The duel ended.
All the anomalies around them began to recede.
The dark clouds dispersed. Sun and moon reappeared. The boundary between light and dark gradually converged. Only the blue flames still burning on the translucent barrier bore witness to what had transpired.
Here, a mechanical demon-god and a near-divine fallen angel had clashed.
The images slowly faded. Tierra's enormous body dissolved into flames, and after a moment, she reformed into a humanoid figure, drifting gently down to the dueling field.
Chazz and Aster stared slack-jawed, feeling as though they were meeting Hikaru for the first time.
After a long moment of shock, both gradually regained their composure.
Whatever Hikaru's "soul" might be intertwined with didn't really matter. What mattered was that Hikaru was still the Hikaru they knew.
Hikaru put away his Duel Disk and walked forward a few steps. Aster and Chazz hurried to follow.
Although the duel was over, who knew if Professor Seraph might make a desperate last move, using Lucifer's power for one final act?
"Guh..."
Seraph was half-slumped against a tree that had been burned to white ash by the purgatorial flames. His eyes had lost their color. His halo was completely shattered, lying in pieces on the ground.
A bit dramatic...
Hikaru found it absurd.
He had channeled his fury at Darkness into that final full-power attack. Tierra wouldn't hold back against a human either. Yet Seraph was still breathing?
Then Hikaru noticed a card in Seraph's Graveyard, faintly flickering with light.
Solemn Warning?
The card radiated light. With each of Seraph's labored breaths, the glow grew dimmer. Finally, the card stopped shining altogether. As though sprouting wings, it slowly dissolved into the world.
...
That was...
A genuine Solemn Warning!
Hikaru was inwardly shocked.
In this world, "Solemn Warning" and "Solemn Judgment" weren't extreme spirit cards. Jaden actually owned Solemn Judgment and had used it several times.
But just as there were dimensions with magic, wherever cards existed, there were naturally "spirits" behind them.
Seraph was a genuine recipient of "God's blessing."
The other two students realized this as well.
Seraph gasped for air. His eyes were drained of color, his body growing increasingly limp.
Despite Solemn Warning's final protection at the cost of its own dissolution, the duel's victor was Hikaru. Solemn Warning was clearly not a divine manifestation. Those fated to die would still die.
"...God... thank you... I finally understand..."
Seraph's trembling hand raised a card. He slowly extended it toward Hikaru.
Hikaru reached out. A card was placed in his palm.
The instant the card touched down, Hikaru recoiled sharply. His right hand felt electrocuted and the card flew from his grip.
Tierra reacted instantly. Several puppet strings lashed out to catch the card, but the moment they touched it, radiance like the sun's reduced the strings to powder.
Tierra frowned. Before the card hit the ground, she snapped her fingers.
Click, click.
A grey-white mechanical demon spread its wings, materialized, and caught the card with its body. The light dissolved its hands, but in the instant they disintegrated, blue flames burned through the ash, regenerating its body.
Only then could Hikaru finally see the card.
The First Darklord.
Hikaru looked back at Seraph.
Chazz ran straight to Seraph's side, trying to prop him up. "Professor, hang on!"
Seraph's lips twitched slightly, as if trying to smile. But quickly, the smile faded under the pain. His eyes lost all color. His arms fell limp.
As he passed, his body seemed to melt, dissolving into specks of golden light that diffused into the world. Accompanying his departure were the white and black cards from his Deck. One by one, they dissolved. In the end, it was as though Seraph had never existed in this world.
He returned his glory unto the Lord.
"This..." Chazz stared at his empty hands, then could only grit his teeth and shake his head.
Meanwhile, Aster picked up Seraph's Duel Disk. One card remained inside: Darklord Morningstar from the Graveyard. But when Aster tried to touch it, the card erupted with light even more intense than The First Darklord's, making it completely untouchable.
"It seems only you have the chance to handle it, Chief..."
Aster concluded.
From the look of things, if Professor Seraph hadn't lifted his hand to pass the card to Hikaru at the very end, Darklord Morningstar would have vanished from this world along with the other Darklord cards upon Seraph's death, returning to some "Heaven" or "Hell" dimension unknown to them.
Hikaru nodded.
