Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

In reality, only he himself knows what he is thinking.

"...Destiny? You're saying this is destiny?!"

Unable to accept the explanation from the King of the West, Edward clenched his fists, his face showing an expression of disbelief.

The death of his father was clearly caused by DD. Although he was influenced by the Light of Destruction, he was not a good person. The reason he approached Edward was to realize his crazy ideals.

Even though he clearly knew all this, the King of the West said... it was all just bad luck? Just a coincidence?

What a joke! ! !

"Well, Ed, don't rush to refute me, let me continue..."

Waving to Ed, indicating that she didn't need to be so agitated, and maintaining his smile, Saiō continued, "Through your introduction, it turns out that DD, who killed your father, actually came to my shop for a fortune telling..."

"He was terrified of the Blood Demon-D that he had taken from your father, and he was afraid that the destructive power residing in it would implicate him. So he asked me to help him look at the power of that card and to do a divination to see if it was worth the huge price he was willing to pay to gamble his entire future."

As he spoke, Saiou's face gradually turned crazed, and his expression became increasingly exaggerated: "...It was at that moment that my fate was decided! The Light of Annihilation entered my body through Ultimate D at that time!"

Edward: "..."

Saiō: "At that time, Hikaru sent me a message, telling me to rebuild this incomplete world. That's right... In this world, when a certain level of power surpasses the realm of human understanding, people will fear injustice and thus hate and destroy it..."

“Ed, like you, when we were young, Misuzu and I, who had the ability to foresee the future, were feared by our biological parents and were ruthlessly abandoned…”

The various insults and exclusions we have suffered along the way stem from the selfish desires inherent in human nature...

Because we, with our precognitive abilities, are disruptors of this world's balance, outcasts not allowed to exist, that's why... we receive such unfair treatment.

"In such a world, all that can be done to us is malice... I don't know what Misutomo is thinking, but for me, this is indeed a great opportunity, so I gladly accepted Hikaru's opinion."

With his arms outstretched to the sides, Saiou spoke these words with an expression of unbridled catharsis: "Since this world is nothing but bad for us, let's just let it return to zero... Heh, I've already made a promise with Hikaru to build a complete and unified world!"

"You, Prince Zhaiwang..."

"In preparation for the coming of the next world, in preparation for the arrival of destruction..."

Standing at the foot of the goddess statue, Saiō's face now bore the expression of a devout believer: "I will be the one to ignite that fuse. Isn't such a world, a world where there is no contempt or strife, where everyone returns to the embrace of the light... wonderful?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Aren't you afraid? Afraid of the annihilation that awaits you..."

Refuting the lies of the King of the West, Edward placed his hand on his chest: "It was precisely because you harbored such thoughts in your heart, fearing that you would become a source of chaos out of control in the future, that you told me in the past that you hoped I would save you, didn't you?"

To his childhood friend, Edward posed a question that went straight to the soul.

If it were the Saiō of the past, the Saiō who had offered help when I was helpless, he certainly wouldn't have refused my request...

"Then, Edward..."

Without directly answering Edward's question, the King of the West asked Edward with a half-smile, "What can you do for me now? How has my fate changed? If I told you that this is the real me, this is the result I have always pursued, then... what would you think?"

"I……"

For a moment, Edward was unable to offer any rebuttal.

People change over time. If this is truly what the King of the West has always hoped for, then he has no right to question the choice.

In the end, their relationship was just that of childhood friends.

"Ah……"

King Zhai put his hands behind his back, paced back and forth, and sighed, "To be honest, in the face of a great destiny, humanity is as insignificant as dust... To attempt to change the course of destiny with human power alone is simply wishful thinking, an incomprehensible and foolish act like that of a madman!"

"...Ed, are you such a fool?"

“Indeed… Prince Zhai, I truly do not know how to help you, how to help you fulfill your wish. Even now, I am still so unwilling to accept this…”

Acknowledging his powerlessness, Edward then asked the King of the West, "Tell me, King of the West! What can I do? What can I do for you? How... can I turn you back to who you were before?"

"Now that you say so..."

Standing a short distance in front of Edward, the King of the West raised his right arm to her and faced her, speaking slowly and expressionlessly: "I want you to return the key that I entrusted to you for safekeeping. That is the only thing you can do for me now."

"...Hand over the key for my sake."

"key?!"

Upon hearing the words from the King of the West, Edward paused for a moment, then reached out and took out the key used to open the briefcase containing the satellite control device.

"That's right, that's it! Quickly, give it to me!"

When he saw Edward take out the key that the kind-hearted person had given her earlier, a smug smile appeared on the face of the King of the Sea.

Just a little bit more, just a little bit more...

Hey Ed, just hand over the key to me!

"Stop! Ed! ...We absolutely cannot give him that key!"

"That's right, have you forgotten? That's the key that can control the 'Sura' satellite in outer space and destroy Earth! If you do that, everyone will die!"

Just as Edward hesitated because of their past relationship and was being influenced by the brainwashing methods secretly applied by Saiou, the voices of Yusei and Jaden Yuki reached her ears along with the footsteps of the approaching crowd.

Following the guidance of the Kuribohs, Yusei and his companions also discovered the passage leading to the underground cathedral in Saiou's divination room.

Asuka and her siblings, along with Caesar and the others, volunteered to stay in the room to support everyone and prevent any accidents from happening, while the rest of the group quickened their pace and arrived at the stage where they would have their final battle with Saiou.

“Ed, you know, right? You absolutely cannot hand over the key.” Yusei, who was close to Ed and on guard against a surprise attack from Saiou, said this with a serious expression.

