"Hey, Kira… this doesn't seem like a place we should be?"
Inside Darkstar Club, Jaden followed Kira through the dazzling bar. Red lights burned, green ones shimmered, colors mingling like fireworks.
Girls in sparkling dresses danced as deep, mellow music played. The air was thick with the scent of alcohol and tobacco.
As they passed through the hall, some noticed them. A few scantily clad ladies' eyes lit up and tried to cozy up. Jaden was startled, quickly dodging and hurrying after Kira.
Kira chuckled, "Never been to a place like this?"
"I'm not even old enough to drink," Jaden muttered.
He didn't get the appeal of such places—mainly, he hadn't seen anyone playing cards.
What fun could there be without dueling?
"The dueling's not here—it's in the arena downstairs," Kira said with a smile.
"Oh!" Jaden's eyes lit up. "Let's go check it out!"
"That's not why we're here," Kira replied. "But if you want to, you can go see, and I'll call you when I'm done."
"Nah, I'll stay."
Jaden waved it off, then asked, "So, why are we here? Is this their base?"
He glanced around, seeing only drinkers and scantily dressed girls—nothing like what he'd imagined.
"No, but KaibaCorp's intel says this club also hides shadow duels," Kira explained. "Plus, they're allied with the local Doma group.
We might find more leads here."
"I see…"
As they spoke, they reached the back. A scar-faced man in a suit appeared, glanced at their uniforms, and nodded. "The Demon King is waiting for you."
Demon King.
Honestly, when Kira first heard the codename, it sounded a bit silly—like some monster lord from folklore.
They entered a dimly lit room, starkly different from the lively outside.
A young man lay trembling on the floor, face pale, looking drained and mumbling weakly.
Jaden rushed over, helping him up. "Are you all right?"
Kira frowned and looked toward the desk.
The man known as Demon King straightened up, watching the two with a cold smile.
"Hahaha, not bad." He nodded. "Those losers weren't lying—looks aren't bad at all."
His gaze shifted to Jaden, who also received an approving look.
"This one's okay too, just looks a bit dumb."
Jaden helped the weak youth, then stood and demanded, "What did you do to him?"
"Want to know?"
The Demon King licked his lips, eager.
"I'll let you experience it for yourself. Don't worry, it's very enjoyable."
Jaden was confused.
"Enjoyable… is it a duel?"
"Uh."
The Demon King was stumped, then burst out laughing.
"Haha, even more exciting than dueling."
Jaden raised an eyebrow, clearly thinking: I doubt it. How could anything be more fun than dueling?
"But you actually came looking for me—that I didn't expect…"
The Demon King stood up, strapping on his duel disk.
"You must be pretty good, or those Doma losers wouldn't have run to me…"
"So they did contact you," Kira limbered up. "Good. We're looking for them too—could you perhaps point us to their location, Demon King?"
"Sure, but information doesn't come free."
The Demon King spread out his duel disk, humming.
Kira nodded. "I figured—a duel, right?"
"Shadow duel, underground rules. But I won't take your lives—that'd be a waste." The Demon King grinned. "But if you lose, you'll be at my mercy.
Hehehehehe…"
His massive frame shook with laughter, making him seem even more sleazy.
"All right. In exchange, I want the same condition," Kira replied.
"Hahaha, if you win, I'll do whatever you say—any condition, I'll obey. If you can beat my deck."
"Deal." Kira readied his duel disk.
"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Demon King, LP 4000]
Jaden, who hadn't gotten a word in, opened his mouth, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Why did no one ever ask for his opinion?
He wanted to duel too!
"I'll go first. Draw!"
The Demon King smiled ominously.
"Not a great opening… I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity,' drawing three cards from my deck and discarding two."
He picked two cards and sent them to the Graveyard.
"Then, I normal summon 'Gozuki!'"
[Gozuki, ATK 1700]
"Gozuki, huh," Kira murmured.
He knew this card well—it was one of their research products. But in this world, his opponent's Minotaur was the original anime version, a 'Yokai' monster.
The Zombie-type Gozuki was Kira's own lab creation—no one else in this world had one.
"Gozuki's effect: once per turn, send a Yokai from deck to the Graveyard!"
The Demon King searched his deck, briefly showed a card, and sent it to the Graveyard.
"I'll send this card—
—Nine-Tailed Fox!"
The phantom of a nine-tailed fox briefly appeared on his field, letting out a high, piercing cry.
Nine-Tailed Fox, huh.
Kira wondered if it would use a Tailed Beast Ball.
Of course, he knew this Nine-Tailed Fox was from the anime—in the original, Misawa used it. It was one of the original manga-exclusive Yokai deck aces.
The man before him was partly called Demon King because he used the same Yokai deck as Misawa from the manga.
Most of the manga-original Yokai deck had been made into real cards, and their effects were similar to the original. But all the monster types and type-related effects had been changed from Yokai to Zombie.
"I set a card face-down and end my turn."
The Demon King finished and looked at Kira with a smile.
"All right, it's your turn. Let me see your duel."
PS: 3 Bonus Chapters at 2000 PS