Yu-Gi-Oh! Your Friends Are Fighting Out of the Underworld

Chapter 292 The Orichalcos Plot

It is worth mentioning that President Kaiba did not accept President Paradis's goodwill until the very end. He simply crossed his arms and remained aloof, letting Dartz's hand, which was expressing goodwill, stiffen.

Fortunately, Mr. Dartz possessed excellent composure and didn't need anyone to smooth things over; he quickly lowered his stiff hand.

"In short, just as Mr. Kaiba said, our Paradis Company once encountered setbacks in the military and technology industries, and missed the most glorious period of Wizardry Cards and Duel Monsters. These were indeed a significant blow to the company's development. Fortunately, our group has also made achievements in archaeology, so we can provide some assistance."

"archeology?"

"That's right. Our group has professional research and excavation teams all over the world, so we have some insights into ancient legends that are different from the mainstream, and we also know some secrets."

"For example, Atlantis?"

“That’s right. As we all know, Atlantis is just a legend that circulates around the world. But according to our Palatius investigation, long ago... before the current civilization had taken shape, there was indeed a glorious civilization called 'Atlantis'.”

At this point, he took out a conspicuous book from his pocket.

However, what makes it stand out is not its magnificence, but rather its antiquity.

Yellowed paper, unknown material, cover that seems to have a metallic sheen.

At the very center, the green gemstone radiates a crystal-clear brilliance.

"This book is..."

"These are ancient texts found among ruins related to Atlantis. Our Paradis Group has already deciphered part of their contents, and some of those contents happen to be related to the stone tablet that Mr. Crawford was searching for."

The president of Paradis casually flipped through the pages, leaving the books laid out openly on the table.

Interspersed with texts clearly unrelated to this era, some incredibly detailed drawings appeared before the crowd:
"A dragon?"

Upon seeing those drawings, Seto Kaiba frowned.

Leaving aside Radar's standard dragon-loving nature, when he saw the giant dragon that should have been unfamiliar, a strange feeling inexplicably arose in his heart.

"The 'legendary dragons' of Atlantis—as we now call them—appeared at the end of the Atlantean civilization and are said to be closely related to the destruction of Atlantis."

"I see. It seems your investigation, Paradis, was quite thorough..."

"Of course, after all, we have to produce some results to qualify for the next wave of development."

Listening to the words spoken as if by a true businessman, You Ming raised an eyebrow.

He roughly figured out what the guy in front of him wanted to do, but...

"I actually have some information about Atlantis as well."

"Oh?"

Those somewhat abrupt words immediately caught the attention of the effeminate president.

He seemed to be observing something:
“Mr. Yu Ming… right? I didn’t expect that someone like you, the Duel King, would also be interested in these legends.”

"I wouldn't call it research; I'm certainly not as good as the professionals. It's just that before I came here, I met a very interesting old man on the road who shared some interesting stories about the Atlantis civilization with me."

"elder?"

As if she had caught some key word, Dartz subconsciously frowned.

But when he came to his senses, the dark figure had completely disappeared before his eyes.

then……

"Yes, old man."

The voice came from behind, but Darz felt a chill creeping over her.

Looking back, he found that the boy had unknowingly appeared behind him, his casual movements seemingly blocking the already closed door completely. He smiled, yet a shadow seemed to hang over the entire room.

"Lord You Ming..."

As Tianma Yexing vaguely sensed something, he wanted to say something, but he only saw the black-clad youth wave his hand.

"The old man told me a very interesting story—that in the ancient Atlantean era, there was a wise and great monarch who displayed extraordinary talent from a young age in military affairs, people's livelihood, and architecture. He seemed to know everything. This talent allowed him to entrust the entire kingdom to his father at a very young age."

"...I see. We also know something about this story."

Despite a brief pause, the president of Paradis quickly recovered.

But just as he subconsciously placed his hand on the old book he had brought, he found that a slightly pale hand had already placed it on top of it.

'Crash'

For a moment, the entire office was completely silent, as if only the sound of turning pages could be heard.

In addition, there is that simplest of narratives:

"However, this wise and powerful, yet incredibly young, king was the last king of the glorious Atlantis."

"Huh? Someone so outstanding became the last king?"

Upon hearing this, Yugi Muto, unaware of the situation, asked a question.

He vaguely sensed something, and the moment their eyes met, he received the true answer:

"Atlantis was destroyed by 'darkness,' just like the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt three thousand years ago."

"Like another version of myself..."

No, completely different.

Before Yugi Muto could think of anything, Yumei immediately rejected the idea.

"Three thousand years ago, the young Pharaoh inherited a seemingly prosperous but scarred dynasty, while the last king of Atlantis inherited a flourishing kingdom. The reason for its destruction was essentially because of that legendary metal."

"The legendary metal of Atlantis... could it be orichalcum (Orichalco)?"

Clearly, this topic, which has been overused in modern times, is not unfamiliar to anyone present, and even Jonouchi could answer it easily.

"That's right, it's Orichalcos. Just like the ancient Egyptian artifacts, it helped Atlantis reach its peak of prosperity, but it also became the source of darkness."

"dark?"

“That’s right. I heard from that old man that Atlantis also attracted the covetous eyes of the dark world. But unlike the pharaoh who resisted to the end and used his soul and life to stop the darkness, the king of Atlantis chose to submit. He called himself a messenger of the gods, worshipped the dark will within the Orichalcos as a god, and claimed that the so-called darkness was a test from the gods. Then he completely destroyed his kingdom, culture and even his people.”

At this point, You Ming couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, right, that old man told me something else."

He turned his head away, and the crimson gazes that met made the president of Paradis feel uneasy.

"The king's name."

The upturned corners of his mouth and the gaping opening resembled a path leading to an abyss.

And so, that taboo term came to mind:

"His name is... Darz."

(End of this chapter)