Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

(Ed Phoenix LP: 1000→500)

Caesar: "What...?!"

Looking at the card he knew all too well, Caesar's expression of astonishment froze on his face.

As if the scene were being replicated, the image of an invisible hand pulling the lever reappeared, and time once again reversed, returning to the moment before Caesar opened the cover card.

However, unlike before, there was now a face-down card in front of Caesar, and he himself could no longer activate face-down cards in the back row...

"..."

The man bearing the name of Caesar was swallowed up by the torrent of light and flame.

After losing his last bit of health, he faced defeat...

456 This is a necessary sacrifice!

(Kaiser LP: 2000 → 0)

Engulfed by the eternal evolutionary flames of the Electro-Terminator Dragon, Caesar officially declared defeat in the duel.

"It's over..."

"It seems the results are in."

"Hmm... if she also had the 'Pull the Gate' card, then she could have completely stopped Caesar's attack earlier..."

"【Red Reboot】is it 【Red Reboot】? The idea is the same, but the timing is different... I didn't expect Edward to save this card for this very last moment..."

"Caesar... he was too hasty after all... if he had been more cautious..."

"That Caesar... he actually lost?"

Faced with the final outcome, the onlookers couldn't help but sigh at Caesar's fate.

After a ten-game winning streak, Caesar finally fell to Ed Phoenix, a veteran professional duelist.

In fact, he and Edward had similar ideas about the decision-making process; however, the timing they seized was completely different.

On the stage of professional duels, Caesar achieved a brilliant record of ten consecutive victories. His ego began to swell, and he became overly obsessed with pursuing victory, ignoring the possibility that Edward might have a backup plan.

After successfully neutralizing the opponent's interference, Caesar believed he had seen through all the preparations.

However, having just graduated from school, he was not yet able to adapt to the harsh realities of society and was still at an age full of beautiful fantasies.

There are people outside people, and there are days outside the sky.

In the Duel Academy, he was indeed the undisputed Caesar, a genius duelist admired by all. But on the grand stage of professional duelists, he was just a newcomer named Ryo Marufuji who had only recently debuted.

There are people more outstanding than him, though not countless, but certainly not few.

Yugi Muto, Seto Kaiba, Katsuya Jonouchi, Yusei, Ed Phoenix...

Every era produces exceptionally brilliant talents.

Although Caesar is a genius, it doesn't mean that he can use this to win the crown of a professional duelist and become the dueling king of the new era.

……

"Please, Edsang! Look this way~"

"Whoa!!! The winner of the duel has been chosen!"

After the duel ended, Edward stepped off the stage and was immediately surrounded by reporters who had rushed to the scene.

Among the crowd of reporters, a beautiful woman with a wavy hairstyle, speaking in an almost coquettish voice, quickly placed her microphone in front of Ed and asked her for her thoughts after the match: "What a beautiful victory! Miss Ed Phoenix~ What do you want to say to your formidable opponent, Caesar? I think... having secured this glorious victory, you must have something you want to tell the viewers at home, right?"

"Yes, that's true."

Playing with a strand of hair that fell naturally by his ear, Edward, already accustomed to such grand occasions, lazily glanced at the expectant crowd and Caesar's silent retreat before chuckling softly, "Caesar is indeed a very strong opponent, but my victory was predetermined, an arrangement of fate."

"...Is it fate?"

"By the way! Miss Edward, you used your long-hidden Hero Deck this time, instead of the previous Giant Jet Thunder Deck. Is there a special reason for that?"

After a pause, the beautiful reporter, speaking on behalf of her colleagues, raised her own question: "Speaking of which, why... did you choose this moment to reveal your true deck?"

"Heh...that's because..."

Recalling the duel that had been interrupted, or rather, forcibly lost, Edward stared at the camera with a half-smile: "In the dueling academy I attended, there were others who used the same Hero deck as me, and according to my information, that guy had also defeated my opponent today—Kaiser Ryo—in a head-on battle..."

Youxing: “…”

Jaden Yuki: "Huh? Isn't this... Yusei?!"

Edward's last opponent was undoubtedly the hot-blooded boy with a dueling mind – Jaden Yuki.

However, Jaden Yuki himself did not have a glorious record of defeating Ryo Kaiser; at best, they only managed a draw.

Therefore, the person Edward is referring to here should be another hero—Yusei.

In other words, Edward, who came upon hearing the news, may have mistakenly chosen the wrong opponent to duel with, mistaking Jaden Yuki, who had jumped out of the fray, for her destined rival...

Therefore, it was because Ed, who did not feel much pressure, questioned the accuracy of the king's prophecies and destiny.

"Huh? So you deliberately used this deck to send him... a message of war?" On the other side of the camera, the female reporter continued to ask questions.

