Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

The second year of school life is coming to an end, and a brand new era is about to begin. It's time to deliver a heroic verdict to the troublemaking King of the West.

With the departure of the King of Sai, surely a new light of hope will descend upon this world.

With a determined look on his face, Yusei said this as he strode to the gate of the Society of Light.

With the power of the elves, he vaguely sensed the aura of a duel between two powerful figures confronting each other in the underground space of this building.

"That's enough, Prince Sai..."

Yusei took a deep breath, placed his hand on the door, and then forcefully pushed open the society's door: "...I won't let you run rampant anymore. This time, you won't be able to escape!"

"Wait... Yusei, we want to go too!"

"Hey... Manjoume, are you coming along? Or are you planning to go back?"

"...Hmph! Judai, what nonsense are you spouting? You're all going, how could I possibly not go?! Don't even think about excluding me!"

"Hehehe... I knew you'd say that~"

"...Ughhhhh!!!"

"Ah! If nothing unexpected happens, this will be the final battle against the Society of Light. As witnesses, we have an obligation to see it all the way through!"

After exchanging glances and making their decision, the group followed Yusei through the gates of the Society of Light and into the building.

……

Rewind a little, while Yusei was facing off against Prince Auchin, Edward, who was acting alone, secretly infiltrated the Society of Light through another entrance.

Following the guidance of fate, Edward walked along the deserted, dimly lit corridor to the stage where he was about to appear.

Along the way, those past moments began to surface in her mind.

The birth of Ultimate D, the encounter with Saiou and his sister, her father's last wish, and her own future path...

Memories of the past, and the future entrusted to me by someone...

……

"...Listen carefully, Edward! The power that resided in Ultimate D, the power that led the world to destruction, has broken free..."

"The power of destruction... has it broken free?"

"That's right! The true power of destruction... has now been transferred to another person, and that person is... Saiou Takuma!"

“…King Saiwang?!”

“Ed, go see the King of the West. In that way, your time, which has been frozen, will begin to turn again…”

This is Edward's father's final message to her during her life-or-death battle with DD.

……

"No rain lasts forever... No matter how fierce the storm, it will eventually stop... And tears will eventually dry up..."

"So, Edward, all you need to do now is wait, wait for the storm to stop... and after the rain, there will be a brand new sky and a rainbow..."

"...How long will it take? How long will it take?"

“I don’t know… but while you wait, I will come to hold an umbrella for you… not just me, but also my sister Misuchi, we will all become your strength.”

"You are……"

“My name is… Saiou Takuma. I am here because I was guided by fate.”

This is the scene of Edward, who lost his father at a young age and was immersed in grief, meeting the Jai siblings for the first time in the cemetery during a heavy rain.

……

"Zhaiwang... what does this tarot card mean?"

"Hmm... that card is [The Hierophant], the fifth card in the Major Arcana. The upright [Hierophant] represents salvation and advice, referring to someone who can help others... Edward, this [Hierophant] represents you."

"Salvation? Is this my destiny? But...who am I supposed to save? Right now, I can't even save myself..."

“Ed, the person you are meant to save… is me.”

"……you?"

"That's right, I've had my fortune told about my fate and future, and the answer I got was—utter ruin."

"The upright [Demon] card represents sin, harm, temptation, and bondage... I don't know what specific phenomena will appear upon me... That's why I need your help."

“...Ah, Prince Sai...If you, who helped me, encounter a storm and cannot move forward, then I will hold up a very...very big umbrella for you!”

“Ed...you...hehe, I’m looking forward to that day…”

This is the scene of young Edward asking the King of the West to divine his future destiny for the first time.

……

"...Destruction...King of the West, is this the future you foresaw? You are destined to become the source of chaos, bringing destruction to this world..."

Recalling the memories of the past years, Edward, with a slightly sentimental expression on his face, arrived at the divination room where Saiō often stayed.

Naturally, the dimly lit room was empty, with no trace of any living creature, as if the King of the West had left and gone to some place that no one could reach.

"Not here? But..."

Although he didn't see the King of the West at first glance, Edward did find a stack of tarot cards on the round table in the center of the room.

The card representing the [Demon] was now flipped over and placed alone on the table, facing the direction where Edward was.

That tarot card represented the fate that Saiō had foreseen when he divined for himself many years ago.

"The demon... upright, upside down..."

