Yu-Gi-Oh!: This is the real duel!

Rafael continued, "Desses' effect is forced activation, which means that no matter what happens, I cannot make a choice."

Just like I told you at the beginning of the duel, I have no way back!

"I have no choice but to follow the guidance of fate step by step!!"

Looking at the angel monster that had been completely corrupted by the Orichalcos barrier, Yugi finally realized something. Just as each monster in Rafael's deck had a representative, this fallen angel marked with a six-pointed star symbolized Rafael himself!

This monster harbors the darkness within Rafael's heart...

To free this formidable adversary from darkness and to save this endangered world, he must defeat the evil monster wielding a scythe before him!

"So that's how it is... But this is definitely not the end!" King Yu shouted, "Yomi Heavenly Wheel effect activated!! Forced Special Summon from Graveyard—Dark Magician!!!"

"Bang!"

The sound of cards shattering rang out. Faced with Antidote's OTK tactic, Yuche was forced to reveal his trump card – Divine Judgment.

Under the divine pronouncement of the gods, the quick-play spell card—Time Leap—shattered and turned into streams of light scattered across the ground.

Although he couldn't defeat Yuzuru directly, Antid, who was confident of victory, knew very well that Yuzuru's current LP wouldn't last more than a few rounds.

After placing three cards face down as defense, Antid smiled coldly and ended his turn.

However, when drawing cards again, Youche felt completely calm.

Even though he only had 750 LP left, and even though Antid had protected the Blood-Draining Monster with an Orichalcos Barrier, his eyes remained calm and composed.

Looking at his hand, which had been replenished by the treasure card that had fallen from the sky, You Che already knew that this duel would soon come to an end, and the outcome would certainly not be his defeat.

Just before launching a counterattack, Youche suddenly put down the card in his hand and looked at Antide's face, which bore a striking resemblance to his old friend.

“Antied,” Youche said slowly, “I’ve had a question in my mind from the very beginning.”

Antid frowned.

You asked, "You've always wanted to take Armed Dragon from me, but what does this card really mean to you?"

"Hehehe..." Antid suddenly shrugged and chuckled coldly. His tall, thin figure was like a scarecrow trembling in the night wind. He looked at You Che and said sarcastically, "What? You know you're about to die, so you want to die knowing why?"

"Fine, at this critical juncture when the world is about to be destroyed, it might as well let you, the guy who became the Duel King by relying on Armed Dragon, understand!!"

"Your so-called trump card, your so-called power, are nothing but gifts from fate, and behind these gifts lies the destruction and misfortune of others!!!"

Two years ago.

In the gray-white ward, Antide, who had just returned from school, stood in front of the hospital bed, quietly gazing at the haggard-looking boy on the bed.

The shaved head, the ventilator inserted, and the slightly trembling eyelashes... all of these things were piercing Antid at that time.

"What did the doctor say?" Antide stared blankly at the boy on the bed and asked in a low voice to the person beside him.

The middle-aged woman, clutching her handbag tightly, cleared her throat and whispered, "As long as she wakes up, everything will be alright... but there's less than a 30% chance..."

Antide clenched his fists, his once-powerful body trembling involuntarily: "Did my brother say anything?"

The middle-aged woman replied, "Well... oh, a while ago, he said a lot of people at his school were playing some kind of card game called 'Duel,' and he said he wished he could play with his brother..."

Upon hearing this, Antid was taken aback, and at the same time, the advertisement he had seen on television a while ago flashed through his mind.

As the middle-aged woman spoke, she took out a childish crayon drawing from a drawer beside her: "This... was found in his schoolbag..."

Antide picked up the slightly blurred drawing paper. On it was a cute dragon. A golden crayon had drawn a "3" and the character "wind" above the drawing. In the lower right corner of the drawing was a crooked number—1200.

Antide knew that his younger brother had almost no experience with duel cards, and that there were many incomplete details in the drawing, but this was already his brother's greatest imagination of duel cards.

“Leave it to me,” Antide said firmly to the middle-aged woman after a long silence. “I will find a way to wake my brother up.”

After that, Antid resolutely transformed from an ordinary student into a duelist. In an era when dueling information was not yet widespread, he searched for the card his brother imagined in an extremely obtuse way, and constantly strengthened his own strength in the hope of having the opportunity to see more cards.

Finally, after tireless efforts, he encountered the closest opportunity in his life to that card: the first national tournament of Duel Cards, which was held locally. If he could win the championship, he would have the chance to get up close and personal with Pegasus, the father of Duel Monsters.

Antide secretly vowed to win the championship and then ask Pegasus to make such a card for his brother. He believed that the gentleman who was so kind to children on television would not refuse such a reason.

However, as a novice duelist at the time, he only made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament, and the championship was taken by a duelist who rode a white dragon.

Just as Antid was feeling discouraged, a card designer who claimed to be an insider at the International Illusion Society approached him and said that if Antid could help him win the bet, he would help Antid create the cards he wanted.

At that time, Duel Monsters was just becoming popular, and many merchants saw its potential for growth. They hoped that International Vision Company would design cards based on their trademarks to promote their products. The proud Pegasus would never agree to these requests, so the merchants began to bribe designers under International Vision Company. As a result, during that period, many corrupt designers within International Vision Company used this method to line their own pockets.

Find Antid's designer and have the already somewhat famous Antid deliberately lose a duel. In return, he will create a three-star wind attribute dragon monster with 1200 attack power.

