Yugioh [808-810] (Patreon)

Chapter 808: Meeting Rex Raptor Again

"Leader Revolver!"

"Hello, leader!"

"..."

Wearing his vest, Kira walked straight through the club. Wherever he went, the Knights of Hanoi greeted him.

He pushed open a door and entered a room to find a big stack of files piled on a desk. Papers rustled and a pen scratched from behind the stack, but strangely there wasn't a soul in sight.

Only when Kira came around the stack did he discover the one hunched over the desk was actually a cat.

Yes, that's right— even in the extraordinary world of Dark Duelists, this was a bizarre sight. A cat was crouched at a desk in a sea of paperwork, working away quite diligently, by the looks of it.

This was the Pharaoh, the same lazy, gluttonous cat from Duel Academy. Few knew that inside this cat was possibly the greatest alchemist this world had ever known.

And at the moment, this alchemist cat was working for Kira.

 "Heartless, nyaa!"

When Kira came in, a ghostly image of Professor Lyman manifested behind the cat, indicting Kira for exploiting cat labor.

"I've even turned into a cat and I still have to work overtime..."

Kira said solemnly, "Strictly speaking, Professor Lyman, you've never really left the Shadow Rider. Now that the Shadow Rider have been absorbed by the Knights of Hanoi, you should count as a senior officer of the Knights of Hanoi."

"Then is it still in time for me to resign right now?"

Lyman grumbled while his kitty paws kept scribbling.

"Does the Shadow Rider allow resignations?"

Lyman: "..."

Of course, he hadn't actually possessed the Pharaoh; he was just using a small alchemical trick to borrow the cat's body temporarily. Normally the Pharaoh was still the Pharaoh—Lyman was merely using its body as a perch.

"Come to think of it, the organization under you now is much larger than the Shadow Rider used to be. Saying you have an army under you wouldn't be an exaggeration, would it?"

Professor Lyman clicked his tongue twice.

"Frightening."

"What are you saying? I am model student of Duel Academy." Kira remained deadpan. "The organization Revolver leads has nothing to do with the Duel King."

Lyman's spirit rolled his eyes.

"You're the boss now; whatever you say goes."

He paused, then said, "Right, someone just reported there are fluctuations of some abnormal dark power in Domino. It doesn't feel like any system we're familiar with—more like something foreign and dangerous."

"Outsiders?" Kira said. "I thought Dark Duelists from outside weren't so keen on setting foot in our turf anymore."

"Very few do. I was going to send someone to check it out, to see whether it's trouble aimed at us or something that could threaten us."

Lyman glanced at Kira again.

"Seeing as a certain someone is very good at making enemies, right?"

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Kira smiled. "No need to send anyone. I'm heading to KaibaCorp for a research collaboration anyway. Since I'm already going out, I'll swing by and take a look myself."

"That works too."

Lyman slapped a stack of documents toward the edge of the desk with a paw.

"Workload's up this month—remember to give me a raise!"

"No problem, professor."

Kira headed for the door and waved as he left.

"I'll have them prepare a few extra pounds of cat food."

Lyman: "You brat—"

"..."

A white glider sliced the night sky, like a great bird in flight. Silver wings circled in the moonlight, spraying two long tails of flame as they swept over the city.

"How's the tuning on the new glider?"

Lyman's lazy voice came through Kira's earpiece.

"Very fast," Kira said as he flew. "But the balance still needs work—I don't feel fully in sync with it. Anyway, I'm almost there. We'll talk later."

He dove, decelerated, jettisoned the glider, and landed on the roof of a building, peering down.

He quickly locked onto the uninvited guest he was looking for.

"Hm?"

Kira raised an eyebrow, surprised.

An old acquaintance?

…

At that moment, inside a derelict building—

A small red glow drifted silently in the darkness, pausing briefly in a patch of shadow. A large eye seemed to open on the glowing orb, darting left and right cautiously. After confirming there was no one around, it moved on.

But it had barely floated forward when a sudden roar burst from the darkness. The big eye popped comically wide, springing into the air before retreating in a panic.

