Kurosaki could hardly imagine that this person actually managed to pull it off.
In just one night, he took down three major clubs. The heads of all three humbly expressed that joining the Hanuo Knights was the greatest honor and that they were willing to risk their lives for the organization...
Of course, they couldn't be lying, because they had all been defeated in duels by this man who called himself Revolver, and the losers were deprived of the right to lie.
Spending one night to establish the foundation of the Hanuo Knights, Yugen was quite satisfied with today's achievements. According to the intelligence from Doma, the Seven-Star could show up around here any day now, so all he had to do was wait patiently.
The next day, Yugen had a different plan.
After the Duel City battle, as the new Duel King, his fame had skyrocketed, and he instantly became a hot topic in various circles. His fierce battle against the Snake God in the finals, and the summoning of the long-lost greatest Phantom God, spread quickly.
Naturally, the first to contact him was none other than Franz, the card design master from the International Fantasy Association, specializing in the Three Phantom Gods, whom he had met once before.
As Yugen arrived, the expert rushed out in excitement.
"The card?!" he rushed over to Yugen.
"What?"
"The Winged Divine Dragon! You summoned the Winged Divine Dragon, didn't you?" Franz was extremely excited, "Do you still have the card?"
"Calm down, it's no longer here," Yugen said, "The Phantom God only lent its power to me temporarily. Once the mission was complete, the Phantom God Card disappeared."
Franz let out a wail, seemingly full of regret.
"But regardless, this is still a memorable moment. Eight years, eight years!" Franz lamented, "It's been eight years since the Three Phantom Gods in Muto Yuugi's hands disappeared.
No one has managed to summon the Phantom God during these eight years, and even using Cloning Cards led to Divine Punishment. Do you know what this means? You proved my theory right; the Phantom Gods aren't absolutely unmanageable!"
He became more and more excited as he spoke.
"President Beckas was wrong!"
Yugen thought to himself that he wasn't really the first in eight years. In fact, years ago, after Atom had already left and the Phantom Gods were lost, there was another who had summoned a Phantom God.
It was President Kaiba's famous "drawing cards from the floor" scene.
However, at that time, President Kaiba was dueling over Atom's grave, borrowing his so-called consciousness amplification technology to summon the Giant Divine Soldiers by extracting data from memory...
Overall, it was somewhat metaphysical. But Kaiba Technology doesn't need to be entirely clear-cut, as even though President Kaiba insists he's a science enthusiast, sometimes his science and metaphysics aren't so distinguishable.
Moreover, that duel wasn't a public match; it was a private duel over Atom's grave against Blue God Village, and the match wasn't even finished, as it ended with the grave being accidentally destroyed and the duel forcibly stopped.
The outside world still knows nothing about that duel. Therefore, Franz firmly believed that Yugen was the first chosen one to summon the Phantom Gods again after Atom.
Franz and Yugen had a passionate conversation, openly saying that seeing Yugen's decisive battle with the Judge that day, witnessing the arrival of the Winged Divine Dragon, and finally seeing the Lava Demon God devour the Snake God, left him utterly thrilled.
Then, with Yugen's continuous guidance, he finally figured it out and thought of a new path for the Winged Divine Dragon that no predecessor had imagined before.
If a God could have the power of the Lava Demon God, wouldn't it be invincible?
The Sun God that arrives by devouring the opponent's Monsters as offerings is both powerful and stylish, with the ability to bring joy.
Yugen patted his shoulder, commending the designer's bold creativity, feeling relieved that he seemed to finally be on the right track.
That's the way to go. Otherwise, why is it said that our Winged Divine Dragon is the most radiant Phantom God?
At the same time, he further hinted, suggesting that in the past, Malik harnessed the Phantom Gods, frequently using the Slime series of cards in conjunction with them, which actually made sense.
He advised Franz to explore that direction as well. Although many of the Slimes used by Mr. Malik might seem like losers now, the series itself still held potential as a support for the Phantom Gods.
Franz's eyes lit up, immediately jotting it down, and after a stream of gratitude, he immersed himself in research.
He's a purely passionate researcher. Although this fervor can easily lead one astray, potentially turning them into a villain, one must admit that for Beckas to appoint him as the chief designer for such high-risk research themes surrounding the Phantom Gods, he must indeed possess some skills.
There were only a few days left until the start of the second semester.
Judai spent most of these days in the hospital. After the Duel City battle, Hibiki Momiji was transferred from the island directly to a hospital under the Kaiba Group but has remained unconscious since then.
Yugen was also somewhat puzzled by this.
Logically, once the Cheating Snake was defeated, the souls it imprisoned should have returned to their bodies. This was the case in DM back in the day.
Moreover, according to a week-long investigation by Kaiba Company, many who were previously unconscious worldwide after losing in the Orichalcos Barrier had indeed woken up. This should also indicate that the Cheating Snake was indeed defeated by Yugen.
But Hibiki Momiji remained comatose.
Did he have such bad luck that his soul was already digested before the Cheating Snake was taken down?
Perplexed, Yugen took the time to visit the hospital with Judai. With his deepened mastery in dark forces through continuous enhancement and practice, he attempted to examine Hibiki Momiji using his own methods.
Although the exact cause wasn't discovered, he was inclined to believe that it was no longer related to the power of Orichalcos.
Hibiki Momiji's consciousness hadn't returned, but through his comatose body, one could sense an invisible force surrounding him, most likely from the culprit.
Yugen boldly speculated it might be Little Lobster Tragodia.
After all, Hibiki Momiji first lost to Tragodia, and technically speaking, the Cheating Snake only intercepted midway. Now that the Cheating Snake is gone, Hibiki Momiji's soul was released from the barrier, and Tragodia might have taken this opportunity to interfere, capturing his soul.
At this thought, Yugen couldn't help but feel that Mr. Momiji was indeed unlucky. A regular Duelist without any cheats, relying solely on talent and hard work, encountering one boss of that level in a lifetime was bad enough, but he was up against two...
Yugen could do nothing but wait and see if an opportunity to eliminate Little Lobster arises, hoping Hibiki Momiji might recover.
With three days left before the semester starts, Yugen finally received the news he was waiting for from the Hanuo Knights.
A man from "Seven-Star" came looking specifically to meet the leaders of the Hanuo Knights.
The man identified himself as Darkness.
The fish had finally taken the bait.