"Can't be as cold and ruthless as me, huh…"
Alice watched Ilon's figure disappear into the mist. Her childhood friend, the boy who had grown up with her—this was the moment their paths diverged.
"Your life is far too righteous, Ilon. We were never the same kind of people."
Cold and ruthless? Decisive and merciless?
When the great families pressed down on the fallen Carlos family, squeezing out their last shred of worth, where was talk of 'cold and ruthless, decisive and merciless' then?
Repay kindness with kindness—then how should one repay cruelty?
From Elra, she had learned that the next day, the Slint family would seal the capital with a barrier and that the noble manors would fall to an Imperial strike. Alice had already decided: at the very least, she would find a way to save the Austin family—Ilon and Ren—who had always helped the Carlos family.
Even if to all others she was just Alice Carlos, the girl without Spirit Eyes and without power, she still wanted to repay those who had once extended their hands to her—without revealing her dark powers.
"Ah, you really messed up this time."
Elra's mature voice echoed in her mind, annoyingly out of place.
"Never thought I'd see you fail, Alice. Seems even someone perfect at everything can fall."
"I haven't failed yet, Elra."
Alice's eyes turned cold. The Millennium Ring surfaced upon her chest as she stood alone in the mist.
"You said the Slint family's Shadow Duelists carry copies of your Ring, right? Then you should sense where those wielders are."
"If you want, I can pinpoint them to the millimeter. But what will you do with that knowledge?"
"The hunt. That was our deal. I take Spirit Eyes; you regain power through Shadow Games. And now the capital is crawling with Shadow Duelists. Perfect hunting grounds."
"Hunting now, huh? Heh, you've got guts. So how many do you plan to hunt?"
"All of them."
"All?" Elra gasped. "There are at least twenty Shadow Duelists in the capital!"
These twenty didn't even include the soldiers aboard the warship. Those were trained for open battle, not the kind lurking in the fog.
"Wait, Alice, don't tell me you're going to take down every Shadow Duelist hiding in the mist by yourself?"
"And why not?"
"If you lose even once, you'll die."
"I won't lose. Not even once. So I won't die."
"Blind confidence isn't a virtue, you know."
The Ring's needles spun like a radar. In just five seconds, Elra had locked onto the locations of twenty-two Shadow Duelists in the capital.
"There's one nearby. Looks like he's heading for that boy just now. Alice, should we stop him?"
"Stop him? No. He's just close. I'll deal with him along the way."
…
"Who dares challenge me, master of the fully armed [Gilford the Legend]!"
[Gilford the Legend] Level 8│EARTH│Warrior/Effect│2600 ATK / 2000 DEF
[This card cannot be Special Summoned. When this card is Summoned successfully, equip as many Equip Spells from your Graveyard as possible to Warrior monsters you control.]
"Equip from my Graveyard—[Divine Sword - Phoenix Blade]!"
"Equip from my Graveyard—[Lightning Blade]!"
"Equip from my Graveyard—[Magnum Shield]!"
With each card he drew and shouted, the Gilford's armor grew heavier. He must have thought himself invincible.
"Equip from my Graveyard—[Power of the Guardians]!"
"Equip from my Graveyard—[Twin Swords of Flashing Light - Tryce]!"
With every piece of gear stacked on, its Attack soared, resistant to battle and effects, and even able to attack twice. Gilford the Legend was his ace.
Two minutes later—
[Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju] Level 8│WATER│Aqua│2200 ATK / 3000 DEF
[You can Tribute 1 monster your opponent controls; Special Summon this card from your hand to your opponent's field in Attack Position.]
Gilford's shining arsenal was gone. Only a single turtle remained.
"My… my strongest monster… swallowed whole? No! Impossible! What kind of monster is that?!"
"It's a Kaiju."
Ignoring his panic, Alice coldly revealed another card.
"The effect of [Thunder King, the Lightningstrike Kaiju]!"
[If your opponent controls a "Kaiju" monster, you can Special Summon this card from your hand in Attack Position.]
[Thunder King, the Lightningstrike Kaiju] Level 9│LIGHT│Thunder│3300 ATK / 2100 DEF
By summoning Kaiju to both fields, Alice disregarded all tactics, forcing the battlefield into a clash of titans. Naturally, the stronger one was hers.
"Thunder King—Triple Lightning Strike!"
The three-headed Kaiju roared, releasing a triple thunderbolt that annihilated everything.
"AAAAHHHHH!"
Crack—!
The Duelist's Spirit Eyes shattered, crumbling under the Kaiju's power.
Alice tore away his Spirit Eyes, continuing the hunt.
"That makes thirteen."
In mere moments, following Elra's guidance, Alice had culled thirteen Shadow Duelists.
Her colossal Kaiju vanished back into the mist, leaving only silence. The hunters of the fog had become prey, cut down without mercy.
Here, in the mist, Alice was absolute.
…
Meanwhile, on the frontlines, war with the warship and the Super Quantal Mech Beasts raged on.
"Destroy every enemy in sight! Blue-Eyes White Dragon—Burst Stream of Destruction!"
"Scorch the earth in searing black fire! Red-Eyes Black Dragon—Inferno Fire Blast!"
"Full-power headbutt! Mokey Mokey—Tofu Impact!"
Arriving at the front were the two Seth brothers—joined by Alice Carlos' sister, wielding tofu blocks like weapons, the so-called heroine herself, Aisha Carlos.
...
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