Chapter 52 – The Strongest Duelists

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Syrus asked, while fastening the shock collars to Weevil's arms. "You could get seriously hurt."

"After what I've been through, I can handle a little more pain," Weevil said.

"A 'little' isn't what I'm going to offer," Zane said while Weevil got the last shock collar on his neck. "You're about to enter a whole new world of pain."

"You're gonna need more than some electric dog collars to beat me," Weevil said, putting his Duel Disk on and activating it.

Is he confident or just ignorant? Missy couldn't help but wonder.

"You'd better give me all you've got, former Champion," Zane said, putting on his Duel Disk and activating it as well.

"Well, I guess there's no talking you out of it," Syrus said, stepping to the sidelines. "Good luck."

"You've already got this in the bag, Zane!" Missy cheered.

"DUEL!" Both duelists shouted as their Life Points were set to 4000.

Down on the beach…

The girls sat on the sidelines with the patience of saints as Rex and Atticus prepped their decks.

"I can't believe this guy has the gall to challenge Rhodie," Jasmine said angrily.

"Well, either way we do get to watch him duel," Mindy said.

And as though on cue, Atticus looked over at the girls and winked, causing them to swoon and Rex to sweatdrop.

"Are you gonna be doing that the entire duel?" Rex asked irritably.

"Not really," Atticus said, putting on his duel disk. "For now, you have my undivided attention. And I'm gonna go at you with everything I've got."

"Well, color me flattered," Rex said with a smirk, "but I won't need everything I've got to take you on."

"We shall see."

"DUEL!" Both duelists' Life Points were set to 4000.


"The first move is mine!" Weevil said, drawing a card. And he just couldn't hide that sinister grin. Heh heh! I've already got everything I need! "I'm going to end this quick! I summon Pinch Hopper (1000/1200) in Attack Mode!" Weevil's grasshopper monster took to the field, looking like it's ready to pinch off something. "I'll also set two cards face down and end my turn."

"Pretty small for someone who wants to end things quick," Zane said, drawing a card. "Let me show you my opening gambit. I summon my Cyber Dragon (2100/1600) in Attack Mode." Zane's monster was a sort of robotic serpent dragon.

"Wait a minute!" Weevil said, looking slightly peeved. "You can't summon a Level 5 monster just like that! You're cheating!"

"Like you're one to complain about cheating," Zane said in a nonchalant tone, causing Weevil to growl. "Besides, I can summon this without a sacrifice since you have a monster and I don't. That's its special ability. Now if you don't mind, I think I'll attack your Pinch Hopper. Cyber Dragon, attack with Strident Blast!"

Cyber Dragon charged up a bright blue light in its mouth, which it then blasted at Pinch Hopper, thereby completely obliterating it. Weevil (LP: 2900) had to shield himself from the blast.

"You might want to brace yourself for this," Zane said with a smirk.

"Why? What's going to ha-AAAAAAAAAGH!" Just like that, the shock collars kicked in and an electrical current started to surge through Weevil's body, making him scream involuntarily. On the sidelines, Missy and Syrus couldn't help but cringe.

"That's gotta hurt," Missy said.

"I'm hurting just watching that," Syrus said.

Eventually, Weevil stopped screaming as the current died down. He took a few seconds to catch his breath and push up his glasses.

"Did you enjoy getting electrocuted?" Zane asked, folding his arms.

"No. So what?" Weevil snapped. "At any rate, by destroying my Pinch Hopper, you triggered its special ability! When it's sent to the graveyard, I can summon any Insect-type monster I want from my hand." Once again, that familiar smirk appeared on Weevil's face. "And what better to summon than my Insect Queen (2200/2400)?"

Emerging on the field was one of Weevil's ace monsters, the terrifying Insect Queen. It seemed to take a few seconds to materialize due to its sheer size and once it was finished, it let out a horrific shriek as its Attack Points suddenly rose to 2400.

"Surprised?" Weevil asked in his smug tone. "Her Majesty's Attack power increases for every Insect monster on the field, including the Queen herself! Looks like you didn't think things through."

"Unlike you, I can afford not to," Zane said, taking another card from his hand. "I'll set one card face down and end my turn."

