"Looks like this duel is over!" someone exclaimed.
"My turn—draw!"
Jōnouchi didn't even glance at the card he drew. He went straight for the finish.
"Battle! Red-Eyes Slash Dragon attacks the player directly!"
"I activate Call of the Archfiend! I send a Fiend from my hand to the Graveyard, then Special Summon Trembling Tyrant King—Primordial Archfiend from my Graveyard in Defense Position!"
Trembling Tyrant King—Primordial Archfiend (3000/2000)
"Now I won't lose this duel!" the Duelist Hunter declared.
"Then I activate Red-Eyes Fang with Chain's effect. I send this equipped card to the Graveyard to target one Effect Monster on the field. That monster becomes an Equip Card and is equipped to the monster that previously had this card equipped. If I equip it, my equipped monster's ATK and DEF become the same as that monster's."
"What?!" the Hunter shouted.
"I'm turning your Primordial Archfiend into an Equip Card for my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!"
A black chain—its tip shaped like a Red-Eyes Black Dragon—shot out and bound the Primordial Archfiend tight, dragging it over and forcing it to become Slash Dragon's equipment.
Red-Eyes Slash Dragon (3000/2000)
"How can this be…?!"
"It's over," Kisaragi said calmly.
"Battle! Red-Eyes Slash Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon attack the player directly—twin Black Flame Shots!"
"AAAH!"
Duelist Hunter LP 3300 → 0
Jōnouchi Katsuya wins!(Metal Stars: 8)
"No… no way! I lost to trash like him?!" the Hunter roared.
Furious, he slammed a switch on the Duel Machine. A pillar of flame erupted from Jōnouchi's platform, swallowing him whole.
"JōNOUCHI!!"
Mai was the first to sprint forward, screaming his name.
"What a filthy piece of scum," Yugi's Millennium Puzzle flared—and Dark Yugi emerged.
"You don't deserve to call yourself a duelist." Dark Yugi raised his hand toward the Hunter.
"Mind Shock!"
A crushing force slammed into the Hunter's spirit. He dropped to his knees instantly—and the flames around Jōnouchi vanished.
Jōnouchi stepped down from the machine, drenched in cold sweat.
"Whew… that scared me to death!"
"Jōnouchi—are you okay?" Mai asked, her voice tight with worry.
Seeing how genuinely shaken she was, warmth suddenly spread through Jōnouchi's chest.
"I'm fine. And also—"
He ran over, yanked the 12 Metal Stars off the Hunter, and came back.
"Mai—here. These are your 8 stars. And these 8 belong to Yugi. The remaining 4 can be my fee."
"No," Mai said, pushing his hand back. "Jōnouchi, those eight should be yours. You won the duel. If I accept them, my pride as a duelist would be trampled."
But Jōnouchi caught her hand and pressed the eight stars into her palm anyway.
"Jōnouchi…?"
"Mai, you entered this tournament for your dream, right? I did too. If it were me, I'd never give up. Even if the Metal Stars were 'handouts'—I'd still grab them. Because to me, those stars are my dream. And you can't lose your dream."
"If you still won't accept them… then toss them into the sea. That's your choice."
Mai stared at the Metal Stars in her hand. The warmth of his grip still lingered there. For the first time, she felt a kind of warmth she'd never received from any other man.
"Fine. I'll take them," she said quietly. "And I'll repay this debt—no matter what. But until that day comes… I won't meet you again."
With that, Mai slung her bag over her shoulder and walked off into the darkness.
"Mai…" Jōnouchi murmured.
"You… you're pretty good at acting cool," Honda said, elbowing him in the arm.
"Mind your own business!" Jōnouchi snapped, cheeks faintly red.
"Looks like a seed of love has already been planted between those two," Kisaragi said.
That night, Kaiba had already set up two tents.
Kisaragi and Anzu slept in the smaller one. Yugi and the three boys squeezed into the larger tent. Kaiba stayed outside by the campfire.
Because it was her first time sleeping in a tent, Kisaragi couldn't fall asleep. Anzu was already out cold, so she quietly slipped out.
The moment she emerged, she saw Kaiba staring into the fire, his expression heavy.
"Kaiba?" she called softly.
His gaze cleared as he heard her voice.
"You're not asleep?"
"Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd sit for a bit." She sat beside him. "Since you came back from the shore, you've seemed troubled. What happened?"
Kaiba didn't answer right away.
"Kisaragi… tomorrow, once I have enough Metal Stars, I'm going to enter the castle first and challenge Pegasus."
"What? You're going in ahead of everyone?"
Kisaragi felt a bad premonition crawl up her spine.
If Kaiba went in alone, he'd lose to Pegasus—and his soul would be sealed. Then it hit her.
"Did something happen to Mokuba?"
Only Mokuba could make Kaiba this desperate.
"The Big Five want to speed up taking control of KaibaCorp," Kaiba said coldly. "They went to my estate and took Mokuba. He's in Pegasus's castle dungeon right now."
Seeing Kaiba like this, Kisaragi couldn't bring herself to stop him.
"I understand. Tomorrow, if a challenger shows up, I'll let you take it first—then you can enter the castle."
"…Thanks."
Kaiba looked toward Pegasus's castle, his eyes hardening with resolve.
In the other tent, Yugi hadn't slept well either—four people crammed together was miserable. When he stepped outside, he'd overheard Kaiba and Kisaragi's conversation.
"Grandpa…" Yugi whispered.
"Aibou, I heard it too," Dark Yugi said. "I don't think Kaiba can defeat Pegasus on his own. Even if Kisaragi goes personally, I think it would still be extremely difficult. The Millennium Item's power… is terrifying."
"A Millennium Item…" Yugi touched the Puzzle on his chest. "If Kaiba is determined, no one can stop him. All we can do now… is hope he comes back safely."
…
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
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