Flutter, flutter...
In the forest, a flock of birds burst from the trees without warning. Jaden instinctively watched them, an uneasy premonition stirring in his chest.
Somewhere on Duel Academy island, Strongman looked at Viper. Hearing his real surname for the first time in ages, his brow furrowed.
He knew Viper to some extent. Seeing him now instantly put him on guard.
After all, Viper never did anything without purpose.
Appearing here suddenly... could he be plotting something?
Contrary to his expectations, Viper seemed to be simply passing through, or perhaps exercising. After meeting Strongman, they exchanged small talk and nothing more.
This left Strongman deeply puzzled.
Although his own spirit power wasn't exceptionally high, his military background gave him a keen sense for danger. The instant he saw Viper, he felt a distinct, life-threatening threat. Yet Viper made no move.
What was Viper up to?
Strongman had no answers. After catching up briefly, he left amid Viper's eerie smile and continued patrolling.
"I will make sure this man dies in the most agonizing state possible!"
That voice echoed in Viper's ears.
He didn't particularly care.
After all, he and Strongman weren't really close.
After a full night of patrolling, Strongman dragged himself back to the faculty dormitory. Something felt off, but he couldn't pinpoint what.
Honestly, Strongman's physical conditioning was excellent. A few days of normal patrolling shouldn't have been that exhausting. Even without spirit power adaptation, his body alone could handle extended guard duty. Now it should be even easier.
Yet for some reason, today he was unusually tired.
He returned to his room, reviewed the day, kept feeling something was wrong. Lying in bed, he tossed and turned.
Just as he drifted between consciousness and sleep, he sensed a faint glint nearby. He opened his eyes instinctively and rolled off the bed onto the floor.
CLANG!
A piercing tear. His bed and the wall behind it were instantly cleaved in two by a gleaming longsword.
Cold sweat poured down his body.
What was happening?
He looked up and saw a familiar face.
Paladin?!
Paladin stood with a crimson greatsword wreathed in black miasma, swinging it down at Strongman without a word.
Strongman pressed his palms together. With a sharp clap, he caught the blade bare-handed.
But to his shock, even with spirit power reinforcing his hands, he couldn't fully stop the sword. He was being pressed down relentlessly.
This sword seemed to carry massive spirit power. No, this sword was his spirit!
This was the spirit card of an Equip Spell!
No good...
Watching the black-wreathed blade press closer, Strongman grew desperate.
His spirit power was roughly equal to Paladin's. Bare-handed against an armed Paladin was practically suicide.
"Lu Feng!"
He shouted. From his Deck, a dark-gold figure emerged, swinging the Sky Piercer halberd at Paladin.
Paladin couldn't continue his attack. He retreated, then slashed through the air with the longsword. A streak of fire burst from the blade, forcing Strongman to leap out the window.
But even so, the flames scorched his body.
For some unknown reason, today's exhaustion was extreme. The fire's burn caused his already patrol-depleted spirit power to plummet exponentially.
The explosion naturally alerted other teachers in the building. Many who had just fallen asleep scrambled for weapons, thinking spirits had attacked.
Other teachers on night watch saw Strongman plummeting from above, crashing to the ground. They rushed to help.
But at that moment, a figure leapt from above again, swinging his longsword and driving back the other professors with flames.
CLANG!
Sword and halberd collided. Paladin was pushed back half a step, then steadied himself.
What was going on?!
The nearby teachers were dumbfounded.
Was Paladin an imposter?
No, that was really him...
Strongman clutched his chest. The flames still burned, the black fire seemingly consuming his life force. His vision flickered. He gritted his teeth, slowly rose, and demanded, "Paladin, have you betrayed us?"
"No." Paladin raised his sword slowly and spoke calmly. "Do you remember what happened in the Middle East?"
What?
"A war correspondent died there. She was deliberately shot. By your unit!" Paladin's face darkened. His voice strained. "She was my angel, my love... I've been searching for my enemy all this time.
I heard the unit disbanded afterward, and the captain assumed a new identity, becoming a Duel Academy teacher. That's why I came to Duel Academy. Why I became a teacher. All so that one day, I could find that person!"
The other teachers' jaws dropped.
This was real?!
"That person was in your unit! I'll never forget it. Their commanding officer's surname was Meng!"
Strongman clutched his chest, his expression confused.
Could something like this have happened?
In principle it shouldn't have been possible. They almost never initiated attacks. But war was blind. Who could say for certain?
If one of his subordinates had accidentally killed someone, it should have been reported. He had no memory of any such incident. But on the other hand, his subordinates could have conspired to hide it. If it happened, there might have been barely any witnesses.
But couldn't this all be resolved by simply talking to him?
He could help investigate. They were colleagues, for god's sake...
Certainly, most of his comrades had risked their lives alongside him. But if any of them had truly violated humanitarian principles, he would never cover it up.
But the words that came out were: "I'm sorry. I truly have no memory of this. As for my subordinates, I can't tell you. They all have new lives..."
"Then what about MY life?!" Paladin roared savagely, then charged forward with his sword.
Lu Feng had been handling things easily, but as Strongman's condition worsened, the spirit's form gradually became transparent. Finally, with a frustrated "tch," it vanished from reality.
Strongman felt dazed, and regretful. Regretful about what he had just said.
He felt his vision turn black and white. Under the relentless black flames, his senses burned away completely. He collapsed unconscious.
"If you won't talk, then I'll make sure you never speak again."
"Wait, Professor!"
From nearby, an angry shout rang out. A green gem-encrusted turtle appeared before Paladin, blocking the attack.
