"Nyaa?"
"Nyaa Nyaa Nyaa?"
"Hello? Is the phone connected, Nyaa?"
A string of cat-like greetings came from the other end of the phone. Kira, working at his desk in his personal laboratory, replied casually.
"I'm here, I'm here. What's up, professor?"
"You know I'm your professor, and yet you still give me so much work."
Lyman sighed repeatedly, expressing how tough the cat life was.
"If you called just to ask for less work—"
"That's not it."
Lyman replied offhandedly.
"The bug kid we caught last time, there's some progress. Their group, the Advent Church, aims for the arrival of some evil god as their ultimate goal."
"Evil god? Did they specify which one?" Kira asked.
"No, they just call it the evil god."
Kira was puzzled.
"Even their own members call their deity the evil god?"
That was unusual. Strange organizations weren't uncommon, but usually their gods were only called evil gods by outsiders. Internally, they always believed their deity was the true god, guiding them to light and righteousness.
If a god's official title was just "Evil God," that was something new.
"Alright, so we don't know which god it is. But since you called, I assume you've found out something?" Kira asked.
"Of course. The bug kid knows more than that dino kid last time. In their duo, the bug kid was in charge of handing over assignments. We got the location of a congregation site.
Our scouts have already checked it out and confirmed there are suspicious people still gathering there.
But since we don't know their exact identities or strength, it's safest to have a capable duelist handle the cleanup."
Kira thought for a moment, mumbling to himself:
"If this was before, I'd probably go in person. But now I'm too busy. Unless it's urgent, I'd rather send a reliable person."
Clearly, he'd just gotten lazier, Lyman thought to himself. Dumping all the dirty work on a cat—doesn't your conscience hurt?
"Professor, you're not thinking I'm slacking off, are you?" Kira suddenly asked.
"Nyaa!?"
Lyman yelped in surprise.
"When did you learn to read minds? Wait, no, absolutely not, Nyaa!"
Reading minds over the phone?
That's just too much.
"But to be clear, I've been so busy lately I'm thinking of asking for a vacation. And that gathering site is far away. I'm a cat, I don't want to go on a long business trip."
Before Kira could say anything, Lyman quickly declined.
"Find someone else, okay?"
"No problem, professor. Take a break." Kira chuckled. "You don't have to worry about the Advent Church for now. As it happens, I have a reliable acquaintance in that area for a tournament. I'll ask him to check it out when he's done."
"Nyaa?"
Lyman tilted his head.
A tournament?
Sounds like a professional duelist.
…
Advent Church Gathering Site
A huge cathedral, the air oppressively silent. Beneath the towering dome, the light was swallowed by thick stone walls and stained glass, leaving only a faint glimmer struggling through, interweaving with the deep hues to create a stifling beauty.
Black-robed followers gathered quietly in the dim space, their shadows stretched by the weak candlelight. Each wore identical black robes with hoods, pale faces half-hidden in the shadows.
"Everyone knows why we've gathered today. Let's get straight to the point."
A black-robed figure spoke.
"The spirit is gone."
"I said before those two kids were unreliable," someone snorted, "Their abilities don't match their hype."
"Maybe we should work together and capture it. All other activities can wait.
It holds the key to 'The Lost Land'. The awakening of the evil god is the Church's ultimate goal."
"No one says it's not important, but it's not that simple."
The leader-like black robe spoke gravely.
"The spirit was lost in the territory of the Knights of Hanoi. We don't know exactly who took it, but worst case, it could already be in their hands."
Someone else snorted, "So what? The Advent Church is the vanguard of the evil god, here to rule this world. If we cower before a local gang, what's the point of our existence?"
"He's right, I think—"
But before he could finish, a cold wind swept through the church. All the candles suddenly went out, darkness engulfed the space.
The speaker's words were abruptly cut off, replaced by a long, strange scream. But soon, even the scream was swallowed by the darkness, vanishing.
Everyone was shocked.
"William? What happened, are you there?"
No response.
Everyone stood up.
"Don't panic."
Someone flicked on a lighter. Church rules forbid electronics inside the cathedral, so this was all he had for light.
But in that flickering flame, everyone saw it.
A demon, cloaked in a wide cape, behind the follower with the lighter, stretching out its claws.
Everyone saw it—except the one holding the lighter.
"Watch out!"
"Behind you!"
People shouted, some tried to intervene—but it was too late.
Stunned by the shouts, the follower didn't even have time to react before those claws yanked him into the darkness. The single spark of light was instantly extinguished, darkness swallowing everything once again.
"We're under attack!"
"What is that thing?"
"Defend! Defensive formation!"
Only the leader-black robe kept calm, activating his duel disk and slamming a monster card onto it.
A flash exploded—a knight in holy white armor appeared above the darkness.
Divine Knight Ishzark!
A Light-attribute holy knight, radiating a dazzling glow upon summoning. The whole church was illuminated, darkness scattered, and the intruder finally revealed.
"Up there!"
With a shout, all the followers looked up.
On the second-floor corridor, a silver-haired young man in a white suit sat on the railing, legs crossed, smiling down at them.
Beside him floated the demon who'd attacked earlier—Destiny HERO - Doom Lord, arms folded, cape fluttering.
"Well, you caught me." Aster smiled, "So, who's up first?"