The decisive battle between Yugi and Dartz, with Yugi's incredible draw, card play, and grandiose displays, finally ended with Dartz's defeat.
To be fair, most ordinary bosses are either defeated by incredible draws, card plays, or grand displays. Dartz experienced this deluxe combo, giving him a fitting end as a boss.
From the images of the Spirit Realm, the moment Dartz was hammered by the Pharaoh, the Duel Monsters there erupted into cheers, expressing their excitement.
The Evil God was finally defeated!
"That's great, master!" Dark Magician Girl said excitedly beside Youyu, "Now he's completely done for, right?"
However, Youyu wasn't that optimistic.
Would Dartz really be finished so easily?
You should know, in the original animation, even after Dartz and his Divine Serpent Geh were hammered by the Legendary Knights summoned by Yugi, he resurrected the God of Orichalcos with his soul.
Then the God of Orichalcos fought a great battle with the numerous Duel Monster Spirits, and later even had a final showdown with the Three Egyptian Gods commanded by Yugi beyond the clouds, and even after being defeated by the combined power of the Egyptian Gods, it still lingered like a shadow.
According to Dartz's own words, the God of Orichalcos is essentially the embodiment of the conflict between Earth's darkness and humanity. As long as the darkness in people's hearts persists, it will never be eliminated.
These two consecutive duels certainly inflicted significant wounds on Dartz and his god, but to say they directly eliminated them seems unlikely.
However, at this moment, with the Divine Serpent Geh defeated, Dartz's figure vanished in front of Yugi.
The golden knight Timaeus the Knight of Destiny sliced through Divine Serpent Geh, and the Three Musketeers took the opportunity to free the souls of Yugi, Jonouchi, and Kaiba.
Now that AIBO has returned, the Pharaoh, who was just exhausted from the boss fight, instantly regained his full state.
There's nothing to fear anymore.
With AIBO by his side again, he felt invincible!
Indeed, Dartz wasn't so easily defeated.
Shortly after the duel ended, various anomalies appeared worldwide. Storms arose, tsunamis swept through, volcanoes erupted everywhere, and dark clouds, black as ink, enveloped the globe...
...It felt like the climax of an Ultraman finale.
In the sky, where once there was nothing, an island emerged out of thin air.
Guided by their respective Legendary Dragons, Yugi, Kaiba, and Jonouchi passed through the deep Teleportation Gate within the Doma Divine Hall and reached that floating island.
They found a ruined town, a street desolate for millennia, with remnants of buildings hinting at its former glory.
Soon, the three realized that this was the legendary city of Atlantis, ruled by Dartz ten thousand years ago.
Darkness descended rapidly.
A massive shadow descended from the sky, covering the area where the three stood. The three Duelists turned around simultaneously, and upon seeing the true body of the massive shadow, their hearts seemed to skip a beat.
For that thing was incredibly huge.
With a body like a python, it coiled layer upon layer around the floating island. It raised its hideous, massive head and looked down from above, its murky eyes seemingly filled with the world's deepest darkness.
In terms of size alone, even the Three Egyptian Gods might not compare.
And Dartz, whose entire body had turned purple and hair disheveled like a demon, was half-merged into the giant serpent's body.
"Dartz!" Yugi exclaimed, "Impossible, you should have been defeated!"
"Heh heh, in a duel, yes, nameless Pharaoh."
Dartz sneered — perhaps due to his fusion with the Evil God, even his voice had turned hoarse and eerie.
"But as I mentioned, the God of Orichalcos is indestructible." He said, "No matter how many times you defeat it, the God's power is limitless.
If you're wondering why, it's because this god is the amalgamation of the dark sides of all bound souls!
"What!?" Jonouchi exclaimed, "What does that mean?"
Dartz chuckled, "It means that all the people absorbed by the Orichalcos and all the bound souls have the darkness within their hearts amplified infinitely in the confined space, growing stronger and stronger, and that's why the power of the God of Orichalcos is endless.
Anyway, it's impossible for humans to overcome their mental barriers on their own now. This is a natural defect of the human species.
