This tactic was far too simple and brutal, yet convenient and efficient.
The opponent had no dueling experience at all and was instantly defeated before he even got a chance to draw.
Jonouchi placed both hands on Yugi's shoulders and begged with a mournful expression, "Please, Yugi! I'm begging you, stop using an [Exodia] deck to torture us..."
Yugi replied somewhat awkwardly, "Ahahaha, got it..."
"Yeah, this tactic throws off the balance for other duelists. I wouldn't recommend using [Exodia] when competing against other contestants."
Although President Kaiba was too proud to say he wanted to run away, his grim expression revealed that he did not dare face Seal of the Orichalcos either.
He even planned to issue a ban list specifically targeting Seal of the Orichalcos after Duel City ended.
Cards like [Last Will] and [Cannon Soldier] would definitely never be released from prison, and draw cards would be restricted as much as possible too.
In short, President Kaiba would have plenty of headaches in the future.
"Come to think of it, why do I have [Exodia] in my hand? And they're all real cards... My original [Exodia] was thrown into the sea by Weevil Underwood, and Jonouchi-kun only recovered two of them... So why do I suddenly have another complete set now?"
Yugi's face was full of confusion.
"That is because you have been acknowledged by Exodia's true spirit. When you so easily mastered Exodia's power, it recognized only you as its master."
A cute girl's voice rang out beside Yugi's ear.
"Huh? In other words, I've now obtained a real set of [Exodia] cards that represents its true self?"
Yugi picked up where the voice left off.
"That's right. This means ordinary people will be unable to properly use its true power, and may even find it difficult to assemble the set."
The voice continued.
"I see. That's pretty nice."
Yugi was very satisfied.
If others could use it too, the dueling world would soon descend into chaos.
"By the way, you are..."
Yugi turned toward the voice.
A delicate face was pressed close to his, their eyes meeting. His face immediately flushed red.
"It's you, [Dark Magician Girl]!"
Taking a closer look, Yugi realized that a girl he knew very well was floating beside him, though she looked somewhat translucent.
"Hm? What's wrong with it being me, Master?"
The girl tilted her head at Yugi, looking a little airheaded.
"No, it's nothing. Anyway, thank you for explaining that just now."
Yugi tried to calm himself down.
"Hehe, no need to thank me. It's what I'm supposed to do, Master!"
Dark Magician Girl gave him a sweet smile.
Seeing her beautiful smile, Yugi could not help but feel his heart stir.
This also laid the groundwork for him playing otaku decks in the future.
"Gah—! That hurts—! Anzu, what are you doing? Oww~~"
A familiar sharp pain suddenly came from Yugi's waist.
Although Anzu could not hear the conversation between Yugi and Dark Magician Girl, seeing Yugi grinning foolishly again somehow irritated her.
So Yugi received a little punishment from Anzu.
Of course, Yugi could not figure out why he had been targeted.
After that, Noah and the mobile fortress were taken over by the subordinates President Kaiba had ordered in, while Kaiba himself led the others toward the final competition venue.
"Noah, wait for me and my brother. Once the Duel City tournament is over, we'll come back for you!"
Mokuba made a promise to Noah on the screen.
"Yeah, it's a promise, Mokuba!"
Noah reassured Mokuba and let him leave.
Inside the Duel Airship's cockpit, everyone watched as President Kaiba swept his hand grandly.
"The final battlefield, Demon Island, awaits us. Set a course for Demon Island! Full☆Speed☆Ahead☆!"
Dark Marik Awakens
On Demon Island, which was covered in ruins, stood a single building: Duel Tower.
After arriving at the island aboard the Duel Airship, they disembarked and headed straight for it.
"Yugi Muto, Marik and I have something to ask of you."
Just as Yugi was about to get off the airship, Isis and "Rishid," who had suddenly appeared, stopped him.
Yugi looked puzzled. "Ask me?"
"Rishid" replied, "That's right. My sister and I want to ask you to defeat it."
"It!? And that voice... You're Marik?"
Yugi was at a loss for a moment.
"What are you trying to do?"
The King appeared warily beside Yugi.
"The nameless Pharaoh... I'm truly sorry, both of you. I did many terrible things to you. Even though I have no right to ask, I can only beg you anyway."
Marik lowered his head and pleaded with Yugi and the King.
"What is going on?"
Yugi and the King looked at each other in confusion.
Marik stepped forward. "Let me explain. I have lost my body now. Another Marik has taken possession of it."
"Another Marik!? Could it be..."
The King immediately realized something.
