Reading settings
# Chapter 606: Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Valon, was he defeated?"
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "How embarrassing for that guy."
In the communication group with only Alister, Valon, and Rafael, Alister, upon learning from Rafael that Valon had actually died and even his corpse had been recovered, merely said a couple of indifferent remarks.
There was none of the anger or sadness one would feel at a companion's death; instead, it was as if he was mocking Valon for dying like that.
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "But Rafael, are you sure Valon was really defeated by that Joey Wheeler? You know that guy is just a second-rate Duelist, right?"
[Ah~ Aiwass]: "Second-rate Duelist? Where did you get that idea?"
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Huh? Of course, Seto Kaiba said so. Joey Wheeler is just a second-rate Duelist with a third-rate Deck. I remember Seto Kaiba made that evaluation of Joey Wheeler. I remember everything he's said and done clearly."
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Can a second-rate Duelist, even with the power of the 'Legendary Dragon' that Lord Dartz is so wary of, really defeat that guy Valon?"
[Ah~ Aiwass]: "You might as well speak directly. It's just the two of us here."
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "What I mean is simple, Rafael. I still don't trust that guy Hayato Kobayashi. Valon's death might have been orchestrated by him. For example, maybe he secretly swapped Valon's cards when it was just the two of them teaming up, leading to his defeat or something."
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Hayato Kobayashi is the kind of person who would do something like that. I don't trust that guy. Even getting within two meters of him, his unpleasant aura gives you the illusion that your heart is being squeezed, as if you're being schemed against!"
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "It's the same for you, right, Rafael!"
[Ah~ Aiwass]: "..."
[Ah~ Aiwass]: "Hayato Kobayashi is an important member of Lord Dartz's New World Plan, and Lord Dartz has great trust in him. Naturally, I also trust him."
Alister looked at the text Rafael sent after hesitating for a moment, and couldn't help but reveal a cold smile, sending a message.
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Heh heh, if that's really the case, why did you specifically find a reason not to act with Valon before, but instead went to monitor Hayato Kobayashi alone?"
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Let's just say what you said is true. If you want to act with Hayato Kobayashi, then keep acting with him. But I won't trust that guy."
After sending the message, Alister tossed his mobile phone aside and walked out of the Room.
Pushing open the balcony window, he stood on the Castle's balcony, looking down at the Island's view under the bright sun. Alister's current location was none other than the Castle on Duel Kingdom Island, which originally belonged to Pegasus and was once used to host the Duelist Kingdom event.
Although Pegasus had a lover in his early years, he never married after her untimely death and had no descendants. While he did adopt an adopted son named Tenma Tsukihiro, he did not possess the right of inheritance to Pegasus's property.
After Pegasus was "killed" by Hayato and his soul was sealed, Organization Doma successfully, through its operation, seized half of the stock Pegasus originally held in Industrial Illusions, which was 20%. Added to the 30% stock Hayato already held, they collectively owned 50%. At the same time, some of Pegasus's assets were also taken over by Doma, including this Island where the Father of Duel Monsters had resided for many years.
Although theoretically this Island held more significance as family property for Pegasus himself, it's undeniable that due to his identity as the "Father of Duel Monsters," this Island had been colored by Pegasus's personal touch. Even within this Castle, many of Pegasus's secrets were unknowingly hidden.
After discovering that Yugi, Joey Wheeler, and Kaiba possessed the "Legendary Dragon" cards, Dartz naturally had some suspicion towards Pegasus, the reason being his identity as the "Father of Duel Monsters."
Duel Monsters cards aren't just printed casually. The will of the card spirit is the most important existence. And Pegasus, the "Father of Duel Monsters," could be said to be the person most easily inspired by the card spirits to design cards.
For this reason, Pegasus, who was both a Duelist and a card printer, lost his life. At the same time, Dartz also arranged for Alister to come to Pegasus's Castle to investigate and see if the opponent had left anything behind here during his life.
