He truly dares…
Atem's voice dropped into a tone so cold that even the surrounding air seemed to recoil. Just like Dagruel had once thrown his sons into Eterna without consulting him, Guy Crimson had now made the same mistake—and this time, he'd pushed too far.
Dino swallowed hard. He could see the shift. Atem's aura didn't just grow dark—it rippled, like ancient wrath waking from a thousand-year slumber. Shadows bent toward him. The floor cracked beneath his feet. The temperature dropped despite no magic being cast.
Dino took one step back.
"A-Atem… buddy… you okay—?"
SNAP.
Atem didn't even answer. Didn't look at him. Didn't give warning.
The moment his fingers snapped, the world warped.
A vortex of gold hieroglyphs spiraled around their bodies—
The Pharaoh's authority overriding all space and distance.
Dino gasped as he felt reality forcibly bend to Atem's will.
In the next heartbeat—
BOOM.
They appeared atop the freezing, storm-lashed tundra of the Ice Continent.
Home of Guy Crimson, the oldest, the supposed strongest Demon Lord.
But that title meant nothing now.
Not after Atem had crushed him once.
Not after Atem had already shown him mercy.
Snow blasted outward in all directions as Atem landed.
The very ground trembled.
Not from magic.
Not from power release.
But from pure killing intent.
Dino nearly collapsed onto his knees.
(A-Atem's enraged… he's actually enraged… oh no… Guy is so dead… I'm so dead…)
A gust of icy wind screamed across the courtyard, only to be silenced instantly as two shadows appeared at the giant castle doors.
Rain and Misery.
They had come prepared to obliterate whoever dared cause such a disturbance—
—but the moment they recognized the figure standing amidst the trembling ground…
Their faces paled.
They straightened instantly and bowed deeply.
"Welcome, Lord Atem."
"We greet the Pharaoh King."
Rain's voice shook despite her attempt to appear composed.
Atem didn't soften.
His eyes burned with royal fury.
"Where is Crimson."
He didn't ask.
He demanded.
Misery bowed even lower. "He is in the throne room. If you permit, we shall guide y—"
"No need."
Atem raised his hand.
The world shattered like glass—
—and in less than a blink, Atem and Dino vanished.
The air split, and Atem materialized in the throne room with Dino beside him—though Dino had no idea how he was even still standing.
Guy Crimson sat casually on his throne, one leg crossed, sipping red wine from a crystal glass. A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
He didn't look surprised.
If anything, he looked entertained.
"Oh ho…" Guy chuckled, eyes gleaming.
"Seems like I poked the bear."
Atem's eyes narrowed into a murderous glare.
"Crimson."
The temperature plummeted further.
"How dare you send Dino to my kingdom without my authorization.
Do you take me for a fool?
Are you asking him to spy on me?"
He took one step forward—
the floor cracked like thin ice beneath each footfall.
"Have you lost your mind…" Atem's voice dropped into a growl,
"or have you learned nothing since I last showed you mercy?"
Guy opened his mouth—
But Atem had no intention of letting him speak.
The throne room darkened.
Torches flickered violently.
The world held its breath.
Atem's Absolute Ultimate Skill awakened.
His divine sovereignty. His absolute law. His unquestioned reality.
A ripple of golden command burst from Atem's body.
With this power…
He could seal,
weaken,
corrupt,
erase,
or completely rewrite his enemy's abilities—
—without resistance, without counter, without escape.
No barrier.
No immortality.
No skill.
Nothing could oppose him.
Guy's pupils widened—not in fear, but in recognition.
Guy rose from his throne, readying....
but his body locked in place—
SNAP.
Osirion Mandate wrapped around him like divine chains.
Guy gritted his teeth.
"Y-You… I only sent Dino because—"
"Silence."
Atem did not shout.
But the word shattered Guy's defenses like fragile glass.
At that same moment—
Rain and Misery attempted to rush into the room
—but they slammed into an invisible wall and were thrown back.
