Yugioh [582-587] (Patreon)

Chapter 582: He’s a Nice Guy

Snake River was still completely dazed in the end.

Because the result had come too suddenly, without any mental preparation.

From his perspective, he thought he’d performed quite well. In this round, he’d cleanly taken care of that annoying “Vampire Hunter” monster—specifically designed to counter his Dark-attribute deck—and had cleared his opponent’s front and back rows. Normally, that should have been a perfect offensive wave.

And yet, he was just instantly defeated, just like that?

No monsters, no set cards; with an empty field, his opponent suddenly pulled out two trap cards from hand, seemingly out of nowhere, and summoned a Vampire with ten thousand defense points. Just a second ago, he’d felt he was in complete control, and the next moment he was wiped out at full health.

Who could take that?

Snake River was not convinced, and extremely unwilling to accept it—such a suffocating way to lose was unheard of.

But that’s the nature of a Shadow Duel. One mistake means eternal doom, with no second chances. However unjust the loss, you can only swallow it, your anger and frustration swallowed by the darkness.

Snake River fell to his knees. When he slowly looked up, he saw his opponent, in the posture of a victor, standing before him. Firelight flickered across half the other’s face, making him look sinister and strange, even the smile seeming to carry unsettling malice, which made Snake River shudder.

Then he saw the girl floating not far behind Kira.

She had smooth silver hair, a cold and elegant face that looked icy in the firelight, a white robe, a staff pointed diagonally at the floor, a transparent vortex swirling around her.

Earlier, thick smoke and the distance between him and Kira had kept Snake River from seeing the spirit clearly, even though he could sense the other’s connection to a spirit. But now that they were close, he could finally see the mage’s features clearly.

Snake River’s pupils shrank in surprise.

Isn’t that the Silent Magician!?

One of the signature monsters of Duel King Yugi Muto back in the day. In his hands, she was once considered the Light counterpart to the Dark Magician, a legendary spirit.

But the important thing wasn’t the spirit herself—it was who possessed her.

Everyone knows Yugi Muto has long disappeared from the dueling world, but over the past year, the Silent Magician spirit had reappeared, now in the hands of the Big Boss whose name is now known everywhere.

Snake River looked at his opponent in fear and stammered,

“Y-you, could you be the Duel King…?”

“Oh? You recognize me?” Kira nodded. “Well, that makes things simple.”

Snake River’s face twisted in regret.

He did recognize him, but why couldn’t he have realized it a bit later…

Who would have guessed that just taking a random job, he’d run into the Duel King head-on?

Wasn’t the Duel King supposed to be at Duel Academy? Prison No. 7 is worlds away from there—what’s he doing here?

If I’d known it was the Big Boss, would I have acted so arrogant? Waiting for him to show up, taunting him just now—wasn’t that like putting my head on the block?

The more Snake River thought about it, the more he regretted it. Still, his earlier frustration at dying like this had mostly faded.

Even if the manner of death was humiliating, he’d heard the current Duel King was good at mentally breaking his opponents in creative ways. It wasn’t a glorious way to lose, but knowing the opponent was the Duel King—no matter how the process went, losing was inevitable.

“Looks like you’re behind this prison riot, so tell me,” Kira asked, “why did you do it?”

Snake River knew he no longer had the right to refuse, so he answered honestly, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“Yeah. I’m just doing a job for money. I’m a hired Shadow Duelist, and I took the job through the dark web.

The job description just said that at a certain time, the system at Prison No. 7 would go down, and a secret passage would open. All I had to do was sneak in as instructed, release all the prisoners, and set a fire to create chaos.”

He thought of something and added, “Oh, and there was a bonus: for each Duelist from the Kaiba Corporation I could take out, I’d get extra pay.”

So it’s pay-per-head?

Kira nodded, understanding. “So that’s why you rushed in like you were desperate to die?”

Snake River nearly cried.

He regretted it so much. If only he’d skipped the bonus, set the fire, and run away, nothing would have happened!

“You said you got this job from the dark web,” Kira continued. “So is the dark web behind the attack on Prison No. 7?”

Snake River shook his head. “No, the dark web is just a platform. Lots of people look for work there. And it’s common for us hired hands not to know the details.

Everyone knows the rules of Shadow Duels—anything can happen, like, well, like what’s happening now.”

Kira nodded. That made sense.

When you lose a Shadow Duel, you’re at your opponent’s mercy. That’s why Shadow Duelists aren’t like traditional hitmen—you can’t expect them to protect their employer’s identity, because it’s impossible.

The only way to ensure secrecy is if they truly don’t know anything.

