Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

At this moment, a hint of bitterness appeared on Ryo Marufuji's face.

Yusei... the hero I admire, you possess limitless potential. I'm sure you will continue to grow stronger and eventually surpass all duelists, becoming the king of duels at the forefront of that era.

Compared to you, I am nothing more than the old wave that was pushed to its death on the beach by the new wave.

My era, the era of Caesar, is now over.

Perhaps it's time for me to face the current situation squarely, give up the duel, and choose another path?

"Giving up might also be a good choice..."

As if by destiny, Marufuji Ryo stopped in his tracks and looked into the pitch-black depths of the alley.

As if it were pre-planned, a suspicious man shrouded in a cloak walked towards them from the depths of the alley.

"Kaiser Ryo, I have already paid my respects to your duel just now."

As the moonlight spilled down, the suspicious man revealed his face—a shrewd face with gold-rimmed glasses.

The first impression he gives is not that of an honest and upright person.

"My duel? You... then... what do you think?" After hesitating for a moment, Caesar still asked the question he most wanted to ask first.

More than the identity of the man in front of him, he wanted to learn information from others that he had not noticed before.

"Heh... You're asking me what I thought? Well, I'll just say it straight: it was an extremely boring duel!"

The suspicious man, tilting his head, stopped a short distance in front of Marufuji Ryo. Then, he spoke in a mocking tone: "...I can't believe that such low-class stuff would be your duel, Kaiser Ryo!"

"...What is your purpose? Are you here to deliberately cause trouble?"

Frowning, Marufuji Ryo, whose chest had been pierced by the suspicious man's blunt truth, spoke with obvious impatience.

What happened recently was already bad enough for him, and now he's run into a troll who's looking for trouble.

Damn it, are you deliberately messing with me?

"...Of course not, you've misunderstood me!"

He waved his arm seriously, took out a business card from his pocket, and handed it to Marufuji Ryo. The suspicious man then smiled and said, "My name is Montgomery Saruyama. Just as the business card says, my job is to assist others. Marufuji Ryo... I can see that you've fallen into a strange trap and need my help!"

"...Help? You're planning to help me?"

Looking at the information on the business card, Marufuji Ryo, who had just been ripped off by capitalists, instinctively felt suspicious: "What good will this do you? Why would you help me?"

As the saying goes, no one gets up early for nothing; things that are free are often the most expensive.

Marufuji Ryo didn't believe that this man named Mongi Saruyama would help him unconditionally and sincerely.

He must have had his own purpose in appearing here on purpose.

"Hehe... Although it was a bit rude, given the current situation, Mr. Marufuji Ryo's performance in the upcoming matches will not improve at all."

"...Gu!"

"However, I feel it would be a real shame to let this talent go to waste, so I'm going to help you and give you a chance to regain your original power."

With a smirk, a devilish smile appeared on Meng Qiyuanshan's face.

The man patiently awaited a reply from Ryo Marufuji himself.

He himself was extremely confident about the outcome of the conversation.

Ryo Marufuji: "Opportunity? What kind of opportunity are you talking about...?"

Montgomery: "What I mean is that you should stay on the battlefield and always maintain a sense of crisis to trigger your survival instincts. You know, humans often only unleash their potential in desperate situations."

Ryo Marufuji: "Crisis? But this kind of thing..."

Montgomery: "Hehehe... There's no need to worry about that. If we can't do it on the platform, then we can just look at our feet, at these places where the sunlight doesn't reach, right?"

"A place where sunlight doesn't reach?"

Raising an eyebrow, Marufuji Ryo keenly gleaned the key information from the other person's words and voiced his guess: "You mean... you want me, a professional fighter, to participate in some unsecured underground duel tournament?"

Monkey Saruyama: "That's right, could you let me use your talents? I want to provide you with a new arena for duels and pull you out of your current abyss of despair!"

"...I'm sorry, I'm a player who joined the professional league and I don't plan to transfer to another team."

With a curt reply, Marufuji Ryo rejected Montgomery Saruyama's proposal.

Although the offer to regain his power was somewhat tempting, it didn't mean he was willing to give up his hard-won status as a professional player.

Even in the face of his current dire situation, and despite his repeated defeats in duels, Marufuji Ryo still retains his last line of defense.

"Don't worry about that. Unlike duels on the surface, formal procedures are useless in duels in the underworld. You can duel on both sides at the same time and keep your little secret, right?"

Despite being rejected by Marufuji Ryo, Montagi Saruyama did not give up. He continued to use a persuasive tone, describing the bright future to his target: "...How about it? Would you like to embark on a journey to a new battlefield with me?"

487 The Birth of Hellish Caesar Bright

"..."

If Caesar had been before his defeats, or if he had been the Caesar who had always won, he would have decisively rejected the proposal and treated it as a joke.

Are you kidding me? As a professional gamer, how could I possibly participate in those underground black market games? Or go and challenge those hardened fugitives to a duel?

However, for Marufuji Ryo, who is now suffering a series of defeats, abandoned by his friends and family, and almost in a desperate situation, and who is about to give up the duel, this is an opportunity to return to his peak, a reasonable proposal that he finds hard to refuse.

