"What are you doing following me?" Ed walked through the dense forest, glaring in annoyance at Manjome, who was gradually catching up behind him.
"Who's following you?" Manjome argued, "I was heading this way anyway, it just happens to be on my route!"
That actually was the truth—he'd been led here by the three bouncy little troublemakers in front of him.
But since Ed was rushing toward the same direction, at least it proved that these three unreliable guys hadn't led him astray this time.
"Suit yourself." Ed was already restless and on edge, in no mood to waste time bickering. "Just don't be a drag on me."
"That's my line." Manjome grumbled.
Talking as they went, the two of them pushed through the thicket and arrived at the dilapidated, abandoned old dorm.
"Hey, isn't this place the abandoned dorm? I remember this is a forbidden zone of the academy..." Manjome muttered.
The Ojama Three Brothers huddled together in a ball, shivering behind Manjome. "It's in there, Manjome big bro! We've got a super strong feeling that Young Master Judai is definitely in there!"
"In there, huh?" Manjome frowned.
Ed didn't even think about it. He pushed the main doors open and strode straight inside.
Whether he got expelled or not, he couldn't care less. And considering his status, he figured the academy wouldn't actually throw him out over something like this.
Seeing Ed charge in first, Manjome immediately followed without a second thought. He wanted to compete with Ed in every possible way; at a time like this, there was no way he'd let himself fall behind.
The doors swung open, and a suffocating stench of mold slammed into them, like the lid of something sealed for years had just been pried off. The forest itself was already dim, and this ruined dorm had been sealed up tight—every window nailed shut with boards for who knew what reason, letting the darkness run rampant without restraint.
But they soon realized they didn't need to go any deeper.
Because the person they were looking for was already right in front of them.
"Judai!"
Even though the lighting was poor, Ed was certain there was no mistaking him—Yuki Judai was standing at the far end of the hall, most of his body swallowed by shadow.
Ed frowned and stepped forward. "What are you doing in a place like this?"
But he'd barely taken a few steps before he instinctively stopped.
He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but it was as if an invisible aura was erupting from behind Judai, shaping itself into a towering shadow like a mountain.
The pressure crashed over him like a tidal wave, crushing the air from his lungs. Ed felt like he'd stepped into a domain that tolerated no trespass, where a King who ruled over all things gazed down from on high, able to pronounce a death sentence on a mere whim.
Ed had faced plenty of strong opponents in the pro circuit, but never had a single one radiated such terrifying dominance!
Not even the Duel King Youyu—whom Ed admired the most, and who was recognized worldwide as one of the top Duelists—could match the oppressive aura of the man before him.
No, it wasn't just the aura of a Duelist. There was killing intent mixed in!
If you hadn't marched through battlefields, stepping out of piles of corpses time and time again, there was no way you could forge killing intent this terrifying.
"Judai, what the hell are you doing..."
Manjome tried to step forward, but Ed raised an arm to block him.
"No." Ed said gravely. "This guy isn't Judai."
Manjome: "?"
"He looks exactly the same, but I'm sure—this isn't Judai." Ed's brows knitted. "It's someone else."
Manjome was dubious.
The silhouette in the darkness slowly lifted its eyelids.
The instant they saw those eyes, it was like they'd been bewitched and nailed to the spot.
What a terrifying pair of eyes!
Purer than gold, a color as if it belonged to a King who commanded heaven and earth.
"Who are you?" Ed demanded. "Are you a Duel Monster Spirit? Or something else?"
"My name is 'The Supreme King'." the other said coldly.
"The Supreme King?" Ed said. "Where did you take Judai? Why did you take his form? Or are you occupying his body?"
The Supreme King's expression didn't change.
"From your perspective, you could put it that way. But in truth, it's always been him occupying my body. I'm merely taking back what belongs to me."
"What did you say!?"
"Enough."
The Supreme King seemed to find such details meaningless and had no intention of explaining.
He raised his right hand, and an astonishing, invisible energy exploded out from him as the center. The old dorm instantly howled with violent wind; all the doors and window frames let out shrill screams. A horrifying sense of dread washed over the two young men, leaving them barely able to stay on their feet.
"What's going on?" Manjome gritted out. "Isn't this guy Judai? What the hell is happening now?"
The Ojama Three Brothers had already curled into a ball.
"We're done for, big bro! This guy is seriously bad news!" Ojama Black yelled.
"This is a 'Darkness Game,' big bro—we're finished, we're all gonna die in here aaahhh!" Ojama Green bawled.
"All of you shut up!"
Manjome had already been in a foul mood; their screeching pushed his temper over the edge.
"Darkness Game?" Ed picked up on the term.
Unlike President Haima, who always went on about "science" and never mentioned Darkness Games to his apprentices, Youyu had actually made time to give both Judai and Ed an introduction to Darkness Game lore.
He only understood it roughly, but at least Ed knew this was the most dangerous form of duel.
Its main characteristic was that damage in the duel would be converted into real, physical harm to the Duelist, and the outcome would be tied to certain stakes.
In high-level Darkness Games, sometimes the stakes could even be the Duelist's soul and life.
So this person calling himself "The Supreme King" was initiating a Darkness Game against them?
"What do you want?" Ed asked.
"You seem to be warriors yourselves. Then naturally, you understand a warrior's code."
The Supreme King swept his arm out, revealing the pitch-black Duel Disc strapped to it.
"One match, one wager." he said icily. "You want that guy back, don't you? That's easy—just defeat me."
The two of them quickly realized he was referring to Judai.
"So as long as we beat you, Judai will be returned—that's what you're saying?"
"Correct."
The Supreme King nodded, his sharp gaze slowly sweeping over the two of them.
The moment those golden eyes locked onto them, both of them instinctively looked away, as if the slightest slip would let that gaze pierce straight through them.
"One at a time is too much trouble." the Supreme King said coolly. "You two can come at me together."
Ed x Manjome: "!"
The two exchanged a glance and saw equal shock in each other's eyes.