"Each one of them is useless."
Professor Kobra shook his head and turned off the screen.
Sato was the most useful pawn he found in the Academy. This person harbored a massive darkness in his heart over the years, always suppressing it with great effort. After years of accumulation, with proper guidance, he can easily be turned into a usable pawn.
What's more, this person was a former Professional Duelist, with decent strength and experience that was relatively rich. If this guy couldn't force out the true level of the opponent, then probably no one in the world could.
"Forget it, I'll have to step into the battle myself."
Kobra snorted. He turned off the equipment in front of him and looked down at his right hand.
At this moment, the screen had darkened, and the lights in the facility were all turned off. In the boundless darkness, the only source of light was his right hand, glowing with a red brilliance, flickering in the dark.
From the contour of the glowing outline, it didn't seem to be a human arm.
Kobra stared, as if a youth enveloped in light appeared before his eyes, smiling brightly at him.
"Just a little bit more, just a tiny bit more..."
"Soon, we can be together you know."
The boy's naive voice said.
"Yes... just a little bit more."
Kobra murmured to himself.
Those painful memories and the despair from that time surged back into his heart.
His child, the one who used to be so sunny and lively. He loved dueling so much, dreaming that when he grows up he could become a Duelist...
But he never grew up.
Kobra's memory of his child was forever frozen at that mangled moment, and the scattered card deck flying in the sky.
He closed his eyes and clenched his fist.
"Just a little bit more, and we can... be together forever."
But after walking just a few steps, his expression suddenly changed.
"Who?"
Someone had broken in.
Kobra was secretly surprised. Even though it was a temporary research facility used as a base, he had set up multiple layers of security measures so that even if a mosquito flew in, it shouldn't be able to escape his detection.
The first thought that came to his mind was naturally the Duel King, the greatest threat on this island.
But when he turned around, he realized it seemed not to be the case.
"As a professor at the Duel Academy, your acuity is quite impressive."
A man's voice, tinged with a bit of mockery, sounded. Soon a red-haired, glasses-wearing young man emerged slowly from the darkness, appearing before Kobra.
"Ammon Galem?"
Upon seeing it wasn't the Duel King, Kobra relaxed his tense nerves and laughed heartily.
"Interesting."
"Oh?" Ammon raised an eyebrow.
"I've long heard there's a shadow in the Galem Financial Group, an omnipresent super spy who can complete any task. But who would have thought?"
Kobra gazed at Ammon with a playful expression.
"That the big young master of the Galem Financial Group himself would come in person."
Ammon smiled, adjusting his glasses.
"The world cannot find anyone more suitable than me for this role, which is also quite troubling for me."
"You're quite confident."
Kobra squinted.
"So, what you represent here isn't just a branch of the Duel Academy. Let me guess, the Galem Financial Group is involved too?"
"You could say that," Ammon said lightly, "Since the matter is out in the open, it becomes easier. I won't beat around the bush."
He extended a hand to Kobra.
Kobra frowned.
"A card," Ammon went straight to the point, "We want that Elf."
"Oh?"
Kobra folded his hands behind his back, sneering coldly.
"So you know about 'her' existence."
"Never underestimate the intelligence network of a top Financial Group," Ammon smiled, "A fallen outer-space visitor, an extraterrestrial debris. The Elf found within the wreckage was assessed as having the highest-level power, a powerful Elf. It's said..."
He paused, his gaze growing colder.
"It's said, even resurrection is possible, isn't it?"
Kobra withdrew his smile, stared coldly at him.
After a moment he said, "This is none of your business, Ammon Galem."
"I knew it wouldn't be easy."
Ammon replied.
"Originally, I thought since it's about taking the card, naturally it should be resolved in the Duelist's way. But upon second thoughts, you're a character who will stop at nothing for your purpose, coupled with the dangerous power of that Elf, a duel would be disadvantageous for me."
Kobra: "So?"
At that moment, Ammon had started disrobing.
He took off his outerwear, revealing the fit and robust muscles hidden beneath his genteel exterior, and took a fighting stance.
"Don't look down on me," Ammon smiled, "I'm quite confident in my strength."
Kobra snorted, equally removed his outerwear, took a fighting stance, and gestured for him to come.
Two muscle-bound Duelists, surprisingly switched to combat with fists in the underground where day never comes.
Ammon shouted, stepped forward, and swung a punch towards him. Kobra focused and reached to grab, but the punch was merely a feint, and he caught only air. Ammon's right foot suddenly kicked up, slamming fiercely into Kobra's waist and belly.
Having won a move in the first bout, Ammon showed a triumphant expression. But before he could smile, he suddenly felt a massive force from where his right leg had struck. It was as if a domineering lateral force slammed against his chest and abdomen, the invisible Hammer Strike made him feel his internal organs shift, his whole body falling backward, crashing into the wall behind with a thud.
Ammon spat a mouthful of blood, and as he tried to rise again, he found his limbs pinned against the wall, his entire body unable to move.
"What...?"
Ammon raised his head in shock.
The intelligence said the Elf in Kobra's hand was in a dormant state and that without a duel it was difficult to exert power.
"Could the dormant state have this level of power to interfere with reality...?"
Ammon gritted his teeth.
Just how strong must that Elf be?
"Foolish."
Kobra sneered.
"Knowing that I have 'that person's' power, you were still foolish enough to challenge."
He folded his hands behind his back, walked in front of Ammon, examined his robust upper body, and then looked into his eyes.
Suddenly he laughed.
"Heh, the Galem Financial Group's young master, whether as a spy, Fighting Master, or Duelist, is a talent that's hard to come by. But it seems your heart also harbors a massive shadow."
"Get lost," Ammon spoke in a deep voice. But he was powerless to resist.
"Don't resist, it's okay," Kobra said, "That person can see everything and she can soothe any pain. Tell her your suffering, express your desires. Then everything will..."
Before he could finish, Ammon suddenly punched him in the face. Kobra took the punch solidly, almost spitting blood, staggering back two steps.
He looked up in surprise at Ammon, "It's impossible, you were already bound by that person, how could you...?"
Then he heard someone lazily say behind him, "It's just the power of a half-crippled Elf, it's not that difficult to break."
Kobra turned his head. This time, he indeed saw the person regarded as the greatest obstacle on this island.
Fujiki Yugen.