Solarys, obeying Atem's silent command, had erected a barrier.
One that allowed no movement,
no spell activation,
not even a twitch
from Rain, Misery, or Dino.
Dino was frozen mid-panic, eyes threatening to pop out of his skull.
(A-Atem… what kind of monster… what kind of absolute monster…)
Atem slowly walked toward Guy.
Not fast.
Not rushed.
But like an executioner approaching a kneeling sacrifice.
His aura warped the throne room.
Walls cracked.
The ceiling trembled.
Frost formed in jagged spikes along the pillars.
Guy's body was forced down onto one knee.
Not from magic.
But from Atem's sheer divine pressure.
"You act without my permission, Crimson.
You send someone into my nation as if you own the right—
as if you choose what happens in Eterna."
Atem stood right before him now.
"You forget your place."
Guy snarled, struggling to lift his head.
"I don't take orders from—"
BAM.
Atem backhanded him.
Backhanded the oldest Demon Lord—
the apex of monstrous evolution—
with one strike.
Guy flew across the throne room and crashed into a marble column, destroying it.
Atem didn't stop.
Before Guy could even fall, Atem appeared behind him—
CRACK—
A fist slammed into Guy's back, sending him crashing into the ground so hard the castle floor ruptured in a crater.
Guy coughed blood.
But Atem didn't pause.
He lifted Guy by the throat with one hand.
"Do not confuse mercy with weakness."
Guy's eyes widened as he felt something far worse than physical pain—
Atem's Osirion Mandate began dissolving parts of his power.
Ultimate Skill fragments cracked off Guy's soul like breaking ice.
"W-Wait—!! Atem—!! l-listen—!!"
"You will not speak unless I allow it."
Atem's grip tightened.
Golden hieroglyphs spiraled around Guy, crushing his ability to resist.
Crushing his authority.
Crushing his pride.
Rain and Misery could only watch.
Frozen. Helpless. Terrified.
Dino almost fainted.
Guy's voice rasped—
"Y-You… Pharaoh… I was only—"
Atem kneeled slightly, bringing his eyes inches from Guy's.
"You do not act on my land.
You do not send people to my nation.
You do not move a single piece on the board…"
Atem's aura burst outward like a solar eruption—
light swallowing darkness,
power swallowing the entire room.
"WITHOUT.
MY.
PERMISSION."
He slammed Guy into the ground again—so hard the throne itself shattered behind them.
Guy Crimson—the ancient Demon Lord—
the feared ruler of the Ice Continent—
the one who once stood above all—
lay broken, coughing blood, unable to even channel magic.
Atem stood above him like a god of wrath.
A Pharaoh delivering divine punishment.
Guy lay in the crater Atem had smashed him into, gasping, coughing ice-laced blood across the fractured marble. His crimson hair was disheveled, and the once proud Demon Lord shook under Atem's crushing divine pressure.
Atem stood over him like judgment incarnate.
His shadow fell across Guy's body, long and dark—
a silhouette that swallowed the light of the throne room.
Guy tried to rise.
He couldn't.
Not even an inch.
Osirion Mandate kept him pinned like an insect under a god's thumb.
Rain and Misery trembled at the doorway, unable to move because of Solarys's barrier. Both had witnessed the aftermath of Guy's ancient battles—wars that reshaped continents.
But never…
Never had they seen him like this.
Misery whispered, voice cracking, "H-He's… he's helpless…"
Rain swallowed hard, eyes wide.
"Against… him? Yes. Even Lord Guy… stands no chance."
Dino, trapped beside them, was sweating so much he might as well have been melting. His knees knocked uncontrollably.
(Why did I come with him?! Why am I here?! I'm gonna die—!!)
Atem slowly crouched, bringing his face level with Guy's.
Not angry now.
Cold.
Controlled.
Final.
The voice of a Pharaoh passing a decree.
"Guy Crimson…" Atem said, every syllable vibrating with divine authority.
