Yugioh [286-290] (Patreon)

Chapter 286: Armageddon

The Chief's mouth hung open.

He felt he was witnessing the strangest scene of his life, the weirdest duel he'd ever fought.

If there's anything more crushing than betrayal by your allies, it's being betrayed by yourself.

Just like now.

The Chief watched helplessly as a copy of himself flew over to Kira's field, his mind reeling.

Wait—

I haven't even summoned myself yet… no, I haven't even drawn myself.

You can even NTR my card right out of my deck?!

"Of course, when you take a monster from your opponent's deck, your opponent chooses whether it's added to your hand or Special Summoned to your field." Kira smiled. "You choose."

The Chief: "…"

What the hell kind of 'pick your own poison' is this?

"I choose to add it to your hand," the Chief said bitterly.

"Fine, then I'll add it to my hand," Kira shrugged. "Next, I activate 'Fiend's Sanctuary'—Special Summon a Metal Fiend Token to my field."

[Metal Fiend Token, ATK 0]

"Then I tribute the token—Gravekeeper's Chief, Tribute Summon!"

[Gravekeeper's Chief, ATK 1900]

The Chief: "…"

He found himself face-to-face with a copy of himself on Kira's field, at a loss for words.

Even more bizarre, he thought he saw a look of stern reproach in the eyes of the Chief on Kira's side, as if judging him for desecrating the sacred Valley.

The Chief was deeply shaken.

Could it be that his own guilt and remorse had manifested this scene?

He suddenly remembered: those who wield the strongest dark powers are said to be able to sense and amplify the darkness in their opponents' hearts, letting their adversaries be devoured by their own shadows.

Thinking this, the Chief couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear towards Kira.

Maybe today, he really had run into such a big shot?

Even Kira's classmates fell silent.

After a while, Alexis spoke: "So… he just forcibly took the opponent's spirit's true form from their own deck…"

Not just seeing it—no one had ever heard of such a thing.

One could imagine the Chief's mental state.

Mizawa said, "Only he could pull this off."

Jaden, as usual, was excited: "Even this is possible! Kira's duels are always full of surprises!"

Chumley sweated: "Ahaha, I bet for the Chief, this isn't a surprise at all…"

"No need for me to explain the Chief's effect, right?" Kira smiled. "As long as this card is on my field, my graveyard isn't affected by 'Necrovalley.'"

The Chief: "…"

That's right. As the leader of the Gravekeepers, he had the power to enter and leave the Necrovalley freely. He always used the Necrovalley to seal the opponent's graveyard, while his own was unaffected.

But now, both his Necrovalley and his effect were sealing his own graveyard—a first in history. Not even in his nightmares had he dreamed of this.

"Now my graveyard is unlocked," Kira said. "I activate the Spell Card I set this turn, 'Card of Burial Magic.' I banish 'Serial Spell,' 'Lullaby of Obedience,' and 'Fiend's Sanctuary' from my graveyard, then draw two cards."

Kira drew two more cards.

"Next, thanks to Chain Summon's effect, I Normal Summon again—this time, 'Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands.'"

[Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, ATK 1400]

"When Manju is Summoned, I can add a Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell from my deck to my hand." Kira pulled a card from his deck. "So, I add this Ritual Monster to my hand.

I choose—"

He revealed the Ritual Monster.

"Demise, King of Armageddon."

"Huh?" Jaden was surprised. "That guy's—"

This was the ace card of New Doma Swordsman Shell, whom Kira and Jaden had once teamed up to defeat.

Back then, Kira hadn't used it, worried about its dark power. But after extensive tests, he was sure the darkness had faded since Shell's death.

So now, he was safe to use it in an official duel.

Demise had once been a top-tier ace, even on the limited list in the Synchro era.

If you want to find the strongest cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! history, the banned and restricted list is the real Hall of Fame.

"I activate the Ritual Spell 'Advanced Ritual Art,'" Kira said. "Send Normal Monsters from the deck to the graveyard until their combined Level equals the Ritual Monster, then Ritual Summon."