“But since the dark web is a trading platform, both those taking jobs and posting them must be known to the platform, right?” Kira asked.

Snake River nodded.

“Of course. Especially for posting jobs, you have to register identity and affiliations.”

He suddenly thought of something and stared at Kira.

“You… you’re not thinking of…?”

“I didn’t say anything,” Kira shrugged.

But even if he hadn’t said it, Snake River seemed to guess what he wanted to do.

Is he going to pick a fight with the dark web?

He may be the Duel King, arguably the strongest power in the world right now. But the dark web is no pushover—its waters run deep, and its secret masters are rumored to have world-class dark and chaotic powers, though who knows if that’s true.

More importantly, nobody knows who they are.

The leadership of the dark web is a total mystery. Once you provoke them, you risk being hunted by the world’s top masters. Almost nobody is crazy enough to pick a fight with them.

But Kira figured that rumors are just rumors, often exaggerated.

He had a friend named “Revolver” who openly defied the dark web, and nothing bad happened to him.

No terrible retribution.

He’d even taken down Doma and their Serpent God—he didn’t think an underground trading platform could be stronger than Doma.

By now, the situation in the prison seemed under control, with Mokuba and the others arriving.

Kira had asked what he needed. He casually took Snake River’s deck, then got up and walked back to Mokuba, gesturing behind him.

“Caught a hired goon. You can take him in for questioning, ask whatever you want. He’s a nice guy—he’ll definitely tell you everything.”

He turned and winked at Snake River.

“Right?”

Snake River: “…”

Chapter 583: Challenging the House

One of the black markets run by the dark web.

Just like Kira said, Snake River was indeed a nice guy—once in the interrogation room, he answered every question, holding nothing back, and was extremely cooperative.

But then again, Kira realized everyone he encountered was like this. Even those who started out tough and uncooperative usually became much more agreeable after dueling with him.

Maybe that’s just the charm of dueling. No wonder everyone in the anime always says they make friends through duels.

Kira—now going by Revolver—arrived at the entrance of this underground market. This was the address Snake River had given, where he got the job.

This wasn’t his first time at the dark web’s black market; he was now experienced. Last time, he came to buy information; this time, he had a clear goal.

He was here to challenge the house.

Kira knocked hard on the thick door.

The door opened quickly.

A fierce-looking doorman appeared, sizing up the man outside—white trench coat, dark visor, a distinctive look.

The doorman’s pupils shrank in shock.

“You’re Revolver!?”

“Oh, I’m pretty famous now, huh?” Kira smiled. “Good, that makes it easier. I’d like to talk to your manager—let me in.”

“They say you’re a madman, and you really are.” The doorman shook his head in disbelief. “You trashed one of the dark web’s places; you’re on the wanted list, man.

And yet you come knocking on the door yourself—really crazy. There’s no way I can let you in. If I let someone on the wanted list in, my job’s finished. Go home.”

With that, he slammed the door, shutting Kira out.

Honestly, this doorman was already more polite than Kira expected.

So Kira decided to spare his life later.

“Fraulein, can you open this door for me?”

Vampire Fraulein floated out, shook her head, and then looked at him.

“If you let me try a bit of your blood, maybe I could.”

Kira was taken aback, then realized she meant she was a weakling with only 600 attack points. But if her master let her drink blood, she could temporarily power up.

He’d assumed all spirits were like “girls next door who suddenly become super strong,” but apparently not.

“Uh, okay. How about Jinzo?”

As soon as his name was called, the android appeared, puffed up with pride, and fired a psychic energy ball.

Boom!

The door was blasted open.

The doorman was knocked down by the shockwave. Through the dust, he watched Kira strut in, and after a few seconds, muttered,

“You really are a madman…”

…

Deep in the underground market—

A teenaged boy was tied to a chair, battered and bruised, obviously having suffered a lot.

A sharply dressed man paced around the chair, his voice gentle but full of menace.

This was the manager of the dark web market, Ryuusuke Kaihara.

“Your old man sure is tough, kid.”

Kaihara walked behind the chair, resting his hands on the back, his head leaning out beside the boy’s shoulder.

“The dark web values your old man’s club—that’s an honor for you. Normally, we wouldn’t even deal with clubs at your level, and we’re not interested in your local business.

The only reason you got this opportunity is that I personally respect your dad.

He built a name from nothing, set up a Shadow Duelist club, developed a black market business—quite admirable. I appreciate that fighting spirit.

But you keep turning down my offer. I just don’t get it.”

The battered boy shook his head.

