"Maybe it was telepathy," Ai suddenly said.
"Telepathy?"
"If a Duel Spirit and a duelist had a high degree of compatibility, their voices could unconsciously reach the duelist's mind," Ai explained. "Yukikaze might have heard a Duel Spirit calling for help."
Hara Shichi relayed Ai's words, then immediately asked, "Can you sense where the cry for help is coming from?"
Yukikaze hesitated for a moment before raising her hand and pointing toward the depths of the forest.
"The depths of the forest are dangerous." Sera, who had been brimming with enthusiasm just moments ago, suddenly spoke with a cold expression. "It was probably being bullied by a powerful Duel Spirit. That's the survival rule of Duel Spirits. Humans should stay out of it."
"What do you think, Yukikaze?" Hara Shichi asked.
"I..." Yukikaze looked at her companions beside her, then toward the depths of the forest. She was torn. She wanted to find the source of the plea for help, but if it put everyone in danger...
"Have you forgotten something?" Julie said flatly. "Didn't we agree before entering the forest? You would all follow my command."
"Then what do you think we should do?" Sera asked.
"Of course we continue deeper into the forest." Julie spoke as if it were only natural. "Danger and opportunity go hand in hand. The more dangerous it is, the stronger the Duel Spirits must be. Aren't powerful Duel Spirits exactly what we need?"
"But my legs are so sore. Now that I'm full and rested, I want to lie down for a while and then go back to school," Sera complained.
"You're such a hassle. Let's go." Julie stood up first.
"Junior, junior, could you carry your cute senior?" Sera looked hopefully at Hara Shichi.
"No." Hara Shichi refused without hesitation.
"Really? Your senior's body is very soft and comfortable, you know?" Sera winked playfully.
Hara Shichi glanced at Ai's icy gaze and said nothing.
"Senior, how about I carry you?" Yukikaze crouched down.
"You're the best, junior!" Sera immediately jumped onto Yukikaze's back and held up her umbrella. "As payment, I'll shield you from the sun. Let me tell you, sunlight is a woman's greatest enemy. When we get back to school, just wait and see—Julie's face will definitely be as black as charcoal..."
Just as Sera had said, her body was light and soft, like a child's. Yukikaze carried her without feeling any strain. It was then that she heard the cry for help again.
"Such pain... it hurts so much... who can... who..."
"Don't be afraid. I'm coming to save you," Yukikaze thought.
"You... who are you?"
"You can hear my voice?" Yukikaze thought joyfully.
"My name is Yukikaze. I'm a duelist. Where are you? What happened?"
The voice abruptly stopped, then became sharp and piercing, like the roar of a wild beast:
"Yukikaze... duelist... duelist... human... human!"
"Human! Human! Human!"
"Die! Die! Die!"
"Die!!!"
Second Dark Duel
"Ghost Ogre, I'm counting on you."
"No need to say more. Protecting my lord is my duty." As Ghost Ogre spoke, she raised her longsword and brought it down. Another Duel Spirit fell by the roadside.
"Ghost Ogre is so strong." Julie could not help praising her from the side. "Just as expected of a hand trap monster only top duelists possess."
"Your Dragon Necro isn't bad either." Hara Shichi glanced at the enormous monster standing beside Julie.
The two stood to the left and right, keeping Yukikaze and Sera between them as they continued exploring forward. The deeper they went, the more powerful Duel Spirits they encountered. Fortunately, Ghost Ogre and Dragon Necro had been acting as guards the entire time. Otherwise, things would have been dangerous.
"Yukikaze, can you communicate with it now?" Hara Shichi asked.
"No." Yukikaze shook her head with a bitter smile. "It's been cursing humans ever since then. It won't listen to me at all."
"Could it have run into hunters?" Sera guessed from Yukikaze's back.
"Hunters?" Yukikaze tilted her head in confusion.
"They're people who specialize in hunting Duel Spirits and selling them on the Black Market," Julie explained. "Rather than sealing them into cards, they prefer using traps, ropes, and the like to restrain them. They even deliberately inflict wounds on Duel Spirits."
"Why would they do that?"
"Pitiful Duel Spirits, or those enraged and frenzied by their wounds, are easier to sell. And their buyers aren't duelists either, but nobles and wealthy merchants." Julie paused, then continued, "Simply put—high-end pets."
"Stop." Hara Shichi raised a finger to his lips. "I think I can hear people talking up ahead."
As Hara Shichi spoke, he carefully moved forward. Through the gaps between the trees, he saw the scene ahead. "Looks like... we guessed right."
