Chapter 790 - 790

The barrier created by the Darkness of the Universe was cleaved apart down the middle by the super-long light blade that pierced across the galaxy, splitting it cleanly in two.

"Oh, crap. Did we go a little too far?"

In the violently shaking space, Minazuki and Akasha had no time to celebrate their victory.

The rift in the universe carved open by Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS – Sky Thunder was like a cut in a vacuum, desperately leaking the energy of the Darkness of the Universe into the outside world.

Akasha complained, "This is all your fault, Minazuki! You just had to use 'Limiter Removal' and unleash everything you had for that slash. And besides, why would a scrub deck like yours even run Limiter Removal? That makes absolutely no sense!"

"As long as I win, who cares whether it makes sense or not?!"

As a duelist who considered unpredictability itself to be part of his strength, Minazuki had done things like stuffing a Witch of the Black Forest into his deck before, so running Limiter Removal was hardly anything out of the ordinary.

"But did we accidentally open an exit?"

Fighting against the violent current caused by the vacuum leak, Minazuki looked toward the spatial rift. Through the gap, he could faintly see the scene of the outside world — the Supreme King's Castle.

"Oh, I see. An exit!" Akasha understood immediately. "(」゜ロ゜)」 Then there's no time to waste! Let's make our escape!"

"Before that, though…"

"Jaden!!"

Akasha and Minazuki shouted at the same time.

After the duel ended, Supreme King had disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only Jaden Yuki, who had originally been sitting alone in the dark corner, shutting himself away.

"It's time to go home, Jaden!"

"Let's go back to the place we love the most — Duel Academy!"

"…"

The Xyz Summon, the ultimate evolution of friendship, and the galaxy-piercing radiance of Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS had not only cut open this universe, but also opened the heart of the boy who had once completely shut himself away.

"Akasha? Minazuki?!"

"You finally woke up!" Minazuki said in relief. "If you stayed asleep any longer, Syrus was going to eat all your fried shrimp!"

After Jaden awakened, the collapse of the Darkness of the Universe accelerated even further.

The Reality Marble, having effectively lost the spiritual and soul energy that had been supporting it, began to exert an increasingly powerful force to reject foreign matter, attempting to expel Akasha and Minazuki from this world born from Jaden's inner landscape.

Stretching his arm forward with all his strength, Akasha urged him, "Don't just stand there spacing out, Jaden! Give me your hand! You don't want to stay in a place like this forever, do you?!"

"Yeah!"

Jaden nodded firmly and reached out toward Akasha.

However, contrary to the force expelling Akasha and Minazuki, the Darkness of the Universe itself desperately wanted to keep Jaden Yuki there. It wanted him to remain in this place, maintaining the very concept that allowed this space to exist.

Thus, unlike Akasha, who was being pushed away, Jaden was being pulled in by the darkness, and even taking a single step forward was incredibly difficult.

Only a duelist who could overcome the weakness in his heart could move forward.

Only a duelist who firmly stepped onto the road leading toward the future could escape this darkness.

Their fingertips could not reach each other.

The distance between them looked so small, yet in reality, it was as vast as an entire cosmic galaxy.

"No choice! I've seen this in a movie before, but I can only use this move… Don't blame me, Akasha!"

Remembering the way the characters in the movie had changed their trajectories in a weightless environment, Minazuki leaned backward, then kicked off with his legs and sent Akasha flying.

"(〃＞皿＜) Minazuki, you bastard! How dare you kick me in the ass?! I'll kill you when we get back!"

Akasha, the Rare Card Hunter, flew into a rage.

But angry or not, Minazuki's kick was surprisingly effective. Under the repulsive force of the Darkness of the Universe, the distance between Akasha and Jaden was greatly reduced.

"I can only help you guys this far. Go, my friends — aaaaaaah!"

The price he paid, however, was that the recoil from his own movement sent Minazuki flying out of the Darkness of the Universe even faster than the others.

Just a little more.

It didn't matter if he couldn't overcome the weakness in his heart.

It didn't matter if he couldn't place his faith in the path ahead.

The bond with his Deck, the bond with his friends, and the strength created by their mutual trust could also allow a duelist to break free from the endless darkness that had sealed away his heart.

He had won duels no matter how difficult they were.

He had broken through impossible situations no matter how hopeless they seemed.

His fingertips were almost touching.

All he needed was to take one more step forward.

"Go… me."

"?!"

At the critical moment, Jaden felt a gentle push against his shoulder, nudging him forward.

Confused, he looked back.

Though it lasted only for an instant, he clearly saw the silhouette of someone with the exact same appearance as himself —

Supreme King.

