The battlefield in Egypt had become strangely quiet after the chaos of the previous exchange, although the silence did not mean either fighter had slowed down. Dust continued drifting through the air around the ruined streets, pieces of broken stone still rolling from collapsed buildings while Hero and Kanzaki stood several meters apart, both watching each other with the kind of attention that made even the smallest movement feel dangerous. Hero had several cards floating between his fingers, their edges glowing faintly as he shifted them from one hand to another, while Kanzaki held his Dominion Dice loosely in his palm, his crimson eyes fixed on Hero with an almost irritating calmness. Neither of them attacked immediately. They had already learned too much about each other.
Kanzaki finally moved first.
He flicked a die into the air.
CLACK.
It landed on 2.
The moment the number appeared, Kanzaki disappeared.
WHOOSH!
Hero's eyes widened slightly as Kanzaki suddenly appeared on his left side, moving with a burst of speed that made the surrounding dust explode outward. Hero immediately raised a Diamond card, teleporting backward before Kanzaki's strike could connect, but Kanzaki had already predicted the movement. He twisted in midair and threw another die.
CLACK!
The result was 3.
The direction of Hero's movement suddenly shifted.
His own momentum betrayed him, forcing him sideways as the invisible influence of Redirection bent his trajectory. Hero reacted instantly, throwing two Spades toward the ground.
BOOM!
The explosions launched him upward instead of backward, allowing him to escape the altered trajectory. Kanzaki looked up just in time to see Hero throwing a spread of cards downward.
"You're getting predictable," Kanzaki said, his voice calm despite the dozens of cards descending toward him. "You always create an escape route before you attack."
Hero smiled.
"Then stop watching where I escape."
The cards suddenly changed direction.
Diamond.
Hero teleported between them.
FLASH!
Kanzaki turned.
Hero was already there.
A Spade appeared against his palm.
CRACK!
Kanzaki blocked with both arms and was thrown backward across the battlefield, his shoes carving lines through the dirt. He stopped himself before crashing into a ruined wall, immediately rolling another pair of dice while Hero pursued him from above.
CLACK! CLACK!
2 + 5.
Kanzaki's eyes sharpened.
His speed increased again, but this time every movement carried the possibility of becoming critical. Hero threw five Spades in rapid succession, forcing Kanzaki to weave between them while simultaneously closing the distance. One card passed his shoulder. Another struck the ground. A third exploded beside him.
BOOM!
Kanzaki emerged from the smoke and threw a punch.
Hero blocked.
Kanzaki's second punch came immediately afterward.
Hero ducked.
The third came from the opposite side.
Hero caught it with a Club.
The effect reversed.
Kanzaki's own momentum suddenly pulled him backward, but instead of resisting, he allowed himself to be thrown, using the force to gain distance before tossing another die.
Hero watched the die spin through the air.
"You're really annoying."
Kanzaki caught it.
"That's because you're finally understanding the problem."
He smiled faintly.
"I don't need to overpower you."
Hero's cards slowly rotated around him.
Kanzaki continued, "I only need you to make one mistake."
Hero's expression became serious.
"Then you're going to be waiting a while."
He threw a Diamond.
Kanzaki moved.
Hero vanished.
Another Diamond appeared.
Hero vanished again.
Then another.
And another.
FLASH. FLASH. FLASH.
Hero began appearing from different directions, throwing Spades between each teleportation point, turning the battlefield into a maze of cards and explosions. Kanzaki's eyes moved rapidly, following every possible trajectory while his dice bounced between his fingers. He wasn't simply reacting anymore. He was calculating.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four possible positions.
Then eight.
Then sixteen.
Kanzaki suddenly stopped moving.
Hero appeared directly behind him.
"Got you."
A Spade was already inches from Kanzaki.
Kanzaki smiled.
"Six."
CLACK.
The die landed.
6.
The atmosphere changed.
Kanzaki's next action became guaranteed.
He turned around.
CRACK!
His attack collided with Hero's Spade, destroying its effect before it could reach him. The force sent Hero flying backward through the air, but Hero twisted his body and landed on one knee.
Kanzaki slowly lowered his hand.
"You see?"
Hero stood.
"Yeah."
His eyes narrowed.
"You're getting serious."
Kanzaki looked at him for several seconds before finally putting his dice away.
That small movement immediately made Hero's expression change.
Kanzaki had stopped gambling.
"Hero."
His voice carried across the battlefield.
"You've forced me to use something I was hoping I wouldn't need yet."
The surrounding air became heavier.
Even the dust seemed to stop moving.
Kanzaki raised his hand.
"There's something you haven't seen."
A black aura began spreading from his body, swallowing the light around him.
"My Forbidden Energy."
Hero's cards stopped rotating.
Kanzaki's crimson eyes glowed through the darkness.
"House of Final Odds."
The world disappeared.
---
There was no explosion.
No warning.
The battlefield simply ceased to exist.
