A Double KO!
Professor Chronos and Instructor Napoleon, the two leading figures of the Academy, were utterly dejected, looking at each other in despair.
Defeated...
They had tried their hardest and still couldn't win, but they truly had given it their all.
But the opponent was indeed not human...
Now, they realized how naive their thoughts were at the beginning of the duel.
Just because they were outnumbering two to one, with double the hand cards, life points, field, and even turns, they thought for a moment they stood a chance.
In hindsight, such thoughts were utterly ridiculous.
Who were they up against?
The Master of the Yellow Robe in the Academy, the pinnacle of the Dueling Realm!
Figures like Beckas, Seto Kaiba, the Pegasus Brothers... those legendary names, defeated by this person? Who hadn't been defeated by him?
Even though it was a two-on-one, how could figures like them, mere Academy teachers, hope to stand against such a figure?
On this side, Professor Chronos had his Ancient Mechanical Giant, a triple Fusion card with 4400 attack points, which he considered a trump card not easily revealed, a hidden ace he'd never used against students since joining the Academy.
But compared to the opponent's endless parade of monsters with Ten Thousand Attacks, it made Professor Strong Desire feel deflated, as if he were a three-year-old child swinging a plastic knife...
Napoleon looked helplessly at Chronos.
"Perhaps we never really stood a chance from the beginning," he said gloomily. "I really didn't want to become unemployed alongside Chronos on short notice."
"Stop complaining," Chronos said gloomily, "My twenty-six-year mortgage... sigh..."
With that, he began feeling a headache.
But oddly enough, despite the loss, Instructor Napoleon didn't live up to expectations to finish things off, yet now, for the first time, he found Instructor Napoleon not so annoying.
Instructor Napoleon felt the same. Chronos didn't seem as unpleasant as usual, didn't rub him the wrong way.
Now both might leave the Duel Academy together and perhaps rely on each other looking for work afterward...
Thinking about it made them feel a unique kind of camaraderie, and perhaps, after two years struggling together, they could become brothers...
"Thank you, teachers, for your guidance."
Yugen put away the Duel Disc and smiled as he approached.
The two professors exchanged a glance, sighed, and looked helpless.
"No need to be so courteous, Yugen," Chronos said. "I know deep inside, I have nothing left to teach you. I... I'm no longer your teacher..."
"Don't say that," Yugen seriously replied, putting away his smile. "You helped me a lot when I first came to the Academy, and there are still many things I can learn from you."
"No matter where I go from here, I'll never forget you are an important teacher to me."
Chronos' gaze flickered, and hearing these words moved him greatly.
This student's achievements had long surpassed him… no, reached heights he never imagined. Yet, even so, he was willing to recognize him as his teacher, making him feel there was no longer any regret in this Academy...
"Then if the teacher doesn't mind, I hope you can continue guiding me on the path of research exploration." Yugen smiled.
The two professors exchanged glances.
"Eh?"
"So..."
Napoleon asked incredulously.
"We passed...?"
"Of course," Yugen said earnestly. "I never said you had to win to qualify, correct?"
The two instructors were initially surprised, then showed expressions of joy.
"So, we..."
Chronos looked at Napoleon.
Then the two embraced fiercely.
"We're back on board!"
"Hahaha—"
The two excited professors laughed and cried, completely ignoring their images in front of the students... of course, they had long abandoned any such image since the animation daily segments.
It was a case of blessings in disguise, unexpectedly seizing a new opportunity.
But before they could relish it, Yugen's next words froze their jovial smiles.
"Of course, that's provided the principal agrees." Yugen's expression turned somewhat peculiar as he spoke. "After all, I don't want people saying I'm poaching from my alma mater."
"Eh?"
The two were stunned, then weirdly turned their heads.
"But..."
"We were already expelled by the principal, weren't we?"
"Is that really the case?" Yugen asked, "Do you remember exactly what the principal said at the time?"
The two exchanged confused looks and stayed silent.
"Or, maybe you should just ask him directly."
Yugen stepped aside and pointed towards the direction of the teaching building.
Just then, they saw Principal Jiaodao coming slowly from the teaching building direction, his shiny bald head visible from afar.
Seeing the commotion, Principal Jiaodao looked surprised, then strangely walked over, "Huh? What's everyone doing here?"
Judai: "Oh, I heard the instructors were just expelled from the Academy. So they were pestering Yugen to take up positions in his laboratory."
Principal Jiaodao was baffled, "Huh? Expelled? I didn't know about that."
This time, the two professors were dumbfounded.
Exchanging another glance.
"Wait a minute..."
"But," Napoleon said blankly, "earlier in the office, didn't you imply you wanted us to pack up and leave..."
Principal Jiaodao was puzzled, pondering for a while, then suddenly realizing.
"Oh, that... I see what you mean."
He awkwardly scratched his bald head.
"Sorry, I was in a bad mood earlier and expressed myself a bit harshly. I just wanted some quiet and asked you to leave the office, nothing else."
"Huh?"
The two professors exchanged glances once more, speechless.
Normally, finding out they hadn't been fired and it was just a misunderstanding, keeping their jobs should have been a good thing.
But why didn't it feel happy at all...
"That's great, teachers," Judai laughed, "You can continue teaching us. It would have been a shame if you had to leave suddenly."
"Haha... ahahaha, yes," the two professors laughed awkwardly.
But the laughter carried bitterness.
In their hearts, they wanted to say, Principal Jiaodao, please don't mention it. I'm afraid Boss Yugen might misunderstand.
But it's really difficult to say such a thing under these circumstances...
"No problem, teachers, if you're willing, even as Academy professors, you can still work part-time in our lab to guide the students," Yugen politely said.
"There will always be a place for the teachers here."
"Certainly," Principal Jiaodao said with a smile, "Yugen's side has great output, which brightens up the Academy as well. It would be good to cooperate more."
But after saying that, the principal touched his face, suddenly feeling inexplicably odd.
He suddenly felt that in this Academy, perhaps as a principal, he was somewhat superfluous...