Yugioh [444-449] (Patreon)

Chapter 444: The Struggle of a Cornered Beast

Victory. He won!

Kira won!

The outcome of the duel seemed clear. The green vortex began to contract, the triple barrier seemed to collapse one after another, and the light converged where the Arbiter stood, as if to announce the end of the match.

But even now, everyone was still stunned, their expressions dazed, as if they hadn't quite grasped what had happened.

Did Kira just use Lava Golem to eat the invincible Divine Serpent Geh?

From a traditional perspective, it was utterly absurd—yet completely in character for Kira. Especially after his previous battle with Kaiba in the semifinals, this scene felt strangely familiar.

"Big brother, did Kira really win?"

Mokuba looked up at his brother in confusion, only to find Kaiba still standing there with arms crossed, his face calm as ever—but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve upward.

Kaiba was never someone who revealed his true feelings easily. Arrogant, theatrical, often speaking in cryptic lines and laughing maniacally, but when necessary, he'd never let anyone see through him.

Yet as his closest person, Mokuba could read his brother's face: he was genuinely happy.

Mokuba hadn't seen his brother this genuinely happy for many years. It seemed even the depression from his own semifinal loss had been swept away.

And watching that dopey Lava Golem chomp down on the Snake God, he couldn't help but think—

This is the feeling!

Suddenly, everything felt balanced again.

The president was satisfied, but the shameless snake was devastated.

His Divine Serpent Geh, with infinite attack power and all sorts of immunity auras—a twelve-star evil god!

And it just got eaten. Can you believe it?

On top of that, his win condition was entirely tied to the Divine Serpent Geh, so when the Lava Golem ate it, his defeat was immediate.

To literally eat the opponent to death—this might be a first, even for the Lava Golem. And to do so in the final, with the world's fate at stake, the goofball that landed the finishing blow once again snagged the match MVP.

And this was in a duel that even featured the highest-level monster—the Winged Dragon of Ra. Ra, making its grand return after so many years, probably never expected it wouldn't be the star of its own comeback.

The MVP value of the Golem just kept rising.

At this point, even though the duel was over, the field projection had not yet disappeared. The Lava Golem, having just landed the finishing blow, stood tall on the opponent's field, rubbing its belly, a look of satisfaction oddly readable on its abstract face.

As if to say, "Evil gods really are nutritious. First time eating such high-quality food, and it tastes pretty good!"

"Awesome!"

Jaden leaped onto the stage and ran toward Kira.

"Kira, you were godlike! Is there even a limit to your strength? That's just insane..."

Kaiba said nothing, but even he couldn't help a slight laugh, as if to say, "That's more like it—now you look like a man who can beat me."

"So, is that evil god finished now?" Mokuba looked across the field.

Kira hadn't lowered his duel disk, his eyes still warily fixed on the Arbiter.

In the Seal of Orichalcos, the loser is supposed to have their soul absorbed by the barrier—that's the ironclad rule of such duels.

But this time, the opponent was special.

The Arbiter was the incarnation of the Snake God itself. Normally, all those souls lost in the barrier would ultimately be absorbed by the Snake God as food—even Dartz, the Snake God's former agent, was no exception.

But now, the duelist was the Snake God itself. If the barrier were to absorb a soul now, wouldn't that be eating itself?

As the barrier shrank, gathering at the Arbiter's feet, the Arbiter suddenly raised his head and let out a sharp, inhuman roar. An invisible shockwave burst from his body, forcibly shattering the shrinking Seal of Orichalcos.

The once-invincible green shield shattered into countless fragments, and a torrent of darkness erupted from the human shell. The human form quickly blurred, the darkness seemingly tearing through the heavens, gradually forming the outline of a giant beast in the air.

Freed from mortal constraints, the black rift in midair looked like a shocking scar. The darkness tore space itself, and from it surged not ordinary light, but a chaos that threatened to consume the world.

The gigantic Snake God, wreathed in lightning and hellfire, its scales glinting with ominous light, glared down at the world it would soon claim as its hunting ground. Its eyes were two enormous black holes, filled with rage and hatred.

