Chapter 1280: Dark Twins

The mechanical Trudge lay half-bodied on the ground, gazing at Kira with an indifferent expression. Arcs of electricity still crackled from his fractured form.

After a moment, he spoke slowly. "That has nothing to do with you. You’re not even from this dimension—why interfere?"

"Whether it concerns me is for me to decide," Kira replied. "Now, who are you people? Robots created by Z-ONE from another dimension?"

The mechanical Trudge let out a long sigh and nodded gently.

"Yes... God created us because... he wanted to atone for a mistake."

"What mistake?" Kira asked.

"He made a decision, but the world did not become better for it. He wanted to undo that decision... but it was already too late." Mechanical Trudge continued, "We tried our best—we really did—but there was no more time."

"Yet this world still has a chance. This dimension still has hope. So we thought... at least we could save this dimension..."

But before he could finish, his eyes suddenly widened. His mouth opened, yet no human sound emerged. An electronic screech squeezed from his severed throat; the vocal module emitted a high-frequency wail. His chest core contracted to a pinpoint, and all exposed circuits erupted with ominous purple-black viscous fluid. The substance crawled like a living thing along the alloy frame, hissing as if corroding the metal with strong acid.

"I’m... sorry..."

With those final words, the "Trudge" was completely devoured by the darkness and vanished without a trace.

Kira frowned.

A self-destruct?

Moreover, the aura that had burst from the mechanical Trudge’s body moments ago clearly resembled Dark Mist—carrying the presence of a Dark Duelist.

Kira turned slowly. Behind him, he sensed an even thicker dark presence.

Dark Mist surged and coalesced, forming the silhouette of a giant dragon shrouded in dense fog. The dragon shadow flickered in and out of the darkness; only a pair of crimson dragon eyes gleamed within the mist. With an earth-shaking roar, the dragon shadow swung its massive claw, unleashing a pitch-black energy storm.

Kira did not dodge or evade. Facing the hurricane stirred by the dragon claw, he merely frowned slightly.

At the critical moment, a dazzling white light erupted around him. The spirit form of Silent Magician gracefully appeared within the light, its silver-white robe fluttering without wind. The Magician raised its staff; a pure magic vortex gathered at the tip. The instant the dark dragon claw was about to reach Kira, the staff unleashed a brilliant beam of light that collided violently with the dark energy in mid-air.

A blinding flash exploded at the point of impact between the two forces. The shockwave hurled surrounding debris and dust into the air. At the boundary of light and darkness, space itself showed faint distortions. The Magician’s robe rustled in the chaotic energy flow, while the dark dragon shadow roared in fury.

The shockwave tore apart the Dark Mist, revealing the dragon’s true ferocious form. Its steel body had a matte black metallic sheen. Its right arm was equipped with a massive power drill device, the bit spinning at high speed with a teeth-grinding metal screech. Its left arm was a cold, gleaming power claw.

It was a mechanical dragon—more precisely, it looked like a dark version of Power Tool Dragon. If the real Leo were here, he would surely be shocked at why his Power Tool Dragon had taken on such a dark tone.

Yes, dark and oppressive—like a blackened counterpart. With every breath, it spewed asphalt-like mist mixed with sparks from its exhaust vents. Even its mechanical operating hum carried distorted electronic noise, as if every part was enduring unbearable pain.

Kira recognized it. This wasn’t Power Tool Dragon, but its counterpart from the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s manga—the "Duel Dragon" known as Power Tool Mecha Dragon, possessing powerful dark strength. It was Leo’s ace in the manga.

Sure enough, a childish voice soon came from behind: "You actually blocked a strike from my Power Tool. They all said you were strong—you really do have some skill."

Kira turned to see Leo—or rather, an obvious mechanical replica of Leo—standing there with arms crossed, looking quite cocky.

"I’m Leo!"

The kid pointed at himself confidently.

"Remember that name, because it belongs to the duelist who’s about to defeat you!"

Kira narrowed his eyes.

This version was much more arrogant than the original Leo... No, it resembled the blackened Leo from the manga when possessed by Dark Mist.

Then a girl’s voice followed: "Shut up, Leo. Nobody cares what your name is."

The previously cocky Leo instantly deflated, shrinking his head. "Luna, don’t be so mean... At least give me some face in front of outsiders..."

The one who appeared next was naturally his twin sister, the little loli Luna.

However, this version of Luna looked equally eerie—perhaps even more so than Leo. Kira faintly sensed that the root of the Dark Mist actually came from this replica Luna; the aura on Leo was weaker.

At the moment, the gloomy loli was hugging a Kuriboh plushie, gently stroking its head. The contrast only made the scene more unsettling.

"That guy Trudge talked a big game, but when it came to actually fighting, he was completely unreliable," the fake Leo chuckled.

"We have to step up. Right, Luna?"

The fake Luna kept her head lowered, focused on petting the Kuriboh. Without looking up, she said, "It’s boring. I only came because Leo dragged me along."

"Eh? So little respect?"

The fake Leo deflated again, as if he instantly lost all temper when facing his sister.

"Argh, whatever! Anyway, I’m going to defeat you right here and show Yusei and the others how strong we are!" the fake Leo declared proudly. "They all say you’re really strong, so if I beat you, they’ll definitely look at me differently!"

"After Trudge, it’s the twins... Fine. Let’s make this quick."

Kira sighed, removed the Sacred Beast deck from his Duel Disk and slotted it into a card box behind him. He then drew another deck from a different box and inserted it into the Duel Disk.

"But let me say this upfront—I won’t go easy on you just because you look like kids. After all... well, even if you look like kids, you’re just fake robots, right?"

"We’re not fakes!" the fake Leo instantly exploded.

Even the gloomy loli Luna’s expression turned cold as she glared at Kira unkindly.

"Leo, I’m starting to hate this guy... Kill him."

...