"I... I'll go take a look first."

Instead of giving an immediate answer, Marufuji Ryo thought for a moment and decided to observe with his own eyes first before making a decision.

No matter what, things can't get any worse than they are now, so there's nothing to be afraid of.

I have nothing left to lose.

……

Following the man's footsteps, they entered a dimly lit alley. After many twists and turns, the two finally arrived at an old-style building located in a rather secluded area of ​​the slums.

At the entrance of the building, you can see two bald, muscular men with fierce appearances, clearly acting as doormen.

Nearby, various unfriendly-looking thugs and hooligans were scattered about.

Just by looking at this place, you can tell that it's not a place for good people to stay. It's full of dangers that ordinary people living in the ordinary world can't even imagine.

"They've gone in."

"……Um."

Following behind Montgomery Saruyama, who seemed to be a regular customer, Marufuji Ryo walked into the building without any hindrance. Just as he stepped through the door, the iron door behind him was slammed shut, cutting off his last escape route.

Now that things have come to this, even if he regrets it, he can no longer go back the way he came.

Of course, Ryo Marufuji didn't intend to leave just like that.

He came here to reclaim his former glory and find the person he was before his failure.

In any case... he must not choose to leave before achieving this goal.

"Wow~ Looks like we've caught a lucky break!"

"...?"

Walking ahead of Ryo Marufuji, Montagnus Saruyama, who was acting as their guide, raised an eyebrow and let out a sound of surprise as they entered the interior.

Curious about this, Marufuji Ryo quickened his pace and came up behind him, peering into the room.

Then, a wave of surprise washed over him.

As Montgomery had described, the scene that appeared before the two was a huge indoor space resembling a death arena. In the center of this huge room stood a square cell covered with spikes, and around the cell were rows of seats of varying heights, similar to those in an arena.

Men and women, their faces concealed by masks and dressed in rather extravagant attire, were seated in various parts of the room, eagerly awaiting the "spectacular performance" that was about to begin.

Originally, Montgi Saruyama only intended to have Marufuji Ryo come over to see what was about to happen and understand the situation he was about to face. However, given the current circumstances, it seemed that it would be better to let him experience firsthand a battle where life and death were at stake.

"So, Marufuji Ryo, want to give it a try?"

Looking at the boy not far behind him, Meng Qiyuanshan smiled with pleasure: "Rather than me explaining, I think... it would be more appropriate for you to experience the duel here firsthand, wouldn't it?"

"……what ever."

Upon hearing Montgomery's words, Marufuji Ryo narrowed his eyes and gave a calm response.

Arriving in an unfamiliar environment for the first time, and looking at those filthy adults whose minds and bodies were clouded by desire, he instinctively frowned.

Although he was wearing a butterfly-shaped mask that covered half of his face, he could still vaguely recognize that many of the people in the crowd were familiar faces he had seen in the professional league.

There were company owners, wealthy ladies and young ladies from prominent families, and also speculators looking for opportunities.

In the past, he genuinely believed that these people in high society were as glamorous and dazzling as they appeared on the surface, and that they were the kind of people he aspired to be.

But that was after experiencing a series of events; now he has a completely different understanding.

"Well then, that's settled. I'll go arrange the next matches. You just get ready for the duel."

With a wave of his arm, Montgomery Saruyama left with a smile, while Marufuji Ryo, guided by staff members dressed in black, headed to the duel preparation room.

Even though this place isn't very formal, it still has some basic facilities.

Before the official duel, Ryo Marufuji also began to try to adjust his mindset.

……

"...The main competition starting today is the highly anticipated death match!"

"...Ohh ...

With the host's excited and enthusiastic voice and the audience's deafening shouts, this duel unlike any other officially began.

After nodding in satisfaction at the audience's reaction, the host immediately waved and began introducing the two players in tonight's match: "Hehehe... On my left, the red side, is the man known as the 'Guardian of Hell,' with a glorious record of 20 undefeated matches—Mad Dock. Inukai!"

What appeared in the audience's view was a tall, ferocious-looking, bare-chested humanoid beast with terrifying muscles.

This man, who looks like the human form of [Destiny Hero Fear Man], is covered in scars of all sizes.

Judging from the relaxed expression that occasionally appeared on his face, it was clear that he had become familiar with the dueling atmosphere here after his multiple winning streaks.

"...Next, on my right, in the blue corner, is the young challenger, Hell Kaiser Ryo, who, despite his short experience, possesses a genius-level dueling instinct!"

Having changed into his old Obelisk blue trench coat uniform from his student days, Marufuji Ryo, whose fashion sense was greatly enhanced, appeared at the other end of the dueling arena.

Generally speaking, underground competitions like this usually give themselves a rather impressive name, such as "Terminator," "Skull Crusher," or "Black Reaper," which are full of chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) vibes. While showing off their personal prowess, they can also use these names to cover up their public identities.

Marufuji Ryo himself ultimately chose the title of Caesar of Hell, which he felt had a strong connection with.