The God of Orichalcos descends!

The time for cards was over—now it looked like the Snake God intended to fight directly.

Even if the barrier's soul absorption didn't work on the Snake God's true body, the real damage taken in the duel could not be ignored.

Kira had anticipated the possibility that the Seal of Orichalcos might not be effective. In this duel, he too had gone all out with the energy of a Dark Duel.

Although the Snake God, as a god, hadn't been defeated through the duel like a normal duelist, it was still only half-revived, in a weakened state, and had been seriously injured in the duel.

Now, revealing its true form was a desperate move—a last stand.

Even so, the Snake God radiated an intimidating presence. When it descended, it seemed like a harbinger of apocalypse, its writhing, serpentine body making onlookers shudder.

Kaiba reacted first, instantly activating his duel disk.

"Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!!!"

Without wasting words, the president summoned his ultimate ace. In ancient Egypt, it was known as the strongest light dragon, its metallic body gleaming like the rising sun, its holy blue aura clashing with the Snake God's darkness.

The God of Orichalcos roared sharply.

"A mere white dragon, and you dare stand against the darkness of this age?"

Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon soared into the air, blasting a light orb. The Snake God didn't dodge—its eyes flashed red, and the orb exploded against an invisible barrier several meters before it, sending out ripples.

The Snake God lunged, baring its fangs, striking at the dragon's neck.

It was fast—but halfway there, a gale swept from the side. Glancing over, it saw the Black Luster Soldier had drawn his sword, slashing at its body with a dimension-rending edge.

"Petty swordsman!"

The God of Orichalcos bellowed, its long body twisting. Black energy burst from its tail, clashing midair with the Chaos sword energy. The sword energy was shredded, the dark backlash surging toward the Black Luster Soldier.

The Black Luster Soldier hastily raised his shield. The force crashed into it, sending him staggering back, barely able to hold on. He was shocked.

Even in a half-revived state, the Snake God's casual counters were terrifying. What if it were at full power?

Just then, a beam of golden light shot up. Kira retrieved the still-hot God Card from his graveyard and slapped it onto the duel disk.

The instant the card landed, endless electricity visibly erupted from the duel disk.

A million rays of golden light burst from the dark clouds!

Chapter 445: The Fall of the Snake God

The sky seemed to be gently parted by an unseen force. The clouds slowly retreated, revealing the long-lost clear blue sky and a blazing golden sun hanging high above.

But soon, everyone realized—it wasn't the sun.

Because it was slowly descending.

At the center of the light, a giant golden sphere appeared among the clouds. The dazzling brilliance enveloped the world in a warm golden glow, like the first sunrise illuminating the earth.

Then, the golden sphere began to transform.

As if life flowed across its surface, the golden light gradually outlined the shape of a divine bird. The god-bird of the sun opened its massive wings, revealing a body seemingly forged from gold. It soared high, tearing through the sky, golden storms swirling from its wings, bathing the world below in its radiance.

The chief of the God Cards, the Winged Dragon of Ra, summoned!

"You again!" the Snake God shrieked. "Wretched Pharaoh, accursed God!"

Ra also let out a thunderous cry, flying directly toward the God of Orichalcos. As it swept past, a burning trail of fire was left across the heavens, as if even the clouds were ignited.

"You three gods had to join forces to defeat me before," the Snake God raged. "And now you think you alone can stand against me?"

It lunged.

Ra's eyes flared red, roaring even more furiously.

Kira couldn't understand what Ra was saying, but he imagined it was something like, "Last time, that Divine Soldier and that pit dragon just got in the way—if I'd fought you one-on-one, I'd have crushed you."

The golden god and the pitch-black snake god clashed, sunlight and darkness colliding, their domains intertwined in a titanic struggle.

Beasts battling in midair, rising ever higher. On the ground, everyone looked up to see thunderclouds churning, black lightning striking down. Storms raged across the surrounding sea, waves crashing higher and higher. Explosions of golden light intermittently burst forth, the spectacle terrifying.

Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon roared, flapping its wings to join the fray. Black Luster Soldier also raised his sword, though at this level he was clearly struggling to keep up, but he refused to stand aside—at least he could provide support.

Blue-Eyes was said to be a god-level monster, but in duels, victory often depended on the duelist's skill, so it was hard to judge who was stronger between it and the God Cards.

But in this spirit battle, as Blue-Eyes fought the Snake God, it truly displayed some of the old godly power. In the righteous beatdown, the already weakened Snake God quickly became overwhelmed, its defeat evident.

At last, the Snake God's defenses were breached. Ra's Divine Flame Cannon and Blue-Eyes' Shining Burst landed in quick succession on its chest and back.

The God of Orichalcos could no longer hold on, letting out a piercing scream as its black body, seemingly aflame, plummeted from the sky, turning to ash before hitting the ground.

The last wisp of black energy returned to the Arbiter's body. He fell to one knee, face pale, darkness pouring from him like a broken dam, and his body began to dissolve.

Kira and Kaiba stood side by side on the stage, looking down like victors.

The Snake God glared up, eyes full of venomous hatred.

"I lost."

He said it, but ground his teeth, clearly unaccepting. His hateful gaze lingered on both, finally locking onto Kira.

"But I still lost to the wretched Pharaoh," he said coldly.

Kira just nodded, unconcerned. "If you say so."

Perhaps it was true. The artifact's boost and the power it left Ra were indeed key in this battle.

Without the artifact's help, Kira might still have won—or maybe he would have lost. But either way, the duel would have gone very differently.

But he didn't care.

Victory is all that matters in a duel—especially one with your life, or the world, on the line. Only the winner has a future. If he has to rely on some cheats or top-decking to win, so be it.

If he wants to win solely by his own strength, he can work on that after this victory.

The Arbiter was furious, but his body had almost completely collapsed, half of it dissolving into black mist.

He fell to his knees, struggling to speak.

"Don't think this is over!"

"I told the Pharaoh before, and it hasn't changed. As long as darkness exists in human hearts, no matter how many times, I will return!"

"And you!"

He glared at Kira.

"One day, you'll bring about a darkness a hundred times deeper than I ever did—because that's the kind of person you are!"

"You'll all regret it!"

His voice faded away.

The Arbiter's body finally completely disintegrated, dissolving into a puff of black smoke and vanishing.

"Hmph. The wailing of a beaten dog."

Kaiba snorted disdainfully, like he did to every enemy he'd beaten.

But, deep down, there was some regret.

Dartz had been one of the few opponents he'd never beaten. Although the Arbiter wasn't Dartz reborn, he was the mastermind behind him.

This should have been his chance at a comeback. After so many years, a chance to surpass the obstacle he'd never overcome, and become Duel King again—a perfect opportunity.

But he'd failed.

Who would have thought? The great Kaiba, seen as the number one duelist in the world, defeated by a rookie student.

He turned to look behind him—and was stunned.

Kira had vanished.

Looking around, he saw Kira squatting where the Arbiter had dissolved, picking up the duel disk.

Looting the corpse.

Kaiba: "..."

Well.

For someone newly crowned Duel King, staying true to oneself is admirable.

Kira was quite pleased with the Arbiter.

Not only did he get the deck from the duel disk, the Arbiter also carried several backup decks. Clearly, like himself, he specialized in using multiple decks.

He loved such opponents. Win once, get loads of loot—and all rare cards.

If only every villain were this generous, he'd laugh himself awake in his sleep.

Chapter 446: Duel King

Duel Academy.

The sunset cast golden rays over the boundless sea, painting a magnificent picture in blue and red-gold. The helicopter drifted through the brilliant skyline, approaching the carefully paved helipad on the coast.

The helicopter landed. Chancellor Sheppard stepped out, the sunset gleaming off his shiny bald head, the hem of his uniform whipping in the rotor's wind.

Immediately, a sweat-soaked, greedy face came rushing up.

"Chancellor! Chancellor, something huge happened, noné!"

