Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

Keith, harboring a wicked sense of humor, gave John a mocking smile: "Due to the effect of the trap card, your Amethyst Cat will become the prey and come to my field!"

In Keith's eyes, all the gems that John possessed belonged to him.

Whether it was the Jade Pegasus and the Jade Tiger from before, or the Amethyst Cat that has been captured now, these precious monsters should all belong to Keith!

"Two cards are hidden... End of turn!"

Gritting his teeth, John smothered his two cards in the back row, declaring the end of the turn.

"My turn! My turn! Draw a card!"

Having captured another new Gem Beast, Keith, with a smug look on his face, reached into his deck and drew a new card.

As his turn began, he reached out and summoned the monster that had previously returned to his hand back to his field: "Hehehe... I'm summoning [Entrapment Spirit] from my hand again in defense position."

A ghost wearing a clown mask appeared in front of Keith, accompanied by a beam of light.

Looking at the monster that was the culprit, John frowned and stared at the location of the Amethyst Cat: "Bear with it a little longer, Amethyst Cat... I will definitely, I will definitely save you!"

“Ah, John, I believe you.”

The amethyst cat, its hands and feet bound, nodded at John.

"Oh my, what a touching bond!"

Keith shrugged, stroking his beard as he watched John talk to the elf, and jokingly asked, "Are you really that eager to save your elf?"

"Does that need to be said?"

"Heh... then I'll give you that chance and hand over your monster to you!"

706 Duelist, you wouldn't want anything to happen to your Pokémon, would you?

"What? You're willing to give my monster back to me? What are you up to?"

Upon hearing that his rival Keith was willing to give up the precious beast he had captured, John's first reaction was strong suspicion.

After all, neither his appearance nor his behavior suggested that this elf hunter named Keith was a good person.

He must have had his reasons for saying that.

"No, no, no... it's not 'return,' it's 'let go,' it's 'let go.'"

With a wicked grin, Keith corrected John's grammatical errors, then drew one of his cards and held it up in front of him: "Activate the Spell Card [Dark Auction]! According to this card's effect, I can return my prey (a monster whose original owner was my opponent) to its owner's hand."

"...However, in order to redeem your monster, you will have to pay a corresponding price."

"cost?"

John raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, awaiting Keith's next explanation.

"That's right, it's a price... using your life points as the price."

Whispering like a demon, Keith demanded a price from John: "To regain control of your monster, you must pay a price equal to the monster's attack power."

Spirit Master, you wouldn't want anything to happen to your spirit, would you?

Do you want to redeem it from me?

Well then... let me see your sincerity!

"Health points? No problem!"

Without the slightest hesitation, upon hearing Keith's words, John immediately patted his chest, indicating his willingness to take on the responsibility of the injury.

"Heh...then you'll have to pay the health value equal to the attack power of the Amethyst Cat."

Narrowing his eyes, Keith looked at John, who was willing to sacrifice everything for the Jade Beast, and Keith, who could also see elves, and a feeling of displeasure flashed through his mind.

He actually hurt himself for those Duel Monsters, what a hopeless idiot!

An idiot like you has no right to own a rare card as valuable as the [Jade Beast]!

"Well……"

(John LP: 4000→2800)

Crimson ripples appeared on John's body, taking away 1200 of his health points.

In exchange, the amethyst cat was freed from the animal trap and gained its freedom.

"Alright, go back to your owner, little kitty."

Keith impatiently urged the freed amethyst cat, while John, on the other side, once again opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.

“John…I’m sorry, because of me…”

"It's okay, I..."

"Hmph! At this very moment, I activate my counter-trap card, [Hunting Net]!"

After giving Keith a fierce glare, the amethyst cat, feeling apologetic, strode toward John.

However, just before Amethyst Cat was about to reunite with John, Keith, with a pleased smile on his lips, waved his hand to open the face-down card in the back row and activated the same card as the trap card he had activated before.

Counter-trap card [Hunting Net]...

This card's effect is to capture a monster that is about to return to your hand and bring it to your field as prey.

Under the effect of the trap card, the Amethyst Cat's body was once again bound by the trap net, hanging in mid-air in front of Keith.

