Yugioj [291-295] (Patreon)

Chapter 291: Saving Time

Upon hearing this, Kira's mind became lively.

He'd made the connection. What these three beastmen said matched the plot he knew, so it was safe to boldly assume the characters in that recent story were the DM cast he was familiar with.

That meant the true identity of this "Sealing Device" was rather intriguing. Even if it wasn't the Millennium Puzzle, it was probably still connected to the Pharaoh.

After the battle in the Shadow Realm, Kaiba had gone through great lengths to dig up the Millennium Puzzle, only to lose it again. It was easy to imagine Kaiba losing his mind at the time—which led to his journey to the Underworld and his efforts to develop cutting-edge tech to bring back his old friend.

One could say that if the Pharaoh hadn't left back then, the world's technology would probably be thirty years behind what it is today.

Now, with this lead, there's no way Kaiba would miss out. Whatever Doma's scheming in the Spirit World, the awakening of evil gods, none of that matters anymore. He'd do anything to get his hands on this thing—which must be why he launched the Link System.

Sorry, Kaiba, Kira thought. He might just beat Kaiba to the punch.

He kept a straight face, guiding the topic with as few words as possible, trying to get information from the three beastmen.

These three seemed to have a similar identity to the one he was impersonating. Their group of four made up a squad, currently waiting for the captain.

Details like time, place, and the real mission were all in the captain's hands—only the higher-ups knew what they were there to do.

"Ugh, just waiting around is boring," Beastman C said, shaking his head in a deep, muffled voice. "How about we play a game?"

Beastman C squinted.

"Same as always—the winner can ask the losers anything they want."

Kira's eyes lit up.

Not a bad rule. If he wins, it'll be easy to ask questions. Just… what game?

But he was confident in his luck. Even if it wasn't a card game, he'd be fine.

"Alright," said Beastman A. "Should we play the same game as last time?"

Kira raised an eyebrow.

Crap, he had no idea what they played last time. His undercover role might be over.

"No, let's play something even simpler this time," grumbled Beastman C, thinking for a moment. "Let's play High Draw."

Beastman A immediately trembled, face turning pale, stumbling back two steps. "How… how do you know my only weakness…?"

Beastman B patted his shoulder. "Bro, I think he means comparing card stats."

"Huh?" Beastman A blinked.

"Yeah, we each flip the top card of our decks and compare the attack power of monster cards. Non-monsters count as 0," Beastman C added, giving him a strange look. "What did you think I meant?"

"Haha, nothing! You guys heard wrong. As chosen holy warriors, we're obviously comparing monster stats, right?" Beastman A said grandly, waving his hand.

"Fine, let's do this!"

Beastman B silently sized him up, glancing up, then down, and suddenly looked a little sympathetic.

"So that's your weak spot. No wonder you're so self-conscious every time you go to the bathroom."

"What? Who's self-conscious!?" Beastman A snapped, starting to undo his pants.

"Let's do it! Who's afraid of who!"

"Ahem, next time, let's compare that. I'll draw my card now."

Beastman C lifted his duel disk, drew the top card, and quickly revealed it.

"Hmm, not bad. Four stars, 1900 attack," said Beastman B confidently.

He had drawn "Vorse Raider."

Beastman A drew as well, revealing, "Hmph, Mystic Horseman, 1300 attack. Guess you got lucky."

Beastman B drew and frowned. "Tch, Vampiric Koala, 1800. Just short."

"Heh, looks like I win," Beastman C said smugly, turning to Kira.

"Your turn."

Kira had already readied a deck. If he drew something out of place, it might blow his cover, but it wasn't a big deal. Luckily, he'd already borrowed the envoy's deck, and since it was strong, he hadn't sold it off—now it'd come in handy.

Drawing cards wasn't like dueling against luck players like Jaden, but against these guys, he was confident. Winning should be easy.

Sure enough.

Kira drew, smiled, and showed his card.

"Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest. 2600 attack," he said calmly, putting the card back. "Looks like I win."

Just as he was thinking of what to ask, the three beastmen stood up in shock, exchanged glances, and suddenly moved as one.

The monsters they'd just drawn—Vorse Raider, Mystic Horseman, Vampiric Koala—were all summoned at once, materializing and charging at Kira ferociously.

He frowned slightly.

In the next instant, a barrier of white light spread beneath his feet. A sacred, transparent magic circle appeared, bouncing all three monsters away. A silver-haired, white-robed mage spun out of the circle, waving his staff, blasting all three monsters back.

