Yubel...
By the end, Ted was almost completely dumbfounded.
Having just sent away an Underworld Knight, now came a Yubel.
This time it was a Ten-Star Monster.
Yubel itself could be considered a Rare Card, something Ted had never encountered before, nor did he ever imagine such a Ten-Star Monster existed in the world — it inherited the damage reflection effect of the Underworld Knight lineage, with 0 Attack and 0 Defense, and even came with a layer of destruction resistance.
Giving every Duelist who crashed into her a warm welcome feeling of coming home.
If that wasn't enough, at the moment of the opponent's slaying, she even performed a grave-digging Minotaur trick, taking away his pride and joy, the Card Deck core "Meat for Strength," and even added a layer of trap countering ability to Yubel.
Even Ted's last trump card, the invincible attack trap "Blast Armor" was guarded against. Ted was speechless, he could only say it was truly too strategical.
Laughable, is this the legendary Duel King?
Scared, really scared.
Ted Banias had always been quite confident in his strength, back then and even now. Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of challenging Muto Yuugi when he emerged back then.
But now, although he hasn't confronted Muto Yuugi in person, he finally encountered the next Duel King after several years, which fulfilled a dream.
Yet in his heart, he felt it was better not to duel at all.
If this battle taught him anything, it was the gap between people, sometimes as vast as between a human and a dog. Compared to the person before him, he, as a renowned Professor Card, seemed like a clown.
Ted Banias knelt on the ground in a pose reminiscent of a Detective Conan suspect, hands and knees on the ground, his body twitching.
Beside him, Ryuya, still loyal, saw his buddy swapping cards to the point of losing his mind and wanted to step forward to help.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? Are you alright..."
But the next moment, Ted, who was kneeling, suddenly stood up, tilted his head towards the sky, and let out a long roar of "ahhhhh," a transparent shockwave exploded from him, nearly blasting the confused bystanders away.
Like a soul-tearing howl, Ted Banias spread his arms, tilted his head upwards, and spewed a chaotic black gas from his mouth!
The domineering energy spiraled upwards, piercing the roof and entering the sky, like a pillar piercing the heavens.
The darkness raged like a furious tempest in the room, engulfing everyone.
Oddly, for such a powerful Hurricane, people almost felt they couldn't stand on their feet, as if about to be blown away. However, that force magically didn't affect the other objects in the room. Tables, chairs, and items on them, not even a piece of paper moved, as if they did not sense the presence of that cyclone.
Yugen was the first to realize it, that this wasn't a physical wind.
It appeared in the form of a storm, yet it was something more fundamental, affecting the Soul. Those in the room could sense it because they had souls to perceive this force that felt like being sucked into a vortex. But the other inert objects in the room were not affected.
It was as if the battle just now acted as a fuse to detonate this force, which suddenly erupted like it wanted to engulf everyone present.
But Yugen quickly confirmed that it wasn't Ted doing it on purpose, but an uncontrolled explosion of power dormant within him. He himself must be the one in the most pain.
But it's not a big problem.
This is just a minor issue, and for the current Yugen, the situation is completely manageable.
"Silence."
The moment the word left his mouth, a white-robed Magician with silver hair flashed into the open. The Magic Staff in her hand rotated lightly, leaving behind trails of silver starlight.
The Silent Magician, now fully manifest in the real world, had unlocked the time limitation of being in physical form, greatly improving practicality and durability, firmly establishing Yugen's position as the best ace in Pokémon-style confrontations.
The dazzling silver light, like lightning slicing through the darkness, charged straight towards the dark storm. The Hurricane trembled violently, and the wind seemed to wail mournfully. The light pierced the core of darkness with unstoppable force.
With a deafening roar, the dark storm collapsed under the silver light's assault, shattering into countless tiny fragments.
The darkness formed a grotesque face flashing its fangs menacingly at Yugen, but it vanished swiftly, disappearing completely from the scene.
The storm ceased completely. Ted Banias's eyes were devoid of the spark, and he collapsed face-down onto the ground like a severed puppet, completely still.
The terrifying scene had already scared the surrounding thugs senseless.
Even ordinary people could see the tangible Elf, and the dreadful momentum was soul-shaking. This group was only used to street brawls to intimidate the average person, never having faced such a terrifying spectacle?
And Ted, he seemed like he was lifeless?
Did the duel actually kill him?
Yugen frowned.
Again, a duel ends with a person disappearing.
The same happened with Kiku, where he didn't intend to eliminate the opponent. He had many questions to ask. But Kiku never gave him the chance, disappearing right after the duel.
It was only later discovered that Kiku Lloyd was already dead, and the duel was with a ghost.
This Professor Card didn't seem like a ghost, but Yugen hadn't intended to kill. He had hoped to ask questions after the duel, but after the duel, the person collapsed again.
The similarities between the two duels made him vaguely see a large hand hidden behind the scenes. Be it Kiku or Ted, they were puppets pulled by that hand, playing the roles they were meant to on stage.
"It seems he won't be able to say anything for now."
Yugen slowly turned to face Ryuya behind him.
"Then I have no choice but to ask you all."
The latter shivered involuntarily, feeling the man's silhouette under the lights resembling a sinister Demon.
...
...
"...So, they don't know anything either?"
After some time, Keihei rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.
"Yeah. They were merely a local gang recruited to run errands and do odd jobs by someone. Kiku Lloyd — or his ghost was merely kept as a henchman by the 'someone.'
The tasks they received involved interfering with Kaiba Group's activities locally, intercepting the Kaiba Group's equipment and Rare Cards, causing minor troubles."
"Alright." Keihei sighed, "Things are really getting more complicated. My recent investigations also indicated that the International Fantasy Association...or rather, the Pegasus Nightwalker's foundation may have funding connections related to this matter.
Last time the investigation involving Nightwalker turned out to be a misunderstanding, but this time... I'm not sure. Could it be he ultimately holds a grudge against Kaiba Group?"
He shook his head.
"Anyway, I'm planning to personally visit the foundation headquarters to meet Nightwalker, want to join?"
Normally, Yugen would accompany him. Moreover, Yugen was involved this far in the matter.
To his surprise, Yugen shook his head.
"No, you go ahead. I won't join this time. If there's any progress, just let me know."
His gaze flickered, as if struck by a thought, lifting his eyes to look into the distance.
"...I need to return to Duel Academy."