He pulled three cards from his deck.

"I send two Level 3 'Dark King of the Abyss' and one Level 2 'Wretched Ghost of the Attic'—a total of Level 8—to the graveyard.

Now, the King of Armageddon, ruler at the end of the world, descends!"

The three Normal Monsters vanished in the ritual's array. Pale blue flames shot skyward, and the King of Armageddon descended, surrounded by blue fire!

"Demise, King of Armageddon, Ritual Summon!"

[Demise, King of Armageddon, ATK 2400]

The Chief's face twisted. "You summoned the King of Armageddon!?"

But he quickly regained composure.

"Even so, in the Necrovalley, your ATK is still no match for the Visionary."

"Demise, King of Armageddon—effect activate!" Kira said. "Pay 2000 LP: destroy all other cards on the field!

Armageddon!"

[Kira, LP 5300 → LP 3300]

"NANI?!"

The Chief was shocked.

Such a powerful effect!?

Demise's eyes flashed blue, and his massive axe fell, summoning a blue inferno tornado that threatened to tear the sky apart and shatter the earth. The Sacred Valley crumbled.

"Damn it… then, 'Gravekeeper's Visionary'—her other effect!" the Chief shouted through the storm. "If she would be destroyed, I can discard a 'Gravekeeper' monster from my hand instead!"

He revealed a card.

"I discard 'Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier' to protect the Visionary!"

Chapter 287: Sky Scourge

The apocalyptic flames swept away everything on the field. After the cataclysm, only the Visionary and Heretic remained, facing Demise.

"Heh, you miscalculated." The Chief sneered. "Visionary can avoid destruction by discarding a card, and Heretic is unaffected by any effects while the Necrovalley is out.

Even though you destroyed the Necrovalley, my field is unharmed. Too bad—for all that effort, only your monsters were destroyed."

"What a troublesome effect," Mizawa frowned. "Last turn, the Chief recovered another Gravekeeper monster to his hand.

Kira's LP is down to 3300—enough for only one more Demise activation. But even then, he can only destroy Heretic. Visionary will just be protected, and Demise's ATK can't beat her…"

"A tough opponent," Alexis agreed, then looked at Kira.

But knowing him, he must have another plan.

"You survived all that, not bad," Kira chuckled. "But remember, Demise destroys everything else—including my own monsters.

So, I banish the LIGHT Fairy 'Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands' that was just destroyed, plus the three DARK Fiends I sent via Advanced Ritual Art, to Special Summon this!"

He raised a card.

"Level 8—Sky Scourge Norleras!"

A deep rift tore open in the void. Dark purple energy erupted, and a huge demon emerged.

[Sky Scourge Norleras, ATK 2400]

"Norleras can't be Normal Summoned—only Special Summoned by banishing a LIGHT Fairy and three DARK Fiends from my graveyard."

Kira continued.

"Norleras's effect: pay 1000 LP, send both players' hands and all cards on the field to the graveyard, and then I draw one card."

"N-Nani!?"

The Chief shuddered.

Send all hands and fields to the graveyard?!

What kind of table-flipping effect is this!?

The Demise-Norleras combo was once a famous ancient deck, "Demise OTK," with Norleras as a variant. The strategy is simple: use Advanced Ritual Art to summon Demise (using DARK Fiends as material), then summon Norleras.

[Kira, LP 3300 → LP 2300]

"Norleras's effect—send everything to the graveyard!"

He paused.

"—Abyssal World!"

Norleras unleashed its power; darkness and chaos swallowed the field until nothing remained.

The Chief's remaining hand, his Visionary and Heretic, Kira's own Chief and Demise… even Norleras itself was consumed.

Even the Visionary's protection didn't work, because the cards were sent to the graveyard, not destroyed.

Full field wipe!

"After Norleras's effect, I draw one card," Kira said.

Both players' hands and fields were wiped out—only Kira was left with one card drawn from his deck.

