"Youmi, are you alright?!"
Standing at the entrance to Youmi's new dorm was Professor Crowler, pacing back and forth.
"Almost the entire school just saw a gigantic white monster, and someone even notified campus security that a duel with a Shadow Duelist had occurred. I just finished dealing with Alexis and that bottom-of-the-class Jaden, then contacted everyone. But you were the only one I couldn't reach. I thought something terrible had happened to you."
It was probably because the Shadow Game's field had no signal; Youmi's phone had no call records with Professor Crowler at all.
"Ah, it was probably because there was no signal. Don't worry. The Shadow Duelist has already been defeated. He claimed he was originally a member of the Seven Stars, but got kicked out after a stronger duelist joined. He probably came to the academy to escape and to prove his strength."
The Seven Stars Gate key had already been returned to hang around Youmi's neck. She gave a rough explanation of what had just happened, also clarifying that the massive white monster earlier had actually been a monster summoned by her friend Fleurdelis.
Thanks to special privileges granted by Seto Kaiba (read: privileges given because he was scared of Kaiba), Youmi was now allowed to have her Spirit friends openly appear at Duel Academy, as long as they didn't interfere with normal classes or excessively consume teaching resources.
As a result, although Professor Crowler had no idea who Fleurdelis actually was, considering that Youmi was the legendary Duel King and that Principal Sheppard had personally instructed him beforehand, he didn't pursue the matter further.
After confirming that Youmi was unharmed, he hurried back toward the school infirmary to check on Atticus, who had only just reappeared today.
"She really is a good teacher. The infirmary isn't close at all. Yet he's running there and back on foot," Fleurdelis said, watching Professor Crowler depart, nodding in approval.
She then took out her Deck and handed it to Youmi. "What a shame. It looks like the lucky cards you gave me weren't needed after all."
They were The Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Mode and The Winged Dragon of Ra.
"Ah, that's only natural. I originally thought he'd be using a Fiend Deck. That one needs some setup, and it also has Archfiend Manifestation as a Fusion Monster and Archfiend Summoning as a Ritual Monster. I didn't expect him to be running a Demise & Ruin Deck—and not even the Level 10 variant."
Youmi put away the Ra Egg and the 'trash' Winged Dragon of Ra, tucking them into her Side Deck card case and crossing her arms.
"It's no wonder he got kicked out of the Seven Stars. With a board like that, I think even Syrus could break through it easily. He didn't even have a single Quick Effect, and none of his archetypal Continuous cards were active. His Deck didn't even run any archetypal Continuous cards at all. Nightshroud's high-roll FTK can still occasionally show up in the OCG, you know."
Opening the door, Youmi and Fleurdelis entered the dorm. The first thing that greeted them was a streak of silver light flying past Youmi's face like a blade.
"Ah, my apologies, Miss Youmi. While I wasn't looking, the activated 'gentleman' attempted to escape. Please step aside. I will seal him at once."
Arias flipped over the sofa, holding three throwing knives in each hand.
The Soul of Nightshroud nimbly dodged the thrown blade and flew toward the doorway.
Youmi immediately kicked the door shut, cutting off his escape, while scales began forming over her left hand as she grabbed him in one swift motion.
She didn't fully grasp what was happening at first, but realization quickly dawned. "What is going on… oh, you woke him up for interrogation, right?"
Because the wager of the Shadow Game was still in effect, Youmi quickly drained the energy that had reactivated the Soul of Nightshroud, sending him back into deep slumber. Unless someone infused him with energy again or willingly allowed themselves to be possessed, he would never awaken.
Arias bowed deeply in apology. "Exactly so. My apologies. Our young lady injected far too much energy. I never expected that it would require your direct intervention to capture him. This is my failure."
Youmi waved her hand, not blaming Arias at all. "It's fine. I was the one who assigned all the work to you in the first place. By the way, where's your young lady? I haven't seen her."
Fleurdelis took the Soul of Nightshroud from Youmi's hand, sealed it into a stack of cards, and placed it on the coffee table.
"Our young lady, well…"
At the mention of her mistress, Arias' mouth twitched.
At that moment, Chamber Dragonmaid came down the main staircase from the second floor of Youmi's standalone dorm.
Chamber took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her brow. "Lady Labrynth… while chasing that card, she collided head-on with a soccer-ball-sized Tri-Brigade bird that Kitt had made."
"Uh… she got knocked out by the Tri-Brigade bird?"
Fallen of Albaz slid down the stair railing and landed neatly. "That big-chested woman's head is pretty tough. She smashed the Tri-Brigade bird into pieces instead. Right now she's helping Kitt repair it.
"Though honestly, she's making more trouble than she's helping."
Landing perfectly, Fallen of Albaz pointed behind him. "Kitt asked me to tell you all that since the Tri-Brigade bird's main unit is busted, the dorm's cameras will be offline for the next couple of days. She wants everyone to be careful."
That remark snapped Youmi to attention. If the Seven Stars started appearing one by one—or even without appearing directly—there was a woman vampire named Camula who used bat familiars to scout opponents' Decks in advance. Now that all of Kitt's observation posts were down, extra caution was necessary.
"Speaking of that… everyone, starting now, let's play a bit of treasure hunt. One of the Seven Stars—Camula—can control Vampire Familiars to gather information. If she learns our Deck lists ahead of time, she'll probably build hard counters. So until Kitt finishes the repairs, I'll have to trouble you all to stay vigilant."
Youmi gave a brief explanation of Camula and her Vampire Familiars, then called each companion holding a Seven Stars Gate key in turn, reminding them to protect their Deck information carefully and not let it be stolen.
Although the information Nightshroud had revealed was sparse, some of the members were now confirmed.
Camula and Tania, for example, were definite.
While it was unclear how much stronger their Decks might be in this altered timeline, Vampire and Amazoness were ultimately still casual-tier strategies. They probably wouldn't undergo the same kind of total overhaul that Titan had after joining the Seven Stars.
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]