Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

"Was a dark duel really held here?"

"That...that's just a legend!"

"Oh? There are seven Millennium Artifacts in total!"

Hayato Maeda's suspicion, Sho Marufuji's panic, and Jaden Yuki's curiosity.

Faced with the patterns carved on the stone slab, the three reacted in completely different ways.

"Hey...what is that?"

Seemingly noticing something out of the corner of his eye, Jaden Yuki shone his flashlight onto the wall on the other side.

There, a half-length portrait of a man is hanging.

The man in the photo has long brown hair.

In terms of appearance, he bears a seven-tenths resemblance to Asuka, making him an undeniably handsome man.

It seems that this man is Asuka's brother who went missing in the old school building.

"Ah~~~!"

Just as Jaden Yuki was about to continue exploring, a sharp female scream came from behind them.

"Big brother...could that voice just now have been...?"

Upon hearing this shout, Marufuji Sho couldn't help but give Yuki Jaden a questioning look.

"...It's Asuka!"

"Let's go check it out right away!"

After saying that, Jaden Yuki immediately ran towards the direction from which the sound came.

"Ah! That Yusei guy! Could it be that he's gone berserk and did something to Asuka..." Marufuji Sho couldn't help but have a bold idea running through his mind as he ran down the road.

"Xiang! What are you thinking about with your little brain?!"

"How could Yusei do such a thing!"

Upon hearing Marufuji Sho's conjecture, Yuki Judai couldn't help but show a speechless expression. As the older brother of this kid, he felt quite embarrassed at this moment.

And so, the three quickened their pace and arrived at the lobby on the first floor of the old school building.

The screams we just heard came from this area.

Yuki Jaden shone his flashlight around and soon spotted a card lying on the ground.

"This is... [Cyber ​​Star]... It's a card that Asuka used!"

Jaden Yuki crouched down and picked up the monster card that had fallen to the ground and belonged to Asuka.

Looking at the monster card in his hand, Jaden Yuki frowned.

Could it really be like what Marufuji Sho said, that Asuka was... done to Yusei?

No, no!

How can this be?

There must be something wrong with this.

"The sound seems to be coming from over there!"

Just as Jaden Yuki was struggling with his own thoughts, Hayato suddenly pointed to the corridor on the other side and spoke up.

That direction seemed to lead to the basement of the old school building.

"We can't waste time here! Let's go check on her quickly! If we stay any longer, Asuka might be in danger!"

Judai Yuki jumped up from the ground and ran towards the basement.

Seeing this, Marufuji Sho and Hayato followed closely behind him.

The group quickened their pace, traversing the long and winding corridor, and soon arrived at the basement.

"Holy crap! What's going on here...?"

"I never imagined that such a place would exist beneath the old school building!"

What appeared before Jaden and his two companions was an incredibly vast open space.

Around them were numerous huge stone slabs scattered and piled up, each engraved with mysterious patterns.

Clearly, this is a secret location where evil rituals were once performed!

Rather than calling this the basement of the old school building, it would be more accurate to describe it as a secret place where some kind of evil ritual was performed.

120 This is... an unimaginable path!

In the darkness, Yusei opened his eyes.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Yusei stood up from the cold ground and began to look around at the scenery.

"What happened...Wasn't I just at the old school building?"

"Where... exactly is this place?"

Yusei, who had just woken up from his coma, found himself in an completely unfamiliar place.

He was clearly not near the old school building, but rather in a magnificent, dark hall.

The hall was shrouded in endless darkness, making it impossible to see the specific furnishings.

From where Youxing was, one could only vaguely see the huge stone pillars supporting the ceiling all around.

Out of caution, Yusei did not choose to explore the surroundings immediately, but instead began to calmly consider his next move.

In such a vast space, there might be other people around.

Taking action without authorization will inevitably alert the enemy.

Exploring one's surroundings without understanding the current situation is tantamount to suicide!

"I remember... I think I was hit by a burst of light... and then I just passed out..."

"When I woke up, I found myself in this unfamiliar place..."

"What the hell? Isn't that guy named Titan a fake Dark Duelist?"

"I clearly didn't look directly at the 'millennium block' in his hand, so why did I still fall for it...? Could there be some hidden trick to his hypnosis?"

Yusei rested his chin on his hand and began to recall what had happened before.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Yusei."

Just as Yusei began to consider his next move, a faint, chaotic voice suddenly came from the darkness in front of him.

Hearing someone call his name, Yusei instinctively wanted to respond.

But at this moment, alarm bells in my mind began to ring frantically.

It seemed to be a reminder to him not to respond to that voice, or everything would change.

A feeling suddenly arose in Yusei's heart.

Once you actively respond to this voice, a terrible and irreversible event will occur.

I won't listen, I won't listen, it's just monks chanting sutras!

Having made up his mind, Yusei resolutely chose to ignore the voice.

"..."

Not receiving a response from Yusei, the owner of the voice seemed unsurprised.

"If you're not coming over, then I'll go over there."

In the darkness, the sound of metal being stepped on the floor could be heard.

Before Yusei could react, a terrifying figure exuding an oppressive aura appeared in front of him.

A man wearing a black horned helmet, a demon mask covering his face, a red cloak draped over his back, and covered in red and black alien armor, walked out of the darkness and stood in front of Yusei, facing him at close range.

Compared to Yusei, who is nearly 1.8 meters tall, the man's body appears much taller.

Seeing the demon mask covering the other person's face, Yusei's heart began to pound uncontrollably, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

He truly felt the presence of "pressure" emanating from this mysterious man.

"who are you?"

Under the impact of the oppressive force, Yusei couldn't help but lower his body slightly.

He struggled to lift his head and asked the man in front of him.

"Me? Just an insignificant passerby."

In response to Yusei's question, the man simply replied calmly.

From the moment he emerged from the darkness, he and Yusei had been deliberately keeping a certain distance from each other.

It's roughly the length of a desk between you, which is what's known as "social distancing."

It won't seem too distant, nor too intimate.

"Huh...? A passerby?" Looking at the terrifying man who called himself a "passerby," Yusei couldn't help but utter a confused sound. Seriously! Dude! You look more like the final boss...

Even Yusei, who had experienced the hellish purgatory, couldn't help but lose in terms of aura to the man.

If this kind of existence is considered a "passerby", then what kind of terrifying existence must the "protagonist" here be!

"Do you know... why you're here?" Ignoring Yusei's complaints, the man asked Yusei this question, then immediately turned to look to the side.

Following his gaze, Yusei could vaguely see the balcony, and beyond the balcony lay endless darkness.

Feeling the cool breeze passing by, Yusei suddenly realized something: in this dark hall, it seemed that there were only the two of them at this moment.

"I only remember being struck by the light of the 'Millennium Puzzle' and then passing out..."

Yusei hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to answer the man's question honestly. He had a vague premonition that his lie would be exposed in front of the man...

"What do you think this place is?" the man asked a new question.