“Hee hee hee, heh heh heh...”
Malik covered his face, laughing hysterically. His hairstyle, demeanor, and even his voice were drastically different from before.
“The darkness within Malik is about to break free! Stop him!”
With a fading consciousness, Lishid heard the demonic voice of Dark Malik. Struggling to open his eyes, he warned everyone.
But the damage inflicted upon him by Bakura's dark power was too severe. Before he could finish his sentence, his head slumped to the side, and he fainted completely.
Lishid was Malik's sworn brother and his pillar of support.
During the brutal Tomb Keeper ritual that Lishid endured, he also carved his own face with markings, resembling an inscription on a tombstone.
This act stabilized Malik's emotions, suppressing the darkness within his heart.
But with Lishid’s unconsciousness, the darkness in Malik’s heart had no chains left.
“Ah, I'm out, I'm finally out!”
A joyous, maniacal laughter erupted from Malik's mouth, filled with pure delight.
Seeing Malik's unusual behavior, Yugi immediately understood: “Are you Malik's dark persona?”
It was not uncommon for the possessors of Millennium Items to have two personalities. For example, he himself and Bakura both had two souls.
“Hee hee hee, finally out. I am the true Malik. I'm not like that weakling.”
Thrilled to be unleashed, Dark Malik stuck out his tongue, grinned widely, and showcased his extreme facial expressions.
Witnessing this expression, Joey was taken aback. What was this guy laughing so maniacally for?
He had never laughed that way. Was he trying to intimidate? Anyone could do that.
Joey gaped his mouth and retorted.
Seeing this, Yugi almost burst into laughter. Fortunately, he had received professional training.
Mr. Malik, Mr. Joey, please take your seats. How can the contestants even perform when you, the two judges, are playing?
Oh, wait, we should call him Mr. Six.
Dark Malik was a persona born from the Tomb Keeper ritual.
But that had happened six years ago. In other words, Dark Malik was only six years old. He was a legitimate six-year-old.
“That weak Malik used his victory over Lishid to advance to the semi-finals. He missed out on a duel that would have been truly enjoyable. But now it's irrelevant. The real Dark Duel awaits.”
Six-year-old Dark Malik swept his malicious gaze over everyone in the arena, as if wanting to devour them into his endless darkness.
“Humph, I’m not interested in the supernatural. No matter what tricks you’re up to, once I’m in the semi-finals, I’ll crush you and claim the God Card in your possession.”
Kaiba didn’t care about any of this. He was eager to duel, already itching to defeat Malik and win the God Card from him.
“Heh, Kaiba, I’m interested in your Obelisk the Tormentor too. And you, the nameless Pharaoh, your duel methods are so childish. He hates darkness, I love it. We shall enter true darkness, from which none shall return!”
With a wild laugh, six-year-old Dark Malik left the Sky Arena.
As if in cooperation with Malik, the heavens darkened with heavy clouds, further intensifying the oppressive darkness of the already dark night sky.
“Playing games. Isono, prepare for the next duel.”
Kaiba scoffed disdainfully. With the CEO's order, the airship staff sprang into action.
The medical personnel took unconscious Bakura and Lishid to the infirmary, while Isono went to activate the Bingo machine to select the participants for the third battle.
At this point, Yugi had to admire Kaiba.
Despite his stubbornness and almost fanatical belief in science, Kaiba remained unfazed by any ghosts or goblins that appeared before him.
To be honest, without Kaiba as the organizer, this card tournament would have been a disaster.
With a different organizer, the duel would have been interrupted due to various reasons before it even reached its halfway point.
But with Kaiba in command, there were no issues. The third duel proceeded as planned.
“The third duel contestants are, Yugi Mutou, and Mai Valentine.”
Isono, in his suit, announced the result, holding a ball with the player numbers on it.
“Mai, it's you and Yugi next.”
Hearing the result, Joey expressed his surprise.
Mai nodded and looked at Yugi, who looked back at her. Their eyes met, and sparks flew.
“I’ve heard from Joey and Yugi that you’re very strong.”
Mai gazed at Yugi, licking her sensual lips: “Get ready to taste the power of my Harpie Lady deck.”
“It’s all just talk. You'll have to go easy on me in the duel, okay?”
Yugi smiled softly. He remembered that Mai possessed both Harpie Lady and Amazoness decks, which were quite strong.
Mai’s card skills were equally impressive, and she had even held the upper hand in her duel against Malik.
Only because Malik had resorted to dirty tactics, using the horror of the Dark Games to intimidate Mai, and because Mai didn’t know how to use Winged Dragon of Ra, she suffered from a lack of information.
Six-year-old Dark Malik would definitely lose to Mai.
But this was a weakness in Mai’s personality, which couldn't be overcome in a short time.
Actually, it was a good thing for her not to duel against Malik.
Therefore, Yugi wasn’t planning to hold back. Defeating Mai here was his gentle way of showing mercy (smiling).
As for Malik, he would take care of that. After all, he had promised Isis he would deal with him.
“Mai, don’t listen to his lies. He’s really strong.”
Joey reminded Mai not to be fooled by Yugi’s innocent appearance.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hold back.”
Hearing her beloved encourage her, Mai ignited her passion to its full extent.
Yugi just smiled in response. He remembered that the system had given him a mission against Mai.
He would be able to get a free Feather Sweep after this duel, which was pretty good.
However, more excited than Yugi, who was satisfied with this duel, was Kaiba.
Out of the eight contestants in the semi-finals, six had been decided. The only two left to face each other were him and Yugi, right?
“Hahaha, Yugi, it’s true that our paths to victory will ultimately converge. But your journey ends here. I will crush your dreams of victory, take your Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and become the King of Games!”
Kaiba pointed at Yugi, making his declaration of a duel.
“Kaiba, maybe this is truly a guiding hand of destiny. But those three God Cards are a necessity for me too. I’ll do my best.”
Yugi recalled the images on the stone tablets, nodded solemnly, no longer avoiding the challenge, and accepted Kaiba’s duel.
Yugi wiped the sweat that wasn't there on his forehead. Well, I know you’re eager to start the duel, Mr. CEO, your need to play cards is overwhelming.
But can you please wait until I’m finished with this one before you get excited?