Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"What...what nonsense are you talking about?" Jaden frowned as he looked at the remaining lightning flickering around Darkness.

"What am I saying? Stop pretending you don't understand, Jaden Yuki. You should realize who you are sooner rather than later. You're still using the so-called 'gentleness' and 'kindness' from heroism to cover yourself up. It will be too late when you realize what you really are." Darkness sneered. "Compared to 'me,' you possess a stronger, darker 'king' power."

After a pause, Darkness glanced at Asuka outside the field and continued, "'So that means I won't have my last monster on the field anymore'? That's what you said, right?"

"No, look closely, listen carefully. Darkness is swallowing light, and the universe is singing to me!"

With his left hand, adorned with the Duel Disk, raised high, Darkness pointed his Graveyard towards the field and proclaimed, "If a monster on my field is destroyed by an effect that does not target it, I Special Summon this card from my Graveyard!"

A terrifying suction force suddenly erupted from Darkness's Duel Disk graveyard area, drawing all the remaining arcs of electricity from the field into Darkness's graveyard. Even the image of Darkness in the eyes of Jaden and Asuka began to distort, as if the light itself was being warped by a card in his graveyard.

After a brief silence, Darkness retrieved the true form of the black hole, which seemed to devour everything, from the graveyard, placed it on the Duel Disk, and called out its name:

"Descend, you ultimate darkness that even light cannot contain!"

"【Black Hole Dragon】!"

A singularity appeared on the card that devoured the light, a pure white light shining through the absolute darkness, like a symbol of destruction. At the core of that singularity, a ferocious dragon with a body composed of illusory matter manifested!

[Black Hole Dragon] [8☆/Dark]

[Dragon Clan/Effect]

[3000/2000]

"He summoned another monster!? I see, was it the card I sent to the graveyard during [Monster Reincarnation]?" Jaden stared in surprise at the [Black Hole Dragon] that appeared on the Darkness field. "A monster named 'Black Hole,' the celestial killer—what kind of monster is that—?"

"If [Black Hole Dragon] is successfully Special Summoned, this effect activates. During the End Phase of this turn, add one [Black Hole] from my Deck to my hand." Darkness crossed his arms and sneered, "[Black Hole], with its ability to destroy all monsters on the field without targeting, is quite a classic card in Duel Monsters, isn't it?"

"When [Black Hole] is added to my hand, it means that every single monster on your field will be destroyed next turn. And it's worth noting that [Black Hole Dragon] on the field has resistance to being destroyed by card effects," Darkness said. "In other words, if you don't want to die, if you want to win, you have to defeat me this turn, this battle phase!"

"Come on, Jaden Yuki, attack with your favorite hero, your [E·hero Flame Wingman]! With [Skyscraper] active, it's called 'Skyscraper Strike,' right?" With arms outstretched, the lower half of his face revealed by the Darkness mask wore a strange smile. "You really like heroes, don't you? Use your hero to defeat me and claim this hard-won victory!"

After Darkness finished speaking, Jaden fell into a brief silence. To be honest, he really didn't understand what Darkness was thinking; he had even explained the effect of the newly summoned [Black Hole Dragon] completely. No matter how you looked at it, his act of Special Summoning [Black Hole Dragon] was utterly meaningless, except that it changed his situation from owing 600 Life Points to being defeated by [E-Hero Electroman] and taking 3000 damage after [E-Hero Flame Wingman] destroyed [Black Hole Dragon].

In fact, Darkness's previous remarks were also inexplicable. Is there anything wrong with liking duels and enjoying the fun of dueling? And his love for heroes is genuine. As someone who likes heroes, there's nothing wrong with wanting to do things that heroes would do, such as protecting friends and saving the world.

However, there is one thing I am clear about, as clear as 1+1 equals 2: I must win the duel and take the easy victory in this duel. Therefore, no matter what Darkness says, I will never be wrong to defeat him!

