The Traitor

"So we're playing cards, right?"

Watching Noah's serious expression, then glancing at the uneasy, grave looks on everyone else's faces, Yu Ming couldn't help scratching the back of his head.

Honestly, he felt like he was beginning to understand some of the fundamental logic of anime.

As an all-purpose method that could practically be called the ultimate solution, card games seemed capable of resolving every problem. Based on that logic, every delay and difficulty could be turned into a duel.

That was just how a world where everything came down to card games worked.

But there was one issue: the benefit—or rather, the objective.

Yu Ming remembered that in his previous life, several anime enthusiasts who specialized in studying the medium had discussed the significance of this card game setting.

One particularly important element was "combat."

Their view was this: stripping away real-world factors, playing cards itself was a form of "violence" governed by specific rules in this kind of world.

The loser inevitably submitted to the winner. That was an eternal fact.

If that was all there was to it, then Noah's earlier declaration could be summed up in another sentence:

"Beat everyone up!"

But would Noah do something like that?

No.

Leaving aside the fact that a Shadow Game itself was extremely draining physically and mentally, Noah was not the President Kaiba everyone was more familiar with. He wasn't addicted enough to card games to whip out a Duel Disk and challenge someone at every opportunity.

Of course, more importantly, there was a smarter way to resolve this matter.

Compared with violence, its other element deserved more attention:

"Rules."

"Hmm?"

Meeting Noah's calm gaze, Yu Ming spoke.

"Since you want a duel, there should at least be corresponding stakes and rules, right?"

"Of course there are, and they're very simple."

Noah smiled, prompting the obvious question:

"How simple?"

"For the next hour, the loser is not allowed to lie to the winner."

Before his words had fully faded, the already stagnant atmosphere became even heavier.

But Noah did not seem to care. After stuffing his deck into his Duel Disk, he stood up.

"Time is limited, and there are still many matters to handle. So I hope everyone will surrender face-down during the duel... no objections?"

"I have no objection."

Yu Ming felt no pressure whatsoever about that.

Put plainly, setting aside all the strange logic surrounding card games, this was merely a test.

Although the black fog surrounding them—the standard feature of what looked like a Shadow Game—made his skin crawl, as long as one had a clear conscience, there was no reason to take it to heart.

Yeah, a clear conscience...

Ordinary people might not think much of it, but now that he considered it, he realized that some things were especially interesting.

With that thought, Yu Ming adjusted his chair.

After shifting into a more comfortable position, he looked toward a certain spot at the conference table.

"Mr. Ooshita, Mr. Ooka, Mr. Oota, Mr. Daimon, and... Mr. Otaki."

The KaibaCorp Big Five!

"Why don't you set an example first?"

The moment Noah called them out, textbook-dark expressions appeared on all five of their faces.

There was not the slightest hint of ease. In their nonhuman forms, they could not help exchanging glances. From that moment on, they had no way out.

"Lord Noah, I have a question."

The Judge—Chikuzen Ooka, Kaiba Corporation's former lawyer—spoke up.

"When exactly did you begin suspecting us?"

"Isn't it obvious? Ever since we arrived here, this brat never trusted us."

Before Noah could answer, Kounosuke Ooshita—the warrior of the deep sea who had once overseen the corporation's operations—could not help sneering.

"We devoted ourselves to Kaiba Corporation for so many years, wasting our youth fighting for it, yet in the end we did not even receive the most basic trust. He would rather hand factory authority to a group of children than entrust it to us... I even suspect he never trusted his own father."

"But trust itself is a reward given to the loyal, and your actions proved that you were unworthy of such precious trust."

Noah Kaiba emphasized this unhurriedly.

"The facts proved that my wariness toward arms dealers like you was correct. If I had truly handed the factory over to you, even more troublesome things would have happened."

"But no matter what, you no longer have a choice."

Accompanied by a grim, mechanical voice, Ogorou Daimon stood.

Now appearing as Jinzo, he possessed an enormous frame. Merely standing there with his arms folded made it seem as though he could look down upon everything.

"You should have continued pretending to be deaf and blind, Noah Kaiba."

Crackle, crackle, crackle.

Arcs of electricity burst forth, and a pitch-black flash instantly linked all five people present.

Amid thunderous rumbling and ragged breaths, the five figures gradually overlapped and fused together, producing a cry that seemed to rise from the depths of hell:

"Behold the majestic power of the King of the Dead!"

Boom!

Surging power exploded. Yu Ming instinctively raised an arm in front of his face, only to feel a breeze slip through his fingers. There was no tangible harm at all.

Then...

"Did they disappear?"

When the smoke was scattered by a powerful gust, all he could see were five empty chairs around the round table. There was no sign of the Big Five anywhere.

But did that mean they had fled?

They had made a declaration that sounded as though they intended to settle everything, only to set off an enormous smoke bomb in the end?

No, of course not!

"Roar!"

Before the silence could spread, a soaring dragon's roar rang out like a chorus.

The sound waves shook the room, and visible cracks appeared in the reinforced glass that should have been solid and unbreakable. Then...

Boom!

It shattered completely!

By the time he came back to his senses, both the sounds around him and the conference room itself had been completely dismantled.

Everyone was gone?

Looking around at the empty surroundings, Yu Ming saw only a flicker of candlelight.

On either side of him, parallel lights seemed to carve out a path through the void.

There was no need to walk to the end. The dim radiance in the darkness had already revealed what lay there.

"A stone tablet?"

Yu Ming frowned involuntarily.

As he stared at the stone tablet, he felt as if he could hear dragon roars rising and falling without end.

Unfortunately, reality did not give him time to think calmly.

Before he could become distracted, a stabbing sensation born of instinct forced Yu Ming to focus again, almost guiding him to notice something discordant.

"What is that..."

Something seemed to be surging in the depths of the darkness.

"Get out here. Stop hiding."

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

Metallic claps echoed through the deep void. Filth gradually gathered, outlining a familiar silhouette—a towering existence with a savage expression, as though flesh and machinery had fused together.

"Jinzo."

He clapped his hands and leisurely stepped onto the only path, stopping before Yu Ming.

"To have noticed my presence... what remarkable perception."

At this moment, however, he was not the "Card Spirit" people normally recognized.

If Yu Ming remembered correctly, his name was...

"Ogorou Daimon."