Boom——
The Netherworld King has fallen.
Indeed, this time it was different from the anime. In the anime, the unfortunate Netherworld King at least managed to emerge fully from the Netherworld, making his way from the Satellite District towards the city area, until he was pierced through by the World-Saving Star Dragon, commanded by Yusei with the power of the Red Dragon, near the city area and turned into ash.
Yet here, the unfortunate Netherworld King barely stuck his head out, without even seeing what the Mortal World looked like, before being suppressed by three big men...
"Roaaaaar——"
With one last unwilling roar, the gelatinous body of the King of the Underworld exploded, shattered into pieces by the intertwining red, gold, and blue energies. The massive shell shattered into fragments, scattering in all directions, completely dissipating.
Huge clumps of mud-like substance burst out from that twisted body, disappearing in mid-air. Apart from this, there was a dazzling golden light released, soaring into the sky like a pillar, later bursting into a myriad of twinkling light spots, covering both the Satellite District and the city area like raindrops.
Those are... souls.
Human souls, and most among them were still alive.
And at the moment of that explosion, with the power of the Phantasms, Yugen felt he clearly saw the most powerful light clusters released from the energy, the first few souls to emerge.
They were the Dark Markers Carly Nagisa, Kalin Kessler, Poma, and the model Xiaowu who was battling Akiza.
These four also came back to life, just like in the original work.
Yugen couldn't help but marvel again; truly, the King of the Underworld was an extraordinarily good boss rarely seen in the heavenly realms. All the Dark Markers had been gone so long yet weren't digested, and when it fell, they could still be fetched back from the Netherworld.
Including those other souls too. They were mostly offerings prepared by the Dark Markers for the Earth-Bound God's arrival, souls that had already been devoured. Now, with the explosion of the Netherworld King, all these trapped souls were released and returned to their original state.
The Three Phantom Demons hovered above New Tongshiyi, driven by Yugen amid the three-body demon, his body surging with the three-colored energy of the Phantasms, floating in mid-air, gazing at the souls continually released in all directions from the explosion site of the Netherworld King.
"With this, it should be truly over, right..."
Yugen exhaled a sigh of relief.
ZONE should be satisfied with this outcome too. He played the final boss role of Godwin perfectly, pulling the derailed historical track back on course.
If anything, winning against the trio including Yusei might deviate somewhat from original history, but he felt this would rather help accelerate the protagonists' evolution more significantly, thus shouldn't be a bad thing.
At this moment, Yusei and others also looked at the sky filled with light spots, a fantastical scene.
Yusei: "Could this be... the souls of those who disappeared in the Dark Markers incident..."
Clero was pleased: "So, the children and companions who disappeared in the Satellite District also..."
He was despondent for a while after the Dark Markers battle ended. Because even if the war was won, it came at a price. He lost some once-familiar companions and a few children he had cared for. This is what gave him a resolute fighting spirit, swearing to stand irreconcilably against the Dark Markers.
But they never dared imagine that those who had died could actually come back to life!
Jack was momentarily joyful but then sank into thought.
He had assumed Carly was gone and nearly confessed to her. Now you're telling me she isn't dead and can be saved?
Glad though he might be, Jack couldn't help but reconsider the philosophical question of whether women would affect his card-play strength.
Anyway, such a result undoubtedly was a joy to all, an unexpected delight.
The image of the Phantasms vanished from the sky, and when Yugen landed, Qiu was the first to notice.
"Godwin... No, yours is indeed the name Yugen, right?"
Qiu spoke.
"Did you plan this from the very start before the duel?"
Clero came to his senses: "Oh right! You told us this was a ceremony to open the Netherworld's door... Were you lying to us?
Did you know from the beginning that only by opening that portal, then directly defeating that Netherworld monster, could all the deceased return to the living world?"
"Don't get me wrong."
Yugen smiled.
"I just wanted to duel with you, that's it, didn't have any grand notions of saving mankind, I'm not that noble."
No one argued with him. But 5DS members glanced at each other, reaching a consensus with their eyes.
Stubbornly proud, definitely stubbornly proud, just won't admit it.
They're familiar with this, because Jack has such a personality.
Seeing the expressions of disbelief, Yugen was helpless. He truly hadn't intended that winning this ceremony would unexpectedly revive the dead. He played this card because of ZONE's commission, merely a means to save this dimension...
Well, let them think whatever they like, no need to explain.
Even Yugen began to ponder whether ZONE, who entrusted this task to him, had foreseen such a result from the start?
"Alright, after such a battle, we're tired, let's head home and rest."
Yugen waved his hand, turned to leave, lazily yawning.
"Wait... wait a moment."
Yusei called after him.
"Fujiki... Yugen, we are companions, right? Will we meet again?"
Because Yugen had always interacted with them in Godwin's identity, now that his true self was revealed and the Dark Markers matter was completely resolved, it certainly felt like 'the end has been marked.'
Furthermore, Yugen had just said he came from another dimension, so once the matter was settled, it was possible for him to silently vanish from their lives.
Also realizing this possibility, Qiu felt a random heaviness in his heart.
Could it perhaps be... farewell forever?
Yugen's steps briefly paused, he glanced back at them, then laughed freely.
"Who knows?"
He waved his hand, continued to walk away.
"When fate intervenes, perhaps we'll meet again."
...
...
Meanwhile, in the infinite space.
In the Subspace Realm, Antinomy, having watched the entire event, pondered a while before speaking: "Fujiki Yugen, King of the Otherworld... truly unfathomable."
He turned to ZONE: "Do you think this is his full strength?"
ZONE asked back: "What do you think?"
Antinomy shook his head: "I don't know."
After a pause, Antinomy spoke again: "Then the next phase... it's my turn, right?"
"Yes."
ZONE said calmly.
"The current Yusei Fudo has begun to crave new power, about to embark on the path to rapid evolution. If it's you, you should be able to smoothly guide him to see new paths.
To become a companion to Yusei Fudo, for this, I might need to completely erase your memories, even your recognition of your own identity."
"Doesn't matter."
Antinomy replied without hesitation.
"ZONE, as long as it's for you, I'm willing to do anything."
ZONE let out a hoarse sigh.
"Then I'll trust you with this, Antinomy."