[Karasu & Nishimura Yuta, LP: 2000 → 0]
The duel-end chime cut through the air. Kazetaro shot forward like an arrow, dashing straight to Karasu and Nishimura Yuta.
Before either of them could even process the shock of losing, Kazetaro ducked past their shoulders. His fingers moved like lightning, and he cleanly yanked both Decks out of their still-buzzing Duel Disks.
Karasu's pupils shrank. His lips moved, but no sound came out.
Yuta's face went livid. Veins bulged on his clenched fist, but all he could do was watch the Decks get taken.
Kazetaro sprang back to Yusaku, holding both Decks up like trophies.
"Senpai! These are the Decks we won!"
Yusaku looked at him, helpless at that shamelessly proud expression. He shook his head, but there was a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
"I already said it earlier. Split them with everyone."
The moment those words landed, the players who'd been watching for so long erupted. Their eyes were blazing with emotion. An Adamancipator deck with Adamancipator Risen - Dragite wasn't weak at all, yet Yusaku was tossing it out like it was nothing.
Kazetaro whooped and jogged off, cradling the Decks as he ran into the crowd.
As for how to divide them, Yusaku didn't interfere. He knew that if he handled the distribution, someone would inevitably feel it was unfair. Letting the players talk it out themselves would go over far better.
Off to the side, Karasu and Yuta watched their "Yakumo Zero" Decks get carved up by dozens of hands. Their expressions darkened until they looked ready to drip water.
Yusaku turned to them, arms folded, tone flat.
"So? Still not calling out the person behind you? If you keep stalling, I'm leaving."
Right as he finished speaking, a slow, heavy round of applause rose from behind the Genius Academy and Gurus crowd.
A figure wrapped head-to-toe in an oversized black robe stepped out of the shadows.
The robe was absurdly large, not a sliver of skin showing. Only two icy points of light were visible beneath the hood, like cold stars in the night.
"Not bad," the robed man rasped, voice like sandpaper on stone. "After dueling that many rounds and burning that much stamina, you still had a trump card tucked away."
Karasu snapped his head down, guilt flooding his voice.
"I'm sorry, Raven-taichou. I… I couldn't win."
The man called Raven lifted a hand, dismissing it without emotion.
"It's fine. You did what you needed to. You forced him to bring out a god. The rest is on me."
Yusaku raised an eyebrow.
"So you're the 'leader' they've been talking about."
"Correct." Raven pointed straight at him, the gaze under the hood feeling like it could pierce bone. "We both know what we want. You want the last piece to advance."
He slowly produced a puzzle card that glimmered faintly, twirling it between his fingers.
"And I want your God Card."
He looked up at Yusaku.
"Let's go. Save the talking."
Yusaku's mouth curled into an amused smirk.
"You want a God Card? One puzzle piece isn't enough."
"I know the rules." Raven gave a cold laugh, pulled out a Deck, and slotted it into his Duel Disk. "Beat me, and the puzzle piece is yours. And this Deck, too. Now come on—don't waste my time."
"Then you'll get exactly what you asked for."
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
The two shouts detonated at the same time.
Both Duel Disks flared, unfolding pale-blue holographic screens. Countless streams of data raced across the surfaces, projecting their Life Points in crisp numbers.
[Yusaku, LP 8000]
[Raven, LP 8000]
A prompt popped up an instant later.
[First turn: Raven]
Raven glanced at the display, drew his opening hand, and spoke like iron.
"My turn. Draw. Main Phase."
He slapped a Spell onto the Duel Disk.
"First, I activate Pot of Greed!"
A dark green pot carved with intricate patterns materialized in front of everyone. The pot was covered in eerie markings. Its mouth was thick and red, split in a leering grin that showed yellowed fangs, cackling with a nasty little "keh-heh-heh" that made people's scalps prickle.
Two cards flew out of Raven's Deck and dropped into his hand.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a second card, voice sharpened with malice.
"Next, I activate Lullaby of Obedience!"
"Pay 2000 LP, and declare a monster's name!"
Raven's voice rose.
"My opponent must check their Deck! If the declared monster is in it, I can choose to add it to my hand, or Special Summon it to my field in Attack Position, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"
He paused. Under the hood, his stare locked onto Yusaku, each word hammered out.
"I declare—Slifer the Sky Dragon!"
[Raven, LP 8000 → 6000]
Yusaku arched a brow.
"Slifer the Sky Dragon?"
Behind Raven, the Gurus members froze for half a beat—then exploded with excitement.
"So that's how you can get a God Card! Leader-sama really is a genius!"
"Hah! Yusaku's finished! Either he brings out the god, or he hands it over! Once Leader-sama gets three Tributes, he'll summon it!"