Crowler ran up, hands on his knees, panting hard—he'd clearly sprinted all the way to meet the Chancellor.

Everyone knew Chancellor Sheppard was always out on business trips—whenever something happened at the Academy, he was away. He'd just finished some urgent business, only to be intercepted by Crowler right off the chopper.

"So flustered—this isn't like you, Professor Crowler."

Sheppard smiled calmly, every bit the master.

"What happened?"

"It's—it's Duel City! The finals of Duel City happened today, noné!" Crowler struggled to catch his breath.

"Oh, the finals." Sheppard mused. "I remember I sent Zane to participate. I wonder how he did..."

"Zane-kun?" Crowler blinked. "Come to think of it, he made top eight, noné."

"Oh, top eight?" Sheppard's eyes lit up, nodding in approval. "Not bad, not bad—Zane did well."

Sheppard knew his students well. Though Zane was unbeatable at the Academy, he was still just a student. To reach top eight in a tournament full of legends was impressive.

As his mentor, Sheppard was quite pleased with his protégé.

And Zane hadn't even graduated yet, hadn't experienced the pro dueling world—he still had lots of room to grow. The future was bright.

Sheppard was delighted, determined to reward his student when he got back.

"Yes, Truesdale did well, but that's not the point." Crowler shook his head quickly. "More importantly—the champion! The Duel King, noné! The Academy has an enrolled Duel King! Mamma mia! This is unprecedented—"

The professor's rambling left Sheppard confused: "Slow down—what happened? What King?"

"The Duel King! Kaiba personally entered this year's Duel City, saying he'd challenge for the Duel King title again.

And our student won!"

Crowler shouted.

"Fujiki Kira—Kira-kun won, noné!"

Sheppard blinked, as if he hadn't understood.

"You're saying Kira beat Kaiba?"

"Not just that—he won the whole championship, noné! Kira-kun is now the Duel King!"

Sheppard's eyes went wide, his expression frozen for several seconds, then his mouth dropped open, almost joining Crowler in shouting—

Mamma mia!

Our Academy actually... produced a currently enrolled Duel King?

…

At this moment, the once-quiet dojo was in an uproar.

Master Takeuchi had watched the entire final with his students, nearly needing heart medicine several times.

When it was finally over, and the invincible Divine Serpent Geh was devoured by the Lava Golem, Master Takeuchi nearly fainted.

Six months ago, he'd sensed this kid was extraordinary—he'd thought Kira would at best become a pro after graduation, maybe a star rookie, bringing some fame to the dojo.

Who could have imagined?

Duel King!

A title only Yugi Muto had held before, symbolizing the strongest duelist in the world.

In this world where dueling was everything, it meant reaching the very top.

He would become the one admired by millions, reigning supreme.

The disciples, after their initial shock, broke into wild celebration.

Especially Satou Kouji, who now walked with his head held high, as if he himself had transformed.

He wanted to tell everyone—I've been beaten by the Duel King!

By rounding up, didn't that make him a legendary duelist too?

As the saying goes, when one rises, all rise. Kira had started here—so his success brought pride to all. And now, nearly everyone could boast, "I've been beaten by the Duel King."

But some felt conflicted.

Back then, Kira's "Hand Destruction" deck had thrown the whole dojo into existential crisis. They'd thought it was a shortcut, a cheap trick—powerful for a while, but ultimately limited, useless against true masters.

And then, they watched as Kira stormed into Duel Academy, crushed pros, destroyed legends, and now stood atop the world—a new Duel King.

Suddenly, the future of dueling seemed ominous.

…

"Congrats."

Mokuba jumped onto the stage and patted Kira on the shoulder.

"So you're the new Duel King—at least for now." He grinned. "But even though you won this time, my brother won't give up."

"Mokuba," Kaiba interrupted.

Mokuba stuck out his tongue, saying no more.

"Anyway, seriously, you need to be careful."

He turned to Kira.

"Duel King is the highest honor, but it's not just about status and opportunities—it also brings challenges," Mokuba said. "Ever since Yugi, there hasn't been a new Duel King in years, so this will draw a lot of attention.