In order to wake his younger brother from his coma, Antide decisively agreed to the request and once again embarked on his journey to the competition.

However, things did not go as he wished.

He deliberately lost the battle as agreed, but Pegasus discovered the designer's corrupt practices.

After the match, just as the two were about to hand over the cards, the designer was forcibly taken away. In order to destroy the evidence, he threw the three-star dragon monster card he had designed into the crowd.

And so Antide searched desperately on the ground, but he was quickly swept away by the chaotic crowd. When everyone in the stadium dispersed, the exhausted Antide searched all night, but in the end he still found nothing.

Having lost his reputation due to defeat and his cards due to an accident, a disheartened Antid had no choice but to return home. However, when he arrived home, he was met with a scene that shattered his spirits and filled him with despair.

It turns out that the younger brother had woken up when he first made it to the quarterfinals. To surprise Antidote, he wanted to personally greet his brother at the airport. However, Antidote was in a hurry and only made a quick transfer before leaving again. And it was at the airport that a sudden accident took his brother's life...

That day, Antide stood in front of the tombstone for the entire night.

He knew his younger brother had gone to cheer him on, but he still lost the game...

He was so close to getting that card, but fate intervened and prevented him from getting it...

At dawn the next day, Antid, his body cold and stiff, swore before his brother's grave that from that day forward, he would do his utmost to complete every duel.

He will definitely bring back that card that his younger brother dreamed of...

"Now you know, do you, Youcha?" Antid continued, his voice trembling, "Your so-called trump card all this time, that Armed Dragon Lv3 that was so different from what was used to be, was the promise between my brother and me!!"

"As a duelist, I acknowledge your strength and will..."

"But that three-star monster card is something I must get back no matter what!!"

"Come on, Youche, begin your only turn!!"

"The outcome of this duel is irreversible. I will utterly defeat you! Then I will fulfill the promise that should have been made two years ago!!!"

Chapter 245 Intertwined Fates

So, this is Antidote's story...

You Che remained silent, his mind replaying the incident Antidid had just mentioned: his brother had died while taking him to the airport…

This unexpected similarity immediately made Youche feel suffocated.

Looking at the tall but withered man before him, whose face bore a resemblance to his cousin, You Che couldn't help but wonder if his cousin in another world also felt the same guilt and pain...

The light from the Orichalcos barrier shone on everyone's faces, making the expressions of Yu Che and Antid particularly solemn.

Holding the cards in his hand, Youche's eyes began to redden.

"and many more!"

The onlookers were equally speechless, but Jonouchi seemed to have noticed something. He took a monster card from his deck and shouted at Antid.

"Hey! Antidote! Perhaps... your brother doesn't want Armed Dragon Lv3?"

Antid was taken aback, and looked at the card in Jonouchi's hand through the evil light of the barrier.

That's also a Dragon-type monster—Baby Dragon. The stats of this card are almost identical to Armed Dragon Lv3, both being WIND attribute with 1200 ATK.

Antid was silent at first, then shouted, "What's the point of saying this now?!"

"What I want to bring for my younger brother are cards that I, as his older brother, created especially for him!!"

"Even if such an ordinary mortal monster has the same attributes as an armed dragon, what other value does it have?!"

“No, Antid…” Youche suddenly raised his head, interrupting Antid, and said earnestly, “It has meaning, it must have meaning…”

Under the moonlight, You Che's eyes were a little moist. Seeing him like this, Antide's heart tightened. He had a vague feeling that the opponent in front of him seemed to have a similar past to his own.

Recalling everything that happened at the airport that day, and his cousin's gentle smile before parting, You Che said with certainty, "Antied, for your younger brother, what matters is not the cards, but the gift from his older brother."

"Anything given by my brother, anything imbued with the bond between brothers..."

"Whether it's an Armored Dragon that can evolve or a Baby Dragon that doesn't have any effect, they all have special significance."

"They... are all cards of exceptional value..."

These words caused Antide's hands to tremble uncontrollably. Complex emotions surged within him, and intense guilt and bitterness instantly welled up in his eyes.

If what You Che said is true...

So what does it mean to throw a match just for a card?

Obviously...

My younger brother is awake...

Obviously...

What the younger brother most wants to see is his victory in the duel...

However, he put the cart before the horse, turning the match his brother most wanted to see into such an ugly spectacle!

Antid suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of disgust and hatred towards himself. Perhaps unable to face and accept it all for the time being, he raised the Duel Disk and shouted at Yuzuriha:

"Stop nagging!!"

"These excuses won't save you at all!!"

"From the day I swore an oath before my grave, I will never give up on any duel!!"

"You Che, hurry up and begin your final round!!"

"After defeating you, I will watch as this world enters a new era!!!"

You Che clenched his fists unconsciously.

He already knew that Antid was also a pitiful fellow, and that, in some mysterious way, his fate was somewhat similar to Antid's.

Perhaps it was his longing for his cousin that made him feel a little empathy for Antide, and a sense of pity arose in Youche's heart.

But now, he has no way to turn the tide of the battle except by using the cards in his hand, and no one will listen to the words of a person who has been driven to the brink of despair.

"Then let's settle this with cards..." You Che's eyes gradually changed, his sharp and serious expression replacing everything before. He swung a card, and his counterattack officially began, "My turn! Draw a card!!"

"Tribute my Armed Dragon Lv7 on the field to Special Summon Armed Dragon Lv10 from my hand!!"