Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"It's alright, Rei. I caught you." Shifting her gaze from the still-shaken Rei Saotome, Jaden stood up. Beneath her jellyfish-like hair were a pair of cold, yet burning, brown eyes, faintly tinged with amber, gleaming with rage. "This time you possessed Malden, you bastard!"

"Jūdai! When did you get here!?" Yubel took a step back in surprise, completely unexpected that Jūdai, who was supposed to be helping Hayato fight outside the school, would suddenly appear here. "How did you end up here?!"

Chapter 1804 Past Events

"Junior! When did you arrive!?"

Looking at the panicked "Ghana Malden", Jaden's expression changed: "Actually, I didn't realize Malden was possessed. I was just making a joke. But it turned out to be true."

"As for why I'm here..." After finishing his princess carry of Saotome Rei and setting her aside, Jaden didn't notice her reluctant expression. Instead, he pointed to "Gana Malden" on the steps and said, "Of course, it's because of the message Hayato-sensei sent us. From the very beginning, he told us that you were very likely to attack the students in the academy again!"

"His message said we should stay in the academy, ostensibly to keep us safe and avoid danger, but actually it was to warn us of your presence." Asuka followed closely behind, stepping out from around the corner of the stairs and standing next to Judai, subtly separating Rei and Judai, which made the girl a little unhappy. "After we thought we had all left the school, you really did slip up!"

"In this world where card spirits can materialize, I've been wanting revenge on you for a long time!" With a cold laugh, Manjoume appeared at the front of the corridor, clenching his right fist and slamming it into his palm. Beside him stood Marufuji Sho and Misawa Daichi, seemingly having been lying in wait for quite some time. On his already unfolded Duel Disk, the card [Dragon of Light and Darkness] was placed, ready to be summoned at any moment.

“This is the only way to the temporary cafeteria. Hayato-sensei initially estimated that someone might tamper with the school's food, so we ambushed them here. Although the process was a little different, it turned out that you were the one who attacked Saotome-kun…” John stood beside Judai, side by side with her, “But as long as the result is correct, there is no problem!”

“Just like John Anderson said, you have nowhere to retreat!” Not only were the stairs and corridor leading down blocked, but Amon, Jim, and O’Brien also appeared behind “Gana Malden”, and the three of them blocked the way back at the end of the corridor.

Even with the sound of calm footsteps, "Gana Malden" saw Kaiser Ryo in a black trench coat and Tenjouin Fubuki appear together from the stairs leading upstairs, completely blocking his "up, down, left, and right" paths!

"Is even the so-called 'Caesar left first' part of a lie to deceive me?!"

“No, that’s the only thing that’s true.” Fubuki said with a smile, “Caesar really did leave first, but he didn’t leave outside the academy. Instead, he went to the floor above where I was talking. Caesar went directly to the original monitoring room inside the campus to help us observe which students were acting abnormally.”

“But I didn’t give anything away.” “Gana Malden” said with a puzzled expression. After all, she hadn’t interfered with Malden’s actions in the early stages of the possession. It was definitely Gana Malden herself who helped Saotome Rei with her work, so how could she have given anything away? “Why do you suspect me?”

“We’re not specifically targeting you. We’re just equally suspicious of anyone acting alone, even if you and Rei are acting together,” Judai said confidently. “After such a dangerous battle, who would have the mind to think about anything else? Most people chose to stay in the gymnasium and rest. They didn’t even feel like eating.”

Saotome Rei remained silent. Was she about to tell Jaden that she was the one who was thinking about other things—meaning she wanted to date Jaden?

However, she kept it a secret, while "Gana Malden" glared at her and said, "So that's how it is. So the person you suspected wasn't me, but Saotome Rei, that love-obsessed idiot!?"

—I don’t know how “Maldives” has the nerve to say that Li is love-struck.

"Ahem, of course I trust Rei, hmm." Jaden repeatedly emphasized his trust in Rei with interjections, unfolding his Duel Disk and placing the card [E·Hero Neos], then took a step up the stairs. "Anyway, the time has come to punish you, you golden bastard! This time you won't escape!"

