The End of Yu-Gi-Oh DM
The place we arrived at to hold the semi-finals and finals was an artificial island developed by Kaiba Corporation ten years earlier, back when Gozaburo served as chairman. It had been built for military industrial purposes.
Ishizu and Sera said they would wait in the airship lounge.
The semi-finals were decided tournament-style: the matchups were determined by who could force the opponent's survival points lower first.
I, Kaiba, Yugi, and Marik each took our positions on the mechanical platforms while Isono asked us to reveal the monster card with the highest attack power among those in our decks.
He explained that the revealed monsters would be forbidden from use in the upcoming duel.
When I asked whether fusion monsters in the extra deck were also banned, Isono thought for a moment before answering that they were permitted.
Hearing that, all four of us—including me—began pulling out the extra deck monsters we had no intention of using in this match.
Since I was running a Dark Magician deck at the moment, I took out the dragon-type fusion monster F.G.D.. Kaiba pulled out Masked Beast Des Guardius, a card she wouldn't be using. Marik did the same, while Yugi—or rather Atem—selected Black Skull Dragon.
The duel order was set: me first, then Kaiba, then Marik, then Atem.
Kaiba immediately focused on dueling Atem, launching attacks meant to restrain both me and Marik. I, thanks to my prior deal with Ishizu, aimed to face Marik and therefore worked to restrain both Atem and Kaiba.
In the end, the semi-final pairings were decided.
It would be me versus Marik, and Atem versus Kaiba.
My duel with Marik came first.
The result was my victory.
Marik had pressed me relentlessly with trap and effect monsters, chipping away at my survival points while trying to torture me psychologically. But I dismantled every threat using the Dark Magician's support cards and the Eye of Timaeus. In the final stretch he attempted to finish me with The Winged Dragon of Ra, just like in the original story.
I activated Dimension Magic through the combo of Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, causing Ra to explode in a spectacular blast. When the original personality briefly resurfaced, Rishid regained his senses, learned the full truth, and willingly surrendered. The duel ended with my win.
The Dark Marik, of course, was annihilated and erased forever.
Watching it all, Ishizu finally set down every burden she had carried in her heart. She began preparing to follow Beomseok—the man who would become both her husband and her master.
Sera made ready to depart alongside her.
The duel between Kaiba and Atem ultimately ended in Atem's victory.
Kaiba had cycled her hand from the very first turn in order to summon Obelisk the Tormentor. Atem saw through the plan, countered with magic and trap cards, and both gods were summoned in a spectacular clash.
Kaiba lowered the attack power of Atem's Slifer the Sky Dragon with a trap before swinging for the win with Obelisk, but Atem used the anime-exclusive broken card Gift of the Heavens to swell his hand to six cards. He then used Kuriboh to reduce Obelisk's damage to zero, sending Kaiba into a rage.
When their gods collided and destroyed each other, Kaiba tried to close the game with Ultimate Blue-Eyes White Dragon. But Atem summoned the Super Magical Swordsman Black Paladin and turned the duel around completely with Diffusing Wave.
In the end Kaiba lost to Atem and handed over the Obelisk the Tormentor she carried.
Just as my championship match against Atem was about to begin...
Something feels wrong... Because of that guy, it feels like I've lost something important...
Kaiba challenged me to a duel.
This wasn't part of the Battle City tournament; it was a purely personal match. We agreed not to wager any rare cards.
Well, I needed to duel Kaiba one way or another anyway, so it made no difference to me.
We left the arena and moved to a ruined area filled with broken buildings before beginning our duel.
"DUEL!!"
"My turn! Draw!"
Kaiba took the first move.
She immediately summoned Assault Wyvern from her hand.
"Appear, Assault Wyvern!"
"I'll set two cards from my hand and end my turn."
Kaiba placed two face-down cards and passed the turn.
Beomseok... I rebuilt my entire deck just to face you and Atem. Even though I lost to him, I will beat you.
"My turn. Draw."
It was my turn.
My hand contained Knight of Destiny Timaeus, Eye of Timaeus, Apple Magician Girl, Lemon Magician Girl, Dark Magician Girl, and Thousand Knives.
I had drawn both Timaeus and the Eye right away.
Unfortunately I still needed Dark Magician in hand before I could summon anything with them.
"I summon Apple Magician Girl in attack position and end my turn."
After summoning Apple Magician Girl in attack, I passed the turn to Kaiba.
She drew her card.
"I summon Vorse Raider in attack position!"
"Vorse Raider! Attack that red magician girl!"
Kaiba sent Vorse Raider charging at my Apple Magician Girl.
"Apple Magician Girl's effect activates! When she's attacked, I can special summon one level-5 or lower spellcaster from my hand once per turn! Come out, Lemon Magician Girl!"
"You're forced to attack Lemon Magician Girl! When you do, your monster's attack is halved! And Lemon Magician Girl has the same effect! Come forth, Dark Magician Girl!"
Lemon Magician Girl appeared on my field, followed immediately by Dark Magician Girl. Vorse Raider's attack power was halved again—from 1900 to 950, then all the way down to 475.
"Kuhuuuuk...!"
The weakened Vorse Raider attacked Dark Magician Girl, only to be destroyed in the counterattack. Kaiba's survival points dropped from 4000 to 2475.
But she still had Assault Wyvern on the field.
"Now rip her apart, Assault Wyvern!"
