"My name is… Haou."
That's right, Yumi is literally calling himself the Supreme King.
If people were going to keep mistaking him for the Supreme King, then why not lean into it for fun?
Besides, Jaden probably wouldn't mind his AIBO borrowing the title of his past life for a bit of dramatic flair.
The dark miasma leaked thicker from his body, curling upward like smoke from molten tar. The Duel Field dimmed as though reacting to it. The aura pressed outward, invisible yet heavy, washing over the battlefield with suffocating pressure.
Yuri and Serena both flinched instinctively. It wasn't fear of what they saw, but what they felt.
"Tch! Another freak, huh?" Yuri hissed through his teeth, masking that shiver crawling down his spine. "Fine! Let's see how long you can keep that act up!"
He thrust his arm forward, Duel Disk flaring. "Greedy Venom Fusion Dragon! Attack Sky Striker Ace - Raye!"
Greedy Venom let out an ear-splitting roar, its purple energy wings spread wide. It dove with impossible speed, the wind screaming as its claws lit up with noxious energy.
Raye stood her ground, unwavering. Even stripped of her strength, she didn't move, facing down the massive dragon with a glare that mirrored her Master's resolve.
Just before impact, Yumi's hand flicked upward.
"Quickplay spell! Dark Spell Regeneration!"
His last face-down flipped open.
Serena blinked, eyes narrowing. "Dark Spell Regeneration? I've never even heard of that one…"
Yumi continued, explaining the effect of his card. "When you declare an attack, I can target a Spell in either player's graveyard and activate it. Once the effect is resolved, that card would be sent to the other player's graveyard instead."
"Activate any spell in either graveyard..." Yuri murmurs, then his expression cracked as the realization hit.
"I then discard a card."
Yumi's eyes flashed a deep, burning crimson. From Yuri's Graveyard, a card ripped itself free, shooting into Yumi's hand.
"Let me show you…" His voice deepened, echoing with an unnatural resonance. "…the ultimate representation of the power that darkness of the heart bestows!"
He threw a Kuriboh into his own Graveyard.
Raising the glowing card high, he shouted with thunder in his voice: "Release the invincible, ultimate power! I activate Super Polymerization!"
The world erupted.
The same black storm that once fused Behemoth and Starving Venom returned, but this time, it was far more violent. The vortex pulsed with yellow lightning, each strike splitting the air with a sound like shattering glass.
One bolt crackled past Serena, nearly hitting her.
The storm's pull intensified. Yumi's crimson jacket whipped behind him, his hair thrashing in the chaotic wind.
Greedy Venom roared, a sound equal parts fury and terror, before its body was dragged helplessly toward the vortex. Raye turned to look at her master one last time. Her body glowed white, then joined the maelstrom.
"Fusion Summon!!"
Yumi's voice roared through the chaos as the vortex ignited in a blazing explosion of flame and steel.
A single figure emerged, huge and radiant. It landed with the impact of a meteor, scorching the Duel Field beneath its feet.
"Come forth! Sky Striker HERO - Firefly!"
The flames parted, revealing a new warrior.
Raye's form was no longer human, or a cute girl covered in a mecha exoskeleton. Her body now encased in shimmering white armor, traced with golden circuitry. Her mask hissed open, releasing a steady jet of orange flame.
Her chestplate burned with the heat of a reactor, fiery vents spilling gouts of molten light. She raised a metal-clad fist to her heart, and the flames erupted outward, spiraling into a blazing aura that filled the field.
Her voice came distorted through the armor, mechanical yet commanding, deeper, almost like a male voice.
"I… shall set the seas ablaze."
The temperature spiked instantly. Yuri staggered back, shielding his face from the blistering heat. Serena took a step back, sweat forming on her brow.
Yumi, however, stood perfectly still, eyes half-lidded as the fire licked harmlessly around him like a loyal spirit.
[Sky Striker HERO - Firefly, 4000 ATK]
"Firefly can only be Fusion Summoned using Sky Striker Ace - Raye and another Level 8 or higher monster," Yumi said calmly as the flames continued to spread around him, licking the edges of his crimson coat.
"When Firefly is summoned, the duel skips straight to the Battle Phase. All monsters on the field are forced into Attack Position, and both players must declare attacks if able, regardless of whose turn it is. The player whose Battle Phase belongs to get to attack first. And the Battle Phase ends only when neither side can't attack anymore."
Yuri's jaw nearly dropped. His usual smirk vanished completely.
"What the hell!? How can something that broken even exist!?" he choked out, his face going pale as he looked down at his hand.
