Chapter 37 – After the Grand Prix

The conference hall erupted into applause.

The moment the Head Judge declared Victor Von Doom the winner of the First Duel Monsters Grand Prix, the spectators rose from their seats and cheered.

Some applauded, some whistled, and others simply shouted Victor's name.

At the same time, dozens of employees immediately sprang into action.

While the audience celebrated, tables were moved, banners adjusted, and a small podium was assembled near the centre of the stage.

The tournament might have ended, but the event had not, as the premiation ceremony still had to take place.

Alexander watched everything unfold with a satisfied smile while thinking, 'Not so long ago Duel Monsters had barely existed at the state level, but now hundreds of people had gathered to watch a card game tournament. Not bad. Not bad at all. And this is only the beginning...'

After a few minutes, everything was ready, and the Head Judge stepped aside and gestured toward Alexander.

Taking a deep breath, Alexander walked onto the stage and as soon as they noticed his presence, the applause immediately grew louder.

He waited patiently until the noise died down, then he spoke, "First of all, thank you all for participating in the first Duel Monsters Grand Prix."

More applause, cheers, and whistles followed.

Alexander smiled and continued, "Now, let's begin with the awards."

The audience immediately quieted as everyone loved prizes.

"Would Virginia Potts and Dante Venturi please come up to the stage?"

Ginny confidently walked forward while Dante followed at a much slower pace; the old man looked far more amused than excited.

Alexander greeted both of them before taking out two small packages, "For reaching the Top Four, each of you will receive three booster packs and an exclusive Grand Prix playmat."

The crowd applauded.

Ginny accepted her reward with a proud grin, and Dante chuckled as he accepted his and said, "At my age, I didn't expect to be winning prizes from a children's card game."

Several people laughed.

Alexander smiled and said, "Yet here you are."

"Yet here I am." The old man nodded.

The audience applauded once more as both participants stepped aside.

Then Alexander continued, "Next, I'd like to invite our runner-up."

Immediately the crowd grew louder.

"Charles Irvin Zane."

Chuck practically leapt onto the stage.

The applause was deafening.

Despite losing the finals, nobody could deny he had put on one hell of a performance.

Alexander handed him an exclusive playmat along with five booster packs.

Chuck accepted them with sparkling eyes, then he suddenly looked toward the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, this means I am officially the second strongest duelist in the world!"

The crowd laughed.

Alexander raised an eyebrow and shot back, "There are around 200 players that took part in this tournament. Calling yourself the second strongest is a bit too soon."

Chuck pointed dramatically at him, "Details. Until you organise a World Tournament, I'll still consider myself the second strongest."

Alexander sighed and said, "By that logic, everyone here just became part of the world rankings, with the guy who lost in round one must be the around 200th strongest duelist in the world."

The crowd burst into laughter.

Chuck paused and commented, "...That sounds official enough to me."

Then he gasped and turned to the audience. "Congratulations, everyone!"

The laughter only intensified, and even Victor looked mildly amused.

Chuck eventually stepped aside while still admiring his rewards.

Before Alexander could continue, Chuck suddenly stopped and pointed toward Victor, calling him out, "Hey."

Victor looked at him.

Chuck pointed at the championship trophy and said, "I demand a rematch."

"No."

"You didn't even think about it."

"I did."

Chuck frowned before saying, "You thought about it for half a second."

"It was sufficient."

Several people nearby snickered.

Chuck looked personally offended, "One lucky topdeck and suddenly you're too good for rematches."

Victor raised an eyebrow, "One lucky topdeck?"

"Fine. Several lucky topdecks."

Ginny immediately joined in, "You lost."

Chuck turned toward her, "I am aware."

"You lost twice."

"I am painfully aware."

"Then stop whining."

"I'm not whining." Chuck protested, "I'm gathering data for future improvements."

Dante chuckled from the side, "In my experience, that's usually what people call whining."

The crowd laughed.

Chuck pointed accusingly at the old man, "I expected better from you."

"I was eliminated before you."

"And?"

"And therefore I have accepted my defeat."

Chuck looked horrified, "That's a terrible mindset."

Victor stared at him for several seconds, then he asked, "Do you ever stop talking?"

Chuck opened his mouth, paused, thought about it, then answered honestly, "No."

The audience erupted into laughter once again.

Then Alexander turned toward the final award and the hall gradually fell silent.

Everyone knew what was coming.

"Now, let's invite the champion of the First Duel Monsters Grand Prix."

A brief pause.