“Dad says that’s—cough, cough—a symbol of what he built with his original brothers, a mark of their bond. It’s not about money—he can’t sell…”

“Hah.”

Kaihara gave a dry laugh, then shook his head regretfully.

“That’s a shame. So he thinks his bond with us is less important than with his old friends?”

“No, that’s not what he means. He just—aaaah!”

A surge of electricity shot through the chair, making the boy convulse.

When it stopped, he was pale and drenched in sweat, gasping for breath.

Kaihara dragged a chair over and sat in front of him, smiling.

“So, I’m sure you can help him change his mind, right?”

The boy, still struggling to recover, nodded desperately.

“I-I’ll try…”

“Try?”

“No, I’ll definitely, definitely persuade him,” the boy said miserably.

“Oh? And what will you tell him?” Kaihara smiled.

“I’ll tell him… that friendship with Mr. Kaihara is more important. From now on, the club is yours.”

“Hahaha, see? You’re pretty smart after all.”

Kaihara laughed heartily, patting him on the back.

“From now on, your dad and I are brothers. Just call me uncle…”

At that moment, the door opened. A voluptuous woman in heels rushed in.

Kaihara frowned in annoyance: “What did I say? I’m talking to my nephew about something important. No interruptions.”

“Sorry, sir, but we have a problem.”

She handed him a tablet.

Kaihara glanced and saw it was a live feed from the market’s security cameras.

A man had burst in through the main entrance, charging forward like a juggernaut, a spirit barely visible at his side. The resolution was too low to make out the spirit clearly, but he was mowing down the security team.

Several duelists tried to stop him, but were all instantly crushed within a few rounds. The man advanced without pause, screams echoing behind him.

Kaihara frowned. “Revolver?”

He’d heard of this guy—a new duelist, a madman. The last time he’d trashed another dark web facility, he’d landed on their blacklist.

The dark web wasn’t even going to go after him, and yet here he was, boldly challenging them.

Pushing his luck, huh?

“Sir?” the woman asked nervously.

“Hmph.”

Kaihara handed her back the tablet and glanced at the boy tied to the chair.

“Watch him. I’ll deal with this Revolver myself.”

Chapter 584: Another Encounter with the Dark Web

Kaihara walked out, just in time to hear a long, anguished scream.

There was a sound like an explosion, firelight blinding him. He raised his arm to shield his eyes, and through the blur saw a figure slammed into the wall beside him.

Looking more closely, he saw a man in a white coat, duel disk on his arm, the coat billowing like a cape. The room was a wreck—craters and debris everywhere, bodyguards and duelists lying all around, defeated.

The white-coated man was striding in as if nothing could stop him, calling out,

“Next? If no one else is coming, bring out your manager.”

There were still some Shadow Duelists watching, but none dared step up.

No kidding. The duelists here were all about equally matched, but seeing their colleagues get crushed instantly, who’d go up and get killed?

For this man, taking them out was like squashing ants—not even on the same level. The bodyguards knew they were only for dealing with small-time troublemakers—against real experts, all they could do was cheer from the sidelines.

Shadow Duels were deadly serious—people could die for real. They were only here for the paycheck, not enough to risk their lives.

Kaihara frowned, but wasn’t afraid, and strode forward.

Kira noticed the sharply dressed man—he stood out from the other grunts. So he turned to him.

“Let me guess, the big boss finally decided to show up?”

“Revolver from the Knights of Hanoi graces us with his presence—pity we didn’t know ahead of time to prepare a proper welcome,” Kaihara said politely.

But everyone knew those were just empty words. Revolver was on the dark web’s wanted list—just not getting attacked on sight was already polite; why would they prepare a welcome?

Kira didn’t mind, just replied calmly, “Sorry for the disturbance. ityActually, I just have a question about a job posted on your market.”

“If that’s all, you could have just come and asked—why cause so much trouble?” Kaihara shook his head.

Kira laughed.

“I thought so too, but your people refused to let me in. I tried to carve my own path, but not only did they not get out of the way, they even fought back. I had no choice but to fight through.”

He shook his head.

You should know your own reputation—how could my people let you in?

No, even after the last incident, you still dare to show your face here—what arrogance.

Kaihara grumbled inwardly, but kept his composure. “So, how can I help you?”

“Nothing much. I just recently heard you took on a big job about Kaiba Corporation’s Prison No. 7,” Kira said.

Kaihara was surprised. “You’re here for Prison No. 7?”

“Yeah. Someone spent a lot to hack the prison’s security system and hired Shadow Duelists to help. But in the end, it seems they didn’t break anyone out or steal anything.

Looked like they just wanted to mess with Kaiba or show off their skills.”

