As Leichter let out a scream of pure agony, [Crusadia Avramax] cleaved him cleanly in half with the blade in its hand. At the same time, the entire world turned pure white—reset to its initial state.
"Eh? What the… Youmi, what did you do?" Joey jumped as the ground beneath him faded into white emptiness. When he realized he wasn't falling, he relaxed and stopped hopping around. "Wait, does this mean... we can get out of here?"
"This space has been initialized... Youmi, you deleted Father's personality data and erased every program he rewrote..." Noah looked around in awe as the world disintegrated into endless streams of data. He started toward Youmi, but before he could take a second step, his legs began dissolving. "Huh? I'm... wait, no—this isn't deletion, Youmi, you—"
He reached a hand toward her, but vanished before he could finish the sentence.
"Well then, see you all back in the real world, Yugi, Joey—everyone." Youmi clapped her hands lightly, snapping the others out of their daze. [Crusadia Avramax] landed behind her, sword in hand. "Once we're back, it'll probably be the Duel City semifinals soon. You'd better be ready~"
She waved to them.
Yugi and the others dissolved into particles of light, their consciousness returning to their bodies in the real world.
Once she sensed that no one else remained in the space, Youmi turned around—and immediately felt the cold edge of a blade against her neck. "Uh... I'm not [Iblee], okay? We just look alike."
[Crusadia Avramax] had its weapon pressed against her throat, expression tense and alert.
Only when Youmi spoke did realization dawn on his face, and he lowered the sword. "Apologies. Instinctive reaction. But judging by your tone and bearing... you really are just someone who looks like her. My apologies, ally."
"Haha, no worries. Can't blame you. Who'd expect that guy to stick me into [Knightmare Corruptor Iblee]'s body, right? Believe me, I wasn't thrilled either."
Youmi gave a rueful smile… after all, [Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight] had already tried to shoot her once. "Still, even if it was just a temporary alliance, you've all helped me a lot. If there's ever something I can do for you, just say the word."
[Crusadia Avramax] nodded. "I see. So it was that being's twisted sense of humor. That explains it. However, if, as you say, this space no longer needs to exist, we should return to our own world. I look forward to meeting you again, ally."
Behind him, monsters from across the World Legacy—those Youmi had used and even those she hadn't—appeared one by one: [Crusadia], [Mekk-Knight], [Orcust], and more, all to bid her farewell. [Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight], still a bit resentful, turned his back but gave a small wave.
Using the Star Key to open a gate between worlds, [Crusadia Avramax] led his companions through one by one. Just before stepping through, he turned back, as if remembering something. "Ah, right. I wish I could've introduced you to her, but apparently, there's some 'Forbidden List' issue, so she couldn't come today."
After watching the World Legacy monsters depart, Youmi waved her hand to open a control interface. Logging out now would trigger Noah's battleship to deactivate all systems and sink beneath the ocean once everyone else awoke and escaped. Thanks to good waterproofing and security protocols, there'd be no danger of oil leaks or other mishaps.
Anyhow, Before that—
"You're watching, aren't you, [Ten Thousand Dragon]~?"
A magnificent golden dragon materialized in the fading void, gazing down at her.
"Indeed, I wasn't all that interested in the duels themselves, but I've been keeping an eye on your situation. Now that you've summoned me, do you have something to ask?"
[Ten Thousand Dragon] regarded Youmi, whose form was gradually returning to her real-world appearance. "Ah, I think I already know what you're wondering. You want to ask whether another chosen Duelist has come to this world, don't you?"
"Exactly. This is supposed to be a virtual space, yet these cards exist."
Youmi took out her deck case and revealed her [Trickstar] and [Mikanko] cards. "My existence here isn't like Yugi and the others—I wasn't uploaded. My consciousness was projected here. The cards in this case weren't brought into the virtual world; someone placed them in my spare deck box in the real world, the one Noah confiscated from me, and that's how they got mirrored here. So if it wasn't your doing, that means another traveler has arrived, doesn't it?"
Her reasoning was sound, built on information only she could know. It was nearly flawless. [Ten Thousand Dragon] nodded. "I've chosen many Duelists. Sometimes I send them to different worlds to train—or to stage entertaining duels for me to enjoy. I even hosted tournaments where Duelists from various worlds competed."
"And as you've seen, beings like [Crusadia Avramax] already have the ability to cross between worlds. I only provide coordinates—no travel expenses included."
The dragon chuckled. "So yes, it's possible that another world-walker came here and left you a little gift. I can't observe every corner of existence at all times—it's not exactly within my job description."
"Oh, you've got to be—"
Before Youmi could finish the word "kidding," she was engulfed in a swirl of prismatic breath, blown straight back to reality.
As she was whisked away, she heard [Ten Thousand Dragon]'s voice echo one last time:
"As for the favor you asked of me, it's done. That said, it means you'll probably—"
She didn't need to hear the rest. She knew what came next: to awaken in the real world and make her way toward the Duel King.
Her silver-white eyes snapped open. She kicked open the hatch of her pod and sat upright with a burst of motion—the horned demon queen reborn.
Looking around at the group gathered nearby, she scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Ahaha... looks like everyone's out already? You're all okay, right?"
"You're asking if we're okay? You were the last one to wake up, Youmi." Yugi Muto looked at her with concern. "How's your body? Noah said the fortress was programmed to self-terminate once the Duel Airship left. We have to hurry back to it."
Youmi nodded, scanning her surroundings until she spotted Noah. "Right, let's go. But Noah... Ah, there you are~"
A white Kuriboh wearing a priest's hat crossed its tiny arms, glaring at her in annoyance.
"I mean, I'm glad to be free of the system restraints; still, this is what you meant… You're the worst, you know."
...
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