"My battle phase continues! Attack [Black Hole Dragon] with my [E·hero Flame Wingman]!" Jaden waved his hand forward. "At the same time, because [Black Hole Dragon]'s attack power is 3000 points, which is higher than [E·hero Flame Wingman]'s 2100 points, it will receive the [Skyscraper] buff, and its attack power will increase by 1000 points during damage calculation!"

"Skyscraper Strike!"

【E·hero Flame Winged Man】【ATK2100→3100】

Standing atop the tallest building in the last remaining skyscraper, E-hero Flame Wingman launched his final attack, swooping down on the Black Hole Dragon from his vantage point. His nickname, "3000 Attack Killer," was well-deserved; with the skyscraper's buff, his attack power reached exactly 3100 points. E-hero Flame Wingman's fiery dive strike pierced the Black Hole Dragon's core in a single blow!

[Darkness: 1000 → 900 LP]

Because the [Black Hole Dragon] was in attack mode, Darkness also received 100 points of combat damage. However, this was only a small fraction of the damage that would actually finish off the enemy. The [E·hero Flame Winged Man] who had destroyed the [Black Hole Dragon] landed in front of Darkness and raised the "Dragon Flame Launcher" on his right arm.

"【E·Hero Flame Wingman】Activates when a monster is destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, inflicting damage to your opponent equal to the original ATK of that monster," Jaden said. "【Black Hole Dragon】has an ATK of 3000, therefore you will suffer 3000 effect damage, Darkness!"

However, upon hearing Jaden's words, Darkness merely sneered, "A hero's three-pronged attack, huh? If you like heroes so much, then continue drowning in your delusions, Jaden Yuki. But at the end of this duel, I have something to say to you—"

"The moment you think about becoming a hero, you've already lost your right."

However, Jaden completely ignored Darkness's words and, disregarding everything Darkness said, delivered his final declaration: "Fireworks Shatter!"

[E·hero Flame Wingman] raised the "Dragon Flame Launcher," its dragon head unfurling. The energy accumulated from shattering the [Black Hole Dragon] was transformed into flames, which erupted violently at Jaden's command, striking Darkness. As the scorching flames engulfed Darkness, he revealed a smile of triumph. Engulfed in flames, he uttered his last words:

"Welcome to the world of darkness, Jaden Yuki..."

[Darkness: 900LP → 0]

The next moment, as the flames of [E·hero Flame Wingman] dissipated, a large amount of black energy suddenly emerged from Darkness's black trench coat and flowed into a card on his body. At the same time, the mask that had been covering his face was completely shattered and merged into the other dark energy.

The true face revealed beneath the Darkness mask was something Judai had inadvertently seen before when he trespassed into the old school building. Asuka, however, knew that face all too well, for its owner was none other than Asuka's brother, who had been missing for a year—the honor student from the Obelisk-Blue dormitory, once known as one of the "Twin Pillars of the Academy" alongside the third-year student "Kaiser" Ryo.

Known as the "King", Tenjōin Fubuki!

"elder brother!?"

As Asuka finally confirmed that Darkness was her missing brother, Jaden, who had exhausted too much energy in the duel and almost depleted his Life Points, could no longer hold on and passed out.

Chapter 1148 Abydos III

With one hand on the tree trunk and his feet on the branches, Hayato stood atop an ancient tree, gazing at the distant jungle. Amidst the dense forest, a large gap appeared abruptly, with land pushed aside to either side.

The clearing stretched from the woods all the way to the edge of the cliff, where at the end was an object that could be vaguely identified as a jet plane, but could now only be called "aircraft wreckage".

"If Kaiba saw what I did to his jet, he'd probably be so angry he'd want to kill someone," Hayato muttered to himself, imagining Kaiba's expression when he saw the scene before him. He was certain Kaiba wouldn't have a pleasant look on his face.

After a pause, Hayato quickly changed his tune, saying, "No, since I rushed back to the island in Kaiba's jet because of that old bastard Kagemaru, then the root cause of the jet crash must also be him."

"Oh dear, you actually broke the jet engine that Kaiba lent me! Unforgivable, Kagemaru!"