Even Yugi, after becoming Duel King, faced constant challenges. That's how he made his name."

Kira nodded. "I understand."

After Yugi became Duel King, challengers came every day trying to claim the title. In movies and spin-offs, crowds would gather at his school or his family's card shop, trying to defeat him.

Everyone knew Yugi was number one, but there were always overconfident challengers.

After winning, Yugi spent years defending his title, battling opponents from all over the world, and finally convinced everyone.

Kira's victory was just the first step.

From now on, more challenges awaited.

"Yeah, I know."

Kira just nodded.

Then, he gave his trademark, sunny smile.

"...Let them come."

Seeing that warm smile, Mokuba, for some reason, suddenly felt...

A bit of sympathy for all those future challengers.

Chapter 447: Reckoning

In the very center of White Dragon Island, the tournament organizers held the official awards ceremony. Under the gaze of thousands, Kira was formally bestowed the title of the new Duel King.

Oh, and of course, a huge prize fund, too.

After all, this was a KaibaCorp-sponsored tournament, and prizes at Duelist Kingdom events had always been generous. With the president himself competing, staking the title of Duel King, this event was more meaningful than ever, and the prize money was even more considerable.

Recently, Kira had spent heavily on deck construction—not just upgrading his own deck, but also purchasing a lot of cards for research.

Though his lab always had a research budget, that funding had to be split among several project groups. Kira would often invest his own money into research for his primary decks, and with all the cards and equipment bought, he'd spent quite a bit of his savings.

Fortunately, what he spent was quickly replenished. This prize money alone more than restored his savings; it even surpassed what he had before. It looked like he wouldn't be short on cash for quite a while.

And that was just the prize money. Now that he was Duel King, his fame and influence would only increase. With greater fame would come more investment and funding, certainly far more than before.

If he wanted, there would be no shortage of endorsements, public appearances, and paid guest spots at various tournaments. The opportunities that fame and strength brought were countless—he could pick and choose based on his interests.

But as much as he had, it still might not be enough.

Research was a bottomless pit—look at KaibaCorp, which poured astronomical sums into development every year.

And just this trip to Duel City had been extremely lucrative even aside from the tournament rewards. From the Arbiter alone, he gained cards like the once-meta Armageddon Dragon, the rare Yubel, that Elemental Hero deck that had driven Koyo crazy, and even the Orichalcos arsenal belonging to the Snake God itself.

The Seal of Orichalcos, of course, couldn't be used recklessly. As powerful as it was, the soul-draining effect was too troublesome, and as a righteous duelist, Kira had no interest in using such evil tools.

Not to mention, it came with a "whoever uses it dies" curse. The Arbiter had managed to break the curse and win a game against Koyo, but one victory couldn't erase the Orichalcos's dark history.

Besides, the barrier was probably still connected to the snake. Even if the snake seemed to be dead, it claimed as long as darkness existed in human hearts, it would never truly die. If Kira used the barrier too much, the snake might just return—best not to risk it.

So, forget that card.

Still, there were plenty of OP original cards from Doma. Some Orichalcos-related cards were actually printed in the real game years later, though they were nerfed to the point of being nostalgia-fodder. But in early formats, they had potential.

But the best prize was Yubel.

Players in the future all knew how high Yubel's potential was. The new series printed a lot of Yubel's anime cards as new variants, and their power was off the charts. Even one or two would be game-changers.

Becoming the Duel King seemed like reaching the peak, but his to-do list was longer than ever.

To outsiders, his victory in Duel City was like a war god's triumph. But to Kira, it was the first time he sensed his own limits, and realized he couldn't afford to relax in the future.

He'd had the artifact boost in both of his final duels, even the Winged Dragon of Ra helping out. That was a huge advantage, but he knew it didn't count as his own strength—not yet.

With the God of Orichalcos defeated and the Arbiter gone, he picked up the Winged Dragon of Ra card from his duel disk and studied it. Soon, a golden light glowed on the card.

The light gradually faded, as if taking all the divine power with it. First the card art blurred, then the text disappeared, as if the golden light was washing all the information off the card.

