CHAPTER 448: CHAPTER 447: RECKONING (BONUS)

In the very center of White Dragon Island, the tournament organizers held the official awards ceremony. Under the gaze of thousands, Kira was formally bestowed the title of the new Duel King.

Oh, and of course, a huge prize fund, too.

After all, this was a KaibaCorp-sponsored tournament, and prizes at Duelist Kingdom events had always been generous. With the president himself competing, staking the title of Duel King, this event was more meaningful than ever, and the prize money was even more considerable.

Recently, Kira had spent heavily on deck construction—not just upgrading his own deck, but also purchasing a lot of cards for research.

Though his lab always had a research budget, that funding had to be split among several project groups. Kira would often invest his own money into research for his primary decks, and with all the cards and equipment bought, he’d spent quite a bit of his savings.

Fortunately, what he spent was quickly replenished. This prize money alone more than restored his savings; it even surpassed what he had before. It looked like he wouldn’t be short on cash for quite a while.

And that was just the prize money. Now that he was Duel King, his fame and influence would only increase. With greater fame would come more investment and funding, certainly far more than before.

If he wanted, there would be no shortage of endorsements, public appearances, and paid guest spots at various tournaments. The opportunities that fame and strength brought were countless—he could pick and choose based on his interests.

But as much as he had, it still might not be enough.

Research was a bottomless pit—look at KaibaCorp, which poured astronomical sums into development every year.

And just this trip to Duel City had been extremely lucrative even aside from the tournament rewards. From the Arbiter alone, he gained cards like the once-meta Armageddon Dragon, the rare Yubel, that Elemental Hero deck that had driven Koyo crazy, and even the Orichalcos arsenal belonging to the Snake God itself.

The Seal of Orichalcos, of course, couldn’t be used recklessly. As powerful as it was, the soul-draining effect was too troublesome, and as a righteous duelist, Kira had no interest in using such evil tools.

Not to mention, it came with a "whoever uses it dies" curse. The Arbiter had managed to break the curse and win a game against Koyo, but one victory couldn’t erase the Orichalcos’s dark history.

Besides, the barrier was probably still connected to the snake. Even if the snake seemed to be dead, it claimed as long as darkness existed in human hearts, it would never truly die. If Kira used the barrier too much, the snake might just return—best not to risk it.

So, forget that card.

Still, there were plenty of OP original cards from Doma. Some Orichalcos-related cards were actually printed in the real game years later, though they were nerfed to the point of being nostalgia-fodder. But in early formats, they had potential.

But the best prize was Yubel.

Players in the future all knew how high Yubel’s potential was. The new series printed a lot of Yubel’s anime cards as new variants, and their power was off the charts. Even one or two would be game-changers.

Becoming the Duel King seemed like reaching the peak, but his to-do list was longer than ever.

To outsiders, his victory in Duel City was like a war god’s triumph. But to Kira, it was the first time he sensed his own limits, and realized he couldn’t afford to relax in the future.

He’d had the artifact boost in both of his final duels, even the Winged Dragon of Ra helping out. That was a huge advantage, but he knew it didn’t count as his own strength—not yet.

With the God of Orichalcos defeated and the Arbiter gone, he picked up the Winged Dragon of Ra card from his duel disk and studied it. Soon, a golden light glowed on the card.

The light gradually faded, as if taking all the divine power with it. First the card art blurred, then the text disappeared, as if the golden light was washing all the information off the card.

At last, the entire card faded, turning into golden motes of light and vanishing from his hand.

Kira understood.

He was not the Pharaoh, nor a tomb keeper, nor a Millennium Item user.

Ra only appeared at the Pharaoh’s call, to deal with the God of Orichalcos. Now that its mission was over, it had returned to its true master.

If anything, he’d just met Ra—maybe they’d fought side-by-side, but whether Ra would remember him next time was anyone’s guess.

The Sealing Device also dimmed, returning to its pre-battle state: dull, inert. But unlike the God card, it didn’t disappear—it remained in Kira’s hands, just lying dormant for now.

Who knew if he might be able to use it again someday?

But Kira didn’t dwell on it.

He had a feeling his connection with Ra wasn’t over. There would be more chances in the future.

He still had a long road ahead, and much to do.

Just as in real life, Yu-Gi-Oh! is a constantly evolving game—so it was in the anime. From Duelist Kingdom to Battle City to every later series, the rules and cards were always improving and changing.

With worldwide institutions devoting their resources, and archaeologists digging everywhere, the card system would only mature further, the series would be completed, and effects would keep getting stronger.

Even icons like Yugi and Kaiba, when they appeared years later, had tons of new cards and variants to keep up with the times.

Those who couldn’t keep up with the new meta risked elimination; true masters grew ever stronger, and their decks evolved faster than anyone else’s.

Kaiba, for example, had been a top player in his day, and after years of progress, he’d pulled ahead of the meta by several generations.

Kira, though temporarily at the top, knew that dueling was advance or be left behind. From now on, he’d have to move even faster to avoid being overtaken.

"After Dartz fell, the remnants regrouped into what they are today. But that won’t happen again," said Kaiba gravely.

"This time, I’ll make sure those scum are utterly destroyed."

With the leader slain and the Three Swordsmen defeated, Kaiba was clearly ready to clean up the remaining riff-raff.

Kira’s eyes lit up.

That’s right—Doma’s organization was worldwide, and their card-printing tech was no joke. Each Swordsman brought out their own exclusive cards, and the Arbiter alone had dropped an epic loot pile.

If they could get into Doma’s armory, wouldn’t there be even more treasures?

So Kira stepped forward.

"Count me in," he said righteously to Kaiba. "As Duel King, it’s my duty to help build a bright future for the dueling world!"

PS: Bonus Chapters at 3500 PS