"What?"
Mokuba was taken aback, not sure what he meant.
But Zigfried didn't explain further, just let out two unsettling, low laughs.
The next moment, the fire went out.
Darkness surged in like a tide, swallowing the furniture that had been outlined by the firelight. Even the faint moonlight from outside quickly faded, unable to penetrate the thick darkness.
"Zigfried?"
Mokuba stepped forward and turned the chair.
But it was empty.
Mokuba froze.
An indescribable cold wind seemed to creep through the villa's corners, gathering in the living room. The wind carried a bone-chilling cold, silently weaving between the furniture, lifting a corner of the curtain. Every object seemed to come alive, making low, eerie noises.
It was irrational, but Mokuba felt as if there were people laughing in the wind—sharp and sinister—or maybe crying.
He shuddered, stepping back. Glancing at Kira behind him, he felt a little more secure.
"What's going on?" Mokuba said. "Where is he?"
Kira didn't answer. He walked to a table and gently pinched the surface, leaving a mark in the thick layer of dust.
"Dust," Kira said.
"So he's just not a tidy person?" Mokuba said.
But he realized that couldn't be right. Zigfried Lloyd was a traditional noble, meticulous about elegance and cleanliness, always carrying a flower—he should be very particular about hygiene.
"No, only a long-uninhabited place would have this much dust," Kira shook his head.
"Huh? But we just saw—"
Mokuba trailed off.
He remembered the fire suddenly going out, Zigfried vanishing from the chair, the signs of long neglect, and the chilling wind that sounded like wailing.
The more he thought, the more creeped out he felt. He moved closer to Kira and whispered, "So… what did we see? A person, or a ghost?"
Kira gave him a sideways glance. "President Kaiba firmly believes in science. Don't you?"
"I do. But science isn't about dogma."
Mokuba replied.
"After all, the existence of the afterlife and spirits has been proven, right? Like how Yugi had another Yugi in his body—a three-thousand-year-old ghost. We even spent so much time with him."
"True," Kira nodded.
Indeed, the whole Yu-Gi-Oh! story began with the tale of a three-thousand-year-old soul. Ghosts aren't that unusual in this world.
"But don't worry, ghosts aren't scary," Kira said.
Not every ghost had the Pharaoh's combat power.
By now, the clear night sky had grown overcast. The last sliver of moonlight was hidden behind clouds.
A bolt of blue lightning split the sky beyond the forest, illuminating half the night. For a flash, a woman stood in the corner of the hall, her face ghostly pale in the lightning.
Mokuba cried out, but after the thunder rolled and he looked again, the corner was empty.
"This house is seriously haunted!"
He shrank behind Kira.
Suddenly, Zigfried's voice echoed through the empty mansion.
"Seto Kaiba can't even be bothered to come himself. Fine, I understand.
He thinks his brother and a hired hand are enough to deal with me? The man who should have been his greatest rival?"
Another flash of lightning.
When the thunder sounded, a woman suddenly appeared behind them, sword raised, the blade gleaming coldly.
Clang!
Metal rang.
Kira didn't even turn around. The phantom of Black Luster Soldier flashed behind him—so fast it was impossible to see clearly. The legendary sword struck in an instant.
The woman's blade snapped; she was flung backward, crashing into the corner, her body shattering like glass.
A Duel Monster spirit.
"A duelist who commands spirits? No wonder Seto Kaiba trusted you…"
Zigfried Lloyd slowly emerged from the darkness.
He wore a red suit, his pink hair just like when he challenged Kaiba at the KC Grand Championship.
He already had a duel disk on his arm.
"Very good. Kaiba crushed me and took everything. So it's fitting that we settle things through a duel.
First you, Kaiba's lapdog, then his brother. That way, he'll realize that underestimating me is the last mistake he'll ever make."
As the duel began, Mokuba finally let out a sigh of relief.
Good, good. As long as it's a card battle, things are manageable.
He stepped back, giving them room.
"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Zigfried, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw."
Kira checked his hand and drew a card.
"Spell card 'Graceful Charity'. Draw three cards and discard two."
He drew three, quickly chose one to discard along with another from his hand.
"I summon a monster face-down in defense position.
Finally, I set a card face-down and end my turn."
"My turn. Draw."
Zigfried drew, lifting his head with a sinister air.
"I don't know who you are, but if Seto Kaiba sent you, you must be one of his trusted aides.
Good. I hope you're worthy for my Valkyries to draw their swords.
First, spell card 'Pot of Greed'—draw two cards."
Zigfried drew two.
"Then I summon 'Valkyrie Vierte'!"
A green-haired young woman in a cropped armored outfit, riding a white horse, landed on the field, sword spinning skillfully.
[Valkyrie Vierte, ATK 1400]
This was Zigfried's deck—Valkyries, based on Norse mythology.
"Oh, right," Mokuba realized, "That woman just now was a Valkyrie too…"
The woman who tried to ambush them, only to be cut down by Black Luster Soldier.
"Yes, after ten years, my Valkyries are stronger than ever! And I, too, have gained power beyond what I once had!"
As he spoke, a surge of dark energy erupted from within him.
Some kind of boiling darkness.
"Now, even against Seto Kaiba, I won't lose again!"