Chapter 107: Dark Atticus Nearly Tilted at the Very Start

"Heheheh. They're protected inside that barrier for now, but it won't last forever."

The voice came from somewhere below, rising out of the red magma lake beneath the white energy platform where Rowan and Alexis stood.

An unfamiliar laugh, smug and unhurried.

"Who's there?!"

Alexis snapped to attention immediately, her voice sharp.

A column of orange flame erupted from the lava below, coiling into the shape of a dragon mid-flight.

It crossed over the energy barrier and landed on the far end of the field, where it collapsed back into a burning mass of orange and yellow.

From the flames stepped a figure in a black coat, face hidden behind a dark, dragon-shaped mask.

His build was similar to Zane's in a vague way, though his hair was an ordinary black.

Hanging from his chest was half of an ancient golden pendant, split along a clean arc.

"So it is him. Alexis's missing brother."

Rowan recognized him immediately.

The masked figure across the field, theatrics and all, was none other than Atticus Rhodes. Alexis's older brother.

The one who had vanished.

Through the Dragon Heart Seal on his wrist, Rowan could already sense it clearly.

Whatever dark power had taken hold of Atticus was still active, keeping him in a half-amnesiac state, his mind partially eclipsed.

Less Atticus Rhodes right now, and more something else wearing his face.

"I am Darkness," the figure said, addressing Rowan.

"One of the Seven Stars shadow duelists, heir to the dark resurrection dragon's artifact."

"According to my information, you're the one called Rowan. The one who made a bit of a name for himself in the inter-school competition recently."

"Then let us begin. We duel in shadow. Stake your key to the Gates of the Seven Stars. The loser's soul will be sealed within this card."

He raised a card in one hand. Blank. A monster card with nothing written on it, no name, no stats, no artwork, only a faint darkness radiating from its surface.

"A shadow duel where the loser's soul gets sealed into a card..."

Alexis felt the chill run through her before she could stop it.

She had experienced a shadow duel once before, against Titan. But that had been a ritual space. This felt different.

More direct. More absolute.

Rowan, meanwhile, was running a quiet internal calculation.

The Red Dragon Archfiend's Mark: Dragon Head Seal carried a protective power that immunized him against all damage and consequences from shadow duels.

That should cover the soul-sealing penalty too, in theory.

Not that he had any intention of testing it by losing.

And besides, he remembered how this played out. Even if Atticus lost, the soul that got sealed wasn't truly his.

The mask, and the dark will residing in it, would serve as the substitute.

"Fine by me. Let's get started."

Rowan shrugged without particular concern, then looked across at the masked figure.

"One quick thing, though."

"..."

"Do you happen to have a spare Duel Disk? Could I borrow one?"

Darkness went briefly silent.

The composed, menacing atmosphere he had been carefully maintaining came extremely close to cracking.

He recovered.

Reached into the flames beside him. Pulled out a Duel Disk and tossed it across.

The round Kuriboh launched off Rowan's shoulder the moment it left the masked man's hand, caught it neatly with both tiny paws, and floated back down to deliver it with visible pride.

"Kriiiik!"

"Nice work, little guy."

Rowan scratched the top of the round Kuriboh's round head with a satisfied smile, took the Duel Disk from its stubby arms, and strapped it to his left wrist.

The red indicator light came on. The field arm extended.

Then he got a proper look at it.

"...Isn't this the one I left in my living room?"

His mouth twitched.

He had assumed for a moment that he was getting a free Duel Disk out of this.

Instead it turned out that the dark artifact's power had been used to run an errand to his cabin and fetch his own belongings.

Apparently the ancient power of shadow and darkness was, at its core, a delivery service.

"Rowan..."

Alexis was watching him with poorly concealed worry.

"Relax. This'll be over quickly."

He glanced over at her with a brief, easy smile.

"And the person on that side of the field might turn out to be a surprise for you."

Alexis went still for a moment, something flickering across her face as the words settled.

Rowan was already selecting a deck. Something appropriate for a friendly exchange with a future brother-in-law.

He slotted it into his Duel Disk.

Across the field, Darkness had done the same.

"Duel!"

"Duel!"

The word left both of them at the same moment.

Around the volcanic crater, the dark energy thickened and stirred, rising from the black rock walls and the magma lake below.

Both players' Life Point displays appeared.

4000 LP each.

"I'll go first. Draw!"

Darkness pulled a card from the top of his deck, glanced at it, and placed it on the Duel Disk without hesitation.

"Troop Dragon, in Defense Position!"

A flash of light. A green humanoid dragon appeared on his field, crouched low in a defensive stance, a short blade in each clawed hand.

Troop Dragon Level: 2 Attribute: Wind ATK: 700 DEF: 800

"Set one card. Turn end."

A face-down card materialized in his back row with a soft thud.

"Your move."

Rowan looked at the field and read the play in about half a second.

"You want to use Troop Dragon's effect, where it Special Summons another copy from your deck when it gets destroyed in battle. Stack up enough of them to build a proper lineup?"