Seeing his opponent falter, Obaro dropped all pretense.
"You think I became a teacher because I wanted to?" Obaro scoffed, his face filled with disdain. "People like you will never understand."
"I won't understand?"
"Hmph. Crowler, you're a noble, a professor at Duel Academy, a legendary Duelist. So you'll never understand how hard it is for us ordinary people to rise to the top or even get recognized!"
Obaro clenched his right fist and stared at the back of his hand—there, a black inverted cross glowed faintly, the symbol of the pact he made to gain power by selling his soul to a demon.
"You think being a Duel Academy teacher is some glorious job?
"The pay's lousy, there's no social status, and on top of teaching, we have to babysit those damn kids. Duelists are all self-centered maniacs, and the Academy deliberately indulges their whims in the name of 'helping them find themselves.'
"But what about us?!
"We teachers are just supposed to quietly clean up after them?!
"Bullshit!"
"The reason I became a teacher is simple—because teachers at Duel Academy get the chance to meet influential people!" He jabbed a finger at Crowler. "People like you, who sit in offices sipping tea and listening to classical music while handing down orders, could never get it!"
"Just end your turn already."
Crowler took a deep breath, looked at his hand, and Set two cards.
He didn't argue.
"However, that's not a valid reason to join Leo Akaba!"
"Reason? I've got a million of those!" Obaro swiftly drew a card. "I couldn't care less what kind of person Leo Akaba is, or what invading other worlds means. That's not my concern.
"All I care about is this: if I join the Fusion Army, I can finally teach those damn students under Fusion Army standards. I can apply the same rules to everyone!
"Besides…Crowler…heh, 'Acting Principal'... do you think Leo Akaba is the only one who wants to see the world burn?
"Let me tell you, this world is full of ambitious maniacs chasing profit. Even without Leo Akaba, it was only a matter of time before conflict with other dimensions broke out. Now that Professor Akaba fired the first shot, more and more people will join his cause—or use his name as cover."
He glanced at his right hand, grinning darkly.
"I won't be the only one who's been 'blessed.' There are others who think like me."
"My turn!" He drew sharply.
"Here it comes!"
"I activate the Spell Card—Card Destruction! We both discard two cards, then draw two!"
Crowler frowned, examining his hand, then reluctantly discarded two cards and drew two more.
"Looks like you had good cards," Obaro sneered. "Mine are even better!"
"I activate the Spell Card—Monster Reborn!" He revealed a card in his hand. "Heh—revive once more, my Darklord—Darklord Superbia!"
[Darklord Superbia] Level 8│DARK│Fairy│2900 ATK
"Of course, Superbia's effect activates! When Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I can revive another Darklord in the Graveyard!"
"Come back again—Darklord Ixchel!"
[Darklord Ixchel] Level 10│DARK│Fairy│2900 DEF
"Next, I activate Ixchel's effect—pay 1000 LP to activate Darklord Contact from the Graveyard!"
[Obaro, LP: 9000 → 8000]
"Heh heh heh, hahaha—"
As he moved, black energy wrapped around him. Bat-like markings rose on his forehead.
"Awaken! My strongest warrior—Darklord Zerato!"
A crimson orb dropped from the sky. Crowler could smell blood. He swallowed hard as the orb landed and burst into a blood-drenched swordsman demon.
[Darklord Zerato] Level 8│DARK│Fairy│2800 ATK
"2800 Attack—" Crowler's brows furrowed.
Still not enough to overpower his monsters.
"I activate Zerato's effect! By sending 1 DARK monster from my hand to the Graveyard—destroy all monsters on your field!"
'!!'
"Dark Judgment!"
He discarded another Darklord, and a wave of blood engulfed the field. The dragon and golem melted like ice cream, dissolving into the bloody haze.
"It's over, Acting Principal Crowler!" Obaro laughed maniacally. "With you gone, no one will stand in our way!"
"Direct attack with Darklord Superbia!?"
"Reveal face-down card!" Crowler didn't hesitate. "Continuous Trap—Ancient Gear Reborn!
Once per turn, if I control no monsters—I can revive 1 Ancient Gear monster from my Graveyard!
Return—Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon!"
The machine dragon reassembled and reappeared on the field.
"The monster revived by this effect gains 200 ATK."
[Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon, ATK: 3000 → 3200]
"Tch."
Obaro clicked his tongue.
This blocked his advance. He couldn't get through to Crowler now.
He could activate Zerato's effect again to wipe the field, but that would move him to Main Phase 2—and he wouldn't be able to attack afterward.
Still… not a big deal.
He glanced at his hand.
The longer the duel dragged on, the more resources Darklords accumulated. He thrived in a war of attrition!
"I Set one card and end my turn!"
"At this moment, Zerato's effect—since it activated to destroy monsters, he's destroyed during the End Phase."
Not that it mattered… his Set card was Bottomless Trap Hole, which still worked on Ancient Gears.
More importantly, Crowler wouldn't dream of taking down someone with 8000 LP.
"Professor Obaro."
"Heh, what is it now? Trying to butter me up at the last moment?"
Crowler straightened his uniform, patting down the torn fabric of his once-elegant robe.
"As Acting Principal, I'll now be conducting faculty evaluations."
"???"
'What the hell is he talking about now?'
"And your result is… zero points.
"Fail."
"My turn! Draw!"
Whoosh—a card shot from his Deck into his hand.