It was hard to say whether the fiends in this bunker were simply unintelligent, or if the act of a superior taking away decks for "enhancement research" had happened before. Regardless, the process went much more smoothly than Yugen had anticipated.
He had originally expected to be suspected or exposed at some point, thinking he'd have to fight at least a duel or two to complete the collection of this prison's decks. As it turned out, no such thing was necessary. The entire process was unexpectedly easy; he achieved the feat of collecting every deck in the prison without playing a single match.
Those rather dim-witted fiends seemed to firmly believe that they would receive their enhanced decks tomorrow. Little did they know that by tomorrow, Yugen would be long gone.
Today was the weekend, and he had spent the whole day grinding instance dungeons while holed up in the dormitory. Tomorrow, it would be time to head back to class.
So, as far as the fiends were concerned, after today, this Lord Messenger might as well have literally evaporated into thin air along with all of their decks.
With the collection complete and his pockets bursting with loot, Yugen felt it was about time to head home. However, as he passed a breakroom in the bunker, he accidentally overheard two jailers chatting inside.
Fiend A sighed. "This week has been a real killer. Jailbreaks, the Lord Messenger's inspection it's just one thing after another. Tomorrow night, I'm definitely going to Phantasm City to relax."
Fiend B perked up. "Oh? You're going too? Then let's go together!"
"That sounds great. Let's head out together." Fiend A put an arm around his comrade's shoulder. "I'm going to have a blast at the Palace of Blood Charms until dawn."
Fiend B's expression shifted instantly. "You're actually a member of the Blood Charm faction? Why? The Pavilion of Shadow Delights is clearly better, isn't it?"
"What? You dare... you heretic!"
Yugen entered the room just as the two fiends were about to come to blows, letting out a light cough. The two fiends were startled and immediately snapped to attention, looking nervous.
"What was that you were just talking about? Palace of Blood Charms? Pavilion of Shadow Delights? What's the situation?"
The two fiends exchanged a look.
Fiend A explained, "My Lord, since you are from out of town, you might not be aware. Phantasm City is the largest urban center near here, and those places we mentioned are the most famous pleasure houses in the city. Especially the succubi of the Palace of Blood Charms; their techniques are so incredible that they won't let a man rest for the entire night..."
As he spoke, the fiend's face actually turned red, a look of longing appearing in his eyes.
Fiend B spat on the ground. "Pah! The sisters at the Pavilion of Shadow Delights clearly have superior skills! You Blood Charm fans are clearly just obsessed with the fact that the Palace of Blood Charms has more of 'other people's wives'!"
Fiend A's face flushed even redder. "And what's wrong with that!?"
He looked ready to start a fight again.
Yugen ignored them further and silently backed out of the room.
Phantasm City... why does that sound like a city for duel spirits?
He managed to get a map from the bunker and spread it out. It wasn't very far from his current location. According to the map's markings, it also belonged to a district already occupied by the forces of the Orichalcos.
No wonder the jailers could still go there to have fun.
Yugen planned to be back in his dorm and in bed before 11 PM today. He refused to carry any fatigue into tomorrow, as it would affect his study plans for the next day. Estimating the time he had left, it should be enough to take a look at that spirit city.
He had already picked this bunker clean; there was nothing left to collect. The only slight pity was that he hadn't managed to find where the "real" Messenger was. Stuck at 99% completion, he felt a small pang of regret.
Yugen immediately set out and left the bunker.
This bunker, having had all its decks stripped away, was essentially hollowed out of its combat power. The expressions on those fiends' faces when they realized their Lord Messenger had vanished into thin air would surely be quite interesting.
Following the map's guidance, Yugen quickly found the city the fiends called Phantasm City.
It was a district with a somewhat gloomy art style. Unlike common brick-and-stone structures, the buildings here were composed of twisted metal and sharp stone blades, looking like spires rising from the depths of hell. Blue or crimson light occasionally leaked through the skeletal frames of the buildings, casting a chilling glow onto the streets.
Pedestrians were few and far between. Those who did pass by were mostly draped in black cloaks or showing patches of hideous, distorted skin. From time to time, a cold wind would whip up dust and scraps of paper from the street, forming small swirling vortices.
"A city dominated by the Fiend-Type, huh?"
Yugen moved along the street, glancing left and right as he observed the city's construction.
Shouldn't this place be called Castlevania?
Passing through a central plaza, Yugen's eyes were immediately drawn to a unique building.
It was bathed in blood-red tones, looking as if it had been soaked in gore. The roof featured a tall, pointed design that was both gorgeous and eerie. Seeing the little fiends with strange heart-shaped tails standing outside to solicit customers, and the flushed guests entering and leaving, it was easy to guess that this was one of the clubs the two jailers had been arguing about.
Of course, as a serious duelist, Yugen was naturally uninterested in such things.
However...
"The aura of an enemy," Black Luster Soldier whispered into his ear in a deep voice.
"Strictly speaking, we are currently in enemy territory. That shouldn't be strange, right?" Yugen asked.
"No." Black Luster Soldier shook his head. "This is the scent of the Orichalcos, and it belongs to someone at least at the level of a regional leader. I have fought them for so long that I could never mistake it."
"In here?"
Yugen looked at the massive fiend club and hummed thoughtfully.
Well, although I wasn't interested originally, doesn't this mean I have to go in and check it out?
It was purely for the sake of the mission.
The fiends at the door seemed to have spotted the guest who was hesitating outside. They exchanged a few quick words, and a moment later, a new member of the demon race emerged from the interior.
Unlike the non-human creatures outside that a human could hardly appreciate, the one who came out this time was a beautiful humanoid girl likely because they judged by the guest's race that he would prefer this type.
The woman had a graceful and enchanting figure, and under the red moon, her skin looked like velvet, delicate and glowing with a faint shimmer. Her open collar revealed exquisite collarbones and the elegant curve of her neck, seemingly intending to lead one's gaze down into a mysterious abyss.
However, despite her appearance, she was clearly not human, just human-like. Behind her, a black tail with a heart-shaped tip flicked back and forth.
Yugen understood. She was likely a specific type of demon that enjoyed absorbing the life force of others; he had seen such types in anime before.
Even the "rated-G" anime had them.
"Lord guest, don't just linger outside. Why don't you come in and take a look?" The demon girl was quite enthusiastic.
Seeing that her guest still seemed uninterested, she continued her sales pitch. "It's quite alright if my type doesn't interest you. Our Palace of Blood Charms has everything you could want; we guarantee your satisfaction.
What do you like? Furry or hairless? What race? Fiend-Type? Beast-Type? We even have those from the Dragon-Type..."
Yugen: "..."
Good grief. As expected of a city of fiends. Is even their way of playing this wild?
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