"It's not over!"
"I'm not going down that easily!"
Zigfried roared.
"I won't fall until I see Kaiba Seto—until he pays for everything he did to me!"
Mokuba looked on, his expression complicated. He seemed to want to say something several times, but always stopped.
"You hate Kaiba that much?" Kira asked offhandedly.
But that was nothing new. Kaiba's path was always destined to be like this. From nothing to king, he'd have to step on many, and hurt many more.
That's why every couple of days, someone pops up who hates him to the core, sees him as a lifelong nemesis. Kaiba's probably so used to it by now he doesn't even care.
But hearing Kira's question, Zigfried instead smiled.
"Hate? Yeah."
He stood up, straightened his clothes, even fixed the flower in his breast pocket.
"I've known Kaiba Seto since I was a child," Zigfried said calmly. "But it took me a long time to realize he was my lifelong rival."
"We met at a banquet. Back then, Kaiba Corp and my family's business were still partners—or so it seemed. But I didn't know at the time, Kaiba Corp had nearly pushed us out of the market, we had almost no room left to survive."
"Business competition, survival of the fittest, nothing wrong with that," Kira said.
"Yeah. I admitted defeat, didn't want to fight Kaiba anymore. I was never that interested in the arms business anyway, so I bowed out." He spoke calmly. "But Kaiba kept coming after me.
It's like destiny, our fates tied together in endless struggle."
"I told you, it was just a coincidence," Mokuba couldn't help saying. "My brother never meant to target—"
"And that's exactly the problem! Can't you see!?"
Suddenly, Zigfried erupted.
"He never even saw me!"
"Yeah, it was all just coincidence. Same timing, same choices, from one market to another. It's like we were destined to fight."
"But he never acknowledged it!"
Zigfried screamed, out of control.
"He always acted so aloof. He beat me, took everything from me, ruined me, but none of it seemed to matter to him at all."
"So no, I don't hate what he did. Fate forced us to fight, and in any competition, there can only be one winner. He won, and I lost. It's that simple, nothing personal. So I stopped hating him long ago."
"But what I can't stand is, he never once looked at his opponent directly!"
Mokuba stood, stunned.
So that's what it was all about?
"So I won't lose, no matter what," Zigfried shouted. "I'll keep winning, I'll keep going until Kaiba Seto stands before me again!"
"So that's your obsession."
Kira nodded slightly.
"Alright. But my turn isn't over yet."
He casually played another card.
"First, I set a card in my back row.
Then, I activate the Spell Card 'Goddess Erda's Guidance.'" (Anime card)
Zigfried frowned. "The same spell as mine?"
This was a card Zigfried Lloyd used in the original story.
"It's not your exclusive," Kira laughed. "Send a spell from hand to grave, then set a trap from grave to field."
Kira sent a card from hand to grave. In exchange, a golden light burst from the graveyard slot, and a card was ejected.
Zigfried's pupils contracted.
From the graveyard, setting a trap—could it be...?
Kira smiled and displayed the ejected card before setting it facedown.
"From the graveyard, I set the trap card 'Drowning Mirror Force.'"
The trap card appeared, set in Kira's back row.
Zigfried's mouth twitched.
Of course, it's that thing again.
He'd already decided—he had to win, no matter what. If he couldn't overcome this, how could he ever face Kaiba again?
But the cruel reality was, there was a thick, sad barrier between him and Kaiba. That barrier had a name: Drowning Mirror Force.
No, he wouldn't give up for something like this. He'd come back from hell, and his resolve was far stronger than that.
"My turn, draw!"
Zigfried drew forcefully, stirring up a whirlwind.
Kira could tell right away—that's the signal for a big play. In the anime, the character's theme song would be playing by now.
Sure enough, he made his move.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity.' Draw three cards, then discard two."
Zigfried discarded two cards, then immediately revealed another Spell Card.
"I activate 'The Shallow Grave.' Each player selects a monster in their graveyard and Special Summons it in Defense Position!" (Anime Effect)
"How generous."
Kira casually selected a card from his graveyard.
"Of course, I choose—Catapult Turtle."
A vortex opened in the ground, and the green-shelled old turtle returned, its railgun aimed at the enemy.
[Catapult Turtle, DEF 2000]
Even if it's not the MVP, Catapult Turtle's certainly the hardest worker.
"And I choose the 'Valkyrie Dritte' I just discarded."
Another young warrior girl appeared, riding a white horse, sword and yellow shield in hand, red-haired, her face youthful but also resolute.
[Valkyrie Dritte, DEF 1600]
Then Zigfried brought out possibly the most broken and unprintable card in his Valkyrie series.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Nibelung's Treasure'!"
A lavish chest appeared, filled with gold and jewels, glittering brightly.
"'Nibelung's Treasure' equips 'Nibelungen's Ring' from your deck or hand to a monster on your opponent's field."
Zigfried searched his deck and took out a card.
"I equip the Equip Spell 'Nibelungen's Ring' to your Catapult Turtle!"
A giant ring appeared, settling on the old turtle's head. Catapult Turtle gave a disgruntled grunt.
"And after that, I can draw—"
Zigfried dramatically drew a handful of cards.
"—five cards from my deck!"