"We won..."
The Duel ended, the burning Nazca lines in the sky vanished, and the gigantic spider image dispersed into nothing.
The Dark Markers' leader, Ludger, collapsed to his knees, his eyes somewhat vacant, as if the beating had knocked the light out of them.
After a while, Leo was the first to cheer out loud.
"We won!"
The others' faces also showed joy one after another, along with a palpable sense of relief.
Yeah, it really felt like they'd won.
Ever since learning the individual destinies they bore as Dragon Sealers, the battle against the Dark Markers had become the heaviest burden in all their hearts. This battle hadn't lasted that long, but during it each Dragon Sealer had gone through trials at the edge of life and death; every one of their Duels had been perilous to the extreme—one misstep and the one to fall and die could easily have been them.
Now, seeing the enemy leader unmistakably defeated and the Dark Markers' forces seemingly finally in retreat, they could at last feel the weight lifted from their hearts. Looking at Officer Godwin's tall, straight back at this moment, an unprecedented sense of security rose from within.
He was truly too strong.
Even Yusei, the strongest among the Dragon Sealers, secretly felt admiration.
Burn damage—Yusei actually liked playing that himself. Among all Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonists, Yusei was probably the one whose "tactical planning" talent was most heavily emphasized; in the series he'd designed multiple one-turn-kill burn-combo trap setups, and there had even been an anime-original infinite loop.
Perhaps partly due to the constraints of the Riding Duel rules in the anime, Yusei himself was also a hardcore trap (red pit) enthusiast.
And although Yusei, like previous protagonists, enjoyed big monsters slugging it out, he never showed that Soul Player obsession of "the ace monsters on both sides must clash to decide the outcome." He used trap cards that simply shoot down monsters from the backrow, he used lockdown and burn; he was no stranger to any of it.
All in all, Yusei should be counted as a balanced-type Duelist who can perfectly handle any style, from frontal beatdown to full-on burn lockdown. And this switching of styles doesn't mean swapping Card Decks; it means that with the same Card Deck, in the same Duel, he can promptly adjust his tactical profile according to the opponent's characteristics, displaying without a doubt the top-tier Destiny Power level befitting a "Yuu"-line seafood-head.
Precisely because of this, compared to Judai when Yugen first met him, Yusei found it easier to recognize this "Godwin's" Duel style, because he could clearly sense similarities to his own in the man's Duel.
After all, the overall Duel environment of 5D's was never as sunny as GX's Mortal World.
"So that's how it is..."
Ludger, kneeling on the ground, now had completely unfocused eyes and muttered under his breath.
"I still... don't measure up...?"
Looking at it now, perhaps that really was the case.
Back then he had also been one of the core staff of the first Perpetual Motion Research Institute. But later he was corroded by the Evil God and lost himself. At that time he was shaken by the Evil God's power and believed that was the pinnacle strength of this world.
Yet the fake Rex Godwin before him had defeated him with ease, and even the mighty Earth-Bound God was treated as nothing in the man's eyes. When someone with such power makes such a firm judgment, it's likely he really had just been a frog at the bottom of a well.
He'd thought the power he'd come into contact with was already top-tier, not realizing that in the eyes of true strongmen, a mere Earth-Bound God might not even be worth a laugh.
"Seventeen years ago, you single-handedly triggered 'Zero Reverse,' tore apart Tongshiyi City and created the 'Satellite District.'"
Yugen said.
"Countless people died because of that, countless families broke apart because of that. Is this what you call destiny?"
At these words, the other Dragon Sealers who were just drawing closer all couldn't help their pupils shaking violently.
Zero Reverse... single-handedly triggered?
Zero Reverse seventeen years ago, the first Perpetual Motion Machine going out of control... so those weren't accidents!?
"It was you!?"
Even Yusei, usually calm and laconic, now showed signs of losing control.
"You caused Zero Reverse?"
Kneeling on the ground, Ludger lifted his head with some effort and glanced at him.
"Dr. Fudo's son, huh. How nostalgic, an old acquaintance..."
Ludger said slowly.
"Yes. It was me."
Shock rippled through Yusei's heart.
He knew his father had died because of Zero Reverse; he knew the Satellite District had been born because of Zero Reverse.
Jack, Clero, and almost all the companions he'd grown up with in the Satellite District—they'd all become orphans, become Satellite District trash, because of Zero Reverse. If there had been no Zero Reverse, they should each have had happy, intact families; their lives would have been completely different from now.
"Why!?"
Yusei was furious.
"Just because of you... because of Zero Reverse, countless people's lives were thrown into chaos.
If not for my father's research, if not for the Perpetual Motion Machine, there would've been no Zero Reverse. Then nobody would've become an orphan, nobody would've lost everything.
But even though that's how it is, even though they all know this... why has no one ever shown any resentment toward me? How can they say nothing at all and accept me as their partner, smile at me?
You tell me, how am I supposed to face them, how am I supposed to make it up to them? Ludger!"
Up to now, this had always been the deepest Darkness in Yusei's life. He felt guilty toward all the partners at his side, toward the people of the Satellite District; he believed all of this was connected to him, that he was a child born bearing the curse of the Perpetual Motion Machine, an ill-omened existence.
Even Jack, who'd grown up with him, was shocked: "Yusei, you..."
He had never imagined that Yusei had been living all this time carrying such thoughts.
Ludger was silent for a moment. "So this is your inner Darkness, Yusei Fudo."
He smiled faintly and shook his head.
"We're all just pieces on a board called 'destiny.' Back then when I pulled the trigger on Zero Reverse, and now when I lead the Dark Markers to fight you... it's all the same. In truth... there was no choice at all..."
Yes, it was all just destiny's cruelty. Zero Reverse hadn't been his intention; back then Ludger had resisted too, had fought against the Evil God's erosion. But in the end he failed and cut off the arm that housed the Dragon Seal's power.
At least before he completely lost his sanity, he entrusted that severed arm with the Dragon Seal to his younger brother Rex Godwin, and told his brother that no matter what, he must someday gather the remaining Dragon Sealers and stop him.
That was all he could still do.
At least his final wish from back then had now been fulfilled. He had fallen thoroughly into Darkness and become an Evil God's Servant, but the Dragon Sealers had indeed successfully assembled, and the Dark Markers' forces had indeed been defeated.
Only...
With difficulty, he turned his gaze to Rex Godwin before him, with one last regret still in his heart.
The one standing here after replacing Rex—just who... is he?
And that powerful being who shoved another Soul into his body—what is he?
His whole life felt as if it had been drawn into the center of a colossal vortex, with powerful beings on all sides of that vortex, and he had the misfortune to be placed right in the middle of the board on which those strongmen played.
The legendary Red Dragon, the Evil God of the Netherworld, the mysterious organization in the shadows called "Taiyi," that Darkness behind the scenes, and now this unknown powerhouse who had replaced Rex...
Too many. There were too many strongmen playing this Game.
He now felt his own weakness keenly—so weak that, among these forces of the strong, he'd been used as a mere chess piece and had spent a pitiful life being maneuvered about.
Forget it. Whoever these people are, at this point, what meaning does it have anymore?
From here on, let them slaughter each other on their own. He was tired, and at last he could withdraw from this board.
Ludger closed his eyes, and his body scattered into the wind.
He gave no answer at all to Yusei's question.
A brief silence hung over the field.
Then Yugen glanced at Yusei and suddenly said, "Do you know why your name is 'Yusei,' Yusei Fudo?"