On a New York street corner.
A man clad in a white robe fled frantically through the alleys, disheveled.
Sartorius had never tasted such a severe defeat.
No resistance at all, almost a complete landslide...
"Judai Yuki's power originates from the most ancient cosmic darkness."
"But, but this power of darkness is too strong, a power capable of ruling the world."
Sartorius plopped to the ground, collapsing.
His hands braced against the ground, his eyes flickering with terror.
He was no match.
With his current strength alone, he was simply no match for Judai Yuki!
"Judai Yuki. Judai Yuki..."
Sartorius closed his eyes, trying to suppress the fear in his heart.
But the more he tried to do so,
the more that fear filled Sartorius with despair.
He drew a card from the top of his Deck.
[Arcana Force XIII - Death]
"Is this symbolizing my fated defeat?"
"No..."
"I possess the power to manipulate fate!"
"A mere fated defeat."
Sartorius picked up the card, forcefully turning [Death] to its Reversed position.
Looking at the [Reversed] Death in his hand,
a hint of madness once again surfaced on Sartorius's face.
"Hahahaha!"
"Next time, Judai Yuki, I will never lose!"
Sartorius's appearance was merely a tiny interlude for Judai Yuki.
The Professional League was still in full swing.
Judai Yuki commuted daily between the professional arenas, observing the duels of numerous participants.
"Hmm, this person is using a Magnet Warrior Deck? It seems to be utilized quite well."
"This... an Equip Spell Card Deck based on Equip Spell Cards... hmm."
"Oh? An Attribute Deck? That's rare."
Judai Yuki stroked his chin, recording each duelist's Deck to ponder what targeted cards he should include when encountering them.
Although Judai Yuki's current "Hero" Deck already possessed the four main categories of Heroes: Elemental, Masked, Evil HERO, and Vision.
Judai Yuki still couldn't guarantee that he would win every duel with 100% certainty.
After all, no matter how strong a Deck was, there had never been a record of a 100% win rate.
Even though Judai Yuki hadn't lost a single match to date.
But as the saying goes, one should prepare for danger in times of peace.
Even against the weakest Deck, Judai Yuki had to face it with 100% concentration.
Furthermore,
the Professional League adopted a Best-of-1 match format.
Once a loss occurred, there was no chance of recovery.
If Judai Yuki wanted to ensure his continuous victories, he had to understand the Decks of all participating duelists and prepare countermeasures.
Similarly, if others wanted to defeat Judai Yuki, they also had to constantly study Judai Yuki's Deck.
If both the enemy and oneself were improving,
then victory would depend on who improved the fastest.
As the Professional League progressed,
the discussion surrounding this Professional League in Neo-Japan reached unprecedented levels of fervor.
Whether in forums or on the streets, people were passionately discussing the duels of this league.
And Judai Yuki, the one hailed as the "Strongest Hero User,"
was the biggest favorite to win this championship.
Duel Academy Middle School.
In the classroom, all the students were enthusiastically discussing yesterday's duels.
"Did you hear? Judai-kun advanced again!"
"Oh my god, he's already made it to the Top 4 of the C-Block preliminaries?"
"Judai-kun is amazing, to think he's so strong even in the professional arena!"
"And he's so handsome~ Judai-kun! Look at this shot, ahhh ahhh ahhh!"
The girls' eyes sparkled like stars, and they shrieked frantically.
They seemed to have forgotten the time when Judai Yuki's Deck made them cry for their parents.
To one side of the classroom.
Asuka sat at her desk, propping her face in her hand and gazing out the window.
Her two best friends, Junko and Momoe, were also excitedly discussing the duels of this Professional League.
"I never thought Judai Yuki would perform so spectacularly in the professional arena."
"Right, right. When I first heard Judai Yuki was going to participate in the Professional League, I thought he was joking."
"How nice. If only I had built a good relationship with him when he was at the Academy."
"And he's handsome too. If only I had been a little more proactive, I could have struck up a conversation with him."
Asuka narrowed her eyes, somewhat speechless, watching her two best friends sighing and looking wistful while watching the videos.
When Judai Yuki was at the Academy, weren't you complaining about his cold personality and how unapproachable he was?
How come now...?
"Speaking of which,"
Suddenly, Momoe thought of something and smiled, looking at Asuka, "Asuka, have you exchanged phone numbers with Judai Yuki? Or email addresses, or anything?"
"Phone number? No..."
Asuka shook her head.
"That's too bad. I thought you two had a really good relationship." Momoe sighed disappointedly.
"Who has a good relationship with him!"
Asuka didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Someone with that kind of personality, no matter how I think about it, I can't possibly have a good relationship with him, right?
"Soft? But, Asuka, you probably have spoken to Judai Yuki the most, right?" Junko and Momoe exchanged glances, saying somewhat strangely.
0???????Requesting fresh flowers?????
"Yeah, everyone thought you two had a pretty good relationship."
"How is that possible..." Asuka rubbed her forehead.
I only speak to him a few times a month, and that's considered a good relationship?
Just how cold must that guy Judai Yuki be in class for people to think that's a good relationship?
"However, that person, although very strange, his dueling strength is indeed very strong."
"His Top 8 duel was also brilliant. He used Stratos's effect to destroy the opponent's crucial Field Spell."
"And, he even judged from the opponent's expression that their Set card posed no threat to him, decisively going for a One-Turn Kill."
"His control over the flow of the duel is incredibly sharp."
Asuka propped her face in her hand, smiling as she spoke.
...
However,
what she received was silence.
Asuka blinked her eyes in confusion, looking up at Junko and Momoe.
Only to find her two best friends looking at her with surprised gazes.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Asuka felt a little flustered, wondering if she had said something wrong.
"Asuka... did you stay up late last night watching Judai Yuki's matches?" Momoe stroked her chin, staring at Asuka with a suspicious look.
There was a thirteen-hour time difference between Neo-Japan and America.
When Judai Yuki was dueling, it was still early morning in Neo-Japan.
So, when the Professional League was streamed live, unless they were true fans, most people would wait until the next day to watch the replay, right?
"Eh? H-how could that be! I didn't stay up late to watch!" Asuka hastily waved her hands, vehemently denying it.
"Then how do you know so many details?" Junko leaned closer, scrutinizing Asuka up and down.
"Because I watched the replay! The replay!" Asuka guiltily averted her eyes.
"Are you sure? But the replay has only just shown Judai Yuki making his entrance, you know." Junko took out her phone and placed it in front of Asuka.
The replay video on the screen had just reached the part where Judai Yuki, wearing his Duel Disk, appeared in the dueling arena.
At this, Asuka's face visibly flushed red.
"Ehehe, A-su-ka~"
"What do you mean, Asuka usually looks so proper, but it turns out..."
"Ah! You two!"
Seeing Asuka's somewhat angry and embarrassed expression, Momoe and Junko burst into laughter and quickly ran away.
"Honestly..."
Seeing her two best friends run off,
Asuka sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"I was just researching Judai Yuki's Deck."
"That's right, that's it!
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