"You forget the order of this world. You forget who stands above who."
Guy clenched his teeth, trying to speak, but Atem pressed two fingers to his jaw—forcing silence.
"Since you seem confused," Atem continued, "I will clarify it."
He leaned closer.
"I am the Pharaoh King. The King of Games. The Judge of Souls.
You are a Demon Lord—strong, yes, ancient, yes…
but still only one piece on the board I preside over."
Guy's breath hitched.
Atem's fingers crackled with golden power.
"You will never act within my domain without permission.
You will never send another agent into my kingdom.
You will never take liberties with my name…
or with my patience."
He released Guy's jaw.
"Because the next time you overstep, Crimson…" Atem's aura darkened again, ripping cracks through the walls, "…I will erase the concept of you from existence.
Body, soul, history, memory.
Everything."
Guy's pupils shrank.
He believed him.
Because Atem wasn't threatening him—
Atem was stating a law.
Guy forced his palms onto the ruined floor.
He pushed—shaking, straining, struggling—
—until he finally managed to bow.
A full, deep bow.
The apex of demonkind… kneeling to the Pharaoh.
His voice was hoarse, barely more than a rasp.
"…I understand, Atem. I apologize."
He bowed even lower.
"I overstepped. It won't happen again."
Atem watched silently.
Guy swallowed humiliation like poison.
"…Forgive my insolence," he forced out, "Pharaoh."
Atem's aura momentarily flickered—acknowledgment, not mercy.
"See that you remember this moment," Atem replied coldly.
"Or next time… there will be no bowing left of you."
The barrier dropped.
Rain collapsed to one knee from sheer fear.
Misery's hands clutched her dress so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"L-Lord Atem," Rain stammered, "forgive us if we failed in etiquette…"
Atem didn't even turn to them.
He simply said:
"Keep him in line."
The command sounded less like advice and more like a cosmic decree.
Rain and Misery both bowed instantly, their voices shaking:
"Yes, Pharaoh!"
The moment Dino could move again, he collapsed flat onto the floor.
He wasn't proud.
He wasn't dramatic.
He simply died inside.
(Holy crap—holy crap—holy crap—this guy just destroyed Guy like he was a rag doll—WHY DID I EVER COME HERE?! Why did I eat the cream puffs?! Why am I still alive?!)
He peeked at Atem's back, trembling.
(This is the man I joked about working for… oh gods… I'm actually dead…)
Atem stood up straight. His cloak snapped dramatically behind him despite the room having no wind.
He didn't look at Guy.
He didn't look at Rain.
He didn't look at Misery or Dino.
He simply walked toward the exit.
But as he passed the shattered remains of the throne, Atem paused—
the world freezing mid-breath.
He spoke without turning around.
"Guy Crimson… remember this:
I do not give second warnings.
Only final verdicts."
The torches extinguished in a wave.
A golden sigil flared beneath Atem's feet.
SHOOM—
He vanished.
Leaving only silence…
…and terror.
Guy remained kneeling long after Atem left.
Not because he was forced to—
but because his pride refused to move.
Blood dripped from his lip onto the frozen floor.
Misery worriedly approached.
"…My lord?"
Rain moved to his side.
"Should we heal—?"
Guy raised a trembling hand, stopping them.
"No."
He wiped the blood with the back of his hand.
"That wasn't a defeat," he said quietly.
They looked at him in confusion.
Guy stared at the spot where Atem vanished.
"That… was a reminder. Of the difference between a Demon Lord… and a Pharaoh."
He exhaled heavily.
"Next time… I'll send a proper message before involving him."
Rain blinked. "Next time…?"
Guy smirked weakly.
"I'm not stupid enough to test him twice."
He leaned back against the shattered remains of his throne.
Atem's warning replayed in his mind—
I do not give second warnings.
Only final verdicts.
Guy shuddered.
This humiliation he would not forget.
And he would never cross Atem again.