Egypt vanished beneath Hero's feet, replaced by an endless black void illuminated by golden numbers. A massive grid stretched infinitely into the distance, every square carrying a different number as if the entire ground had been transformed into a gigantic gambling table. Above Hero, enormous dice rotated slowly through the darkness, each one larger than a building, while distant casino lights flickered in places that seemed to have no physical location at all. Every movement Hero made produced the sound of dice rolling across a table.
Click.
Hero looked around.
Kanzaki stood several meters away.
"Welcome," he said, "to House of Final Odds."
Hero stared at the domain.
"So this is your Forbidden Energy."
Kanzaki nodded.
"Inside this world, every outcome must pass through probability."
The golden numbers beneath Hero's feet began changing.
"Every attack."
A number appeared.
"Every dodge."
Another number appeared.
"Every ability."
Another.
"Even your decisions."
The entire domain seemed to breathe.
Kanzaki spread his arms.
"And I control the odds."
Hero looked at the enormous dice above him.
"So you turned reality into a casino."
"No," Kanzaki answered. "I turned reality into a game where you don't know the rules until you've already lost."
Hero smiled slightly.
"Then I guess I'll just break the table."
Kanzaki's expression remained calm.
"Try."
Hero threw a Spade.
The card traveled toward Kanzaki.
Before it could reach him, the number beneath Hero's feet changed.
4.
The Spade suddenly split into multiple trajectories.
Kanzaki rolled.
CLACK.
Another number appeared.
The card missed.
Hero immediately threw three Diamonds.
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
He teleported across the domain, appearing behind Kanzaki and launching another Spade at point-blank range.
Kanzaki rolled.
The attack bent away.
Hero followed.
Another card.
Another teleportation.
Another attack.
Kanzaki kept rolling.
The battle became faster and more complicated with every second, because Hero could no longer rely solely on his abilities. Every action was being judged by the domain, and Kanzaki was constantly manipulating the odds around him. When Hero tried to move faster, the numbers shifted. When he attempted to attack from an unexpected angle, Kanzaki adjusted the probability. When Hero attempted to overwhelm him with cards, the domain itself seemed to interfere.
But Hero didn't stop.
He kept throwing.
Spades.
Clubs.
Diamonds.
Hundreds of cards began filling the darkness.
Kanzaki looked at the storm approaching him.
"You still don't understand."
Hero suddenly appeared inside the card formation.
"I understand perfectly."
He held up one card.
A card unlike the others.
Its surface was completely dark, with a strange symbol at its center that seemed to distort the space around it.
Kanzaki's eyes narrowed.
Hero's voice became colder.
"You built a world where everything can be destroyed, removed, negated, or controlled by probability."
He placed the card between two fingers.
"But you forgot something."
Kanzaki stared at it.
Hero activated the card.
PARADOX SOUL.
The entire domain trembled.
Kanzaki immediately rolled his dice.
CLACK!
Nothing.
He rolled again.
Nothing.
His eyes widened.
"What did you do?"
Hero stood completely still.
"This card can't be destroyed."
Kanzaki tried to target it.
Nothing happened.
He tried to remove it from existence.
Nothing.
He attempted to negate its effect.
Nothing.
The card simply remained.
Hero looked directly at him.
"It can't be removed. It can't be negated. It can't even be targeted."
Kanzaki's expression finally became serious.
"And if the card leaves play?"
Hero smiled.
"Then nothing happens."
Three cards suddenly appeared in Hero's hand.
"Except I draw three more."
Kanzaki's eyes narrowed.
For the first time since activating House of Final Odds, he looked genuinely uncertain.
Hero threw the Paradox Soul card into the air.
The domain tried to erase it.
Nothing happened.
The domain tried to redirect it.
Nothing happened.
The domain tried to alter its probability.
Nothing happened.
The card simply existed.
Kanzaki stared at it.
"That violates the rules."
Hero caught three new cards.
"Yeah."
His aura became heavier.
"That's kind of my thing."
---
Kanzaki's expression hardened.
"Then I'll increase the odds."
The entire domain erupted with numbers.
10%.
25%.
47%.
73%.
The numbers rapidly climbed around Hero while the giant dice above them began rotating faster.
Kanzaki raised his hand.
"I don't need to destroy your card."
The glowing numbers surrounded Hero.
"I only need to make every possible outcome unfavorable."
Hero stood in the center of the probability field.
The pressure increased.
Kanzaki continued, "Every successful roll strengthens the next. Every failure gives the advantage to me. The longer you remain here, the worse your chances become."
Hero looked down.
The numbers beneath him were constantly changing.
Then he looked back at Kanzaki.
"You've got one problem."
Kanzaki's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
Hero reached into the cards surrounding him.
"I don't care about the odds."
A card appeared.
Kanzaki's expression changed.
Hero activated another Diamond and disappeared.
FLASH!
He appeared above Kanzaki.
Spade.
BOOM!
Kanzaki was thrown downward.
Hero followed.