At last, the entire card faded, turning into golden motes of light and vanishing from his hand.

Kira understood.

He was not the Pharaoh, nor a tomb keeper, nor a Millennium Item user.

Ra only appeared at the Pharaoh's call, to deal with the God of Orichalcos. Now that its mission was over, it had returned to its true master.

If anything, he'd just met Ra—maybe they'd fought side-by-side, but whether Ra would remember him next time was anyone's guess.

The Sealing Device also dimmed, returning to its pre-battle state: dull, inert. But unlike the God card, it didn't disappear—it remained in Kira's hands, just lying dormant for now.

Who knew if he might be able to use it again someday?

But Kira didn't dwell on it.

He had a feeling his connection with Ra wasn't over. There would be more chances in the future.

He still had a long road ahead, and much to do.

Just as in real life, Yu-Gi-Oh! is a constantly evolving game—so it was in the anime. From Duelist Kingdom to Battle City to every later series, the rules and cards were always improving and changing.

With worldwide institutions devoting their resources, and archaeologists digging everywhere, the card system would only mature further, the series would be completed, and effects would keep getting stronger.

Even icons like Yugi and Kaiba, when they appeared years later, had tons of new cards and variants to keep up with the times.

Those who couldn't keep up with the new meta risked elimination; true masters grew ever stronger, and their decks evolved faster than anyone else's.

Kaiba, for example, had been a top player in his day, and after years of progress, he'd pulled ahead of the meta by several generations.

Kira, though temporarily at the top, knew that dueling was advance or be left behind. From now on, he'd have to move even faster to avoid being overtaken.

"After Dartz fell, the remnants regrouped into what they are today. But that won't happen again," said Kaiba gravely.

"This time, I'll make sure those scum are utterly destroyed."

With the leader slain and the Three Swordsmen defeated, Kaiba was clearly ready to clean up the remaining riff-raff.

Kira's eyes lit up.

That's right—Doma's organization was worldwide, and their card-printing tech was no joke. Each Swordsman brought out their own exclusive cards, and the Arbiter alone had dropped an epic loot pile.

If they could get into Doma's armory, wouldn't there be even more treasures?

So Kira stepped forward.

"Count me in," he said righteously to Kaiba. "As Duel King, it's my duty to help build a bright future for the dueling world!"

Chapter 448: Nowhere Left to Run

Some city, unknown location.

A long, winding stone staircase, like a portal to another dimension, descended slowly into pitch-black darkness. The air was thick with dampness and mold, tinged with a faint smell of tar.

In the darkness, a hidden room: dim candlelight flickered in the breeze. A huge black table dominated the space, surrounded by a few high-backed chairs. Robed figures sat around it, faces grim, some masked, others with hoods pulled low.

They were the last Orichalcos cultists in the city.

Just a week ago, the Duel City Tournament had ended in Domino. It was the most-watched event of the year, and its outcome was earth-shattering for the dueling world—and the whole world.

A new Duel King had been crowned, and rumor had it he was just a first-year at Duel Academy. Kaiba's near-invincible legend was broken. Some even called it the dawn of a new era.

The tournament had rocked many fields, but none more so than what was left of Doma.

All three of their Swordsmen had been defeated. Their god, the Snake, had been devoured by Lava Golem on live global TV.

Doma was leaderless, its hierarchy in chaos.

The city was meant to be Doma HQ, the heart of the organization. The people here should have held things together in the crisis.

But they couldn't.

Because within that week, KaibaCorp suddenly launched a raid on their HQ.

With the organization headless, Kaiba was nearly unstoppable. Rumor had it he'd brought the new Duel King Kira with him, and together they were unbeatable.

HQ fell almost instantly. Most Doma executives were captured, the rest fled.

But Kaiba seemed to have inside information—he even knew all about their hidden backup bases, and the backup bases' own backups.

Now, HQ was at the brink. The handful left here were Doma's last core members.

"Damn that Kaiba, and that Duel King," one cursed. His shadow wavered on the wall like a furious demon.

