“Where did it all go wrong?”
Dwight Volkanov, the son of Ian Volkanov, the hero of the Empire, and the great Empress Erzebeth Arcana, furrowed his brows deeply as he stared at the calamity unfolding before him.
The cold air pierced his lungs, and he could feel a suffocating sense of murderous intent, as if blood and flesh were splattering all around.
“If I had known it would come to this…”
He wouldn’t have done such a thing.
He would have listened to his mother and father, quietly stayed in his room, and read books instead!
Dwight’s mind clouded with an overwhelming sense of regret that made him feel dizzy.
Just as dizziness and a sense of vertigo set in, Dwight clutched his head, when suddenly.
“Brother.”
“What is it, little brother?”
“Stop pretending you’re hurt and make your move already. Are you going to take responsibility if we lose our turn?”
“Haah… Is there not even a moment for contemplation?”
Dwight’s younger brother, Rugen Volkanov, the second son of Ian and Lia, broke into his thoughts.
With an exasperated sigh, Dwight finally looked again at the mess he had caused.
“Damn it… If I had known it would come to this, I would’ve faked fainting from anemia when Sister asked for a duel!”
In truth, the reason for this predicament was quite simple.
Their father and mother had left the mansion to participate in the 70th Tournament celebration this month.
The once-bustling mansion became eerily silent as soon as the adults left.
It had been a quiet morning, and Dwight was reading after a simple breakfast.
Then, around 3 PM, when his eyelids started growing heavy, the incident occurred.
“Dwight! Dwight!”
“Hmm? Sister? What’s the matter?”
“I’m bored! Want to play together? Stop reading books!”
“What do you want to play?”
“What else? A card game!”
“A card game… You mean Master Duel?”
“Yep!”
Master Duel—a card game created by their father, Ian, as a new form of entertainment.
In this game, players built decks of 40 cards featuring all the monsters and heroes that existed in Gaia, battling to reduce their opponent’s life points from 8000 to zero.
Of course, it wasn’t just a simple card game. Its popularity stemmed from its innovative features.
“Alright. Let’s gather everyone. So, about the impact settings?”
“Hmm… How about setting it at 70%?”
The Impact System was what set Master Duel apart.
Players could agree to simulate real attacks, where the reduction of life points felt like physical damage.
This system transformed the card game into a lifelike strategy simulation and gave players the chance to wield the Empire’s heroes themselves.
“70%… It’s risky, but fine.”
Dwight now regretted that decision immensely.
‘Damn it… Our field is empty, but Sister’s field has five monsters with 4000 attack power each!’
The situation was dire.
Their team’s combined life points barely exceeded 9000, but the attack power of the monsters on Neltalion’s field totaled 20,000.
A stronger attack than their remaining life points meant more severe physical damage.
From what Dwight knew, damage at 11,000 would feel like being hit by a mid-level Mana Expert attack directly.
Although the damage was set to 70%, which wouldn’t be fatal, it was far from bearable for 12-year-olds.
This will hurt like hell…
‘Damn it. I’m cornered. I can’t do this or that. I want to run, but—’
Dwight glanced to his left and saw a pitiful sight.
A boy lay sprawled on the cold floor, pants barely pulled up.
‘Gerald…’
Dwight’s younger brother. The youngest of the Volkanov family.
Born between Ian and Reina, had tried to flee the duel by hiding in the bathroom.
However, Neltalion had dragged him out.
Dwight vividly remembered the scene: a massive hand emerged from behind Neltalion, ripping off the bathroom door and plucking Gerald out like a hermit crab from its shell.
Bang! Crrrrrack!
“Gerald! If you stay in the bathroom too long, you’ll get hemorrhoids! Were you trying to escape?”
“Argh! Someone save me, please! Brothers, don’t just stand there! Haley! Nanny Haley, help me!”
His brother had screamed for their absent nanny, Haley Miler, who had left with the adults.
If Dwight chose to flee now, he would meet the same fate.
‘No choice… If I want to survive, victory is my only option!’
Dwight made up his mind.
“Brother! Time’s running out!”
“Silence, little brother. I’ll end this with one move!”
“Brother, you had a plan all along? As expected of the one who’ll lead the Empire!”
“Just wait and witness my miracle.”
Dwight poured all his energy into the hand resting on his deck. Certain the moment had come, he drew a card with a flourish.
“Draw!”
“Brother! Did you draw something good? You must have, right? Please!”
“…End my turn.”
“Ugh, seriously?!”
After checking his card, Dwight’s face fell.
