Demon Subaru was trying his best not to chuckle as he stood hidden in the kitchen's shadows. It was all coming back to him: the adrenaline rush, the actual joy of stalking prey. He had thoroughly relished every moment of his very first murder since he returned to Earth. It had been so long since he last felt the scent of blood, let alone tasted it. Truly he was lost in the euphoria of madness he so craved.
But deep inside something was bothering him. The way he disposed of that kid was not swift enough, it was almost like how a wild animal mauled its unsuspecting prey that it had stalked for a good amount of time. This human incarnation that he gained, it was not as strong as the body he had once possessed. But why? Was it a mere copy? Or maybe it was incomplete due to the nature of his evil spirit?
Shaking those concerns off, he returned to more practical issues. If he were caught then and there, he wouldn't be able to put up a fight with the entirety of them, so for the moment he decided to remain hidden and do a few more murders in order to regain his strength. Fortunately, he had snatched a sleeveless hooded black jacket from a store before he began any of his murders, so at the very least his identity was concealed.
But still, he needed to feed off of their negative emotions of fear, sorrow and wrath to grow his power, as well as off of their bodies to sustain himself. Of one thing he was sure, he was not connected anymore to that pesky human he had once taken over, and for that he was grateful. At the very least he was independent.
His attention returned to the gruesome scene in the cafeteria. He watched how a blond kid tried to get to the corpse, only to be stopped by the kitchen staff. The same kid then witnessed how the paramedics took the bloodied mess of a body and placed it on a gurney, covering it quickly with black sheets. As they took it away, he burst into sobbing, his colleagues trying their best to console him. Yes, those tears were so delightful.
Soon enough, the police arrived and began investigating the entire campus area. Courses were suspended for the rest of that day, but the students were not allowed to leave until they were all interrogated at the dean's office in order for the authorities to find out more about the victim. Demon Subaru watched said interrogations from the comfortably safe spot of the vent. Most of them were boring, as the majority of those interviewed knew little to nothing about the kid he murdered. But then the blond one came in, and that was when his interest piqued.
"State your name," the policeman who sat on the dean's seat sternly demanded.
"Hajime Shirayama," the student answered and sat down in front of him.
"Let's make this quick, son. Did you know the victim?"
"He was my best friend."
A gleam appeared in the eyes of the man, finally he had a lead. Another question followed, "Did he have any enemies?"
"No." Hajime shook his head. "He was a little hotheaded and…" The young one suppressed a sob. "…and sometimes he annoyed a few people. But that's it."
"Did he deal with illegal drugs or other shady things?"
"No, he was a normal guy." He defended his friend, and then memories of their times together began to flood, causing him to clench his trembling fist and speak in a shaking voice. "H-he liked sports… and video games. He j-just wanted… to have fun."
"Then there has to be something. Nobody would do such a thing to him unless it was personal."
"I don't know. He hung out with normal students. He had nothing to do with gangs."
"I see." The policeman quickly took some notes. "We'll contact his parents tonight. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"
"Yes, if you find anything about the one who did it, please inform me," Hajime asked with a determined look in his eyes.
"I don't know about that. Civilians aren't allowed in police business."
"With all due respect, officer, I will not let such a thing pass by. I swear that I'll find whoever did that to Ken and bring them to justice!"
"This is real life, not Law & Order. Just go home and stay safe, son."
Hajime gave a small groan and got up to leave. He did not like the fact that he was belittled just because he was a mere civilian. He also wished to be involved in the case, and he would in one way or another, for he would not find rest until he managed to avenge his best friend.
Demon Subaru witnessed the entire scene with a large grin on his face. So Hajime was the name of that kid. He liked his determination and decided to keep an eye on him in the future. But for the time being, the fear and despair of that college was empowering his body, which was all he needed in order to fully get back on his feet. Soon he would turn that building into his first base, from which his true conquest would begin.
Later, as the fall of evening approached, he had explored every inch of the college campus and managed to make a mental map. Thus he waited for the police vehicles to leave the area, after which he cleverly snuck out by the air vent, falling right into a bush. Blending with the shadows, he made his way through the darkness, exiting the campus site and seeking refuge in a nearby alleyway.
