"Beautiful!" Judai praised, "If you banish it from the game, the King of the End is almost completely annihilated! Now you should be a bit more clear-headed, right?"
Indeed, as the World-Ending Demon King's body vanished, the blue flames on Sher also dissipated. He staggered a bit, but his breathing grew heavier.
Yugen drew two more cards from his hand.
"Set two cards face-down on the field, and end my turn."
Sher seemed to gather strength for a few seconds, as if he was restoring his energy.
Then he slowly raised his arm again.
"My turn, draw." Sher said chillingly, "Activate the Magic Card 'Preparation for the Ceremony' from my hand.
Select one Ritual Magic Card from the deck, and select the corresponding Ritual Monster from the deck or graveyard, and add both cards to your hand."
He drew a card each from the deck and graveyard.
"I add the Ritual Magic Card 'Doomsday' and the Ritual Monster 'Goddess of Destruction Ruin' to my hand."
Judai hadn't given up yet: "Why do you refuse to face your own heart? In your heart, you still love dueling and want to believe in your monsters..."
"Shut up." Sher said in a deep voice, "Even if I want to believe, what of it? The purpose of so-called trust is to eventually be betrayed.
A hero is destined to be alone. As long as you have a sword in your hand, those you care about, those you protect, are destined to drift further away."
He paused for a moment, casting a brief glance at Judai.
"You're right, a duel is a collision of souls, allowing both sides to deeply understand each other. So, because of this duel, I can understand you...
...What's your name?"
"Yuki Judai."
"Yuki Judai, is it... Perhaps you are indeed very much like me." Sher said, "You seem enthusiastic on the surface, always willing to get involved in others' issues, willing to make sacrifices for others, and appear as if you're friends with everyone around you.
But in reality, haven't you ever let anyone truly get close to you?"
Judai was taken aback, frowning: "I don't understand what you're talking about. I'm not like you, I have many trustworthy friends..."
"Is that really so?" Sher said coldly, "I was once like you. I was once the chosen one, the one from our generation who inherited the Phoenix Power.
I was always surrounded by many friends. I stood up for them time and time again, willing to sacrifice my life for them.
But in the end, when I had to embrace the darkness for power... when I finally obtained the power to protect them, after fighting bloodily, I found that everyone had already left me."
Sher laughed to himself, closing his eyes.
"It's quite ironic, isn't it? I sold my soul to the Demon just to protect them, only to exchange that for distance. After that, rumors even spread that the enemies and disasters were brought upon by me from the beginning.
Those friends I once considered dearest, for whom I made countless sacrifices, believed these rumors. In the end, it turned into the situation it is now."
Judai: "How could this be..."
"Later, I realized, it wasn't just their problem, but mine as well. I seemed to enthusiastically treat everyone, but never let anyone truly get close to or understand me.
Perhaps this is why they distanced themselves so easily in the end."
Sher's tone had calmed down, as if he was recounting a story unrelated to himself as an outsider.
"I can feel it, you and I are the same. To protect those around you, you have no choice but to pick up the sword, but at the same time, you also push them away.
This is the fate of a hero. If you continue down the path of the Warrior, someday you might end up just like me."
"No, I won't." Yugen interrupted him.
Sher frowned: "What?"
"I said you're wrong, that won't happen," Yugen said calmly.
Sher pondered for a few seconds, then squinted his eyes to scrutinize him for a moment.
Finally, he slowly spoke: "You're not going to say, because you're here, are you?"
"What do you think?"
"Heh heh... Ha ha ha ha!"
Sher tilted his head back and laughed, then his expression twisted again.
"Absurd. You can't even last this turn, what can you do?" Sher shouted, "This is a cruel world, you don't understand at all. How long do you think such cheap friendship games can last?
Fine, if you can do it, then just try to last this turn and show me!"
Sher drew the two cards he had just retrieved along with another card.
"Activate the Ritual Magic 'Doomsday'!
Sacrifice the Level 8 'Divine Beast King Barbaros' in my hand as a Ritual Sacrifice, to perform a Destructive Ritual Summon!
Amidst the interweaving of destruction and rebirth, the Goddess who controls all destinies descends at Doomsday—
——Goddess of Destruction Ruin, Ritual Summon!!!"
In the ceremony of doomsday, as the whirlpool of annihilation energy swirled, the goddess gracefully walked out, her white hair flowing, every step like a countdown to oblivion.
[Goddess of Destruction Ruin, Attack Power 2300]
"And Ruin also receives the power of the Orichalcos Barrier, increasing her attack power!" Sher almost shouted in a hoarse voice.
[Goddess of Destruction Ruin, Attack Power 2300 → Attack Power 2800]
Judai gathered his disordered feelings, making an effort to focus back on the duel: "But even with increased attack power, she still can't match Yugen's Chaos Warrior..."
"My determination is not limited to this extent."