We are almost done with this story. Almost.

Characters are now gradually bowing out of this drama one after another.

3 - Lethe, Waters of Oblivion

Yusei did manage to catch up with the team before they landed at Tops.

Aki was at the other side of the City when Yusei flew up behind them. There was a dash of sunlight as Yusei swooped down towards them, bringing with him a sharp breeze of the morning air and a satisfied smile on his face.

"That was quick." Aki said softly, feeling her stomach doing a backflip when he returned a relieved grin at her. It was an expression so removed from his image as the King. Aki briefly saw, once again, the carefree boy she once knew.

"I didn't do much." He replied evenly as Stardust Dragon fitted into position besides Black Rose Dragon, Aslla Piscu gliding behind them.

Aki stayed quiet for a brief moment.

"You know, Yusei… maybe it would have worked out better if I went for that land bridge instead out." The words came out slowly. "With you doing the same kind of nasty stuff that I was known for… it doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?" Yusei was contemplative, thoughtful, careful as he replied.

"You represent something different." Aki huffed. "The King was always a gentleman. He wouldn't resort to violence no matter what. Yusei, you symbolise a kind of virtue that I admired. I… I don't want you to get your hands dirty like me."

Crow coughed pointedly behind Aki and seemed to want to say something, but Yusei beat him to it.

"Would you still say that after knowing I had strong-armed my way into Satellite, coerced Security to give Jack City residency, and tried to hack into the government's databases?"

Aki turned to look at Yusei. The latter shook his head.

"I understand what you're trying to say, Aki." Yusei gave out a heavy sigh. "You have taught me something very important over the past two days. You have taught me to act for myself, to stop acting as a puppet for powers that I don't even understand. As for my hands, well, they were already dirty as the King of Neo Domino, a symbol of the false hope that Neo Domino wanted to propagate for as long as possible."

That City of false hope was already looming up against them, the towering heights of Tops casting a formidable shadow onto the plains surrounding the City. Yusei lifted a hand and signalled for the trio of dragons to pause.

They were now close enough to see activities in the streets below. To Aki's surprise, the City was silent and still, and Tops appeared all but abandoned.

Yusei had noticed this as well. "Tops is too quiet." He spoke loudly, making sure they could all hear him as they hovered in the sky. "What do you say to us landing away from it, and focus on getting to either the Momentum lab or the Security Bureau?"

The party cast their eyes to the other structures Yusei pointed out, both of them landmarks of their own, standing tall on the seaside flatlands. The Momentum lab, a tall column that housed the main machine and its research institute, was erected a respectable distance away from Tops, close to the mountains that hugged Neo Domino's borders from the north. Within Tops itself stood a similarly magnificent structure, that of the Security Bureau headquarters, with the Director's office the crowning jewel of the building. Much of the City's administrative functions were conducted by officers located in that building, making it the bureaucratic heart of Neo Domino.

Between these hubs, the highly advanced system of Duel Lanes and standard motorways connected the sprawling city, a dazzling and confusing network of intertwined roads. Outside of Tops, the rest of the City existed in vertical layers. Glass-clad villas, rooftop gardens, suspended concert halls and elevated public spaces jutted out higher than the roads, enjoying the sunshine and clear air. Lower down, parallel to the roads, middle class families lived in two-levelled apartments inside conventional skyscrapers. Even lower still, poor folks lived on the ground level in low apartment buildings with a lack of sunlight. These dark dwellings were usually the haunts of new migrants, but even those were better than Satellite.

"I vote on going to the Security headquarters." Jack presented his option. "That's where Rex Goodwin's office is. If I were Rudger, I would go there first."

Crow nodded. "That's where I want to go too. It makes sense for anyone from Satellite to target the Securities first."

Aki turned to look at Carly. The black-haired girl simply nodded.

A low rumbling from beneath them, however, managed to draw of their attention towards the ground.

"What was that?" Crow's voice shook as the alien rumbling reverberated through the Earth again, this time even more intense. The sound was coming from somewhere on the ground. It felt like the growl of an engine in some subterranean area. When the sound persisted, the City's buildings started to shake. As the group watched, a few glass railings from a building fell with a crash to the ground far below. The shakings only stopped when the strange sound ceased.

