No one doubted the outcome of this duel from the start. No matter how legendary this Spider Monster who hunts for rare cards was rumored to be, he wouldn't be able to beat the Big Villain.
But what opened everyone's eyes was the special lock by "Cyber Blader."
Even Misawa was at a loss for words. He thought he'd gotten used to Kira's bizarre tactics, but he still always got thrown off by his unpredictable moves.
Alexis was even more shocked—probably the most stunned of anyone there.
Even after the duel ended, Alexis was still full of question marks.
Huh? Is that how you use Cyber Blader?
In fact, throughout the entire anime, Alexis only ever used that powerful third effect once—when her opponent just happened to have three monsters, and she used it for a one-turn kill.
So actually, she'd rarely used the third effect.
But after watching Kira's performance today, she felt like a new world had opened up to her.
It was just a hunch, but she felt that the world beyond this door, though vast, might also be extremely dark.
Once you step through, you might never come back.
Having finally recovered from the duel torture, Brier looked up at the sky with a long sigh.
Maybe dueling isn't for me?
Maybe I should just go home and farm.
...
The next morning, Student Council.
"You found them already?"
Seika looked at Kira in surprise.
"You only heard about this mysterious duelist the day before yesterday, and today you've already caught them?"
"Yeah. I was busy the previous evening, so I had to postpone it by a day and only took action last night," Kia replied.
Kohinata Seika: "."
So if you'd been free that night, you would have caught the culprit that very evening?
Meanwhile, the Student Council had been investigating for days with no progress. You're making us look incompetent…
"Well, Kira," Seika sat back down, "on behalf of all Obelisk Blue students, thank you."
"Oh, no need. It's just my duty as a Student Council officer." Kira waved magnanimously. "But if senpai insists on thanking me, I guess I'll reluctantly accept a couple of cards from the Council's stash as a token."
Seika: "."
Wow, what a burden for you.
"Ahem, I didn't expect the culprit to be a Ra Yellow student. But for a Yellow to defeat so many Blue elites, Ra truly has some talented students this year."
Kira thought: What's so strange about that? In the neighboring ninja village, even the weakest genin can beat up the jonin sometimes.
"Life is unpredictable. Sometimes strange things just happen," Kira said.
Seika glanced at him, then nodded deeply. "You're the strangest thing of all."
"But I didn't expect you to bring back the stolen goods…" she muttered.
She glanced at the rare cards spread out on the table before her—all the ones stolen from the victims.
Kira raised an eyebrow: "Isn't this basic professionalism for us officers?"
After all, they were obtained illegally, against their owners' will—of course, they should be returned.
It wasn't a surprise, but when Kira brought back those cards, Seika's mind flashed with doubt: "Wait, you're a good guy?"
Up to now, every time Kira came to the Student Council, it was either to duel or to ask for cards. Given her own traumatic experience with "Lava Golem + Nightmare Wheel," she'd instinctively pegged him as a villain.
"We'll handle returning these rare cards," Seika said. "Thanks again on behalf of the victims."
"No need to thank me—it's just what I should do. But I have a small request." Kira smiled. "How about this: before the victims claim their cards, let each of them duel me. Just friendly matches for practice, nothing more. What do you think, senpai?"
Seika: "."
What do I think? I think you've completely given up on acting normal.
But Seika just smiled and folded her arms. "Sure."
After all, this was Duel Academy. A bit of friendly dueling never hurt anyone.
Besides…
She wanted to see it too.
Surely, the scene would be interesting.
"Of course, this was very dangerous for me," Kira continued, feigning lingering fear. "Those two were tough together. To represent the Student Council in upholding justice, I even risked my soul's card deck. It was a very close call in the end."
Seika squinted at him.
Very close? I think if they even scratched your LP, it'd be a miracle.
But she didn't call him out. Instead, she turned and called, "Sato, bring the storage room key."
"Coming!"
A student officer named Sato hurried over.
"Kira did a great job today. Take him to the storage room so he can pick out some cards as a reward."
"Okay."
Sato nodded, but then remembered something and asked, "Wait, which section and how many cards, President?"
"How would I know? Ask him yourself." Seika waved him away.
Sato's jaw dropped.
Huh? That casual?
What if he just empties out the whole storage room?
"Go on, go on." Seika waved again.
She didn't care anymore.
She had a feeling that at this rate, it'd be no surprise if the whole Duel Academy belonged to Kira one day.
So just let him be.
"President, you're so generous," Kira said politely.
Then he cheerfully followed Sato to the storage room.
Honestly—
With a whole storage room of legal rare cards to choose from, who'd care about a couple of stolen ones?
Although he'd already received a lot of rare cards as rewards, this was his first time entering the storage room.
Most of the cards here were ones the Academy had gotten through official channels, but many rare cards had long since sold out and were no longer available anywhere else.
Kira wandered around, picking and taking notes. Some cards he instinctively felt could be useful, but couldn't yet think of a combo for—he noted them down anyway, prioritizing cards he could use now.
No rush—he could always come back.
He was surprised to find a few Alien cards as well.
That was an old Yu-Gi-Oh archetype—Attribute Reptiles, mainly focused on Flip Effects and flip-related mechanics.
In his experience, any deck based on Flip Effects was usually pretty shady.
But there were only a few in stock, not a full deck. He picked out a few interesting ones for future use.
After picking and choosing, he walked out with more than forty cards—enough for a whole deck.
"That's enough for now," Kira decided. After all, he couldn't empty out the Student Council's reserves.
Sato watched, eyes green with envy.
I want those too! But the President never lets me…
Before leaving, Kira thanked Seika again. He also asked: "By the way, how's that new deck you mentioned before, senpai? If you want, we could have another match—and I can help you see what still needs adjusting?"
Seika immediately tensed up, then laughed awkwardly.
"My ideas are a bit stuck—I'm not ready yet."
She sat up straight and pretended to be busy with her files.
"I also have a lot of work to do right now, what a coincidence. Maybe you can duel Sato for now? Next time, I promise I'll play."
Sato: "???"
Why am I always the one who suffers!?