From the shadows lunged a crimson dinosaur with jagged bone spines running down its back, baring a bloody maw as it bellowed menacingly at the floating eye.

The eye hurriedly backed off, then tried to glare back with a savage look. "Hiss~ What, a staring contest? Who's afraid of who?"

A laugh came from behind the dinosaur. "Heh. You sure can hide. Finally caught you."

The eye narrowed, muttering, "More like you're too stubborn. You actually chased me all the way here... that's some persistence..."

Rex Raptor stepped out of the dark to stand beside the dinosaur. His duel disk was active, with a monster set in the zone—the dinosaur was clearly his summoned monster.

"This is the first important mission the Advent Church gave me. I'm supposed to bring you back intact; I don't plan to mess it up."

Rex shrugged.

"You've got nowhere to run. Be smart and come quietly."

"Damn it—if I weren't in bad shape right now, how would I be getting pushed around by a duelist like you..."

The big eye tried to look fierce, but with only one eye, every effort made it look even more cutesy.

"Even if you seize my body, you'll never get my heart—pah, I mean, you'll never get my card!"

"What, you plan to duel me?" Rex sneered. "With just that eyeball?"

Just then, a thunderous boom blasted from overhead, and the ceiling collapsed with a clatter. Both parties jumped back. Rubble rained down as a figure in white dropped through amidst the debris, landing in a half-crouch between them.

"Looks like you're having a lively chat."

Kira stood slowly. The hem of his white coat settled amid the swirling dust. He glanced at the floating red orb with the big eye behind him, then at the aggressive Rex before him.

"Mind if I join?"

Rex Raptor's face changed.

"Revolver?"

Chapter 809: Unknown Spirit

"Revolver..."

Rex Raptor's surprise lasted a heartbeat before it hardened into fighting spirit.

"Heh. Interesting. We were warned: coming to this city now means we have to watch out for you. Something about the Knights of Hanoi ruling the underworld with an iron fist, and a new underground overlord named Revolver..."

"Oh? And despite hearing that, you chose to come closer to me?"

Kira planted his hands on his hips and chuckled.

For some reason, it just felt right to say.

The floating big eye blinked twice. Hearing Rex name "Revolver," the eye lit up, then shot straight into Kira's hands and settled there.

Kira instinctively pinched, finding a card had condensed in his hand.

"So that's it—a spirit?"

Kira understood and glanced up at Rex.

"You're chasing a spirit? That's novel."

"They're from a group calling itself the Advent Church. A bunch of very, very bad people!"

The big eye reappeared on the card art in Kira's hand, trying to look furious but still coming off a little adorable.

"You look like a wise and mighty duelist—please don't let me fall into their hands!"

Advent Church?

So Rex Raptor found himself an organization?

Kira found it odd. Then again, Rex had done similar things before—he'd been tempted into Doma by Orichalcos, same as Weevil.

These two relics of a bygone meta, discarded as the game evolved—willing to do anything to keep up and reclaim past glory. For power, anything goes.

Kira glanced at the card in hand, frowning slightly.

"But as a spirit... what on earth are you?"

It was the strangest card he'd ever seen.

From the card color, it was a monster card. That was about all he could tell.

No name. No ATK/DEF. The background color said Effect Monster, yet the text box was completely blank.

No Level, Attribute, or Type either.

Even the card art seemed to have appeared just now. It had been blank until the eye spoke, then the big eye filled the center of the art.

Asked that, the eye instantly deflated.

"I wish I knew the answer..." it said weakly.

"?"

Kira stared at the card art for a few seconds, baffled.

"You don't even know who you are?"

"Yeah. For some reason, I can't remember..."

"Then why are they chasing you?"

"That I don't really remember either. I just know I absolutely mustn't be caught by them..."

The eye seemed embarrassed, but quickly looked up again, trying to project confidence.

"But I think it's probably because I'm a really powerful monster!"

Then, doubting itself, it added meekly, "P-probably..."

Kira turned his questioning gaze to Rex, the pursuer.

