Yusei: "My turn—draw!"
With a dramatic flourish, Yusei drew a card and instantly slapped it onto the field.
"I activate the Spell Card, 'Card of Burial Magic'! I banish three Spell Cards from the Graveyard, then draw three cards from my Deck!"
Jack shouted, "Yusei, use my cards, too!"
Yusei nodded firmly. "From the graveyard, I'll banish three of Jack's Spell Cards and draw three!"
By now, Jack's deck was almost entirely in his graveyard; Spells for cost were abundant. Yusei picked three at random, each glowing golden before fading away.
"Mr. Kira," Yusei addressed him seriously, "This is the first time we've truly met, isn't it?"
"Probably," Kira replied flatly.
He'd been with Yusei and the others for a long time, but this was indeed the first "real" meeting—the first time they'd seen his true face.
"I still know next to nothing about you… but I know you've been helping us. You've guided us, working so hard to lead us onto the right path."
Yusei declared firmly.
"For my friends, and for your intentions, I'll go all out!"
As he spoke, radiance gathered and Yusei's Crimson Dragon Mark on his arm shone red. All the Signers' marks glowed, just as with Jack earlier.
But then, the development veered from before.
The little vessel floating beside Kira—the one with the arm—suddenly lost its glowing Dragon Mark.
"I knew it," Kira smiled.
Everything was on track—just as in the original anime's climax, the Dragon Mark changed hands: Yusei was to receive the Dragon Head mark, while Crow, previously not a Signer, would get the Dragon Tail.
It was the classic Signer power-up moment, a mark of their last evolution.
Great. So this time the "villain" job was basically done. Even if the disguise had dropped, it hardly mattered now. The outcome of the duel wasn't even important anymore.
Huh?
The next moment, Kira blinked in mild confusion—he looked down. There, the Dragon Head Mark had appeared on his arm!
"Huh?!"
Wait—this wasn't part of the script!
Why did I get the Dragon Head...?
Wasn't that supposed to go to Yusei?
Meanwhile, Yusei, whose own Dragon Head Mark had seemingly been stolen, actually looked elated: "See, Kira, even the Crimson Dragon acknowledges you—you're one of us now!"
Akiza's face lit up, her hand pressing the glowing dragon mark on her own arm.
This mark linked them all—wherever they were, their bond was unbreakable; proof that they were closest companions.
So this man named Kira, after all...
Kira could only smile wryly.
Seriously… is the Crimson Dragon trying to rope me into working for it, too?
Very possible...
At that moment, the top card of Yusei's deck glowed with a golden light!
"Thanks to 'Card of Burial Magic,' I draw two more!"
Yusei gave an energetic draw.
Kira raised an eyebrow, "Glowing again, huh…"
What, is it gonna brand me again?
"I summon 'Majestic Dragon'!"
[Majestic Dragon, ATK 0]
It really did brand me again…
Kira felt like complaining. "Crimson Dragon, have you no shame? Branding twice in one duel..."
"And when you have a Tuner monster on your field, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. I Special Summon 'Boost Warrior'!"
[Boost Warrior, ATK 300]
"Level 1 Tuner: 'Majestic Dragon'!
Level 1: 'Boost Warrior'!
Level 8: 'Stardust Dragon'!
Tuning!"
[1 + 1 + 8 = 10]
"The gathered starlight will illuminate a new miracle! Become the radiant path! Synchro Summon—descend from the light: MAJESTIC STAR DRAGON!!!"
Crimson light swelled, Majestic Dragon ballooned in size, enveloping Stardust Dragon. Their forms melded together as if fusing within the light.
The sky split open—not just clouds, but as if starlight ripped through the very dimension. Under a shroud of rings, plasma blue and white, a dragon's new body took form, soaring with a trail like the Milky Way.
[Majestic Star Dragon, ATK 3800]
"So this time, the Crimson Dragon's avatar lends its power to Yusei. But Majestic Star Dragon only has 3800 ATK—still isn't enough to beat Raviel, Lord of Phantasms.
"And, since you summoned 'Majestic Dragon,' 'Boost Warrior,' and 'Majestic Star Dragon,' my Raviel's effect activates: when your opponent summons three monsters in one turn, I get to Special Summon three 'Phantasm Tokens'!"
[Phantasm Token, DEF 1000]
Crow grinned, "That's not necessarily true. Our bonds go further than that!"
"Exactly!" Yusei agreed. "I activate the Spell 'Soul Release'—I'll banish up to five cards from both graveyards.
"I banish 'Phantasmal Summoning Beast,' 'Phantom Chaos,' 'Raviel, Lord of Phantasms - Shimmering Scraper' from your graveyard, Kira, and 'Blackwing - Armor Master' and 'Red Dragon Archfiend' from Crow's and Jack's respectively!"
The image of Soul Release flashed, and two Synchro Monsters faded into ghostly afterimages and vanished from this dimension.
Kira: "So, banishing my monsters means you maximize the disruption to my ability to revive the Phantasm Lords, and seal away 'Raviel, Lord of Phantasms - Shimmering Scraper's' recycling effect, huh?"
That much was reasonable. All three posed a major threat if left in the graveyard.
"But you'd even banish your teammates' ace monsters?" Kira said.
Obviously, there was a plan.
Three of Kira's monsters were sucked into the dimensional vortex, and Crow's and Jack's aces also vanished beyond the rift.
Crow grinned, "Thanks, Yusei! Now we can use our combo!
I activate my Set card: Trap Card 'Dimension Voyage!'
I Special Summon as many banished Synchro Monsters as possible to my field!"
…