Youmi looked at the three God Cards before her; even through the thick stacks of cards, she could still feel the power contained within them.
"This… how could this be…"
Youmi stared at the cards of the "Three Egyptian Gods."
Although she had initially doubted whether they were genuine, the aura of power and the long-missed greeting coming from The Winged Dragon of Ra still convinced her that these "Three Egyptian Gods" were indeed those same three cards from back then.
Though she did not know why their power seemed somewhat diminished, they were without a doubt The Winged Dragon of Ra, Obelisk the Tormentor, and Slifer the Sky Dragon.
"It's not like I didn't investigate at all before. The 'Three Egyptian Gods' were supposed to have been lost during the Ceremonial Duel. So why…"
Youmi stepped forward and picked up the "Three Egyptian Gods," looking at Sheppard with a puzzled expression.
"Allow me to explain that," a young man with starfish-shaped hair wearing a light purple shirt gently pushed open a door in the principal's office and walked out. "Long time no see, Youmi~ Although you've changed quite a bit compared to the times with Paradox and 'Blue God', this feeling is unmistakably you, Youmi."
The newcomer was none other than Yugi Muto.
Five years had passed, and although he was not as robust as Yami Yugi Atem, Yugi had indeed grown to resemble Atem more and more.
Handsome and striking, if he were to walk down the street, he would probably attract everyone from younger admirers to older ones alike; so much so that even Youmi, whose true body was male, found herself paying attention.
"Yugi…"
Youmi turned her body slightly, looking toward Yugi Muto.
"Kaiba-kun suddenly contacted me last night and said you'd finally come back over here, so today I asked Mokuba to bring me here," Yugi said.
Behind Yugi, Mokuba Kaiba, dressed in a white suit, also walked out and waved at Youmi.
A nostalgic look appeared in Yugi Muto's eyes. "It seems you already know about the Ceremonial Duel from five years ago.
"The other me and I—no, Atem and I—held our final duel there.
"After that duel, Atem temporarily entrusted the 'Three Egyptian Gods' to me, asking that I return them to you on the day you come back in the future."
"However, to avoid anyone coveting the existence of the 'Three Egyptian Gods,' we publicly announced that the cards of the 'Three Egyptian Gods' were all lost at the end of the Ceremonial Duel, and then entrusted them to Seto Kaiba and the Kaiba Corporation, whose resources and manpower were far superior, asking them to search for your whereabouts and ensure that the moment you appeared, they could hand them over to you. But…"
From behind Yugi, Mokuba spoke apologetically. "Although we received information when you enrolled that a student named 'Youmi' had entered Duel Academy, my brother didn't really pay much attention to it, so it wasn't until yesterday that we confirmed you really were you. I'm truly sorry about that…"
Picking up the explanation, Yugi Muto continued, "After that, since Duel Academy was successfully established atop the sealed land of the 'Sacred Beasts,' we thought it best to publicly conceal the existence of the 'Sacred Beasts' while secretly sealing away the cards of the 'Three Egyptian Gods.'
"That way, even if someone learned part of the truth, they would only know about the 'Sacred Beasts' and take them as their target.
"As such, the only ones who knew the 'Three Egyptian Gods' were within Duel Academy were me, Kaiba-kun, Mokuba, and Principal Sheppard here. However…"
Midway through his words, Yugi Muto raised his hand and pointed at the "Three Egyptian Gods" in Youmi's hands.
"I'm sure you've felt it too, Youmi. Compared to before, the power of the 'Three Egyptian Gods' has weakened considerably.
"This is because after Duel City, Pegasus's adopted son, Gekko Tenma, was tempted by dark power and created the 'Wicked Gods,' which stole a portion of the 'Three Egyptian Gods' power. On top of that, some of their power was also expended to oppose the 'Doma' organization."
Put into plain terms, this meant that the effects of the 'Three Egyptian Gods' in Youmi's hands had changed; they had become their OCG versions.
Youmi shrugged, wearing an indifferent expression. "It doesn't matter. Compared to the past, they're a lot weaker, but it's not like I'd really put them into use anyway, so it doesn't make much difference. Still, I clearly gave Yugi The Winged Dragon of Ra directly; this return gift is way too heavy."
"As expected of you, Youmi… treating the 'Three Egyptian Gods' just like ordinary monsters.