Kira calmly stood up. As magical energy rippled over him, the monstrous, ugly image faded, returning him to his original appearance.

"Spy!"

"Fake!"

"Human duelist!"

The three beastmen shouted, commanding their monsters to attack again.

Vorse Raider was first, swinging a heavy axe at Kira's head. But the Silent Magician nimbly dodged, tapping the fiend lightly on the wrist with his staff.

Vorse Raider faltered, stepping back unsteadily. The Silent Magician's staff glowed, sending a white light ball exploding into the Vorse Raider's chest, shattering it to pieces.

Mystic Horseman and Vampiric Koala flanked from either side, but Kira didn't budge.

None of the three even saw what happened next—just a flash of sword aura. Their monsters fell flat, instantly destroyed.

As the smoke cleared, Kira stood motionless, as if nothing had happened.

"How did you see through me?" he asked lazily.

The three beastmen, realizing this guy was no pushover, stayed wary but didn't attack.

"He's the weakest among us," Beastman C said, "If you were really him, you'd never have drawn the highest attack card."

Kira: "…"

Seriously?

He got exposed because his card draws were too good.

Fine. Whatever. Time for Plan B.

"Alright, you caught me. No more words."

He activated his duel disk, eyes sweeping over the three.

"Let's save time. All three of you, come at me at once."

Chapter 292: Don’t Know How to Lose

When he said that, the three beastmen thought they'd misheard.

All three at once?

Did this guy really think he could take on three times the resources and beat them all in one go?

"Interesting," Beastman B sneered.

"I've heard human duelists are arrogant, but I never imagined this level. Fine, if you want to die so badly, we'll grant your wish today."

"Let's save time and settle this quickly—battle royale rules," Kira said, putting on his duel disk.

The three were even more surprised. Battle royale rules meant they'd each get a turn before Kira. That meant triple the resources and triple the turns.

Even for a top duelist, wasn't this an impossible disadvantage?

Beastman A: "If you want to die so badly, fine. Each of us gets 4000 LP. You get our combined LP—12,000."

"No need, just 4000 for me. In exchange, you three share 4000 LP," Kira waved. "I said, let's finish this quickly."

He wanted to finish before their superior arrived. If he could wipe out those who saw through him, maybe his undercover work could continue.

The three beastmen exchanged looks.

One against three, and he didn't even want the LP advantage. With triple the resources, 4000 LP would be as flimsy as paper.

Never seen anyone so eager to die.

"Guess we really are being underestimated," Beastman A muttered.

"Then watch, human duelist—see the power of the chosen envoys!" Beastman B shouted.

"Duel!" x4

[Envoy Trio, LP 4000]

[Kira, LP 4000]

"I'll go first—draw!" Beastman B smirked.

"Heh, I'll activate this Spell Card—'Solidarity'!"

As long as there's only one original monster type in your graveyard, all monsters of that type get +800 ATK.

"And since our three graves are shared, it boosts all our monsters of that type."

"Next, Spell Card—'Card Destruction'! All players discard their hands, then draw the same number."

All four discarded and then drew.

"Then, I normal summon 'Vorse Raider'!"

[Vorse Raider, ATK 1900]

The Vorse Raider glared at Kira, growling—clearly wanting payback for getting blasted earlier.

"All the monsters we discarded were Beast-Warriors," Beastman B said. "So Vorse Raider gains 800 ATK!"

[Vorse Raider, ATK 1900 → 2700]

"Set two cards, turn end," B announced. "But in the End Phase, 'Manticore of Darkness's' effect activates! If it's sent to the graveyard this turn, send a Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast from hand or field to the graveyard to Special Summon it."

He sent a card.

"Sending another Beast-Warrior, appear! The strongest warrior bestowed by the faith—Manticore of Darkness, come forth!"

A body like dusk's quicksand, dark wings, a lion's head, a deadly scorpion tail. It roared, showing fangs that could tear anything apart.

[Manticore of Darkness, ATK 2300 → 3100]

"Right off the bat, monsters with 2700 and 3100 attack, and the Manticore of Darkness can keep reviving by discarding Beast-Warriors."

Beastman A grinned.

"Looking good,"

"Of course, can't let a human duelist look down on us," B boasted.

C: "He's probably wetting himself in fear now. Hahaha!"

"Yeah, so scary," Kira chuckled. "So, who's next?"

The trio: "…"

After a beat, A said, "My turn, draw."

He drew, smirking.

"I'll activate—another 'Solidarity'!"

A second copy appeared.

"The effects stack, so both monsters' ATK increases again!"

