In the dark zone of the Spirit Dimension.
A pair of eyes slowly opened.
"You're back?" a gloomy voice asked.
A moment of silence, then the voice of the Wicked God—Eraser—spoke.
"Yeah."
The second brother of the Wicked Gods, Dreadroot, asked, "How did it go?"
Eraser replied vaguely, "Not bad, I guess."
Dreadroot said, "You failed."
Eraser: "…"
He had no response.
This really was unexpected. In fact, recent events had exceeded their expectations in every way. In their original plan, the three Wicked Gods should have run rampant in this era, slaughtering at will. Yet everywhere they went, they met resistance.
First, they lost to a human Duel King. Then, at Duel Academy, they were defeated by a mere student. Even the Wicked Gods were starting to doubt themselves—were they just out of practice after being sealed for so long, or had monsters of this caliber become commonplace?
How could the mighty Wicked Gods lose to just anyone?
The more Eraser thought about it, the angrier he became. He stood up again. "No, last time I was careless. This time, I'll take that kid and his spirit—"
"Save your strength."
A darker voice came from the depths of the shadows.
Hearing their elder brother speak, Eraser trembled and fell silent.
"The great battle is coming," the Avatar said. "Even though we're only operating through projections, it still drains our energy. You're the weakest of us. If you waste your strength before the big fight, you'll be our weak link—unless you actually capture that spirit. But if you fail again, you'll only be a liability."
Eraser was indignant, but said, "You're right, big brother."
Their true forms were still sealed and couldn't leave; even their outside actions were just projections inhabiting puppet bodies.
This allowed them to act, but it did drain their essence. Even if they didn't lose their source in a Shadow Duel, they'd still suffer.
Eraser asked, "By the way, what great battle do you mean?"
He hadn't seen anything make his big brother so serious in a long time.
Avatar replied, "A human duelist—the one they call the 'Duel King'—has probably discovered this place before us. They could attack at any moment."
Eraser's eyes flashed coldly. "They really dare come to us? To our territory, to die?"
"Apparently so. But don't get careless. We can't afford more mistakes," Avatar warned.
Dreadroot sneered, "We kept losing before because we couldn't leave in person. Now these foolish humans come here themselves—perfect."
Avatar did not disagree.
This place was their prison, but the three brothers had been here so long that even they'd lost track. The area was now their domain, a natural barrier; their power would be boosted to the maximum, while their enemies' strength would be suppressed.
"And if it comes to the final moment, the one from beyond time and space should help us break the seal," Dreadroot said.
Eraser nodded. "Right. That one promised to help us if it came to that. Once the seal is broken—not even a powerful human, not even the Pharaoh himself, could stop us."
Avatar knew his brothers were right and chuckled.
"Even now, humanity's ignorance is little changed from the past. They see only what's before them and think that's all there is. Ridiculous.
The world is on the brink of conflict, dimensional rifts are near. Countless worlds will fall into chaos. Darkness and destruction will follow…"
Dreadroot said, "But isn't that what we want?"
Avatar laughed.
"Of course."
The Wicked Gods sneered.
"That will be our era."
…
"President Kaiba?"
A ripple of translucent blue appeared before them; Kaiba Seto's virtual avatar strode forward on the waves, surprising even Kira.
Kaiba was always busy with KaibaCorp's global affairs; sometimes it was unclear if he was even on Earth, let alone in this dimension. Even Kira hadn't seen him for a while.
Kaiba approached, looked Kira up and down, and said, "You look sharp. Not slacking off, I see."
Kira replied, "After all the benefits I've gotten from you, President, I wouldn't dare let you down."
Kaiba smirked. "Hmph."
Maybe he was already planning his next rematch with Kira.
But not today, not now. Everyone here knew there was something more important to do.
Marik greeted him. "President."
"Marik, eh."
Kaiba replied coolly.
"Come to think of it, we still owe each other a duel from Battle City, don't we?"
Back then, Marik faced Joey and advanced, while Kaiba was knocked out by Yugi. The finals were Yugi versus Marik, so Kaiba never got to duel Marik.
Before Marik could respond, Kaiba grinned. "Just kidding."
Marik replied politely, "If you're interested, President, we can always find time to duel later."
Kaiba smiled but said nothing.
He'd always had chances to duel Marik—after all, Marik hadn't disappeared or anything. But Kaiba knew that the real Marik who fought for the God Cards back then was the now-defeated dark persona. The person before him, though strong, was not the one Kaiba wanted to challenge.
That was one reason why Kaiba's desire to duel had only grown—he constantly dreamed of going to the underworld to find his old rivals. Those top duelists he once recognized had either settled for retirement, disappeared, or died.
It was frustrating.
He always said he sought a worthy defeat but could never find one. It wasn't that he was at the top—he knew there were stronger people—but it was infuriating that they were all out of reach.
Which made the return of the Wicked Gods all the more exciting.
"Let's go."
Kaiba stepped forward.
"You're going after the Wicked Gods, right? Count me in. I have a score to settle with those three, too."
…
…
PS: Support me and read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode