Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

"Thank you for your help, Yusei... The battle from now on is up to us."

With "Tears of Elegy Clan - Rusaka Mermaid" in his arms and the chibi-style beastman "Intimidating Minion Clan - Lightheart" perched on his shoulder, Vesas expressed his gratitude to Yusei and the others with a satisfied smile.

"It's nothing. Helping you is actually helping ourselves."

Yusei shook his head slightly, put away his Duel Disk, and gave Vessas a polite reply.

This unexpected event was quite a strange experience for him.

"Yes, yes! This has truly broadened my horizons... I never imagined there could be such beautiful scenery beyond the universe! Talking dolphins and mermaids, as well as visitors and enemies from other worlds... Ahhhh... It's so exciting!"

These words were spoken by Judai Yuki, who looked excited.

There was no trace of the disappointment he felt when he lost to Ed Phoenix on his face now.

Having witnessed the beautiful scenery beyond the world and broadened his horizons, he was reborn after taking on the glorious mission of saving the universe together with Yusei.

"Judai, calm down, calm down..." After patting Yuki Judai on the shoulder, Kaiba Keihei, the only working-class person among the three, said goodbye to Visas after seeing that the incident was over: "Well then, since the incident here is over, we'll be going."

"Wait, Yusei... Before I leave, let me give you a gift! You've helped me so much, I should reciprocate."

"……Gift?"

“That’s right, it’s the crystallization of power I’ve gained after traveling through so many worlds.” As he said this, Vessas stretched out his free arm toward Yusei.

With a flash of light, a deck appeared in Vesas's palm.

"This is... a deck?"

"Hmm, I think... this is exactly what you need."

After nodding, Vesas handed the deck in his hand to Yusei: "The Tearful Lament tribe, the Intimidating Minions tribe, and other World Destruction series cards... This is the crystallization of the bonds I've built up along the way. Now, I'm handing a part of it to you... Yusei, even in different worlds, let's fight side by side!"

"oh oh……"

Thus, following the New Space expansion, Yusei acquired a brand new World Destruction deck from Vesas, including the [Tears of Elegy Tribe]...

With the opponent going first, use the fusion skill to block their development, and the Mermaid's Graveyard skill in conjunction with the Swamp Demon King to accelerate the fusion of any fusion monster that doesn't require any conditions...

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the power of this deck...

Yusei is still unaware of just how powerful an aid he has received.

486 Low Points and Turning Points

A dark horse that has won every battle and is highly anticipated!

This is the first impression that Kaiser Ryo gives when he first enters the professional dueling stage.

As the top graduate of the Duel Academy, he was recommended by the academy to participate in the professional league, and he did not disappoint the name Caesar.

With his overwhelming victories and unparalleled glory, Kaiser Ryo and his ace monster, the Cyber ​​Terminator Dragon, frequently graced the covers of a wide variety of magazines.

As an outstanding example of a graduate, he was often mentioned by Professor Chronos to encourage the new students who had just entered the school.

It can be said that Kaiser Ryo's life has become quite fulfilling.

However... these past honors gradually faded away with his defeat.

After losing to Ed Phoenix in a previous duel, Kaiser Ryo fell into a state of self-doubt and began to lose.

After experiencing a surprising ten-game losing streak, the once highly anticipated Kaiser Ryo was dropped from the league, a disappointing rookie who stopped at the threshold of professional dueling.

His photo also disappeared from the magazine cover, replaced entirely by images of Edward and the hero of destiny.

Everyone at the Duel Academy was at a loss for words in response to this result.

Although they believed that Caesar, with his strong sense of self-respect, would eventually emerge from the shadows and recover, they, being in different circumstances from Caesar, could not truly understand his feelings.

They also didn't know when that day would come.

……

"Hmph! The effect of [Thunder End Dragon] is activated! Remove 1 Xyz Material from this card and destroy all other monsters on the field!"

"...Gurgle! Electro-Terminator Dragon!!!"

"This is the final move! [Thunder Terminator Dragon], attack now!"

"Ughhhhhhh...!!!"

In the dark, damp, and spacious room, an underground duel, unknown to everyone, is currently taking place.

Caesar... or rather, Ryo Marufuji, who was constantly losing in the league and caught in a vicious cycle, eventually ended up in this situation by chance.

In order to maintain a basic living, or perhaps to regain that feeling of victory among the weak, Ryo Marufuji unknowingly stepped into a dark world, falling from a highly anticipated supernova to a mere mortal yearning for victory.

However, even if one lowers their goals and requirements again and again.

Even though his opponent was just an unknown extra, Caesar, restrained and hesitant, ultimately lost the duel.

And what awaited him in this state of slacking off was, naturally, endless negative emotions from the audience.

"A boring duel, Ryo Marufuji. Is this what you call the level of a professional player?"

"...RNM! Refund!"

"I took a day off specifically to watch this duel, and this is it?"

"...It's Marufuji Ryo again! This guy once again had a huge advantage but got reversed and lost the duel!"

"What's going on? Are you even playing seriously? How can you lose when you have a dragon charging right at you? Are you kidding me?"

"...Seriously, bro? That was a scene like that, even a pig could have won, right? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You have a face-down card but don't use it, you can attack but don't, you insist on waiting for the opponent to deploy, what are you doing? Huh?"

"...Useless! Trash! No wonder you've turned into this awful state!"

"Seriously, bro, maybe you shouldn't fight. My dog ​​is stronger than you..."

……

Ridicule, insults, contempt, doubt...

All sorts of coldness and warmth of human relationships, as well as foul language, that the audience had never experienced before, were now vented on Marufuji Ryo.

The sound of insults echoed in his ears. Marufuji Ryo, once again tasting the bitterness of defeat, silently raised his head and looked at the slightly yellowed chandelier above him with empty eyes.

His mind also became immersed in his own world, and he began to think about the meaning of his existence.

When exactly... when did I become like this?

Yesterday I was the radiant and glorious Caesar, but today I have suddenly become the very thing I used to despise.

They have a negative attitude towards dueling, which is their forte, and feel a strong sense of fear towards attacking, a perfectly normal action.

The glory of the past has vanished, and the name of Caesar has almost become a joke.

Even the Cyber ​​Ender Dragon, my old friend, the ace monster that brought me countless victories... is about to leave me...

What should I do?

Can anyone give me a definitive answer?

Naturally, no one could answer his questions, nor could anyone understand the pain in his heart.

Marufuji Ryo could only turn away amidst the jeers of the crowd, clinging to his last shred of dignity, and resolutely choose to leave, choosing to escape from himself.

……

"To be honest, you've strayed far from our company's image, so I hope your previous contract with our company will be considered a blank sheet of paper."

"..."

"Caesar... no! Ryo Marufuji, it seems we overestimated you before. Young people who can't handle setbacks are not the kind of people our company wants to invest in, so let's stop here."

"..."

"Marufuji, I'm telling you..."

"..."

Silence, a long silence.

He neither erupted in silence nor died in silence; Marufuji Ryo simply accepted his fate with equanimity.

Whether it was his previous defeat in a duel or the successive termination notices he received from his agency and sponsors, Marufuji Ryo's response was mostly silence, which was tantamount to no response or could be taken as tacit agreement.

When you're doing well, countless people will come to fawn over you.

When things aren't going well for them, they'd rather be a million miles away from you and never want you to have any contact with them again.

This is both a harsh reality and an eternal truth.

Unlike in school, there is no pure goodwill in society; it's all about mutual exploitation!

All those who had previously fawned over him needed was the reputation of Marufuji Ryo's continued dark horse victories.

Once all of that was gone, Marufuji Ryo, having lost his usefulness, was naturally kicked aside and left to drift like a rootless duckweed.

Thus, Marufuji Ryo, who had been stunned by the harsh realities of life and thoroughly taught a lesson by capitalists, was plunged into an even deeper vortex of darkness.

Based on his doubts about the duel, Ryo Marufuji couldn't help but start to doubt his own life.

"Hehehe... I've become a complete joke right now..."

"Yusei... if it were you, what choice would you make? From my perspective, could you pull yourself together? Could you ignore those doubting voices and step out of the shadows in your heart?"

Walking on the deserted streets at night, Ryo Marufuji, who was at a low point in his life, couldn't help but have all sorts of thoughts running through his mind.

Looking at the street, as gloomy as his heart, he couldn't help but recall the opponent who defeated him in the graduation duel, the boy who always brought surprises.