In the dim room, a ghastly green glow flickered in the corner like ghostfire, casting twisted shadows across several figures wrapped in black robes. A heavy whisper drifted through the air.
"Ichiro… lost."
The lead robed man slowly lifted his gaze, his hoarse voice cutting through the dead silence.
"Everyone. Anything you want to say?"
A suffocating silence followed.
Through the concealed cameras they had planted across the district ahead of time, they had watched the entire Duel from start to finish. From the moment the feed cut out, that eerie quiet had soaked into the room—until now.
What was there to say?
Ichiro's Deck had been tailor-built by their leader. Every single card in it was a rare secret card he had personally won from powerful Duelists across countless battles—its overall strength was far beyond any ordinary Deck.
The lockdown field he established was a true cage of despair. Even if they, the battle-hardened core members, stepped in personally, they were not confident they could break it.
And yet that "perfect defense" had been completely dismantled by Yusaku—so cleanly it was as if it had never existed at all. Not a single monster card was left behind on the field.
What chilled them most was that throughout the entire Duel, Yusaku remained calm and unhurried, as though he had never once gone all out.
Even after the Duel ended, they still could not confirm whether that horrifying effect—one that locked Special Summons and even Normal Summons—came from a single monster, or from the overlap of two monsters' effects.
Against him, going first at least left a sliver of hope. Even if luck turned sour and they ate disruption like Maxx "C", they could still struggle and resist.
But if they were unlucky enough to go second—if he opened by building a suppression field like that—then the game was doomed from the very beginning.
They truly could not comprehend how a monster with effects that absurd could exist.
"Then…" the lead robed man spoke again, his eyes sweeping across them. "Who's willing to step up next and deal with him?"
The silence grew heavier. No one answered.
Ichiro, the one who had volunteered earlier, had not only lost—his entire Deck had changed hands.
Normally, when someone won an opponent's Deck, they would sell off the useless cards to a card shop. If Ichiro could scrape together money quickly, he might still manage to buy back some of the cards he loved.
"So none of you will… Hmph. Then it can only be this."
The lead robed man rose from his chair. The hem of his cloak brushed the floor with a faint scrape—an uncomfortably loud sound in the stillness.
The other robed figures turned their heads, eyes full of shock and speculation.
Was Kudo-taichō going to move personally?
They had heard plenty about his past.
Before he joined Gurus, he had been a rising star in the pro Duel circuit—winning again and again, unstoppable, once hailed as a future legend.
But too much praise and expectation made him swell with arrogance. He grew convinced he could not lose, dismissing even the legendary family Duelists with century-old lineages as nothing special.
More than once, he had declared that if he had been born a few years earlier, the title of "legend" would never have gone to anyone else.
That self-satisfied state only ended when he faced the heir of the Hope family.
In that Duel, his prideful complacency was punished. His opponent exploded into a full combo and OTK'd him on the spot—Kudo-taichō never even managed to shave off a single point of the other side's LP.
After that, his form collapsed. He lost match after match in pro play, until he quietly withdrew from the scene, falling into ruin.
Until he met Gurus's leader—the mysterious man who carried the Millennium Rod and claimed to know everything.
Guided and cultivated by that man, he not only regained his peak condition, his strength surpassed what it had been in his glory days.
"Kudo-sama… what are your odds?" someone asked carefully, reverence in his tone.
The lead robed man fell silent for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.
"Not seventy percent."
Everyone froze.
To them, that was already an extremely high win rate—high enough to be practically guaranteed.
Once they processed it, they hurried to flatter him.
"As expected of Kudo-sama! A seventy percent win rate—if you make a move, victory is assured!"
As the room filled with bootlicking, one robed man's eyes suddenly lit up. He stepped forward.
"Kudo-sama, I have a plan."
All eyes snapped to him.
He paused, then continued.
