016. Clearing the Debt
The entrance of Justice Village.
I was dueling in this place where visitors were being checked.
“I summon ‘Apostle of Justice, Lancer Garou’ from my hand and end my turn. At the end phase, due to Garou’s effect, I discard the top 3 cards of my deck.”
The gatekeeper checked the cards that would go to the graveyard as he drew 3 cards from his deck.
He grinned as he saw the cards he discarded.
“From the graveyard, I activate the effect of ‘Apostle of Justice, Knight Irene’. When this card is sent from the deck to the graveyard, it is special summoned to the field.”
“You’re lucky. My luck today is completely ruined.”
“That’s because we, the apostles of justice, train every day without fail.”
I wonder if my luck in drawing cards would improve if I trained my dual muscles diligently?
I harbored a ridiculous delusion as I drew a card from the deck.
It seemed that even though I had no luck in drawing cards, I still had some luck in drawing cards.
“Set one card on the field, then activate a magic card from the hand.”
It was the activation of the rare card that had achieved the triple crown today, ‘Mind Control’.
It was very good that I had filled up three slots with it.
“By sending one card from the hand, the card that I just set, and one card from the deck to the graveyard, I take control of one monster on the opponent’s field.”
“How dare you take away someone else’s precious card with that effect!”
“Hey! I’m not taking it, I’m just borrowing it. It will go back at the end phase.”
Of course, that’s only if the end phase comes this turn.
“I take ‘Apostle of Justice, Knight Irene’ to my field.”
As usual, sparks flew from the card and I grabbed and dragged the knight from the opponent’s field.
Originally, it would have been a better decision to take Garou, who had a higher attack power than Irene.
But I didn’t want to see a man being brainwashed.
Besides, it didn’t matter who I chose strategically.
“Next, I normal summon Anubis’s Priestess from the hand and activate her effect!”
First, an Anubis’s clone token was created, then I sent three cards from the deck to the graveyard and used the priestess’s second effect.
I normal summoned another monster from the hand, and then combined the priestess and the monster I just took out to summon an alien plant that induced disgust.
Naturally, I activated Phineas’s effect by summoning him to the field with the effect of the alien plant.
By destroying the alien plant and the Garou that remained on the opponent’s field, I cleared the opponent’s field completely.
“Battle! Direct attack with Phineas, Anubis token, and Irene in that order!”
“Y-you vile!! Are you planning to finish me off with my precious cards?”
“Yes!”
After all, in any card game, if the opponent’s cards are in my hand, I have to end it with those cards.
That’s how I can feel the thrill.
“Go, Irene!”
The knight whose eyes were unfocused from the brainwashing.
Irene unconsciously raised her sword and ran towards her master.
She kicked the ground and jumped high into the sky, then slashed her sword at the gatekeeper.
“Kyaah!!”
The gatekeeper whose life points were shredded by Phineas’s flames and the clone token’s bites.
And the duel was decided by Irene’s sword strike.
I slowly approached the gatekeeper who collapsed and offered him my hand.
The act of the winner extending a hand to the loser is a sign of respect.
The gatekeeper, who knew that fact, looked at me with wide eyes. I smiled at him and opened my mouth.
“Thank you!”
“You son of a b*tch…!!”
The magic word that turns gratitude into provocation.
This was a peaceful world of Duel Monsters.
***
“Master, that was a splendid duel!”
“Splendid, huh…? It didn’t seem like that when we got all kinds of jeers from the people around us.”
Even the merchant who gave us a ride passed by us with a scornful look and a snort.
I was prepared for some jeers when I decided to use the NTR deck, but the duel I just had was not something I could be proud of.
I deliberately brought out the weak monsters of my opponent and finished them off with those monsters.
I did a lot of rude things, to say the least.
“That’s because they don’t know how great you are, Master. They will surely find out how amazing you are someday.”
“I hope that day comes.”
“It will definitely come. I promise you!”
I was happy that Phineas valued me highly, but I was also embarrassed.
I hardly ever got praised for being good at dueling in my life.
Especially hearing compliments from a lovely woman like Phineas was the first time for me.
There might have been some among the viewers who enjoyed watching my broadcast. But most of them were scum who only hoped for me to make mistakes, so I had to rule out that possibility.
“By the way, we’ve entered the village, but where are you planning to go now?”
“I have to make an ID card first, as the gatekeeper advised me.”
“Then you’re going to the guild, right?”
“Yeah.”
The guild, which was so common in fantasy that it would be disappointing if it was missing.
From Noble mtl dot com
It was a place where adventurers who were called such and people who wanted help, and guild staff who mediated between the two, were mingled.
He didn’t know what the guild of the dual world would be like, but it didn’t seem like it would be much different if it was similar.
“Then I’ll guide you!”
“Huh? Do you know where the guild is?”
“Of course! Do you think I would tell you to follow me if I didn’t know?”
“Well, that’s true. Then have you ever been to this village before?”
