Scorching lava fell, marking the duel's end. The onlookers outside the arena watched the scene, their expressions mixed—some strange, some with mouths agape. The entire place was eerily silent, with nothing to say.
A duel like this, representing the clash of the world's top duelists, could truly be called a battle for the summit.
Who could have expected it to end this way?
Lava Golem.
And when the duel ended, before Kira packed away his duel disk and the holograms faded, that burning iron brute actually glanced back at Kaiba, as if a little embarrassed.
Its expression seemed to say: Sorry I ate your dragon, but dueling isn't about personal grudges.
Then the Lava Golem disappeared.
Kaiba let out a long, heavy breath.
He'd guarded against the Dragon Capture Jar, the Light-Imprisoning Mirror, and even the endless trap holes his opponent set.
He'd even played around the "Dragons Must Die" anti-dragon Buster Blader.
He'd countered everything, should have been fully prepared.
And yet—Lava Golem.
Of course, he remembered that card. He'd been there the first time Marik played Lava Golem in the Battle City tournament.
That time, Marik passed Lava Golem to Joey, leading to classic scenes like "Joey's Death" and "Joey on Fire."
Everyone present had been shocked such a hellish monster existed.
Compared to back then, Kira's Lava Golem had improved. Originally, Marik's Golem dealt 700 damage during the controller's Standby Phase, but ten years on, the card had been updated to deal 1000—matching the real-world version.
Of course, most people wouldn't care about a mere 300-point difference.
But Kaiba, having faced it, knew it wasn't just the card's development.
Kira's ability to wield Lava Golem now surpassed even Marik, the deck's founder.
Alister, who'd also suffered from Kira's Lava Golem barrage, would surely agree. Compared to him, Marik seemed like a downright sunshiney guy—no sarcasm intended.
"Ahem—the winner: Fujiki Kira!"
It was the veteran judge, Roland, who first broke the silence and announced the result.
If it had been any other KaibaCorp judge, seeing their president lose, they'd probably have checked Kaiba's expression before declaring. But Roland, long used to Kaiba's ways, knew that process didn't matter—only win or lose.
Losing is losing. Kaiba would never go for any "special KaibaCorp rules mean this duel doesn't count" nonsense.
"Big Brother!"
Mokuba jumped onto the stage.
Kaiba gestured to him, signaling it was fine.
He then walked straight toward Kira.
"Just half a year... Honestly, when I invited you to participate six months ago, I never expected you'd reach this level so quickly."
"Just luck," Kira replied with a nod.
It was true. During the duel, he'd felt stronger than ever—perhaps thanks to the Sealing Device.
Though the artifact hadn't shown any obvious effects, he could feel it strengthening his aura, or at least helping him resist Kaiba's overwhelming presence.
No wonder the dark duelists risked everything for artifacts or cards infused with power—just possessing such things, even without using them, could give a huge boost.
Of course, it's all rather mysterious. Maybe it depends on the item's attributes and how it's used.
Take the Sealing Device—Kira had had it for a while, and fought many life-or-death duels, but hadn't seen any clear effects until this duel.
Maybe it was because his opponent was Kaiba, Atem's three-thousand-year rival. Or maybe because this duel would determine who would face the final boss—the Arbiter. After all, the artifact was made for that purpose.
"You've proven yourself as a duelist. Congratulations."
Kaiba spoke calmly.
"According to Battle City rules, you may take any card from me."
"Thank you, President Kaiba," Kira said. "But I only participated because of your invitation, and over these months, you, Mokuba, and KaibaCorp have helped me a lot.
So let's skip the card selection. I've already chosen plenty from your collection."
He meant it. If anything, he'd taken more than one rare card—he'd regularly carted away boxes from Kaiba's warehouse, to the point even he didn't know how many benefits he'd received.
So, consider the rare card for this duel as already repaid in advance.
But Kaiba snorted heavily.
"A win is a win. Don't get wishy-washy. Pick a card—even if you choose Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I won't flinch."
Kira felt Kaiba's generosity. Kaiba always meant what he said—if Kira refused or picked a worthless card, he'd probably offend him instead.
But still...
Kira was at a loss.
Come on, I don't even have a Blue-Eyes. What use is your Blue-Eyes White Dragon to me?
As a mascot?
Same with the rest of the Blue-Eyes support. The whole system revolves around Blue-Eyes White Dragon—no matter how rare or powerful the support cards, without the Blue-Eyes, they're just mascots.
As Kira pondered, he suddenly thought of something.
"Oh, President Kaiba, just a quick question."
He considered a moment, then asked,
"I heard the world's 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' originally had four copies. Is it true you keep the fourth one?"
Kaiba raised an eyebrow.
Then, unexpectedly, he chuckled.
"Oh? Interested in the power of Blue-Eyes?"
"Just asking," Kira shrugged. "I only heard the rumor. If not—"
"Hmph, even if it's not true, what's the harm in giving you a Blue-Eyes? Do you think I, Seto Kaiba, look like a sore loser?"
Kira said nothing.
No, he didn't doubt Kaiba's pride. He knew if Kaiba only had three Blue-Eyes and Kira asked for one, Kaiba would still probably hand it over.
But then he'd never hear the end of it—Kaiba wouldn't rest until he won it back.
But if the rumored fourth Blue-Eyes really existed...
"Indeed," Kaiba admitted. "That card does exist."
PS: Bonus chapters at 3000 PS