Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

Thus, this childhood rivalry between Saiou Mijuchi and Ed Phoenix ended in Ed's victory.

It's worth mentioning that the Destruction Phoenix, a monster with 2500 attack power and considered Edward's trump card, made a grand entrance but only played a minor role in this round...

552 Blood Demon - Shadow of D

"Yosh! Edward won! As expected, D-HERO is strong!"

"Alright! Misutomi... Now it's your turn to fulfill your promise!"

With Saiō Mijuchi's life points reaching zero, the duel ended in victory for Ed Phoenix.

As previously agreed, Misutomo will no longer be able to stop everyone from leaving and will have to abandon her own plans.

As the duel ended, Yusei and Jaden Yuki, along with the dissipation of the holographic image, stepped to Edward's side.

Then, the three of them looked toward Misuchi, who had unconsciously lowered her body due to the injury she had suffered.

"……I know."

After a moment of silence, Misuzuchi slowly stood up.

Looking towards where Edward was, she slowly said, "...Ed, you really haven't disappointed me! If you possessed this power, you would surely be able to save your brother, wouldn't you?"

"...Save your brother?"

Hearing Misuzu's somewhat puzzling words, Edward, who had just won the duel, frowned as he put away his duel disk: "What do you mean? Does Saiou need someone to save him?"

The current Saiou has already established his own power base within the Duel Academy.

Even those outside the Duel Academy have heard of the Society of Light's great reputation.

As the leader of the society, Saiō should not need anyone to save him.

What exactly is Misuzu talking about?

"Well... it's understandable that you would react this way!"

With a soft sigh, Misuzu blinked and continued, "...Actually, my brother now possesses both a gentle and kind nature, and a demonic nature that revels in leading the world to destruction. He has become a person with a dual personality..."

"Dual personality? What exactly is going on?" Hearing these words that completely overturned her understanding, Jaden Yuki couldn't help but ask, "Mijutomo, do you mean... the current Saiou isn't the real Saiou?"

“Yes, that’s how it is.” Nodding slightly, Misuzu’s face then showed a look of reminiscence: “My older brother had the ability to see through other people’s fates since he was a child. After he realized this, the people around him felt very uncomfortable and gradually distanced themselves from us.”

Jaden Yuki: "...How could this be?"

Having grown up in a relatively wealthy family, Yuki Judai naturally couldn't understand the life of Saiou and his sister, a life of being disliked and constantly on the move.

Listening to the story told to him in a way that was completely different from what he had imagined, Jaden Yuki could only wear a helpless expression on his face.

Before coming here, he had a lot of grievances against Saiou Mijuchi, who was the mastermind behind it all.

However, after learning about the other person's background, his dissatisfaction disappeared and was replaced by a feeling of sympathy...

Saiou Miyuki: "But it is precisely because of this, precisely because we are both rejected by others, that a bond between us is formed that is far stronger than that between ordinary siblings."

“I felt connected to this bond, and that’s how I felt about the changes that happened to my brother one day.”

Yusei: "Saiou's...change?"

"Yes, on that day, a strange duelist shrouded in a black cloak came to the mansion where my brother was doing divination... That person handed my brother a white, ominous card... And I, who was standing next to him at the time, clearly sensed the ominous power emanating from that card."

"Although I told my older brother to discard that abnormal card... it was too late by then. My older brother... had already been manipulated by the card, enveloped in pure white light, and a completely new evil personality had been born deep within him..."

"...What exactly is that card?" As if he had vaguely guessed something, a lingering gloom appeared on Edward's face.

If she wasn't mistaken, that card...

"That's right, Ed... it's exactly what you thought. That card is the Hero Card that uses terror to suppress evil, and resides in the light of destruction! It's also the original Hero of Destiny—Blood-D!"

Edward: "...!!!"

Saiou Miyuki: "That card, known as Ultimate D, can lead the universe to destruction, and from it, something we call the Root of Terror was born..."

"The terrifying... root cause?"

"From the very first D-HERO that was stolen from my father, there has always been this ominous presence inside, hasn't there?"

"No! Rather than that... according to your explanation, is that card currently in the possession of the Prince of Sai?"

Having finally found a clue to his father's murder, Edward's emotions began to become quite agitated.

She walked up to Mizuchi and looked at her intently: "Mizuchi, you knew about this from the very beginning, didn't you?"

"..." When Edward stared directly at her, Misuzu instinctively avoided her gaze.

After a moment of silence, she slowly said, "No, that card disappeared into thin air after it turned my brother into what he is now."

"It's gone...this..."

Ed paused for a moment, then seemed about to say something more.

However, at this moment, the surrounding digital space suddenly began to shake violently.

"Oh no! This place is going to collapse!"

Sensing the changes around her, Misuzu frowned and immediately waved her arm toward her side.

As she moved, a portal appeared before everyone's eyes.

