Snake River was still in a daze at the end.
Because the result came too abruptly, without any mental preparation.
From his perspective, he should have performed rather well. During that round, he skillfully dealt with the disgusting monster, the Vampire Slayer, which specifically countered his Dark Attribute card deck, and he even cleared the opponent's front and back rows. By common logic, this should have been a very perfect attack.
And yet, he was suddenly defeated just like that?
No monsters, no cover cards, in an empty field, the opponent suddenly pulled out two traps, conjuring a Thousand Gold Vampire out of nowhere. One moment he felt everything was under his control, the next moment he was effortlessly taken down at full health.
Who can withstand this?
Snake River was unconvinced and unwilling, extremely unwilling. Such a stifling way to lose was unheard of.
But that's how the Dark Duel is. One mistake means eternal damnation, no chance to start over. Even if the loss feels unjust, one can only hold back, taken by darkness with anger and unwillingness.
Snake River knelt to the ground. As he slowly looked up, he only saw the opponent, already in the victorious posture, coming before him. The flames flickered ominously on half of the opponent's face, adding a sinister malice to the smile, making him shiver.
Then he glanced at the girl floating not far behind Yugen.
Her soft silver hair and a cold face encircled by the torchlight like a glacier, dressed in a white robe, with a magic staff pointing downward, surrounded by transparent whirlwinds.
The smoke had bled heavily before, and he was far from Yugen. Though he sensed the power of the elf, he couldn't make out the elf's appearance. Now, as they got closer, he finally saw the mage's visage.
Snake River's pupils contracted, astonished inside.
Isn't this... Silent Magician!?
Back then, one of Duel King Muto Yuugi's representative monsters, viewed as the counterpart to the Black Mage representing the Dark Mage, it was also a legendary elf.
But the key point was not the elf itself, but who owned her.
It was widely known that Muto Yuugi had long stopped appearing in the Dueling Realm, but within the past year, the elf Silent Magician had surfaced again, now fame known to everyone in the hand of "that gentleman."
Snake River fearfully looked at the opponent, trembling as he spoke.
"Are you... are you that Duel... Duel King..."
"Oh? You know me." Yugen nodded, "Then let's keep it simple."
Snake River was wretched, filled with regret.
He recognized him, recognized him, but alas, it seemed to have happened too late.
Who knew that casually taking a mission would lead him to the Duel King?
Wasn't it said that the Duel King was at the Duel Academy? Prison No. 7 was far, far away from the Academy, what was he doing here?
Had he known it was Yugen, he'd have bragged less. Yet he just sat there waiting for him to come, having been disrespectful and provocative, which was like putting himself on sale.
The more Snake River thought, the more regret he felt; however, the unwillingness of crashing into the Thousand Gold had faded quite a lot.
Though the way of defeat was stifling, he'd long heard this generation's Duel King was good at messing with the opponents mentally. While his death wasn't glorious, knowing the opponent was the Duel King made the loss destined, leaving nothing to regret.
"It seems like the prison riot is your doing, so tell us." Yugen asked, "Why do it?"
At this point, Snake River knew he had no right to refuse to answer, so he could only say honestly: "I don't know."
"Don't know?"
"Yes, exactly. I just do the work for money; that's my job. I'm a hired Dark Duelist, entrusted through the Dark Web.
The task only noted that at a certain time, the system of Prison No. 7 would collapse, and a dark passage would open. I just needed to infiltrate as instructed, release all the prisoners, and set a fire to stir up the situation."
Saying this, he recalled something, adding.
"And there's additional content on the task that mentions if I can take down the duelists sent by the Kaiba Group, I would receive extra commission per head."
Is this considered performance-based?
Yugen understood: "So that's why you rushed up suicidally?"
Snake River almost burst into tears.
Now he also truly regretted it. Had he known, he'd ignore the performance bonus, just set the fire and run, no need for any trouble.
"You said you got the task from the Dark Web." Yugen continued asking, "So, does the Dark Web want trouble with Prison No. 7?"
Snake River shook his head: "Not likely. The Dark Web is only a platform; many look for work there. Plus, among people like us, it's common not to know exact information.
Considering the rules and nature of Dark Duels, everyone knows it's impossible to ensure the situation won't end up like... well... like today's situation."
Yugen nodded, finding it reasonably sensible.
In a Dark Duel, losing easily meant being under the opponent's control. Unlike traditional assassins, one couldn't expect Dark Duelists to have professional ethics not to disclose the employer's information, as it's not feasible.
The only way to keep secrets was if they genuinely didn't know anything.
"Still, since the Dark Web is a transaction platform, the platform itself should know those accepting tasks and those posting tasks, right?" Yugen asked.
Snake River nodded.
"Of course. Especially if one wishes to post a task, they must register their identity and allegiance..."
He continued, suddenly realizing, looking at Yugen with wide eyes.
"You... you wouldn't want to...?"
"I didn't say anything." Yugen shrugged.
Even without saying, Snake River seemed to have faintly guessed his intentions.
He wouldn't really want trouble with the Dark Web, right?
Although he was the Duel King, representing top power of the present world, the Dark Web wasn't to be underestimated either; its depths are vast, with rumored masterminds capable of wielding power to shroud the world in darkness and chaos at the world-class level. Whether true or not remains unknown.
More crucially, nobody knows who they are.
As they say, it's easier to dodge overt attacks than hidden ones. The details of the Dark Web's leaders are entirely mysterious, yet once you provoke them, you may face deadly pursuit from the world's top experts. Almost no one is mad enough to cause them trouble.
Yet, Yugen thought, rumors were rumors, possibly exaggerated.
Considering a friend named Revolver confronted the Dark Web's organization publicly, yet he remained fine.
No seen retribution.
Even having taken down Doma and the Snake God of Doma, he didn't think a black market platform could be stronger than Doma.
The prison situation seemed already under control, Keihei and others also entered.
Yugen asked almost everything he could. Finally, he readily took the card deck, then stood, turned to walk towards Keihei, and pointed back.
"Got a hired thug; you guys can take him back, ask him anything. He's nice and bound to speak without reserve."
Saying this, he turned to wink at Snake River.
"Right?"
Snake River: "..."
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