CHAPTER 18

Watching another person die because of him was getting a little numb at this point, he thought to himself as the person who he just dueled started getting shocked by the collar.

It's been a full week since he had been kidnapped, and every day was just duel after duel, no resting at all. After defeating Hirobana, who summoned a 6900 ATK beat stick that was "theoretically impossible" in normal people's logic, Bandit Keith had been forcing him into more and more Shadow Duels for more profit.

At this point, he'd been to almost 3 dozen duels, with an average of 5 to 7 duels a day, and between the official duels he was training against Duelists that Bandit Keith hired to "keep his skills up".

Honestly, he was tired, mentally and physically. Sure, he knew that watching someone die because of you was traumatic, but he didn't really feel much at first. Now, it's as if the experience was a norm to him. Not only that, they're giving him limiting meals. Water and a loaf of bread for every meal.

Hey, at least he looked good on camera with the extensive make-up that Bandit Keith's team puts on to hide his exhaustion, for a better image. Well, that's what the man said to him.

As the platform he was on descends back to the ground, he is instantly surrounded by Bandit Keith's guards. Without a word spoken, Ken followed them to his living room, which also acted as his current sleeping quarters.

A while later, Bandit Keith enters the room with a large grin.

"Good duel! We're in the finals now! You sure are something, Princess; none of my duelists have gone this far before in the past few years. Keep it up, and you'll be free to go after winning this season!"

The bandit laughed as he patted Ken's shoulder, with Ken smiling along. But in his mind, there was just a single thought.

'Yeah, he was definitely not letting me go.'

Even an idiot would not let go of such a moneymaker. From what he'd overheard, Keith had already made over a few million Yen betting. So, no. He would push Ken until he died.

Telling him to get some shut eye, he walks out of his room as the majority of the room's lights turned off, leaving only a lamplight alit in his room. Sighing, Ken took his Duel Disk and started doing maintenance on it, making sure that it was performing as optimally as it needed to.

Man, for a person who said that he'd not risk losing an asset and went above and beyond to stalk him and anything that he does, Pegasus sure is taking a good while to rescue his ass.

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"Draw for turn. Battle. Witchcrafter Edel (2000) attacks you directly."

"No, no, no, wait—!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Edel channeled her magic as a plethora of gems from Ruby to Topaz manifested themselves. With an inaudible cry, she fired a bolt of purple magic, with it increasing in size per contact against the gems, ricocheting a dozen times before the magic slammed onto the person's body, detonating in contact.

BOOM!

CRACKLE!

"AhhHHGGGGGHHH! H-HELP MEEEE!"

Another one bites the dust, electricity dancing around the throat of the victim as he gurgles on his own spit before dropping to the ground. Ken prayed for forgiveness as the person opposite him stopped convulsing, while the crowd's enthusiasm was in an all-time high, exploding in cheers with confetti and music blasting in the arena.

["THE WINNER OF SEASON 8'S SHADOW DUEL SYNDICATE IS THE UNDERDOG OF THE TOURNAMENT, YUSOU KEN!"]

He tuned the commentating and crowd down to the bare minimum, watching the passed-away duelist that he just dueled get dragged by staff members with a heave. This is so soul-sucking; card games were just card games, not battle to the deaths.

Seriously, this world was both relaxing and messed up. Damnit, he was going to hear another person's scream in his nightmares.

[" — confirmation... — Bandit Keith himself... — duel!"]

His head perked up at the mention of Bandit Keith, only to stare at his kidnapper walking out from one of the two exits of the arena with a Duel Disk on his arm. His emotions flustered from confusion to shock to anger, and now he was feeling calm.

Confusion on why Bandit Keith himself would want to duel him, and then shock that Bandit Keith was going to kill him when he was making a huge profit for his organization, to rage at the premise that he could be killed by a shitty player that lost to fucking Jonouchi of all people, to complete calmness with a little irritation in the mix.

He seriously can't catch a break, huh?

"Heh! No offense, kid, but the higher-ups have decided that you've outlived your usefulness. Damn Pegasus is already sniffing around our venue searching for you, and we can't have that. Too bad though; I've made almost a thousand percent on my profits easily in just a couple of days. What a waste. So, you'll die from my hands, and I'll toss your body somewhere far from here to redirect Pegasus from this glorious place."

His mind had already made up what he had to do.

Shuffling his deck, Ken slots it back into his Duel Disk as it reactivates into Duel Mode, the blades of the Duel Disk combining together before mechanically shifting to the side, ready to be used for a duel.

"Stop talking and shuffle your deck, bastard."

Void of any emotion in his tone, Ken raised his Duel Disk and stared at Bandit Keith, taunting the man who simply chuckled without hiding the tone of arrogance.

"You damn brat. Whatever, I'll rid of the problem right now."

With Keith's Duel Disk activating, they both stared at each other with amusement and calmness before yelling once the connections between both Duel Disks were linked, the green light flashing to start the battle.

""DUEL!""

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Bandit Keith: 4000LP

Yusou Ken: 4000LP

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"Of course, I will go first! I draw and place one monster face-down in Defense Position. I'll then set two cards face-down before ending my turn. If you dare to even try, come and attack me, brat!"

