Loren looked up, his expression dreamy. When the white light surged over him, at first he felt pain, so much so that he could barely stand steady.
But soon he felt nothing, not even pain.
It was as if with the ebbing of vitality, even his senses were leaving. He felt his body like a puppet, all the strings severed by that last strike, uncontrolled as he fell backward, as if plummeting into an endless void, like Lucifer's fall for nine days and nights...
Then he fell into an embrace.
Loren painstakingly lifted his head and saw there in front of him was the card most special to him, the Exclusive News Photographer.
The Elf which had always protected him like a reflection of his father.
"Dad..." Loren said softly.
The Photographer nodded to him.
Just as the duel concluded, while everyone's attention remained on the field, Yugen suddenly spoke to the silent Judge opposite him: "Now you can be at ease, right?"
The Judge, who had maintained a composed and impassive demeanor throughout, glanced over at him.
"Oh?" he said calmly, "My last swordsman failed, why would I be reassured?"
"That's exactly your plan, isn't it?" Yugen smiled, "In fact, whether it's your swordsman or the enemy, regardless of who loses, the soul is still yours...
...After all, Doma's Three Musketeers were prime Duelist souls that would be consumed sooner or later."
Yugen paused, squinting his eyes.
"And besides, as the true murderer of his father, his kin... isn't it natural to feel at ease?"
Everyone was taken aback at this. Even Kaiba's usually serene expression faltered as he frowned and looked over.
Yet no one seemed as shocked as Loren himself.
Originally having closed his eyes in the Photographer's arms, his consciousness almost gone, Loren's eyes flew open at hearing this, and he forced himself to stand by sheer will.
In the contracting green light, he stared furiously at the Judge.
"You... what are you saying?"
But the Judge did not cast his gaze at him, instead looking with interest at Yugen.
"How do you know that?"
This question was equivalent to an admission.
But given his status, and at this point, there was no reason to deny it.
"Well, who knows?" Yugen did not elaborate further.
Because in truth, he didn't actually know; it was purely a lucky guess.
The past Three Musketeers and even Sher he had encountered before shared identical backgrounds. A tragic past, a pursuit of power for revenge, serving Doma with purpose. Yet all discovered eventually the creator of their tragic pasts was none other than whom they served.
An old trope, nothing new.
Of course, perhaps the Snake God lacked creativity, or felt tropes are tropes because they're effective. Why need innovation? Just being effective is enough.
So Yugen's casual guess seemed to hit the mark.
"You... was it you...!?"
Loren widened his eyes, incredulously staring at the Judge.
"Ah, yes."
The Judge nodded, openly admitting.
"Being a swordsman of Doma requires a deeply rooted darkness within, and the drive to harness this darkness." He said calmly, "Waiting for such darkness to naturally form is too slow and inefficient.
Instead, it's much better for me to select the potential seeds myself and nurture them personally."
"Then... was it you...?"
"Yes," the Judge said casually, "It was I who spread the virus, letting it grow in your hometown and destroy it.
I infected your father, and caused him to die before your eyes deliberately..."
"You... you..."
Whether due to anger or waning vitality, Loren seemed unable to speak.
Yet for him still able to stand and question was astonishing. Normally, post-defeat, his soul should have been extracted by the Orichalcos Barrier long ago, typically so unless stimulated by Yugen's words.
He was fighting the barrier's power with sheer will and rage.
"Oh, by the way. The rumors about 'Kaiba Company conducting secret inhumane experiments' and 'Kaiba Company's biochemical weapon development' were also released by me."
The Judge chuckled lightly.
"I arranged informants to tip off your father with leads, constantly throwing out baits for him to investigate.
He thought he was digging deeper for justice, but in truth was following breadcrumbs I laid down, like a puppet.
Even when he uncovered terrible secrets, inviting peril and silencing, it was just performing a predetermined ending from the script."
The Judge recounted nonchalantly, as if narrating an insignificant detail.
Even Keihei couldn't suppress his irritation: "Claiming we're researching biochemical weapons..."
Since Gozaburo's demise, Kaiba Group had halted all weapon development, focusing entirely on researching new card printing techniques, let alone biochemical weapons.
Though Yugen pondered, thinking maybe it wasn't completely wrong.
If a powerful Dark Duelist could manifest the forces of an entire virus card deck, perhaps it could indeed serve as a biochemical weapon.
After all, card powers are all-encompassing, anything can be contained within. Strictly speaking, anything Kaiba creates could be associated...
"Ah ah ah ah!"
Loren was beyond furious. Veins bulged on his forehead as he roared, trying to charge at the Judge. The Exclusive News Photographer behind him hurriedly attempted to intervene but was affected by the wrath emanating from Loren, the green light radiated, and the Photographer instantly darkened, his eyes reflecting the Orichalcos green glow, appearing as if fury erupted within.
"Kill you, kill you—"
He angrily attempted to hit, but was stopped by his self-created green light barrier, continuously punching this barrier powerlessly. By now the barrier was nearly touching his face, the suction from above growing stronger.
"Very good, very good, the angrier you are, the larger the darkness within your heart swells."
The Judge nodded contentedly.
"Become my sacrifice, disappear into darkness forever."
Loren finally exhausted his last ounce of strength.
An enraged soul was drawn out of him, absorbed into the green light and vanished without a trace.