"Then it's back to me!" Weevil drew his next card and looked at it. "I summon Skull-Mark Ladybug (500/1500)!" Skull-Mark Ladybug took to the field, gnashing its little mandibles. Plus, Insect Queen's power rose to 2600 as well. "Now I know you're thinking, why summon such a weak monster in Attack Mode? It's simple, really. Her Majesty cannot attack without a quick snack. And what better meal than her loyal servants? Insect Queen, devour Skull-Mark Ladybug!"

The Insect Queen snatched up the Ladybug and pinned it to the ground before sinking her fangs into its flesh. Just like before, Syrus looked queasy as Insect Queen messily devoured her servant, leaving a mess of chewed up bug guts. Missy, however, just narrowed her eyes, though she looked slightly blue in the face.

"Well. That's pleasant," Missy uttered.

"Now it's time to attack!" Weevil shouted. "Destroy Cyber Dragon!"

Insect Queen crawled forward and raised an arm, but Zane took this opportunity to raise a face down card.

"That's as far as you go, Your Highness," Zane said. "I activate Attack Reflector Unit. This allows me to upgrade my Cyber Dragon to Cyber Barrier Dragon (800/2800). And I'll bring it out in Defense Mode!"

Insect Queen's claws clashed against the sudden electric barrier made by Zane's Cyber Barrier Dragon, another robotic serpent dragon, with some sort of satellite looking collar around its neck. And as Weevil's Life Points dropped to 2500 (After Insect Queen's Attack dropped back to 2400), Weevil felt another jolt from his collar, though it didn't hurt as much since he only lost a few Life Points that time. Still, Weevil couldn't help but rub his neck.

"I know the ins and outs of your Insect Queen full well," Zane said, folding his arms. "In order to maintain her Attack Points, she lays an egg, but only if she's able to destroy my monster. What kind of duelist do you take me for?"

"One who didn't expect this!" Weevil raised his Duel Disk to show his Life Point counter jumping to 3900. Zane's eyes widened just a little bit. "Clearly you didn't factor in my Skull-Mark Ladybug. When it's sent to the Graveyard, it increases my Life Points by 1000!"

"I see you're a little crafty," Zane said.

"And I see you're running scared, hiding behind your Dragon like that," Weevil said with a sneer. "Now, I'll end my turn."

"Very well."


"Allow me to make the first move," Atticus said, drawing his first card with a slight flourish. "I'll summon Troop Dragon (700/800) in Defense Mode." Atticus' first monster was a rather small dragon with gladiator-esque armor and a spear. Not very impressive. "I'll end my turn there."

"Pretty lame for your first turn," Rex said, drawing his first card. "I'll show you a real monster! I summon Two-Headed King Rex (1600/1200) in Attack Mode!" Rex's two-headed monster took to the field with a roar, scaring away a random flock of seagulls. "Smash that dumb Troop Dragon!"

It didn't take long for King Rex to take to the air and stomp Troop Dragon flat. Atticus didn't look fazed in the least. In fact, he was smiling. The same could not be said for the girls, however.

"Booooo!"

Rex couldn't help but flinch. They were actually booing him! "WHAT?"

"It's all right, ladies," Atticus said, cool as a cucumber. "Troop Dragon's got a special ability, remember? When it's destroyed in battle, I can summon another Troop Dragon from my deck." And just as he said, another Troop Dragon appeared on the field, much to King Rex's surprise.

"Whatever," Rex grumbled as Atticus shuffled his deck. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

"Excellent. I draw!" Atticus drew his next card and looked at it. "Ooh, that's a nice one. I activate the Spell, Cost Down!"

"Uh oh." Rex's eyes went wide open.

"Judging by your 'uh oh' I'm guessing you know that, in exchange for a card in my hand, I can level down the monsters in my hand by two stars. Now I sacrifice my Troop Dragon…" Atticus paused for a smile with a twinkle from his shiny white teeth. "…and summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)!"

"Wait. W-What?"

"You heard me," Atticus said, raising a finger to the sky. "Red-Eyes! Come on dooooown!" Materializing on the field was a giant black dragon with glowing red eyes and horns lined along its head and jaws. It spread its long wings as it touched down on the sand.

The girls burst into cheers while Rex's jaw simply hung open in utter shock. "Red…Red-Eyes?" A brief flashback played in his mind as he dueled a certain blonde monkey with that very same card. He lost the card as a result and, in a much later duel, the blonde guy used that very same monster right back against him.

