Chapter 788: Collecting the Deck
Chapter 788: Collecting the Deck
"Huff—"
Akane Boy exhaled deeply.
He had won.
If he were to say that this victory meant nothing to him, it would undoubtedly be a lie. After so many years, this was his first real encounter with Bercas, the original opponent from the Duel Kingdom.
At the very least, this proved one thing: he had not wasted all these years.
Yes, even after experiencing so much, he remained an ordinary man. But at least he had been improving all along.
"Bercas?"
Akane Boy took a step forward and walked towards Bercas.
The latter, having just finished the duel, was now kneeling on the ground. His long hair hung low, covering half of his face, making him appear even more ominous, as if he had been swallowed whole by darkness.
Akane Boy furrowed his brows slightly.
During the duel, he had already sensed that something was amiss. The duel was accompanied by a subtle impact of real damage, which, although not fatal, was certainly beyond the level of an ordinary duel.
This wasn't the first time Akane Boy had encountered such a situation, and it was by no means the worst for him. After all, he had faced the Illusion God, experienced the top-tier Dark Game, and even fought alongside Baron in the Orichalcum barrier.
Therefore, he naturally understood that a duel of such extraordinary caliber could be life-threatening.
Bercas slowly raised his head. The malice in his single eye had vanished, and all the disdain and mockery from earlier seemed to have dissipated like an illusion.
He even appeared to be slightly grateful.
"Thanks, Akane Boy," he said, "I knew you wouldn't let me down."
"Huh?"
The sudden change caught Akane Boy off guard.
However, he quickly recovered.
As he had suspected, the Bercas he faced earlier was not the real Bercas but one who had been manipulated or, at the very least, influenced in some way.
Through the duel, the current Bercas seemed to have regained his sanity.
In fact, Bercas had never looked down on Akane Boy. In the GX anime, when he mentioned the best duelists he knew, Akane Boy ranked just behind Katsuya Touji and Kaiba in terms of skill.
Although he might have made this comment casually while drinking, and it may not have been thoroughly thought out, it still demonstrated that Akane Boy held significant weight in his mind.
"Listen, we don't have much time," Bercas said, taking a deep breath and speaking earnestly.
"Akane Boy, that boy... he's been targeted."
"What boy? Do you mean Decade?"
Akane Boy quickly recalled that before the duel, the topic seemed to revolve around Decade. Bercas had mentioned the threat of the Cosmic Darkness, and Akane Boy easily associated it with Decade's recent defeat of the Tyrant in the Tyrant Castle.
Someone had targeted Yugo Takeuchi.
Could it be the same person who controlled Bercas?
"Who is it?"
"It's the Light of Annihilation. It hasn't been completely eradicated from Earth, and the situation is even more severe. More light is coming, I can feel it, I know."
Bercas's breathing became more rapid, and his voice grew strained.
"During the manipulation, I felt like I wasn't myself. It was as if another personality had taken over my mind. But I remained conscious, able to witness my actions as if I were being forced to do them."
"I remember completing it, it was a card with dangerous power. But I can't remember the specifics, I just..."
Bercas grimaced, clutching his head as if in excruciating pain.
"Go tell the current Duel King, tell Yugo Fujiki."
Before he could finish his sentence, he lost consciousness and collapsed.
"Bercas? Bercas!"
Machida Kenji tried to support him, but Bercas' head slumped to the side, and he remained unresponsive despite Kenji's efforts to rouse him.
"The Light of the Cosmos? They're targeting Yugo?"
"And the Battlin' Box cards created by Bercas."
Kenji scratched his head in confusion.
"What's going on here?"
"Melo?"
Yugo You Xuan, after a long absence, visited Kaiba Corporation again. While browsing through a new batch of cards in the warehouse, he casually chatted with Keihei, who was behind him.
Keihei had just informed You Xuan about the Card Professor from Fantasy International being ambushed. The Card Professor, who was once acquainted with You Xuan, led an arrest operation to track down illegally leaked cards, but the team was almost entirely wiped out during the ambush. Kaku Dickson, the Mecha Guy, is still in the hospital, delirious.
"Fantasy International was the first to notice the existence of the Light of Annihilation and began formulating countermeasures," Keihei said, "Perhaps this is the Light of Annihilation officially declaring war on Fantasy International."
"I guess the Tenma brothers are probably pulling their hair out now?" You Xuan said casually as he rummaged through the cards.
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"Something like that. They're desperate to turn the world upside down to find Melo."
"So, who exactly is this Melo?" You Xuan asked curiously.
"Just an ordinary third-rate Duelist. His background story is pretty average, and it's not of any reference value." Keihei helplessly spread his hands, "The Light of Annihilation has possessed him, and who he was before is no longer important.
It's like this person lived a completely unremarkable life, but suddenly, he had a profound enlightenment and gained unfathomable power, even top Duelists couldn't match him."
Keihei's voice trailed off as he spoke, and he slightly furrowed his brows as if pondering something.
Why does this life story sound so familiar? As he thought, his gaze unconsciously shifted to You Xuan in front of him.
Suddenly, the atmosphere became a little strange.
You Xuan glanced at him sideways.
"What are you looking at me for?" He raised his hand, "I swear to the heavens, I have not been possessed by the Light of Annihilation.
If I've spoken a single lie, may lightning..."
He paused to think.
"...strike Melo down."
Keihei contemplated.
"Hmm, that's quite convincing."
"Really?" You Xuan raised his eyebrows.
Keihei stared at him expressionlessly.
"No, I just think that since they call it the Light of Annihilation, the possessed person shouldn't be as gloomy as you."
"..." You Xuan fell silent.
A brief silence ensued.
You Xuan coughed twice and stood up. "Well, I've gathered a deck for today."
"Let me see what you've picked."
Keihei curiously leaned forward, always curious about You Xuan's deck.
You Xuan didn't hide anything and handed the deck to him.
Keihei took a look.
".Volcano?"
(End of Chapter)
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