Lyman fell to his knees, exhaling deeply.
"I lost…"
He looked up at Kira, not resentful, just smiling wryly—maybe even a bit gratified.
This duel hadn't been a smooth one for him. His strategy was constantly checked, his deck consistently countered. Every move seemed to be anticipated and neutralized with ease.
For a duelist, this was a defeat. But for a professor, perhaps not.
For a professor—especially one near his end—the greatest comfort is seeing his student surpass him.
"Thank you for not holding back, professor."
Kira walked to the center, putting away his duel disk, and helped Lyman up.
"Heh, you say that, but who let up? You think I don't know?"
Lyman smiled, waving him off. He sat down on the dirty steps, catching his breath.
"Cough… cough, cough…"
Lyman coughed violently, even spitting up blood.
Kira just stood by, unconcerned.
For most, that would mean the end is near. But not for Lyman.
It just meant this body was dying—not necessarily the person.
After a while, Lyman wiped the blood from his lips and smiled at Kira.
"I'm about to die, aren't you worried?"
Kira shrugged, pointing at the nearby coffin, and the dried corpse inside.
"Professor's already got a corpse ready." He said. "You're not so easy to kill."
Lyman burst out laughing.
"Immortality… the alchemist's eternal dream." He shook his head. "But I'm not so lucky. This might be my last body."
"With your skills, professor, even if your body dies, your soul can live on," Kira said.
Lyman shot him a strange look.
"How do you know that?"
Kira just smiled.
Lyman had indeed made preparations. He'd attempted forbidden alchemy. When this body died, he wouldn't find a new vessel but would exist only as a soul.
His pet cat, Pharaoh, was to be his new vessel.
But he'd never told anyone, not even Kagemaru. Yet somehow, Kira knew.
"Meow~"
At that moment, Pharaoh the cat leapt into Lyman's arms, curling up contentedly.
Lyman squinted and stroked the cat, continuing to talk as if lecturing at the podium.
"Nothing gets past you. Sometimes I think you're a scary one… heh."
He said offhandedly.
"I have the idea, sure, but it's just a dying man's last attempt.
Soul immortality is something countless alchemists have tried, but has anyone ever succeeded?
I'll probably end up like them—not only failing to live forever, but maybe my soul will be destroyed too."
"You'll succeed, professor," Kira said firmly.
Lyman froze. He looked closely at Kira.
"Oh? How can you be sure?"
Because I've seen the script, Kira thought. But of course, he didn't say that. He just smiled.
"I just know."
"Because you, professor, are the greatest alchemist—unprecedented and unrepeatable."
Lyman looked up and laughed heartily.
"Let's hope so."
He took a strange book from his robes and handed it to Kira. Its cover was full of ancient, complex patterns, with an Eye of Horus in the center.
It felt like when you looked at the book, the book looked back at you.
"This is an alchemical tome left by an ancient master, recording the world's truth. I spent my life studying it. Its ultimate secret, the Philosopher's Stone, is in here.
I always sought a worthy successor."
He smiled.
"I thought this duel was a test for my successor. But now, I see—it was the king testing me… cough.
Who better to inherit this power than the Duel King?"
In truth, Kira had learned much from Lyman and alchemy. Many of his supernatural, dark powers had evolved from the alchemical teachings in this book.
He opened it, and sure enough, there was that card.
Lyman's lifelong masterpiece—the ultimate alchemy: the legendary Philosopher's Stone.
In a duel, by paying half your Life Points, it can become any card in your deck. But it's consumable—usable only three times, after which it vanishes forever.
"I have no family, nothing left to keep me here—just one thing I can't let go," Lyman said.
"Chairman Kagemaru?" Kira asked.
Lyman laughed.
"Yes." He sighed. "People change. Or maybe, people are just complicated by nature."
"Kagemaru isn't a bad guy, really.
Years ago, we once passed through a demon-occupied village. We fought with all we had to protect strangers.
But back then, we were naïve. My deck wasn't as strong, my tactics not as mature. We fought two against one, but couldn't beat that demon.
I messed up. I should have lost. I should have fallen.
But Kagemaru used his last turn to set 'Nutrient Z' for me, letting me recover 4000 Life Points and survive.
But he lost all his LP to the enemy's attack and fell."
Lyman sighed.
"And did you win?" Kira asked.
"Of course, I did." Lyman nodded. "I carried on his will and defeated the demon. We won the team battle, and Kagemaru woke up.
But as time went on, we saw he never truly recovered.
The damage from that duel made his existing health problems worse. He aged several times faster, every organ rapidly deteriorating.
A year later, he couldn't leave his wheelchair.
Two years later, he needed a life-support pod to survive."
He squinted, speaking quietly.
"Everyone knows alchemy turns stone to gold, but that's only the surface. Alchemy's true meaning is to turn the heart into something nobler and purer. But the Chairman was the opposite: his pure heart grew darker because of alchemy."
"Someday, an even greater disaster will strike this island. For that day, I had to train reliable students."
"But now that you're here, I think my mission is complete."
"Now, I can rest in peace."
He closed his eyes, lying down.
A smile still lingered on his lips.