Far away from Reikosha Academy, beyond the chaos that had consumed the students and their teachers, the Great Pyramid of Giza stood beneath the burning Egyptian sun.
Inside the ancient structure, Hero walked alone through the narrow stone passageways.
He had been sent to investigate the area after strange energy readings were detected around Egypt, but so far, he had found nothing.
"This place is huge..." Hero muttered, looking at the walls around him. "And somehow I'm the one who gets sent here."
He sighed and continued walking.
His hand moved casually toward his pocket, where several of his conceptual cards were kept.
Hero wasn't careless. Even though the pyramid seemed empty, something about the atmosphere bothered him.
It was too quiet.
Then he heard something.
Click.
Hero stopped.
Another sound followed.
Click... click.
It sounded like dice.
He slowly turned around.
Nobody.
Hero stared down the corridor for several seconds before turning back.
"Probably nothing."
He took three more steps.
A voice suddenly came from behind him.
"You're surprisingly careless for a Reikosha student."
Hero's eyes widened.
He spun around.
A man was standing in the middle of the corridor.
Black hair. A dark coat. A pair of dice resting casually between his fingers.
His expression wasn't aggressive.
If anything, he looked bored.
Hero immediately summoned a card.
A faint glow appeared between his fingers.
"Who are you?"
The man looked at the card.
"That's a card?"
Hero's eyes narrowed.
"You didn't answer me."
The man tossed one of his dice into the air and caught it.
"My name is Kanzaki Reiji."
He smiled faintly.
"And you're Hero."
Hero's expression changed.
"You know me."
"I know enough."
Reiji rolled one die across the back of his hand.
Hero didn't wait.
A black Spade card appeared between his fingers.
He flicked it forward.
The card shot through the corridor like a blade.
Reiji tilted his head and stepped aside.
The Spade passed his cheek and embedded itself into the stone wall.
Hero immediately summoned another card.
This time, a Diamond.
He threw it.
The card suddenly changed direction in midair, curving toward Reiji from the side.
Reiji noticed it at the last moment.
He ducked.
The Diamond passed over his head.
"Interesting."
Hero pulled the card back into his hand.
"You're not getting away that easily."
Reiji smiled.
"I wasn't planning to."
Hero summoned three cards at once.
A Spade.
A Diamond.
A Club.
They floated around him.
The ancient corridor suddenly became filled with faint card-shaped energy.
Reiji's bored expression disappeared slightly.
"So you're serious."
Hero looked at him.
"You're an enemy who somehow knows my name."
He raised his hand.
"Of course I'm serious."
The three cards launched simultaneously.
Reiji moved.
The Spade came first.
He dodged.
The Diamond followed from the opposite direction.
He twisted his body around it.
Then the Club suddenly changed direction and attempted to strike him from behind.
Reiji jumped forward.
The card barely missed.
He landed several meters away.
Hero smirked.
"Got you."
The Spade suddenly returned from behind Reiji.
He turned just in time.
CLANG!
The card struck his arm.
Reiji slid backward.
He looked at the small cut on his sleeve.
"You're troublesome."
Hero held out his hand.
The cards returned to him.
"I'm not finished."
Reiji sighed.
"Neither am I."
He held one die between his fingers.
For a moment, he simply stared at it.
Then he rolled.
The die bounced across the stone floor.
3.
Reiji looked down.
"Redirection."
The air around him shifted slightly.
Hero immediately noticed.
"Another rule..."
Reiji didn't explain.
Hero launched a Spade.
The card flew directly toward him.
At the last moment, its trajectory suddenly bent.
It flew past Reiji and struck the wall.
Hero's eyes widened.
"You're redirecting my attacks."
Reiji smiled.
"Only slightly."
Hero summoned another card.
He threw it.
Reiji moved his hand.
The card curved away again.
Hero clicked his tongue.
"Annoying."
Reiji chuckled.
"That's usually the point."
Hero suddenly threw five cards at once.
Reiji's eyes sharpened.
He moved between them, redirecting some while dodging others.
But one card slipped through.
The Diamond struck his shoulder.
Reiji stumbled.
Hero immediately followed with another card.
The Spade slammed into the ground beside Reiji, blasting stone fragments into the air.
Reiji disappeared into the dust.
Hero stared into the smoke.
"Did I get him?"
A hand suddenly emerged from the dust.
A die rolled across the floor.
2.
Hero's expression changed.
Reiji stepped out.
"Speed Authority."
His movements immediately became quicker.
Not overwhelmingly fast.
Not enough to make him impossible to see.
Just fast enough to make Hero's timing uncomfortable.
Reiji moved around the corridor, forcing Hero to turn constantly.
Hero summoned a Diamond and sent it after him.
Reiji dodged.
Hero sent another.
Reiji moved again.
"You're relying on speed now?"
Hero smiled.
"No."
He held up a Club.
"I'm relying on this."
The Club card flashed.
Reiji's movement suddenly stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
Hero had reversed the direction of the effect created by the die.
Reiji looked at him.
"You can reverse effects."
"Now you understand."
Hero launched the card.
Reiji barely moved his head.
The Club passed beside him.
He immediately stepped forward.
Hero summoned another card.
But Reiji was already there.
He threw a punch.
Hero blocked it with a card.
The impact pushed him backward.
Hero landed on his feet.
He stared at Reiji.
"You fight with dice."
"And you fight with cards."
"Seems unfair."
Reiji shrugged.
"Life isn't fair."
Hero laughed once.
"That's the dumbest thing you've said."
Reiji smiled.
"Maybe."
He picked up his die.
"But it's true."
For several seconds, neither moved.
The pyramid became silent again.
Hero slowly gathered several cards around himself.
Reiji held his dice.
Neither of them activated their strongest abilities.
They didn't need to.
They were testing each other.
Learning.
Waiting.
Then Hero suddenly noticed something.
"You weren't actually looking for me."
Reiji's eyes narrowed.
Hero continued.
"You were already here."
Reiji said nothing.
"Why?"
Reiji looked toward the deeper part of the pyramid.
"I'm waiting for someone."
"Who?"
Reiji smiled.
"Someone who is supposed to meet me in Egypt."
Hero's expression became suspicious.
"And you expect me to let you leave?"
"No."
Reiji rolled his die.
It bounced once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
5.
Reiji looked at the number.
"Critical Chance."
A faint smile appeared.
Hero immediately raised his cards.
"Then I guess we're not done."
Reiji looked directly at him.
"No."
The two enemies stood facing each other in the ancient pyramid.
Hero's cards floated around him.
Reiji's dice rested between his fingers.
Neither knew exactly what the other was capable of.
And that was precisely what made the encounter dangerous.
Reiji slowly raised the die.
"Let's see what happens."
Hero narrowed his eyes.
"Roll it."
The die left Reiji's hand.
It bounced across the ancient stone floor.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The chapter ends before the result is revealed.