A massive gate slowly opened within the Critical Nexus Dimension.
After it opened, two enormous spheres of light shot out from within. They collided repeatedly in the sky, erupting in bursts of terrifying purple lightning, sometimes slamming into the ground and carving out massive craters.
At times, their clashes shattered cliff faces, sending torrents of stone cascading down. In an instant, the environment twisted into something cataclysmic.
"Hehehehe, Reign, you're as reckless as ever."
"Grapha! What the hell are you trying to do?!"
After several rounds of battle, the two spheres halted and slowly revealed their true forms.
The one called "Reign" held a golden spear and radiated with a dazzling multicolored aura. He was the Demon God Reign of the Dark World.
The other, Grapha, was a monstrous gray dragon shrouded in purple lightning, exhaling waves of searing heat. With wings that blotted out the sun, he was the Dragon God Grapha, another ruler of the Dark World.
Though the two stood opposed, they both hailed from the same domain. As their fight ceased, more and more demons emerged from the pale gate.
Some rallied behind Grapha, forming a faction led by "Brron, Mad King of Dark World."
Others, fewer in number, aligned themselves with "Snoww, Unlight of Dark World."
With the factions clearly divided, all the demons could see that Reign had suffered heavier injuries in the battle. His wounds bled with shifting colors, yet he remained silent, focused solely on Grapha.
Ever since the "Overlord" vanished, the Dark World had fractured into two camps. Reign's faction sought to find and awaken the Overlord's reincarnation, while Brron's camp aimed to leverage the Overlord's lingering prestige to invade other Spirit Realms and amass resources.
Originally, Reign's side was dominant due to his strength.
However, recently, upon hearing that the War God had located the Overlord, Reign had been ecstatic. Then he learned that demons under Brron had attacked the Overlord in an attempt to destroy him. The resulting internal conflict exploded, and Brron used the opportunity to unseal the Dark World's Dragon God, Grapha.
That shifted the balance completely.
Reign was weaker than Grapha. Demonic nature dictated obedience to the stronger. Thus, the once-dominant Reign had now fallen from favor.
"Reign, my old friend, I won't kill you. Instead, I'll let you wallow in fear and despair as you watch me slay the Overlord, seize his unrivaled power, and rule every world!" Grapha laughed thunderously, his massive wings shaking as he led his faction forward.
"My lord, are you alright?!" Snoww flew to Reign's side. Reign wavered but then straightened.
"Don't worry about me. The Overlord, he is what matters! We must protect him at all costs and keep his power from falling into Grapha's hands. Snoww, what of that other matter..."
"I already asked my friends!" Snoww immediately replied, then hesitated. "But... they've been acting strange lately too."
"It doesn't matter! Once the Overlord returns, everything will be alright!"
And with that, Reign's remaining followers departed the gate, heading toward their next destination.
The next day, in the afternoon, Amaki Hikaru sat in a KaibaCorp lobby, on a video call.
Despite the spotty signal, the conversation went relatively smoothly.
"Hikaru...fzzzt...I met two new friends here. I'll introduce them to you later. You'll love them!" Jaden chatted cheerfully on the screen.
He already knew Jim used a "Fossil Fusion" deck and figured Hikaru would get along great with him, so he kept it a surprise.
Hikaru, unaware of the details, was more concerned about Jaden's well-being.
"The Society of Light incident is over on my end," Hikaru explained in a calm voice, relaying recent developments to reassure Jaden. Then he began asking about Jaden's situation, offering to help.
"No, Hikaru, there's something more important," Jaden said. Hearing that the Society of Light had been dealt with lifted a weight off his shoulders, but he quickly moved to another topic:
The "Sealed Duel Zones."
There could still be students trapped in those areas, unaware of the outside chaos. If they emerged and were immediately attacked by demons, they might not survive.
Jaden didn't want that to happen, so he asked Hikaru to investigate from his side.
"Hmm... like that Amazoness situation, huh?" Hikaru nodded.
Lately, he'd been busy rescuing students stranded on the railway and finishing off the Society of Light. He hadn't had time for detailed, localized surveys.
Jaden's concerns weren't baseless. If Bastion came out of his post-battle bliss and got ambushed by some random demon, who knows what could happen?
Thinking that, Hikaru immediately said, "Understood. I'll contact KaibaCorp management to get area maps and Duelist records, then send them to you.
I'll focus on coordination and logistics to rescue as many people as possible. You don't need to shoulder everything alone."
Jaden sighed in relief.
In times like these, Hikaru was both the person he worried about most and trusted most.
He worried because if even Hikaru fell, who could he rely on?
Despite that, with Hikaru around, everything felt solvable.
With a letter from Professor Crowler and Hikaru's name recognition, he quickly obtained detailed maps from KaibaCorp staff. He photographed them and uploaded them to the Academy forum and "White Dragon X," then sent close-ups directly to Jaden.
Just as they were about to talk more, Hikaru noticed the call image flickering and the audio turning into harsh static. His expression darkened.
Could a demon have attacked the communication towers?
As that thought struck, a sudden commotion erupted outside the KaibaCorp branch.
"An angel! It's an angel!"
"Angels are here to save us!"
What was going on?
Hikaru pocketed his phone and walked outside. Above the station's roof, long shrouded in dark clouds, a warm divine light now descended.
Humanoid beings with pristine white wings and dragon-like figures slowly descended from the sky, their appearances resembling angels from myths.
No…
They were angels.
Hikaru's eyes narrowed.
Wasn't that figure on the flank... the Celestia, Lightsworn Angel?
Lightsworns had arrived!