"They know everything about us—every facility. The city's locked down by KaibaCorp. They're doing a sweep. We can hide for now, but it's only a matter of time…" said another.

"Are there really no branches left?" a third demanded. "This city was supposed to be our base! How could so many people be wiped out in just a few days—by Kaiba?!"

Everyone fell silent.

"...Maybe we can seek help from others," someone muttered.

Once, they'd been the world's mightiest dark organization, never deigning to ally with underground peers. But now, on the verge of collapse, if they didn't get outside help, even the core would perish.

So no one objected.

"Speaking of which…" one mused, "I've heard the 'Shadow Riders' are rising fast."

"Shadow Riders?"

"Yes, they're apparently recruiting all kinds of talented people."

"Right. Only dark duelists get in—it's a new group."

"I've heard of them too. Though they're new, they're growing fast.

Supposedly, their core includes vampires, duel spirits who wield dark powers, even an ancient, undefeated Pharaoh."

The others were stunned.

"That powerful?!"

"Just rumors, but where there's smoke, there's fire. And anyone who can recruit so many top talents is not ordinary."

Everyone nodded.

But the Shadow Riders were still mysterious, even in the underground world. Their boss was unknown, but many guessed he was a godlike figure.

"Apparently, they're planning something big and recruiting from the underground world. If you're strong, you can apply."

That man pondered.

"Might not be a bad option."

His companion was furious: "You traitor! Thinking of betraying the organization?"

But the man just rolled his eyes.

"So what? Is our great god going to crawl out of Lava Golem's belly and punish me?"

His companion fell silent.

True.

Their god had been eaten—what loyalty was there left to die for?

Better to find a new master.

Just then, a cold wind blew. The candlelight flickered and went out.

The only light gone, the room plunged into darkness. The robed figures around the table looked even more sinister.

After a few seconds of silence—

One finally slammed the table.

"Those dumbasses in logistics—when will they get the power back? That's seven candles out already! How much longer do we have to sit in the dark?"

Another grumbled, "Nothing we can do—Kaiba and the Duel King took out even our backup's backup base. We'll just have to make do…"

But he was already thinking of quitting.

Their boss was dead—maybe they should just dissolve. No point being caught by the Duel King…

"Hahahaha—"

Just then, a wild, three-stage laugh thundered out.

Everyone jumped. Instinctively, they turned toward the sound—the door had been kicked in.

Kaiba stood in the doorway, arms folded, duel disk glowing blue, his face lit up like a vengeful ghost.

"You really know how to hide—but it's pointless," he barked. "If you still have a duelist's pride, pick up your duel disks and fight!"

Their faces went white. Seeing each other's eyes, they all understood:

Game over!

Chapter 449: Rumors of the Shadow Riders

"Crush! Obliterate! Roaring applause!"

"Destruction Burst Stream!"

Kaiba's shout and wild laughter echoed as his white dragon unleashed a torrent of light, another opponent screaming as he was finished off.

"Hahahaha—not enough! Nowhere near enough! Next!"

His laughter shook the room; everyone quaked in fear.

One robed man couldn't help glancing over. But a voice snapped him back:

"Still got time to worry about your teammates? You must be having an easy time," Kira said with a smile.

The man shivered, turning back to his own losing field.

"I flip-summon Morphing Jar. Both players discard their hands and draw the same number."

Kira casually discarded five cards, drawing five more, and smiled.

"Of course, I can draw, but you can't. Because with 'Protector of the Sanctuary' on my field, my opponent can't draw cards outside their draw phase.

So, toss your hand. I'll draw five."

The robed man: "…"

"Oh, and I activate the trap 'Time Seal'—skip your next draw phase." Kira gestured graciously. "Your turn.

Of course, you can't draw. Go ahead."

The man looked at his empty hands, then at his locked deck, and let out a long breath.

So this was the new Duel King?

He was terrified.

He heard the white dragon roar as another teammate was blasted away. He felt no pity—just envy.

