YuGiOh: Souls of Shadow

Chapter 2.3

                "My, what a strange change of behavior," he spoke in a haughty voice. "I honestly thought you were going to kill me. What is this, a joke?"

My mouth hung open slightly, my eyebrows furrowing in disgust. This man was on the verge of dying by my hands just seconds ago, and now he had the audacity to mock me. "You are Maximillian Pegasus, aren't you?" I had no doubt in my mind that it was him, but I wanted it confirmed for some reason.

He pulled his hair back a little, his fingers casually combing through the silvery locks. "The one and only."

It just then hit me that he would be calling the guards right now. No, if he was, they would be here. So why wasn't he? Did he actually not understand the situation he was in?

"You're confused, aren't you?" he asked, a gold eye shining from underneath the curtain of hair. "Yes, I know you're a personal guard who works for Kaiba that's come here to kill me. But I'm not afraid. Your gun can't do anything on its own, now can it?"

"What makes you think I won't do it!?" I raised it again.

"I know you won't," he casually shrugged as he sipped on the wine.

With a spark of rage, I shot the glass out of his hand just as he took it away from his lips. It shattered, the red liquid spilling all around him. It wiped the smug look off his face, but he hardly flinched.

"Now all you've done is make a mess!" he shook his head at me with a grimace, dabbing some wine off his matching suit with a cloth. "There's really no point in trying to fool me, Alice-girl."

With a sharp inhale of shock, I carefully placed the gun back in the holster. No matter how much I despised him or his words, what he said was true. No matter the reason why, I was mentally incapable of killing him. What had happened to me? Why here, and now, when it matters the most, when I have a completely valid reason to personally hate this man?

The only thing that had changed between now and the last time I took a life was... light. The crippling morale awareness that I had been advised to avoid again and again, the sweet and warm poison that paralyzed the darkness that I needed right now. I cursed it. Even though it had brought me from a state of numbness, it had replaced it with a searing pain as it took the ability to protect all that it had given me.

"How pitiful," he sighed as he placed a hand on his chest. "Since you've come all this far, it's only fair that I give you a second chance."

"What?" I growled the word to hide my utter confusion.

"How about I allow you to settle these matters in a... less gruesome way?" he suggested with a shrug.

"And what would that be?" I asked, setting my glare firmly.

"A simple game," He began to approach me, broken glass crunching under his feet. "Duel Monsters. I'm sure you've heard of it."

"I have. I trained with Seto Kaiba himself."

"Oh yes, I'm well prepared for that," his smile grew. "And it would be an honor to go up against the creator himself, hm?"

My stomach wrenched. I horribly regretted not shooting him when I had the chance.

"How about this: If you win, I'll stop this entire charade and hand back over everything I've taken and undo everything I've done. I'll even give you the opportunity to apprehend and convict me for my crimes."

Before immediately accepting like I had half a mind to, I stopped myself. There's always another side to things. "And if... you win?"

"Ah well," he pulled his hair back. "Since you tried to kill me, I suppose I'll take your life. It seems as though you won't much care for it without them, anyway."

My eyes widened. Now that my mind was somewhat clearing, I was beginning to realize that even if he had previously discovered me and checked in on my files, there was no earthly possible way he could know so much about me. Wondering about the explanation gave me vibes of warning, but agreeing to his offer was inevitable. It wasn't like he was going to let me walk away, nor would I chose to do that. Even if there was a catch—which I was more than sure there was to be betting all this on a card game—I was simply going to have to accept it.

"Alright," I nodded.

"Wonderful," he smiled. "I'll get Croquet to escort you to the dueling arena. I'll arrive there shortly..." his cheerfulness darkened into frustration as he walked past me. "As soon as I change."

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