[Vorse Raider, ATK 2700 → 3500]

[Manticore of Darkness, ATK 3100 → 3900]

"Now I normal summon 'Exarion Universe'! It also gets the 1600 boost!"

[Exarion Universe, ATK 1800 → 3400]

"For caution, activate 'Swords of Revealing Light'!"

Light-formed blades fell, sealing Kira's field.

"For three of your turns, your monsters can't attack. Since it's battle royale, that's nine of our turns—so, twelve turns total."

C: "Bet you regret being cocky now!"

Kira sighed, "Oh no, nearly 4000-attack monsters and attack lockdown—I guess I can't duel at all."

"Hahaha, exactly. But it's not over yet," B said, pulling a card.

Trap Card—"Dimension Wall." It reflects battle damage to your opponent.

Even if he breaks the lockdown, with only 4000 LP, Dimension Wall could finish him in one blow.

"Set a card. Turn end," B declared.

"If you're surprised now, it's too soon," A said, activating the trap "Side Effects?" "Your opponent draws 1-3 cards; for each, you gain 2000 LP."

"You set the battle royale rules, so teammates are also 'opponents'—I can target anyone. I choose…"

He pointed at Beastman C.

"You."

Chapter 293: The Shut-In from Another World

"You,"

A pointed at C.

"Thanks, big bro. I'll draw three cards," C said cheerfully.

A: "And I gain 6000 LP!"

[Envoy Trio, LP 4000 → 10000]

C's eyes flashed as he drew. "Thanks for the cards. Now I've got what I need."

He slapped down a Spell Card.

"Continuous Spell—'Solidarity'! All Beast-Warriors gain another 800 ATK!"

A third copy appeared, golden light engulfing all the Beast-Warriors like Super Saiyan auras.

[Vorse Raider, ATK 3500 → 4300]

[Manticore of Darkness, ATK 3900 → 4700]

[Exarion Universe, ATK 3400 → 4200]

"This is the power of brotherhood—an ironclad formation!" A shouted.

Three monsters, each surpassing even Obelisk's attack.

Three-on-one, united—how could they lose?

"I'll summon 'Goblin Black Ops'!"

[Goblin Black Ops, ATK 1300 → 3700]

"And Goblin Black Ops can attack directly," C sneered.

All three started cackling.

With nearly 4000 ATK and direct attack, one hit could end it.

"But, first turn in battle royale, no one can attack. You get one more turn to live," C said. "But that means you also can't attack on your turn. The first one who can attack is us—then you're dead."

He drew another card.

"Now, Spell—'Tribute Doll'! Sacrifice a monster to Special Summon a Level 7 monster from hand."

He looked at A.

A: "Go ahead, use my monster."

"I tribute 'Exarion Universe' to Special Summon Level 7 'Mystical Knight of Jackal'"

[Mystical Knight of Jackal, ATK 2700 → 5100]

5100 attack!

Even higher than Five-Headed Dragon!

With 10,000 LP and a monster that strong, how could they lose?

"For extra safety, Continuous Spell—'Toll'! Now everyone must pay 500 LP to attack."

The three beastmen snickered.

"We have 10,000 LP—plenty. As for you… hehe."

And for the finishing touch.

C checked his hand. Trap Card—"Sakuretsu Armor." Can destroy an attacking monster. Now their setup was nearly perfect.

"Set a card, turn end," C said.

An ironclad formation, no weaknesses.

"Surrender now and we might let you die painlessly," A sneered. "Tell us who sent you and why."

"Yeah, this setup is a headache," Kira said.

A frowned.

He couldn't sense any urgency from his opponent.

Why? With such a perfect setup, why wasn't he panicking?

"My turn, draw," Kira said. "I'll borrow your 'Card Destruction' resources."

"I banish 'D.D. Warrior Lady' (Light) and 'Old Vindictive Magician' (Dark) from my graveyard."

"I offer the souls of Light and Dark to the field of Chaos—summon the legendary warrior, creator of all—"

"—Black Luster Soldier—Envoy of the Beginning!"

A blade cleaved through chaos, the soldier arriving amid golden winds.

[BLS—Envoy of the Beginning, ATK 3000]

"It's BLS!"

"The Legendary Swordsman!"

The three beastmen were shocked.

Clearly, BLS had made a name for himself in the war against Orichalcos—even these Spirit World minions had heard of him.

"Calm down," A said, steadying his teammates. "Even BLS can't one-turn kill all three of us…"

"Is that so?" Kira smiled.

All three were startled.

