"This expression... could it be?" Hoshino recognized Bakura's theatrical grin instantly.
"The Millennium Ring! Weren't you sealed in the Shadow Game?"
"Hmph! A place like that could never seal someone as invincible as me!" Dark Bakura sneered.
Akasha glanced at Bakura's exaggerated expression and recoiled slightly. "Whoa, I take back what I said—he's not handsome at all."
Hoshino positioned Akasha behind her, keeping her gaze fixed on Dark Bakura. Hoshino quickly guessed that Dark Bakura's showing up here was no coincidence—it likely had something to do with Marik.
"So, Marik decided not to come?"
"As I said, an important friend asked me to come. He was too busy to do it himself!" Bakura's theatrical smile faded slightly, but he didn't hide his hostility, revealing the Duel Disk mounted on his left arm.
"Oh? A Duel Disk, huh? I was wondering why you hadn't been around these past few days, Bakura. Turns out you were secretly participating in the Battle City." Since he was here to cause trouble, Hoshino no longer felt embarrassed about capturing the Rare Hunters.
"Wait... is she dueling her boyfriend?" The bizarre situation left her subordinates baffled.
"Did I just hear something serious? He said he's here to take Hoshino's life?"
"Yeah, I heard it too. Are relationship fights this extreme?"
"So, it's going to end with a duel. Big Boss is too cool!"
Hoshino had never actually dueled Dark Bakura herself; the Shadow Game from the Kingdom days had only allowed her to take over the final round from Yugi. Her understanding of Bakura's deck was almost nonexistent.
But she was still confident—and where did that confidence come from?
(Evaluation complete: Duelist Bakura, Duelist Rank C)
Her confidence came from the system's assessment of Bakura's duelist ranking—just a mere C. For Hoshino, who had already defeated A+ ranked duelists like Yugi and Pegasus, such a level was hardly a threat.
But there was one crucial factor Hoshino hadn't accounted for.
"Let the nerve-wracking Shadow Game begin!" The scene shifted instantly as a strange darkness spread at an indescribable speed.
"A Shadow Game in a place this crowded?!" Hoshino never expected Dark Bakura to be this reckless. Not only were her people present, but others had also begun to filter into the park, given it was a holiday morning when the park was busier than usual.
And so, this unexpected Shadow Game unfolded under the curious eyes of the crowd—
(***)
Half an hour earlier...
"A Shadow Game with twisted rules?" Marik looked at Bakura skeptically, hearing the term for the first time.
"You know the conditions of a Shadow Game," Bakura said. "You can bet your strength, your memory, your soul, even your life. But no matter what, both sides must share the risk. And there's one fundamental rule..."
"Fundamental rule?" As someone who could also initiate Shadow Games, Marik had never noticed any fundamental rule.
"Normally, you wouldn't notice—it's just too obvious," Bakura replied with a smile.
"And that is, in a Shadow Game, one side will inevitably lose something they staked. This is the true meaning of 'Shadow' in a Shadow Game. Like an offering in a ritual, whether you wager your soul or your life, it must be sacrificed as tribute."
Marik nodded slightly; what Bakura said was indeed the most basic rule, one so basic that it didn't even need attention.
"So, what's this twisted-rule Shadow Game you're talking about?"
"Hahahahaha!" At this point, Bakura laughed, clutching his face. "A reversal! Completely flipping the rules of the Shadow Game!"
"A reversal?" Marik struggled to understand, baffled by Bakura's sudden outburst.
"Using the conflicting powers of two Millennium Items, like the poles of a magnet, we reverse the rules of the Shadow Game." With that, Bakura rotated the Millennium Ring on his chest 180 degrees, and the sharp points on the ring jingled ominously.
"Instead of sacrificing something, we'll inject shadow into the duelist's soul! The overwhelming shadow will shatter their personality, leaving them as an empty husk, a mere puppet."
Marik's breath caught. "Reversing the rules of a Shadow Game... is that even possible?"
"It's because it's possible that I sought you out! All you have to do is hand over the Millennium Rod." Bakura guaranteed, though it seemed only someone like him, who sought to gather the Millennium Items, could discover such effects by combining them.
"No, there's still one problem." Tempted though he was, Marik kept his head clear.
"In a Duel Monsters Shadow Game, even if we inject dark energy instead of sacrificing something, if you lose to Hoshino, won't that shadow destroy you instead?"
"Hahahahaha! I said it was a completely reversed Shadow Game!" Bakura burst into a crazed laugh as if he'd just heard the world's funniest joke.
"In a fully reversed game, the one who receives the shadow is, of course, the winner!"
(***)
"Starting a massive Shadow Game like this could cause a commotion." Hoshino watched as darkness spread, covering nearly the entire park.
Already positioned to duel, Bakura said, "No need to worry. This space is isolated now. But Hoshino now's not the time to worry about your surroundings. Worry about yourself first."
As the darkness enveloped the space, Hoshino felt the eerie silence closing in. If anyone had sensed something wrong, panic would have erupted instantly. "An isolated space, huh? You can pull that off?"
"I went to great lengths for this." Bakura retrieved the Millennium Rod from his back, his expression darkening.
"Now, let's begin! This will be the most powerful Shadow Game ever—conducted with two Millennium Items!"
[Dark Bakura vs. Hoshino Chiyuki]
[Duel Start!]
"I'll go first—draw!"
Hoshino didn't know exactly what Bakura meant by 'the strongest Shadow Game ever,' but one thing was clear: in a Shadow Game, holding back wasn't an option.