The two "Lucifers" were likely the same "spirit." Or rather... angel?
In any case, it seemed that in his final moments, Seraph had heard a true "Revelation."
Regardless, in the moment of "returning unto the Lord," he had made up his mind to entrust the true Darklord cards to Hikaru, a fellow duelist who had once "summoned demons" just as he had.
Hikaru sighed.
The two cards were taken by the Infernoid demon under Tierra's control and transported to the Grand Cosmos Workshop.
Hikaru was not a "blessed one." Darklord Morningstar wasn't like Darklord Zerato, a Darklord anyone could use. Unless Hikaru intended to transmute Morningstar directly into Infernoid Nehemah, he wouldn't be able to use it anytime soon.
However...
Although that wasn't impossible, Hikaru only entertained the thought for a moment before quickly dismissing it.
Hikaru had previously encountered The Iris Swordsoul in the Magician's domain. Although his reunion with Professor Banner had left no time to question that spirit, and it was gone by the time he left, Hikaru had gathered information.
The dimension where The Iris Swordsoul resided was one heavily influenced by the "red light." Ordinary spirits and humans weren't qualified to enter.
Because the danger level far exceeded normal dimensions.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was that such a "dimension" truly existed.
For Hikaru, that was worth looking forward to.
Before the Dogmatika support cards were fully assembled, Dogmatika Darklord had been an extremely popular build and one of Dogmatika's earliest configurations. Since such a dimension apparently existed, preserving Morningstar clearly had more value.
Hikaru tidied up the scene, then chatted briefly with Aster and Chazz about why they had shown up here.
Of course, both were smart and had come here on their own initiative, so they easily understood Hikaru's ambush plan and weren't surprised.
Honestly, under normal circumstances, Hikaru's everyday Deck looked nothing like this.
Infernoids, Flame Swordsman, Frightfur, plus the unused Earthbound cards. Hikaru's current Deck was built for "maximum spirit power." Never mind Tierra, he had even included Super Polymerization, all so that if he encountered Yubel, he could eliminate the threat once and for all.
If Yubel didn't show up, no big deal.
But if it did, Hikaru would show absolutely no mercy.
Unexpectedly, it was Professor Seraph who came instead.
Truthfully, Hikaru still had no idea where on this island Yubel was hiding.
Tierra had previously detected Yubel's presence. If they encountered it again, she could identify it instantly. But clearly, Yubel was extremely cautious, giving Hikaru no opportunity to find it.
If he directly confronted Professor Viper, Hikaru worried about alerting Yubel, sending it into hiding somewhere unknown. So all he could do was wait.
Now, Darkness had seized the opportunity to strike at Duel Academy. Of course, Darkness may have been collaborating with Yubel from the start. That wouldn't be surprising at all.
But having committed to action, it meant they had resolved to make their full move. Otherwise, so many "blessed ones" wouldn't have begun acting.
Hikaru ruffled his hair.
This was a good opportunity.
If the enemy emerged, it was a chance to catch them all at once.
But as the cost, his classmates would inevitably face all manner of challenges, even torment.
Hikaru had done everything he could for them. From here on, he could only watch and see whether those classmates could endure on their own, or believe in humanity.
After cleaning up, the three prepared to split up. Hikaru would find Professor Crowler. Chazz and Aster would rush to the professors' individual quarters to search for anything useful, like diaries, notes, or anything that might contain a way to deal with the outer barrier. If they found something, it would be a massive win.
Before anyone or spirits could destroy evidence, they needed to collect everything useful. Neither hesitated at the impropriety. They nodded and left immediately.
Hikaru checked his Deck, reviewed the energy requirements of the cards currently being "transmuted," and headed for the principal's office at top speed.
It was now afternoon. By this time, the professors should have finished their rotation and returned to their offices. Hikaru needed to report the situation.
As a consequence, Hikaru and his two companions would likely miss their afternoon classes.
For that reason, when Hikaru's friends arrived at the classroom, they were surprised to find that the most studious student of all, Hikaru, wasn't there.
But it wasn't just Hikaru.
Other students were also absent from this period. For instance, Axel Brodie, the former mercenary, was investigating various locations around the academy. Adrian Gecko was lending a hand in the infirmary. And then there was...