Jesse?
Paladin froze for a moment.
Oh...
Right, it was about that time.
These past days, every morning shortly after waking, Jesse would come to the faculty dormitory under Ruby's guidance to consult with Paladin.
Jesse wanted to further strengthen his family's power. Paladin was also interested in the "world's only Crystal Beasts," so they had been brainstorming and theorizing together.
According to Paladin's idea, the simplest, most direct method was for Jesse to imagine himself becoming "Rainbow Dragon," then build from there.
"Professor, how can you attack an ally?!"
"Ally? I have no such ally. He's my enemy... my nemesis!" Paladin raised the sword in his right hand, expression ice-cold. "Don't stop me, Jesse. This is my once-in-a-lifetime chance. If I miss it, I'll never avenge Angelica."
"Avenge?"
Jesse replied blankly.
Paladin clenched his fist and spoke.
He once had a fiancee. A beautiful girl, gentle as an angel. To show the world the true face of impoverished, war-torn regions, she worked as a war correspondent on the front lines.
But that day...
His fiancee was killed by one of Strongman's subordinates in a friendly fire incident.
He would never forget that day. He had gone mad searching for every lead, on battlefields, in military units, everywhere he could go. Eventually, the trail led to Duel Academy...
He became a Duel Academy teacher for one reason: revenge!
Revenge for his family!
Now he had finally confirmed who his "enemy" was. That was why he struck when Strongman was at his weakest.
Jesse's jaw dropped.
What?
The love and hatred of adults was still too distant for someone his age.
But Paladin was avenging his lover, his wife, his family. Jesse couldn't find words to argue against that.
The problem was, Strongman wasn't a criminal or an evil person. Killing him over this was too much.
More importantly, given the current situation, shouldn't they unite against the outside threat first, then settle personal matters afterward?
Even if Paladin worried he couldn't restrain Strongman alone later, Jesse could help!
Surely even Crowler, Hikaru, even Jaden wouldn't stop him for a reason like that?
But regardless, he couldn't let the enraged, half-crazed Paladin continue. He grabbed his Duel Disk, loaded his Deck, stood before Strongman, and declared, "Enough, Professor! No matter what, you can't keep making this mistake!"
"Jesse!"
Paladin roared, but ultimately gritted his teeth, dismissed the sword in his hand, and placed his Deck into his professor-model Duel Disk.
In that moment, he was like a sword forged in raging flames.
"Teachers, please take Professor Strongman to medical care..."
The instant Jesse said this, a teacher had already rushed over and was checking Strongman on the spot.
"Invaded by dark power! He's lost consciousness!" The teacher's face changed. "It's identical to the barrier outside!"
"Professor, you used that kind of power?!" Jesse's expression worsened. "Didn't you teach me to fight for justice?!"
"My justice is revenge!" Paladin declared again.
And so.
At the first light of dawn, Professor Paladin and Jesse began their duel.
Jesse looked at the "Ultimate Crystal Beast Rainbow Dragon" in his hand and clenched his fist.
This card was one he had "created" under Paladin's guidance.
Rainbow Dragon was different from the Crystal Beasts. It was an "Ultimate Crystal God," not a Crystal Beast. But under Paladin's instruction, Jesse understood that Rainbow Dragon was also part of his family. So it could be a "Crystal Beast" too, which was how he "obtained" this card.
He couldn't imagine that the rational, clearheaded professor was now doing something this irrational out of "hatred."
So he had to stop the professor!
In this situation, he absolutely couldn't let the professor compound one mistake with another.
From an upper floor of the nearby faculty dormitory, Professor Viper watched the scene through his window, a calm smile playing on his lips.
Paladin's morning assault on Strongman and his duel with Jesse spread across the entire academy within moments, carried by teachers and passing students. Jaden, who had just returned from the "volcano," heard that Strongman had been injured by Paladin. The confidence and excitement on his face vanished instantly. He sprinted toward the medical building like a madman.
Other students and professors who heard the news found it equally unbelievable.
That kind, sunny, gentle Professor Paladin had this kind of story? He sneak-attacked Strongman for revenge?
Wow...
Some thought it was manly. Others thought it was despicable. But either way, it exceeded everyone's imagination.
Because it was completely at odds with their impression of him.
When the news reached Hikaru, he was dumbfounded.
He had been running experiments these past days, testing the Dimension Gate. Normal methods and energy sources couldn't open the current externally linked gates. Even the Grand Cosmos Workshop's Dimension Gate was sealed by Darkness's power. But using the Philosopher's Stone from the Emerald Tablet, he could barely open the gate, allowing someone to visit another dimension for roughly one hour.
He had been trying to expand this effect, to send students and teachers to human society, somewhere like Domino City, while he stayed behind to confront Darkness.
But unfortunately, no progress had been made. Although Tierra had burned the nearby seals with purgatorial fire during their duel, powered by dueling energy, the attempt remained extremely difficult. There wasn't even a shred of possibility.
While Hikaru was racking his brain over this, early that morning, he received the news and was instantly confused.
Wait...
"Hurry, Chief! We can't afford to lose more fighting strength!" The student delivering the message urged Hikaru.
But Hikaru just stood there, puzzled.
"What do you mean Professor Paladin attacked Professor Strongman to avenge his fiancee?"
"Like I said..."
"No."
The student was about to explain again when Hikaru raised his hand, cutting him off.
"What I mean is, Professor Paladin has always been single. And he never had a fiancee named Angelica."
"...Huh?"