}{【[&

She made a bold guess to the calm-faced silver-haired girl.

As fellow heroes, is Edward perhaps planning to determine who is truly superior to him?

“That’s right, just like you think… Although I was the one who originally built the Hero deck, that Duelist became very famous among the enthusiastic fans… I heard that he even defeated Caesar head-on a while ago.”

Nodding slightly, Ed picked up a strand of hair with his index finger and wrapped it around his finger, then said calmly, "Now that I have also defeated Caesar, it means that our strengths are roughly equal."

Wan Zhangmu, his face showing resentment, said, "That Ed... did she use Caesar as a stepping stone to test us?"

"Of course... I believe there are some of my fans who think this reason isn't sufficient!"

Facing his flawless face directly at the camera, Edward conveyed his thoughts to the other side of the screen: "So I thought, on this appropriate occasion, I'll challenge that guy who's also a Hero User! Let's take this opportunity to see who's truly qualified to use the Hero Deck!"

Everyone: "...?!"

"...Qualifications, is that right?"

Savoring Edward's words, Yusei, arms crossed, repeated the key phrases.

For hero decks, aren't synergies more important than so-called qualifications?

"Then that's settled... Tomorrow, I'll head to the Duel Academy... Let's settle this then, senpai!"

With a confident smile on his face, Edward delivered a declaration of war, then, with the help of his manager Saiou who had arrived, waved his arm and left the Seahorse Dome, returning to his residence.

The reporters who were left behind gazed at each other, savoring the words that contained a wealth of information.

……

"My goodness! That Edward... actually made a special trip back to challenge us to a duel!" Professor Chronos covered his face with his hands, his expression one of disbelief.

Despite all previous requests, they couldn't persuade Edward to endorse their plans.

But now, she has taken the initiative to make this application...

What exactly happened in between?

"Hehehehehehe... I don't know what's going on, but it's like the heavens are helping me!"

With a smug look on his face, Coach Napoleon clenched his fists and looked up at the sky: "Both users of the Hero Deck are concentrated in the Osiris Red Dormitory, which means... Edward will deliver a heavy blow to the bottom-ranked dormitory, and the door to changing the status quo has been opened to us!"

"This duel is... a rematch between Edward and Jaden, isn't it?" Stroking his chin, Yusei looked in Jaden's direction: "Hero vs. Hero, Jaden, are you ready?"

Taking advantage of this duel with Edward, Jaden Yuki will meet the most important companion in his life—Synthetic Knight.

Therefore, Yusei has no intention of getting involved and interrupting his growth opportunity.

"Ah! Of course... My heart is already pounding with excitement!"

Jaden Yuki, who seemed to be burning with flames, and who also regretted his previous duel with Edward, immediately nodded excitedly after learning of Edward's challenge.

……

In the pure white room, the King of the West, sitting at the table in the center of the room, was washing the tarot cards placed on the table in front of him.

At that moment, familiar footsteps suddenly came from behind him.

Are we going?

Without turning around, the King of Jai could sense the presence of Aid.

Upon realizing that she had come to say goodbye, King Sai immediately raised this question.

"Hmm... I can't keep taking this long detour forever."

Stopping in his tracks, Edward clenched his right hand and spoke towards the direction of the King of the West: "Even if I have to search the entire world, I will find the one who killed my father! For that... I must keep growing stronger!"

“Ed... even if you weren’t so anxious, the door of destiny would still open for you.”

After tidying up the tarot cards on the table, the King of the West stretched out his arm and pulled out the top card by itself.

At the same time, he also asked Edward, "That card... do you plan to use it?"

"I had this plan in mind. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell that guy, Judai Yuki, what a true hero should be like." Nodding, Edward gave an affirmative answer to Saiou's question.

Heroes are not some beautiful beings that bring hope.

Even burdened by hatred, even feeling sorrow, one can only choose to keep moving forward.

Jaden Yuki, someone with such a fulfilling life, surrounded by friends, probably can't possibly understand what I'm thinking.

"Heh... As a duelist who also uses the Hero Deck, you can't forgive him because of your pride, can you?"

With a faint smile, Saiou, having understood Edward's plan, immediately showed an interested expression: "In that case, let me see the fighting spirit and future that your deck embodies!"

"..."

Edward placed his deck into Saiou's hands and stood quietly, observing his next move.

After receiving Edward's deck, Saiou's eyes immediately flashed with a bright light. After the pure white light swept across the deck, black ripples appeared on it.

"This is……?"

The girl, her brows furrowed slightly, puzzled by the strange phenomenon before her, parted her lips and uttered a questioning voice: "...It's clearly pure white light, so why are there black ripples?"