Ken says nothing as he draws his turn's card and looks at his hand.

"Main Phase 1, I normal summon Witchcrafter Pittore in face-up Defense Position."

Pittore summons herself onto the field, the painter wearing a stained apron with countless glass balls of paint floating around her in rotation. Her staff stood upright, resembling a large brush with its spine containing a color palette.

Placing the painting that looks amazing in his eyes onto the ground gently, she waves her hand as multiple squares made of paint surrounded her body, ready for combat.

"Hah, I knew you'd play some monster like that. I reveal my trap, Trap Hole! When you normal summon a monster with 1000 ATK or more, I can destroy that monster!"

Suddenly, a large sinkhole appeared underneath Pittore, causing her to fall into the hole with an inaudible scream, shattering into light upon impact with the sinkhole's ground. As Bandit Keith started laughing at the destroyed monster with a mocking tone, Ken took Pittore's card from his Duel Disk, his teeth gritting as he placed her into the GY.

It was just an unfortunate trap card that popped Pittore, yet he felt angry that his monster died to the hands of Bandit Keith of all people. Maybe it's the cumulative emotions of being trapped without his consent that's being exerted right now?

Whatever, he had a game to win, so he quickly said out his command to the Duel Disk to obey.

"I activate Pittore's effect from the GY. I can banish her and draw a card. Then I'll discard one Witchcrafter card from my hand to the GY."

Before putting Pittore into the banish zone that extended outwards near his deck zone, he whispered to the card with a resigned tone.

"Sorry for the misplay, Pittore."

He just felt like it was an appropriate way of saying sorry, since he could have used the Draping or Unveiling in his hand to minimize this misplay from happening.

Drawing a card from his deck after placing her into the banish zone, he looked at his hand before making a decision.

"I'll now play the spell, Witchcrafter Unveiling, to special summon one Witchcrafter monster from my hand to the field. If I can do so, you will then not be able to activate cards or effects in response to the activation of my Spellcaster monster effects for the rest of this turn. I special summon Witchcrafter Edel (LVL 5 / 2000 / 2300) in Attack Position."

Edel summons herself onto the field, her eyes glaring at Keith as she brandishes her large weapon.

"I activate her quick-effect. By discarding one spell card from my hand, I can special summon one Witchcrafter monster from my hand other than another copy of Edel. I choose to special summon Witchcrafter Madame Verre (LVL 8 / 1000 / 2800) in face-up Defense Position."

Creating a magic circle and activating it, Edel summons Madame Verre onto her field, her face void of emotions, which looked eerily unsettling to Ken as she simply leans forward from her throne made of magic, her head resting on her arm while her eyes staring into Keith's soul.

"Battle. Edel (2000) attacks your face-down monster card."

Edel charges into battle, her wrench-tool raised as she moves to strike the set card down, only for her attack to be stopped by a sudden softness when her tool comes into contact with the card.

GLOOP!

"Hah! I activate Marshmallon's (LVL 3 / 300 / 500) effect. This little guy's indestructible by battle! And if this little guy was attacked and was set faced-down, you take 1000 Life Points!"

Underneath the card, a beige monster moves with high speeds, weaving through Edel and Madame Verre's defenses, who both didn't react in time as the marshmallow monster opened its mouth and bit down on Ken, sinking its jaws into his free arm.

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Yusou Ken: 4000LP -› 3000LP

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Taking the attack without even flinching, Ken entered Main Phase 2 and set two cards faced-down before ending his turn, taking back a spell card from the GY due to its effect.

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Bandit Keith: 4000 LP

Hand: 3

Monsters: Marshmallon

Backrow: 1

Graveyard: Trap Hole

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Yusou Ken: 3000 LP

Hand: 2

Monsters: Witchcrafter Edel, Witchcrafter Madame Verre

Backrow: 2

Graveyard: Pittore (Banished), Withcrafter Unveiling

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"Draw!"

Taking his turn's draw card, Keith looked at his hand before he smirked.

"I set another monster along with flipping Marshmallon back to faced-down Defense. And I set one more card faced-down before ending my turn."

Ken eyed Keith's set monster and backrow before frowning slightly. It may be another Trap Hole, or something that can stall for a tribute or a fusion. In any case, he should be careful when summoning due to the backrow or battling because of the unknown set monster other than that Marshmallon.

"I draw for turn and enter Main Phase 1."

Ken took a moment to think of what to do, cursing at his luck of being bricked with another trap card before immediately deciding to enter Battle Phase.

"Battle! Edel (2000) attacks your monster that you just set!"

Aiming for the Marshmallon is just a death sentence, so unless he could fusion summon Vice-Madame or get Haine on the field, that Marshmallon will be ignored entirely.

The attack surprisingly connects without any backrow usage as the set card shatters into light, revealing a Machine type monster called Overdrive (LVL 4 / 1600 / 1500). Begrudgingly, Ken clicked his tongue and finished his turn without setting a face-down.

"I end my turn here, but Unveiling comes back to my hand from the GY due to its effect."

No point setting the two trap cards in his hand when his field already has two; too much can be detrimental if he had some kind of removal card, especially if it was a negate. He had no darn idea what was in Keith's deck.

