Cycle's effect only lasts one turn; next turn, King of the Beasts' ATK will return to 2500.

There's still a chance.

"I set a card and end my turn."

"My turn, draw."

Kira drew a card, glanced at it, and waved his hand.

"Battle phase."

King of the Beasts' ATK is back to 2500, Amazoness Swords Woman's ATK is 1500. Clearly, this final desperate slash from Swordswoman will decide Kurozaki's defeat.

But Kurozaki's eyes were bloodshot as he revealed his last move.

"Trap Card 'Raigeki Break', activate!" Kurozaki shouted. "Discard a card from my hand and destroy one card on the field!"

He threw away his last card and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Amazoness Swords Woman, die!"

A bolt of golden lightning struck from above, blasting the Swordswoman to pieces before she could swing her last blow.

"Hahaha!"

Kurozaki laughed uproariously, seeing Swordswoman off the field and feeling as if he'd already won the duel.

Kira, expressionless, played his next card: "Quick-Play Spell 'Mystical Space Typhoon', destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field."

Kurozaki: "?"

Destroy a Spell or Trap...

But he has nothing on the field left.

In fact, at this point, he's completely out of resources: nothing on the field, nothing in hand. Only King of the Beasts left.

What's he blowing up with MST now?

 "I'll destroy my own Continuous Trap, 'Amazoness Onslaught'," Kira said.

Everyone: "?"

Destroying your own Continuous Trap?

No one could understand.

"Amazoness Onslaught's final effect," Kira explained. "When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, you can Special Summon an Amazoness monster from your graveyard.

Therefore, from the graveyard—"

He smiled brightly, showing the card leaving the graveyard.

"Special Summon 'Amazoness Swords Woman'."

[Amazoness Swords Woman, ATK 1500]

Kurozaki's laughter froze.

His underlings were also dumbfounded, mouths agape, speechless for a while.

Yep, now they understood.

"As a warrior, sometimes you have to fight even when you know you can't win," Kira said softly, raising his hand.

"Amazoness Swords Woman, attack 'King of the Beasts'."

[Amazoness Swords Woman, ATK 1500]

[King of the Beasts, ATK 2500]

Kurozaki watched as the Swordswoman advanced, his lips trembling, face pale as paper, all his former bravado and hot blood vanished, replaced only by helplessness so intense it almost brought him to tears.

"Aaaaah!"

The broken sword traced a beautiful arc as it fell.

[Kurozaki, LP 700 → LP 0]

The strongest in the K District underworld, Kurozaki, defeated.

Cause of death: suicide.

Chapter 454: Boss

"Your name is... Kurozaki, right?"

After putting away his Duel Disk, Kira approached the boss and asked gently.

Kurozaki forced a broad smile: "Boss, just call me Kuro."

On his fierce, ugly face, he squeezed out an ingratiating but awkward smile.

All the humiliation and anger from the duel were forcibly suppressed, and even his tears were swallowed. What kept his anger in check was the strong survival instinct he'd developed over years of living on the edge.

He was still alive.

He'd lost the dark duel. Kurozaki could feel the strong dark energy enveloping him, as if it were pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

Now, fully enveloped in this power after losing, Kurozaki could tell that this man's mastery of dark forces was formidable—far beyond any regular dark duelist he'd seen. He must be some kind of solitary, hidden master duelist.

But why would such a big shot come to mess with them?

Shouldn't people of this caliber be busy trying to conquer the world?

While he thought this, he dared not show any disrespect. He knew he was only alive because this guy was merciful—having lost, it was like his life was in his opponent's hands. A single thought from the man, and he could die at any moment.

"Well then, Kuro," Kira said, "don't be nervous, I'm not a devil. As you know, the Knights of Hanoi have just been founded, and right now, I'm the only member.

But a one-man organization is a bit shabby. So, I'd like to ask everyone's opinion: if you all agree, why not join us as a branch of the Knights of Hanoi starting today?"

"No problem!"

Kurozaki quickly shouted.

"I'll follow Boss Revolver to the ends of the earth!"

Seeing the boss agree, the underlings also hurriedly pledged their loyalty.

After all, it was obvious they had no choice.

"Very good," Kira nodded, standing before them in a commanding pose. "Now, here's our first order for the Knights of Hanoi.

Let's set a small goal: unite all the city's underground forces and merge them into the Knights of Hanoi. What do you think?"

