"You've actually managed to hold out this long. I'll admit, that's impressive. But this is where it ends. My turn. I tribute the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons on the field and summon Obelisk the Tormentor."
The moment Kaiba's voice fell, the sky darkened in an instant. Then a massive figure slowly rose behind him. One of the three Egyptian God Cards, Obelisk the Tormentor, now stood on the field.
"Holy shit."
The overwhelming pressure of a god made cold sweat bead across Luke's forehead.
"Battle. Obelisk the Tormentor, Fist of Fate."
The mighty giant god swung its fist and charged straight at Luke. The enormous blow slammed into him head-on. In the next instant, space itself shattered, splitting open into a crack, and Luke was sucked into it.
"Hmph. Weakling."
Kaiba let out a cold snort as he watched Luke vanish, then turned away without a second glance and flew off in his Blue-Eyes White Dragon-themed jet.
...
Inside the spatial rift.
Luke was spinning so hard he felt completely disoriented.
With a heavy thud, he crashed to the ground.
Slowly pushing himself up, he muttered, "Where is this?"
He looked around and found himself surrounded by a strange blur of red and green. Before he could take in anything else, a wave of nausea surged up. Luke couldn't hold it back and threw up.
"Hey, hey, kid. Vomiting all over a dragon is bad manners."
A low voice suddenly rang out.
The unexpected voice nearly scared the piss out of Luke while he was still retching.
"W-what… dragon?"
"Kid, I don't know how you entered this dimensional space, but if I hadn't happened to pass by, you probably would've gotten lost in here forever."
The voice continued calmly.
Luke broke into a cold sweat. It wasn't like he wanted this either. First he had inexplicably transmigrated into the world of Yu-Gi-Oh. Then, after thinking that if he was already here, he might as well enjoy dueling, he'd finally managed to get his hands on a Duel Disk and scrape together a deck from here and there. By sheer luck, he'd run into Kaiba himself, so of course he'd challenged the man to a duel.
And Kaiba had actually accepted.
The duel had started, and just when Luke had finally managed to weather the assault of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Kaiba had shamelessly gone and summoned Obelisk the Tormentor to crush him.
A little awkwardly, Luke asked, "Um… may I ask who you are?"
"Listen well, kid. This great one is called the True Red Dragon God Emperor."
Luke nearly thought he'd misheard. "Say that again."
"This great one is called the True Red Dragon God Emperor."
"Say that again."
...
"Kid, are you done yet? How many times do I have to say it? This great one is called the True Red Dragon God Emperor."
The True Red Dragon God Emperor, who had lived for who knew how many years, sounded a little impatient. If Luke hadn't been the first living creature it had encountered since the Infinite Dragon God had been driven out, and if it weren't bored enough to want someone to talk to, it would have blasted him with dragon breath already.
"Oh no…"
After confirming that he hadn't misheard, Luke shouted aloud.
"Hey, hey, kid, what are you yelling for now? Quiet down."
"Isn't this High School DxD? I'm screwed!"
Luke started pacing in a panic. He had watched the anime. He knew perfectly well that this world had gods, dragons, devils, angels, fallen angels, humans, elves, and all kinds of beings that existed only in fantasy, yet here they were living for real on Earth.
And some people possessed Sacred Gears.
As the story developed, those things were practically everywhere. By the later stages, if you didn't have a Sacred Gear, you could barely even pretend you were qualified to join a fight.
Luke muttered to himself, "I'm just an ordinary card player. How the hell am I supposed to survive here?"
While he was still panicking, the True Red Dragon God Emperor spoke again.
"Kid, it's time for you to go back. The lower space is no longer suitable for you. One careless step and you'll be torn apart by dimensional forces."
"Go back? How am I supposed to go back?"
Luke was full of question marks. He'd been smacked into this place in the first place. There was no way he knew how to return.
"Don't tell me, kid… you really don't know how to get back?"
Luke nodded, though he wasn't sure whether the dragon could even see him.
"Hahahaha! Kid, were you smacked in here or something?"
The True Red Dragon God Emperor's laughter echoed throughout the dimension.
Luke's face darkened. Damn it. He guessed right.
"Huh? Huh? Huh?! Why am I floating?!"
Luke stared in shock as his body suddenly lifted off the ground.
"Hey, kid, stop yelling. I'm about to smack you back. Before you go, tell me your name."
The True Red Dragon God Emperor's voice boomed with solemn majesty as it questioned him.
"Lu- Luke. Old Dragon."
The moment it heard Luke call it Old Dragon, the True Red Dragon God Emperor burst into laughter.
"Old Dragon? Hahahahaha! You're quite an interesting one."
Its laughter shook the dimensional space once more. In all the years of its existence, this was the first time a human had ever addressed it that way. It was, frankly, rather unbelievable.
"Kid, before you leave, I'll give you something."