"Can't go through my Marshmallon without those two powerful monsters of yours that can destroy cards, ey? It's a good thing that I researched your deck from all those duels that you did; the data was just enough to piece together your whole deck list. Just had to add the right cards to stop you, and the results speak for themselves!"

With an unexpected growl coming out of Ken's mouth, he taunts.

"I thought you'd be more aggressive. What's wrong? Scared?"

Ken enjoyed the look of rage painting the man's face before ending his turn. His backrow prepared to tackle anything that Bandit Keith sends at him.

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Bandit Keith: 4000 LP

Hand: 2

Monsters: Marshmallon

Backrow: 2

Graveyard: Trap Hole, Overdrive

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Yusou Ken: 3000 LP

Hand: 4

Monsters: Witchcrafter Edel, Witchcrafter Madame Verre

Backrow: 2

Graveyard: Pittore (Banished)

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Drawing for turn, Bandit Keith breathes in, calming his emotions, and resets his face back to his signature grin.

"Scared? At some girls playing dolls and magic? Never. I activate from my hand the spell card Pot of Greed to draw two new cards. I then play another spell card, Cost Down!"

Drawing his two new cards after using Pot of Greed, he discarded a card from his hand.

"By discarding one card from my hand, I can reduce the levels of all monsters in my hand by 2 until the end of this turn! I use Marshmallon as material to tribute summon my ace monster, Barrel Dragon (LVL "5" / 2600 / 2200)!"

Marshmallon on the field shatters into light before merging together to create a new monster. Lightning flared from the spot Marshmallon previously was before a bright light shone, the static in the air intensifying as he could feel pricking sensations all over his body from the dry air.

In the marshmallow monster's place was a huge dragon with barrels replacing its upper head and arms. The dragon was a mechanical Gundam fan's wet dream, with wires hiding underneath its metal-plated frame. Barrel Dragon stared down at Ken with its barrels shifting and pointing towards him with a low growl fit for a dragon.

Recalling its ability, Ken clenched his fist, waiting for the specific activation. Slashing the air in front of him, Keith's grin widened.

"And now I activate my Barrel Dragon's ability! Once per turn, I can target a monster that you control and flip 3 coins! If two of the coins land on heads, then I can destroy the targeted monster! I choose your Madame Verre! With Barrel Dragon's effect activating, I can flip over my face-down card! The continuous trap card, Proton Blast, activates!"

Barrel Dragon suddenly roars into the sky, its barrels turning a sleek black as Keith explained.

"This card right here is special for my ace. Once per turn, when an activated effect that uses coins is tossed, after that resolves, I can apply some effects depending on how many heads I get from the coin tosses!"

"As if I let you! I activate Madame Verre's quick-effect! By discarding one spell card from my hand, I can negate all activations of face-up monsters that you own until the end of this turn! I discard Witchcrafter Unveiling!"

Ken instantly chains the effect of Barrel Dragon with his own Madame Verre's. Barrel Dragon started charging up his barrels, which caused a wave of air and dust to be spread from the sudden heat the dragon was generating. In turn, Madame Verre straightened her back and grabbed the floating staff next to her before tapping the base onto the ground.

"Hahahaha! I got you now! I chain your effect with my other trap card! I activate the counter trap card, Solemn Strike!"

BANG!

His eyes widened in shock as a lightning bolt suddenly struck from the skies as Madame Verre was about to negate the attack from Barrel Dragon, the damage so severe from the burns that she shattered into pieces.

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Bandit Keith: 4000LP -› 2500LP

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"Paying 1500 LP, I can negate your monster's activation, and if so, I can destroy it!"

He taunts with glee as the chain resolves, with Barrel Dragon able to perform its effect, this time targeting Edel. Ken grits his teeth harder but doesn't say anything as the display that was showing their duel started to digitally flip three coins, hoping that it doesn't land on enough heads.

Heads, heads, and heads.

"That's fucking bullshit; you're rigging the coin tosses!"

Ken complained in desperation in his tone as the man opposite him simply smirked coldly.

"Yeah? Where's your proof?"

Biting his tongue, he didn't say anything. There was no fucking point; he had the "officials" under his wraps.

"Three heads on the coin flips—that's the max limit that Proton Blast needed to activate any of its effects! Hmm... Those backrow cards are quite useless, so I'll activate its third effect. I can look and discard 1 card from your hand. Show the crowd your cards, will you?"

With the insufferable laugh from Keith, Ken could do nothing but show him the cards that he's got in his hand.

"I'll get rid of that Witchcrafter Draping; don't mind if I do!"

Doing as he was told to; he reluctantly dropped his last spell card from his hand into the GY.

"Barrel Dragon's coin toss resulted in three heads, meaning your Witchcrafter Edel is destroyed!"

BLAM!

It was instant. Three rays of yellow lightning vaporized Edel into particles. To make things worse, before Ken could even mourn the death of his monsters, Keith goes into battle phase.

"Battle! My Barrel Dragon (2600) attacks! Triple Lightning Blast!"

Three barrels aimed directly at him before the world suddenly turned white.

BOOOOOM!

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