"Gahhhhhh!!!"
The shrill scream ripped through the arena's uproar in an instant. Chigami's body traced a long, hopeless arc through the air before slamming brutally into the ground. With a heavy thud, he rolled several times in a row, then ended up sprawled flat in a cloud of dust, completely unable to move.
[Chigami, LP 6800 → 6300 → 0]
The duel had ended far too fast, so fast that the entire audience fell into a brief stupor.
Everyone stood there frozen, dumbfounded, as if the afterimage of that final exchange was still burned into their eyes. None of them had fully processed that this climactic showdown was already over.
Only when the sound of Chigami crashing to the floor pierced the silence did the stagnant air finally break, and only then did people begin snapping back to their senses.
"Is... is it over?" someone asked in a trembling voice, the words filled with disbelief.
"I think it is... no, wait, it really is over! At the very last second, the monster on Yusaku's field suddenly shot up to 6400 ATK and finished Chigami in one blow!"
Another spectator who had been closely following the duel blurted it out, his voice rising sharply with shock.
"So that means... Yusaku is the new King of Games?!"
While the ordinary spectators were still stunned and confused, the players near the field had already exploded into chaos a step ahead of everyone else.
One after another, they shot up from their seats, and the arena was instantly swallowed by a tidal wave of cheers.
"Holy shit! He won! We won!"
"We won! We're the champions!"
The players hopped and shouted in excitement, their cries echoing over one another. The pure joy pouring out of them was even stronger than if they had won the championship themselves.
"The match is over! Congratulations to Duelist Yusaku for claiming ultimate victory in this tournament!"
The commentator's voice trembled with emotion as it rang through the arena speakers, still hot with excitement.
"At this moment, he has successfully ascended to the pinnacle of the dueling world and claimed the supreme honor: the title of King of Games!"
"Let us offer our loudest applause and cheers to celebrate the birth of a new King of Games!"
But before the commentator's words had fully faded, a cold, unfamiliar voice suddenly thundered through the stadium without warning, instantly drowning out every cheer and clap.
"Looks like we arrived at just the right time."
The moment those words landed, the entire arena froze.
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice almost at once.
Yusaku slowly lifted his eyes as well, his gaze passing through the crowd to the top of the stadium. A faint curve touched his lips.
"So you finally couldn't hold back anymore?"
The next second, the space above the arena twisted and spiraled, and a massive black vortex tore open the sky itself. From within it emerged a giant mech, gleaming with a cold metallic luster and brimming with futuristic design, yet shaped like some ancient mechanical demon god. Its enormous shadow instantly swallowed more than half the arena.
Then, with overwhelming force, the mech came crashing down into the open space at the center of the stadium.
Boom!
A deafening roar followed. The ground shook violently, and visible shockwaves spread outward in rings, kicking up clouds of dust and forcing even the nearby spectators to stagger back.
In the next moment, the hatch on the mech's chest slid open with a hiss. A group of mysterious figures in matching red-and-white uniforms and high-tech sunglasses leapt out. Their movements were sharp and efficient, like hunting beasts, and they landed steadily on the ground with a palpable chill radiating from them.
After touching down, the man at the front slowly swept his gaze across the arena. His eyes passed over the bewildered spectators and the players whose curiosity was already turning into eagerness, before locking precisely onto Yusaku.
He raised two fingers, then addressed the crowd.
"I am Sousuke Kanzaki, captain of Fusion Dimension's Twenty-First Squad. The level of dueling in your world is pathetically low. We are here to 'help' improve it."
He paused, and his tone abruptly sharpened like a blade.
"You now have two choices: submit, or die."
Then he looked back at Yusaku, his voice carrying the smug note of someone bestowing charity.
"Our intelligence says you're different from the natives of this world. You've got some skill. Interested in joining us? Just say the word. With your ability, I can appoint you as a squad captain on the spot and let you serve Lord Zarc."
Yusaku merely gave him a bland glance and said, "Sorry. Not interested."
That answer made Sousuke's brows knot instantly, his expression darkening so much it looked ready to ignite.
