Inside the European Medieval Castle, everyone stepped into the spacious courtyard, and the heavy gates closed behind them.
The mustached Croquetts led the way with a slight bow. When he turned, his smile held a touch of deliberate politeness. "Please follow me. The rules for the second stage will be explained in the Banquet Hall."
"Wait!" Yami Yugi suddenly stopped, looking puzzled. "Why haven't we seen Kaiba or Mokuba? Shouldn't they have arrived ages ago?"
Croquetts was just about to answer when a faint sound came from the raised platform at the far end of the Banquet Hall.
Everyone looked up. Maximillion Pegasus sat leisurely in an ornate chair, his gaze sweeping over them as though they were a swarm of insignificant ants.
Golden light flared, and Dark Yugi appeared, stepping forward with a cold expression. "Maximillion Pegasus! What have you done to Seto Kaiba and Mokuba?"
"Yugi-boy~ You've finally arrived." Maximillion Pegasus chuckled, pulled two cards from his suit's breast pocket, and gently turned them around.
The card faces pointed toward the group, and everyone froze.
They bore portraits of the Kaiba Brothers. Even the curve of Kaiba's frown and Mokuba's terrified pose were captured with uncanny accuracy.
"They're... sealed inside the cards?" Anzu covered her mouth, her voice trembling.
Joey Wheeler clenched his fists and charged forward. "You bastard! Let them go!"
Tristan Taylor and Rex Raptor rushed forward with him, but the bodyguards quickly stopped them all.
Mai Valentine furrowed her slender brows, a wary glint entering her eyes.
Dark Yugi's presence surged, his gaze icy. "What will it take for you to release them?"
"It's simple." Maximillion Pegasus pushed himself up from the armrests and looked down at him. "Defeat me and prove your strength."
"I'll win, no matter what!" Dark Yugi's fighting spirit blazed, his