Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

But it wasn't over yet. In the next instant, because Yubel declared the end of the turn, [Chaos Phantom - Amitel], which had just completed its transfer, actually started acting again, transforming into a sea of ​​shadows once more. With each breath, it created a huge abyssal vortex, which actually swallowed all the monsters on Jaden's field that had lost the ability to fight back!?

"The ultimate power of [Chaos Phantom - Amitel] - This effect is forcibly activated at the end of the turn this card is played, banishing all other monster cards on the field of the card's controller, and then returning control of this card to its original owner's field! In other words, this is a 'dirty bomb' that would have a huge negative effect if left on your field, but can become very useful when combined with its second effect of transferring control!"

Yubel watched as Jaden's monsters were wiped out in one fell swoop and laughed triumphantly, "Illusory Phantom Rashomon! With this effect, I've finally wiped out all the monsters on Jaden's field. I'm so happy, so happy that you'll soon experience the pain I'm inflicting on you. This is filled with my love, so you'd better catch it properly."

"Judai, Judai, Judai, Judai, Judai! I can't wait to share my love with you, so hurry up, John Anderson, and get to the end of your annoying rounds. No matter how much time has passed, no matter how far apart we are, you will always be mine, Judai! Soon you will be with me forever!"

【尤贝尔：15400LP，手牌2→1→1→0→2→1→1→0→1→0】

[Chaos Phantom-Amitair][ATK0]

Backstage: [The Seven Essences Unlocked] [The Resurrection of the Demonic Realm]

Location: Paradise Lost

John faced this situation when he finally got to his second round: the fundamental points of light could not be easily reduced, the monsters were difficult to deal with, and Jaden, who suddenly became empty and turned pale and almost couldn't stand up because the spirits were devoured.

During Jaden's turn, there was at least a possibility of defeating Yubel, but Jaden chose to protect John and not abandon any of his friends. However, during John's turn, he could hardly see any chance of victory—after all, he only had four [Crystal Beasts] as Continuous Spell Cards on his field and only two in his hand.

John glanced at Judai and suddenly made up his mind. As he drew a card, he said, "My turn, draw... It was quite an exciting adventure in another world. I'm pretty satisfied to have met so many spirits and seen such a vast new world, Judai."

"I activate the Spell Card 'Mining of Magic Stones', discard two cards from my hand, retrieve this 'Pot of Greed' from my Graveyard, and then activate 'Pot of Greed' to return five monster cards from my Graveyard—'Sapphire Beast - Jade Pegasus', 'Ultimate Sapphire God - Rainbow Dragon', 'Ultimate Sapphire God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon', as well as the 'Hidden G' and 'Contact G' that I just discarded—to my Deck, shuffle them, and draw two cards."

Watching John get to work, Judai sensed something was off and quickly asked, "What did you mean by what you just said, John? Cough cough!"

"Don't push yourself too hard, Jaden. The arrival of [Chaos Phantom Demon - Amitel] just now, though only for a moment, must have been a huge burden for you, right?" John smiled calmly as he glanced at his trembling hand after drawing the card. "After all, even my hands and feet were frozen and stiff from the shock just now."

"So, since you and Professor Cobra started this otherworldly adventure, I'll warm up for the finale. Let me have a few of the highlights."

As he spoke, John turned his head and smiled at Judai.

"What...what are you saying, John!" The ominous premonition in her heart grew stronger. Judai tried to get closer to John but almost fell. When Rei and Asuka tried to help him up, he refused. "I'm fine. You guys go and stop John!"

“That won’t do, Jaden. Don’t stop a man from making a decision.” John picked up a card from his Duel Disk and looked at [Ultimate Gem Beast - Rainbow Dragon], saying, “Then, lend me your power one more time, everyone!”

Asuka was about to approach John after listening to Jaden's words, but was suddenly blown back by a strong gust of wind. She found that in the blink of an eye, the cards such as [Jewel Beast - Cobalt Spinel Eagle] had gathered around John and turned into a wall that separated him from the others.

"What are you doing, John!"