Alister was actually somewhat unwilling at first. Compared to taking action against Industrial Illusions, he actually wanted to take action against KaibaCorp more and make Seto Kaiba suffer a setback. But Dartz's will was an existence that surpassed everything in Organization Doma, so Alister could only reluctantly execute Dartz's order first.
However, halfway there, he intercepted a message about Kaiba, whom they had been monitoring. A two-seater jet plane under KaibaCorp's name, primarily used only by Kaiba, had filed an application for an international route, arranging an approach from San Francisco, America, to Pegasus's Duel Kingdom Island.
It was clear that Seto Kaiba was going to Duel Kingdom Island.
Isn't this a coincidence? I'm going there too.
Alister was quite excited about this, and his initial unwillingness was completely thrown to the back of his mind. As soon as he arrived on the Island, the highly motivated Alister immediately had the accompanying Organization Doma personnel take over the management staff originally stationed on the Island.
Whether it was security guard captain Saruwatari, who had previously betrayed KaibaCorp for Industrial Illusions, then betrayed them for The Big Five, and then sheepishly defected back to Industrial Illusions, and upon seeing the Doma personnel, wanted to defect again; or Croquet, the butler fiercely loyal to Pegasus – all of them were driven onto a Cruise Ship with insufficient fuel by the Doma personnel and expelled.
Alister felt that not wiping them all out and instead sparing their lives was already being greatly benevolent, but in reality, the fuel on the Cruise Ship was only enough for the people on the Ship to travel from this Island to the nearest San Francisco, and besides the fuel, there was no fresh water or food on the Ship.
However, whether they survived or not had nothing to do with Alister. He only wanted to wait for Kaiba's arrival. For this, he even drove away the Doma personnel, leaving only himself in the huge Castle on this maritime Deserted Island.
This time, he would absolutely take down Seto Kaiba. Any existence that could even slightly become an obstacle must not exist.
"Hurry up and come, Seto Kaiba. I can't wait to harvest your soul." Leaning against the balcony, Alister clenched his fists, his thoughts involuntarily drifting to the past.
He came from Italy and once lived with his family in a beautiful village. He had a father who wasn't handsome but was very reliable, a mother who wasn't beautiful but was very gentle, and the most important person whom Alister regarded as his heart's pillar—his younger brother, Miruko.
One day, a green-haired traveler came to the village. He seemed to be traveling around the World. Even though foreigners were rare in that small village, let alone one with unusual green hair, Alister at the time wasn't very interested in the opponent. Rather than going to watch the foreigner, Alister preferred to play robot war games with his younger brother Miruko.
However, that outsider proactively approached Alister and said difficult words to him like "The Reaper always descends unexpectedly," "The world's pain will converge towards the center," and "Humanity will eventually face a trial."
Alister didn't take those words to heart. And a few days later, that outsider quickly left as well.
His father who worked at the factory, his mother who worked at the bakery, and Miruko, who was innocent, naive, and so cute, and loved robots the most – Alister at that time thought his life would continue forever just like that, unaware of how wonderful that life was compared to the pain that followed.
KaibaCorp, or rather, the arms company "Kaiba Weapons Group" ruled by Gozaburo Kaiba at the time, in order to test newly developed weapons, selected an area that required enough life as a test for destructive power. Of course, KaibaCorp didn't directly appear; instead, they orchestrated a conflict between armed militants and the Italian government, simultaneously providing weapons to both sides to collect data and make money.
The hired armed militants were eventually repelled and fled Italy with the money. The then-president of the Italian government gained certain political achievements and reputation. KaibaCorp got the money and data. The only sacrifices were the chosen village where Alister lived.
The clear river dried up, the lush Jungle burned to ashes, the fields turned into scorched earth, and houses and buildings became ruins.
Alister was the village's only survivor. This was perhaps a miracle, or perhaps a curse, because sometimes the living suffer more pain than the dead.
In this war, Alister lost both his parents and his younger brother Miruko, whom he treasured. He only found his younger brother's favorite robot toy in the hand of an unrecognizable charred corpse.