Kaiba used Assault Wyvern to destroy my Lemon Magician Girl in defense position, then activated its effect.
"I activate Assault Wyvern's effect to summon this monster! Come forth, Blue-Eyes White Dragon! And I activate my set card Dragon's Courage! I'll apply it to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that was special summoned this turn! It can attack once more for each special summoned monster! Thunderbolt of Ruin!!"
"Uuuuugh!!!!!"
My Apple Magician Girl and Dark Magician Girl were both hit, taking a combined 2800 damage. My survival points plummeted to 1200.
"I'll set two more cards... and end my turn. There! It's your last turn! Next turn I'll crush you completely!"
I stood up and drew my card.
"Draw..."
The card I pulled was...
Fusion Deployment...? I've won...!
"Spell card activate! Fusion Deployment!"
"Fusion Deployment?!"
Kaiba's face filled with shock the instant she heard the name.
Joey, watching from the sidelines, turned to Yugi.
"Yugi, what's Fusion Deployment?"
"It's a spell that can only be activated once per turn. While it's active you can only summon fusion monsters. In exchange, you reveal one fusion monster from your extra deck to the opponent and special summon one of the listed fusion materials from your hand or deck."
"What?! You're telling me Beomseok had another broken card like that?!"
Joey was stunned to learn I carried yet another overpowered card.
I showed Kaiba the card I had deliberately kept buried in my extra deck.
"This is the one I was saving for the finals against Yugi... Kaiba, I'll show it to you now."
I pulled the monster from my extra deck and revealed it.
"Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragoon!"
"Wh-what the hell is that monster?!"
Using Fusion Deployment's effect, I special summoned Dark Magician from the deck in attack position.
"With Fusion Deployment's effect, I special summon Dark Magician from the deck in attack position!"
"And now... I activate Eye of Timaeus from my hand! Come forth!!! Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragoon!!!!"
The moment the monster hit the field, the sky darkened. A magician clad in black armor, sporting black wings and a tail, materialized with overwhelming presence.
"Th-that's... Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragoon?"
Kaiba stared at the unfamiliar monster in open awe. Its sheer majestic pressure and the feeling of immense power radiating from it were impossible to ignore.
"Huu... Now that Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragoon has been summoned... Kaiba, you said this was my last turn, right?"
"?!!!"
Kaiba glared at me, clearly understanding exactly what I meant.
I activated the monster's effect.
"Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragoon's effect activates! During your main phase, destroy one monster your opponent controls and inflict damage equal to its attack power!"
"What?!"
Kaiba checked her survival points. The earlier combo from Apple, Lemon, and Dark Magician Girl had already shaved off 1525 points, leaving her with only 2475. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon on her field had 3000 attack. She desperately needed to raise her survival points this turn or she was finished.
"Quick-play spell activate! Emergency Provisions! I destroy one card and gain 1000 life points!"
Kaiba activated her set Emergency Provisions.
It was useless.
"Too bad! Once per turn, when the opponent activates a spell, trap, or monster effect, I can discard one card from my hand to negate and destroy that effect!"
"What! Kyaaaaak!!!"
Emergency Provisions was negated and destroyed. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon followed, obliterated by Red-Eyes Dragoon's effect. The 3000 damage ended the duel. Kaiba had lost.
I lost... Now... I have to give everything... to that man....
The defeated Kaiba collapsed where she stood, staring at the ground with hollow eyes.
I walked over, offered my hand, and spoke softly so only she could hear.
"Don't worry. It's not time yet."
"What? What do you mean?"
Kaiba looked up at me, confused.
"Ishizu will explain everything. Go talk to her. I'm going to disappear from this world now. But before I do—Kaiba, wouldn't you like to duel me again someday?"
When I asked, she immediately said yes. She would win next time and take everything back.
I explained the situation to her.
After my duel with Yugi I would vanish from this world and reappear in the distant future. She should manage things until then. If she wanted to see me again, she should develop cryogenic sleep technology and survive until that day arrived.
Kaiba didn't understand at first, but the meaning slowly sank in.
Once Kaiba's duel was over, I faced Atem in the championship match.
I was utterly crushed, of course.
As expected from the creator of Destiny Draw and the true protagonist of DM—Atem read every move I made. The moment I tried to turn the tables, Destiny Draw activated and he drew exactly what he needed for a spectacular comeback.
Having lost the finals, I handed over the Winged Dragon of Ra I had taken from Marik.
Meanwhile, Kaiba went to Ishizu and asked about me. When Ishizu explained everything she knew and described the future she had seen, Kaiba finally understood.
Beomseok likes women. He wants to collect many of them. He wants to duel again in the distant future. Even though he lost to Atem, she would have to challenge him again and win. And before that... he likes women, doesn't he?
Kaiba left Ishizu's room with an unreadable expression, clearly lost in thought.
Ishizu handed her Millennium Necklace to Atem.
I felt a little guilty about taking Mai Valentine—who had nearly ended up with Joey—and Joey's only sister Joan, so I gave him roughly thirty rare cards that were quite valuable in this world even if their power level wasn't the highest, then left his room.
I had already passed the support cards to Yugi and Atem, so there were no loose ends.
It seemed I had finished everything I needed to do in the DM world.
When I arrived at Ishizu's room, she and Sera were already waiting, fully prepared.
I sent them to the Exclusive Dimension first, then left the Yu-Gi-Oh DM world myself and returned to my own Exclusive Dimension.