"Trapped" (036)

"ENROKONAI CITY," a vast civilization teeming with Duelists vying for the top spot.

The 'Dueling Systems' itself are the most popular pastime in such a setting.

The Dueling Academy is recognized for producing the best Duelists, with newcomers rising through the ranks to become pros! People learn their essentials at this "School," which is filled by thousands of Duelists, but the most current activities are their training sessions, which are scheduled three times a week.

The Academy is made up of people of many races, with the bulk of them being Humans and a small number of them being Half-Demons. Dueling is a part of their traditional training sessions, often known as the 'War Race' or 'Five Versus Five.'

Despite the fact that the world appears to be in a state of chaos, the Dueling is mostly for entertainment, and no one is murdered. (Thanks to the 'Zero Watches' for casting Spiritual Shields.)

And the majority of Duelists are tasked with eliminating the top three Duelists!

- Number 3 on the leaderboard: whose title is "King" and whose true name is Tsuji Rokuro.

Then there's;

- Number 2 on the leaderboard: whose title is "Devil" and whose real name is Sakata Hisako!

And their top tier duelist, the legend himself and Number 1;

"Silver," whose real name is Takei Shigeo, managed to reach the highest ranking between both "King" and "Devil" for a massive amount of Battle Score.

Their championships are a sign of good luck, as none of them have ever lost to lower-tier ranks.

The three champions are known as the "Dueling Masters," and they battle with one another in order to maintain or lose their reign as champions.

- Spiritual Realm (Zero Dimension/World), Saturday, 1:20 pm -

Tim took out his phone and moved in closer to Codey, bringing his phone into view.

"Look at this..." Tim began to describe the profile he had discovered.

"Huh? It's Genpaku's profile that you're looking at. What good does that do us?" Tim was scrolling to the bottom when Codey spotted him sliding his finger up.

"It aids us in our hunt. If his whereabouts are revealed at any time, we will be able to locate him relatively instantly."

"Yes, but he'll need to switch on his GPS to find out where he is. So, unless he wants us to discover him, he probably won't do it if he's not foolish..."

"I'm confident of it. Even if it happens, we should still devise a strategy. We have no idea what he'll do to the girls. As a result, we must be prepared at all costs."

"... As long as he doesn't go too far with his nonsense, I believe that confronting him head-on is our only choice at this time. We don't know anything about him. On top of that, his profile has no information that may be useful to us."

Tim sat back in his chair, looking over Genpaku's profile again, but he didn't seem to discover much. "Do you truly intend to face him head-on? On the news, you saw what he did to that unfortunate man. He severely screwed up the physics of the terrain."

"So, what'd you think? We can take on anyone if we work together. We've always done it, so we shouldn't be too anxious until things become really bad."

"You're now overconfident. I've seen what he's capable of, and there's nothing I could have done to stop him."

"So? Do you have any better suggestions?"

"I was thinking that as soon as we find him, we should focus on rescuing the girls. There will be risks, but if we can move them out of his zone, then we'll have a better chance when we return."

"Okay... Answer this question. For instance, if the guy can control a throng of people, I'm confident he can do the same with the girls. How are we going to save them if it happens?"

Tim inhaled deeply and rested his cheek on his palm. "I guess we'll have to fight 'em... I dunno..."

"That's what I'm saying... Do you believe fighting him is our greatest option?"

"... I suppose... I mean, if I had any other options, I'd probably put this one last."

"I know... It's hardly the best or most clever concept, but what other options do we have...?"

"It's true..."

"Can you tell me whether you have something useful in your bag?" Tim reached over to the side, opened the duffel bag, and looked inside. "I just grabbed a few things and-" After observing, his eyes flinched.

He took it and understood what he had grabbed. "What in the World is Ayuka's Zero Watch doing in your bag?"

"After removing the bag, she must've left it in... But why would she want to ditch it?"

"Maybe there's a message somewhere. Take a look at it." Tim switched on the Zero Watch till he was unamused. "I don't know the password."

"Seriously? Maybe have a look inside your bag. I'm sure she would've left the Password scribbled on some type of paper or sheath if she had a purpose to put it in your luggage."

And while he rummaged through his bag, he came upon her ID card. "She forgot her ID card..." He searched through it and discovered her password.

"Give that one a shot." Their fortunes improved once they typed in the password. "You've figured it out!"

Tim began to go through the text conversations and came upon a draft. "She tried but failed to send me a message... so she just put it in the bag, hoping that one of us would see it."

"Take a look. What exactly is it about?"

He perused the message until he came across a link, which he pressed to connect his Zero Watch to his phone. The map of the Spiritual Realm emerged, along with a red dot far away.

"I'm guessing that's her present location... but how did she disclose it?"

"W-Wait! Alpha's Zero Watch! She must have linked it to her own as if she was anticipating something to go wrong." While both of them were learning, Codey explained.

"Yeah, of course! Alpha's Zero Watch was still in excellent condition. Nina's was the only one that perished. That is to say, if this is indicating Alpha's position and all three of them have been captured, we will undoubtedly come to a stopping!"

