Hara Shichi was an incredibly, incredibly skilled duelist. He was strong, and he would grow stronger—stronger than anyone else.
If weak little me kept standing by his side, I would only become an accessory. I would be unable to help him in any way, unable to step into his battles, only able to watch his back.
I hated that!
I wanted to grow stronger too!
I wanted to become his strength and fight alongside him!
Goodbye, my cowardice and weakness!
"My turn, draw!"
Black-Clad Man No. 1 nervously watched the white-haired girl across from him.
Something seemed different. His instincts told him that the girl before him now radiated danger.
No way... Was my life really going to end here?
Impossible! That was absolutely impossible!
As long as he endured this turn, he would be able to attack next turn. Then everything would turn around!
"I Normal Summon Rosemary of the Six Flowers. With her effect, I add Snowdrop of the Six Flowers to my hand!" Yukikaze looked at the cards in her hand as her mind raced. Yes, with this hand, it could work!
"Next, I activate the Spell Card—Six Flowers Brilliant! This card lets me add a 'Rikka' monster from my deck to my hand. I choose Heather of the Six Flowers!"
"Now, that's enough," Yukikaze said, staring directly at Black-Clad Man No. 1.
"Enough... enough for what?" Cold sweat poured down the black-clad man's face as a dreadful premonition rose in his heart.
Yukikaze did not answer his question. Instead, she activated the effect of the monster in her hand. "I activate Snowdrop of the Six Flowers's effect! I can Tribute one Plant-Type monster on my field to Special Summon this card and one Plant-Type monster from my hand! I Tribute Rosemary of the Six Flowers on my field, then Special Summon Snowdrop of the Six Flowers and Heather of the Six Flowers from my hand!"
"Due to Marincess World's effect, all WATER monsters on my field gain 500 ATK! So their ATK is now..."
Snowdrop of the Six Flowers: ATK 1200 → ATK 1700 Heather of the Six Flowers: ATK 2400 → ATK 2900
"So it was just as I expected?" Black-Clad Man No. 2 frowned. He needed to prepare himself to fight one against two.
"You've got to be kidding... Is that what you meant by enough? No, that can't be right! I haven't even attacked yet! If it weren't for that mistake just now, I would..." Black-Clad Man No. 1 stared blankly at the two monsters on Yukikaze's field.
1700 plus 2900 was enough to empty his LP.
"You're not planning to attack me, are you? This is a Dark Duel! This isn't some duel practice session with your classmates at school! If you attack me, I'll curse you! I'll hate you! Even if my soul scatters, I won't let you go!" Black-Clad Man No. 1 threatened. "Because you'd be killing me."
"Are you going to kill me?"
"Do you have the courage to kill someone?"
"Do you have... the courage to bear this sin?!"
Seeing Yukikaze lower her head in silence, the black-clad man was overjoyed and continued, "Hahaha! Come on! Kill me! Coward! Stain your hands with blood! What are you afraid of?!"
"Yukikaze... if you don't want to, I can..."
Before Hara Shichi could finish, Yukikaze interrupted him.
"I enter the Battle Phase."
"Snowdrop, Heather, attack directly!"
It Was Over
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
A scream rang out as Black-Clad Man No. 1 dropped to his knees on the cold ground, black mist devouring his body and soul.
"No... Not this! Anything but this!" Black-Clad Man No. 1 desperately clawed at the black mist around his body, but the mist was an intangible beast. His struggles were completely futile.
"Save me! Save me!" He reached out toward Black-Clad Man No. 2. "Aren't we companions?"
"Didn't we say we'd grow stronger together?"
"Why are you just standing there?! Come save me! Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! I... I don't want to die!"
Black-Clad Man No. 2 silently watched Black-Clad Man No. 1 before speaking.
"This is our fate. From the day we used Dark Games to steal other people's souls, we should have expected an ending like this. You merely went before me."
"Goodbye."
"No, don't! I don't want to die! I don't want to die, I don't want..." Before Black-Clad Man No. 1 could finish, his body went limp and collapsed onto the ground.
His soul had already burned away.
At the very end of his life, he did not curse anyone, nor did he feel regret. There was only endless fear.
"Are you ending your Battle Phase?" Black-Clad Man No. 2 asked Yukikaze.
"Aren't you sad?" Yukikaze asked with labored breaths, her eyes lowered. "Your companion fell right in front of you. Don't you feel sad at all?"