"It's a terrifying effect," the Chief said. "But now your field is empty, and you only have one card in hand. My LP is untouched at 4000…"

His meaning was obvious:

I have 4000 LP, you have one card.

Can you beat me in one turn?

"True, I only have one card left. But that's not my only resource." Kira smiled.

"What?" The Chief held his breath.

"Norleras's effect sent everything to the graveyard—including my own resources. But before I summoned it, my winning combo was already set."

He revealed a card that had just gone to the graveyard.

[Sangan]

It's now been weakened to: "If this card is sent from the field to the graveyard, add a monster with 1500 or less ATK from your deck to your hand—but you can't activate that card or its effects this turn."

Nowadays, most only remember the second Nerf (can't use the searched card this turn), but originally, Sangan and Witch of the Black Forest had no "must be sent from field" restriction.

"It can search a monster with 1500 or less ATK," the Chief frowned, "But what's the point? You have nothing on the field; what could a 1500-ATK weakling do…"

Kira smiled.

Are all monsters with 1500 or less ATK 'weaklings'?

He simply revealed his search.

"I add this legendary forbidden monster to my hand…"

He showed the card that's been passed down among duelists for generations.

"Spirit Monster: Yata-Garasu."

 "Thanks to Chain Summon, I can Normal Summon for the third time this turn.

I Summon Yata-Garasu."

[Yata-Garasu, ATK 200]

"Battle Phase," Kira said. "Yata-Garasu, direct attack."

"Uh…"

[Chief, LP 4000 → LP 3800]

"Tch, just 200 damage." The Chief sneered. "That's nothing."

"Is that so?" Kira smiled. "When Yata-Garasu is summoned, it returns to my hand at the end of the turn.

But its effect is: If it inflicts battle damage to the opponent…"

Kira lifted his gaze, his gentle smile looking a bit sinister under the three suns of the valley.

"…your next Draw Phase is skipped."

The Chief paused to process.

Wait, let me get this straight.

"…"

"…"

"…"

N-N-N-NANI!!?

Skip the next Draw Phase?

With an empty field and hand, he…

"All right, my turn's over. Go ahead." Kira smiled.

The Chief: "…"

"No draw? Oh, right, you can't draw." Kira smiled. "If you don't do anything, it's my turn again. Draw.

Normal Summon Yata-Garasu, direct attack."

[Chief, LP 3800 → LP 3600]

"Yata returns to hand, turn ends. Your move."

The Chief: "…"

"Hm? Still not drawing? Okay, my turn again—draw. Summon Yata-Garasu, direct attack."

"…"

"…"

"…"

No one knew how long it went on, but under the stunned gazes of both the Gravekeeper clan and Kira's friends, the Chief finally collapsed from the duel platform, eyes blank, lips trembling, looking like a walking zombie.

[Chief, LP 0]

PS: Hmm, so that's the Yata Lock.

Chapter 288: Artifacts

Yata-Garasu, at first glance, looks like a weakling with only 200 attack points. Most newcomers are likely to wonder, "How did this thing end up rotting away in the shadow realm among all those god cards?"

But that's only because they don't know about the terrifying combo called "Yata Lock."

In fact, what Kira used this time was a substitute. The original Yata Lock didn't use Demise and the Sky Scourge, but rather the most powerful weapon of the Chaos deck before its effect was nerfed—Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, once one of the most broken cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! history.

Chaos Emperor Dragon can be Special Summoned just by banishing a Light and a Dark monster from your graveyard—a much easier requirement than Sky Scourge Norleras. And it, too, has the effect of paying 1000 Life Points to send all cards in both players' hands and on the field to the graveyard.

So, just like Kira demonstrated, if you put together "Chaos Emperor Dragon" and "Sangan," you use the Emperor Dragon to clear all cards from both hands and fields, then Sangan searches for Yata-Garasu.

After that, your opponent falls into the nightmare cycle of being repeatedly attacked directly by Yata-Garasu—never able to reach their own Draw Phase ever again.

