"Fujiki… Kira!?"
Sartorius's pupils contracted as he stared in surprise at the figure in the chair.
"It's me," Kira said.
"The Duel King?"
"A hollow title, hardly worth mentioning," Kira replied modestly.
Sartorius: "…"
This was a major reason he'd altered his plan and avoided Duel Academy all this time.
Not that he feared the Duel King. A "king" is only a king of this planet. His true self was the Light of Destruction from the depths of the cosmos—he naturally saw himself as superior.
He didn't avoid the Duel King out of fear.
He simply wasn't ready to fight yet.
In short: the time wasn't right, and he wasn't prepared.
But fate loved to play tricks. Before he was ready, all of a sudden, like turning a corner, they unexpectedly crossed paths, face to face, within a few steps.
Seeing Sartorius's startled expression, Kira found it amusing and smiled. "I heard Mr. Sartorius can calculate all under heaven and grasp the fate of all things. I thought you would have foreseen this meeting too."
Sartorius's face darkened. He didn't answer that, but said instead, "If I recall, this should be the residence of Prince Ojin. I came to see the prince."
He paused, then asked, "Mr. Kira, are you also here to see His Highness? If so, I'll take my leave and come back another day—"
Kira chuckled. Trying to run at the first sign of trouble?
Before he could speak, a woman's voice came from the darkness.
"Forget it, big brother, no need to act."
Hearing the familiar voice, Sartorius's heart jolted. He looked past Kira. From the shadows stepped a beautiful woman in a kimono, black hair like a waterfall—who else could it be but his sister?
But at this moment, Sarina was standing behind Kira, making it clear she was taking a stand with him against Sartorius.
Sartorius narrowed his eyes. "Sarina, what are you doing?"
"Big brother… or rather, the evil will parasitizing my brother's body," Sarina said coldly. "Your days of doing as you please in his body are over."
Sartorius's face went grim. "So you betrayed me, Sarina?"
"Betrayed? I saw through your true identity long ago. I've only been waiting for the right moment."
"And you think the time has come now? Just because of him? This guy?"
Sartorius glanced at Kira and sneered.
"This so-called Duel King—you think he can defeat me?"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Sartorius roared, his facial expression twisting, muscles contorting to an inhuman degree, producing a terrifying, grotesque visage.
Even Sarina took a step back, frightened. She had been with her brother since childhood, but it was the first time she'd seen such a horrifying expression on his face, and she couldn't help feeling tense.
Kira remained calm. First, he'd already seen "darkened"—or rather "whitened"—Sartorius's face like this in the original story, so it was no surprise.
Second, grotesque mugging was a time-honored tradition for Yu-Gi-Oh! bosses.
"Duel King? A mere human? Dreaming of stopping the wheels of fate like a mantis blocking a chariot?"
Sartorius raged.
"Don't be absurd. Even a king is only a king among humans—countless ants jerked around by the strings of fate. Since you're so eager to die, fine…"
He strapped on his Duel Disk and snapped:
"I'll crush you here, eliminate the biggest obstacle first, then deal with the Prince Ojin and take the keys."
Sartorius narrowed his eyes.
"Tonight… the symphony of destiny reaches its finale!"
"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Sartorius, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw!"
Sartorius glanced at his opening hand and quickly chose a card.
"I summon 'Arcana Force VII - The Chariot'!"
Summoning light rippled across the field like waves. The tarot Chariot emerged from the golden glow: a black chariot bristling with mechanical tentacles, a ring of eerie eyes encircling it, cannon-like barrels on the foremost limbs.
[Arcana Force VII - The Chariot, ATK 1700]
"When an Arcana Force monster is summoned, its card spins at random. Depending on Head or Tail, it gains different effects."
Sartorius raised his arm. The monster's own card image appeared above the Chariot's head and began to rotate.
"Like the turning of fate's gear—perfectly suited to me as I am now!" Sartorius shouted. "And though it seems random, fate has already decided!
STOP!"
The rotating card halted—Head.
"With that, 'Arcana Force – The Chariot' gains its Head effect!" Sartorius laughed. "As for what exactly it does… heh, I'll let the 'King' discover it slowly."
"Be careful," Sarina warned from the side.
"This 'Arcana Force' deck is a manifestation of the power my brother gained from the evil Light, fused with his own psychic ability—perfectly matched to him. Even I don't fully understand it—"
"It's fine," Kira said with a smile, unconcerned.
You don't know it, but I do.
"So that's the King's confidence? Let's see how long it lasts."
Sartorius sneered and set another card.
"I set one in the back row. Turn end."
"My turn. Draw."
Kira drew. Before he could act, Sartorius cut in.
"I activate my set card! Continuous Trap—'Tour of Doom'!"
A hooded reaper wielding a scythe appeared on the field, dark fog billowing around it.
The trap card, like Arcana Force, hovered over Sartorius's field, spinning.
"Another fate-manipulating card?"
Sarina said.
"Exactly! Tour of Doom, like Arcana Force, is the embodiment of destiny! And for me now, my fate is unstoppable!
STOP!"
At his command, the trap stopped.
Head again.
Sartorius threw his head back and laughed.
"Tour of Doom's effect: during the opponent's Standby Phase each turn, it must spin, and depending on Head or Tail, it gains different effects.
Head means your opponent cannot Normal Summon, Special Summon, or Flip Summon this turn!" (anime effect)
In the printed card, a similar effect was retained but slightly nerfed: even if Tour of Doom landed Head, the opponent could not Normal or Flip Summon, but Special Summons weren't restricted.
The anime version also blocked Special Summons; the suppression level isn't even in the same league.
"Can't perform any kind of monster summon!?"
Sarina's face changed.
Wasn't that basically sealing off the most basic actions right from the start?
...
2 Bonus chapters at 1000 PS