"I told you, this was the inevitable outcome. I too will meet this day, but... it definitely won't be today." Black-Clad Man No. 2's voice was cold. "Come on. Continue your plays."
Yukikaze looked at the cards in her hand and shook her head. "I end my turn."
"Then it's my turn." Black-Clad Man No. 2 said, "My turn, draw!"
Black-Clad Man No. 2 looked at the card he drew and smiled faintly. "I see. No wonder you used Ghost Ogre to destroy my Fusion Regeneration Facility back then. You guessed it, didn't you? You guessed I had that card. If I had successfully summoned it, your Tiramisu of the Tiara would have been completely helpless."
"But no matter how you try to stop me, it's useless." Black-Clad Man No. 2 revealed the card he had just drawn. "With just one simple Polymerization Spell Card, I can skip the tedious setup and summon my ace."
Yes, the card in his hand was the Spell Card he had just drawn—Polymerization!
"First, I activate the effect of The Agent of Creation Venus. I pay 500 LP to Special Summon one Sacred Sphere from my hand or deck." Black-Clad Man No. 2 did not immediately activate his Spell Card, instead activating Venus's effect first.
"A-Qi, he only has two cards in his hand!" Ai hurriedly reminded him from the side. "If you interrupt his effect now, he won't be able to gather the Fusion Materials! Activate Mage of the Madolche Night, quickly!"
Hara Shichi shook his head. "No, he's trying to bait me."
"If I were him, I wouldn't reveal the Polymerization I just drew to my opponent like that." Hara Shichi explained, "Especially in such a disadvantageous situation. I'd casually pretend not to care, maybe even furrow my brow a little."
"So the unknown card in his hand definitely isn't a Normal Monster."
"I Special Summon one Sacred Sphere from my deck in Defense Position." Black-Clad Man No. 2 made his move.
Black-Clad Man No. 2 LP: 3000 → 2500
"I thought you would activate Mage of the Madolche Night," Black-Clad Man No. 2 suddenly said.
"The act was too exaggerated. It didn't fit the persona you showed before. If you were your companion, I might have believed it a little more," Hara Shichi replied blandly.
"That makes sense. Perhaps next time I duel, I should disguise myself as someone like him from the start." Black-Clad Man No. 2 sighed. "Then I'll enter the Battle Phase directly. I use Knight of the Cornflower Centaur to attack your Tiramisu of the Tiara."
"Cornflower Centaur only has 2000 ATK. Why..." Yukikaze frowned.
Black-Clad Man No. 2 soon gave Yukikaze the answer. "Because Tiramisu of the Tiara has 2200 ATK, I take 200 LP of damage."
2500 LP → 2300 LP
"However, due to Knight of the Cornflower Centaur's effect, this card with Xyz Material cannot be destroyed by battle. Next, I detach one Xyz Material and activate its second effect. At the end of the Damage Step when this card battles an opponent's monster, I can detach one Xyz Material from this card to return that opponent's monster to its owner's hand!"
"Chain!" Hara Shichi flipped open his Set Card. "I activate Mage of the Madolche Night and negate Cornflower Centaur's effect!"
"Very good. I enter Main Phase 2, then I Normal Summon Rescue Rabbit." At last, Black-Clad Man No. 2 slapped the unknown card in his hand onto the field.
"A-Qi, you're amazing! You really guessed it!" Ai clapped. "We've definitely won this duel!"
"Yes, this duel is over."
Hara Shichi murmured as he looked at the Set Card he had kept face-down since the very start.
Now, it was time for him to make the final call.
"I activate Rescue Rabbit's effect. I banish this card on my field to Special Summon two Normal Monsters with the same name and Level 4 or lower from my deck. I Special Summon two White Rabbits from my deck."
Two adorable White Rabbits bounced onto the field. Yet before they could even steady themselves, Black-Clad Man No. 2 sent them to the Graveyard.
"I activate the Spell Card—Polymerization! I send the two White Rabbits on my field to the Graveyard. Come forth, my ace—Ancient Dragon, the Progenitor Dragon!"
A massive roar rang out. A giant dragon appeared on the duel field, opening its bloodthirsty maw as if it would devour everyone present the very next second.
"It's over! Primordial Dragon cannot be destroyed by battle with monsters other than Normal Monsters, and it is unaffected by the effects of monsters other than itself! On top of that, it has a towering 2700 ATK!" The black-clad man swept his arm outward. "Neither your Tiramisu of the Tiara nor her Rikka monsters can break through my Primordial Dragon!"
"I set The Agent of Creation Venus in Defense Position. End turn!"
"Yes, it's over." Hara Shichi nodded and drew a card from his deck. "My turn, draw."
"Why are you so calm?" Black-Clad Man No. 2 frowned, then suddenly looked toward Hara Shichi's field. It was the Set Card—he still had a Set Card!
"You noticed?" Hara Shichi flipped open the card he had set since the first turn. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card—Forbidden Chalice. I target one face-up monster on the field. Until the end of the turn, that monster gains 400 ATK and its effects are negated."
"I see. So that's how it is." The instant Black-Clad Man No. 2 saw Forbidden Chalice, he lowered the arm holding his Duel Disk and gave a self-mocking smile.
"I surrender."
Who Are You Dueling?!
The black mist closed in, devouring his soul.
"Doesn't it hurt?" Yukikaze could not help asking.
Black-Clad Man No. 2 gave Yukikaze a strange look. "What kind of stupid question is that? How could it not hurt? It's devouring my soul!"
"Then why are you so calm?"
"Because I know no one can keep winning forever." Black-Clad Man No. 2 smiled bitterly. "From the moment I first used a Dark Duel to devour someone else's soul, I had a feeling that my day would come too."
"I just didn't expect that day to come so soon."
"..."
"To be honest, compared to the pain, I feel more relieved right now." Black-Clad Man No. 2 said. "It can finally end."
"Was it painful?" Hara Shichi suddenly asked.
"It was agonizing. Whenever I thought about dying if I lost, I was terrified to death. I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep at night, hoping the next day would never come." Black-Clad Man No. 2 held his head.
"Then why did you do this? Wouldn't it have been better to be an ordinary duelist?" Yukikaze could not help saying. "In ordinary duels, even if you lose, it doesn't matter..."
"That way, I would never grow stronger!" Black-Clad Man No. 2 interrupted. "If I had been an ordinary duelist, I would never have become as strong as I am now!"
"I would never have mastered Xyz Summoning, nor would I have owned Xyz Monsters or Primordial Dragon. So only through Dark Duels, only by joining the Sacred Fire Society, could I rise above the rest." Black-Clad Man No. 2's voice grew weaker and weaker. His soul had little left, like a candle flickering in the wind.
He looked at Hara Shichi and smiled. "I envy you so much. You're so strong. If only I had been as strong as you back then."
"If I had been as strong as you back then, would I not be dying now?" He shook his head. "No. There are no ifs."
Black-Clad Man No. 2 staggered toward Hara Shichi, then held out his hand. A deck of cards lay quietly in his palm. "Don't go any farther. The enemies ahead aren't ones you can handle. Leave this place... And my deck, I'll leave it to you."
After saying that, his body suddenly grew light, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
The black mist surrounding Hara Shichi and Yukikaze vanished in an instant as well.
The Dark Duel was over.
"I'll take your deck." Hara Shichi put away Black-Clad Man No. 2's deck, then handed Black-Clad Man No. 1's deck to Yukikaze.
"Don't overthink it. This place isn't safe. Let's head back first," Hara Shichi said.
"Can I really take it?" Yukikaze hesitated.
"Why turn down free loot?"
A familiar voice suddenly rang out. Hara Shichi and Yukikaze turned around to find Teacher Nafili standing behind them at some point. Beside him, a purple-haired, red-eyed girl silently watched them.
"Teacher Nafili and Senior Julie?!" Yukikaze asked in surprise. "Why are you here?"
"Julie brought me here. She said you encountered danger at the back mountain." Nafili pointed at Julie.
"Huh? Is that so?" Yukikaze hurriedly thanked her. "Thank you, Senior Julie."
"Huh? Thanking me?" Julie opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only frowned. "Forget it. I brought you here, so I'll be leaving first."
"Wait. It isn't safe for you to go back alone either," Hara Shichi spoke up. "There might still be other dangerous people on the back mountain."
"Hara Shichi is right." Nafili walked over to the two black-clad men lying on the ground, disgust written across his face. "I never thought vermin had slipped into the academy. It isn't safe for you to return directly either. Why not come farther in with me? I want to see who is bold enough to act so wildly."
"Yes, Teacher." Yukikaze nodded.
Before you continue