Just as I was about to walk back to the dorms, a boy wearing a red tie stepped out of the shadows, casually greeting me.

"Yo!"

I didn't know who he was, but I recognised his face. He had wild brown hair with the front section dyed blonde, a perfect match to the person Andou had shown me earlier today. That meant he was a 3rd Year.

"Hey."

"I thought I recognised you! You're Takanori Yuuto, right? From 1st Year E Class!"

I wasn't surprised that he already knew who I was. I fought Kaido and was featured in a prominent rumour. Whether I liked it or not, my identity was being spread around school.

"Yeah, I am."

"Talk about bougie. Kaido-san's yacht is a real piece of work, ain't it?"

The boy wolf-whistled, admiring the beauty of Kaido's yacht as it drifted away into the distance. Before I could slip away from this weirdo, he carried on the conversation with me.

"You close with him?"

"Not really..."

"Good thing, neither am I."

He stuck his tongue out playfully. I could guess he wasn't, since he was wearing the Drachma Red uniform.

"You're so lucky to get to ride on his ship twice... I'd kill for a sweet ride like that!"

"How did you know that I've been on Kaido-senpai's yacht twice before?"

"Oh I was part of that crowd the first time you left his ship on... uh, how long ago was that? The end of last month or something?"

"...something like that, yeah."

I didn't even notice him being part of the crowd when that happened. I guess that explains how he knew of the first time I was on Kaido's yacht.

"Yep, I saw that! Me and my buddies were chilling on the pier when we saw Kaido-san's huge ass ship dock and you emerged from it. And to think it'd happen again tonight... the world works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?"

"It does. What are you even doing out here so late at night anyways?"

It was nearly 10pm now. Most students would be at home getting ready to go to bed.

"I was taking a nightly stroll to clear my head. 3rd Year life is stressful and all."

"It is pretty peaceful out here."

"Scenic too!"

I nodded in agreement to kill the conversation. I wanted to go home, not chat amicably with a 3rd Year who's name I didn't even know of. Just as I was about to leave, he reeled me back in with a reply I couldn't ignore.

"Man, Yukina-chan was right, you really are stiff at talking."

My initial impression of this man changed the moment he mentioned Yukina's name.

"You know who Yukina is?"

I wanted to know who this guy was and why he used Yukina's first name. I didn't know she had talked to an upperclassmen, let alone get that close to one too.

"There's only one Yukina-chan in the school I'm pretty sure... Kazuraba Yukina, yeah? She's in your class. Ah, if you're worried about what she said, don't be! She told me plenty of good things about you!"

It felt like this guy was trying to flex on me by mentioning these things so blatantly in my face.

"...so, who are you?"

"Ah yeah, I should prolly introduce myself."

The man smiled.

"I'm Itteki Shin! Nice to meet ya!"

He extended his hand for a handshake, but I was too shocked to react.

Kaido had mentioned the name "Itteki" earlier as one of the candidates running for Student Council President. It seems that Andou was close to him, because he referred to Itteki by his first name, "Shin". And now I find out he's apparently close with Yukina?

A deep irritation scratched at my chest as these loose ends and connections finally tied together in my head. It was delayed, but I shook Itteki's hand. It was pretty cold...

"Woah, you've got a strong handshake. Though, guess I shoulda expected it."

Itteki laughed, commenting on the firmness of my handshake. I didn't meant to do it on purpose, but I soon realised my own ungrounded hostility had leaked out a little when I shook his hand.

"I mean, you knocked out that guy in one hit!"

That ungrounded hostility started to become more real by the second. He was even aware of what happened in the cardfight room?

"How do you know about that?"

"Oh, I was playing Vanguard with my buddies when we heard a huge ruckus outside and decided to check it out. Good going saving Yukina-chan, by the way!"

He was even there to witness that? What the hell... I wanted to get away from reminiscing on that unsavoury aspect of my past, so I switched the topics to something tangentially related.

