"Heh, looks like I won again, Yako..."
When my brother flipped over the last face-down card, I knew I had lost once more.
I've lost to my brother countless times, but I can clearly remember how many times I've won.
Zero times—not a single victory, a completely defeated record.
"As expected of Gekko-nii, no matter what I do, I can't seem to win against you."
Even though I pretended not to care, deep down, I wanted to win. I wanted to win so badly! I wanted to earn Lord Pegasus's recognition!
"That's not true. I can feel that your dueling skills have become faster and more aggressive. At this rate, it won't be long before you can defeat me."
My brother is such a big liar. Every time he wins, he says that, but there's no way I can ever beat him.
—"If I were to compare Gekko-boy to a diamond, then Yako-boy, you would be the diamond in the rough."
"Diamond in the rough?"
"Yes, the raw form of a diamond before it has been cut and polished. Someday, Yako-boy, you'll shine brilliantly too."
That's how Lord Pegasus evaluated me. I know he was just being considerate and didn't want to say it directly.
A diamond in the rough? Just a comforting phrase. In truth, I don't have any talent at all.
The perfect duelist... Why is it my brother and not me?
I've always seen Lord Pegasus as a god, the one who saved us orphans wandering the streets and gave us a life free of worries. He's a real god.
Lord Pegasus is my everything. Why can't I live up to his expectations?
(***)
"Lord Yako, Lord Yako!"
"Hmm? Did I fall asleep?"
Opening his eyes, Tenma Yako looked at the black-clad man who had woken him.
"Lord Yako, you've been pushing yourself too hard. Ever since Lord Pegasus went missing, you've hardly had a proper night's sleep."
"Now is not the time to rest. The plan has progressed this far. I must see it through for Lord Pegasus's sake!"
On the huge monitor before him, the image of Hoshino and the others in the elevator was being displayed.
"What should we do, Lord Yako? Should I arrange for someone to deal with them?"
"No need. I've already sent the strongest duelist. Not even the Duel King could defeat..."
(***)
"Why, why is there no elevator past the 180th floor?!"
Grumbling in frustration, Hoshino had thought they would easily reach the top floor where Tenma Yako was by taking the elevator.
But the harsh reality was that the three of them were now laboriously climbing the stairs.
"I can't help it, Hoshino!" Mokuba replied without turning his head, focused on climbing the stairs. "The regular employees' elevator only goes up to the 180th floor. To reach the top floor directly, you have to use the management-only elevator. But I just checked, and it's been sealed off."
"Sealed off, huh? That must be Yako's doing."
"He probably doesn't want us to reach the top floor..."
"No, it's not that simple." Hoshino shook her head, dismissing Mokuba's guess. "If Yako really didn't want us to reach the top floor, he could have just sealed off the regular employees' elevator too. That way, we'd have to climb 200 floors, not just 20."
Hoshino's stamina was now very different from when she first arrived in this world. Although climbing 200 floors would be impossible, she could still grit her teeth and make it through 20.
"Hoshino, you mean..."
"I think Yako must have set something up in these 20 floors!"
"Hoshino-nee is so amazing, just like a detective!"
Kids are easily influenced by the things around them, and ever since meeting Holmes, Akasha has become fascinated with detective work.
"Let Akasha take a crack at it too!" Akasha, mimicking a thoughtful detective, stroked her small chin as she examined Hoshino.
"Hoshino-nee looks so out of breath; she must be really tired~"
"Isn't that obvious!" Hoshino turned her head and playfully scolded Akasha with a smile.
"Speaking of which, Akasha-chan, your stamina is impressive." When Hoshino glanced over at Akasha, she noticed that the girl was bouncing up the stairs without showing any signs of fatigue.
"This kind of thing doesn't even count as daily training for the Rare Hunters; it doesn't take any energy at all~"
Even a little girl like Akasha has to undergo such intense training... Is your group some sort of Olympic team?!
Wait! Why do you even need stamina training just to play cards?