"Then you still haven't grasped reality. I admit you've got some talent. But no matter how strong you are, you're still only one man. Your stamina will run out eventually. Don't tell me you think you can fight Fusion Dimension alone?"
Before the last word had even fallen, he made a sharp gesture with his hand.
The mysterious soldiers behind him immediately stepped forward in unison and raised their arms. Their Duel Disks snapped open at once. Cold light flared from the devices, and the dense hostility pouring from them made the entire arena seem to drop several degrees.
At that exact instant, a mission window suddenly popped up before every player who had not yet chosen a faction.
[Mission Name: Dimensional Melee]
[Mission Difficulty: S-Rank]
[Mission Description: Fusion Dimension has brazenly launched an interdimensional war. Using the ruin portals connected to this world, they have begun a large-scale invasion, plundering the core resources of major ruins. Resist, or submit? Choose a faction and throw yourself into this war that will decide the fate of dimensions.]
[Available Faction: Because you did not voluntarily select a faction within the designated time, you have been automatically assigned to the "Domino City Faction."]
[Mission Status: Active]
[Mission Objective: Defend Domino City and repel Fusion Dimension's invasion.]
[Mission Reward: Rare cards and limited titles will be distributed according to faction contribution.]
The unassigned players were briefly stunned by the suddenly activated mission screen, but then their eyes sharpened.
Without the slightest hesitation, they abandoned the normal paths, jumped straight down from the spectator stands, and ran to Yusaku's side.
"You wanna touch our senior Yusaku? Get through us first!"
"Fusion Dimension? We've heard plenty about you already! You're talking big, so let's see what you're really made of!"
"Don't think numbers make you untouchable! We players aren't pushovers either!"
By contrast, the players who had already chosen factions ahead of time were now completely dumbstruck.
They looked at Yusaku's back, then lowered their eyes to the mission text on their own screens, their expressions turning impossibly complicated.
"Damn it, I want to help Yusaku too, but my mission says I'm on the opposite side. What the hell am I supposed to do?" one player muttered, swallowing hard as he stared at Yusaku's back.
"My mission is... defeat the number one enemy of the dimension, 'Yusaku'? Me? Fight Yusaku? Is this mission serious?" another player from the Fusion Dimension faction said in utter despair, his voice full of disbelief.
It wasn't just the Fusion Dimension players. The players of other factions were in chaos too.
"Wait, what? I picked Synchro Dimension! Where are my teammates? Why can't I see any of them?"
"I picked Pendulum Dimension... The mission says Pendulum Dimension is on the verge of collapse and I need to reinforce it immediately, but I don't even know how to get there!"
"..."
Meanwhile, up in the stands, the members of Genius Academy and Gurus seemed to have expected Fusion Dimension to descend at this exact moment.
The instant the Fusion Dimension soldiers landed, they opened their Duel Disks without hesitation and proactively challenged the duelists around them, remaining astonishingly calm.
Losers were given only two choices: join their faction and defect to Fusion Dimension, or hand over their Duel Disk and entire Deck.
In an instant, the whole arena became complete pandemonium. Cheers and screams intertwined, duel effects burst out one after another, and the smell of factional conflict turned explosive. The chaos surged through every corner of the stadium like a flood that had broken all restraints.
At the center of the battlefield, Sousuke glanced at the players who had spontaneously gathered behind Yusaku. A trace of disdain flashed in his eyes, and he sneered as he waved a hand.
"You deal with those overconfident small fries. Yusaku is mine."
With that, he stepped forward and sharply raised his arm. His Duel Disk unfolded instantly, and its cold duel interface lit up before him.
"Come on. One duel decides everything. Since you refuse to join us, then the loser hands over his entire Deck and Duel Disk."
Yusaku lifted his eyes to him and asked in a flat tone, "And if you lose?"
"Lose?" Sousuke let out a mocking laugh, his contempt impossible to hide. "Same deal. But relax, I can't lose. The strength of Fusion Dimension is beyond what a lowly dimension like yours could ever imagine."
As the words fell, he drew a Deck radiating a faint black glow from his waist and slotted it into his Duel Disk without hesitation.
