"!?"
Inside Sartorius's fortune-telling chamber, Aster staggered backward in shock, slamming into the door with a loud "thud."
"Impossible... no way, how could it be!?" Aster's eyes bulged with disbelief. He didn't care about the pain from hitting the door. He could only speak.
The man in question, he was the reigning World Duel Champion. Since Seto Kaiba left the pro dueling scene, this man had held the title of "World's No. 1 Pro Duelist" for multiple consecutive tournaments.
Yet, more than that, he had one role most important to Aster… he was Aster's adoptive father!
Aster became a professional duelist largely because of him. When Aster lost his biological father, this man, his father's close friend, appeared and promised to duel him on the pro stage someday.
When his father died in an accident, it was this man who raised him. Much of Aster's success could be attributed to his teachings!
And now…
Sartorius had told him that the person who murdered his father, who stole his father's "Ultimate D" card, was none other than the man he'd admired, respected, his adoptive father?
How could he possibly accept that!?
"I'm sorry..." Sartorius sat in his chair, hands folded on the table. His face was heavy with guilt. A tear rolled from his right eye as he spoke in a low voice. "I always feared that if you knew the truth, you couldn't accept it... so I never told you."
Aster felt as if lightning had struck him. He stood frozen.
He stared at Sartorius, mouth agape.
He didn't know when Sartorius had learned the truth. He couldn't tell if Sartorius was being sincere. Lately, Sartorius felt like a stranger.
However, this, his father's murder, was too monumental. He couldn't stay calm.
"Damn it!!!" Aster turned and shoved the doors open. "I'm going to confront him myself!!!"
As he turned, the invisible chains wrapped around him grew more vivid. The black threads of fate coiled around this natural-born hero, chaining his life to destiny, death, and destruction.
"Wait! Student, please wait!"
"Don't leave the station now!"
"It's dangerous out there!!"
But in no time, Aster burst past the guards, pressing a button hidden inside his coat. Wings deployed from within, and he soared off in the direction he believed his adoptive father to be.
Hearing the noise, Sartorius's weeping right face twisted with deeper sorrow.
The sun slowly set. The curtains opened automatically. Shadows blanketed his right face. The room lights clicked on, illuminating his left side, revealing a wide, grotesque grin.
Things were advancing.
Amaki Hikaru had already rescued a trainful of people and was on his way back to the Critical Nexus's starting station. KaibaCorp's rescue teams had begun deployment.
Meanwhile, near a mountain.
"Shining Flare Wingman's monster effect! Inflict damage to the opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK!"
With a shout, Jaden Yuki commanded Shining Flare Wingman to unleash a torrent of fire, reducing a charging demon warrior to ash.
"You okay!?" On the side, his two friends helped rescue more students.
"What's going on? Why is this happening!?"
A few first-year students clung together, trembling.
Not all students were at the station or on the trains, some, like Jaden, liked to run around.
Some were confident in their abilities, protected by their spirits, and avoided capture.
But…
Some were just... careless.
Students who treated another world like a vacation, not thinking about getting stronger or dueling… just wandering for fun.
Those with power and luck could call it adventure. Without either, it was suicide.
The students Jaden rescued this time were the latter.
"Jaden, message from Hikaru!" Syrus showed Jaden his phone. Jaden read it, his face turning serious.
"Spirit invasion..." Jaden gritted his teeth. "Why would they do this..."
A quick scan told him this was the same spirit faction that attacked Skyscraper. Dark World, it seemed.
"They invaded HERO World, and now they want to invade every dimension!?" He clenched his fists.
Just like Leo Akaba!
As he thought this, a massive silver demon flew overhead with a swarm of minor fiends. Jaden instantly activated his Duel Disk, standing protectively before the others.
"Syrus, Hassleberry, protect them!"
"Jaden, you've already fought a lot…" Syrus wavered.
He should be the one to fight!
"It's fine!" Jaden smiled again with that signature confidence. "Heroes don't retreat!"
The Dark World demons gathered.
According to their commander's strategy, their first objective was to destroy human transport systems. Then, systematically break down or raid humanity to achieve their goals.
With only half the transport destroyed, their next step was to assault human strongholds and attempt to cripple the dimensional system, locking humanity inside the Critical Nexus Dimension.
However…
If they spotted isolated humans, they'd always prioritize picking them off.
After all, assaulting a huge base with just one or two higher demons would be inefficient, and they had only so many elite units to spare.
The demons landed slowly around Jaden. Some students cried out in fear. The lead demon snorted in disdain.
Then, with a metallic "shing" its right hand extended into a cold, gleaming blade.
The blade morphed midair into a Duel Disk, locking eyes with Jaden.
Jaden crouched slightly, ready for a serious fight.
Even though he'd taken down several Dark World demons, this one was clearly a higher-tier fiend. He couldn't be careless.
But just as they were about to duel, the silver demon narrowed its eyes at Jaden, hesitating.
"Give me that!" it suddenly shouted at a subordinate.
The lackey hesitated. In frustration, the silver demon grabbed it and yanked a parchment from its arms.
It examined the parchment closely
And then, eyes wide.
"The Over... the Overlord!"
Just as it muttered those words, a golden demon flew over with a group of fiends, hurling a bolt of golden lightning at them without warning.
A projection of Neos appeared before Jaden, blocking the blast.
"Stop! What are you doing!?" the silver demon roared at the incoming fiend. "That one is."
Yet, the golden demon only laughed. "Hahaha! By Lord Mad King's orders, I'll destroy the former demon!"
Hearing the voice, the silver demon screamed in rage toward the sky. "Where's your loyalty!?"
Indeed, the Mad King's faction recognized him!
While Jaden stood dumbfounded, the silver demon suddenly spread its wings and, rallying its minions, launched itself toward the attacker.
"Jaden?" Hassleberry called out, confused. "Are they... fighting each other?"
"Doesn't matter. Hassleberry, Syrus… we're outta here!" Jaden snapped to action, hastily ushering everyone away.
"Got it!" "Roger!"
Syrus pulled out a card, summoning a small vehicle. He loaded the students aboard and rushed them away from the chaos.