Chapter 22: Let

"No way, it's a girl card?!?!"

After being struck by reality, You Tian eventually accepted it.

The Offering Demon looked at You Tian, and on what seemed to be its face, a look of contempt appeared.

"I'm the 'Mei' card—the 'Mei' of seduction! What's wrong with that?"

6!

You Tian could only mutter "Ma mai pi" in his heart.

Originally, he had felt sorry for the new female Card Spirit in his Deck, having such an ugly suitor as the Death Guardian.

Now, he thought these two Spirits were literally made for each other!

Death Guardian: "Master, aren't you happy? Shall I sing you a song?"

You Tian: …

At the Gurus' underground base, Malik and Dark Mo Liang stood facing each other, each holding their Millennium Artifact, breathing heavily.

The Darkness on their bodies continuously clashed and annihilated each other.

"Stop! We're evenly matched—neither of us can defeat the other!" Malik said.

"Tch!" Dark Mo Liang spat.

"How about this: you help me take down Game, and when it's done, I'll hand over the Millennium Rod with both hands!" Malik added.

Dark Mo Liang hesitated.

"Relax—I have no interest in the power of that stone seal. As long as you help me kill the Nameless Pharaoh… emm, and that other guy, I swear I'll keep my word!"

1, 2, 3, 4, 5…

After who knew how long, Dark Mo Liang finally lowered the Millennium Ring.

…

"Huh? You used to follow Pegasus?" You Tian stared at the Offering Demon in surprise.

The Offering Demon turned its head away. "Hmph! My card is the only one in this world. My master—or rather, my father—is only him! I'm just temporarily staying with you!"

"He's the Father of Duel Monsters. His status—I'm sure you, a Duelist, know that, right?"

You Tian thought for a moment.

"Only one? So rare? Then why did he put you in a card pack? Did he abandon you?"

At this, the Offering Demon visibly stiffened.

This guy!

"No way! Father sent me out to find someone!"

You Tian became interested upon hearing this.

"Find someone? Who?"

"Hmph! You wouldn't understand even if I told you!" The Offering Demon angrily turned its head away.

I have to say, if you ignore Nazaire's extremely grotesque appearance, her behavior really does resemble that of a little sister card with a refined lady's personality.

Holy shit! You Tian, what are you doing?! Don't add weird XP to yourself!!

You Tian shook his head.

"Fine, don't tell me then."

The Offering Demon suddenly felt a surge of irritation and floated off angrily toward a nearby spot.

Death Guardian: "Hey? Nana, where are you going? Wait for me!"

Seeing the Offering Demon float away, the Death Guardian eagerly followed after her.

You Tian: …

Nana? Why do I feel goosebumps all over?

He involuntarily shuddered.

Sigh! What kind of situation is this?! Other people's Spirits are either a mage girl, or a silver dragon, or at least a Mahad!

Sigh!

But now I can head straight to the finals.

Wu-jie's 100,000 yuan sponsorship helped me optimize my Deck again. With these two Spirits helping me, the ThreePhantomGods are practically within reach! Oh ho ho ho!

You Tian pulled a set of Chip Cards from his pocket; he had already combined six of them together.

On the combined Chip Card, a red dot was flashing—and that dot's location was precisely where the next stage of Duel City lay: the Kc Airship!

I wonder if Jonouchi listened to me.

…

Outside the aquarium in Jounouchi, Jonouchi walked out proudly after dueling Kajiki Yuta.

Behind him, Anzu looked at this overconfident guy with helpless exasperation.

"See?! Anzu! I've qualified for the top eight now!"

"Yes yes, Jonouchi's the strongest." Anzu replied dismissively.

Jonouchi was thoroughly pleased.

Game, and You Tian—wait for me!

"By the way…" Anzu spoke again.

"Aren't you worried about Shizuka at all?"

At this, Jonouchi clenched his teeth in fury.

Those bastards Honda and Otogi—I'll beat the crap out of them one day!

"What can I do? Shizuka called and told me to focus on dueling. She said she'll come only when she sees me win. So what choice do I have?"

Anzu smirked.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Anzu noticed two figures in the distance.

"Mo Liang?!"

At that moment, Malik, allied with Dark Mo Liang, supported the seemingly injured Mo Liang as they limped toward them, pausing with every step.