"And once a god hits the field, the duel's over!"
The surrounding players, though, looked… strange. Almost sympathetic.
"Are these guys dueling so much they fried their brains? You think a God Card is that easy to summon?"
"I remember something like… if the god doesn't acknowledge you, you can't summon it. Force it and you get struck by lightning."
"…"
Raven chuckled calmly.
"Of course I know not everyone can summon a god."
Then his tone shifted, cutting like a blade as he stared at Yusaku.
"But this card's effect forces you to do it."
Raven's voice carried a playful cruelty.
"If you summon it, the god appears. And of course…"
He dragged the last part out, sneering.
"You can also refuse. In that case, you hand it over to me. If the God Card isn't in your hands, it's the same as losing your strongest weapon."
He lifted his chin, openly provoking him.
"Now. Choose."
Yusaku smiled faintly, amused.
"Then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. I'm using a Blue-Eyes Deck for this duel, and I didn't bring Slifer the Sky Dragon."
"What?!" Raven snapped his gaze to the Duel Disk.
The hologram displayed it plainly: Target card not found.
Raven's jaw tightened. A flash of viciousness flickered in his eyes as he slammed down another card.
"Then I activate Lullaby of Obedience again! I pay 2000 LP!"
[Raven, LP 6000 → 4000]
"I declare—Obelisk the Tormentor!"
Yusaku folded his arms, tone dry.
"You really won't stop until you hit a coffin lid, huh. If you want Obelisk the Tormentor, too bad. That one isn't in my Deck either."
He paused, eyes gleaming with a teasing edge.
"Though if you've somehow got a third Lullaby of Obedience, you could try The Winged Dragon of Ra and see whether I brought that."
Then he tilted his head slightly.
"But seriously. You're really willing to burn 4000 LP on turn one."
Raven checked again. His face stayed pale as paper beneath the hood, and he gave a cold snort.
"It's only 4000 LP. Nothing worth mentioning."
"And it proves something. You don't have any God Cards."
Raven's sneer deepened.
"And without a God Card, you're no different from any other duelist. Worse—you're using a Blue-Eyes Deck, a relic that's been power-crept out for ages."
He scoffed.
"Figures. After all those duels—and after summoning a god—your stamina's probably shot. So now you're stuck hiding behind some third-rate Deck."
The players behind Yusaku instantly bristled.
"What did you say?!"
"Since when is Blue-Eyes 'third-rate'?!"
The crowd erupted, faces red with anger.
"After this duel, come down here and duel me one-on-one! I'll beat you flat with Blue-Eyes!"
Raven didn't even look at them. He knew players—once they latched on, they wouldn't stop unless they won. He didn't have the time to get dragged into that.
He glanced at his hand, then played another Spell.
"Then I activate Fossil Dig!"
"By this effect, I add a Level 6 or lower Dinosaur monster from my Deck to my hand." Raven's finger slid across his Deck. "I add the Level 2 Babycerasaurus."
He finished explaining and looked at Yusaku.
"Any response?"
Yusaku glanced at his hand and let a long, meaningful smile form.
"No quick disruption. But you'd better build a bigger board. If I crack it with just two cards, that'll be boring."
Raven paused.
"?"
Some players couldn't help thinking to themselves.
Is Yusaku-senpai running some other kind of "Blue-Eyes"?
Others weren't thinking that hard. The moment they saw the search, they started laughing.
"He searched Babycerasaurus—the legendary 'please blow me up' king."
"I thought he'd be on some fancy tech. It's just Dinosaurs. And he's talking trash about Blue-Eyes?"
"So who's stronger, Blue-Eyes or Dinos?"
"In the past, Dinos for sure. But Blue-Eyes isn't weak now. Hard to say."
"Plus Dinos have that 'fake card'—Miscellaneousaurus. That thing's effect is busted."
"According to research, 99% of Babycerasaurus are willing to get blown up."
"Babycerasaurus Protection Society condemns that statement."
"What year is it, and Dinos are still out here popping Baby?"
Hearing the crowd chatter like that, Yusaku could only shake his head. Players really were something—any time, any place, they could get a debate going.
Staring at Babycerasaurus in Raven's hand, Yusaku found himself oddly curious. If that card's Type were Dragon, and it Special Summoned Dragons instead… would it instantly get slapped onto the Forbidden List?
Right then, Raven drew another card and shattered the brief lull.
"I activate Graceful Charity! I draw three cards, then discard two."
Three cards flew into Raven's hand. He immediately sent two to the GY, then pulled out a monster and slammed it down.
"I Normal Summon Souleating Oviraptor!"
(End of Chapter)
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