Chapter 957: The Ally of Darkness

BOOM!

The two calamity images exploded in succession, blasting Mr. T’s body into shreds. His black uniform dissolved outright, as if turning from solid matter into mist. A vast cloud of dark swamp gas burst outward, splitting into countless dark cards that shot in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, only a shallow crater remained where Mr. T had stood—as if the man had been entirely erased by the explosion.

As You Xuan retracted his dueling disk, Yu Cheng Shidai flew forward to meet him.

You Xuan pointed at the large crater: “He did this before too?”

“Yeah, beaten him multiple times—each time he just gets blown clean away, nothing left.” Shidai scratched his head. “This must be some kind of clone or projection, right?”

Shidai wasn’t unfamiliar with the concept—he and You Xuan had often projected themselves into the Spirit World to farm interdimensional RPG dungeons.

“Close enough. But this time, we might’ve actually damaged the original a little.”

Shidai grinned. “It’s been days since we last met, and You Xuan, you’ve gotten even stronger—your aura and techniques have both improved a lot! Oh, and that new spatial tactic you just used? Totally awesome!”

“No surprise—you’re still You Xuan, always coming up with uses no normal human could ever imagine.”

The Dark Panther’s spirit stood nearby, lips moving but no sound coming out, thinking: No, I don’t think that just now had anything to do with me.

If anything, in that combo, their New Space’s main role was probably the rapid card draw via “New Universe Expansion” and “New Space Gift.”

Without that kind of rapid filtering draw, it wouldn’t have been easy to assemble such a bizarre combo.

“About that enemy just now,” You Xuan asked, “how much do you know?”

Shidai paused, then said: “We don’t have much yet. We only know they’re of the same origin as the dark force that consumed Asuka’s brother and Tenjo’s darkness.”

“Lately, they’ve been active around the Duel Academy. Reports from Kaiba Corp say similar disappearances have occurred in other regions too.”

You Xuan nodded. It seemed Shidai still had very little intel.

So You Xuan said: “I have to leave for a while—so the Academy’s main defense falls to you. But don’t worry; with your current strength, handling opponents like this is no problem.”

“But before I go, I’ll tell you everything I know about Darkness—so you’re mentally prepared for the enemy ahead. Listen carefully.”

“.”

Darkness. Endless, boundless darkness.

In this void, even time seemed frozen. Suddenly, a faint blue light flickered—like an eye opening in the night.

“Careless.”

A low voice echoed through the dark. A blurred human silhouette gradually took shape. Mr. T—the same Mr. T who had just been blown to dust by You Xuan—slowly coalesced. His black trench coat stirred without wind, and beneath his sunglasses, his eyes glowed with ominous red light.

“Not only is Yu Cheng Shidai still unresolved, but the Duel King has returned,” he said.

As he spoke, countless pairs of identical red eyes ignited in the darkness. One, ten, a hundred—countless Mr. Ts emerged from the void, all identical in attire and posture, arranged like mirror images across the emptiness.

One Mr. T on the left said: “That Duel King, Fujiki Yūgen, is even more troublesome than expected.”

“How’s progress with Yu Cheng Shidai?” asked the central Mr. T—the original one who had first appeared.

Three Mr. Ts on the right answered in unison: “Yu Cheng Shidai’s performance in consecutive duels has exceeded expectations. His power doesn’t match any prior data. Every duel attempt so far has been completely suppressed.”

“The plan must advance to the next phase,” the central Mr. T surveyed his surroundings. “Yu Cheng Shidai and Fujiki Yūgen are obstacles we must overcome. Without their data, our evolution cannot complete.”

A strange resonance echoed through the darkness. All the Mr. Ts nodded in perfect unison—a movement so synchronized it sent chills down the spine.

“Conventional methods are useless,” one Mr. T from the rear stepped forward. “Perhaps… we should activate ‘Assimilation’ now.”

Assimilation was their ultimate method—the same one that turned all humanity in GX into part of Darkness, trapping them in endless loops of their deepest nightmares, like an infinite Tsukuyomi. “Risk coefficient too high,” an immediate objection rose. “Unknown variables haven’t been eliminated. Not just Yu Cheng Shidai and Fujiki Yūgen—there are others like Kaiba Seto.”

If we assimilate everyone directly, we might end up being consumed by Darkness ourselves.”

At that moment, the entire dark space trembled. A purple rift tore open out of nowhere, as if ripping through space itself. Strange light, alien to this world, seeped from the crack.

“Again?” Several Mr. Ts whispered in unison.

From the rift came a voice, neither male nor female—like thousands whispering at once, or a mechanical synthesis: “It seems you’ve run into trouble. Our previous offer still stands.”

The central Mr. T raised a hand for silence. All his clones instantly fell quiet. He stepped alone toward the rift; his black leather shoes made clear footsteps on the void.

“What can you offer?” he asked calmly.

The light in the rift flickered: “Cross-dimensional technology. Duel energy beyond this universe. New domains and summoning methods you’ve never heard of… Power and allies beyond your imagination—enough to fully realize your plan.”

“What’s the cost?”

“None.”

The voice laughed.

“Offering aid to powerful beings across dimensions is our investment strategy. If your plan succeeds—achieving the assimilation of all humanity in this dimension—that alone is the best return.”

The Mr. Ts began to disagree.

“There’s no such thing as a free benefit,” one Mr. T said. “We know nothing about these interdimensional guests. They might threaten us too.”

But others countered: “But this is also an opportunity…”

“Fujiki Yūgen and Yu Cheng Shidai have already delayed the plan too long. We can’t afford to wait any longer.”

The central Mr. T fell silent for a long while, then suddenly raised his hand. All debate ceased instantly. He turned to face his countless clones, the red glow beneath his sunglasses burning fiercer.

“Vote,” he said briefly.

In the darkness, countless Mr. Ts closed their eyes simultaneously. Moments later, they opened them all at once.

“Resolution passed,” announced the central Mr. T. “But with a condition: All authority over this dimension remains ours. This plane will ultimately belong to Darkness.”

He turned again to the rift: “You heard that? That’s our condition.”

“Of course,” came the instant reply from beyond the rift.

As those words were spoken, the rift began slowly closing. But before vanishing entirely, the voice added: “Then the agreement is sealed. The Overlight Force will soon manifest in this dimension. ‘Chaos’ will descend. When that time comes—”

The rift sealed completely. The voice cut off. The dark space fell still again—but an energy, alien to this world, still lingered in the air.

The central Mr. T adjusted his sunglasses, frowning as he repeated the final words left behind.

“Overlight… Chaos?”