Yugioh [600-605] (Patreon)

Chapter 600: I Want to Return to the Academy

Yubel.

Ted was basically dazed until the very end.

He’d just sent off the toxic Sword Woman, and now Yubel had shown up.

And this time, it was a Ten-Star monster.

Yubel herself was considered a rare card; Ted had never seen one before, and he never imagined there was such a Ten-Star monster in the world—the “damage reflection” effect, had 0 attack and 0 defense, and a layer of destruction resistance.

Every duelist who crashed and died against her would feel a “welcome home” hospitality.

If that wasn’t enough, at the moment of defeat, she even performed a “grave-digging” move, taking the core of his deck, "Medicine Eater," and gave Yubel a trap countering ability.

Even Ted’s last trump card, the invincible attack trap “Sakuretsu Armor,” was blocked. Ted was speechless—he could only admit that this guy was just too stable.

Hilarious—is this the legendary “King of Duels”?

Terrifying, truly terrifying.

Ted Banias had always been confident in his own strength, both in the past and now. Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of challenging Yugi Muto back in the day.

But now, although he hadn’t faced Yugi Muto directly, at least he’d finally gotten to face the next Duel King after all these years—a wish fulfilled.

Yet, he felt in his heart that he would have been better off not dueling at all.

If this duel taught him anything, it was the gap between people—sometimes it was like the difference between a human and a dog. Compared to the person before him, Ted, who was once a well-known card professor, now felt like a clown.

Ted Banias fell to his knees in the classic “Detective Conan suspect” pose, hands on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Ryuya Saito, standing by, was at least loyal enough—seeing his friend so out of it after a duel, he wanted to go help him up.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

But in the next moment, Ted, who had collapsed on the ground, suddenly sprang up, raised his head to the sky, and let out a long, drawn-out scream of “Aaaaah!” A transparent shockwave erupted from him, almost blowing away all the stunned onlookers nearby.

It sounded like a heart-wrenching wail. Ted Banias spread his arms wide, looked skyward, and spat out a cloud of chaotic darkness from his mouth!

A tyrannical energy spiraled into the sky, piercing the roof and shooting into the heavens like a pillar breaking through the firmament.

The darkness rampaged through the room like a violent storm, engulfing everyone.

Strangely enough, such a powerful gale left people barely able to stand, as if they’d be blown away, but the force somehow didn’t affect anything else in the room. Tables, chairs, items—nothing moved, not even a scrap of paper, as if the storm didn’t exist at all.

Kira was the first to realize: this wasn’t a real wind.

It appeared as a storm, but it was something more fundamental—a force that affected the soul. Everyone could sense it only because they had souls, able to feel the threat of being drawn into a vortex. The inanimate objects weren’t affected.

It was as if the recent duel had triggered this power, which erupted out, threatening to swallow everyone present.

But Kira quickly realized this wasn’t something Ted did intentionally, but a loss of control over a force dormant in his body. Ted himself was likely suffering the most.

Still, it wasn’t a big problem.

At this level, Kira was completely in control.

“Silent,” he said.

As soon as he spoke, a white-robed mage with silver hair flashed out. The staff twirled nimbly in her hand, leaving a trail of silver light.

Now, the Silent Magician had unlocked the time limit on physical manifestation, making her much more durable and practical, and firmly establishing her as Kira’s ace in situations requiring Pokémon-style brawls.

Dazzling silver light, like lightning splitting the night, shot straight toward the dark storm. The hurricane trembled violently, the wind howling in a wail. The light pierced the core of the darkness.

A thunderous roar, and the dark storm shattered under the silver light, scattering into countless fragments.

At the very end, the darkness seemed to form a monstrous face, baring its fangs at Kira—but it disappeared in an instant.

The storm subsided. Ted Banias’ eyes glazed over, and he collapsed face-down like a puppet whose strings had been cut, no longer moving.

The thugs nearby were already scared out of their wits.

The concrete manifestation of spirits could be seen by mortals, and this terrifying display was soul-shaking. These people were only used to street fighting and scaring regular folks—they had never experienced anything this horrifying.

And as for Ted—was he dead?

Did the duel just kill him?

Kira frowned.

Again—a duel ends and the person is gone.

Same thing happened with Zigfried: Kira hadn’t meant to kill him (he had questions to ask), but Zigfried didn’t give him the chance—when the duel ended, so did Ted.

Later, Kira discovered that Zigfried Lloyd had already died, and he’d been dueling his spirit.

