Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

(Marufuji Sho LP: 1400→0)

"Ughhhhhh..."

Sho Marufuji, his body crushed by the powerful impact and his face filled with regret and remorse, lost his last bit of life points. With the notification sound from the Duel Disk, he suffered a regrettable defeat in this duel...

The battle for the strongest henchman has now ended in victory for Dilano Sword Mountain!

……

...

"Aaaaaah... I lost. My favorite older brother is about to leave me..."

With his hands on the ground, Marufuji Sho lay face down, his face filled with disappointment and regret.

As if venting his anger, he pounded the ground beneath him.

Damn it... I was so close! I was so close to winning! If Kenzan hadn't drawn the card he wanted, if I had a trap card in my hand to interrupt his combo, if I had my back row... if only...

No matter how many possibilities there are, no matter how many "what ifs" there are, they can only become fleeting fantasies, disappearing into the vast sea of ​​possibilities and gradually turning into nothingness.

In any case, all that is before everyone is the fact that Kenzan won and Marufuji Sho lost.

As per the previous agreement, Marufuji Sho will henceforth relinquish his position as the number one underling...

"...I declare Kenzan the victor in today's duel."

With one hand on her hip and waving a simple white flagpole, Tenjouin Fubuki, who was acting as both referee and witness, made her concluding remarks.

After that, he patted Marufuji Sho, who was lying on the ground, and then said to Kenzan, "Kenzan, as the victor of this duel, you have the right to take the throne of the Tenth Generation's number one underling from Sho. So, are you willing to accept this honor?"

"Brother... younger brother, throne and stuff like that, don't you think... these words sound ridiculous?"

Hearing her brother's words, Asuka felt somewhat speechless, raised her hand to her forehead as if to sigh, and uttered such a sigh.

You kids... are you still children? You're so immature! Can't you be a little more mature and act like students your age?

"Uh... Asuka, you need to be serious right now! You know, Kenzan and Sho are arguing fiercely about this!" Feeling a little embarrassed as her younger sister looked at her with pity, Tenjōin Fubuki quickly found a reasonable excuse for her amusing behavior.

Well, I only said that to go along with them; it's not that I personally have any interest in that area!

My dearest sister! You must believe me!!!

Your brother is definitely not the kind of person who would engage in frivolous fun!

"...I choose to give up."

"Hey?"

With a calm voice, Jian Shan shook his head, giving an unexpected answer.

481 A Cosmic Encounter, Vessas-Staffrost

"...I choose to give up." Kenzan, who had won the duel, did not choose to accept the throne of Yukichi Judai's underling.

After a moment of silence, he finally decided to give up.

"...Give up? But Kenzan, you've already won!"

Shocked by Kenzan's answer, Marufuji Sho abruptly raised his head from the ground, casting his puzzled gaze upon Kenzan.

If he had won, the outcome would have been completely different.

Honestly, if it were him, he would almost never have turned down such a great opportunity like Jian Shan did.

“Sho Marufuji-senpai, I know you must be wondering, but…”

Putting away the Duel Disk and crossing his arms, Kenzan continued speaking to the crowd: "...But after this duel, I have felt the affection that Marufuji Sho-senpai has for Judai-nii! That burning emotion is definitely a real feeling, just like mine, and absolutely not something fake! So...I acknowledge you, and let's become Judai-nii's loyal little brother together!"

"Kenzan...you bastard..."

Receiving an unexpected reply, Marufuji Sho's regret turned into astonishment. After a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly scrambled to his feet and came to Kenzan's side: "I clearly said those things earlier, and you actually gave me this answer... You're such a soft-hearted person!"

"Hehehe... I don't care anymore. Well, if you really feel bad about it, then come and duel with me again next time!"

"Hmph! Don't worry, I'll definitely beat you next time!"

"...I return those words to you verbatim!"

And so, witnessed by everyone, this farcical drama of two men vying for one another's husband ended in an unexpected reconciliation.

Marufuji Sho and Kenzan reached a temporary agreement, realizing the psychedelic scene of two men sharing one husband (?).

……

...

Meanwhile, on the other side.

At this very moment, in a certain ethereal and gravity-free cosmic space, during the "battle for the title of strongest younger brother" between Kenzan and Marufuji Sho, which is full of ridiculous moments.

Having defeated the aliens and waved goodbye to Dolphin Bro, Yusei and his group, who had left from the new space in Jupiter's orbit, were now on their way home in the White Dragon Shuttle piloted by Kaiba Keihei.

Through the thick glass mirror, Yusei also took this rare opportunity to witness the cosmic landscape beyond Earth.

The scene unfolding before his eyes was—a black hole formed from a collapsing supernova, capable of swallowing everything; star clusters composed of countless stars and giant stars; nebulae made of thin gas or dust…

And, what's happening right before our eyes...Star Wars!!!