Rex only smirked dismissively. "I don't know why they want it. I don't care. This is my mission. With it, I can prove myself. With it, I can get stronger."

Rex activated his duel disk and chuckled.

"The church has given me power. And they say this Revolver is different. Let me see just how different."

"If you insist."

Kira activated his duel disk as well.

"Duel!" x2

[Kira, LP 4000]

[Rex, LP 4000]

"I'll take the first turn. Draw," Kira said.

This was their second duel. But Rex seemed to have joined some church Kira had never heard of. There was a definite dark energy pulsing from him, and just now he'd clearly manifested a solid monster—something the old Rex couldn't do.

Kira had never heard of this Advent Church. Well, it was Rex—no matter the buff, how strong could he get?

"I set one monster in face-down Defense Position."

Kira set a monster.

"Then I set one back row and end my turn."

In this guise, Rex didn't recognize him, nor did he know they had a personal grudge.

"My turn. Draw!"

Rex flashed two cards from his hand.

"I Special Summon two 'Gilasaurus'!"

Two raptors appeared on Rex's field, clawing and snapping in tandem, kicking up dust as they sprinted.

[Gilasaurus, ATK 1400] x2

"Gilasaurus can Special Summon itself from the hand. But if your opponent has monsters in the Graveyard, they can also Special Summon one monster from their Graveyard."

Rex snickered.

"First turn—you don't have anything in your Graveyard. So that drawback doesn't matter."

Kira: "Oh."

Same old Rex. Nothing new.

"Then I Tribute one 'Gilasaurus' to Tribute Summon!"

Rex raised his hand and called out:

"Level 6—Dark Driceratops!"

The raptor vanished, becoming a great black vortex. A beam of shadow slashed the void; a dragon cloaked in pitch-black scales slowly rose within the maelstrom. Its roar made the earth itself seem to grovel and tremble.

[Dark Driceratops, ATK 2400]

The spirit eye hovered beside Kira, squeaking, "He summoned something that strong on the first turn... Is that okay, Lord Revolver?"

Kira shot the eye a sidelong glance.

For a spirit, it was quite lively.

"Hahaha, yeah, you should listen to that eye. Time to worry."

Rex grinned.

"Because if you slip up, my lovely dinos will tear you apart!

Go, Dark Driceratops—attack that set monster!"

The dinosaur tore through the air. The gust flipped Kira's set monster, revealing a devilish scout in red armor.

[Scarr, Scout of Dark World, DEF 500]

"A pretty puny monster, but don't think Defense Position makes you safe!"

Rex shouted:

"Dark Driceratops's effect! When this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage!"

"Eh—eh—eh!?"

The spirit eye panicked. "This is getting worse, Lord Revolver—do something!"

"Activate set card," Kira said impassively. "Trap Card—Power Wall.

When your opponent's attack would make you take battle damage, for every 100 damage, send 1 card from your Deck to the Graveyard. (Anime Effect)

This battle goes through, and I would take 1900 piercing damage. So from my Deck..."

Kira paused, hand reaching to his deck, a slightly unnerving smile on his face.

"...I'll send nineteen cards to the Graveyard!"

Chapter 810: The Dragon God Descends

Kira yanked out a thick handful of cards and scattered them with a flourish. The cards fanned into a shield in midair, forming a barrier before him.

Dark Driceratops's charge slammed into the wall of cards and never touched Kira himself.

"Sure, you stopped the damage," the spirit eye blinked, confused, "but you tossed nineteen cards from your deck in one go..."

Kira continued, "Also, the 'Scarr, Scout of Dark World' you just destroyed—when this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can add a Level 4 or lower 'Dark World' from my Deck to my hand."

A card popped out of Kira's deck; he took it and revealed it.

"I add the Level 4 'Snoww, Unlight of Dark World' to my hand."

"Getting desperate to avoid damage?" Rex barked. "But my attacks aren't over!

 Gilasaurus, direct attack!"

The raptor blitzed forward, dust billowing, tail whipping, and rammed into Kira.

Kira slid back half a step, patted the dust from his coat, and stood calmly. The white cloak behind him settled.