Back in the prime of the Chaos era, the whole meta was basically dominated by Yata Lock. Once the combo was set up, your fate was to be pecked to death by Yata-Garasu.

Basically, the moment Yata-Garasu's effect goes through, you might as well start warming up for a round of shadow boxing.

The spirits and soldiers guarding the tomb watched the duel end from the back row. Someone seemed to want to step forward and say something, yet no one spoke for a long time.

The boss lost.

The Gravekeeper's Chief was undoubtedly their leader, the strongest among them. So far, only one person who'd taken the trial of dueling had ever won.

But even that person seemed different from today.

How to describe him?

There was a sense of calmness. At first glance, it looked like the Chief might have had a chance, but after the duel ended, it felt like that wasn't really the case.

More importantly, after the sacred ritual, some people felt as though the opponent had somehow quietly seized the high ground—and what he said even made some sense.

See, even the Chief ended up defecting to the other side halfway through the duel, didn't he?

The Chief stood up and let out a long sigh.

"…Alright, I lost."

He got up, expressionless, looking at Kira.

"As agreed, you may leave this place. That is your reward."

Just like in the original story, this was a shadow duel, but not a high-level one. Although the Chief threatened to turn the loser into a mummy, the duel itself wasn't fatal.

In fact, compared to the big shots in DM and the late-game villains in GX, the spirits' power in these ruins wasn't that strong—probably mid-tier compared to today's dark duelists.

So even if the Gravekeepers decided to play dirty and start a brawl instead of a duel, Kira's group could still muscle their way through.

The Chief had realized this during the duel. Plus, since he'd lost, starting trouble now would just backfire.

However, after giving the pass, he saw the boy didn't leave, just kept looking at him with that half-smiling expression.

The Chief paused, then remembered something.

There was something else agreed to before the duel…

He took a deep breath, face dark, and stepped forward to hand over a deck.

A bet is a bet; a ritual needs its rules. He'd agreed to the terms and lost, so he had nothing more to say.

Kira accepted it, smiling and nodding. "That was a great duel. If we get another chance, let's duel again and improve together."

The Chief's face twitched.

Please, just don't come back!

For a moment, the Chief even considered packing up the entire valley and fleeing in the night.

Because if this guy really came again, by tradition, he'd have to accept the challenge and duel with his deck.

That would basically make him the daily NPC for people to farm for experience.

Just thinking about it made the Chief feel cold inside. Having to duel this guy every day? How could he live like this?

For the first time in his life, he suddenly felt like this valley he guarded had become his own prison.

"Oh, right." Kira slapped his forehead as if remembering something. "Don't you guys have…some special trinkets or something?"

"Just those with unique uses—a little evil, a little unusual."

Chief: "?"

His first reaction was, "We're proper Gravekeepers—are you looking for that kind of thing here?"

But then he suddenly remembered something.

Oh right, almost forgot the rules.

"Mm-hmm."

The Chief took off a pendant from himself. It looked like it was once a golden, circular object, but it had cracked irregularly down the middle, leaving only half.

"Indeed. The victor of the royal family's sacred ritual may take this."

He handed the pendant to Kira.

"This is a tool for shadow games, containing extraordinary power. If you ever duel in the shadows again, it may help."

Of course, the Chief was just following protocol. But honestly, given the devil boy, if they did duel in the shadows, the other side would probably need more help than him.

Just like himself a few moments ago—he'd felt helpless.

"Sigh, you guys are too polite. We're just passing by, making friends through dueling. It's embarrassing to be so formal."

Kira put the pendant in his travel bag and shook his head seriously.

"Really, there's no need."

Chief: "…"

After a moment's silence, he coughed and forced a dry laugh.

"Haha, you really are an interesting duelist. Ah…haha…"

At the same time, he glanced at Kira strangely.

The winner could indeed take half of this fragment, but how did this boy know?

He felt more and more that this person was unfathomable—as if from the start, everything—entering the valley, winning the ritual—had all been part of his plan.

He didn't know if that was true, but there was one thing he was sure of:

They couldn't afford to offend this guy.

