"An ancient and evil monster attacked the transport ship. His target was very clear..."
"The power of the Phantasm, huh?" Youyu said.
"Yes." Fujino nodded. "That monster was extremely powerful. His strength... let me put it this way."
He organized his words a little, then said solemnly, "Ever since its establishment, the D Department has been specifically responsible for supernatural incidents and phenomena all over the world. You probably can't imagine how many bizarre cases and mighty beings we've come into contact with.
But even so, until now our Duelists have never encountered an existence that powerful before."
Youyu knew he was talking about Tragoedia.
Even if the lobster isn't exactly top-tier among all the final bosses in Yu-Gi-Oh, he's still a final boss after all, and his level of power is not something ordinary Duelists can even begin to compare with.
Dueling is the absolute law of this world. Battles between true powerhouses must be settled through duels.
This bizarre world rule is actually a sort of partial favoritism toward the weak. It allows ordinary humans of mere flesh and blood to still have a chance to stand against aliens, Superpower Users, or even world-ending demon gods.
However, the truth is, if you're really just an average person with no background and no cheat abilities, all this rule can buy you is the chance to at least try to struggle. Great power can be expressed in duels as well; when normal people face god-tier bosses, they basically have no chance of winning even in a duel.
Only a very few people who have been blessed by this card-dueling world and possess extraordinary talent are exceptions.
"Let me guess, Hibiki Koyo stepped up to fight?" Youyu asked.
"Yeah." Fujino said. "If it weren't for him, things might have turned out even worse. Mr. Hibiki truly lives up to the title of Duel King. He displayed strength far beyond that of anyone under my command, and in the face of adversity he more than once miraculously created opportunities and dealt heavy blows to the enemy."
"But he still lost," Youyu said.
"That's right." Fujino sighed. "But although Mr. Hibiki failed to win, he still inflicted enough damage on the opponent in that Darkness Game.
That monster himself also seemed not to have fully revived. He no longer had the strength to continue fighting and could only temporarily withdraw."
In other words, during that transport, Tragoedia did defeat Hibiki Koyo, but because he was too badly wounded, he had no choice but to abandon his original plan and retreat first.
"But if that's the case, the stone tablets are still in your hands?"
At this topic, Fujino's gaze instantly turned cold.
"Up until a few days ago, yes."
"Up until a few days ago." Youyu noticed that ominous phrasing. "That doesn't sound very good."
Fujino signaled the subordinate waiting by the door to come forward, who handed over a tablet device.
On the screen seemed to be some sort of military facility. Youyu couldn't tell where it was from the background, but the destruction of the entire facility was severe; it looked like it had gone through a carpet-bombing air raid.
"This used to be the facility where we sealed off the stone tablets. But it was attacked, just this week."
Youyu frowned. "Attacked? By whom?"
"No concrete intel. The systems went down, all the surveillance footage turned to blank, and everyone in the facility either died on the spot or fell into unexplained comas... you know what that means."
"Darkness Game."
Youyu fell silent for a moment, thinking.
Now he could be sure: that previous visit to Duel Academy Island to probe for info on the Three Phantasm was definitely not a spur-of-the-moment thing. Tragoedia had probably had his eyes on the Phantasm for a long time.
Even worse, those stone tablets related to the Phantasm had, with high probability, all fallen into his hands.
"All this is top secret. If it leaks to unrelated parties, I might very well end up in a military court."
Fujino took the tablet back from Youyu's hands and passed it to the subordinate behind him.
"But I still came, because I believe telling you this is more important than keeping my official hat on my head." He glanced at the computer screen in the office and added, "Even if you guys hadn't hacked in, I was planning to do this anyway.
Even the second-generation Duel King has been defeated. The strength of our opponent can't be underestimated. If there are only a handful of people left in our world who might make that demon wary, Duel King Youyu, you'd definitely be one of them.
So if I were you, I'd return to Duel Academy Island immediately."
Youyu certainly understood what Fujino meant. Tragoedia's next target was very likely the Three Phantasm sealed on Duel Academy Island. If those three cards fell into the lobster's claws, things might really escalate into a very nasty situation.
However...
"Relax, it's fine." Youyu waved his hand, as if he didn't care at all. "He won't get his hands on the Three Phantasm."
His confident attitude left even Fujino momentarily stunned.
That confident?
Could it be that the seal on the Three Phantasm is really so unbreakable that Mr. Wang of Duels believes no matter how strong the enemy is, it's impossible for them to breach it?
Still, he reminded him, "It's better to err on the side of caution. Normally with you sitting there, the other side might not dare to move, but now that you're not at the Academy, this is the perfect moment for the enemy to launch an attack..."
"It's fine, it's fine, I know what I'm doing." Youyu still acted like he hadn't taken it to heart at all.
After a pause, he gave a mysterious smile.
"Besides, did you really think I'd be away from the island this long purely for the sake of tracking down the enemy's whereabouts?"
Fujino blinked. "Isn't that the case?"
Fujino had been keeping an eye on Youyu's movements ever since he left the island. For an organization like the D Department, monitoring one person's whereabouts isn't hard at all.
Since he knew, Tragoedia naturally had no reason not to know. After all, Youyu was definitely one of Tragoedia's key surveillance targets. He'd have to keep an eye on Youyu's movements, even if he didn't sleep.
Youyu had been off the island for this long, so logically speaking, Tragoedia should seize this chance to strike.
But that was exactly what Youyu wanted.
...
At this moment, on Duel Academy Island.
Rolling waves crashed against the rocks along the shore, and a pair of black square-toed boots stepped onto the edge of the Academy's island.
It was a man with broad shoulders, a square face, a sharply defined jawline, and eyes filled with darkness that at first glance looked like deep, pitch-black quagmires, yet hid surging undercurrents within.
This was Tragoedia, or rather the host he was currently using.
Just as Officer Fujino had predicted, he had indeed been monitoring Youyu's movements the whole time. Youyu leaving the island was, without a doubt, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him; there was no way he would let such a perfect chance to attack slip by.
Tragoedia's lips curled up into a cruel smile.
That foolish Duel King actually thought he could take the initiative and track him down? Utterly ridiculous.
Little did he know, that guy was still stuck on the first floor, while he himself had long since climbed to the fifth!
Tragoedia felt that as long as he broke the seal and obtained the Three Phantasm, even if the Duel King rushed back by then, it would already be too late.
This Academy... no, this world, was already as good as sitting in the palm of his hand!
He was in a great mood, happily sketching out the blueprints of a glorious future in his head, when suddenly a voice sounded from behind him.
"You finally showed up. I've been waiting for you for a long time."
"Hm?"
Immersed in his imagined joy, Tragoedia was stunned for a second. He turned around—and his heart and lungs practically stopped on the spot.
That lean yet powerfully built frame, that starfish-like multicolored spiky hair, and that inverted pyramid pendant reflecting dazzling golden light in the sun...
...the First Duel King—Muto Yugi!