Critical Nexus West.
"Ahahaha, Hurry up, Syrus, Tyranno!"
Jaden, with his backpack slung over his shoulders, laughed as he bounded down the hillside in huge strides, completely unconcerned about the possibility of slipping. He was as energetic as ever.
"Wait up, Aniki!!" Despite Syrus's desperate efforts to keep up with Jaden, his height and physical fitness just didn't allow for such earth-shattering movements.
"Haha, Syrus, guess I'll go adventuring with Aniki first!!" Tyranno, seeing how useless Syrus was being, burst into laughter, paying no mind to the fact that Syrus was technically his "senpai," and dashed off fast.
A week ago, Jaden had found Tyranno and Syrus. After witnessing Syrus's Duel against his own older brother, Jaden had been dragging both of them around on random escapades.
They didn't go to any of the officially logged locations. Instead, they ran all over strange, random places.
After all, chances to adventure in unfamiliar places were rare!
Whether it was because Jaden was genuinely lucky or because he actually had some sort of plan, while running around all these weird spots, he even encountered a hidden Duelist and managed to win, earning himself a "Fish Emblem."
In short, within just a single week, he had already secured one emblem, a very successful start to his adventure.
And they still had a full half-year ahead.
Of course, this kind of adventure came at a price. Namely, it was nowhere near as comfortable as sleeping at any of KaibaCorp's official sites. But for someone like Jaden, who'd rather spend a whole day fishing when there were no Duels to be had (and skip class while doing it), this was endlessly entertaining.
Besides, after the recent incident with the Fusion Army, everyone's mood hadn't been great. This sort of adventure helped lift their spirits, so neither Tyranno nor Syrus ever complained.
They both wanted to run around carefree and wild, too.
However, as they kept running, the smile on Jaden's face suddenly vanished.
"Jaden, watch out."
A voice whispered in his ear.
"Yeah."
Answering as he moved, Jaden broke out of his reckless downhill sprint, lunged forward with a powerful step, slammed his left foot down to brake, and swept his right hand sideways. In an instant shift of presence, he grabbed the approaching Tyranno and then snagged Syrus, who was about to continue tumbling downhill.
Because of the sudden change in momentum, his red school uniform flared like a trench coat, whipping in the wind.
"Wh-What's wrong, Aniki?" Syrus gasped for air as he asked.
"Aniki?" Tyranno was equally confused, looking at Jaden.
One hand holding two people his age, Jaden's arm strength was astonishing, even to someone like Tyranno, who had dinosaur bones in his body.
Jaden squinted, staring ahead.
It appeared to be a small Spirit village. Houses had been toppled, fires burned everywhere, and the cries of children mixed with grotesque laughter.
"You two stay here." Jaden withdrew his hands, slung his bag over one shoulder, and spoke with a serious expression.
"No way, Jaden!" Syrus immediately protested. "It looks super dangerous up there! How could we let you go alone?!"
"Yeah, Aniki! As your little brother, of course, I'm going with you!"
Jaden turned to look at the two of them.
Jaden had many close friends. Of course, his closest bonds were with the big family that was the Fusion Club.
But outside of that, Syrus and Tyranno, who had both chosen to call him "Aniki" on their own, were also like real younger brothers to him.
A few months ago, Jaden had experienced a Spirit rampage and attack. During that time, Bastion Misawa had been injured by accident. Since then, Jaden had secretly been training himself.
For someone who hated studying and would rather go fishing than attend class even when bored, it was something outsiders would've found unbelievable: Jaden was training in Spirit power.
That said, he had indeed trained.
His physical abilities were already far beyond those of his peers, and with Spirit amplification and self-discipline, he now had enough confidence to take on two Obelisk Blue guards at once.
However… even with that kind of ability and confidence, did he have the power to protect others outside of battle?
Hard to say.
Still, he didn't hesitate long. Nor did he refuse. Without another word, he ran straight toward the besieged village.
Even without knowing all the details, it was clear enough: this village was under attack by other Spirits, who were taking delight in brutally tormenting and killing the Spirits living here!
There was no way he could stand by and do nothing!
Reaching the village, he stretched out a hand to catch a Spirit that had been sent flying. Glancing at the Spirit, he said, "Can you hang on? Stay with me!"
Judging by appearance, it seemed to be Freed the Matchless General?
Still breathing, the elderly Spirit opened his mouth with great effort, struggling to speak, "The village... was attacked... all my children... all... slaughtered..."
Jaden's lips trembled.
To protect the children, this elderly Spirit had likely spent every last ounce of his strength and now collapsed into unconsciousness.
"Hah, where'd this meddling punk come from, daring to spoil my fun?" A red-robed figure holding a staff lightly tapped it against his back while sizing up Jaden. "Oh? A human... So you're one of those humans everyone's been talking about lately, huh?
Back off. This has nothing to do with you humans. I'm not here to play house with kids."
"Why would you do something like this?!" Staring at the scene around him, hearing the cries of children, watching countless houses crumble, Jaden clenched his teeth, trembling as he asked.
'Bullying the weak, was that so fun to you?!'
"Why?" The mage burst out laughing. "Because it's fun, what other reason do I need?"
"What? Killing these weak little Spirits makes me stronger?" As he spoke, the mage scratched his forehead excitedly.
Dark black smoke began to billow from his body, and a curtain of light appeared behind him.
Jaden's eyes widened.
This was the same strange light that Chazz and Hikaru had been investigating earlier, wasn't it!?
Due to the dimensional invasion incident, Chazz and Hikaru had shared everything they knew and could say with the Fusion Club members. Because of that, Jaden had realized these strange "lights" might come from the same source as the one that had attacked him and Bastion back then.
It was said that Leo Akaba himself also had this strange light.
These lights drove people into a battle frenzy and a thirst for destruction. And through destruction, those possessed grew stronger.
By the looks of it, this Spirit was exactly the kind of guy attacking others just to become stronger!
Jaden gently handed the unconscious Freed the Matchless General over to Tyranno, telling him to help him rest on the side. Then, without a word, he opened his backpack and pulled out a Duel Disk.
"Oh ho, a human warrior, huh?" Flames flared more violently around the mage's body, with intense white light mixing into the fire, scorching the air. "Interesting... If I take down one of you, I should gain even more power!
This challenge... I'll accept!"
As he spoke, countless serpentine flames rose from the ground, coiling around his left arm, gradually taking the form of a crimson Duel Disk.
[Jaden, LP: 4000]
[Legendary Flame Lord, LP: 4000]
...
Bonus @400
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