Another Spade.
BOOM!
Another.
BOOM!
Another.
The domain shook violently as Hero began attacking without caring whether the probability favored him.
Kanzaki desperately rolled.
CLACK!
CLACK!
CLACK!
But Hero continued.
For every failed attack, he simply threw another card.
For every redirected movement, he teleported again.
For every unfavorable outcome, he created another possibility.
Kanzaki realized what Hero was doing.
He wasn't beating the probability.
He was overwhelming the number of possible outcomes.
"You're insane," Kanzaki muttered.
Hero appeared directly in front of him.
"No."
A Spade formed in his hand.
"I'm persistent."
CRAAAAASH!
The collision sent both fighters in opposite directions.
Kanzaki landed and immediately looked upward.
The domain was beginning to crack.
His eyes widened.
"No..."
Hero slowly stood.
The cracks spreading across the black sky were becoming larger.
Kanzaki clenched his fist.
"Not yet."
He looked toward Hero.
"If you're going to destroy my Forbidden Energy..."
The dice above them suddenly stopped.
"...then I'll make sure you have to survive it first."
The entire domain went silent.
Then Kanzaki smiled.
"I'll show you the outcome that probability itself chooses."
Hero's expression hardened.
"Go ahead."
Kanzaki raised his hand.
The final phase had begun.
---
The darkness swallowed everything.
Hero suddenly felt countless versions of himself surrounding the battlefield.
One version was standing.
Another was falling.
Another was attacking.
Another was already defeated.
Another was somewhere completely different.
Kanzaki's voice echoed from every direction.
"You can't escape probability, Hero."
Hero looked around.
Kanzaki's figure appeared in countless positions.
"You can't outrun every possibility."
The giant dice began spinning.
"You can't defeat every outcome."
The domain shook.
"And you certainly can't destroy something that was never meant to be destroyed."
Hero lowered his head.
His cards slowly disappeared.
Kanzaki smiled.
"Give up."
Hero slowly raised his eyes.
"No."
A strange black card appeared between his fingers.
Kanzaki's smile faded.
Hero's voice became almost emotionless.
"I've already decided the outcome."
Kanzaki's eyes widened.
The black card revealed its name.
✦ OMNIPRESENT ZERO.
Hero activated it.
The world stopped.
Every timeline became visible for a single instant.
Past.
Present.
Future.
Every possible Hero existed simultaneously.
Every possible movement.
Every possible decision.
Every possible outcome.
Kanzaki stared in disbelief as Hero's presence spread throughout the entire domain.
"What... are you?"
Hero's voice came from everywhere.
"The outcome you failed to calculate."
Kanzaki attacked.
The attack struck Hero.
Nothing happened.
Because in another timeline, Hero had already avoided it.
The damage had never happened.
Kanzaki attacked again.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Hero walked forward.
Every step created another version of himself.
Every version attacked.
And because Kanzaki was still standing, every attack became stronger.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOOOOOM!
The entire House of Final Odds began collapsing.
Kanzaki tried to restore the domain.
The numbers shattered.
He tried to roll.
The dice broke apart.
He tried to manipulate the odds.
There were no odds left to manipulate.
Hero continued walking through the collapsing casino void.
Kanzaki's voice trembled for the first time.
"Forbidden Energy cannot be destroyed!"
Hero stopped.
He looked directly at Kanzaki.
"I know."
The pressure around him became overwhelming.
Kanzaki stared at him.
"Then why are you still trying?"
Hero raised his hand.
His expression was completely calm.
"Because you made one mistake."
The domain cracked behind him.
"You thought I needed permission from your rules."
Hero closed his fingers.
CRACK.
A massive fracture spread across the entire Forbidden Energy.
"The rules say Forbidden Energy cannot be destroyed."
Hero looked directly into Kanzaki's eyes.
"Then I'll be the one who breaks that rule."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
House of Final Odds shattered.
Not defeated.
Not overturned.
Destroyed.
The casino void collapsed into countless fragments of light, the giant dice breaking apart as the glowing numbers vanished one after another. The entire Forbidden Energy, something that should have been beyond destruction, was erased by an existence that had refused to accept its rules.
And as the darkness disappeared, the narrator spoke.
Forbidden Energy was never supposed to be destroyed.
It was power beyond the ordinary laws of the world, something that even reality itself was forced to acknowledge.
Yet Hero had accomplished something that should have been impossible.
He didn't win Kanzaki's game.
He destroyed the game itself.
Hero stood alone as the last fragments of the Forbidden Energy disappeared around him.
His cards slowly returned to his hand.
His expression remained cold.
The narrator continued.
Perhaps Kanzaki Reiji was right. Strength does not decide every fight. The outcome does.
But what happens when an opponent becomes an outcome that probability never allowed to exist?
Hero looked toward the fading darkness.
A faint smile appeared.
"If your world says something cannot be destroyed..."
He turned away.
"...then I'll become the exception."
The final fragments disappeared..