"So... who are these "buddies" of yours you keep mentioning anyways?"

"Sakate-kun from 3-A and Suzui-chan from 2-E! Together, we make the sugar-salt trio!"

I cringed a little when he mixed broken English into his Japanese. I was expecting to hear Andou's name, but instead I was hit with two names I didn't expect at all. I was more surprised by the fact that Onibitenbu was one of his close friends.

Even though I was the one asking the questions, I was losing control over the conversation as Itteki's carefree personality shifted the flow to match his quick pace. That's why I had to shift the flow back to my slow pace by asking him a question he wouldn't expect.

"Are they going to vote for you in the election?"

Itteki wasn't fazed by my provocation in the slightest. Instead, he answered casually, exactly how he did before.

"Prolly not. Sakate-kun's gonna vote for that Ichinose-san, and Suzui-chan... well, Suzui-chan's not a political guy, but if I had to bet... he'd totally vote for Kurosaki-chan! How about you? Who you gonna vote?"

"I wonder. Since you're one of the candidates, it would probably be a bad idea to tell you."

"Huh, that's true. Well, vote for me please!"

"I'll consider it."

Yeah, I wasn't going to.

"That's great! I hope Yukina-chan will be proud seeing me as Student Council Prez."

Just as I was gaining control of the conversation, Itteki snatched it away from me by dragging Yukina back into topic.

"You sure like her, huh?"

"Not in that way, yikes! She's just a good friend."

"I'm guessing you've known each other for a long time, then?"

"Pffffft, nah! I've known her for literally two days!"

I blinked owlishly.

"You what?"

"Yeah, it was during lunchtime, the same day you one punched that guy."

That was the same day Yogen bullied Yukina into leaving the table. A sense of dread plunged my stomach.

"While running down the hallway with tears in her eyes, Yukina-chan accidentally bumped into me when I was with my buddies. I didn't know why she was crying, but Suzui-chan forced me to take responsibility over what I did, so I helped comfort her over what happened. Yeah, turns out she wasn't crying from the fall, but from some overzealous bitch ruining her promise with you."

I don't know what angered me more. The fact Yogen had made Yukina cry or the fact I wasn't there to support her. Instead, it was Itteki who helped make Yukina feel better.

"We spent the rest of that day just talking and becoming friends. Poor girl, she unloaded a lot of emotional baggage on me. She seems to be doing better now, which is great!"

"...yeah."

Even I had to admit that Yukina looked better recently. I guess Itteki helped her get over the problems I wasn't able to.

"Man, you went from stoic to depressed real quick. Ya jealous or something?"

"What? No."

"Sure sounds like you are, brah."

"I'm not. It's just... a lot of stuff makes sense now, I guess."

I had been letting my guard down too much recently. Even though it was the first time I met him, Itteki could easily read my emotions based on my face. I was slowly losing my edge. Or rather, I was finally acknowledging the weaknesses I ignored.

I had to become someone more like Kaido to get others to stop treating me like dirt. A cold and ruthless person.

"Well, whatever you're thinking about, let's get it off your mind... with this!"

Itteki popped off a red deck box from his belt and grinned.

"Ya wanna play?"

He was challenging me to a game of Vanguard.

"There's no table out here, though."

"You've never played Vanguard on the floor before?"

"Of course I haven't, who does that?"

Itteki pointed to himself with a goofy smile.

"...let's go to a table. The park should have one."

"Lame, a bit of dirt on your sleeves never hurt anyone!"

Does he think private points grow on trees or something? Me and Itteki headed to the abandoned park and started setting up. Since this was a casual match, I was fine with either winning or losing.

"Stand up, (the!) Vanguard!"

"Dragprince, Rute!"

"Eradicator, Spring Light Dracokid!"

Itteki played Luard, huh? His deck only grows stronger the longer the game gets dragged on. I had to finish him quickly then.