“This is a trial, and I believe it is a trial to overcome the past!” Jaden said. “It was because I didn’t defeat you when I first met you that you dragged so many people into this dangerous world; it was also because I let you go in the duel with Amon that Malden became the second victim.”

"I must overcome the mistakes of the past. Only by overcoming those mistakes can one grow. That's what I believe. — And you, golden bastard?"

Listening to Judai's words, "Gana Malden" lowered his head and suddenly laughed: "Past mistakes? Hmm, that's very true, Judai. You said you wanted to overcome past mistakes. But you don't even remember exactly when and what kind of mistake you made in the past. That in itself is your biggest mistake and your immaturity!"

(What a tragic couple!)

"It's heartbreaking, Judai. I loved you so much, how could you betray me?" Judai saw tears glistening in the eyes of "Gana Malden" as he looked up. "Don't you remember anything from the past?"

"All those past events..." Judai wanted to retort with, "What past did you and I have?" but the words stuck in his throat, and he could only manage half a sentence, muttering it repeatedly. Something seemed to be on the verge of being remembered, yet he couldn't quite recall it, couldn't remember it clearly. "Past events, past events..."

Seeing that Judai still couldn't remember anything, "Gana Malden" laughed instead, but his laughter was full of bitterness and resentment: "Don't come near me, Judai! I'm on top, you're on the bottom!"

"Who wants to listen to you!" Seeing the conversation end, Manjoume was the first to make a move. He had been thinking about avenging the pain he had suffered in the past for a long time. He immediately summoned the [Dragon of Light and Darkness] beside him and breathed a dragon's breath at "Gana Malden", without caring that the real Malden's body might be injured.

"Ghana Malden" immediately used golden dueling energy to materialize a demonic wing to block the dragon's breath, but O'Brien and the others also fired simultaneously, forcing him to unfold another wing to protect his body.

But after blocking the attacks from the left and right sides, she was helpless against Caesar's attacks from above.

"Seba Drogon!" With a wave of his hand, Caesar commanded the [Cyber ​​Dragon] he had summoned to launch an attack, "Evolutionary Flame!"

A powerful beam of light struck "Gana Malden." With no extra strength for defense, she had no choice but to move to dodge the attack, taking several steps forward to narrowly avoid it. Meanwhile, the evolved flames of the [Electronic Dragon], which missed her, pierced through the floor and blasted into some unknown classroom downstairs.

But none of the people present held back for the damage they had done to the school. In fact, people like Marufuji Sho and Kenzan attacked even more fiercely—not only because eliminating the dangerous guy in front of them was the top priority, but also because being able to openly "bomb the school" like this was something that countless students dreamed of.

Before "Gana Malden" could even breathe a sigh of relief at having dodged Caesar's attack, Jaden rushed up the stairs, his summoned [E·hero Neos] fist wreathed in spherical light, and delivered a powerful punch to her abdomen!

"Ora!" Not afraid of not getting enough, not only [E·hero Neos] attacked, but Jaden also swung his right fist and delivered a heavy blow to "Gana Malden's" face. With a battle cry, he directly shattered "Gana Malden's" defensive stance. As his two wings disintegrated into specks of light, "Gana Malden" was also sent flying backward by this heavy punch!

"Buga—!"

"Splash!"

The crowd's expressions suddenly changed, not because they felt pity for "Ghana Malden's" cries of pain, but because the "crash" sound was clearly the sound of him smashing the glass in the corridor!

While the combined power of Jaden and E. Hero Neos is indeed enough to send someone flying or even through them, it's simply unrealistic to send someone flying while simultaneously shattering the reinforced glass in the academy—it's clearly "Gana Malden" using Jaden's attack to deliberately break the glass while being sent flying, thus escaping!

"Ouch, that hurts! Judai, is this your deep love for me? I'm so happy!" As he flew backward, watching Judai and the others gather around the broken glass and chase after him, "Gana Malden" maintained his backward flight posture in mid-air while simultaneously transforming his wings, which had just dissipated, to allow him to fly even further. "But this is my real escape route. As for strategy, you're still far from catching me!"

