The Earl of Demise, who had just witnessed the entire execution of his teammate from a front-row seat, remained silent for a long time.
Then, he silently retreated, shrinking into the corner of his cell and sitting back down with his knees hugged to his chest.
Ever since he had been brought into this bunker and locked in this cage, not a day had gone by where he hadn't dreamed of breaking free, of taking his revenge on these minions of the evil god, and showing them exactly what happened when they offended an Earl.
But now, for the first time in his life, he suddenly felt that this cage was actually quite nice.
While it couldn't be called comfortable, it at least provided him with a sense of security that the outside world could not.
The world out there was simply too terrifying.
Having dealt with the Darkbishop Archfiend who had come to break the prisoner out, Yugen clapped the dust off his hands and turned his head toward the cell.
"Coming out?" he asked.
The Earl of Demise shook his head frantically.
"No, no... it's perfectly fine right here... haha."
He tried his best to squeeze out a smile, but on his rotting zombie face, the grin only made him look more horrifying—and a bit dim-witted.
"Are you sure you don't want to leave?" Yugen said enticingly. "You should think this through. It's not every day your brothers risk their lives to stage a prison break. If you miss today, there won't be a next time."
The Earl of Demise continued to shake his head. "I'm not going out. No matter what you say, I'm staying put. It's great in here, super comfortable. I actually quite like it."
"Oh, I see."
Yugen nodded.
Then, he leaned over and picked up the deck from the fallen Darkbishop Archfiend, along with the keys he had dropped on the floor.
The key slid into the lock, followed by a series of metallic rattles.
The Earl of Demise watched with wide eyes as the cell door the very gate that had imprisoned him for so long, yet had ironically become the final barrier protecting him from this demon was unlocked.
The door was pushed open slowly. The demon with the sunny, radiant smile stepped inside, his voice a cold whisper: "If you won't come out, then I guess I'm coming in."
The Earl of Demise trembled violently.
No! Don't come in!
His mind flashed back to the miserable death of his teammate. That poor soul had exhausted his entire arsenal only to shave off a measly 200 Life Points before being lured into a relentless chain of traps, ultimately dying at his own hands during a double attack...
That short duel had taught the Earl one thing: this was an opponent of a completely different caliber. This was not someone he could afford to provoke.
If he dared to play cards against this man, his death would be excruciating.
Then, he realized something even more terrifying.
"You..." His eyes were fixed on the mechanical Duel Disk on Yugen's arm a device he had never seen before. "How can you use the power of the cards in here?"
Yugen looked confused. "What about it?"
"Every cell is supposed to be protected by a barrier," the Earl of Demise said, his eyes filled with growing suspicion and fear. "To be able to use the power of cards inside the barrier... who on earth are you?"
"This?"
Yugen had a faint inkling of what was going on.
So that's it. Spirit powers are suppressed in these cells, making it impossible to summon a Duel Disk?
However, Yugen wasn't a spirit, and his Duel Disk wasn't fueled by spirit magic.
It's KaibaCorp technology, kid.
Yugen understood immediately. Oh, so you can't play cards in here.
That was even better; he could skip the dueling phase entirely. Without a word, he summoned Jinzo. With a casual gesture, he ordered a point-blank blast.
"Cyber Energy Shock!"
"Wuaaaaaagh!"
With his abilities sealed, the Earl of Demise was utterly powerless to resist. The psychic energy wave blasted a hole straight through his chest. He "enjoyed" the full heart-bursting treatment before his body began to glow with a golden light, gradually disintegrating into dissipating particles.
As expected, once he vanished, a deck dropped where he had stood. It even included his own physical form: the five-star Normal Monster, "Earl of Demise."
Yugen was quite satisfied as he picked up the deck and tucked it away.
By now, the sounds of fighting outside had ceased. A squad of jailers soon came rushing in through the breach in the bunker wall, quickly discovering the opened cell.
"You over there! Halt!"
The jailers nervously surrounded the broken cell, weapons drawn.
Yugen walked out of the cell at a leisurely pace, facing the circle of blades, spears, and halberds pointed at him.
"Don't be nervous."
He slowly pulled out a small, green crystal fragment.
The jailers were wary at first, but as they saw the crystal clearly, their expressions shifted from suspicion to confusion, then to shock and finally, awe.
A fragment of the Orichalcos. Within the territories occupied by the Orichalcos in the Duel Spirit World, only those of at least regional leader status were permitted to possess such a fragment. It was a proof of identity.
"You... you... you are...?"
The jailers' weapons lowered involuntarily as they asked with trembling voices. Some of them felt their knees turn to jelly, nearly collapsing into a kneel.
"One of yours," Yugen smiled, tucking the fragment away after showing it.
To his surprise, one of the jailers suddenly fell to his knees and shouted, "Lord Envoy! Welcome, the great Divine Envoy!"
Yugen: "?"
Huh?
Envoy? What envoy?
Back in the same conference room with the same group of high-level officials.
"This intrusion was truly unexpected," one demon official said with lingering fear.
"Our bunker hasn't dealt with anyone daring enough to stage a prison break in a very long time. Furthermore, the organization and strength the enemy displayed this time were extraordinary. If it weren't for the Warden personally overseeing the situation, things might have become truly dangerous."
The Warden spoke in a low, heavy voice. "That Vampire Lord was indeed remarkable. Even I could only manage to fight him to a draw. Moreover, that man is cunning and ruthless. Seeing that the situation was turning against him, he didn't hesitate to abandon his comrades still in the bunker and rage-quit the duel to escape..."
While duels between spirits caused physical damage, they weren't necessarily Shadow Duels. There was still a chance to "pull the plug" and flee mid-duel.
The Warden had been worried about the situation inside the bunker and had only sought to repel the opponent rather than finish him off. Thus, he hadn't pursued when the opponent fled. Consequently, the Vampire Lord had managed to slip away mid-duel.
"I didn't expect such a level of resistance to have gathered nearby," another official said coldly. "We haven't even made a move against those blood-suckers yet, and they're already in such a hurry to die. It seems it is time to let those foolish leeches understand the consequences of defying the True God."
"We can set that aside for now. More importantly," the Warden leaned forward, narrowing his eyes as a slight smirk played at the corner of his mouth. "This prison break might not have been entirely a bad thing."
"What do you mean?" a demon asked, puzzled.
"Just before the meeting was interrupted, we mentioned that the higher-ups had sent a Divine Envoy. The Envoy could be anyone; we didn't know who he was or where he might be, so we had to be cautious in our words and deeds at all times.
But thanks to the riot caused by those blasphemers, the Lord Envoy stepped forward during the action. We have finally succeeded in identifying the Lord Envoy's true identity."
The officials immediately began to stir in excitement.
"The Lord Envoy has indeed arrived!?"
*Dragon Ball: I, Yamcha, Strongest in the Myriad Worlds*
I am the Senior Disciple of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, chatting and laughing with a certain bald hero!
I've kicked Dio's ass and am best friends with three generations of Joestars!
I have learned Nen, eliminated the Chimera Ants, and am the strongest Nen user of this era!
I unified the Shinobi World, tasted the Chakra Fruit, and made the Uchiha dance before me!
My partner is BlackWarGreymon, and the Seven Great Demon Lords are my defeated foes!
I visited the Old Master, standing tall above all others!
I once played the Erhu beneath the Wailing Wall! I've fought Hades, thrashed Poseidon, and kicked Apollo!
I! Am Yamcha! An Earthling! The Strongest!
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