The violent Summon shook the entire simulated duel arena.
Yugi Muto, the Duel King—gentle in both appearance and personality.
And yet, his ace monster was the embodiment of absolute destruction—Gandora.
A creature that stood in total contrast to his kindness: Gandora the Dragon of Destruction.
…Or at least, that was how it should have been.
"Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition? Impossible… there's no way the Duel King simulation Deck, even in version 2.0, would include such a card!"
The bearded researcher, Sid Meyer's expression twisted in shock and terror, his bushy beard unable to hide it.
He was the one who personally oversaw and designed the Duel King AI 2.0 system—every card, every line of logic, every programmed decision.
Despite that, this turn… something impossible had happened without any warning.
Not Gandora the Dragon of Destruction—
But Gandora-X.
"Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition? This can't be! That card should never appear here!"
There were two reasons why its presence was impossible.
Reason One: As the designer of the Duel King AI Deck, Sid Meyer knew for a fact that this card was not included.
Reason Two: Although Gandora-X had once been among the Duel King's ACE monsters, its overwhelming destructive power had led to it being classified as a Forbidden Card.
A Forbidden Card, as the name implies, is a card banned from official duels.
And KaibaCorp's duel-disk projection system, which always followed the latest Forbidden/Limited list, should not allow a Forbidden card to be successfully Summoned.
Yet the raging, destructive energy forming in front of them left no doubt—this Summon was succeeding.
"Did the Duel King AI system… invade the company database and pull out the card on its own?"
This was the only reasonable explanation for why Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition had appeared.
Ether's eyes shot wide as she stared at the duel.
"The duel is evolving. Miles… he's actually pushing the AI itself to evolve with him!"
After Miles used Xyz Summons beyond this era… After summoning a Fusion Dragon far beyond contemporary standards… Even KaibaCorp's simulation system was now being altered.
Amidst the violent surge of destructive power, Yugi declared his Summon:
"Miles-kun—this is my answer to your full-strength duel!"
"Jumping straight to Summoning Gandora-X, huh? Impressive as always, Yugi!"
Miles, used to the dueling style of the Spirit Continent, didn't care whether a monster was a Forbidden Card. If anything, his own Deck contained more than a few of them.
On the Spirit Continent, the rule was simple: if you can wield a card, then that card is part of your strength.
And this explosive, destructive force—belonging to the Duel King even if channeled through an AI—was undeniably Yugi Muto's power.
"O black and golden tyrant dragon! Break the shackles that bind you between worlds, and bring annihilation to my opponent! Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition!"
[Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition] Level 8│DARK│Dragon│0 ATK
The evolved form of Gandora burst through the "shackles binding it to the cracks between worlds"—a metaphor for the Forbidden List. Its enormous body, clad in black-gold armor, roared with enough force to shake all 200 floors of KaibaCorp's tower.
Kaima pressed herself tightly to the glass wall, overwhelmed by the ferocity of the Demolition Dragon—and the absurd contrast of its stats.
"A Level 8 dragon… with 0 Attack and 0 Defense?"
And so the theory of "ATK 0, DEF 0 is always some kind of monster" applied perfectly here.
"It's over, Miles!"
Yugi slammed the upgraded card onto his Duel Disk. The moment Gandora-X hit the field, its annihilating effect fired.
"When this card is Summoned—its effect activates!"
From the black-gold armored dragon's body, countless red light points ignited—focusing into a barrage of extinction beams.
[When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: Destroy all other monsters on the field. Then inflict damage to your opponent equal to the highest Attack among those destroyed monsters. This card's Attack becomes equal to the damage inflicted by this effect.]
"Gandora-X will destroy every monster on the field! And deal damage to you equal to the highest Attack among them!"
Bathed in the crimson beams of destruction, all monsters—including Miles's Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, and Yugi's own Dimensional Reflector Spellcaster—were obliterated in a single burst of annihilation.
Kaima stared in disbelief. "It destroys every monster on the field and deals massive damage at the same time? This monster is totally unreasonable!"