That crucial push gave Akasha the chance to finally grab Jaden's hand.

"I finally caught you! I'm not letting go this time, Jaden!"

The instant their fingertips touched, the force of the Darkness of the Universe that had been trying to keep Jaden there and sustain the space completely disappeared.

The two of them drifted together toward the exit — the rift carved open by ZEUS.

Left alone inside the collapsing space, Supreme King Jaden raised his head and gazed toward the light shining through the rift ahead.

A smile that had never once appeared on his face curled across his lips.

"Go, Jaden… You no longer need my protection. The path you've chosen, the future you've chosen… from now on, you and your trusted companions can protect it together."

— Even as darkness, he had once longed for the light.

Inside the Supreme King's Castle

After the collision from Hoshino's final battle against the Super Fusion God, the Supreme King's Castle had already collapsed almost completely.

Rather than a castle, it was now closer to a pile of ruins.

The five people sitting limply among the rubble were covered in dust and grime.

"I was wondering why the Reality Marble was suddenly cut open. So it was ZEUS from a Maximum Xyz Summon. You two really are something," Hoshino praised them without reservation.

After ZEUS cut through the universe, Hoshino and Alexis on the other side were almost instantly thrown out of the space with virtually no resistance, landing in the ruins of the Supreme King's Castle.

Minazuki was ejected next.

Finally, Akasha and Jaden were thrown out as well.

"How incredible! Akasha, Minazuki! You two really defeated Supreme King?" Alexis asked in admiration.

"Ahahahaha, a couple of compliments are enough~"

Although Minazuki was saying modest things, there wasn't even the slightest trace of modesty on his face.

"This was all a miracle created by the power of our friendship! Right, Jaden!"

"You agree, don't you, Supreme King Jaden~"

Akasha glanced sideways at Jaden and began imitating Minazuki's sarcastic tone, deliberately emphasizing the word "Supreme King," which had now become part of Jaden's embarrassing history.

Hearing Akasha bring it up, Hoshino suddenly became curious.

"Come to think of it, you really are Jaden, right? What if you're actually Supreme King Jaden in disguise, trying to deceive us?"

When Yugi and Atem exchanged souls, their appearances and heights would change noticeably.

But Jaden and Supreme King Jaden looked exactly the same.

The only real difference was the strange color that would flash in the Supreme King's eyes during a duel.

It was more like the situation between Hoshino and Hoshino Alter.

When two people looked completely identical like this, even if the souls inside their bodies were different, it would be almost impossible for anyone to notice something was wrong with a little deliberate disguise.

"It really is me, Sensei…"

Jaden's expression looked a little awkward. He wasn't nearly as carefree as he used to be.

To an ordinary person analyzing the situation, that subtle attitude might genuinely make them think that Supreme King had switched places with him.

But Hoshino knew perfectly well that the Jaden standing before her was the real Jaden everyone knew. There was not the slightest bit of doubt about it.

Most likely, it was because he felt guilty for causing everyone so much trouble.

That guilt had left Jaden unusually withdrawn, unsure of how he should express his feelings.

"All right, let's do a little test. If you really are Jaden, you should be able to pass it easily."

A mischievous smile appeared on Hoshino's face.

Jaden nervously swallowed.

"So… how are you going to test me?"

"Rapid-fire questions. Each of us will ask you one question that only Jaden would know the answer to. If you can answer every question accurately within two seconds, then we'll know you're really Jaden~"

"Two seconds? I think I should be able to manage that."

After calming himself down a little, Jaden had more or less returned to his usual self.

"I'm ready. Go ahead and ask."

"Then Alexis, you go first~" Hoshino gestured toward her.

"Huh? I get to ask first?"

Alexis raised an eyebrow and thought for a few seconds.

"Jaden's favorite food?"

"Fried shrimp!"

Jaden answered instantly.

"That question was way too easy, Alexis. Even the Supreme King could have answered that one correctly," Akasha said.

"Then it's my turn! Jaden, which monster have you summoned the most times?"

"Elemental HERO Avian!"

Jaden answered proudly.

As expected of the overworked Avian. A Level 3 Normal Monster with only 1000 ATK had somehow earned the honor of being the monster Jaden had summoned more than any other.

"Me, me! My turn!"

Minazuki was getting into the game as well and raised his hand.

"Jaden, what do you think about Blair Flannigan? You know, that adorable underclassman who's completely infatuated with you!"

"Huh?"

Caught completely off guard by Minazuki's bizarre question, Jaden stared blankly.

"What kind of question is that? Aren't you asking who I like?"

"That's exactly what I'm asking! Do you like Blair Flannigan or not? You thought you could pass this easily? How naive!"