"Back then, when Genius Academy and several Dojos joined forces to suppress the Satellite Zone, in just three days, every layer except the 27th fell. Even so, the 27th floor still held on."
He looked around the room and emphasized his words.
"The 27th floor is the one Yusaku was on. Not only did he defend the 27th, he single-handedly cleared the Duel Tower that separated the Upper District and the Satellite Zone. That completely ruined Genius Academy's 'raise-the-poison-in-a-jar' plan that they've been running for years!"
"So compared to us… they hate Yusaku even more."
The others nodded in agreement.
"So?" the lead robed man said coldly. "What are you getting at?"
The robed man gave a chilling smirk, icy light flashing in his eyes.
"Since we share a common enemy with Genius Academy, then the enemy of our enemy is our friend."
"Why don't we work with Genius Academy to deal with Yusaku? I'm sure they won't refuse a chance like this."
He folded his arms, confidence dripping from every word.
"You know the rules in the Duel tournament—an official invitation Duel can't be refused."
"Once he's exhausted, Kudo-sama, you challenge him personally. The win rate will skyrocket!"
The lead robed man frowned slightly.
"It's just a bunch of rabble," another robed figure scoffed with open disdain. "It's not like we've never dueled them. They can't even scrape together a truly powerful Deck. They only got lucky winning rare cards off us because they're shameless and stubborn."
Then his tone shifted, and he smiled.
"Besides, Genius Academy has plenty of affiliated Dojos. When the time comes, those Dojo people will help us hold back the trash."
"It won't be as hard as you're imagining."
"Fine." The lead robed man patted the planner on the shoulder, then waved his hand. "Go arrange it. Genius Academy won't miss an opportunity this good."
A robed man stepped forward and nodded.
"Understood. I'll handle it."
After he left, the leader stared at the screen showing Yusaku strolling through the streets. A cold smile tugged at his mouth.
"Let's see how you run this time."
Meanwhile… ulterior motives were in motion.
Right now, Yusaku was out shopping with his spirits, while also looking for opponents in the Duel tournament.
Reina fiddled with the Puzzle Cards in her hand, complaining with boredom.
"These guys are so pathetic. The moment they see you, Master, they bolt."
Yusaku rubbed the girl's head and explained with a smile.
"That's because the Duel just now was too brutal. The other guy couldn't even Summon a monster."
"So when they see me, they immediately picture that scene. Unless they have no other choice, they won't Duel me."
Saya tilted her head, speaking with concern.
"You need eight Puzzle Cards to advance. But it's still early—nobody has many Puzzle Cards yet. Dueling right now isn't worth it."
"Later, once everyone has more Puzzle Cards, winning one Duel can net you three or four cards. By then…"
Before she could finish, several students in Genius Academy uniforms suddenly appeared at the corner of the alley ahead—alongside several members in black robes.
The Genius Academy boy in front clapped his hands.
"Just as expected of you. You still noticed us."
The boy's smile was casual, almost dismissive.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"Yusaku, we've been waiting for this moment for a long time. Your tournament run ends here."
He waved his hand. Another Genius Academy student and a Gurus member stepped forward, both snapping their Duel Disks open.
The scene was spotted by a passing player. His eyes lit up. He immediately opened the forum, snapped a photo of the drama unfolding, and posted it.
[Get over here, now! Genius Academy is shamelessly teaming up with Gurus to target Yusaku!]
The moment the post went live, players who were not currently dueling and were idly scrolling the forum instantly saw it and started replying.
"Damn. They're ganging up on him? Don't they know Yusaku-sama is our 'breadwinner'? Bro, drop the location—I'm coming to back him up!"
"Count me in! Drop the location—I'm bringing my new Deck!"
"Received. On my way. I just built a strong Deck and I've been itching for a Duel!"
"…"
As more and more players rushed over, they froze for a beat—then someone blurted out a curse.
"Holy crap, it really is ulterior motives!"
"Holy crap, spirits can participate in Duels too?!"
