"Mr. Momiji!"
The duel ended, and Judai was the first to rush to the stage.
At this moment, the Orichalcos Barrier was contracting, enveloping only Hibiki Momiji within. Judai rushed forward, calling his name through the barrier.
Hibiki Momiji, who had already collapsed and nearly lost consciousness, slowly raised his eyelids and looked over.
"Judai..."
Looking into Judai's clear eyes, seeing the worry written all over them, he seemed to see his younger self.
The young Hibiki Momiji was equally obsessed with dueling, always full of passion and charging forward without hesitation.
Back then, dueling was much purer to him than it is now.
Yet he felt lucky.
Having navigated the professional circle for so many years, he had experienced lows and seen the dark side of society. Often, dueling wasn't as pure and simple anymore.
But he felt he had remained true to himself, still the boy he once was in the end.
He had no regrets.
The world spun before him, all scenes and sounds drifting away. He could faintly see Judai and his sister calling out to him but couldn't hear what they were saying.
Hibiki Momiji slowly drew the card deck from his duel disc, a deck that had embodied his blood and soul, accompanied him through battles, and ultimately helped him win the world championship.
He gently placed the card deck in front of Judai.
"From now on... it's up to you, Judai."
He quietly said with a voice he couldn't even hear himself.
"Go become a duelist greater than I am."
Then he closed his eyes, letting his body fall.
The soaring green light disappeared, and the scene returned to tranquility. Hibiki Momiji lay unconscious on the ground, but with a satisfied smile on his lips.
"Hmm, I overlooked that."
The Judge squinted slightly, eyeing Judai, who had rushed onto the stage.
"Although it's hidden deeply, you seem to have some peculiarities too..."
He gently raised his arm, pointing his right hand at Judai, with an eerie green light flickering at his fingertip.
"Let me take a look."
"What!?"
Judai looked up at him, but the moment his gaze touched the green light at his fingertip, his body froze as if electrocuted. His gaze turned vacant, and countless images flooded his mind...
"What are you trying to do?"
Kaiba stepped forward.
But before he could do anything, a blinding golden light erupted in the enclosed space. Sacred and unapproachable, it shone with the majesty of a king, pushing the green light of Orichalcos back.
Everyone's gaze followed the source of the light.
As it turns out, Yugen was as surprised as they were.
The "Sealing Artifact."
As if sensing the Judge's move, the moment the green light was released, a burst of golden light suddenly erupted from Yugen's chest. The inverted pyramid-shaped Sealing Artifact appeared out of thin air in front of his chest, as if countless golden lines outlined its edges, then gradually materialized.
Amidst the radiance, a phantom of a king seemed to briefly flash, slowly raising its hand toward the Judge, making a gesture to stop.
The green light abruptly receded as if swept away by a golden tide. Judai immediately snapped out of his trance, looking around in confusion.
"Judai!"
The whole incident happened in an instant, and Hibiki Midori hurriedly rushed forward, shielding Judai like a big sister, looking at the Judge with hostility.
Kaiba looked in the direction of the golden light, his pupils contracting involuntarily.
That aura, could it be...
The Judge raised an arm to shield his eyes from the golden light, scoffing, "Even in death, you don't rest, accursed Pharaoh..."
But it was only for that brief moment.
It seemed like an automatic retaliatory energy triggered by sensing the Judge's power. As the Judge withdrew his hand, the energy also faded.
"Never mind."
The Judge placed his hands behind his back and calmly stepped down from the stage.
But before leaving, he paused, glancing at Yugen.
"You're next, Fujiki Yugen," he said lightly, "Your soul shall also be captured in a duel, along with that persistent artifact of the Pharaoh."
"I'll be waiting," Yugen replied calmly.
Hibiki Momiji's duel was not in vain. Previously, even Yugen couldn't ascertain what kind of card deck the Judge, as the embodiment of the Snake God, would use.
Though the plan seemed to use Elemental Heroes against him, Hibiki Momiji still forced the opponent to reveal his true trump card in the end.
From this perspective, it seemed likely that the Judge's main force was similar to Dazi's in the past, a deck focused on "Orichalcos."
"No..."
Judai picked up the card deck left by Hibiki Momiji, stood up, and looked firmly at the Judge.
"Before that, I'll defeat you."
"Oh?"
The Judge shifted his gaze to look at him.
Before the tournament, in the Judge's eyes, only Yugen and Kaiba were considered opponents. He had overlooked this Jellyfish Head boy until he suddenly noticed him just now.
Then he realized, this boy was extraordinary as well.
Especially after briefly accessing Judai's memories—although abruptly interrupted, he discovered something.
The formidable power hidden within this boy, stemming from reincarnation from an unknown dimension, slept so deeply that even the Judge almost overlooked it.
Moreover, during the brief contact, he sensed the confusion in this boy's memories.
Fully unaware, the boy's memories over the years had been in disarray. It felt like a crucial part had been dug out, leaving a huge void, forcing him to fill it with many chaotic contents.
He believed his memories were complete, but in reality, a substantial part consisted of false fragments.
Even the Judge found this state interesting.
Moreover, the quality of this soul might be rare in the current era.
But he only chuckled lightly.
"Then you'll have to get to me first."
With that, he didn't linger any longer and turned to leave the stage.
Indeed, in any case, the semi-final matchups had to be determined first.
Judai stared at the Judge's departing figure, unconsciously clenching his fists, his gaze lingering.
For the first time in his life, he truly felt the weight of a duel.