"Huh?"

Kurozaki blinked, confused.

"What? Is there a problem?"

"N-no... It's just..." Kurozaki hesitated, then said quietly, "To be honest, Boss Revolver, there are three major powers in this city. Everyone wants to wipe out the others.

But the reason a balance has been maintained is not just because everyone's strength is about the same, but because someone behind the scenes won't allow it."

"Who?"

Kurozaki looked around cautiously, then stepped forward and whispered conspiratorially, "They call themselves Doma, said to be an ancient organization. We can't compare to them..."

Kira chuckled.

So, you guys are a bit behind on the news, huh? You haven't heard what happened this week?

He waved it off.

"No worries, I've already talked to them—they're fine with it."

Kurozaki: "!"

He dared not speak another word. Suddenly he had a feeling that this new Boss Revolver was even more formidable than he'd thought.

"So, where are the other two factions' headquarters?" Kira asked.

Kurozaki thought for a moment: "The closest one should be Yasha's nightclub."

"Lead the way," Kira ordered.

Kurozaki was stunned.

"Huh? Right now?"

"Otherwise?" Kira retorted.

"Oh, okay..."

Kurozaki hurriedly led the way, heart pounding.

Could it be that tonight, the three-way standoff would be unified?

With the biggest power absorbed, the Shadow Riders would probably walk right into their trap. And, after that reminder from the Doma cadre, Kira thought that even if the Shadow Riders didn't show, this plan was still a good idea.

After all, a dark duelists' organization had many advantages. He'd have his own network, access to resources and information otherwise out of reach.

And in the original, many villains had their own organizations. Usually, before the villains made their move, the protagonist side was completely in the dark, always reacting passively.

But if he could build his own network in the world of dark duelists, he'd be able to gather intelligence on villains before they rose to power.

If lucky, he could even take them out while they were still growing, killing them in the cradle.

Now was the early stage of the Knights of Hanoi' development, and these guys were the founding members.

The group name was just something Kira made up on the spot, using the name of the famous cyber-terrorist group from Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains. Since that group didn't exist in this era, there was no worry about copyright...

Probably.

After a short ride, they arrived at the nightclub.

Yasha, also a tough guy, was surprised to see the famous Kurozaki show up in person and came out to confront him.

But when he heard that Kurozaki wasn't the main guy, and that the one beside him was, Yasha was even more surprised.

"Revolver?"

Yasha snorted.

"Never heard of you. I, Yasha, don't get involved with the underworld much these days. Now any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to make trouble in my place. Well, since you're here, I assume you're ready."

He activated his Duel Disk.

Kira smiled in silence, activating his own. Kurozaki and his men, just beaten, now looked excited, as if anticipating something.

And Kira didn't disappoint.

"...

Activate Trap 'Massivemorph', double your monster's ATK.

Trap Card 'Alchemy Cycle', set my 'Amazoness Swords Woman's' ATK to 0.

 Amazoness Swords Woman: any battle damage I would take is instead inflicted on you.

Omae wa mou shindeiru."

Yasha spat blood and tumbled to the ground, eyes full of disbelief and confusion.

Did I just kill myself?

Even his men were dumbstruck.

They thought, "Boss, that was way too fast. If you can't even last a turn, your wife must be really suffering..."

Kurozaki felt a rush of satisfaction, especially seeing Yasha's stunned face, and realized the best part of dueling was this. Thinking back, at least he'd put up a fight, which was more than Yasha—he even felt a little proud now.

Kira put away his Duel Disk and stepped forward: "Your name is Yasha?"

Yasha snapped out of it, also feeling the crushing dark energy on his chest.

Then he quickly forced a smile.

"Haha, Boss Revolver, no need to be formal. Just call me Little Ya."

Kurozaki: "..."

He suddenly felt like he'd seen this kind of scene before.

Chapter 455: The Fish Bites

Kurozaki couldn't have imagined this guy would actually do it.

In just one night, he steamrolled the three major clubs. All three bosses nodded and bowed, claiming it was an honor to join the Knights of Hanoi and vowing to give their all.

And that wasn't just flattery—they'd all lost to this man calling himself Revolver, and the loser of a dark duel loses the right to lie.

In one night, the Knights of Hanoi had their foundation. According to Doma's intel, the Shadow Riders could show up any day now—all he had to do was wait.

The next day, Kira had other things to do.