"You seem shocked," Atticus said. "Just wait 'til you see this attack!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Rex snapped, lifting his face down card. "I activate Threatening Roar!" Two-Headed King Rex let out another loud roar that practically shook the entire beach. Red-Eyes Black Dragon felt a sweatdrop on the side of its head. "Looks like you can't attack this turn. Too bad, so sad."

"Yeah," Atticus said with a shrug. "Good thing I've got this: the Spell card, Inferno Fire Blast!" Red-Eyes took a deep breath and fired a black fireball directly at Rex, dropping his Life Points to 1600.

"What the hell?" Rex shouted. "I know I activated Threatening Roar! Red-Eyes shouldn't have been able to attack at all, much less directly!"

"It wasn't an attack, per se," Atticus explained. "The Inferno Fire Blast Spell card allows me to nail you for 2400 points of damage. That's equal to the Attack strength of one Red-Eyes Black Dragon I control. Of course, my Dragon can't attack for real when I activate this. I'm surprised I had to use it so soon. But hey, we're here to put on a show. Right, ladies?" And with a subsequent wink and a flip of his bangs, the girls went wild again.

"He's so cool!" Mindy shouted in glee.

"He's going all out already," Jasmine said with a blush on her face, "even against a Slifer!"

Rex was clearly irritated while Atticus was hamming it up for the ladies. "COME ON! What are you waiting for, Christmas? End your turn already!"

"Don't be a killjoy, dude," Atticus said. "I'll end my turn right now, okay?"

"Much better."


Zane calmly drew his next card. "I summon Exploder Dragon (1000/0) in Attack Mode!"

Zane's next monster was a medium-sized blue dragon clutching some sort of egg-shaped explosive. "In addition, I also switch my Cyber Barrier Dragon to Attack Mode (800)."

Weevil couldn't help but laugh. "Ha! What are they gonna do?"

"I'll show you! Exploder Dragon, attack Insect Queen!"

Weevil was clearly baffled, but paid it no mind as Insect Queen pinned down and slashed up Exploder Dragon as it flew in close.

"Another mistake you made!" Weevil jeered.

"Is it, really?"

Once again, Weevil was baffled and didn't notice that the Exploder Dragon's bomb was left over on the field. The bomb exploded right underneath Insect Queen, blowing a hole through her greedy gullet and making her disintegrate afterward.

"HUH?" Clearly, Weevil didn't see that one coming. "Wh-What just happened?"

"Fool. That's Exploder Dragon's special ability," Zane explained. "When it's destroyed in battle, it takes out the monster that destroyed it. Not only that, but neither of us take any battle damage."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"But I'm not done with you yet," Zane continued. "Cyber Barrier Dragon, attack the former champion directly! Sonic Shriek!"

Cyber Barrier Dragon fired a ring-shaped burst of pink energy from the ring around its neck, dropping Weevil's Life Points to 3100. With that 800 point drop came another shock to Weevil's system. "Ghh…Ghhkgk…" Weevil sputtered through clenched teeth.

"Don't hold in your screams," Zane said with a smirk. "Embrace the pain. It's a reminder that you're still alive."

"Rrrgh…" Weevil paused to wipe his mouth. "Just end your turn."

"Fine. Go ahead. Put up your feeble resistance."

Weevil drew his next card. "I summon Flying Kamakiri #2 (1500/800) in Attack Mode!"

Weevil's mantis monster took to the field, sharpening its blades. "Attack Cyber Barrier Dragon! Kama Cutter!"

"I activate Barrier Dragon's ability!" Once again, Cyber Barrier Dragon put up its barrier, causing Flying Kamakiri #2 to crash right into it and bounce back. For some reason, Weevil felt the need to shield himself.

"…Nothing happened?"

"If you think I'd switched my Cyber Barrier Dragon to Defense Mode," Zane explained, "you'd be wrong. When it's in Attack Mode, my Dragon can negate one of your attacks."

"…Oh."

"It's just as I suspected," Zane said, shaking his head. "You're completely unprepared to come against me."

He's right, Syrus thought. Zane's been leading Weevil into making one mistake after another this entire duel.

"I'll show you how prepared I am," Weevil retorted. "I'll place another card face down and end my turn!"