Kira spoke slowly.

“Being able to hack Prison No. 7’s security and sneak a Shadow Duelist in to cause trouble—that’s no ordinary ability. I’m quite impressed, and would like to meet the person behind it.”

Kaihara frowned.

“Is that so? That’s a pity. You should know, it’s against dark web rules to reveal even a word about clients—not targeted at you, Revolver. I’m afraid I can’t tell you the client’s identity.”

“I figured as much. Which is why I didn’t come empty-handed.”

Kira raised his duel disk, removed the deck, and inserted a new one from his card case.

“You see, if you’re forced to reveal information through a duel, it’s not your fault, right?”

“Heh, you sure are confident, Revolver. But overconfidence can be dangerous.”

He gestured, and a lackey handed him a duel disk. Kaihara put it on.

“Then let’s see if you have the skills to match your arrogance.”

“Duel!” x2

[Kira, LP 4000]

[Kaihara Ryuusuke, LP 4000]

“I’ll go first—draw.” Kira said. “Activate Spell Card ‘Pot of Greed’ to draw two cards.”

He drew two, and immediately played one.

“Spell Card ‘Take Over 5’—send the top five cards of my deck to the graveyard.”

Five cards slid into the graveyard.

“Now I summon ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’!”

[Rapid-Fire Magician, ATK 1600]

“Next, activate Spell Card ‘Magical Stone Excavation.’ Discard two cards to return a Spell from my graveyard to my hand.”

Kira discarded two cards, and a glow appeared from the graveyard as a card returned to his hand.

“I return a second ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ from my graveyard to my hand.”

Kaihara: “?”

He couldn’t understand the play.

Discard two cards to get back a ‘Magical Stone Excavation’? That’s pointless.

From the result, he’s just wasted two cards.

Is Revolver really being that generous? Giving up two cards right away?

“Rapid-Fire Magician’s effect: as long as it’s on the field, every time I activate a Normal Spell, you take 400 damage.”

Rapid-Fire Magician fired a ball of light, hitting Kaihara in the face.

[Kaihara, LP 4000 → 3600]

Kaihara laughed. “Is this just tickling?”

All that effort for 400 damage and half your hand—how funny.

“One of the cards I discarded for ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ was ‘Night Assailant.’”

Kira revealed the card.

“Its effect: when sent from hand to graveyard, I can return a Flip Effect monster from my graveyard to my hand.” (old effect)

“So you can get back a monster from the grave too?” Kaihara shook his head. “Even so, it’s still inefficient…”

“Is it really?”

Kira smiled mysteriously.

“‘Night Assailant’ itself is a Flip Effect monster. And the other card I discarded with ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ was also ‘Night Assailant.’”

Kira revealed the other card in the grave.

“Night Assailant.”

“So what?” Kaihara asked.

But as soon as he spoke, he seemed to suddenly understand.

His face froze, struck dumb with shock.

Chapter 585: Infinite Night Assailant

Kaihara Ryusuke suddenly seemed to understand, and a trace of fear appeared on his face.

“‘Night Assailant’ returns a Flip Effect monster from the Graveyard when sent there. And ‘Night Assailant’ itself is a Flip Effect monster.

So, ‘Night Assailant A’ in the Graveyard activates to retrieve ‘Night Assailant B’, and ‘Night Assailant B’ activates to retrieve ‘Night Assailant A’.”

Kira explained, revealing both cards at once.

“So I can return both ‘Night Assailant’ cards from the Graveyard to my hand.”

“And I just used ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ to retrieve a second copy of itself from the Graveyard.”

“So now I activate ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ number two from my hand, discarding those two just-retrieved ‘Night Assailant’ cards as the cost, to return ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ number one from the Graveyard.”

Kira showed the two ‘Night Assailant’ cards in his hand, then discarded them to the Graveyard. A burst of golden light shimmered in the Graveyard as the first ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ returned to his hand.

“And, since I activated another Spell Card, ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’s’ effect triggers again. Every time I activate a Spell Card, you take 400 points of damage.”

By this point, not only Kaihara Ryusuke, but everyone watching from the dark web market understood.

Infinite LOOP!

‘Magical Stone Excavation’ A and B recover each other, providing Kira with infinite Spell Card “ammunition.” The two ‘Night Assailant’ cards recover each other, serving as an infinite cost to activate the Spell. Finally, ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ converts the loop into direct damage—400 points per cycle.

This guy just pulled off an infinite FTK loop on his first turn.

FTK—a first-turn kill—is so rare that most duelists have never seen it, especially one involving an infinite loop. Everyone was stunned.