His back against a concrete wall, he stared at the starry sky and wondered what his next move was going to be. Obviously he needed to kill a few more humans in order to gain power, but after that he had to take a crucial step. He tried recalling his previous plan, the one which had somehow failed. The vortex which sucked reality itself, the power to take that which was destroyed and remake it however you pleased. Yes, that was possible, through a creature which had attained the power of all five civilizations. But not just any creature, it was a dragheart, one composed of five other cards. Then it dawned on him – that dragheart had been separated upon his defeat. Closing his eyes, he tried to mentally get in contact with it once again.
"All Over The World…" he called it out in his thoughts.
A vision came. He saw this imposing titanic being created from five buildings. It was floating in the vastness of space, but its main humanoid body stared him right in the eyes. And then it broke into five pieces, each of them becoming a card that went to a human. But he knew those humans all too well, they had managed to defeat him and foil his master plan way back, and oh how he hated them for that. So now the pieces were in their possession.
How sweet…
All of a sudden, he was awoken from the vision as he felt another presence in the alleyway. Looking around, he spotted a mugger in his late thirties, wearing rugged clothes. The man pulled out a pocket knife and approached him menacingly, saying, "Alright, hand over yer money and I'll let ya go."
The fool clearly did not know who he was up against. A small smile exposed a couple of sharp fangs. Demon Subaru pulled off the hood and turned to greet him, staring at him with his black and red eyes.
"Woah, what bullshit cosplay convention rejected ya?" Was the grunt's initial reaction, but he was not swayed by the odd appearance and came up close to him, the knife now positioned between them. "Didn't ya hear me, pal? Gimme yer cash now!"
Demon Subaru grabbed his hand, tightening his grip as to have the thief let go of the weapon.
"The fuck yer doin'?!" he shouted and punched him in the face, hard.
The devilish one did not expect that. His body was still weak as a human's and he felt pain. Rolling on the ground, he bumped into a metallic trash bin. The mugger lashed at him, and before he could look up, the knife's blade sank into his left shoulder. Demon Subaru let out an inhuman hissed wail as blood squirted out of the fresh wound.
"Alright, we're doin' this the hard way," he arrogantly stated as he pulled out the blade and now placed it under the wounded one's chin. "Ya should've listened to me."
Was this really how he was going to end – at the mercy of a lowlife nobody? Was his struggle to return to that world in vain? No, he would not allow that! Rage began to fill his heart, and then his survival instincts bumped in; he fixated the attacker's smug face, growling like a wildcat. All of a sudden, Demon Subaru's nails grew into sharp claws and he slashed the sharp weapon in half.
"Wha…" The thief was taken aback by the lack of a blade in his hand.
In the very next moment, the clawed hands grabbed his neck and he was lifted a bit above his would-be victim's head.
"Ya picked the wrong target, pal," the angered hiss resounded and then the claws slowly began to pierce the neck's skin.
The tables turned, the now terrified mugger looked around for something, anything to save him from the impending fate. Soon he saw the cards sticking out of a jean pocket, and he found the strength to mutter, "Y-yer a duelist?"
The short answer came and the claws continued their journey of piercing the skin, "None of your business."
"I-I ch-challenge ya… to a duel…" He reached for something in his jacket and took out a deck of cards.
And then the miracle happened, he dropped on the ground, landing hard on his butt. With his free hand he felt his neck, despite a few small marks there was no actual wound. Looking up, he saw that the other took out his deck as well, which glowed purple, much to his surprise. Two dueling tables suddenly arose from the earth, almost as if they were called upon.
"Come," Demon Subaru coldly invited him as he went to one of them and placed his cards.
The mugger would have considered making a run for it, but a gut feeling told him that he would have been swiftly followed and caught, so he complied and went to the other table, setting his cards. Much to his surprise, five teal-colored rectangles appeared above both of them, prompting him to ask, "Now what's this?"
"This is a real duel," his opponent answered.
"That's impossible! Them creatures ain't been around here for fifty years!" he reasoned.
"How pathetic… Well then, I am here to bring them back. Duel start!"
And thus began their match.
"I summon BloodRayne, Start Dash." A humanoid with cowboy features and a giant reptile skeleton on its right arm appeared by Demon Subaru's side.
