"I saw everything, you know."
As he spoke, You Ye's gaze tilted slightly downward, glancing at the sea behind Manjoume—where a large number of Duel Monster cards were visibly floating on the surface.
"Those must be Daichi Misawa's cards, right? To win tomorrow's… no, at this point, I should say this morning's 'Dorm Swap Duel' and keep your position as the top student of the Obelisk Blue boys' dorm, you snuck into Misawa's room in the middle of the night, stole his deck, and then came out here alone to toss the cards into the sea—wiping out all evidence... Am I right?"
Manjoume: "..."
Damn it! What's with this guy? Not only did he figure out my motives and intentions, but he witnessed the whole thing—me dumping the cards into the ocean!... Wait a second—witnessed?
Realizing something, Manjoume quickly regained his composure. The corners of his lips lifted into a smirk as he put on a face that said, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
"You're claiming you saw me throw the cards into the ocean? That I stole Misawa's deck to save my position? Then I must ask—do you have any proof?"
"Proof?"
"Exactly! Without proof, how can you prove what you say is true? And if you can't produce any evidence, I'll accuse you of slander!"
Perfect! A counterattack! Let's see if this guy "You Ye" still dares to challenge me now!
Just as Manjoume was feeling smug, You Ye calmly reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out his student ID—an academy-issued device resembling a smartphone.
"You want evidence? Sorry to disappoint you, but from the moment I saw you, I started recording with my student ID."
He wore a gentle smile, but with that device now playing the full video of Manjoume's "crime," his presence felt less like a friendly student and more like a fallen angel sent from heaven—one whose true nature was impossible to read.
"Thinking of taking it by force?"
Just as Manjoume made the slightest movement with his right foot, You Ye spoke aloud the very thought in his mind.
"Sorry again, but while I was walking over here, I already uploaded the video to both Professor Chronos and Chancellor Sheppard."
You Ye wasn't worried about Manjoume trying to use violence to steal his ID. And what he said was the truth—he had already transmitted the video while approaching.
"Then tell me! What exactly do you want?!"
Taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down, Manjoume returned to his usual cold-faced demeanor and stared straight at You Ye.
"Nothing much. I just have a deep dislike for people who throw cards into the sea. But if I happen to meet someone like that in person—there's no way I'm letting them walk away unscathed."
As he spoke, You Ye reached behind him and pulled out his duel disk—red and white, his design. It wasn't turned on yet, but it was ready.
"A duel, here and now. If you win, I'll pretend none of this happened. I'll even figure out a way to deal with the video sent to Chronos and Sheppard. But if you lose—"
"If I lose, I'll leave this academy on my own!"
Before You Ye could finish his sentence, Manjoume cut him off and declared the consequence for himself.
You Ye: "..."
Expulsion, huh? To say something that bold… you've got guts.
"No need for more words! Let's duel!"
"DUEL!"
Manjoume: 4000 LP
You Ye: 4000 LP
"I'll take the first turn. Draw!"
Just one glance at his starting hand, and Manjoume already had a full turn planned out. That so-called "You Ye"? Just you wait!
"I summon Hell Warrior in Attack Position!"
Wielding a curved silver-and-black blade in his right hand and a shield decorated with a demonic hell motif in his left, the muscular warrior clad in black iron armor appeared on Manjoume's field.
(Hell Warrior, Level 4 — ATK: 1200 / DEF: 1400)
"Next, I set three cards facedown and end my turn!"
Taking a page from You Ye's book during their last duel, Manjoume mirrored the strategy: one face-up monster and three set cards.
Hell Warrior… Its effect activates when it's destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard by an opponent's monster—it reflects the amount of battle damage its controller took back to the opponent as effect damage!
In other words, however much damage Manjoume takes from the attack that destroys Hell Warrior, that same amount hits the opponent right back. So putting it in an Attack Position here was entirely reasonable.
But upon glancing at his hand, You Ye's mental image of his inner self couldn't help but smirk.
Since you've gone and mimicked that green-haired shorty from back in the day, then allow me to punish you with a duel using my true HERO power!
That's right. The cards in You Ye's hand weren't the "Elemental HERO" deck he usually used to casually deal with duels. This was the very deck he whispered about into Judai's ear after defeating him—the one that truly represented You Ye's real strength, a deck that had been sealed away until now.
Had Manjoume's actions not reminded YouYe, of that green-haired little guy his "Uncle Yugi" once told him about, he likely would've just used his usual Elemental HERO cards to finish the duel.
So, Manjoume—are you ready to face expulsion?
"I summon Masked HERO – Aqua in Attack Position! Then I equip him with the Equip Spell Card Divine Sword – Phoenix Blade!"
The HERO appeared, his entire body covered in water-blue armor. Flowing behind him were two long sea-blue ribbons billowing without wind. On his face was a light-blue superhero-style mask.
At that moment, a high-pitched cry echoed overhead as a flaming phoenix swooped down from the sky, transforming into a fiery silver sword with a golden hilt that landed in Aqua's hand.
(Masked HERO – Aqua, Level 4 — ATK: 1000 → 1300 / DEF: 1400)
A new HERO, distinct from the Elemental HERO archetype—Masked HERO, the true power of You Ye alone!
"Masked HERO? A new type of HERO monster?"
Staring at the unfamiliar card You Ye had just summoned—one he had never seen used before—Manjoume squinted in confusion.
Through the Manjoume Corporation's network, he had never seen any announcement from Industrial Illusions about a "new HERO" series. So what was this Masked HERO – Aqua that You Ye just played?
"Due to the effect of Divine Sword – Phoenix Blade, Aqua's attack power increases to 1300—more than enough to take out Hell Warrior!"
1300—just 100 points higher than Hell Warrior's 1200. Even if he took reflected damage, it would only be 100, the lowest possible three-digit number. No big deal.
The HERO named Aqua glanced at the opposing monster—short, shabby, and grim-looking Hell Warrior. With a flick of his wrist and a dash of contempt, he swung his flaming blade, releasing a crescent-shaped wave of fire that sliced through the opponent.
(Manjoume: 4000 LP → 3900 LP)
"Hell Warrior's effect activates! When this card is destroyed by an opponent's monster in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can inflict effect damage equal to the battle damage I took!"
Only 100 points, but rules were rules—the effect had to be resolved. However, the real threat wasn't Hell Warrior… it was one of Manjoume's set cards—
"At this moment, I chain Hell Warrior's effect and activate my face-down card—Infantry Clash!"