A month had passed since his training began, and Kaiba was still being schooled. A sharp, wet cough ripped from his throat as Father Kirei's strike landed with brutal precision in the center of his chest. Gasping for air, Kaiba clutched the point of impact, his ribs screaming, but he forced himself back into a fighting stance.
He surged forward, driving a straight punch toward the priest. Kirei deflected it with an effortless sweep of his arm and countered with a soaring superman punch. The impact against Kaiba's guard sent a shockwave up his arms, staggering him backward.
Kirei gave him no quarter. He closed the distance in an instant and delivered a vicious kick to Kaiba's side. The air exploded from Kaiba's lungs in a choked gasp, a spray of saliva flying from his lips as he crumpled to his knees.
"Get up. Your enemy will not wait for you," Father Kirei stated, his voice devoid of emotion.
Teeth gritted, Kaiba pushed himself to his feet. With a final, desperate surge of will, he launched a wild haymaker. Kirei simply tilted his head, letting the fist whistle harmlessly past his ear. The priest's response was a piston-like straight punch that snapped Kaiba's head back and sent him crashing to the ground.
A warm trickle of blood began to flow from his nose, staining the floor.
Standing over him, Father Kirei pulled a napkin from his robes and meticulously wiped his hands. "Tomorrow, I expect to see improvement."
"Alright," Kaiba rasped from the ground.
Father Kirei offered a faint, enigmatic smile before turning to walk away.
'Damn that priest,' Kaiba thought, pushing himself up on trembling arms. 'He's even better than Sister Theresa.'
Kaiba took a few steadying breaths, his ribs still aching. "Right," he muttered to himself. "Work."
He trudged back to the forge, the familiar scent of coal and hot metal cutting through the lingering taste of blood. The owner who had hired him, a burly man aptly named Ironclad, looked up from the anvil with a knowing grin.
"Rough session with Father Kirei again?" Ironclad asked, his voice a low rumble.
"Yeah," Kaiba admitted, tying his hair back. "He's on another level. I don't think I could land a single clean hit on him if my life depended on it." He paused, leaning against the doorframe. "I wonder how strong he was in his prime, as a Magic Knight."
Ironclad gave a hearty chuckle and tossed Kaiba his heavy leather apron. "Speculate on your own time. For now, the metal won't heat itself."
"Right, right," Kaiba said, catching the apron and slipping it on.
Soon, the only sounds were the roar of the bellows and the ringing of hammer on steel. They fell into the rhythm of their work, sweat tracing clean paths through the grime on their skin as they shaped the glowing iron.
The forge's heat had finally begun to fade, replaced by the cool evening air. Ironclad wiped his soot-stained hands on his apron and regarded his young apprentice.
"You know," the burly blacksmith rumbled, his voice low and sincere. "You should reconsider your career. You have a real talent for this."
Kaiba just grinned, hefting a practice sword onto his shoulder. "Nah, boss. My path's set. I'm becoming a Magic Knight."
A rare, knowing smile touched Ironclad's lips. He reached into a heavy lockbox and produced a small, clinking pouch. "Suit yourself. Here's your pay for the month—don't waste it all in one place."
"Thanks, boss," Kaiba said, accepting the satisfying weight of the coins.
With the day officially over, Kaiba made his way across the city, the familiar spires of the Church coming into view. A chorus of excited voices greeted him as he passed through the gates.
"Kaiba-san! You're back! How was work?" a small girl asked, tugging at his trousers.
"Nothing too shabby," he said, ruffling her hair.
One of the older boys, his eyes wide with admiration, piped up. "I want to be a blacksmith, one day. Do you think I could?"
Kaiba crouched down to meet the boy's gaze. "You could. But it takes a strong body and a stronger will. Father Kirei can teach you that. In fact, anyone who wants to be a Magic Knight has to train with him first."
A wave of nervous murmurs passed through the children. "But doesn't it hurt?" another boy asked. "We always see you covered in bruises after your lessons with him."
A wry chuckle escaped Kaiba. "Of course it hurts. What worth having doesn't?" He gave the boy a gentle pat on the head before standing. "I'm going to go wash up. We'll talk more later, alright?"
A chorus of "Okay!" followed him as he retreated to the small, spartan room the Church provided. Sitting on his cot, he eagerly untied the pouch and poured the coins onto his blanket. They gleamed in the dim light.
Fifteen thousand yuls.
"Not bad," he muttered to himself. "I'll save five and use ten."
With a deep, steadying breath, he opened his grimoire. A shimmering blue hologram materialized above the pages. He scooped up 10,000 yuls and dropped the coins into the light; they vanished with a soft chime, and a number in the corner of the hologram updated accordingly.
His heart began to race. He brought his hands together in a brief, silent prayer.
'Please, just this once, give me a normal monster'
He took a deep breath, pressed the button to purchase a single pack, and began praying.
The first card materialized, flipping over in the blue light. Kaiba's hopeful expression immediately fell.
Libromancer First Appearance — Spell Card.
"Useless," he muttered. Another card appeared, spinning into view. This time, a grin spread across his face. Finally, a normal monster he could summon without any hassle!
Dragonic Guard | Level 4 | Dragon | Effect
"Let's go! Hell yeah!" Kaiba cheered, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. With this one good pull, he figured he could stomach whatever the next three cards would be.
The third card materialized. As it turned around, Kaiba's eyes widened in disbelief.
"No way... this shit is cool!" he breathed, a slow smile dawning. "Now I just need the spell and trap cards to match." The hologram displayed a monstrous form he knew all too well.