"Damn it, don't even think about getting away!" Jaden took out the card [N·Sky Hummingbird], fused it with [E·Hero Neos], and after they merged into the form of [E·Hero Sky Neos], he grabbed Jaden's arm and made [E·Hero Sky Neos] carry him through the broken glass to catch up. John also skillfully followed Jaden and grabbed [E·Hero Sky Neos]'s other arm.

Having missed the chance to catch up with Judai, Asuka immediately took out her [Ancient Saint Dai - First Dragon] and rode the long celestial dragon to catch up with Judai and the others. Saotome Rei also immediately hitched a ride, unwilling to let Asuka create an opportunity to fight alongside Judai.

The others also used their own methods to catch up with Judai and the others, leaving only Caesar and Fubuki standing by the broken glass, watching the departing crowd.

"Aren't you going to follow them, Caesar?" Fubuki looked at her friend beside her with a questioning look. "Shouldn't you want to have a duel with that mastermind?"

"...You know perfectly well what I'm asking." Caesar glanced at Fubuki and said calmly, "Do you think I can still catch up with you now? And is it my turn to duel you?"

"Haha, you're right."

Fubuki chuckled twice, about to say something more, when suddenly an angry voice rang out: "Who did this? Who did this?!"

The source of the sound was quite close to them, it even felt like it was coming from under their feet... under their feet?

First, they looked out of the academy through the glass and found no one outside. Fubuki and Caesar then went to the large hole leading downstairs that Caesar's attack had created earlier. They saw Misawa standing next to what was probably a blackboard, cursing angrily: "I was just leaving to go to the toilet, and I just finished writing this equation! Who did this?!"

He suddenly looked up and saw Caesar and Fubuki.

Fubuki subconsciously turned her head to look at Caesar. After all, although the goal was to kill the guy who was possessing Gana Malden, it was indeed Caesar's [Cyber ​​Dragon] that destroyed the blackboard used by Misawa Kaimi.

Unexpectedly, Caesar, under Fubuki's gaze, said without changing his expression, "It was the guy who caused this spatial transfer. He's escaped now, and Jaden and the others have caught up with him."

When he said this, Caesar's face didn't even turn red, and he didn't look like he was lying at all, which made Fubuki, who was standing next to him, stare in astonishment. How come he hadn't seen in the past three years that Caesar, a guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, was so good at lying through his teeth?

"That damn bastard, I have to teach him a lesson for my sake, Judai!" Misawa was indignant. After all, all the research he had done since arriving in this other world was written on that blackboard, but it was destroyed like that. He was furious.

Meanwhile, on the escape route of "Gana Malden," she landed in a desert after flying a long distance away. Suddenly, she noticed that Coach Napoleon was leading a group of students on patrol around the school. Because Professor Chronos was injured, Coach Napoleon was now in charge of many affairs at the school. Even though Hayato was repelling the monsters that kept approaching the school, basic patrols were still necessary to prevent any from escaping.

"Damn it, is there no way out?!" Ghana Malden's first thought was that even if he wanted to defeat Napoleon and his students, it would take some effort and energy, and that time would be enough for the Jade Generations to catch up with him and drag him into a fierce battle.

She didn't have many card spirits left, and could only delay Kobayashi Hayato's actions for a few tens of minutes at most. She didn't have the extra resources to waste with Jaden and the others. Otherwise, she wouldn't have escaped from the academy. After all, if Kobayashi Hayato's fighting power were unleashed, she would really be doomed.

But soon, she realized her current identity.

His wings instantly transformed into a cape, concealing his mutated, scaled hand within. "Gana Malden" walked out calmly and openly, standing before Napoleon and the others.

Just moments ago he saw nothing, but in the blink of an eye he spotted Malden's figure ahead. Napoleon, the instructor, thought he was seeing things, but then he heard one of his students say, "There seems to be a lone student up ahead?" "Is it an illusion created by the enemy?"