"Stand and draw! I ride, Cherishing Knight, Branwen, and use her skill!"

Itteki checked the top five cards of his deck. His eye twitched.

"Of course I whiffed... Rute's skill, draw a card! Turn end!"

Itteki:
Hand: 6
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

Yuuto:
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw. I ride, Isolation Eradicator, Nusku! His skill, check top five for an Eradicator, add it to hand, then discard a card."

I added Gauntlet to my hand and discarded Castor.

"I draw and get a Quick Shield from the starter. Nusku, attack! (8000)"

"No guard!"

"Drive check! (Ceremonial Bonfire Eradicator, Castor)"

"Damage check! (Abyss Grail) A heal... you've gotta be kidding me, again?!"

First damage heal triggers sounded like an Itteki problem.

"Turn end."

Itteki:
Hand: 6
Damage: 1
OXO
OOO

Yuuto:
Hand: 8
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw! I ride Dragwizard, Liafail! His skill, counterblast to superior call Black Sage, Charon from my deck! Charon's skill, soulblast to countercharge and get +3k! (8000 > 11000)"

Through this combination of skills, he managed to put a grade 1 (the Branwen from his soul) into the drop zone to reduce Luard's counterblast cost later.

"I call another Liafail and use his skill to superior call Sage of Risk, Decremps! Boosted by Decremps, my vanguard Liafail attacks! (10000 > 18000)"

"No guard!"

"Drive check! (Death Feather Eagle) Alright, a critical! Power to Liafail, (10000 > 20000) critical to vanguard! (1 > 2)"

"Damage checks! (Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant, Wyvern Guard, Guld) Draw trigger! All to vanguard and draw! (18000)"

"Boosted by Charon, Liafail attacks! (20000 > 31000)"

"Spark Edge Dracokid guard! (23000)"

"Turn end!"

Itteki:
Hand: 6
Damage: 1
XXO
XXO

Yuuto:
Hand: 8
Damage: 2
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw. I ride Eradicator, Plasmacatapult Dragon! His skill, I counterblast and soulblast to bind Liafail and draw a card! You choose a back row rear-guard and move it to the front row!"

"Hm, I'll move Decremps to the front."

Annoyingly, because Liafail was a 10k base, I had to call a booster for my vanguard. I only planned on doing one attack anyways, since I wanted to damage deny Luard a little to reduce Itteki's options next turn.

"I call Ceremonial Bonfire Eradicator, Castor to rear-guard! His skill, I discard a card and bind Decremps to give him +5k! (8000 > 13000)"

At the very least, I managed to get a copy of Phoenix into my drop zone now.

"Boosted by Castor, Plasmacatapult attacks! (9000 > 22000)"

"No guard!"

"Drive check! (Lightning Whip Eradicator, Suheil)"

"Damage check! (Dragwizard, Babd) Sweet, my favourite draw!"

Luckily, that damage trigger amounted to nothing of worth since I had no other attacks.

"Turn end."

Itteki:
Hand: 7
Damage: 2
Bind: 2
OXO
XOO

Yuuto:
Hand: 8
Damage: 2
OXO
OXO

"Stand and draw! The red bell of death rings out, echoing the scream of despair! The red dragon lives on desperately, in this left hand! I ride my avatar, Dragheart, Luard!"

"Imaginary Gift! Force I! To the left front row rear-guard circle! I call an Abyss Router from my hand, then retire her and Charon for Luard's skill! I draw a card and retire Castor!"

The retire didn't matter very much to me, since I had already gotten value out of Castor from his on place skill. What did matter now was the fact he now had three grade 1s in drop zone.

"The cost for Luard's skill is reduced by counterblast one for every grade 1 in my drop zone! Since I have three, this costs zero counterblast! I put two cards from my drop zone to the bottom of my deck! O red dragon that resides in this left hand, devour my flesh and blood to awaken from your slumber! Rage on for eternity and roar, my true avatar! I stride, Dragdriver, Luard!"

"Imaginary Gift! Force I! To right front row rear-guard circle! Dragdriver's skill, I counterblast, search my deck for grade 1s equal to the number Luard in my soul plus one, and call them! I superior call Charon (8000 > 18000) and Abyssal Owl! (5000 > 15000) Charon's skill, I soulblast to countercharge and get 3k! (18000 > 21000) Owl's skill, I counterblast and draw a card! Dragdriver gets +5k for each of my grade 1 rear-guards! (13000 > 23000) Battle!"

The reason he was playing conservatively is probably because he's afraid of my ability to bind. While Luard could recycle units, it could only do it two at a time, while I could continue binding as long as I had resources. In the early game, that was more threatening and impactful.

"Dragdriver attacks! (23000) Red Arm Cross!"

"No guard!"

I could easily guard his rear-guards, so I figured it was better just to take the Vanguard attack here.

"Twin Drive!! (Dragwizard, Liafail, Abyss Router) No triggers..."

"Damage check! (Lightning Whip Eradicator, Suheil)"

"Abyssal Owl attacks! (15000)"

"Nusku guards! (19000)"

"Charon attacks! (21000)"

"Malevolent Djinn guards! (24000)"

"Turn end! Luard's skill, I re-ride him from soul and get another Imaginary Gift! Force I, to my left front row rear-guard circle!"

Itteki:
Hand: 10
Damage: 2
Bind: 2
XXX
OOO

Yuuto:
Hand: 6
Damage: 3
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw. The thunderclap that rocks the world from the bottom to the top, explode with the rage of a thousand stars, and erase everything in my path! Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon ride!"

"Imaginary Gift: Accel II! I draw a card! I call two Supreme Army Eradicator, Zuitan to rear-guard! (9000 > 14000) Gauntlet Buster's skill! I counterblast and discard a card to bind your front row! Vanish before my eyes, Giga Sparkle Buster! Since a card was bound, I can call Phoenix from the drop zone with +3k! (8000 > 11000) Both my Zuitan's skills! They give themselves and my vanguard +5k whenever a rear-guard is bound! (14000 > 24000) (12000 > 22000 > 32000) (9000 > 19000) Gauntlet Buster's other skill, he gets +5k and a crit for each of your open front row rear-guard circles! (32000 > 42000/1 > 3) Gauntlet Buster Dragon attacks! (42000/3) Big Bang Knuckle Buster!"

"Dark Shield, Mac Lir perfect guard!"

"Twin Drive!! (Wyvern Guard, Guld) Draw trigger! I draw a card and give power to Zuitan! (24000 > 34000) (Supreme Army Eradicator, Zuitan)"

"Boosted by Phoenix, Zuitan attacks! (19000 > 30000)"

"No guard! (Dragwizard, Morfessa)"

"Zuitan's skill, I put him into soul and draw a card. Accel Zuitan attacks! (34000)"

"No guard! (Cherishing Knight, Branwen)"

"Zuitan's skill once more. Turn end."

I pushed both Zuitan into soul so that he was forced to retire Phoenix if he used Luard's skill. Phoenix could revive, so I didn't mind if he got retired.

Itteki:
Hand: 8
Damage: 4
Bind: 4
OXO
OOO

Yuuto:
Hand: 10
Damage: 3
OXXO
OOO

"Stand and draw! The red bell of death rings out, chiming to the hollow sound of despair! The red dragon cries, in this left hand! I persona ride my avatar, Dragheart, Luard!"

"Imaginary Gift! Force I! To the right front row rear-guard circle! I call Router and Lluails and retire them for Luard's skill! I draw a card and retire Phoenix! Then, since I have three grade 1s in my drop zone, the counterblast cost is reduced by three! I put two cards from my drop zone to the bottom of my deck! O red dragon that resides in this left hand, I sacrifice my body and soul to be reincarnated as a vessel for your true form! Rage on for infinity and roar, my true avatar! I persona stride Dragdriver, Luard!"

