"Brother!"
Mizuchi hurriedly went forward to help her elder brother up.
At this moment, the Light of Destruction that had occupied her brother's body for so long finally withdrew, and the real Takuma Saio could finally return.
He slowly regained consciousness and tried to stand up, but seemed unfamiliar after not controlling his body for so long, unable to muster strength for a moment; after several failed attempts to prop himself up, he finally gave up.
"I'm okay."
He gestured to Mizuchi to show he was fine, took a deep breath, and then looked at Yugen.
"Duel King... sir, thank you."
Mizuchi also stood up and bowed solemnly to Yugen.
"It was nothing."
Yugen said, taking out the recently collected card deck and handing it to Mizuchi.
Mizuchi was taken aback.
"It's your brother's deck... the original deck."
Yugen explained.
"I took away the new secret rituals birthed under the influence of the Light of Destruction; those cards are dangerous. The remaining original cards should be returned to their rightful owner."
Mizuchi hesitated for a moment before taking it from his hand, feeling somewhat at a loss.
"Your great kindness and virtue, my siblings really don't know how to repay..."
Yugen smiled and gestured with his hand, about to speak, when he suddenly sensed something, furrowing his eyebrows slightly.
The three of them looked up, only to see a ball of white light appear out of nowhere in mid-air. The light gathered and formed a rectangular screen-like image. A figure appeared in the scene.
"Nice, spectacular."
It was a man in a white suit, sitting in a room filled with white light, almost dazzling, elegantly holding a high glass with red wine.
He swirled the glass.
"I saw the recent duel. I must say, it's impressive. Truly worthy of the Duel King, whether in dueling or manipulating people's mentality, you have quite the knack."
He said with a smile.
Just then, Saio suddenly spoke: "His name is Merlot, or rather his human identity's name. His true nature, like the one previously possessing me, is a personality from the Light of Destruction.
Not long ago, he just attacked the headquarters of the International Fantasy Association in Europe, taking away the deck named 'Sword Fighting Beast.'
The person in the scene frowned.
"Oh? You know quite a lot."
He slowly turned his head and glanced at Takuma Saio.
"I see, although that guy has been eliminated, you have his memories, huh. It seems that guy as a teammate was not only useless but also left quite a bit of trouble."
Everyone knew the guy he referred to was naturally the Light of Destruction personality, which had just been eliminated from Saio's body.
Though Saio's body was constantly occupied, his consciousness was never completely erased. In the animation, he even managed to steal two satellite "Sky" keys already in the hands of the evil personality and handed them to Judai and Ed.
Though the evil personality always despised him, Saio was too tenacious to be completely eliminated. Therefore, while the evil personality acted, Saio, though mostly unable to intervene, always watched as a bystander. Thus he had knowledge of many things.
"Indeed, I represent the faction from the distant Cosmos of light."
Merlot said solemnly.
"And my presence here now is solely for you, Fujiki Yugen."
"Oh?"
"You're very strong; in fact, you're the strongest Duelist we've seen on this planet so far. Whether it's the mastery of the Elf, or the dueling skills, they're top-notch."
Merlot said.
"Such powerful talent shouldn't be wasted on such a small planet, among this ordinary and mundane human race. You should be able to achieve more, to accomplish more, and venture into broader worlds."
Yugen pondered: "I feel like I've heard this opening somewhere before..."
Then Merlot extended his hand to him through the screen.
"Join us."
Yugen frowned: "You mean, join you, the Light of Destruction?"
"Exactly." Merlot said, "Our faction of light needs to have a representative on Earth, a chosen one.
In the past, this person was Takuma Saio. But now, as you can see, he failed, and we believe we've found a better replacement."
The Saio siblings exchanged a worried glance.
Apparently, the Light of Destruction failed with one plan and now began to target Yugen.
And Yugen actually appeared to be thinking seriously.
"Actually... it's not impossible."
The siblings were shocked, staring at him in disbelief.
Then they saw Yugen look up and earnestly lock eyes with Merlot in the scene.
"What's your offer like?"
Everyone was stunned.
Then Merlot couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"As the representative of the Light of Destruction, you will have the best resources." Merlot said, "I mean not at the same level as my previously embarrassing companion but literally the best resources.
Whether you want cards, money, manpower, or even power, it'll be absolutely top-notch. The entire world will bow down to you; eventually, every person on this planet will embrace the light's blessing and faith.
And you will stand atop all of this, being the representative above all, making the entire planet revolve around you."
Merlot paused, then emphasized with added weight.
"You will be the greatest ever on Earth, governing all with absolute majesty, truly becoming the ruler of this world!"
Yugen listened, his eyes getting brighter.
"That does sound indeed interesting."
He nodded, expressing his agreement.
"Unifying the world, ruling the entire planet, is indeed a feat no one on this planet has achieved from ancient times." Yugen said with a smile, "Good, you've piqued my interest.
Let's discuss the collaboration matter; let's get started soon.
So, should I come to you, or will you come to me?"
His face full of anticipation, he seemed eager for the grand vision painted by the other side.
"Mr. Yugen..."
Saio struggled to get up, seemingly wanting to voice some kind of deterrent. However, he was too weak, no matter how hard he tried, unable to rise. Mizuchi hurriedly held her brother up.
But Yugen completely ignored the two of them.
Yet seeing Yugen seemingly moved, Merlot in the scene remained silent for a moment.
After a while, he slowly began to speak.
"Alright. If you truly lack the intention, no need to deliberately perform this act in front of me, Duel King."
Merlot said calmly, expressionlessly.
"If you're trying to take this opportunity to approach me, it's unnecessary. We will meet, just not today, nor here, nor now."
Yugen: "..."
Merlot finished his glass of red wine, putting it down, and stood up.
"I will come find you."
With that, he raised the black cane and gently waved it.
The projection-like scene instantly vanished, as if it never existed.
Yugen raised his head towards the direction where the scene disappeared, thought for a moment, frowned slightly, then turned to the Saio siblings.
"Was my acting really that bad?"
Saio siblings: "..."