"But even if you ask me like that, Minazuki, I can't accurately tell you how I feel about someone within two seconds."

Alexis immediately chimed in.

"Yeah, Minazuki. That's obviously just something you wanted to know yourself, isn't it?"

Minazuki wailed,

"Well, I really am jealous! Getting an adorable underclassman like that constantly clinging to you! Damn you, Jaden! Unforgivable!"

"This isn't even rapid-fire questioning anymore. Just let me handle it by myself."

Hoshino rolled her eyes around, seemingly coming up with a rather interesting question.

"All right, Jaden. Let's raise the difficulty. You only get one second to react this time, but I'll give you two choices. Just answer based on instinct~"

"Yeah! Bring it on, Sensei!"

Duel — ! (×)

"Sweet chimaki or savory chimaki?"

— "Sweet chimaki!"

√ (Correct!)

"Between Okita and Nobunaga, who is more likely to be a brick?"

— "Okita!"

√

"Who's stricter, me or Professor Crowler?"

— "Professor Crowler!"

√

"Who's stronger, Minazuki or Seto Kaiba?"

— "Seto Kaiba!"

√

"Who do you like more, Blair Flannigan or Akasha?"

— "Akasha!"

√

"Questioning complete. You just gave yourself away, Jaden~" Hoshino said with a mischievous grin.

"…"

Jaden stood there dumbfounded.

It took quite some time before he finally realized what he had just said.

His face immediately turned bright red.

"You tricked me!"

"(˘••˘) Well, thank you very much, Jaden, for choosing me in a two-choice question."

Akasha scratched her cheek and slowly turned her complicated gaze away.

"That's because you and I grew up together, Akasha. And besides, this time you were trying so hard to…"

To hide his embarrassment, Jaden began waving his hands around as he tried to explain.

"This should be enough, I think."

Hoshino quietly thought to herself.

Even if you cause a little trouble, even if you have a falling-out, even if you somehow end up walking down the wrong path, it doesn't matter.

A friend you can truly trust will always pull you back from the wrong road.

You don't need to be lost anymore, Yuki Jaden.

["Moshi moshi, can you hear me?"]

"That voice… Da Vinci!" Hoshino exclaimed happily. "Did you know we've finished the duel and are ready to Ray Shift us back?"

"Well, about the Ray Shifting… I'd like to explain a little more about that."

Da Vinci's voice sounded a little awkward and slightly guilty.

Just like Jaden had been a moment ago, it immediately gave Hoshino a bad feeling.

"There's a rule that, in order to maintain the stability of the Ray Shift, four people have to be transferred together…"

"But now there are five of you, so you can't be transferred."

"Huh?"

Hoshino stared at her with an expression that practically screamed, Are you kidding me?

Although they had originally Ray Shifted to the other side of the planet as a group of four, their fundamental purpose for coming here had been to bring Jaden back with them.

Now that they had finally won the duel and rescued Jaden, they had been told that having five people meant they couldn't Ray Shift back.

"Would the all-capable Da Vinci really make a mistake like this?"

At least, Hoshino didn't believe it.

"Wait… Da Vinci, did you do this on purpose?"

"Ah, well, I wouldn't exactly call it intentional, would I? I knew from the very beginning that this was a one-way ticket, but at the time, transferring the four of you together was the only solution available, wasn't it?"

After all, without Ray Shifting, there was no way Hoshino and the others could even have approached the Supreme King's Castle.

"So what are we supposed to do now? Randomly pick one lucky volunteer and dump them on the other side of the planet? Or are we just leaving Minazuki behind?"

"Why did you specifically mention me?! I think randomly leaving someone behind would be fairer, Headmistress!"

Minazuki desperately pleaded for his life.

"Actually, I did prepare a complete solution," Da Vinci explained.

"You're probably not very familiar with the environment around you. But as I mentioned earlier, the area on the opposite side of Duel Academy from where you are now is what used to be the continent of Northern Europe on Earth."

"Northern Europe? What about it?"

"According to my scans, the Supreme King's Castle is actually very close to Duel Academy — Northern Branch, otherwise known as North Academy. Even if you walked there, you could reach it within half a day."

"So what you need to do now is head to North Academy first and wait there for the rescue team from Kaiba and the others!"

Duel Academy — North Academy.

Like the American Academy, it was one of Duel Academy's branch campuses.

Back during the school festival, Chazz had fought Minazuki in a duel. He seemed to be one of the strongest duelists in North Academy.

"North Academy…"

Alexis pressed a finger against her chin, thinking back.

"I heard there's a duelist at North Academy who's completely on par with Seto Kaiba in strength, and he uses the legendary Crystal Beast Deck."