Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

"..."

Without any real feeling, as if he were in a dream, Edward subconsciously reached out and took the key box.

Then, the moment she came to her senses, the King of the West, just like before, vanished into nothingness, leaving no trace of his existence.

“What was that just now? Why is the Prince of Zhai here…” Edward reached out and opened the black key box in his hand, holding the silver key in his hand, a look of doubt appearing on his face.

……

"...The key! Where is the key that's guiding us?! Why, why is it gone?!"

In the empty, dark room, having lost his key, Saiō raged with fury at the full-length mirror before him.

The mirror in front of him reflected his other personality, the kind-hearted Saiou who had previously given the two keys to Yusei and Edward respectively.

Seeing the evil Saiō making exaggerated facial expressions out of anger, the other, kind Saiō in the mirror smiled gently, as if mocking, and said, "Heh... No need to look anymore, I have already handed the key over to those who control true destiny."

"What...impossible! That precious key should have been in my hands! I should be the one who controls those keys! You...go and get it back right now!"

594. Win this duel, and you're mine!

"You bastard... give me back my keys!"

Hearing the mocking words spoken by his reflection in the mirror, the astonished Saiou, whose expression gradually turned into a grimace, suddenly swung his arm and habitually gave the order to snatch back the key.

However, the two are originally one.

The other good personality of the King of Sai was not affected by the light of destruction and became a henchman of the King of Sai's evil personality like the others.

So, when faced with the command from the evil personality, which was filled with anger and impatience, the good personality in the mirror simply shrugged and then showed a helpless expression: "My other self... have you forgotten? We can never defy fate!"

As diviners, we can only act as witnesses to fate, observing the changes in this world, but we cannot actively intervene… The true destiny of this world must be in the hands of those who possess the key!

"Tsk! Listening to your nonsense...you damn bastard!"

Seemingly unable to suppress the anger rising within him any longer, upon hearing the voice of his other self, the Prince of the West stretched out his fist and forcefully smashed the full-length mirror in front of him, shattering it into pieces.

He, the King of the Fast, has always been the one to fool others. When did it become his turn to be fooled and ridiculed?

Even if it's another version of myself, absolutely not!

"Hehehe... What a pointless act. Even if you break the mirror, so what? You know... I can't be affected by something like this, can I?"

"We are now, strictly speaking, two different individuals."

As the mirror shattered, a faint, mocking laugh echoed in the ears of the enraged Prince.

However, upon hearing this voice, the evil king revealed an extremely crazed smile.

"Hehehehehe...Very good, very good!!!"

"My other self, go ahead and try to stop me! But don't be too happy yet... During the time you left my body, I separated from the darkness within me and allowed the light to re-synchronize with me. After that, you won't be able to affect me in any way! As for the keys you secretly took, I will... take them back immediately!"

"..."

Taking advantage of this divergence in ideas, Saiō's two personalities were essentially differentiated, becoming two independent individuals.

After calming his turbulent emotions, Saiō, who had foreseen the arrival of the uninvited guest Yusei through divination, raised an eyebrow and summoned his officers to deal with the situation.

Because Manjoume was still in a standoff with Judai Yujou, it was Tenjouin Asuka, who was left behind at the Light Society, who was summoned by Saiou this time.

"Any instructions, Lord Jai-wang?"

With a blank expression, Asuka, dressed in a white uniform, pushed open the door and walked into Saiou's divination room. She then asked the man in the center of the room, who had his back to her, with a questioning voice.

Since defeating Prince Aujin and taking him under his command, King Jai has hardly appeared in the public eye during this period.

Generally speaking, Saiou values ​​Manjoume more because of his domineering personality and the fact that he attracts hatred, and he is more willing to entrust matters to him. It is extremely rare for him to call Asuka over alone like today.

What happened that caused this change?

"Heh... Awaken, Apostle of Light, Asuka Tenjouin!"

"...?!"

With a slight smirk playing on his lips, Saiou turned around and extended his hand directly at Asuka, who was standing in the doorway, applying a new influence to her.

Saiou, who was some distance away from Asuka, gradually had his eyes filled with purple light, while Asuka, who was being stared at, gradually lost the luster in her originally bright pupils.

As soon as Saiou lowered his arm, Asuka's aura turned cold.

"Tenjōin Asuka... servant chosen by the light, use this new combination to defeat that foolish invader who dares to trespass on the Society of Light under the cover of tonight's white night!"

He pulled a brand new deck from his pocket and handed it to Asuka, a look of anticipation appearing on Saiou's face.

Like the White Knights deck used by Manjoume, this brand-new White Night deck is also a deck he tailored specifically for Asuka.

This deck symbolizes Asuka's loyalty to the Society of Light, making it perfect for dealing with those scoundrels.

"Defeat...the invaders?"

"That's right. Next, you will take my place to defeat the Yusei who is about to arrive here, and then take back from him the Key of Light that holds our destiny... that precious object that guides us to a new world!"

