"Ugh..."
Zarug supported himself with both hands on the ground, kneeling, teeth clenched tightly.
Lost...
But this was not just an ordinary defeat in a duel.
Losing a card game wasn't strange for Zarug, but losing to himself was a first.
What's more bizarre, this person had boastfully claimed he would show them the "Black Scorpion Thief Gang's" real strength.
At that time, Zarug almost burst out laughing—
—Do you understand the Black Scorpion Thief Gang better than I do?
There was a line he couldn't manage to say then.
Come, come, if you understand the Black Scorpion Thief Gang better, you lead the thief gang, I'll be your servant.
In retrospect, it's good that he didn't say it out loud.
It seems this guy really understands the Black Scorpion Thief Gang better!
No...
Was our thief gang that disgusting?
Zarug probably never imagined even in his dreams that he would be disgusted by himself one day.
The Black Scorpion Thief Gang's effect, when dealing battle damage, forces the opponent to send one Magic Card from their deck to the graveyard...
It's a mandatory effect with forced activation, giving even the controller no choice not to activate it. And the Magic Card to be sent to the grave is selected by the opponent from their deck, which in some sense, just turns into a graveyard dumping act.
Of course, compared to Monster Cards and Trap Cards, sending a Magic Card to the graveyard is relatively low-risk. Magic takes up the smallest proportion in graveyard effects, especially in today's environment. However, this doesn't change the fact that it's a useless effect.
In fact, though Zarug never said it, he himself actually thought that their thief gang's five-man card wasn't very useful.
Even they didn't expect their card could cause such mental distress to people.
Hand over the thief gang to the opponent, then help himself pile up three Jackpot Pot 7 cards.
No...
How twisted must one's hatred be toward his opponent to come up with such a dirty trick?
After a silence, Mina suddenly said with a sigh, "The good news is, we're actually so awesome; we just never realized it..."
"And the bad news?" Zik instinctively asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Mina rolled her eyes at him, "The bad news is, someone understands the Black Scorpion better than us."
"..."
"Well, then." Zarug sighed, "Not only did we lose, but we lost to ourselves.
Even using the thief gang's card, as a duelist, this person's capability is far beyond mine. I may have never lost so convincingly in my life."
There might be no loss more convincing than this.
"The only regret, perhaps, is letting you all down." Zarug sighed, "Through all the years, so many enemies, so many duels.
Every time you all entrusted your lives to me without hesitation, never doubting.
I've thought more than once, if one day I failed... if I lost, letting you down, and all of you had to pay for my mistake."
"Brother!"
Mina's eyes were slightly red.
"It seems today is that day." Zarug gave a bitter smile, "As the big brother, I really am incompetent.
No matter how much I hold it together, ultimately it's just this level of a duelist. I let you all down..."
"What are you saying, brother!" Mina said, "You didn't disappoint us at all."
"Exactly, exactly!" Zik nodded, "You are the best big brother!"
Zarug was stunned.
"Even if I lose, even if our lives are engulfed by darkness because of me, you don't blame me?"
"What are you saying, brother? Didn't we already say we'd live and die together?" Zik laughed.
Cliff adjusted his glasses: "Well, I'd be a bit depressed if I died without even getting a chance to perform, but to go together with everyone, even to the deepest part of darkness, might not be so bad after all."
Takaga also mumbled something indistinctly. Although everyone couldn't hear it clearly, they could probably guess he was also expressing a lack of regrets.
"You all..."
Zarug was moved. He then closed his one eye, gently wiping the corner of it with his hand.
"To have brothers like you on this journey, maybe it's not so bad." He chuckled, "Adhering to the thief's principles, never bullying the weak, not stealing from the poor.
Until the very end, we still held on to the glory of being thieves, with no regrets left..."
He said, gently closing his eyes.
Everyone was moved, and they all gathered their hands together. The five were of one heart, seeing death as a return, creating a scene of heroic resolve.
Yugen silently watched for a few seconds, finally unable to resist speaking.
"Uh... sorry to interrupt. Although it might ruin the mood," Yugen reminded, "but you all haven't died yet?"
The brothers, immersed in the emotional atmosphere, were taken aback.
"Huh?"
Right.
How come we aren't dead yet?
Zarug was a bit puzzled.
He was sure he initiated a Dark Duel. In a Dark Duel, unless the opponent intentionally shows mercy, opponents are usually assumed to be killed.
And "showing mercy" is a skill; typically, only those well-versed in Dark Duels and intentionally holding back would do it. And if the opponent is a novice with no understanding of Dark Duels, they naturally strike with full force on instinct.
Thus, getting an opponent not to die in a Dark Duel is a technical skill requiring both strength and relevant knowledge, making it cumbersome. Those mastering this are usually desperados unless, like Little Lobster, enjoying manipulating people to use for their advantage, keeping a defeated opponent as a puppet instead of killing them; otherwise, generally, no one goes to the trouble.
Yugen chose this route partly because his plan two days later happened to require Seven-Star members—he had already negotiated cooperation with several Seven-Star members too.
Additionally, these Elves were just clowns. While they were thieves, slightly wrongdoers, compared to those plotting evil with duel powers, they weren't major villains either.
In Dark Duels, leaving an opponent alive usually indicates hidden motives. Mina, thinking of this, blushed slightly, nervously recoiling: "What... what do you want?"
"Don't be so nervous, it's nothing really... Do I really look that much like a villain?"
The thieves glanced at one another.
Looking at that sunny smile, yet recalling the same warm smile on their face when deploying the "Black Scorpion Thief Gang" to lock them down...
They all nodded repeatedly.
Not every Demon has a hideous, fierce expression; smiling Demons exist too.
Yugen helplessly said: "I really don't bear malice... well, I indeed want a small favor from you."
He paused, then smiled slightly.
"I'm gathering some hands to form a... uh... Anti-Seven-Star squad.
Why don't you consider joining?"