GYG [95]

They continued forward along the only remaining passage, finally breaking into a vast chamber—an eerie, solemn hall.

On either side stood towering rows of massive stone statues—grim visages of ancient demonic guardians whose cold eyes seemed to pierce through time itself, fixed upon the intruders.

At the far end of the hall yawned a colossal black gate—wide open.

Beyond it lay endless darkness, so deep it seemed to devour even light, exuding a suffocating, abyssal aura.

The instant they stepped into the hall, their eyes drawn to that ominous gate, a cold, rasping voice echoed through the still air like a ghostly whisper—drifting eerily to each of their ears.

Seto Kaiba forced himself to stand. Though pale, the familiar pride and sharp defiance had reignited in his eyes.

Ignoring his pain, he strode to the front of the group and faced the consuming darkness at the end of the hall, letting out a scornful, challenging snort.

“Hmph! So, you panic this easily—seeing me break free from your pathetic ritual? You even resort to using your pitiful ‘administrator privileges’? How laughable!”

“Seto Kaiba—!!”

The voice in the darkness shrieked—rage and humiliation intertwining into a piercing scream!

RUMBLE—!!!

The entire shadowed hall shook violently!

The virtual matter forming its walls and floor fractured like shattered glass! The stone guardians crumbled into dust!

The world itself rippled like disturbed water, then dissolved away like a receding tide!

Within seconds, the cold stone beneath their feet was gone—the grand hall replaced by a void like outer space, or perhaps an infinite digital ocean: a vast, endless white virtual grid stretching to eternity.

“...He just rewrote the scene using GM privileges? Tch. Despicable.”

Yuto gritted his teeth, glaring down at the infinite gridlines beneath his boots.

As the group adjusted to the sudden shift, the void ahead began to distort and boil violently!

A pressure beyond anything they had faced before—an ancient dragon’s might so immense it felt physical—crashed over them like a tsunami!

Blinding light erupted at the distortion point as a gargantuan shadow forced its way into existence!

Five monstrous dragon heads—each with a unique, terrifying visage—emerged from the void, unleashing roars that shattered the silence of the digital world!

Then followed its colossal, armored body, wrapped in swirling energies of destruction from every element—the ultimate calamity that should have remained sealed for lack of a sacrifice: [Five-Headed Dragon]!

Its ten blazing eyes burned with wrath, locking onto the tiny figures before it!

“You bastard!!”

Joey’s eyes bulged with fury, his fists trembling.

“Without a sacrifice, [Five-Headed Dragon] shouldn’t even exist! That’s straight-up cheating!!”

He looked around frantically, mind racing to find even a sliver of hope against such overwhelming power.

Yet Yuto had already moved!

Ignoring the dragon’s suffocating aura, he swept his hand across his Deck and drew four cards with precision, slamming them onto his Duel Disk without pause.

“I Summon! [MS-05 Zaku I]! [MS-06 Zaku II]! [MS-07B Gouf]! [MS-06-SSP Police Zaku]!”

Beams of light burst forth in the white void!

Four Mobile Suits—each a relic of the Principality of Zeon’s history—stood proudly before Yuto like loyal soldiers awaiting orders!

“Heh... Yuto Tenshou.”

The voice behind [Five-Headed Dragon] dripped with mockery.

“Those obsolete heaps of scrap? Even combined, their power is nothing except dust before my invincible [Five-Headed Dragon]!”

“Scrap metal?”

Yuto’s lips curved into a cold smile, his eyes blazing with fierce resolve.

“Their worth is something a cowardly cheater like you could never comprehend! Their mission… begins now!”

He raised his final card high, voice booming like thunder across the digital void.

“It’s not over yet! I activate the effect of [ACE – Johnny Ridden the Crimson Lightning]! I Tribute my four ‘MS’ monsters to Special Summon it to the field!”

A scarlet high-mobility Zaku descended upon the white battlefield, radiating raw power!

“Since I Tributed four ‘MS’ monsters, [ACE – Johnny Ridden the Crimson Lightning]’s Attack and Defense each increase by 4000!”

The crimson Zaku’s thrusters blazed as its aura surged skyward, mono-eye locking squarely on the five-headed beast!

“Attack! [Johnny Ridden the Crimson Lightning], target [Five-Headed Dragon]!”

“Wait! Yuto!! [Five-Headed Dragon]’s Attack is 5000! 4000 versus 5000—that’s suicide! Stop!!”

In the blinding white void, the crimson Zaku’s engines roared to their limit, turning it into a streak of red lightning racing toward the embodiment of ultimate destruction!

As Joey shouted in despair, Yuto only turned slightly, that same confident smirk unwavering.

“This is exactly what I want, Joey. Don’t worry—”

“We’re going to win!”