With the last of the kings defeated, the last of the pillars is taken down along with them. Without the pillars, the barrier keeping Zarc's dark self hidden from all dimensions disappears, leaving Reiji the perfect chance to find him.

In a blinding flash, the Lancers reappear in the courtyard of Academia, after their respective duels against Zarc's minions. All looked in worse shape than as they left. Everyone appears present to count for.

Zarc stands in the middle of them, having been the one to collect them all from the various worlds. He walks off from the group without anyone noticing, and takes in his surroundings, looking for something.

Everyone regroups to lick their wounds from the intense battle they just walked away from, even with the greater one looming over them. They are greeted by some familiar faces as well as other students of the academy.

Shingo looks around the group and is the first to notice Zarc's absence.

Zarc has snuck into the throne room, leaving the rest of the Lancers behind. With power in each stride, he finds the room completely empty with a display on the monitor where the throne once stood.

Gritting his teeth, Zarc slams his fists into the keyboard of the computer, "You bastard…Reiji, you can't do this. Don't leave me like this. You promised we'd do it together!"

Reiji walks out onto an open plain. A blank, clear sky with nothing spanning for miles. Standing on a clear plate, he addresses the dark cloud waiting at the far end.

"Are you ready? After everything you'd done, it's time for you to meet your true judgment…Zarc." He pushes up his glasses, asking the cloud as it takes shape.

"Akaba Reiji…it's been too long," the cloud becomes a human with grey, scale-like skin. They are a fusion of the Yu-boys, having various details referencing one of each, with his face being a composite. "So, come to die?"

"I've come to take you with me…," Reiji readies his duel disk. "By the way, your name. It's too confusing to address you in such a way. Seeing how I've allied myself with your better half."

"I agree," Zarc summons a duel disk of his own to his arm. "From this moment, you may refer to me as…Darc. Just for fun."

DUEL

Reiji 4000LP

VS

Darc 4000LP

Reiji takes the first turn in the duel. "I activate Dark Contract with the Gate. With its effect, I can add 1 D/D monster to my hand. I add D/D/D Death Great King Hell Armageddon to my hand. Next, I set the pendulum scale. Scale 1 D/D Magical Savant Galilei, and scale 10 D/D Magical Savant Kepler." Reiji sets his scales to bring out his ace monster, "Pendulum summon, level 8, D/D/D Death Great King Hell Armageddon!"

[Galilei Scale 1]

[Kepler Scale 10]

[Armageddon Level 8 Dark Fiend Pendulum ATK 3000]

"Armageddon. You never had the chance to bring them out in our last duel. Your trio of monsters took center stage. As much luck that did for you. I took them down with little effort on my part," Darc remembers their last duel before being split up by Ray again. "You don't have your friends with you this time, so you will have a lonely death. But fear not, I will soon be taking my wrath to the other dimensions when we're through."

"I'm not done with my turn, Darc. Armageddon was just a stepping stone to my new monster. By using a D/D/D monster as singular material, I can build the overlay network." Reiji's ace monster becomes used as Xyz material for his next card, "Xyz summon! Rank 10! D/D/D Deviser King Deus Machinex!" Reiji summons a demon monster, sitting on their own throne.

[Dues Machinex Rank 10 Dark Fiend Xyz Pendulum ATK 3000]

"I'll end my turn with one face-down, and call it there." Reiji ends his turn shortly after summoning his new prised monster.

Darc stands there, wiping the drool from his toothy grin, looking more monster than man. Staring at Reiji's new monster, a thought occurs to him. One that brings a large smile to his lips.

"Reiji…are you familiar with the term, hypocrite?" Reiji answers with a scoff, obviously knowing what the term means. "I thought so. Now then, do you not find it ironic, that as someone who tries to oppose your father, you in a lot like them?"

"I am nothing like my father?"

"Oh, you're not? Besides opposing me, you're both egotistical geniuses out for yourselves. You put together a group of duelists to combat Academia, and then when they all fell, you built another. You took over a dimension to fight your father. And after all was said and done, you wasted no time in allying with my other self to fully end your father. And now he's dead, your brother is saved, and my other self is an outcast. Brilliant."

"How do you know all of this?"

"After other me shoved you through the dimension hole to save your life, I escaped from my containment within him. It took me some time to recover, feeding off the darkness of others isn't what it used to be. I needed help, I needed time. So I created my minions of kings to defend my domain until the time is right. And believe me, the time is almost upon us. Even now, I feel myself becoming stronger."

Reiji remains undeterred by Darc's words, "What else do you know?" Reiji presses a button on the bottom of his duel disk, and begins to broadcast the duel elsewhere.

"Just that while I'm getting stronger by the minute, you're getting weaker. You're dying, aren't you…Reiji? Exposure to the pocket dimension can be a deadly thing. Obviously, someone like other me, and that cyborg wouldn't have such problems. But then there's you, and what used to be your father. Mortal man. If you didn't show up, then he would have still met his end."

"Just shut up, and make your move already."

"Gladly, I draw!" Darc starts his turn, happy that his words made an impact on Reiji. He smiles a wicked, toothy grin upon seeing what he drew. "I set the pendulum scale with these. Scale 0 Supreme King Gate Zero, and Scale 13 Supreme King Gate Infinity from my hand." The two monolithic monsters are set on the scales. "I pendulum summon exactly three Supreme King Dragon Dogmas!" Darc summons three small, dark wyvern-like monsters to the field with ease.

[Gate Zero Scale 0]

[Gate Infinity Scale 13]

[Dogmas Level 4 Dark Dragon Pendulum ATK 0 x 3]

"None of your monsters have any attack points to them. What's the point in summoning them to the field?" Reiji is skeptical about why Darc would bring out such weak monsters.

"I'll show you. Each of my Dogmas allows me to add one spell card to my hand. I summoned three, which means I get three new cards." The wyvern glows as Darc adds a new card. "First I'll add Supreme King Decree. Then I'll add Supreme King Tragedy." Darc has one search yet, "Finally I add Supreme King Ritual to my hand."

Reiji's eyes widen, "...Ritual?"

"Yes. While I may have lost my dragons, I still hold the power to destroy all. And once I'm through with you, I'll take revenge on my other self, and reclaim what I lost." Darc takes the new spell card. "I activate Supreme King Ritual. I offer my three level four Dogmas as a tribute for a level 12 monster!"

Reiji watches as the three monsters disappear from the field, and converge into the card Darc drew at the start of the turn.

Darc starts to chant something, but it's either inaudible or not even a real language as if he's speaking nothing. "Ritual summon! Level 12! Dire Supreme King Dragon Darc!" The former Supreme King Dragon Zarc has evolved, taking on a new form and power on behalf of his other self. The large behemoth of a monster appears above all, casting a shadow over the entire battlefield. Darc joins his monster on the back of its neck.

[Dire Supreme King Dragon Darc Level 12 Dark Dragon Pendulum Ritual ATK 5000]

Reiji stays the course, staring down this goliath of a beast, unphased, despite his limited time growing ever so vacant. He will do what he has to, what he can, with how little time he has left.