Since this was a monster card widely used in the outside world, Kira was sure he wouldn't mistake it—standing before him was indeed the "Marauding Captain."
Or, well, it was the right monster, but he looked a little different.
He was still wearing the armor from the card art, but he held no sword, and over his armor, he'd donned a white apron. Perched atop his head was a chef's hat, making him look rather comical.
So, it seed that when the captain wasn't charging into battle, he doubled as a hidden chef. Kira's expression was a bit odd; he felt like he'd seen this look in so card art before.
"..."
"I've already sent soone to find the companion you ntioned."
Following the captain, Kira arrived at what looked like a camp for gathered warriors. The captain warmly invited him to sit and brought over a bowl of hot soup.
"Here, have a taste," the captain said cheerfully. "I dabble in cooking, and I'm fairly confident in my skills. This is a new dish I developed today, and everyone who's tried it has given it high praise."
A passing warrior muttered under his breath, "That's because anyone who didn't like it is still lying down and can't talk."
The captain turned and glared, making the warrior scurry away.
Kira: "..."
He rembered now—there was indeed a card called "Marmiting Captain," which depicted the captain cooking in camp.
Technically, it should still be the middle of the night in the outside world, and after all this running around, Kira was a bit hungry. But since it was unproven whether spirit food was safe for humans, he prudently declined.
"We've gathered all the local spirits with fighting ability, but the minions of those evil gods are too strong. Our troops have been suffering heavy losses, pushed back step by step. If the Hero hadn't arrived just in ti..."
He turned solemnly. "I want to thank you on behalf of my rescued comrades and everyone in this camp."
"No need. I just happened to pass by, and I don't intend to stay long," Kira replied honestly. "If you're hoping we'll stick around to help you fight, you'll probably be disappointed."
"That's fine. We understand. The evil god's true body is in the Duelist's world. If the source isn't dealt with, defeating a Skull King here ans another puppet will be raised."
The captain's expression suddenly turned serious.
"But what I want to say is..."
He stood, walked to a sealed box at the side of the camp, and unlocked it with great ceremony.
It looked like he was about to unveil "the village's best sword," but when he opened the box and pulled out the item, it turned out to be a unique kind of duel disk.
It was shaped like a sword, sheathed in a heavy scabbard. Worn on the back, it would look just like a greatsword.
Kira couldn't help but picture the scene: a wandering swordsman, drawing his duel disk like a sword from his back with a dramatic flourish, loading his deck, and challenging his foe to a duel. Well, maybe that's just how it worked in the spirit world.
"I heard you easily defeated the Skull King, Hero, and possess rare and formidable strength."
The captain knelt on one knee, looking earnest.
"Please teach the secrets of dueling!"
"It's because I'm too weak and incompetent that so many comrades have fallen, so many have left. I don't want this to go on."
"I want the power to protect everyone, to protect our ho! Master, I want to learn how to duel!"
Kira: "..."
He thought for a mont. "Well, I did defeat the Skull King. But my dueling style might be a bit different from yours."
Duelists in the ani world were already pretty straightforward, but spirits seed even more straightforward in their dueling style.
He'd thought before—if a spirit's deck was an extension of itself, shouldn't they have maxed-out bonds, and be better at topdecking than duelists? But in reality, it seed that the ones at the true pinnacle of dueling were always the duelists, and spirits perford better as warriors under powerful duelists than fighting on their own.
Now, if you weren't a top-decking god like Jaden, Kira did have so thods for quickly picking up dueling. But he wondered if those thods would be considered the wrong path by such pure-hearted spirits.
But the captain seed to misinterpret his hesitation.
Maybe he thought power always cos at a price—which, in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, is often true. Many powerful cards require a strong soul to wield, and cards that grant extraordinary luck often co with serious side effects.
Determination flashed across the captain's face, and he gritted his teeth. "No matter what happens to my body or soul, I don't care! If I can gain the power to protect everyone, I'd even sell my soul to a demon—or beco a demon myself if needed!"
Kira: "No, that's not what I ant..."
He sighed and stood up.
"Never mind, since we're just waiting anyway. If you want to learn, let's have a duel, and I'll demonstrate for you."
He'd thought duels in the spirit world had to be to the death, but BLS had told him that wasn't the case. Spirits could duel to the death or just for points—it didn't always have to end in tragedy.
And that made sense. If every duel ended in death, wouldn't the first lesson be for the apprentice to kill their master?
So, a little later, the two headed outside the camp, set up their duel disks and prepared to duel. Spirits nearby, having heard that the captain and the hero from another world were about to duel, hurried over to watch.
Alright, so today's opponent was the Marauding Captain himself.
Kira: "Spell Card 'The Forceful Sentry'. I look at your hand and return one card to your deck."
"..."
Kira: "Trap Card 'Raigeki Break'. Discard a card from my hand, and destroy your first monster."
"..."
Kira: "I activate the effect of 'Puppet Plant' in my hand. Discard it to take control of one of your Warrior monsters. I'll take your second monster."
"..."
Kira: "'Marauding Captain', direct attack on 'Marauding Captain'!"
The captain, now under Kira's control, leaped up rcilessly, his sword flashing as he swung it down.
Thankfully, Kira had him hold back at the last second, the blade just grazing the original captain's shoulder before slamming into the ground, sending up a shower of sparks.
[Marauding Captain, LP 0]
The captain, nearly cut down by his sword, gazed up at the sky.
He began to ponder why spirits even bothered to live, and why he'd gotten himself into a duel with a hero even scarier than the evil gods.
PS: Read advanced Chapters at /AbsoluteCode
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