"Was that an earthquake?" Even Jack was fearful when he spoke. Aki wished he was right, yet everyone knew better.

"No… it's not an earthquake." Yusei's brows were knit together in a deep frown.

"This is Momentum losing control." Aki finished the sentence for him. "It is no longer held down by Psychic Duelists. We need a change in our plans. We need to do something about Momentum, fast."

-\-\-\-\-\-\-

Yusei's mind was in a whirlwind as the dragons dove towards the City, aiming for a wide garden with plenty of trees lining its sides.

After all this mess, Momentum was finally showing what everyone feared the most - signs of repeating the tragedy 16 years ago. That explosion was an occurrence that tore apart the entire city and killed thousands overnight - it was happening all over again. All of it.

Yusei was lucky last time. Fate smiled upon him before he was even born. The die didn't fall so well for Crow and Jack. They were at the wrong end of the coin toss. Death and poverty, instead of happiness and riches, suddenly became their lot.

Momentum was an endless spindle that only took and took and took; the only power it gave back urged humans to offer up more sacrifices. For every ounce of inexhaustible energy, Momentom took misery tenfold. For every easy joy and laughter, it only made the citizens greedier, wanting more for even less. It was a serpent that swallowed itself and its worshippers alike. And as soon as that stopped –

The rigid rules that caged the wild god had been disrupted. Momentum has no soul, yet Yusei felt it was a malevolent force that his father had cradled for far too long. The City hardly had any alternative energy supply. Neo Domino had reduced itself to a mere parasite.

What Yusei had grown up believing as the symbol of ultimate control was all for naught. It was instead a timebomb, a curse that had securely wound itself deep into Neo Domino's heart.

Yusei had enough of wondering how everything came to be this way. He knew everyone was looking at him as a figure of authority - the King of Neo Domino City and the world champion of Duel Monsters would know what to do, right?

In his old mould as the King, Yusei would have tried to contain himself and hide his emotions, putting his priorities on solving the problem.

In his current state of mind, Yusei had had more than enough.

Aki had asked him what went wrong for them to get to this point. Yusei wanted to answer it was everything. Everything was using the two of them. But to be fair, Fudo Yusei and Izayoi Aki played a part in their own downfall. They allowed themselves to be used, standing at the head of meaningless teams, representing arbitrary beliefs. What was the point in any of it? Nothing. At the end of the day, they still didn't get to choose their fate.

The bitter taste this left in Yusei's mouth was what drove him on. He could have sided with either of the Goodwin brothers. With Momentum in shambles, it was becoming a mad grab to get as many Psychic Duelists as possible on one's side. He could have gone with Rex, perpetuating the illusionary peace. He could have gone with Rudger, exposing the ugly truth and taking revenge on the City. Yusei was brought up to represent hope, prosperity, and the glory of Neo Domino. Both choices could have continued the fruitful days of the City. He could work with Rex to extend the City's glory or overturn the broken social order by Rudger's side.

Neither was what the citizens of Neo Domino deserved.

Under Rex's reign, Psychic Duelists disappeared from society, never allowed to be themselves. As for Rudger, he was vocal in his hatred of normal people. He would have enforced the superiority of Psychic Duelists and allowed the likes of Kiryu to vent their anger on innocents.

The only ones who were truly guilty in this screwed up world were the ones who made Momentum despite all the warning signs.

With experienced, graceful swoops, Black Rose Dragon overtook him in their descent downward, a dark-red mark stamped into the bright morning sky. He knew Aki must still be conflicted, too. No one goes through a change of heart like that and manages not to doubt the validity of their choices. Perhaps she was thinking that she shouldn't be standing with the rest of them today - the old Izayoi Aki he knew would definitely think that.

Slow, rhythmic swooshing sounds behind him signally that Carly's giant beast had joined them. The journalist had always been stubborn to a fault when it came to the truth, despite Yusei's assessment of her as being fragile. That assessment couldn't have been more wrong. And this thing she has with Jack… Yusei couldn't figure out when it had solidified. He could see it whenever Carly and Jack spoke to each other, whenever they touched, locked eyes, or even argued - it seemed no matter how Neo Domino and Satellite tried to resolve their differences, it was another emotion that will win at the end.

He only wished that Aki and he might come even close to how Carly and Jack interacted.