"Victor Von Doom!"

The applause returned, less explosive than Chuck's but more respectful.

Victor calmly walked onto the stage, and his expression remained composed as always.

Alexander handed him the ceremonial check of one thousand dollars, which was a considerable sum for a card game prize.

The audience applauded once more.

But Alexander wasn't finished; he reached beneath the podium and then slowly produced an ornate card-sized case.

The moment people saw it, curiosity spread throughout the hall, and even the reporters leaned forward.

Alexander deliberately let the silence stretch as a little suspense never hurt, then he opened the case.

Inside rested a single card.

For a moment, the audience simply stared, then the realisation hit.

The dragon depicted on the card possessed black scales darker than midnight, powerful wings and crimson eyes emitting a terrifying and majestic presence.

Gasps erupted throughout the hall, then came the shouting.

"That dragon!"

"No way!"

"How freaking cool!"

"That's incredible!"

"Look at that artwork!"

Several dragon enthusiasts nearly exploded from excitement, but none more so than Chuck, who wailed, "THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE!"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Alexander completely ignored his friend's antics and offered the card to Victor.

Victor accepted the card, but the moment his fingers touched it, something felt different.

Subtly yet undeniably.

His eyes narrowed while he thought, 'What is this... The sensation isn't quite the same as Summoned Skull, nor is it like any other card I have held before. This one feels... Special. The card almost seems to possess a presence of life on its own.'

Victor studied it silently, then quietly muttered, "Ultra Rare, huh..."

His gaze slowly shifted toward Alexander, who met his eyes and, for a brief moment, neither spoke yet both understood something.

Victor had noticed, and Alexander knew he had noticed.

The exchange lasted only a second before Victor placed the card inside its case and, without another word, he stepped away.

Alexander cleared his throat and said to the audience, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you once again for participating."

The audience focused on him.

"The First Duel Monsters Grand Prix may be over, but this is only the beginning."

Several players immediately perked up.

Alexander grinned and said, "The next booster set is already in development."

Excited whispers spread through the crowd as he continued, "New monsters."

More whispers.

"New spells."

A few cheers.

"Even more traps."

More groaned out loud.

"And perhaps a few surprises here and there."

The reaction was immediate as everyone began speculating exactly as Alexander intended.

After a few final words of thanks directed toward the players, judges, employees, and spectators, the ceremony officially concluded.

People slowly began leaving the conference hall, yet the excitement refused to die.

Everywhere Alexander looked, people were discussing cards, trading strategies, talking about favourite monsters and arguing about the strongest deck.

Chuck could be heard loudly complaining about Red-Eyes Black Dragon while Ginny seemed to be enjoying his suffering immensely.

Meanwhile, employees and workers immediately began dismantling equipment.

Televisions disappeared, cables were rolled up, cameras were carefully packed away.

The entire hall gradually transformed back into an ordinary conference room.

Only now did Alexander finally feel the exhaustion settling into his body.

The tournament had lasted all day, and he had spent nearly every minute either organising, supervising, or speaking.

He stretched slightly before looking toward Roland and said, "I'm going outside for a bit."

Roland nodded and replied, "Of course, Master Alexander."

"You don't mind?"

Roland looked genuinely confused and asked, "You have been working without a break for almost ten hours."

"Fair point."

"I will oversee the cleanup."

Alexander smiled and said, "Thanks."

With that settled, he left the hall, and the moment the doors closed behind him, his pace noticeably increased.

His relaxed expression vanished as a far more urgent concern had appeared, namely his bladder.

The absurd amount of water he had consumed throughout the day to stay hydrated was now demanding repayment, immediately.

Alexander quickened his pace, then quickened it again; at this point he wasn't even pretending to be casual anymore.

"Move."

"Move."

"Move."

Several unfortunate employees quickly stepped aside as Alexander speedwalked through the corridor.

"Mr Alexander, there is a question regarding the inventory—"

"Later."

"The reporters would like—"

"Later."

"Someone from accounting—"

"Especially later."

Conquering industries and changing the world was temporary; biological necessities were eternal.

A minute later, he finally reached the nearest restroom, and without hesitation, he entered the first available stall.

Several moments later...

"Haaaa~"

Alexander released a long sigh while thinking, 'Finally... Peace, true peace. Worth it. Absolutely worth it.'

After finishing, he stepped out and washed his hands. The cool water felt surprisingly refreshing.

For the first time all day, nobody was asking him questions, nobody needed anything, and nobody was trying to organise something.