"... That ain't too distant, but it's also not too close." Two of them exchanged nods. "Man, Ayuka has a mind of her own... Who'd have guessed she'd think so far ahead of her time?"

"Let us rejoice in the fact that we have something! We'll go as soon as we're through here."

Codey grinned and nodded firmly. "Ya bet!"

"Here it is." Risa was thanked for setting the dishes on the table.

"Have you made any progress?" They both agreed and showed them where they were. "I realize it's a big request. But you probably know more about the Spiritual Realm than the two of us together. We believe we have located them, but we are unsure if there is anything to be concerned about."

"Hm? That appears to be 'The Anonyms' Church, although it hasn't been used in years." She explained after two males exchanged glances.

"... 'The Anonyms' Church'... Its name, on the other hand, seems to go hand in hand with the fact that it hasn't been used in years... Anyway, do you believe there's anything we should be concerned about, such as traps?"

"Tim, it's obvious that no one went to the church. So how is she expected to be aware of such information?"

"I'm aware, but it's never a terrible idea to investigate; who knows, she could know more."

"I'm afraid I can't assist you in that term, but individuals have gone missing in that vicinity, so it's likely booby-trapped or something."

"See, it wasn't such a bad idea to ask in the first place... Risa, you've been of tremendous assistance." Both of the guys nodded because they were grateful for her help.

"No difficulty at all. I have a few more clients to serve, but you are welcome to return at any moment."

"We'll see what we can accomplish."

Risa left the area, leaving the two guys alone.

"Okay... Let's finish eating first, and then see where things go from there."

"Of course," Tim nodded, and they both tucked into their meals.

- Spiritual Realm (Zero Dimension/World), Saturday, 1:40 pm -

They both continued to go past a few individuals.

"Spiritual Duelists have made significant progress. Their new outfits also make them seem extremely stylish." Codey was simply staring at a man who was bypassing.

"Yes, but they're from clans, which means they have to wear their job uniforms, which I'm not fond of. I suppose I favor casual clothing; formal attire is not my style."

"Well, that's because you're much too original,"

"Huh? What exactly are you talking about right now?"

"Look... Your... um, 'Blue Flame' stuff, whatever you name it, it's the most basic junk you'd expect, but mine isn't!"

"If it wasn't clear, my talent is called 'Holocaust.' And, just to speak for yourself, you're not really original. 'Max Zephyr,' well, it has a new name, but what else does it accomplish than create wind currents?"

Codey got embarrassed and irritated. "... Shut up..."

"You're a big fan of that phrase; shut up- huh?"

"Give it a rest... Can we just come up with a strategy for moving forward?"

They agreed and began putting together a possible approach.

- Spiritual Realm (Zero Dimension/World), Saturday, 1:43 pm -

While our two Heroes continued to piece together a strategy, they were unaware of Genpaku's true intentions.

"Psst... Alpha, wake up... come on..." Nina was gently shaking her, and she was able to wake her up. "Come on! Quit it out. I'm not in the finest of moods to be harassed!"

"Alpha! Keep your voice down!"

Alpha sat up, perplexed when she noticed her blades had been taken away. "What the heck are we doing here?"

"I'm not sure either, but I know we have to get Ayuka and get out of here."

"That's good because I'm not going to stay in this mess any longer. Oh but wait, my blades have gone missing. I got this"

Alpha's tone was becoming increasingly sarcastic. "On top of that, I have to cope with these scorched clothing."

"Well... I've seen how you fight through times, and I've seen how you can phase through things... So, if you try to get into the cell and discover the keys to it, we might be able to get out of here together."

Alpha rose up and peered into the cell, making sure there were no guards inside. "... I'd love to do it if I knew where the keys were..."

"Isn't it true that you're an assassin? Attempt to locate them by sneaking through the prison. Isn't that one of your assassins' most 'basic' abilities?"

"Simply because I utilize close fighting and quick moves, you can't label me an assassin. After all, why would I sneak if I can just beat them up?"

"If we rush in, we can make too much noise, and who knows how many enemies they'll throw at us."

"Tsch, at the very least, tell me what happened."

"I've got you covered."

Later.

"Oh, I understand what you mean. What a great concept, I've lost to a classmate." Alpha cast a sidelong glance to the side, displeased.

"That's unimportant! Your rank hasn't changed. We must now locate Ayuka as well as the keys I specified. A guard wore one around his neck as he was leaving. He's gone from this area, but I'm sure he's not far away... The keys were dark in color."

"How do you think I'm going to get his keys without him noticing?"

"Obviously, knock his ass out - but silently, of course, hehe..." Nina scraped the top of her head, which was humiliating. "Are you sure you haven't seen any strange movies before coming to the Academy?"

"No, why?"

"Just a notion... But since I don't have any other options and love being abused, I have no choice but to do this shit..." Alpha rose to her feet, Spiritualized her body, and moved gently through the cage, through the aperture.

"Great!" Nina stood up.

"Which way did he decide to go? Let me know if you already have it to support me."

"From where you're standing, he headed left."

To be continued...