"I tribute Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Jounouchi declared. "From my hand, I Special Summon—Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon!"
A black dragon streaked with crimson patterns tore through the storm clouds and landed with a heavy thud on his side of the field.
Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon (2400/2000)
Kaiba's eyes narrowed—not because of the numbers, but because of the implication.
"An 'Alternative' form…?" he muttered, thinking of his own deck.
Jounouchi didn't let the moment breathe.
"Now I Normal Summon Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning again—and activate its effect! I destroy all Defense Position monsters with DEF lower than this card's ATK!"
Thunder rolled across the arena. Amazoness Empress stepped in front of Amazoness Fighter—and took the brunt of the lightning.
Mai's voice cut through the crackle of electricity, calm and sharp.
"Too bad, Jounouchi. While Amazoness Empress is on the field, my other 'Amazoness' monsters can't be destroyed by battle or card effects."
She didn't stop there.
"And if my face-up Fusion Summoned Amazoness Empress leaves the field by an opponent's effect or is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon Amazoness Queen from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard."
"Come forth—Amazoness Queen!"
Amazoness Queen (2400/1800)
Jounouchi's jaw tightened.
"Battle! Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon attacks Amazoness Queen!"
Mai's eyes widened. "What?! You're making them kill each other?!"
Red-black energy blasted from Alternative Black Dragon's mouth and struck the Queen—yet as she fell, she hurled her massive blade like a javelin. The weapon pierced the dragon's chest.
Both monsters shattered in the same instant.
Mai exhaled, steadying herself. "Even if you take down the Queen, your Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning alone can't reduce my Life Points to zero!"
Jounouchi grinned.
"You're forgetting the real reason I used Alternative."
He lifted a finger.
"Activate Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon's effect! When it's destroyed by battle or by an opponent's effect, I can Special Summon a Level 7 or lower 'Red-Eyes' monster from my Graveyard—except itself. And if the monster I summon is Red-Eyes Black Dragon, its original ATK becomes double!"
Mai's eyes snapped open. "What?!"
Even Kaiba looked genuinely startled. "It has that kind of follow-up?"
Jounouchi slammed his card down.
"Rise—Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
A familiar black dragon erupted onto the field—only this time, its presence was oppressive, almost violent.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon (4800/2000)
Mai closed her eyes.
"…I've lost."
But the corners of her lips trembled—not with despair, but with something dangerously close to relief.
Jounouchi didn't hesitate.
"Battle! Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning attacks Amazoness Fighter!"
Mai LP 4000 → 3300
"And now—Red-Eyes Black Dragon, direct attack! Black Flare!"
Mai raised her arms against the blaze.
Mai LP 3300 → 0
Jounouchi Katsuya wins!
"I hereby declare the second match of the finals round concluded!" Isono announced. "Winner—Jounouchi Katsuya!"
As the platform descended, the group surged forward—
—and immediately stopped, because Mai had already hooked an arm around Jounouchi's neck and was grinding her knuckles into the top of his head like she was trying to polish his skull.
"OW—OW—OW!" Jounouchi yelped.
Mai's face went red as she tried to keep her voice sharp.
"Jounouchi! If you're going to confess, don't do it in a place like that—at least…!"
She cut herself off, flustered.
Jounouchi groaned, rubbing his head. "That's because you were randomly mad! I had to use the only method that actually breaks through your armor!"
"Hmph." Mai turned away, refusing to look at him.
"You two are really getting along," Honda snickered, then dragged Jounouchi aside with the grin of a man about to die for gossip. "So when did you start liking Mai, huh? Not bad!"
"Shut up!" Jounouchi hissed, bright red again. "I had to build up a ridiculous amount of courage to say that!"
Nearby, Kisaragi walked up to Mai and pressed her hands together in apology.
"I'm sorry, Mai. This whole misunderstanding started because of me."
Mai shook her head immediately.
"I never blamed you. I was angry at him—he's never honest. And after everything that happened, it just… exploded."
She paused, then added with blunt certainty:
"And besides, there's no world where you'd choose Jounouchi when you already have Kaiba."
Kisaragi froze.
"…Wait. What do you mean 'when I already have Kaiba'?! He's… fine, sure, but—"
Her ears went hot, and she hated it.
Shizuka stepped in, smiling like she'd just won a bet with the universe.
"Mai—thank you for being okay again. My brother is exactly that kind of person. He needs someone to push him forward. If you're with him, I can finally relax."
Mai softened. "Shizuka… I'm sorry I worried you earlier."
"It's okay!" Shizuka beamed. "I really like you, Mai. If you end up with my brother, I'll be happy!"
Mai blinked. "By the way—where's Anzu? She should be here making fun of all of us."
No one answered fast enough.
Jounouchi walked back toward Mai, suddenly shy, shoulders awkward.
"Mai…"
The group collectively made the smartest decision of the day and drifted away. Nobody wanted to be the lamp post in that scene.
Kisaragi glanced over and saw Kaiba standing off to the side alone, arms folded, pretending he wasn't watching.
"Kaiba," she said quietly. "Let's go. It's their time."
"Hmph," he scoffed. "I don't have time to watch a third-rate confess."
He walked away—fast enough that it almost looked like he was fleeing.
Anzu stood at the door.
But her eyes were vacant. Her posture was too stiff.
She was being used.
The door opened. A tall woman stepped out—calm, dignified, with eyes that had seen too much.
"You're… the girl who was beside the nameless Pharaoh," she said.
"A-ah… sister…" Anzu's mouth moved, but the voice wasn't hers.
Isis's gaze sharpened. "Marik? It's really you."
"Yes," the voice replied from inside Anzu. "A fragment of my memory is lodged in this girl. I can possess her temporarily through it."
Isis's expression hardened. "Speak."
"Protect Rishid," Anzu said—too quickly, too urgently. "Protect him."
"I already did," Isis answered. "After he collapsed in the Shadow Game, I hid him somewhere else."
A slow clap echoed down the corridor.
"Ah. So you hid him… my dear sister."
A man stepped into view—smiling, but the smile had no warmth.
Anzu's eyes widened. "Y-You…?"
Isis's breath caught. "You're… the darkness inside me?"
He laughed softly.
"Yes. Rishid's presence kept me from emerging. I finally got out the moment he fell."
His eyes narrowed to slits.
"So the first thing I'm going to do…"
"…is erase Rishid."
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 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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