Yu-Gi-Oh!: Starting with a Hellish Deck, Depressing the World, Part 35

Alexis Rhodes immediately realized what was happening. She shot the burly man in the black trench coat a displeased look and kicked out with a women's self-defense move!

"Ah!"

The burly man in the black trench coat doubled over like a shrimp and dropped to his knees with a scream.

"Hiss...!"

Jiang He had just emerged from beneath the trees, and the sight made him suck in a sharp breath!

He instinctively felt a chill between his own legs!

He suddenly hesitated over whether he should still walk over...

"Ah..." Alexis Rhodes saw Jiang He appear and noticed him pause. She immediately realized something.

She blushed, a little embarrassed.

After all, that wasn't exactly ladylike or elegant behavior!

"Ahem, I didn't see anything just now," Jiang He said with a dry cough, making it all the more obvious.

Then he immediately changed the subject, pointing at the burly man in the black trench coat, who was still kneeling on the ground and doubled over like a shrimp.

"For now, let's deal with this 'unidentified attacker' who hasn't completely gone down yet."

"Oh, crap!"

Hearing that, Titan, the burly man in the black trench coat, looked startled beneath his mask. Ignoring the intense pain, he hurried to his feet and darted off in a random direction through the wooded hills.

And he was surprisingly fast!

He was no slower than the blond mushroom-haired professor Jiang He had seen darting through the bushes that night...

Good grief, did this guy learn from the same school as Professor Crowler? Jiang He couldn't help snarking inwardly.

"Don't think you can get away!" Alexis Rhodes said, her face darkening as she started after him.

She hadn't completely settled the score for his attempt to attack her!

"There's no need to chase him that way, Alexis." Jiang He called her back.

With Sphere Kuriboh sensing what was happening, he could easily tell where Titan, the burly man in the black trench coat, had gone.

"But..." Alexis Rhodes stopped, a little surprised.

Still, the expression on her face made it clear she wasn't quite satisfied.

"The person who tried to attack you doesn't seem to have kept going in the direction he first ran. He immediately changed course and headed for that abandoned dormitory."

Jiang He told her what was happening.

He wasn't trying to stop her from chasing the man; he just didn't want Alexis going the wrong way.

That was right. According to Sphere Kuriboh, Titan, the burly man in the black trench coat, hadn't fled!

Instead, knowing Jiang He would definitely go to the abandoned dormitory afterward, he had changed course and gone there to keep waiting!

As for that, Jiang He could only say one thing.

He was far too dedicated!

After taking a devastating women's self-defense move, he wasn't hurrying off to recuperate. He was still determined to finish the job his employer had given him!

Jiang He was almost moved to tears!

"But how do you know...?" Alexis Rhodes asked Jiang He curiously.

In the dark woods at this hour of the night, Jiang He shouldn't have been able to see where the man went any more than she could...

"Don't worry about that little detail. Just put it down to my good eyesight," Jiang He said casually, waving a hand.

Anyway, being able to see Duel Monsters spirits and the like wasn't much of a secret.

He wasn't worried about people finding out later.

After all, in the world of dueling, there had always been rumors about it because of the many legends surrounding the King of Games, Yugi Muto.

And although few people could do it, there were still several, so it wasn't much of a secret.

Later on, more and more people would learn that Duel Monsters spirits really existed.

But only a few would still be able to awaken that ability...

"Mm..." Alexis Rhodes nodded, still a little puzzled, but didn't press the question.

Instead, she took the initiative to suggest, "Then let's go take a look at the abandoned dormitory too! With that attacker barging in, something unexpected might happen!"

Chapter 52: Just Like You

The abandoned dormitory.

After Jiang He and Alexis retraced their steps and entered the abandoned dormitory,

they soon saw the comical sight of Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, and Chumley piled on top of one another again nearby, trembling with fear.

"Seriously, are you three really going to be okay exploring...?" Jiang He shone his small flashlight on them and looked at the three speechlessly.

"Jiang He, Alexis!"

Syrus Truesdale, bristling like a startled cat, was the first to call out in a trembling voice. He and the chubby, simpleminded Chumley were each half-riding on Jaden Yuki's back.

"We thought we saw a really tall shadow suddenly go whoosh and dart past!"