Jaden tried to break through, but was blocked by the nose of the [Jewel Beast - Amber Mammoth] and couldn't move forward. "Get out of the way, [Amethyst Cat], [Topaz Tiger], John—!"

But when faced with Judai, John's Jewel Beasts remained silent and simply shook their heads at him.

On John's field, the seven-colored gem formed by [Ultimate Gem Beast - Rainbow Dragon] shattered and dissipated, triggering the appearance of another card.

"I banish [Ultimate Gem Beast - Rainbow Dragon] from my Spell & Trap Zone to activate its effect. I Special Summon one Level 4 or lower [Gem Beast] from my Deck - [Gem Beast - Jade Pegasus], which was previously returned to the Deck, and add one [Ultimate Gem God] monster to my hand."

John, with his back to Jaden and the others, glanced at the monster card in his hand, played it, and said, "Then I Special Summon, [Ultimate Jewel God - Rainbow Dragon]!"

"Fly across the Rainbow Bridge with me one last time, everyone!"

The seven-colored jewel light illuminated Paradise Lost, and the Ultimate Jewel God Rainbow Dragon descended upon John's field once more, evolving again in the next moment to become John's ultimate trump card—the Ultimate Jewel God Rainbow Bridge Dragon.

Even now, the light of the precious jade has not dissipated; it still surrounds John, briefly coalescing before rising sharply and transforming into a massive rainbow bridge that stretches straight to the sky and connects to an unknown destination.

Putting down the card of [Ultimate Gem God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon], John looked at Yubel and said, "This is my first and final battle with [Ultimate Gem God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon] - Don't even think about hurting Jaden or Yubel in front of me!"

"The power to erase everything and return to the origin—"

"Overload: Flying Over the Rainbow Bridge!"

The Rainbow Bridge suddenly expanded, instantly enveloping Jaden, Asuka, Rei, and many others behind them, along with the Duel Academy. Even the three dormitories far away were precisely selected. In the Bridge of Light, which represents "connection," Jaden saw John giving him a thumbs-up: "Keep being a hero, Jaden."

“Oh no, at this point it should be—” mimicking Jaden’s gesture, John drew his finger across Jaden’s forehead and pointed at him, “Gotcha! What an interesting duel!”

"John!!!"

Watching the rainbow light rise, John turned back to look at Yubel in front of him. The power of the [Ultimate Jewel God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon] did not include Yubel and John in the transfer target. Instead, they were constantly attacked by this power that transcended space. Even the power of the [Chaos Illusion Demon - Amitel] could not protect the opponent.

In a short while, Yubel's body was torn to pieces again, and he attacked John with a ferocious expression, seemingly unwilling to let go of this hateful guy who had separated him from Jaden once more.

"You're really persistent... but that's precisely why I won't let you continue to entangle Judai!" John struck a pose, looking like he was ready to die. "Come on, Yubel!"

Chapter 1820 Come on, Yubel!

The power of [Chaos Illusion Demon - Amitel] transferred control to Jaden's field, seizing the power of Jaden's spirits...

Then, it banished all the monsters on Jaden's field with its own effect. Although [Chaos Phantom - Amitel] was freed from the resistance that [Paradise Lost] only granted to monsters like Yubel, Jaden had control at the time, so even Jaden's [Winged Kuriboh LV6] could not stop its effect. On the other hand, the [Winged Kuriboh] card itself was asleep at that time because the spirit was severely injured.

This resulted in Jaden having no monsters left on the field at the end of Yubel's turn, falling into a situation similar to what John had experienced – that is, having no monsters to act as walls and facing direct attacks from Yubel's monsters at any time.

Unable to stop everything, John's only thought was to use the power of [Ultimate Gem God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon] to return all the cards on both sides' fields to their decks, so that even the invincible [Chaos Phantom - Amitel] could be defeated.

...However, this does not change the fact that Jaden still has no monsters on the field. Even if all of both players' cards are bounced back to their decks, Yubel can kill Jaden if she draws a monster with 500 attack power during her turn, since Jaden's life points are already a mere 500.

