It was a little beyond what KaibaCorp's engineers had planned for, but they had prepared contingency rescues for the tournament.
After all, no one could ever say what might happen in a Duel.
Some of the staff had personally watched Joey Wheeler get scorched unconscious by The Winged Dragon of Ra. As professionals, they took that kind of thing seriously and were ready.
Preparations, however, were only preparations.
When the Duel ended, the entire Duel Field was awash in black fire. Flames burned out of thin air with no fuel to feed them; even extinguishers were useless. Despite the combined efforts of Lightsworn spirits and a flock of Winged Beast Duel Spirits throwing up protective wards, plenty of spectators still got clipped by the Duel's lingering "aftershocks."
Atticus had tried his best to rein in the blaze, but even then, KaibaCorp couldn't promise zero incidents.
Naturally, the finals couldn't proceed.
KaibaCorp announced to all contestants and guests that the finals would be suspended for two days, partly as a recess, and partly to rework the arena from the ground up.
"Sigh… the President really is a step ahead," a suit in sunglasses said as he hefted equipment alongside his coworkers. "I kept wondering why he insisted that the deeper we got into the finals, the higher the Duel Field should be, until it's completely isolated, like a sky platform.
So that's why, huh?"
The young tech couldn't hide his admiration for Seto Kaiba. It was incredible that the President could even imagine something like this.
Several older employees traded a look. Even behind sunglasses, they knew exactly what the others were thinking. Yes, the President was farsighted; that much was true. He had warned that because the Spirit World could manifest a Duel Spirit's power directly, Duels might get dangerous.
But even he couldn't anticipate everything from the start.
He was human, not a god, no one could predict the future.
In any case, work came first. The crew rolled up their sleeves to rebuild the Duel Field and reinforce its safeguards, anything to lower the risk next time.
The two-day pause would also give everyone time to prepare more carefully.
Hikaru Amagi wasn't in a rush. After Atticus's match, there were still a few Duels before it would be his turn against Jim "Crocodile" Cook. He and a few friends headed for the KaibaCorp infirmary.
They'd barely reached the door when they saw Alexis pushing a wheelchair. In it sat Atticus, looking as carefree as ever, a rose in hand as he waved suavely at the nurse. Alexis looked furious, but seeing her brother was technically the patient, she held back from decking him.
"Where'd Atticus-senpai even get that rose?" Chazz blurted, his composed façade cracking as curiosity got the better of him.
From what he knew of Alexis, she might tolerate Atticus flirting, but she definitely wouldn't tolerate him running around the hospital, picking flowers, or breaking out a guitar, while he was supposed to be resting.
It was unstable, dangerous, even.
Which meant there was no way Atticus had a flower in his hand while being wheeled around.
And yet, right before Chazz's eyes, Atticus somehow produced a rose out of nowhere. Chazz stared, genuinely shocked.
'How did he even do that?'
"Hahaha! Curious, Chazz? Become my disciple and I'll teach you how to win a girl's heart! Look, Alexis is gorgeous, isn't she?"
"Brother!"
Alexis cut him off, voice sharp.
"Heh… seeing you lively enough to flirt, I'm relieved," said Hikaru with a small shake of his head and a laugh.
"Haha, sorry, Hikaru. I've lined up a super strong opponent for you!" Atticus flashed him a thumbs-up from the wheelchair.
"What are you even talking about? Where's this coming from?" Hikaru sighed. "Every opponent is strong; I can't promise I'll definitely win."
"That's right, Atticus-senpai's supposed to get ready for the revival match, isn't he? Judging by that Duel with Zane…" Bastion trailed off, shaking his head. He couldn't picture Atticus losing a revival match.
"Ah, that, I gave it up."
"Huh?" Everyone blinked.
Atticus lifted his hands in a helpless shrug. "You see the wheelchair, right? How am I dueling like this? The doctor says I need at least a week just to stabilize, and that's the optimistic take.
So there's no way I can participate. I forfeited."
With a flick that startled the onlookers, the rose vanished from his hand. He laced his fingers behind his head and sighed. "Shame, really, I wanted to duel Alexis. Knock her out of the bracket, then snap a face-to-face photo. That'd sell so well!"
"Brother!!" Alexis finally lost patience and gave the back of the wheelchair a firm tap.
"Hahaha~~"
Hikaru listened without joining the awkward laughter. He understood what Atticus actually meant.
Atticus had wanted to face Zane first, and then, by his own strength, face Alexis. One step at a time, checking off his goals.
Atticus sighed but didn't explain it aloud.
Even with how close they were, he wouldn't ask Hikaru for that kind of favor. If helping Atticus meant Hikaru had to hold back, or deliberately throw a match to drop into the losers' bracket, Atticus would never accept it.
And afterward, he regretted it deeply, all the same.
He was certain the current Alexis wouldn't be able to climb out of the losers' bracket. So whoever Hikaru's next opponent in the round of eight was, after he beat Jim "Crocodile" Cook, it wouldn't be Alexis.
But maybe there was no need to rush. Alexis was only a second–year; she still had a year and a half to grow.
Just then, on the other side, Zane finished speaking with the doctor and walked over carrying a thick stack of charts and blister packs.
Chazz and Bastion felt it at once, an invisible pressure. Zane, who had unified Cyber-Style and Cyberdark, was without question one of the favorites to win the whole tournament.
Zane traded looks with them, saw the fight in their eyes, and said nothing. He greeted everyone, relayed the doctor's instructions to Atticus, and pointed out the important notes in the report.
They chatted for a short while. There were plenty of old stories to share, but they'd soon be opponents again, and the two days of rest couldn't be wasted. After visiting Atticus, the group broke up quickly.
When the others had gone, Hikaru looked at Zane and drew two cards from his case. "Zane, there's something I want to ask you."
He set down two Number cards. A flicker of pain crossed his face; he crushed it just as quickly.
Zane's eyes narrowed. The softness he'd shown a moment ago vanished, his features tightening back.