"Imaginary Gift! Force I! To the left front row rear-guard circle! Dragdriver's skill, I counterblast and call four grade 1s from my deck! Superior call, Owl, (5000 > 35000), Branwen, (8000 > 28000) Nightmare Painter, and Charon! Owl's skill, soulblast to draw a card! Painter's skill, I put a grade 1 or less card from my drop zone to soul and get +3k! (7000 > 10000) Charon's skill, soulblast to countercharge and get +3k! (8000 > 11000) Dragdriver gets +20k! (13000 > 33000) And since I now have two or more grade 3 cards in soul, the original critical of all my grade 1 rear-guards becomes 2! (35000/1 > 2) (28000/1 > 2) Battle! Dragdriver attacks! (33000) Red Arm Cross!"

My priority had become guarding against the attacks with two critical, so I decided it was best I saved my PGs for them.

"I guard with Seiobo and Cho-Ou! (12000 > 32000 > 37000) One to pass!"

"Twin Drive!! (Strict Order Knight, Lluails, Abyss Grail) Heal trigger! I heal one and give all to vanguard! (33000 > 43000)"

Unfortunately, he hit a hit trigger to breakthrough. At least it wasn't a critical.

"Damage check! (Rising Phoenix)"

"Boosted by Charon, Branwen attacks! (28000 > 39000/2)"

"Guld, perfect guard!"

"Boosted by Painter, Owl attacks! (35000 > 45000/2)"

"Guld, perfect guard!"

"Damn, you had two perfect guards? Heh, turn end! Luard's skill, I re-ride him from soul and get an Imaginary Gift! Force I, to the right front row rear-guard circle!"

Itteki had now gathered six Force markers in total. Next turn that would turn into nine. I had to close out the game soon or else I wouldn't have the shield necessary to stop his attacks.

Itteki:
Hand: 10
Damage: 3
Bind: 4
XXX
XOX

Yuuto:
Hand: 4
Damage: 4
OOXO
   OOO

"Stand and draw. Raise the flag of the apocalypse, herald of the thunderstorm! Eradicate everything in my way, Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant ride!"

"Imaginary Gift: Accel II! I draw a card! Descendant's skill, he gains all the abilities of Gauntlet Buster! I call Zuitan! Descendant's skill inherited from Gauntlet! I counterblast and discard a card to bind your front row! Vanish before my eyes, Giga Sparkle Buster! Then, I'll drag your back row rear-guards to the front! For every rear-guard bound, Zuitan gets +5k! (9000 > 19000) Since I bound a rear-guard, I can call Phoenix from the drop zone with +3k! (8000 > 11000 > 16000) Descendant's skill, I soulblast to bind Charon!"

Most Luard decks run two Charon at most. Since I had already bound one last turn, this would be his second one gone. He could no longer recycle his main source of countercharge.

"Zuitan gets +5k! (19000 > 24000) I call, Suheil (9000 > 14000) and use his skill to discard a card to bind Painter! I draw a card, and since he's on an Accel circle, he gets +5k! (14000 > 19000) Zuitan gets +5k! (24000 > 29000) The other skill inherited from Gauntlet Buster, Descendant gets +5k and a crit for each of your open front row rear-guard circles! (12000 > 22000/1 > 3) Dragonic Descendant attacks! (22000/3) Omen of Apocrypha!"

"Dark Shield, Mac Lir perfect guards!"

"Twin Drive!! (Isolation Eradicator, Nusku, Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-Ou) Descendant's skill! Since the attack didn't hit, I counterblast and discard a card to restand the vanguard with drive -1! (22000/3/2d > 1d) Descendant attacks once more! (22000/3/1d) Stigma of Apocrypha!"

"Abyss Grail guards! (13000 > 33000) No pass!"

Damn it, that extra 1k on Luard's base power saved him from having to add another card to guard...