"Hmph! Don't listen to that guy's nonsense... Ed, hand me the key right now." The Prince of Zhai, his eyes narrowed, glanced at the crowd that had arrived, a look of impatience on his face: "For me, that's right, for me, hurry up!"

"For me?" Urged by the King of the West, Edward, who had come to his senses, withdrew his hand, his eyes once again showing a look of doubt: "King of the West, who exactly is this 'I' you're talking about?"

"Ed, what are you talking about? I am the King of the West you know." Seeing that Ed had no intention of handing over the key, the King of the West withdrew his outstretched arm and returned to his expressionless state.

"You are not the King of the Fast!"

The guess turned into certainty. Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar King of the Abode before him, Edward frowned and demanded sharply, "...Tell me! Where has the real King of the Abode gone?"

"Hehehehehehe... Have I been exposed?"

Realizing that his disguise had been seen through by Edward and that he was being watched by everyone, Saiō abandoned his plan to continue pretending.

After shrugging, he smirked and made a funny face: "Who knows about that kind of thing? Although we've always gotten along well, I don't know where she's gone now!"

He let out a strange, unintelligible laugh, and a layer of white fluctuations, representing the light of destruction, appeared on the surface of Saiō's body, just like DD had before.

With the appearance of this fluctuation, the aura of the Prince of the West underwent a dramatic change.

If the previous King of the West could still be considered a human being, then the current King of the West is a white demon in human skin, an existence from which empathy is absolutely impossible!

"Who exactly are you?!" Standing in front of the crowd, Yusei asked the strangely behaving Saiou.

And the King of the West cooperated by giving a corresponding reply: "Hehehehehe, you may call me... 'The Will of the Light of Destruction'!"

"Aito, Yusei, Jaden Yuki... No matter how much you self-proclaimed heroes of justice struggle, you cannot change the predetermined outcome. This is... what is called fate!"

"No, fate is not yet decided, and the key is still in our hands!"

Refuting Saiou's words, Edward and Yusei said in unison, "Fate has not been decided yet, there is still a chance to change it!"

"Oh? So how do you plan to change things?" Raising an eyebrow, the King of the West, whose body shimmered with light, wore a disdainful expression.

“Of course… through a duel.” With the duel disk on his arm, Edward said to Saiou in a matter-of-fact tone, “If I defeat you in a duel, I can stop your series of conspiracies, and the real Saiou will return to my side.”

"Heh, that's interesting, but... why should I accept your duel challenge? What benefit would it bring me?" Unlike typical villains, he didn't immediately agree to Edward's duel challenge.

Prince Zhai toyed with his fingers and said in a disdainful tone, "As long as I don't duel with you, you can't stop my plan. You can only wait it out... Heh heh, anyway, I haven't lost anything. I can just start over in another place later."

"Hmm... well, let's wager the ownership of this key then!"

Seeing that Saiou had no intention of accepting the challenge, Edward shook the key in his hand and threw it at the feet of the goddess statue located between the two of them: "Saiou... or perhaps I should call you the Will of the Light of Destruction. In any case, if you win, then this key to control the satellite device will be yours!"

King of the West: "..."

Yusei: "Ed, don't be provoked by his words, he's saying that on purpose..."

"Don't worry, I know what's going on."

Edward smiled at Yusei, who was giving him a warning, and continued, "...When I was a child, I made a promise with Saiou to change his doomed fate."

"Before, I was always in a state of confusion, not knowing what to do, but now... I have understood the right way to do it."

“If I win this duel, Saiou’s fate will change, and I will be able to save the original Saiou from the cracks in fate.”

“Ed…” Yusei, whose face showed a dazed expression and who sensed Ed’s determination, gave up his plan to continue persuading him and retreated into the crowd.

"Hehehehehe... Alright, Ed, since you insist, I'll grant your request for a duel!"

Hearing the conversation of everyone, the Prince of Zhai said with a smug look on his face, "However, I must reiterate that fate will not change!"

642 Fusion Forbidden! Heroes of Destiny VS Arcane Power!

"...Duel!" ×2

(Ed Phoenix LP: 4000)

(Zaiwang Takuma LP: 4000)

With the ownership of the key to the satellite control device held by Edward at stake, a fierce conflict between Saiou and Edward, a hero of destiny and the power of the secret ritual, unfolds in the white temple beneath the Society of Light's underground space.

"Since you initiated the challenge, I get to go first! My turn, draw a card!"

Saiō placed his finger above the deck and said this, then drew a card from the deck.

After glancing at a blank card in his hand, a smug smile crept onto his lips.

"Heh... I summon [Arcane Power 3 - Empress] (Attack Power: 1300) in an attack stance!"

Saiou selected a [Secret Power] monster from his hand and placed it on the deck of the Duel Disk.

With a flash of light, the "Empress," whose back was covered in blue-black barbs and whose appearance resembled that of an alien life form, appeared on Saiō's field, waving her cloak.

"...Monsters whose names contain the word 'Secret Power' will have their effects determined by their orientation (upright or reversed) when they are successfully summoned."

At this moment, above the head of [Secret Power 3 - Empress], you can see a card that is constantly rotating, representing herself.

Depending on the final position of the card, the Queen will gain different types of effects.

Generally speaking, the effects of being in the upright position are beneficial to oneself, while the effects of being in the reversed position are mostly detrimental to oneself.

Therefore, if you want to negatively affect the King of the West, you should make his effects stagnate in reverse positions as much as possible.

"...Now...Stop!"