"Play all the traps you want," Zane said, drawing his next card. "It's all for nothing. I summon Cyberdark Edge (800/800) in Attack Mode!" Weevil raised an eyebrow at Zane's next monster, a metallic black centipede-looking machine with razor sharp wings. "Next, I'll activate my Edge's special ability." Cyberdark Edge stretched out several wires from its body into some sort of dimensional hole, from which it dragged out…

"Exploder Dragon?"

"Surprised? My Cyberdark Edge has dragged Exploder Dragon back from the Grave and siphoned its power into its own Attack points." And just as he said, Cyberdark Edge's Attack power jumped up to 1800. "But that's not all. Cyberdark Edge can also attack directly, in exchange for half its Attack strength."

With Exploder Dragon in tow, Cyberdark Edge spread its sharp wings and came flying at Weevil.

"Oh no you don't!" Weevil raised one of his face down cards. "I activate…"


Rex drew his next card. "I activate Polymerization! I'll fuse my Two-Headed King Rex with the Crawling Dragon #2 in my hand to summon Bracchio-Raidus (2200/2000)!" Rex's giant blue sauropod stomped into the field in Attack Mode. "Not only that, but I normal summon Kabazauls (1700/1500) in Attack Mode!" Kabazauls materialized on the field as well, briefly wiping its nostrils. "Plus, I'll add on the Equip Spell, Raise Body Heat, pumping up my Bracchio-Raidus' Attack and Defense points by 300 (2500/2200)! Now attack, Bracchio-Raidus! Crush Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Bracchio-Raidus bellowed as it charged toward Red-Eyes Black Dragon and swung its tail right in the dragon's face, making it shatter and lowering Atticus' Life Points to 3900. "It's your turn, Kabazauls!" Rex ordered. "Attack!" Kabazauls clumsily stomped over, raising an arm to attack, but instead let out a mighty sneeze that kicked up a big cloud of sand. "And this round goes to the herbivores!"

Atticus coughed and rubbed his eyes as his Life Points dropped to 2200. "Well, that's just bogus."

Rex could hear the girls complaining about the sand getting in their eyes or their hair. "Oh, boo hoo. I'll just end my turn now."

"Ugh. Fine." Atticus said, drawing his next card. "I summon Spear Dragon (1900/0) in Attack Mode!" The monster Atticus summoned was a blue squat-looking dragon with a long pointed snout resembling a spear. "Attack Kabazauls! Cyclone Blast!" Spear Dragon spread its wings and took to the air before spinning around like a drill and skewering Kabazauls, shattering it as a result before jumping back (Rex LP: 1400). "Next, I'll set two cards face down and Spear Dragon switches to Defense Mode. That ends my turn."

"Defense Mode won't keep you safe!" Rex said, drawing his next card. Darn it, why haven't I drawn any Trap cards? "Bracchio-Raidus, destroy Spear Dragon!" Once again, Bracchio-Raidus stomped over and tail-smacked Spear Dragon, causing it to shatter.

"That doesn't bother me," Atticus said.

"Oh well," Rex said. "Get ready for me to finish you off next turn!"

"Whatever you say," Atticus said, drawing his next card. "I'll activate my face down cards! First off is Mystical Space Typhoon! This'll take care of your Body Heat card!"

Rex flinched as Raise Body Heat shattered.

"Next, I activate Call of the Haunted and bring back my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Red-Eyes emerged on the field again with a shriek.

"So you're gonna destroy my dino. Big deal. I've got more where that came from!"

Atticus loudly cleared his throat. "If you'd let me finish, I would say I'm going to soup up my Red-Eyes first! You see, I can tribute this monster in order to summon…wait for it…Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon (2400/2000)!"

"Darkness Dragon?"


"…Compulsory Evacuation Device! Back to the hand, Cyberdark Edge!"

Cyberdark Edge disappeared from the field as Zane returned his card to his hand. "It's of little consequence. Next I'll play Future Fusion! This allows me to summon a Fusion Monster next turn. But I must send the appropriate material monsters from my deck to the Graveyard. So…I'll no longer need these!" Zane nearly ripped out half his deck, scattering his cards into the air. Weevil, Missy, and Syrus were all shocked at this.

"Are you serious?" Weevil shouted. "Are you deliberately throwing away all those cards?"

"This isn't good," Syrus said. "Be careful, Weevil! Zane's gonna summon something big next turn!"