"A creature…" The mugger's jaw dropped. "Right, my turn, I summon Bagin 16, First Squad." A cyclops with purple skin, clothed only by a green hospital pajama, his head covered by a black hood and his hands replaced with chainsaws, appeared by the man's side, much to his awe. So he could summon creatures in the real life as well!
"BloodRayne reduces her cost, so I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll."
A puppet with long white hair and red eyes, wearing a black and red dress as well as wielding a razor blade, appeared next to the cowboy humanoid and forced the mugger to reveal his hand. The cards in it were Gurudo 54, Dragon Armored, Rudolf Carnac, Babylon Gelg and Jari, Misfortune Demon 27. Demon Subaru took the time to read the effects and then he licked his fangs, uttering, "Keh, so you're playing a new kind of Mono Darkness Control. I like that. Discard Jari!" With one slash from Jenny's razor, the card fell into its owner's graveyard.
"Ya like discards, I'll give ya a bunch of those too – I summon Hemoglo, Demonic Doctor." A blue skinned blond bat-like doctor with a giant syringe under his right arm appeared and stuck his snake-like tongue out in expectation. "With Hemoglo's effect, ya choose and discard a card." The thief pointed at his opponent, who casually tossed Ninjariban, Dragon Edge into his graveyard. "Yer move."
"I summon Vader, Dark Armor." A knight in a metallic pale brown armor, with a horned skeletal helmet and wielding a shield, appeared. "At the end of my turn I activate Vader's effect and send the top card of my deck into the graveyard. If it's a creature, I draw a card." The top card was Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation, meaning that he could draw.
"I can do draws just as good!" the mugger protested. "I summon Rudolf Carnac." An elegantly-dressed black-skinned humanoid with a horned white head and a floating red cape appeared and then grabbed the doctor with its black hands and strangled him until he disappeared. "With Rudolf Carnac's effect, I destroy Hemoglo and draw two cards. Then I end my turn and if Hemoglo was destroyed during it, I can revive him!" The bat doctor once more returned and stuck out its tongue, the surprised demonic opponent giving a silent groan as he tossed Black Psycho, Revenge into the graveyard.
Much to his dismay, his next draw was not as good, so he charged mana and used Vader's effect once more, School Man landing in his graveyard and allowing him to draw.
"It's time to spice things up a little, I evolve Rudolf Carnac into Stomak, Electric Killer!" The fancy humanoid got enveloped by a purple aura and grew into a tall pink skinned doctor with two giant metallic fists and two syringes on its back. "When I put him into the battle zone, each of yer creatures gets -2000 power!" The doctor punched his fists and electroshocks went towards the opposing creatures, destroying BloodRayne and Jenny. "Then I attack with Stomak and return Jari from the graveyard to my hand, now go, double break his shields!" Heeding the order, the doctor pulled out both syringes and shot a pink liquid upon two opposing shields, melting them. "Bagin 16, break a shield as well!" Another attack order came and the cyclops patient jumped and cut one of the shields in half with his chainsaw hands.
A fanged smile came as the opponent took that card into his hand and then he revealed it to his opponent.
"Shield trigger activate, I summon Death Hands, Misfortune Emperor!" A horned knightly figure with a red cape and a large scythe appeared. "With his effect I destroy Stomak!"
Death Hands jumped at the pink doctor, who at first avoided him and then pulled out the syringes once more, shooting that liquid at him. The smaller creature avoided Stomak's attacks and went closer to him, and just as he was going to crush it with his metallic fists, the scythe cut him in half.
"Why ya lil… Hemoglo, break his shield!" The last attacking order came and the bat doctor aimed his syringe at one of the shields and shot a green liquid upon it, melting it as well. "I end here."
Things did not look good for Demon Subaru, seeing as he had just one shield left, but he would not give up that easily.
"I summon two Hell Mission, Dark Armor," he said and two purple armored knights, each wielding a shield and a sword, the symbol of a fist within a star on their shields, appeared. "Death Hands, destroy Hemoglo!" he ordered and the creature lashed at the other doctor, who did not have the time to defend himself with the syringe as he was swiftly cut in half with the scythe. "I end my turn and use Vader's effect." Magnum, Allshot Doll fell into his graveyard and he drew.
