Duel Academy Island.
Waves crashed against the shore. Thin moonlight filtered through dense canopies, barely lighting the moss and ferns on the ground like the faintest signs of life amid the silence.
Professor Viper, from the Western Academy, walked through the woods. Twigs cracked underfoot. The air was thick with an indescribable heaviness and pressure, as if even breathing had grown laborious.
He held a device in hand, walking and stopping, using it to orient himself.
It was his first time on the island. His impressions so far were hard to put into words—especially in the middle of the night in this forest. The towering ancient trees cast huge interlacing shadows, like an invisible net that wrapped tightly around all outsiders.
It didn't feel like a school, but like the forbidden domain of some demon lord.
But he eventually found what he was looking for.
Hidden deep within the island: a long-abandoned laboratory.
A rusted metal door hung ajar like a portal to another world. Moonlight seeped faintly through cracked window glass. A chilly wind threaded through the fractures with a low, wailing hum.
You'd never imagine how many bizarre secrets were buried on an island that seemed to house only a school.
This place had originally been an animal-centric lab exploring whether animals could learn to duel. It sounded absurd, but the research had proven feasible.
Back in Jaden's first year, a dueling monkey escaped from this lab and even dueled him.
Some scholars argued that compared to humans, animals have greater natural affinity with spirits, so having animals duel could help explore ties to the spirit world. The project was later shut down for suspected animal cruelty.
The lights flicked on. The control room's monitors lit up, casting an ominous glow across Professor Viper's stern face.
"Outdated equipment," Viper sniffed, unimpressed. "Well, at least it works."
He tapped away at the consoles and pulled up surveillance feeds—projections from across Duel Academy.
He'd already planted covert surveillance devices throughout the campus, plus some mobile probes. Tiny cameras, nearly invisible to the naked eye, moved around the academy to feed him first-hand intel as fast as possible.
With that, the school's every movement was essentially under his control.
At the thought, a viper-like dangerous smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
The situation had diverged a bit from his plan, but overall remained within control.
The Duel King, Kira… He hadn't expected this guy's influence to be so great in the open. Judging by the vibe, if he raised a banner to overthrow the chancellor, the whole school would side with him…
No—Sheppard might support it himself.
And he'd specifically asked to duel him. Had he already grown suspicious?
Viper stroked his chin, thinking.
Well, whatever.
His goal was just to absorb enough dueling energy to revive that Lord. The original plan already accounted for personally stepping in if the energy fell short. He was quite confident in his own dueling ability.
The Duel King… why not.
A duel with him should produce high-quality energy.
Everything was under control.
But clearly, Professor Viper had never heard the old saying:
While the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole lurks behind.
As he monitored the entire academy, he was oblivious that his own leering face before the monitors was, at that very moment, on someone else's surveillance.
Kira watched Viper on a floating projection screen and muttered, "All these years later and I still remember the plot—sure enough, the old fox hid in this busted lab."
Vampire Fraulein, holding a parasol, peeked in.
"He doesn't look like a good guy. Master, should I…"
She trailed off, flashed small fangs, and made a throat-slitting gesture at her pale neck.
Kira gave her a helpless look. "Can you not be so gory? That'd get us an adults-only rating."
Vampire Fraulein went limp and soft. "But I'm a vampiress…"
"Still, she's got a point," said Dark Scorpion Meanae, wearing a lab coat and officially the school nurse.
"This guy screams ill intent. Why not just get rid of him?"
"It's fine," Kira smiled. "I know what he's after. I've got it under control."
Since he said so, the spirits held their tongues.
Leaving his own lab, Kira hadn't taken more than a few steps down the corridor when he ran into upperclassman Seika Kohinata.
Strictly speaking, she'd already graduated. But later, since Kira's lab worked closely with the student council, Seika ended up handling a lot of its affairs.
Eventually Kira realized she'd gotten the hang of many tasks and that replacing her after graduation—handover and all—would be a pain. So he directly made her a generous offer to stay on.
Seika now considered herself lucky. Her research talent was average, and while her dueling ability was outstanding among ordinary people, it was mediocre among academy elites.
Today, Kira's lab was one of the duel world's top outfits. Each quarter, talented people from all fields fought to get in. Since she'd joined early during the lab's startup, she'd even landed a managerial role—respectable by any standard.
"President." Kira greeted her with a smile.
Seika flushed. "Please don't tease me. I haven't been president for a while—you're the boss now. Since you're here, there's something the school wanted me to ask your opinion on.
If you're not too busy…"
"Go ahead."
"It's like this. As you know, many of this year's freshmen enrolled because of you, and the new boys and girls all want a chance to meet you.
So the freshmen jointly petitioned the school to send a student representative to request an exchange duel with you. Would you be…"
"Oh, that's all? Sure, I can. But the student rep…"
Kira thought for a moment.
"This year's first-years? If I recall correctly, it should be…"
Seika handed over a student file.
"Blair Flannigan, first-year in Ra Yellow."
Kira's expression turned a bit odd.
Huh? Yellow Dorm?
Wasn't she supposed to be in Slifer Red?