CHAPTER 445: CHAPTER 444: THE STRUGGLE OF A CORNERED BEAST

Victory. He won!

Kira won!

The outcome of the duel seemed clear. The green vortex began to contract, the triple barrier seemed to collapse one after another, and the light converged where the Arbiter stood, as if to announce the end of the match.

But even now, everyone was still stunned, their expressions dazed, as if they hadn’t quite grasped what had happened.

Did Kira just use Lava Golem to eat the invincible Divine Serpent Geh?

From a traditional perspective, it was utterly absurd—yet completely in character for Kira. Especially after his previous battle with Kaiba in the semifinals, this scene felt strangely familiar.

"Big brother, did Kira really win?"

Mokuba looked up at his brother in confusion, only to find Kaiba still standing there with arms crossed, his face calm as ever—but the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curve upward.

Kaiba was never someone who revealed his true feelings easily. Arrogant, theatrical, often speaking in cryptic lines and laughing maniacally, but when necessary, he’d never let anyone see through him.

Yet as his closest person, Mokuba could read his brother’s face: he was genuinely happy.

Mokuba hadn’t seen his brother this genuinely happy for many years. It seemed even the depression from his own semifinal loss had been swept away.

And watching that dopey Lava Golem chomp down on the Snake God, he couldn’t help but think—

This is the feeling!

Suddenly, everything felt balanced again.

The president was satisfied, but the shameless snake was devastated.

His Divine Serpent Geh, with infinite attack power and all sorts of immunity auras—a twelve-star evil god!

And it just got eaten. Can you believe it?

On top of that, his win condition was entirely tied to the Divine Serpent Geh, so when the Lava Golem ate it, his defeat was immediate.

To literally eat the opponent to death—this might be a first, even for the Lava Golem. And to do so in the final, with the world’s fate at stake, the goofball that landed the finishing blow once again snagged the match MVP.

And this was in a duel that even featured the highest-level monster—the Winged Dragon of Ra. Ra, making its grand return after so many years, probably never expected it wouldn’t be the star of its own comeback.

The MVP value of the Golem just kept rising.

At this point, even though the duel was over, the field projection had not yet disappeared. The Lava Golem, having just landed the finishing blow, stood tall on the opponent’s field, rubbing its belly, a look of satisfaction oddly readable on its abstract face.

As if to say, "Evil gods really are nutritious. First time eating such high-quality food, and it tastes pretty good!"

"Awesome!"

Jaden leaped onto the stage and ran toward Kira.

"Kira, you were godlike! Is there even a limit to your strength? That’s just insane..."

Kaiba said nothing, but even he couldn’t help a slight laugh, as if to say, "That’s more like it—now you look like a man who can beat me."

"So, is that evil god finished now?" Mokuba looked across the field.

Kira hadn’t lowered his duel disk, his eyes still warily fixed on the Arbiter.

In the Seal of Orichalcos, the loser is supposed to have their soul absorbed by the barrier—that’s the ironclad rule of such duels.

But this time, the opponent was special.

The Arbiter was the incarnation of the Snake God itself. Normally, all those souls lost in the barrier would ultimately be absorbed by the Snake God as food—even Dartz, the Snake God’s former agent, was no exception.

But now, the duelist was the Snake God itself. If the barrier were to absorb a soul now, wouldn’t that be eating itself?

As the barrier shrank, gathering at the Arbiter’s feet, the Arbiter suddenly raised his head and let out a sharp, inhuman roar. An invisible shockwave burst from his body, forcibly shattering the shrinking Seal of Orichalcos.

The once-invincible green shield shattered into countless fragments, and a torrent of darkness erupted from the human shell. The human form quickly blurred, the darkness seemingly tearing through the heavens, gradually forming the outline of a giant beast in the air.

Freed from mortal constraints, the black rift in midair looked like a shocking scar. The darkness tore space itself, and from it surged not ordinary light, but a chaos that threatened to consume the world.

The gigantic Snake God, wreathed in lightning and hellfire, its scales glinting with ominous light, glared down at the world it would soon claim as its hunting ground. Its eyes were two enormous black holes, filled with rage and hatred.

The God of Orichalcos descends!

The time for cards was over—now it looked like the Snake God intended to fight directly.

Even if the barrier’s soul absorption didn’t work on the Snake God’s true body, the real damage taken in the duel could not be ignored.

Kira had anticipated the possibility that the Seal of Orichalcos might not be effective. In this duel, he too had gone all out with the energy of a Dark Duel.

Although the Snake God, as a god, hadn’t been defeated through the duel like a normal duelist, it was still only half-revived, in a weakened state, and had been seriously injured in the duel.

Now, revealing its true form was a desperate move—a last stand.

Even so, the Snake God radiated an intimidating presence. When it descended, it seemed like a harbinger of apocalypse, its writhing, serpentine body making onlookers shudder.

Kaiba reacted first, instantly activating his duel disk.

"Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!!!"

Without wasting words, the president summoned his ultimate ace. In ancient Egypt, it was known as the strongest light dragon, its metallic body gleaming like the rising sun, its holy blue aura clashing with the Snake God’s darkness.

The God of Orichalcos roared sharply.

"A mere white dragon, and you dare stand against the darkness of this age?"

Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon soared into the air, blasting a light orb. The Snake God didn’t dodge—its eyes flashed red, and the orb exploded against an invisible barrier several meters before it, sending out ripples.

The Snake God lunged, baring its fangs, striking at the dragon’s neck.

It was fast—but halfway there, a gale swept from the side. Glancing over, it saw the Black Luster Soldier had drawn his sword, slashing at its body with a dimension-rending edge.

"Petty swordsman!"

The God of Orichalcos bellowed, its long body twisting. Black energy burst from its tail, clashing midair with the Chaos sword energy. The sword energy was shredded, the dark backlash surging toward the Black Luster Soldier.

The Black Luster Soldier hastily raised his shield. The force crashed into it, sending him staggering back, barely able to hold on. He was shocked.

Even in a half-revived state, the Snake God’s casual counters were terrifying. What if it were at full power?

Just then, a beam of golden light shot up. Kira retrieved the still-hot God Card from his graveyard and slapped it onto the duel disk.

The instant the card landed, endless electricity visibly erupted from the duel disk.

A million rays of golden light burst from the dark clouds!

PS: Bonus Chapters at 3000 PS