Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

Just as Yusei was pondering the name the boy had mentioned, Yuki Jaden, who was extremely puzzled by the boy's sudden appearance, once again voiced his question to the boy: "What's wrong with a psychic stunner?"

"They're chasing me! A psychic is chasing me!" The boy in the Obelisk blue uniform suddenly uttered a somewhat inexplicable sentence to the puzzled crowd.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I don't understand at all..."

Hearing the boy's flustered words, Jaden Yuki couldn't help but show a suspicious expression on his face.

In the middle of the night, instead of going home or back to your dorm, you went all the way to Osiris Red Dorm just to deliver this unreliable information?

"I remember you are...Obelisk Blue's Takadera-kun, right..."

Adjusting his glasses, Daitokuji-sensei, who was holding Pharaoh-sama, slowly walked to the boy lying on the ground.

"Ah! Master Daitokuji!" Seeing Master Daitokuji appear in front of him, the boy looked at him with hopeful eyes, as if he had grasped a lifeline.

He grabbed Daitokuji-sensei's leg and pleaded with the teacher, who was looking down at him, "Ah! None of them believe what I'm saying... but if it's Daitokuji-sensei, who studies Duel Pokémon... he'll understand what I'm saying!"

"It's true! There's a homunculus's Duel Spirit chasing me!"

"Duel Spirits?"

Noticing the information the boy mentioned, Yuki Jaden couldn't help but repeat it again.

"You said a Duel Spirit is chasing you, but I didn't see anything!"

Yusei opened the door and glanced at the scenery outside. All he saw was a sky full of flying snow and endless darkness. He couldn't find the artificial human spirit that Takaji had mentioned.

“(⊙o⊙)…That’s…that…”

Noticing that no androids appeared behind him, Takaji showed a relieved expression, as if he had survived a disaster, and breathed a long sigh of relief. He couldn't provide any effective evidence to Yusei's question, and could only stammer helplessly.

After all, he wouldn't have believed such a supernatural event if he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes.

It's just a card sprite, so why did it appear in a physical form?

"Come on... calm down, Takadera-kun..."

Teacher Daitokuji, whose leg was being tightly hugged by Takadera, had a somewhat embarrassed expression on his face.

He bent down and helped the boy named Gaosi up from the ground, letting him sit on a bench in the cafeteria. Then he continued, "Tell us what happened properly. In this state, we have no way of understanding what happened."

"Huh?! Okay..."

Listening to Master Daitokuji's reasoned explanation, Koji finally calmed down from his panic and began to slowly recount the terrible events that had happened to him, his expression turning reminiscent...

"That happened before winter break... It was also a very dark night... My paranormal research society was holding a ceremony at the time..."

"The Paranormal Phenomena Research Society?" Upon hearing this name, Judai Yuki couldn't help but show an expression of interest.

His initial exploration of the old school building also had some elements of seeking out paranormal events, but his unexpected encounter with Titan led to a series of complex events.

"Well... it's similar to using a Ouija board..." Takaji scratched his cheek, composed himself, and continued, "The so-called 'Paranormal Phenomena Research Society' is actually a group that I formed with Mukoda and Isaka, who are also from Obelisk Blue, to study paranormal phenomena related to duels... mainly focusing on the Duel Spirits, which are known as the origin of duels."

"Oh?" Raising an eyebrow, Yusei noticed the change in Takaji's expression. It seemed that what was about to be said was the important part.

“That day… to verify our long-held suspicions, we made a decision we still regret to this day…” A look of remorse crossed Koji’s face. After hesitating for a moment, he made a resolute expression and continued, “We used the Vega Disc (i.e., the summoning disc) to summon the spirits…”

"【Master of Psychic Power! Please descend!】"

"As we sincerely recited the incantation... the atmosphere around us changed noticeably. Books on the shelves began to fall down on their own, and a strong wind suddenly blew up in the otherwise windless room... even the spirit disk in our hands began to move uncontrollably..."

As Gaosi spoke of this, it was as if he was recalling the scene from that time, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Gulp... (swallows saliva)" Marufuji Sho, whose appetite had been whetted by Takaji's words, couldn't help but swallow and adopted the posture of a listener.

Although his instincts warned him not to delve any deeper, his irresistible curiosity, like a tempting devil, compelled him to continue listening to Gaosi's narration...

After a moment of silence, Takaji shifted his gaze to his feet, a pained expression on his face, and continued, "At that time, a voice suddenly echoed around us, telling us—'Offer three sacrifices, and I will awaken...' That's what the voice said."

"Confusing dueling spirits with psychology is unacceptable..." Looking at Koji's regretful expression, Daitokuji frowned and spoke with a hint of reproach.

"Huh? Three sacrifices? I remember that [Homunculus - Psychic Shocker] is a 6-star monster. According to the rules of the duel, shouldn't one sacrifice be enough at this point..." Jaden Yuki, having discovered the blind spot, couldn't help but complain.

"So, what was your response at the time, Gaosi?"

Yusei asked Takaji, "Such an obvious trap, are they all going to stupidly jump right in?"

"【We understand】...that's the answer..." After hesitating for a moment, Takaji gave his reply.

"Huh???" Upon hearing Takaji's answer, everyone's faces showed expressions of shock.

"...Awesome!"

Yusei couldn't help but give a thumbs up to the straightforward Koji.

The sins of Heaven may be forgiven, but the sins of oneself are unforgivable!

Takadera-kun... you brought this trouble on yourself!

