Night fell like a heavy curtain, merciless clouds shrouded the entire forest. Exquisite, luxurious furniture was toppled everywhere, the finely decorated living room bore traces of destruction. A cold wind swept through, carrying a biting chill.
Yet, outside, the thunder and lightning had stopped at some point.
The clouds slowly drifted away, gradually revealing the moon buried beneath them. Moonlight shone through the window, casting onto the gentleman kneeling in the living room, stretching his shadow long and thin.
Zigfried Lloyd was in a bad state.
He was someone who had suffered a crushing defeat before. Precisely because he couldn't accept that loss, he came back from hell for revenge.
The last time he lost, his two greatest rivals were Seto Kaiba and Yugi Muto.
He lost, but couldn't accept it, so he gave up everything for revenge.
But in the end, this revenge was for nothing.
If someone asked how he felt now, just one word: regret. Deep, deep regret.
He should have used his remaining assets to buy a coffin and bury himself. Instead, he started this so-called revenge. Now look at what happened—though he lost badly before, at least he lost with dignity.
Seto Kaiba had to use all his trump cards to win, with XYZ-Dragon Cannon and Blue-Eyes taking turns, and even the now-banned Chaos Emperor Dragon made its one anime appearance, earning this guy a place in history.
To have such treatment, as the only one in Yu-Gi-Oh! anime to face the full, uncensored Chaos Emperor Dragon, he definitely deserves to be remembered.
But now, after today's defeat, his mind was filled with nothing but Catapult Turtles.
Even if he closed his eyes, all he saw were turtles.
Zigfried sighed deeply.
They say that when people are dying, they see their life flash before their eyes. But for him, his resentment before death was so strong that, even in his dying moments, all he saw was a swarm of turtles, squeezing out even the life-flash.
He felt that the most tragic thing in life was this.
"You, cough, cough—"
Kneeling on the ground, he might have wanted to curse, but was too weak, forcing a bitter smile.
"Seto Kaiba's subordinates... to think you're this strong and unorthodox a duelist. I really shouldn't have come back. I was destined to lose."
Mokuba felt soft, even knowing this was an enemy, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry seeing him like this.
"Uh, actually, there's something you should know..."
"Hmm?" Zigfried looked up with difficulty.
"About Kira."
Mokuba stepped forward, motioning to Kira, a little embarrassed.
"Actually, Kira isn't my brother's subordinate, nor does he work for KaibaCorp."
"What?"
Zigfried blinked, confused.
"Kira is this year's new Duel King. He beat my brother in Duel City, saved the world from the God of Orichalcos, and is the first new Duel King since Yugi retired."
Mokuba explained.
"My brother is out of the country right now, and we happen to be friends, so I asked him to help."
"Duel King!?"
Zigfried stared wide-eyed, as if learning the village just got internet, looking at Kira in shock.
So he hadn't lost to some KaibaCorp lackey?
But to the Duel King...
Zigfried pondered for a few seconds.
Then suddenly raised his head and laughed. His long pink hair hung loose, his face pale as a corpse, looking even more ghastly in the moonlight.
"Duel King, good, good, another Duel King.
There've only ever been two Duel Kings, and both stood with Kaiba against me. Hahaha, good, very good..."
But as he laughed, his laughter suddenly turned to sobbing. Tears streamed down his face, making him look terrifying and strange.
Finally, all his words turned into one sentence.
"You damn well should've said you're not with Kaiba!"
"Otherwise, why would I fight you so hard???"
His voice cut off.
Zigfried Lloyd fell to his knees, head lolling to one side.
Then his body was covered by a faint haze, parts turning into black mist, parts dissolving into light, bit by bit fading away.
Until his whole body became transparent, disappearing completely.
Kira: "..."
Mokuba: "..."
After a few seconds, Mokuba couldn't help asking Kira, "Did you finish him off with a Shadow Duel?"
Kira thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"I had no intention of taking his life."
Kira knew the rules of Shadow Duels. Even if the other side started it, he could often, as the winner, spare them by altering the stakes.
But not always. Even the Pharaoh, with the Millennium Puzzle, could only change the stakes against weaker opponents; when facing other Millennium Item holders, or trying to undo the Orichalcos shadow game, he failed.
"So he was killed by his own Shadow Duel powers?" Mokuba asked.
Kira frowned and thought, but didn't answer.
He sensed things weren't that simple.
Instead, Kira walked to the end of the living room and pushed open a closed door.
A rush of damp, moldy, ancient air came out, almost suffocating. Moonlight barely shone in, unable to dispel the villa's chill and darkness.
A long corridor lay ahead.
Walking down the dusty, cobweb-filled corridor was like stepping on the dust of ages. Occasionally, you'd spot spiders fleeing; their webs covered every corner, as if they ruled the place.
"What's that stench?"
A few steps in, Mokuba couldn't help pinching his nose.
The stench of rot grew stronger as they advanced.
Kira kicked open a door into the bedroom. The smell was overpowering.
It was the scent of death.
On the old, faded, dusty bed lay a corpse, badly deformed, skin an unnatural green, eyes wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling.
It was Zigfried Lloyd.