—Hey. You there. The person reading these thoughts. Can you give me your honest opinion?
Do monsters truly exist?
According to legend, sorcerers once created monsters with magic. They sealed insects into a jar and watched as they fought to the death. The survivor went on to devour the others and emerged as a Kodoku demon. That's an evil spirit, one whose curses could kill any creature it touched. Right now, modern society is replicating this process. Yeah, yeah. I know how it sounds, but I've seen as much for myself.
The wind was blowing. Flakes of ice cut into our skin from the glacier, bathing us in a freezing mist that threatened to make us drop dead. Even those in fur coats and jackets shivered with each step they took, gripping themselves to hold onto every last piece of warmth they could find. Only the glow of the distant campus pushed us to keep moving forward, and by the time we finally got back to the gates, we'd all grown too weak to move. It was at that moment that our class's professor decided to throw us a curveball.
"Duel! Duel and the last one standing shall not be expelled!"
I'm sure you can figure things out from there. Only one student could pass. They'd eat a warm meal and sleep in a bed while the rest of us got sent back home. There was no mercy. No respite for the Duelists who drew a brick hand. Only the cold embrace of the snow that would follow them on their way back.
So, are you starting to get it now? The test back then was a Kodoku. It took a large group and forced us to fight until only one person remained. That's why, if somebody asked, I'd tell them that monsters existed. After all, most of these "monsters" are just humans like you and me.
Think about it. Doesn't humanity spawn the greatest of monsters? Murderers. Kidnappers. Those who use war for profit. But for all their lies, for all their thefts, for all their unforgivable sins, there remains yet another monster far more deadly than all of the rest. Like the others, this monster doesn't hesitate to indulge in their darkness. They may commit murder, theft, or any other number of atrocities freely. But unlike the others, their threat comes in how they manage to hide their dark deeds. They wear masks that disguise them as a kind neighbor or a close friend.
Against such a monster, the unsuspecting will find themselves as its quarry, incapable of realizing the danger until it's too late to react. Knowing this, I wonder if humanity can really co-exist with such creatures. One thing's for sure. These guys couldn't, and that's why things wound up like this.
"Flame Wingman, let's go! Attack Konami directly!"
How fitting for a "Hero of Justice" to serve as my final opponent.
So, how did things come to this? And why am I dueling this person?
To answer that, we'll have to look back at the events that led to this day.
TAG FORCE ALTERNATIVE: LEARNING TO DUEL
LESSON ONE
END
