"So you're the Revolver, the leader of the Knights of Hanoi."

Kira was surrounded by the new followers he'd gathered over the past few days. Before him stood a blond man in a long coat, clad in black, his face obscured by a mask shaped like a black dragon's head, the eyes glowing with a dark, crimson light.

So he's finally here.

Kira instantly recognized him as the vanguard of the Shadow Riders, the very first dark duelist to appear in the new arc.

He called himself "Nightshroud," sharing a name with the final antagonist of the entire GX series. Later investigations confirmed his power was indeed connected to that villain, though he only wielded a portion of Nightshroud's strength.

His true identity, however, was actually Atticus Rhodes, the missing student from Duel Academy, rival to Zane, and brother to Alexis.

Of course, at this moment, he had no memory of his true self. He was only partially possessed—still moving of his own will, but having forgotten who he truly was, acting solely on Nightshroud's intent.

The anime had explained why the other Shadow Riders members were recruited by Chairman Kagemaru—each with their own reasons for fighting. But why Atticus joined was never made clear.

As expected, he offered the olive branch representing the Shadow Riders. The organization had vast resources—rare cards, dark relics, a network of contacts, and more.

"Sounds good," Kira said. "But may I ask—can your boss reveal their identity? Surely, if we're to form an alliance, we need to at least know who our teammates are."

Dark Atticus only shook his head.

"Our master's name cannot be revealed," he said. "But rest assured, this will not interfere with our upcoming operations. I am authorized to handle all communications."

"So I suppose, direct contact with your master is off the table?" Kira asked.

Dark Atticus replied, "Anything you want to pass on, you can tell me."

"Fine then."

Kira shrugged.

The next moment, Dark Atticus sensed something wrong.

Infused with Nightshroud's power, he was no low-level dark duelist and was sensitive to shifts in dark energy. He quickly picked up on the anomaly.

Darkness gathered around them, even the lights in the venue seemed to dim. The darkness thickened tangibly, swirling into a mist that encircled them and shut out the outside world. No one else could see or hear what transpired within the black fog.

Only Kira and Dark Atticus remained.

Dark Atticus's expression shifted; he glared at Kira. "You? What do you think you're doing?"

"I thought joining you might get me a direct meeting with your sly old master, but this is way too much trouble. Luckily, I've thought of a better idea."

Kira lifted his duel disk, speaking calmly.

"If I beat you in a duel, you'll obediently take me to see the old man. Much simpler, don't you think?"

"So that was your plan all along."

A smirk curled at the corner of Dark Atticus's lips beneath his half-mask, his contempt undisguised.

"But do you really think I, Nightshroud, am so easily dealt with?" He too raised his duel disk, his confidence unwavering. "If you think I'm the weak link in the Shadow Riders, then come and try. What awaits you is a darkness deeper than you can imagine!"

"Duel!" x2

[Kira, LP: 4000]

[Dark Atticus, LP: 4000]

Kira hadn't explained his plan to his new followers. From outside the arena, they watched as words quickly escalated into combat, all of them shocked.

Recently, the Shadow Riders had made a name for themselves, with rumors in the underground world about their strength and mysterious backgrounds. Their new leader was strong, but could he really win against a Shadow Riders member?

"I'll go first. Draw."

Kira said.

"I activate the Spell Card 'Cost Down.' By discarding one card, I can reduce the level of all monsters in my hand by two for this turn."

He discarded a card to the graveyard.

Dark Atticus remarked, "That means you can summon Level 5 or 6 monsters directly. Going for a Tribute Summon?"

"I set a monster in face-down defense position."

Kira waved, and a face-down card appeared horizontally in front of him.

"And I set one card in my back row. Turn end."

"My turn, draw!"

Dark Atticus drew. His eyes scanned Kira's one set monster and one set backrow.

He suspected the covered monster was a high-level one, given the use of Cost Down. Attacking with a weak monster would likely backfire.

In that case, he'd go all out.

"I summon 'Black Dragon's Chick'!"

A small red dragon egg appeared on his field. The shell wriggled, a crack formed, and a tiny black dragon's head poked out, letting out a babyish cry.

[Black Dragon's Chick, ATK 500]

"Black Dragon's Chick's effect: send this face-up card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon' from my hand! I tribute the Chick—appear, legendary dragon of possibility—Level 7, Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Summon!"

The little egg vanished. From beneath the earth surged an uncontrollable force. With a deafening roar, a pillar of lava erupted, transforming into a jet-black, armored dragon.

Its crimson eyes blazed like molten lava, two flames that would never die. It landed with a blast of scorching wind.

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon," Kira commented.

"That's right! The legendary Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Dark Atticus declared. "The dragon that crushes all resistance! Go, Red-Eyes, destroy that wall! Inferno Fire Blast!!"

A black fireball gathered in Red-Eyes' mouth, launching as a scorching dragon's breath. The set card flipped, revealing a massive golden Sphinx's face blocking the Red-Eyes.

[Red-Eyes Black Dragon, ATK 2400]

[Guardian Sphinx, DEF 2400]

The blast exploded against the Sphinx, but when the smoke cleared, there wasn't a scratch.

"Too bad, Guardian Sphinx's DEF is also 2400," Kira smiled. "Your Red-Eyes can't break through."

"Tch."

Dark Atticus snorted.

"Then I set a card and end my turn."

PS: Bonus chapter at 500 PS