He looked down at his hands, seeing that the remaining two cards could buy him another turn or two, but the main issue here is that there is no next turn.
Yumi's golden eyes glinted through the rising heat. "Since you can't attack… it's my turn."
He raised his arm sharply. "Firefly, direct attack! Complete Combustion!"
The field erupted.
Flames flared from Firefly's armor, sweeping out behind her to form massive incandescent wings, thousands of glowing embers gathering like living fireflies.
She launched skyward, the orange flare reflecting off Yumi's calm face. Her fist burned white-hot as she dove, punching straight toward Yuri in a blazing arc.
The impact was cataclysmic. A towering column of fire engulfed the field, the heatwave exploding outward. Serena threw her arms up to shield herself as the shockwave hurled both her and Yuri backward.
[Yuri, LP 4000 -> 0]
Yuri's scream was swallowed by the flames before his body was thrown back, knocking him out completely. Serena also got caught in the crossfire, and the force blew her away, also knocking her out.
The lush green field of the Duel Arena burned to ash, leaving nothing but the silhouette of Yumi and Firefly standing amidst a sea of fire.
Firefly stood tall beside Yumi, while he looked down at the card. Super Polymerization, the one he took from Yuri, thanks to Dark Spell Regeneration.
This is like how in the GX anime, Yubel was able to take Jaden's Super Polymerization, thanks to the effect of Last Trick, placing the card into her hand instead of letting the spell stay in his graveyard.
When she ended the duel, she didn't give it back but used it as her own.
The same thing happened here; his Dark Spell Regeneration allowed the used spell to be placed in the other player's graveyard instead of their owner.
Yumi has made this in case the real Supreme King ever shows up to flex his Super Polymerization, saying that he was the real one.
Then Yumi would simply use this to take it, flex his Super Polymerization, and say he was actually the real one.
He slid the card into his deck box. "Let's go. We've stayed here long enough."
Contrast HERO Chaos appeared beside Yumi and directly tore open a rift in space and time.
Without looking back, Yumi stepped into the portal.
Back in Yumi's world.
The seal of the Three Sacred Beasts had been broken.
Standing before the glowing altar was a tall, muscular man with long, black hair, wearing nothing but a pair of tattered underwear, as if he'd just been reborn from the grave.
The man chuckled darkly, his voice booming through the tense atmosphere. "Tell me, Chancellor Sheppard... have you forgotten my voice already?"
Sheppard's eyes widened as the impossible truth sank in. "... Chairman Kagemaru!?"
The old Chairman smiled coldly, his once-frail body now bursting with youthful strength.
There, he explained that he will conduct the final ritual to fully revive the Three Sacred Beasts, as he took the three cards. Seeing the shock and confusion on everyone's faces, Kagemaru didn't start dueling right away and began explaining his evil plan.
Saying that he was already two steps ahead of all of them, planning this since the very beginning, and they were nothing more than just pawns to him.
This enraged the group, and one by one, Zane, Momoyo, Chazz, Celina, and even Atticus wanted to challenge him, but Kagemaru refused all of them.
"No. None of you will suffice. My opponent… will be you, Jaden Yuki."
"Me?" Jaden blinked, pointing at himself.
"Indeed," Kagemaru said, grinning like a mad prophet. "The duel would serve no purpose if it's not with you, the one with the strongest power over spirits."
Confused glances shot between the others.
Among everyone, Yumi is undoubtedly the strongest when it comes to controlling spirits, yet he hasn't shown up despite everything that has happened.
Jaden hesitated, still processing Kagemaru's words, when the old man's smile turned cruel.
"You were close to Yumi Uzushi, weren't you?" he said. "Then allow me to enlighten you... I killed him."
Everyone froze.
"What…?" Sheppard breathed.
Kagemaru continued, savoring every word. "He returned to Lyman's research lab, the fool. As Lyman's only successor, he must have hoped to preserve his teacher's research. But I had already prepared the lab with explosives. While he was inside, boom!"
He spread his arms mockingly, laughing. "Not a trace left, just ashes scattered across the island!"
"So the explosion… it was you!" Sheppard roared, his face pale with shock.
"You're lying!" Momoyo shouted, trembling with fury. "There's no way my brother's dead!"
She lunged forward, only to be held back by Zane and Iris. "Momo, stop!" Iris cried. "You can't fight him head-on, he's got those demons!"
Kagemaru now has the Three Sacred Beasts under his control; he isn't some simple dude she can just beat up anymore. Those three Sacred Beasts feasted on Spirit Energy to grow stronger; without proper control over her own Spirit Energy, charging into a fight with them physically would be no different from suicide.
