Yugioh [375-377] (Patreon)

Chapter 375: Where Is the Limit?

A match is decided, a soul is reaped. This is the rule of Seak of Orichalcos—an absolute law that even the highest members of the organization cannot change.

From this perspective, New Doma could even be considered a relatively honest villain; compared to some later villains who act arrogant when they win and pretend nothing happened when they lose, he's practically a moral model.

In the end, Luca collapsed to his knees, his consciousness fading, eyes emptying. Yet, he still seemed unable to fully accept reality.

Losing the duel was one thing—the confidence he had in his own invincibility, his ambition, all crushed by the student before him.

And then there was the fact he couldn't accept losing in this way, to this opponent.

If he had a choice now, he'd definitely pick a head-on fight with Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Why could someone turn even the Black Luster Soldier into a shut-in?

He even wondered if, in this person's hands, even the Blue-Eyes—the embodiment of power in the dueling world—might go astray.

Luca's instincts warned him such things could happen in the future. But, unfortunately, he'd never see it.

The now-faded Black Luster Soldier floated nearby, casting a complicated look at Kira.

Logically, discovering a new way to use his power should be a good thing.

But he suddenly had an odd premonition.

If he followed this master long enough, would he, the once-great Pioneer, end up with a reputation as a shut-in in both the dueling and spirit worlds?

Even as his soul was drawn away, Luca stared daggers at Kira, eyes bloodshot.

For some reason, seeing that look in the eyes of a dying man, Kira felt a strange "even in death, I won't forgive you" resentment.

But it didn't matter.

After all, this was the world of Yu-Gi-Oh—so what if you became a vengeful spirit? If you want revenge, you'll still have to duel.

If you couldn't beat me alive, you think you'll suddenly get better after you're dead?

"Don't get cocky—too soon," Luca said darkly.

"The last swordsman, and the master... they're both ready. The Duel City finals will become a bloodbath. You... don't stand a chance."

He barely finished before the green light faded, his soul was drawn out, and he slumped to the ground, unmoving.

"He's dead," Kira said.

He walked over, bent down, and took Luca's deck.

Worm deck: GET.

Kira pocketed the deck, then glanced at Luca's collapsed body.

"I feel stronger again," he muttered, looking at his hand.

Especially compared to his first encounter with Doma swordsman Shell, he felt much more at ease now. The first semester at Duel Academy had paid off.

But he wasn't sure exactly how much he'd improved.

That was fine, though. In a few days, Duel City's tournament would resume, and the top 8 bracket would be decided.

The top 8 should be tough opponents; logically, anyone making it this far wouldn't be weak.

Especially since the remaining Doma swordsmen and that so-called Arbiter cheat snake would be participating—along with Kaiba himself.

With this, the tournament should reveal his limits.

Kira raised his arm and looked at the deck on his duel disk.

"How strong am I now?"

His mindset was different from when he first arrived. Back then, he was cautious for every duel, preparing for every opponent.

Now, while he still prepared out of good habit and to increase his chances, he rarely worried about losing due to lack of preparation.

Honestly, even he was less and less sure of his own limits.

A duelist only senses their strength by facing powerful opponents. But after dueling so many, his only takeaway was: he still didn't know his limits.

So when people asked what his full power was, or where his limit lay, all he could do was answer helplessly—

—I'd like to know that too.

Unfortunately, most of his opponents just weren't up to par; most lost before they even got serious.

"Duel City GX, huh."

He left the power station, mounted the motorcycle waiting at the evacuation point, and muttered.

Hope this time will be different.

Before dawn, he returned to the station.

But this time, he didn't go in. He met Mai Valentine at the entrance and handed her a card.

Mai flipped it over and almost dropped it.

It was an Orichalcos soul seal card, showing Iwao chained and clawing at the edge of a cage.

Mai gasped, "You took him out!?"

"Uh, do I look like an Orichalcos minion?" Kira replied, exasperated.

Mai frowned, studying him.

