"What kind of deck is this? How can it be so powerful?!"
Witnessing Aomori take down their comrade in a single turn, the other two hooded men were struck with terror. Had they been in his shoes, the outcome likely wouldn't have been any different.
"Did I go a bit too far?" Aomori noted their reactions, feeling a slight twinge of guilt. He had previously thought using HERO decks from later generations would be bullying, but it seemed his self-made "Hero Association" deck was already leagues ahead of everyone else.
"No, it's just that they're too weak. They're just small-fry subordinates, after all. If I were facing veteran duelists like Yugi, it wouldn't be this easy."
Those individuals were truly born for dueling. Blessed with overwhelming luck, they each possessed the skills of "Heart of the Cards" logic and mid-duel card creation to save the world time and again. Without using his own abilities, Aomori wasn't entirely certain he could defeat them.
Shaking his head, Aomori walked over to the defeated hooded man and unceremoniously took his deck. After flipping through it, he found nothing particularly useful. The best card, Graceful Charity, was one he had already maxed out with three copies.
Ultimately, he took the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, which originally belonged to Joey Wheeler, intending to use it as a catalyst to make contact with the main cast.
As Aomori scattered the remaining cards over the fallen man and turned to leave, the man suddenly began to twitch. His hood fell back, revealing a glowing eye crest on his forehead.
"This is..." The other two hooded men dropped to their knees in fear.
Oh, it must be Marik, the progenitor of the 'villain face.' I almost forgot about him. Aomori gave him a casual glance and kept walking.
"Stay your hand," the possessed man called out, letting out a sinister cackle. "Your dueling skills are extraordinary. I am impressed. Tell me, do you intend to vie for the title of Duel King?"
"Not interested. I just want to have a good time dueling. You rats hiding in the gutters better stay out of my sight. Otherwise, I'll beat you every time I see you." With that, Aomori vanished into the darkness.
"Tch!" Hidden far away, Marik's expression darkened as he withdrew his consciousness. "Where did that guy come from? He feels like an unpredictable variable. But no matter. With the Millennium Rod, I don't need to worry about mere mortals. My only opponent is the Pharaoh!"
The golden Millennium Rod in his hand reflected a face as twisted and evil as a demon's.
…
The next day, the streets of Domino City were a sea of people. Elite duelists from around the world had gathered to compete until the strongest Duel King was born.
Seto Kaiba, President of KaibaCorp and the architect of the event, appeared to explain the rules. He then declared: "Battle City officially begins! Duel whenever and wherever you please!"
"YEAH!"
Many eager duelists immediately challenged those around them, and the atmosphere grew tense with excitement. Standing atop a skyscraper, Aomori looked down at the crowd and murmured, "Hmm, who should be my lucky opponent?"
After a moment, he locked onto a target. "I choose you. After all, you're quite the heat magnet, aren't you?"
Locating his target with Mind's Eye, he vanished in a flash.
…
In the crowd, a small child dressed in green was watching a duel with a look of disdain.
"Hmph, Yugi. I'll defeat you sooner or later."
However, Weevil Underwood knew his current strength wasn't enough to beat Yugi. Seeing Yugi secure a victory, he scoffed and squeezed through the crowd, intending to find some "small fry" to win a few ante cards from.
In the first stage, only the first eight people to collect six Map Cards would qualify for the finals. Consequently, weaker-looking players became prime targets. He was scanning the crowd for a victim when someone approached him first.
Heh, he probably doesn't recognize me. He thinks I'm a weakling because I'm a kid. Well, don't blame me for being ruthless. Weevil, a former National Champion, flashed a treacherous grin at the challenger. "Sure, I accept your challenge."
"Great. Let's have a good match," Aomori replied with a smile.
"DUEL!" They shouted in unison as their Duel Disks deployed with a mechanical hiss.
"I'll go first!" Weevil cackled, snatching the first turn. He drew a card and slammed another onto his disk. "I summon Dragonfly (ATK: 1400 / DEF: 900) in Attack Position! I set one card face-down and end my turn."
The duel quickly drew a large crowd of curious onlookers.
"Look, that kid looks familiar."
"That's the former National Champion, Weevil Underwood."
"A champion? He must be incredibly strong."
"The guy facing him is toast..."
Hearing the whispers, Weevil beamed with pride. Come on, show me what you've got. Don't be too paralyzed by my fame, hahaha!
"My turn." Aomori ignored the crowd, his smile unchanging. "I set one monster face-down and set three cards in the backrow. Turn end."
"That's it?" Weevil burst into laughter. "Don't tell me you can't even handle a monster with 1400 Attack? Then I won't hold back!"
"I summon Infinite Antlion (ATK: 1200 / DEF: 1500)! Now, Dragonfly, attack! Destroy that face-down monster!"
The giant dragonfly lunged. The set card flipped over, revealing a squishy, white, adorable monster. Under the dragonfly's frantic assault, the monster simply wobbled like slime and instantly regenerated.
"Wait, what happened?" Weevil gasped.
"Because Marshmallon (ATK: 300 / DEF: 500) cannot be destroyed by battle. Furthermore, when this face-down card is attacked, the controller of the attacking monster takes 1000 points of damage after damage calculation," Aomori explained.