Hoshino sighed deeply, feeling that continuing to make quips in this situation would only drain her energy twice as fast, so she decided to drop the matter.
"Hoshino, we've reached the 190th floor!" reported Mokuba, who was leading the way.
However, when they reached the 190th floor, there were no more stairs leading upward.
"The stairs to go up from the 190th floor are on the other side of the hallway."
A mechanical door separated the stairs from the hallway.
"Oh? So that's how it's set up..."
Frowning slightly, Hoshino unfolded her duel disk.
"Hoshino-nee?" Akasha looked at Hoshino, puzzled as to why she had suddenly gone into battle mode.
"If I were Yako, this hallway—the only turning point within these 20 floors—would be the best place to pull something!"
With that, Hoshino pulled out her deck and loaded it into her duel disk. She then shouted toward the door, "Isn't that right?"
"Isn't that right..."
"Isn't that..."
The empty hallway echoed back Hoshino's shout.
"Awkward... Could there be no one here?"
After that cool analysis, if it turned out she was just talking to thin air...
Sweating from embarrassment, Hoshino could almost feel the suppressed laughter from Mokuba and Akasha behind her.
"Let's go, Hoshino. Pfft!" Mokuba patted Hoshino on the back, but ultimately couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Let's go, Hoshino-nee. Pfft!" Akasha, like a little parrot, mimicked Mokuba's words and even gave Hoshino's bouncy bottom a playful pat.
After passing through the mechanical door, the straight hallway stretched out, visible to the end, with not a soul in sight.
"Could it be that Yako is an idiot after all?"
After her reasoning had fallen flat, Hoshino resorted to the cheap tactic of passing the blame onto the other side.
"Sorry, but I can't let you go any further." Suddenly, a creepy voice echoed in the previously empty hallway.
The three of them broke out in a cold sweat as they heard the voice of someone who wasn't there.
"Where's that voice coming from?"
The man's eerie voice echoed down the corridor. Despite there being no visible sound equipment in the hallway, the voice was unmistakably real, as if the man were standing right in front of Hoshino and her companions.
"A gh…ghost?"
"Don't scare me like that, Hoshino!"
Mokuba, who was already prone to fear anything ghostly, felt a chill run down his spine.
"Mokuba, you're such a scaredy-cat~"
"I sincerely apologize, but I can't allow you to proceed any further, Duel King and her companions."
The mysterious voice spoke again. Though eerie, it maintained a polite tone.
"You sound so courteous—why don't you show yourself and talk to us, Mr. Ghost?"
Hoshino cautiously suggested, scanning her surroundings.
"Sorry, did I scare you? It's just that I don't have a body of my own, so…"
"No body? So you really are an evil spirit!" Mokuba, nearly in tears, hid even further behind Hoshino.
"Why would an evil spirit be lurking in KaibaCorp? We are a company that firmly believes in science supremacy!"
"Calm down, Mokuba. Considering how polite this ghost is, it might not necessarily be an evil spirit."
Hoshino tried to soothe Mokuba, though her eyes never stopped scanning for any clues.
"You're making me feel bad for not showing myself when you keep calling me an evil spirit."
The voice, though polite, had a hint of helplessness in it, as if even spirits were concerned with their image.
"Even though I don't have a body, please allow me to borrow a fake image to communicate with you."
As soon as the voice finished speaking, the air in front of them began to blur, much like a monster being summoned through a Duel Disk's hologram. Gradually, the physical form of the mysterious voice appeared before them.
"Wow, he's handsome!" ×2
Looking at the handsome, white-haired man with his tall stature and refined demeanor, Hoshino and Akasha couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
However, Mokuba's reaction was quite unexpected.
"Tenma… Yako?!"
"Huh? This guy is Tenma Yako?! He's nothing like what I imagined."
Hoshino had pictured the leader of the group invading KaibaCorp to be something like a rugged, terrifying terrorist leader.