It was nice.

The restroom door suddenly opened, and Alexander instinctively glanced toward it, then froze as Victor Von Doom had just entered.

Alexander blinked as the Latverian boy calmly closed the door behind him and walked directly toward him.

No greeting, no small talk, and absolutely no hesitation; he simply stated, "I wished to speak with you privately."

Alexander immediately became cautious as he asked, "About?"

Victor studied him for a moment before replying, "Your game."

Alexander forced himself to remain calm and repeated, hoping that playing dumb would be more than enough, "My game?"

"More specifically." Victor's eyes narrowed as he added, "The entities connected to it."

Alexander's heart skipped a beat, and for a brief moment neither spoke.

Victor then continued, "I felt something during the tournament."

His voice remained calm, "Twice. One coming from Charles' card and another from mine."

Alexander carefully considered his options, 'Deny everything? Tell the truth? Lie? Attempt a half-truth? Bullshit his way out, hoping to confuse him enough?'

However, before he could decide, the temperature in the room dropped instantly.

The sensation was immediate.

The comfortable warmth of the restroom vanished as if someone had opened a door into the middle of winter.

Goosebumps spread across Alexander's arms.

The air became cold, then colder, then colder still.

A thin layer of frost suddenly crept across the edge of one of the mirrors.

Alexander froze while thinking, 'What the fuck? The restroom's ventilation system can't possibly do that.'

At the same time, a strange silence settled over the room.

The fluorescent lights still buzzed overhead, water still dripped from one of the faucets, yet both sounds seemed distant and muted as though something was pressing down on the world itself.

Victor immediately turned, and Alexander followed a heartbeat later.

The restroom entrance stood empty; then the lights flickered.

Once. Twice. Three times.

For the briefest moment, darkness swallowed the room.

And when the light returned, someone was standing there.

Alexander's breath caught as he hadn't heard the door open, hadn't heard footsteps, and hadn't seen anyone enter.

The figure simply existed as though it had always been standing there and reality had only now decided to acknowledge it.

Every instinct in Alexander's body immediately began screaming.

Wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong.

His Spiritual Awareness erupted with intensity unlike anything he had experienced before.

The sensation was so overwhelming that for a moment it almost hurt.

The stranger appeared human; it had two arms, two legs and a face, and his figure was tall and impossibly still.

A long black trench coat hung from his shoulders, the fabric old-fashioned and heavy enough that it should have rustled whenever he moved. Yet it didn't. Not even slightly.

A dark fedora shadowed most of his face, concealing his features beneath a curtain of darkness that seemed deeper than it should have been. The restroom lights shone directly above him, yet the shadows clinging to his eyes refused to retreat.

At first glance, he looked completely human, but the second glance ruined that illusion.

His proportions were correct, but somehow too correct. Every angle of his body possessed an unnatural symmetry that made Alexander think of a mannequin sculpted by someone who had only read descriptions of human beings.

The visible portion of his face appeared pale and handsome in an old-fashioned sort of way.

Perfectly handsome, uncomfortably so, as not a single blemish marked his skin. Not a wrinkle. Not a pore. It was the kind of flawless appearance that stopped feeling attractive and started feeling artificial.

His smile didn't help.

The corners of his mouth were raised in a polite expression that might have belonged to a businessman greeting a client, yet somehow it never reached his eyes because his eyes weren't smiling; in fact, they weren't doing much of anything; they simply watched.

Alexander felt a chill crawl up his spine.

The longer he looked, the more difficult it became to focus on the stranger's face. His features seemed to subtly shift whenever his attention wandered. A nose that looked slightly too narrow one moment appeared perfectly normal the next. His jawline changed. His cheekbones moved.

Just enough to make Alexander question whether he had actually seen it happen.

The mirrors seemed to share his confusion.

One reflection showed the man standing exactly where he should be, another lagged behind by a fraction of a second, a third appeared slightly taller than the figure itself.

Then all three matched again.

The water in the sink trembled harder as a thin layer of frost spread across the metal faucet.

The stranger remained motionless.

Watching, waiting, smiling, and somehow that smile felt less human than a mouth full of fangs.

The fluorescent lights overhead flickered again, and the temperature continued falling.

Victor's posture shifted, and Alexander immediately noticed it.

For the first time since meeting him, Victor looked genuinely tense, like a soldier recognising an enemy.

His eyes locked onto the newcomer, then he spoke a single word with a low growl carrying absolute certainty, "Demon."