"Obelisk, Divine Hand Smash—Shock Wave!"
The fierce wind roared, a domineering blue shockwave stirred up a suffocating pressure, sweeping away even the dense darkness that enveloped the entire area.
It was a strike from the God of Destruction; in terms of sheer destructive power, it surpassed even the highest Phantom God, the Winged Divine Dragon. Where the force of the punch landed, space itself seemed to tear apart, and the outburst of domineering power whipped up an unprecedented storm. The pressure from the wind roared like a tidal wave, turning everything in its path to dust.
Even the formidable Evil God's body was fragile and vulnerable before that force, and the power visible to the naked eye at the center of the storm was like a giant dragon emerging from the sea. The black humanoid created by the Evil God was drawn into the vortex, emitting a series of heartbreaking screams or roars of anger.
"Aaaaahhh—"
The Evil God's voice trembled in the wind.
"Obelisk..."
"Damn Obelisk!"
"Why is it always you guys again?"
"Why can't you Phantom Gods just obediently die along with the Pharaoh!?"
At this moment, the Evil God truly felt fear. Not even when Yugen and others came to their territory, knowing a decisive battle was imminent, did they feel such fear.
This reminded them of their previous defeat, facing the Phantom Gods. Under the Pharaoh's command, they were utterly obliterated.
The world says the Evil God possesses an evil power that even surpasses the Phantom Gods. But whether this is actually true, that's another matter.
"Seto Kaiba... damn Seto Kaiba," the Evil God snarled, "Was it you? Did you bring this card back to this world?"
"Is this what you call 'futurism'? Dwelling endlessly in the past, chasing things long gone?"
Kaiba chuckled coldly.
"An annoying person once told me that those who can't face the past have no future. Although that person is annoying, maybe he was right after all.
Besides..."
Kaiba raised his arm adorned with the Duel Disc proudly. The Duel Disc seemed to respond to his words, suddenly radiating a blue divine light. The light gathered behind him, transforming into the shadow of a blue giant, towering majestically, with scarlet eyes looking down at the dissipating shadow of the Evil God.
"...it's not that I pursue it, but I am the chosen one!" Kaiba declared loudly. "No matter what, Obelisk will always find its way back into my hand!"
Obelisk's Giant Divine Soldiers, initially obtained by Seto Kaiba during Duel City, is also the Phantom God most closely bonded to him. This explains why, during his duel with the Blue God, it wasn't Sky Dragon or Winged Divine Dragon that showed up when he randomly drew a card, but the Giant Divine Soldiers.
From that moment, Kaiba realized that the Divine Cards returned to the Netherworld with the Pharaoh were merely Divine Cards. Just like the three Evil Gods' current situation, the disappearance of the cards didn't mean the divine power was gone.
With Kaiba's personality, there was no way he wouldn't have any thoughts about resetting the Phantom Gods.
However, this task was by no means easy. Even with the world's top card-printing technology and the solid background of being a priest's reincarnation, it was still extremely difficult for President Kaiba.
The creation of the Phantom God Cards for the first time was partly due to luck. Beckas personally handled it back then, and he still possessed the power of the Thousand-Year Eye at that time. According to Beckas, he couldn't resist the temptation of the Phantom Gods and completed the process while under mental influence.
In some ways, the birth of the Phantom God Cards was the will of the Three Phantom Gods themselves. Beckas' own power and skill were important, but he merely served as a medium for the Phantom Gods to manifest in the world.
However, Kaiba's attempt to reproduce the Phantom God Cards was different. By now, the Three Phantom Gods had returned to the Pharaoh's side. While they still obey his summons, they were not that eager to be recreated in the present world. The entire reproduction process essentially relied on President Kaiba's skills, and without the aid of the Thousand-Year Divine Artifacts, it was much more challenging than when Beckas first released them.
Luckily, when it comes to printing cards, President Kaiba has always had sufficient perseverance and resilience. His high-tech capabilities, akin to Saiyan combat power, grow stronger with stimulation. After years of effort, he finally completed the reproduction of the Phantom God Cards just recently.
However, regrettably, only Obelisk was successfully recreated. Maybe because the other two Phantom Gods weren't his initially, lacking fate with them, the technical difficulty was higher.
Nonetheless, Kaiba was quite pleased with his current achievement. Ultimately, he himself believes that Obelisk is his true god, and it feels the most natural to use. Back in the day, he hosted Duel City to gather the Three Phantom God Cards thinking gathering all three would rightfully place him at the pinnacle of duelists. Now, such ambitions have waned.
The reason he recreated Obelisk was that he believed the card was destined to be part of his strength. The thought of collecting all Three Phantom Gods to become invincible has long been shelved.
So what about the Three Phantom Gods? Even the mighty Pharaoh, who gathered the Phantom Gods, was defeated by a mere mortal boy.
The strength lies in the Duelist, not the cards. No matter how powerful a card is, it is just an aid. If one must rely on the suppression of the Divine Cards to reach the top, what's the point?
At this moment, the humanoid image of the Evil God had dissipated, and the card used had fallen to the ground.
Kaiba pondered for a couple of seconds and stepped forward to investigate. But after searching for a while, the most crucial card was nowhere to be found.
Evil God: Root of Fear.
Kaiba frowned. Just then, a sound seemed to echo from the sky—it was weak, but vaguely, it was the voice of the Evil God he had just fought.
"I... lost. But this isn't over, Seto Kaiba..."
"You know nothing... of the truth of the world. Your world... all worlds... are teetering on the brink of destruction. The future... belongs... to us..."
The shadow completely dissipated.
Kaiba rose and furrowed his brow.
All worlds...
What does it mean?
...
...
In the depths of the Dark Domain.
A dark glow seemed to fly back from the edge of this domain, attaching itself to the shadow at the center of the domain, absorbed into its body.
And the shadow at the center, Evil God: Divine Incarnation, slowly opened its eyes.
"I didn't expect you to be the first to fail."
The voice of Root of Fear sounded, saying, "I was careless. That Seto Kaiba, I thought he was just a defeated opponent of ours, but now he's indeed more difficult to deal with."
Divine Incarnation said, "The recent impact, that aura... is it our old friend?"
Root of Fear said angrily, "Yes. It's Obelisk. That guy Seto Kaiba, he's actually summoned Obelisk's power once more."
Divine Incarnation spoke solemnly, "Since we've got Obelisk, we should prepare for the worst. The other two might not be far behind."
Root of Fear said worriedly, "If all three of them come back..."
"It doesn't matter."
Divine Incarnation smirked.
"I have nothing to fear now."