Still swollen with pride, Manjoume answered casually. But two seconds later, he quickly realized something was wrong.
"Wait, what did you say?"
"The showdown with the main campus." The principal smiled as he explained that since their representative this year was a first-year, the main campus would most likely send a first-year as well. Most likely, it would also be this year's top freshman from the main campus.
The top freshman from the main campus... then wouldn't that be...
The smile gradually vanished from Manjoume's face.
"This is the last message sent back by our Card Professor three days ago."
Inside the sealed Student Council chamber, the hologram of Yako Tenma sat on one side of the table, speaking with a grave expression. "We have been tracking the investigation into the AI hacking incident, and the trail led us to Fuumei City. One of our Card Professor went there to investigate, but he encountered resistance we did not expect."
"He has now lost contact."
"Was he attacked?" Mokuba Kaiba asked with a frown from the other side of the table.
Seto Kaiba said, "Understood. Kaiba Corporation will investigate this matter as well."
"No, that is the problem, Seto Kaiba." Yako Tenma shook his head and lowered his voice. "The last message our Card Professor sent before disappearing mentioned certain Shadow Duelists."
"Mercenary killer Duelist, the kind who take jobs for money."
"So your man was taken out by assassins?" Mokuba Kaiba asked.
"That is what we believe. After that, we cross-checked the final message sent by the Card Professor, traced the related money flow, and unexpectedly identified the client who paid the killers."
"Who was it?" Mokuba Kaiba asked.
Yako Tenma paused for several seconds. "...Kaiba Corporation."
Seto Kaiba narrowed his eyes slightly. "Impossible."
"We have never done such a thing," Mokuba Kaiba said.
"I believe that as well." Yako Tenma nodded.
Mokuba Kaiba froze for a moment. "You mean..."
"There is a mole inside Kaiba Corporation."
Seto Kaiba spoke softly, then let out a faint, disdainful laugh, as if the matter were hardly worth fussing over. "Understood. Then I will handle this personally. It just so happens I also have a score to settle with whoever is behind this."
"It seems the president knows something?" Yako Tenma asked.
"Only a guess. Once I am certain, you will know," Seto Kaiba said.
"I understand." Yako Tenma nodded. "Then I wish you success, President."
With that, the hologram vanished. Mokuba Kaiba rose to his feet. "So, we are going to Fuumei City?"
"Yes. We have to settle this with our own hands," Seto Kaiba said calmly.
"That makes sense." Mokuba Kaiba thought for a moment, then added, "But I also promised Yugen I would tell him if there was any progress. After all, he is one of their targets too. Should we bring him along?"
Seto Kaiba considered it for two seconds. Then he gave a quiet laugh.
"Do as you like."
For Yugen, the duel with Judai Yuki had not been just a Duel. Judai Yuki had not cared much about winning the representative spot, and Yugen had felt the same. What had mattered more to both of them was the Duel itself.
He had long felt that dueling Judai Yuki might give him some kind of insight, a summation of everything he had learned and trained through the semester, and perhaps push him even further. That guess had proven correct, and the result had gone beyond even that.
During the Duel, he had felt himself being drawn in by Judai Yuki's passion. It was as if he had become more immersed in the Duel itself, losing himself in every Card Draw, every attack, and every clash, instead of calculating the outcome of every card and every move or worrying about victory and defeat.
As expected, no amount of theory could compare to understanding gained in real battle. No class and no advice from experts could truly explain that strange feeling. Only by experiencing it yourself and letting your heart and body remember it could you fully grasp it.
He had no concrete proof, but Yugen felt as though he had broken through a bottleneck, as if he had stepped into a new realm. Even his bond with Spirit seemed to have grown closer.
It even gave him a new idea, making him consider taking a step toward the next stage, one he had never dared touch before. He wanted to try mixing different Deck.
That might be a necessary step if he wanted to stand among the top duelists in this world. Only a mix of multiple LV Series could create more possibilities, raise the upper limit of a Deck, and reduce the chance of being completely shut down by a single field.
Of course, truly reaching the point where he could answer any field was still unrealistic. To do that, he would have to print cards, and that was a level even higher than this. For now, it was only an early idea, and turning it into reality would require much more time and effort in building and testing.
But the very next day after that thought appeared, he was met with the blazing enthusiasm of his friends. "Take a Cyber Prima!" Asuka Tenjoin said eagerly, showing him her Cyber Prima.
Of course, it was not an actual skirt. It was Cyber Prima, with ATK 1000, and it could attack directly if all Monster on the opponent's field had higher ATK than it. (ANIME EFFECT)
"Doesn't Yugen like cards that attack directly?" Asuka Tenjoin recommended eagerly. "Take this one. The power of a direct attack is on a whole different level."
Yugen: "..."
This was not some Rare Card, and if he had wanted it, he would have used it long ago. Honestly, it did not even feel as useful as Submarineroid.
Daichi Misawa also handed over his soul card. "Then take my Water Dragon too. It is a perfect killer against FIRE monsters. If the opponent really uses FIRE, it could be a huge help."
Yugen: "..."
Brother, why not first look at what kind of Summon condition your Water Dragon has? "This card can only be Special Summoned by the Spell Card 'Bonding - H2O'."
Bonding - H2O required you to tribute two Hydrogeddon and one Oxygeddon on your field to Special Summon one Water Dragon. In a real card environment, that practically meant it could not be summoned at all.
Even if Yugen trained some miraculous combo and somehow developed a sticky-handed God Draw, he still could not think of any reason to summon this thing. It was the kind of card that cost resources, effort, and focus to bring out, only to do nothing useful afterward. But out of respect for Daichi Misawa, he could not directly say that the Tamashii was too weak for him to carry.
Seeing those two so enthusiastic, Hayato Maeda at the side of the classroom could not help stepping forward as well. "Then my Koala too..."
Sho Marufuji also wanted to join in. "Then my Machina..."
Halfway through, he realized something. Wait a second, Yugen already played Machina, and he was more famous for it at Duel Academy than Sho Marufuji was.
Especially the submarine and the bicycle had already become the well-known trademarks of The King in Yellow. So there was really nothing more to say.
Yugen smiled and said, "Then why don't I just shuffle all your Deck together and play whatever I draw?"