The Chief changed the subject, looking nostalgic.

"There was someone else who won here before. Their clothes were similar to yours, but a different color. That was a strong duelist as well, but even so, they weren't quite like you…"

He looked at Kira.

"That boy took the other half of the fragment you now hold. When put together, they form the complete artifact. If fate allows, you may meet him someday.

When the two halves draw near, their powers will attract each other. Maybe you two will duel."

"Clothes like ours, but a different color…"

Alexis, ever sensitive to this sort of thing, stepped forward: "Um, can you tell me that duelist's name?"

"Name?"

The Chief paused, then frowned in thought.

"Let me think, I believe it was… Atticus, I think."

"Atticus Rhodes?" Alexis held her breath.

"Ah, that's probably him." The Chief glanced at the blonde girl. "Why, do you know him?"

Alexis was so excited she almost cried.

Finally!

She'd never stopped looking for clues from her first day at the academy. Now, in this unexpected place, she'd finally heard something about her brother.

"Where is he? Where did he go?"

"I told you, he won. I wasn't his match." The Chief shook his head. "I lost the ritual, so by the rules, I let him go."

"I see…"

Alexis felt a little lost.

A clue found with so much effort…

"Don't worry." Kira patted her on the shoulder and smiled. "We'll find him."

"Yeah." Alexis nodded.

For some reason, when he said "don't worry," she really didn't worry.

Because at some point, this had become the unspoken consensus for everyone around them—

You can always trust Kira.

Chapter 289: He’s Not Going to Come Back From the Dead Again, Right?

Just like that, Kira's first semester at Duel Academy ended happily.

He kept his spot as top of the class in the finals, no surprise there. Although Misawa tried hard to catch up and briefly looked like he might, he still ended up second.

And that's just the written test. In actual duels, there were only two words to describe Kira now—

Complete dominance.

As it happened, the teacher for the practical finals was an old acquaintance—the same sunglasses-wearing examiner from his entrance test.

"So it's you again, professor?" Kira was surprised as he took his place on the field. "Looks like we're fated to meet. Please take care of me again."

The examiner kept a poker face.

Who the hell wants to be fated to meet you?

"…"

At least the process, while painful, ended quickly.

Thanks to the "Protector of the Sanctuary" and "Morphing Jar" combo, the professor was out of cards by Kira's second turn.

Kira politely put away his duel disk and bowed. "Thank you for the lesson, professor."

Examiner: "…"

The examiner wondered—did this guy let him win during the entrance test, or did his ability to break the game just level up that much in one semester?

And so, the happy first semester ended successfully.

But that didn't mean it was time to relax. Kira packed his vacation full, and the most important thing was—it was time for the Duel City tournament.

The half-year promise he'd made with the president was down to about a week. According to the president, he'd be competing in person this year, making the tournament tougher than ever.

If things went well, it looked like Kira would face the president himself.

So, with that in mind, Kira visited KaibaCorp again, checking the inventory for anything new or interesting.

After all, the Duel Monsters world was vast, and even the top card company couldn't have everything in stock all the time. Many cards were reprints, new releases, or in circulation, so the stock was always changing.

This time, he picked up a new Monarch.

It was the Water Monarch—Mobius the Frost Monarch. When Tribute Summoned, it can destroy up to two Spell or Trap cards on the field. A great backrow clearer, and the Monarch with the highest play rate in its heyday.

He also grabbed a few more Cyber cards.

"Going into Cyber Dragons now?" Mokuba sat nearby, chin in hand, watching him pick cards.

Kira smiled. "Research purposes."

He knew that Cyber Dragons were one of the most promising archetypes of the era. There was so much to develop, and their many forms and support cards were strong in the current meta, even if they'd be mediocre in the future.

"Expanding to new projects again, huh?" Mokuba nodded with a smile. "I really wonder what goes on in your head sometimes.

So many new archetypes and strategies—did you know you're famous in our research department now?"

