"No—impossible! You can't defeat my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba shouted.
"Kaiba—take this!"
Yami Yugi raised a card.
"I activate the Spell Magicalized Fusion! By banishing Fusion Materials from my field and/or Graveyard, I can Fusion Summon a Spellcaster Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck!"
"I banish Dark Magician and Buster Blader from my Graveyard—Fusion Summon!"
"Appear—Dark Cavalry!"
Dark Cavalry (ATK 2800 / DEF 2300)
Kisaragi closed her eyes.
Because she already knew: Seto was going to lose.
"Joey—wasn't that monster the one Yugi used in Duelist Kingdom?" Tristan blurted out.
"Yeah," Joey answered quietly. "This duel is Yugi's."
"Kaiba—Dark Cavalry's effect increases its ATK by 100 for each Spell/Trap card on the field and in both Graveyards!"
"What?!" Kaiba's voice cracked.
"There are 31 Spells and Traps total between our fields and Graveyards. So Dark Cavalry gains 3100 ATK!"
Dark Cavalry (ATK 5900 / DEF 2300)
"5900…?!" Kaiba's stare began to drift, like the numbers were floating farther and farther away.
"And I Normal Summon Giant Soldier of Stone in Attack Position!"
Giant Soldier of Stone (ATK 1700 / DEF 1600)
"It's over," Joey said under his breath. "Yugi's going to finish him this turn."
"Battle! Dark Cavalry, attack Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
Dark Cavalry lowered its lance and charged.
Kaiba watched the spearpoint closing in—and with it, the distance between himself and victory… and Kisaragi… stretching into something unreachable.
She's already in the finals.I can't— I can't give up here!
"Activate Quick-Play Spell—Forbidden Chalice!" Kaiba barked. "I target your Dark Cavalry! It gains 400 ATK, and its effects are negated—so its ATK drops to 3200!"
Yami Yugi's eyes sharpened.
"I won't let you. Dark Cavalry's effect—when a card effect that targets a card on the field is activated, I can discard 1 card to negate and destroy it!"
"I discard 1—Forbidden Chalice is negated and destroyed!"
"What…?!" Kaiba's eyes went empty in an instant.
The lance punched through Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
Kaiba's LP: 3000 → 1600
"Now—Giant Soldier of Stone, direct attack!"
Kaiba didn't move. Didn't flinch. He simply took it, rigid as a statue.
Kaiba's LP: 1600 → 0
Yami Yugi wins.
"W-winner… is… Yugi Mutou," Ishizu announced—her voice tight, almost afraid of how the world would tilt from here.
"I lost," Kaiba said flatly. "I lost… to someone other than Kisaragi."
Mokuba dropped to his knees, tears spilling. "Brother…!"
Kisaragi lowered her head and said nothing.
Kaiba stood there, hollowed out.
My deck—the strongest. My servants—the strongest. My lines were clean. She even gave me a card to escape the trap… and I still lost.
As if he'd betrayed her trust.
Yami Yugi stepped forward and held out his hand.
"Kaiba. That was an incredible duel. I'm honored to have fought someone as strong as you."
Kaiba didn't take it.
He walked past Yugi—straight toward the exit—and flicked a card from his deck like it was garbage.
Obelisk the Tormentor landed in Yugi's hands.
"And, Kisaragi—take this back."
Kaiba pressed Ultimate Fusion into her palm.
"I don't deserve to hold it."
"Kaiba—" Yami Yugi started, but Kaiba cut through the air with a single sentence.
"Don't comfort me. My Battle City ends here."
He didn't even look at her as he spoke next.
"Mokuba. We're leaving."
For the first time, he didn't call Kisaragi to come with him.
"Seto."
Kisaragi's voice stopped him like a chain snapping tight.
"You're not the kind of man who collapses just because you lost to Yugi, are you?"
Kaiba's shoulders twitched. He paused.
"I know you're angry that you used the card I gave you and still lost," she continued. "But I also know why you wanted the top of this tower."
"It wasn't only the God Cards."
"You wanted to stand above this ruin—your father's legacy—and crush it with your own hands."
Kaiba's breathing turned shallow.
"And you always say you've thrown away the past and chosen your future," Kisaragi said. "But wanting to erase this place—because it matters to you—is still a kind of obsession."
"Because you care… you want to erase it."
Her words struck something deep enough to hurt.
Kaiba gave a short, broken laugh.
"Obsession with the past… huh."
Then his laugh turned bitter.
Mokuba and Kisaragi watched as the mask slipped—just enough to show the boy underneath.
"Mokuba and I lost our parents young. We crawled through a world of predators. When Gozaburo adopted us… we didn't gain a family."
"We lost warmth. We gained chains."
"And I climbed out of that pit by learning only one thing—how to win. How to take everything."
His eyes narrowed, but the rage in them was exhausted.
"My past is hatred. My fuel was anger."
He exhaled through clenched teeth.
"Maybe… that's why I lost."
"Seto." Kisaragi stepped in front of him and pressed Ultimate Fusion back into his hand.
"The strength you have now isn't strength born from hatred."
"It's yours—as a duelist."
Kaiba stared at the card.
Then Kisaragi rose onto her toes and leaned in, whispering so only he could hear:
"And Blue-Eyes' power isn't meant to end like this. If you want… I'll help you give it a new kind of strength."
Kaiba's arms moved before his pride could stop them.
He pulled her into him—tight, sudden, desperate.
"Kisaragi…"
His voice broke, quiet and raw.
"Thank you."
Around them, the boys went red in the face. The girls squealed like a stadium had scored in stoppage time.
Ishizu smiled softly from the side.
"It seems her presence…" she murmured, "has made the future far more unpredictable."
Marik frowned. "Sister… what does that mean?"
"You'll understand," Ishizu said. "In time."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
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