A deep-green enforcer burst from the earth and pointed toward Syra's Graveyard. A dark violet light flashed, and [Lunalight Purple Butterfly] vanished from the Graveyard—banished from the game. Syra froze. She hadn't expected Morgan to interrupt her twice in a row.
And a card banished by [Called by the Grave] has its effects negated. Which meant [Lunalight Cat Dancer]'s Attack wouldn't rise. Not only would it fail to increase—Cat Dancer was reduced to a vanilla beater.
Syra couldn't hold it together. Her last comeback line was shut down in a chain of counters; she nearly burst into tears.
The spectators watched with tight chests. They had to admit Syra was truly unlucky: every chain cut off, even her final struggle sealed away by Morgan's ruthless play. But there was nothing to say—duels allow underestimation, not mercy.
They also felt, through Morgan, the cruelty of dueling.
You don't just lose—you get battered in spirit.
Thinking of that, they found themselves admiring Syra again. In their place, even if it meant failing the exam, they would've stopped right there.
"I used to mock Syra…never thought she'd be this tough."
"Same. If I ran into Morgan's line there, I'd have exploded on the spot."
"It's a shame… Syra's improving at the end, but what good is that when her opponent is Morgan?"
"Right. And Syra doesn't even have a way out. If she fails this exam again, the school will advise her to withdraw. Such a pity after that first-turn combo."
While they murmured, Isla let out a quiet sigh as she watched the field. She often dueled Morgan and understood Syra well. Even in their teaching matches, facing Morgan gave you a sense of helplessness, as if she could see straight through your plans.
That's the edge of superior duel sense—reading the opponent quickly and answering with precision.
In Isla's view, Syra had done excellently. That first-turn field—many top-ranked students couldn't pull it off. The problem was simply that Morgan was too strong—beyond understanding. With the Duel King selection tournament drawing near, Isla worried again: her own strength felt stuck.
'...My power still isn't enough to stand alongside Morgan.'
Isla clenched her fist. She resolved to intensify her training and try to catch up.
Jade, on the other hand, had no such worries. She didn't believe she'd ever surpass Morgan.
So she simply stopped forcing it and took it easy.
As long as she did what Morgan told her, there was no need to think too hard. She'd mostly memorized how to pilot the Deck Morgan gave her; the rest, time would polish.
As for Syra's misery, Jade felt little. Maybe she'd just seen too many people cry after losing to Morgan… Syra was, in fact, getting off lightly.
Hannah sighed, a bit disappointed. She'd never really expected Syra to beat Morgan, so she wasn't crushed—anyhow, her real goal for this exam was already achieved.
Because each examinee had to play two different duels, Luli and the others who had infiltrated among the students could convert their opponents into Shadow Duelists after each match, then use those new recruits to convert another batch. In this way, half the first-years would become part of the Shadow Duelists.
Hannah and company, like locusts, were gradually devouring the Duel Academy. Faculty focus had been drawn to the ancient Shadow Duelists, so no one noticed. By the time they realized, the wolves would already be at the door.
At that thought, Hannah smiled. The first step of the plan was finally taken. Her days of strain and fear hadn't been in vain.
For now, it was only first-years, whose strength was generally low. When the large, school-wide duel events arrived, she would have more chances to target upperclassmen.
Soon, the Academy would hold its triennial Hunting Duel. Outside duelists would join—even professionals. The prizes were powerful, rare cards, treasures long kept by the Academy; most came for those rewards.
What irked the principal was that the top prize had gone to outsiders for two consecutive Hunting Duels... It was embarrassing.
The gap between students and professionals was simply too large.
But this year, with Morgan and the others around, things would be different.
On the day of the Hunt, Zelo, Akiyama, and the rest would also arrive on the island.
Tonight, the Shadow Duelists join the Hunt.
With that in mind, Hannah's lips curled. She no longer paid attention to the duel before her.
With every chain cut off by Morgan, Syra had no options left. She could fuse [Lunalight Tiger] in her hand with [Lunalight Cat Dancer] on the field using [Lunalight Fusion] to bring out [Lunalight Panther Dancer] from the Extra Deck—but Panther Dancer's 2800 Attack only matched Chixiao.
