Yu-Gi-Oh!: This isn't a duel!

"Thanks to my achievements in the Metropolitan Police Department, I was promoted very quickly."

"It was around that time that your mother and I, despite all the pressure, officially got married."

"Soon, you came into my life."

At this point, a look of immense happiness flashed in Ling Zhiyong's eyes.

"With a successful career and a happy family, I felt like the happiest person in the world."

"But, shortly after you were born, that thing... happened."

At this point, a raging fire, powerful enough to incinerate everything, suddenly ignited in Ling Zhiyong's previously dull pupils!

That body, which was already close to decaying wood, suddenly burst forth with astonishing power!

“It was just an ordinary day,” he said, his voice calm and undisturbed.

But this calm itself is more unsettling than any intense emotion.

“I work at the Metropolitan Police Department, dealing with mountains of paperwork. Your mother, on the other hand, stays at home with you, who is still a young child, enjoying the afternoon sun.”

He paused, seemingly recalling the faded images, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips, but the smile was more sorrowful than tears.

"You should know that the device for detecting Dark Duelists was actually developed a long time ago."

"It's just that the cost is so high that it's been unable to be implemented in every corner of the city."

“But the place we live in is different,” a self-deprecating glint in his eyes.

"As the core area of ​​the security forces, it is always equipped with the most advanced detection equipment."

"In theory, no duelist tainted by dark power can get even half a step closer to us."

His tone shifted abruptly, a chilling murderous intent suddenly emanating from beneath his calm demeanor.

"But... that device only detects dark duelists who worship evil gods!"

“Those elven duelists whose hearts are filled with evil and whose hands are stained with sin, yet who have not offered their loyalty to the evil god, cannot be detected.”

"They are like venomous snakes lurking in the light."

"So, several elven duelists whom I had personally captured but were released with lenient sentences, like hyenas, sniffed out our home and attacked you unarmed."

Ling Zhiyong's voice trembled slightly, a pain deep within his bones at play.

"To protect you, who were still in your swaddling clothes, she... your mother, lured away those vicious bandits all by herself."

"She was just an ordinary person, yet she displayed the most amazing courage of her life."

"Although the manor's guards quickly noticed the unusual energy fluctuations and rushed over immediately, it was too late."

His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

“Your mother was just an ordinary person. How could she possibly last long against duelists who could summon powerful spirits…”

"In the end, she succumbed to her injuries and passed away in my arms... forever."

"what?!"

A sharp scream ripped through the heavy atmosphere.

Ling Shiyao staggered back a step, her face instantly turning deathly pale. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she forcefully interrupted her father. This "truth," which she had believed for over a decade, was shattered in that instant.

"But...but the report said...that Mom died because she was attacked by a Dark Duelist, didn't she?"

Her voice was choked with sobs, filled with confusion and helplessness.

"Of course, that's the only way to report it."

Ling Zhiyong slowly turned around, and for the first time, Ling Shiyao saw a third expression on his face besides majesty and kindness—a fierce expression mixed with overwhelming hatred and icy madness.

That look in his eyes was like a will-o'-the-wisp burning from the depths of hell.

"After all, how could I possibly kill them all legitimately if they weren't 'Dark Duelists'?"

He spoke slowly and deliberately, each word sounding as if squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a metallic taste.

"Of course, I also interrogated them before killing them."

"I asked them why they did that."

"The reason they gave was very simple, ridiculously simple—revenge."

He chuckled softly, a hoarse and hollow laugh that echoed through the ruins, sending chills down one's spine.

“Yes, it was revenge. They committed unforgivable crimes, and I arrested them, followed that ridiculous law, and didn’t even harm them excessively, just gave them a so-called ‘reform’ opportunity.”

"But they chose to retaliate against me in the most vicious way! To retaliate against the world!"

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at his daughter.

"Shiyao, do you know what I was thinking back then?"

"What I'm thinking is, if only these people... if all the criminals in this world were, from the very beginning, unforgivable dark duelists, how wonderful that would be!"

"Then, once I catch them, there will be no more detention or trial, no more of those hypocritical procedures. I can execute them immediately, on the spot, and completely! Eliminate any future troubles!"

"That way, your mother... will be alright."

Ling Shiyao fell completely silent. The sheer volume of information and her father's terrifying face left her mind blank.