"...The program is about to crash, everyone... get out of this portal immediately!"

"Mizutomo... what do you plan to do?"

Instead of rushing to leave, Edward looked at Misuzu, who was standing motionless in front of him.

She seemed to want to stay here...

"Heh... Ed, hurry up and get out of here with your companions... This is a program I designed, and the reason I did this is to digitize my own soul and then save my brother's soul in another way."

"...Why would you do something like this??? If you do this, then you'll..."

“Just as you have things to do, I also have things I must do.” Miyuki shook her head slightly, stopping everyone from saying anything more.

In this digital space, she is a supreme being, like a creator, and therefore will not be harmed by the collapse of the space.

But it's different for outsiders like Yusei.

After taking one last look at Edward, Misuzuchi waved her hand, forcibly sending everyone into the portal.

"Mizutomo...you!"

"Ed...and Yusei, Jaden Yuki...let's meet again someday in the future!"

"Please, use your power to turn Saiou Takuma back into the kind older brother he once was, and then stop the wheel of fate that is leading the world toward destruction..."

The group, engulfed by the light of the portal, gradually detached themselves from this space.

The last thing they saw was the figure of Saiou Mijuchi smiling and bidding them farewell in a gradually collapsing world, his form fading away.

After entrusting the task of saving the King of the Sea to Edward, she accepted her fate and remained alone in this lonely digital space.

From this day forward, and perhaps forever...

She will live among everyone in another way.

"Ah! Mijuchi... I promise you! I will do everything in my power to save Saiou's heart!" Whether Mijuchi heard him or not, at the last moment of the teleportation, Edward still shouted out his innermost thoughts to her.

After saying this, Edward and Yusei left this space and were teleported back to the gates of Kaiba Park.

……

At the entrance of the Seahorse Park, a beam of light descended from the sky.

The figures of Yusei and his two companions, who had previously entered the building, were also unexpectedly teleported out.

Seeing Yusei and his group being teleported out, Muto Sugoroku and Misawa Daichi, who were guarding the entrance of the building, looked at each other for a moment before standing up and walking to their side.

"Oh! Is everyone alright?"

After greeting the young people, Muto Sugoroku asked about their situation.

"Ah, time has already taken care of everything... Misutomo, I mean the mastermind behind this won't target us anymore."

Looking at Edward, who was silent and seemed somewhat downcast, Yusei explained the situation on her behalf.

Of course, he didn't mention anything about the Light of Destruction and Ultimate D.

He simply told the two that Edward had a duel with his childhood friend inside, which ended in his victory.

"Hmm, I see. So all this has happened recently because of Sai-ou's sister?" Misawa Daichi stroked his chin, listening to Yusei's explanation, nodding with a look of deep agreement.

"Huh? Misawa, you're here?"

Tilting his head, Jaden Yuki seemed to realize Daichi Misawa's presence only after hearing her voice.

"...I've been here the whole time, haven't I? I've been worried about you all the whole time!"

Upon hearing what Yuki Judai said, Misawa Daichi immediately had several black lines appear on his forehead.

His lips twitched, and he immediately voiced his protest and condemnation: "Speaking of which... Judai, you guys have never included me in your games! That's just too much!"

"Ah, sorry, sorry~~~ I'll definitely do it next time!" Yuki Judai waved his hand dismissively, a bead of sweat appearing on his forehead, and laughed it off.

While Jaden Yuki was chatting with Daichi Misawa, Yusei, who had noticed Edward's current situation, took the initiative to strike up a conversation with the girl: "Edward... are you worried about Misuzu's situation?"

“…Hmm.” He shook his head, then nodded.

The silver-haired girl, her brows furrowed, looked into Yusei's eyes and then spoke, "Although it was her own choice, Misuzu is still trapped in the virtual reality world... I know she's not dead, and her true self is sleeping in this facility... But, ultimately, I still find this outcome somewhat difficult to accept..."

"Well, I think Misutomo is quite an interesting person..."

After carefully considering his words, Yusei smiled and said, "At the very beginning, Misuzu's attitude was quite arrogant, threatening us that if we didn't come here to see her, we wouldn't be allowed to leave Domino City..."

"But when we actually got here and learned more about her past, we discovered that she wasn't the kind of wicked female demon we had imagined..."

"And now, she says she'll help us solve the problem of Prince Jai in another way... To be honest, I feel a little nostalgic..."

Scratching his nose, Yusei blinked. "It's a weird feeling, isn't it? I only just met her a short time ago..."

"...Ha! Yusei...you wouldn't happen to have taken a liking to her, would you?"

After listening to Yusei's words, Edward crossed his arms and slightly raised his head: "...Just a friendly reminder, she's not someone you can easily win over, you know? Although she's not a brother complex type, Misuzu is quite cold to everyone!"

"If you are alone with her, you will realize that she is an extremely difficult person to get along with."