"Bluffing," A muttered.

We have a field of monsters with 4-5k attack, attack lockdown, traps, and 10,000 LP.

How could you OTK us?

"Just in case… activate set card!" A announced. "Quick-Play Spell—'Demise of the Land'! When the opponent special summons, activate a Field Spell from deck!"

He played—"Array of Revealing Light!"

A new magic circle formed on Kira's field.

"Declare a monster type. All of that type summoned this turn can't attack. I'll declare Warrior!"

"Uh—" Kira was speechless.

He wanted to say, "But you already played Swords of Revealing Light. I couldn't attack anyway."

Are you guys really that afraid of BLS?

Whatever, he hadn't planned to attack anyway.

"Now I play Spell—'Star Blast' Pay LP in multiples of 500; lower the level of a monster for each 500 paid."

He pointed at BLS.

"I pay 3500 LP to lower BLS' level by 7!"

[Kira, LP 4000 → 500]

In an instant, only 500 LP left—the beastmen were shocked.

What was he doing? Why reduce his own LP to a sliver?

And Star Blast was usually used to reduce the level of a monster in hand to summon a high-level monster, right? What was the point of reducing the level of a monster already on the field?

"I normal summon 'Cyber Valley'."

[Cyber Valley, ATK 0]

"Cyber Valley's effect—banish it and a card from hand to return a card from the graveyard to the top of the deck."

Kira grabbed a card.

"I'll return the 'Silent Magician' you made me discard last turn to the top of my deck."

He played another card.

"Equip Spell—'Black Pendant,' equipping BLS. +500 ATK."

[BLS, ATK 3000 → 3500]

"Still not enough to beat any of our monsters," B muttered. "And you can't attack anyway."

"True."

Kira smiled faintly.

At this point, he looked at the three as if they were already dead.

Some people die before they realize it.

"Now, I activate—"

"—'Reversal Quiz!'"

The spell appeared.

"Send all cards in your hand and field to the graveyard. Then guess the top card of your deck. If correct, swap LP with your opponent."

The beastmen: "…"

Wha—What!?

What kind of meme card was this?

Suddenly they realized why he'd refused their combined LP, why he made them share 4000 LP.

So this was his plan.

"I send all my cards to the graveyard, then draw. What should I call… let's say, Monster Card."

Kira drew.

He revealed "Silent Magician" and smiled.

"Lucky me—it's a monster." (LOL)

The beastmen: "…"

"So, we swap LP."

[Kira, LP 500 → 10000]

[Trio, LP 10000 → 500]

"Damn it!"

A gritted his teeth.

He'd been too sure their setup was unbeatable—never expected the opponent would just ignore it all.

But that's the Spirit World—simple folk. Who'd think of such a shut-in, antisocial tactic?

"Don't panic," B said. "We still have 500 LP. Our defense is ironclad."

"'Reversal Quiz' resolves. Now, chain another effect."

Kira pulled a card from his graveyard and calmly revealed it.

"'Black Pendant' has a secondary effect. When it's sent from field to graveyard, it deals 500 damage to your opponent."

The beastmen: "…"

NANNNI?!!

A green blast shot toward the trio.

In the end, the three were left dumbfounded.

Who am I? Where am I? How did I just lose?

[Trio, LP 500 → 0]

PS; Atleast they didn't wait 10 minutes turn play to be OTK.

Chapter 294: Shadow Charms

Even after being completely beaten to the ground, the three beastmen's eyes were still blank. The brothers looked at each other, seeing confusion and grievance in each other's faces.

So the three of us… lost?

With an ironclad formation, 10,000 life points, three against one, and we were wiped out so casually?

Is the gap between duelists in the world really this huge?

Only now did the beastmen recall the legends: duelists from the other world had reached the peak of mastery over cards, and the strongest among them were beyond comprehension in this world.

But legends are just that—few really believed them. After all, the stories sounded too exaggerated, and no one had actually seen such a powerful duelist.

But now, at least these three beast brothers were starting to believe.

And it was different from the legends. Dueling this otherworldly powerhouse, the shock wasn't just being wiped out three-vs-one—it was the sense of utter futility, and the deep grievance of, "Why did I die so easily?"

A duel was supposed to be a ritual where both sides competed for victory.

But today, they felt this didn't even count as a duel.

Today, it was more like they'd been played by someone else.

Only the opponent seemed to enjoy himself. For him, the only difference between beating them up and playing alone was that seeing their aggrieved faces made it even more fun.

But the eldest beastman reacted quickly, realizing they might still have a chance.

