Neither Jaden nor Chazz had ever seen this man before.
But strangely, even though they'd never met, a primal sense of dread and even an odd sense of familiarity rose in their hearts.
Their instincts screamed danger, as if every cell wanted to run. Just standing there, the man radiated an overwhelming pressure, making their souls cry out to flee.
But Jaden and Chazz were no ordinary students—they quickly suppressed their instincts and stood firm.
Jaden was now experienced, having battled many who wielded dark powers in the Spirit World. Besides honing his dueling skills, he'd greatly improved his perception and understanding of supernatural forces.
So right away, he realized: this guy was strong.
If duelist levels were ranked in tiers, this man would be at the very top of the pyramid.
The body before them belonged to Principal Mackenzie from the American Duel Academy. But the one controlling it was a demon from three thousand years ago—Tragoedia.
At this moment, Tragoedia was barely containing his agitation.
Finally, so close.
Three thousand years. It had been three thousand years—weak, humiliated, sealed away, his rage growing with time and nowhere to vent it.
After such a long wait, the end was finally here.
Every debt has a debtor. The priests from back then were gone, but their spirits and powers were inherited to this day. That was both his key to resurrection and his target for revenge.
Especially that Winged Kuriboh.
Tragoedia stared at the Winged Kuriboh floating beside Jaden, his gaze murderous.
Three thousand years ago, it was this spirit—the culprit who stole his heart and led to his long imprisonment.
Today, he would gut this spirit, retrieve his own heart, break the three-thousand-year seal, and become whole again.
"You two can come at me together."
Tragoedia sneered, activating his duel disk.
Jaden and Chazz exchanged a glance, both on high alert. They stepped back, raising their duel disks, feeling that this opponent was one of the strongest they'd ever faced.
But before the duel could start, a voice called out from above.
"For an old fossil who's slept for three thousand years, you're looking pretty lively. Mind if I join in?"
As the words fell, a shadow dropped from the sky. Kira landed in a half-crouch in front of Jaden and Chazz, blocking Tragoedia.
Tragoedia's face changed.
"You!?"
Jaden brightened: "Kira?"
"Yeah, it's me." Kira faced Tragoedia. "Sorry, you went to so much trouble to set up the whole show for me. But I suddenly remembered I had soup on the stove at home, so I left early. Hope I didn't ruin your fun?"
Tragoedia gritted his teeth, his expression darkening.
Attacking KaibaCorp, manipulating old enemies of Kaiba—partly because Tragoedia was interested in KaibaCorp, which controlled half the dueling world, and planned to challenge Kaiba and take over his empire after reviving.
But, just as Kira said, the other reason was to keep the Duel King busy and away from the academy tonight.
Yet, unexpectedly, Kira ignored all his clues and suddenly returned, catching him off guard.
"What? Weren't you looking for a duel?" Kira smiled. "Or can you only pick on kids, too scared to face someone your own level?"
That seemed to hit a sore spot.
Too scared? Me?
Tragoedia suddenly threw his head back and laughed, as if he'd heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.
"Fine, fine." Tragoedia sneered. "I've never feared anyone. Not the Pharaoh, not those hypocritical priests, and certainly not a so-called Duel King today.
Let's see for ourselves how strong today's so-called King really is."
He activated his duel disk.
"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Tragoedia, LP 4000]
Jaden: "…"
He wanted to say, "All the key cards keep coming for me, but they always get snatched away…" But he was used to it by now.
Of course, this time Kira wasn't stealing Jaden's duel for fun—it was because he knew Jaden didn't stand a chance right now.
In the manga, even near the finale, Jaden couldn't beat Tragoedia, and that was with his deck at its peak, combining Koyo's Elemental HERO cards and his own Masked HEROes.
But even then, he couldn't beat Atticus while he was being puppeteered by Tragoedia, let alone Tragoedia himself.
And right now, this was only the end of Jaden's first year—still early in his growth. Even though he was progressing faster than in the original, he didn't have Neos, Masked HEROes, Supreme King powers, or Yubel's backing—none of his late-game cheat codes had arrived. There was no way he could beat Tragoedia.
If Tragoedia defeated Jaden and took back his heart, he'd only grow stronger—and that would be a huge problem.
"I'll go first. Draw."
Tragoedia took the first move.
But on his first turn, he didn't summon anything—he just waved his hand.
"I set two cards and end my turn."
Jaden and Chazz exchanged glances, both puzzled.
No monsters, just set cards?
Why did it feel like watching one of Kira's duels…
Kira wasn't surprised. Only traps on the first turn—just like in the manga when Tragoedia dueled.
But if Tragoedia really just used the same setup as the manga, he'd already be dead.
"My turn. Draw."
Kira showed a card from his hand.
"I activate the Continuous Spell 'Triangle Force'." Kira said, "When this card is activated, I can select two more 'Triangle Force' from my deck to activate." (Anime card)
Suddenly, his back row filled with three Continuous Spells.
They had no other effect but to bring out two more copies from the deck. On the surface, it seemed pointless, but there was clearly a special use.
"I send the three 'Triangle Force' spells to the Graveyard."
Kira slowly held up a card.
"Appear from the chaos of thunder and lightning—
—Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!!!"