From Domino City to Duel Academy Island, with the speed of the jet produced by Kaiba Corporation, it wouldn't take long to get Hayato to the island. According to the original plan, Hayato could have returned to Duel Academy Island within an hour of Anasis's ship taking the "Seven Stars" to the island—if nothing unexpected happened.

But unsurprisingly, an accident occurred.

It's unclear whether Hayato's aircraft piloting skills, learned at the "Hawaii Training Center" in Domino City, were not applicable to the jets manufactured by the Kaiba Corporation, or whether he somehow acquired the "vehicle killer" trait that made him extremely incompatible with jets. In any case, despite the jets being prepared and inspected by Kaiba Corporation's technicians before departure, the automatic flight control suddenly malfunctioned when Hayato piloted them to the waters near the Duel Academy.

Even though Hayato immediately switched to manual mode, it was to no avail. Hayato could only watch helplessly as the jet engines stopped running and he and the plane plummeted. The only saving grace was that, despite Kaiba's fondness for digital systems, he had opted for a mechanical ejection seat, preventing the escape system from malfunctioning along with the flight system. Hayato managed to escape from the plane at the last second.

Although there was an unexpected incident where the parachute malfunctioned and could not be opened, for a duelist who can even duel in outer space without oxygen, jumping out of a plane without protection is just a piece of cake. Moreover, Hayato has plenty of flying Pokémon to assist him.

Shortly after the plane crashed in the no-man's-land, carving out a long stretch of wasteland, Hayato successfully landed on a remote island not far from Duel Academy Island. It took him quite some time to re-land on the island, and while confirming his location from a higher vantage point, he also spotted the crashed plane.

The good news is that the plane traveled a considerable distance on the ground before crashing into the beach. Although it broke many trees along the way, at least there's no need to worry about a forest fire caused by the crash. The bad news is that because he jumped in such a rush, Hayato didn't bring his phone or any other devices with him, leaving him temporarily without a way to contact anyone. Of course, a duelist can leave their phone behind, but Hayato did bring his Duel Disk, and his deck was safely stored in his storage room.

Just as Hayato was feeling slightly annoyed that he couldn't contact anyone else, he suddenly heard what sounded like a telephone ringing from the Duel Disk he was wearing. At the same time, one of the buttons on the side of the Duel Disk was flashing.

"What is this Duel Disk?" Hayato murmured in confusion as he pressed the flashing button, watching as the Duel Disk unfolded on its own without any cards being inserted or connected to any other device.

The virtual projection system, which was already integrated with the Duel Disk, was activated, and surprisingly, Kaiba's face was projected in front of Hayato.

"Hmph, so you really didn't die, Hayato Kobayashi?" Seeing Hayato activate the virtual projection system, Kaiba's projection moved back a little, revealing Kaiba with his arms crossed and a calm expression. "I detected that one of the company's planes had an accident. I thought you were going to die. It's a pity to see that you're alright."

"After all, if something happens to you, I'll be the strongest in the world."

"Hey~ But didn't you just say, 'Don't even think about escaping before I've defeated you,' and then anxiously send someone to find Hayato?" Although Keihei's image didn't appear before Hayato, his voice rang out, "The 'tsundere' thing is obsolete now—"

"You talk too much, Keihei!" Kaiba made a shoving motion, glanced at Hayato with displeasure, and turned his head away. Then, as if he were actually seeing what was happening in front of Hayato, he raised his eyebrows and said, "A plane crash? What happened?"

"You can actually see this way, Seth?" Hayato raised one hand to level the Duel Disk, while the other hand remained braced against the tree trunk beside him. "You're asking me? I was flying perfectly fine in the sky when suddenly my plane malfunctioned and crashed. I haven't even asked you what happened to your plane. Could it be that besides your own Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon, all your other jets are substandard products?"

"Idiot, the science and technology of the Kaiba Group is number one in the world! Are you underestimating the quality of products produced by the Kaiba Group?" Hearing Hayato's words, Kaiba said with some dissatisfaction, "Maybe it was your reckless operation on the jet that caused the accident."