Ever since Kira had given several departments new directions, his name had spread. Departments competed to request him, hoping for guidance from the master.

It was said that even a few words from him could advance research by years.

Of course, rumors were exaggerated. He couldn't give advice on every project or archetype.

Some archetypes hadn't gotten support in 20 years—what could he say except "Drop it, this isn't going anywhere."

While he had a moment, Kira mentioned to Mokuba his last trip to the Spirit World using the Link System.

Mokuba was surprised. "Wait, you discovered that?"

Kira was stunned.

Discovered?

So going to the Spirit World was a built-in function, not something he'd stumbled across?

"Dimensional travel was always one of the Link System's hidden features in development. We just hadn't opened it to testers yet, but you figured it out yourself…"

Mokuba looked at him with admiration.

"You really are full of surprises."

"The Link System…was always designed to connect to the Spirit World?"

Kira was again amazed by KaibaCorp's black technology. But then, remembering they'd already opened a path to the underworld years ago, connecting to the Spirit World didn't seem that shocking.

"Yeah. New Doma's organization has set up many formations in the Spirit World. Evidence suggests they're building an unprecedentedly huge army. We can't just let them be."

Mokuba paused, frowning.

"And more importantly, we've recently found another clue. Doma has invaded countless worlds and spirit dimensions—not just to enslave or absorb spirits' power.

It seems they're searching for something."

"What is it?" Kira asked.

Mokuba didn't answer, just stood up and pulled up an image on his tablet.

An ancient stone slab, weathered and worn, its surface polished smooth by time. Carved into it was an upside-down pyramid with intricate designs. In the center was the mysterious, majestic Eye of Horus.

Kira had to admit—this time he was really surprised.

"That's the Millennium Puzzle!?"

Is New Doma searching for the Millennium Puzzle?

"Not necessarily." Mokuba shook his head. "Could just be something that looks similar. But this is what they're after—the spirits call it the 'Sealing Device.' It's our only lead.

We're speeding up Link System development partly for this reason."

Mokuba paused, then added:

"You know. The president wants to see for himself if that's what he thinks it is."

Kira pondered.

A few years ago, in the Bonds Beyond Time movie, after the Pharaoh returned to the afterlife, the Millennium Puzzle broke into pieces again, buried deep underground.

President Kaiba dug up every piece and built a space station to reassemble the puzzle, hoping to contact his rival in the afterlife.

At the end of the movie, as Yugi faced a crisis, the Pharaoh returned through the puzzle, but after he left again, the reassembled puzzle turned into gold light and vanished.

Kira looked thoughtfully at the image on the slab.

Could it be…the Pharaoh is coming back again?

Chapter 290: The Sealing Device

"Silent, do you think mine is big enough?"

Silent Magician stood next to Kira, tilting her head and gesturing.

Big, sure. But ugly as hell.

Kira nodded, satisfied.

"Ugly is good."

Right now, he looked like that fierce, Orichalcos god emissary he'd pummeled in Mirage City in the Spirit World—huge and menacing.

When Kira first came to the Spirit World, he realized that every card he held corresponded to a skill there. As long as you had enough cards, you could do anything.

For example, the Spell Card "Hero Mask" he was using now allowed him to disguise himself.

Two days ago, the mission card he'd taken from that god emissary updated with new content—a map appeared, pointing to a location.

The card text was just a bunch of hieroglyphs Kira couldn't read.

But that was fine—the big boss of the Spirit World, Black Luster Soldier, could understand it and told him that the card holder was to gather at the indicated place.

The mission was to find something called the "Sealing Device."

Kira immediately thought of the info he'd seen at Mokuba's place a few days earlier.

The Sealing Device—the upside-down pyramid that looked like the Millennium Puzzle.

So…could it actually be the Millennium Puzzle?

Kira had a bold idea.

He took the mission card and disguised himself as a god emissary to infiltrate the team and investigate.

As he walked, Silent gestured beside him.

"You think it's dangerous if I'm exposed?" Kira asked.

Silent nodded repeatedly.