This sunny aura, and remembering the ruthless tactics she'd seen him use—reminded her of that once-sunny boy Marik, who'd left her with psychological scars.

She hadn't thought of it before, but now that he mentioned it...

He really did resemble him.

"...So Iwao was taken by Orichalcos," she said, sighing.

"Shame. I only knew him a couple days, but he seemed like a good guy..." She looked again at the sealed card. "But maybe there's hope."

"Maybe," Kira replied.

He knew what she meant. Mai was familiar with Orichalcos' methods—she'd once joined Doma in pursuit of power, even losing her soul and being sealed, just like this.

But when Orichalcos' god was defeated by the Egyptian Gods, she and the other sealed souls were released and restored.

The souls sealed by Orichalcos didn't vanish immediately; they were more like stored for the serpent god's consumption. If you were unlucky, you'd be eaten. If you lasted long enough and the serpent god died, you'd return.

"But the plan worked," Mai said.

"The power station is back online, the system's up, and the train leaves in ten minutes. Coming with us?"

"I'll pass. You all go on ahead."

Kira shook his head with a smile.

"I've learned what I needed to here, so I'll take my leave."

"Makes sense. A duelist with powers like yours—this place couldn't hold you anyway."

"What about you, Miss Mai? Any plans?"

"I'll keep looking for that missing guy," she grumbled.

"Joey, huh."

Kira now knew the culprit here was the little dark crayfish. If Joey disappeared from here, maybe it's connected.

"Alright. If you get any leads, or need help, contact me," Kira said. "He's got plenty of friends worried about him."

"Many friends, huh. That suits him," Mai smiled gently. "I'll keep that in mind."

Chapter 376: Duel Maniacs

"So that's what happened in Shimizu Town?" Mokuba murmured.

"Yeah, some ancient monster was revived and is out gathering energy," Kira replied.

"Another ancient monster..."

Mokuba rubbed his temples.

"Another?" Kira noticed this wasn't the first time.

"Yeah." Mokuba shrugged. "With all the Duel Monster development, more relics keep surfacing, and ancient monsters keep popping up.

Just two months ago, the Greek branch reported digging up a so-called Hades, claiming he ruled the underworld. He possessed a local official and formed a group..."

"Hades, lord of the underworld?" Kira asked.

"Probably. You know him?" Mokuba replied.

"Not exactly," Kira said, face complicated.

It's not about knowing him—it's a Yu-Gi-Oh card. Level 6, Fiend, ATK 2450, makes your Fiends unaffected by being destroyed in battle. He thought it was pretty weak...

"What happened then?" Kira asked.

"Not much," Mokuba said. "KaibaCorp's Duel Enforcement Squad took them out. That Hades monster put up a fight, but they beat him two-on-one in a duel."

That weakling even caused trouble?

Kira hadn't seen the spirit's strength, but if it was the "Dark Ruler Ha Des" card, it'd probably be bottom-tier in his spirit team.

"No sign of Joey?" Mokuba asked.

Kira shook his head. "He was probably there, but gone by the time I arrived."

"I see. Thanks for your help," Mokuba nodded. "We've got this covered. You don't need to worry."

Kira didn't press for details. With Tragoedia's clone in Shimizu Town dealt with, KaibaCorp could handle the rest.

"But be careful with that monster," Kira warned. "This isn't your average dark spirit. Regular duelists may not be enough."

Mokuba smiled. "Don't worry. The squad's all top-level duelists."

Top level... Kira thought.

To him, today's pro duelists were like jonin ninja in another village. Fine for background noise, but in a real fight... not so much.

"What? You disagree?" Mokuba noticed Kira's expression.

"Hmm... I just think this monster, only Kaiba himself could handle."

"That strong?" Mokuba was surprised.

Kira nodded seriously.

He wasn't exaggerating.

Tragoedia's upper limit was unknown; in the GX manga, it was only defeated when Jaden received the Supreme Power from High Priest. Before that, it was far above every other character in power, but never directly fought a legendary duelist.

But its background was no joke.