"That Hell Mission thing has Shield Saver. Yer becoming desperate to defend yerself, ey?" The mugger smiled at his opponent who stared at him in silence. "Very well, it's time for ya to see one of my trump cards – I summon Mukade, Asura!" he shouted and a giant cherry-colored centipede dressed as a doctor and wielding a syringe, a chainsaw, a knife and a skull in its four main limbs appeared by his side. "With Mukade's effect, I give -9000 to one of yer Hell Missions and destroy it!" he said and watched how the centipede used the chainsaw to cut one of the small knights.
"When Hell Mission leaves the battle zone, I destroy one of your untapped creatures, so I target Mukade," Demon Subaru announced and the fallen knight's sword went straight into the centipede's heart, causing the creature to explode.
"Ya shouldn't have done that!" The thief giggled excitedly. "When Mukade, Asura is destroyed, I can revive it and put it in the battle zone tapped!" He enjoyed the surprised look on his opponent's face as the giant centipede resurrected itself and then went for the other small purple knight and destroyed it as well.
"Tsh, with my other Hell Mission's effect I destroy your Bagin 16," the devilish one announced and a second sword went into the patient's chest, disposing of him as well.
Demon Subaru did not like the situation at all. Another dead draw that he placed into the mana zone. Now he was at the mercy of that reviving creature which kept reducing the power of his own. Maybe Vader would give him something good. He placed BloodRayne, Start Dash into the graveyard from the top of his deck and drew.
"Haha, now it's time for ya to see one of my other trump card!" his opponent announced. "I summon Jari, Misfortune Demon 27 and with its effect I put the top two cards of my deck into the graveyard and return Bagin 16 to my hand. Then I summon two Bagin 16, First Squad," A small blue robot wielding a shovel appeared along with the two cyclops patients. "Then I destroy all four of my creatures and summon Georges Bataille for free!"
One by one, all of the creatures exploded, and from the smoke emerged a tall humanoid dressed in an elegant purple robe and having a grey hat cover his dark face from which only the shining red eyes were distinguished. The creature pulled out a hammer and a nail and focused at the opponent.
"Since I have nine cards in my graveyard, Georges Bataille puts the top nine cards of my deck into the graveyard!" the mugger explained. "Then I revive Mukade, Asura and give -9000 power to ya Vader!" Thus the centipede was revived as well and its knife pierced the other knight's armor, ending him as well. "Now both my trump cards are in the battle zone and there's nothing ya can do about that! If ya try to destroy Mukade, he'll just come back. If ya try to get rid of Georges Bataille in any way, I'll just send 6 cards from my graveyard to the bottom of my deck and he'll stay! Next turn yer done for, freak!"
Backed into a corner, Demon Subaru began to feel the excitement of dueling once again after all that time. His right hand was then enveloped by a purple aura as he placed it on the top of his deck, saying, "You brought out your trump cards? Let me do the same!"
And then he drew his next card, quickly placing it into the battle zone.
"I summon Hellborof, Supreme Dragon Edge!" A purple wolf plush toy with dragon wings and horns, wearing short pants, a black coat, brown boxing gloves with blue spikes and an orange mask covering the upper part of its face appeared in the battle zone, wielding a red bone scythe. "With Hellborof's effect I put the top 2 cards of my deck into the graveyard." Savage, Forbidden U and Hayabusamaru, Lightfang Ninja landed into his graveyard. "Then I bring Welcome Hell, Supreme Devil King Palace from the hyperspatial zone into the battle zone!"
"H-hyperspatial zone?!" the thief repeated, in shock. "Them hyperspatial cards ain't been released in ages!"
"Now isn't that a shame?" Demon Subaru smirked as Hellborof used his scythe to create a hole in the sky, out of which a winged palace descended. "With Welcome Hell's effect I revive a Darkness creature that costs 5 or less, so I revive Hell Mission," he announced and the purple knight reappeared. "I end here."
"Oh no, I ain't standing for this. I summon Gurudo 54, Dragon Armored." A creature wearing a brown dragon's fossil appeared, wielding a large chainsaw. "With Gurudo 54's effect, I destroy my Mukade and yer Hell Mission," The creature then thrust its chainsaw into the centipede, and after it finished the cutting process it turned to the purple knight and ended its life once more.
