"AAAAAH—"
Jack Atlas watched helplessly as his Life Points dropped to zero. His Ace Monster—Red Dragon Archfiend—let out an unwilling roar beneath his opponent's ultimate attack before dissolving into data fragments in the air.
And the Monster on the other side, roaring hoarsely and breathing flames, the one that had dealt him the final blow, was also Red Dragon Archfiend.
An opponent with the exact same face as his, the exact same Lucky Wheel, even the exact same Red Dragon Archfiend. It felt as if he were dueling a mirror image.
No, it was more like dueling his past self—the Duel King Jack Atlas, once adored by the masses and not yet dragged down from his pedestal.
"Impossible... I actually... lost?!"
Jack's pupils shook as his body and mind suffered a tremendous shock.
Lost to this impostor?
His D-Wheel, Lucky Wheel, shuddered violently, its engine letting out a shrill wail from overload. The next instant, steam burst from every part of the vehicle, and white mist instantly blanketed the entire track. Jack desperately gripped the handlebars, but the impact was too fierce—the D-Wheel spun out at high speed, its front wheel smashing into the guardrail as the entire machine tumbled through the air like a kite with its string cut.
"Urgh—!"
Amid the ear-piercing screech of twisting metal, Jack was violently thrown from the cockpit by inertia. His body traced an arc through the air before slamming heavily onto the hard pavement beyond the track. His armor shattered, the crisp sound of bones breaking rang through him, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. He tried to push himself up, but the searing agony instantly swallowed his consciousness as darkness gradually consumed his vision.
In the distance, his opponent's D-Wheel slowly came to a stop before him, residual