"It was you."
Akiza's eyes were bloodshot, lips trembling, tears glistening with fury and hatred.
"You killed... Sayer…"
Clearly, the body left behind after the duel had been found by the other Arcadia Movement members.
Just as Kira expected.
He stared coldly at the grief-stricken girl's face, unflinching before the murderous rage in her eyes.
They locked eyes for several seconds. Then Kira's lips curled upward into a faint smile.
"Yep." He admitted it openly. "I killed him."
Such candid honesty, almost taunting—like saying, "what are you gonna do about it?"
"AAAHHHHH!"
Akiza howled and drew a card from her deck, slamming it onto her duel disk. Her pink duel disk activated; a 3D summoning vortex appeared, and before the summoned monster emerged, a vine lashed out from the swirl.
"Rose Tentacles!"
A level six Plant-type with 2200 attack—one of Akiza's favorites. A blood-red rosebud appeared, and vine whips shot out with a force that ripped the air apart.
Akiza couldn't stand it.
Since she was little, from the moment her power had awakened, everything had drifted away from her.
Family, classmates, elders, friends...
Everyone hated her. Everyone rejected her. Even she began to see herself as a monster, unfit for this world.
And just then, Sayer had appeared.
He was the first person to accept her completely. The first unafraid. The first who gave her shelter.
Sayer was all she had left in the world...
And now, fate wanted that last piece too.
Her fury detonated. She didn't hold back—the rage was total, her vehemence amplifying the dragon mark on her hand, burning red in answer, further boosting the power of her materialized monster.
BOOM!
The powerful impact smashed through the walls, pulverized furniture, glass shattering everywhere, as if enough force to crush bone.
But—
Akiza's pupils shrank; amid the dissipating smoke, the man still stood there.
Unscathed?
How was that possible?
"Director Goodwin" stood calmly, his white suit barely even dusty.
But looking closely, a faint white silhouette faded next to him—some sort of shield.
Akiza's face changed. "Are you a psychic duelist too?"
At this point, she didn't even know what a "dark duel" was; in her world, only psychics could do things like this.
But realizing he was the same only made her angrier: "If you're a psychic, why kill Sayer!? He worked so hard for our future—for all of us freaks—he gave us a home.
Why… Why..."
Kira just looked at her—then at the dragon mark on her hand, glowing brighter with her rage.
As he suspected.
Anger, the desire to lash out—all of this was awakening her power, accelerating her evolution.
It proved his theory was right.
Of course, he already had all the proof of Sayer's crimes. He could fully prove Sayer was nothing like the hero Akiza thought: Sayer had never cared about his members, and he'd harmed many—including Akiza.
As the Arcadia Movement's strongest psychic duelist, she'd been mind-controlled the hardest. Sayer had hurt many, then pinned it on Akiza.
Every Signer has a Dark Signer enemy—and Akiza's enemy was seeking revenge for a family member they believed Akiza killed. But the real culprit was Sayer.
If he released this evidence, once Akiza calmed down a little, her hatred would dissipate, and she'd be able to reevaluate Sayer and the whole organization.
But he didn't do it just yet.
He would, eventually—but not yet.
"Yes. I killed him. I destroyed your future,"
Kira said calmly.
"If you hate me, then use your power—use a duel to take your revenge."
Akiza clenched her teeth.
"Just as I hoped!"
"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Akiza, LP 4000]
"I'll be taking the first turn then," said Kira. "My turn, draw!"
He drew a card, then swiftly set two cards down.
"I set a monster in face-down defense position, and another card face-down in my back row.
Turn end."
He put down his duel disk and said, "You know, at the very end, Sayer called your name."
Akiza: "!"
"He said you were his proudest warrior—the strongest psychic duelist here. Don't let him down."
Akiza's blood surged. She almost blacked out, the world spinning, her feet unsteady.
"I—I'll kill you, I'll kill you—
My turn, draw!"
Akiza summoned "Botanical Girl" in attack position—a girl seemingly wrapped in plantlike clothing, with blossoming hair.
[Botanical Girl, ATK 1300]
She took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down.
No, she couldn't let rage cloud her judgment. Whoever beat Sayer couldn't be a pushover. First, she needed to see what kind of deck they used.
"Battle!"
She gestured.
"Botanical Girl, attack the set monster!"
The plant-enshrouded girl lunged with her right arm toward the face-down card.
The card revealed—inside, too, was a green monster, a witch shrouded in leaves, holding defensive posture.
[Violet Witch, DEF 1200]
Akiza: "!"
She recognized this card; she even used it often.
Did that mean... Was her opponent using a Plant deck just like her?
Botanical Girl broke through Violet Witch's defense, shattering her body to fragments, but as she perished, the witch's staff shot a surge of magic into Kira's deck.
"Violet Witch's effect: When it's destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I add a Plant-type monster with 1500 or less defense from my deck to my hand."
A card popped out of Kira's deck.
"I add Lonefire Blossom, with 1400 defense, to my hand."
Seeing this, Akiza felt sure—the person who killed Sayer used the same kind of Plant deck!
Her grief and anger intensified. Was this really the deck that had taken everything from her?
...
…
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