Marik continued, "That's exactly it. The one occupying my body now is my dark personality. It is cruel and vicious, even more evil than I was before. I'm afraid it will harm everyone later."
Yugi asked worriedly, "Then... are you asking us to drive it away?"
Marik shook his head and continued, "No. I want you to destroy it."
"When I was young, I longed for the world above ground. But during one secret outing, my father brutally punished Rishid and nearly killed him. That caused my dark personality to awaken. It seized the Millennium Rod and killed my father, but after Rishid regained consciousness in time, he suppressed the dark personality once more."
"Later, however, I lost those memories and was misled by a man's words into believing that the Pharaoh had killed my father, so..."
At this point, Marik's face was filled with guilt.
"So that's why you kept targeting me and Other Me?"
Yugi rolled his eyes speechlessly.
"Please do not blame Marik. Blame me instead. I couldn't bear to tell him such a cruel truth!"
Isis bowed deeply to Yugi and the King.
"We really got dragged into this for no reason..."
Yugi and the King did not know what to say.
"Sigh, forget it... Let's put this matter aside for now."
"Let's talk about how to deal with that dark personality instead."
The two of them chose to change the subject.
Marik nodded and continued, "Yes, all right. Returning to what we were discussing, after the dark personality awakened, my memories returned. I should have come to apologize to you in person."
"Unfortunately, my Dark Power was not as strong as the dark personality's, so it quickly took over. For now, I can only reside temporarily within Rishid and borrow his body to speak with you."
At that moment, Isis took over. "Originally, Rishid was the dark personality's shackle. As long as he was unharmed, the dark personality would not awaken. But later, it could no longer endure and forcibly broke free of its restraints, taking Marik's body."
"But that did not come without a price. Marik and the dark personality both fell into a weakened state, so now is the best time to defeat it."
Marik lowered his head again. "As for how to deal with it, I only hope it can disappear completely. Even if my physical body is utterly destroyed, I do not care. I don't want it to hurt anyone else again, so please, Yugi and nameless Pharaoh!"
Seeing how sincere they were, Yugi and the King found it hard to refuse.
After Yugi and the King exchanged a glance and confirmed that neither minded, Yugi replied, "Other Me and I accept this request."
Upon hearing Yugi agree despite everything that had happened, joy appeared on Marik and Isis's faces.
However, at that moment, a sinister voice came from behind them.
"Hehehehe, I see. Joining forces with outsiders to deal with me? You've got some nerve."
"Marik," who had been hiding behind them and eavesdropping, stepped out.
He wore an extremely healthy smile, then involuntarily licked the Millennium Stick.
"Marik's dark personality!!"
Seeing that disgusting gesture, the three immediately became alert.
"Oh my, being surrounded by three people is really frightening... Well, no need to be so tense. It's still too early for our battle to begin, Yugi!"
As he spoke, Dark Marik licked the lollipop again.
"Dark Marik! We won't let you do whatever you want!"
Yugi shouted nervously.
"Dark Marik, huh? Not a bad name... Mm, call me Dark Marik from now on."
"Hehehe, just wait, Yugi. Soon, you will face the ultimate Dark Yami I have prepared for you. Prepare to be buried by the strongest god, hehehehe..."
After saying that, Dark Marik walked past the three of them and gradually disappeared from sight.
Grouping
At the bottom of Duel Tower, Anzu, Mai, and the rest of the cheerleading squad watched as the elevators on all four walls rose above their heads.
The four semifinalists—Yugi, President Kaiba, Jonouchi, and Dark Marik—stood on their respective elevators.
"Now, the method for determining the dueling matchups will begin!"
Referee Isono had appeared at some point.
"What? What's going on?"
Jonouchi was completely at a loss in this situation.
"What are you doing, Jonouchi?"
"How would I know!? Hey, Kaiba! At least explain it!"
Jonouchi could only throw the question at President Kaiba.
"Shut up and listen. I'll have him explain it in a way even an idiot can understand!"
"What did you say!?"
President Kaiba was as accustomed as ever to mocking Jonouchi.
At that moment, Isono began explaining the rules. "For the semifinal stage that will determine the true King of Duelists and the glory of dueling, a fitting method must be chosen to decide the opponents. In other words, the opponents will be decided through a duel."
"The rules are simple. The four duelists will battle here simultaneously. The first two to reach the top of the tower and the last two to arrive will form the two semifinal matchups."
In other words, it was a four-way battle royale.
"The more Life Points you lose, the closer you will get to the top of the tower. In other words, the losers will reach the top first to compete."
Before you continue