The sky seemed to be gently parted by an invisible force, the clouds slowly retreating to reveal a long-lost clear blue sky, and a golden sun hanging burning in the mid-air.
But soon everyone realized, that was not the sun.
Because it was slowly descending.
Where the light converged, a large golden sphere emerged within the clouds. The intense light was unbearable to look at, with the world bathed in a warm golden hue, as if the first sunrise was illuminating the earth.
Soon the golden sphere began to change shape.
As if life flowed upon its surface, the outline of a divine bird gradually emerged in the golden light. Possessing the solar fire, its divine wings slowly unfolded, revealing a body seemingly forged from gold. It soared high, cutting through the sky, creating golden storms that bathed all the earth in brilliance.
Phantom God of the sun: Winged Divine Dragon of Ra, summoned!
"It's you again!" the Snake God roared sharply, "Wretched Pharaoh, detestable Phantom God!"
The Winged Divine Dragon roared as well, heading directly toward the God of Orichalcos's direction. As it wings passed, it left a burning line of fire beneath the sky, as if the clouds themselves were ignited.
"Back then, only when the Three Gods united could you defeat me," the Snake God shouted fiercely, "And now you dare to stand against me alone?"
With that, it lunged forward as well.
The red glow in the Winged Divine Dragon's eyes intensified, roaring in apparent anger.
Yugen couldn't understand what the Phantom God was saying, but he imagined it was probably talking about how the Sealing Artifact's Celestial Pit Dragon had hindered it in the past, and if it had fought solo, it would have subdued the opponent sooner.
The golden Phantom God and the pitch-black Snake God swiftly entwined in a fierce battle, sun rays and deep darkness clashing, intertwining intensely.
Between the Divine Beasts, they played out a back-and-forth, raising their height and soaring high into the skies. Everyone watched from the ground, their heads lifted to see rolling thunderclouds, occasionally flashing with pitch-black lightning. The surrounding sea erupted with storms, waves crashing violently. Every so often, bursts of gold broke through the darkness, and the spectacle was terrifying.
The Blue-Eyes Light Dragon let out its dragon roar and flapped its wings to join the battle. The Chaos Warrior also wielded his sword to advance, although fighting at this level felt quite difficult in his current state, he had no intention to stand by idle. At least offering assistance from the sidelines was within his ability.
Blue-Eyes Light Dragon claimed to be a divine-level monster, but in a duel, much depended on the duelist's operation skills, so even facing against a Phantom God, it's hard to definitively assess who would be stronger or weaker.
However at this moment, as the elves waged war and clashed fiercely with the Snake God, the Blue-Eyes Light Dragon indeed showed glimpses of the Phantom God's former grandeur. With justice prevailing in their skirmishes, the Snake God soon found itself on the losing end, quickly showing signs of defeat.
The Snake God's defenses were finally shattered. The Sun God's Divine Breath Flame Cannon and the Blue-Eyes Light Dragon's "Flashing Storm Bullet", one after the other, hit the Snake God's front and back simultaneously.
The Snake God of Orichalcos could no longer sustain itself, letting out a sharp cry, its pitch-black body falling down from the sky as if burning, turning to ash mid-air.
The last wisp of black smoke fell back into the Judge's body. He knelt on the ground, face pale, with dark energies pouring out of him like floodwaters breaking a dam, his illusory body beginning to break apart.
Yugen and Kaiba stood at the top, one on each side, looking down at him like victors.
The Snake God raised his head angrily, eyes filled with resentment as he glared at the two.
"I lost."
Though he admitted defeat, he bit his teeth, clearly unwilling to submit. That vengeful gaze roamed over the two, eventually locking bitterly onto Yugen.
"But I was still defeated by the wretched Pharaoh." he said coldly.
Yugen didn't mind, just nodded: "If you say so."
Perhaps it was true. The Sealing Artifact had lent its strength in the duel, along with its residual power establishing the Winged Divine Dragon, playing a key role in this battle.
Without this divine aid, Yugen might still have had a chance to win, but he might have lost too. However, the course of the duel would certainly have taken a very different path.
But he didn't care.
A duel has only victory or defeat, especially when the stakes involved gambling lives, even the fate of the world itself. Only the victor holds a future; as long as he can seize that future, he doesn't care about relying on exploits or turning the table with divine draws and card seals.
Relying solely on one's own strength can always come after winning this round and leveling up slowly.
The Judge was clearly furious, but his body was barely holding together. His remaining body had mostly disintegrated, half of him now dissipated into black mist.
He collapsed on the ground, struggling to speak.
"Don't think this is over!"
"I told the Pharaoh back then, and it hasn't changed. As long as the darkness within hearts persists, no matter how many times, I will return!"
"And you!"
His gaze locked tightly onto Yugen.
"One day, you will summon a darkness a hundred times deeper than I could ever bring! Because that's the kind of existence you are!"
"You all will regret this..."
The voice seemed to slowly fade away.
The Judge's form finally completely disintegrated, turning into a mass of black mist, dispersing entirely.
"Hmph↓, the howls of a defeated dog."
Kaiba snorted disdainfully, as he would to any enemy he had ever defeated.
Yet, his heart held a tinge of regret.
Back then, Dazi was one of the few opponents he hadn't defeated in the world, and although the Judge wasn't Dazi reborn, he was Dazi's mastermind.
This should have been his chance to come back strong. Years later, returning to the ring, using the platform to surpass the barriers he couldn't conquer back then, and claiming the title of the new Duel King should have been such a perfect opportunity.
Sadly, he ultimately failed to seize that opportunity.
Who could have guessed? The illustrious Seto Kaiba, perceived by the outside world as the number one in the Dueling Realm, would fall at the hands of a rookie student.
Thinking of this, he turned to look behind him, only to be stunned.
Yugen, who was supposed to be behind him, was gone.
He looked again, finding Yugen had squatted at the place where the Judge disintegrated and picked up the leftover Duel Disc.
He began looting.
Kaiba: "..."
Hmm...
For someone who had just reached the pinnacle of the world, claiming the title of Duel King, this was truly staying true to himself...
Yugen was quite satisfied with this Judge.
Not only was there a Card Deck installed in the Duel Disc, but the person had brought several other spares. Clearly, he was like Yugen, adept at fighting with multiple Card Decks.
He loved opponents like this. Winning once could blow away a heap of equipment, all of which were rare items.
If all villains were so considerate, it would be a dream come true to laugh in one's sleep.