Alpha knelt on the ground, his head tilted at an awkward angle. Electricity crackled and hissed across his entire body, and broken mechanical parts were scattered everywhere.
"Damn... thing..."
"What was that?"
You Xuan retracted his Duel Disk and stepped toward him.
Alpha raised his head with agonizing slowness. Sparks erupted from his neck as he moved, making it look as if his head might tumble off at any moment.
"I am sorry, Fa... Father. I did my best, but he was too strong..." he muttered to himself.
You Xuan couldn't help but notice that, if nothing else, the build quality of this thing was impressive. Perhaps the shock resistance of the mechanical body was simply superior; it was surprising that the AI hadn't shut down despite being scorched to this extent.
"You won this time. But do not think it is over," Alpha said, his voice breaking into static. "You are already on our list. I turned out to be nothing more than a defective product... but Delta... he is the only perfect one among us. He will find you and complete my unfinished mission. Even you are not his... match..."
You Xuan frowned.
This "Don't get cocky, I'm just the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings" style of dialogue felt like something he had heard in countless other places.
Delta. It sounded like an AI designation number as well. Perhaps it was an even more powerful AI model?
"So, this 'Father' you mentioned who exactly is your mastermind?"
But Alpha gave no further response. He merely continued to mutter to himself, "Father, I am sorry. I can no longer accompany you to complete your Great Endeavor. I must... go on ahead..."
His voice grew softer and softer until the dim glow in his shattered eyes finally flickered out completely.
"He's dead." You Xuan stood up.
A voice rang out from behind him. "There is no point in asking any further."
You Xuan turned his head, slightly surprised. "President... Kaiba?"
Seto Kaiba stood there, though no one knew exactly when he had arrived. Beside him stood the impeccably dressed Mokuba. Judging by their posture, they had likely been there for a while.
You Xuan fell into thought.
So the President is back to silently peeping at my Duels again, just like that time with Yakou Tenma. I'm starting to think he really enjoys watching me play.
"Incredible, You Xuan! To generate infinite ATK, infinite card destruction, and infinite burn damage in a single Duel and then to adapt so many different offensive tactics based on the loop..."
Mokuba's eyes were filled with admiration.
"Ah, haha, it was alright," You Xuan replied modestly.
After all, these tactics were the crystallization of the wisdom of his predecessors; they had to be impressive.
"Hmph."
Kaiba didn't say a word, but his thoughtful younger brother translated for him. "Oh, my brother means he thinks you're great too, and he's looking forward to facing you on the field more and more."
You Xuan nodded. "I understand."
After a pause, he added, "These guys claimed to be AIs designed with the President as a prototype. I suspect they're related to the hackers who intruded before."
"We heard," Mokuba said. "Actually, our investigation has made some progress recently. We rushed over as soon as we detected an intrusion at Duel Academy, guessing it was those hackers again."
"Their primary objective is likely those three cards on this island," Kaiba said nonchalantly.
You Xuan turned an inquiring gaze toward Mokuba. "Those three cards?"
"Oh, the students aren't supposed to know. But since it's you, there's no harm in telling," Mokuba explained. "The three 'Sacred Beasts' cards. They hide a power that is legendary in the current world of Duel Monsters it's said they can grant their owner eternal life. While they are powerful, they have also been judged to possess an evil force and can be very dangerous. They are currently kept in a sealed facility on the island."
"I see."
You Xuan, of course, had known this all along, but he played the part of someone hearing the secret for the first time perfectly.
"But why were they looking for me? I don't see what I have to do with the Sacred Beasts..."
"That, I don't know." Mokuba scratched his head. "I suppose... they probably targeted you because of your Dueling talent or your affinity for Duel Spirits. Well, you really are a very special Duelist, so it's not surprising you'd attract attention."
Around this time, Chancellor Sheppard arrived. The Chancellor shook hands with President Kaiba, the Academy's number-one sponsor, and repeatedly apologized for the Academy's inadequate security, promising they would do better in the future.
You Xuan thought to himself, Forget it, Chancellor. Right now, the Academy's security was at least somewhat functional, even if it was as fragile as paper. Once the second year started, the concept of security would basically vanish. The island would become a public bus, with anyone and everyone hopping on and off at will.
By the third year, the Academic Affairs Department would practically vanish, the entire school would fly off into a Different Dimension, and the students would be the ones on the front lines handling all the pressure. The Chancellor himself would be perpetually away on business trips, leaving Professor Crowler to handle the functions of the entire teaching staff alone.
Jaden and Alexis arrived shortly after to report their own encounters. Both had engaged in Duels with enemies, and both had emerged victorious without any major mishaps.
The AI defeated by Jaden was quite unlucky; he had fallen straight off a cliff and met an instant end. The one Alexis took down, however, still had a breath of life left.
Supposedly, the AI named Gamma was incoherent as he was being carried away, mumbling things like, "This isn't a Duel," "That's no Angel," and "Give me back my monsters."
You Xuan figured his system had likely crashed after his monster was stolen by Cyber Angel Nasateya.
The KaibaCorp employees who had landed with the President quickly cleared the battlefield, collecting the wreckage of the three machines and finishing the cleanup work.
"We're getting close. Once we get back and analyze these three AIs, we should find clues about the mastermind very quickly," Mokuba told You Xuan. "If we find anything, I'll let you know immediately."
Since the enemy had explicitly put You Xuan on their target list, he was no longer an outsider to this conflict.
"Alright," You Xuan nodded readily.
He subconsciously patted his pocket, feeling the warmth of the latest KaibaCorp Deck one that hadn't even been released yet which he had just "retrieved" from Alpha.
Honestly, these AIs were too polite. Not only did they travel thousands of miles to find him, but they also brought gifts. And this time, they weren't even using data cards; they were all plug-and-play physical cards.
He really wouldn't mind if this kind of good fortune happened a few more times.
Finally, Mokuba stole a glance toward Kaiba. After confirming his brother was busy directing the staff and not paying attention, he lowered his voice.
"Also... although my brother definitely wouldn't let me say this, I want to say thank you."
"Huh?"
"For what you said earlier." Mokuba chuckled. "I heard it all. To be honest, I was actually a bit moved. Even though many people respect my brother and see him as the pinnacle of Duelists, very few actually understand him. Most people just see him as arrogant and rude, or even a dictator in some sense... but only I know that he has never forgotten why he fights."
"Dreams are most precious to those who have lived through hell," You Xuan said with a soft smile. "It's a pity. Even if he told the truth to the Board of Directors, no one would believe that a 'dictator's' dream is simply to bring smiles to the children of the world."
"Haha, never mind the Board; in the entire massive KaibaCorp, there's no one who truly knows him except me. I think the last person who actually understood and got him was probably Yugi..."
Mokuba shook his head, feeling a bit wistful.
Deep down, he had always admired and longed for the unbreakable bond between Yugi and Joey, and he had even fantasized about joining that group along with his brother. But in the end, they just weren't the same kind of people. It had been years since they last had any contact.
"I'm just really happy to know there's someone else in the world who sees my brother the way I do," Mokuba said again. "Thank you."
"It's nothing. I'm sure quite a few people feel that way. I'm just an insignificant, ordinary Duelist among them." You Xuan waved him off grandly. "No need for thanks..."
"Right. We're heading back to the company now. The headquarters has a few newly developed Decks that just finished testing. Interested in taking a look?"
"Lead the way."
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