Isn’t this guy invincible? You never even get a chance to play!

Indeed, this was a brutal loop. Later, Konami would limit ‘Night Assailant’ to one copy and change the text so it couldn’t recover itself, breaking the combo. But back then, there were no such restrictions, and it was the perfect pair with ‘Magical Stone Excavation.’

Kaihara’s face darkened, but he didn’t surrender. He revealed a card, and said in a deep voice:

“I discard ‘Hanewata’ from my hand. This turn, all effect damage I take becomes zero. This effect can be activated in your turn as well.”

He sent the monster from his hand to the Graveyard, and the Hanewata appeared on the field, blocking the damage from ‘Rapid-Fire Magician.’

“Oh? You have something like that?” Kira’s eyes lit up.

A rare hand trap indeed—even he hadn’t seen it before.

“Alright, since ‘Hanewata’s’ effect is in play, I’ll stop looping for now.”

Kira shrugged.

“But, the two ‘Night Assailant’ cards I just discarded still activate, returning each other to my hand.

Next, I activate the Spell Card ‘One Day of Peace’—both players draw a card, and until the end of the next turn, all damage becomes zero.”

Both players drew a card.

“Then I set a card and end my turn.”

Kaihara wiped the sweat from his brow.

He had heard Revolver was dangerous, but he didn’t expect him to be this dangerous. If he’d been careless, he would have lost instantly on turn one. He realized now: this might be the most terrifying opponent he’d ever faced.

“My turn—draw!”

Kaihara took a deep breath.

No room for error—he had to go all out from the start.

“I activate the Field Spell ‘A Legendary Ocean’!”

The scene changed, water filling the space, and the two stood in a massive underwater palace.

“‘A Legendary Ocean’s effect: All WATER monsters in hand and on the field lose 1 Level. So Level 5 WATER monsters in hand become Level 4.”

He raised a card.

“So I Normal Summon—come forth,

----Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness!”

A colossal whale fortress appeared, like a biological battleship in the water!

[Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness, ATK 2100]

“And WATER monsters gain 200 ATK in A Legendary Ocean!”

[Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness, ATK 2100 → 2300]

“Attack ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’!”

Torpedoes roared and exploded across Kira’s field.

“‘One Day of Peace’ is active, so I take no battle damage,” Kira noted.

“But your ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ is destroyed!” Kaihara said.

That was the key. He knew Kira still held ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ and two ‘Night Assailant’—the infinite loop threat remained. If ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ stayed on the field, next turn the loop could happen again—and he no longer had ‘Hanewata’ to block it.

“Not so fast.”

Kira snapped his fingers.

“I activate the Trap ‘Time Machine.’ When a monster is destroyed in battle, it returns to the field in the same position.

Come back, ‘Rapid-Fire Magician.’”

[Rapid-Fire Magician, ATK 1600]

Kaihara: “...”

Spectators: “...”

Clearly, it was all pointless—the loop was still possible. Next turn, if that ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ survived, it was over.

Kaihara gritted his teeth.

A mere Level 4 magician could beat him? Wouldn’t that make him, a dark web manager, look like a total chump?

“I set two cards and end my turn,” Kaihara said.

“My turn. Draw. In the Standby Phase, ‘Take Over 5’ in the grave banishes itself and a copy in my deck, then I draw a card.”

Kira drew, glanced at it, and smiled at Kaihara.

“And of course, ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’s’ effect—activating a Normal Spell inflicts 400 damage.”

[Kaihara, LP 3600 → 3200]

“Let’s skip the warm-up and get to the main event,” Kira continued.

“I discard two ‘Night Assailant’ from my hand to activate ‘Magical Stone Excavation’...”

Chapter 586: Never-Ending

‘Magical Stone Excavation’—activate again!

Everyone now knew what would happen: two ‘Night Assailant’ cards recycle infinitely, ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ activates infinitely, ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ burns infinite life points.

Spectators couldn’t help but feel relieved they weren’t the ones getting destroyed. If they’d had to suffer this kind of mental torture—especially in a Shadow Duel—even if they survived, they’d probably be traumatized for life.

But Kaihara Ryusuke wasn’t done yet!

“Counter Trap—‘Magic Jammer’!” Kaihara shouted. “I discard a card to negate and destroy a Spell Card.

Your ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ is negated!”

The audience cheered.

“Nice move, boss!”

Even though ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ could recycle itself, negating just one broke the loop. No infinite recovery—no infinite ammo. Without it, ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ could only do 400 damage per card, nothing to fear.

“Now your chain is broken.” Kaihara sneered. “Impressive combo, but I bet that was your deck’s strongest move, right?”

