A supporting character in a romance anime? I became a god using a rat talisman.

On the other side, the Service Club after school.

When Yui Yuigahama opened the door, she thought it was just a normal daily club matter.

For example, discussing where to go for a group stay next weekend, or helping to sort through a bunch of messy requests that have recently been received.

Upon entering, I saw Yukino Yukinoshita sitting alone by the window.

The black-haired girl wasn't holding a book; she was simply gazing quietly at the afterglow outside the window with her cool, clear eyes.

This is completely different from the atmosphere we usually have when preparing to handle club affairs.

Hearing the door open, Yukino turned her head.

"Um... Yukino?" Yui tentatively spoke up, breaking the silence, "No requests today? Or did Hachiman skip club activities again?"

Yukino didn't respond to her comment.

She turned her head slightly, and her usually cool eyes, instead of their usual critical scrutiny, revealed an unfathomable calmness.

"Yuihama-san, I called you here alone today because there's something I want to ask you."

Yui sat down opposite Yukino, and although she was a little puzzled, she still managed a smile: "What's wrong? Why are you all so serious? Does the club have a new request?"

Yukino didn't respond to that. Instead, she slightly interlaced her fingers, rested them on her knees, and posed a question that was completely outside the realm of casual conversation:

"Yuigahama-san, don't you feel that the world lately... seems to be undergoing some kind of strange change?"

"Huh?" Yui's heart tightened suddenly.

Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!

Could it be that Yukino secretly saw me while I was participating in a monster battle outside?

The alarm bells in Yui's brain went off instantly. Her survival instinct made her quickly put on a nonchalant, silly smile and frantically wave her hands:

"Ah, Yukino, what are you talking about? What strange change... Aha, ahaha, I have no idea."

"Hey Yukino, have you been sleeping poorly lately? Why are you suddenly saying such mystical things? This is so unlike your usual 'science-first' style."

Yukino looked at Yui's desperate attempt to hide her feelings, but her expression didn't turn cold. Instead, a rare hint of melancholy appeared on her face.

"If it were just a nightmare, that would be good."

Yukino leaned back in her chair, gazing blankly at the setting sun. "But lately, I feel like I'm not myself anymore. And the world I see here is becoming more and more unfamiliar to me."

She raised her slender fingers and made a loose clench in mid-air, as if trying to grasp something that was slipping away like quicksand.

"In my opinion... the world we live in now is like a drowning person who is constantly sinking. Although it looks like it is still breathing, it is actually on the verge of death. If it is left unchecked, everything will be completely swallowed by the water."

Yui Yuigahama was completely stunned by this artistic yet shocking statement.

"Wait, wait a minute! Yukino, I recognize every single word you say, but I don't understand a word of it when they're put together! What drowning person, what near death... Aren't we at school preparing for club activities right now?"

Looking at Yui's bewildered face, Yukino no longer expected that the other could understand this grand and abstract crisis.

"It's okay if you don't understand, Yuihama-san. This shouldn't be something you need to worry about in the first place."

"Because I have made up my mind to personally stop this disaster."

She looked at Yui and confessed her thoughts, which even she found unbelievable: "If it were before, I would definitely find this kind of world-saving drama incredibly troublesome and would have preferred to stay as far away from it as possible."

Yukino paused for a moment, a resolute glint flashing in her eyes.

“But things are different now. After truly feeling the crisis of this world about to drown, I had only one very strong thought in my mind—I want to keep it alive.”

"Because only if this world continues to turn, can the people I want to protect... continue to live their noisy but fearless daily lives in this classroom without any worries."

Yui stared blankly at Yukino in front of her. She suddenly felt that Yukino was emanating a kind of oppressive aura that was hard to look at directly.

Before she could even think about who the phrase "the person I want to protect" referred to, Yukino's tone suddenly shifted.

"Time is running out, so, Yui-san—"

Yukino held out a hand to her, palm up, "Give me the Red King monster card, and the Clow Card you're hiding."

These words struck Yui like a thunderbolt.

Yui's eyes widened instantly, and she looked at Yukino with a face full of surprise.

How did she know?! I kept the secret of the monster cards a closely guarded secret, I didn't even tell Chiyu!

Moreover, Yukino not only knew about the cards, but she could even accurately tell me that I was holding Red King?!

Faced with Yui's shock, Yukino didn't explain, but slowly took out a card from her school uniform pocket.