KaibaCorp was later exposed for this matter, but the then-president, Gozaburo Kaiba, claimed that choosing the test location was the responsibility of a temporary worker. By sending an obvious scapegoat to court, he lightly evaded punishment.
It was simply like a joke.
It seems like someone once said that to destroy a person, all it takes is one bad day and one bad joke.
His younger brother Miruko's toy robot was blackened by the flames, the plastic warped and deformed by the high temperature, and Alister's heart was also stained with darkness and became twisted.
That day, the outsider who had left before returned and sought out Alister again. He said that Gozaburo Kaiba was the culprit behind this war, but if Alister wanted to take revenge on him, he would need power, and he could provide that power.
He said his name was Dartz. When he looked at Alister, his gaze was like looking at a piece of unpolished jade that could finally be harvested. Although he had an extremely handsome, angel-like face, Alister saw a smile full of malice on his face, as if Mephistopheles had finally waited for Faust's soul.
"A demon's whisper can sometimes sound like an angel's voice," Dartz's voice was full of temptation.
But Alister didn't care. As long as he could truly take revenge on KaibaCorp, he didn't care even if Dartz was truly a demon.
Dartz certainly didn't lie to Alister. He truly gave Alister great power, so great that it was among the best even within Organization Doma. This great power allowed Alister to see the possibility of taking revenge on Gozaburo Kaiba.
However, just before he took action, a piece of news made it onto the international headline: the death of Gozaburo Kaiba, and his adopted son, Seto Kaiba, inherited Kaiba Weapons Group.
Gozaburo Kaiba's death felt so unreal. That guy just died like that, before I even had a chance to vent even a shred of the wrath in my heart?
Because of the death of his revenge target, Alister's unvented wrath accumulated and became increasingly twisted. His target immediately targeted Seto Kaiba.
How dare you snatch away my chance for revenge! Since you inherited Gozaburo Kaiba's name and assets, then inherit this wrath of mine along with them, Seto Kaiba!
"Woooosh—"
A low sound came from the sky. Alister looked up and saw a Blue-Eyes White Dragon-shaped jet plane rapidly approaching.
Seto Kaiba had arrived, just as Alister had expected.
Alister pulled his thoughts out of his memories. From the inner pocket of his open trench coat, he took out the toy robot he always carried with him. Looking at his younger brother Miruko's keepsake, Alister murmured incessantly, "The weight, the weight of the dead has doubled. I will continue to battle, upholding Miruko's soul."
Putting away the toy, Alister's gaze became resolute. He turned and walked towards the inside of the Castle. He knew why Seto Kaiba was coming here, so he would go there in advance to wait for Kaiba's arrival.
"This is... a trial."
"I believe this is a trial to overcome the past."
"Only after overcoming the shadow of the past can a person achieve growth."
Murmuring, Alister's figure left the balcony, plunging from the sunlight into the Castle's interior, gradually sinking into the darkness within the empty Castle. The madness in his eye grew more intense.
Meanwhile, outside the Castle, Kaiba stepped off the jet plane, looked at the Castle on the mountain in the distance, and narrowed his eyes.
Just like his previous visits to Pegasus's Castle, this Castle was as silent and empty as ever. But for some reason, Kaiba had the illusion that the Castle, though still in the distance, was already filled with murderous intent, even pointing a sharp blade towards him.
"Nii-san?"
"Hmph, it's nothing, Mokuba." Brushing off the accompanying Mokuba, Kaiba confidently said, "I originally planned to come to this Island to collect the virtual projection system data I need, as well as any potentially useful cards, before Pegasus's assets were swallowed up by America's capital."
"However, it seems like some petty individuals who don't know death from life have already reached out here."
As he spoke, Kaiba put his Duel Disk on his wrist, and with a flourish of his trench coat, walked forward. "Let's go, Mokuba."
"We have plenty of things to be busy with."
