Chapter 153:

Rowan never in a thousand years would have guessed it.

The very first time a card would "awaken" into a genuine female Duel Spirit for him, it would happen like this.

Winning a Shadow Duel trial, then walking away with a card gifted straight from the Gravekeeper clan.

"Mister Gravekeeper, though, with Gravekeeper's Assailant gone from your deck now, won't that leave you short-handed against whoever else comes wandering in here?"

Rowan asked, puzzled, turning the card over in his hand after accepting it.

He'd already seen plenty of the clan's rank and file, Foot Soldiers and Spearmen and the like, practically stamped from the same mold, easy to spot a dozen at a glance.

But someone like this Gravekeeper's Assailant seemed to be one-of-a-kind.

It wasn't hard for Rowan to work out the rest.

Now that her card had been handed to him, the Elder's own deck was probably left without her entirely.

Jaden and the others had clearly landed on the same thought, all of them turning questioning looks toward the Gravekeeper Elder.

Having watched two of his duels firsthand, it wasn't hard to see why.

This was the one monster capable of flipping an opponent's battle position on attack, and she'd clearly been the backbone of the Elder's entire offense.

Most high ATK monsters didn't come with matching DEF, after all, and she'd been covering for exactly that weakness in his deck.

"No, young man. What you used against me today has already opened up entirely new possibilities for our clan."

The Gravekeeper Elder smiled as he offered his thanks.

"I intend to have some of our suitable clansmen retrain in the direction of Gravekeeper's Cannonholder."

"So even without Gravekeeper's Assailant's strength, the clan's overall power won't suffer for it in the slightest!"

Rowan's expression went subtly complicated.

Alexis, Professor Banner, and Jaden all blinked, then their faces twisted into something equally strange.

In other words, the Gravekeeper Elder was planning to copy the thoroughly cursed deck Rowan had just used, and turn it loose on whichever poor soul happened to trespass into this temple next.

The four of them turned to look at Rowan with matching, complicated expressions.

Shouldn't every future intruder unlucky enough to stumble in here owe this guy a ten-thousand-word letter of bitter, tearful complaint, in advance?

"Ahem. Well, that's really not my problem."

Rowan cleared his throat.

Who could have predicted the Elder would take a torment combo and turn it into a whole career path for his own people.

Not that it mattered either way. He had plenty of counters if it ever came down to it.

He changed the subject instead. "By the way, which direction is the exit?"

He technically knew there was a way out. He just couldn't quite remember where it was anymore.

The Gravekeeper temple had more twists, turns, and dead ends than he'd expected.

Even the round Kuriboh probably couldn't have found its way back through this maze.

Jaden and the perpetually squint-eyed Professor Banner both blinked at the question, turning to the Elder for an answer.

"Please, follow me. I'll guide you the rest of the way."

Gravekeeper's Assailant stepped forward, pulling back her black hood and the cloth veiling her face as she spoke.

"When the three suns above briefly merge into one, that's when the passage between our two worlds opens, if only for a moment. Pass through the Gravekeeper temple's gate in that instant, and you'll be through."

"Oh? So Gravekeeper's Assailant turns out to be quite the beauty."

Professor Banner scratched his head, laughing a little awkwardly at the sight of her bared face, fumbling out a few polite pleasantries.

Though he did feel a small pang of regret. Even after the whole duel with the Elder, he'd never gotten a real look at whatever strange, powerful force Rowan kept hidden away.

"Having a big sister like that following him around everywhere, Rowan's luck is honestly a little unfair... waaah!"

Syrus and Chumley were both drowning in envy, tears welling up against their will.

Only Jaden looked completely unbothered, scratching his head in confusion.

"Hmph."

Alexis crossed her arms and let out a small huff, her mood souring for no reason she could quite name.

During the duel itself, none of this had even occurred to her.

It was only now that it struck her: on top of that vampire maid Camula, Rowan was apparently about to add yet another Duel Spirit to his collection.

An assassin, this time.

At least it was only a Duel Spirit.

Alexis let out a small breath of relief at that thought.

From what she'd gathered recently, ordinary people in the real world couldn't normally see Duel Spirits at all, let alone touch them.

So there was no immediate need to worry about this Gravekeeper's Assailant posing any kind of threat to her.

Rowan, naturally, heard Alexis's quiet huff loud and clear. It left him more than a little awkward.

Though he also couldn't help noticing something. Whatever this was, it seemed to work remarkably well on Alexis.

Worth keeping in mind for later, he decided.

Guided by the young Gravekeeper's Assailant, the group soon found themselves back at the same strange, living gate they'd first come through.

Overhead, the three suns, drifting along with the time they'd spent in this world, had nearly merged back into one already.

"Timing's just about right." Rowan glanced up, satisfied.

A low hum rolled through the air.

The next instant, a familiar curtain of shimmering, rainbow-colored light flared to life.

Rowan and the others shut their eyes on reflex, throwing up a hand to shield their faces, as the scenery around them blurred and dissolved into haze.