"Brother!"
Sarina hurried to prop up her brother.
The Light of Destruction that had possessed his body finally departed, and the real Sartorius finally returned.
He slowly came to, tried to stand, but having not controlled his body for so long, his movements were clumsy. After a few failed attempts to push himself up, he gave up for now.
"I'm fine."
He gestured to Sarina to indicate he was alright, exhaled, and then looked to Kira.
"Duel King, thank you."
Sarina also stood and bowed deeply to Kira.
"It's nothing."
Kira said, taking out the confiscated Deck and handing it to Sarina.
Sarina blinked.
"This is your brother's Deck… the original Deck," Kira said. "The new Arcana born under the Light of Destruction's influence—I took those. They're dangerous. The rest—the originals—should go back to their owner."
Sarina hesitated for a while before accepting it, a bit at a loss.
"We don't know how to repay such a debt…"
Kira waved with a smile, about to speak, when he suddenly sensed something, frowning slightly.
All three looked up; a white light appeared midair. The light condensed into a rectangular screen. A figure appeared within.
"Beautiful. Spectacular."
A man in a white suit, seated in a room flooded with white light so bright it was almost dazzling, elegantly held a glass of red wine.
He swirled it.
"I watched the duel. Impressive. As expected of the Duel King—both at dueling and at tilting people."
He smiled.
Sartorius suddenly spoke: "This man is Mello—or rather, that's his human name. His true nature, like the one who possessed me, is a persona of the Light of Destruction.
Not long ago he attacked the Industrail Illusion's headquarters in Europe and took the Deck called 'Gladiator Beast.'"
The man in the image frowned slightly.
"Oh? You know quite a lot."
He turned his head slowly to look at Sartorius.
"I see. Even though that guy was erased, you retained his memories. Looks like he was not only useless as a teammate, but left us lots of trouble."
Everyone knew the "guy" he spoke of was the Light of Destruction persona just erased from Sartorius.
Though Sartorius's body had been occupied, his consciousness was never fully erased. In the anime, he even stole two of the "SORA" satellite keys that had reached the evil persona's hands and gave them to Jaden and Aster.
The evil persona hated him but couldn't fully erase him. So while Sartorius couldn't usually interfere, he watched as a bystander and knew a lot.
"Correct, I represent the faction of light from a distant universe."
Mello said solemnly.
"And the reason I appear now is for you, Fujiki Kira."
"Oh?"
"You're strong. In fact, you're the strongest duelist we've seen on this planet to date. The spirits you command and your dueling ability are both top tier."
Mello said.
"Such talent shouldn't be wasted on a tiny planet among a mundane human species. You can have more—achieve more—go to a broader world."
Kira mused: "This opening sounds familiar…"
Mello extended a hand through the screen.
"Join us."
Kira frowned: "You mean, join the Light of Destruction?"
"Correct," Mello said. "Our faction of light needs a representative on Earth—a chosen one.
In the past, that was Sartorius. But as you see, he failed, and we believe we've found a better replacement."
The siblings exchanged glances, worry in both their eyes.
One plot failed; now the Light of Destruction was targeting Kira.
And Kira actually looked like he was considering it.
"Actually… not impossible."
The siblings were shocked, staring at him.
Kira looked up, seriously meeting Mello's gaze in the screen.
"What are the benefits?"
Everyone was stunned.
Mello couldn't help but laugh.
"As the Light of Destruction's representative, you'll have the best resources," Mello said. "I don't mean the level of our embarrassing former companion—I mean literally the best.
Cards, money, manpower, even authority—all top-tier. The entire world will bow to you; eventually everyone on this planet will receive the light's baptism and embrace its faith.
And you will stand at the top, the representative above all. The entire planet will revolve around you."
He paused, then emphasized:
"You will be the number one in Earth's history. Reigning above all with absolute dominance—the true master of this world!"
Kira's eyes lit up as he listened.
"That does sound interesting."
He nodded, admitting it.
"Unifying the world, reigning over it all—indeed, a feat no one on this planet has achieved," Kira said with a laugh. "Good, you have my interest.
Let's talk specifics—sooner the better.
Shall I come to you, or will you come to me?"
He looked eager, as if he couldn't wait for that blueprint of world domination.
"Kira…"
Sartorius struggled to rise, trying to dissuade him, but his limbs were weak. Sarina hurried to support him.
Kira completely ignored them.
But Mello, seeing Kira seemingly convinced, fell silent.
After a while, he spoke slowly.
"Alright. If you've no intention, you don't need to put on this act for me, Duel King."
Mello said blandly, expressionless.
"If you wanted to use this chance to approach me, no need. We will meet—but not today, not here, not now."
Kira: "…"
Mello finished his wine, set the glass down, and stood.
"I'll come find you."
He raised his black cane and gave a light wave.
The projected image vanished as if it had never existed.
Kira looked up at where it had vanished, pondered a moment, then frowned and asked the Sartorius siblings:
"Is my acting really that bad?"
The siblings: "…"
...
2 Bonus chapters at 1000 PS