It was a world of pure white.
A man with spiky hair shaped suspiciously like a crab sat on a wooden bench, staring out at a barren wasteland stretching endlessly before him.
The end of the world… I'll never let it come to this, he thought.
"Yusei! Kalin?!"
The "crab-head" slowly opened his eyes. Up above, a blond man leaned out from a helicopter, staring in disbelief at the two figures on the ground.
Jack Atlas stood at the open cabin door, eyes wide. Inside the chopper with him were a Sector Security pilot, his partner Officer Mina, and the reporter Carly, who had been following the explosions rocking the area.
From his vantage point, Jack could finally see what had been hidden all this time, Yusei standing on the ground below… and beside him, laughing like a madman, was a familiar face: Kalin.
"Hahaha! What a day, huh?" Kalin's laughter echoed through the wasteland as he glanced up at the helicopter, then at Crow's parked Duel Runner, and finally turned to Yusei. His grin stretched wider. "Looks like Team Enforcers' all here!"
His laughter was so unnerving that Carly yelped and grabbed Jack's sleeve. "Jack! What's happening down there?!"
Jack frowned, saying nothing, eyes fixed on the battlefield below.
Meanwhile, Hikaru pulled up beside Crow's Duel Runner, both stopping near the ruins to watch. On the other side, Shinji Weber stood apart from the rebel fighters, clearly waiting for the duel to begin.
Yusei and Kalin both brought their Runners to a halt. A wave of eerie violet fire burst from the ground between them, spreading into a massive ring of flames.
From above, Jack's eyes widened. He could see it, etched into the earth, a gigantic blue humanoid sigil pulsing with energy.
"The Dark Signer mark…" he muttered, his face darkening.
On the field, Yusei remained calm. He hadn't even taken off his helmet. From the moment he'd arrived, he'd stayed on his Runner, clearly ready for this duel.
But before the battle that would drag him into the war of the Earthbound Immortals began, he had one more thing to say.
"Hikaru."
Hikaru blinked in surprise. 'Why's he calling me?' This was supposed to be an old friends' duel, what did it have to do with him? He'd been about to tune his calculations for an alchemy formula.
"What is it, Yusei?"
"After this duel… I want to ask you a favor." Yusei raised his left hand slightly, his eyes flicking toward Hikaru's. "It's about your Dark Signer mark."
Hikaru's eyes widened, then he smiled faintly. "Hah...well, that works out perfectly."
That would save him some effort later.
Kalin grinned wickedly. "Still thinking about after the duel, Yusei? You don't have to worry about that, because you're gonna die right here!" He slammed his hand onto his Duel Runner's console.
Yusei pressed his button in response.
"Duel Mode-ENGAGED!"
"Three…"
"Two…"
"One…"
"Turbo Duel! Accelerate!"
VROOOOM!
Both Duel Runners shot forward almost in unison, their engines howling as they raced along the glowing sigil on the ground. It was like looking into a mirror, two riders, identical in precision and speed.
Kalin sneered. Noticing Yusei matching his pace without faltering even a little surprised him, but he laughed it off. "Hahaha! Since you're so eager for the first move, I'll let you have it!"
He eased off the throttle, and as they banked into a turn, Yusei surged ahead.
Yusei Fudo – LP: 4000
Kalin Kessler – LP: 4000
"My turn. I draw!"
Yusei drew his first card and slid it into his Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Card Tuning!"
"Tuning lets me add one 'Synchron' Tuner monster from my Deck to my hand, then send the top card of my Deck to the Graveyard."
He searched his Deck, took a card, and held it up. "I add Junk Synchron to my hand."
After placing a card into his Graveyard slot, his eyes narrowed slightly at what he saw sent there.
"When I control no monsters, I can Special Summon this card from my hand! Come forth, Quickdraw Synchron!"
From a burst of light, a metallic warrior in scrap armor appeared, dashing alongside Yusei's Runner.
Junk Forward– Level 3 / EARTH / Warrior / ATK 900
"Next, I Normal Summon my Tuner monster—Junk Synchron!"
A warrior in yellow armor and goggles appeared, gears whirring on his shoulders.
Junk Synchron – Level 3 / DARK / Warrior-Type / ATK 1300
"When Junk Synchron is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 2 or lower monster from my Graveyard in Defense Position. Its effects are negated."
