Zane's defeat plunged Duel Academy into a deathly silence.
Even though Jaden Yuki had once fought Zane to a draw, for the students and faculty of Duel Academy, Zane remained the undefeated "Kaiser."
And yet today…
Despite counterattacks, despite brilliant offense and defense, Zane Truesdale lost to Aster Phoenix in just a few turns.
The shock left the students speechless for a long time. The entire academy remained silent for more than ten minutes.
Meanwhile, the post-duel interview session had already begun.
When asked about the duel, Aster said his opponent was a respectable Duelist—he just happened to have a stronger Destiny. When asked about the "Destiny HERO" cards, he shared a few details.
Of course, not everything. He merely explained that the deck was the last one his father designed before passing away, a new HERO archetype symbolizing destruction, destiny, and darkness.
Then, he got to the most important part.
For instance, during the S-Dimension Friendship Cup, Jaden Yuki used a HERO deck and performed so well that Duelists and spectators alike began to associate the HERO name with him. But Aster pointed out that he, too, uses a HERO deck.
When he learned that Jaden once tied with Zane, Aster saw this duel as a test. If he could defeat Zane, it might prove he was stronger than Jaden. Of course, he wouldn't claim that so easily—so after enrolling at Duel Academy, he planned to officially challenge Jaden.
His Destiny HERO deck, after all, was far stronger than Elemental HERO.
As Duel Academy began to recover from the shock, all eyes turned to Jaden. He scratched his head and laughed sheepishly.
"Alright! Then I've gotta give it my all too!" he shouted with a surge of passion. "Can't let my cute junior down!"
Pumping himself up, he ran out of his seat, likely to go tune his deck.
"Jaden!" "Wait up!" Syrus and Hassleberry immediately gave chase.
"Only Jaden... Even in a moment like this, he's already thinking about his deck?" Bastion still had cold sweat on his forehead as he took a deep breath.
"Aster Phoenix... he's not to be underestimated," Chazz crossed his arms, mentally replaying the duel. The more he recalled, the more dangerous Aster seemed.
Maybe Aster had foreseen that final turn from the very beginning.
And letting Zane go first may not have been out of respect for his senior, but simply a way to optimize his own path to victory.
"What do you think, Hikaru?"
"About what?" Hikaru looked puzzled.
"About Jaden! I mean... Aster's coming to challenge Jaden! And he just beat Kaiser!" Chazz swallowed hard. "Jaden might not even be able to beat him!"
"That's true, but it doesn't really have anything to do with you or me, does it?"
"Huh?"
"This is a matter between them—as HERO Duelists. No matter how you slice it, it's not something I should interfere in," Hikaru stroked his chin.
And beyond that—
In canon, Aster challenged Jaden under Sartorius's orders out of hostility, while in this world, not only did Aster visit Duel Academy in advance, but he even joined their Fusion Club.
Plus, he didn't mock Kaiser like in the original. In fact, he complimented Zane after the duel. Most importantly, anyone watching could tell Aster was dueling earnestly, trying to connect through the match rather than crush his opponent.
So Aster's challenge to Jaden wasn't something Hikaru should step into.
With all that in mind, even though Jaden lost his Duel Spirit and sense of dueling after his first match with Destiny HERO in the original, Hikaru had no intention of stopping it—or replacing Jaden in the duel.
That made no sense.
A Duel between HERO users should be decided by them.
Otherwise, it would feel... unfused.
Besides, even if things played out the same way and Jaden was crushed by Sartorius's influence hidden within Aster's deck, that was still part of his growth—a necessary step before meeting the Neo-Spacians.
Though, to be honest, Hikaru wasn't sure if Neo-Spacians even existed in this world.
Still, right now, he was actually more curious about Kaiser.
After all, being defeated by a junior three years younger on the world stage... that could be a serious blow to popularity.
Apparently, Zane's phone was blowing up. Hikaru tried calling him briefly, but when the call didn't go through, he stopped.
Given the circumstances, he figured it was best to prepare for the worst—medical prep included. With Zane's eleven-win streak in the Pro League now broken, the academy had gone eerily quiet. Even the freshmen picked up on the subdued mood from their upperclassmen and began speaking more softly.
The atmosphere in the school was downright gloomy.
Professor Crowler and the academy's head instructor, Napoleon, tried various ways to liven up the campus, but despite organizing new tournaments and activities, they only managed to marginally lift the mood.
Then, during this period of gloom—
A massive ship arrived at Duel Academy Island.
As it pulled into port, a staircase extended from the ship. A blonde woman descended confidently, one hand on her hip.
"So this is Duel Academy's main campus. Hmph. Doesn't seem like many people came to greet us, huh?"
Gloria Tyler looked down from the ship and spotted Professor Crowler and some students—including Hikaru. Her smile widened dramatically. "Well, whatever. As long as he's here."
"Sister, that's so impolite." Grace Tyler bowed lightly to the students and teachers below, then raised her hand in a gentle wave.
Quite a few students had transferred over from the American Branch—second-years, third-years—all bringing fresh energy to Duel Academy's main campus.
Hikaru had been waiting for them. He watched each student carefully as they disembarked, but didn't see the one he most wanted to see—Yuri.
However, among them was a noodle-haired boy doing his best to go unnoticed.
Dennis McField.
'So he's here too.'
Hikaru gave him a guarded glance.
In the original, he was the "spy" sent by the Fusion Army to the Standard Dimension.
"Alright! Enough with the ceremony!" Gloria, the more forceful of the Tyler Sisters, had already tired of pleasantries. After saying goodbye to the American Branch teachers, she stepped forward, pointed at Hikaru, and declared, "Come on, Hikaru! I've been dying to rip you to pieces!"
She raised her left arm, and her Duel Disk unfolded into a sword-like shape.
"Mamma mia, you guys are already gonna duel Hikaru?"
"That's right! Got a problem with that?" Gloria was clearly fired up.
She'd been counting the days for a full, proper duel with Hikaru.
Even Hikaru was surprised.
He'd already made arrangements with Chazz and the others to duel the Tyler Sisters—"Fusion Army's strongest tag team"—when they arrived.
So Chazz had secretly laid the groundwork, hoping to duel alongside Hikaru while Jaden was preoccupied with Aster, and before Bastion could react.
But then, unexpectedly, Professor Crowler intervened.
"Ahem." Crowler suddenly turned serious, raising his hand like a microphone and clearing his throat. "As evaluated by the faculty, we have decided to hold a Promotion Duel. Amaki Hikaru, you will duel a teacher. If you pass, you will be promoted from Ra Yellow to Obelisk Blue."
He turned with a gleam of pride in his eyes. "Sorry, Hikaru, we didn't get to tell you earlier.
"Originally, we wanted to deliver the good news with a bit more ceremony."
The Tyler Sisters exchanged glances.
'Bad timing, huh!'
...
Bonus Chapter
Next Bonus @200 PS
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