This card professor, though, seemed like the real deal—not some vengeful spirit. Kira hadn’t gone for the kill; he’d planned to question him after the duel. But once again, his opponent collapsed as soon as the cards were played.

The similarities between these two duels made Kira sense a hidden hand behind the scenes. Both Zigfried and Ted were puppets whose strings were being pulled, playing their assigned roles on stage.

“Looks like he won’t be able to say anything for a while,” Kira said, turning to Ryuya Saito.

“So I’ll have to ask you guys.”

Ryuya Saito shuddered, feeling that in the lamplight, Kira looked as sinister as a demon.

…

“So... they don’t know anything either?”

Some time later, Makuba rubbed his temples, sounding a bit troubled.

“Yeah. They’re just a local gang, recruited to run errands. Zigfried Lloyd—or rather, his spirit—was just chosen as a thug by that ‘someone’ and kept around.

Their current missions all revolve around disrupting the local Kaiba Corporation—stealing their equipment, rare cards, and causing mid-level trouble.”

Makuba sighed. “Things are getting more and more complicated. My own investigation turned up hints that Industrial Illusions—or rather, the Pegasus Foundation—may also have financial connections to all this.

Last time, investigating Maximillion Pegasus turned out to be a misunderstanding. This time... I’m not sure. Maybe he still holds a grudge against Kaiba Corp?”

He shook his head.

“In any case, I plan to visit the foundation headquarters and see myself. Want to come?”

Normally, Kira would go with him, especially since he was already involved this far.

But to Makuba’s surprise, Kira shook his head.

“No, you go. If you find anything, just let me know.”

He seemed to be thinking of something, looking off into the distance.

“I... want to return to Duel Academy.”

Chapter 601: Aerial Duel

Night had fallen, the deep blue-black sky spreading overhead, a few stars twinkling at its edge.

A beam of dazzling light suddenly streaked through the darkness.

The jet, like a silver dragon ready to spring, broke free of gravity, streaking across the sky like a meteor. Against the night and starlight, it seemed to merge into the vast universe, its long tail flame forming a bridge between heaven and earth.

“Check the Duel Academy’s alarm system,” Kira said.

His jet, a KaibaCorp product, was equipped with their latest AI. The academy’s system was also made by Kaiba, capable of remote access.

[“No anomalies,”] said the AI’s emotionless female voice.

[“No security alarms triggered at Duel Academy. No unusual reports received.”]

“Keep monitoring. Full speed ahead,” Kira ordered.

Suddenly, Chick popped up in the back of the cabin, asking curiously, “Why are we suddenly heading back? Weren’t the clues pointing to Industrial Illusions?”

“Just a hunch,” Kira shook his head. “Don’t you think things are fishy?”

Dark Scorpion and the others appeared, exchanging glances.

“Prison No. 7 attacked, a hitman hired via the dark web, hacker programs with Zigfried Lloyd’s personal traits. Plus, as soon as I mentioned returning to the academy, someone redirected the clues to Industrial Illusions..”

Dark Scorpion and the rest still looked confused.

“Honestly, there’s not much evidence,” Kira shook his head. “It’s just my intuition.

But I feel like someone doesn’t want me going back to Duel Academy.”

“I see,”

Jinzo floated in the air, nodding.

“Feels like a diversion, drawing the tiger from the mountain?”

As if someone wanted to do something at Duel Academy, but feared Kira’s return, so they created trouble to keep him busy.

At this time, Kaiba was conveniently overseas. If someone could stir up duel-related trouble for Kaiba Corp., Kira—being their ally—wouldn’t just stand by.

If that’s the case, then attacking Kaiba Corp. is just a cover. Using the dead Zigfried Lloyd’s spirit as a thug, using dark powers to control the Pegasus Foundation’s card professors, harassing Kaiba Corp.—all just to draw attention.

Maybe that person is also interested in Kaiba Corp.

But it’s all speculation, as Kira said—just his intuition.

Soon enough, he would find evidence for that intuition.

[“Warning: unidentified aircraft approaching.”]

The plane’s AI gave a cold alert.

Kira frowned.

“Approaching us? Mark it on radar.”

A blip appeared on the radar, rapidly closing in from behind.

Next moment, the plane shook.

As if hit from outside—a meteor hammer slamming the fuselage. The jet rocked violently.

“Was that an attack?”

[“Unable to determine...”]

Kaiba’s jet had top-tier systems, but no weapons—after all, flying around in an armed fighter jet would be excessive.

Not that Kira needed weapons—he couldn’t operate them anyway.

Before Kira could respond, the Silent Magician, surrounded by a milky-white aura, flew out of the cabin.