"What the hell is this thing?!"

As the red flying object, clearly heading their way and radiating a powerful attraction, drew closer, Yusei couldn't help but let out a roar filled with intense doubt.

While Yusei and his companions were unaware, the White Dragon Shuttle had just stepped into this area and was innocently affected, being slowly pulled toward the Red Fortress.

As they got a little closer, the group was able to see the entire flying object.

What appeared before everyone was a massive fortress that, from a distance, looked as large as a planet.

Centered on the core of the fortress, which clearly emitted an abnormal red light, various flying objects and huge armor plates made of hard material were scattered around it.

From all directions of the fortress, beams of red light were projected, converging at the rear to form an energy field resembling a cannon.

Faintly, the group could still clearly see several alien star destroyers patrolling the area, possessing immense destructive power, as well as numerous red-shelled flying creatures that looked menacing...

"Ah this..."

Kaiba Keihei, who was in charge of the piloting, was stunned by the slightly strange scene and instinctively froze on the spot.

Fortunately, these red creatures and warships were currently engaged in a fierce battle with another blue force, and had no time to care about Youxing and his group, leaving them to fend for themselves.

"That thing is... a red... a red space fortress?"

I just finished fighting aliens, and now I've run into this indescribable alien fortress.

With an uncertain tone, Kaiba Keihei finally stroked his chin and voiced his guess.

From the moment they left, their shuttle was captured by an inexplicable and irresistible attraction, unable to break free or jump between them.

The only saving grace is that only the shuttle is locked on, not Yusei, Jaden Yuki, and Keihei Kaiba. So theoretically, they can choose to abandon ship and escape, avoiding being sucked away by the giant red fortress.

But... in this vast universe, abandoning ship only leads to certain death.

Shortly after leaving the shuttle, they would naturally fall unconscious due to lack of oxygen and die, so jumping ship to escape was not an option for them at the moment.

"So, what do we do now?"

Holding his brand-new new space deck, Jaden Yuki's confidence soared to unprecedented heights. Eager to return to Earth and challenge anyone to a duel, he waved his arm and said, "How about we go find these aliens and duel them?"

When in doubt, play cards first; in short, playing cards is the way to go!

This answer is clearly very much in line with Jaden Yuki's personality.

but……

"...Jūdai, are you sure these creatures are beings that can be interacted with in a friendly manner?"

Reclining helplessly in his seat, Yusei reminded Jaden Yuki, whose face was etched with excitement, "Besides, even if it's as you say, and they're willing to put down their battles to play cards with you, how do you plan to solve the oxygen problem? It's fine inside the capsule now, but once you're outside, you'll soon die from lack of oxygen, you know?"

"Uh... well? There's always a way, right... hahahaha..."

Touching the back of his head, Judai Yuki realized he had spoken out of turn, and chuckled awkwardly.

Indeed, what I said just now was ill-considered.

"Oh... a duel? I think that might work, it's a good idea~"

"Hmm...who's speaking?"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar male voice echoed in the ears of the three people inside the cabin.

Then, accompanied by a dazzling ripple, a young man with short, black, drooping hair with green highlights, a handsome face, wearing combat armor, and with his right hand covered by silver-white armor, appeared out of thin air inside the shuttle.

On the youth's shoulder sat a chibi-style male orc with flowing long hair and a face that screamed "arrogance."

"...!!!"

"Holy crap! Who the hell are you?"

“…Wow.”

Startled by the sudden appearance of the unfamiliar duo, the three people inside the shuttle reacted with surprise in unison.

Seemingly unfazed by this reaction, the young man shrugged and politely introduced himself to the surprised Yusei and his companions: "Excuse me for disturbing you. My name is [Vesas-Staffrost]. As for my identity, well, I'm a space traveler with special abilities. I'm currently traveling around trying to liberate various worlds..."

At this point, Vesas pointed to the chibi-style orc on his shoulder: "The reason I'm here is mainly because my partner, this [Lightheart] on my shoulder, sensed an unfamiliar aura, so he urged me to come find you."

“…Vesas-Staffrost, Lightheart?” Upon hearing these somewhat unfamiliar names, Yusei stood up and began to carefully observe their attire.

Hmm... This young man named Vesas was wearing a Japanese-style armor with a punk vibe, and his right hand was made of a material similar to an armored arm, with a faint shimmering light, full of a strange sense of power.

Behind him was a crescent-shaped greatsword, similar to the Tombmaster's Greatsword from Dark Souls.

Overall, he gives off the impression of a protagonist in a world, and his profession is probably something like a magic swordsman.

"Hehehe~~~ That's right, it was me who sent him here specifically to find you!"

With a smug grin, the orc named Lethart, who had been singled out by Vessas, said with a mocking tone, "You guys really have guts to interfere in the battle between the [World of Destruction] worlds. Aren't you afraid of being caught in the crossfire?"