Alicia's small face went blank, her mind in a heartbeat thrown into turmoil like a storm-tossed sea.
Having lived with Yuui for eight years, she had often heard him tell countless tales about Duel Monster Spirits to help her fall asleep… and among those stories was the legend of the Three Sacred Beasts.
According to Yuui-san, the Three Sacred Beasts were artificial spirits created in ancient times by a human king obsessed with obtaining the power of the Three Egyptian Gods to prolong his life. Using the full might of his kingdom, he forged them as man-made spirits.
However, because the creator's intentions were impure, these three beings, modeled after the Egyptian Gods, were fundamentally different. Rather than gods… they were demons.
When the Three Sacred Beasts were born, the evil within them erupted, twisting their divine forms into monstrous ones. That marked the beginning of a nightmare shared by humans and spirits alike.
From their creation, these three demons were designed to sustain their master's life. Thus, they possessed the ability to absorb the souls of humans and spirits alike to feed both themselves and their Duelist.
And if they failed to gather enough souls to sustain themselves, they would begin to wreak havoc—sometimes even devouring their host's soul to fill the void.
They did this to complete themselves, for as imitations of the Egyptian Gods, they were inherently weaker.
Knowing this, the Three Sacred Beasts slaughtered and absorbed souls relentlessly, seeking to perfect themselves, grow stronger, and one day surpass the true Egyptian Gods.
Albeit according to Yuui-san's stories, those three never succeeded—not even once. By the end of the tale, all three had been utterly crushed by a single Egyptian God.
Still, whatever the details, the Three Sacred Beasts were unimaginably dangerous.
Whenever they appeared, they would instinctively seek out human and spirit souls to devour, driven by an uncontrollable urge that even their Duelists couldn't suppress. The only way to stop them was to seal them away.
Even so...
"Yuui-san, are you absolutely sure those three people are possessed by the Three Sacred Beasts?" Alicia asked anxiously in her mind.
"Of course! I'd recognize my own cards anywhere! Even after thousands of years, I can still feel traces of my power in them. My own strength—I'd never mistake it!" Yuui said irritably.
His irritation wasn't aimed at Alicia, but at the two cloaked figures who had stolen his power and his cards long ago.
Back then, his Three Sacred Beast cards were ordinary ones, though after being kept within his body for so long, they had begun to form proto-spirits, slowly evolving toward the mythical beasts they were based on.
That said, Yuui, knowing their true nature, never allowed them to fully awaken as spirits.
In his hands, those cards could merely project the forms of the Three Sacred Beasts; they held no power to corrupt the mind.
Now, however, it seemed that after thousands of years, the cards had truly birthed the real spirits of the Three Sacred Beasts.
"Then... Yuui-san, what should we do!?" Alicia was close to tears at his confirmation.
Alicia: "o(╥﹏╥)o Who runs into the Three Sacred Beasts on their first day of school!?"
Yuui's forehead creased deeply. For once, he didn't know what to do.
Fight them? Impossible. His current strength wasn't even a tenth of what it once was. Facing the Three Sacred Beasts now would be suicide. And those three certainly wouldn't have fond memories of him—after all, it was his suppression that had delayed their birth for so long.
"Ali-san... Ali-san... Alicia?"
A few repeated calls snapped both Yuui and Alicia out of their panic. Alicia looked up to see Alice frowning at her.
"What's wrong, Ali-san? Are you feeling unwell?"
Alicia shook her head, about to speak—then seized up as she locked eyes with the three approaching figures.
In that instant, time seemed to stop.
Alicia and Yuui both held their breath, terrified the three demons might attack at any moment.
But to their surprise, the trio didn't even glance at them. They simply walked straight toward the classroom building.
"They... they didn't even notice us!" Alicia thought in relief, then quickly asked in her mind, "Yuui-san, what should we do now!?"
Yuui paused for a moment before answering with determination. "We have to report them to the Headmaster. I don't know how those monsters ended up here; that said, I doubt Saint Fusion Academy would knowingly let three soul-devouring demons pose as instructors.
"My guess is that those teachers stumbled upon the Three Sacred Beasts and were possessed. The beasts must have come here to regain their strength.
"We have to alert the academy's upper ranks before they act. If they start devouring students and spirits to restore their power, no one might be able to stop them."
Though it pained him, Yuui resolved to report the three. There was no helping it… he simply couldn't win against them now. Whether in physical combat or in a duel, with only a single core card left, he was hopelessly outmatched.
If even one of his fusion forms remained, he wouldn't be so powerless.
He had considered keeping quiet and helping Alicia flee, though in the end, he couldn't stand by and do nothing.
Given that he was the one who had brought the Three Sacred Beasts into this world. If they killed anyone, the guilt would be unbearable.
And besides, he didn't want Alicia to see him as a coward.
Upon hearing the word "report," Alicia's eyes lit up. She immediately turned to Alice and bowed apologetically. "Alice, I have something urgent to take care of, so please head to class first... Actually, no—go back to the dorms! It should be safer there!"
Without waiting for a response, Alicia ran back toward the administration building.
"...Is she out of her mind?"
Watching Alicia's retreating figure, Alice finally dropped her façade, biting her nail and muttering irritably. Yet beneath her irritation, a strange unease welled up inside her—a vague, inexplicable anxiety that only grew stronger.
She turned toward the distant figures of Instructor Claire and her two subordinates disappearing among the buildings. She hadn't felt anything odd about them before, but now, just looking at them made her heart race with unease.
Meanwhile, Alicia ran all the way to the Headmaster's office. Catching her breath, she knocked on the door.
"Enter." A familiar voice responded—it was Crowley Alester Bredt, the Headmaster she'd met just yesterday.
Taking a deep breath, Alicia pushed open the door. Seeing the white-haired elder seated at his desk, she declared loudly, "Headmaster! I need to report something!!"
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]