The sun glinted off the water and the sparkling buildings, shining into his eyes to momentarily daze him. He squinted, but thankfully Black Rose Dragon's dark shadow stood out even in the most blinding of all lights.

-\-\-\-\-\-\-

The garden they picked to land in was very close to the Momentum tower. It was one of those elevated gardens constructed to amaze. The entire platform was resting on some very long poles, with bits and pieces dangling precariously out into the air, giving off a veritable 'Hanging Gardens' feel. Even though he knew these fancy buildings were very sturdy, Yusei still worried a little as their gigantic dragons landed with loud thuds.

The two new monsters wobbled. Amidst Jack's cursing and Yusei's struggles, Stardust Dragon and Earthbound God Aslla Piscu gingerly put the D-Wheels on the ground first, then placed their claws and lowered their bodies to allow the riders to disembark.

The beasts were then dismissed. With them gone, Yusei hurried the team to a discreet garage he had frequented before. He put in the required numbers into the mechanical recombination lock and the doors opened with a crack, revealing a spacious building that had a few D-Wheels parked there.

"What's this?" Jack looked around with curiosity.

"This is a place where residents can store their spare D-Wheels. I knew the password, so we might as well use it." Yusei turned to face the rest of the group. "At this rate, with Momentum down, our D-Wheels won't be of much use. This garage is still using a mechanical lock and all. Luckily, that's exactly what we need."

The sun had climbed over the horizon by now, and the birds nesting in the trees have started to chirp. But there was a distinct, terrifying lack of people. There were no sounds of the daily commute, the billboards were dark, and even the regular Security patrols were absent. The city was so still that they could practically see dust falling softly to the ground.

"Where on Earth are all the people…" Aki muttered under her breath.

"Evacuated… hopefully." Yusei replied in concern as they left the garage. Some small pieces of rock tumbled onto his head.

"Careful!"

Jack's yell was quickly overwhelmed by the ominous rumbling that they had heard before. The branches of the trees started to wave about and the whole group momentarily froze, not knowing where to turn.

"Don't just standing there!" Carly grabbed Jack's arm, dragging him towards the centre of the park away from the trees and buildings. The expressions on the team's faces were grim as they hunched in the park's open space, hoping things wouldn't get any worse. Just like that, the shaking and rumbling stopped as abruptly as it began.

"Well… I guess this would be enough to get the City evacuated." Crow muttered as they looked around at the absolute silence.

"I wonder if these shakes have been getting worse." Yusei breathed.

"Let's just go." Jack grumbled. "There is only one way to find out."

The group set out on foot. They know they should be careful, but now there was a sense of urgency. The serene silence of the City had come coupled with an ominous atmosphere that only thickened the longer they stayed still. Yusei found himself thinking about the stories he had heard about the fateful day sixteen years ago. Old Domino City was torn up into dozens of tiny islands, separated by vast cliffs and canyons. Yusei didn't know if any of the team took responsibility, given how they all managed to be beyond reproach.

Rex and Yusei's father no doubt would prefer the past to remain buried. It fitted their narrative. A lie for eternal peace – Rex Goodwin would have said something like that. It would have worked, had someone not somehow left Rudger Goodwin alive in Satellite.

Did the team not know of the misfortune that Momentum will eventually cause? They were only asking for trouble by persisting in developing and using Momentum.

Momentum gave men power. Not only did it corrupt, it directly killed.

Was this the price his father decided was worth the glory? Was this forgetfulness the only solution to further Neo Domino's power?

The people deserve to know the truth and make a choice of their own. That was the kind of liberty Fudo Yusei was supposed to embody.

He put more strength into his legs and forced himself to run faster.

-\-\-\-\-\-\-

Navigating from the park to Momentum would have been hard under normal circumstances. Most of the buildings in Neo Domino were connected by roads and duel lanes, not for pedestrians. The group decided to brave running on the duel lanes, given how abandoned the City was. But if even a single functional D-Wheel came tearing down the lane, they would all undoubtedly be injured.

Jack, who was walking at the front, jolted every time he heard something remotely close to the sound of an engine. Thankfully, all of those were false alarms. Without power, all the duel lane's entry doors were open by default. The group identified the exit for Momentum Tower and got out as soon as they could –

"Oh shit…"

– Only to have Jack stopping in his tracks and swearing under his breath.

