Chapter 1211 – We'll Meet Again

Boom—

The King of the Netherworld fell.

Yes, this time things had played out differently from the anime. In the show, that unlucky Netherworld King at least managed to squeeze its whole body out of the rift, striding from Satellite toward the City. Only when it neared the City did Yusei, empowered by the Crimson Dragon, direct Majestic Star Dragon to pierce it in one blow, turning it to dust.

Here, however, the poor Netherworld King had only managed to stick its head out. It never even got a clear look at what the world of the living looked like before three big bruisers jumped it…

"Rooooaaaarrr—!!"

With one last unwilling roar, the King of the Netherworld's rubbery body exploded, shredded into pieces by the intertwining red, gold, and blue energies of the Sacred Beasts. Its massive shell broke apart into fragments, which scattered in all directions and then faded away completely.

Great gobs of tar-like black sludge erupted from its twisted body, but they vanished in midair before they could fall.

Yet from within that detonation, something else was released—dazzling golden light that shot skyward like towering pillars, then burst into countless points of starlight. These motes of light rained down, covering both Satellite and the City at once.

Those were… souls.

Human souls—and the majority of them were still vibrant and alive.

At the moment of that explosion, aided by the power of the Sacred Beasts, Kira could clearly see the several strongest globes of light erupt from that energy—those were the first souls to break free.

They were the souls of the Dark Signers Carly Carmine, Kalin Kessler, Greiger, and also the fashion model Misty, who had dueled Akiza.

All four of them had been restored to life, just as in the original story.

Kira couldn't help but marvel once more at what a rare, big-hearted boss the King of the Netherworld truly was.

The Dark Signers had been dead for so long, yet their souls still hadn't been digested. Even after its own destruction, they could still be salvaged from the Netherworld.

The same was true for all the other souls. Most of them had been sacrifices prepared by the Dark Signers to summon the Earthbound Immortals—souls that had already been devoured.

Now, as the Netherworld King exploded, all those trapped souls were released and restored.

The three Sacred Beasts floated high above New Domino City, and Kira, standing between them, was wreathed in their three-colored energy. Suspended in the air, he gazed up at the flood of souls radiating outward from where the Netherworld King had burst.

"With this… it's finally, truly over."

Kira let out a long breath.

He figured Z-ONE would be satisfied with this outcome. He'd played his role as the final boss in Goodwin's place, dragging the derailed timeline back onto the right track.

Strictly speaking, the fact that he'd defeated Yusei and the others instead of losing to them was a deviation from the original history, but he believed that this outcome would actually help spur the protagonists' evolution even more. It shouldn't be a bad change.

At that moment, Yusei and the others were also gazing at the starry rain of souls in the sky, an almost dreamlike spectacle.

Yusei: "These… could they be the souls of all the people who disappeared during the Dark Signer incident?"

Crow said in delight, "Then that means—the kids and comrades who vanished from Satellite too…!"

He'd been depressed for a long time after the Dark Signer war. Because even if they'd won, they had still paid a price. He'd lost some familiar comrades and a few of the children he'd once looked after. That had been the very reason he'd resolved so firmly to fight, swearing to stand irreconcilably opposed to the Dark Signers.

But neither he nor the others had dared to imagine that those who had already died might come back to life.

Jack also felt a surge of happiness for a moment, but quickly fell into contemplation.

He'd thought Carly was dead, and in that near-despair he'd nearly confessed to her. Now they were telling him she wasn't dead, that she could actually be saved?

He was glad, of course—but at the same time, Jack couldn't help but revisit the philosophical question: "Will having a woman affect my top-decking ability?"

In any case, this outcome was undoubtedly something no one had expected—a surprise that delighted everyone.

The images of the Sacred Beasts vanished from the sky. When Kira landed, Akiza was the first to notice.

"Goodwin—no, your real name is Fujiki Kira, isn't it?"

Akiza asked.

"Was this your plan all along, before the Duel even started?"

Crow suddenly realized as well. "Right! You told us this Duel was a ritual to open the Gate of the Netherworld… you were lying to us, weren't you?

You already knew from the very beginning that only by opening that gate and then defeating that Netherworld monster head-on could the dead return to the world of the living, right?"

"Don't get the wrong idea."

Kira smiled.

"I just wanted to Duel you. That's all. I never had any grand thoughts of saving the masses or ferrying all souls across—I'm not that noble."

No one argued with him. But the members of the 5D's cast exchanged glances, silently reaching a unanimous conclusion through eye contact alone.

He's a tsundere. Absolutely a tsundere. He just won't admit it.

They were very familiar with this type—because Jack was exactly the same.

Seeing their expressions of disbelief, Kira felt a bit helpless. He really hadn't thought that winning this ritual Duel would conveniently revive the dead; the only reason he'd taken on this role at all was because of Z-ONE's request, as a means to save this dimension.

Well, if they wanted to interpret it that way, he might as well let them. There was no need to waste breath explaining.

Kira even began to wonder if Z-ONE—who had entrusted this mission to him—had foreseen this result from the very start.

"All right, we've fought one hell of a Duel. We're all exhausted. Let's just head home and get some rest."

Kira waved a hand dismissively and turned to leave, lazily stifling a yawn.

"Wait."

Yusei called out to him.

"Fujiki Kira… We're comrades, right?

Will we meet again in the future?"

All this time, Kira had interacted with them under the guise of Goodwin. Now that his cover was blown, and the Dark Signer incident had been well and truly concluded, it did feel as though a final full stop had been written on this chapter.

On top of that, Kira had admitted he came from another dimension. Now that everything was settled, it was entirely possible he would vanish from their lives for good.

Thinking of this possibility, Akiza felt an inexplicable heaviness in her chest.

Could this be goodbye forever?

Kira's footsteps paused for a moment. He turned and met their gaze briefly, then smiled carefreely.

"Who knows?"

He waved over his shoulder and walked on.

"When fate brings us together again… we'll probably meet."

…

At the same time, in the boundless void of space—

In the subspace domain, Antinomy, who had just watched the entire incident, was silent for a long time before finally speaking.

"Fujiki Kira… the King from another world… truly unfathomable."

He turned to Z-ONE. "Do you think—that was his full strength?"

Z-ONE asked in return, "What do you think?"

Antinomy shook his head. "I don't know."

After another brief silence, he spoke again. "Then, the next stage is my turn to appear, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Z-ONE answered calmly.

"Fudou Yusei has already begun to yearn for new power and is about to enter a high-speed evolution. With you, he should be able to see a new path ahead.

To truly become Yusei's comrade, I may need to erase all of your memories—even your awareness of your own identity."

"I don't mind."

Antinomy replied without a moment's hesitation.

"Z-ONE, as long as it's for your sake, I'm willing to do anything."

Z-ONE let out an old, weary sigh.

"Then I'll be counting on you, Antinomy."