Three thousand years ago, when the astrologer possessed by Tragoedia was caught by the priests, he revealed the darkest secret even the Pharaoh didn't know—the creation of the Millennium Items, and the massacre of the entire Kul Elna village as a sacrifice.

The final boss of DM, Zorc Necrophades, used Kul Elna's only survivor as his vessel. The future King of Thieves witnessed the slaughter and developed deep darkness.

The GX manga added that the survivor wasn't the only one.

Among the palace priests, an astrologer was also a hidden Kul Elna villager. He survived by working in the palace, and when he learned the truth, fell into despair, giving birth to Tragoedia.

That's why Tragoedia could rival the Millennium Items' darkness.

"I see. If even you thinks so..." Mokuba nodded seriously.

"I'll warn the investigation team and inform my brother. Thanks."

As they talked, they walked through KaibaCorp's lobby to the exit.

"The tournament resumes today. The top 8 will probably be decided soon," Mokuba said.

"Oh? How many spots are filled?"

Kira had made it before the suspension, along with Kaiba and, unsurprisingly, Koyo Hibiki, the world's strongest HERO user.

"Already five. Oh, your buddy made it too," Mokuba grinned. "Not bad for someone you recommended—I was surprised he's from Slifer Red, but he's really strong."

"Jaden?" Kira wasn't surprised.

They'd already teamed up to storm Doma's club; he was only two cards short then.

"Oh, and something interesting is happening at the finalists' gathering spot—your buddy's involved. Want to check it out?"

"Huh?"

Kira was puzzled.

But at the gathering, he understood.

On the city's waterfront, two duelists stood apart, dueling.

One was the classic Slider Red with jellyfish hair—clearly Jaden.

And the other...

"Koyo Hibiki?"

Kira was surprised.

Jaden was dueling the world champion?

"But they've both already qualified, right?"

"Yeah," Mokuba shrugged, "but your friend greeted his idol, they started chatting, got excited, and couldn't wait for the official match—so here they are."

Kira: "..."

What kind of duel-maniac meeting is this?

Chapter 377: Rich HEROes

[Jaden: LP 1000]

[Hibiki: LP 3300]

When Kira arrived, the duel was nearly over. Hibiki had "Elemental HERO Woodsman" in defense; Jaden's field was empty.

[Elemental HERO Woodsman, DEF 2000]

Both used HERO decks, but Jaden's was a budget build with the classic four vanilla HEROes you could buy anywhere.

Hibiki's deck had no basic cards, only rare HEROes, including some unavailable to the public.

In other words, Hibiki's HERO deck was a champion's luxury edition.

"I can feel your passion for your HEROes, Jaden," Hibiki smiled. "No wonder you made it this far."

Meeting a fan was always nice, and seeing Jaden reach the top 8 with a low-tier HERO deck was impressive.

After dueling, Hibiki was even more inspired by Jaden's passion.

"But your field is empty and you have one card in hand," Hibiki said. "With just one draw, can you break through Woodsman's 2000 defense?"

"I still have a draw left!"

Jaden grinned, rubbing his nose.

"Watch this, Hibiki! My draw!"

He drew, then lit up.

"Perfect—just what I needed!

First, I play 'Dark Factory of Mass Production' to return two Normal Monsters from my graveyard to my hand—'Elemental HERO Sparkman' and 'Elemental HERO Clayman.'"

"Returning those two HEROes..." Hibiki's eyes narrowed.

So Jaden's draw was probably...

"I play 'Polymerization'! Fusing 'Sparkman' and 'Clayman'—"

The two vanished into a swirling vortex, lightning crackled, and a giant descended—Elemental HERO Thunder Giant!

[Elemental HERO Thunder Giant, ATK 2400]

"You drew the key 'Polymerization' at the last moment," Hibiki said approvingly.

This kid...

Truly born to duel.

"When Thunder Giant is Fusion Summoned, he destroys a monster with lower original ATK!"

Jaden cheered.

"Go, Thunder Giant—

Lightning Flash!"