"Hey what are –" Crow started to complain, but stopped when he saw what Jack was looking at.

"Kiryu's crew. They are already here." Jack muttered and stood aside, revealing the road towards Momentum Tower. There were dozens of Black D-Wheels parked along it.

"They could still drive those?" Crow frowned. "What happened to Old Momentum running out of power?"

Aki shook her head. "Maybe it wasn't running out of power, but the power was re-directed. Satellite had backup energy supplies. Rudger could have messed with the machine to prioritise the black D-Wheels."

And that means dozens of Psychic Duelists.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. The prolonged silence had made the sound particularly startling. Yusei froze. Was it a gun?!

Then something black came down and blocked his vision. It was as if a black wall fell before the entire group. It was only when Carly took a step forward that Yusei realised it was not a wall, but Carly's monster.

Her giant black bird, the Earthbound God Aslla Piscu, had stabbed all ten fingers of its wings into the ground in front of Jack, forming a solid wall of protection. Slowly, the massive bird extracted its fingers from the concrete ground with a shrill sound, one that reminded Yusei of nails scratching on a blackboard. As it freed its wings, the bird stood up, its proud and cruel beak uplifted in a defiant challenge towards the men now standing before them.

Kiryu stood at the head of a small group of man, blocking their access to the Momentum Tower. A strange Duel Monster was there. It was a man wearing a fluttering dark cape, and a sort of full breastplate with eyes on the front. Yusei raked his brain to think of what Duel Monster that might be. It might be one of the more obscure cards that the pros hardly used.

The monster held a gun in its hand, the barrel still smoking, the weapon pointing straight towards Jack. Aki gave a small gasp and Crow took a sharp breath. Yusei understood what just happened – Kiryu had just literally tried to put a bullet into Jack's chest.

"This is what you are resorting to these days, Kiryu?" Crow roared. "Just straight up shooting people?!"

"Hey, don't get mad. You are the ones with loads of Psychic Duelists." Kiryu lifted his hands in mock resignation. "I'm just trying to equalise here. If I don't attack, it could have been my head."

"This is what you think of us?" Jack stamped his foot.

"I wouldn't have let you go. What would make me think you are any different?" Kiryu waved his hand dismissively. The Duel Monster stepped aside, but it was still there. Similarly, Carly didn't dismiss her monster either. "We aren't here to talk, but you can still come over to our side to help me and Rudger-san. There's still time."

"Not happening." Yusei answered for the group. No one contradicted him.

"Then I really will kill you all here." Kiryu's voice dipped. "I'm serious about that, you know."

"You think we'd allow you to do that?" Aki spit out.

"Ohoho. Threatening me now, aren't we?" Kiryu positively giggled. "But I have always told you that you look the best when you're angry, Aki. So much rage, so much power, so much blinding beauty. You should stick to that kind of –"

"Have you said enough?!" Aki seethed.

"Only because I want you to come back to me." Kiryu shrugged. "Rage such as yours belong to this side, not to the fake righteousness that the King embodies."

Yusei was about to say something in retort. Aki beat him to it.

"And what would be left in you at the end of all that rage, Kiryu? Once you've finished punishing the City, what then?"

"What then? The City would finally respect Satellite folk and give us enough money and opportunities." Kiryu answered with a tilt of his head. "This is about making sure the City folks never mistreat us ever again."

"Have you thought about what that would create?" Aki queried. "It would only reverse the position between City and Satellite. You would not earn any respect. The City people would feel that they have been wronged. They would hate, rebel, and end up in the situation you are in right now. They will seek to destroy you."

"As long as Satellite has Black Duel Disks, we'd be more powerful than anyone else." Kiryu snorted. "Thanks for your concern, but your scenario won't happen as long as Old Momentum is on our side."

"In other words, the peace you are creating for Satellite only lasts as long as Old Momentum." Aki concluded.

"What is your point?" Kiryu huffed. "Is this your way of trying to get me to come to your side? Cos it's not working."

"The ones at fault aren't the people of Neo Domino. It's the Goodwin brothers – rather, Rex Goodwin." Aki offered. "His plots resulted in social separation between the City and Satellite. You can join us to take him down, Kiryu. Our goals are aligned on that part."