She saw the enemy at once.

The pursuing aircraft was keeping its distance, but sent a vanguard.

A white monster, breaking through the clouds. It had a white shell, a conical head, and a second face on its chest.

A terrifying face, like a skull, with hollow eyes and sharp fangs, grinning coldly on its chest.

Silent Magician didn’t recognize this monster, but if Kira could see it, he’d instantly know its identity.

Greed Quasar.

[Greed Quasar]

Level 7.

ATK: ? DEF: ?

Effect: This card’s original ATK/DEF become its Level x 300. As long as this card is on the field, its Level increases by the original Level of any monster destroyed by battle with it.

(This is the regulated OCG effect; the manga version was even more unique.)

In the manga, with the dedicated Quasar Field Spell, every duel monster had “Life Stars.” Each monster’s initial Life Stars equaled its Level, but every turn, each monster would lose one Life Star.

When Life Stars hit zero, the monster died of old age.

Greed Quasar was the ace card, able to devour other monsters’ Life Stars to endlessly extend its life and power—a brutal predator.

Now, this giant beast was charging at Kira’s jet.

Silent Magician fearlessly met it, firing a white magic blast.

Greed Quasar didn’t dodge. The mouth on its chest opened wide, swallowing the magic blast whole—Silent’s full-powered attack disappeared without a trace.

Greed Quasar roared, accelerated, and slashed at Silent. She dodged, flipping over its head and firing another blast.

Quasar leaned back, chest mouth opening to swallow the blast again. Then, with a flash of white light, it reflected the magic blast back.

Silent Magician was startled, quickly blocking with her staff. The blast rippled against a transparent barrier, forcing her to retreat.

[“At the same time, the opponent is sending a communication request,”] the jet’s AI reported.

“Interesting, patch it through,” Kira said.

The screen connected. A confident, cocky-looking man appeared.

“Duel King Fujiki Kira! Think you can just return to Duel Academy? Not so easy. You’ll have to get through me first.”

He pointed to his duel disk.

“Well? Dare to try me?”

“Aerial duel.”

Chapter 602: The Strongest Professor

“My name is Depre Scott,” the man on the screen said calmly.

“Perhaps you’ve heard of me, Duel King.”

Kira raised an eyebrow, thinking for a moment before shaking his head.

“Sorry. There are too many duelist I’ve beaten—I can’t remember half their names.”

The man wasn’t angry, just laughed.

“Understandable. If you stand at the top, why bother with the names of small fry?”

He narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“But I’m different. I once came so close to the top—just one step away from defeating the greatest duelist of that era:

The man called Yugi Muto.”

“Hmm?”

Kira looked him over.

Was there really someone who almost beat Yugi Muto?

Thinking hard, he suddenly recalled.

“You’re a Card Professor?”

“Hahaha, seems you have heard of me.” He smiled proudly. “Yes, I was one of Pegasus’s Card Professors—in fact, the strongest.

Depre Scott, challenging you, the Second Duel King.”

Kira remembered now. This character was also from the spin-off manga, an important rival in Yugi’s growth.

Back then, Dark Yugi (Atem) had defeated several Card Professors, but even the Pharaoh was feeling fatigued from so many consecutive matches. So Yugi volunteered to take over while the Pharaoh rested.

It was then that Yugi fought Depre Scott.

He was likely the strongest Card Professor—Yugi struggled in the first half, even doubting he could win. Depre mocked him, saying the “vessel” should get lost; he wanted to face the true Pharaoh.

In the end, the Pharaoh reappeared, not to duel but to inspire Yugi. Yugi rallied and won.

Story-wise, this was probably the first opponent Yugi truly defeated on his own, a milestone on his path to becoming Duel King without relying on Atem.

He once forced Yugi to the brink, so his strength was real. But Kira thought Depre was a bit overconfident.

Back then, Atem did most of the dueling; Yugi had little experience and no resolve to win, so struggling was normal.

If Depre challenged Yugi now, he’d find out what a true Duel King is.

“The Pegasus Foundation’s been thoroughly infiltrated— even an ace like you is a puppet,” Kira said coolly. “You really don’t want me back at the Academy, huh?”

“Enough talk,” Depre said coldly. “Today, only one of us will touch ground. Let’s see how the Second Duel King compares to the first.”

“Fine, if you insist...”

“Duel!” x2

[Kira, LP 4000]

[Depre, LP 4000]

Aerial duel—both flying jets through the clouds. Silent Magician and Greed Quasar retreated to their decks after the brief clash.

Victory would be decided by cards.