So—there's only one choice left.

John was also present at the duel between Judai and Koji Sato. John felt sorry and regretful about everything that Koji Sato had gone through. At the same time, John also learned something from the duel, which was that he was trying to teach Judai that "people must bear responsibility".

When faced with the trolley problem, Jaden's choice was to act as a deus ex machina hero to stop the trolley. But John had always known and understood that nothing in the world was perfect, and he knew that he was not the kind of person who could change the world. Therefore, his ideal had never been to reconcile everything in the world, but simply to "become a bridge between humans and spirits."

As for how the humans and elves, who are finally able to talk face to face on the bridge, will coexist, he hopes for a good outcome, but even if they ultimately cannot understand each other, he can accept it.

As John determined from the beginning, he wanted to "build bridges" rather than directly resolve the conflict. That would not be an ideal but a baseless fantasy, taking too big a step, and the result would be that nothing would be accomplished.

Faced with the same trolley problem as Jaden, rather than abandoning Jaden, giving up his friendship with Jaden, and taking the difficult path of defeating Yubel, John accepted the reality that he would become another choice tied to the other side of the tracks, and activated the effect of [Ultimate Gem God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon].

It's not just about returning the cards on the field to their original state, but also about anchoring the traces left behind by the Duel Academy members when they traveled to this world, and reverting them back to their original state—that is, returning to the original human world.

However, this power cannot be activated in an instant. If there is no one interfering, it can indeed be unleashed. But in order to send Jaden away from this duel that would kill him, someone must maintain the power of the [Ultimate Jewel God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon] until the very end. And that person is undoubtedly John himself—that is, John Anderson himself, who built the bridge home, but he is the only one who did not get on that rainbow bridge.

"Now, it's up to you, Judai~" John smiled at Judai, then turned to look at Yubel's henchmen who were getting closer and closer. "Come on, Yubel!"

But Jaden could do nothing. Lifted up by the rainbow light, he felt himself leaving the ground and flying towards the other side of the rainbow. John was getting further and further away from him, and no matter how he reached out, he couldn't reach him: "John!"

(John and Judai are such a star-crossed couple)

Judai sat bolt upright in bed, reaching out to grab the air in front of him, frozen for a moment. The next second, he suddenly remembered that John had sent everyone except him back to the human world a long time ago.

Half a day ago—

"John!"

Upon hearing Judai's shout, Asuka opened her eyes and realized that she had only been in a daze for a moment when facing the rainbow light released by the [Ultimate Jewel God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon] summoned by John, and the surrounding environment had changed drastically.

The sandy land turned back into soft mud, and lush forests reappeared on the earth. The wind blowing from afar carried the sound of ocean waves and the moist scent of the sea—they had left the great desert, left the elven realm, and returned to the human world, back to Duel Academy Island.

"We're back in the original world?" Saotome Rei looked around at the change in her environment in a daze. Like Asuka, she hadn't been able to react to what had happened on the Rainbow Bridge. Her consciousness was still stuck on the moment when Jaden shouted for them to stop John, but John summoned his ace monster and used its effect.

It wasn't just the two of them; Marufuji Sho, Kenzan, and O'Brien were all in the same boat. Even Asuka and Rei, at least, knew what John had done because they had reached the high platform where Judai and John were. Jim and the others, who hadn't climbed up to the platform, had no idea what had happened. They only knew that one moment they were in the desert watching Judai and the others on the high sand platform being shrouded in the darkness of [Paradise Lost], and the next second they were back in the human world.

"What happened?" Amon Garlem couldn't comprehend what had just happened. "Are we...back to our original world?"

"Really? So that means Big Brother and the others won the duel? Yay!" Kenzan said excitedly, but then he noticed that Sho's expression was a little off, and asked curiously, "Senior, why do you look so puzzled? Are you thinking about something?"

