Returning to the headquarters of the Light Society, Saiou sat in the center of his grand hall, his fingers interlocked under his chin, elbows resting on the table.
His face was ashen, fingers tightly intertwined, his body trembling slightly from exertion.
Shea, who had followed him back, had just taken off her coat... a thick one. She was shivering, trying desperately to suppress a sneeze.
She saw that Lord Saiou's expression was grim, his hand veins bulging, and she was too scared to even breathe loudly.
At the same time, however, she was also curious.
Who could be so powerful? Not only able to prevent Lord Saiou from glimpsing the future but also to make him panic like this?
Everyone in the Light Society believed that Saiou was omnipotent, that all his prophecies were absolute, that fate was his steadfast ally.
And yet, this Saiou had been so frightened that he fled back to headquarters from Antarctica in one breath?
"The Duel King." Saiou squinted his eyes murmuring, "To appear in Antarctica... interesting, is it intentional to stop me? Or is it..."
Shea's mind quickly became active.
The Duel King? Which Duel King? Could it be... Youyu?
She had already heard that Duel King was not only powerful but also irresistibly handsome...
Saiou let out a snort.
Youyu's intrusion disrupted his plans, forcing him to start over with his arrangements.
He felt that this Duel King's destiny was unreadable, surely because of some special reason, but regardless, it made him the only unique opponent to Saiou.
Saiou was not afraid of Muto Yugi, nor of Kaiba Seto, nor of Jonouchi Katsuya... maybe not afraid.
He believed that those Legendary Duelists, no matter who, were just chess pieces manipulated by fate. No matter how strong, they couldn't escape the chessboard, and no one could avoid fate's arrangement.
Until Youyu appeared.
This made him immediately see Youyu as this world's greatest adversary, an opponent he must eliminate on his path of destruction.
Accustomed to overseeing the big picture, Saiou was not used to anything beyond his control. Although he couldn't see Youyu's future, he was certainly not limited to just that.
He could still see the present.
Saiou took out his crystal ball and began to cast a spell.
Let's see where that Duel King is now...
The crystal ball soon provided an answer. He saw a blue sky, leisurely white clouds quickly skimming past in the crystal ball's image.
This puzzled Saiou.
What is this place? Could you give me some landmark features?
The perspective then lowered. He saw a cityscape, crisscrossing roads, towering skyscrapers, and a white building nestled among green woodland, enveloped by an almost tainted white shimmer...
...Wait, isn't this my house?
Isn't this the place right beneath my butt?
Saiou was a bit stunned.
I'm trying to see the Duel King, why is it showing where I live? Are you afraid I'll faint with anger and forget the way back?
This made him look at the crystal ball with a puzzled glance.
Is this thing broken?
Boom!
The roof suddenly exploded into pieces, with rubble and thick dust tumbling down. The blast's impact blew Shea violently to the ground.
Amidst the flying smoke, someone stood at the center of the entire Palace of Light, their billowing trench coat slowly falling, beneath a huge hole in the ceiling.
Shea sat there dumbfounded, staring unblinkingly at the tall, dream-like figure.
The Duel King, Youyu.
Youyu stood across the table with the crystal ball, facing Saiou.
The crystal ball prominently displayed the scene of Youyu standing in his grand hall... inside and outside identically.
"Saiou Takuma." Youyu spoke first, "We finally meet."
Facing the culprit who unsettled him, Saiou, in fact, quickly calmed down.
He quickly assessed his current situation, calming himself.
Though in the anime, Saiou, possessed by the Light of Destruction, brainwashed many students and a national prince, kidnapped a satellite intending to destroy the world, becoming a villain notorious for his evil...
...But he hadn't done a thing yet!
It's this reasoning that made Saiou quickly firm up his mind.
Logically, he should still be in the stage of amassing power. Until now, all he had focused on was expanding the Light Society, annexing other organizations, and recruiting more members.
He did indeed want to cause trouble, but he hadn't had the chance to do anything yet!
Certainly, thinking up a world destruction plan can't be grounds for being taken down, can it? Is daydreaming against the law too?
If so, the keyboard warriors of this planet might all be doomed...
Thus, Saiou controlled his emotions, leaning back in his chair like a scheming big boss, saying slowly, "Mr. Youyu's sudden visit... seems quite urgent, is there something pressing?"
Youyu squinted his eyes.
Goodness, still pretending with me?
"I think we can skip the playing dumb part." Youyu directly picked up his Duel Disc, "You should know very well why I'm looking for you, Saiou Takuma."
"Oh, then maybe I truly don't get it." Saiou interlocked his fingers.
Youyu glanced at the dumbfounded girl lying on the side, then looked back at Saiou, "Are you going to tell me you're just here to learn foreign languages?"
"Providing guidance on beliefs." Saiou smiled, "I possess some extraordinary talents that allow me to glimpse the tracks of destiny. So I am often willing to guide those who are lost."
Seemingly receiving a subtle nod from Saiou, Shea quickly snapped out of it: "Ah... yes, I was lost, completely lost. I came to find Lord Saiou for navigation... no, for direction."
Youyu gave Saiou an eye roll. Saiou remained unmoved, sitting in his chair with crossed arms.
His reaction reminded Youyu of crime suspects in detective shows, often arrogantly saying after a detective thoroughly deduced the crime, "Indeed, a very good deduction, highly imaginative. But the problem is, you have no evidence..."
Indeed, Youyu didn't have much evidence; he rushed over as soon as he found Saiou's location.
But if Saiou thought like this, then he clearly misunderstood something.
Evidence? Ha, my last name is Youyu, not Conan. I'm here to challenge, not to solve a case, who needs evidence!
Our You-surnamed Duel King never needs evidence to do things!
Lock the door, release the hound... oh no, I mean release the Dark Magician Girl!
The Dark Magician Girl, long ready, suddenly materialized, and with a wave of her Magic Staff, loosed a barrage of magic projectiles!
Saiou's face changed drastically, without thinking, he waved a hand, a white trajectory deflecting the magic projectile. Almost simultaneously, Masked Hero Dark Claw appeared out of nowhere, launching a kick to send the deflected magic ball flying sideways, shattering a support pillar of the great hall into two pieces.
Saiou could no longer stay calm, his face darkened: "Mr. Youyu, what do you mean by this?"