"Lava Demon God, Volcano Queen..."
Hakuno Misa was disheartened and gradually began to doubt his life choices.
He wondered if all the cards he played in this life were wasted.
Could this really happen?
And then there was that explosive sacrifice held at the end...
The self-destruct that triggers the instant a monster summoned by an upper-level summon attacks. Without a doubt, the summoning of the Lava Demon God and the Volcano Queen themselves was a trap to lure him into conducting an upper-level summon. These two fools consumed his monsters, occupied his field, and wanted to burn him. A normal person—especially when in a life-point crisis—would naturally think of using the sacrifice for an upper-level summon to deal with these troublesome things immediately.
Little did he know that this was stepping right into the second layer of the sneaky villain's trap.
"It seems I've won."
Yugen approached the kneeling Hyakuno, arms akimbo, looking down on him.
Hyakuno looked up and saw the moonlit Duel King with a pale face, appearing as terrifying as a horror movie.
He remembered that the Duel King from the previous generation he faced years ago wasn't so terrifying.
Hyakuno instinctively turned his head to avoid Yugen's gaze, trying to keep his voice steady: "You... no matter what you ask, I won't say a thing.
I am a mercenary Duelist, please respect my professional ethics!"
Yugen chuckled. Oh, quite the tough guy.
He had long noticed that Hakuno Misa wasn't a Dark Duelist but just a mercenary. Similar in nature to the fake Dark Duelist Titan from the first season of GX and later Flame O'Brien.
There are not only Dark Duelists in this world who take lives by duel to complete commissions; there are also ordinary mercenary duelists who do not use dark forces.
Usually, it was unnecessary for Yugen to start a Dark Duel with ordinary people.
"Alright then. Honestly, I don't dislike duelists like you who have principles. Having personal beliefs and creeds is something worthy of respect, you are quite the man."
Upon hearing Yugen's words, Hyakuno felt a sense of relief, but then he saw Yugen stepping back, making a gesture.
"Then he's yours."
Hyakuno: "?"
Whose am I?
After Yugen stepped back, Hyakuno saw a petite girl appear in front of him.
An immediate cold chill rose in Hyakuno's heart.
Wait, what is that?
Night had fallen, the waning moon hung high in the ink sky, casting its bleak and cold light on the haunted, abandoned dorm.
In the dead silence, a figure slowly stepped into view.
A being of stunning beauty yet evoking unspeakable fear. Her skin was so pale it's nearly translucent, reminiscent of a frost-covered window pane on a winter morning, exuding a cold beauty seemingly not of this world.
Wearing a Victorian-style long dress, the hem gently swept across the ground, silent like a ghost in the night. Despite it being dark, the girl held a black parasol and her hair shimmered like a stream flowing under moonlight.
The girl's red lips parted, revealing a dangerous smile and two sharp, vampire fangs.
"Vam... Vampire!?"
Hyakuno fell to the ground, retreating continuously.
"What... what are you going to do to me?"
The girl licked her bright red lips with her tongue, smiling gleefully.
"Of course, I'm going to enjoy you. I just love the blood of tough guys, it tastes extra delicious."
"No, wait, you got it wrong... I was just saying it. In reality, I'm a coward." Hyakuno hastily said, "I was just putting on a brave front, who directly resorts to torture without even asking questions first?"
"Oh?" Yugen turned back, "So you're willing to cooperate?"
Hyakuno nodded desperately: "Yes, ask anything you want!
You want to know who my boss is? No problem! His name is Kobra, a professor at the Duel Academy's western branch!
You want to know my mission? Just ask! I was sent to find a student named Yuki Judai, to test his potential and collect his Duel Energy as a research sample!"
Indeed, fear is the best teacher. See, he's even learned to answer promptly.
The Vampire Princess, who had stepped aside, resumed hiding her face under the parasol's shadow, looking quite displeased, muttering quietly: "Am I that scary? Like they've seen a ghost..."
The Silent Magician patted her shoulder, signaling her to stay calm, telling her that's how it was following their master. Before her, it had always been him playing the ghost.
Yugen frowned and asked, "You were sent by Professor Kobra?"
"Absolutely, I'm not lying!" Hyakuno pounded his chest, "I know, he's a professor at Duel Academy, highly esteemed... but it's definitely him.
He asked me to find that student named Yuki Judai..."
"I never said I didn't believe you." Yugen waved him off, saying there was no need to continue.
Professor Kobra was the main antagonist for the next semester, that much he already knew. He just didn't expect them to start taking action before it even began.
Or more precisely, it should be Yubel who started taking action.
Too bad, that's all this guy knew. Asking more wouldn't yield anything further.
After finishing his questions, Yugen turned and saw Alice-chan with a sinister expression, staring intensely at Hyakuno, laughing sinisterly.
"Another duelist has been swallowed by darkness..."
Yugen casually gave Alice a flick on the head. Alice let out an "Ah", her eerie laugh immediately disappeared, turning into a look of grievance, gazing innocently at Yugen with big, moist eyes, holding her head as if she was about to cry.
"Be more positive, don't be so grim." Yugen scolded, "Otherwise your sentence will be extended."
"Okay."
Alice, feeling aggrieved, held her head and dared not look at him but muttered quietly to herself.
"You dragged him to a realm of despair, and yet I'm not even allowed to smile..."
"What did you just say?" Yugen turned back.
Alice-chan resumed her sweet smile.
"Nothing, I said master is amazing."
"That's better."
The Silent Mage and Princess at the back: "..."
Yugen pondered. With changes in the world line, many things couldn't be overly referenced from the original work. Professor Kobra and Yubel might act in advance.
But, as he thought about it, Yubel at the initial stage was a near-death state with only one arm. It was later after absorbing a massive amount of Duel Energy from the entire Duel Academy that he barely recovered.
If it is the severely weakened Yubel, he should not pose much of a problem to handle with his current self. Compared with past bosses he has faced, it's not particularly troublesome.
However, he mustn't be careless.
As Yugen walked out, he pondered, holding his chin.
When the professor arrives, wouldn't it be nice to prepare a surprising welcome ceremony for him?