Chapter 397: Wraith?
Chapter 397: Wraith?
As he witnessed the final Doma swordsman lose his composure, almost to the point of hysteria, Kei's mind wandered momentarily.
He thought back to the past, to the last time one of the Three Musketeers, Ameruda, had displayed such anger and hurled similar accusations at them.
"What could have happened to this man?" Kei muttered to himself.
Of course, he knew that, regardless of the circumstances, his brother would neither ask nor care. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he did care, but he would not let it show, nor would he halt his pursuit.
For that was the essence of Seto Kaiba, a man who forever forged ahead, unyielding in his pursuit, regardless of the reasons that drove him.
When he embarked on this path, his destiny was sealed. From the moment he outwitted Gosaburo at the orphanage and climbed his way to the top of KaibaCorp and the Dueling World, he accepted the sacrifices and shady tactics that would be necessary. He had long ago made his peace with this reality, so no matter who stood in his way or the reasons why, even if it stirred something within him, he would not easily reveal his hand or falter in his stride.
"I play two cards face-down and end my turn," Kaiba said flatly.
"My turn! I draw! I activate the Magic Card, 'Spellbook of Secrets,' drawing three cards from our respective decks!" Loren drew again, and his movement stuttered as he saw one particular card in his hand; his expression faltered for a moment.
But only for a moment.
He added the drawn cards to his hand.
"The True Ultimate Dragon returns to the deck, and your field is left empty, Seto Kaiba! It's over!" Loren raised a card from his hand, "First, I activate the Magic Card, 'Foolish Burial,' sending a monster from my deck to the graveyard!
I send 'Revolver Dragon' from my Machine-type deck to the graveyard."
Loren revealed a Machine-type card he had searched from his deck and sent it to the graveyard.
"Next, I activate the Magic Card, 'Ultimate Evolution Pill'! By removing a Machine-type and a Dinosaur-type monster from your hand or graveyard from play, you can special summon an Attribute Light, Dinosaur-type monster from your hand or deck!"
A golden light shone as two cards were banished from his graveyard.
"The Machine-type 'Revolver Dragon' and the Dinosaur-type 'Gigasaur X' are removed from play, evolving into their ultimate form!
After a million years of evolution, the combination of the world's strongest creature and the power of industrial machinery gives birth to—
—Cyber Dinosaur!!!'
Although it was changed to a Machine-type monster with altered effects after its physical card release, this card was originally a Dinosaur-type in the manga.
[Cyber Dinosaur: ATK 2500]
"It gains the effect of Orichalcos' Barrier, boosting its attack power!"
[Cyber Dinosaur: ATK 2500 → ATK 3000]
"Our fate, all our grudges, will be settled in this turn!" Loren took a step forward, "Cyber Dinosaur, direct attack!"
"I activate a face-down card." Kaiba remained unmoved by Loren's shout, "Trap Card, 'Death Soul Fusion!' By removing Fusion Materials from the graveyard from play, I can perform a Fusion Summon for the Fusion Monster!"
"What?!?" Loren exclaimed, "A Fusion Trap from the graveyard?"
"I fuse three 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' from my graveyard!"
Kaiba raised his arm, and three Blue-Eyes dragons appeared once more, swirling into the fusion vortex and becoming one.
"The ultimate dragon of light, my strongest servant, appears now—
—Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!!!'
"Roar—"
The soaring dragon's cry filled the air as the fused white dragon descended, an insurmountable barrier standing between Kaiba and his opponent!
[Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon: ATK 4500]
Yet another Ultimate Dragon.
Loren's eyes were now completely bloodshot.
The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was known as a symbol of power in the Duel Monsters world, and facing it felt like confronting Seto Kaiba himself.
Yes, it was the very symbol of his hatred, an obstacle he had to defeat, a hurdle he had to overcome.
Loren's gaze fell to the last monster card in his hand.
The final card given to him by the man on that fateful night, just before he fell.
He revealed the card in his hand.
"With this effect, I summon this card from my hand.
Exclusive News Photographer."
[Exclusive News Photographer: ATK 1400]
The crowd was taken aback by the appearance of a monster with an art style vastly different from what he had just used.
Especially with his unique talent, Judai was even more surprised to see this monster.
"Kurikuri!" chirped Winged Kuriboh.
"Partner," Judai glanced at it and nodded, "Yeah, I noticed too. Does this card possess a unique spirit energy?"
Kaiba furrowed his brows slightly: "This monster..."
"This is the perfect card to exact my vengeance on you, Kaiba Seto."
Loren spoke calmly, his expression complex as he gazed at the monster that had just appeared.
"He is the embodiment of my father, who was killed by you."
"Eh?!?" exclaimed Kyupi.
To his knowledge, only the legendary duelist, Ryota Kajiki, was known to have experienced something similar during the inaugural Duel City tournament.
Ryota's father was a fisherman who perished in a maritime accident and never returned. After that, Ryota obtained the spirit of the "Legendary Fisherman." Ever since, Ryota had treated this card as an embodiment of his father.
"My father used to be a journalist, an excellent one at that." Loren explained, "But he was murdered, along with everyone in my hometown, because he dug too deep and uncovered secrets that certain influential figures wanted to keep hidden. They silenced him."
Kaiba's brows furrowed deeper: "Are you suggesting that I was responsible for that?"
"Heh, at this point, I certainly don't expect you to admit it. But it doesn't matter. All I seek is vengeance, not justice, and I require no evidence."
Loren proclaimed.
"As I said, this turn will bring an end to our intertwined fates, and this card is the perfect conclusion.
Exclusive News Photographer, attack the 'Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon'!"
"He's attacking with a monster that has only 1400 ATK?!"
Kyupi was bewildered.
"The effect of Exclusive News Photographer!" Loren explained, "When this card attacks, if the DEF of the attack target is higher than its ATK, the battle damage is calculated normally, and the opponent's monster is destroyed!"
"Oh, but the DEF of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon is higher than the ATK of the photographer!" Kyupi exclaimed.
If the Ultimate Dragon's defense was breached here—
Kaiba closed his eyes gently.
"Fate, huh?" Kaiba said dispassionately, "I don't know the specifics of what happened, nor do I recall any grudge between us. But if I were to speak of fate, mine is to forge ahead relentlessly until I reach that person at the other end."
He waved his hand.
"I activate the Trap Card, 'Strong! Invincible! The Strongest!'
Select my 'Blue-Eyes' monster on the field. Until the end of this turn, it is unaffected by the effects of any cards except its own!"
Loren: "!!!"
Unaffected by any effects...
"You can no longer stop the attack." Kaiba continued coldly, "Since you dared to challenge absolute power without measuring your own strength, I assume you've prepared yourself for the consequences.
So be it! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, strike back! Shatter this vengeful spirit and his lingering ghost along with it!"
The three mouths of the Ultimate Dragon opened wide, brewing a churning white light of annihilation.
Loren looked up, staring blankly at the endless white light rushing towards him.
So, in the end, he couldn't do it?
Kaiba Seto was right.
Anger and obsession alone were meaningless without the power to back them up.
Apparently, his fury only amounted to this much.
For a moment, he thought he saw the Exclusive News Photographer turn its head and give him a slight nod, as if to say, "It's enough."
He spread his arms, shielding Loren behind him.
Until the endless white light engulfed them both.
[Loren: LP 1900 → LP 0]
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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