Boom!
The Statue of Calamity exploded twice in a row, blasting Mr. T's body apart. The black-uniformed figure disintegrated, as if turning from solid into mist. A vast amount of dark miasma was dispersed, accompanied by the scattering of countless Dark Cards shooting off in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, only a shallow pit remained where Mr. T once stood, as if he had been completely obliterated.
As Yugen sheathed his Duel Disc, Yuki Judai flew over to meet him.
Yugen pointed at the large pit, "Was he like this before?"
"Yeah, defeated him several times, and each time he just exploded, leaving nothing behind," Judai scratched his head, "I suppose it's some kind of clone projection or something?"
This concept was no stranger to Judai nowadays, considering they frequently projected into the Elf World to farm Otherworld RPG instances.
"Something like that. But this time, it should at least harm the main body somewhat," Yugen replied.
Judai chuckled, "In just a few days, it feels like Yugen has gotten stronger again, your aura and techniques have noticeably improved... Oh, and by the way, your New Space strategy just now was amazing!
As expected of Yugen, always coming up with uses that normal people can't think of at all..."
The Dark Panther's elf stood by, wanting to speak but hesitated, thinking no, I feel like this has little to do with me...
If anything, in that combo series just now, our New Space's greater role was probably drawing cards quickly with the "New Cosmic Expansion" and "New Space Gift" combo.
Without this rapid filtration, gathering such strange combo components wouldn't be easy...
"About the enemy just now," Yugen asked, "how much do you know?"
Judai pondered for a moment and said, "Currently, we don't have much information. We only know they share the same dark power that once devoured Asuka's brother, Fubuki Tenjouin.
They've been frequently active around Duel Academy recently, and I heard reports from the Kaiba Group that similar disappearances, likely related to them, have been happening in other areas as well..."
Yugen nodded. It seemed Judai's intel was still limited.
Thus, Yugen said, "I have to leave for a while, so I'll mainly rely on you to handle the Academy here... But don't worry, with your current ability, handling an opponent of this level should be no problem.
Before that, I'll tell you everything I know about Darkness, so you're mentally prepared for the enemy you're about to face. Listen carefully from here on..."
"..."
Darkness, boundless darkness.
In this void, even time seemed frozen. Suddenly, a faint blue light flickered, like an eye suddenly opening in the night.
"I was careless... "
A low voice echoed through the darkness, as a blurred humanoid silhouette gradually appeared. Mr. T—who Yugen had just blasted to pieces—his figure slowly coalesced. His black trench coat fluttered without wind, eyes beneath his sunglasses glinting an ominous red glow.
"Not only is the Yuki Judai problem unresolved, but the Duel King has also returned," he said.
With his words, countless pairs of the same red eyes suddenly lit up in the darkness. One, ten, a hundred... innumerable Mr. Ts emerged from the shadows, dressed identically and posed the same, lined up like reflections in this void.
A T Mr. to the left said, "That Duel King... Fujiki Yugen, is more troublesome than anticipated."
"How is Yuki Judai's side progressing?" The central Mr. T—the one who appeared initially—asked in a deep voice.
From the darkness on the right, three Mr. Ts answered in synchronization: "Yuki Judai's performances over successive duels have also exceeded expectations, his strength mismatched with previous data, and current duel attempts have been completely suppressed."
"We must move to the next stage of the plan." The central Mr. T surveyed the surroundings, "Yuki Judai and Fujiki Yugen are obstacles we must overcome no matter what. Without their data, our evolution cannot be completed."
A strange resonance was heard from the darkness, and all Mr. Ts simultaneously nodded, their synchronization eerie in its precision.
"Regular means are ineffective," a Mr. T from the back stepped forward, "perhaps... it's time to initiate 'Assimilation'."
Assimilation is their ultimate method; in the GX narrative, everyone in the world is absorbed into Darkness, endlessly looping in their deepest nightmares like in a never-ending Tsukuyomi.
"The risk factor is too high," a voice of opposition immediately arose, "unresolved unknown variables. Not just Yuki Judai and Fujiki Yugen, but there are also people like Seto Kaiba.
If we fully assimilate everything with Darkness, it might backfire on our world."
At this moment, the entire dark space suddenly shook. A purple fissure appeared from nowhere, as if tearing the fabric of space itself. From within the crack seeped a strange light not belonging to this world.
"It's here again..." several Mr. Ts murmured simultaneously.
From the crack came a voice, neither male nor female, like a thousand people whispering at once, yet also resembling some kind of mechanical synthetic sound: "It seems you have encountered a trouble. How about it? Our previous proposal still stands."
The central Mr. T raised his hand to signal silence, and all clones instantly fell silent. He walked alone towards the fissure, his black leather shoes making clear footsteps even in the void.
"What can you offer?" he asked calmly.
The light within the fissure flickered: "Cross-dimensional technology, Duel Energy surpassing this universe, new realms of dueling and summoning techniques unknown to you... powers and allies beyond your imagination, more than enough to help you complete your plan."
"What's the cost?"
"None needed."
The voice chuckled.
"Providing assistance to those encountering difficulties across dimensions is our investment. As long as your plan proceeds smoothly and realizes the 'assimilation' of all humanity in this dimension, it would already be the best return."
The Mr. Ts began showing differing opinions.
"There's no such thing as a free benefit," one Mr. T said, "we know nothing about these visitors from the Other Dimension, they might also pose a threat to us."
Yet there were different voices: "But it's also an opportunity..."
"Fujiki Yugen and Yuki Judai, their existence has delayed the plan for too long, we can't continue this way..."
The central Mr. T remained silent for a while, then suddenly raised his hand, instantly halting all arguments. He turned to face his countless clones, the red glow beneath his sunglasses burning with greater intensity.
"Let's vote," he said succinctly.
In the darkness, innumerable Mr. Ts simultaneously closed their eyes. Moments later, they all opened them again simultaneously.
"Resolution passed," the central Mr. T announced, "but with conditions. Everything in this dimension remains under our control, and this plane will ultimately belong to Darkness."
He turned again to the fissure: "Do you hear that? Those are our conditions."
"Of course." The other side of the fissure responded without hesitation.
As those words concluded, the fissure slowly began to close. However, before disappearing completely, the voice added: "Then the agreement is reached, very soon the Stacking Light Power will appear in this dimension, 'Chaos' will descend. By then..."
The fissure fully closed, and the voice abruptly stopped. The dark space returned to silence, yet some kind of energy fluctuation, foreign to this world, seemed to linger in the air.
The central Mr. T adjusted his sunglasses, frowning as he repeated the last words left by the other side.
"Stacking Light... Chaos?"