Hearing that, Kira laughed.
Kagemaru sat in his fluid-filled life-support pod, watching him in silence, saying nothing for a moment.
"I see."
Kira chuckled.
"You think saving one life entitles you to take another."
"Not one—many. And if I live, I'll save more, do more, far exceeding anything the person I took from would have accomplished in their mediocre life."
Kagemaru said.
"That how you convince yourself? Must make it easier to sleep," Kira said.
"I regret every life I've had to take," Kagemaru replied evenly.
He wanted to live, at any cost. Forbidden alchemy was the method he had pursued all along, even if it demanded living sacrifices.
Even his most trusted friend, the alchemical prodigy Lyman, no longer agreed with his path.
Lyman told him it was a dead end—that alchemy could no longer solve his problem—and promised to obtain the Sacred Beasts. Once he had them, he could save Kagemaru's life.
Kagemaru knew even Lyman was unwilling to accompany him farther down this bloody road. But he thought if he could obtain the Sacred Beasts, his problem would be solved—so he let him try.
"You're just afraid of death," Kira said.
"Yes. I'm afraid of death."
Kagemaru admitted frankly.
"I fear aging, fear being trapped in this hateful body—decaying, and forced to die."
"I have done so much; I have saved so many. I have defeated dark overlords and evil spirits, used dueling to punish villains..."
"And now, I simply refuse to die."
"I'm truly sorry about your condition. I mean that. I also believe you were once a righteous duelist who used all your strength and resources to do the right thing—otherwise Kaiba Seto and the others wouldn't have agreed to let you serve as the duel academy's chairman."
As Kira spoke, his Duel Disk unfolded. Ghostly blue light flared, like will-o'-the-wisps in the gloom.
"As I expected. The Duel King won't be persuaded so easily."
Kagemaru sighed softly.
"I suspected as much. If I want longevity—if I want to live—I must pass your trial."
"Good that you know."
"Very well. Come, then."
Though an old man on his last legs, his eyes shone like a lion's. It was as if a stubborn warrior still lived within that decrepit body.
"My life has been a duelist's life."
"Let this duel with the King prove the pinnacle of my existence."
The mechanical arms of his pod had already fitted a Duel Disk to him. A domineering dark vortex burst from him, enveloping them both.
A Shadow Game.
He hadn't used one even against Jaden in the anime.
As the master of the Shadow Riders, able to gather mummies, vampires, and otherworldly spirits under his command, Kagemaru was no stranger to Shadow Games—and his rank was surely high.
In the anime, he already had the Sacred Beasts and bore no grudge against Jaden, so he didn't intend to take his life. His goal was to absorb the life-force of duel spirits with the Beasts and regain his prime.
So, after Jaden defeated him, he merely reverted to a dying old man—he didn't die outright.
But now he had invoked a Shadow Game, and clearly at high stakes.
The message was clear.
This battle, he would not hold back. He would give it everything.
It would decide not just victory, but life and death.
"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Kagemaru, LP 4000]
Kira glanced at the indicator on his Duel Disk and, without politeness, took the first turn.
"I'll go first. Draw."
He scanned his hand, then flicked his wrist.
"I set two cards. Turn end."
Kagemaru narrowed his eyes.
Just set cards? Is he underestimating me because I look like this...?
No. He'd investigated—this Duel King favors disruption, "forbidding the opponent from dueling" to win without fighting.
A trap-heavy opener wasn't surprising.
"My turn. Draw."
A metal arm played a card.
"Spell Card: Graceful Charity.
Draw three, then discard two."
After drawing, the slender metal arm placed two cards in the graveyard.
Kagemaru had rarely dueled since his illness, but his bout with Titan was just a warm-up. Even after years away, he trusted his own strength. No matter how rusty, he would not be troubled by the likes of Titan.
He had once been a top-tier ruler in the supernatural world, once stood at the summit.
If only he were younger—if only he had his prime body and mind...
He shook off the thought.
There would be a chance.
The Sacred Beasts—that was his future, his only future. With their power, he would regain youth with ease and stay at his peak forever.
All those who thought him finished—plotting his assets and sneering at his weakness—would pay the price.
But before the Beasts, the strongest wall stood before him now.
Hence why he opened with the Shadow Game at maximum intensity.
If he lost this, his hope of survival was gone.
"I Normal Summon 'Synthesize Sphere'!"
[Synthesize Sphere, ATK 1000]
Before it appeared, a gale rose—air coiling into a transparent vortex. The bird rode the wind and alighted before Kagemaru.
A manga-original "Sphere" card Kira had just seen in the previous duel.
"When Synthesize Sphere is Summoned, Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Sphere' from the GY."
One of the two cards just sent to the graveyard slid out with a flash from the Duel Disk. The mechanical arm caught it and placed it onto the monster zone.
"I Special Summon 'Air Sphere' from the GY!"
The petite 2-star bird Kira had seen used against Titan.
[Air Sphere, ATK 400]
"As you said, I fear death. I refuse to die. Even if living means taking from others—even if it means crushing any obstacle."
The old man's murky voice rang like a steel blade.
"If the obstacle before me is you, Duel King, Fujiki Kira..."
"Then I will cleave this mountain in two!"