“I’ll go first. Draw.”

Kira said.

“I activate the Continuous Spell ‘Arcane Barrier.’”

The environment around the plane changed—a massive magical barrier appeared.

“Arcane Barrier: each time a Spellcaster is destroyed, place a Spell Counter on this card.”

“Spellcasters, huh?”

Depre wasn’t surprised; his research showed this Duel King used many decks, and Spellcasters were an early favorite, with Silent Magician as one.

“Normal Summon ‘Alchemist of Black Spells.’”

[Alchemist of Black Spells, ATK 1200]

“Alchemist of Black Spells’s effect: once per turn, change this card from Attack to Defense Position, and place a Spell Counter on any card that can hold one.

I’ll change Alchemist of Black Spells to Defense and place a counter on ‘Arcane Barrier.’”

[Alchemist of Black Spells, ATK 1200 → DEF 1800]

The magician swapped positions, forming a hand sign. Black magic surged, a dark beam entering the Continuous Spell—the barrier lit up a spell counter.

[Arcane Barrier, Spell Counters: 0 → 1]

“Next, I activate the Spell ‘Spell Power Grasp’—add a Spell Counter to any card that can hold one.

I’ll add another to ‘Arcane Barrier.’”

Another surge of energy, another counter.

[Arcane Barrier, Spell Counters: 1 → 2]

“After that, I can add another ‘Spell Power Grasp’ from my deck to my hand.”

Kira drew the card from his deck.

Depre: “So, a Spellcaster deck focused on managing counters?”

This was different from what he’d seen Kira use before.

“I’ll set one card. Turn end. Your move.”

“My turn. Draw.”

Depre revealed a card.

“I summon ‘Eva Abductor’!” (Manga Card)

[Eva Abductor, ATK 1000]

A small, ugly alien—one of Depre’s signature monsters.

“Now let me show you abduction! Using Eva Abductor’s special ability:

Abduct!”

Depre discarded a card from his hand.

“By discarding one card, I can take control of one of your monsters!”

Kira: “...”

Typical manga broken card! For a mere Level 3 monster, that’s overpowered.

Now he understood why even Yugi struggled back then.

“I discard a card,” Depre declared, “and take control of your only monster—‘Alchemist of Black Spells’!”

Chapter 603: Is That Thing a Spellcaster Too?

“I take control of ‘Alchemist of Black Spells’!”

With a grand gesture, Depre commanded. The small Eva Abductor let out a screech, emitting a wave that captured Kira’s spellcaster, yanking it over like a puppet.

“But any monster controlled by Abductor must act in sync with the Abductor,” Depre said.

This was another of those manga-style, abstract effects—hard to describe in standard card game terms. But based on how it played out in the manga, it meant the controlled monster had to share the same position (attack/defense) as Eva Abductor, and if either the Abductor or the controlled monster attacked, the other had to attack too.

“Alchemist of Black Spells, switch to Attack Position!” Depre ordered.

[Alchemist of Black Spells, ATK 1200]

“Battle!” Depre shouted. “First, Alchemist of Black Spells, direct attack!”

Under the control of the waves, the Alchemist of Black Spells charged straight at Kira with no choice.

Kira calmly revealed a card: “I discard ‘Sphere Kuriboh’ from my hand. Its effect activates.

When the opponent declares an attack, I can send this card from my hand to the graveyard to change the attacking monster to Defense Position.”

The round, fluffy Sphere Kuriboh popped onto the field, showing a fierce expression.

“Kuri kuri!”

Kira: “Change Alchemist of Black Spells to Defense Position.”

The spellcaster, under the Abductor’s control, ran straight into Sphere Kuriboh and instantly lost its energy, switching from attack to defense and squatting down obediently.

“Eva Abductor’s effect means it must match the monster it controls,” Kira added evenly. “So Abductor also switches to Defense Position and can’t attack.”

[Eva Abductor, ATK 1000 → DEF 500]

“Tch.” Depre clicked his tongue.

He’d been stopped with just one Sphere Kuriboh, using his own Abductor’s effect against him, blocking the two-step attack.

“Then I set a card and end my turn,” Depre said gloomily.

He suddenly remembered—the previous Duel King had a fondness for Sphere Kuriboh too.

“My turn, draw.”

Kira slapped down a monster card.

“I summon ‘Magical Exemplar.’”

[Magical Exemplar, ATK 1700]

“Then I activate my set card,” Kira said, flipping his backrow. “Spell card ‘Spell Power Grasp.’ Place a Spell Counter on any card I control that can hold one.