"Still, please, accept this as well." Yugi took a card case out of his pocket and handed it to Youmi. "Inside are cards specially designed for the weakened 'Three Egyptian Gods.'
"They're a return gift from Pegasus, thanking you for saving him and everyone at the venue during Paradox's attack back then.
"He contacted me before I came today, so I made a detour to pick them up. There's only one set like this in the entire world, so please take it."
Youmi accepted the card case and casually took out one card from inside.
The Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Mode.
Quite satisfied, Youmi nodded and took the "Three Egyptian Gods" out of the card brick and placed them inside, saying, "Then I won't stand on ceremony and will gladly accept them."
"Mm. I'd like to chat a bit more, but you still have matters related to the Seven Stars to deal with next, right?
"Mokuba and I will head back first. Let's meet again in Domino City later~ I'm an indie game developer now, so I'm really hoping you'll come try out my new game, Youmi."
"See you later, Youmi."
After saying goodbye to the two of them and watching them enter another door in the principal's office, she was quite curious about where that door actually led, but she didn't ask any indiscreet questions.
"So, that settles one matter. Let's call the others in and discuss the Sacred Beasts next."
Principal Sheppard sat back down in his chair and pressed a button on his desk.
The door to the principal's office suddenly flew open, and Jaden Yuki and Professor Crowler—who had been leaning their full weight against the door—came crashing down onto the floor together.
"Oh my, was that really necessary, you two~"
Given Principal Sheppard's playful nature, and with Youmi's hearing being far keener than average, she had noticed their behavior long ago and wasn't surprised at all. "Don't tell me you were eavesdropping?"
"N-no-no-no-no! We were just leaning on the door to rest a bit since the duel went on for so long, y'know!"
"Definitely not eavesdropping. Definitely."
The two hurriedly scrambled to their feet and began making excuses. Though they were somewhat at fault, the principal's office was well soundproofed, and they hadn't heard any important info, so Principal Sheppard didn't pursue the matter further.
"It's about time you learned about the Sacred Beasts and the Seven Stars," Youmi smoothly steered the conversation, making everyone think that what she and Principal Sheppard had been discussing earlier was exactly that. "Close the door first. We'll start from the beginning."
Youmi handed the topic back to Principal Sheppard, unobtrusively hanging the card case Yugi had given her at her waist before stepping aside, as though she were merely a listener.
However, the discrepancies between the account that followed and the version recorded in her memories still made her eyes light up.
In this world, the Sacred Beasts were also powerful cards of unknown origin, but unlike in the original story—where their awakening required the life force of monsters across the entire world—the Sacred Beasts would awaken in an incomplete state at fixed intervals.
At that time, by entrusting seven keys to seven Duelists and accumulating energy through duels, they could be sealed.
Although if the seal were broken, the Sacred Beasts would revive in their complete form.
Only then would they absorb the life force of monsters across the entire world, and if someone could control the Sacred Beasts at that point, they would gain power to match them, as well as eternal life.
In order to seize the tremendous power of the Sacred Beasts, a group calling themselves the Seven Stars issued a duel notice to Duel Academy.
With the intent of both protecting and sealing the Sacred Beasts, Principal Sheppard decided to entrust the seven keys to the seven strongest individuals within Duel Academy.
Originally, Professor Banner's position should have belonged to Chazz, but since Chazz was still studying at a branch school and would be some time away from returning, this key was temporarily placed in Professor Banner's care.
"By the way, if we're worried about the Seven Stars stealing the Sacred Beasts, wouldn't it be better to just lock down the entire school starting now and investigate everyone one by one?"
After Principal Sheppard finished his explanation, Bastion raised his question.
Principal Sheppard lifted his hand and knocked on his bald head, explaining helplessly, "We originally planned to do exactly that, but this matter has already come to the attention of Seto Kaiba. He demanded that we confront the enemy head-on and not act timidly in front of them, so we've kept the passage for incoming and outgoing ships open."
"No problem! After all, we're the elite of the school! How could we possibly lose to some evil organization~ Heroes always win… no, wait, only I'm using an Elemental HERO Deck."
As a true duel fanatic, Jaden jumped up excitedly. He was just about to say something stirring, only to freeze for a moment when he ran out of words.
Unable to bear the awkward silence, Youmi added, "Justice always wins—you were going to say that, right~"
"Yeah, that's it! Justice always wins Let's seal the Sacred Beasts with our best duels and drive off the invaders!"
...
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