"It doesn't matter," Weevil said, drawing his next card. "Whatever it is, won't even touch me! I activate my face down cards: DNA Surgery and Insect Barrier! DNA Surgery allows me to turn every monster on the field into an Insect!" And just as he said, Cyber Barrier Dragon started twitching like crazy as spindly insect legs sprouted from each of its joints. "And as the name implies, Insect Barrier prevents all insects from attacking by any means! My next step is to get rid of your Cyber Barrier Dragon! So I play the Spell Premature Burial! In exchange for 800 Life Points (LP: 2300), I summon Insect Queen (2200/2400) from my Graveyard!"

Insect Queen crawled up from the ground and let out a horrific shriek as its Attack points went up to 2800.

"Next, I'll summon Neo Bug (1800/1700) in Attack Mode!" Weevil's mantis monster took to the field, sharpening its mandibles. With that, Insect Queen's Attack power went up to 3000. "I'll start by attacking with Flying Kamakiri #2!" Flying Kamakiri took to the air and took a swipe at Barrier Dragon, only to have it bounce back again from the barrier.

"I'm assuming you remembered my Cyber Barrier Dragon can negate your attack," Zane said, unimpressed.

"I do remember," Weevil said with his trademark sneer. "But it doesn't work more than once, does it?"

Zane narrowed his eyes and growled.

"This is great!" Syrus said. "He could take out Zane's Life Points just like that!" Missy, however, felt the need to chew on her thumbnail.

"Neo Bug, destroy Cyber Barrier Dragon once and for all!" Neo Bug skittered forward and chopped up Cyber Barrier Dragon with its razor-sharp mandibles, dropping Zane's Life Points to 2800. "Now let's see how you like getting zapped!"

Just as Weevil said, Zane's shock collars began to electrocute him, but he didn't even flinch. Weevil gritted his teeth.

"Nothing? Then how about a bigger shock? Insect Queen, devour Flying Kamakiri #2 and attack pretty boy directly!" Insect Queen snatched up Flying Kamakiri, briefly tossing it in the air before catching it in her mouth and sucking whatever fluids it had dry. The rest disintegrated as Insect Queen's points dropped to 2600. Insect Queen then stomped over towards Zane and swiped away at him with both claws. Zane's shock collars kicked into overdrive as his Life Points dropped to 200. However, he still remained cool as a cucumber as the Insect Queen laid an egg, raising her Attack points back to 2800.

"Ooooh, so close," Missy uttered.

"Really?" Weevil shouted in raw disbelief. "You're not even hurt? I'm betting your collars aren't even on!"

"Oh, they're very much active," Zane said, placing a hand on the collar on his neck. "I've been wearing these collars for so long, they don't even bother me anymore. That being said, those last two attacks actually tickled a little. To think I can still feel pain…"

Weevil growled at how calm Zane was. "Don't go thinking you're so cool! I swear I'll finish you off next turn!"

"There is no next turn for you," Zane said, drawing his next card, "because my Future Fusion card is ready to bear fruit! Come forth, Chimeratech Overdragon!"

Descending from above on Zane's side of the field was an enormous metallic dragon with six twisting heads. Syrus and Missy stared up at Chimeratech Overdragon in utter awe. Weevil stared up at the thing, looking like he was about to wet his pants…at least until Overdragon started writhing and started to sprout insect legs, antennae on each head, and a pair of giant tattered moth wings.

"Heh heh…heh heh…" Weevil started laughing out of relief. "Hahahahaha! So much for that! It certainly looks flashy, but it still gets a little DNA Surgery of its own! And with Insect Barrier on the field, you can't…"

"Chimeratech Overdragon's Attack and Defense points," Zane rudely interrupted, "are totaled up to 800 times the number of fusion material monsters I tossed to the Graveyard. Since I tossed away ten monsters, that makes its Attack Strength 8000."

"DON'T INTERRUPT MY SPEECH!" Weevil snapped.

"In addition, it can attack as many times as the number of material monsters I used for the fusion."

"Will you listen to me?" Weevil snapped again, stamping his foot on the ground. "I'm telling you, even if that thing has a million points, it can't attack with Insect Barrier on the field!"

"And by the way," Zane continued, "I have another card to play: Mystical Space Typhoon!"

And just like that, Weevil turned white as a sheet. "…?"

"Now, what were you saying about your DNA Surgery?"


