The stall owner was a man of the underworld; he sensed instantly the terrifying killing intent from the white-clad stranger.
Realizing things were about to go bad, he quickly backed off and barked, "What do you think you're doing? This is the Dark Web—do you plan to rob and murder here?"
Kurozaki, seeing trouble brewing, rushed forward as well. "Leader, the Dark Web's cardinal rule is no dueling on-premises.
Break the rules and we'll not only offend the Dark Web's unknown backers, we'll probably be pariahs across the entire underworld…"
Hearing that, the stall owner's courage swelled a bit. "That's right. Trying to throw your weight around and steal, huh… A clueless newbie? I doubt you'll get past me."
Kira narrowed his eyes.
True. He had come only to gather intel. Whatever he saw here had nothing to do with him.
Using the Knights of Hanoi to infiltrate the underworld was just one part of his longer plan. The dark world had channels and resources the surface lacked, and managing those resources would surely help with many things to come.
And in that world, the Dark Web seemed to play a significant role. Not just for this Shadow Riders investigation—future intel and resources could likely be sourced here too.
First contact today. Best not to stir up trouble unrelated to him.
But…
He closed his eyes and smiled to himself.
Forget it.
He was the Duel King.
The stall owner, seeing Kira turn away, relaxed and kept muttering curses under his breath. He never saw what the other man did. Before he could react, he felt a massive force crash into him—he went flying backward, slammed into his own display, and tumbled to the ground amid the clatter.
Almost by reflex, he deployed his Duel Disk as he hit the floor, glaring in shock and fury. "What are you doing? You dare openly ignore the Dark Web's rules?"
Kira turned slowly, his Duel Disk also deployed, and simply smiled.
Rules?
What's the point of being king if you have to be bound hand and foot by every rule?
He walked to the toppled rack and picked up the cards scattered across the floor. Souls captured one by one—some perhaps dark duelists who licked the knife's edge and had it coming, others perhaps just unlucky ordinary people.
He caught sight of one in particular.
A little girl with twin tails. Helpless, bewildered. In the boundless darkness of the card's background, she looked at most ten years old.
He gathered the cards in silence and put them away.
He considered himself someone with flexible morals—not a good person. He'd seen enough unfairness to turn a blind eye more often than not.
But even someone like that occasionally saw things he couldn't stomach.
Kira held up the card that imprisoned the girl's soul.
Trafficking children, buying and selling people like slaves—among criminals, that was bottom of the barrel. And these people, this place, enabled scum to abuse the power of dueling and made it a hundred times worse than the old ways.
And as luck would have it, right now Kira was the king of the dueling world.
He used to be just an ordinary man good at nothing. As a kid, his grades were middling—never outstanding. After graduation, his job was middling—just enough to scrape by. His only real social life was playing cards at the shop on weekends.
But now, without realizing it, he seemed to have become someone standing at the peak of this world.
If the rules didn't suit him, he could correct them.
And if they couldn't be corrected, he'd flip the whole table.
The commotion drew attention. Some hurriedly backed away; others gathered to watch with interest.
It had been a long time since anyone made trouble inside the Dark Web system. This kind of spectacle wasn't common.
Black-cloaked enforcers stationed nearby quickly surrounded them, Duel Disks at the ready.
Kurozaki crouched with a grimace, hands over his head. He wanted to shout "Don't start a Shadow Game, I'm not with him," but there was no way to say it…
The blackrobes only formed a ring; they didn't rush in. Moments later, a man in a white suit walked out unhurriedly.
"Aren't you the Knights of Hanoi's rising star, Mr. Revolver? A distinguished guest indeed.
Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the manager here. Folks call me the Armorer."
He approached, flicked a glance at the stall owner.
"Let me guess—the deal hit a snag?"
The stall owner started to protest, but the white-suited "Armorer" cut him off with a wave and a faint smile.
"First-time visitors like Mr. Revolver may not be used to our rules. But in our underground world, no matter what conflict a buyer and seller might have—even if it's a blood feud—please give the Dark Web a little face and refrain from violence here.
If there's something you can't settle, take it elsewhere after. Order is why this place can last. You wouldn't want to be bothered by nasty incidents while you're shopping either, would you?"
The stall owner still glared at Kira, but didn't dare speak.
"I see," Kira said with a slight nod.
The Armorer smiled, satisfied. "Glad you understand. By rights, using dark power here violates the rules, and we would demand compensation.
But since you're a new guest, I'll cover it out of my own pocket—consider it making a friend—"
"Oh, I think you've misunderstood," Kira said. "In fact, this gentleman and I have no grievance. No conflict."
"Oh?"
The Armorer arched a brow, puzzled.
Then why did you hit him?
"I mean, my problem isn't with this gentleman. It's with your rules."
Kira smiled.
"And I have a bit of a quirk. When I see rules that don't suit me, I get itchy all over—won't sleep for days.
So I'll have to ask you all to indulge me: change the rules so I can sleep easy."
Even the onlookers were taken aback.
Who was this newbie, so brazen?
Obviously here to cause trouble and challenge the venue, right?
The Armorer's smile stiffened; his brow creased. He kept his tone cool.
"So, according to you, which of our rules has offended you?"
Kira didn't answer. He just looked at the man and smiled.
"You say you're the manager of this market, which I'm guessing makes you the strongest duelist stationed here, right?"
A hint of pride flickered across the Armorer's face. He smiled faintly. "Correct."
"Good."
Kira raised his Duel Disk, still smiling.
"Then let me get a taste of the Dark Web manager's strength."
PS: Bonus chapters at 1000 PS