He was now certain that he hadn't misread the situation; Malden was indeed there. But why wasn't Malden inside the school but outside? Without thinking, he quickly stopped the students who were trying to summon monsters to launch a probing attack, fearing they might harm Malden, and jogged over to him.

"Marten? Marten!" Calling his son's name repeatedly, Napoleon approached anxiously, becoming more relaxed as he got closer. After all, he really didn't see any lurking monsters that would suddenly jump out, and he was certain that the person in front of him was definitely his son, Marten—although the cloak that had suddenly been put on was a bit abrupt, it's normal for a grown-up child to have his own personal aesthetic sense, right?

After placing his hand directly on Malden's arm, Napoleon completely lowered his guard, because the Malden before him was not a false phantom, but a real being. He also completely abandoned his suspicion that "it might be a monster similar to an lanternfish using phantoms as bait."

He still didn't understand why Malden was here. No matter how he called Malden's name, Malden only glanced at him and then stared at the ground with a strange smile, as if he had accidentally picked up Fukuzawa Yukichi on his way to throw away the trash.

When Jaden and John were carried to the vicinity by [E·hero Sky Neos], they saw Napoleon standing with "Gana Malden". Jaden's pupils shrank and he hurriedly shouted a reminder: "Get out of here quickly, Napoleon! Get out of Malden!"

Chapter 1805 Intelligence Misawa, probably named Misawa

Upon hearing what the tenth generation said, Coach Napoleon was genuinely taken aback.

First of all, Judai's voice came from the air. Perhaps because he was moving in the air, the wind was blowing into his mouth and the voice was changing, making it difficult for Coach Napoleon to recognize who was speaking. His first reaction was to look in the direction from which the voice came and see that it was Judai who was speaking.

Then, what does "leave Malden quickly" mean? I've already confirmed that this is indeed my son—Gana Malden. Is there some danger nearby? If so, shouldn't I be pulling Malden away as soon as possible? Why did Jaden Yuki say "leave Malden"?

Despite thinking quickly, Napoleon was stunned for only three or four seconds before he could react. Suddenly, "Ghana Malden's" hand reached back and gripped his shoulder.

"Malden?"

With his back to "Ghana Malden," Napoleon the coach didn't understand why he was grabbing his shoulder. However, after grabbing Napoleon's body with his right arm to prevent him from moving freely, "Ghana Malden" also raised his left arm, revealing his left hand, which had become even more severely deformed, and pressed it against Napoleon's neck—although it was a bit short, Napoleon still had a neck.

Unlike when it first possessed the body and simply grew scales on normal human skin, Malden's left hand has now completely mutated from fingertips to elbow, covered with dark red scales. At the same time, bone spurs protrude from the body surface, and the structure of the nails has become alien and sharp, making it look exactly like a "demon arm".

When he possessed Amon Garlem's body before, his arm also underwent a mutation, but Jaden was certain that it was not as drastic as the arm of "Gana Malden" before him. The sharp nails could be used as weapons, which was the main reason why he pressed his fingers against Napoleon's neck.

—It has taken a hostage!

"Don't keep chasing me, Jaden. What's lost can never be regained no matter how hard you try. That being said, I still love you very much. In a different situation, I might happily immerse myself in a game of chasing you."

She lightly touched Napoleon's skin, a few drops of blood flowing from the broken wound onto "Gana Malden's" fingernails, and smiled at Judai, "But for now, that's enough. Don't come any closer to me!"

"In contrast, I won't go anywhere else. Why? Because the place I want is right here!"

The ground suddenly trembled, and the white gravel covering the earth began to sink and flow, instantly revealing the yellow mud that had been buried before. This was clearly not something that originally existed in this Pokémon world, but rather a part of the land that had been transferred to this world from Duel Academy Island!

The sudden tremor did not subside. Instead, after the crack appeared in the earth, several roars suddenly rang out as it swallowed the sand. The familiar sound reminded Jaden of something, and a card in the card box on John's waist also roared at the same time!

"That voice... could it be!?"