Red-Eyes Black Dragon's armored hide cracked little by little before exploding. Amidst the smoke, a new dragon emerged: one slightly larger Red-Eyes with orange highlights, more spikes, and large bladed wings.

It was safe to say that Rex was impressed. "Hoooo-leeeee…"

"It gets better! Darkness Dragon gets an extra 300 Attack points for each Dragon in the graveyard." Atticus paused to rub his chin. "So, let's see…that's two Troop Dragons and one Red-Eyes Black Dragon which makes…"

"Thirty-three hundred Attack points!" Mindy said with a very enthusiastic jump.

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon roared as its Attack Strength went up to 3300.

"But I can see that won't be enough," Atticus continued, "so I'll summon my last card, Red-Eyes Wyvern (1800/1600)!" The last monster from Atticus' hand was a little more than half the size of Red-Eyes Black Dragon, but had no arms and a slightly lighter shade of gray.

"This is gonna suck," Rex growled.

"Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, attack Bracchio-Raidus! Inferno Darkness Blast!" Darkness Dragon launched a fireball from its mouth, engulfing Bracchio-Raidus in flames. Rex had to shield himself from the heat as his Life Points dropped to 1100. "Now that that's out of the way...Wyvern! FINISH HIM!" Red-Eyes Wyvern kicked up a fierce gale with its wings, sending Rex tumbling back several feet.

"Rrrrgh!" Rex pounded his fist in the sand as his Life Points dropped to zero.

"Yay! Rhodie won!" seemed to summarize the deluge of cheers from the girls on the sidelines. They were about ready to rush Atticus down, but he raised a hand, causing them to practically freeze in place. As the holograms vanished, Atticus strolled over and held his hand out for Rex to grab.

"Not a bad duel," Atticus said with a grin, "if I say so myself. Especially on my part."

"Grrrr…" Rex simply pushed himself up off the sand and brushed off his coat.

"Oh come on!" Jasmine shouted. "You could at least thank him for the duel!"

"It was fun to watch!" Mindy shouted. "THANK HIM!"

"WHO ASKED YOU ANYWAY?" Rex snapped at the girls. "Listen, beach bum. I am gonna get stronger, you hear me? And I'm gonna duel you again! And then I'm gonna take those Red-Eyes cards for myself!"

"The nerve of this guy!" Mindy shouted, ready to pull her hair out…or pull Rex's hair out.

"Hey, no skin off my neck." Everyone on the beach was dumbstruck by what Atticus just said. "You've got yourself a goal now. Work for it like you mean it, dude."

Rex continued to glare at Atticus before stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. "Thanks…I guess."

"By the way," Atticus spoke again, "you might want to look for your friend. If I know Zane, he's gonna be putting that kid through the wringer."

"So what? It's just a duel," Rex said, walking away.

"A duel with electric shock collars."

"Huh?" Rex stopped and turned around.

"Shock collars," Atticus said in a more serious tone. "They use them in the Underground Duel Circuit to inflict real pain. Every time a duelist loses Life Points, they deliver an electric shock to the duelist. And unfortunately, Zane has a bad habit of going overboard."

"WHAT?"


Weevil jumped as his DNA Surgery shattered. "I suppose the old me would commend you for getting my Life Points so low. But right now, I'm irritated that I allowed trash like you to live this long. You and your monsters deserve the most painful death imaginable." As the insect parts on Chimeratech Overdragon rotted off and scattered into the wind, Weevil's eye twitched as all six heads fixed on his position. "Chimeratech Overdragon, give the former Champion of Japan exactly what he deserves. Final Evolution Burst!"

Both Syrus and Missy had to shield themselves as Overdragon charged up a laser in each of its mouths and fired a barrage of yellow energy blasts at Weevil. You could barely hear him scream as his monsters disintegrated, his Life Points dropped to zero, and his electric collars went into overdrive in the process.

"Weevil Underwood," Zane said, "…welcome to Hell."


Duo-san: No, things aren't looking to good. Thanks for noticing. I apologize for keeping you waiting, but I've had a lot of things to worry about. Chief among them being that I'm going to be an uncle in a month or so! Can you believe it?

Anyway, I'm currently working on the next chapter. Hopefully, since there's no dueling action, it won't take so long this time. But we do have a heck of a Halloween party to look forward to with costumes galore! Plus a special guest: the woman in red's true identity will be revealed soon!