A victory and defeat are decided, a soul is harvested. These are the rules of the Orichalcos Barrier, an absolute law that even the organization's higher-ups cannot change.
At least from this perspective, New Doma still seems to be a relatively upright villain, compared to some future villains who act shamelessly whether they win or lose.
In the final moment, Luca kneels on the ground, his consciousness gradually blurring and his eyes gradually hollow, still seemingly finding it difficult to accept this reality.
Losing the duel was one thing—his confidence in being invincible in the world, his ambitions were shattered by this student in front of him during this duel.
On the other hand, it was a bit unbearable for him to accept losing to such an opponent in this manner.
If given a choice now, he would undoubtedly choose to face off against Kaiba's White Dragon head-on...
No, how can someone make even the Chaos Warrior become withdrawn?
He even couldn't help but doubt, would the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, known in the Dueling Realm as the embodiment of power and a representative of the mortal forces, fall into darkness in the hands of this person...
Intuition told Luca that such things might happen in the future. But unfortunately, he would no longer have the chance to witness it.
The Chaos Warrior, already in a virtual state, floated beside him, looking at Yugen with a complex expression.
Honestly, discovering a new pose should have been something to be happy about, even the Great Opening himself did not expect his skills to be used this way.
But he suddenly had a strange premonition.
Staying with this master for too long, would the renowned Great Opening in the Dueling Realm and the Elf Realm be seen as a symbol of introversion...
Until his soul was extracted, Luca's eyes still stared straight at Yugen, filled with bloodshot veins.
For some reason, seeing such an expression in the eyes of a dying person, Yugen inexplicably read a sense of "I won't let you go even in death."
But it didn't matter.
After all, this is the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, so even if he becomes a ghost, what's the point? To seek revenge, he would still need to duel.
When you were alive, you couldn't win against me, so what makes you think your card skills would suddenly improve after death?
"Don't get ahead of yourself... too soon."
Luca said in a deep voice.
"The last Swordsman, and that lord... are all ready. The finals of Duel City will become a hellish arena, you... have no... chance..."
Struggling to finish his last words, the green light finally disappeared, and his soul was finally extracted, collapsing to the ground, motionless.
"He's gone."
Yugen stepped forward, bent down, and pulled out his card deck.
Alien Insect Deck GET.
He put away the deck, took one last look at Luca who was now lying limp on the ground.
"Feels like I've gotten stronger again..." he looked down at his own hand.
Especially compared to when he first encountered Doma Swordsman Sher, this time he clearly felt more composed. The first semester at Duel Academy wasn't wasted.
It's just that he's not sure exactly how much he's improved.
But that's just fine. In these past two days, the matches in Duel City should also resume, and the list of the quarterfinals should soon be determined.
The quarterfinalists in Duel City should still hold some value, theoretically those who can make it to this final stage shouldn't be easy opponents.
Especially since this person just mentioned that the remaining Doma Swordsman, and that one who calls himself the "Judge", Cheating Snake, seem to be participating as well. Not to mention Kaiba himself.
If that's the case, through this tournament, he should be able to gauge his own limits somewhat, right?
Yugen raised his arm and glanced at the card deck on his Duel Disc.
"How strong am I now...?"
Since when has his mindset changed from the cautiousness he felt when he first crossed over? Back then, he had to be highly vigilant for every duel and thoroughly prepared for every opponent.
Now, although he still learns about his opponents and prepares ahead, it's more out of habit and to increase his chances of winning, with less of the previous mentality of worrying he might lose if he wasn't fully prepared.
Because honestly, even he himself was finding it harder to understand his own abilities now.
A duelist can only feel the strength of their "momentum" when confronting powerful opponents. But after facing so many opponents, the attempt to probe his limits has always led to one result—complete uncertainty.
So when someone marveled and asked what his full power looked like and where his limits were, he could only helplessly answer—
—I would like to know, too.
Alas, his opponents have never been very formidable, most couldn't even exert much force before they succumbed...
"Duel City GX, huh."
He left the power plant, mounted a motorcycle that was already set up at the evacuation point, and muttered.
Hoping this time will be different.
He returned to the station before dawn.
This time, he didn't go back inside, just met Peacock Dance at the entrance and handed her a card.
Peacock Dance flipped over the card, almost dropping it in shock.
It was an Orichalcos Soul Sealing Card, the illustration displayed Iwao bound by chains, seemingly clinging to the edge of a cage.
Peacock Dance was startled: "You took him down!?"
"Uh, do I look like a minion of Orichalcos?" Yugen said helplessly.
Peacock Dance frowned, scrutinizing him.
That sunny disposition, combined with the unorthodox playing style she had witnessed from him, oddly reminded her of the sunny big boy Malik, who once cast a psychological shadow over her.
Having not considered it before, now that he mentioned it...
...he does bear some resemblance.
"..."
"...It's like this, Iwao was taken by Orichalcos..."
Peacock Dance sighed helplessly.
"It's a pity. Although I haven't known him for long, he did seem like a good person..." she said, glancing again at the sealed card in her hand, "However, it's not necessarily hopeless."
"Maybe." Yugen replied.
He naturally understood what Peacock Dance meant. She should be quite familiar with Orichalcos's methods, having once been a participant herself.
For the sake of power, Peacock Dance had once darkened and joined Doma. Her soul was once extracted and sealed in a similar state.
But eventually, when the God of Orichalcos was defeated by the Three Phantom Gods, she and other sealed souls were released and restored.
The souls sealed by the Orichalcos Barrier don't just vanish immediately, but are comparable to being put into the Snake God's granary. Unlucky ones might be chosen by the Snake God as dinner, but if lucky, they might survive long enough in the granary until the Snake God perishes and they naturally see the light of day again.
"But the plan succeeded."
Peacock Dance said.
"The power station has resumed operation, the control system is restored, and the train will depart in ten minutes. Care to join us?"
"I'll pass, you guys go." Yugen shook his head with a smile.
"I've found out everything I wanted to know here, so I'll take my leave first."
"Makes sense, you seem like a duelist with extraordinary power, such circumstances probably can't hold you back..."
"What about Sister Mai? What do you plan to do after you leave?"
"I'll keep looking for that unlucky guy who's gone silent." Peacock Dance shrugged.
"Joey, right."
Yugen now knew that the culprit behind these anomalies was Little Lobster. If Joey disappeared from here, he wondered if his current unknown whereabouts had anything to do with Little Lobster.
"Well then, if there's any progress, or if there's any place you need help, feel free to reach out to me," Yugen said, "He still has many friends who care about his situation."
"Many friends, huh... that's so typical of that guy."
Peacock Dance closed her eyes and chuckled softly.
"Understood."