"Jaden!"
When Alexis arrived at the clearing, she saw Jaden Yuki standing before the small stream. Thick smoke billowed from the Duel Disk on his left arm; it had clearly been destroyed.
"Oh? It's you, Alexis."
Jaden didn't seem particularly surprised to see her. He silently unstrapped the ruined Duel Disk from his arm and took it off.
"Jaden, when did you get back? And where is the enemy..." Alexis rushed to his side, but her gaze fell upon the Duel Disk in his hand.
It seemed to have been completely burnt out.
What on earth had happened? Why would a Duel Disk undergo such a change? Alexis was utterly bewildered. Although the Duel Disk Jaden had been using was the standard model provided to students, it was still a product of KaibaCorp technology. Such devices were known for their extreme durability. No matter how intense a duel was, the disk shouldn't have been scorched like this.
"Has the enemy come? Well, that works out."
Jaden casually tossed the ruined disk into his backpack. Then, reaching to his waist, he pulled out his own personal Duel Disk and snapped it onto his arm.
"I'm ready. I can fight at any time."
"Jaden..."
Alexis was taken aback by the confident expression on his face. Ready? What does he mean by that?
Before she could ask, Jaden began walking toward the distant forest. Alexis had no choice but to hurry after him, suppressing her doubts for the moment.
...
Following the aura of darkness, Jaden and Alexis arrived before the Abandoned Dorm.
However, the building's appearance had changed completely from its usual state of decay. Under the thick, swirling fog, it stood like a vampire's palace, towering over the clearing.
The two entered the main hall. At first glance, they saw Zane Truesdale and Camula in the middle of a duel.
[Zane Truesdale: 4000 LP]
[Field: Cyber Barrier Dragon (ATK: 800, DEF: 2800), Cyber Laser Dragon (ATK: 2400, DEF: 1800), 1 Face-down Card]
[Camula: 800 LP]
[Field: None]
"So this is Zane's Cyber Style..." Jaden murmured as he looked at the two monsters on Zane's field.
"Jaden?"
Bastion Misawa and Chazz Princeton both looked surprised at the new arrivals. "And Alexis is here too?"
"It looks like we're too late." Alexis breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but smile at the state of the field. "It seems you won't get a chance to take the stage this time, Jaden."
The situation on the field was completely one-sided in Zane's favor!
"As expected of the number one student in the third year. Zane's masterful dueling technique has completely suppressed Camula." Bastion nodded slowly, his eyes full of admiration. "With such powerful skill, he might be the first one to truly approach Jaden's level."
"Hmph, it seems a Shadow Duel is nothing more than this. It's not exactly invincible." Chazz also looked relaxed, as if he were simply waiting for the victory announcement.
"Is that so?" Jaden remained calm, showing not even a hint of joy.
"Jaden?" Alexis realized something was wrong. She could see a trace of worry in his eyes.
"If the plot hasn't changed too much..." Jaden stared coldly at the duel, a heavy light flickering in his gaze.
"Tch, even that guy is here..." Seeing Jaden in the audience, Camula's already strained expression turned even more sullen.
She drew a card from her deck. The moment she saw it, a sharp light flashed in her eyes.
"Hahahaha!" She threw her head back and laughed, her face twisting into a hideous snarl.
"Ugh... how ugly. Is this the true face of a vampire?" Chazz was startled, finding it difficult to swallow.
"...And I thought she was a beautiful woman." Cold sweat broke out on Bastion's forehead. "Her presence... it feels different from just a moment ago!"
"I activate the Spell Card! [Illusion Gate]!" Camula waved her hand, and a massive set of doors slowly rose behind her.
"Illusion Gate? What kind of card is that?"
The group looked at the card in Camula's hand with shocked expressions.
"It's appeared... the card that only exists in the original work," Jaden whispered to himself.
Boom! The massive gates behind Camula swung open. An intense light erupted, instantly engulfing every monster on Zane's field.
"First, Illusion Gate destroys all monsters on the opponent's side of the field!"
Boom! Boom!
Cyber Barrier Dragon and Cyber Laser Dragon shattered into fragments within the light. Zane frowned, gritting his teeth slightly.
"And let me tell you something else wonderful." A duplicate of Camula slowly manifested beside her. She smiled and continued, "This card allows me to Special Summon any monster that has been used in this duel, ignoring its summoning conditions!"
"Whether it's the Cyber End Dragon you used earlier that was returned to the Extra Deck by De-Fusion, or any other monsterI can Special Summon them to my field!"
"What?!" The three people standing beside Jaden were horrified by the effect.
"This... this is too broken!"
"It doesn't just destroy the opponent's field, it lets her unconditionally Special Summon any monster?"
"A fake card! That has to be a fake card!"
Jaden glanced at the three of them silently. He knew better. This card was a "plot kill" card from the original series... the [Illusion Gate] that had never been released as a real card to this day. An effect so powerful it defied logicanywhere else, it would be treated as an absolute Forbidden Card.
He hadn't expected this card to actually manifest in this timeline. The world's self-correction ability is truly powerful.
"However, the condition to activate this card is my soul," Camula said with a smirk. "After activating this card, if I lose this duel, my soul will be sacrificed to the Phantasms."
"But, since I've gone to the trouble of using a dark card, how could it not fit the theme of a Shadow Duel?"
Camula opened her arms. From the room behind her, the missing students began to float out into the air.
"Aaaah!"
"Help! Save me!"
"I don't want to die!"
Zane's eyes widened as he watched the students drifting behind Camula. He clenched his teeth hard.
"If I lose, I'll just use their souls as the sacrifice instead." Camula hid her cold sneer behind her hand.
"That's despicable! To use hostages like that!"
"You bastard! As a duelist, can't you fight with some shred of honor?"
Bastion and Chazz were instantly consumed by rage. As a duelist, to rely on such underhanded tactics... could she even call herself a duelist anymore?
"Honor? Hahaha, please. Just hearing that word makes me sick." Camula waved her hand dismissively. "A Shadow Duel is a gamble of souls and lives. If you can't handle the stakes, you shouldn't have played."
"You!" Bastion and Chazz were left speechless by her shamelessness.
"What a truly despicable woman, Jaden." Yubel's phantom slowly materialized beside Jaden, looking at Camula with him. "This is actually quite interesting."
"Oh?" Jaden glanced at Yubel, a bit surprised. "You seem interested in her."
"Heh... I just feel that she is very similar to me," Yubel sneered, then added, "In terms of personality."
It was true. However, in terms of actual cunning and treachery, Camula and Yubel weren't even on the same level.
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