"That's right. I checked the recent data from Industrial Illusions through the terminal in the elevator. This man's photo has replaced Pegasus's… In other words, after Pegasus's disappearance, this man took over as the new president of Industrial Illusions—Tenma Yako himself."
"Why are you only telling us this now?! And why would the final boss suddenly appear here? This doesn't make any sense…" Even with Mokuba's confirmation, Hoshino still felt that the man in front of them couldn't possibly be Tenma Yako.
"Besides, since when did Tenma Yako become a ghost? He just said he doesn't have a body—how can a ghost run Industrial Illusions?"
"Heh, I'm impressed with how calm you are, Duel King," the man smiled appreciatively at Hoshino. "You're right. I'm not Tenma Yako. I am his twin brother, Tenma Gekko."
"Tenma Gekko…the one Pegasus called the perfect duelist…"
It was no surprise Mokuba didn't know of him. Despite being called the perfect duelist, Tenma Gekko had never appeared in the media, existing only as a rumor or legend.
"So they're twins… That means Tenma Yako must be just as handsome."
Even though the handsome guy in front of her wasn't Tenma Yako, the reality was still far from the terrifying terrorist leader Hoshino had imagined.
"So, Hoshino-nee and Mokuba, are neither of you questioning that this ghost in front of us is the real deal?" Akasha, looking bewildered, asked as she stared at the two. "He just appeared out of nowhere…"
"Oh yeah, how can a human just appear out of thin air? Tenma Gekko is supposed to be a living person!" Realizing this, Mokuba began to panic all over again.
"Mr. Tenma… Gekko, if it's not too much trouble, could you explain this to us?" Hoshino asked, equally curious.
However, upon hearing this question, a fleeting sadness crossed Tenma Gekko's face.
"Sorry, I can't answer that right now. But as I said before, I can't let you proceed any further."
"Oh? So a ghost without a body plans to stop us?"
Hoshino, who had never feared anything ghostly, wasn't about to be intimidated by his eerie entrance.
"I don't intend to stop you by force…"
The sadness in his eyes disappeared, replaced by an air of confidence. White energy began to swirl around Gekko's arm as if he were gathering the surrounding air.
"I'll decide whether you can pass through a duel!"
His confident demeanor was completely different from just moments ago. As the white energy gathered, a standard white Duel Disk materialized on Gekko's arm.
"Interesting, a duel with a ghost… No, a duel with the perfect duelist from legend."
Hoshino, already having her Duel Disk at the ready, prepared herself for battle.
"Are you sure about this, Hoshino? He's the perfect duelist, personally recognized by Pegasus himself," Mokuba said, worried.
"What's there to fear? I'm the Duel King who defeated Pegasus!"
"That's right! Hoshino-nee will definitely win, she's the Duel King who defeated Akasha!"
So, Akasha, do you consider yourself on the same level as Pegasus?
"Hm? That's right…"
[Opponent Level Assessment Complete. Duelist: Akasha. Level: A. Victory Reward: 60 Saint Quartz. Total Saint Quartz: 62.]
Even though she wasn't on Pegasus's level, this little girl's ranking was exceptionally high…
Admiring Akasha's potential, Hoshino turned her attention back to Tenma Gekko.
"Are you ready, Duel King Hoshino?" Gekko asked politely.
"I was born ready!"
[Tenma Gekko vs. Hoshino Chiyuki]
"Let's duel!"
"I'll take the first move!" Gekko swiftly drew a card with remarkable speed, smiling all the while as he claimed the first turn.
"I summon a monster in face-down defense position and set one card. Turn end."
A textbook-perfect opening. The perfect duelist demonstrated flawless execution, whether in seizing the first turn or setting up his board.
Tenma Gekko's remaining hand: 4 cards.
"My turn, draw!" Not wanting to be outdone, Hoshino placed a new monster on her Duel Disk.
"I summon [Heroic Spirit – Gilgamesh (Young)]."
(*****)
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