"I Special Summon Rush Warrior from my Graveyard!"
A gust of wind swept across the wasteland.
Rush Warrior, Level 2, Wind Attribute, Warrior, ATK 300.
Kalin sneered, arms crossed. "Hmph. Is that all you've got, Yusei?"
Yusei didn't flinch. "I tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron with Level 3 Junk Forward and Level 2 Rush Warrior!"
Junk Synchron pulled the valve on his arm; his body turned translucent and burst into stars that circled the other monsters, forming glowing emerald rings.
"The gathered wishes will become a shining new star! Become the path its light shines upon, Synchro Summon!"
"Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"
A fierce gale surged upward. A majestic dragon cloaked in starlight burst from the swirling wind, ascending into the sky as shimmering motes of light rained down.
Stardust Dragon – Level 8 / WIND / Dragon / ATK 2500
Kalin laughed maniacally. "Ha! So that's your dragon, the mark of the Signers? Not bad… hahaha, that's more like it! Now this will be satisfying!"
"Kalin!" Yusei called out over the roar of engines. He didn't look forward; his visor gleamed blue beneath his helmet. "We still owe you everything!"
Kalin's smile faltered. His expression darkened. "What…?"
As Yusei's words hung in the air, Jack finally spoke from the helicopter above, voice low and heavy.
He told the story of how he, Yusei, and Crow had grown up together in the Satellite Sector, scraping by day to day. And how one day, Kalin appeared before them, inviting them to join his team.
Back then, Satellite was ruled by Duel Gangs. Even in a place that poor, people still oppressed their own just to survive. Kalin formed a gang to fight back, and together with Yusei, Jack, and Crow, they defeated every rival group, taking control of the entire Satellite.
Under Kalin's lead, Team Enforcers became the strongest gang in Satellite, and because of that, the era of Dueling gangs eventually ended.
But Kalin hadn't done it to save anyone.
He'd done it for one reason, Enforcers.
The Enforcers of Dueling.
Then one day, he went too far. He targeted Sector Security itself.
That night, the rain poured. Yusei remembered seeing the body of a Security officer lying at Kalin's feet.
"I was going to take your place in prison that night," Yusei said quietly. "But that officer… he looked right at me. That's why he patted me on the shoulder—"
"Stop lying to me!" Kalin shouted. "Even now, you think I'll believe that?! You traitor!!"
Yusei's chest tightened painfully. He clenched his teeth and set a card facedown on his Duel Disk. "Kalin, I'm not lying. You were the one we respected the most!"
His voice carried such raw sincerity that for a brief moment, the madness faded from Kalin's face.
But hatred, pain, and rage still burned within him. He said nothing, only glaring silently.
"I set one card face-down and end my turn."
"Yusei…" Kalin's voice grew low, trembling with fury. "Do you know what the worst pain was when the Earthbound Immortal chose me as a Dark Signer and brought me back?"
"What was it?"
"It's that this world is still the same, stubborn, dull, and suffocating! You three idiots… what have you even done since I died? Just wasting time?!"
Kalin's scream tore through the storm, his throat raw with fury.
"I draw!!"
Kalin's Duel Runner roared down the glowing line of the field. His grin widened.
"I set one, two, no, three cards face-down!"
"What?" Yusei narrowed his eyes behind his visor. 'Setting that many cards on the first turn… could he have bricked?'
"Now I activate the Spell Card Allure of Darkness! I draw two cards, then banish one DARK monster from my hand. If I don't have any DARK monsters, I have to discard my entire hand instead."
"Oh, so that's how he's avoiding discarding!" Shinji muttered as he watched the broadcast feed on his Duel Runner's screen.
Kalin drew two cards, glanced at them, then smirked. "I banish Infernity Guardian from my hand!"
He flicked another card forward. "I discard Infernity Beast to activate the Equip Spell Different Dimension Reincarnation! I Special Summon the banished Infernity Guardian!"
A skeletal demon flared into existence beside him, surrounded by crimson fire.
Infernity Guardian – Level 4 / DARK / Fiend / ATK 1200 / DEF 1700
"Infernity?" Crow frowned. "That's not the Deck he used before."