Chapter 228: The Attack! The Psychic Shocker! (Bonus Chapter)

"Why were you able to say such self-righteous things back then?!" Yusei couldn't help but ask, looking at the remorseful Koji. "Shouldn't a normal person have run away at this point?"

"What can I do... I'm desperate too!"

Seeing the stares from those around him, as if they were looking at someone mentally challenged, large beads of sweat began to appear on Gaosi's forehead.

"We all thought it was referring to Duel Monster cards as tributes. Although we wondered why three tributes were needed, we didn't think much of it at the time. After all, cards are like that... losing three won't matter... so we just casually agreed to its request..."

"I never expected this..." Gaosi lowered his head again as he said this.

"Masaka (Could it be)?"

Considering Takadera's previous actions, a certain possibility suddenly flashed into Marufuji Sho's mind.

"That's the one... The day after the ceremony, Mukoda from the group disappeared..."

"Then on the third day, Isaka also disappeared..."

"They must have both been sacrificed as offerings to the psychic stunners! Next up is me!!!" Covering his head in fear, Takadera grabbed Marufuji Sho's body beside him.

"Whoaaaaaah!!!" Startled by Takadera's actions, Marufuji Sho let out a terrified scream and fell to the ground with a thud. Takadera, who was holding him, also fell off the stool and landed face-first in the mud.

"...Tsk tsk tsk!"

Looking at Marufuji Sho, who was being "forcefully locked up" by Takadera, Yusei couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

"Um... well, Koji-kun? Have you considered the possibility that they've gone home for winter break?" Looking at Koji lying on the ground in terror, Teacher Daitokuji offered his guess.

Perhaps they didn't go missing, but simply went home without saying goodbye.

After all, it's winter break now, and there aren't many students left on the island during this time.

“After they went missing, I called their families, but they all said they hadn’t come back yet…” Takaji released his arms from Marufuji Sho and, having calmed down again, sat back down on the stool.

"...凸(艹皿艹)" Marufuji Sho, freed from his restraints, wore a pained expression on his face and subtly moved away from Takaji's location.

“Hmm…I see…” Upon hearing Takaji’s explanation, Daitokuji-sensei couldn’t help but frown.

"After they both disappeared... I was terrified..." Staring at the table in front of him, Jikōji began to recount the supernatural events that had happened to him that day: "I was planning to take the ferry home today... but I saw a 'Psychic Shocker' wearing a black coat in the distance at the port... that guy was waiting for me to walk right into his trap on the ferry!"

"Could you be mistaken? Maybe they're just trying to show off..."

Seeing the fear on Takaji's face, Yusei also offered a conjecture.

A black overcoat always gives people a sense of sophistication, and many people like to wear it to enhance their fashion sense. Although it may not suit everyone or have a significant effect, there are still quite a few people who follow the trend.

"There's no mistake! When I noticed him... that guy also saw me from afar, and he even pulled down his coat collar and gave me a wicked smile..."

"That terrifying figure...it's definitely a [Psychic Shock]!!!"

Trembling, Takaji recalled once again the fear of being chased by that man.

From the moment he spotted it on the ferry, Koji was completely unable to escape its grasp. No matter where he ran, he could always see the [Psychic Shocker] appearing around him...

Like a predator chasing its prey, the [Psychic Shocker] didn't make the first move, but rather toyed with Takatera's mind, chasing him from day to night, until he collapsed in front of the Osiris Red Dormitory...

"Hmm... a Spirit of the [Psychic Shock] type..."

"call--"

Just as everyone was pondering their next move, a strong gust of wind suddenly came from outside the cafeteria.

The cafeteria lights were forcibly turned off in an instant, and then a tall man in a black coat appeared before everyone without saying a word. He knocked Gao Si, who was stunned in place, unconscious with one blow, carried him on his shoulder, and intended to take him away directly.

"Holy crap... Is this for real?" Yusei exclaimed in surprise as the man Takadera had described suddenly appeared before him.

"Ahhhh!!!"

"Whoa! It's here!!!"

Startled by the sudden event, Maeda Hayato and Marufuji Sho immediately hugged Yuki Judai.

"Sho! Hayato! Don't hug me so tightly! I'm going to get squashed..." Jaden Yuki cried out in complaint, his face showing an extremely conflicted expression as he was hugged by two boys on either side.

I wasn't startled by the man who suddenly appeared, but I was startled by my roommate...

"Calm down...don't panic..."

The teacher from Daitokuji Temple, who was standing nearby, began to comfort the two who had reacted excessively due to their fright.

"Hehehehehe... As agreed before, I'll take this man with me..." With a muffled laugh, the man who barged into the cafeteria turned and left with Takaji.

"You are... a Psychic Shock User? Wait a minute!"

Yusei was extremely dissatisfied with the [Psychic Shocker]'s act of snatching people away right under his nose.

You think you're so great just because you're a Duel Spirit? You think we don't exist?!

"..."

Without saying another word, the [Psychic Shocker] shut his mouth and ran straight into the endless darkness outside the door.

The snowflakes that had been drifting in the air had stopped falling, and there was no snow on the ground to accumulate enough to cause a significant snowfall. Therefore, the actions of the [Psychic Shocker] were not greatly affected, and they easily disappeared into the dense forest near the dormitory.

"Wait a minute!"

"Wait a moment!"

Yusei, who was the first to react, and Jaden Yuki, who had broken free from the "left and right are men" constraint, chased after the direction in which the [Psychic Shocker] disappeared without the slightest hesitation.

Behind them, Master Daitokuji, carrying Pharaoh, caught up with Hayato and Marufuji Sho.