Kagemaru laughed louder. "Oh, how touching. Such grief, such rage, yes, perfect fuel for my ritual!"
Momoyo's hands clenched so tightly on Zane's arm that bone cracked beneath her fingers. Zane winced but didn't pull away.
Celina's teeth ground together. "Like hell that sadistic freak would die to something like that!" Both Chazz and Bastion have to hold her back from charging toward him and throwing hands.
Jaden's voice broke through the chaos, furious and raw. "You're lying! AIBO's too strong for that! He'd never lose to a trick like yours!"
Kagemaru's smile sharpened. "If he survived, then where is he? Why hasn't he come to stop me? Face it, I checked and couldn't even find his corpse. I bet the people on the island also didn't find anything correct?"
That was the last push. "BASTARD!!" Jaden shouted, golden light flooding his irises, his Spirit Energy surging with rage.
Kagemaru threw his head back, laughing triumphantly. "Face it! Yumi Uzushi is dead!"
Then... A calm voice cut through the storm.
"I see, do I also need to come to my own funeral then?"
Everyone froze.
From the shadows at the edge, leaning against a tree was a magenta-haired teen, his Duel Disk already strapped on. His tone was casual, but his golden eyes glowed lightly.
"Yumi!?" "AIBO!?" "You're alive!?"
Voices overlapped as relief and disbelief rippled through the group.
Yumi smirked. "What's with those faces? You guys get this worked up over every minor inconvenience? Was it too much to ask for a supporting cast with a little faith?"
Momoyo's relief exploded into laughter and tears. "You little brat! You're lucky I'm too happy to strangle you!" She finally released Zane's arm, who almost collapsed but still forced a grin through the pain.
Celina exhaled in relief, her voice soft. "I knew it. Someone like you doesn't die that easily…"
Even Chazz grumbled, "Tch… took you long enough to show up, you sadistic bastard." Although now he and Bastion both have a black eye.
Jaden's eyes softened, returning to their usual brown. "AIBO…"
Kagemaru's face twisted in disbelief. "You-you survived!? How!?"
He had personally searched for Yumi's corpse but couldn't find it, so he thought that Yumi had been blown up into pieces. He never suspected that this hidden boss would have made it out alive, not at least without the help of the other Shadow Charms.
"Just who the hell are you!?"
Yumi smiled faintly. "Me? I'm Darkness."
Kagemaru's eyes widened, his long hair lifting as a malevolent white aura began to spiral around him. "So that's it…! No wonder you're so hard to kill. You're Darkness itself!"
Although he didn't know anything and why those words just suddenly came out of his mouth, Kagemaru still believed that he now held enough strength to defeat Yumi.
Yumi, on the other hand, instantly recognized the malevolent white aura covering Kagemaru as none other than the Light of Destruction.
This explained to him why Kagemaru suddenly got his buff and youthful body beforehand; this was all the Light of Destruction's doing.
Both Duelists raised their Duel Disk, activating it.
"Duel!"
[Yumi, LP 4000]
[Jaden, LP 4000]
[Kagemaru, LP 8000]
Yumi raised an eyebrow as he noticed Jaden step forward beside him, Duel Disk active and eyes gleaming.
"…You're joining in?" Yumi asked, tone halfway between surprise and exasperation.
"Of course!" Jaden said, grinning despite the oppressive tension. "That old guy challenged me first, but since you're already dueling, we'll tag team him. You and me, AIBO!"
Yumi blinked once, then sighed. "You do realize this just doubled his Life Points and made him twice as annoying to deal with, right?"
"Yeah, but now he's got two problems instead of one!" Jaden replied confidently, flashing a thumbs-up.
Yumi tilted his head lightly. "That's… not how math works, Jaden."
Turning this 1vs1 into a 2vs1 didn't help at all, not when it just makes the opponents have more HP and is a bit harder to kill.
Besides the benefit of sharing the same field and graveyard, more cards to play, the switch between the two duelists makes it a bit hard for both of them. If they can't find a rhythm to go with, they would just throw each other off their game.
Fortunately, Yumi and Jaden are a best match.
"Fine, just don't mess up, Aibo." Yumi smile, seeing how it was already too late to restart now, and plus Jaden wants to duel, so he won't stop him.
Jaden's grin widened. "Got it! Let's clear this co-op style!"
Kagemaru scoffed, folding his arms. "Two children against me? You think your combined spirit can rival the power of the Three Sacred Beasts? Foolish."
"Then let's find out," Yumi said calmly. "I'll go first!"
He placed his fingers on top of his deck.
"Draw!"