"Mamma mia, what did you say?"
In the principal's office, Professor Cronos answered a phone call, incessantly questioning the person on the other end.
"Why did this happen? Didn't you say it was absolutely safe over there? What about Caesar—what about Mitsuzawa-san?"
"Well... Principal Cronos, please calm down for now; it's just a disappearance, not a death..."
"Duel Academy's best graduates and outstanding students have disappeared into an unfamiliar Otherworld—how can I possibly stay calm!"
Professor Cronos thumped his desk, interrogating aggressively.
Beside him, Instructor Napoleon uncharacteristically refrained from using his confrontational nature, instead choosing to agree with Cronos.
Marufuji Ryo and Mitsuzawa Daichi are the treasures of Duel Academy, both renowned duelists in the GX Tournament, especially Marufuji Ryo, who is now promoted as the "World Cyber Style Leader," a favored disciple of the former principal—such people have disappeared into the Other Dimension?
They couldn't accept this.
"This is infuriating—"
After a while, Professor Cronos angrily hung up the phone, still unable to calm down.
Despite encountering all sorts of strange situations recently, Professor Cronos had been doing quite well. During the "Darkness" incident, his competent arrangements as the school's leader earned him recognition and respect from many professors and teachers, making it quite probable for him to become the principal in the future.
Moreover, after the incident was resolved, for some reason, he felt invigorated, even his body seemed much improved, and even his dueling felt easier than before.
All signs seemed to indicate that his career, or even life peak, was approaching!
But—
Right at this moment, Kaiba Company suddenly called him.
His beloved student Marufuji Ryo, and outstanding student Mitsuzawa Daichi had disappeared!
Saying they disappeared is not entirely strict; to be precise, both of them were dispersed due to the turbulent situation in the Xyz Dimension.
"Mamma mia, how am I supposed to explain this to Marufuji Shou and Tenjo-san?"
Leaving aside whether the students' parents or the company would question this, just informing Marufuji Ryo's brother, Mitsuzawa Daichi's friends about their disappearance is a monumental challenge.
Clearly, Kaiba Company had previously explained that although there were dangers in going to the Xyz Dimension, they assured that they would protect the students first.
And the result!?
Furthermore, while Marufuji Ryo might be somewhat acceptable—despite maintaining contact with the school even after graduation and personally arranged by Cronos to become a professional player—he is no longer a student. But Mitsuzawa Daichi is a genuine currently enrolled student!
Professor Cronos felt dizzy; he stood up, feeling his body swaying as if he might collapse at any moment.
Instructor Napoleon quickly supported him.
"Are you alright, Acting Principal Cronos?"
"I'm...I'm fine."
Professor Cronos held his forehead.
Because of the Darkness incident, neither he nor Instructor Napoleon had the energy to argue. When he went out for patrols, Napoleon took charge, and when Napoleon led, he stayed to oversee everything.
Because of this, his relationship with Napoleon had eased significantly.
Beep beep beep, ring ring ring—
Suddenly, the phone rang again; he reached out, picked it up, and answered.
"Good news, good news, Principal Cronos!"
It was the same person from before.
Professor Cronos took a deep breath.
Despite his timidness, if this guy dared to talk about things unrelated to the students, he'd have to personally go to Kaiba Company and press him for what "good news" really meant.
And then—
His eyes suddenly brightened.
What's that?
Found them?!
That's great—
Unexpectedly, they found them so quickly; he instantly broke into a smile.
But soon, the smile on his face froze again.
It turns out that in the Xyz Dimension, an "internal conflict" erupted—calling it internal conflict is not accurate, it's essentially a large-scale duel, where many duelists similar to the "Dark Duelists," using creatures called "Numbers," had caused chaos in the Xyz Dimension. Once the dust settled, it generated intense dimensional turbulence.
At that time, Mitsuzawa Daichi and Marufuji Ryo were ironically watching that duel.
Upon hearing this, Cronos held his hand to his forehead but couldn't blame the two students.
As students of the noble Duel Academy, not only watching such duels, but dueling these "Evil" duelists for justice and light wasn't out of the ordinary.
Moreover...
The Number Monster, presumably, was the type Tenjo mentioned?
He could pretty much understand.
Sigh...
Indeed, no matter which dimension, which world, "peace" seems impossible.
He thought that during the "Darkness" encounter at his side, Marufuji Ryo and Mitsuzawa Daichi might escape such disaster. But unexpectedly, both encountered an event in a different dimension.
Additionally, unlike at school, both were in a state of isolation and helplessness outside...
If they were at school, with students and teachers working together, it might not guarantee overcoming all difficulties, but certainly much more assuring than being isolated outside.
Then, the Kaiba Company people continued to explain the aftermath of the Xyz Dimension.