"And what are you going to do with Rudger-san?" Kiryu narrowed his eyes.

"He does not respect human lives, Psychic Duelist or otherwise." Aki shook her head. "I would leave such a decision for later."

"You know that if it wasn't for Rudger-san, you wouldn't be the person you are today, right?" Kiryu growled.

"He would have done the same to which ever Psychic Duelist freed him." Aki's face was neutral.

"But it remains that we own him one." Kiryu shook his head slowly. "That's one thing I can't accept from you."

"Kiryu… I understand where you are coming from, but can't you see he only stayed with you because you are useful to him?" Aki's voice rose in exasperation. "It goes for all of your men as well. Rudger needs manpower, and you are providing that. Where do you think you will fit in his vision of Neo Domino? You are not a Psychic Duelist. You are one of his hated normal people."

A silence fell over the area. Rudger may have a good goal for Psychic Duelists, but it was no less divisive than that enacted by Rex Goodwin. Instead of exploiting Psychic Duelists, Rudger would only end up exploiting non-Psychic residents in return.

But at the same time, Yusei could see the appeal for Kiryu. For a land as famished and powerless as Satellite, any powerful benefactor must have looked like a godsend.

At the end, Kiryu shook his head.

"I can't believe you, Aki… After all this, you still went back to the City's side?"

"I'm not on the City's side." Aki clarified. "We are here to make Rex Goodwin accountable."

"But you insist in standing against Rudger-san, and you insist in not using force to punish those despicable City folks." Kiryu barked out a small laugh. "Ha! It's as if they will change just by talking."

"We will have to fight you to get into the Momentum Tower, don't we?" Aki said slowly.

Another gunshot sounded before Aki had finished her sentence. Yusei yelled out instinctively, and Crow lunged forward. But the form of Black-Rose Dragon appeared out of thin air and blasted off a ball of black lightening towards Kiyu's monster, obliterating the creature completely.

"If you want a fight between Psychic Duelists, then you will get it." There was a bubbling rage underneath Aki's icy words. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

All at once, the two-dozen men standing behind Kiryu summoned Duel Monsters. Yusei tensed as robots, dragons, demons, fairies, humanoid beasts, insects, and all sorts of other existences appeared before them, screeching and waving their limbs menacingly.

"Everyone…" Yusei took a deep breath before issuing a short command, "ready your Duel Monsters!"

Stardust Dragon appeared behind him. The leathery wings of the dragon brought a refreshing breeze as the beasts moved according to command. Black Rose Dragon was already rearing its head back, another blast of black energy gathered in its mouth.

"Black Rose Flare!"

The black ball of energy flew towards her enemies and exploded in a searing, crimson light. The monsters on Kiryu's sides were literally ripped apart by the blast wave, pieces of flesh and machine that slowly faded to nothingness. Some of Kiryu's followers shrieked and broke rank, stumbling away from the fight.

"Let's move!" Yusei waved and urged everyone to move towards Momentum. The machine was not going to wait for them.

"Watch where you are going, King!"

With Kiryu's roar, Yusei saw the Satellite man summon a black dragon. Yusei recognised it this time. The monster was Infernity Death Dragon, a rare monster more powerful than Stardust Dragon and Black Rose Dragon in the game. With a whoosh of its leathery black wings, Infernity Death Dragon repelled Stardust's attack, growling at the other two dragons as well.

Yusei gritted his teeth and stopped. Next to Kiryu, the men were regrouping on shaky legs, but they were still there.

"Let's attack together, Yusei!"

Aki looked at him, and he nodded in return. Right on cue, Black Rose Dragon readied itself for another attack, black lightning sparkling in its mouth. Stardust Dragon gathered up a sphere of white energy and was ready to launch.

"Stand your ground and summon your monsters again!"

Kiryu's dragon spread its wings, completely covering up all the men behind it. One by one, his men recalled their monsters back to reality behind the protection of Infernity Death Dragon.

"Go, Aki!"

Yusei and Aki understood they must not give Kiryu any time to recover. Two streams of energy, white and black, shot out towards Kiryu. Even if Infernity Death Dragon was powerful, it would not be able to withstand the combined force of two elite monsters.

"You think you are the only one with force in numbers?! All of you, attack!"

