"Either way, it comes down to dueling, right?"
Gazing at Noah Kaiba's earnest expression and the tense faces around him, Youming scratched the back of his head. Honestly, he felt as if he'd grasped a basic formula from anime logic. In this world, duels were the ultimate solution—any conflict could be resolved with cards.
It made him wonder: what was the actual payoff?
Youming remembered in his past life, anime analysts often pointed out a key element in dueling—combat. These aren't just card games—they're structured violence governed by rules. The loser must submit. If that's all there is to it, then Noah's earlier declaration boiled down to one thing:
"We'll just beat them all!"
But would Noah actually go about beating everyone up? No. The Dark Game itself eroded stamina and spirit. And besides, Noah Kaiba was no Yami Kaiba obsessed with constant dueling.
There was a smarter tool: rules.
"Rules?" Youming asked, looking at Noah's calm eyes.
"If we're dueling," Noah replied, smiling, "we need stakes and rules. Simple ones."
"How simple?"
"For the next hour, the loser can't lie to the winner."
As soon as he finished, the atmosphere grew heavier. Noah didn't flinch. He loaded his deck into the Duel Disk and stood:
"Time's tight. Lots to do after this. During these matches, losers reveal their cards and concede by flipping. Understood?"
"I don't mind."
Youming relaxed. It was just a test. That black mist—standard for the Dark Game? Just ignore it if your conscience is clean.
And his conscience was clean… but something interesting nagged at the back of his mind. Shifting in his seat, he looked toward the table.
"Mr. Oshita, Mr. Ōoka, Mr. Ōta, Mr. Daimon, and… Mr. Ōtaki."
The Five Pillars of KaibaCorp, all at the table.
"Why don't you set an example first?"
The moment Noah called them out, their faces darkened—no room to back down now.
"Lord Noah," began Ooka Chikuzen, the company's former lawyer, "May I ask—when did you start doubting us?"
"From the moment we arrived, this brat never trusted us."
Into the silence, Kōnosuke Oshita—the marine warfare specialist—snorted:
"We've sacrificed our youth for KaibaCorp, yet we can't even earn basic trust. He'd rather give power to kids than to us… I wonder if he even trusts his own father."
Noah Kaiba replied serenely:
"Trust is earned. Your actions have shown it unworthy. Giving seapower to arms dealers would've caused far more trouble."
"With that said, you have no choice now," stated Daimon Sōgorō—the towering cyborg—his voice cold and mechanical.
"You should have stayed quiet, Noah." Electricity arced, linking the five of them with pitch-black energy:
"Feel the might of the Necro King!"
BOOM.
A blast of power exploded outward. Youming flinched, but only felt a breeze slipping through his fingers. Then the chaos cleared—and five chairs had gone empty. The Five Pillars had vanished.
Did that mean they fled after their assault? But before he could wonder:
A booming dragon roar shook the room. Reinforced glass cracked, then—
SHATTER.
Sounds, walls, even the room itself seemed to vanish. Youming found himself utterly alone.
A single candle flickered. Along both sides, twin pillars of faint light formed an ethereal path. At the end—a slab.
"A stone tablet?" Youming frowned. As he stared, dragon roars echoed in his mind—but he had no time to dwell. A piercing pain forced his focus back—something was off.
"What is that…?" He whispered. From the darkness, something stirred.
"Come out, no more hiding!"
CLANG… CLANG… CLANG…
Metallic taps reverberated. Corrupted smoke formed the shape of someone Youming knew—massive, flesh and metal fused.
"Jinzo."
He clapped calmly, walking down the narrow path to stand before Youming.
"Impressive, you sensed my presence."
And this wasn't a mere card spirit—it was the actual flesh-and-blood incarnation: Daimon Kōgorō.