She placed it on the table and pushed it in front of Yui.

It was a card emitting a faint red glow, with an image of a strange-looking alien printed on its surface.

The moment Yui saw the card, she felt her breath catch in her throat.

That's... that insect-like alien who deals the cards!

That alien who calls himself Mefilas!

Yukino looked at the card, her tone calm.

"Not long ago, I defeated it myself and obtained information on the distribution of all monster cards, as well as information on all cardholders, including yours."

"And now, this fight is coming to an end."

Yukino put away her card and fixed her gaze on Yui. "That so-called Dark Ruler only meets with the last winner."

"I must become the ultimate victor; only then can I end it with my own hands."

Although Yui only half understood the grand concepts of rulers and agents, she grasped the core logic.

Yukino is going to fight a monster that sounds incredibly powerful and could even destroy the world.

And she wanted to go alone.

"I do not want."

Yui gripped her skirt tightly, stood up abruptly, and loudly refused.

Although she usually seems naive and observant of others' moods, at times like these, once her stubbornness as a kind-hearted person is ignited, not even ten oxen could pull her back.

“Yuihama-san, I don’t think you can use that power well right now.” Yukino’s brows furrowed slightly.

"That's not what I meant!" Yui suddenly raised her head, her voice sharp with excitement.

"Cards or monsters, whoever wants them can take them! But..."

She looked at Yukino, tears welling up in her eyes:

"But I absolutely cannot watch you, Yukino, go to your death alone! That Dark Ruler... even you, Yukino, said it's dangerous, it must be something terrifying, right? How can I just watch you carry such a deadly burden!"

Yui took a step forward and reached out to tug at Yukino's sleeve:

"Yukino, since we all have cards, why don't we work together to overcome this difficulty, just like we used to do when we solved requests?"

"Let's go find Qianyu, let's find others to help! No matter what trouble we encounter, we can discuss it together and solve it together! Why do you have to go alone..."

Don't be naive.

Yukino sidestepped Yui's outstretched hand, her tone as cold as ice.

"You still don't understand. That Dark Ruler is someone who wouldn't even flinch when his most important agent was killed."

"Therefore, simply having a large group of people is not enough to get in touch with the real person."

"The only way is to follow the rules he set and become the final victor in the fight."

"But..." Yui wanted to say something more.

"Since we can't reason with each other, there's nothing more to discuss."

Yukino coldly interrupted her and took a half step back.

“Since you’re unwilling to hand it over voluntarily,” Yukino pulled her card from her pocket, pinched it between two fingers, and held it high, “then let’s settle this using the rules set for this game.”

"Let's settle this with a monster duel. The loser shall hand over everything."

The air around them suddenly froze the moment the words left their mouths.

The next second, blinding rainbow-colored light burst forth from the cracks in the floor, instantly dragging the two into the alternate dimension battlefield.

When Yui reopened her eyes in the blinding light, she found herself standing on a desolate wasteland.

A few dozen meters away from her, Yukino stood on a rock.

Beside her, a thick black mist, almost swallowing up the light, was churning violently.

"boom--"

From within the black mist, a set of menacing black heavy armor, wielding a dark gold trident, suddenly materialized before Yukino.

Dark Magic Armor.

Just standing there, the oppressive feeling emanating from that empty suit of armor made Yui feel like she could hardly breathe.

"Yuigahama-kun, this is the last warning. Hand over the cards."

Yukino stood beside the armor, her voice carried by the wind.

Yui held the card case in her hand, still shaking her head.

She won't hand over the cards, but she also doesn't want to fight Yukino.

But Yukino had already made up her mind to end everything in her own way.

So before Yui could prepare herself, the Dark Magic Armor suddenly raised its trident, the tip of which flashed with a violent red and black light.

"boom!"

The next second, a deadly dark beam of light, powerful enough to plow a deep trench in the ground, shot straight toward Yui!

Yui's eyes widened as she watched the beam of death rapidly magnify in her vision.

The high temperature and strong winds made her hair dance wildly, and she even felt a faint stinging sensation on her skin.

Yukino... is serious.

If we don't fight back, we really will die!

Driven by the instinct to survive in a life-or-death crisis, the weakness in Yui's eyes was temporarily suppressed by the instinct to live.

She shouted and pulled out the cards from the card box.