Industrial Illusions Tower, Headquarters.
Ear-piercing alarms rang throughout the building as red warning lights flashed in the corridors. The tower instantly entered a state of alert; personnel of all kinds hurried through the hallways.
From the outside, it looked like just an entertainment company that sold cards. But in reality, the interior of the building was practically a fortress bristling with live weaponry, equipped with various defensive arms, even anti-air guns and missile interception systems.
But now, most of the building's functions had quietly fallen into the hands of invaders from space. The Light of Destruction had exerted its talent for mental manipulation and seized control of most of the staff here.
Usually, there were only one or two elite Professors of Dueling stationed here, while the Tenma brothers were based at their own foundations. Pegasus, the semi-retired president, spent most of his time on his own island—though not long ago, he too had been ambushed.
So for the moment, no one had realized that the building was now under the control of the forces of Light.
Mello stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor, looking out with an expressionless face. Just then a man in a white uniform hurried into the room and reported urgently.
"Sir, air raid warning."
The man in white said, "We are under attack."
"They came faster than I expected," Mello murmured, as if to himself. "Well, no matter. Sooner or later, it was bound to happen."
He glanced at the deck loaded in the duel disk on his arm.
"A pity—it's still a little short of perfection. But it should be enough to sweep this world."
He raised his head and spoke out loud.
"Send them all," Mello said. "Prepare to engage."
"Yes."
"…"
As the jet approached the Industrial Illusions Tower, a majestic scene quickly came into view.
Duel Monsters. A dense swarm of Duel Monsters. They filled the sky like an army, hovering midair, encircling the company building like an ironclad barrel.
The intent was obvious: to get in here, they would have to go through them first.
"Looks like they don't plan to make way."
In the cabin, Joey frowned slightly.
"Do we have to go the hard way?"
"Seems like it."
Jaden had already opened his duel disk. Facing the army ahead, he even looked a little excited.
"This should be fun."
As he spoke, his card slapped onto the duel disk.
"Elemental HERO Neos!"
A pillar of light pierced the atmosphere as if from the depths of space and descended with overwhelming force. The white-suited Neos charged into the monster army with unstoppable momentum, striking left and right; as his figure flashed past, his fists and feet had already felled several foes in succession.
To manifest Duel Monsters in reality—that was a power Jaden only unlocked in the final season of the anime, but now, having fused with the Supreme King's power early, he had gained that ability.
Even before fusing with the Supreme King, a powerful spirit like Neos possessed the ability to manifest independently. Back in the Society of Light arc, Neos had fought Sartorius head-on and even flown into space to smash a satellite.
Now that Jaden's power had evolved, the spirits' combat prowess in reality naturally rose with it.
At this moment, Neos looked like a war god, rampaging through the enemy's materialized monster army. At times, a laser lanced from his forehead, slicing through several monsters like a blade. At others, he formed a cross with his hands and unleashed a torrent of energy; boom, boom, boom—a chain of dazzling fireworks blossomed in midair.
"Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
Joey also summoned his soul monster, Red-Eyes. He was just a mortal, not stacked with cheats like Jaden. But Red-Eyes, too, was a spirit, and Kira had specially lent him Kaiba's military-grade materialization duel disk for this battle, granting him the power to manifest Red-Eyes in reality.
Neos wreaked havoc in the enemy ranks, drawing most of the fire. Seizing the chance, Jaden and Joey jumped out of the cabin and mounted Red-Eyes' back. The legendary black dragon spread its wings and charged at full speed, black flames erupting from its maw to clear a path straight toward the building's outer shell.
Jaden followed up by summoning his beloved HERO, Flame Wingman—also the spirit he most loved to materialize in the Other Dimension arc.
Flame Wingman took flight as well, guarding Red-Eyes on either side. Any foe attempting to intercept was stopped cold—either booted away by a flaming flying kick or blasted apart by the dragon-head on his right arm spewing scorching fire.
Clang!
The thick bulletproof glass on the building's exterior dissolved under a single Black Flame Shot from Red-Eyes. The two leapt through the shattered window, rolled to disperse the impact, and came up steady.
"Sick!" Joey couldn't put down the KaibaCorp-exclusive duel disk on his arm. "We should do this more often."
They'd successfully broken through the encirclement, but both knew this was only the beginning.
Barely seconds after they stood, a man in a white uniform and sunglasses blocked their way ahead, unfolding his duel disk.
"You will advance no further," the man said gravely. "Your opponent is me."
Joey and Jaden exchanged a glance.
They weren't surprised. Kira had already warned them: during the assault, they might encounter missiles, anti-air guns, and other interception weapons, or a line of defense formed by materialized monsters. But overall, these were more for intimidation than practical effect.
Especially now that Jaden had acquired the Supreme King's power—already top-tier beyond the superhuman scale—this level of interference couldn't possibly stop him.
Once inside, there would definitely be a duel line of defense.
"Perfect. I've been itching for a fight—leave this one to me."
Joey rolled his shoulders.
"You sure?" Jaden glanced at him.
Joey flashed an OK sign.
"Alright, I'm going on ahead. Watch yourself."
They high-fived, and Jaden moved forward first.
The sunglasses man didn't stop him, letting Jaden pass. Others would handle him down the line anyway.
His job was the opponent before him.
"Duel!"
[Joey, LP 4000]
[Sunglasses Man, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw!" Joey said. "Heh, I've had some new ideas lately—perfect to test on you.
I summon 'The Black Stone of Legend'!"
[The Black Stone of Legend, ATK 0]
"The Black Stone of Legend's effect: tribute this card to Special Summon a Level 7 or lower 'Red-Eyes' monster from the Deck.
Come forth! Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
A high-pitched dragon's roar. A pillar of magma erupted and transformed into the domineering form of the black dragon.
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon, ATK 2400]
"The legendary Red-Eyes," the man sneered. "No matter how famous, it's just a 7-star vanilla."
"Not necessarily," Joey smiled mysteriously.
"Oh?"
"I activate the Spell Card 'Inferno Fire Blast'! When you control Red-Eyes Black Dragon, inflict damage to your opponent equal to its original ATK!"
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon, ATK 2400]
The man frowned. "Opening with a massive hit for Red-Eyes' ATK…"
"It's not over. I chain the Quick-Play Spell 'Serial Spell'—discard my entire hand to copy the effect of the last activated Spell; this card's effect becomes the same as that Spell!"
"?"
Becomes the same as the previous Spell… Inferno Fire Blast?
"In other words, you're taking two Inferno Fire Blasts," Joey grinned. "Twice Red-Eyes' ATK in damage!"
"…"
N-n-n-nani!?
His eyes bulged so hard his sunglasses slid down his nose.
Wait—
It's not even my turn yet. I haven't even played a card!
"Uwaaaaa—!"
[Sunglasses Man, LP 4000 → LP 0]
With a casual one-turn kill, Joey dusted off his hands.
"Next?"
...
2 Bonus chapters at 500 PS