At the same time, in another world.
A dimension where even time seemed swallowed by an eternal night. There was no day, only an abyssal, icy, endless darkness. The world was wrapped tight in a veil of shadow, and the occasional flickers of ghostly light were like the whispers of resentful spirits.
At the center of that darkness stood a castle that made the heart quail—Supreme King Castle—perched atop a towering mountain, like a demon god birthed by darkness itself.
At the outskirts of Supreme King Castle.
A demon grunt on duty yawned, listlessly swinging the blade in his hand, and wandered into a secluded, shadowy corner.
He looked left and right, seemed to confirm no one was around, propped the blade against the wall, and pulled down his pants.
The tinkling of water began.
"Phew~"
The grunt let out a long breath. Damn, standing guard for that long, he was about to burst.
Just as he was getting comfortable, a chill shot down his spine, and a terrible sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
He stiffly turned on instinct—and his pupils contracted sharply.
He saw three big guys.
Three big guys, six eyes all glaring at him with ill intent, their faces practically spelling "up to no good."
His pupils shrank; he was so scared the stream cut off. He opened his mouth to shout.
But then—thump—he felt a heavy blow to the back of his neck, as if someone had struck with force. His vision went black; he didn't manage a sound before he lost consciousness and fell face-first to the ground with a thud.
Years later, when the grunt thought back to this day, he still couldn't help but feel deep regret.
At the instant he discovered the intruders back then—
he really should've pulled his pants up first.
"."
Kira, Jaden, and Joey slipped into Supreme King Castle without a hitch.
They even found a chance to strip three sets of armor and put them on. The three of them were clad in heavy black plate; the massive helmets covered their faces almost entirely, making them unrecognizable.
They also grabbed a demon to serve as their guide.
"Alright, we're in."
Kira grabbed the short demon—barely a meter tall—like a chick and asked:
"The Supreme King's room. Unless you want to be the Shadow Monarch's side dish…"
As he spoke, the Shadow Monarch's phantom already loomed behind him, waves of darkness radiating outward. The crimson glow in its eyes was like a starving wolf that hadn't eaten in ten days.
The little demon trembled, thoroughly spooked, and hurried to demonstrate the professionalism expected of a guide.
"O-of course! It's just ahead! Past the main hall, up the stairs inside—that's Lord Supreme King's room!"
The three exchanged glances.
"Good. Lead the way."
The little demon hunched and scurried ahead.
There weren't many people in the hall. The three followed the demon, nearly at the stairs—when someone descended them.
Kira raised an eyebrow.
Well now—an acquaintance of sorts.
Chaos Sorcerer, one of Kira's usual chaos trump cards.
In the anime, Chaos Sorcerer was also one of the Supreme King's trusted aides, ranked among the five strongest under the Supreme King—colloquially called the Duelists of Death.
Chaos Sorcerer approached head-on.
Joey held his breath and clenched his fist beneath the armor, instinctively bracing in case the other attacked suddenly.
It wasn't that they feared one of the Duelists of Death, but why make trouble needlessly? The Supreme King's room was right ahead—no reason to stir up a mess now.
They passed shoulder to shoulder.
Seeing that the other didn't seem suspicious, Joey was just about to sigh in relief—when the Chaos Sorcerer, who had already passed, suddenly stopped and turned.
"You three. Wait."
They halted in unison and slowly turned around.
"The entire army is assembling for the upcoming battle drill," Chaos Sorcerer said coldly, casting a glance over them. "What are you doing here?"
The little demon instinctively wanted to cry for help, but before he could open his mouth, he felt a chill at the back of his neck and remembered the Shadow Monarch's look just now—like he was eyeing a delicious luncheon meat. He shuddered.
Head lowered, he murmured, "Uh, it's Skull Knight! Skull Knight sent a message for Lord Supreme King—we were just going to—"
"I see. In that case, carry on."
Chaos Sorcerer smiled, waved his hand, and turned to leave.
But he'd only taken a few steps when he suddenly whirled back and thrust out a palm. A vortex of chaos burst from his hand across the distance, striking the little demon square in the back. The demon screamed, tumbling like a cut kite, and slammed into the corner wall.
"Wh-why…?"
The little demon howled.
"Traitor," Chaos Sorcerer snorted. "Skull Knight always reports directly to me. You think the likes of you can plot against Lord Supreme King? Don't make me laugh."
"H-how could this…"
The little demon let out a wail, then dissolved into golden motes of light and vanished.
"Really, I thought I could save myself some trouble."
Joey sighed long, unbuckled his armor, and let the heavy plates crash to the ground.
"Well, fine. This clunky stuff is suffocating—I've been itching to ditch it."
Joey rolled his shoulders.
"You two go on ahead. I, the great Joey, will handle this guy."
Jaden looked worried. "You sure?"
"No problem, no problem."
Joey gave him a thumbs-up.
Jaden thought a moment and nodded. Fair enough—this was the legendary King of Gamblers. Probably nothing to worry about.
Kira patted Jaden's shoulder. "Let's go."
Jaden nodded, and the two moved on.
Chaos Sorcerer glanced their way but didn't pursue. He just snorted, "Go if you like. If you think you can threaten Lord Supreme King, that's laughable."
"Shut up and cut the crap," Joey said, unfurling his Duel Disk.
"Fine," Chaos Sorcerer sneered. "Then behold the invincible power of my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth !"
Joey: "?"
Wait, your what?
His expression turned odd.
Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth —that was Weevil Underwood's ace, and Joey did have some history with that.
But you're a Chaos Sorcerer—why ignore your own theme and run Great Moth?
"."
Kira and Jaden dashed up the stairs. Another figure stepped into the corridor.
"Who goes there? You think Supreme King Castle is a place you can trespass!?"
It was none other than Guardian Baouuu—one of the Supreme King's Duelists of Death.
"Damn, we're so close…"
Jaden raised his hand, readying his Duel Disk.
But Kira stopped him.
"It's fine. I'll handle this one," Kira said. "You go do what you need to do."
...
2 Bonus chapters at 500 PS