Dark Duel

Walking around, Kira reflected on himself, feeling that perhaps his "method of opening" was a bit problematic.

Take other styles, like the Cyber Style from the anime, for example. They relied on diligent training and progress, practicing the art of drawing cards day and night, early morning till late evening, like cultivating martial arts. Sincerity could move mountains, and only then could they finally impress Cyber End Dragon and gain the spirit's recognition.

Yet, at this moment, Silent Magician was probably wondering how she ended up with such an unconventional master, whose way of summoning spirits was simply to annoy her until she begged for mercy.

However, looked at from another angle, from the result, did he or did he not summon it?

It seemed he needed to seriously reconsider the correct way to cultivate bonds in the future.

Kira pondered as he walked, when he suddenly noticed something unusual.

The alley at night was quietly hidden behind the bright lights of the commercial district. It was a shortcut to the area, only about six or seven hundred meters long in total, with streets full of snacks and late-night food behind it.

The air was thick with dampness, mixed with an unknown peculiar smell. The stone path underfoot looked uneven in the weak light, and a cool breeze rustled through the old tree at the alley entrance.

After walking just a few steps, the dim light ahead illuminated a wall.

A dead end.

Kira frowned.

That shouldn't be right. According to the previous owner's memory, this path was clearly open. Could there be a mix-up in memory inheritance, and I took a wrong turn?

Feeling strange, he turned around and headed back the way he came. But upon reaching the end, he immediately discovered something was off again.

Appearing under the dim light was still a wall. He had clearly turned around, but it looked exactly the same as the wall from moments ago. Upon closer inspection, even the surroundings on both sides looked incredibly familiar.

Could it be the legendary Ghost Wall?

A sense of fear naturally crept in. For a moment, every shadow he saw seemed to hide vengeful spirits seeking lives or ferocious demons.

However, Kira quickly did his best to calm down.

If he were in some other plane, this kind of supernatural situation might be a near-death experience. But this wasn't just anywhere; this was Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Having come to this world, no matter if it was an otherworldly god, demon, or supernatural ghost, if they wanted to take his life, could they really bypass dueling?

Kira stopped in his tracks, scanning his surroundings with heightened vigilance, when he suddenly felt a heavy roar from the darkness, like it came from the abyss. This was followed by a dark light piercing the darkness, and a seemingly invisible wave swept towards him like a sharp blade.

He was startled, alarm bells ringing in his heart. He instinctively took half a step back and raised his Duel Disk to shield himself. A white light flashed on his Duel Disk, and a translucent magic circle like ice crystals unfolded, solidly receiving the invisible impact. Invisible air currents swept outwards, cutting cracks into the ground and walls.

A transparent figure emerged beside him. Silent Magician's white robe was snow-like, and the staff in her hand, shimmering with cold light, spun.

Kira let out a long breath.

He was once again convinced that spirits were absolutely essential for living and traveling here. He wouldn't dare leave home without stuffing at least a couple of spirits into his deck.

"A Spirit User, huh?"

A coarse voice came from the darkness, and a figure in a black robe slowly walked out from the mist-like environment.

"And a high-level Spellcaster spirit to boot. I've really hit the jackpot today."

Kira narrowed his eyes. He couldn't clearly see the person's face, only vaguely saw green light flashing in the eyes under the hood.

"Dark Duelist?" he asked tentatively.

But he was quite sure it was a character he hadn't seen in the original work. After all, Dark Duelists were countless in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world; those shown in the anime were just the tip of the iceberg.

"Heh, you know a thing or two, kid."

The black-robed figure sneered and activated his Duel Disk. Kira hadn't seen this style of Duel Disk either; it was a black model, with five square areas rotating down one by one, piecing together to form the Monster Zone.

"Since you know the rules, this will be easy. That's right, I'm a Dark Duelist, and..."

He slowly lifted his hood, revealing a face that showed some signs of age, with faint green light flickering in his eyes. An aura of dominance seemed to spread with his invisible presence.

"I am Onizuka Genichiro."

Kira tried hard to remember, but he truly couldn't recall ever hearing that name, so he could only ask, "Excuse me, am I supposed to know you?"

Onizuka Genichiro: "."

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

"Cough cough." Genichiro frowned. "The Genichiro who made it to the Top 64 in the 3rd Battle City tournament in Domino City, known in the dueling world as 'Dinosaur Overlord,' no impression?"

Battle City tournament... Sorry, the anime only showed the first one. The later ones weren't in the anime, so Kira hasn't seen them.

Besides, speaking of Dinosaurs, shouldn't the first person you think of be Ryuzaki, who just got beaten?

"When I rose to prominence, that Legendary Duelist Dinosaur Ryuzaki had already retired and disappeared. Some ignorant people always say that if Ryuzaki were still around, I would definitely not be his match. Heh, utterly ridiculous."

Genichiro smiled grimly.

"I already possess the power of darkness, a powerful force that won't lose to any duelist. I heard that Ryuzaki even intends to make a comeback, and I immediately realized this was the opportunity I had been waiting for."

Genichiro declared loudly.

"I am the strongest Dragon Tamer! And as a relic of the previous generation, his only fate is to be swallowed by darkness and annihilated!"

Kira: "."

Then why don't you go find Ryuzaki? Why are you stopping me?

"Uh, well, good luck with that, buddy," Kira said. "I have something to do, so I'll be heading off now..."

"It's no use, you can't leave this area. Only one of us will walk out of here alive."

Genichiro said coldly.

"I saw it. You defeated him on the field, that Dinosaur Ryuzaki. And it was an absolute landslide; he couldn't even touch your Life Points from start to finish."

"That's when I changed my mind. You're more worth defeating than Dinosaur Ryuzaki, and more worth sacrificing to the darkness. If I can devour you into my darkness, I'll surely take another step forward on the path of a Dark Duelist!"

Kira: "."

"Enough talk."

Genichiro had already activated his Duel Disk.

"Once a Dark Duel begins, it won't stop easily. It decides not just who wins and loses, but life and death! Come, bet your soul as a duelist!"

Actually, based on his understanding of the original work, Kira knew that Dark Duels weren't entirely impossible to stop. If someone with much stronger dark power than the person who started the Dark Duel intervened, they could forcibly stop it or even modify the rules of the wager. For example, the Pharaoh's Millennium Puzzle could do it.

Or, there were special circumstances, like in the middle of a Riding Duel, if you saw you were about to lose and quickly pulled a screw, the game would be over if the vehicle crashed.

But right now, it looked like there was no escaping this duel. Kira took a deep breath and activated his Duel Disk.

"Duel!" x2