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Valon, was he defeated?"
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "How embarrassing for that guy."
In the communication group with only Alister, Valon, and Rafael, Alister, upon learning from Rafael that Valon had actually died and even his corpse had been recovered, merely said a couple of indifferent remarks.
There was none of the anger or sadness one would feel at a companion's death; instead, it was as if he was mocking Valon for dying like that.
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "But Rafael, are you sure Valon was really defeated by that Joey Wheeler? You know that guy is just a second-rate Duelist, right?"
[Ah~ Aiwass]: "Second-rate Duelist? Where did you get that idea?"
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Huh? Of course, Seto Kaiba said so. Joey Wheeler is just a second-rate Duelist with a third-rate Deck. I remember Seto Kaiba made that evaluation of Joey Wheeler. I remember everything he's said and done clearly."
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Can a second-rate Duelist, even with the power of the 'Legendary Dragon' that Lord Dartz is so wary of, really defeat that guy Valon?"
[Ah~ Aiwass]: "You might as well speak directly. It's just the two of us here."
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "What I mean is simple, Rafael. I still don't trust that guy Hayato Kobayashi. Valon's death might have been orchestrated by him. For example, maybe he secretly swapped Valon's cards when it was just the two of them teaming up, leading to his defeat or something."
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Hayato Kobayashi is the kind of person who would do something like that. I don't trust that guy. Even getting within two meters of him, his unpleasant aura gives you the illusion that your heart is being squeezed, as if you're being schemed against!"
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "It's the same for you, right, Rafael!"
[Ah~ Aiwass]: "..."
[Ah~ Aiwass]: "Hayato Kobayashi is an important member of Lord Dartz's New World Plan, and Lord Dartz has great trust in him. Naturally, I also trust him."
Alister looked at the text Rafael sent after hesitating for a moment, and couldn't help but reveal a cold smile, sending a message.
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Heh heh, if that's really the case, why did you specifically find a reason not to act with Valon before, but instead went to monitor Hayato Kobayashi alone?"
[Dump Truck Instantly Defeats Kaiba]: "Let's just say what you said is true. If you want to act with Hayato Kobayashi, then keep acting with him. But I won't trust that guy."
After sending the message, Alister tossed his mobile phone aside and walked out of the Room.
Pushing open the balcony window, he stood on the Castle's balcony, looking down at the Island's view under the bright sun. Alister's current location was none other than the Castle on Duel Kingdom Island, which originally belonged to Pegasus and was once used to host the Duelist Kingdom event.
Although Pegasus had a lover in his early years, he never married after her untimely death and had no descendants. While he did adopt an adopted son named Tenma Tsukihiro, he did not possess the right of inheritance to Pegasus's property.
After Pegasus was "killed" by Hayato and his soul was sealed, Organization Doma successfully, through its operation, seized half of the stock Pegasus originally held in Industrial Illusions, which was 20%. Added to the 30% stock Hayato already held, they collectively owned 50%. At the same time, some of Pegasus's assets were also taken over by Doma, including this Island where the Father of Duel Monsters had resided for many years.
Although theoretically this Island held more significance as family property for Pegasus himself, it's undeniable that due to his identity as the "Father of Duel Monsters," this Island had been colored by Pegasus's personal touch. Even within this Castle, many of Pegasus's secrets were unknowingly hidden.
After discovering that Yugi, Joey Wheeler, and Kaiba possessed the "Legendary Dragon" cards, Dartz naturally had some suspicion towards Pegasus, the reason being his identity as the "Father of Duel Monsters."
Duel Monsters cards aren't just printed casually. The will of the card spirit is the most important existence. And Pegasus, the "Father of Duel Monsters," could be said to be the person most easily inspired by the card spirits to design cards.
For this reason, Pegasus, who was both a Duelist and a card printer, lost his life. At the same time, Dartz also arranged for Alister to come to Pegasus's Castle to investigate and see if the opponent had left anything behind here during his life.