In the spirit world, duels were fought for your life. If they were still alive after losing, it could only mean their opponent had shown mercy.

There was hope!

Beastman A quickly realized this might be the only chance he'd ever get, so he hurriedly said, "Sir, your dueling is unparalleled—truly peerless! I am in absolute awe…"

He knew his only shot was to talk his way out of this, hoping that a powerhouse of this level might spare low-level grunts like them.

"I just have a few questions," Kira said.

Sure enough.

The three beastmen instantly perked up, seeing a chance.

"Ask anything, boss! If we know, we'll tell you everything!"

"Haha, of course, you will," Kira smiled.

Only now did the trio realize the environment around them had dimmed without them noticing.

The sky seemed shrouded in darkness, strange mists swirling uneasily. The darkness pressed in, swallowing the trees, mountains, sky, and earth.

The darkness was like a spiraling vortex, a barrier with no light. Kira was the master of the domain; the three of them, trapped and powerless.

The eldest beastman's face turned pale with fear. "Th-this is… the legendary Shadow Game!"

"Oh? You know quite a bit," Kira said, calmly pulling out half of a pendant fragment from his clothes.

The broken fragment glowed faintly gold, the surrounding darkness radiating from it.

This was the first Shadow Charm Kira had obtained.

He'd studied alchemy with Lyman for a while, combed through a lot of texts, and quickly realized that in this world, alchemy might also be a form of Shadow Game—or at least closely related. That's why Lyman, an expert alchemist, was also so skilled at Shadow Games.

After so much study, Kira had grasped plenty of dark power theories—but this was his first real Shadow Charm, and the first time he could use it himself.

This was his first time actively starting a Shadow Game.

"Alright, it's my turn to ask questions now. But you should have noticed—you don't really have the right to refuse."

Kira approached. As he did, the darkness behind him pressed closer, as if tightening around the three beastmen.

They'd heard that even in other worlds, duelists who mastered the Shadow Game were the very best. Today, they'd really met a big shot. All three huddled together, shivering.

"Have mercy…!"

Kira finished quickly.

Which made sense, since he soon realized there was nothing much to ask. They only knew a little about the mission; all the critical info was with the handler who hadn't arrived yet.

Maybe the organization was afraid of leaks like this. After all, if you win a Shadow Game you're guaranteed to get secrets, so it's too easy for info to get out.

…

When the darkness faded and Kiran came back out.

After this first test, Kira realized that even though he'd crossed the threshold without relying on spirit power, his strength and skill were still lacking.

Even though he'd won the duel, using dark power to force answers seemed to be his limit. He couldn't take lives through the game's rules, or fully control his opponents' minds as puppets.

Maybe it was a lack of technique, or maybe the power level just wasn't enough.

If he managed to win the other half of the pendant from Atticus, and completed the item, maybe it'd get a lot stronger.

Or maybe, before that, this "Sealing Device" everyone mentioned was even more powerful and could be useful too.

In any case—

Kira's quick approach had been the right call. Not long after he finished off the trio, a huge, burly demon figure came from the other side of the woods.

Kira narrowed his eyes—he recognized this monster quickly.

A five-star fiend, King of Yamimakai, 2000 ATK.

Don't let the five stars fool you—according to the Paradox Brothers, this guy once "faced the King of Games" and counts as a big shot. He was the ace of a dark duelist during the Duelist Kingdom, and died pretty miserably.

That duelist summoned "Castle of Dark Illusions," a floating fortress, but Yugi destroyed the it with a Catapult Turtle shot, making the castle crash down and squash its own monsters.

This poor King of Yamimakai was one of the ones squashed.

After that short, miserable stint in DM, he got a new job in GX as one of Supreme King Jaden's minions—a mid-tier flunky.

Kira suddenly wondered—wasn't this one of the twelve dimensions ruled by the Supreme King in the anime? Maybe he just hadn't shown up yet, and Orichalcos's forces had taken over for now?

But for now, this King of Yamimakai had come to him. Kira pushed aside his doubts, and took out his mission card like those cannon-fodder guys had before.

The King of Yamimakai pulled out his own card, confirming their identities like a secret code.

He nodded, put his card away, and frowned. "Why are you alone? Wasn't it supposed to be four of you?"

Chapter 295: The Steadfast Heart of a Card Player

"I don't know," Kira replied innocently, looking around.

"I've been waiting here forever—haven't seen anyone else. Was someone else supposed to join us?"

"Cheh."

King of Yamimakai spat.