Crimson Nova, the Dark Cubic Lord.
A bitter chuckle escaped him. "Isn't this ironic?" The real Kaiba had faced this very monster in the Dark Side of Dimension; but now, it was his to command.
"Two more cards. Please be something usable," he whispered, his superstitious prayer starting anew.
The fourth card flipped over. Kaiba shot to his feet, his excitement exploding.
"LET'S FUCKING GO! I can actually summon this!" he yelled, pumping a fist.
Dark Mimic LV3.
"Last one. Don't screw this up," he commanded the grimoire.
The final card of the pack appeared. As it revealed itself, a triumphant smile broke out on his face.
"Let's go! I never doubted you for a second," he lied, patting the cover of the grimoire. It was another normal summon, a weak monster, but a usable one.
Three-Headed Geedo.
"Alright, let's just skip the results for the next one," Kaiba said, his mood now too high for the slow reveal. He bought the final pack and immediately skipped the animation, bringing the full list of new cards into view.
Reptilianne Servant - Monster Card
Swarm of Scarabs - Monster Card
Botanical Lion - Monster Card
Machine Angel Ascension - Skill Card (Speed Duel)
Vision HERO Vyon - Monster Card
"Woah," he summarized, his mind racing. "Four more summonable monsters. And I never expected a Speed Duel card... an Alexis one, at that. Interesting."
Without a second's delay, he integrated all the new, usable cards into his deck, the physical cards materializing in his card binder. The thrill of a genuinely good pull was a rare and addictive high.
Satisfied and buzzing with energy, he decided to clean up, leaving the grimoire open on his cot. As he left the room, he failed to notice that from the array of newly acquired cards, one of them, the one depicting the monstrous cubic entity, seemed to be watching him depart, its holographic form glinting with a faint, sinister light.
. . . .
The next day, Kaiba stood in the backyard, methodically removing spell and trap cards from his deck. Under the watchful eye of Sister Theresa, he prepared for their sparring match, deeming the cards useless.
"Are you ready?" Sister Theresa asked, her stance relaxed but poised.
"Yes," Kaiba replied, his voice firm. He raised his arm. "Duel!"
In response, his grimoire transformed. It dissolved into light, rematerializing as a futuristic gauntlet on his left hand and a sleek communication device over his left ear.
Without warning, Sister Theresa lunged. Her fist wreathed in fire, she closed the distance in an instant. Reacting on instinct, Kaiba pulled a hand of cards from his gauntlet: Vision HERO Vyon, Swarm of Scarabs, Dark Mimic LV3, Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord, and Three-Headed Geedo.
His eyes darted across the options, but he was a second too slow.
"Focus on the battle!"she chided, her fiery punch connecting squarely with his jaw and sending him stumbling to the ground.
A collective gasp came from the children watching, who flinched at the impact.
Gritting his teeth, Kaiba ignored the throbbing pain. From the floor, his fingers found the holographic image of Vyon. "I summon you, Vyon!" he grunted, slapping the card and thrusting it forward.
Sister Theresa halted, her eyes widening in shock as a form began to digitalize into existence before her.
Kaiba pushed himself to his feet, wiping a trickle of blood from his nose with the back of his hand.
"So, your magic is summoning creatures," Sister Theresa observed, her eyes fixed on the digitalized hero.
"That is not a mere creature; he is a Hero!" Kaiba corrected. "Vyon, attack her!"
The Vision HERO rushed forward, its form seeming to solidify with pride at its master's words. Kaiba charged alongside it, flanking the nun.
Vyon launched a straight punch, but Sister Theresa sidestepped it with ease. She retaliated with a swift, fiery blow to its torso, staggering the holographic monster.
Kaiba gritted his teeth as a phantom pain lanced through his own stomach. 'I'm taking shared damage? The rules didn't say anything about this!' As the thought formed, a holographic message flickered into his view:
[SUMMONED MONSTERS CANNOT BE DESTROYED AS LONG AS THE MASTER IS WILLING TO ACCEPT THE DAMAGE BACKLASH OR PROVIDE SUFFICIENT MANA.]
Sister Theresa saw an opening and pressed her assault, raining a series of punches on Vyon, who could only raise its arms in a desperate guard.
'This fucking grimoire!'
Each impact sent a fresh wave of pain through Kaiba, rooting him to the spot. To break the cycle, he slammed his palm against another holographic card and thrust it forward. "I summon Three-Headed Geedo!"
A hulking, three-headed nocturnal monster materialized with a guttural roar. It was known for its ruthless nature in battle. Without hesitation, Geedo lunged at Sister Theresa, launching a powerful kick that she barely managed to block. The force of the impact surprised her; this boy's monsters were genuinely strong.
Geedo followed up with a punch from another head, but the nun ducked under the blow and delivered a sharp uppercut to its central jaw, sending the beast crashing to the ground.
Seeing an opening, Vyon tackled Sister Theresa, forcing her back and saving Geedo from a finishing blow.
Struggling against the mounting pain, Kaiba summoned his last monster. "I summon Dark Mimic!"
A grotesque chest, writhing with dark tentacles, appeared before him.
"Eww!" chorused the children, recoiling at the unsettling sight.
While Vyon desperately held the line, Kaiba signaled for both of his monsters to fall back, creating a defensive perimeter around him and his newest, unsettling creation.
"What are you planning, Kaiba?" Sister Theresa asked, her stance shifting from offense to caution.
"Ending this sparring match," Kaiba declared. He raised his gauntlet, and three of his monsters dissolved into streams of light. "I offer my three monsters as tribute! Rise, Crimson Nova!"