"Elemental Hero Storm's direct attack!"
"Ugh!"
With Judai's command, Storm Hero's hand cannon exploded right in the face of one of the Doma duo. The latter let out a scream and was blasted to the ground, bringing his LP to zero.
"We won!"
Judai made a happy gesture.
"What an interesting duel!"
"Ugh..."
The Dark Game barrier that Yugen activated, although not life-threatening, still carried a significant amount of real damage. The impact of an Elemental Hero's close-range bombardment wasn't easy to bear.
"Damn..."
The hooded man gritted his teeth. No wonder Night Shadow, their boss the Undead, and even the Demon King, who had abandoned all scruples, were all defeated by these two students one after another.
Indeed, they were strong. With continuous fusions of Elemental Heroes and their specialized magic traps, he was suppressed the entire time, deeply feeling the gap in strength as a duelist, completely outmatched.
Just as he saw his opponent depleting his hand to nothing but still pulling off a divine draw with Bubble Hero the next turn. Special summoning Bubble Hero to draw two cards, then activating Pot of Greed to draw two more...
It was practically like an alchemist's touch turning everything into gold... No, it's more like creating something from nothing, conjuring three cards out of thin air, without any equivalent exchange.
But when the guy looked dejectedly at his teammate beside him...
"..."
"With the Continuous Trap 'Heroic Warlords' in play, we both can control monsters of only one type on our field,"
Yugen said with a smile.
"You have the Ojama Derivative trio on your field, which means you can't summon any other monsters."
"Then I will directly attack with the Submarine Robot."
"After the Submarine Robot's direct attack, it switches to defense position. So sorry, it seems your Ojama Derivatives can't run up for a self-destruct."
"..."
Seeing his teammate futilely raging against the tea-drinking, snack-eating trio on the field, his own sense of frustration somewhat alleviated.
Compared to his teammate, he suddenly felt that his own experience wasn't so bad. Although he lost, it was still an interesting duel...
"...Alright, as per the agreement."
Yugen clapped his hands and stepped forward.
"Lead the way. Where is your base?"
The two hooded men exchanged a glance, their faces showing a look of anguish.
But in the end, they gritted their teeth.
"Alright then, let's go."
They didn't really want to betray their comrades. But the rules of the Dark Game were irresistible, and there was nothing they could do about it.
There's an old saying. Life is like being stalked by a crazed woman, when you can't resist, you can only learn to enjoy it.
Indeed, that's the truth.
If you can't resist, you can only comply, so that's what it must be.
When the two walked out of the Dark Star Club, a hint of coldness flashed in their eyes.
Then their brothers could only share in their pain.
...
...
"Now that the boss has been defeated, and with no directives from headquarters, the situation looks grim."
Codename Black Flame surveyed the few people in the room and spoke in a deep voice.
"For now, I will temporarily take the boss's place until headquarters gives new orders... No objections, right?"
The candlelight flickered bizarrely, casting shadows on everyone's faces, while eerie silhouettes danced on the walls. No one spoke for a while.
"Alright, let's decide on that for now." Black Flame paused, then said gravely, "The Demon King said he's already captured Fujiki Yugen, that's good news. 'Poison Fang' has been dispatched and should bring the item back soon.
I've already contacted headquarters and am currently waiting for their reply. Getting the 'Sealing Artifact' should be a major accomplishment..."
He was interrupted as one person entered the room.
"I'm back."
"Oh? Poison Fang? You took quite a while," Black Flame turned to him, "What happened, did the old Demon King haggle over the price?"
"No. There was... a bit of an accident."
Poison Fang looked troubled.
"What kind of accident?"
Black Flame was taken aback, then frowned.
"Didn't complete the task, did he?"
Poison Fang hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Fujiki Yugen is still alive?" Black Flame frowned, "What about the Demon King? Didn't get the job done yet reported success..."
"But I have already lured him to the designated location," Poison Fang said quietly.
"Hmm, that's still acceptable."
Black Flame nodded, spreading out the map of Duel City on the table.
"So, tell me, where is he now, and what's your plan?"
"Actually... we might not even need the map."
Poison Fang's voice lowered further.
"He's right outside, waiting for you to go out."
"......"
A few seconds of silence.
Black Flame's expression suddenly turned grim: "You're the one who brought him here!?"
"I... I was forced to. You know, a Dark Duel, lose and you're left with no choice, I had no other option..."
A hooded man at the round table banged it, rolling up his sleeves: "I say we kill the guide first and then make plans..."
Poison Fang was shocked, quickly jumping back a step: "Brothers, calm down! I advise you to cease any futile resistance, I'm now delivering a message on behalf of the man in yellow. Think carefully before you dare touch me..."
Black Flame grew angrier: "You're even proud of it, aren't you?"
"..."
In the midst of the commotion, the door opened. The two wearing red and yellow uniforms appeared left and right at the doorway.
"Oh oh, so many duelists!"
The one in red excitedly fondled his Duel Disc.
"Now there must be many interesting card decks to face!"
The one in yellow smiled.
"Don't rush, take it slow, one by one. Who's up first?"
The people in the room froze briefly.
Then Black Flame gritted his teeth.
"Tch, don't get too cocky. Just because you defeated the Undead doesn't mean our branch is empty!"
The hooded man at the round table also slammed the table: "That's right! Don't get too conceited, kid!"
As he finished speaking, Black Flame turned to him: "Alright! Gale, you're up first, show this kid what we're made of."
Gale: "?"
Before he could respond, Yugen nodded: "You're up first, huh. Alright, let's duel quickly then."
Gale immediately glared at Black Flame.
You set me up, didn't you!?
"It doesn't matter who, just hurry and duel!"
Judai casually picked an opponent.
"Duel!" x4
"..."
The four of them found opponents and started dueling. The room filled with overlapping lights and shadows, monsters flying everywhere, screams and roars unceasingly...
Black Flame watched as Gale screamed ceaselessly under Submarine Robot's torment, swallowing his saliva, relieved that he hadn't recklessly entered the fray himself.
But this was an opportunity.
No matter how strong the man in yellow was, it would take time for him to deal with each of his teammates. While no one was paying attention, he should quickly make his escape...
However, the moment he darted out the door, Black Flame was stunned to find himself spinning back into the room.
As if coming in from outside.
He looked up in surprise at the duel arena, seeing the yellow-uniformed demon smile at him as he finished drawing a card.
"Hold on, the duel isn't over yet. Where are you running to?
I said, one by one, everyone gets a chance, no need to run."
He squinted his eyes.
"Unless all of you fall, or one of you manages to defeat me, no one can leave this room."
Black Flame trembled at those words, stumbling back several steps before collapsing to the ground, feeling a despair like never before in his life.