A thick, jet black energy spewed out of Infernity Death Dragon's mouth, an inky torrent of black ooze that split apart the combined attacks of Yusei and Aki. And with it, all the monsters with Kiryu attacked at once.

"SHIT!"

Yusei swore out loud. His first instinct was to get Aki down to the ground and protect her. The combined attack of Kiryu's men broke through Aki and his offence. The black deluge of power was heading straight towards Aki, going to sweep over their dragons at any time. Yusei had no idea what it would mean for their dragons, but there was no one he was going to lose Aki to Kiryu.

Aki was standing frozen to the spot when he tackled her to the ground. Yusei braced himself for whatever that was coming, but it never hit.

Instead, he heard a bloodcurdling scream come out of Carly.

Aki and Yusei looked towards Kiryu. Earthbound God Aslla Piscu was once again standing between them and Kiryu, taking the blunt of the combined attack. Yusei whipped around. Carly was kneeing on the ground with her hands clutched to her chest, her face twisted in a pained grimace.

"Carly! Stop!" Aki was the first to react. "Stop maintaining your dragon!"

Earthbound God Aslla Piscu's form started to grow faint, its black limbs turning to grey then transparent, completely disappearing after absorbing the attacks from Kiryu and his men. Carly fell to the ground, her eyes closed.

"CARLY!"

Jack immediately scooped Carly up, holding her close and shaking her shoulders firmly. But she did not respond. Yusei felt his heart skip a beat. No way…

"You son of a bitch, KIRYU!"

The world around them turned to fire with Jack's scream, the young man's voice hoarse as he vented all his rage into the roar that summoned Red Demon Dragon at long last. A massive wave of heat washed over Yusei as tongues of fire materialised around them. The flames rose up as Red Demon Dragon sucked in a deep breath, its very breath smoking like a dark crimson furnace.

At the same time, the world shook again. The air wavered with the heat and the earth trembled with another earthquake caused by Momentum. Massive pieces of rubble fell from the taller structures. Yusei growled as pieces hit his hand. Though the shaking stopped soon after, the gravity of the situation was clear.

They needed to get to Momentum soon.

Jack stood up from the charred ground. The blond man's white riding suit was now stained with patches of soot, scraped and broken and mixed with blood. He supported Carly with one arm, clutching the girl's unconscious form close to his body. He glared at Kiryu while the magnificent red dragon behind him - his Red Demon's Dragon - roared in unending fury.

"You are serious about killing us, Kiryu!" Jack was screaming. "Do all of our years at Martha's place mean nothing?"

"I am ready to give up everything to give Satellite a better future!" Kiryu screamed in return. "You will never understand me!"

Jack seemed too angry to speak. His eyes were open impossibly wide.

Yusei stood up slowly, his knees and hands scraping against the ground.

"I guess talking with you is over." Yusei's own voice had become gravelly to his ears. He had had enough of trying to believe in whatever humanity still left in Kiryu.

At the end of the day, even though Yusei didn't want to believe it, some people were indeed monsters.

"So, you will finally stoop to my level? About time." Kiryu cackled. "You've finally realised that your innocent dream to everyone getting along isn't going to work? You have finally decided… to take lives?"

Right on cue, the ground shook again under them. Neither party moved. Kiryu's men had reassembled behind them, while Yusei and Aki stood in front of Jack, who was still supporting Carly in his arms and shielding Crow behind him.

"Kiryu, if your idea of social structure is based on power, then we will have to show you the power of Psychic Duelists." Yusei said out loud, both to Kiryu and to everyone else. "In your world, the weak will not be protected and only the strong will survive. You believe you are strong because of the Black Duel Disks. But if your world ever came to fruition, this will also be how you will end - in the hands of those who have grown stronger than you."

"Great philosophy!" Kiryu roared. "Let's see you putting it in action!"

Yusei reached out to Aki's hand. She had stood up as well, and she grasped it without hesitation.

"We are not going to hold anything back, Kiryu." Even though he was the only one present without a physical Duel Monster, Crow's voice contained unshakable resolve. "You are going down."

Red Demon Dragon sucked in a fiery breath, and Yusei felt the beast's heat pulse through him. With a loud roar, Red Demon Dragon spew out a river of fire in front of them, stretching all the way towards Kiryu's crew.

