Millennium Hostage
After the Duel ended, the puppet collapsed to its knees.
"That's great, Yugi won!"
Kaiba Mokuba ran down excitedly.
"Come on, hand over the Rare Card and the Puzzle Card."
Mokuba spoke to the puppet, but received no response.
"Hey, hey! What's wrong? You're not moving at all, just like a puppet. Well, getting defeated like that must have hit you pretty hard, huh!?"
Seeing that the puppet did not react, Mokuba picked up a card on his own.
"This is [Slifer the Sky Dragon], the second God Card."
"Yugi, according to the card wager rules, this [Slifer the Sky Dragon] belongs to you as the winner."
As he spoke, Mokuba picked up the Puzzle Card as well and walked toward Yugi.
"Here, and the Puzzle Card too."
Mokuba handed Slifer and the Puzzle Card to Yugi together.
"Thank you, Mokuba."
Yugi thanked him warmly.
"But Osiris will be my brother's before long."
Mokuba stepped back and declared confidently.
"I won't hand it over, Mokuba."
Yugi was completely unfazed by President Kaiba.
"Yugi, now you too are a chosen master of the God Cards. As far as I'm concerned, the stronger my enemy, the better."
The President walked toward Yugi.
"Kaiba..."
Yugi looked at the President as well.
"Otherwise, defeating you would have no meaning! Yugi, you understand, don't you? In Duel City, when Duelists face each other, that place becomes a battlefield! Duel me, Yugi!"
The President dramatically issued his challenge.
"Fine!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Yugi raised his Duel Disk.
"Yugi!"
The puppet beside them suddenly stood up.
"Marik!"
Yugi looked at the puppet warily.
"You defeated Osiris without using a God Card. Your strength exceeded my expectations. You can hold on to Osiris for now. The God Card will soon return to my hands anyway, so it is not much of a problem. More importantly, I forgot to mention that I will soon arrive in Domino City to carry out another plan."
Marik's voice came through the puppet.
"Another plan!?"
At that moment, the King took control of Yugi's body.
"Right now, I can see three scenes. One is you, seen through this puppet. Another is the view of Domino City as it approaches. And the last is a bustling city, seen through the Rare Hunters in that city. I can see your companions—the Duelist named Jonouchi, along with several others."
Marik spoke words that filled them with unease.
"Jonouchi, and everyone else..."
The King was worried.
"Heh heh heh. If I involve your companions too, taking back the God Cards will be easy. Gryus's Rare Hunters have been watching your companions all along, ready to use them whenever necessary."
Marik revealed his plan.
"Just how despicable can you be, Marik!?"
The King said furiously.
"It's your fault. More precisely, if your vessel had lost here, your companions would not have suffered misfortune. Heh heh heh heh..."
Marik laughed smugly.
"Unforgivable!"
The King shouted through gritted teeth.
"You are the unforgivable one. The pain and hatred of our clan are not limited to this alone. Hurry, Yugi. If you do not return to your companions, the consequences will become irreversible."
After saying that, the puppet fell to the ground.
"Please, Other Me!"
Yugi pleaded with the King.
"I have to find Jonouchi too."
With that, the King turned and ran away.
"Are you running away, Yugi?"
Having no one left to Duel, the President hurriedly called after him. Hearing the President's words, the King stopped and turned back.
"Kaiba, I can't fight you right now! Jonouchi has been targeted by Gryus. I can't stand by and watch my friend die!"
After saying that, he turned and left again.
On the streets, the King and President Kaiba searched for Jonouchi's whereabouts.
Earlier, the King had been blocked by two Gryus lackeys. The President, who had caught up, joined forces with the King to defeat the two lackeys. Afterward, the President suggested using the satellite system to track Jonouchi, but they later lost Jonouchi's signal. Now, the two could only search everywhere.
Suddenly, a short figure in a cloak leaped down from atop a building and landed before the King and the President.
"Gryus!?"
The President immediately went on guard.
"Heh heh! Heh heh heh heh! Look over there—!!"
The short man cackled and raised a hand to point behind them. The King and the President turned around.
A helicopter flew out from the side, with someone hanging beneath it.
"That's...!"
Upon seeing that figure, the President panicked.
"Mokuba!"
Millennium Hostage Kaiba Mokuba had been kidnapped yet again.
"Damn you, Gryus! If you so much as harm Mokuba, I'll make you pay! I'll crush you with the full power of Kaiba Corporation!!"
The President shouted furiously.
"Ho ho~ Ho ho ho~, so scary~. But if you lay a hand on us, your adorable little brother will... Heh heh heh heh..."
The short Gryus member cackled as he threatened them.
"Damn it..."
The President did not dare act rashly.
"We'll be waiting on the roof of that skyscraper. If you don't come, you'll bear the consequences. You too, Yugi. Otherwise, we'll immediately deal with those friends of yours."
With that, the short Gryus member leaped back onto the high-rise.
"Yugi, we have no choice but to go."
The President turned to the King.
"Yeah."
The King answered firmly.
"We'll wipe them out with everything we have. But don't get the wrong idea. I'm doing this for Mokuba, and you're doing it for those inseparable companions of yours."
The President said haughtily.
"I know."
The King did not mind.
Afterward, the two headed in the direction the short Gryus member had gone.
Team Duel
The King and President Kaiba arrived atop a skyscraper, confronting two masked Gryus members—one tall and one short.
"You obediently came, heh heh heh heh~! We haven't introduced ourselves yet. We are Gryus's assassins, the Mask of Light!"
The short, stout man wearing a white mask over the right half of his face introduced himself.
"Mask of Darkness!"
The tall man wearing a black mask over the left half of his face announced himself.
"We are a duo formed to hunt down the God Cards. Heh heh heh heh!"
White Mask continued with a sinister laugh.
"Now, let us explain the rules."
White Mask began explaining the rules.
Simply put, it was a two-on-two team battle. However, when a Duelist's Life Points reached zero, bombs planted in advance would activate and shatter the glass beneath their feet, sending the losers falling to the ground 130 meters below the rooftop.
"Ah ha ha ha ha! Are you so scared that you can't even speak!?"
After explaining the rules, White Mask burst into wild laughter.
"Hmph. Is that all you had to say!? Mokuba's safety is guaranteed, right?"
The President asked fearlessly.
"Yes, until this Duel ends."
White Mask gave the President an affirmative answer.
"If you win, of course we'll return him safely."
Black Mask chimed in.
"You Gryus people still retain some bottom-line dignity. Then I'll answer you with a deck that has already surpassed the limits of my anger."
As he spoke, the President unfolded his Duel Disk, and the other three followed suit.
"duel!!" ×4
[Yugi Muto: LP 4000] [Seto Kaiba: LP 4000] [Mask of Light: LP 4000] [Mask of Darkness: LP 4000]
"I'll take the first turn. Draw!"
White Mask drew a card.
[Mask of Light's hand: 5→6]
"First, I summon [Melchid the Four-Faced Beast] from my hand in Attack Position."
A demon formed from four different masks appeared on White Mask's field.
[Melchid the Four-Faced Beast: ATK 1500]
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