"Drive check! (Rising Phoenix) Phoenix attacks! (16000)"

"Liafail guards! (18000)"

"Suheil attacks! (19000)"

"No guard! (Dragdriver, Luard)"

"Zuitan attacks! (29000)"

"No guard! (Darkside Trumpeter) Ah, you sure came late, huh?"

"Zuitan's skill, I put him into soul and draw. Turn end."

Despite my best efforts, I wasn't able to close out the game here. This was starting to become a recurring theme...

Itteki:
Hand: 6
Damage: 5
Bind: 8
OXO
OOO

Yuuto:
Hand: 5
Damage: 4
XOXOX
OOO

OST: Itteki no Eikyou

"Stand and draw! The red bell of death rings out, chiming to the hollow sound of despair! The red dragon cries, in this left hand! I persona ride my avatar, Dragheart, Luard!"

"Imaginary Gift! Force I! To the left front row rear-guard circle! I put two cards from my drop zone to the bottom of my deck! O red dragon that resides in this left hand, I sacrifice my body and soul to be reincarnated as a vessel for your true form! Rage on for infinity and roar, my true avatar! I persona stride Dragdriver, Luard!"

"Imaginary Gift! Force I! To the right front row rear-guard circle! Dragdriver's skill, I counterblast and search my deck for five grade 1s and call them! Superior call, four Strict Order Knight, Lluails and one Dragwizard, Morfessa, who counts as a grade 1 in deck and on rear-guard circle! (10000 > 50000) (5000 > 45000) All four of my Lluails skill! Since I have five or more grade 1 units, they get +15k! (45000 > 60000) (5000 > 20000) (5000 > 20000) (5000 > 20000) Dragdriver's skill, all my grade 1 units original critical becomes 2 (60000/1 > 2) (50000/1 > 2) and he gets +25k! (13000 > 38000) Battle!"

Without wasting any time, Itteki set up his win-con and went straight for my throat.

"Boosted by Lluails, Dragdriver attacks! (38000 > 58000) Ring out even louder, Red Arm Ritual!!"

I could see it clearly while standing across Itteki in this empty and abandoned Drachma Red park.

Dragdriver lunging straight at me with contempt in his arrogant and detached amber eyes.

This wasn't Luard's blood thirst... this was Itteki's.

I could see it clearly in his eyes.

They were screaming at me "I want to win!".

He was telling me how much he wanted victory through how passionately he was playing right now.

I understood that intense and complicated feeling he was expressing.

It was something you could only experience in a cardfight.

And I could physically feel it as the wind swirled around me.

His blonde hair swayed in the wind while his large red left dragon arm sliced forward, the tips of his claws dyed in blood.

The pitch black dragon wings flapped, opening an array of magic circles flying behind him.

Blue flames started to bubble from the circles, spilling over as plasma from the hot abyss.

"No guard—"

The moment I uttered those words, Dragdriver ripped through me without a shred of mercy.

He wasn't fighting Descendant...

Itteki... was fighting me.

My throat felt parched, like Dragdriver had landed a clean set of scratches on my neck.

Even though I was imagining a traumatic and hyper realistic battle in my head, Itteki simply smiled, unaware of it all.

He smiled with closed eyes this entire time.

"Twin Drive!! (Abyssal Owl, Dragheart, Luard) C'mon, give me a break! I thinned my deck out that much yet I still can't get a lousy trigger? Argh!"

"Damage check... (Spark Edge Dracokid) Critical, all to vanguard! (12000 > 22000)"

A saving grace came in the form of a damage trigger.

It would make his onslaught a bit more bearable to guard... just barely.

"Boosted by Lluails, Lluails attacks! (60000 > 80000/2)"

"Guld, perfect guard!"

Even though they were small soldiers barring only daggers, the two Lluails dealt heavy damage to my hand.

Three cards remained to defend against this onslaught.

