Meme Lore

In the afternoon, in a corner of Tokyo, the sun was gradually setting. Within a narrow alley hidden in a divine realm that ordinary people could not see, ten thousand water arrows shot out in unison under the command of the Surging Current Yokai Lord. They completely blanketed the wolf yokai's position. Amidst the surging waves, the wolf yokai was submerged without a shred of resistance. Heart-wrenching screams echoed through the dark alley as Stone Jizo crouched in the corner, watching it all in terror.

As the screams faded and the torrent calmed, only a mangled body remained where the wolf yokai had stood. The armor was shattered and scattered; the flesh beneath was torn and pierced. A large amount of blood flowed from the broken corpse, merging into the water that flooded the alley. Countless Secret Lore cards floated on the blood-stained water. Kingyohime, the Queen of Arakawa who had been on the wolf yokai's side, was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, his life points hit zero. It seems I've won," Miketsu said calmly, looking at the motionless corpse in the water. After her earlier experience in the card shop, where her bad skill had caused her some frustration, this victory through a 'card duel' had significantly relieved her irritation.

'Phew! Regardless of the cards used, I finally won a round without relying on pure luck, even if this was more of a fight than a duel,' Miketsu thought, breathing a long sigh of relief. Yet, she felt a lingering desire for more; she suddenly wanted to have a few more of these 'matches.'

With a casual wave of her hand, Miketsu dismissed the Secret Lore Yokai she had summoned—the Lord of Arakawa. Then, she turned her gaze toward Stone Jizo, who was shivering in the corner. Sensing her eyes on him, Stone Jizo shuddered and prostrated himself on the ground, shouting loudly.

"Thank—thank you for saving my life, Great One!"

At his words, Miketsu offered a faint smile. She looked at the Secret Lore cards he was still clutching tightly and spoke.

"That fellow only wanted to steal your cards. Why talk about saving your life?"

Stone Jizo spoke up urgently. "My cards are my life! These are the result of three hundred years of my hard work! If they were taken, I'd rather be dead!"

'Wow, a truly hardcore card geek. To think these Secret Lore cards have been circulating for a thousand years and still maintain this kind of vitality among yokai.'

"Alright. You should leave. Go to the nearest branch of the Nura Clan and have them clean up this mess."

"Yes, yes!" Upon hearing this, Stone Jizo immediately clutched his Secret Lore cards and scurried away.

Miketsu walked slowly toward the mangled corpse in the bloody water, whose life points had reached zero. She discovered that what should have been the body of a wolf yokai had now completely changed its appearance. The wolf-headed monster had turned into a pale-skinned young man with short hair.

'This is a shape-shifting yokai. The wolf form was just a disguise. It seems this fellow moved through various places under different guises to hunt for Secret Lore cards.' Seeing the change in the corpse, Miketsu immediately guessed the gist of the situation. She scanned her surroundings and focused on a small wooden stick lying on a pile of junk in the alley. She picked it up.

"Now, let me see the secrets hidden behind you. Causality Retrospection."

Using the 'wolf yokai's' blood as a medium, Miketsu once again peered into causality, perceiving everything about the man's past. In just a second, the entire sequence of events became clear to her.

"I see. From the Edo period... Hyakumonogatari? This world is still capable of producing other powers of Hyakumonogatari?" Her retrospection complete, Miketsu stood tall and looked toward the sky.

"I feel like I haven't quite gotten that card-playing urge out of my system. Perfect."

At dusk, during the Oma-ga-toki.

Inside an ancient Japanese-style mansion within a certain yokai Secret Realm in Tokyo, a strange yokai with short hair named Encho sat in a room. He fanned himself with a folding fan while gazing at the distant sunset outside the window. Not far from him, the yokai named Kyozai continued to use his brush to rewrite Secret Lore cards.

Suddenly, Encho's expression froze. His brows furrowed. As if sensing something, he snapped his folding fan shut.

"Tamasaburo is dead," Encho said, his tone turning solemn.

Hearing this, Kyozai's hand stopped. "What? That shouldn't be. He had so many powerful Secret Lore cards on him. I just gave him the unsealed Queen of Arakawa, and combined with his own strength... there's no reason he would be killed so easily," Kyozai said, a trace of shock on his face. Encho continued to murmur darkly.

"I don't know. I know nothing. I can't use Kotodama to gather any useful information. Tamasaburo's death was extremely sudden; he might not have even had the chance to fight back. That's why he couldn't even call out to us for help."

"You mean he ran into a powerful enemy? Was it the Head of the Nura Clan? Or their young master? Or..." Kyozai speculated. Encho shook his head slightly.

"I don't know. But my intuition tells me this place is likely no longer safe. we need to change our base."

Encho spoke cautiously. Just as he was about to arrange the evacuation, a sudden knock sounded at their door. Both of them were startled and looked toward the source of the sound. They saw a petite shadow projected onto the paper door.

"Who is it?" Encho asked bluntly. He thought it might be another yokai from the base, but the response was the voice of a girl he didn't recognize.

"Ah, I'm just a passing Secret Lore duelist. I heard you have a collection of very powerful Secret Lore cards, so I came to visit. I wanted to see what kind of powerful cards you have. If possible, I’m hoping for a 'match' that gets the blood pumping."