“It’s so strange. Although we were indeed transported to the Spirit World by that golden guy, the feeling when we came back just now was completely different from the feeling when we were transported there before, right?” Although he didn’t have the potential of a “New-Type” and wasn’t a “Spirit Master,” Marufuji Sho was at least more resourceful than Kenzan. “Besides, he mentioned before that ‘we can come back if we defeat the mastermind,’ right? What’s even stranger is that I think I heard my older brother calling ‘John’?”

"Where are Judai and the others?" Jim looked around and found that although Judai and Asuka were standing on a high platform some distance away in the Spirit World, their positions after returning to the Human World were not too different. They could be seen from dozens of meters away, with all four of them "completely" back.

Judai, Asuka, Rei, and John—it really is four people! Looks like everyone's back safe and sound, that's great—but considering Judai was just calling out "John"...

“They’re over there. Let’s go check it out. John might need our help.” After making the suggestion, Jim carried Karen on his back and rushed towards Judai and the others, but he had a strange feeling in his heart, as if he had overlooked something.

The others hurriedly followed, heading towards Judai's side to check on the situation. Only Manjoume lagged behind at the very back of the group, walking slowly with a furrowed brow.

As the distance closed, Jaden appeared before everyone with his arms hanging at his sides, his Duel Disk still open but with no cards arranged on it. His head drooped, and even Kenzan realized that something was wrong. Jaden's aura was too low, as if he had experienced something extremely sad.

"B-Big brother?" Approaching cautiously, Sho, seeing that Judai ignored him, asked Rei and Asuka, "What happened to big brother?"

"Jūdai..." Asuka hesitated, then shook her head, indicating that she was not clear about the situation and that she asked Sho not to bring up the topic again for the time being.

Sho understood Asuka's meaning, but Kenzan didn't quite grasp it. The oblivious Kenzan immediately ran to Jaden and said with concern, "That's great! Big brother, you seem to be safe and sound. It was definitely you who defeated that enemy and brought us back to our original world! You're truly amazing!"

O'Brien glanced at the person lying in Ree's arms. It was a habit of his to subconsciously check the identities of those present, but this glance made his eyes widen in surprise—he and Jim had both seen four people in the distance and subconsciously assumed that everyone had returned safely. However, this glance made him realize that the person lying down was not John, as he had thought, but Garner Malden, wearing the yellow dormitory uniform!

By the way, this guy was controlled by the enemy and used as a "pawn" to fight against Jaden and his group. O'Brien also participated in the siege of "Gana Malden" at the time. But if this guy has been rescued, where is John Anderson?!

Hearing Kenzan's words, Judai lowered his head and said, "It wasn't me..."

Slowly raising his head, he looked at everyone who had returned from the other world: Sho, Kenzan, Rei, Malden, Manjoume, Asuka, O'Brien, Jim, Amon... Among them, only John was missing.

Yes, John certainly wouldn't be here, because John was... right before his eyes.

With a sorrowful expression, Judai began, "The one who saved everyone wasn't me, but John. He sacrificed himself to ensure everyone's survival; he saved everyone, including me—"

Halfway through his sentence, Jaden, who had already been through the oppressive power of the "Phantom Demon," the significant reduction in his basic points, the severe injury to his Pokémon, and the extreme grief of losing his best friend, seemed to have his support suddenly removed. He collapsed forward and lost consciousness while still standing.

Kenzan quickly helped Judai up and looked at the others in a panic.

"You idiot Kenzan, look what you've done!" Sho cursed, and quickly helped Kenzan help the unconscious Judai lie down first. Asuka took Judai and said that she would take care of him for the time being.

Keeping a distance to avoid disturbing Jaden, Manjoume said with a solemn expression, "As expected, what I saw back then was indeed [Ultimate Jewel God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon].

"Back then?" Amon pushed up his glasses, guessing that Manjoume was referring to everyone being transported back to their original world. "That's right, Manjoume, you, like John Anderson and Jaden, have the 'Spirit Master' ability to see spirits. Back then, what did you see?"