"Hell Mission's effect, I destroy Georges Bataille." The hissed response came and the knight's sword went at the tall elegant creature, only to be slapped away.
"Georges Bataille's effect, I send 6 cards from my graveyard to the bottom of my deck and he stays! Then I revive Mukade, Asura and give -9000 to Hellborof!" The centipede reappeared and grabbed the wolf plush with its limbs and crushed it to death. "Georges Bataille, break his final shield!" The attack order came and the creature swung its hammer and smashed away the last opposing shield.
Demon Subaru took the card to his hand and his smile grew wider. The joy of dueling was becoming unbearable at that point and he let out a hissed laugh.
"Kehehehehe, shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign and revive Hellborof!" The wolf plush toy reappeared and made BloodRayne, Start Dash and Deadzone, S-Rank Zombie fall into the graveyard. "I equip Hellborof with Go To Hell, Annihilator Blade and its effect revives Ninjariban, Dragon Edge!" A blue ninja plush with white hair followed. "With Ninjariban's effect, I bring out Demon Wolf, Soul Eating Moonlight Castle from the hyperspatial zone into the battle zone!" Another hole in the sky appeared and out of it descended a dark blue castle that was shaped like a wolf in a howling position. "I start my turn and since I have 2 or more Darkness creatures… Dragsolution! Demon Wolf flips to Minagorosseo, Wolf Demon Dragon!" The castle grew four limbs and got up, giving a loud howl. "Minagorosseo gives slayer to each of my creatures. And now I expand Haridelberg, Hell of D!"
"Ya have D2 Fields too?!" the mugger exclaimed.
A metallic skull landed in the battle zone and caused dozens upon dozens of spikes to arise from the ground.
"Ninjariban, attack Georges Bataille and Welcome Hell shall revive Vader!" The shielded knight with a skull helmet reappeared.
In that moment, the mugger guessed his plan easily: now that his creatures were slayers, Georges Bataille would empty his own graveyard and then get destroyed. Unfortunately for him, he could not do much to prevent that and he watched how his purple robed creature disposed of the blue ninja plush toy, saying:
"I return 6 cards, Georges Bataille stays!"
"Since one of my creatures was destroyed, Haridelberg gives -4000 to Gurudo 54. Hellborof, attack Georges Bataille and Go To Hell revives Ninjariban with Migawari, Nightmare Swastika!" The blue ninja reappeared, now wielding a red shuriken. "Welcome Hell also revives Savage, Forbidden U!" A faceless grey humanoid with a black cape followed. "With Savage's effect I put the top card of my deck into the graveyard and return a creature to my hand." Death Hands went into the graveyard and Hayabusamaru went to the owner's hand.
The wolf plush flew at the purple robed humanoid and tried slashing him, but he was slapped away as well.
"I return 6 cards, Georges Bataille stays!" the grunt repeated.
"Haridelberg gives another -4000 to Gurudo 54 and destroys it!" A couple of spikes surrounded the creature wearing a dragon fossil and impaled it. "Minagorosseo, attack Georges Bataille and S-Rank Invasion "Zombie", I evolve him into Deadzone, S-Rank Zombie from the graveyard!" The wolf castle rushed at the purple robed creature next, but this time it grew in size and turned into a dark purple robot with red eyes and fangs, two motorcycle wheels on its shoulders, another in its left hand, and a red cape on its back. "Deadzone's effect, I give -9000 to Georges Bataille and then in battle it will be destroyed!" Thus the robot swiftly grabbed the tall robed figure and thrust him into the ground so hard that he exploded. "I end my turn and use Vader's effect." Ninjariban fell into the graveyard and he drew.
Now it was the mugger who was backed into a corner. But he still had a trump card out and that one could not leave the battle zone easily. Now all that he had to do was to get rid of the pesky blocker and win.
"I summon Rudolf Carnac and destroy Mukade to draw 2 cards." The elegant white headed humanoid reappeared and the centipede exploded, but then quickly reemerged. "Mukade is revived and I give -9000 to Vader!" The skull knight met its fate by the needle of a syringe.
