Chapter 197: Tough! Invincible! The Strongest!!!

"You actually say… this is fear of failure, I, the king of this city!" Jack snarled through gritted teeth.

"Hmph, are you really a duelist so mediocre you can't even admit it?"

Jack clenched his teeth but said nothing.

Jack understood.

Since leaving the Satellite Zone, since becoming a member of the Public Security Bureau, since beginning to compete in professional duels—he had felt it.

He had made not a single inch of growth or progress!

The man he was now was still the same man he had always been, utterly unchanged from the moment he parted from Yusei!

Even though he now held many new Synchro monsters, cards like the Wolf King—none of it had changed a thing!

No—perhaps he had even grown weaker!

Perhaps, at some moment, he truly had felt fear—fear of failure, fear of meeting old friends, even…

Yet the desire to climb higher forced him to keep going.

So, after defeating another boring opponent, he defied the entire plan of the Public Security Bureau and declared he would duel Kaiba Rui—because his heart told him to!

"Activate the effect of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, target one monster on your field, destroy it! Shatter, annoying dragon." He pointed at Stardust Dragon.

"Stardust Dragon's monster effect: when a spell, trap, or monster effect is activated to destroy cards on the field, banish this card to negate and destroy that effect!"

"Sacrifice Sanctuary!"

Though his mind was a chaotic mess, Jack still activated the effect.

"Even though I don't know what's going on, our king has brilliantly defeated the new White Dragon!" MC's mind was equally scrambled, but his professional instinct drove him to shout new commentary.

"Quick-Play Spell—Ultimate Fusion!"

Just as he celebrated, Kaiba Rui activated another brand-new spell card.

"This card is the exclusive Fusion Spell of the Blue-Eyes!" Kaiba Rui shouted, "Return Blue-Eyes White Dragons from your hand, field, or graveyard to the deck to Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster using one 【Blue-Eyes White Dragon】 or 【Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon】 as material from the Extra Deck!"

"Fusion!"

"Ah!"

Yes—

Until now,

Kaiba Rui hadn't Fusioned yet!

"I return the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my graveyard, and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand to the deck!"

"Descend, my strongest servant—Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!!"

"Ah!"

"Wah!!!"

"Oh my god—"

The pure white dragon slowly lifted its massive head, all three heads locking their gaze squarely on Jack.

The ultimate form of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!

Level 12, Light Attribute, Dragon-Type, ATK 4500!

"This is truly… a recreation of legend!" Even MC, such a professional, couldn't help murmuring as he watched the card appear.

"How's that? This is the strongest, ultimate dragon in history!" Kaiba crossed his arms, his hair whipping in the wind, "Fight! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, crush that fake dragon!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon inhaled sharply, then unleashed three streams of dragon breath that swept across Red-Eyes Black Dragon, erasing it from the field in an instant.

Jack LP: 3400 → 1900

"End phase."

At this moment, Jack's speed had slowed; the two were nearly neck-and-neck, and the entire racecourse had barely covered half its distance.

Kaiba glanced at Jack and snorted.

"... My turn!"

Jack Atlas heard Kaiba's words, and his heart burned fiercely within him.

What did that even mean?

I can't use cards like that?

Impossible! A duelist accepts any card if it leads to victory—even he himself had used Countertrap Gate!

Hum—

As he sped past, he caught sight of the spectator display screens beside him, seeing Yusei, Yugi, Tenjo Hikari, and others.

Students who only use Fusion… and Yusei…

Boom, boom.

He felt his heart pounding.

Can't use cards like that!

Not just the Star Road—most importantly… Stardust Dragon!

He looked at his graveyard, where Stardust Dragon couldn't be revived due to revival restrictions, and suddenly understood.

So that's it!

His heart pounded violently; his body felt as if it were burning.

"Duelling you was absolutely right!"

"But I feel… the Blue-Eyes are disappointed."

"Hmph, I'll show you right now the duel of the king of this city!" He finally understood.

Of course!

Only duelling a true powerhouse could reignite his cold, dead heart!

"My turn, draw! I change Wolf King to defense position, then set two cards, end turn!"

"Oh? Changing Wolf King to defense position—you're hoping I'll destroy it and lower its ATK?"

"Just try it and see!"

"Hmph… My turn! Battle—"

"At this moment, I activate my face-down card—Call of the Living Dead!" He reused a trap card he had already used, "I special summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my graveyard!"

"Rise again, my soul!"

"Aaaoo!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon flapped its fiery wings and rose once more from the graveyard.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Level 8, Dark Attribute, Dragon-Type, ATK 3000!