I’ll add a counter to the Continuous Spell ‘Arcane Barrier.’”

[Arcane Barrier, Spell Counters: 2 → 3]

“And with Magical Exemplar’s effect: whenever a Spell Card is activated, it gains two Spell Counters.”

[Magical Exemplar, Spell Counters: 0 → 2]

“Also, ‘Spell Power Grasp’ lets me add a third copy from my deck to my hand.”

Kira drew the searched spell from his deck.

“Next, I activate the Ritual Spell ‘Black Illusion Ritual’!” Kira declared. “Tribute monsters whose total Levels are at least 1 to Ritual Summon ‘Relinquished!’”

A ritual altar appeared, and the tribute offered was Sphere Kuriboh.

Depre was startled: “Wait, Sphere Kuriboh should already be in the graveyard—”

“Sphere Kuriboh’s other effect: when used for a Ritual Summon, you can banish it from the graveyard as a substitute for a tribute.

So I banish Sphere Kuriboh from the grave as the Level 1 tribute. Ritual Summon—

—Relinquished!!!”

A sinister shadow swept the field as the eerie Relinquished appeared, its single eye glinting maliciously.

[Relinquished, ATK 0]

“Pegasus’s monster!?”

Depre was alarmed, but quickly calmed himself and shouted,

“Then I’ll activate my set card as well!

Quick-Play Spell ‘Demise of the Land’! When your opponent Special Summons a monster, I can activate a Field Spell from my deck.”

Depre quickly selected a Field Spell.

“I activate—

—Field Spell: ‘Cosmic Space’!!” (Manga Card)

The scenery warped, turning into a space filled with countless stars, an endless darkness with swirling constellations.

“A cosmic?” Kira frowned.

“That’s right. In ‘Cosmic Space,’ all monsters gain ‘Life Stars’ equal to their Level,” sneered Depre. “And at the end of every turn, every monster loses one Life Star.

When a monster’s Life Stars reach zero, it’s destroyed.”

Kira understood: “Relinquished is only Level 1.”

“Exactly! Pegasus’s Relinquished might be powerful, but in my Cosmic Space, it’s a perfect counter!

Your Level 1 Relinquished can only survive one turn here!”

“Yeah, that’s a pretty hard counter.”

Kira nodded, still calm.

“But just now, we activated three Spell Cards—Black Illusion Ritual, Demise of the Land, and Cosmic Space. Every time a Spell Card is activated, Magical Exemplar gains two Spell Counters.

So the Exemplar gains six more counters.”

[Magical Exemplar, Spell Counters: 2 → 8]

“Now I activate Relinquished’s effect. Once per turn, it can absorb an opponent’s monster and gain its ATK and DEF.

First, I’ll absorb ‘Eva Abductor.’”

Eva Abductor was gruesomely absorbed by Relinquished, its twisted face appearing on Relinquished’s body.

[Relinquished, ATK 0 → ATK 1000]

“You absorbed Abductor?” Depre was surprised.

He still had the Alchemist of Black Spells with 1800 DEF—Kira chose to absorb Abductor instead? Now, neither of Kira’s monsters could beat Alchemist of Black Spells’s defense.

Was that a misplay?

“Next, I activate Arcane Barrier’s effect. By sending this card and a Spellcaster I control to the graveyard, I can draw a number of cards equal to the Spell Counters on ‘Arcane Barrier.’”

He pointed to his field.

“I send ‘Arcane Barrier’ and ‘Relinquished’ to the graveyard.”

Depre: “!”

He stared wide-eyed at Relinquished.

That thing’s a Spellcaster!?

“There are three Spell Counters on Arcane Barrier, so I draw three cards.”

Kira drew three cards.

“Now I activate Magical Exemplar’s effect. Once per turn, I can remove any number of Spell Counters from this card, and Special Summon the same number of Spellcaster monsters from my hand or graveyard.”

Kira picked a card from his graveyard.

“Remove one Spell Counter from Exemplar to Special Summon—

—Relinquished is back!”

[Relinquished, ATK 0]

Depre’s pupils shrank as he realized—

Wait, if Relinquished is revived, that means...

“That’s right. Its once-per-turn effect resets, so it can absorb another monster.”

Kira swept his arm.

“Relinquished, absorb his ‘Alchemist of Black Spells’!”

Chapter 604: Is This Ever Going to End?!

[Relinquished, ATK 0 → ATK 1200]

Watching as his stolen Alchemist of Black Spells was then stolen back, Depre finally realized what kind of strategy the Duel King was using today.

