"Your Highness!"
The woman in pink who had accompanied Prince Ojin rushed forward to help him up.
But the prince waved her off. He took a deep breath and stared meaningfully at Kira for a long moment.
At last he squeezed out one word.
"Incredible."
Several seconds later, he added:
"I'm impressed."
How could he not be?
The legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon—the symbol of power in the dueling world, Seto Kaiba's most trusted blade—had been bent into... this.
Before today, no one in the dueling world would've imagined Blue-Eyes appearing this way—endlessly reviving and diving, launched over and over on Catapult Turtle's railgun, chipping away at the opponent's LP and sanity alike.
Prince Ojin's entourage was dumbfounded. It seemed Misgarth was a forthright nation—a fact reflected in how their ruler and dueling representative so revered aggressive OTKs.
But these straightforward Misgarth folks had barely set foot on Duel Academy soil before witnessing the outside world's treachery. After years of honing satellite OTKs, Prince Ojin never imagined that duelists beyond his borders could be this... dirty.
"Well... that's Kira for you."
Of all people, Misawa knew Kira best. He struggled for a long time, then finally spoke.
"It's just that Blue-Eyes... uh..."
He shook his head. No comment.
To turn Blue-Eyes into a shut-in strategy—it's peak Lord-in-Yellow. Sometimes a duelist's style isn't dictated by the deck.
And lately, even the academy's poster boy for flashy OTKs—Cyber Dragon—seemed to be shifting in tone. Even Kaiser, the Cyber archetype's standard-bearer, had somehow taken on a darker hue...
Still, correspondingly, Kaiser's reputation in the pro scene was surging. After ending rookie king Aster Phoenix's 30-win streak, Kaiser kept steamrolling opponents with crushing dominance.
And Zane's style was now unpredictable. Saying he'd gone dark didn't mean he'd abandoned everything he'd built.
Sometimes he'd open with three or four set back row and pass without summoning. Other times he'd suddenly go old-school: Power Bond plus three Cyber Dragons, Cyber End Dragon at 8000 ATK pierces for lethal in one breath.
Sometimes Chimeratech Overdragon wipes the back row and triple swings for a kill; sometimes Chimeratech Fortress Dragon tilts the opponent into oblivion...
In an interview, Zane thanked someone at Duel Academy—calling him the most important benefactor of his life besides his first teacher.
Zane said he understood now.
He seeks victory, and respects his opponents. He's moved beyond chasing victory alone. He realized that respecting your opponent and pursuing victory are not in conflict.
Respecting your opponent means respecting all of their possibilities. Gathering data in advance, thinking through tactics, tailoring the best plan for that opponent—isn't that respect?
If I open five set back row and trap you so hard you can't play a single card—your ace never even hits the field—doesn't that prove how much I respect your ace, that I must prevent it at all costs?
What's respect? This is respect.
Seeing Kaiser—the academy's former paragon of fair play—fall to darkness, then watching Kira's Blue-Eyes Catapult Cannon today, Misawa finally understood.
Some people duel "dirty" not because of their cards, but because their minds are twisted. The deck is incidental.
Ahem, no one in particular—just sharing his insights.
"Prince Ojin?"
Kira stepped forward.
The prince waved his hand and exhaled, standing up.
"In Misgarth, I had no rivals. I thought my satellite OTK had no weaknesses—enough to stand against the world's best... It seems I was a frog at the bottom of a well."
"No, you're already very strong," Kira said sincerely.
In truth, Prince Ojin's deck wasn't a scientifically tuned OTK, but his dueling was famous for OTKs—same as early Kaiser: relying on godly opening hands every time.
Frankly, if you can consistently go first and make a 4000-ATK beater plus Time Goddess on Turn 1, who cares if your list is "optimal?" That's fate-power territory. Calling him top-tier isn't an exaggeration.
In the anime, Prince Ojin's losses were basically to greater fate power.
Sartorius manifested a zero-turn kill—without destiny hacks, that's pure plot armor.
Jaden beat him partly thanks to protagonist-level draws, but more importantly, Jaden went first and Ojin went second.
Otherwise, at that time Jaden didn't even have a hand trap like Kuriboh to block from hand on Turn 1. If he didn't win the die roll, avoiding an OTK would've required printing a new card out of thin air—well, he might've done that too.
Losing once to the protagonist and once to the big bad—he can't complain. For most opponents, this OTK is a brick wall. So calling him Misgarth's strongest has credibility—more than those "top-ranked pros" who duel like jobbers.
Kira glanced at the prince's attendants and noticed a case in one attendant's hands.
A finely crafted metal briefcase—looked custom explosion-proof, with a complex combination lock.
"Let me guess."
Kira looked at the case.
"Inside that is the key to the ultimate weapon 'SORA,' right?"
At that, nearby students paled.
SORA—the weapon of mass destruction from the news?
"SO...RA's key?" Even Misawa couldn't help blurting out.
Is it really okay to carry something like that around?
Prince Ojin was surprised that Kira even knew this, but he nodded, frank. "Yes."
If he was carrying it openly in such a conspicuous case, he clearly didn't consider it much of a secret.
"It's safest with me."
"I think so too."
Kira nodded, then spoke softly.
"But I've received intel—some ill-intentioned people may be targeting it. And those people, well... let's say they might be a bit difficult to deal with."
Prince Ojin frowned.
Before, he might have boasted: let them come, and taste my Satellite Cannon.
But now, having been defeated a minute ago, if this man said the enemy was tough, he had the authority to say so.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. I already have a plan."
Kira smiled slightly.
"I just need your cooperation."
...
2 Bonus chapter at 500 PS