Hearing the girl outside, both Encho and Kyozai were stunned. Looking at the shadow on the paper door, Encho asked directly.

"Heard? From whom did you hear that we have many Secret Lore cards?"

The shadow on the door replied slowly.

"That... let me think. I believe his name was Tamasaburo."

At those words, Encho and Kyozai shuddered. Kyozai immediately grabbed his brush and, with a few strokes, painted several tiger forms on the ground. With a roar, the tigers constructed from ink leaped from the flat floor, turning into real beasts that lunged toward the shadow. That wasn't all—Kyozai then pulled out a Secret Lore card, from which a massive white tiger emerged. The giant tiger roared as it charged alongside the painted tigers toward the shadow on the door.

At that moment, from behind the paper door, the girl's voice continued.

"Legend has it, in a foreign land called Ionia, there lived a Blade Dancer skilled in killing tigers with a slide tackle... Meme Lore Summoning—Irelia!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the paper door exploded inward. A woman wearing form-fitting pink and blue armor, draped in flowing ribbons with long, loose hair, charged into the room. Countless cold, sharp blades floated around her.

Facing the ferocious tigers pouncing toward her, the woman—exuding an ethereal aura—performed a swift, sharp slide, passing directly beneath the leaping pack. The floating blades followed her, accurately carving open the bellies of every tiger. The beasts collapsed to the floor, their entrails spilling everywhere.

"What?!" Kyozai, still holding his brush, was struck with shock. Just as he was about to pull out another Secret Lore card, two blades appeared in rapid succession on his left and right before piercing into him. Kyozai was struck on both sides, his body pinned in place, unable to move. With a look of terror, he could only watch as the woman's figure, accompanied by countless blades, sprinted toward him.

Finally, Kyozai was pierced by numerous blades simultaneously. The momentum pinned him to the wall. His eyes lost focus, and his hand holding the brush twitched twice before relaxing, letting the brush fall to the floor.

'What... what kind of yokai is this... to kill so many tiger yokai in one breath...'

And just like that, the core of the Hyakumonogatari Group, the 'Hand' of Yamamoto who created yokai, had his defenses broken in an instant and was pinned to the wall. Beside him, Encho stood frozen, staring at the figure standing outside the shattered paper door.

Under the sunset, Miketsu, still dressed as a high school student, stood behind the broken door. She smiled at the scene inside, looking at her summoned Meme Lore Yokai, Irelia, and the pinned Kyozai.

"Oh dear, this fellow duelist doesn't seem to have much etiquette. We haven't even decided who goes first, nor have we agreed on the rules, yet he was so eager to start. What a pity," Miketsu said, her gaze shifting to the silent Encho.

"So, is this remaining duelist ready for a match? Since I already made a move last round, it should be your turn now."

Seeing Miketsu's actions, Encho didn't speak immediately. After a long silence, he took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"So you are a Secret Lore duelist who came here for our reputation. My friend just now didn't know the rules; please forgive him. Since you are here for a match, I will accept. It just so happens I have some powerful cards I collected recently."

As he spoke, Encho pulled out a Secret Lore card depicting a giant, horned, demonic turtle.

"It is said that there is a demon turtle, King of the Underworld, who commands thunder and possesses a shell harder than diamond!"

During Encho's summoning, a burst of black smoke erupted from the card. From the mist, a massive turtle yokai emerged. It had horns on its head and a human-like face. The shell on its back was layered with dragon-like scales and spikes. Its massive body filled the small room, eventually bursting through the house. Tiles and debris from the roof rained down constantly. Encho hid behind the demon turtle, using it to shield himself from the falling roof while his mind raced.

'I don't know where this enemy came from, but she can actually command complete Secret Lore Yokai. I've never heard of that yokai named Irelia, but her speed is extraordinarily fast—so fast she killed Kyozai before I could even react. Truly terrifying.'

'The best way to deal with this high-speed type is to summon a yokai with extreme defense. In a moment, I'll go inside the shell of the Hades Beast. This all-around defense will be invincible.'

Thinking this, Encho commanded the Hades Beast to open a gap in its shell so he could crawl inside. He did not want to be taken out by a direct attack on the player from behind.

Currently, standing before the collapsed house, Miketsu faced this ferocious giant turtle yokai. The giant turtle stared intently at Miketsu, bright electrical arcs dancing across its thick shell.

Irelia, light as a swallow, flew toward the giant turtle, attacking every corner of it with her blades in a rapid assault. However, it had no effect. The sharp blades only produced sparks on the thick shell. Even the exposed flesh of the giant turtle was extremely thick; Irelia's small blades didn't cause much damage even when fully embedded, failing to reach any vitals beneath the skin. Against such a high-defense target, her attacks began to feel like mere scraping.

With a roar, the giant turtle began to release arcs of lightning from its shell. Irelia used her blades to guide the arcs away from her before landing back on the ground.

"Hades Beast... the yokai reputed to have the ultimate defense? Interesting. In that case..." Miketsu murmured, seeing this. In her hand, another Secret Lore card condensed. On it was a lean man, bare-chested and wearing glasses.

"Legend has it, the physiques of men cannot be generalized. Meme Lore Summoning—Extremely Angry Man!"