Relinquished would absorb his opponent’s monster, then be sent to the grave as a cost for Arcane Barrier, drawing three cards. Next, Magical Exemplar could revive Relinquished again and again, with its effect reset each time to absorb another monster.

Just thinking about it felt like an endless value engine.

With Relinquished at Level 1, Magical Exemplar only needed to remove one Spell Counter to revive it. Right now, Exemplar still had seven counters left—in theory, Relinquished could be revived up to seven more times.

What a ridiculous combo!

“Relinquished and Magical Exemplar, direct attack!”

At Kira’s command, both monsters burst from his jet, slicing through the air and smashing into Depre’s plane with a double strike.

“Ugh!”

[Depre, LP 4000 → LP 1100]

“Then I set a card and end my turn.”

Kira placed a card under his plane, which moved in sync with his jet’s high speed.

“Bastard... Don’t get cocky.” Depre said coldly. “At the end of your turn, all your monsters lose one Life Star!

Relinquished’s Life Star hits zero and it’s destroyed!”

Sure enough, once its Life Star was gone, Relinquished vanished like smoke.

“My turn, draw!” Depre said. “I play the Spell ‘Pot of Greed’ to draw two cards!”

He had once faced the Duel King. Though he lost, it was still his proudest moment—he always felt that he came so close to beating Yugi Muto, to becoming a legend.

But this time... this time would be different!

At that thought, a dark light flashed in his eyes, and a wave of darkness burst out.

Clearly, his mind was also being affected.

A duelist’s obsession, desires, and all their darkness were perfect entry points for mind control—amplifying even the smallest bit of darkness, making them easier to manipulate as puppets.

This was a common soft control technique in psychic manipulation—many villains preferred not to forcibly override a duelist’s free will, instead using hypnosis or cognitive rewriting so the puppet could still use their full power.

But it was also a high-level skill, only possible for powerful and experienced mind controllers.

“Spell Card ‘Graceful Charity’—draw three, discard two.”

Depre discarded two cards.

“One of the discarded cards is ‘Zeta Reticulant.’ Its effect: when sent to the graveyard, Special Summon two ‘Eva Tokens.’” (manga card)

[Eva Token, ATK 500] x2

“I tribute both tokens to Tribute Summon!”

Depre raised his hand and shouted:

“Appear! The cosmic predator that devours Life Stars—

—Greed Quasar, summon!!”

[Greed Quasar, ATK ?]

It was the same monster that had just fought Silent Magician in the air, with a grotesque demon face on its chest.

“Greed Quasar’s ATK becomes its Life Stars x300. Its starting Life Stars are 7, so its ATK is 2100!”

[Greed Quasar, ATK ? → ATK 2100]

“Next, I play the Spell ‘Wonder Clover.’ By discarding a Level 4 Plant from my hand, my monster can attack twice this turn.”

Depre discarded a card.

“I discard ‘Mystic Tomato’ to let Greed Quasar attack twice!”

“First, attack ‘Magical Exemplar’!”

Quasar’s gaping maw swallowed the Spellcaster whole and chewed it to pieces.

[Kira, LP 4000 → LP 3600]

“Quasar’s other effect: it absorbs the destroyed monster’s remaining Life Stars!” Depre said. “Magical Exemplar had three left, so Quasar gains three more, rising to ten Life Stars.

ATK increases to 3000!”

[Greed Quasar, ATK 2100 → ATK 3000]

“Second attack, direct attack!”

Quasar roared and streaked through the clouds toward Kira’s plane.

“I activate my set card—Trap Card ‘Intruder Alarm - Yellow Alert.’ When the opponent attacks, I can Special Summon a monster from my hand to forcibly battle the attacker.”

Kira placed a monster card.

“Special Summon ‘Witch of the Black Forest!’”

[Witch of the Black Forest, DEF 1200]

Quasar devoured the Witch, absorbing her energy.

“The Witch had four Life Stars, so Quasar now has 14—ATK rises to 4200!”

[Greed Quasar, ATK 3000 → ATK 4200]

“Witch’s effect,” Kira said, “lets me add a monster with 1500 or less DEF from my deck to my hand when she’s sent to the grave.”

He searched his deck for a card.

“I add another ‘Magical Exemplar’ to my hand.”

Depre’s pupils shrank.

That thing again...

Magical Exemplar could revive Spellcasters by removing counters. And since Relinquished was Level 1, it only took one counter to bring it back...

Depre gritted his teeth.

Damn, he’s obviously going to take my monster again next turn!

He’d stacked up to thirteen Life Stars on his Quasar...

