Chapter 404: The Weight of the Duel
Chapter 404: The Weight of the Duel
"Mr. Akaba!"
As the duel concluded, Yuya was the first to rush onto the stage.
At that moment, the barrier cast by the Supreme King Z-ARC was shrinking, enclosing only Akaba. Yuya rushed forward, calling out to him through the barrier.
Akaba, who had already knelt down and was nearly unconscious, lifted his eyelids slightly and turned to look at Yuya.
"Yuya," he said.
Seeing the clarity in Yuya's eyes and the concern written in them, Akaba seemed to see a reflection of his former self.
The young Akaba had once been obsessed with Dueling, always passionate and fearless.
However, back then, Dueling had been much purer to him than it was now.
But he considered himself fortunate.
After all these years of struggling in the professional arena, he had experienced lows and witnessed the darker side of society. Dueling had often lost its purity and simplicity.
Yet, he felt he had stayed true to himself, remaining the same boy he had been at the very beginning.
He did not regret it.
The world before his eyes was spinning, and all the images and sounds were fading away. He could vaguely see Yuya and his sister calling out to him, but he could no longer hear what they were saying.
Akaba slowly drew out the deck that was tucked inside his Duel Disk—a deck that embodied his blood, soul, and the many years of battles that had led him to become a World Champion.
He placed the deck gently in front of Yuya.
"From now on, it's up to you, Yuya," he said softly, his voice so faint that even he could not hear it.
"Go on to become a greater Duelist than I was."
Then he closed his eyes and let his body fall.
The soaring green light vanished, and the arena returned to its quiet state. Akaba lay on the ground, unconscious, but a satisfied smile curved his lips.
"Hmm, I overlooked something earlier," the Supreme King Z-ARC said, narrowing his eyes slightly as he observed Yuya, who had rushed onto the stage.
"Although it's well hidden, there seems to be something special about you as well."
He lifted his arm slightly, pointing his right hand at Yuya, and a strange green glow appeared at his fingertip.
"Let me take a little look."
"What!?!"
Yuya looked up at him, but as soon as his gaze touched the green glow at the tip of his finger, his body stiffened as if he had been electrocuted. His eyes began to glaze over, and countless images suddenly flooded his mind.
"What are you trying to do?" Kaiba demanded, taking a step forward.
But before he could do anything, a dazzling golden light suddenly blossomed in the enclosed space. It was sacred and dazzling, as if carrying the majesty of a king, pushing back the green glow of the Supreme King Z-ARC.
Everyone's gaze followed the source of the light.
You Xuan, the source of this golden light, was just as surprised as they were.
It was the "Seal Device."
As if sensing the Supreme King Z-ARC's move, the golden light burst forth from You Xuan's chest at the moment the green light was released. A reverse pyramid-shaped Seal Device appeared out of thin air, floating before him as if countless golden lines were outlining its edges, gradually taking on a physical form.
Then, within the radiance, a fleeting shadow of a king seemed to appear, raising his hand towards the Supreme King Z-ARC as if making a gesture of prohibition.
The green light suddenly retreated, as if washed away by a golden tide.
It all happened in an instant. Akiza rushed forward and protected Yuya like an older sister, glaring at the Judge with hostility.
Kaiba looked towards the direction of the golden light, and his pupils constricted as he recognized the aura.
"Even buried beneath the earth, you refuse to rest, accursed Pharaoh." The Judge lifted an arm to block the golden light and snapped, "Get lost!"
But it only lasted a moment.
It seemed to be an automatic counter-attack energy that was triggered by sensing the Judge's power. The Judge retracted his hand, and the energy dissipated.
"It doesn't matter."
The Judge returned his hands behind his back and casually left the stage.
However, before leaving, he paused and glanced at You Xuan.
"Next, it's your turn, Fujiki Yugo." he said indifferently, "Your soul will also be captured in a duel, along with that pesky Pharaoh's artifact."
"I'll be waiting." Yugo replied calmly.
Hibiki Akaza's duel was not without value. Before this, including Yugo, no one could be sure what deck the Judge, the embodiment of the Snake God, would use.
Although the opponent seemed to have originally planned to force a 'turnabout' with his Elemental Heroes, Hibiki ultimately forced him to reveal his true ace card.
Seeing this, it was highly likely that the Judge's main deck was the same as Daz's, the "Orichalcos" centered deck.
"No," Yuya said, picking up the deck Hibiki had left behind. He stood up and looked determinedly at the Judge. "Before that, I will defeat you first."
"Oh?"
Only then did the Judge shift his gaze to Yuya and gave him a glance.
Before the start of this tournament, the Judge only had his eyes on Yugo and Kaiba as his opponents. He had ignored this jellyfish-haired boy until just now when he suddenly took notice of him.
Then he realized that this boy was no ordinary duelist either.
Especially after briefly touching Yuya's memories just now—although it was interrupted, he still discovered something.
The powerful force hidden within this boy, brought over from his past life in a different dimension, was so deeply buried that even the Judge almost missed it.
Moreover, during the brief contact, he could also sense the confusion in Yuya's memories.
Yuya himself was completely unaware, but many of his memories from the past years were in a state of chaos. It felt as if a crucial part of his memory had been dug out, leaving a huge gap. As a result, he had no choice but to fill in that gap with a jumble of fragmented memories.
He thought his memory was complete, but in fact, a significant portion of it was made up of false fragments.
This state of affairs intrigued the Judge.
Moreover, the quality of this soul was likely to be a rare find in this world.
However, the Judge merely smiled faintly.
"Then you have to get to me first."
Without further delay, he turned and left the stage.
Indeed, no matter what, it was time to see the match-ups for the semi-finals.
Yuya watched the Judge's departing back and unconsciously clenched his fists, his gaze fixed on him for a long moment.
This might have been the first time in his life that he truly and deeply felt the weight of a duel.
(End of Chapter)
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