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Chapter 1139: The Battle Begins
Chapter 1139: The Battle Begins
Placido: "."
Emperor Taichi was now speechless, teetering on the edge of a meltdown.
Of course, this wasn't because he had actually taken much damage in the Duel. After all, it wasn't he himself who had stepped into the arena; he was merely operating the Phantom robot from behind the scenes, without stepping in personally.
While using a proxy to fight could affect his fate power and prevent him from using his full strength, it generally didn't impact his physical well-being no matter how badly the proxy was beaten.
So, he wasn't actually hurt; he was just furious.
Fireball, fireball, endless fireballs.
Especially in the final turn, he had arrogantly declared that someone of his stature, one of the Three Emperors of Taichi, could never be burned to death by something as trivial as a fireball. Yet, before the turn had even ended, he was burned to a crisp.
His grandiose boasts had come back to haunt him, slapping him in the face with the bitter taste of defeat.
No, this wasn't just a loss; it was a humiliation!
Actually, Placido hadn't been entirely certain he would defeat the opponent this time. Just like in the original anime, when Placido first encountered Yuu Gen and the others, he used a Phantom robot as a proxy. This time, he had come with the intention of probing the situation.
After all, they lacked intelligence on the person who had replaced Godwin. If the opponent was weak, he could easily take care of them without much effort, saving the trouble of investigating their background. But if the opponent was formidable, losing would be acceptable, at least providing some useful information.
But now, things were different. After being subjected to an endless barrage of fireballs, this encounter had escalated to a level of personal vendetta.
And the legendary Chaos Warriors—was this really how their true power was supposed to be used?
Placido began to doubt.
Chaos Warriors had long disappeared from this dimension, becoming mythical background monsters. Although they had the ability to travel through time, they rarely ventured into earlier timelines and had never faced an opponent wielding a Chaos Warrior.
Could it be that this was indeed the correct way to use a Chaos Warrior?
After being scorched by the endless fireballs, the Phantom's condition was dire. Its black outer shell was burned through, an arm had been blown off, and sparks were sizzling from the severed limb. Its eyes were hollow and lifeless, clearly beyond repair.
Even the D-Wheel parked behind him exploded the moment he was defeated. The built-in perpetual motion machine self-destructed, radiating arcs of electricity and flames, quickly turning into a pile of scrap metal.
Yuu Gen stepped forward and examined the opponent's Duel Disk, only to find that the deck loaded into it had begun to self-immolate.
"Replica cards, huh", Yuu Gen remarked.
It seemed that to prevent the Emperor's cards from falling into the wrong hands, replica cards were used from the start, programmed to self-destruct immediately upon defeat.
Using the Phantom as a medium for a remote Duel already drained the Duelist's fate power, and using non-original replica cards further diminished their strength. This time, Placido had likely only managed to use about 60% of his usual power. Although he lost, he was probably still unwilling to accept the defeat.
But that didn't matter. Yuu Gen was always ready for a rematch.
"However, it turned out to be Taichi."
Yuu Gen looked at the burning wreckage of the D-Wheel on the road, resting his chin in his hand, deep in thought.
This was somewhat unexpected.
Could it be that the force behind the recent troubles was indeed connected to Taichi, and to Zone, the ultimate antagonist of 5DS?
But why? A collision between different dimensions would contradict their goals. Weren't they trying to prevent humanity's destruction and create a bright future for this world?
Silent Magician appeared beside him, tugging at his sleeve.
"Hmm?"
Yuu Gen turned to meet her gaze.
"I see", Yuu Gen nodded. "You mean Taichi might not be the enemy."
Silent nodded gently.
"Indeed", Yuu Gen mused. "From their perspective, I, a person with no trace in history, suddenly appearing and taking Godwin's place could be considered a disruptor of the timeline.
In that case, I might indeed be seen as an enemy by their organization."
He paused, rubbing his temples.
"But if that's the case, the one who sent future Godwin back in time to erase the Dragon Marked and alter history must be someone else entirely.
So, the situation is that the Dragon Marked and the Shadow Marked are the two main factions on the surface, while in the shadows, there's my side, an unknown mastermind, and then Zone and his Taichi."
The undercurrents seemed to be growing more complex.
When Yusei was imprisoned in the containment facility, future Godwin had directly ordered his execution. Such an action indeed seemed to contradict Taichi's ideals.
While Zone may appear as the antagonist in the story, he still harbored hope for Yusei's potential. Throughout the entire plot, Zone's shadow loomed in the background, sometimes even guiding Yusei's evolution to help him overcome his challenges. Even in the final moments, when Zone personally intervened, he secretly hoped Yusei could create a miracle and defeat him.
Zone always believed that Yusei had the potential to change history and create a better future. There was no reason for Zone to arrange for a pawn to eliminate Yusei while he was still weak.
However, Taichi was an organization dedicated to correcting history. Even if the unknown enemy wasn't them, they might still know something.
With no other leads, it might be worthwhile to make contact with them.
Yuu Gen thought about it. The Public Security Bureau was Taichi's tool for covertly manipulating New Domino. Conversely, the Bureau's secrets might also contain clues related to Taichi. Finding an opportunity to interact with them could be a good next step.
Besides, there was the ongoing conflict between the Dragon Marked and the Shadow Marked.
The last time Yuu Gen encountered Skeleton Knight, he noticed something strange. It felt as though two different Rudgers from different dimensions were fighting for control of the same body, with their souls in conflict. This was similar to Godwin's situation and might be related to the person Yuu Gen was investigating.
With the war about to break out, the Shadow Marked would likely emerge. This would be a good opportunity to investigate Rudger.
Just as he was thinking this, Yuu Gen sensed something.
Standing by the roadside, he gazed into the distance and saw, on the other side of the city, above the satellite district, burning purple-black lines forming a massive Nasca pattern in the clouds, with purple flames raging.
"Oh? It's already started. The battle has begun."
Yuu Gen pondered.
"Is it Yusei?"
(End of Chapter)
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