"Tsk, putting aside the facts, don't you bear even 99% of the responsibility as the one who manufactured the plane?" Hayato declared that he was absolutely not taking the blame and immediately threw out a set of boxing rhetoric.

Before Kaiba could retort, Hayato immediately changed the subject, saying, "Speaking of which, what's this 'phone' all about? I don't remember my Duel Disk having this kind of communication function?"

"Ah, I made this, you know. It was when you asked me to upgrade your equipment last time, Hayato-nii." Hearing Hayato mention the communication function, Keihei popped his head out, pushing aside Kaiba's image, and grinned, raising his hand. "Because you always seem to attract some unusual situations around you, Hayato-nii, and you've even disappeared because of it before, so..."

"So you put a colored gem on my Duel Disk, right?"

"Hey~"

Keihei's image disappeared, seemingly running away from the device that communicated with Hayato's Duel Disk. Seeing Kaiba reappear, Hayato said, "Never mind, I don't care about that. But Seth, since my Duel Disk has a communication function, why don't you send me a user manual so I can use it to contact other people?"

"My phone also crashed into the ocean along with your jet. That's really bad luck."

But upon hearing Hayato's words, Kaiba shook his head: "Hmph, I can't do it."

"If you can't do it, then you'll suffer—" Hayato paused, almost blurting out, then corrected himself, "'What do you mean by 'can't do it'?"

"It means exactly what it says. When did I say it was a communication device? In principle, Keipai simply added a device to your Duel Disk that can project specific images. The location of you is done using the data transmission chip that is present in every Duel Disk, except that your Duel Disk has been specially marked," Kaiba said smugly. "As for the basis of the conversation, it relies on the real-time information I collect from your Duel Disk."

"So, the actual 'call' should be broken down into the surrounding information, including my voice, collected in real time by the Duel Disk, and the image transmitted in real time after you receive the information? By the way, what kind of transmission technology is this? The latency is ridiculously low." Hayato said, then suddenly remembered something and added, "By the way, you just said that each Duel Disk has a data transmission chip?"

"So, the data from every duel conducted using the Haima Group's Duel Disk is transmitted to you, Seth, in real time, right?"

Hearing Hayato's words, Kaiba nodded: "Why are you asking this? Didn't you already know about this before?"

“What I mean is, since you can pinpoint my location, you should also be able to locate the duels happening around me, right?” Hayato displayed his extraordinary wisdom. “Right now, I’m probably lost in this forest, but as long as you can detect the duels happening around me—”

"Then, you can deduce the location of the ongoing duel and use it as the direction you should go?" Kaiba quickly understood Hayato's meaning and said the second half of his sentence.

Hayato looked at the image of the seahorse: "So?"

Haima proudly raised its chin and said, "I really can't do anything with you. Since you're begging for my help, I'll generously show you the power of Haima Group's technology."

He reached out and seemed to press a few buttons on something. The image of the seahorse disappeared, and in its place appeared an arrow in front of Hayato, rotating in sync with Hayato's left and right turns.

"This arrow represents you. You don't need me to teach you basic direction finding, do you?" As Kaiba's voice rang out, a large number of white dots appeared around the arrow in front of Hayato, but then many more quickly disappeared. "First, import all the detected data, then do some simple filtering, and finally, the one closest to you is..."

In the blink of an eye, only two white dots remained in the virtual projection, roughly at the nine o'clock position of the arrow representing Hayato. Kaiba's voice came through: "Alright, you've seen what you wanted, right? But I need to remind you that the data from those two duels I detected here is a bit abnormal."

"The abnormality is that although I can detect that one of the two duels is using the Duel Academy standard Duel Disk and can identify the cards they are using, the opponent's Duel Disk and the data of the cards used are all unrecognizable."

"It's not that it can't be detected, but that it can't be identified?" Hayato nodded at the virtual image, knowing that Kaiba should be able to see it. "I see, I completely understand now. Anyway, thanks, Seth."

