The dying light of late afternoon cast eerie shadows across the abandoned lot, filtering through broken windows and rusted chain-link fences. The glow of active duel disks lit up the grimy walls, blending in eerie contrast with the blood-red sunset. It wasn't just a duel anymore—it felt like a performance on the edge of reality, and Connor Hawkins stood calmly at center stage.
Arkana grinned beneath his cracked theatrical mask, his fingers poised with flair as he made his opening move. With a dramatic wave, he placed a single card onto the field.
"I summon one monster in face-down Defense Mode!"
"Two cards face-down," Arkana added, lips curling behind the mask. "Your move, little prodigy."
Connor said nothing. He merely adjusted the strap of his duel disk, eyes narrowing slightly. The golden glow of the scanner reflected in his irises as he drew his hand and glanced through it with unflinching focus.
He calmly slid a card into the graveyard slot. "I discard Thunder Dragon to add two more copies from my deck."
A quiet mechanical shuffle followed as his duel disk ejected the cards into his hand. He added them smoothly, expression unreadable.
"I set one monster," he continued, "and two face-down cards."
His next move came with quiet confidence. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards."
Rebecca, watching from the lot's edge, tightened her grip on her deck case. Her expression was tense but trusting—she'd seen Connor duel before, but never under this kind of pressure.
Connor ended his turn without a word, eyes fixed ahead.
Arkana chuckled as he reached for his deck. "Let's see what secrets your puppet is hiding."
With a flourish, he flipped his own face-down monster—Dark Mimic LV1. Its lid snapped open like a coffin, triggering its effect. Arkana drew a card with a flourish, his shoulders rolling with smug satisfaction.
"Next," he declared, "I summon Mystic Tomato in attack mode!"
The red, twisted fruit-like creature floated forward, pulsing with dark energy and trailing thorny vines.
Arkana pointed with theatrical flair. "Attack his face-down!"
The monster lunged, smashing into Connor's set Magician of Faith. The spellcaster shimmered briefly before vanishing into light—but not before her effect triggered.
"I return Pot of Greed to my hand," Connor said coolly, his voice low and direct.
Arkana's eye twitched. "Lucky brat…"
Another card slid into Arkana's back row. "Just to be safe."
He stepped back with a grin, letting the duel breathe for a moment.
Connor silently drew, his lips tightening slightly. His gaze scanned his new cards before he nodded, processing the possibilities.
"I play Pot of Greed. Draw two."
The cards snapped into his hand. No hesitation.
"I activate Graceful Charity—draw three, discard Thunder Dragon and Breaker the Magical Warrior."
Arkana's smirk began to strain.
"Then I activate Delinquent Duo," Connor added. "You discard two cards at random."
A faint flicker of surprise crossed Arkana's expression as he reached for his hand. His jaw clenched visibly when he lost Dark Magician and Card of Safe Return.
"You little—" he spat, knuckles whitening.
Connor didn't flinch. "I tribute Magician of Faith for Airknight Parshath."
A brilliant flash erupted as the noble centaur materialized, hooves crashing into the ground. His blade gleamed under the last rays of daylight.
"Battle. Parshath attacks Dark Mimic."
The sword strike rang through the lot like thunder. Dark Mimic burst apart into digital fragments, and Arkana staggered back a step as his life points dropped.
Arkana LP: 2200
Connor calmly drew a card from Airknight's effect.
Arkana's eyes gleamed. "Enough tricks. Time for a real magician."
He slapped a card onto his duel disk. "Monster Reborn! Return, Dark Magician!"
The legendary spellcaster emerged from a crimson pillar of flame, staff raised, robes fluttering.
Without hesitation, Connor responded. "I chain Book of Moon—flip your magician face-down."
The magician curled in on himself, vanishing beneath his own cape as his card flipped horizontally.
Arkana hissed. "Fine! You live one more turn."
Connor's eyes flicked briefly to the graveyard. His lips twitched—just slightly.
He slipped two cards from the grave and held them between his fingers. "I banish Thunder Dragon and Breaker the Magical Warrior."
Light and dark energy swirled into a storm of polarity.
"I summon Chaos Sorcerer."
The spellcaster tore into the field with an aura of distorted light, eyes glowing like eclipsed suns.
"Effect—banish Dark Magician."
A beam of chaos surged forward, erasing the magician before he could ever rise again.
Connor's expression remained calm as he raised his hand. "Airknight Parshath attacks directly."
Arkana LP: 300
Another card slid silently into Connor's hand from Airknight's effect.
Arkana's lips peeled back in a snarl. "You think you've got me cornered?"
He drew and slapped a card down like it was salvation itself.
"Card of Sanctity! We both draw until we hold six!"
Connor's brow barely lifted. He didn't like that.
"I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior—he gains one counter."
The warrior appeared, brandishing his curved blade and gleaming shield.
"I remove the counter. Say goodbye to your face-down."
Mirror Force shattered into shards of light.
"Then I play Lightning Vortex! I discard one card to destroy all monsters you control!"
Connor's Chaos Sorcerer and Airknight vanished in a crackling explosion of lightning.
"Battle! Breaker attacks directly!"
Connor took the hit with a sharp exhale, but stood his ground.
Connor LP: 2400
Arkana set one card and leaned back, exhaling through clenched teeth. "Let's see you top that."