"Enough talk. Come. I'll let you witness the true power of Fusion Dimension's Fusion Deck!"
"A Fusion Deck, huh?"
At those four words, Yusaku's lips curved slightly. Then he pulled out a Deck wreathed in a faint blue glow and inserted it neatly into his own Duel Disk.
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
As their voices rang out, the display panels on both Duel Disks flared to life. Pale blue streams of data flashed, collided, and intertwined before the system finally settled on the turn order.
[Yusaku, LP 8000]
[Sousuke Kanzaki, LP 8000]
[First Turn: Sousuke Kanzaki]
Sousuke glanced at the prompt on his Duel Disk, then slid his fingers across his Deck and smoothly drew his opening hand. His voice was commanding and forceful.
"My turn. Stand by. Main Phase."
He quickly scanned the cards he had drawn, and a confident smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. After a brief moment of thought, he pulled one card free and pointed it at Yusaku between two fingers.
"There's an old saying: know your enemy, know yourself, and you'll win every battle. That's even more true in a duel. Once you know your opponent's hand, you can infer the structure of their Deck and seize control of the match."
As he spoke, he raised the card high enough for everyone to see the name clearly.
"Spell Card: Hand Destruction! Its effect is that all players with cards in hand must discard their entire hands, then each draws the same number of cards they discarded!"
"Once this resolves, I'll discard four and draw four, while you'll discard five and draw five. Come on, let me see what kind of pathetic Deck you're really using!"
His tone dripped with disdain as he slammed Hand Destruction into the Spell & Trap Zone of his Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card Hand Destruction!"
The card dissolved into a streak of golden light and fused into the Duel Disk. Yusaku watched Sousuke's move calmly, a trace of ridicule flickering in his eyes.
Seeing that expression, Sousuke frowned slightly. A thread of unease passed through him, but he immediately shifted his attention to the cards Yusaku had just sent to the Graveyard.
The moment he saw those five cards, he froze.
Of the five, he only recognized Exchange of the Spirit and Agido the Ancient Sentinel. The other three all bore the name "Tearlaments," and not only had he never seen them before, he had never even heard of them.
Sousuke's moment of blank surprise lasted only an instant before Yusaku's cool voice rang through the entire stadium.
"Congratulations. You've personally dragged yourself into the abyss of despair."
Sousuke's brow twitched.
"What the hell does that mean?!"
"You'll find out soon enough."
Before he could react, Yusaku swept up a hand. Three "Tearlaments" cards in his Graveyard lit up at the same time, and he declared in a sharp voice:
"Then I activate the effect of Tearlaments Merrli, which was just sent to the Graveyard by your Hand Destruction! Next, I chain the effect of Tearlaments Kashtira! Then I continue the chain with the Continuous Trap Card Tearlaments Sulliek! And finally, I chain the effect of Agido the Ancient Sentinel!"
The rapid-fire chain announcements echoed clearly through the arena.
Chain Link 1: Tearlaments Merrli
Chain Link 2: Tearlaments Kashtira
Chain Link 3: Tearlaments Sulliek
Chain Link 4: Agido the Ancient Sentinel
The moment that dense series of chain effects was declared, the scattered duels taking place around the arena all came to a halt.
Every player stopped what they were doing and turned toward Yusaku, wondering if they had just misheard him.
And when they saw the three glowing cards in Yusaku's Graveyard, their eyes went wide and their jaws dropped.
"Merrli... holy shit, Tearlaments!"
"Holy shit! It really is Tearlaments!"
"It's here! It's here! The highest mountain and longest river in all of Duel Monsters!"
The instant they confirmed that Yusaku was using a Tearlaments Deck, every player looked at Sousuke with pity. The same thought rose in all their minds at once.
"Is this guy insane? He actually threw Hand Destruction into Tearlaments?!"
The players' bizarre reaction only made Sousuke more confused. Following their gaze, he looked toward the cards Yusaku had revealed. But when he saw they were just a few low-Level monsters, he gave a dismissive sneer.
"Just as I thought. A bunch of ignorant natives. They're only a few low-Level monsters. What's there to get this excited about?"
(End of Chapter)
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