Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

Pointing to the card deck placed in the center of the table, Saiou gave a mysterious smile and took a half-step back.

"Heh... Here we go again? This kind of effect that forces the opponent to choose..."

With a disdainful snort, Manjō-moku didn't hesitate for a moment this time and walked directly towards the direction of the Prince of the West.

"No... we can't go there! Big brother! I have a bad feeling...!!"

Just as Manjoume made his decision, the phantom of Disruption Yellow suddenly appeared in front of him, forcefully swinging its limbs to block his path.

"Shut up! Who believes in this nonsense about fate!"

With a wave of his hand, he slapped away the disruptive Huang, and then walked up to the King of the West. They stood across a table covered with a white cloth and looked at each other from afar.

466 Yuki Jaden's Reminiscence

"Hey, come and draw a card!"

Posing in the distinctive charlatan pose of a fortune teller, Saiō spread his hands, a mysterious smile on his face, waiting for Manjōmu to act on his own.

Come and draw a card, come and witness your destiny with your own eyes, Manjoume!

"...Hmph! Come on then!"

With a disdainful snort, Manjou casually reached out and picked up a card from the table, flipping it over.

And the card that was turned over was—

【Arcane Power 12 - The Hanged Man】!!!

Manjoume: "...What?!"

Prince Sai: "As expected, you cannot escape your fate."

Looking at the unfolded card, the two men displayed completely opposite expressions.

Wan Zhangmu's expression was one of unsurprised astonishment, or rather, shock.

On the other hand, Saiou seemed to have foreseen the outcome, revealing a calm expression as if he had planned everything perfectly: "[Secret Power 12 - The Hanged Man]... This is the card I selected earlier using the effect of the magic card [Vision]. According to the effect of the magic card, when this card is used, you will suffer 1000 points of damage."

"...And because of the effect of the Spell Card 'Choice of Fate,' if you select a monster card, I can Special Summon it directly to the field!"

As Saiou's voice fell, accompanied by a burst of golden light, a strangely shaped green puppet appeared before Manjoume, hanging upside down and waving its numerous tentacles.

The eerie scenery around him gave Wan Zhangmu a sense of foreboding.

"……Well!"

(Manjoume LP: 4000→3000)

The combination of [Choice of Fate] and [Vision] allowed Saiou to Special Summon a Level 6 monster – [Arcane Power 12 - The Hanged Man] (ATK: 2200).

With the appearance of this monster, Manjoume also lost 1000 life points due to the effect of the magic card.

"Heh... Next, I'll activate the effect of [Arcane Power 12 - The Hanged Man]! When this card is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned, guess the card's position once, and gain different effects depending on whether it's in the normal or reverse position."

When in the upright position, once per turn, during your End Phase, destroy 1 monster you control; you take damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK. When in the reversed position, once per turn, during your End Phase, destroy 1 monster your opponent controls; your opponent takes damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK.

Waving his arms, the King of the West explained the monster effects of the Hanged Man to the direction of Wan Zhang's gaze.

"Varied……"

Upon hearing this, Manjōmu subconsciously took a few steps back, and a look of panic appeared on his face.

At this moment, he has a [Armed Dragon LV10] on the field with an attack power of up to 6000 points after the attack power is boosted.

Originally, this monster was supposed to become his strongest spear and shield, blocking the attacks from Saiō in his place.

But at this moment, this power became a burden, forcing Manjoume to bear the correspondingly high risks and costs...

If it were a direct confrontation, it would be fine. Saiou would suffer the consequences of his own actions, taking 2200 points of damage from the attack power of [Secret Ritual Power 12 - The Hanged Man] at the same time as the monster self-destructs.

However, if the card lands in a reverse position that is unfavorable to Manjoume, then naturally, Manjoume will suffer as much as 6000 points of damage and be defeated directly...

"Here! Stop the cards from spinning and decide your fate!"

The king's urging voice rang out again, bringing the hesitant Manjoume back to his senses and forcing him to make a choice.

"S...STOP!!!"

"Ah... When I see through fate, I can never suppress the sadness that wells up from the depths of my heart."

Amidst Saiou's sigh and Manjoume's shouts, the card finally came to rest in a reversed position, meaning that Manjoume would suffer a great deal of damage from his own monster.

"...Big Brother!!!"

Witnessing this tragic outcome, the three brothers cried out in distress.

However, their shouts failed to reach Wan Zhangmu's ears.

The moment he saw the card stop in its reversed position, Wan Zhangmu's mind went completely blank. He stopped breathing in an instant, overwhelmed by shock, unable to hear anything from the outside world...

"The Hanged Man... According to this card, your fate is—stagnation!"

With a smirk, Saiō stroked the card on the table and continued, "Manjōme, the card conveys a message: you say you have a rival you want to surpass, but in reality, you've already given up on that idea and are instead flattering them with a friendly attitude, trying to delay the duel in this way..."

"What are you saying? No... I..."

The seductive music pierced through the defenses and reached the depths of Wan Zhangmu's heart.

Manjoume, whose true thoughts had been seen through by Saiō, immediately gave a negative answer.