Connor drew, his face unreadable.
"I banish Magician of Faith and Chaos Sorcerer from the graveyard."
The wind surged again—light and shadow forming together into something greater.
"Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning."
The warrior of legend descended, swords glowing with primal energy. Rebecca's eyes widened.
"Attack Breaker the Magical Warrior."
Connor's voice was steady. Unshaken.
Arkana's eyes lit up in a flash of vicious glee. "I activate Draining Shield—your attack is negated, and I gain life points equal to BLS's attack!"
Arkana LP: 3300
Connor didn't blink. He simply reset his stance.
Arkana chuckled, cocky again. "You're not invincible, brat."
He reached for his next card, then slid a monster into face-down Defense Position.
"One more piece to the puzzle," he murmured under his breath. "One Mirror Force… and the Pharaoh's pet falls."
Connor drew again. His eyes scanned the field, reading Arkana like an open book.
Without hesitation, he slammed down a spell card.
"Heavy Storm. Destroy all Spell and Trap cards on the field."
A cyclone burst forth from the center of the field. Arkana's trap was torn into pieces before it could trigger. He cried out, nearly stumbling backward.
"No—my Mirror Force!"
Connor slid his final spell forward. "Megamorph. Since my life points are lower than yours, Black Luster Soldier's ATK doubles."
The warrior blazed with new intensity—his swords burning with energy as his ATK surged to 6000.
Connor pointed. "Attack the face-down."
The energy beam from BLS obliterated the set monster instantly. Arkana could only watch in horror as his life points plummeted to zero.
Arkana LP: 0
His duel disk exploded in sparks, smoke trailing from the emitter. He dropped to one knee, breathing hard, sweat pouring down his temple.
He simply stood in the silence, shoulders rising and falling with slow, controlled breaths, as the soft hum of the extinguishing duel field flickered into stillness. His eyes, calm and unblinking, remained fixed on Arkana—watching the man tremble and collapse like the illusionist persona he clung to.
The mask of theatrical pride was gone. Arkana's pale, scarred face twisted in pain and disbelief as he staggered backward on one elbow, dragging himself away from the spot where his Dark Magician had once stood with grandeur. Sparks hissed from his overloaded duel disk, smoke curling upward in wisps like ghosts of a performance long since finished.
His voice was barely above a whisper—broken, rasping. "M-Master… Marik… forgive me…"
The words were weak. Pitiful. Connor didn't reply. He didn't need to. The duel was over. Justice, however temporary, had already spoken.
Behind him, a soft thud echoed across the lot as one of the cybernetic Rare Hunters collapsed to the pavement—knocked unconscious, his duel disk shattered and smoking. A second groaned, staggering sideways before crumpling against a rusted dumpster, circuits sparking violently from his shoulder joint. Rebecca stood nearby, breathing hard, sleeves scorched from a trap card rebound but standing tall. Her duel disk powered down with a final flicker.
Arthur stood a short distance away, brushing dust from his jacket and reholstering a compact duel calculator. Though his age showed in the stiffness of his movements, his sharp eyes glimmered with fierce satisfaction.
Connor finally moved—silent and purposeful. He stepped forward toward the gasping Arkana, who flinched when he felt the boy's shadow fall over him.
"No," Arkana whispered hoarsely, eyes widening behind the remains of his broken mask. "Not like this…"
Connor didn't respond to the plea. With steady hands, he knelt and reached toward the sputtering duel disk strapped to Arkana's limp arm.
"Time for my prize," Connor said, voice calm but cold.
He disengaged the disk's magnetic lock and slid out Arkana's rare card—a shimmering Dark Magician variant, corrupted by Rare Hunter tech. Its card frame still glimmered faintly with Marik's influence. Connor inspected it for a heartbeat, then slid it into his own card case without a word.
Beneath the rare card was Arkana's location card, its data still blinking in green. Connor pocketed that too.
"Don't worry," he said flatly, finally speaking to the defeated man. "I'll put it to better use."
Arkana let out a bitter groan as he dropped his head against the pavement, breathing heavily.
Nearby, Rebecca approached the downed cyborg duelist she'd handled, kneeling beside his scorched duel disk. She tugged free his location card, holding it up like a trophy, then glanced over at Arthur. He was already retrieving the second.
"Three new location cards. Not bad for one ambush," Arthur said, sliding the card into his coat.
As she stepped beside Connor, she noticed his face—still quiet, still unreadable. His eyes were low, staring at the rare card in his hand as if it were more than just a prize—something heavier. Something earned.
"You okay?" she asked, voice softer now. Not teasing. Not brave. Just… human.
Connor let out a slow breath. It didn't shake, but it carried weight. "Yeah."
Rebecca nodded slightly but didn't leave his side.
Arthur walked up behind them, glancing around the alley. The hum of evening wind had returned, rustling trash along the ground, whispering through broken fences. The silence that followed the duel was heavier than the sound of it.
"We need to move," Arthur said, adjusting his bag. "There could be more nearby. These three weren't acting alone."
He cracked a faint smile. It was quick—barely there—but genuine.
"Nice work back there," he told her, voice low.
She raised an eyebrow and gave a small shrug. "You too. But next time, I want the main duel."
Arthur chuckled softly behind them. "Let's just make sure there isn't a next time. At least not without a better plan."
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