145 The Rewritten History of Duel Monsters

Fifty years of Duel Monsters.

After their ace monsters were seized by the masked man, who then vanished in a flash of light, the three returned to their modest home to discuss what had transpired.

“I’ve been wondering why that guy forced us to summon all our ace monsters with everything we had. It turns out it was so he could snatch the Crimson Flame Dragon and the others right before our eyes!”

Jack clenched his fists in anger, recalling how the masked man provoked them to summon their three “Red Dragon” familiars—Crimson Flame Dragon, Stardust Dragon, and Blackwing Dragon—without hesitation during the duel.

“Ah, right! That masked man seemed unsurprised when Yusei and Jack summoned Stardust Dragon and Crimson Flame Dragon, but when it was my turn to bring out Blackwing Dragon, his shock was palpable!”

He remembered that moment vividly; though the man’s face was hidden behind a mask, his tone was filled with astonishment when Blackwing Dragon appeared.

“From his reaction, it’s clear he thought I shouldn’t have had Blackwing Dragon at this point in time!”

Yusei also recalled a clue.

“Do you guys remember the last words he left before disappearing?”

With Yusei’s prompt, and since not much time had passed, they quickly recalled the masked man’s parting words:

“Yusei, Jack, Kuro... I have received your gifts! In return, you shall perish along with this era! Hahaha!”

“Putting that together with what Kuro just said, it’s evident all his words revolve around one key term!”

Just as Yusei was about to reveal the keyword, Ryouya’s voice came from the doorway.

“Yusei! Jack! Kuro! Come quick! We’ve discovered something huge!”

Following Ryouya were his sister Ryoko and their companion, Akiyo Izayoi.

“What did you find that’s so important?”

Curious, the three gathered around as Ryouya approached Yusei and handed him a tablet.

“Because of a school assignment, we went to the library to research the history of Duel Monsters, and during our search, we found something unusual!”

Yusei took the tablet with a puzzled expression, tapping the screen lightly to see what they wanted him to see.

“These are old historical photos, right? That man with purple hair and a red suit… if I’m not mistaken, he’s Bekas J. Crawford, the first president of the International Phantasm Society and the founder of Duel Monsters—the man known as the ‘Father of Duel Monsters,’ isn’t he?”

The figure dominating the lower right corner of the photo was the suited man, and Jack, after a moment’s thought, confirmed his identity.

“And those four standing in the middle, lined up like that…”

The central image showed four men standing together. Kuro couldn’t recall their identities immediately, but Yusei recognized them at a glance.

“The man on the far right wearing purple-black leather pants and a white coat that seems to billow without wind, with a proud expression—that’s Seto Kaiba, the first chairman of Kaiba Corporation and the only duelist in the world to possess the powerful Dragon-type monster ‘Blue-Eyes White Dragon’!”

“To Kaiba’s left is a man dressed in black casual clothes, his left eyebrow hidden beneath a burgundy fringe—that’s Yuugi Sakaki, the second president of the International Phantasm Society, holder of the Three Duel Gods of Duel City, and the pioneer of the new summoning method, Synchro Summoning!”

“To Sakaki’s right stands a man with a tri-colored starfish hairstyle—black with red and golden yellow bangs—that’s Yugi Mutou. His strength is only slightly less than Sakaki’s, and there’s a rumor that the soul of the ‘Nameless Pharaoh from three thousand years ago’ dwells within him! If the two join forces, even Sakaki wouldn’t dare claim he could defeat this friend!”

“As for the last blonde man, he’s Katsuya Jonouchi, the strongest professional duelist who won the first three global Duel Monsters championships consecutively!”

After introducing these five, Yusei added quietly:

“These five were the undisputed strongest duelists worldwide at the time! No one outside their circle could defeat any one of them—not even the ‘weakest,’ Jonouchi-san.”

These five were known to the world then as the “Five Kings.”

“The Five Kings… I really wish I could duel against people like that.”

Jack felt no surprise that such legendary duelists were called “kings.”

“Unfortunately, unless we could travel through time and space, dueling them is impossible.”

Jack sighed, lamenting the cruel fate of being born in the wrong era, separated from them by decades.

“So, is this what you wanted us to see?”

Kuro sensed they were veering off course and looked down at Ryouya and Ryoko. These facts aligned with what they already knew of history, so where was the difference?

“No! Look at the next entry! That’s the important part!”

Seeing Akiyo’s urgency, Yusei swiped to the next record. At first glance, he was stunned. Kuro and Jack, noticing Yusei’s reaction, peered over his shoulder and shared his disbelief.

“Stardust Dragon, Crimson Flame Dragon, Blackwing Dragon… why are they appearing in records from the past!?”

Why did their ace monsters show up in news from decades ago?

They quickly turned to the text beside the photo, which read:

“Five giant dragons suddenly appeared in Europe, attacking local duelists! Their physical attacks destroyed cultural landmarks!”

“Our monsters have appeared in the past, wreaking havoc on people of that era… How is this possible?!”

It was unbelievable. If not for the consistency of the earlier records, the three might have suspected this report was fabricated.

“Appearing in the past… do you think that masked man did this?”

Besides that masked man, no one else could have caused the Stardust, Crimson Flame, and Blackwing Dragons to appear in the past and cause destruction.

“It has to be him!” Yusei ground his teeth as he pointed to the photo, where the mastermind controlling the five dragons stood atop a red-tiled roof—a blonde man wearing a black and white mask.

“Um… everyone… look outside. Something’s wrong with the buildings!”

At that moment, Ryoko, with braided hair and a frightened expression, whispered the warning. Everyone turned their heads toward the window and was shocked by what they saw.

Outside, countless unknown black shards floated down from the sky like snowflakes.

Around them, buildings—tall and short alike—were releasing golden particle-like substances from their rooftops. As more particles ascended, the corresponding buildings began to fade, like images being erased.

The world was collapsing.