GYG [96]

The Crimson Lightning struck with blinding speed, slamming into the mountain-sized body of [Five-Headed Dragon]!

The Heat Hawk it wielded carried both the pride of an ACE and the will to free its fallen comrades, cleaving forward without pause!

Yet the gap between absolute powers was merciless.

BOOM—CRACK!!!

A detonation greater than any before shattered the space itself!

The crimson armor of [Johnny Ridden the Crimson Lightning], upon colliding with the destruction-laden scales of [Five-Headed Dragon], shattered instantly—like fragile glass crashing into stone!

Its armor twisted, split apart, and exploded!

The machine was consumed within the intersecting breaths of the dragon’s five heads, bursting into countless shards of molten metal and streaks of dissipating energy!

The crimson light—its final blaze—faded beautifully before the overwhelming dragon.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

All five of [Five-Headed Dragon]’s heads laughed in unison, their cacophony filled with mocking glee and destructive triumph.

“Foolish! Pathetic! So this is what you call ‘winning,’ Yuto Tenshou?! Before absolute power, your struggle—and your scrap metal—are equally meaningless! HAHAHAHA!”

The booming laughter hammered at everyone’s hearts. Despair threatened to consume Joey, Yugi, and the others.

Yet within the storm of fragments, Yuto… began to laugh too.

At first it was low, but it rose—clear, resounding, cutting through the dragon’s roar with commanding confidence.

“Hahahaha! That’s right! This is exactly what I meant by ‘we’ll win’!”

Yuto raised his head, eyes gleaming like blades as he faced the arrogant five-headed beast.

“Because I’ve already seen through the true nature of this ‘game’! If you administrators have turned yourselves into monsters, then in this space governed by your own rules—”

A cold, absolute smile touched his lips.

“...You don’t have Life Points, do you?!”

Before the words finished leaving his mouth, his hand blurred across his Deck!

Two cards flashed between his fingers.

“I Summon—[RX-78-2 Gundam]!!”

VMMM—!!

A white, blue, and red Mobile Suit materialized in the pure void, raising its Beam Rifle toward the apocalyptic dragon!

“And I’m not done yet!”

Yuto’s voice thundered.

“I activate the Trap Card—[Last Counter]!!”

BANG! BANG!

In that instant, two sniper beams—appearing from nowhere—lanced through the air like judgment itself, striking [Gundam] dead-on!

BOOM! BOOM!

The blasts engulfed the Gundam in flames!

Its head sensors shattered and went dark; its left arm and shield were torn off at the shoulder, sparks showering from the wound as smoke poured out!

The once-mighty Gundam now stood broken and battered, flickering like a dying flame.

“Ah—!”

Mokuba cried out, eyes wide in shock.

Still, Yuto’s gaze only grew sharper.

Ignoring the Gundam’s condition, his voice rang out solemnly over the cracking void.

“The effect of [Last Counter]—can only be activated when the only card remaining on my field is [RX-78-2 Gundam], and both players’ Life Points are below 1000...!”

He pointed toward the battered yet unyielding Gundam.

“And now those conditions are met! No combat! No damage! This duel between virtual and real—the scale of fate itself—tips to me! I declare victory!!”

As if answering his last declaration, the shattered, half-ruined [Gundam] raised its remaining arm, trembling, lifting the Beam Rifle one last time!

VMMM—WHIRR!!!

A radiant white light—pure and absolute—burst forth from the Gundam’s frame!

Where the light passed, the virtual world itself screamed and fractured like glass, splitting into a million cracks!

“No—! Impossible!!!”

[Five-Headed Dragon]’s roar mixed terror, rage, and despair as its titanic form, bathed in the white brilliance, began to crumble—melting away like ice beneath the sun!

Each of its five monstrous heads twisted, dissolved, and vanished, leaving not even dust behind!

RUMBLE—!!!!

The entire digital realm collapsed in on itself!

The data, light, and code that composed this world disintegrated under the overwhelming force of victory’s final rule—reduced to nothingness.

The blinding light devoured everything.

When it faded, Joey, Yugi, Kaiba, Mokuba, Mai, and Yuto jolted as if rising from deep water.

The burning battlefield was gone—the void, gone. In its place was the cold touch of reality: the metallic surface of VR equipment, the soft hum of machines, and the sterile scent of electronics and coolant.

They had been forcibly ejected from that deadly game world—their consciousnesses returned to their real bodies.

Silence filled KaibaCorp’s elite VR test lab. Only the rhythmic blinking of instrument lights illuminated the six faces—shocked, exhausted, yet carrying the undeniable gleam of victory.