Looking at the flickering passage, the two girls wavered for a moment before choosing to enter.
After all, the master of the castle had already invited them, and he was a cardmaker; he probably wouldn't harm them!
As the two girls stepped into the castle, the doors slowly closed behind them. Even Alice, who was usually fearless, began to feel nervous.
Yet, the two still chose to walk deeper into the castle. Along the way, they saw many murals painted on the walls—those were Duel Monsters.
[Dragoness the Wicked Knight][Darkfire Dragon][Dark Balter the Terrible][Flame Swordsman][Giltia the D. Knight][Dark Flare Swordsman][Duke of Demise][St. Joan][Meteor Black Dragon][Master of OZ][Knight of the King's Position]
As they went deeper, they saw more and more murals of "Duel Monsters," or rather, "Fusion Monsters." And this entire corridor was filled with murals of Fusion Monsters, which made them increasingly shocked.
Their surprise washed away their fear, and the two girls only wanted to keep moving forward, to know what lay at the deepest end of this mural-lined path.
Until they saw two murals.
—One depicted a dragon with three heads, each head bearing a trident-like mark. The other was a mage holding a staff, surrounded by five magic arrays.
Neither girl recognized the monsters in the murals, but at that moment, Yuui, beside Alicia, murmured their names.
"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Five-Array Magician."
"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Five-Array Magician!?" Alicia repeated unconsciously, while Alice quickly turned her head.
"Ali-san, you know those two monsters?"
Abruptly, then, that aged voice suddenly echoed again.
"Hehehe, I didn't expect such a young little girl to know those two monsters. Little girl, who are you?"
Feeling the direction of the voice, both girls turned around. A thin, purple-haired old man in a white robe, wearing sunglasses and looking slightly bald, appeared behind them, staring at them with a strange smile.
"A g-ghost!!!"
Alice screamed, shut her eyes, thrust out her hand toward the old man, and shouted, "Kill him, Diabellstar!!"
Magic burst forth as the phantom of Black Witch Diabellstar rushed toward the old man, a gleaming blade in her hand, stabbing straight at him.
"Alice!!"
"Hehe, such a violent little girl! Jeanne!"
Clang!!!
The phantom blade collided with a shining longsword. A short-haired woman clad in silver armor appeared, raising her sword to block the Black Witch's strike. She was the Fusion Monster the two had seen earlier in the corridor—St. Joan.
Seeing that the other party could summon a Monster Spirit, Alice finally realized he might not be a "ghost"—just someone who looked like one.
Still, to be safe, she did not recall the Black Witch and continued watching the old man warily.
The old man looked at Alice's expression and nodded slightly.
"Good vigilance. However, since you came to find this old man, you didn't know what I looked like?"
Hearing this, Alice's eyes widened. Alicia also found it hard to believe, but with Yuui's explanation, she bowed to the instructor.
"I'm very sorry to greet you in such a way, Master Remington. I apologize on behalf of my friend for her rude behavior just now!"
Although she had already guessed the truth, Alice still couldn't believe that this somewhat creepy-looking old man was one of the continent's rare cardmakers—Remington Shepherd.
Alice, though a duke's daughter, had never met Master Remington. All she had heard were family rumors that he had an eccentric temperament.
So when Alicia said she was coming to see Master Remington, Alice simply followed because she found it amusing.
Before this, she had thought he would be someone graceful like the headmaster or an elderly scholar.
Unfortunately, reality is cruel. Few cardmakers are handsome like Aleister; after being tormented by endless knowledge and problems, looking worn and aged is only normal.
"What is it, little girl of the Tutt family? Does this old man disappoint you so much?" the old man asked after sensing Alice's stunned gaze.
"...No, I just didn't expect you to be Master Remington!" Alice said with a forced smile.
Even though she was backed by a ducal family, the influence and network of a cardmaker were still extremely powerful. Especially since his field—card creation—was vital to all Duelists. So even with her noble background, she didn't want her family to earn his displeasure.
"Hehehe, don't glorify so-called 'masters' too much. We're all just people! People grow old and die. I've simply grown old. When I was young, I was quite handsome, hehe!"
Master Remington didn't act strange at all. If not for his appearance, he even seemed like a kind old grandpa.
Just then, he shifted the topic and looked at Alicia.
"Now then, little girl, can you tell this old man why you recognize the monsters in those murals?
"Or perhaps… let the 'Albaz' beside you explain instead."
The moment the word "Albaz" was spoken, the air froze.
Alicia's face turned pale. Alice looked at Alicia—first confused, then surprised, and finally shocked.
A faint silhouette slowly appeared before Alicia. For the first time, Yuui revealed his existence in front of another person.
"I'm curious why you deliberately pointed out my identity, Remington Shepherd… or should I say, Magical Scientist."
Magical Scientist: Level 1, DARK, Spellcaster, 300 ATK/300 DEF, Forbidden.
When Yuui saw the old man, he recognized him instantly.
The purple hair, dark sunglasses, and sleazy smile—this was one of the forbidden cards he had seen in his previous life: Magical Scientist.
And that explained the corridor filled with Fusion Monster statues—this man was a forbidden cornerstone of Fusion decks and burn strategies.
When he heard Yuui call him "Magical Scientist," Remington's rugged eyebrows twitched and his expression darkened for a moment, though he still laughed.
"Didn't expect someone as famous as Albaz to know that title. Seems this old man truly is a wicked one!"
Yuui felt uncertain. In his past life, he had never seen any lore about Magical Scientist.
Anyhow, judging from the room filled with experimental subjects depicted on the card art, he probably wasn't a good person.
At this moment, Alice looked at both Albaz and the Magical Scientist… two beings who had once brought calamity to the entire continent. She instinctively stepped back, mentally preparing Black Witch to flee with her at any moment, and even preparing to die here if necessary.
Even so, if possible, she still wished to pass news of Albaz and the Magical Scientist to others—then let Lord Aleister come and personally tear these two villains, worthy of a thousand cuts, into pieces.
After all, one of them destroyed three nations, killed millions, and founded Despian, a dark organization spanning three continents.
And the other fused humans with animals, spirits, and monsters, released countless test subjects, and committed city-scale massacres—an evil among evils.
If these two escaped, who knew what disaster they would bring to the Bredt Kingdom? They had to be killed here and now.
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]