Following the direction indicated by the tarot cards, Ed walked around the round table and came to the wall opposite her.

Just as Edward reached out his hand towards the empty wall, as if sensing something, the wall opened automatically at the same instant, revealing a dark, artificial passage.

"Prince Zhai is inside..."

A look of surprise flashed across his face. He glanced at Edward behind him, then stepped into the passage and followed the descending stairs to the bottom floor of the Society of Light.

Edward: "...Um, where am I?!"

As Edward emerged from the dark passage, he was greeted by a completely different scene: a grand cathedral enveloped in endless light, with a statue of the sun goddess standing before him.

This place should be underground... yet everything here is filled with dazzling light, with almost no darkness in sight.

And here, Edward finally saw the figure of Saiō Takuma standing with a smile at the base of the goddess statue in the center of the cathedral.

"Hehehehehehe... You've come, Edward." With his arms outstretched to the left and right, the waiting prince smirked and let out a triumphant laugh.

"Prince Zhai? Hmm... What are you laughing at? What's so funny?"

He instinctively frowned. Seeing his childhood friend Edward again after so long, he sensed an extremely unfamiliar yet incredibly familiar aura emanating from him.

It felt familiar because she had recently encountered this aura; it was... a part of the aura of the Light of Annihilation that was possessing DD.

The reason for the unfamiliarity is that the malevolent Saiou standing before Edward is a second personality born from the influence of the Light of Destruction, a being completely different from the original Saiou.

Having separated from his original form, he has replaced the original Saiō Takuma and become the most perfect vessel for the Light of Destruction.

In more technical terms, the current King of the West is like a "perfected holy body"! He is the agent of the Light of Destruction in this world!

The very existence of this personality is an embodiment of the malice of the universe!

"Oh dear~ My apologies, let's try again... Ed, welcome to the dueling arena dedicated to the Society of Light!"

Completely ignoring Edward's rebuke, Saiō smiled faintly and asked, "So, what brings you here? Have you learned the truth and are you planning to defeat me?"

"Before that... Prince Sai, there is something I desperately want to find an answer to from you!"

From his deck, Edward drew the "Ultimate D" card and showed it to Saiou. He then asked, "...[Destiny HERO Blood Demon-D], this card was created by my father. It's the ultimate D-HERO card... Do you remember this card?"

"Ah……"

With a meaningful look in his eyes, the King of the West gave Blood Demon-D a cold laugh.

"The entity residing within this card is called [Light of Destruction]. DD's originally evil heart became even more evil because of this power, ultimately leading him to kill his father..."

As he spoke, Edward narrowed his eyes and looked at the smiling Prince Sai: "I heard from my father that this power has now been transferred to you and taken over your body... Prince Sai, is this true?"

"...Answer me, Prince Sai!"

"...Yes, this is my destiny!"

The smile vanished from his face in an instant, and the next moment, the King of the West, his eyes wide open, confirmed Edward's doubts in a resolute tone.

"What exactly happened? Prince Sai... why, why did he have such a fate?"

Unable to understand the King's thoughts, Edward couldn't help but utter a questioning sound full of doubt.

why?

Why did things turn out this way?

King Zhai, are you also like DD, and all those things you said before were false? Were they all lies deliberately used to deceive me?

"Heh, since you've asked, let me tell you the truth."

After pausing, the King of the West continued, "...The source of all things is light, and the light of destruction is also an existence derived from the universe itself...and that ultimate D was just chosen as the vessel for the light of destruction."

"In other words, Edward, what happened to your father was just a predetermined arrangement."

641 The Will of the Destroyer of Light

“Ed, what happened to your father was just a predetermined arrangement…”

"Your father was simply unlucky; the Blood Demon-D he created happened to be chosen to become the initial vessel for the Light of Destruction in this world, which is why all those tragedies occurred afterward..."

Shaking his head sadly, the King of the West began to explain to Edward the unknown events of the past.

As he spoke these words, tears of sorrow streamed down his face.

This reaction, seemingly lamenting Edward's tragic fate, is actually more like crocodile tears, full of hypocritical emotion.

Saiō Takuma's malevolent personality was influenced by the Light of Destruction. It was a being formed from the evil thoughts in his heart and should not be considered as a normal human being.

Naturally, being composed of malice, he also lacked the kindness and compassion that humans should have.

Those seemingly sad expressions were merely a facade he deliberately put on.