"A pharaoh?"
Kira blinked.
In the world of Duel Monsters, the first "pharaoh" that comes to mind is, of course, that starfish-haired king who commands the three Egyptian Gods. But he immediately realized this wasn't Atem.
"Yeah, he calls himself a pharaoh—and he seems the part. Whether it's true or not, who knows," Tania said. "Whenever he appears, he has attendants and looks down on everyone like we're all his subjects.
Who knows, though, hehe… He claims he's never been defeated, sounds pretty tough. I'd thought about challenging him myself if I ever got the chance."
Never been defeated.
Kira knew exactly who she meant. This "pharaoh" wasn't some poser; he really was a pharaoh dragged back from the underworld. Just not the one everyone knows—Atem—but another pharaoh of ancient Egypt.
His name was Abidos the Third, recorded as a zero-loss, prodigy duelist pharaoh. And to be fair, the rumor wasn't baseless; it was true—on paper.
He really had never lost. In a way, he became a Dark Duelist because of duel addiction too. He sought defeat his entire life and never found it, only hoping that three thousand years later he could meet a worthy opponent.
But his dream wasn't actually that hard to achieve. Because in truth, as a Dark Duelist he was… fine, but nothing like an undefeated war god.
The reason he never lost was simply because he was the pharaoh. Everyone who dueled him bent over backward to please him, throwing matches in increasingly creative ways, acting believably so the pharaoh wouldn't notice and get angry.
So the record of a lifetime of zero losses wasn't a lie—just… not exactly high in gold content.
"Well, I did recently pick up something," Tania said. "That kingly gentleman was apparently awakened directly from his tomb by the Shadow Riders' master.
He's been revived by dark power fused with alchemy, and moving around consumes life energy. To conserve it, he sleeps in his coffin most of the time. He prepared a special temple for himself, and he rests there until the master assigns him an opponent."
"And where is this temple?" Kira asked.
Tania smiled.
"Lucky you. I just had someone scout it a few days ago," she said. "Besides the leader and that creepy masked hooded guy at his side, I'm probably the only one who knows."
At that moment, the white tiger lying nearby gave a low rumble.
Tania had sent someone to scout—apparently, this was the someone.
"I was planning to visit the tomb in a few days to see for myself if that king is really as strong as the legend says. But now… forget it."
She glanced at Kira again.
Thanks to this guy, she wasn't so obsessed with finding strong opponents anymore.
"If you want to go, I'll give you the address. But I have one condition."
"A condition?" Kira narrowed his eyes, smiling.
Only then did Tania quickly realize she'd lost the duel. In her position, she wasn't really in a place to demand conditions.
She amended, sulkily: "Uh, let's call it a request."
"No problem," Kira said with an easy smile. "Go on."
"Take me with you."
Tania's smile had a touch of schadenfreude.
No hidden meaning—she was just pretty sure that when Kira reached the tomb, he'd come into conflict with the legendary pharaoh, and they would fight.
She wanted to watch.
She suddenly felt excited to see how that legendary pharaoh would react to the treatment she'd just received.
Or maybe to see how that supposedly undefeated king would use his miraculous dueling to crush this shut-in-inducing guy. Either way, it would be worth seeing—too good to miss.
"Sure."
Kira agreed without thinking. "Lead the way."
"Eh?"
Tania was taken aback, hesitated.
"R-right now?"
"Yeah."
Kira looked puzzled.
"Do we need to prep something?"
"No…"
Tania gave him a strange look.
Even if it's a legend, that's still an undefeated war god of ancient Egypt, and you're heading out this casually?
Is this what they call boldness born of mastery?
She didn't dwell on it and nodded. "Okay."
There's a saying: spectators never mind a bigger spectacle. Tania certainly had no real team bond with those so-called Shadow Riders colleagues, so she readily agreed.
…
Under a hazy moon, nearly transparent white mist clung to the hillside. Golden sand shifted in the wind, a curtain draped over the ancient golden hall.
At the entrance, the massive stone doors were shut tight.
Soldiers in ornate armor and golden guards, all in the robust style of ancient Egypt, stood in neat ranks on both sides, each holding a torch.
The torches seemed almost alive—igniting one after another in sequence, from the doors all the way toward the deepest part of the hall. Flames leapt until the great hall shone as bright as day.
At the center, the light converged like a spotlight upon an ancient, resplendent sarcophagus.
Gem-studded, engraved with elegant motifs, mysterious sigils, and ancient totems, the lid carved to resemble a king at rest.
Then the lid slid open.
All the attendants around hurriedly prostrated themselves, bowing their heads in utmost humility. The king in the golden mask slowly sat up within the coffin and looked around.
"Who summons me from my long sleep?"
All fell prone; none dared speak. A golden glow flickered at the horizon, star-like, answering his question.
"The one they call the god of dueling—the legendary pharaoh."
The pharaoh rose from the coffin. The Eye of Horus on his golden mask flashed. He picked up the Duel Disk lying within and strapped it on.
"So the time of battle has come," the pharaoh's voice boomed. "Then where is my opponent?"
"Over here."
The voice came from beyond the doors.
The kneeling warriors all flinched and looked up instinctively.
With a thunderous crash, the heavy golden doors burst inward. As they slammed to the floor, dust billowed.
A white-clad man with a dark, half-dome visor stood in the doorway, his coat tails whipping like a battle flag in the swirling dust.
Kira lifted his Duel Disk slightly and smiled.
"How about a tense, thrilling duel, Pharaoh?"
PS: Bonus chapters at 1000 PS