As it spoke, the True Red Dragon God Emperor began chanting a spell. One layer of arcane power after another crawled across Luke's body. Soon, wisps of smoke began rising from him.
"Kid, a human body is too weak, and the lifespan is too short. I'll reshape you into a dragonman body. The only obvious benefit is a longer life. If fate allows, we'll meet again."
The moment it finished speaking, it flung Luke straight toward a dimensional crack.
A moment later, Luke shot out of the rift and began plummeting through the air at terrifying speed.
"Holy shit, Old Dragon, you're insane, AHHH! It hurts! It hurts!"
His body was in the middle of being reconstructed, and Luke couldn't spare any attention for the fact that he was falling from the sky. All he could feel was pain, pain so intense it seemed to shake both body and soul. Soon, he blacked out.
A crackling, sizzling sound echoed from his body.
Then
Splash!
Luke fell into a lake, and blood quickly spread out, staining the entire surface red.
"Mom, the lake turned red!"
A childish voice rang out in the silent night, startlingly clear. Soon, two figures appeared by the lakeshore.
"Mom, look! There's someone floating over there!"
Himejima Akeno pointed in one direction as she spoke to Himejima Shuri.
"Akeno, Mommy sees him."
Shuri followed the direction Akeno was pointing.
Before long, the two of them pulled Luke out of the water.
"Mom, it's scary…"
The sight of Luke covered in blood frightened Akeno so much that she hid behind Shuri, peeking out with only her head exposed.
"It's alright, it's alright. Don't be scared, Akeno. Big Brother is just hurt."
Shuri comforted her gently, then used her magic to carry Luke back to the secluded shrine where they were living in seclusion.
...
A week later
Luke slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a pair of bright, watery eyes staring at him.
"Big Brother, you're awake!"
Akeno said happily.
"Where… am I?"
Luke asked.
"Big Brother, this is Akeno's home," Akeno said, blinking her big, gleaming eyes at him.
Luke nodded.
"Akeno, huh?"
"Huh? How does Big Brother know my name?"
Akeno tilted her head in confusion.
"Didn't you just tell me?"
Luke smiled. It was hard to imagine that the girl who would one day be known as the Shrine Maiden of Lightning and Rias's Queen had once been this adorably innocent.
"Oh, right. Big Brother knows Akeno's name now, but Akeno still doesn't know Big Brother's name."
Luke slowly sat up, then lifted Akeno off his body and gently set her to the side.
"Akeno, my name is Luke. It's nice to meet you."
Without thinking, he placed a hand on her head and began to stroke it.
The moment Akeno realized someone was patting her head, her face flushed red.
"Luke? Big Brother isn't Japanese?"
Akeno looked puzzled.
"Mm. Big Brother is from faraway place."
Luke found the feeling of patting Akeno's head unexpectedly pleasant, so he gave it a few more strokes.
Akeno's face turned even redder, and a faint glimmer of tears had already begun to gather in her eyes.
Seeing that, Luke withdrew his hand. The next instant, Akeno darted out of the room like a flash.
"Mom, Big Brother woke up!"
Not long after, a figure walked in, with a tiny Akeno following behind her.
"Oh my, you're awake. I'm Himejima Shuri. Akeno told me your name is Luke, and that you're from a foreign country."
Shuri knelt beside Luke and studied him closely. Beside her, Akeno copied her mannerisms almost perfectly.
Luke gave a small nod. "Mm."
"Your body still hasn't fully recovered, so please get some rest."
With that, Shuri took Akeno and left the room.
…
As the seasons passed, Luke had already lived at Akeno's home for a full year. When the new year arrived, his body had finally finished reconstructing.
Luke had met Baraqiel and was fairly familiar with him, but because of Baraqiel's work, Akeno rarely got to see her father. So she always clung to Luke, listening as he told her stories from his previous life. The two had become incredibly close.
Even Shuri could only smile helplessly at the sight.
Then one day, Luke suddenly announced that he wanted to leave.
That instantly sent Akeno into a panic. She refused no matter what.
Seeing her cry so miserably, and with Shuri also asking him to stay, Luke had no choice but to drop the matter and never bring it up again.
"I say, Akeno, why won't you let me leave?"
Luke asked as he patted Akeno's head.
"You just can't go, that's all. If you keep talking about it, I won't talk to you anymore."
Seeing that tears were about to well up in Akeno's eyes again, Luke quickly began telling her a story.
"So, once upon a time, there was a little girl selling nuclear bombs. On Christmas Day, she was cold and hungry, and she missed her grandmother terribly. Then, as if under some strange spell, she took out a match. With a single strike, she lit a nuclear bomb. That night, everyone in town got to see the little girl's grandmother."
"Heeheehee, Brother Luke is telling some silly jokes again."
Luke's story made Akeno giggle nonstop.
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