Amidst Kaiba's sarcastic remark, "What did you understand?", Hayato ended his conversation with Kaiba and began ninja-style movement, stepping on the branches of the trees, heading towards the two ongoing duels that Kaiba had pointed out to him.

Shifting the perspective to Hayato's front, the coordinates of the duel he had Kaiba detect were located not far from the clearing where Tanya and Misawa had previously dueled. However, at this very moment, low above the nearby forest, a "ship" resembling a bird and a fish was hovering against gravity above the earth, radiating a golden light.

On that ship, a man dressed in the robes of an ancient Egyptian priest was dueling with someone on the opposite side of the arena, wearing a golden gladiator. Who else could that man be but Misawa?

Having just won a battle, Misawa realized he had fallen in love with Tanya, and discovered that Tanya's true form was actually a tiger and that she had left the mortal world and returned to the elven world. Due to these successive changes, Misawa's mood was not good. However, under such circumstances, he was suddenly attacked by the "person" in front of him as he left with Maeda Hayato!

As for why the word "person" is in quotation marks...

"Because of the [Skill Drain] effect, all your monsters' effects are nullified, and Gemini monsters are completely transformed into Normal Monsters under this effect," said the ancient Egyptian priest wearing the Golden Gladiator's Disk. "Now that your turn is over, it's my turn. This turn, I will deliver the final blow—ah, sorry, my hand fell off."

Because the priest raised his arm too high when preparing to draw a card, the joint connecting his arm and shoulder came loose, and his thin right arm fell directly to the ground. Upon seeing this, the ancient Egyptian priest simply scratched his head, picked up the arm somewhat awkwardly, and then shoved it back into place at the joint, thus reattaching the fallen arm to his body.

Because he was in the middle of a duel, Misawa could see very clearly that his opponent's face was not a normal human face at all, but rather as withered and thin as the mummies exhibited in museums that house Egyptian artifacts, just skin and bones in the literal sense.

The person he was dueling with was actually a mummy that had long since died but had inexplicably come back to life, and could communicate like a normal person and even duel with him!

More importantly, Misawa discovered that although the opponent's deck was only of average strength and the card combinations were so-so, the opponent always managed to bring out some cards that were specifically designed to counter him, as he hadn't had time to adjust his deck after his duel with Tania. It was as if the opponent had watched his duel with Tania from beginning to end and then specifically placed cards in his deck!

Although Misawa wouldn't be defeated for such a reason, it would still be troublesome to deal with such an opponent. He had also experienced how unpleasant it was to have every plan of his against those he had thoroughly investigated and whose decks he had specifically adjusted when dueling with him.

Moreover, even if he defeated the mummy before him, it didn't mean he could relax. Thinking of this, Misawa couldn't help but shift his gaze from the mummy priest in front of him to the dead dressed as ancient Egyptian priests standing on the same airship beneath his feet, and on the throne in the center of the airship behind those undead, a man dressed in noble attire, who even had a living body instead of the decaying bodies of the other dead.

"Abydos III, the man whose name these 'people' mentioned earlier was Abydos III, and I remember seeing this name in my textbook when I was previewing it. He was a powerful pharaoh of ancient Egypt, even achieving a hundred victories in the ancient Egyptian ritual of dueling using stone tablets—the prototype of the game Duel Monsters—and was known as an invincible being."

Cold sweat beaded on Misawa's forehead. 'Even if I defeat the priest before me and earn the right to duel the Pharaoh, if I don't hold back, I'll be easily defeated because my entire strategy has been seen through. But if I hold back, even dueling this priest, who was defeated by the Pharaoh, will be difficult. It's a real dilemma.'

'But I will never allow myself to lose in the Dark Game, before I see Tanya again!' Thinking that as long as he strives to become better, perhaps one day he can meet Tanya again, Misawa's eyes sharpened again as he looked at the priest opposite him and said, 'If you can do it, then bring it on!'

"But I will not lose to you, in the name of Misawa Daichi!"

Misawa's words were delivered with great force, but he didn't realize that if he weren't already dead, the priest opposite him would have been drenched in sweat.