A surge of electricity blasted from the hero's palm, shattering Woodsman and leaving only smoke behind.

"Thunder Giant—direct attack!"

No defending monsters, no set cards. Thunder Giant unleashed a lightning spear, Hibiki taking the hit, coat fluttering but smiling with satisfaction.

[Hibiki, LP 3300 → 900]

"My turn's over," Jaden said, fired up.

"So close now!"

With Thunder Giant out, the tide had turned. Hibiki had no monsters, only one card in hand. Even with next turn's draw, taking down Thunder Giant wouldn't be easy.

But that only made it more exciting.

"What will Hibiki do next?" Jaden wondered, thrilled.

He was dueling the world's strongest HERO user, the champion—what could be better?

"I feel your passion. But this will probably be the last draw," Hibiki smiled. "Wish this duel could last forever."

"Haha, me too!" Jaden laughed.

Hibiki smiled, then grew serious. "My turn!"

But as he touched his deck, he froze, face flickering with pain.

"Ugh..."

His expression faltered, body swaying.

"Hibiki?" Jaden asked, surprised.

"It's nothing. More importantly, here it comes, Jaden!"

Hibiki's odd moment passed as he composed himself.

"I'll fight this duel out as a duelist to the end! I play 'A Hero Lives'!"

Kira narrowed his eyes.

Wow, this is the power of a champion.

Pulling out a single card that's a game-changer—this is a whole different level.

"A Hero Lives"—a staple when it was released, not just for HERO decks but splashed in many others. In the manga, it was Hibiki's card, and the real card was just as powerful as the original.

"If I have no face-up monsters, I pay half my LP," Hibiki declared, "and Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Elemental HERO' from my deck!"

[Hibiki, LP 900 → 450]

"So I Special Summon—

Elemental HERO Stratos!"

Kira was speechless.

Yep, the classic "A Hero Lives into Stratos." No wonder he's the champ.

While Jaden was the face of HEROes, most of the HEROes loved by players were Hibiki's. "World's Strongest HERO User" was no exaggeration.

But then Kira realized Hibiki didn't use Stratos's effect.

Normally, you'd use Stratos's effect to get another HERO—a staple move. But then Kira remembered:

Oh, right. This isn't the real card game's Stratos.

The real-life Stratos was buffed immensely. In the manga, "Elemental HERO Stratos" had 1800 ATK and could halve its own ATK to attack directly.

A far cry from the real card's power.

Kira stroked his chin, thinking.

Looks like there's still a lot of room for HEROes to grow in this world.

"I activate 'Miracle Fusion,' fusing HEROes from my graveyard!"

Hibiki showed the two cards in his graveyard.

"I banish 'Woodsman' and 'Ocean' to Fusion Summon!"

He raised his arm as the two monsters vanished into the vortex.

"Watch closely, Jaden—my ace, the world's only ultra-rare HERO—

—Elemental HERO Gaia!!"

Forest and ocean fused into the embodiment of the blue planet—an elemental giant descending onto the field.

Elemental HERO Gaia, summoned!

"Amazing!" Jaden's eyes sparkled.

"Gaia, the world's only ultra-rare HERO..."

Kira frowned slightly.

That wasn't just a projection. He could feel the unique pressure and power—the spirit possessing it was undeniably strong.

"Elemental HERO Gaia, from the Planet series. Didn't expect to see him here," Mokuba remarked.

"This tournament just got interesting."

"Gaia's effect: tribute a HERO to absorb its ATK and DEF!" Hibiki declared.

"I tribute Stratos to power up Gaia—

Magma Mode!"

The white giant turned crimson, magma erupting all over its body!

[Elemental HERO Gaia, ATK 4300]

"Here it comes, Jaden—final attack!" Hibiki roared. "Attack Thunder Giant!"

Gaia charged at full power, magma blazing like a sword. Thunder Giant was melted in the onslaught, flames filling the view—but Jaden just looked ecstatic.

"Gaia is so cool!"

[Jaden, LP 1000 → 0]