 "Useless! The quality of the envoys is getting worse every year. I told them the organization should have stricter screening. But the situation's urgent, so we go without them. If they're missing, we'll deal with them after the mission. Let's go."

Surprisingly, the King of Yamimakai didn't ask anything else, just signaled for Kira to follow.

Kira had been ready to fight and knock the King of Yamimakai out too, but to his surprise, the guy didn't care and just moved on.

So Kira decided to hold back for now, and follow along to see what was really going on.

He could always win the deck later.

Besides, evil spirit decks weren't worth much, and he cared more about the Shadow Charm than a few cards.

If this was really the Millennium Puzzle, and could bring the Pharaoh back, it would shake the entire dueling world.

The King of Yamimakai didn't speak on the way. They crossed the woods into a valley, shrouded in ominous darkness, thick black mist flowing through the ravines like ink.

At the valley entrance, a base had been set up, with many spirits gathered. Kira followed the King of Yamimakai in, and no one checked or questioned them. Discipline seemed pretty lax.

The leader was a red-robed mage, his robe concealing a zombie-like form.

Lich Lord, King of the Underworld, level 6 zombie, 2400 ATK.

He seemed the highest-ranking among all present, with an Orichalcos hexagram on his forehead, marking his status.

"All of you here are envoys chosen by the gods. You are born with the talent for dueling, destined to serve our great god and the organization.

Ahead, the cave is filled with unknown dangers—restless souls, dark barriers, and mind-twisting forces. These may be dangerous, but I know you are all ready."

Kira understood now.

So everyone gathered here was cannon fodder, sent ahead to trigger the traps, huh?

"But our organization's foresight confirms the 'Sealing Device' is inside." The Lich Lord said, "Whoever brings it out will win divine favor and get an instant triple promotion within the organization.

Even if some of you die, the god will remember you. Your souls will be honored forever, your names engraved on the stone of glory."

And then the god will eat your souls as a token of remembrance, right?

Kira thought, but raised his fist and shouted, "We serve not for glory, but for faith! We gladly give our lives for God Orichalcos!"

Everyone was stunned, but when he shouted again, "For Orichalcos!" they all scrambled to follow suit.

Their voices were chaotic and undisciplined. Clearly, no one really wanted to be cannon fodder, but with someone shouting first, they had to follow.

Not shouting would mean you weren't willing to die for the organization—a big problem. No one dared take that risk.

The Lich Lord soon focused on Kira, very pleased, and wondered how he'd never noticed such a zealous envoy before.

He smiled. "And you, which squad are you from?"

Kira immediately pointed to the King of Yamimakai who'd led him here.

"He's our captain."

"Good." The Lich Lord nodded. "Then your squad will go first, as an example. Bring out the 'Sealing Device,' and your achievements will be reported—you'll get first honors."

"Thank you!"

Kira was eager to go in first anyway. Since he'd logged into the spirit world via the Link System, he wasn't afraid of traps. If he was late, someone else might snatch the device and hand it over, which would be a problem.

Letting him go first was perfect.

But the King of Yamimakai looked miserable.

He glared at Kira, thinking, "Are you nuts? This is obviously suicide, and you're showing off your loyalty?"

You want to die, fine, but why drag me into it?

But he couldn't show it on his face, so he put on a big smile and nodded hard. "Understood!"

And so, Kira and the King of Yamimakai led the charge, entering the cave as the others watched in awe.

The King of Yamimakai sighed.

Before Orichalcos invaded, he'd been a big shot. Who'd have thought he'd end up as cannon fodder?

Entering the valley, they soon found the cave the Lich Lord had mentioned.

A damp cave, its entrance covered in wild grass—some tall as swords, some coiled like snakes, dew shining on the leaves like jewels, forming a natural barrier.

If you didn't push through the black mist and grass, you'd never notice the narrow entrance.

Inside, the passage was tight and humid, the mouth uneven and worn by time.

But as they went deeper, it widened into a hidden chamber.

More black mist rolled in.

Kira quickly realized it was probably laced with illusions. The air grew heavier, almost suffocating.

He started hearing things—like elven women giggling, and soft voices whispering, "Why so tense? Come, relax~"

Then more bizarre scenes appeared.

Ahead, a broad path: one side stacked with endless cash, the other piled with cards—a symbol of wealth and power.

And at the end of the road, even the always-stoic Silent Magician was smiling at him, her face blushing.

Well played!

The mist faded, and the illusion broke.

Kira walked on, unshaken.

Such temptations were nothing to a true card player with a heart of steel.