"Ugh…"
Don Zaloog collapsed to his knees, hands supporting him on the ground, gritting his teeth.
He lost.
But this wasn't just an ordinary duel loss.
Losing a duel wasn't new to Don Zaloog, but losing to himself was a first.
What was even weirder was that this guy had boasted about showing them the "true power of the Dark Scorpion Burglars."
At the time, Don Zaloog almost laughed out loud—
—What, do you know the burglars better than I do?
He almost said, "If you know the burglars so well, why don't you be the boss and I'll be your underling."
Now he was glad he hadn't said that.
He really did seem to know the burglars better!
Wait.
Are our burglars really this disgusting?
Don Zaloog had never dreamed he'd one day be made sick by his own card.
The Dark Scorpion Burglars' effect: when they inflict battle damage, the opponent sends a spell card from their deck to the graveyard.
It's a mandatory effect; as controller, he couldn't even choose not to activate it. And the spell card sent is chosen by the opponent, so in a way, it's just a method for the opponent to mill their own spells.
Of course, compared to monster and trap cards, sending spells to the grave is relatively low-risk. In the current meta, spells make up the smallest proportion of graveyard effects. But that didn't change the fact that this was a trash effect.
Honestly, Don Zaloog would never admit it, but even he thought their five-man burglar card sucked.
They never imagined their own card could be used in such a twisted way.
Give the burglars to the opponent, then help yourself mill three Jackpot 7s.
Just how much hatred would you need to scheme such a dirty combo against your opponent?
After a while, Meanae said quietly, "The good news is, we didn't know we were this strong."
"And the bad news?" Chick asked instinctively.
"Isn't it obvious?" Meanae glared at him. "The bad news is, he knows the Dark Scorpion Burglars even better than we do."
"…"
"Forget it." Don Zaloog sighed. "Not only did we lose—we lost to ourselves.
Even using the same deck, this guy's dueling skills are far above mine. I don't think I've ever lost so convincingly in my life."
There's probably no defeat more convincing than this.
"My only regret is letting you all down." Don Zaloog sighed. "So many years, so many enemies, so many duels.
Every time, you all entrusted your lives to me without hesitation, never doubting.
I've thought before, what if one day I slipped up… lost, and dragged you all down with me?"
"Big Brother!"
Meanae's eyes reddened.
"Looks like today's that day." Don Zaloog gave a bitter smile. "I really am a lousy leader.
No matter how much I act tough, at the end of the day, I'm just this kind of duelist. I've let you all down."
"What are you saying, big brother!" Meanae said. "You didn't let us down at all."
"Yeah!" Chick nodded. "You're the best leader!"
Don Zaloog was stunned.
"Even if I lose—even if our lives end because of me—you don't resent me?"
"What are you talking about, big bro? Didn't we always say we live and die together?" Chick laughed.
Cliff adjusted his glasses. "Well, I'm a bit sad I didn't even get to appear, but if we're all going together, even to the deepest darkness, maybe that's not so bad."
Gorg mumbled something indistinct. The others couldn't make it out, but it was probably his way of saying he had no regrets.
"You guys…"
Don Zaloog was moved. He closed his one good eye and wiped at the corner.
"To have brothers like you by my side, maybe this isn't so bad." He smiled. "We stuck to our code till the end—never bullying the weak or stealing from the poor.
Even at the last, we held on to the pride of being burglars. No regrets."
He closed his eyes gently.
The group, moved by his words, all put their hands together. The five of them united, ready to face death, a scene both tragic and stirring.
Kira watched silently for a few seconds, then couldn't help but speak up.
"Um… sorry to interrupt. I know I'm ruining the mood, but… you're not dead, you know?"
The brothers froze.
"Huh?"
Oh right.
Why aren't we dead?
Don Zaloog was confused.
He was pretty sure this was a Shadow Duel. In a Shadow Duel, unless the winner goes easy, the losers are supposed to die.
And going easy is a technical skill—it usually takes someone experienced in Shadow Duels and willing to spare you. If the victor doesn't know about Shadow Duels, they'll naturally go all out by instinct.
So sparing your opponent in a Shadow Duel takes both skill and intent. Most who can do this are hardened outlaws, or, like Tragoedia, who likes manipulating people, might spare the losers to use as puppets. But usually, no one bothers with such trouble.
Kira did so for two reasons: he needed the Shadow Riders members for a plan in two days—he'd already made deals with the previous ones.
Second, these spirits were more comic than evil. They were thieves, sure, but not truly evil compared to villains abusing the power of dueling for dark purposes.
Usually, sparing someone in a Shadow Duel meant you had an ulterior motive. Realizing this, Meanae blushed and shrank back. "W-what do you want?"
"Don't be nervous, really… do I look like a bad guy?" Kira smiled.
The burglars looked at each other.
Looking at his sunny smile, and remembering that gentle face when he handed them the burglar card and started the self-lock combo…
They all nodded.
Not all demons have fierce faces—there are smiling devils in this world.
Kira smiled wryly. "I really don't mean any harm… Well, I do want you to help me out a bit."
He paused, then smiled.
"I'm gathering a team—an anti-Shadow Riders squad.
Would you be interested?"