"Even with Bakura's aggressive Shadow Game, Da Vinci-chan hasn't shown up." She shook her Millennium bracelet, but there was still no response, and she frowned. "Is she slacking off? Well, knowing Da Vinci-chan, she probably has her reasons."
"What's the holdup? Scared already?" Bakura taunted.
"Just a C-rank Millennium Ring and you're already this cocky?" Hoshino shot back, quickly drawing a card and placing it on her Duel Disk.
"I summon in Attack Position, [Heroic Spirit - Cú Chulainn (Caster)]!"
In the oppressive darkness, a faint glow appeared on Hoshino's field.
[Heroic Spirit - Cú Chulainn (Caster)★★★★ (Level 4)][FIRE][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1300/DEF 800]
Cú Chulainn appeared, wielding a wooden staff, his form illuminated by the Duel Disk's light amidst the darkness.
"This environment is downright uncomfortable," Cú Chulainn muttered as he took in the darkness cloaking the area. "The dark energy here is so intense it's sickening. How can you even duel in a place like this, Master?"
As the 'Child of Light' in Ireland, Cú Chulainn seemed more sensitive to darkness than others.
"Looks like Bakura's claim about this being 'the strongest Shadow Game ever' wasn't just empty words," Hoshino thought, growing more cautious in the duel.
"Since it's the first turn, I can't attack. I'll end my turn by setting two cards face-down." The thick darkness spread, partially obscuring the two cards she'd just set on her Duel Disk.
Hoshino's Remaining Hand: 3 cards
"Now, it's my turn—draw!" Bakura drew his card slowly, a smug expression suggesting victory was already his.
"I summon a monster in face-down Defense Position and end my turn."
With no extra moves, Bakura's turn lasted barely three seconds from start to finish.
Hoshino raised an eyebrow. "What kind of move is that? No attack, no set cards—it's like he's dueling like Jonouchi!"
Hoshino didn't know what Bakura was planning, but she wasn't about to let this chance slip away.
"It's my turn again, draw!"
Her fingertips stood out against the darkness, and as she twirled them, she thought she saw a layer of dark mist covering her skin.
"If that's how you're playing, don't mind if I do! I activate the Spell Card, [Graceful Charity]! I draw three cards from my deck and then discard two from my hand."
With the card's effect, Hoshino swiftly drew three cards, "I discard the Spell Cards [Divine Three-Legged Race] and [Art of Death]."
Alongside Graceful Charity, she tossed the three Spell Cards into her graveyard, causing the glow from Cú Chulainn's staff to shine even brighter.
"Because there are now three Spell Cards in the graveyard, [Heroic Spirit - Cú Chulainn (Caster)]'s attack increases by 300!"
[This card gains 100 ATK for each Spell Card in the graveyard.]
[Cú Chulainn ATK 1300 → 1600]
"Next, I Normal Summon a monster, [Heroic Spirit - Frankenstein]!"
[Heroic Spirit - Frankenstein★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Psychic/Effect][ATK 1350/DEF 800]
"Urgh!" With a flash of electricity, Frankenstein materialized into the darkness.
"Let's attack! Prepare yourself, Bakura!" She swung her hand, signaling Cú Chulainn to attack.
"Attack Bakura's face-down Defense Position monster, Cú Chulainn!" Flames from Cú Chulainn's staff coalesced into a fireball, hurtling toward Bakura's face-down monster.
"Heh heh, it's you who should be prepared, Hoshino!" Bakura sneered, flipping over his face-down monster.
"The monster I set is [Granadora]!"
A bizarre monster with a huge belly and mouth materialized as Bakura revealed his card on the field.
[Granadora★★★★ (Level 4)][WATER][Reptile/Effect][ATK 1900/DEF 700]
With only 700 DEF, it was no match for Cú Chulainn's fireball. Granadora's bloated form vanished in the flames.
Hoshino frowned. "A monster with 1900 ATK, but you set it in Defense Position? You're playing like a rookie."
"Ha ha ha! You attacked it, Hoshino!" Bakura laughed suddenly, catching her off guard.
"Granadora's effect activates. When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, its controller takes 2000 points of damage."
[Dark Bakura LP 4000 → 2000]
"What?" From the start, Bakura's moves had seemed amateurish, yet his actions made Hoshino uneasy.
"The true darkness has begun to spread; you have no way out now!" Sliding his destroyed Granadora card into the graveyard, Bakura looked at Hoshino with a wicked grin.
"With each step of this duel, darkness will creep deeper into your heart."
As his card entered the graveyard, the surrounding black mist seemed to come alive, drifting toward Hoshino.
"Feel it—darkness born from your power!" Bakura pointed sinisterly, an eager look in his eyes.
"What is this?!" Hoshino watched in horror as the dark mist encircled her, instinctively waving her arms to dispel it.
But even in a reversed Shadow Game, the rules couldn't be broken. Just like in a standard Shadow Game, where losing Life Points or having monsters destroyed inflicted spiritual damage, this reversed version made it impossible to resist the darkness encroaching on her body.
Sadness, jealousy, greed, anger—these dark emotions surged into her mind like a tidal wave.
Whispers of darkness echoed in Hoshino's mind.
"Why do you have to go through this? You're the Duel King, yet every time you face life-threatening Shadow Games. Doesn't that make you sad?"
"You're the strongest duelist, the one who should be at the top of the world. Why watch Kaiba strut around with arrogance? Doesn't it make you jealous?"
"With your power, you could easily command wealth and authority. Don't you deserve more?"
"The world is so unfair to you! Hate it! Let the rage at this injustice consume you and burn everything down!"
(*****)
If you'd like to read 25 chapters ahead, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/ANeet. Your support means a lot. Thank you!