Chapter 503 - 503: DSMW [503]
The Shadow Game's field dispersed, and it seemed the Wicked God's card never even got the chance to devour a soul before the Shadow Duelist Bryce's soul was already shattered.
The [Barrel Dragon] card popped out of Spirit Eyes and scattered across the ground.
It had been too long since Miles last fought a Shadow Game; he almost forgot.
If you win a Shadow Game, according to the Spirit Continent's dueling rules, you can choose one card from your opponent's Deck to become a tradable card.
However, could there really be anything in a guy like this's Deck that he could actually use?
Miles swept his gaze across the cards scattered on the ground.
Aside from the Barrel Dragon series monsters, most of the remaining monsters also had coin-toss effects.
Bounty Hunter Bryce, this guy really was an old gambling addict.
"This card is?!"
Among the pile of coin-toss monsters, Miles obviously had no interest in the Barrel Dragon cards and couldn't be bothered to take them.
But after carefully searching through them, one Monster Card successfully caught Miles's attention.
It also had a coin-toss effect, but it didn't belong to the Barrel Dragon series.
[Time Wizard]
If Miles remembered correctly, this was the most exhilarating card to gamble with.
Not only did it have the power to turn the entire duel around with a single card, it even had hidden effects that weren't written on the card.
They really weren't written on the card. Miles only vaguely remembered that this card could be used in combination with [Dark Magician].
"Alright then. Since we've met, it must be fate. You it is!"
Out of the entire Deck, the card Miles found the most pleasing and to his liking was this [Time Wizard]. There really wasn't anything else worth taking.
After taking the [Time Wizard] card, the remaining scattered cards on the ground, faithfully following the Spirit Continent's rules, immediately vanished into another dimension.
Of course, not all the cards disappeared. One card remained behind.
Spirit Continent card trading rule number two: after a Duelist dies, the card that represents their dueling career will remain as a tradable card.
Since another card had been left behind, that meant Bounty Hunter Bryce had fallen into eternal slumber within the Shadow Duel.
"A blood-soaked outlaw. Go to hell and apologize to the people you killed."
Going by the principle of 'no reason not to take it if it's free,' Miles picked up Bounty Hunter Bryce's career card.
Of course, there was also a bit of curiosity mixed in. He was curious which card would represent Bryce's entire life as a Duelist.
Trap Card [Gamble]
It really was an overly simple and straightforward description.
Just two words, 'Gamble,' perfectly summarized Bryce's entire life as a Duelist.
Miles couldn't agree more.
"Ha!"
Letting out a heavy yawn, it really was true that no matter how strong the body was, living beings still needed sleep to replenish their mental strength.
"Let's go back and get some more sleep."
Having successfully stopped the Shadow Duelist from attacking Carlos and even managed to obtain two cards along the way, a thoroughly satisfied Miles retraced his steps back to the small-town inn in Lukao.
At the same time.
Elra: "Hey, he's gone, Alice!"
Elra, who had originally hoped Alice would come up with a way to deal with Miles, didn't hear a single word from Alice even after Miles had left.
This wasn't really Alice's fault. It was just that this problem was far too difficult. Several times harder than the family affairs Alice usually had to handle.
Alice had, more or less, deduced the secret surrounding Miles.
At the beginning, Miles' existence was probably similar to Elra within the Millennium Ring, a lingering spirit residing within a divine relic.
And ever since the Millennium Puzzle was summoned, Aisha, in her duels, had always been aided by Miles in his spirit state.
This also better explained why her younger sister, who had been stuck at the bottom of the rankings during the first half of her first year, could improve at such a terrifying speed within just half a year.
Earlier than the time she herself obtained the Millennium Ring, it was this young man named Miles who saved her sister from the depths of despair.
At the most confused and helpless moment of Aisha's life, a man who could practically solve every problem for her suddenly appeared.
It was no wonder her sister was so deeply infatuated with Miles.
Alice let out a long sigh. "Haaa… how am I supposed to face Miles now?"
Should she treat him as a younger brother? As Aisha's lingering spirit? Or as a divine relic bearer fated to be drawn to one another, unable to avoid a final battle?
Alice had originally planned to vent her emotions by taking care of the Shadow Duelist, but now she felt even more irritated.
Shua!
Just as Alice was at a loss for where to vent her frustration, sparse footsteps suddenly came from the nearby woods.
"Oh? Looks like there's still a bug here."
Holding a live Beaconbugs broadcast device, Bryce's lackey, a subordinate of the Shadow Duelist Bryce, only snapped back to his senses and tried to flee after seeing his boss defeated, only to be caught red-handed by Alice.
"You Shadow Duelists really have a lot of free time. Livestreaming? Do you think Shadow Duels are some kind of entertainment show?"