The cold wind blew, lifting her hair, but she felt no cold at all, because her heart was already covered by an icy plain.

After a long while, she finally found her voice and spoke hoarsely:

"But...but what does this have to do with everything you're doing now? Could it be..."

"Are you here to... resurrect your mother?"

This was the only reason she could think of that could help her understand her father's behavior.

However, Ling Zhiyong resolutely shook his head.

"Of course not. Your mother is such an upright and kind person, she would never allow me to exchange the lives of countless people for her own rebirth."

"and……"

He raised his hand and pointed to the pile of corpses on the ground not far away, which had just vanished as if they had never existed. They were pitiful tools that had been resurrected and then ruthlessly abandoned by the earthbound god Veracocha Raska.

"Those resurrected by the evil god are merely puppets under His control; they are no longer the original people."

"Then why did you do this?!"

Ling Shiyao finally broke down, screaming hysterically.

She could understand his pain and his hatred, but she couldn't understand why things had come to this!

An evil god descended, turning a bustling metropolis of millions into the desolate, deathly place it is today!

Hearing his daughter's heart-wrenching questions, the madness and ferocity on Ling Zhiyong's face gradually faded, replaced by an absolute and unquestionable seriousness.

He gazed at her and asked, word by word:

"Shiyao, I have a question for you. Why do Elf Duelists receive better treatment than ordinary people?"

"Why is it that even when they commit crimes, their sentences are often much shorter than others?"

"Because...the Elf Realm?" Ling Shiyao answered subconsciously. It was an answer that everyone understood without saying a word.

Because the threat from the elven realm is real, and because modern firearms are like toys in the face of those powerful monsters.

To resolve the threat from another world, the only option is to rely on the elven duelists who also possess extraordinary powers.

Therefore, unless they commit heinous crimes such as treason or massacre, or fall into the dark dueling world, the League will never easily execute any Elven duelist.

After all, in the eyes of decision-makers, these people are "valuable fighting force" in resisting the invasion of the Elf Realm.

"Yes. Because the country needs them, it needs them to resist the Elf Realm."

Ling Zhiyong's eyes grew even deeper. "Therefore, the rules naturally tilt in their favor, and the law's binding force on them is reduced."

"But as you know, the elves never consider a person's character, temperament, or knowledge when making their choices."

"Elves choose their companions entirely based on their own preferences."

Therefore, far too many ordinary people, lacking maturity and professional training, gain extraordinary power overnight simply because of good luck, a power they shouldn't have had.

"When an ordinary person suddenly gains great power, they usually... lose themselves."

"This is why, despite the country's severe crackdown over the years, dark duelists still emerge in droves like weeds."

"And because of the existence of people like you with special powers, there are still some criminals who will not choose to become incorrigible dark duelists. This is the group that the country has always been trying to win over."

"Undeniably, some of these people have genuinely repented and reformed, and have ultimately become the backbone of the defense of the country."

"But most of the time, after being released from prison, they simply repeat the same old life."

"In fact, after learning about their special status and the country's 'tolerance' towards them, they have become increasingly excessive and have no bottom line in their actions."

Ultimately, they did something irreversible and outrageous!

"Those few elven duelists are the best example."

“This wasn’t their first time in jail. And that day, they didn’t really intend to kill your mother.”

"But... but they wanted to take some obscene photos to humiliate me and get revenge on me."

"But with your mother's strong-willed nature, how could she allow such a thing to happen? It was due to their carelessness that... this tragedy occurred."

Ling Zhiyong's voice became extremely hoarse at this moment, and his cloudy eyes were filled with endless self-blame and pain.

"So I was thinking, if... if the country had enough overwhelming military power to handle those tricky events in the Elf Realm independently."

"So, does that mean we no longer need to be lenient with these incorrigible duelists?"

"Therefore, with the tacit approval of certain high-ranking officials, we launched this plan."

"Use 'gods' to fill the nation's fatal gap in top-tier combat power."

"Then, we will thoroughly purge all the dark duelists, and next, we will deliver the most severe blows to those unrepentant and repeatedly offending elf duelists!"

"If they go to jail once, they'll never dare to do it a second time!"

"Unfortunately... we still failed."

Ling Zhiyong's eyes darkened completely. He could sense that someone outside was doing everything in their power to stop that Earthbound God.

But he didn't think the other side would succeed. After all, that was... a true god!