"What happened?"

Jonouchi and Anzu rushed over.

Seeing this, Dark Mo Liang immediately sent a mental message to Malik.

"These two have taken the bait. Whether you can win Jonouchi's trust now depends on you! I'm logging off."

Malik nodded without expression.

"You're Mo Liang's friends, right? My name is Nam."

"I saw the injured Mo Liang nearby, asked what happened, and brought him here to find you."

"Mo Liang, are you okay?!"

Anzu stared anxiously at the weak Mo Liang, while Jonouchi quickly slung Mo Liang onto his back.

"We need to get him to the hospital right away!"

"You're Nam? I'm Jonouchi! Thank you!"

Malik's lips curled into a sly smile. "You're welcome."

But at the same moment, Malik commanded six Gurus members clad in black robes to surround the group with hostile intent.

Suddenly, one of them swung a punch straight at Jonouchi—but Jonouchi reacted fast enough, despite carrying Mo Liang, to dodge it.

Malik: "You're Gurus? You've come to steal Jonouchi's Raya card?!"

The Gurus ignored Malik's words; two more advanced toward Jonouchi and Anzu.

Jonouchi: "Damn it!"

He was carrying Mo Liang and couldn't counterattack—only dodge repeatedly.

Makoto Anzu, relying on years of dance training, skillfully evaded the Gurus' attacks.

"Jonouchi!"

Jonouchi turned—and saw Nam already "easily" captured by two Gurus members.

"Damn it!"

Jonouchi moved to set Mo Liang down and rush to save Nam.

Hm!?

Suddenly, Jonouchi noticed Nam's dark skin—and his rush halted.

No, You Tian said to watch out for people with dark skin.

Malik:?

What's going on? According to Mo Liang, Jonouchi is supposed to be loyal and righteous—he should've rushed to save me the moment we met, then gotten surrounded by six of them!

Malik gritted his teeth.

Hit me!

He used the Millennium Rod to order the Gurus member holding him.

Gurus member:?

Hurry! Hit hard!

Gurus member: Is this even real?

Usually Master Malik punishes us for no reason—now I get to do this?

That Gurus member was clearly a seasoned actor!

He threw all his strength into a punch straight at Malik's stomach.

Puff!

Malik felt his internal organs churn.

Good. Now Jonouchi will definitely come running.

Then Malik looked up.

????????

Jonouchi had already turned and fled—with Mo Liang on his back and Anzu in hand.

Malik: What the hell?!

"Jonouchi! That Nam—he's being hit!" Anzu shouted over her shoulder, frantic.

Jonouchi's face darkened.

"I'll get you and Mo Liang to safety first, then I'll go back for him!"

Anzu: "But!"

"No buts! I can't fight six of them while carrying both of you!"

Anzu paused—she realized he was right.

Around the corner, Jonouchi set down Mo Liang and Anzu, then immediately turned and sprinted back toward Malik.

Malik finally relaxed.

Hmph! Just as expected—this guy's easily fooled…

Puff!

The Gurus member, seeing Malik hadn't called off the order, delivered another heavy punch—this time straight to Malik's face.

Malik: Excuse me??

Malik couldn't shake the feeling that on this Gurus member's face, he had seen a certain look of excitement.

Hey, no—why do the rest of you five look just as eager to give it a try?

"Jonouchi flying kick!"

Just as the Gurus member was about to throw his third punch, the invincible Jonouchi, borrowing the momentum of his charge, delivered a flying knight kick right into the man's lower back.

Gurus member count: -1 on the spot.

Everyone: …

While the others were still a bit dazed, Jonouchi immediately launched into another wild boar charge, knocking down the two men holding Malik.

Then, without caring about the remaining Gurus, he grabbed Malik and hauled him out of there.

Malik:??

The script's a little off, isn't it?

Six against one, and you got reverse-killed?? Do you guys even know how to play?

At this point, the three Gurus who could still move finally came to their senses.

We're done for—we were too busy enjoying watching Malik-sama get beaten up to notice that blond brat came back.

If we go back to the Gurus like this, we'd have to atone with our deaths!

What are we going to do about this!!

"How about… we turn ourselves in at the Public Security Management Bureau…" one Gurus member suggested weakly.