“No. This is my first time.”
“Then how do you know where the guild is?”
“It’s very simple!”
Pudding pudding!
The pudding monster, Pudding, who was walking along the street with a cute sound,
Phineas suddenly grabbed Pudding’s head with one hand and pulled it up to his face.
“Pudding?”
“Do you know where the guild is?”
“Pudding!!”
Pudding started to puff up his cheeks and get angry at Phineas’ question.
Well, it was strange that he didn’t get angry when he grabbed his body out of the blue.
But Phineas didn’t care and raised his empty other hand.
Soon, a hot flame rose from his palm.
“Pu, Pudding?!”
“I’ll ask you one more time. Where is the guild?”
“Pudding! Puring!!”
“Oh, you’re going to guide me to the guild? Thank you!”
I felt fear and desperation from the pudding’s expression that changed 180 degrees.
Did it sense that it would die if it didn’t guide me?
I felt sorry for it somehow.
“Did you see, master? When you don’t know the way, you can ask for help from the monsters around you like this!”
We decided to call that not help, but coercion.
Did Phineas lose her conscience because she had the effect of being conscienceless?
Sometimes, I felt scared of her like now.
“Let’s go!”
“Ugh….”
But it wasn’t a bad thing for me, so I had to follow.
With the pudding’s guidance, we safely arrived at the guild.
“Oh, it looks more impressive than I thought?”
The guild building looked like a western saloon.
The door at the entrance was a cowboy door that showed a little bit of the inside.
It looked like a theme of a saloon that outlaws in the wasteland often visited.
In fantasy novels, some people see adventurers as outlaws with convictions, so it suited them.
A place that became a refuge for outlaws. Is that what this is?
I finally felt like I had arrived in a proper fantasy world, and I entered the guild with a surge of anticipation.
Ding-dong-!
A bell rang to welcome the visitors.
As I was about to admire the interior of the guild, which resembled a tavern in the wasteland.
“Hey, you bastard!!”
Suddenly, a burly man grabbed my collar and picked a fight with me.
I had just entered the guild, for crying out loud.
“What the hell are you doing!!”
“Uh, no. Why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“Don’t you know and ask? You’re stepping on my precious card right now!!”
“Really…?”
I discreetly checked under my feet.
And sure enough, there was a card under my shoe.
“You stepped on my card, which is more precious than my life! I’ll never forgive you!”
How was I supposed to know there was a card on the floor?
I felt very wronged.
“Hey, calm down first!”
“Do you look like you can calm down right now? You stepped on my strongest card! And it’s a monster card that’s over level 10!”
“Level 10 monster…?”
“That’s right!”
“`
Only monsters that were strong and outstanding were above level 10.
Level boost, which belonged to the category of cards that had great effects as much as they were hard to summon.
He had stepped on such a card, so it was natural that he was angry.
I quickly stepped back and picked up the card.
I wiped off the footprint that was blatantly engraved on the back of the card with my sleeve and checked the card.
Please don’t let it be an expensive card…!
[This Guy]
Level: 10 / Attribute: Water (水) / Race: Angel
Attack / Defense: 300 / 200
f*ck. It wasn’t a monster card, but a trap card?
“I’ll have to sell you my strongest card, but I have no choice. Let’s see the price… I’ll give it to you for 100,000 DP, specially.”
“Shut up.”
Whoosh-!
I was furious from head to toe and tore the card in half, spitting out a harsh curse at him.
I jokingly referred to the adventurers as outlaws, but they were real bastards.
How dare they try to rob me with such a ridiculous threat?
I had endured the insults from the elves, but this time I couldn’t take it.
I decided to beat this robber bastard in a duel.
“Power input!”
“Input!!”
“`
Suddenly, the apostles of justice rushed into the guild from behind.
“We received a report and came out! Where is the criminal!”
It seemed that a good citizen had reported me after seeing me being blackmailed.
I guess there are not only bad guys wherever I go.
“Over here!”
“Hmm, there they are.”
The apostles of justice approached me and the blackmailer, looking at us.
I quickly gestured for them to catch the blackmailer.
Clank-!
The sound of iron cuffs being put on my wrist…
“You are under arrest for the crimes of insulting the gatekeeper, threatening a passing citizen, and killing by tearing the card! We will detain you for these charges!”
For some reason, the iron cuffs were on my wrist, not the blackmailer’s.
My brain stopped working for a moment in this incomprehensible situation.
“Ugh!! Phew, he was a vicious criminal?!”
“How did you dare to scam such a guy?”
“How was I supposed to know he was such a vicious criminal!”
“If you don’t want to be retaliated later, go and apologize now!!”
The guy who was blackmailing me just a moment ago was now scared and far away.
I hoped they would arrest him too, since he also attempted a crime.
But it seemed that the apostles of justice only wanted to take me away.
This world is rotten.
To the point where it needs correction.
Apostle of Justice? Oh, Lightsworn? The one with Judgement Dragon?