Having clenched his right hand and learned the whereabouts of the key through divination, the King of the West wore an expression of perfect planning.

Perfect timing! I was just about to go find you, and you delivered yourself right to my doorstep.

Yusei! Leave me the key you have!

After that, it's Edward's turn...

When the two keys reunite in my hands, the light that will end everything will shine upon the earth!

"...Everything will be done according to your instructions."

After receiving Saiou's deck, Asuka turned and left without hesitation, heading towards the hall of the Society of Light.

There, she will wait for Yusei to arrive as a challenger.

……

"This key...holds the fate of the world in its hands?"

"I heard from Misuzu that his older brother, Saiou Takuma, seemed to have developed two completely different personalities after being affected by the Light of Destruction, just like in the game..."

"...So, it means that the one who gave this to me was Saiō's original kind personality?"

After easily dispatching a group of Light Society minions blocking his way, Yusei clapped his hands and took the key that Zennen Saiou had given him, playing with it in his hand.

At the same time that Jaden Yuki was dueling with Manjoume, Yusei also arrived at the headquarters of the Society of Light, the former location of the Obelisk Blue boys' dormitory.

After defeating the passersby blocking the doorway through a duel, Yusei, sensing a certain destiny, took a deep breath and then pushed open the white door in front of him.

As the door slowly opened, the figure of someone inside appeared in Yusei's eyes.

"Has he arrived? The opponent I'm about to defeat."

With no light in his pupils, Asuka, seeing Yusei burst into the Society of Light, stretched out her arm and shoved the deck that Saiou had given her into the Duel Disk, ready to fight.

"Asuka, it's been a long time..."

"Yusei, you have the key, don't you?"

"...Huh? I only just got the key, and you already knew??"

"No secret can be hidden before Lord Jai-wang's divination..."

"..."

Originally, Yusei was thinking of saying something to Asuka.

However, seeing her current blank stare and obviously abnormal state, Yusei immediately came to his senses and realized that Asuka had probably been subjected to a deeper influence by Saiou.

Fortunately, in this world where ranking is everything, regardless of whether it's good or bad, what everyone is most interested in are things like duels and cards. No matter how cute, charming, or popular a female character is, she can only be relegated to a decorative role...

Therefore, Yu doesn't need to worry that during this period, some doujinshi plots unsuitable for children will appear on Asuka.

In the current situation, simply communicating with words will most likely only lead to unsatisfactory results.

In situations like this, the most suitable method to solve the problem is, of course, a duel.

The best way to resolve the current situation is to awaken Asuka from her controlled state through a duel!

"...Lord Saiō entrusted the two keys to you and Edward respectively for some reason, but...he has now ordered me to take them back...as for why he did this contradictory thing, we don't need to know."

"As Apostles of Light, all we need to do is follow Lord Saiou's orders, nothing more."

Asuka, her gaze somewhat vacant and unlike her usual self, after showering the Society of Light with praise, continued speaking to Yusei, who had entered the room: "Come and duel with me, Yusei... If you win, you can retain ownership of that key, but if I win, you must return it to Lord Saiou... And after that, I will follow Lord Saiou's instructions and become the eternal guardian of that key! Together with new brilliance, we will usher in a new world..."

"Emmm... Asuka-san, I understand the part about winning and losing, but I just can't understand what you said after that."

Looking at the blonde girl in front of him with whom he had a close relationship, Yusei scratched his head and casually said, "Speaking of which, isn't it a bit unfair that only you are making demands? How about letting me have a say too?"

"Hmm? You're not satisfied?"

"That's right, let's change the rules. Let's add a clause: if I win... you have to become mine. How about that?"

Crossing his arms and adopting a serious expression like a master of crossbows, Yusei presented his terms to Asuka.

Anyway, Asuka's current state is clearly abnormal, so even if I tease her a bit, nothing will happen, right?

Based on past experience, once Asuka recovers, the memories from this period will gradually fade and disappear from her mind.

"……Can."

After a moment of silence, Asuka frowned slightly, nodded subtly, and then gave her answer.

Even if past memories are sealed away, the feelings that remain in the body still do not disappear.

If anyone else had said such a thing, Asuka would have undoubtedly sent him packing, and on top of that, she would have reported him and given him a death sentence, letting that foolish guy fully experience the power of her superb boxing skills.

However, even though Yusei, her former good friend, made such a teasing request, Asuka still couldn't feel the slightest bit of aversion.

"Uh...majiga (really?)?"

It was just a casual remark, but I didn't expect Asuka to actually give an affirmative answer.

Yusei, somewhat bewildered by the girl's direct approach, twitched at the corner of his mouth and subconsciously began to imagine all sorts of things that might happen next.

An inexplicable misty atmosphere then spread around the two of them.

Hmm? Asuka said yes, does that mean... I can do this and that to her? I can experience the feeling of growing up? I can have her put on black stockings and a white-trimmed maid skirt and then do all sorts of shameful play?