Bandit Keith was gone, wailing as he left.
"So you went to the Spirit World?"
A few minutes later, Kaiba Mokuba arrived at the ruins, surprised to see Kira.
After defeating Keith, the Orichalcos barrier shrank, absorbing Keith's soul. Then, a dizzying teleportation brought Kira back to the ruins.
He let out a long sigh of relief.
He'd even managed to snatch Keith's duel disk before being teleported, hugging it tight. He was proud of his quick reflexes; if he'd hesitated, he might have missed out.
Mokuba had come to check things out after hearing about trouble at the ruins.
"And you met Neo Doma?"
"So that's what they're called?" Kira mused. "Any relation to the old Doma?"
Mokuba replied, "So far, no direct link, but they also use the 'Seal of Orichalcos' to hunt duelists' souls."
Kira understood: "So what Kaiba's been tracking... it's them?"
He thought he understood why Kaiba would pursue such an organization personally. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ NoveI~Fire.net
Eight years ago, Kaiba faced the original Doma and saw the power of the Orichalcos God. The three Egyptian Gods were gone now; if the evil god returned, Kaiba would be the main line of defense.
Plus, for Kaiba, the battle with Doma was a major life event. He'd even teamed up with his old rival Yami Yugi, but still lost and nearly had his soul devoured. Only Yami Yugi's on-the-spot card creation saved them.
So, in the end, it was Yugi who saved the day. Now, with Atem gone, Kaiba wouldn't miss the chance to settle the score.
"That Arbiter Kaiba mentioned—the Neo Doma leader? Is it Dartz?" Kira asked.
Mokuba shook his head: "We don't know. Just a codename. But I don't think it's him. Someone else must have awakened the Orichalcos power Yugi—I mean, the Pharaoh—sealed."
Kira tried to recall the DM plot. Atem sealed the Orichalcos God using his heart container, and Dartz vanished with Atlantis. He might have disappeared, but not died—so a return is possible.
"But even Keith joined Neo Doma. Now they're attacking the Spirit World... You managed to beat him, huh," Mokuba said.
Kira nodded, "Yeah, it was close. Honestly, I probably need to strengthen my deck. If only I had more rare cards..."
Mokuba scratched his head, "But you've already seen everything in the branch's inventory. Oh, wait!"
He suddenly remembered something: "You're a Duel Academy student, right? Then showing you that shouldn't be against the rules."
"It's the latest batch of powerful rare cards we just finished. They'll be shipped to the Academy soon. This batch is limited, so once they arrive, students will fight over them. As a student, you get priority."
Kira immediately recalled an early GX episode: a navy fleet and fighter jets escorting a KaibaCorp suitcase to the Academy. The captain insisted it must arrive safely.
He thought it was hilarious: a whole fleet and jets escorting a box of cards.
But then again, if someone wanted that box, warships, and jets wouldn't help—nothing beats a duelist.
Of course, none of the students got those cards; Professor Crowler bought them all and gave them to Chazz Princeton. That's where Chazz got his VWXYZ series.
The VWXYZ series was strong in that era. The anime even had unique support cards, like the Continuous Spell [Different Dimension Hangar], which resembles the real card [Union Hangar] released years later.
The anime-only VWXYZs weren't as strong as later real cards but were still top-tier here.
As for what will happen to Chazz after his deck is intercepted by Kira... well, not his problem.
The series is rare, but not unique. Chazz lost all his cards in a shipwreck and had to rebuild at the Northern Branch. He later used the series again, possibly having bought a new set.
"I'll let you know when the cards arrive," Mokuba smiled.
"No problem. But you should worry about the tournament. If you lose quickly, my brother will be mad."
That was stressful. He didn't have to win, but if he lost badly, Kaiba would be annoyed.
"Oh, the research team leader wants to ask you something."
"The group studying the ruins. Development of Black Luster Soldier has been stalled for a while, but they think you might help unlock a new power."