Envy that his teammate could leave so cleanly, so quickly that he barely felt any pain…

"…"

The duel was over. In the past week, Kira and Kaiba had teamed up several times, becoming a well-oiled machine. With KaibaCorp's intelligence, and the Arbiter gone, their raid on Doma's HQ had wiped out most of the organization in the region.

Of course, that was just the underground dueling side. Doma had also infiltrated business and government, and cleaning that up would be a headache for Kaiba.

But Kira had other questions.

He'd been eavesdropping before Kaiba kicked in the door. Aside from the fact that these guys were so desperate they worried about water and electricity, he'd caught something important.

So he left some alive—not killing them outright under dark duel rules—to interrogate them.

"I heard you mention this 'Shadow Riders'?" Kira asked. "An underground dark duelist group?"

The man, defeated and bound by dark energy, had no choice but to answer—he was already mentally broken anyway.

"Yes, a new group. We don't know much."

Kira frowned. "Didn't you guys say Doma knows everything?"

The man gave a bitter smile.

"We can't investigate every new group. But Shadow Riders looked promising. If…if things hadn't gone wrong, we'd have checked them out."

"Gone wrong?"

"Before Duel City, our whole group was searching for you, and that Sealing Device. Then you killed our ancestor, and threw us into total chaos…"

Kira laughed.

So it's my fault, huh?

Now Doma HQ had fallen, the remnants scattered, the organization basically back to the chaos after Dartz's death, before the Arbiter appeared.

But Kira didn't need to investigate further, because he knew what Shadow Riders was.

Shadow Riders was a group of seven elite dark duelists drawn from various fields…well, elite was a stretch.

Unlike other dark duelist clubs, this group was created for one purpose: to target Duel Academy.

To seize the three Sacred Beast cards.

It was said the Sacred Beasts were now the new pinnacle of duel monsters in a world without the Egyptian Gods, and supposedly could grant youth, immortality, and other miracles.

Immortality—just those words would drive anyone mad, in any era.

The true mastermind behind Shadow Riders was such a man: an old man at death's door, one of Duel Academy's founders—Chairman Kagemaru.

Kagemaru had once been a powerful dark duelist, but now was old and frail, barely kept alive by expensive machinery.

He had wealth, resources, and status, but he didn't want to die. Modern tech could only barely keep him alive, so he turned to the mystical.

Lyman had been his top find. He'd sponsored Lyman's research—without him, Lyman couldn't have developed the soul transfer alchemy.

Sadly, Lyman's bodies were unstable and quickly broke down. So Kagemaru rejected that, and sought other options.

The Sacred Beasts were his last hope.

It was said whoever held the three Sacred Beasts would instantly regain youth, eternal life, perfect health—always at their peak.

But the cards were sealed at the Academy by agreement of many factions, forbidden to all.

He wanted them, but the Academy, KaibaCorp, and even his own board would never allow it.

So he assembled Shadow Riders—a team of extraordinary dark duelists—to break the seal by force.

Kira thought about it. The Sacred Beast arc was the main plot of GX's second year, but the heroes had always been on the defensive, reacting to the villains' attacks, only to learn later they'd always been in Kagemaru's calculations.

But now, maybe things could go differently.

So he asked, "Where are the Shadow Riders?"

The man shook his head.

"They don't have a fixed base. The organization is just a council of a few leaders."

"Then how do you join?"

"You can't contact the bosses directly, but Shadow Riders is getting famous in the underground—they have several subordinate groups.

Go to any of those, start at the bottom. Do a few missions, stand out, and you'll get promoted.

If you're good enough, you might get noticed and become a Shadow Riders officer."

Kira shook his head.

"Too slow."

The man hesitated: "There is another way…"

"What?"

"Shadow Riders is preparing something big, recruiting allies everywhere. I noticed they're moving from north to south, focusing on cities with active underground dueling. They're looking for top killers.

If you follow the route, you could predict their next stop.

If you make a big enough name for yourself in the underground before they arrive…"

"The boss might come find me himself?" Kira's eyes lit up.

It was worth a try.

And it was a perfect chance to go into the underground and try his skills against all kinds of dark duelists.