Tenjo Hikari believed that Judai no longer needed his help, so he didn't consider joining him tomorrow.
After researching for a while, he too fell into a slumber.
The long-standing fatigue, external pressures, and a state where he could only defend passively but couldn't attack actively left him exhausted; coupled with the inexplicable pain induced by the Red Light for over half an hour, Tenjo Hikari urgently needed rest.
However, once he fell into the dream, his breathing gradually became more rapid.
Tierra suddenly appeared beside him, watching the cold sweat forming on Tenjo Hikari's forehead. With a serious expression, she conjured a handkerchief and gently wiped his sweat, then casually summoned two Mechanical Demons to keep a watch on him. She herself floated to the window, gazing up at the heavens.
From her perspective, she could tell that Tenjo Hikari wasn't genuinely in pain; it was the painful memories causing the subconscious to recreate the experience in his dream.
The pain that even Tenjo Hikari couldn't bear...
More curious to her than the surrounding pitch-black walls was the mystery of the "Red Light."
After a while, the sun rose slowly, Tenjo Hikari opened his eyes, rubbed his somewhat aching head, and got up slowly.
Then, he saw two demons closely watching him.
The gray-white mechanical compound eyes appeared densely packed, securely locked onto Tenjo Hikari, causing unease inside.
Satan and Beelzebub?
Tenjo Hikari wasn't particularly scared, instead he rose slowly and looked towards Tierra by the window.
"What happened last night?"
Tierra casually said a few words to Tenjo Hikari.
"I see..." Tenjo Hikari nodded.
No wonder spirits go crazy when exposed to light.
He rubbed the back of his head.
It seems that during the half-hour period when he lost consciousness, he endured a pain he couldn't bear, but that kind of pain wasn't "lost" but hidden by the subconscious, preventing him from reminiscing.
Perhaps it's something like "selective amnesia" found in medicine? No wonder recalling it makes his head ache.
The good news is that he might now be able to venture into areas that ordinary people and spirits cannot easily approach.
Such as those "dangerous" locations marked in the "Emerald Book," or even...
The Ecole de Zone.
Tenjo Hikari still hasn't forgotten that place, for he's overly curious.
The focal point of the "extremely dangerous" "center of the Red Light."
Can he endure it with his current spiritual resilience?
It's not clear, but it's worth exploring! However, it can't be too reckless for now.
He thought about this, then left his room; the hallway was still bustling with classmates. Seeing Tenjo Hikari, they looked as though they had seen a pillar of their spirits, instantly gaining energy and even smiles.
Tenjo Hikari greeted them, his face displaying a smile too.
Despite being in a poor environment, as long as they saw Tenjo Hikari's smile, they seemed to lighten up considerably.
After Judai woke up, he checked on the states of Professor Moushou, Marufuji Shou, and Tyranno Kenzan. Upon seeing they're still not waking up, he sighed, then bid farewell to Tenjo Hikari, mentioning he was going to find Professor Cobra.
"Good luck, Judai! Don't let the past bind you!"
Tenjo Hikari looked at Judai about to leave the academy, took a deep breath, and told him.
"Rest assured, Hikari, I will bring powerful reinforcements to resolve this chaos!" Judai said confidently.
Although not completely unified with the Supreme King yet, Judai secretly practiced a bit of "special technique" last night—the Supreme King Possession!
If he wants, he can forcibly summon the Supreme King, letting the Supreme King possess him, creating a mini version of "two against one."
Tenjo Hikari was speechless upon hearing this.
Good fellow, hasn't mastered other things but stole this trick first, huh?
However, to be fair, Judai indeed seemed capable of such feats in the later stages of the original work.
Just not sure if the indifferent Supreme King, oblivious to current people and affairs, is cursing this new self in his mind.
Regardless, Tenjo Hikari dared to say, if someone were banging on his door while he's napping listening to music, he'd surely be annoyed too.
The Supreme King has a temper far more volatile, luckily, he restrains from smashing Judai over the head.
