The actual leader and spiritual leader of the organization got the crap beaten out of him right in front of everyone, and in the end he was even swallowed whole in one bite by some three-headed dragon that popped out of nowhere. The die‑hard Light Society members who firmly supported Saiou couldn't help having their faith collapse.
What the hell? Lord Saiou... just got eaten like that?
What about destiny? Where the hell did Old Man Destiny go?
It's just that everyone had been Brain Controlled by the power of the Light of Destruction, so even with their faith taking such a hit, the brainwashing wouldn't be lifted that easily. A bunch of people were still scrambling to find excuses.
"Maybe this is also part of destiny's plan?"
"Lord Saiou definitely foresaw things developing like this long ago! I get it now, this is actually his escape route!"
"Lord Saiou is awesome!"
"..."
Honestly, the fact that they could still keep licking Saiou at this point was beyond expectations. All you could say was that Saiou's skill at mental manipulation was truly next‑level, and his followers' loyalty level was off the charts.
But whatever the case, this was already a headless organization. Having lost Saiou and the leadership of the Light of Destruction, the people left were no longer worth worrying about, and Youyu couldn't be bothered to pay any more attention.
As for the final decision on how to deal with them, and which agency the case should belong to, the Emperor Organization and the D Department would no doubt have plenty to argue about. Youyu was even less interested in getting involved with that stuff.
Anyway, with Saiou gone, what's left are just a bunch of small fry. If they can't even handle these small fry, those departments might as well disband on the spot.
Actually, as a BOSS, Saiou might not be completely without redeeming qualities.
Look at the original anime: he Brain Controlled so many students, and every last one was utterly loyal to him, not daring to voice a single word of doubt. Especially Asuka—when her brainwashing was at its worst, the light in her eyes was completely gone. She was basically Saiou's puppet doll, doing whatever he said, the very definition of obedient.
Yet faced every day with such a sweet‑faced, curvy, well‑behaved, and cute servant, our Lord Saiou just kept staring at Yuki Judai, with his head full of world‑destruction schemes.
The most he ever ordered Asuka to do was run errands, pass along messages, maybe duel now and then to rope in some newbies. His level of "uprightness" was practically on par with that of Mr. Pegasus, who Brain Controlled Anzu back in the day...
But in Saiou's case it might not have been "uprightness", so much as really not having that kind of mindset.
After all, unlike Mr. Pegasus, Saiou's negative personality was derived from the "Light of Destruction" from the depths of the Cosmic. As a so‑called universe‑destroying negative energy, the Light of Destruction's brain capacity was probably completely crammed full of impulses like destruction and annihilation, with no room left for anything else.
If Mr. Pegasus is like Liu Xia Hui, a gentleman who sits with a woman in his lap and remains unmoved, then Saiou might be closer to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven—you freeze a delicate Seven Fairy in place with a binding spell so she can't move at all, and he actually goes off to steal peaches instead...
With things wrapped up over here, Youyu took his leave for the time being.
Originally, according to President Haima's request, once Youyu was done here he was supposed to go back to Domino and report to him. But Youyu decided to take it upon himself to skip that step, casually making up some super urgent matter that needed him personally back at the Academy, and just not go see the president at all.
You don't even need to think with your brain; using your butt you can tell President Haima had something else in mind.
The president doesn't give a damn about any report. He's actually not interested in the results of Youyu's operation at all. The so‑called "report" is just a pretext; what he really wants is to drag him off for a duel...
So Youyu decided not to give him that chance, and flew straight back to the Academy.
I'm so freaking smart.JPG.
Of course President Haima might get mad, but if he gets mad, he gets mad.
It's not like it'd be the first or second time anyway.
Just like he'd told Fujino before: you may hate the whole Duel King thing, but the president still needs one.
...
The trajectory of fate may have shifted, but the wheels of history were still rolling forward.
In a sense, Saiou might have been right. Some things really are destined.
