After what had been a pleasantly peaceful day, Alicia had just finished washing up and was ready to lie down when a slow seep of black mist began to spread through her dorm room.
As someone who possessed darkness within him, Yuui immediately sensed the encroaching aura. Immediately, he ordered Alicia to get dressed and prepare for battle.
Without question, Alicia obeyed—she hurriedly slipped into her school uniform, strapped on her Duel Bracelet, and stared toward the black fog creeping into the room.
Sensing her awareness, the intruding darkness suddenly accelerated, and the door creaked open. Standing there was a woman dressed in the girl's uniform of Saint Fusion Academy—just like Alicia.
However, her uniform ribbon was yellow, not red, marking her as a third-year student.
Alicia was sure she'd never met this woman before. The darkness swirling behind her, forming a warped space, made Alicia's skin crawl.
"We've been dragged into a Shadow Zone!" Yuui's sharp gaze swept across the darkening surroundings, his expression grim. "This is a space used exclusively for Shadow Duels. Only the winner walks out alive. That woman's likely a professional Shadow Duelist… a killer who specializes in these duels.
"Otherwise, there's no way she could've formed this dimension."
At his words, Alicia's calm expression gave way to anger. For once, the usually cheerful girl was furious.
"Yuui-san, do you know what I'm thinking right now?"
"I can guess… and I'm thinking the same thing."
They exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with killing intent as they glared at the upperclassman before them—the mysterious Shadow Duelist who had attacked them without warning.
Both cursed in unison: 'Can this damn school go one day without chaos?!'
You couldn't blame them. It had been less than three days since they'd passed the Saint Fusion Academy entrance exams, yet in those three days, not a single day had gone peacefully.
On the first day, the difficulty of their entrance duel test was increased; Alicia's opponent changed from a fellow applicant to the second-year powerhouse Kexi Arce.
That same evening, some random second-year girl out of nowhere demanded Alicia join their faction, and when she refused, the girl challenged her to another duel.
The second day brought breakfast and the class assignments... followed immediately by the invasion of the legendary Three Sacred Beasts. The Academy plunged into chaos, facing destruction. The Shadow Duel between Aleister and the Beasts was terrifying to witness.
Even after Aleister's victory, his later words to Alicia and Yuui left them both uneasy. Despite receiving generous rewards afterward, that whole Odd-Eyes Dragon incident left a bitter taste.
Then came the third day… which had actually started off quite well. They'd received five rare cards and ten thousand gold coins from the kingdom, making them both genuinely happy.
At the end of the day, the gold meant they wouldn't have to live so frugally, and the cards would greatly strengthen their Deck. Everything had seemed to be going well.
Abruptly, then—
Both Yuui and Alicia turned to the wall clock, slowly being swallowed by darkness. It read 11:20.
Seeing that time, the two could hardly contain themselves anymore. 'Seriously? Do we have to deal with something new every single day?!'
Their irritation toward the intruder deepened.
The next moment, the woman spoke—and instantly broke Alicia's restraint.
"Hand over the Spirit that can sense the presence of the Three Sacred Beasts. Otherwise, I'll send you into the shadow in the most agonizing way possible."
Boom!!
A surge of magic erupted from Alicia like an invisible explosion. Her eyes went cold and lifeless as darkness enveloped her. Her golden hair fluttered, though there was no wind, and an unknown X-shaped mark glowed upon her forehead.
The woman froze in surprise, shock flashing across her face. "An Archmagus?! I thought she was only a Magician! Did she just break through?!"
Yuui sighed helplessly. Alicia's magical talent had always been extraordinary, and with his help, she'd long been at the threshold of advancement. She could've broken through to Archmagus rank at any time.
They had planned to find a calm moment to do it; however, this woman's provocation had triggered Alicia's rage, and in that emotional outburst, she'd broken through on the spot.
Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.
Yuui shook his head with a wry smile and stepped forward. "Alicia, let me handle this. This is a Shadow Duel, you—"
"Yuui-san, please... let me do this one!" Alicia's darkened eyes locked onto Yuui, her voice trembling with fury as she spat each word: "Every other duel can be yours… but this one, this one, I'll fight myself. No one—NO ONE—is allowed to take Yuui-san away from me!!"
Feeling her burning emotions, Yuui looked up at the glowing X-mark and sighed softly. "Alright. Still, if you can't hold out, I'll step in."
Alicia gave no reply. She simply activated her Duel Disk and glared at the woman. "If you think you can take Yuui-san from me, then come and try! I'll make you regret ever having that thought. Yuui-san belongs to me alone!"
As her words fell, waves of darkness spread from Alicia, swallowing part of the domain originally created by her opponent. That meant the loser's fate would now be even worse.
"So, Yuui is that Spirit's name. Hmph, what a strange one. Whatever, as long as it's useful."
The woman felt the darkness Alicia released but showed no fear—instead, she smiled seductively, eyes gleaming with madness. "Since you won't hand over your Spirit, I'll just have to see how strong you really are after that breakthrough!"
Her aura flared, denser and heavier than Alicia's own newly awakened magic.
"I've been curious about you ever since I heard you defeated Kexi Arce from the second year. That guy's tough… even most third-years can't beat him. I wanted to test you myself, but I had to stay undercover. A shame, really.
"That said, since I've nearly finished my mission here, and you just happened to get a nice reward from the Academy, I thought I'd earn a little extra on the side."
As she spoke, she stripped off her uniform jacket, revealing a black combat suit etched with runic patterns.
Yuui's eyes narrowed sharply—he recognized those markings.
The woman removed her glasses, revealing a beautiful yet fierce face. She raised her Duel Disk with a smirk. "Well then, kouhai, allow your senpai to test your strength. The wager—our lives!"
Her final words rang out as her gaze turned utterly manic.
...
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