"What?"
Keihei froze for a moment, not quite understanding what the other party was saying.
But Kiku did not further explain, only let out two unsettling low chuckles.
In the next moment, the flames went out.
Darkness surged like a tide, the outlines of the furniture delineated by firelight were shrouded in a mysterious veil, then quickly engulfed by the darkness. The faint moonlight from outside the window quickly dissipated, unable to penetrate the heavy darkness.
"Kiku?"
Keihei stepped forward, reaching out to turn the chair.
Only to find it empty.
Keihei was stunned.
An indescribable eerie wind seemed to silently penetrate the corners of the villa, converging toward the living room. The wind carried a bone-chilling coldness, silently shuttling between the furniture, lifting the corner of the curtain; everything, when touched by the eerie wind, seemed to be given life, producing low, strange sounds.
It seemed unreasonable, but Keihei felt as if someone was laughing in the wind, sharp and eerie, or perhaps crying.
Suddenly, he shivered, retreating two steps. Turning back to see Yugen behind him, he felt slightly more at ease.
"What's the situation?" Keihei asked, "Where is he?"
Yugen did not respond. He walked to a table, gently pinching at its surface, leaving a mark in the thick dust covering the tabletop.
"Dust accumulation," Yugen said.
"Hmm, so he's not a very meticulous person?" Keihei questioned.
But as soon as he spoke, he realized it was incorrect. Kiku Lloyd was a traditional aristocrat, emphasizing elegance, meticulous about the smallest things. His personality was rather delicate, always carrying a flower with him wherever he went, presumably very particular about hygiene.
"No, such heavy dust accumulation only remains if the place has been uninhabited for a long time," Yugen shook his head.
"Huh? But we just clearly saw..."
Keihei abruptly fell silent.
He thought of the flame suddenly extinguishing, thought of how in that instant it went out, Kiku, who should have been in front of him, vanished from the chair as if evaporated.
Thinking of the marks of long-term desertion, the eerie wind that sent chills up his spine, making the doors and windows and furniture cry out hauntingly...
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. He involuntarily moved closer to Yugen, whispering, "So what did we see, was it human or ghost?"
Yugen glanced at him, "President Kaiba firmly believes in science, don't you?"
"I do believe. But science isn't about being stuck in the past."
Keihei said.
"After all, the existence of the Netherworld and ghosts has been proven, hasn't it? Like the other Yugi within the game's body, he's a ghost who wandered for three thousand years, and we've lived together for so long."
"Hmm, when you put it that way, it's indeed not wrong."
Yugen nodded.
Sure, considering the entire Yu-Gi-Oh! story begins with a tale of a wandering soul from three thousand years ago, ghosts aren't all that unusual in this world.
"But it's okay, there's nothing to fear about ghosts," Yugen said.
Although ghosts aren't unusual, not every ghost has the fighting power like Ousama.
By now, what was a clear night sky is now densely clouded, even the tiny thread of moonlight covered by the clouds.
A bolt of pale blue lightning suddenly slashed through the distant forest outside, illuminating half of the night sky. As it shone into the hall, it appeared that a woman stood in the corner of the living room, her face ashen in the lightning.
Keihei couldn't help but call out. But when the lightning passed, the thunder clapped, and upon closer inspection, the corner was empty.
"This house really has a problem!"
He couldn't help but retreat behind Yugen.
The next moment, Kiku's voice echoed in the empty mansion again.
"Seto Kaiba doesn't even want to come personally. Alright, I understand."
"He thinks he can just send his brother, along with some lackey he nurtured, to handle me? The man who stole everything from him, who should've been his mortal enemy?"
Another bolt of lightning struck outside.
As the thunder echoed, the woman appeared behind the two of them without notice, raising a sharp blade, the edge reflecting a cold light.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing.
Yugen didn't even turn around, the ghostly image of a Chaos Warrior flashed behind him. In a fleeting moment, almost too quick to see clearly, the legendary sword had already slashed forth.
The woman's weapon snapped in two with a crisp sound, and her entire body flew backward, falling onto the corner wall, her body shattering like pieces.
A Duel Monster Spirit.
"A duelist riding spirits? Hmm, no wonder Seto Kaiba trusts you to come..."
Kiku Lloyd emerged slowly from the dark corner.
He was dressed in a crimson suit, with pink hair, just like the day he issued a deathly challenge to Kaiba at the KC Cup.
His Duel Disc was already on his wrist.
"Good, very good. Kaiba defeated me in the realm of Duel Monsters, took everything from me, then this should be the most suitable way for us to understand everything."
He said, snapping open the Duel Disc.
"First, you, Seto Kaiba's lackey, then his brother. Thus, he indeed should realize sooner or later, that underestimating me is the last mistake he's made in this life."
Seeing that a duel was about to begin, Keihei finally let out a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, if it's about playing cards, things are easier to discuss.
So he stepped aside, giving the two room.
"Duel!" x2
[Yugen, LP 4000]
[Kiku, LP 4000]
"I'll start the first round, drawing a card."
Yugen glanced at his hand, drawing a card from it.
"Magic Card 'Angel's Charity.' Draw three cards from the deck, and discard two cards from the hand."
He drew three cards, scanned them briefly, swiftly plucking one out and sending it and another from his hand to the graveyard.
"Summon a monster in face-down defense position.
Finally, set a card face-down, ending my turn."
"My turn, draw a card."
Kiku drew a card, slowly lifting his head with an edge of sinister calm.
"I don't know who you are, but if Seto Kaiba can trustingly send you here, I presume you are one of his trusted aides?"
"Good. Then I hope you are at least a worthy opponent for my goddesses to draw their swords against.
First, Magic Card 'Pot of Greed,' draw two cards from the deck."
Kiku drew two cards.
"Then I summon 'Valkyrie - Fourth Sister'!"
A green-haired young warrior, donned in midriff-baring armor, riding a white horse, draped in a short cloak. She landed on the field, expertly twirling her sword.
[Valkyrie - Fourth Sister, Attack Power 1400]
This is Kiku's deck, the Valkyrie series based on Nordic Mythology.
"Oh right." Keihei then realized, "The one just now was also a Valkyrie..."
The woman who had attempted to ambush them from behind and was cut down by the Chaos Warrior.
"Correct, after a decade, my Valkyries have become so much stronger than before! And I have also gained powers incomparable to the past!"
As he spoke, a surging power erupted within him.
A certain churning dark force.
"Now, even if I face Seto Kaiba again, I will no longer lose!"