"Amethyst Cat!"

"John!"

"Hahahaha... John, you're so honest!"

Keith, having played a trick on John, covered his head and burst into laughter.

With a mocking expression, Keith sneered at John, who was glaring with anger, and said, "What a joke! How could you possibly return such a precious prey as the [Jade Beast] to you for such a paltry price?"

"Aren't you being far too naive?"

“…You bastard!”

Seeing his family being used as props by his opponents, and looking at the amethyst cat that had been captured again and was looking at him with a sad expression, John's face showed extreme anger.

The elf hunter Keith, only this guy, he is absolutely unforgivable!!!

"Hehehehehe... I've hidden a card, turn over!"

Having successfully provoked John's anger, Keith, with a smug look on his face, simply waved his hand, ending his turn.

John, who was eager to teach his opponent a lesson, suddenly drew a card from the top of his deck in the next instant: "My turn, draw!"

"Well……"

"The Jade Pegasus... what happened?"

Just as John was about to launch a new offensive, he suddenly heard the sound of the trapped Jade Pegasus.

Looking at the transparent capsule hanging from the ceiling, and the jade pegasus inside suffering some kind of pain, John couldn't help but show a look of anxiety.

"Oh dear, it seems I forgot to mention that~"

Shrugging, Keith explained to the puzzled John in a leisurely tone, "What trapped the Jade Pegasus was a special container capable of capturing spirits. These things are powerful, right? They can trap any spirit they fancy… Hahahaha!!!"

"You rascal, you didn't bring other spirits with you either?"

"Unfortunately, this thing cannot preserve elves for long... ordinary elves cannot survive for long inside it."

At this point, Keith pressed a button, took out another transparent capsule containing a weak elf, and placed it in John's field of vision.

As time passed, the spirit inside the capsule gradually weakened, eventually collapsing and disappearing into nothingness as specks of light.

John: "...?!"

Keith: "Hehehe... Just like you see, elves need things like air in the elf world to survive in this world. Without these things, even elves will die... However, the time it takes will vary depending on their constitution."

Keith glanced sideways at the Jade Pegasus, which was struggling to stay afloat and enduring the pain, and then looked at the anxious John with a wicked smile: "Heh, I wonder how long such a rare monster as the Jade Pegasus can last inside the capsule~~~"

Keith had no intention of losing the Jade Pegasus. To him, the Jade Beasts were extremely valuable commodities that needed to be carefully guarded.

The reason he's doing this on purpose is simply to provoke John and to toy with the bond between him and the elf.

“…You bastard!”

"Hehehehehe... This feeling of torturing elves is just too comfortable!"

John clenched his teeth and glared at Keith with hatred.

However, Keith, who was being stared at, also wore a sickly satisfied smile.

That's right, that's it.

It is this kind of unwilling yet powerless anger that gives me a real sense of being alive!

"You alone, you alone are absolutely unforgivable!"

Filled with rage, John slammed the card he had just drawn onto the Duel Disk: "I Normal Summon [Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth] (ATK: 1700) in Attack Position!"

A giant mammoth, representing orange, one of the seven colors of the rainbow, appeared in front of John as he moved.

Amber Mammoth, who shared John's feelings, blazed with an intense, almost tangible rage as Keith toyed with his companion.

Damn hunter, die!

"Battle has begun! Amber Mammoth Attack!"

John gave the order to attack the impatient Amber Mammoth, and in the next instant, the Amber Mammoth spurred its body forward, charging towards Keith like a truck.

"Hehehehehe... There's no easier target to catch than a prey going berserk!"

Sensing the approaching powerful aura, Keith grinned wickedly and flipped over a face-down card in the back row: "At this moment, I activate the Trap Card—【Capture Trap】!"

With the activation of the trap card, the Amethyst Cat, which had been captured by the Beast Net, stood as a human shield in the path of the Amber Mammoth.

Seeing its companion being used as a human shield, the amber mammoth's eyes widened suddenly, and it instinctively stopped moving forward.

At that moment, a large net, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, suddenly materialized and captured the amber mammoth, which was standing there dumbfounded and at a loss.

"Oh no, even the amber mammoth..."