"Haridelberg gives -4000 to Rudolf Carnac." Another pair of spikes impaled the smaller opposing creature.
"I summon Hemoglo, Demonic Doctor." The blue bat doctor reappeared and the opponent discarded Jenny, the Dismantling Doll.
That D2 Field was a true inconvenience for the mugger, but unfortunately he had no way to remove it. His only hope was to achieve a direct attack with Mukade, Asura and get the match over with.
"I summon another Savage, Forbidden U." A second faceless caped humanoid appeared and Magnum, Allshot Doll went to the graveyard, the owner returning Vader, Dark Armor and the skull knight reappearing in the battle zone. "Then I summon Vader again. Deadzone, triple break his shields!" The dark purple robot rushed at the opponent and thrust his arms into three shields.
"Shield trigger, I cast Demon Wolf, Howling Moonlight Castle and give -3000 power to Savage!" the mugger said and a pair of blue wolves devoured one of the faceless humanoids.
"Haridelberg's effect, I give -4000 to Hemoglo." A new pair of spikes stabbed the blue doctor.
"Then Mana Arms 5, I destroy Vader as well!" The blue wolves then attacked the knight, finishing him as well.
"Ninjariban, attack and Welcome Hell revives Vader, break his shield!" The knight once more arose from death and the ninja tossed his red shuriken into another shield, leaving the opponent with just one. "I end my turn and use Vader's effect." Time Tripper went into the graveyard and the owner drew.
"Alright, I've had enough of yer bullshit!" the mugger snapped. "I summon Death Hands, Misfortune Emperor and destroy Vader!" A second scythe wielding knight creature appeared, this time by his side, and it slashed the opposing knight wielding a shield, only to meet its own end by the D2 Field's spikes.
"Haridelberg gives -4000 to Death Hands."
"Mukade, todomeda!" he ordered and the giant centipede lashed at the devilish teen.
That was it, he had finally won and his life was spared. Moments began to pass slower as he witnessed his creature approach the opponent, waiting for it to crush him for good. But then something unexpected happened, he heard a metallic clash and looked better. A small silvery plane was blocking its attack and exploded, pushing it away.
"Wha…?"
"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Hayabusamaru, Lightfang Ninja and block Mukade." Demon Subaru smirked as he tossed the Light card into his graveyard. "And now it's my turn, I summon BloodRayne, Start Dash. Ninjariban, attack and Welcome Hell evolves BloodRayne into Black Psycho, Revenge!" The cowboy humanoid reappeared and soon transformed into a dark purple skeletal demon wearing circus buffoon clothes and wielding a sword and a shield. "Black Psycho's effect discards the last 2 cards in your hand. Now go, Ninjariban, break his final shield!" The blue ninja plush toy tossed its red shuriken into the shield.
The mugger sweated as he checked his last shield and then he smiled with relief and showed it, saying:
"Shield trigger, I cast Babylon Gelg and destroy Black Psycho! Then super shield trigger, I put the top 3 cards of my deck into the graveyard and revive Rudolf Carnac. I destroy Mukade, draw 2 cards and revive Mukade to give -9000 to Savage!"
"Keh, Haridelberg gives -4000 to Rudolf Carnac."
"Oh no…" the mugger's jaw dropped as he saw that now he had no more defenses.
"Deadzone, todomeda!" Demon Subaru ordered and then his opponent was punched hard by the dark purple robot, its force throwing him into a concrete wall, causing him to leave a small dent there.
Demon Subaru packed his cards and then he went to the man who had assaulted him and grabbed him tight by the shoulders. The victim slowly opened his eyes and he froze when he saw the cold stare from those shining red pupils and that sadistic fang-filled smile. His screams echoed in the alleyway as the claws tore through his body, pulling out his guts and internal organs.
When he was done, Demon Subaru washed himself with the victim's blood, ever so relieved by his first victory in a duel and the lovely smell of death. His shoulder wound had healed and his claws reverted to normal human nails. Yes, his powers were slowly coming back.
His bath was then interrupted when he felt something familiar, which prompted him to look outside the alleyway. Hajime had left college and was walking down the sidewalk all alone. With a grin on his face, Demon Subaru licked the blood off of his hands and followed the unsuspecting mortal.