"Aki, Yusei, help me handle Kiryu's dragon!" Jack gave out a command.

The dexterous Black Rose Dragon took to the sky and rained a torrent of small, fast lightnings towards Infernity Death Dragon's face, making the bigger beast constantly move its head, losing its aim. Yusei blasted a stream of white lightning towards Infernity Death Dragon's torso at the same time. It wasn't going to defeat the creature, but his aim was to distract it.

Infernity Death Dragon was certainly distracted. The carpet of fire created by Red Daemon's Dragon went past its feet without its notice. Seeing his chance, Jack ordered another attack, and a fresh wave of scorching fire raced across the road, heading directly towards the human duelists behind Infernity Death Dragon.

Panicked yells rang out as fire roared up into the ranks of men, the gangsters screaming as the ground caught on fire. Jack was relentless, however. Wave after wave of fire was sent along the road. Infernity Death Dragon blasted its black energy at Jack, only to have Yusei command Stardust Dragon to cast its white dome of protection over the blond man. Meanwhile, Aki continued to pester Infernity Death Dragon, landing attack after attack on the other dragon's head and forcing it to violently turned its head.

"You asked for this. Now you are getting it!" Jack bellowed as Kiryu's men screamed in horror and pain.

"You are the ones who will be dead!" Kiryu raised his voice. "Go, Infernity Death Dragon!"

Yusei took his chance. The ground was scorched and cracked from their fighting, and if there was one thing Yusei had figured out in his years as the King of Duelists, it was that the game was only over if the player goes down – not the monster.

Stardust Dragon let out successive blasts towards the ground that Kiryu and his men stood on, aiming for the cracks that he could already see in the concrete. Balls of white lightning exploded inside steel and concrete. With a massive explosion, a large hole emerged on the ground.

The Satellite men screamed and ran for their lives. With a flash, most of the monsters disappeared. As Yusei thought, that was the issue with summoning monsters with Duel Disks – as soon as the card left the Duel Disk, the monster was gone.

Infernity Death Dragon was also gone, together with its master. There was nothing where Kiryu once stood.

Aki broke into a sprint towards the hole as the fire on the ground started to die down. Yusei followed her closely. The remnants of Kiryu's men tried to stop them, but Jack's glare and stern voice stopped them.

"Get lost and save your lives while you can!"

The men scattered, while sounds of moaning and weak screams emerged as Yusei stood over the hole he had blasted with his dragon, watching how a dozen or sox men were lying at the bottom of the large hole, some caught on the steel bars within the concrete. Kiryu was amongst them. His Duel Disk was broken and smashed, and his arm was twisted out in an unnatural angle.

"Are you satisfied now, Kiryu?" Aki leaned down and said in a low voice.

Kiryu cracked open one eye blurrily. and squeezed out. "Screw you. It's only because I'm not strong enough this time."

"And what would be strong enough?" Aki tilted an eyebrow. "There will always be someone stronger. Even if you become the strongest Psychic Duelist, you are not immune to blades and poison. Survival of the strongest will result in the survival of no one at all."

"Still so freaking keen to lecture me." Kiryu coughed. "Just wait… just wait until I get out of here! I'll strangle you!"

"… And who will help you get out of here, now that you are weak and helpless?" Aki responded, cold and calm. "Who will help a Satellite resident, now you are no longer a Psychic Duelist?"

"Bullshit! Satellite will be respected as long as we have Old Momentum and the Black Duel – "Kiryu's voice faltered as he saw the dozens of broken Black Duel Disks scattered around them, shattered by the explosion and discarded by his men.

Aki straightened up. "Don't rely on powers that are outside of your control, Kiryu. And if you have to rely on other powers – the power of other people – it's better to make sure they are willing to help you no matter how weak you may become."

"Let's get moving." Jack grumbled behind them. "Carly's okay, so I'm not in a hurry to kill Kiryu right now. But we should get to Momentum before I change my mind."

Yusei and Aki turned to see that Jack and Crow behind them, with Carly standing shakily on her legs and clinging to Jack. The bespectacled girl gave a weak smile.

Yusei turned back to his group, taking in their battered but undefeated forms. The day had just started, and the most important part have yet to begun.

"Let's go. We are a long way from having earned our own rest."