"Boosted by Lluails, Morfessa attacks! (50000 > 70000/2)"

"Guld, perfect guard!"

The hand of the blue dragon, Morfessa, unleashed a flurry of flames so bright, it nearly blinded me.

I could genuinely feel the heat radiating from these dragon hybrid's violent and brutal attacks.

"Morfessa's skill! At the end of the battle she attacked, if I have four or more other rear-guards that are originally grade 1, I can counterblast and retire her to call a grade 1 from my drop zone to rear-guard! Superior call, Abyss Router! (7000 > 47000/1 > 2) Router's skill, when she's called, I soulblast and call a grade 0 from my hand to draw a card! Superior call, Dragwizard, Babd! (5000 > 45000)"

I wasn't out of hot water yet. Itteki had managed to extend the number of attacks he could do by two.

Looking at my hand, it became clear that I didn't have enough shield to stop both of them, so I'd have to gamble for a sixth damage heal...

"Babd attacks! (45000)"

"Seiobo guards! Suheil intercepts! (22000 > 42000 > 47000)"

Babd's hyper explosive magic attack got rid of the last card in my hand and my only intercept.

I had nothing else that could guard against Itteki's last attack.

"Let's finish this, Abyss Router! (47000/2) Show Takanori-san the pathway to hell!"

The look in Itteki's eyes changed for a split second.

A serious and passionate look emerged from his glowing red eyes.

He really did become the vessel for Luard's red dragon, huh?

"...no guard!"

For some reason, when I uttered those words, I didn't feel sad, or desperate, or prayed for a heal.

Instead, I accepted it.

There was a comforting feeling, knowing I'd lost to someone who deserved the win.

I couldn't deny that Itteki's passion for Vanguard had impressed me.

A phantasmic red dragon blasted through me.

And Router's energised hoop weapons ripped the remaining shreds of life out of me.

The card that fell into my damage zone was Gauntlet Buster Dragon.

I lost.

"And that's game!"

Itteki jumped for joy at his victory.

"Good game, Itteki-senpai."

"Ah, you too, Takanori-san! Good game! You put up a great fight, I loved every moment of it!"

Itteki then picked up the ASR Dragheart, Luard from his vanguard circle and presented it to me.

"In fact, I loved it so much, here! I want you to keep this as a memento of our fight!"

I was surprised that he was willing to give away such a highly sought after card to me. I didn't do anything spectacular, yet Itteki felt the urge to give me a copy of one of his Luard's.

"Hang on, that's super expensive... are you sure you're fine with just giving it to me? Wouldn't that mess up your deck too?"

"Don't worry, I have a bunch of these back home, so giving one away isn't that big of a deal. I'm a bit of a Luard simp myself, y'know?"

If he had more ASR rarity Luard at home, why didn't he just use four of them in his deck? That would be more impressive than his strange mix of VR, SP, and ASR.

Nevertheless, this card was extremely difficult to get, and he was offering it for free, so I graciously accepted this admittedly very cool parting gift from Itteki.

"Thank you... I guess?"

I still wasn't sure how to feel. An ASR Luard was now in my possession and I didn't even do anything... either Itteki's going to use this against me in the future or he's just genuinely a nice person with too many ASR Luards on his hands.

"Nah, the pleasure's all mine! I'mma bounce now, it's getting late. Thanks for the fight! Hope to see you around sometime, Takanori-san!"

Itteki grinned, raising his hand. Just as quickly as I met him, he disappeared into the thick black forest. I waved goodbye, but I don't think he saw it.

I stared at the Luard in my hand. Then, I took out the Claret Sword from my pocket.

I had unexpectedly ended up with the two faces of Shadow Paladin today.

They represented the two roads I could go down on.

I could become like Claret Sword Dragon. A ruthless villain who rebelled against the establishment to become a leader.

Or I could become like Luard. A revenge driven anti-hero who did anything necessary to become more powerful.

I wondered which I'd choose in the end.