Alister was actually somewhat unwilling at first. Compared to taking action against Industrial Illusions, he actually wanted to take action against KaibaCorp more and make Seto Kaiba suffer a setback. But Dartz's will was an existence that surpassed everything in Organization Doma, so Alister could only reluctantly execute Dartz's order first.
However, halfway there, he intercepted a message about Kaiba, whom they had been monitoring. A two-seater jet plane under KaibaCorp's name, primarily used only by Kaiba, had filed an application for an international route, arranging an approach from San Francisco, America, to Pegasus's Duel Kingdom Island.
It was clear that Seto Kaiba was going to Duel Kingdom Island.
Isn't this a coincidence? I'm going there too.
Alister was quite excited about this, and his initial unwillingness was completely thrown to the back of his mind. As soon as he arrived on the Island, the highly motivated Alister immediately had the accompanying Organization Doma personnel take over the management staff originally stationed on the Island.
Whether it was security guard captain Saruwatari, who had previously betrayed KaibaCorp for Industrial Illusions, then betrayed them for The Big Five, and then sheepishly defected back to Industrial Illusions, and upon seeing the Doma personnel, wanted to defect again; or Croquet, the butler fiercely loyal to Pegasus – all of them were driven onto a Cruise Ship with insufficient fuel by the Doma personnel and expelled.
Alister felt that not wiping them all out and instead sparing their lives was already being greatly benevolent, but in reality, the fuel on the Cruise Ship was only enough for the people on the Ship to travel from this Island to the nearest San Francisco, and besides the fuel, there was no fresh water or food on the Ship.
However, whether they survived or not had nothing to do with Alister. He only wanted to wait for Kaiba's arrival. For this, he even drove away the Doma personnel, leaving only himself in the huge Castle on this maritime Deserted Island.
This time, he would absolutely take down Seto Kaiba. Any existence that could even slightly become an obstacle must not exist.
"Hurry up and come, Seto Kaiba. I can't wait to harvest your soul." Leaning against the balcony, Alister clenched his fists, his thoughts involuntarily drifting to the past.
He came from Italy and once lived with his family in a beautiful village. He had a father who wasn't handsome but was very reliable, a mother who wasn't beautiful but was very gentle, and the most important person whom Alister regarded as his heart's pillar—his younger brother, Miruko.
One day, a green-haired traveler came to the village. He seemed to be traveling around the World. Even though foreigners were rare in that small village, let alone one with unusual green hair, Alister at the time wasn't very interested in the opponent. Rather than going to watch the foreigner, Alister preferred to play robot war games with his younger brother Miruko.
However, that outsider proactively approached Alister and said difficult words to him like "The Reaper always descends unexpectedly," "The world's pain will converge towards the center," and "Humanity will eventually face a trial."
Alister didn't take those words to heart. And a few days later, that outsider quickly left as well.
His father who worked at the factory, his mother who worked at the bakery, and Miruko, who was innocent, naive, and so cute, and loved robots the most – Alister at that time thought his life would continue forever just like that, unaware of how wonderful that life was compared to the pain that followed.
KaibaCorp, or rather, the arms company "Kaiba Weapons Group" ruled by Gozaburo Kaiba at the time, in order to test newly developed weapons, selected an area that required enough life as a test for destructive power. Of course, KaibaCorp didn't directly appear; instead, they orchestrated a conflict between armed militants and the Italian government, simultaneously providing weapons to both sides to collect data and make money.
The hired armed militants were eventually repelled and fled Italy with the money. The then-president of the Italian government gained certain political achievements and reputation. KaibaCorp got the money and data. The only sacrifices were the chosen village where Alister lived.
The clear river dried up, the lush Jungle burned to ashes, the fields turned into scorched earth, and houses and buildings became ruins.
Alister was the village's only survivor. This was perhaps a miracle, or perhaps a curse, because sometimes the living suffer more pain than the dead.