"Sp-spare me!" The scrawny lackey's legs trembled uncontrollably. "I'm just a runner who does errands and odd jobs. I'm not even a Duelist. Please, let me go!"
"Letting you go is fine." Alice pulled her hood up, hiding her most striking silver-white hair. "You're going to lead me to where these Shadow Duelists are gathering to watch the livestream."
"O-okay…"
Inside the tavern, the Shadow Duelists who had watched Bryce get taken down by the Carlos family's watchdog through the livestream still hadn't realized the danger that was about to befall them.
That made sense.
After all, how could a bunch of scoundrels huddled inside a tavern looking for cheap entertainment ever imagine that Alice would literally cut her way along the livestream's signal?
In a late-night alley, in front of a dilapidated tavern, Alice directly threw out [Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju], violently blasting the door apart.
"Who's there?!"
The tavern door was blown off by the gigantic Kaiju.
A scene so outrageous that no one would dare imagine it even in their dreams caused the Shadow Duelists inside the tavern to leap to their feet in shock.
What appeared before them was a woman whose breathtaking beauty could still be glimpsed even with half her face concealed beneath a cloak.
"Someone actually dares to cause trouble here? Looking to die, are you?"
Not all of the Shadow Duelists gathered inside the tavern were bottom-tier fodder.
Quite a few were powerful individuals who usually kept a low profile, not as arrogant as Bryce, but whose strength was in no way inferior to that of a bounty hunter.
However, Alice didn't take any of them seriously.
"One, two, three…"
Standing at the tavern entrance, Alice seemed to be counting something.
"Eighteen, huh. Just right. My stock's been a bit low lately."
That's right. Alice was counting the Spirit Eyes inside the tavern.
She didn't even bother to regard this group of Spirit Eyes wearers as Duelists, treating them as nothing more than items to be tallied.
Alice, who was not a native Duelist, needed to rely on the dark power of the Millennium Ring to seize other people's Spirit Eyes in order to duel.
However, Spirit Eyes that weren't 'original' would be damaged and consumed after use.
And as Alice's dueling strength continued to grow, the rate at which Spirit Eyes shattered and were consumed also increased.
"I want to finish this before dawn and get back to make breakfast for Aisha." Alice roughly estimated the time and said, "Alright then. All eighteen of you, come at me together."
One versus eighteen. That meant what Alice was about to do definitely wasn't a duel that followed card game rules, but a straight-up brawl using Duel Monsters' power.
"You're saying you alone want to fight all of us?"
"I've lived this long, and I've never seen someone this arrogant!"
"Where did this bitch come from, not knowing her place?"
Though they were cursing angrily, the Shadow Duelists' hands didn't stop moving.
Don't expect any chivalry from this pack of scoundrels. If they could gang up, why bother with a one-on-one? Anyone understood something that simple.
One after another, monsters were summoned. All kinds of monsters materialized inside the tavern, ready to charge at Alice blocking the entrance.
"Hack that woman to pieces!"
"Tear her apart!"
No one knew who started it, but after a deafening roar, the monsters summoned by the eighteen Shadow Duelists all rushed toward Alice at once.
Facing so many monsters at the same time, if she were truly swarmed at close range, Alice's alluring body, barely concealed beneath her black robe, would likely be torn to shreds in an instant.
However, just as the Shadow Duelists were about to enjoy the spectacle, a scene that would shock them for an entire year suddenly unfolded.
While charging toward Alice, every single materialized Duel Monster vanished simultaneously.
All that remained in space were streaks of white afterimages, like those that only appear when monsters are tributed and leave the field.
Crack!
Accompanied by the eruption of a card effect at Alice's slender fingertips, the Spirit Eyes that had only been used once on her arm split to pieces, unable to bear the load of that power.
Alice had only thrown out a single card, yet she had tributed every monster charging at her.
In the sky, or perhaps it was the cosmos itself, the terrifying behemoth that had just been summoned by tributing all those monsters descended in response.
[Nibiru, the Primal Being] Level 11│LIGHT│Rock│3000 ATK
[Once per turn, during the Main Phase of the turn in which your opponent has Normal or Special Summoned 5 or more monsters: Tribute all face-up monsters on the field, then Special Summon this card from your hand.]
A massive meteor fell from the sky, precisely crashing into the depths of the alley, straight onto the tavern where the Shadow Duelists had gathered.
Some colossal existences were things that no amount of ordinary human effort could ever hope to oppose.
The meteor struck, and a mushroom cloud like a nuclear explosion rose into the night. The tavern was instantly flattened, and only Alice, as the card's activator, was unaffected.
To wipe out eighteen Shadow Duelists, all it took was one minute and a single card.
Elra: "Feel better after venting?"
Alice: "Not at all."
Even so, it did nothing to ease the turmoil currently weighing on Alice's heart.
---
If you want to support, please consider Patreon and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]