"What?!" Weevil watched in horror as his Life Points dropped to 3000. "How can a card be that cheap?!"
Naturally, because I printed it. Aomori smiled but said nothing.
He felt his HERO deck was too strong, ending games in a single turn without any "fun." So, he had spent some time last night constructing a deck designed to "bring a smile" to duelists. This deck was titled "Space-Time Heavy Trap."
Weevil had the honor of being the first test subject. Surely, for a long time to come, every time he saw a face-down card on an opponent's field, he would be haunted by the memory of this "soul-stirring" duel.
…
"Congratulations, Yugi! You won!" Joey patted Yugi on the shoulder, cheering.
"Thanks," Yugi replied with a cool, mature smile that quickly faded. "Unfortunately, I couldn't find your Red-Eyes Black Dragon in his deck."
"He wasn't the one who robbed me, so it makes sense he didn't have it. It's okay. As long as that thief is in this city, I'll track him down!" Joey said confidently.
"I'll keep an eye out. I won't let a single Rare Hunter get away!"
"Heh heh heh..." A bizarre voice bubbled up from the throat of the defeated Rare Hunter. The eye crest appeared on his forehead.
Marik Ishtar had returned.
After a brief self-introduction and stating his intent to target Yugi, he sneered. "Your Red-Eyes Black Dragon has already been taken by someone else; our men don't have it. If you want it back, look for a handsome man in a well-tailored suit. He has an aura unlike anyone else; you'll recognize him the moment you see him."
With that, he "unplugged," and the hunter's body went limp.
"Can we even believe a word that guy says?" Joey fumed. "Who else could possibly snatch a card away from them?"
"No," Yugi shook his head. "It's likely true. He has no reason to lie about this. However, he told us because he wants us to clash with that person."
"Using us to take out someone they don't like? This Marik is rotten to the core," Joey stated firmly.
"But Red-Eyes Black Dragon is your most important card. Even knowing it's a trap, we have to walk into it."
"You don't need to get involved, Yugi. I'll handle this myself."
Just as Yugi was about to argue, a series of gasps erupted from a nearby crowd. "What's going on over there?"
The two squeezed through the crowd and immediately saw a massive insect on the field, its head sporting a terrifying woman's face.
"Is that..." Joey looked at the duelist controlling the monster. "Yugi, isn't that the guy you beat back at..."
"Yes, that's Weevil Underwood. I defeated him at Duelist Kingdom. He's a formidable duelist, but he's in a bad spot right now." Yugi looked at the other side of the field, and his pupils shrank. "Hey, Joey. Look at that man."
"What?" Joey turned, and his expression changed instantly.
"Tailored suit, handsome, unique aura... all the traits match!"
"It's him. He's the one Marik mentioned," Yugi concluded. "He has your Red-Eyes Black Dragon."
"I'm going in!" Joey rolled up his sleeves, ready to charge.
Yugi grabbed him. "Wait! The duel isn't over yet!"
…
As Yugi observed, Weevil was on the verge of losing. He had started with plenty of cards, but Aomori's traps had dismantled everything. He was left with a board of monsters, but facing Aomori's backrow, Weevil hesitated. If that's another Marshmallon, I'll lose the rest of my Life Points instantly.
He grit his teeth and forfeited his attack. "I end my turn."
"Not attacking? Then let me send you on your way." Aomori slammed his drawn card onto the disk. "I activate the Spell card Dark Hole! All monsters on the field are destroyed!"
"What?!" Under Joey's shock and Weevil's despair, the Insect Queen and her swarm were swallowed by the void. Weevil was left with nothing.
"I summon Giant Germ (ATK: 1000 / DEF: 100)! Direct attack!"
Aomori efficiently wiped out Weevil's remaining points. The former champion fell to his knees as if his soul had left his body. "How... how could this happen? The tournament just started and I was eliminated by a nobody... I was a National Champion..."
"Sorry about that, former Champ." Aomori walked up and took his Map Card and the rare Great Moth. He then turned to face Joey and Yugi, who were now standing before him.
"Excuse me, do you happen to have a card called Red-Eyes Black Dragon?" Joey bowed, speaking with utter sincerity. "It's a very important card to me!"
"Hmm, I do," Aomori nodded. "I won it from a strange fellow last night."
"Ha!" Joey beamed. "Then, could you..."
"No!" Aomori cut him off. "I won that card through my own skill. Why should I just give it back to you?"
Joey was speechless. He clenched his fists and shouted, "Then I challenge you! With Red-Eyes Black Dragon as the prize!"
"Pass. I refuse!"
"EHHH?!!" Joey nearly tripped. "Why?!"
"Because you don't have any Rare Cards left. There's no profit in beating you, so why should I bother?"
"I... I still have plenty of good cards! Look..."
"In that case, let me challenge you instead," Yugi intervened, unable to watch any longer.
"Let's save it, Yugi. A battle between us shouldn't be handled so sloppily here. Joey, I'll hold onto Red-Eyes Black Dragon. I'll be waiting for you to bring some Rare Cards to the table."
Leaving behind those cryptic words, Aomori vanished into the crowd.
"That guy... he knows about us?"
"Yeah. We're going to have to be careful, Joey."