At first, communication with Silent was tough, but over time it got easier. Now, he could pretty much understand her every gesture.

"No worries, that's just Plan A," Kira said. "Plan A is to blend in and get information."

Silent tilted her head.

What about Plan B?

"Plan B is—if my cover's blown, just beat them up and ask my questions directly."

"…"

Silent was silenced by his airtight plan and had nothing to say.

The mission card was quite smart; as he walked, the map updated, guiding him along winding paths to the destination—a kind of mystical GPS.

He soon reached the designated spot.

It was a grove of tall, twisted trees, shadows thick among the branches, swallowing all light. The air was heavy with damp earth and a strange, rotten smell.

Through the underbrush, Kira soon found three figures gathered together.

Well, not people—they weren't human. He couldn't tell what cards they were, but they seemed to be Beast or Beast-Warrior types. Dark bronze, muscular bodies, covered in scars and tattoos, wild fur—fitting Kira's stereotype of beastmen.

Noticing his approach, the three stood up warily, each showing their mission card.

Kira got the hint and did the same. The three nodded and sat down again.

Kira joined them.

Good—Plan A was going well so far.

"The guide should be here soon," said Beastman A. "We're all old friends, working for the great god. No need to be nervous."

Oh, so they know each other?

Kira decided to just listen for now—if the god emissary he was impersonating knew them, talking too much would be dangerous.

Luckily, one of the beastmen asked the very question Kira was most interested in.

"I heard the church finally has a lead on the 'Sealing Device'? What is it? Why does even the all-powerful god need it?"

Beastman A's eyes gleamed.

"I heard a bit from a friend high in the organization. But…" He lowered his voice. "Are you sure you want to know?"

That made Beastman B nervous. "If it's not for us to know, then forget it. I know not to pry."

Beastman A laughed. "It's fine. We're all brothers here—just don't spread it."

He lowered his voice. "You all know, right? What our great god has shown is just the tip of the iceberg.

The true form is still asleep, waiting to be awakened."

Beastmen B and C nodded.

"But rumor is, it isn't sleeping by choice. It was attacked." Beastman A whispered. "Years ago, a lord of evil gods led the three wicked gods of the sky, earth, and sun to ambush our god when it was weak, severely injuring it…"

Kira: "…"

If he guessed right, that "lord of evil gods" was the Pharaoh, Atem?

The three wicked gods—those were the Egyptian God Cards?

Hmm.

Makes sense. Their side calls Orichalcos' Leviathan the true god, so the three Egyptian gods are "evil gods" to them.

But honestly, the one who ambushed first was Doma, wasn't it? The Egyptian God Cards didn't even get to fight. After Yugi won them, Doma's henchmen just broke in, skipped the dueling, and attacked Yugi's grandpa to steal the cards.

And the business about "attacking while the god was weak" was a bit off, too.

Back then, the revived Orichalcos had absorbed thousands of souls, and even drained the God Cards' energy—it was at a historic peak.

The God Cards, on the other hand, were drained and couldn't even be summoned. In the end, Atem had to push himself to bring them out for one last fight.

So really, it was the Orichalcos that was at full power, and the God Cards that were running on empty.

But the minion's retelling made it sound like the Pharaoh was the one sneaking around.

"Anyway, our god lost that battle. But the lord of evil gods realized our god was immortal and couldn't be destroyed.

So he used some powerful artifact to seal our god. Our mission is to find that artifact and break the seal, so our god can return and bring ultimate darkness to all worlds!"

"That would be…" said Beastman B.

"Exactly, the 'Sealing Device'." Beastman A nodded, then scratched his head. "Of course, that's just what I heard—who knows if it's true."

Kira fell into thought, recalling the old plot.

In DM, it was said that the Orichalcos God was the planet's dark side. As long as darkness exists, it would return.

Atem's answer was to seal all the world's darkness inside himself.

The more Kira thought about it, the more it seemed that New Doma was desperately searching through all the spirit worlds for one thing—

Could it really be the Millennium Puzzle?