This was likely Dandylion's ultimate, unsurpassed moment.
Though just a little Dandylion, with infinite ATK, and this being a Shadow Duel, if it had been an ordinary person, their soul would likely have been shattered by that infinite strike.
Of course, Trueman wasn't a normal person. As a mass-produced grunt of Nightshroud, Trueman was almost immortal. Or rather, this particular Trueman was destroyed, but there were endless others like him, all sharing a hive mind.
All the grunts shared synchronized consciousness and memory. They learned from fallen comrades and grew stronger each time they returned.
Shattered by Dandylion, Trueman's form instantly broke apart, dissolving into black mist and cards.
Yet even as his body faded, a voice echoed from nowhere in the sky.
"Duel King Fujiki Kira, you're a troublesome one. But Nightshroud remembers you. I'll be back."
The voice faded, becoming distant and barely audible.
Kira watched the black mist drift away, standing in place, frowning in thought.
"Seems like another dangerous guy,"
Vampire Fraulein yawned, lazily remarking,
"Master, you're attracting more and more weirdos."
"Yeah," Kira replied, "And don't you think our opponents are getting harder to kill?"
"Hmm, are they?"
Vampire Fraulein tilted her head.
Kira stayed silent, but he'd noticed. The evil god before had only been a projection, immune to normal attacks; that wasn't unusual. He'd always relied on projections in the spirit world.
The user of "Dark Master - Zorc" was still missing. Now this Trueman was like an Agent Smith with hive mind—unless he faced Nightshroud itself, the number of lackeys was endless.
It seemed all high-level bosses had their own tricks and ways of escaping death. Even in Yu-Gi-Oh's "lose the duel, lose your life" world, everyone had their loopholes. As long as they didn't show up in person, it was hard to beat them for good.
"Master, what are you thinking?"
Vampire Fraulein noticed his daze, curiously waving her pale hand in front of his eyes.
"Oh, nothing," Kira said. "Just thinking—all these evil gods, lords of darkness, incarnations of light, they all have countless clones, maybe even in different dimensions.
So I was wondering, is it possible for me to create more projections of myself, like I do in the spirit world? Even if I can't win, at least I could gather more info on my opponents, right?"
Vampire Fraulein was stunned by this, then burst out laughing.
"What? Too ridiculous?"
"N-no, not at all, Master, hehe…"
Vampire Fraulein laughed so hard her umbrella tilted.
"It's a bit abstract, and probably harder than most could manage, but I think if it's you, maybe you could pull it off someday.
But… but you're actually comparing yourself to evil gods and lords of darkness. That's just too funny."
Funny?
Kira tilted his head.
I think it's perfectly reasonable.
Seeing someone else with something good and wanting it for yourself—isn't that human nature?
Oh well.
Although this was a minor incident, Kira had gotten through it without real danger. He promptly continued to the hotel where Marik and Ishizu were staying, as per Odion's directions.
Both are legendary duelists—the original Duel City's "tomb keepers": Marik, the sunshine boy, and his sister Ishizu, once known as the most ruthless legend in Yu-Gi-Oh! history.
Unfortunately, Marik wasn't there this time—only Ishizu, who came down to greet him as soon as she heard he'd arrived. They shook hands and introduced themselves.
Ishizu didn't look much different from her anime self, except now she had a more mature presence.
They chatted briefly, and Ishizu apologized,
"I'm truly sorry. There were urgent matters, so I couldn't greet you in person. I'd arranged someone to pick you up at the airport, but just recently lost contact with them…"
Kira guessed it was related to Trueman. Nightshroud had set up an ambush at the airport, so the person meant to greet him had likely met a bad end.
"Is Mr. Odion not here?"
"There was urgent business at home. Odion and Marik flew back last night," Ishizu explained. "I stayed to receive you, Duel King."
"If you're busy—"
She interrupted, "It's fine."
She smiled slightly.
"Our family always has lots of business, and the archaeology bureau is busy too. Free time is rare."
Their family's mission as tomb keepers was complete, but the clan still existed after 3,000 years. Marik and Ishizu's father had been killed young, so they'd had to shoulder the family's burdens early.
With the millennium items and Pharaoh's soul gone, their shared mission was gone too—so the clan was hard to hold together, and the siblings had to work even harder.
Marik had flown back to Egypt; Ishizu wasn't in a rush.
That night, she booked the city's best restaurant for a grand banquet to welcome Kira.
He didn't know if this was on Ishizu's department expense, but didn't stand on ceremony. They were both duelists and didn't drink—so they talked about dueling techniques and stories, getting along well.
After several courses, Kira got to the point: "Odion said you had news about the Evil Gods?"
Ishizu paused, sighing softly.
"Yes. We once thought sending the Pharaoh's soul away, and returning the Millennium Items and the God Cards, ended everything.
But it seems peace is not so easily found in this world."
She put down her utensils and gazed out the window.
"The Evil Gods… are about to awaken."
…