Indeed, for most decks, an infinite loop combo is the core strategy. Once broken, the rest of the cards lose much of their power.

But that’s in most cases.

“Yeah, it’s a bit of a headache having it negated. Manager, you’re really good.”

Kira shrugged.

“But, even though the activation was negated, I still discarded two ‘Night Assailant’ as the cost. So their effects activate, returning each other to my hand.”

Kaihara watched Kira recover the two cards, unfazed.

Without the engine, what could he do?

“I activate the Spell Card ‘Dual Gate.’ By banishing this card and a copy in the Graveyard, I draw two cards.”

One copy is banished from the graveyard, then Kira draws two cards.

“‘Rapid-Fire Magician’s’ effect—400 points of damage.”

[Kaihara, LP 3200 → 2800]

Kaihara didn’t care about such minor damage anymore.

“Then I Normal Summon—Dark Crusader!”

[Dark Crusader, ATK 1600]

“ATK only 1600, and you’re attacking?” Kaihara frowned.

He didn’t mock the low attack—after that first turn, he felt an unnamed dread.

“Dark Crusader’s effect: Discard a DARK monster from your hand, it gains 400 ATK.”

Kira showed a card.

“I discard ‘Night Assailant,’ Dark Crusader gains 400 ATK.”

Kaihara smiled. “That’s only 2000.”

“Then I activate the effect again, discarding another ‘Night Assailant’ for another 400 ATK.”

Now Kaihara’s expression changed.

“It’s not once per turn!?”

“Exactly.” Kira nodded. “And ‘Night Assailant’s’ effect—you know the drill. When sent to the Graveyard, it recycles a Flip Effect monster.

I recover the first ‘Night Assailant.’”

Kaihara’s mouth twitched. The spectators’ eyes went wide, jaws dropping.

“Discard the first ‘Night Assailant,’ Dark Crusader gains 400 ATK. Its effect triggers—recover another ‘Night Assailant’ from the Graveyard.”

Kaihara: “...”

He was speechless.

Another infinite loop!?

Kaihara was shocked.

Three infinite loops in just two turns!

In his life, he’d only ever seen three infinite loops—all in this duel, in two turns, from the same opponent.

For this guy, infinite loops were as easy as eating or drinking.

The crowd was stunned. Those who had been too afraid to duel Kira earlier now felt lucky—that was the wisest decision they’d ever made. This Revolver was on a totally different level.

“Of course, after infinite loops, Dark Crusader’s final ATK is…”

[Dark Crusader, ATK ∞]

Infinite attack!

Kaihara was numb.

It was his first time seeing infinite attack—on his opponent’s side, no less.

“Dark Crusader, attack Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness!”

Kaihara couldn’t let that go through. An infinite attack would obliterate him.

Facing the crushing pressure, Kaihara shouted, barely keeping his courage up.

“I activate the Trap ‘Security Orb’! When your monster declares an attack, it switches to Defense Position!

‘Dark Crusader’ to Defense Position!”

[Dark Crusader, ATK ∞ → DEF 200]

Forcing it to defense, the threat was neutralized. Kaihara could finally breathe.

“Blocked the infinite attack loop! Not bad!” Kira praised, smiling. “Then ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ switches to defense too. Turn end.”

“My turn—draw!”

Kaihara declared.

This Revolver—he was too dangerous.

He’d never experienced such an absurd duel. Every time his opponent acted, it was like dancing on a razor’s edge.

This turn, he’d summon his ultimate ace!

“‘A Legendary Ocean’ effect—Level 7 WATER monsters in hand become Level 6. I tribute Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness to Tribute Summon my signature monster,

----Levia-Dragon - Daedalus!”

The watery city churned, bubbles rising. The sea-blue dragon roared upward!

[Levia-Dragon - Daedalus, ATK 2600]

“Daedalus’s effect: By sending the Field Spell ‘Umi’ to the Graveyard, destroy all other cards on the field!

I send A Legendary Ocean to the Graveyard—Daedalus, destroy everything!”

The sea dragon roared, the underwater city collapsed, and a torrent swept the field—total field wipe.

“Then Daedalus attacks directly!”

A surging whirlpool shot from the dragon’s mouth, slamming into Kira.

[Kira, LP 4000 → 1400]

“Hahaha! This is my true power—the ocean’s ruler, Levia-Dragon - Daedalus!”

He was finally confident. If he could just survive to the next turn…

“My turn—draw,” Kira said. “I activate ‘Graceful Charity’—draw three, discard two.”

Two cards to the grave, another golden burst.