In this war, Alister lost both his parents and his younger brother Miruko, whom he treasured. He only found his younger brother's favorite robot toy in the hand of an unrecognizable charred corpse.
KaibaCorp was later exposed for this matter, but the then-president, Gozaburo Kaiba, claimed that choosing the test location was the responsibility of a temporary worker. By sending an obvious scapegoat to court, he lightly evaded punishment.
It was simply like a joke.
It seems like someone once said that to destroy a person, all it takes is one bad day and one bad joke.
His younger brother Miruko's toy robot was blackened by the flames, the plastic warped and deformed by the high temperature, and Alister's heart was also stained with darkness and became twisted.
That day, the outsider who had left before returned and sought out Alister again. He said that Gozaburo Kaiba was the culprit behind this war, but if Alister wanted to take revenge on him, he would need power, and he could provide that power.
He said his name was Dartz. When he looked at Alister, his gaze was like looking at a piece of unpolished jade that could finally be harvested. Although he had an extremely handsome, angel-like face, Alister saw a smile full of malice on his face, as if Mephistopheles had finally waited for Faust's soul.
"A demon's whisper can sometimes sound like an angel's voice," Dartz's voice was full of temptation.
But Alister didn't care. As long as he could truly take revenge on KaibaCorp, he didn't care even if Dartz was truly a demon.
Dartz certainly didn't lie to Alister. He truly gave Alister great power, so great that it was among the best even within Organization Doma. This great power allowed Alister to see the possibility of taking revenge on Gozaburo Kaiba.
However, just before he took action, a piece of news made it onto the international headline: the death of Gozaburo Kaiba, and his adopted son, Seto Kaiba, inherited Kaiba Weapons Group.
Gozaburo Kaiba's death felt so unreal. That guy just died like that, before I even had a chance to vent even a shred of the wrath in my heart?
Because of the death of his revenge target, Alister's unvented wrath accumulated and became increasingly twisted. His target immediately targeted Seto Kaiba.
How dare you snatch away my chance for revenge! Since you inherited Gozaburo Kaiba's name and assets, then inherit this wrath of mine along with them, Seto Kaiba!
"Woooosh—"
A low sound came from the sky. Alister looked up and saw a Blue-Eyes White Dragon-shaped jet plane rapidly approaching.
Seto Kaiba had arrived, just as Alister had expected.
Alister pulled his thoughts out of his memories. From the inner pocket of his open trench coat, he took out the toy robot he always carried with him. Looking at his younger brother Miruko's keepsake, Alister murmured incessantly, "The weight, the weight of the dead has doubled. I will continue to battle, upholding Miruko's soul."
Putting away the toy, Alister's gaze became resolute. He turned and walked towards the inside of the Castle. He knew why Seto Kaiba was coming here, so he would go there in advance to wait for Kaiba's arrival.
"This is... a trial."
"I believe this is a trial to overcome the past."
"Only after overcoming the shadow of the past can a person achieve growth."
Murmuring, Alister's figure left the balcony, plunging from the sunlight into the Castle's interior, gradually sinking into the darkness within the empty Castle. The madness in his eye grew more intense.
Meanwhile, outside the Castle, Kaiba stepped off the jet plane, looked at the Castle on the mountain in the distance, and narrowed his eyes.
Just like his previous visits to Pegasus's Castle, this Castle was as silent and empty as ever. But for some reason, Kaiba had the illusion that the Castle, though still in the distance, was already filled with murderous intent, even pointing a sharp blade towards him.
"Nii-san?"
"Hmph, it's nothing, Mokuba." Brushing off the accompanying Mokuba, Kaiba confidently said, "I originally planned to come to this Island to collect the virtual projection system data I need, as well as any potentially useful cards, before Pegasus's assets were swallowed up by America's capital."
"However, it seems like some petty individuals who don't know death from life have already reached out here."
As he spoke, Kaiba put his Duel Disk on his wrist, and with a flourish of his trench coat, walked forward. "Let's go, Mokuba."
"We have plenty of things to be busy with."