“Well, I set a card and end my turn,” Depre said coldly. “At the end of my turn, Quasar loses one Life Star.

But it still has 13 left, so it’s nothing.”

“My turn, draw.”

Kira said calmly.

“I summon ‘Magical Exemplar.’”

[Magical Exemplar, ATK 1700]

“Then I use the Spell ‘Spell Power Grasp’ I added last turn to put a Spell Counter on ‘Magical Exemplar.’ And because a Spell was activated, Exemplar gains two more counters, for a total of three.

Then I activate its effect—remove one counter to Special Summon a Level 1 Spellcaster from my graveyard.”

Kira picked a card from the grave.

“Of course, I revive—

—Relinquished!”

A whirlpool to the underworld opened, and Relinquished appeared, its single eye cold and creepy.

[Relinquished, ATK 0]

“Relinquished’s effect: absorb your monster,” Kira snapped his fingers. “Your ace, Greed Quasar, is mine now.”

The monster that had devoured so many was finally devoured itself by Relinquished—absorbed and drained, a touch of irony.

Depre gritted his teeth.

“But even as an Equip Card, Greed Quasar’s ATK is ‘?,’” he said coldly. “Relinquished can’t gain its ATK.”

“I know,”

Kira smiled.

“So I activate this Spell: ‘Storm.’

Destroy all your own Spell/Trap Cards, then the same number of your opponent’s.”

Depre’s heart skipped a beat.

Right—since his Greed Quasar had been absorbed, it now counted as his own Spell/Trap for destruction...

Kira said, “So I destroy your set card.”

Depre’s face twitched.

He stole my monster, then used it to blow up my backrow...

Suddenly, his own bullheaded tactics felt like child’s play compared to Kira’s endless tricks.

His monster was stolen, his backrow destroyed. In an instant, he was on the brink of defeat—he couldn’t afford to be careless now.

“I activate my set Trap—‘Back to the Front,’ to bring back a monster in Defense Position from my grave.

I revive—

—Zeta Reticulant!”

[Zeta Reticulant, DEF 2100]

Kira nodded.

That Zeta, when sent to the grave, left two tokens for defense or as tribute fodder for a later turn. And with 2100 DEF, it was a solid wall.

Depre breathed a sigh of relief.

At least this turn, I’m safe. Relinquished already used its effect, and even if Kira destroys Zeta Reticulant, the tokens would defend me next turn...

“I activate the Spell ‘Metamorphosis.’ Send Level 1 Relinquished to the grave to Special Summon a Level 1 Fusion Monster.”

Kira’s face was expressionless.

“Relinquished morphs and evolves—

—Thousand-Eyes Restrict, summon!”

[Thousand-Eyes Restrict, ATK 0]

“Thousand-Eyes Restrict’s effect: once per turn, absorb an opponent’s monster.” Kira lazily waved his hand. “Thousand-Eyes, absorb ‘Zeta Reticulant.’”

[Thousand-Eyes Restrict, ATK 0 → ATK 2400]

Depre: “...”

Are you serious—

You’re still absorbing monsters!?

How are you so good at this?!

Is this ever going to end!?

“Of course, since Zeta Reticulant wasn’t sent to the graveyard, its last effect doesn’t trigger.”

Kira smiled.

“Now you have no monsters and no backrow.

Battle. Thousand-Eyes Restrict, direct attack.”

The monster’s eerie eyes opened, the corrupted Zeta Reticulant flying out from its body to strike its former master.

[Depre, LP 1100 → LP 0]

Chapter 605: Night Raid on the Academy

“Aaaargh!”

A miserable, piercing scream came from the other plane’s communicator, echoing through the clouds.

It was the unwilling cry of someone whose ace monster, Greed Quasar, had been stolen and used to destroy him.

Honestly, Depre Scott shouldn’t have been unfamiliar with the Relinquished series. Though he was a Card Professor and Pegasus’s adopted son, Pegasus himself was still his mentor. Depre had encountered Pegasus more than once.

In fact, he’d been lucky enough to watch Pegasus duel in person—a rare event since Pegasus’s retirement after Duelist Kingdom, only a few trusted staff ever witnessed it.

That duel had left a deep impression. Pegasus’s cartoon deck, which bypassed monsters to strike directly, and his infamous Relinquished series, had shown what a true “Father of Duel Monsters” could do.

But today, Depre began to doubt—

—Was Relinquished really Pegasus’s invention?

Why did Kira’s Relinquished seem twice as smooth as Pegasus’s ever was?