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon revived on its own!!!" MC, watching in horror, screamed, "Why, Jack! Now Red-Eyes Black Dragon is directly in front of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon—"

"Shut up! I have my own duel!" Jack roared.

"Hmph… Interesting. Then—battle! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, crush my enemy!"

"Attack Red-Eyes Black Dragon—Ultimate Storm!"

All three heads of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon locked onto Red-Eyes Black Dragon as a wave of destruction slowly coalesced, threatening to obliterate everything—when Jack flipped his face-down card: "Trap Card, Pride's Roar!"

"When battle damage is calculated, if your monster's ATK is lower than your opponent's, pay that difference in LP to activate. During damage calculation only, your monster's ATK increases by 300 points equal to the difference in ATK!"

"I pay… 1500 LP!!"

"What?! Jack, Jack is sacrificing his own LP for Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" MC cried out, "What determination!"

"I will fight alongside Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Jack's body seemed ignited by real crimson flames.

Jack LP: 1900 → 400.

"Push back, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!!!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon, ATK: 3000 → 4800.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon roared, straining with all its might to resist the Ultimate Dragon's power—and under Jack's desperate cry, it actually pushed the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon back, shattering its terrifying beam!

Kaiba Rui LP: 1600 → 1300.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon, ATK: 4800 → 3000.

"How's that, Kaiba! My Red-Eyes Black Dragon is no weaker than your Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"Hmph… Now that's more like it." Kaiba Rui remained calm, as if he hadn't taken a single point of damage.

This made Jack's heart sink.

"Wow! He shattered the Ultimate Dragon!"

"No wonder he's Jack! Our king!"

Citizens of the city cheered wildly at the sight; even Yugi and Rin momentarily forgot their earlier doubts and shouted in support of their idol.

Because it looked like Jack had won!

And at this moment—

Kaiba Rui, with his superior speed and higher count, surged ahead and shouted, "Fascinating! My heart is finally boiling!"

"Ha! I'm thrilled too!" Jack replied, "I haven't felt this way in so long!"

"Jack Atlas."

"!?"

Kaiba clenched his right fist: "For you, you've only just reached the threshold of a brand-new dimension of dueling. In this world, in the universe, in other dimensions—endless unknown duels await!"

"You've seen it—the path of dueling has no end!

Synchro, Xyz, Fusion, Synchro, Ritual…

Are you really going to stop here?!

"Impossible!" Jack sneered in rebuttal.

"Yes—"

Kaiba Ryo gave a slight nod, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding screens—the viewers' screens—lingering on Marufuji Ryo, his own disciple, on the Dimensional Duelist, on Tenjo Kou…

"Exactly!!

Believe in your own duel, believe in your monsters, believe in your soul, believe in your convictions and your deck, and march forward on that unshakable path!

Compared to duelists who have long since decided their future and march resolutely in one direction, you've fallen far too far behind!

This will become the future of all duelists!"

In his heart, he had already conceived of an unparalleled, ultimate duel spectacle spanning countless dimensions!

Only the strongest, most "ultimate" duelist who has transcended everything is worthy to participate!

Among the students, he had already discovered a "talent"!

And he himself had long since surpassed his former self!

"You…" Jack listened to his words and finally realized that this man, Kaiba Ryo's "heart," was no longer confined to a mere single world!

"I admire your courage for challenging me despite the Blue-Eyes White Dragon… but the games are over!"

"What?!"

"Activate—Quick-Play Magic, Crimson-Eyed Onslaught! Exclude all cards on your field, graveyard, and hand—including this card—face-down!"

"What kind of card is this? How can it demand so much?!" MC's voice was hoarse, "After activation, won't you just be immediately entering the End Phase?!"

But put another way—this was, in the activator's view, the "final step."

"Special Summon up to three Blue-Eyes White Dragons from your deck!"

"What?!" Jack's eyes widened in shock.

"Appear, my loyal servants!"

Hum—

Creak—

Roar—

Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons emerged in a blaze of light, revealing their pristine white wings.

"Three… Blue-Eyes White Dragons?!"

"Hmph… It's over. My most loyal servants, fight! Crush my enemies to dust!"

The three Blue-Eyes White Dragons began gathering energy, attacking different "enemies."

In that instant, countless cameras in the city suddenly "malfunctioned," switching to other feeds.

Only one maniacal voice echoed across the base area!

"Resilient! Invincible! The Strongest!"

"Shatter! Shatter into pieces! A grand ovation!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

Chapter Three, bonus chapter, please vote~~

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(End of Chapter)