"Duel King."
Professor Viper's gaze went cold in an instant.
He had chosen this abandoned lab as his base specifically to avoid prying eyes. Or more accurately, to avoid Kira's eyes.
Now that the guy was standing right here, all that hiding felt pointless.
Viper was irritated.
What the hell?
He'd set up some pretty advanced alarms in here, and yet people kept walking in like it was his own bathroom—come and go as they pleased. Didn't that make all his preparations look stupid?
"Mr. Kira."
Adrian sucked in a breath, finally shaking off the oppressive weight of the dark power. "What brings you here?"
"I was planning to keep watching from the sidelines a bit longer, but I didn't expect you to move this fast." Kira shrugged. "So I changed my mind. No more waiting. Let's just lay our cards on the table."
Hearing their exchange, Viper's face grew even darker.
"So you two are working together, huh?"
"Don't get the wrong idea. We just know each other, that's all."
Kira said.
"I was going to observe you for a while longer, since I still haven't found where that spirit actually is…"
He glanced around the room.
"There's a faint trace of her here, but this isn't the real thing." Kira's eyes fell on Viper. "Just the portion of her power that's lingered on you, right?"
In the original timeline, Yubel should have been right here in this lab, in this very room, inside something like a big culture tank.
But with the worldline having shifted, she wasn't here. In fact, Kira couldn't feel her presence anywhere in the whole facility.
Viper frowned deeply.
So even the Duel King was here for that spirit.
"Oh? It seems the professor's spirit really is as special as the rumors say," Adrian remarked. "Special enough for even Mr. Kira to be interested."
Viper shot him a sideways glare. "And the Gecko Conglomerate isn't trying to muscle in?"
"That was before," Adrian said, folding his arms with a slight smile. "But the situation's changed. Since it's something Mr. Kira has his eye on, I won't embarrass myself. The Gecko Conglomerate is withdrawing from this matter."
Viper frowned again.
That was unexpected. Adrian didn't strike him as someone who'd give up easily. The Gecko family's shadow had a notorious reputation; they said he'd stop at nothing to achieve his goal, and that once he targeted something, he never let it go.
And yet now, just because he learned the King was interested, he chose to give up without even trying?
What Viper didn't know was that Adrian had already faced Kira once, and they'd come to a rather special agreement.
In the past, Adrian had been willing to dirty his hands for the sake of his family and conglomerate. But now, his mindset was different.
Kira had shown him a new path—a way to reclaim a forgotten dream and find his own true value. The family and the company no longer mattered to him.
This mission to take Yubel had just been a job for the family's interests. To Adrian now, it was meaningless.
Viper soon shifted his gaze fully onto Kira, his expression growing heavier.
"I see. Even the Gecko Conglomerate's shadow is won over by the King. I'm getting more and more curious about what kind of unbelievable means you have."
"I know your plan." Kira said calmly. "You challenged me to a duel at the opening banquet, and used that as a springboard to hold a school-wide tournament.
You're going to use those wrist devices to drain the students' energy during their duels, to revive that spirit. That's it, isn't it?"
Viper: "!"
Even someone as battle-hardened as Viper couldn't hide his shock now.
It was one thing if Kira knew about the spirit's existence, or guessed that Viper wanted to revive it. But how could he know the details so precisely?
Don't tell him those ridiculous rumors are true—that the Duel King can read minds?
It wasn't completely unheard of.
Some powerful dark duelists with special abilities could read minds. For example, Maximillion Pegasus, the father of Duel Monsters, had possessed mind reading with his Millennium Eye, able to read his opponent's thoughts.
"We don't have to wait until the banquet." Kira said. "If you want to play, I'll play with you."
He raised his Duel Disk.
"Right now?" Viper frowned.
"Of course." Kira smiled. "And this isn't just for fun. This duel, I'm betting that spirit on it. If I win, you hand her over to me."
"And if I win?" Viper asked.
"Simple. I'll give you exactly what you want most." Kira said mildly. "I'll take responsibility for reviving that spirit for you."
Viper's heart stirred.
That was his ultimate goal, the sole meaning he still had for living. He needed that spirit's power to bring his dead child back to life.
"Fine." Viper said in a low voice. "Then let me see how much truth there is in the legend of the King."
Seeing the two of them about to go at it, Adrian wisely backed off to give them space.
He had always known Professor Viper was strong, and after getting flattened earlier he understood that, with that spirit's power, Viper was even more dangerous than he'd thought.
He was very curious to see what would happen when two such powerhouses clashed.
Of course, before coming to the academy island, Adrian had absolute confidence in his own dueling. But after his duel with Kira that night, that confidence had transferred to the other man.
Now, Adrian believed there probably wasn't a duelist in the world who could defeat the Duel King.
"Duel!" ×2
[Kira – LP 4000]
[Viper – LP 4000]
Kira took the first turn. "I'll go first. Draw."
He drew two cards without haste.
"I set one monster in face-down defense, and set one card in my back row. Turn end."
Viper pondered. A simple opening like that didn't reveal anything.
"My turn. Draw."
He lifted his eyes, the light in them as sharp as a viper.
"If I don't attack, I can't test the waters… I Normal Summon 'Venom Snake'!"
Thick scales covered a sinuous body. A serpent's head jutted from its coils, fangs bared, tongue flicking.
[Venom Snake – ATK 1200]
"Venom Snake, attack the set monster!"
At his command, the rattlesnake lunged, body coiling around the face-down card. The card flipped, revealing a tomato bound so tightly in its coils it could barely breathe, struggling desperately.
[Mystic Tomato – DEF 1100]
"Mystic Tomato's effect," Kira said. "When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a DARK monster with 1500 or less ATK from my Deck in Attack Position."