Without a way to remove [Baronne de Fleur], even if Panther Dancer couldn't be destroyed by effects, it would still fall in battle. In the end, it was pointless.
Syra fell into complete despair. Just as she was about to concede, cries of encouragement rose from the stands, startling her.
"Come on—don't give up!"
"Struggle one more time! I really think you can do it!"
"I misjudged you—sorry for calling you dead weight before!"
Voices echoed all around. Syra stood stunned. She hadn't expected encouragement now of all times…
She was so moved she nearly cried again.
Quickly, she wiped the corners of her eyes and rallied. The match wouldn't end until one duelist's Life Points hit zero—there would be no surrender.
She drew out [Lunalight Fusion] and slapped it onto her Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card [Lunalight Fusion] from my hand!"
"I send [Lunalight Cat Dancer] from the field and [Lunalight Tiger] from my hand to the Graveyard as Fusion Materials!"
Seeing Syra's line, Morgan paused—because the Spell Zone Syra used was aligned with the last set card on Morgan's field.
Morgan hadn't wanted to make it that brutal, but Syra had lined it up perfectly. She couldn't not respond.
"Now, I flip my set card—[Infinite Impermanence]."
"Target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; negate its effects until the end of this turn."
"If this set card was activated, negate the effects of any Spell/Trap cards in this column for the rest of this turn."
A string of bubbles burst along the same column, and [Lunalight Fusion] was negated, turning gray.
Syra seized up.
The cheerers in the stands rooted in place, as if turned into stone.
It was like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads.
In the end, Syra conceded through tears, and the suffocating duel ended.
Unsurprisingly, Morgan finished first in the exam.
And without anyone noticing, the Shadow Duelists' influence swelled. They would roam for duels and convert the defeated, secretly reshaping the Academy.
…
Morgan continued special training with Jade and Isla. With the Duel King selection tournament opening soon, both club professionals and independents would enter the open qualifiers. Only those who passed could reach the main event.
How many masters would show up was anyone's guess—so Jade and Isla trained all the harder.
Time rushed by to the day of the Hunting Duel. Every area of Solitary Island Academy was open; participants could duel anywhere.
Students gathered before the teaching building to hear the principal's opening remarks.
"Students, once again, it's time for the triennial Hunting Duel."
"Three years is enough for a full turnover of students. The once tender faces are now quite mature."
"In this duel, your goal remains the same—to seize the championship."
"I know many of you feel it's hard to beat professional duelists. Even so, giving your all to defeat strong foes is the meaning of this duel. Consider it a preview of professional strength."
"I hope you all grow through this tournament."
When the principal finished, everyone dispersed to seek opponents.
It's called a Hunting Duel because everyone carries a badge. When you win, you take the opponent's badge. When the event ends, whoever holds the most badges is the champion.
To protect their own badges, many challenge weaker players. By that logic, those at the bottom of each grade become the quarry.
Morgan, of course, wouldn't do that—after all, no one wanted to duel her in the first place, so she wandered the island at ease.
Then a man in a white uniform appeared before her, seemingly a club-affiliated professional duelist.
He ranked well in the Duelist Alliance. He'd come to the Hunt to pick up easy wins—he didn't believe students with no tour experience could be his match. The prize was his for the taking.
And Morgan, sweet-faced and harmless, looked like the perfect first target.
With a win, he might even invite the schoolgirl for a drink under the guise of "guidance." It wouldn't be the first time.
"Care to duel me, little miss?"
Warner arched a brow, flashing the badge from his pocket with a smile.
He expected Morgan to refuse and had a tempting pitch ready. To his surprise, Morgan merely glanced at him—and agreed at once.
Around them, students' looks shifted—part schadenfreude, part pity.
Warner didn't notice. He just smiled and said:
"It's settled then. Don't cry if you lose."
Morgan smiled and slid her Deck into her Duel Disk.
"Relax, big brother. I'm the one who makes people cry."
"Huh?"
This schoolgirl had quite the mouth. Time to teach her how colorful the world outside school could be.
He activated his Duel Disk.
Both Life Point counters lit up, and they each drew five cards.
They locked eyes and shouted in unison:
"Duel!"
...
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