However... the shocked expression on his face betrayed his true thoughts.

Indeed, the reason he didn't duel with Yusei and Jaden Yuki was largely because he didn't want to lose to them, didn't want to admit that he was inferior in skill, and didn't want to face the cruel fact that he was no match for them in a duel.

"I see... So that's how it is..." A faint light emanated from his body, and the King of the West, who had seen through everything, smiled and nodded: "Is that so? Because you can never defeat your destined opponent, you've fallen into stagnation, is that it?"

"But you can't go on like this. The card you drew is—the Hanged Man upside down. This is a sign of turning stagnation into progress!"

"From...from stagnation...forward?" With his expression gradually becoming dazed, Manjoume, whose body was wrapped in the Hanged Man, seemed to deeply agree with Saiō's words and showed a look of interest.

Unlike his initial complete rejection, Manjoume is now in a completely different state, appearing particularly abnormal.

"That's right! Fate is predetermined. The deck you're using now is your destiny all along... But a new destiny will begin now!"

Saying this, Saiō picked up the deck on the table and casually shuffled the cards: "I can give you power, you know? I can build the deck that gives you the destiny you desire. You want to defeat those heroes, right? You can! Leave it to me, and I'll help you build your destiny~"

Manjoume: "Um...I...I..."

Saiō: "Is this really a good idea? If you hesitate any longer, your destiny might disappear! I'm going to stop shuffling the cards too! Do you think this level of destiny is acceptable?"

"Manjoume... if you don't honestly tell us your true thoughts, the path to victory will slip through your fingers! Are you just going to let it go like that?"

"I...I..." He abruptly closed his eyes, as if in despair. Under Saiou's guidance, Manjoume clenched his fists and shouted, "Power...I want power!!! I want the power to defeat everything!!!"

"Ah……"

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Zhai stopped what he was doing and revealed a smug smile.

Meanwhile, the body of [Armed Dragon LV10] exploded on its own under the effect of [Secret Power 12 - The Hanged Man], taking away the last of Manjoume's life points.

(Manjoume LP: 3000→0)

"...Brother Manjoume!!!"

Amidst the startled cries of the three brothers, Manjou, already in defeat, was lifted upside down by the Hanged Man's outstretched tentacles.

Looking at them trying to save Wan Zhangmu, the King of the Sea smiled faintly, then suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Then, a burst of purple light suddenly appeared, instantly shattering the three disruptive monsters and driving them away from the space he controlled.

"Hehehe... In this way, the soul of the one who controls the spirits will become mine." Feeling this familiar sense of control, Saiou, who held the soul of Manjō-me in his hand, quietly closed his eyes.

"But...why didn't Jaden Yuki manage to..."

Through these trials, Saiou has finally confirmed that his power surpasses that of the spirits, and that he can genuinely influence spirit users like Manjoume.

But... this still cannot explain the abnormal phenomenon that he was unable to control Jaden Yuki before.

With this question in mind, Saiou opened his pale purple eyes and reached out to draw the top card of his deck: "Hmm... the reversed Wheel of Fortune... the tilt of fate?"

"Judai Yuki... Could it be that the power this guy possesses has already surpassed my own light?"

"No! No one can escape a predetermined fate, not even him, who was outside my plans..."

……

"Manjoume? What's wrong?"

"Uh... what's that pure white uniform you're wearing that doesn't suit your style at all...?"

After Saiou left, Manjoume returned to his dormitory and, guided by the light, immediately changed into a pure white Obelisk blue trench coat uniform.

Seeing Manjoume's attire, which was so different from his surroundings, the crowd couldn't help but ask questions in confusion.

Manjoume... Could this guy have been bored and courted death, and ended up damaging his brain?

"Hmph hmph hmph hmph... Lord Saiou is the ruler of the world. Duel Academy will soon be turned white by the Society of Light."

Facing the questioning gazes of the crowd, Wan Zhangmu, still conscious, waved his hand nonchalantly and uttered a bewildering declaration that sounded like that of a charlatan.

"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?"

"World domination? Society of Light? Manjoume... You're not having a relapse of your chuunibyou, are you?"

"Hahahaha... It's alright if you don't understand, you fools! Now, let's all accept the guidance of fate together! Hahahaha!!!"

"..."

"Someone come quick! Manjoume has had a seizure! Quickly drag him to the infirmary for emergency treatment!"

"Gulp! You bunch of bastards...!!!"

……

Leaving aside the farce on Manjoume's side for now, let's shift our perspective to the other side.

After leaving Duel Academy, Yusei and Jaden followed Tenmiya Yu's directions and went straight to Kaiba Park, where they had previously taken their entrance exams.

Because prior notice had been given, the security personnel did not give the two any trouble and allowed them to enter the Haima Entertainment Group building without any problems.

When Yusei and Jaden arrived, Kaiba was not there because he had something to do (playing cards), so his younger brother, who was his assistant, greeted the guests and led them to the location of the Hakushuttle on the rooftop.

"Wow! That's amazing! No wonder it's Kaiba Corporation... I didn't know they had something like that!"