Jaden Yuki.
He had skipped class entirely to join the academy's newly formed "patrol squad" as they swept Duel Academy.
Since spirit attacks could happen at any time, the academy had organized rotating patrol teams led by the principal and professors. Jaden couldn't focus on class at a time like this, so he had simply slipped away and joined the patrols to face the spirits alongside them.
The afternoon patrol captain was "Strongman," a professor from the Central Academy branch.
Strongman was powerfully built, with a massive frame, broad shoulders, and looked like he could carry a horse on his back.
Unlike professors like Viper, Seraph, and Paladin who focused on various specialized disciplines, Professor Strongman called himself a simple man. So rather than teaching "knowledge" like the others, his course was physical enhancement.
How to efficiently use spirit power to rapidly train the body. How to strengthen yourself through spirit power. How to react faster during duels, reducing damage to stay clearheaded, and so on.
Although Duel Academy had its own "action classes," compared to Professor Strongman's specialized course, they were child's play.
Strongman didn't just demonstrate practical applications of dueling spirits in person. He also brought video recordings showing himself surviving harrowing situations across various spirit dimensions.
Humans and spirits were different. Humans adventuring in spirit dimensions needed to stay safe. Even with spirit cooperation and spirits carrying you through the air, one moment of carelessness could mean injury from the unique "natural environments" of spirit dimensions.
These were unpredictable dangers. As Duel Academy students who would likely be exploring and pioneering dimensions in the future, they needed to study this seriously. It could save their lives.
His classes weren't as vivid as other professors', but viewed as a "wilderness survival highlight reel," they were actually quite entertaining. His lectures were always packed. Among all the students, Jaden was probably one of the most interested.
He was naturally tough, had superhuman physical abilities, loved adventure, enjoyed exploring, and excelled at everything from fishing to mountain climbing. Much of what the professor taught was directly applicable to him. Naturally, he was thrilled.
So despite being a poor student normally, Jaden performed excellently in Strongman's class. The two had become something like mentor and friend.
Now, with this crisis on the academy island, Professor Strongman, who specialized in handling outdoor emergencies, had naturally taken on all exploration, patrol, and rescue duties. Jaden had simply skipped class and joined the patrol.
He had originally thought today would be quite an exciting experience.
After all, he could protect classmates and witness the professor's dueling firsthand.
But he never expected...
WHAM! WHAM!
Strongman grabbed a spirit with one hand around its neck. An eerie fluorescence emanated from his right hand. Then he slammed it against the wall. A shriek rang out, followed by the spirit's words of surrender.
But Strongman didn't hesitate in the slightest. He kept slamming...
THUD. THUD!
Dull impacts sounded. Strongman's expression didn't change. He even narrated, "Everyone, see that? This is how you can attack these creatures."
Normally, humans couldn't harm spirits. Only spirits could fight spirits. But today, Strongman gave the patrol teachers and students a lesson.
He beat a spirit to death with his bare hands!
"Stop! That's enough, Professor! It already surrendered!" Jaden couldn't hold back. He jumped out and shouted.
"...Jaden?" Strongman paused and looked back. "Why aren't you in class?"
But Jaden didn't care about that. "Professor, it already surrendered! There's no need for this!"
The professor shook his head. "Jaden, this is war. War between humans and spirits! Since it was prepared to invade our world, disguise itself as a human, and attack students, it deserves to die!"
"But..." Jaden's expression was grim.
"Jaden, I've told you before. This kind of work isn't suited for you. You're too kind. Go back to class!"
Jaden's expression didn't improve. He didn't leave.
Strongman sighed softly. He casually dropped the spirit. Jaden rushed over and propped it up, examining its condition. But the spirit only managed to look up at him one last time before losing all vitality entirely, dissolving into points of light, and finally becoming a cold, lifeless card.
Jaden gripped the card tightly.
A living being had died right before his eyes.
A spirit that had already surrendered, that had stopped resisting, was dead.
Countless scenes he had once witnessed flashed through his mind...
"Professor!! I challenge you!"
Strongman scratched the back of his head.
"Sigh, looks like I'll need to give the students a proper briefing when we get back." His exasperated expression gradually turned serious. Then he said, "Fine then, Jaden. I accept."