He placed the card back and ended his turn.
It was a useless card, leaving him unable to do anything.
Having managed to buy a turn, albeit barely, Rugen felt it wasn’t enough to alleviate his frustration.
“Damn it… In the end, I have to do it myself.”
He bit his lower lip hard, the metallic taste of blood spreading in his mouth.
“Hah. If I’d known it’d come to this, I’d have gone to watch the Tournament with Father like Carson did…”
The worsening situation filled him with regret, but Rugen shook his head.
The stage had already been set, and the situation had escalated.
Since there was no escape, he had no choice but to turn the tide.
‘Alright… It’s up to me.’
With his eldest brother, Dwight, utterly defeated, it was the responsibility of the second son to uphold the family’s honor, was it not?
Rugen exhaled a deep breath, steadying his resolve, and began to play his cards.
“I activate the spell card Arrogant Jar.”
“Arrogant Jar?”
“Yes. I can designate a player, reveal the top five cards of their deck, take one into my hand, and send the rest to the graveyard.”
“Hm… Who will you target?”
“I choose Dwight.”
“Me? Me?”
Dwight’s eyes widened at the unexpected choice.
While it wasn’t against the rules, it would’ve been more efficient for Rugen to draw from his own deck. So why was he using a precious card on Dwight?
As Dwight struggled to make sense of the situation, a man beside him whispered.
“Having trouble understanding, Brother?”
“Ulysses? Do you know what Rugen is planning?”
Ulysses Volkanov, Bianca’s son, smirked faintly and explained.
“It’s simple. Second Brother is looking for the one solution in your deck that can turn this situation around.”
“The one solution? But there’s no such card in my deck.”
Dwight recalled the structure of his deck.
It was built around the hero party archetype and had a decent level of completeness, given the considerable allowance he’d invested in it.
However, it didn’t synergize well with Rugen’s shadow-themed deck.
‘But… a card in my deck that could help Rugen? What could it be?’
A sudden thought struck him.
Could it be the Asmodeus, Demon of Lust card he had kept purely for its alluring illustration?
Had Rugen discovered it?
Dwight began to mentally prepare himself for the social suicide of surrendering when Ulysses interrupted his thoughts.
“Of course there is. You might not know, but Carson slipped a card into your deck.”
“Huh? Carson did?”
“Yes. He recently spent all his allowance on building his deck, which angered Third Mother, so she’s been inspecting his cards every night.”
Carson Volkanov, the son of Ian and Celia, was known in the mansion as an unmatched Master Duel strategist. No one could best him.
Dwight had missed Carson’s presence since he left to watch the Tournament with their father, but now…
‘To think my brother’s warmth had been hidden in my deck all along.’
Overcome with emotion, Dwight felt tears welling up.
Of course, Carson had merely stashed his card in Dwight’s deck to avoid inspection.
But for now, that didn’t matter. The card Carson hid was about to save them all.
Dwight and Ulysses turned their attention to Rugen’s hand as he confidently played his move.
“It’s here!”
“Is it?”
Rugen, without hesitation, pulled a card from Dwight’s deck and placed it on the field.
“I’ll take the Inexperienced Hero Ariel card into my hand and summon it immediately!”
“You’re summoning Aunt Ariel?”
The empty field now displayed the summoned Hero Ariel.
Yet, this didn’t faze Neltalion.
“Hm? That card’s stats won’t stop me. Why would you summon that?”
“You’re right, Sister. Its stats aren’t impressive.”
With 1500 attack and 2000 defense, Ariel wasn’t useless, but she paled compared to the other overpowered hero party cards.
Still, Carson wouldn’t have hidden a card without a powerful effect.
Sure enough, Inexperienced Hero Ariel had an extraordinary ability.
“I activate the effect of Inexperienced Hero Ariel.”
“Effect?”
“If Ariel is the only card on my field and the opponent has three or more monster cards, I can banish Ariel from the game to special summon one card from the deck.”
“Banish Ariel for a special summon? Don’t tell me…”
“You guessed right, Sister. From my deck, I special summon the great hero of the Volkanov family—our father!”
The hero of the Empire himself. A card that required the sacrifice of three or more monsters to summon: Ian Volkanov. And now, Ariel’s effect had made it possible.
Whooom!
As Ian was summoned to Rugen’s field, a tempest surged across the battlefield.
Boom! Crash!
“Argh! My cards…!”
The storm’s razor-sharp winds obliterated every monster on Neltalion’s field.
This was the power of Ian Volkanov’s special effect.