"This was once the Duel King's strongest monster. And now, a card that can no longer be used."
Even as one of KaibaCorp's researchers, Ether never expected she would witness, in a simulated duel, something even stronger and fiercer than the legendary Gandora the Dragon of Destruction—its evolved form, Gandora-X.
Yugi pointed forward. "Among the monsters destroyed, the one with the highest Attack is Dimensional Reflector with 4800! That amount of damage will be dealt directly to you, Miles!"
Another instant‑kill effect.
And if you wondered whether Miles could flip another Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment—absolutely not.
Such rapid‑fire effect damage, each hit strong enough to end the entire duel… trying to negate them all was simply unthinkable.
Standing before the colossal roaring Gandora-X, enveloped in its rising crimson destruction aura, Miles realized the limit of pure defense.
"Then I won't defend anymore!"
Stepping forward, Miles charged directly into the annihilating red light.
On the Duel Disk, the Life Point counter plummeted rapidly.
From 2200… to 1000… to 500… and finally to 100… With no LP protection, Miles had taken Gandora-X's full-power blast right to the face.
[Miles, LP: 2200 → 0]
"No way! I object! Using a Forbidden Card… that's cheating!"
Chi absolutely refused to accept such a result.
Even the KaibaCorp elite researchers hadn't expected Gandora-X to appear.
A duel broken by a bugged system, how could anyone accept that?
"Fine. Consider the bet void," the bearded researcher said.
The wager over the rare card Gandora and the hot‑spring VIP pass—insisting on claiming victory under these circumstances would destroy their dignity as elite researchers.
"Hold it right there!"
Just as both sides were about to void the bet, Miles's voice echoed from the communication mic through the dust-filled arena.
"I can't pretend I didn't hear that. You're saying the bet is void? As the person involved, I haven't agreed!"
True, Miles had to duel for the sake of meeting Kaiba.
Even so, he would not allow himself to be used, bet on, and then casually dismissed.
If you wanted to talk about a gambler's mentality, Miles wouldn't lose to anyone.
"Until this duel truly ends, the bet stays in effect!"
"Keep the bet going?" Chi stared at him. "Miles, your Life Points are zero. The duel is over. Continuing the bet is just giving it away for free!"
Chi herself didn't particularly care about the hot‑spring VIP card she won at a company lottery.
However, handing it over for free would be pure suffering.
"Who said the duel ends when Life Points hit zero?!"
The dust cleared—and Miles and Yugi's hologram still stood facing each other on the duel platform.
"Trap Card—Relay Soul, activate!"
[Activate when your Life Points become 0. Special Summon 1 monster from your hand. Your defeat condition becomes: if that monster leaves the field, you lose the duel.]
This was Miles's final strategy—the one he placed all his hopes on.
Endless defending would never beat Yugi Muto.
Always worrying about Life Points, fearing the next effect that could wipe him out—Playing like that only made him hesitant, afraid to even declare an attack.
Instead of clinging to Life Points, better to risk everything on one final stand.
Reduce LP to zero on purpose—and then charge forward without hesitation.
Chi's eyes widened. "The duel… didn't actually end!"
"Chi, if you don't want to keep betting, then let me take over. If I win, Gandora is mine!"
"Eh? Miles, you want to bet on Gandora too? What are you betting?"
"A reason none of you can possibly refuse!"
A card in Miles's hand shone with white light.
Using Relay Soul's effect, at the very moment his LP dropped to zero, Miles Special Summoned the monster that would determine the outcome of the duel.
"I Summon—Blue-Eyes White Dragon!!"
A burst of light—wings unfurled.
The majestic white dragon soared forth, its shining body casting the most shocked expressions yet across every KaibaCorp employee.
A reason KaibaCorp could never refuse: the existence of a fourth Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
It was also the card Miles had borrowed from Kaima before the duel.
Kaima trembled. "Miles… you…"
"I stake the outcome on this final Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]