Ryo Nakamuta rubbed his chin, growing increasingly curious about dark duelists, his anticipation for tonight's investigation mounting. Could the three of them really uncover someone or something tied to dark duels?
Rumor had it that senior students nearing graduation were also investigating. Would they run into them?
"Eh, whatever."
"I'm carrying one full Dark attribute deck and one full Light attribute deck."
"Everything's set up according to Asuka's instructions."
"That should be enough to attract a dark duelist, right?"
Ryo mused while organizing his Cyber Dragon deck, satisfied that the preconstructed deck included key Extra Deck monsters for Xyz and Fusion summons, ensuring he had ace monsters ready.
The downside was the lack of certain powerful support cards and core boss monsters.
Like Armored Kaiser Dragon - Cyber Dark End Dragon!
"All set, Ryo-bro! I'm ready!"
"Ready to roll anytime!"
Ikeda Hiromu, though extremely reluctant, figured it was just tracking clues, not actually fighting dark duelists, so he hurriedly sorted his deck.
"Class prez, I'm ready too."
"Ready to head out anytime."
Since witnessing Suzuki Mina's duel against Ryo Nakamuta, Kito Saku had completely shed any lingering prejudice against Ryo.
Calling him "class prez" now came from genuine respect.
"You two, listen up. If we spot anyone or anything related to dark duels, notify me immediately!"
"Let's move out! Target: Back Mountain Forest!"
Confirming their first patrol location for the night, Ryo Nakamuta led the duo out of the dorm, heading straight north.
The Back Mountain Forest, a common site for Phantom God Duel Academy's assessment duels, was nearly deserted outside of exam periods. Even couples avoided it as a rendezvous spot.
It wasn't just the pervasive surveillance cameras; the bigger reason was the rumors of dark duels and people occasionally vanishing in the forest.
That made it the perfect starting point for their investigation.
The path was brightly lit, and the trio chatted and laughed, feeling nothing out of the ordinary—until they neared the mountain trail, leaving the dorm lights behind.
As cold mountain breezes rustled and dim moonlight cast eerie shadows, Ikeda Hiromu and Kito Saku stopped joking, their spines chilling, hairs standing on end.
Unlike Ryo Nakamuta, who genuinely wasn't scared, the two couldn't help but trail behind him, eyes darting nervously, terrified of spotting something—or of not spotting something.
"Come on, really?"
"Why are you guys gripping my clothes so tight?"
Ryo Nakamuta rolled his eyes, wanting to speed up but forced to slow down by their tugging.
He could understand Ikeda Hiromu being scared, but he hadn't expected Kito Saku to be too.
Then again, in a creepy, desolate forest with occasional spine-chilling crow caws, it was no wonder they were spooked.
"Class prez!"
"Listen closely—sounds like someone's dueling."
Kito Saku suddenly froze, hearing something, and let go of Ryo's clothes, heading toward a cluster of bushes on the left. Ryo and Ikeda Hiromu exchanged a glance before following his lead.
Pushing through the undergrowth to a waterfall clearing, they spotted two figures dueling by the riverbank.
One was a black-robed, masked figure, their face obscured.
But the duel information on the field made Ikeda Hiromu and Kito Saku's faces pale!
Three 3000 ATK Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards!
Yes, exactly—the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, with only three copies existing worldwide!
And those three cards were in the hands of Kaiba Corporation's president, Kaiba Seto. No one else possessed Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards.
Could this black-robed masked figure be President Kaiba?
Reaching this conclusion, Kito Saku and Ikeda Hiromu started to relax—until they realized something was off.
This was Phantom God Duel Academy. Why would Kaiba Seto be here?
Even if he was, why wear a black robe and mask?
And why duel someone?
These questions pointed to one truth: This black-robed figure wasn't Kaiba Seto but someone else entirely.
"Ryo-bro, he's definitely not Kaiba Seto."
"Class prez, Fatty's right. If it was President Kaiba, he wouldn't be sneaking around like this!"
The two whispered urgently in Ryo's ear. Ryo narrowed his eyes, ignoring the black-robed figure and focusing on the other duelist—their opponent.
Wearing a blue school uniform, they were clearly a Phantom God Duel Academy student.
The duel information was intriguing.
Black-robed figure's LP: 4000.
Ryuten's LP: 10,000.
The black-robed figure had nothing but the three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards.
Yet Ryuten's field was completely empty—no monsters, no spells, no traps.
It was the black-robed figure's turn, and from Ryuten's anxious, fearful expression, he was in trouble.
The next attack from the three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards would deal 3000 damage three times—9000 LP total.
Had Ryuten not somehow boosted his LP to 10,000, this strike would've ended him.
"Shh, let's keep watching."
"No question, he's not Kaiba Seto."
"If I'm right, those cards were made through some other means."
"You guys remember the Duelist Kingdom in the DM dimension? Someone used dark powers to create Dark Sage."
"And Malik from the Tomb Keepers used dark powers to mimic the Egyptian Gods, angering the gods."
Ryo Nakamuta spoke softly, jogging Ikeda Hiromu and Kito Saku's memories.
It clicked for them instantly.
This person was a dark duelist!
Wait—dark duelist?
They found one this fast?!
Ikeda Hiromu and Kito Saku stared at each other, then at the black-robed figure, dumbfounded.
The black-robed figure, meanwhile, seemed unaware of the trio hiding in the dense undergrowth.
"I never expected your deck to be such a pain, recovering your LP to 10,000!"
"But it's all over now."
"I activate the spell card Polymerization!"
"I fuse the three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards on my field!"
"Come forth! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
"Enter the battle phase! Destructive Burst Stream!"
"Deal 4500 LP damage!"
"Then! I activate the quick-play spell De-Fusion!"
"I target Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to undo the fusion and special summon!"
"Come back to the field, three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards!"
"With them, I attack you directly!"
"First strike, second strike!"
"Perfect curtain call!"
With the black-robed figure's seamless plays, Ryuten's 10,000 LP plummeted to 0 in a flash!
With a thud, Ryuten collapsed to the ground, his body vanishing like mist…