[Kira, LP 4000 → 2600]

Rex scowled. "Tch. Acting cool like Kaiba Seto... You sure know how to pose.

I end my turn."

He paused, then sneered.

"Your Knights of Hanoi have been making a name for themselves, huh? Perfect. Once I beat you, maybe I can even take over your organization—your resources, your power, all mine.

Then I won't need to rely on this Advent Church anymore..."

"Oh?" Kira smiled with interest. "So your faith in the church only runs that deep?"

"The only thing I believe in is power. Always have," Rex said, self-assured.

"I see." Kira nodded.

Very Rex Raptor.

Back when he and Weevil joined Doma, it was the same—just to get stronger. Give me power and I'll call you boss. If someone else offers more? Sorry, don't know you.

"My turn. Draw."

Kira drew, then played a card from his hand.

"Spell Card 'Dark World Dealings.' Both players draw 1 card from their Decks, then each discards 1 card from their hands."

Rex drew and quickly discarded a card. Kira revealed the Snoww he'd just searched.

"I discard 'Snoww, Unlight of Dark World.' Snoww's effect activates.

When this card is discarded to the Graveyard by a card effect, I can add 1 'Dark World' card from my Deck to my hand. I'll add..."

Kira fetched a card from his deck.

"The Field Spell 'The Gates of Dark World.'"

"A Field Spell... so you're not limited to monsters," Rex muttered.

"Then I activate the Field Spell—The Gates of Dark World!"

Kira raised the card. The surroundings shifted into a lightless abyss; a massive black door towered over all, black mist seeping from its seams.

"While The Gates of Dark World is face-up, all Fiend monsters I control gain 300 ATK and DEF."

Rex scoffed, "A measly 300. What changes?"

Kira smiled. "Patience. The Gates has a second, and more important, effect.

Once per turn: banish 1 Fiend from your Graveyard; then discard 1 Fiend from your hand; after that, draw 1 card."

"Seriously?" Rex put his hands on his hips, still dismissive. "It's just a hand filter, and only for Fiends... what's the big deal?"

Kira didn't explain, only said:

"I banish 'Snoww, Unlight of Dark World' from my Graveyard." He continued, "Then I discard a Fiend from my hand and draw 1 card."

The moment the card left his hand, Rex felt a surge of overwhelming darkness erupt from Kira's Graveyard. Like an eye opening in the abyss, a terrible demon peered out with ill intent.

Then the ominous sense took form. A colossal devil—part dragon, part demon—its shadowy body indistinct, floated above Kira, gazing down from on high, making Rex's heart skip a beat.

"The Fiend I discarded is 'Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World,'" Kira said. "When Grapha is discarded to the Graveyard by a card effect, I can target 1 card on your field and destroy it."

He crooked a finger at the dark bird-dragon.

"Destroy Dark Driceratops."

The demon's maw opened—an endless darkness spewed forth. Rex's dinosaur was swallowed and shattered to pieces.

Shielding himself from the blast, Rex seemed to realize something.

"You... your whole deck triggers by discarding from the hand, doesn't it?"

His pupils shrank.

Snoww, which searched anything on discard, and Grapha, which pops any card on discard. If the rest of his deck is like this, that steady one-card filter from The Gates suddenly becomes terrifying.

"Then I Normal Summon 'Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World.'"

[Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World, ATK 1600]

"And Grapha's other effect in the Graveyard activates," Kira said. "Return 1 'Dark World' monster on my field to the hand, except 'Grapha,' to Special Summon this card from my Graveyard.

I return Beiige to my hand.

From a world without light, the embodiment of despair—

—Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, descend!"

Beiige vanished from the field. Amid the storm of darkness, the demon from before took solid form. The oppressive aura made Rex feel like his heart was being pinned to the floor; the dragon-demon's arrival ruled this land of despair.

[Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, ATK 2700]

"And with The Gates of Dark World's blessing," Kira added, "Grapha gains 300 ATK."

[Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, ATK 2700 → 3000]

"Battle," Kira said. "Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World—attack 'Gilasaurus.'"