"So they really are hunters?" Julie moved closer. Before a lake ahead, several figures dressed in black were wielding long whips, lashing several little girls covered in wounds.
"Little girls?!" Sera could not help crying out at the sight.
"No, they're humanoid Duel Spirits." Disgust flashed in Julie's eyes. "Since the sale of slaves was banned, nobles have turned their attention to humanoid Duel Spirits, because the law does not protect Duel Spirits."
"What should we do?" Sera asked, tilting her head.
"Of course we save them," Yukikaze said anxiously. There was no doubt about it. The Duel Spirits that had been crying for help and cursing in her mind were these wounded "little girls" before them.
"But hunters belong to a gray-area profession. The Empire has no explicit laws concerning them." Sera sighed. "They haven't broken any laws, so we have no grounds to stop them."
At that moment, the leading woman suddenly raised her whip and lashed a Duel Spirit, snarling, "Talk! Where is your settlement?"
The Duel Spirit glared at the woman with reddened eyes, biting her silver teeth tightly. She refused to say a single word.
"Boss, catching these few is already good enough. Let's call it a day," a tall, skinny man beside her advised. "It'll be difficult to get out of the forest after dark."
"Idiot! These humanoid Duel Spirits usually live in groups. Her kin must be nearby. If we find their settlement, we'll never have to worry about money again for the rest of our lives!" The woman sneered. "Keep beating them! I refuse to believe we can't pry this little brat's mouth open today!"
"Even if I die, I won't let disgusting humans like you get what you want!" one of the Duel Spirits with short pink hair said stubbornly.
Smack!
The whip struck tender skin, but the Duel Spirit did not feel the burning pain she expected. She raised her head in confusion and found a figure standing before her at some unknown moment.
"Stop!" Yukikaze stood in front of the Duel Spirit and blocked the whip with her arm.
"Oh?" The leading woman narrowed her eyes. "Where did this little girl come from? This isn't a place for children to play."
"Pah! You vile scum dare bully the weak in broad daylight? I, Hara Shichi, will make sure to teach you a harsh lesson today!"
"Senior, can you stop using my name when you're trying to sound intimidating?" Hara Shichi said irritably as he looked at Sera hiding behind him.
"Ahem, isn't it because you're stronger than me, junior?" Sera said after coughing twice.
"Bullying the weak?" The woman sneered and swept her gaze across the group that had suddenly appeared. "Don't wave that banner of justice at me. It makes me sick. I think you've taken a fancy to these Duel Spirits too, haven't you?"
"That's right." Julie stepped forward and said calmly, "We want these Duel Spirits. Get lost."
"Pfft." The woman could not help laughing. She turned to the men beside her. "Did you hear what that little girl just said?"
"Boss, she actually wants to steal our goods." Another man grinned without warmth.
"I want the green-haired one. She reminds me of my daughter from back then." A skinny man licked his lips.
"Hehehe... more souls to hunt."
"Since you want to take our goods, you understand the rules of the road, right?" As the woman spoke, black mist surged from her hand.
"A Dark Duel?" Yukikaze cried out at the familiar black mist. Before she could react, the woman's black mist had already wrapped around her wrist.
"This is bad." Hara Shichi frowned. From their conversation, it was obvious that woman was the leader of the group, meaning she was the strongest. If Yukikaze faced her, something might go wrong.
"You should worry about yourself." The man who had been grinning without warmth just now also wrapped Hara Shichi in black mist.
"Hehehe... your soul... is quite filthy." A gaunt woman gave Julie a chilling smile.
"I can't see through souls, but your appearance certainly disgusts me." Julie raised her Duel Disk.
"Huh? Me too? I have to fight a Dark Duel too?" Sera looked at the black mist around her wrist and frowned in distress. "This is my first Dark Duel. I don't have any experience with this."
"Don't worry. This will also be your last Dark Duel." The man raised his Duel Disk. "Come on."
"Duel!" x8
Yukikaze looked at the familiar black mist surrounding her, and a chill shot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
This time... Hara Shichi wasn't beside her. Could she win?
"Human... are you here to hunt me and my kin too?"
The familiar voice rang in her mind. Yukikaze instinctively turned her head and discovered that, for some reason, the pink-haired little girl who had been tied up was sitting beside her, staring straight at her with emerald-green eyes.
"No, I'm here to save you." Yukikaze let out a long breath and gave the little girl a brilliant smile.
Going First Wins Half the Duel
Once you seized the first turn, you had already won half the duel.
It was not some famous saying from a master duelist, but the consensus of the overwhelming majority of duelists.