"Boom!" Several loud noises rang out at the same time. Judai and the others noticed that seven huge, crooked obelisks were rising around the exposed muddy ground under the sand. This time, it wasn't just Judai; Asuka, Marufuji Sho, and the other people who had experienced the incident also realized what this place was.

"The Seven Essences Unlocking Gate!?"

Although the forest has disappeared and the central crater has been filled and leveled by gravel, the obelisk whose tilt angle has not changed significantly proves that this is the location where Kagemaru finally "seized" the "Three Phantom Demons" cards during the "Seven Stars" incident two years ago.

—The "Gate of the Seven Essences" that should have been located in the back mountain of the Duel Academy is also the place where the cards of the "Three Phantom Demons" were sealed!

"So, your goal is actually the 'Three Phantom Demons' cards?!" Jaden stepped forward, about to stop him. "Absolutely not! These are dangerous cards that absorb the life energy of Pokémon from all over the world just by awakening! I will never allow them to appear again!"

The impact of the "Seven Stars" incident was not simply the death of Kagemaru and a few of his duelists who had turned to the dark side. Fubuki, who had been missing for a long time, returned as "Darkness" during that incident. Misawa encountered Tanya, whom he still misses dearly, during that incident. And Daitokuji-sensei also lost his second life during that incident. No matter who it was, the impact of the "Seven Stars" incident was hard to ignore.

But more importantly, the Three Phantom Demons have an absurd concept that seems to have come up with on a whim: "absorbing the power of all the spirits in the world." In the human world, the life force they absorb is enough to make an old man like Kagemaru regain his youth.

This wasn't time reversal; rather, his lifespan was forcibly extended to several hundred years using immense life energy. Combined with the healing of his injuries, it's no surprise that Kagemaru was over a hundred years old, allowing him to appear as a robust young man in his early twenties. Theoretically, under the power of the "Three Phantom Demons," Kagemaru's actual lifespan at that time could have been four or five hundred years.

And this is still in the human world, a world where dueling energy is not abundant and is entirely produced by duelists, where not everyone can see elves and all cards contain spirits. If this were the spirit world, a world where elves are all materialized and dueling energy is abundant, Jaden and his friends would not even dare to imagine how strong the "Three Phantom Demons" could become with the help of the "Seven Spirit Gates"!

“The Three Phantoms…” John touched the card box at his waist, his expression resolute: “Your ambition will not succeed! I will not allow any elf to become your tool for mass slaughter, not even a card like the ‘Three Phantoms’!”

"Heh, that's not something you can just tell me to do and expect me to obey. Just like I told you to leave my Jaden, you wouldn't listen to me." Ghana Malden glared fiercely at John, golden light emanating from her arm, causing a smirk to appear on her lips. "Look, even the 'Three Phantom Demons' buried and sealed beneath this desert are yearning for me, calling out to me!"

The energy in his hand was violently flung to the ground by "Gana Malden," and a large amount of black lightning leaped out from the gap. In just a moment, two cards were sent out, and "Gana Malden" grabbed them.

Having achieved his goal of stalling for time, Coach Napoleon was no longer of any use to him. "Gana Malden" kicked Coach Napoleon in the backside, sending him flying towards Judai and John. He then took the opportunity to retract the power attached to the two cards. The dueling energy was so abundant that it rolled around on his body as if he were wearing an outer garment. "Gana Malden" then showed a happy and enjoying expression.

"Are you alright, Coach Napoleon?" John asked with concern after catching Coach Napoleon.

Napoleon's neck was only scratched, and although it looked bloody, it was actually not bad. In fact, it was his buttocks that were kicked that hurt more.

However, the physical pain paled in comparison to the shock he felt. He gripped John's arm tightly and asked anxiously, "I'm fine, but Malden! What happened to Malden?!"

In his excitement, his usual habit of saying "Aru" disappeared.

"Regarding Malden..." Judai, feeling guilty for yet another person being harmed and manipulated by the other, and realizing he hadn't fulfilled his duty as the "hero" he admired, clenched his fists and looked earnestly at Coach Napoleon. "Anyway, leave it to us. We will definitely bring him back to Coach Napoleon!"