"I told you already—Seto Kaiba isn't in this world anymore!"
Mokuba's strength seemed to drain away all at once. His legs buckled, and he collapsed heavily to his knees.
"That's a lie… My brother was so strong, how… how could he possibly be dead?"
Yuto's toes curled with secondhand embarrassment. Seriously? You just believe whatever they say?
If Kaiba's gone, then what's that guy standing right over there?
"I'm not lying! Your brother lost to Yuto Tenshou and killed himself because of it!!!"
That voice declared it with absolute certainty. "And the one standing there now is Seto Kaiba's vengeful spirit!"
Yuto was speechless—there were too many things wrong with this.
"Alright, enough with the nonsense. Let's duel!"
He shook off his doubts and strode up to the arena, briskly placing down his Deck.
"Yuto, I'm already dead… because of you, I…"
"Kaiba's" voice oozed with resentment.
"I said cut the crap! Just start the duel already!"
Yuto snapped, cutting him off.
Those lines—their familiarity hit him like a jolt. Suddenly, he remembered this episode's plot—this wasn't Kaiba at all, just a fake!
If the real Kaiba couldn't beat him, what chance did a counterfeit have?
"Very well, I'll drag you down into hell with me—"
"I wager all 8 of my Star Chips!" Yuto interrupted again, his voice loud and clear.
"If you win, the Star Chips are yours! That said, if you lose, you must release Mokuba!"
Being cut off again made "Kaiba" visibly annoyed, but he quickly forced himself to stay calm. As an Illusionist Company's duelist assassin, he couldn't afford to show weakness.
"Hmph. Then… Duel—begin!"
"Kaiba" sneered, drawing six cards from the top of his Deck as his starting hand.
"My turn! I Normal Summon [Hitotsu-Me Giant] in Attack Position!"
A blue-green giant slammed onto the field—indeed one of Kaiba's signature monsters.
Watching from below, Mokuba's heart wavered. Could it be… his brother really…?
"Turn end."
"Kaiba" declared flatly.
Yuto blinked in disbelief.
That's it? You Normal Summoned a 1200-Attack monster… and ended your turn?
This was a gift from the heavens!
Fine, then don't blame me for taking advantage—my hand this turn can pull off an OTK!
"If you really are Kaiba's ghost, then your dueling skills sure fell off after death."
Yuto mocked, slamming down a Monster Card.
"I Normal Summon [MS-06 Zaku II]! Then, I activate the effect of [ACE – Char the Red Comet] from my hand!"
He sent the Zaku on the field to the Graveyard.
"I Tribute [MS-06 Zaku II] to Special Summon [ACE – Char the Red Comet]!"
The green Zaku vanished in a scatter of light, replaced by the crimson Zaku, now hefting a far more powerful anti-ship rifle in place of its machine gun.
"This card's effect: when Special Summoned, its Attack and Defense increase by the Tributed monster's values! [MS-06 Zaku II] had 1400 Attack—so [ACE – Char the Red Comet] rises from 1200 to 2600 Attack!"
But Yuto wasn't done yet!
He slapped down a Spell Card.
"Next, I activate [Radar Lock]! I target your [Hitotsu-Me Giant]! When my Machine-Type monster attacks the chosen target, its Attack is doubled! Red Comet—attack!!!!"
The crimson Mobile Suit blurred forward, anti-ship rifle pressed to the giant's chest.
Boom—!
[Hitotsu-Me Giant] shattered into fragments.
Yet "Kaiba's" Life Points weren't reduced to zero!
He smirked, raising a Quick-Play Spell.
"At the moment of your monster's attack declaration, I activate [Shrink]! Until the end of this turn, your monster's Attack is halved! Which means…"
The Red Comet's Attack plummeted, locking at 1300.
["Kaiba," LP: 2000 → 700]
"Hmph, I'm not finished yet! Just wait, Yuto—I'll drag you into hell too…"
His voice seethed with malice.
'Damn, the OTK failed…'
Yuto cursed inwardly, praying the guy didn't top-deck a [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] next…
"Turn end."
As Yuto ended, [ACE – Char the Red Comet]'s Attack returned to 2600.
"Kaiba's" turn.
"My turn, draw!"
He glanced at the card, then shifted his [Hitotsu-Me Giant] to Defense Position.
Next, he revealed the card Yuto least wanted to see.
"I Normal Summon [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] in Attack Position! Attack! White Lightning!!"
Blazing white light consumed the Red Comet!
[Yuto, LP: 2000 → 1600]
'Tch! Damn it! So even a fake Kaiba doesn't shuffle his Deck?!' Yuto ground his teeth—his ace monster destroyed so easily.
"Hahahaha, Yuto! Soon, you'll taste the same despair I did!"
"Kaiba" laughed madly.
Yuto ignored the nonsense. He glanced down at his three remaining cards with concern.
A [Black Tri-Stars] he couldn't summon yet, a [Minovsky Particle Dispersion], and a useless Spell…
"My turn, draw!"
'C'mon, [Bombardment Marker], I need you!'
Sliding the card from his Deck, Yuto saw what he drew—[Operation British].
'Well… good enough. Better than dead weight.'
He quickly assessed his hand. Got it!
He first played the "useless" Spell Card.
"I activate [Glory of Loum]! Until the end of my next turn, every time one of my monsters is sent to the Graveyard, the Attack of my monsters increases by 300!"
Then, he slammed down the card he just drew.
"I activate Spell Card [Operation British]! I Special Summon three [H.L.V.] in Defense Position from my Deck!"
Three H.L.V. transports landed on Yuto's field.
"I Set one card. Turn end!"
If only I had [Negate Attack] right now… Next turn, the Black Tri-Stars would be guaranteed!
"My turn! Draw!"
"Kaiba" looked at his new card, smirking sinisterly.
"I Set one card. Then, [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], attack one [H.L.V.]!"
White lightning obliterated a transport in an instant.
"Turn end."
He set a card… Could it be [Ring of Destruction]? Or something else…?
Yuto's heart tightened. He couldn't quite recall all the traps in Kaiba's Deck…
"My turn, draw!"
'Please… give me an [MS] monster! Or [Monster Reborn]… anything… I'm counting on you, Deck—answer me!'
...
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