"God?"
Merlot paused as he trimmed the leaves of a plant, and slowly turned around.
"Are you sure?"
"No, actually we aren't sure..."
The subordinate in white uniform bowed respectfully and said.
"But our members on Duel Academy Island did indeed feel it, that terrifying wave of power, somewhat similar to when the Phantom God appeared in the past."
"So, no one actually saw the appearance of God?" Merlot asked.
"Yes, just the aura."
"So have we investigated what really happened? Who summoned it? Who was the duel with?"
"Our people inquired afterward, but..."
The member in the white uniform hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a somewhat uncertain tone.
"But the situation... is strange. According to feedback, it seems there was a conflict outside the Osiris Red Dormitory. The duelists were... Duel King Fujiki Yugen and Yuki Judai from the Red Dormitory."
"A friendly match?" Merlot remarked, "It's unusual for a friendly duel to summon a God, but it might be a practical test, there's a possibility."
"No. But our people said that the level of power in that duel was also odd," the member explained, "Even before the suspected Phantom God's presence was summoned, the duel was shrouded in immense darkness.
That was definitely not ordinary power, fearsome enough to be considered a Dark Duel."
"Dark Duel?"
Merlot frowned lightly.
That does sound rather strange now.
If it was just a friendly match among friends, testing the practical use of the Divine Card, is there a need to risk everything?
"Now things are starting to get a bit interesting," Merlot chuckled.
Seeing the member finished reporting and still standing behind without leaving, Merlot glanced at him.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
"No, it's just..."
The member hesitated, thought for a moment but still said.
"Sir, it's just now we've discovered that the Duel King's mastery over God's power appears to be complete. Moreover, until now the operations of our association at the Duel Academy... the results haven't met expectations."
This statement is a bit understated, it could actually be described as tragic.
When the Light Association infiltrated Duel Academy, the members might as well say only the first day they entered standing, and almost all crawled afterward.
It was unbearable.
This academy is simply sinister. The members of the association thought they were facing a bunch of naive lambs unaware of society's dangers but little did they know, each one was like demons sealed within the Academy Island.
These students were so strong that they made professionals look like jokes, and they played the cards just as skillfully as the Duel King himself, each one showing no mercy.
The members of the association charged into the academy with high hopes, but soon began their long GX torment journey. Not to mention their dismal win rate, now even cases of originally committed association members have broken down in belief and departed from the association's control.
This is terrifying.
Can you believe just by playing cards, they could drive the staunch members of the Light Association to embrace darkness?
The report was sent back to headquarters, and the main office was astonished.
They had to begin suspecting that Duel Academy, led by the Duel King, actually harbors a very terrifying dark force similar to their association, with the ability to infect duelists and assimilate them into their side.
Now, Duel Academy seems to them as a bottomless pit filled with horrifying darkness, and any member dispatched there inevitably faces being swallowed and assimilated by the darkness. At this rate, the only possible outcome is total defeat, everyone betraying them.
"No matter, that's good enough."
Merlot turned back, leisurely continuing to prune his bonsai.
The member behind was stunned: "But, those members we sent..."
"Their mission has already been completed," Merlot said unhurriedly.
The member was puzzled: "I thought their mission was to spread the teachings of the light at Duel Academy..."
"Yes, it would be better if they could accomplish that. But if they can't, they actually have another mission."
Merlot turned, speaking calmly.
"I have noticed for a long time. Duel King Fujiki Yugen, possesses extraordinary power. It's not just himself, even those around him, those related to him, can easily be influenced by his power subconsciously.
Perhaps he hasn't even noticed, but there might be a hidden secret to his strength within this."
Sending people to GX wasn't merely to test Yugen's dueling skills.
Like many villains before, Merlot also tried to investigate Yugen's past. But of course, compared to local overlords like Judge, who have been around for thousands of years, and couldn't uncover anything from that blank-like record, he, a country bumpkin from the cosmos, naturally found nothing.
But like Judge, he also confirmed one thing.
This person is absolutely not simple!
Look at his background. A young man with no dueling talent, at a small dueling dojo by the street barely scraping along. Suddenly, one day awakened, rose to fame, won the Moonlight Cup, became the emperor of Duel Academy, won the title of King in the world's top tournaments, and casually saved the world...
In the card-playing world like theirs, such precedents aren't unheard of, generally falling into two major possibilities.
Firstly, the teenager suddenly found a three-thousand-year-old puzzle or something similar, hiding a super-skilled old man inside.
Secondly, the teenager picked a three-thousand-year-old wheel, possessed by a terrifying Dark Demon King inside. The Demon King replaced the teenager's identity, hiding among humans to gather strength, waiting for the day to rise again and engulf the world in endless darkness.
And in the case on Yugen, Merlot feels the latter possibility is greater.
He took over the Light Association established by Takuma Saiou, merely with a notion of not wasting resources. In fact, this association holds little value in his eyes, just a group of pawns that can be discarded anytime.
"Let's set the academy issue aside for now. How is the Illusion Association doing?" Merlot asked.
The member bowed: "The Illusion Association is fully tracking us, Beckas J. Croverdo has personally stepped in. But currently, everything is going as we planned, they are being led towards the false clues we set up."
"Very good."
Merlot sat down, smiled coldly.
"Takuma Saiou still planned to sweep the world with creatures from the sky, too naive. Military weapons are never the answer to any problem."
"The machinations behind this world are concealed in the cards. Those who truly wield the core power of the world are not the nation, not the army, but Kaiba Group and International Fantasy Association."
"If we can control them... it's equivalent to grasping the lifeblood of this world."