"Did you learn those lines from Yuki?"
Youmi was certain that Aleister's world wouldn't have people reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
"No. I learned them from an old acquaintance. That person also once told me that hesitation leads to defeat, while decisiveness leads straight to giving everything away."
Aleister the Invoker suddenly raised his head. A spellbook flipped open, a magic circle spread out, and in an instant, he carried Youmi away to a distant location.
Youmi glanced around. This was precisely the volcanic crater where Nightshroud had previously dueled her.
"What are you trying to do?" Youmi immediately drew his sword and pressed it to Aleister's neck. Beneath the helmet, a pair of cold eyes gleamed through the slit with killing intent. "Aren't you afraid I'll strike?"
Reaching out to push the sword aside, Aleister was confident that Youmi wouldn't actually attack. He stood up from the ground.
"Of course I'm not afraid. I already said you're a worthy lord. You wouldn't just casually chop off my head~ Besides, keeping me around is still useful to you, isn't it?"
Aleister gave a sycophantic smile and patted his own chest. "Boss, you must be curious about my former employer, right~"
"I can tell you about that too. The benefits under my previous boss were pretty awful. As long as what you offer is better than his, I'll gladly go through fire and water for you."
"I can't offer you anything," Youmi replied. "What we just played wasn't a Shadow Game. We didn't stake anything."
Only then did Youmi realize that although Aleister had called him the 'Guardian of the Seven Stars Gate Key,' he hadn't mentioned Shadow Games at all, yet immediately brought up Yuki.
"Let me ask you, are you really one of the 'Seven Stars'? Or were you just dragged into this world by Yuki and then kicked aside?"
"No, no, no. Someone as talented as me wouldn't get kicked aside, right?" Aleister laughed. "It's just that working under that boss, my days could be summed up in three words… never knowing if I'd live to see tomorrow."
"That's a whole sentence," Youmi pointed out.
"That part's not important. Not long ago, the Fallen Angel he summoned the same way was used up as a disposable pawn. With a boss who strikes that ruthlessly, wouldn't you run too if you were me?"
Aleister put on a wary expression, as if he were genuinely afraid Yuki might turn on him at any moment.
"With your strength, would you really be afraid of that?" Youmi asked. "No matter how overwhelming the power of the Sacred Beasts is, their seals haven't been fully broken yet. They shouldn't be able to wipe you out so easily, right?"
Youmi wasn't particularly skilled at scheming and could only reason from his own perspective.
The Sacred Beasts were sealed within Duel Academy, yet he hadn't sensed any excessive activity from them.
Under those circumstances, what Yuki had obtained should only be fragments of their power. How could that be such a massive threat?
"The support behind him is far more than just the Sacred Beasts. To entities that threaten this world, the Sacred Beasts are practically negligible."
"That said… even a 'Seven Stars' empowered by fragments of that greatest backer's power was effortlessly dealt with by you, wasn't it? I don't think it would be a problem for you."
A flash of insight struck Youmi, and he understood at once who Aleister meant as Yuki's greatest backing.
"You're saying Yuki's backer is Nightshroud? That's just…"
The Nightshroud Youmi referred to wasn't the dark power that once controlled Atticus Rhodes, but the utterly unglamorous final boss of GX.
Its true nature was the future of humanity's destruction, taking the form of a goat-headed demon.
"I don't know the exact details, but my former employer seemed to harbor an intense obsession toward you."
"That heavy obsession carried a darkness deep enough to attract an existence like Nightshroud."
"Even if I'm not afraid of Boss Yuki, I'd at least be afraid of Nightshroud, wouldn't I? Those two aren't even on the same level. I wouldn't dare provoke them so casually."
"But you're planning to defect from them and come over to my side. That alone is provoking them," Youmi said as he lowered his sword.
He believed Aleister's words to a degree. He'd never thought the Sacred Beasts alone could serve as Yuki's confidence in declaring the end of the world. "The Yuki I remember… wasn't someone who tolerated sand in his eyes. Now that I'm opposed to him, coming to my side isn't safe for you."
As he spoke, Youmi turned his head slightly, clearly pondering something else.
"I trust your strength, and I also trust that the existence behind you is no weaker than Nightshroud~"
"The beings that maintain the Duel Monsters world are few to begin with, and those that allow free travel between worlds even fewer~ You could say this is my investment in the future."
Aleister took out a Deck case and handed it to Youmi.
"This Deck is proof of my sincerity~"
"I don't need it."
Youmi pushed Aleister's Deck back toward him.
"I can't see through what you're thinking."
He had never dealt with someone like Aleister before.
Without understanding the other party's background, how could he accept such sincerity, especially on their first meeting right after a duel?
Yuki and Nightshroud were courting disaster.
Wasn't he doing the same right now?
"Hmph. Can you really not see through it?"
A cold glint flashed across Aleister's monocle, then vanished just as fast.
As if the threatening undertone earlier had merely been Youmi's imagination.
The Iris Swordsoul had already noticed what was happening while observing from Youmi's dorm and hurried over.
Fallen of Albaz also arrived, riding on Sprind the Irondash Dragon.
"If you have something to say, you might as well say it plainly. Besides, I have reliable companions as well."
The moment The Iris Swordsoul rushed in with sword drawn, Aleister leapt backward with agility utterly unbefitting of a mage. He even exchanged a couple of blows with her using his staff.
"Hm? You're a Summoner… how did you train to the point where you can trade blows with me?"
Although Fleurdelis was a Spellcaster, she was still a knight at heart and naturally specialized in martial combat.
''Even if lightning strikes are always deadly.''
"Someone once taught me that mages are supposed to fight in close combat too. But… enough of that. I'll be straightforward."
Aleister seemed like he still wanted to say more, but after looking at Youmi, he swallowed his words.
"I thought I might meet an old friend even in this world, but it turns out it's only a resemblance? Yuki has taken you as the vessel for his obsession, but does he really understand what that means?"
Muttering to himself, Aleister pulled out a photo and tossed it to Youmi.
Youmi caught the photo and glanced at it.
In the picture were two men with identical faces. One was wearing Aleister's attire, while the other was dressed in an Obelisk Blue Academy uniform.
"You…"
"Allow me to formally reintroduce myself."
"I am Aleister the Invoker. Though I have answered the call of a friend's kin and become one of the 'Seven Stars,' in the past, I also served under the command of Ten Thousand Dragon, acting as the assistant to that legendary Duel King—Youmi."
...
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