“One discarded card is ‘Card of Compensation’—when sent to the Graveyard, draw two more.”

“Then I Normal Summon ‘Monster Eye.’”

[Monster Eye, DEF 350]

Several floating eyeballs appeared—creepy monsters that seemed to sap sanity.

Kaihara frowned.

What now?

“The other card discarded with ‘Graceful Charity’ is ‘Makyura the Destructor,’ so I can activate Traps from hand this turn,” Kira said.

“I activate the Continuous Trap ‘Call of the Haunted’ from hand, reviving ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ in attack position.”

[Rapid-Fire Magician, ATK 1600]

“That thing again?” Kaihara frowned. “But at most, you only have one ‘Night Assailant’ left—and no ‘Magical Stone Excavation.’

Even if you revive it, no infinite loop.”

“True.”

Kira smiled.

“Next, from my hand, I activate the Continuous Spell ‘Brain Research Lab.’ As long as this is on the field, when I would pay Life Points to activate the effect of a Psychic-Type monster, I can place a Psychic Counter on this card instead.”

“Psychic-Type? But you have none on the field… Wait, are you going to burn with ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ again?”

“No, ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ only triggers with Normal Spells. ‘Brain Research Lab’ is a Continuous Spell.”

Kira said.

“But next, I activate ‘Spell Reproduction’ from my hand—discard two Spell Cards to recover a Spell from the Graveyard.”

A weaker version of ‘Magical Stone Excavation’—it can only discard Spells, so even with two ‘Night Assailant,’ it won’t work in the loop.

“I discard two Spell Cards to recover ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ from my Graveyard. ‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ effect—400 damage.”

[Kaihara, LP 2800 → 2400]

“So what?” Kaihara said coldly. “You can use ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ to recover ‘Spell Reproduction,’ but you can’t recycle your hand. No infinite loop.”

“Not necessarily.” Kira smiled. “Monster Eye’s effect—pay 1000 LP to retrieve ‘Polymerization’ from the Graveyard.

And the effect isn’t once per turn.”

Kaihara: “?”

Retrieve ‘Polymerization’ from the Graveyard?

“Yes—so I pay 2000 LP to retrieve two ‘Polymerizations’ from the Graveyard,” Kira said.

Kaihara’s pupils shrank—he suddenly understood.

Right.

Discard two ‘Polymerizations’ to activate ‘Spell Reproduction’ and recover ‘Magical Stone Excavation.’ Use Monster Eye’s effect to recover both ‘Polymerizations,’ then discard them again for ‘Magical Stone Excavation’ and recover ‘Spell Reproduction’...

Another infinite loop!

He panicked for a moment, then calmed down.

“No, Monster Eye’s effect costs 1000 LP per use. You don’t have that much LP...”

Then he looked at ‘Brain Research Lab’ on Kira’s field, realization dawning.

“Your hand—do you also have...?”

“Oh? Did you guess? Pretty sharp.”

Kira smiled.

“Makyura the Destructor’s effect lets me activate Traps from hand.

Continuous Trap ‘DNA Surgery’—declare a Type; all monsters become that Type.

Of course, I declare ‘Psychic-Type.’”

Now Monster Eye became Psychic, and with ‘Brain Research Lab’ on the field, activating its effect cost no LP—just place a counter.

The last piece of the puzzle fell into place.

Kaihara’s face twitched, unable to believe what he was seeing.

What a cosmic joke.

Yet another infinite loop in the same duel!?

“Monster Eye’s effect: pay 2000 LP to recover two ‘Polymerizations’ from the Graveyard. But with ‘Brain Research Lab,’ I don’t pay LP.

Activate ‘Magical Stone Excavation,’ discard two ‘Polymerizations’ to recover ‘Spell Reproduction.’

‘Rapid-Fire Magician’—400 damage.

Monster Eye effect, recover two ‘Polymerizations.’ Then activate ‘Spell Reproduction,’ discard two ‘Polymerizations’ to recover ‘Magical Stone Excavation.’

‘Rapid-Fire Magician’—400 damage.”

400 damage at a time, over and over, like a relentless bee stinging Kaihara endlessly...

The room was silent.

No one spoke—no one dared.

Everyone watched as their manager was ruthlessly executed by this endless loop.

Finally, after countless cycles—

“‘Rapid-Fire Magician’ effect—400 damage.” Kira smiled. “Sorry, but it looks like... you’re done.”

[Kaihara, LP 0]

Kaihara: “...”

Chapter 587: The Lurking Opponent

“Alright, let’s talk.”

Kira dragged the now soul-crushed manager to his office.