The entire Cosmic is like an unimaginably vast yet incredibly precise computer program, or like a row of dominoes. The program runs, the tiles fall, events happen one after another—everything is predetermined.
And the starting point of it all only needs a single variable to be input, or a light push.
Or it could be a rocket that ascended to the starry sky six years ago, carrying with it a Cosmic Hero drawn by the clumsy hand of a child.
Six years later, fate circled around and finally found its destination.
A Shooting Star cut through the night, as if it had fallen straight from the sea of stars, trailing a long, beautiful, eye‑catching flare behind it. It was like a precision‑guided missile, perfectly aware of the path it had to follow and the target it had locked on to.
Duel Academy.
The dazzling light streaked across the heavens, its flames illuminating half the night sky, the spectacle grand and astonishing. Quite a few teachers and students who were still awake witnessed this scene. Many even laced their ten fingers together, closed their eyes, and made a wish upon what might be a once‑in‑a‑century Shooting Star.
Among those still awake was also Duel Academy's big boss and number‑one troublemaker, Yuki Judai.
"Whoa! Xiang, look! A Shooting Star, such a huge Shooting Star!" Judai excitedly yanked on Xiang's arm.
Their other roommate, Koala‑bro Maeda Hayato, had already graduated at the end of last semester. He'd been personally recommended by Professor Chronos to the International Fantasy Society to print ca——oh no, to work as a Card Designer.
So now, in the middle of the night, he could only drag Marufuji Shou out to go exploring.
Marufuji Shou wished he could yawn three times for every step he took. His nerves were already shot from being tormented by his mentor, the local D‑Departmenter Nora Tatsu; his mental state was in shambles. Now he couldn't even sleep in the middle of the night and had to be hauled out by big bro to go exploring—he was absolutely done.
But seeing the Shooting Star did perk him up a little.
"You're right." Marufuji Shou thought for a bit. "You're supposed to make a wish when you see a Shooting Star, right? I heard wishes are especially likely to come true at times like this..."
"Really!?"
Judai's eyes lit up. He quickly pressed his palms together, closed his eyes, and put on a devout expression.
"Then, I wish the cafeteria could have fried shrimp every day..."
Marufuji Shou sweatdropped. "Big bro, that wish is way too much of a waste, isn't it?"
"Really? Then I'll change it."
Judai was pretty easygoing. He thought for a moment and immediately swapped in a new one.
"Then the previous one doesn't count! I want a super cool Hero, as cool as Youyu‑sensei's 'Masked Hero', and a super powerful new Hero!"
Judai was in the middle of focusing on his wish when he suddenly heard Marufuji Shou speak again—this time his face was deathly pale and his voice was warped. "B‑big bro, something seems off.
That Shooting Star... isn't it heading straight toward us!?"
"Quiet down, Xiang, I haven't finished wishing ye—nani!?"
Judai's eyes went wide. Sure enough, he was stunned to see a blazing sphere of fire, trailing a tail of flame that ripped through the darkness, plunging straight down toward his head!
If something like that hit you head‑on, they probably wouldn't even find your ashes, right?
"Holy crap!"
The two of them spun around and bolted.
BOOM!!!
The scorching sphere of light slammed into the ground, and the dazzling glare stabbed at their retinas. Their sight went numb; then their hearing followed. All their senses went offline one after another.
Judai was pretty sure he'd been hit, but unexpectedly the flames and impact didn't hurt at all. Instead, they felt... gentle.
His vision recovered after a few seconds.
Judai realized he was in some kind of strange space. There was nothing around him, only beautiful, rippling auroras of seven colors.
A pair of eyes appeared in the space before him, followed by a round blue crystal... which looked like it was set in the center of the newcomer's chest.
A figure bathed head to toe in golden radiance appeared in front of him, even its body shape obscured. It looked as if its entire body was made of photons.
Judai was a bit dazed. "W‑what... what's going on? Did I die?"
"No." The being of light spoke. "I finally found you... Yuki Judai!"