"Heh, isn't the Labrynth Deck a heavy-trap control build? Add Yusaku's skill on top of that… yeah, this is going to be fun."
Labrynth was standing beside Yusaku, her Duel Disk already deployed.
As a spirit with a serious card addiction, she had wanted to step onto the field for a long time—she just never had the chance. Now that she finally could, excitement sparkled in her eyes.
Saya and Reina stood to the side, pumping their little fists as they cheered.
"Good luck, Master!"
"Good luck, Labrynth-oneechan!"
On the other side, the Genius Academy boy—Susumu Sankaidou—stared at Labrynth, who was far too beautiful to be real, and frowned slightly.
In the intel they had gathered, there was no mention of her at all.
They had assumed Yusaku would pick one of the players following him to fight, but instead it was Labrynth. They were caught off guard.
But the invitation had already been issued, and according to tournament rules, they could not refuse anymore.
Yusaku folded his arms and spoke evenly to the two across from him.
"What are you hesitating for? Start already."
"You know the rules for dueling me."
"I know you want the Egyptian God Cards. If you win, the God Cards are yours."
"But if you lose, you hand over your entire Deck."
The two opponents snorted and stopped wasting words, both unfolding their Duel Disks and inserting their Decks.
Yusaku and Labrynth did the same, slotting their Decks in without delay.
…
"Duel!" ×4
All four voices fell at once. The Duel Disks hummed as pale-blue screens deployed, data streams racing across the displays. Each duelist's starting Life Points appeared clearly.
[Yusaku, LP 8000]
[Labrynth, LP 8000]
[Susumu, LP 8000]
[Jiro Kuki, LP 8000]
At the start of the Duel, turn order was randomized on the Duel Disk indicator:
1st: Labrynth.
2nd: Susumu.
3rd: Yusaku.
4th: Jiro.
Seeing the names, Yusaku raised an eyebrow and looked at the man hiding his figure beneath the black robe.
"Jiro Kuki. What's your relationship to Ichiro Kuki—the one I dueled earlier?"
Jiro snorted, his voice carrying suppressed fury.
"That's my brother! In this Duel, I'm taking my brother's Deck back!"
Yusaku smiled slightly, tone calm.
"Sorry. I already sold that Deck."
Jiro: "?"
Not long after the Duel ended, Yusaku had sold the won Deck to other players.
With the rare cards included, he made a tidy profit of 3000 crystals—bringing him one step closer to completing Tearlaments.
Hearing that, several players behind Yusaku—who had rushed over after hearing the news—pulled out the cards they had just bought and let out sinister, cackling laughs.
"Ohohoho, Labrynth going first—those guys are cooked."
"Hahaha, for real. A trap-focused Deck going first? I can already picture what happens next."
"Pure enjoyment. Everything that's about to happen is pure enjoyment."
Jiro's face darkened. He turned and looked at Susumu beside him.
"We agreed to help you deal with Yusaku. Then you'd better fulfill your side of the deal too."
Susumu smiled blandly.
"Relax. Genius Academy always keeps its promises."
"We'll kick them out of the tournament early. They're all here now, so it's time to wrap things up."
He waved his hand. Several Duelists standing in the crowd—wearing different Dojo uniforms—immediately stepped forward and began challenging the surrounding players to Duels.
Yusaku rubbed his chin and looked at those Dojo students, a faintly amused smile tugging at his lips.
Did these idiots still think the players were the same as before—people who could not even put together a complete strong Deck?
After the events he had deliberately arranged, the players' Decks had already undergone a full upgrade cycle.
They were not soft targets anymore.
As players snapped open their Duel Disks to accept the challenges, Susumu looked at Yusaku.
"Stop wasting time. Begin."
Yusaku turned to Labrynth and smiled.
"I'm leaving it to you."
"Mm." Labrynth returned a gentle smile. "Leave it to me."
(End of Chapter)
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