But as soon as he entered, he was surprised to see a boy tied to a chair.

“Huh? What’s this?” Kira asked.

Now defeated, Kaihara was compelled to answer honestly:

“That’s the son of a local club leader. The dark web had its eye on their organization and facilities, but they refused to cooperate, so we...”

Kira didn’t need him to finish.

“He’s in the way. Let him go.”

Kaihara didn’t dare object, immediately ordering his subordinates:

“What are you waiting for? Untie him, now!”

No one dared delay. The boy was quickly freed and respectfully ushered away.

The boy, utterly confused, remembered that just ten minutes ago, Kaihara had been torturing him, arrogant and cruel. Now, he was humble as a turtle. The transformation was astonishing.

He quickly realized the turning point was the white-clad man who’d entered. Though his father was the leader of an underground club, he himself wasn’t involved in the world of Shadow Duelists and didn’t recognize the now-famous Revolver. He just made a mental note to remember this man’s appearance and planned to thank him to his father later. For now, he just ran without looking back.

Kira sat down in the manager’s chair, gesturing casually at the chair the boy had just vacated.

“Sit, don’t be shy.”

Kaihara froze. That chair was electrified—he’d just used it to torture the boy. He forced a smile:

“Ahaha, I’ll just stand, standing is fine...”

Kira raised an eyebrow:

“You don’t want to sit?”

“No, not at all.”

Kaihara forced himself to sit down.

He had once heard that another dark web market had been swept by Revolver single-handedly and had looked down on the other manager. He figured he’d never let that happen to him.

He never expected to be proven wrong so quickly. Now he understood why those markets fell so easily. It wasn’t that the other manager was weak—the opponent was inhuman.

Four infinite loops in three turns!

What did that mean?

In duel history, infinite loops were legendary, performed only by top duelists in the most climactic moments. The most famous was Yugi’s infinite draw loop against Slifer the Sky Dragon, forcing the opponent to deck out for the win.

But this guy pulled off infinite loops as easily as eating or drinking.

This was strength beyond his comprehension—on par with the legendary world-destroying bosses, not ordinary duelists.

When did the dark web mess with a god like this?

“Answer my questions,” Kira prompted.

“Questions? Oh, right...” Kaihara snapped back. “Prison No. 7, right? Honestly, I don’t know much about it...”

He saw Kira frown and quickly added,

“It’s true!”

“The job Snake River took was from your market,” Kira said flatly. “And now you claim ignorance?”

“You have to believe me—after losing to you, I can’t lie anyway, right?”

Kaihara was helpless.

“It’s true the job was posted through me, but some clients are... let’s say, extremely cautious. They don’t show themselves, not even to the dark web.”

“I’ve heard you need to register an identity to post a job on the dark web,” Kira said.

“Yes, but it doesn’t have to be a real identity,” Kaihara replied. “Take you, for example—everyone knows you as Revolver, that’s your dark web identity. If someone asks who you are, that’s all I can say, right?”

But noticing Kira’s displeasure, he quickly added,

“But I can give you everything the client left with the job!”

“Oh? What is it?”

“A portable storage device, mainly the plan for infiltrating Prison No. 7—detailed maps, entry routes, instructions to hire a duelist for the job...”

He slapped his forehead.

“Oh, right! And the most crucial thing—a hacker program designed specifically for Prison No. 7.”

Kaihara signaled his subordinates to fetch it.

“I don’t really understand it, but someone on my staff said it’s the strongest program they’ve ever seen. The client must know KaibaCorp’s security protocols inside and out. Whoever wrote it is not only a rare genius but also intimately familiar with KaibaCorp’s systems.

I think this could be a clue...”

Soon, the subordinate brought the device. Kira took it.

With no more intel to get for now, Kira stood up.

“Alright, thanks for your cooperation.”

He pocketed the deck he’d taken from Kaihara’s duel disk.

Kaihara kept his head down, pretending not to notice.

“If I need anything else, I’ll be back.”

“Of course! Please take care!”

Kaihara cursed inwardly, but kept a respectful face. He said he’d welcome him back anytime, but inside he’d already cursed him a thousand times, hoping he’d drop dead and never return.

…

Back at KaibaCorp, the program turned out to be a key clue.

When Mokuba examined the infiltration program, his expression quickly turned strange.

“The dark web guy was right—this is the work of a rare genius, and he knows KaibaCorp’s system very well.

And I think... I might know the creator.”

“Oh?” Kira crossed his arms behind him. “An old acquaintance?”

“Sort of.”

Mokuba pondered.

“His name is Zigfried von Schroeder.”