“Although it only appeared for a moment even during Hayato-sensei’s special training class, I think that’s John Anderson’s new ace – [Ultimate Gem God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon], no doubt about it.” Manjoume tugged at his collar. “Including John Anderson’s summoning at the start of the duel just now, I’ve seen that monster twice already, so I’m sure I saw it a third time.”

"I saw that before the pillar of light that enveloped everything appeared, the black sphere that surrounded Jaden and the others was opened up by a rainbow light, and from it appeared the figure of the [Ultimate Jewel God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon]. Then he transformed into the pillar of light that enveloped everything and flew into the sky to become a rainbow bridge."

Although even ordinary people without relevant talents can see the appearance of spirits in the spirit world, as well as the subtle movements of the card spirits that were previously only visible to "spirit users" during duels, the final commotion of Jaden and John's duel seemed to be due to the opening of the barrier between the human world and the world's rules being allowed to circulate. Ultimately, only Manjoume witnessed the specific process.

He described the scene he saw to everyone as precisely as possible: "...[Ultimate Gem God - Rainbow Bridge Dragon] transformed into a 'bridge of salvation' and sent us from the fairy world back to the human world, but John Anderson himself remained in the fairy world as an anchor supporting the Rainbow Bridge until the transfer was completed."

“...It was John Anderson who saved us.” O’Brien clenched his fists. Even though he had seen many life-and-death situations during his time as a mercenary, he was still a human being, not a cold machine. He was angry at John’s sacrifice, yet realized that there was nothing he could do.

"That despicable guy, first he threatened Lord Judai with John's life, then he threatened Lord Judai with John's life." Saotome Rei, who was present at the time and witnessed the battle up close, knew exactly what happened. "And he kept spouting 'love' and 'pain' stuff, he's just a yandere with a love-struck brain, how annoying, that Yubel!"

"Huh? You idolize Judai so much that you went to the Red Dorm specifically to call her a love-struck fool?" Manjoume blurted out instinctively, but then quickly noticed something, "Hmm? Wait, what did you just say?"

"Uh, a yandere with a love-struck mind?" Rei blinked, wondering why Manjoume had suddenly become so excited.

"Not that sentence, it's the next one!" Manjoume's expression turned serious. "That name, you just mentioned the name of the guy who dueled with Judai and John, right? What's that guy's name?"

"Yubel. The one who controlled Professor Cobra, Amon Garlem, and Garna Malden, when she revealed her true form, was a half-male, half-female, half-human, half-dragon monster. She called herself 'Yubel.'" Asuka, who was also present, knew the name Yubel and described her appearance as well. "When she revealed her true form, Judai suddenly had an expression as if he recognized her. It was as if she really was an old acquaintance of Judai's from before, just as she said."

"Why do you look like you know her, Manjoume?" Sho asked, looking at Manjoume with some surprise.

"Nonsense, of course I know about that guy!" Manjoume said something surprising, and amidst the surprised expressions of the others, he reiterated, "Have you all forgotten that Judai used to live in Domino City? I've known him for a long time, and I also met that 'Yubel' back then—theoretically speaking, I can be considered Judai's 'childhood friend'!"

"If you don't know how to use idioms, then don't use them. 'Childhood sweethearts' is a term used to describe the relationship between a boy and a girl when they were young, right?" Jianshan complained. "You and your older brother are basically two guys, and I don't think you'd have a very good relationship."

"Exactly, if we have to say it, 'childhood friends' or 'baby friends' would be more appropriate, right?"

"Urusai! If you interrupt me again, I'll let you two talk!" After glaring at Marufuji Sho and Kenzan, Manjoume continued, "If I had to say, 'Yubel' is really an old acquaintance of Jaden. He not only knew Jaden earlier than I did, but he even knew about the [Hero] deck that Jaden still loves to this day. That's because back then, Kokusai Mirage hadn't even released the [Hero] deck that's now everywhere and more common than stray dogs on the street."

"His initial [E·hero] deck was given to him by Hayato-sensei, whom he met by chance. Before that, the deck he used was the so-called 'card deck' that was very suitable for the environment at that time and was used by most people. But even in the card deck, he added his 'beloved' ace card to that deck."