No matter how much you deny the darkness within, as long as there are fragments, that darkness will always return, becoming even stronger each time."
"Impossible!" said Jonouchi, "If that's the case, everything we've done so far, all the battles and efforts, would all be meaningless, wouldn't they?"
Dartz laughed heartily, "Exactly! Your efforts were meaningless from the start because inner darkness can't be eradicated!"
"You're lying." Kaiba said coldly.
"Oh?" Dartz asked with a tone of interest, "Seto, what reason do you have to deny this?"
"The reason is, even though you could have awakened the so-called god from the start, you still chose to duel us, didn't you?" Kaiba sneered, "Because you're not as confident as you claim, are you?
You think defeating us in a duel is more reliable, otherwise, even this ugly evil god doesn't truly ensure your victory confidence."
Dartz: "..."
Indeed, from the start he could have sacrificed his soul to resurrect the evil god, but he didn't, and honestly abided by the rules to duel with Yugi and others.
Because, deep down inside, he wasn't as confident as he claimed. Only after eliminating the uncertainties like Yugi, Youyu, and Kaiba, could he confidently resurrect the evil god without fail.
Now, he found himself desperate, betting everything on the evil god's power.
Yugi unexpectedly glanced at him, "Kaiba..."
"Don't be fooled by him, Yugi!" Kaiba shouted, "Think about the enemies you've defeated along the way, their inner darkness, their cries! We stand here today stepping over all of that, do you want to abandon everything now?!"
Yugi: "!"
Kaiba fearlessly turned towards the towering deity in the sky, "Dartz! The darkness within you speak of indeed exists among humans, you're right. No matter how much I want to deny it, I can't because we brothers have seen too much of it along the way."
Even Jonouchi, who usually disagreed with President Haima, couldn't help but be moved, "Kaiba..."
"But!" Kaiba waved his hand, "We have transcended everything you mentioned to get here today! Now all I hold in my heart is the light for pioneering the future, and that alone is enough!"
"I see." Dartz, already transformed into a demon, snorted and closed his eyes gently, "Seto, this is your light, your determination, it's indeed dazzling. In that case..."
He reopened his eyes, filled with evil golden light.
"...Let me shatter that light!"
The massive evil god moved. It opened its mouth, roaring violently, shaking the heavens. As it twisted its body along the island, it seemed as though the entire island would be crushed.
"It's coming, everyone!" Yugi shouted, first activating his Duel Disc, drawing a few cards from the deck.
"Summon Dark Magician! The Summoning of Demons! Kuriboh!"
The Duel Disc system activated, and under Yugi's dark power, rapidly transformed into materialized monsters.
Leading the charge were the Pharaoh's most loyal servant, the acclaimed strongest magician, the Dark Magician, and the Fiend-Type's foremost, "The Summoning of Demons," along with...
...a Kuriboh responsible for being adorable and boosting morale?
Though slightly nonsensical, this reveals Kuriboh's status in the Pharaoh's deck, even in a divine-level showdown, it's on the front lines...
Jonouchi promptly activated his Duel Disc, "Summon Flame Swordsman! Jinzo! Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
The swordsman wielding a flaming blade appeared, the machine warrior made of special alloys emerged with arms crossed, the black-bodied dragon king raised its head and roared.
Even President Haima, in this critical moment, unintentionally overlooked "summoning monsters to fight isn't scientifically accurate" and similarly activated his Duel Disc.
Plus, he did it more stylishly than the other two, starting directly with the trump card, "Descend, transcending endless time and space, the ultimate dragon! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
Here they were all prepared to dive directly into a Pokémon mode, disregarding sacrifices and fusion, straight into action, so President Haima didn't hold back, starting with the strongest servant (old woman) slamming into the face.
The pale-bodied three-headed dragon arrived with god-matching aura! It spread its wings, raised its heads, and all three heads roared thunderously!
"Good, very good!" Dartz laughed, "Since you are so stubborn, let me destroy your ace monsters, along with your final hope!"