Even as Syrus spoke, his and Chumley's legs kept trembling!

Jaden Yuki, meanwhile, was bent over under their combined weight, unable to say a word. His face had almost turned pale!

"Jiang He!"

Hearing this, Alexis Rhodes reacted at once. Guessing who it was, she looked at Jiang He.

Jiang He nodded, confirming Alexis's guess.

The tall shadow Jaden, Syrus Truesdale, and Chumley had just seen dart into the abandoned dormitory

was evidently Titan, who had just taken a heavy hit and had run over here to continue lying in wait with such dedication!

"Kuri, kuri."

Sphere Kuriboh appeared again and called out to alert Jiang He, pointing the way with his short little hand.

"The shadow you saw just now probably wasn't a ghost or anything. It was the guy who almost attacked Alexis and wanted to duel me."

Jiang He explained this to Jaden Yuki and the other two, who were still piled on top of one another.

Hearing that,

Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, and Chumley couldn't help freezing in surprise.

"The guy who almost attacked Alexis and wanted to duel you, Jiang He?"

The three exchanged glances.

Then they immediately separated and stood up straight again.

"If that's the case, we absolutely can't let someone who almost did something that awful off so easily!"

Chumley immediately voiced his support.

"That's right, we absolutely can't let the guy who 'pretended to be a ghost' and scared us off so easily!" Syrus Truesdale said indignantly, though he was so embarrassed he wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

In front of Jiang He and Alexis, he'd been so frightened that he'd ridden on his big brother's back twice in a matter of moments.

He felt like he'd almost used up a lifetime's worth of embarrassment today!

"If there's going to be a duel, I agree we should find that guy right away!" Jaden Yuki said, his focus completely different.

Good grief, that's just like you...

Jiang He snarked inwardly.

But since everyone agreed to find Titan, he immediately nodded and summed things up. "In that case, let's keep going,

and find the attacker who went into the deepest part of this abandoned dormitory to hide!"

Alexis Rhodes immediately nodded her agreement.

The group then used their small flashlights to light the way and headed forward.

With Sphere Kuriboh pointing the way, Jiang He wasn't worried about taking a wrong turn.

Besides, the abandoned dormitory wasn't very big, and there weren't that many twists and turns.

After passing through a short, old corridor, they soon came to a very open stone chamber with walls built from jumbled stones on all four sides.

"Seriously, why is there a stone chamber like this inside a dormitory...?" Jiang He really wanted to complain.

Were they playing cave survival here?

But another sight in the spacious chamber built of stone drew even more of his attention.

In the distance ahead, a small patch of white mist had already been drifting slowly over the floor before they entered.

"What's that...?" Jaden Yuki asked curiously.

"Heh heh heh... You've finally come?"

Just then, a muffled chuckle suddenly rang out from the front of the open stone chamber.

There was a faint, hard-to-detect note of pain in the balls in it.

"Whoa!!" The sudden voice startled Syrus Truesdale and Chumley into crowding close to Jaden Yuki again!

"Who's there?!"

Even Alexis couldn't help instinctively moving a couple of steps closer to Jiang He. At the same time, she looked warily toward the small patch of white mist ahead and shouted!

She already had an inkling who it was,

but the white mist in front of them, which had appeared from who knew where, was simply too strange!

She was even wondering whether her brother had disappeared back then because of him.

"If you wanted to duel me, did you have to make it so complicated? Couldn't you just say so?" Jiang He looked helplessly at the white mist and spread his hands.

First white mist to set the scene, then a verbal psychological attack.

Was this guy putting on an acrobatic show for him?

"Hmph. A boy who has no idea how terrifying a Shadow Duel is." The muffled voice rang out again.

At the same time, a tall figure in a black trench coat slowly and eerily emerged from the white mist.

He looked almost as though he had formed from the mist itself!

He wore a pitch-black bat mask and a black hat, with dueling equipment fitted tightly to his front and the wrists of his trench coat!

"Welcome to the place where you will duel me. I am a duelist of darkness, the duel hunter, Titan."

"And you must be my target this time, Jiang He!"

The man who called himself Titan stared through his bat mask at Jiang He, who stood at the front.

"A dark duelist?!"