SWNOVELXO Chapter 32: DSMW [32]
The gold accessory hanging from the mysterious man's chest was the same as Aisha's Millennium Puzzle.
It was a golden ring with an eye embedded in the center.
"The Millennium Ring... If I remember right, that's definitely not a good thing," Miles muttered, relying on his vague memories of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime.
As one of the Millennium Items, the Ring had always been in the hands of a villain.
Just like what they were seeing now.
A man in a black cloak at night, lurking in the back mountain, knocking out Fusion Academy students through duels... this absolutely screamed villain.
"So many prey tonight... Never expected the rich brats from the academy would fall for it this easily."
Upon noticing Aisha, the man revealed a sinister smile from beneath his hood, only his mouth and lower face visible.
"Fall for it?" Miles, controlling Aisha's body, frowned slightly.
He didn't fully grasp the situation, but he had pieced together most of it.
"So... the Egyptian God Card rumor was fake."
"Hahahahahaha!"
The cloaked man suddenly burst into wild laughter.
"Little girl, you look dumb, but turns out you're smarter than you seem."
Aisha snapped back, "What do you mean I LOOK dumb?! I object!"
Maybe because her soul was safely hiding in the Millennium Puzzle, Aisha wasn't as scared of her surroundings anymore—she even had the nerve to argue over her appearance.
"Gahaha..."
The man's grin twisted even further.
"You spoiled little rich brats... just drop a rumor about a rare card, and you all come running to the back mountain like lemmings. Anyone with half a brain knows the Egyptian God Cards wouldn't show up in a dump like this."
'...I gotta admit, 'lemmings' is a pretty accurate term,' Miles mused.
Luring students to the secluded back mountain... what was the point?
It wasn't for... certain unspeakable reasons; both victims so far were guys, unless this guy had... unusual preferences.
Robbery seemed more likely. After all, he'd mentioned the academy was full of rich kids.
'Still... why duel them?'
That was what Miles just couldn't figure out. Especially since the first victim, Ron, ended up mentally broken. Maybe he went through something like what just happened to Mizuki.
"Heh... because how else can I get my hands on the priceless cards you rich brats carry?"
The man casually walked over to the unconscious Mizuki and shockingly extracted his Deck from the Spirit Eyes.
Aisha gasped. "That's impossible! When someone else touches your Spirit Eyes, the Deck should vanish into another dimension along with it!"
This was precisely why cards couldn't be traded in the Spirit Continent.
Unless it was through an effect like Exchange during a duel, others simply couldn't access someone's Deck.
From the moment it was summoned and crafted, a Deck was permanently bound to its Duelist. Even if scattered, tossed, or used as weapons like Kaima often did, the cards would return to their owner after a short while.
There were only two exceptions that allowed a card to become tradable—either the owner died, or... It was through the forbidden Shadow Game.
Aisha panicked. "Wait... does that mean Mizuki's dead?!"
"No, no, no, that's way too extreme. No way a duel could actually kill someone... right?" Miles said.
Although... Mizuki's death scream was pretty bloodcurdling.
"So it IS a Shadow Game."
Seeing the Millennium Ring on the man's chest, Miles confirmed his suspicion.
"Even guessed the Shadow Game... You really are something, little girl. Acting dumb, while secretly sharp as a tack."
With that mocking "praise," the man reached into Mizuki's Deck and pulled out its most valuable card—a B-rank Spell Card: Monster Reborn.
Moments later, Mizuki's entire Deck vanished, preventing the man from stealing anything else.
"When you lose a Shadow Game, you must surrender one card from your Deck. That's the price of stepping into the darkness."
A tradable card like Monster Reborn would easily fetch the price of a luxury mansion in a small town on the black market. This was why so many "Rare Card Hunters" were willing to risk their lives in Shadow Games—a literal gamble with blood.
Money... the greatest motivator for human greed.
"Not bad. The leader gave me this Millennium Item. Even if it's just a replica, it works beautifully. A genuine Shadow Game... A student's mind can't even last a few turns. It's impossible to lose."
Pocketing the Monster Reborn, the man casually removed his hood, revealing greasy, unkempt black hair.
"And the next prey... who would've thought a cute little girl would show up tonight. Heh... You're not bad-looking either."
His face was sleazy, with all his features cramped together in the worst way. Combined with his grotesque expression, even Miles—a grown man—felt physically ill.
Aisha shrieked. "Is this creep trying to do unspeakable things to you, Miles?!"
"Stay calm, idiot! This is YOUR body, remember?!"
"Get ready, Aisha."
No matter how curious Miles was about the sensations of being in a girl's body, this was not the time to experience the "forbidden fruit."
"Heh... so you're not dumb after all, little girl. But resistance is futile. Wherever darkness reaches, there is no escape. This is the Shadow Game!"
In just seconds, thick black mist engulfed Miles. His vision was swallowed entirely by endless darkness.
"Now... let's begin. The delightful Shadow Game! DUEL—!"
There was no option to refuse. The fake Millennium Ring glowed, and the duel was forcefully initiated.
[Dark Duelist, LP: 4000]
[Aisha, LP: 4000]
The rules were unlike Fusion Academy's weekly mock duels—this was a standard official duel: 4000 LP, minimum 40-card Deck.
The cloaked man's Spirit Eyes lit up first—he had the first turn.
"I summon—Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in Attack Position!"
[Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands] Level 4│LIGHT│Fairy│1400 ATK
Materializing in the dark, the creature was a grotesque assembly of countless arms. It was labeled a Fairy-type, but its appearance was anything but angelic—enough to make anyone's sanity bar plummet.
...
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