Jack scowled. "No. He's changed everything… 'Infernity,' huh?"
From the sidelines, Hikaru felt a chill of recognition. He'd read all about Infernity Decks before, the dreaded Infernity Trishula combo, the infamous stories of players surrendering when their back row got wiped by Harpie's Feather Duster. It was a name that carried weight.
"Heh. I Normal Summon my Tuner monster, Infernity Beetle!"
A small, horned Fiend with ember-red wings appeared, its fan-like arms glowing with flame.
Infernity Sage– Level 2 / DARK / Fiend / ATK 400
"A Tuner? He's going for a Synchro Summon!"
"Exactly!" Kalin declared. "I tune Level 2 Infernity Sage with Level 4 Infernity Guardian!"
Infernity Sage rose into the air, its body dissolving into twin black stars. The stars circled Infernity Guardian, engulfing it in dark fire.
"The living and the dead converge in the void… emerge, demon from the depths of hell!"
"Synchro Summon! Level 6-Infernity Doom Archfiend!"
A towering fiend descended in a whirl of golden flame, bracelets of molten gold clamped around its wrists. The blades of its wings turned like clock hands as it landed with a thunderous crash.
Infernity Doom Archfiend – Level 6 / DARK / Fiend / ATK 2200 / DEF 1600
"Only 2200 attack points?" Crow said, relief creeping into his voice.
"Good," Jack muttered. "That's no match for Stardust Dragon."
But Kalin only laughed harder. "Hahaha! You're letting your guard down already? That's naïve, Crow! You too, Jack!"
He pointed toward Yusei's field. "Infernity Doom Archfiend's effect activates! Once per turn, I can target one face-up card you control, its effects are negated until the end of this turn!"
He thrust his arm out, finger aimed at Stardust Dragon.
The Stardust's glow dimmed as waves of dark energy rippled around it.
"Negated?!"
"The effect of Infernity Doom Archfiend doesn't stop there!" Kalin's voice echoed through the flames. "If I have no cards in my hand, it can destroy that monster it negated!"
"What?!" Jack and Crow exclaimed at once.
"Wait a second," Carly blurted, nervously twirling her finger in the air. "But Yusei's Stardust Dragon can just tribute itself to negate that, right? That's what it does, it stops destruction effects!"
Jack shook his head, frowning. "No, Stardust Dragon can't respond to this one."
"What do you mean it can't?" Crow demanded.
"Stardust Dragon's effect only activates when a card effect would destroy a card on the field," Jack explained. "It tributes itself to negate and destroy that effect.
"But Infernity Doom Archfiend's effect doesn't activate to destroy, it first negates Stardust's effect, then, since Kalin's hand is empty, it destroys the monster directly. The negation happens first, Stardust can't react once its own effect is already negated."
Carly gasped. "Then… that's like the perfect counter to Stardust Dragon!"
"Yeah," Jack muttered grimly. "It is."
Dark crimson fire erupted from the Archfiend's body. The flaming aura surged toward Stardust Dragon, wrapping around it mid-flight. The dragon's brilliant light dimmed, its scales blackening under the infernal blaze, then a second burst of hellfire followed, engulfing it completely.
BOOM!
Stardust Dragon shattered into fragments of light, scattering across the barren plain.
Kalin threw back his head and howled with laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAH!! Yusei, your dragon went down faster than I expected! How's that supposed to satisfy me if it's that weak?!"
He grinned wickedly. "Battle! Infernity Doom Archfiend, attack Yusei directly!"
The Archfiend hurled a wave of molten energy across the ground. The earth erupted like magma, the infernal blaze tearing toward Yusei's Duel Runner.
But Yusei's eyes flashed. "I activate my Set card, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!"
A rickety scarecrow made of twisted metal and wire appeared before him, a broken mask glowing on its face.
"When an opponent's monster declares an attack, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow negates that attack! Then this card doesn't go to the Graveyard, it resets itself face-down!"
The iron scarecrow caught the Archfiend's blast head-on. The attack dispersed, and the scarecrow slowly folded back into the ground, re-covering itself on Yusei's field.
Kalin chuckled darkly. "Heh… not bad for an opening act."
Then, still smirking, he slowed his Duel Runner. "I end my turn."