Thus, when Hara Shichi gained the first turn in this extremely dangerous Dark Duel, where souls and lives were at stake, his tense expression relaxed slightly.
"I enter the Main Phase and Normal Summon Madolche Madeleine!"
Words he had repeated countless times rang out once more. The witch appeared on the field again, riding atop a long silver fork.
"Next, I activate Madolche Madeleine's effect and add one Marincess monster from my Deck to my hand." After speaking, Hara Shichi glanced at his opponent.
"A-Qi, you're overthinking it." Ai patted Hara Shichi on the shoulder. As his partner, she naturally understood what he was considering. "Hand traps are rare monster cards only a handful of top duelists possess. How could we run into one so easily?"
Hara Shichi looked at the Ghost Ogre in his hand but said nothing.
"In that case, I add Madolche Puddingcess from my Deck to my hand."
"Next, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card—Emergency Teleport, and Special Summon Psychic Wheeled Warrior from my Deck."
"I tune Psychic Wheeled Warrior and Madolche Madeleine on my field. Synchro Summon in Defense Position—Formula Synchron!"
Silver Synchro Particles flashed like lightning through the dark mist. Amid a blinding white light, Formula Synchron appeared on the Duel Field.
"Next, I set one card and end my turn." Hara Shichi ended his turn just like that.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're so young, yet you already possess a Synchro Monster. No wonder you had the leisure to worry about your companions just now." The man standing opposite Hara Shichi mocked him. "You don't tremble or show the slightest nervousness while dueling within this black mist. Your moves are smooth and effortless. You must be very confident in your own strength, huh?"
"Still, I've seen plenty of gifted brats like you." The man's mouth seemed to split open, his grin nearly reaching his ears. "Let me show you the gap between us!"
"My turn, draw!" With a shout, the man drew a card from his Deck. "I enter the Main Phase and activate the Spell Card—Foolish Burial, sending one monster from my Deck to the Graveyard."
"I chain Formula Synchron's effect. Once per turn, when my opponent activates a Spell or Trap Card effect, I can activate this effect. This card loses 2 Levels, and that activation is negated and destroyed," Hara Shichi said.
"We don't even know what Deck he's using. Is it really okay to use that so easily?" Ai asked worriedly.
"If I don't use it now, I'm afraid I won't get another chance," Hara Shichi explained.
"So that's your monster's effect?" The man sneered indifferently. "It's certainly not bad, but if it's only once per turn, it won't stop me."
As he spoke, he inserted another card into his Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Card—Hand Destruction. Both players send 2 cards from their hands to the Graveyard. Then, each player draws 2 cards from their Deck."
Hara Shichi looked at the three cards in his hand. After hesitating for a moment, he sent the Madolche Puddingcess he had just searched and Rescue Cat to the Graveyard, then drew two more cards.
"Then, I Normal Summon Gorgonic Guardian." The man summoned a monster Hara Shichi knew very well onto the field.
"Gorgonic Guardian? Is he using a Zombie-Type Deck too?" Hara Shichi frowned. Unfortunately, he could not check his opponent's Graveyard, so he did not know what had been sent there with Hand Destruction.
"Then I activate Gorgonic Guardian's effect, sending one Zombie-Type monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. I choose... Skull Prince!"
"Huh?" Hara Shichi suspected he had misheard.
"Hmph, that's right. Unlike the Marincess Deck that noble young lady uses for decoration, my Deck is the Skull King series, renowned for its high attack power!" The man waved his hand arrogantly. "Tremble before Skull King's overwhelming attack power!"
"I activate Skull Prince's effect. When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I can activate it. Send 1 'Skull' and 1 Skull Mother from my hand or Deck to the Graveyard. Next, I activate its second effect. I banish this card and Special Summon—Skull King from my Deck!"
Skull King, dressed in purple robes, appeared on the field with his arms spread wide, radiating a chilling aura amid the black mist.
"Skull King's original ATK becomes the number of 'Skull King' and 'Skull' monsters in my Graveyard × 1000. Since I have the Skull and Skull Mother I sent to the Graveyard with Hand Destruction earlier, Skull King on my field has 2000 ATK!"
"..."
"I'm not done yet. I activate Skull Nightmare's effect, discarding this card from my hand and returning one of my banished 'Skull' or Skull Nightmare monsters to my Graveyard. Since this card's name is treated as 'Skull' while it is in the Graveyard, I now have four 'Skull' monsters in my Graveyard, and my Skull King's ATK becomes 4000!"
Before you continue