Ed fell to his knees, looking at his hands, his heart nearly unable to accept the reality.
He actually... lost?
Lost to a student who just graduated from Duel Academy? A complete rookie in the league?
More importantly, was Saio's prophecy... broken?
His chariot? His destiny of certain victory?
Ed was momentarily dazed, feeling as if he were dreaming. Until the voice of the tournament host seemed to pull him back to reality from afar.
"The winner is Marufuji Ryo!"
"Caesar has kept his throne, continuing his undefeated myth! And Ed Phoenix's thirty-win streak has come to an end..."
He couldn't hear much of the rest. Even the waves of cheers and applause from the audience beside him, everything seemed unreal.
He felt like a blockage in his throat, making it hard to breathe. Thousands of words converged in his heart into one sentence—
—This is fucking bullshit.
The electronic school itself wasn't a unique genre, he certainly knew about it in advance. The electronic school has always been a representative of strong attacks, pursuing extreme offense, a powerful card deck capable of breaking the opponent with lightning speed.
However, what did he encounter today?
First, a quartet of covers to give him a slap in the face, directly targeting his Fusion monster. When that didn't work, he followed up with Warrior Erasure, aimed right at his face.
These can be overlooked, but what was that final electronic school's ultimate secret technique?
Forcing to eat the opponent's monsters as Fusion Material, such an effect was unheard of in the entire Dueling Realm before, it could be called an Underworld Realm revolution, refreshing the entire dueling rules.
As the victor, Caesar flicked his sleeves and turned away without giving the defeated more than a glance, ready to leave.
Since entering the league, he has always been like this. He was no longer the boy who fought to respect his opponents; in his eyes now, opponents were merely obstacles to overcome.
Whatever means to cross them didn't matter, and once crossed, they weren't worth another look, merely defeated contenders.
"Wait... hold on..."
Ed, supporting his knees, struggled to stand up, gritted his teeth, and said.
Marufuji Ryo paused briefly, glanced at him sideway.
"It's not over... this doesn't count, it shouldn't be like this." Ed said, "Let's duel again..."
"What?" Marufuji Ryo frowned.
"Duel again, this time I won't lose." Ed said.
He wasn't willing, wasn't convinced, which was understandable.
Originally planning to hide his skills, he didn't want to reveal his true trump card Destiny Hero so soon in the professional arena. But who knew hiding turned into being genuinely lacking.
But it wasn't entirely his fault, much of it was Saio's responsibility.
Because Saio clearly told him that the outcome was already determined. Marufuji Ryo wasn't an opponent worth his effort, just play casually to win.
Who could have imagined that this steady prophecy would flip over?
Now, only one thing roared in his heart.
Saio you fucking conned me!
If not for this damn prophecy, if he had brought out Destiny Hero from the start and given his all, he might not have lost today.
But hearing his words, Marufuji Ryo only snorted softly.
"Alright, I'll be waiting. But it looks like you need to queue."
He said as he turned and walked away, without looking back.
Until his figure disappeared from the arena.
...
...
At this scene, Takuma Saiou gazed through his Crystal Ball and observed.
Hmm, a new Crystal Ball. After all, the previous one was smashed by himself.
"Ed lost..."
Saio's expression grew increasingly perplexed.
Why?
He had indeed seen Ed's future. The chariot representing absolute victory, just like every one of Ed's past times. It never went wrong for so many years, why did it start frequently failing now?
"Why? What exactly shook fate?"
Saio felt agitated.
He could sense that some force, someone was eyeing him.
In his eyes, people were merely puppets manipulated by fate's strings, he was the only one looking down upon the masses, even capable of moving the strings.
Yet now, he felt as if someone else had appeared opposite him. That person was also looking down, able to manipulate fate's strings like him...
...Damned, that person might even know his details, might even have been watching him playfully all along, but he knew nothing about the person behind the mist.
In his eyes, others were always pawns, he was the only one qualified to play with them. But now, another person had joined the board.
Did Ed lose to Marufuji Ryo because that person behind the scenes interfered with Marufuji Ryo's fate in some way?
Thinking about it, indeed, Marufuji Ryo's dueling style seemed a bit strange too. It was completely different from the inherent impression of the electronic school.
No, or perhaps the issue wasn't Marufuji Ryo at all. Maybe it was because of the duel with Revolver before, maybe after that duel Ed's original destiny was shattered...
Yes, Revolver.
This person, under Takuma Saiou's repeated observations, appeared to have a fate always ordinary, yet he couldn't help but start considering if there was some problem.
Out of caution, he had already left his previous residence. He hadn't contacted Ed either, so Ed couldn't find him now.
"I must do something."
Saio spoke solemnly.
He must speed up his plans.
He has to consider taking action himself.
...
...
"Our League Newbie Marufuji Ryo's Perfect Victory!"
"Will Caesar's Legend Continue?"
Early in the morning, headlines like these filled the air. Yugen was interestedly reading the process during breakfast.
It seems his interference with Marufuji Ryo really worked, Marufuji Ryo's improvement speed far exceeded the original work. And this directly led to a change in this fateful duel.
The duel against Ed was originally the most critical turning point in Marufuji Ryo's fate as a duelist, the beginning of his life's transformation. But now it was merely another insignificant victory among his many victories, seemingly nothing special.
Additionally, Yugen found it interesting how Saio—or rather, Light of Destruction, would view this change in fate.
After all, this had a direct impact on their destiny.
"Seems like that Saio ran away."
Zarug, sitting next to him, imitated eating breakfast, muttering.
"Really cowardly. Now we don't even know where to find him again."
"No worries." Yugen smiled, "Though he ran away, we have other leads."
"We can start with his sister."