“The great hero Ian Volkanov destroys all monsters on the opponent’s field upon summoning. This effect cannot be negated.”
“…”
“Furthermore! Ian absorbs the attack power of all destroyed monsters, adding it to his own. With this, his attack power increases by 20,000, totaling 25,000!”
It was over. Neltalion’s impenetrable field had been wiped clean by Ian’s ability.
Now, with a direct attack, this deathmatch duel would finally come to an end.
There is a bizarre card with an attack power of 25,000 on the field.
Now, if you attack your opponent directly, you can end this death duel!
‘I survived! I actually survived!’
Freedom from this hell was within reach.
All Rugen had to do now was attack Neltalion.
Just as he extended his arm to give the final command, a chilling voice cut through the air.
“Then I’ll use this.”
“It’s pointless at this stage—Father’s already on the field. What card could possibly… Oh?”
“Wait! That’s… why is that…?”
“Ah…”
The lively atmosphere froze instantly as Neltalion nonchalantly tossed her card onto the field.
“I activate the trap card Plunder! When I have no monsters on my field and I’m being attacked, I can reduce my Life Points to 100 and steal one of my opponent’s cards!”
“Steal… a card? Don’t tell me…”
“Hehe… Ian is mine now!”
Neltalion’s radiant smile as she gazed at the field looked cheerful enough to light up the room, but for the Volkanov siblings, it brought only dread.
Clang!
As Ian’s summoned figure shifted to Neltalion’s field, the sound of his sword unsheathing echoed ominously. Dwight closed his eyes tightly.
“Brother, may I make a suggestion?”
“What are you trying to say, little brother?”
“As the son of the great Empress Erzebeth Arcana of the Kallos Empire, you are destined to lead the Empire someday. And with great power comes great responsibility. Shouldn’t you take responsibility for this attack?”
“Rugen, what are you saying? Don’t you understand the concept of sacrificial offerings? In situations like this, it’s best to deal with the most useless party. Instead of turning on each other, why not sacrifice Ulysses together?”
Dwight’s absurd suggestion made Ulysses, who had been silently watching, snap his head around in indignation.
“Brother? I am destined to succeed Mother as the leader of the Black Magic Tower. Are you planning to get rid of me?”
“You don’t understand, little brother. The Empire thrived long before the Black Magic Tower even existed.”
In the face of death, even the strongest bonds of brotherhood crumbled like ash.
Disgusted by their petty squabbles, Neltalion clapped her hands decisively.
“Stop fighting, you guys! I’ll settle it fairly by sending you all together!”
“Sister? What do you mean by sending us all together? That sounds awfully violent…”
“I activate the spell card Quick Assault! This lets me attack all of you equally!”
“N-No…!”
Dwight froze in despair, Rugen squeezed his eyes shut, and Ulysses scrambled to his feet, ready to flee.
“Hehe! Attack! Attack! Attack!”
Neltalion cheerfully commanded Ian.
Whooosh!
The air roared as Ian swung his sword, a strike so sharp it carried the force of a Grand Master. It was an attack that would leave nothing behind—but they had no way to defend against it.
Clatter!
Dwight’s cards slipped from his trembling hands, scattering helplessly onto the floor. He accepted his fate.
In his mind, he bid farewell to his family.
“Father, Mother… I’m going to see Grandmother first.”
As tears welled up in his eyes, a voice rang out, clear and commanding.
“Lo Aias.”
Boom!
“Huagh!”
Just as Ian’s devastating strike was about to engulf them, a glowing barrier materialized, nullifying the attack completely.
The shield absorbed the immense force without wavering, and only one person could have done this.
“F-Father?”
“You kids… How many times do I have to tell you not to play in the hallways? If you want to duel, do it in your rooms.”
Ian Volkanov.
Standing tall and exuding authority was none other than Ian Volkanov, their father and the hero of the Empire.
He had returned.
“Father! You’re back!”
Dwight and his siblings let out tears of relief.
“Ian! I missed you!”
Neltalion tossed her cards aside and jumped into Ian’s arms, burying herself in his embrace.
The hallway of the mansion was a mess just now, but it didn’t really matter.
The mansion’s hallway was left in ruins from the duel, but no one seemed to care.
This was the peaceful and lively family life they had always wished for.
With a faint smile, Ian used his mana to clean up the mess effortlessly.
Turning to his children, he said warmly.
“Alright then. Let’s go have dinner together.”
Seeing the cheerful smiles on their faces, Ian couldn’t help but smile back.