At first, it looked like a Spellcaster deck, but in reality, the whole thing revolved around Relinquished. With Magical Exemplar endlessly reviving Relinquished by removing Spell Counters, combined with Arcane Barrier to draw more cards, and Metamorphosis for surprise evolutions—

Compared to this, Pegasus’s original Relinquished deck felt like junk!

Pegasus’s Relinquished was hard to summon, Thousand-Eyes Restrict needed Fusions, and their effects were limited to absorbing only one monster per turn.

But Kira’s Relinquished could be revived infinitely, morph on command, and devour three to five monsters in a single turn.

It even felt like Pegasus had never shown the true potential of the card!

So who’s the real “Father of Duel Monsters”?

The wailing abruptly stopped.

But it wasn’t that Depre had stopped—it was that communication had been cut.

Looking back, Kira saw the steel bird that had tailed him had lost its soul. The jet, like an abandoned toy, spun helplessly in the air, engines roaring as it tumbled downward.

Clouds tore open, moonlight dappling the twisted metal as the steel bird plummeted like a broken-winged angel.

Clearly, with Depre’s defeat, his plane was no longer controllable—falling like Lucifer cast down from heaven.

From that altitude, even if Depre survived the crash, he’d be dead on landing.

“Silent,” Kira said softly.

No further instructions were needed—the Silent Magician shot from the cockpit like an arrow.

She became a streak of white light, diving quickly to catch up to the falling plane.

She pointed her staff, drawing a circle. Milky white energy sliced open the fuselage like a hot knife through butter. The Silent Magician darted in, and moments later emerged, carrying the unconscious Depre.

She returned to Kira’s jet, holding the half-dead Depre in one hand, and looked to Kira as if asking what to do.

Kira waved dismissively: “Just leave him here.”

He could tell Depre was just being used, his mind rewritten by a powerful psychic force. Defeating him in a duel was enough—no need to take a skilled duelist’s life.

“When we get back, Pegasus will owe me a few more favors,” Kira muttered.

He opened a channel to Mokuba: “How’s the foundation investigation?”

“I’ve already met with Pegasus,” Mokuba replied. “He says the foundation was recently attacked, and several top Card Professors are missing.

Some disappeared at home, others were ambushed at night. Evidence at the scenes suggests duels occurred, and traces of dark power were detected...”

“Got it. Let me know if anything else comes up.” Kira nodded.

Just as he suspected.

Zigfried Lloyd, the Card Professors—they were all actors invited by that mysterious mastermind. Their job was to create a confusing mystery, throw out clues for Kira to chase, and keep him busy away from the academy.

So when Kira decisively turned back to the academy, Depre Scott was sent to delay him.

But clearly, that mission didn’t go smoothly.

[“Estimated time to Duel Academy: five minutes,”] the AI announced.

“Alright.”

Kira stood up from his seat.

“Prepare the glider—I’ll parachute in.”

…

Duel Academy, late at night.

The night was pitch black, the world silent. Only sparse starlight and the distant sound of waves lapping the shore filled the night.

The beams of two flashlights pierced the dark forest, the shadows of two patrolling guards flickering in the light.

“Hey, do we really need to patrol this place?”

One guard muttered.

“The most valuable things on this island are the three Sacred Beasts, right? But I heard the Duel King already took them—what’s left to steal?”

“Ha, you don’t get it,” his partner replied sagely. “This island is special—there’s plenty of valuable stuff here.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” The second guard paused, then grinned. “Besides, I don’t mind night patrols. At least this way, I can go home late and have an excuse.”

Guard A was curious: “Oh? Don’t want to go home? Argued with your wife?”

“No, wish it was just that.” Guard B sighed. “My wife’s just getting clingier—she drains me every day, I can barely keep up. Night patrol is the only time I can catch a break...

You’re young, you don’t get it. When you’re my age, you’ll understand.”

Guard A: “...”

Just then, they heard something behind them. They spun around.

“Who’s there?!”

A white-robed figure had silently appeared behind them, hands clasped behind his back, wearing a cold, sinister smile.

“Who are you?” Guard A demanded. “This is a restricted area.”

The man said nothing, just slowly raised his arm to reveal a Duel Disk.

His eyes glinted with murderous intent.

The two guards exchanged a glance.

“Alright—you asked for it.”

They both activated their Duel Disks.

“...”

“AAAAAAHHHH!!” x2

A minute later, Professor McKenzie strolled calmly from the woods, licking his lips as if he’d just enjoyed a hearty meal.

“The white-feathered spirit, the feather of Ma’at awaits.”

He spoke coldly.

“I’m here.”