After the Battle City arc, as the new Duel King he'd become a hot topic, instantly famous everywhere. News of his final battle with the serpent god, summoning the long-lost Egyptian God, had already spread.

Naturally, the first to contact him was Franz, the card designer from the Industrial Illusions specializing in Egyptian God cards, with whom he'd already crossed paths.

Kira had just arrived when the expert rushed to meet him.

"The card!?" Franz shouted, lunging at Kira.

"What?"

"The Winged Dragon of Ra! You summoned it, right?" Franz was excited. "Do you have the card?"

"Calm down, it's not here anymore," Kira said. "The God only lent me its power for a moment. Now that the mission's over, the God card has vanished."

Franz let out a wail, clearly disappointed.

"But still, it's a moment worth remembering. Eight years! It's been eight years!" Franz sighed. "It's been eight years since the God cards left Yugi Muto's hands.

In all this time, no one has managed to summon them again. Even with copies, people are punished by the gods. Do you understand? You proved my theory—the God cards aren't impossible to control!"

He grew more and more excited.

"Pegasus was wrong!"

Kira thought to himself—actually, he wasn't the first in eight years. Years ago, after Atem left and the God cards vanished, one other person summoned a God.

That was Seto Kaiba's famous floor draw move.

But that was at Atem's tomb, using Kaiba's consciousness amplifier tech to extract data and summon Obelisk.

All a bit metaphysical. Kaiba's science and supernatural weren't always clearly separated.

But that duel wasn't public, just Kaiba dueling rules at Atem's tomb, and it didn't finish—the tomb collapsed and the duel was interrupted.

No one outside ever knew about that. So Franz believed Kira was the first since Atem to summon a God.

Franz and Kira chatted enthusiastically. Franz said watching Kira duel the Arbiter and summon Ra, then watching Lava Golem eat the serpent god, made his blood boil with excitement.

And combined with Kira's previous hints, Franz finally had a breakthrough—he thought of a new way to use Ra, a path his predecessors hadn't considered.

If the God could have Lava Golem's power, wouldn't it be invincible?

Summoning the Sun God by sacrificing monsters from the opponent's field—strong, stylish, and fun.

Kira patted his shoulder, approving of the designer's bold ideas, and was pleased to see Franz finally on the right track.

That's more like it. After all, why call Ra the most radiant God?

He further hinted that Marik used the Slime series with the God cards for a reason.

He suggested Franz develop that idea. While the Slime cards Marik used now seem weak, the series has hidden potential as God support.

Franz's eyes lit up, he hurriedly took notes, thanked him, and went back to research.

A pure, passionate researcher. Though such passion sometimes turns evil, he had real skill—otherwise, Pegasus wouldn't have trusted him with such a dangerous project.

There were just a few days left before the new term.

...

Jaden, meanwhile, was mostly in the hospital. After the Battle City arc, Koyo was transferred from the island directly to KaibaCorp's hospital, but was still unconscious.

This puzzled Kira.

Logically, after the Orichalcos snake was defeated, all souls it captured should have returned to their bodies, as in the original DM.

And according to KaibaCorp's investigations, people worldwide who'd been comatose in the Seal of Orichalcos had woken up. So the snake must have been defeated.

But Koyo was still unconscious.

Could he have been unlucky, and had his soul digested before the snake was destroyed?

 Kira was puzzled, but visited the hospital with Jaden. With his dark powers now much stronger, he checked Koyo's body.

He couldn't identify the exact cause, but he felt this had nothing to do with the Orichalcos anymore.

Though Koyo's soul had not returned, Kira sensed another power lingering around his unconscious body—most likely the real culprit.

Kira guessed boldly: it was probably Tragoedia.

After all, Koyo lost to Tragoedia first, and the snake just hijacked things midway. Now that the snake's gone and Koyo's soul is out of the seal, Tragoedia must have seized the moment and grabbed his soul.

At this, Kira felt sorry for Koyo. A normal duelist with no cheats, relying only on talent and hard work, unlucky enough to run into two top-tier bosses at once...

Nothing more he could do. He'd just have to hope that if he could defeat Tragoedia someday, Koyo would recover.

With three days left until school, Kira's Knights of Hanoi finally received the message he'd been waiting for.

A man from "Shadow Riders" had come, asking to meet the leader of the Knights of Hanoi.

He called himself Nightshroud.

The fish had finally bitten.