He watched Judai leave the Duel Academy, took a deep breath.
Afterwards, there were other tasks to attend to.
First, check on Senior Fubuki's condition.
According to teachers, this point should be nearing awakening.
Tenjo Hikari hurriedly turned around and dashed towards the infirmary. When he reached out to the door handle of the infirmary, his pupils suddenly trembled.
What is happening?
He sensed something bad was happening.
As he pushed open the door, he startlingly discovered there's far more than one person in the room.
Moreover, inexplicably, there were two Mr. T in the room!
A person wearing a mask and a black coat heard the sound at the door, then turned around to look.
"Oh ho... you've come, Tenjo Hikari. Alas, you've arrived just in time."
"Manjome, Amon!?" Tenjo Hikari quickly rushed into the room, standing in front of them, staring at the figure.
"Such a pity," the person in black said, "If it was just a single person, it would've been dealt with already; I didn't expect someone extra to persist."
He glanced at Amon: "It's unlike the original plan."
In his philosophy, this person should've transformed into an opponent for the academy's students, but unexpectedly, he appeared here.
At this moment, Amon and Manjome's faces were covered in cold sweat, their spirits completely exhausted, lying on the floor; yet they securely guarded Fubuki's sickbed, refusing to budge.
"Sorry, Tenjo, I wanted to send a message but was prevented by those guys." Manjome tiredly said with cold sweat, looking at those Mr. T's.
"Be careful, Tenjo-san—don't look into that person's eyes!" Amon warned Tenjo Hikari earlier.
Unfortunately...
His warning was a bit late!
Tenjo Hikari had already been staring at the person in black upon entering, and thus, the person was constantly maintaining eye contact with Tenjo Hikari. Before Amon's warning, the eyes of the person in black had slowly begun to emit a blue light, locking eyes with Tenjo Hikari.
Tenjo Hikari furrowed his brow, feeling a slight sting in his brain.
But—
It was only a sting.
"Hmm?" The person in black was momentarily stunned.
Several Mr. T's were shocked: "What happened?"
"Why didn't it work?"
Tenjo Hikari raised an eyebrow.
"Seeing is believing," the person in black said, looking at Tenjo Hikari. Two light chuckles came from under the mask, "To think even my memory and mental modification can be resisted. Your mental resistance is actually significantly higher than ordinary people or spirits?"
Tenjo Hikari understood upon hearing this.
Seems like it was the highest level of mental manipulation capable of influencing spirits, huh?
What a shame—
This guy is very unlucky.
Last night, Tenjo Hikari endured inhumane torment that he cannot recall even now, so this level doesn't seem like much anymore.
"What a pity, originally I wanted to resolve everything peacefully," the person in black said calmly, "Hence, the human individuality is so detestable. Why can some people sleep easily, while others can withstand even my memory alteration?
Forgoing duels, wouldn't life be serene?"
Tenjo Hikari glanced at the cards scattered on the ground, guessing what happened.
It seems it's about forcefully making Amon and Manjome forget duels; then using physical means to deal with things?
No wonder they were dealt with so easily.
Click.
Really despicable.
The person in black flicked his left hand, a Duel Disk materialized in his hand, simultaneously as Tenjo Hikari activated his Duel Disk.
"Uh..." At this moment, just as the teachers said, Fubuki started to wake up slowly.
Manjome quickly got up, supporting himself to check Fubuki's condition. Upon confirming Fubuki was indeed slowly waking up, a grin of joy finally appeared on his face.
Finally!
After so many classmates and teachers fell into unconsciousness, someone finally woke up!
He couldn't help but feel a bit teary-eyed.
It was as if "hope" was appearing before him.
"The time for closure has arrived," the person in black glanced at Fubuki, stated, then looked at Tenjo Hikari.
Tenjo Hikari merely snorted coldly: "Duel."
Tenjo Hikari, LP: 4000.
Masked man in black, LP: 4000.