Seeing the sudden appearance of Youyu, Titan's movements noticeably paused for a moment, as if he was experiencing a brief hesitation.
His eyes were cloudy, completely dominated by the chaos of darkness. His facial muscles were tensely strained to an unnaturally large extent, his jaw crawling with veins, showing no signs of any remaining consciousness.
So it was clear. The person who hesitated was not Titan himself, and even his current actions were not under his own will.
The entity taking over this body now should be the owner of the darkness that just surged into Titan's body, though Youyu was temporarily unable to determine the other's true identity.
He could only speculate.
In the original animation, when Judai and Titan were dueling in this abandoned dormitory, Titan's blinding technique was uncovered by Judai. At that time, he turned to flee and was similarly engulfed by a mass of darkness invading his body, turning him into a puppet on strings.
Youyu had two possible guesses about the owner of this power.
First, the opponent could be the first boss to appear in GX, one of the backers behind Duel Academy, President Kagemaru of the Heaven and Earth Imaging Society.
During the Three Phantasm chapter, it was clearly explained that Titan, who had been defeated in a duel with Yuki Judai and was about to be engulfed by darkness, encountered President Kagemaru (or his subordinate) amidst the dark torrent.
The other party promised that Titan could be saved from the darkness, but at the cost of signing a contract with the devil and becoming one of the "Seven Stars," a Dark Duelist serving Kagemaru.
It couldn't be ruled out that it was President Kagemaru who made the move here. Youyu knew that despite not mentioning it over the years, the old guy had always coveted the power of the "Three Phantasm" in his heart.
The "Duelist Alliance" founded by Youyu and President Haima defeated the Three Phantasm, and the information disseminated afterward was that the Three Phantasm were sealed inside a specially designed sealing array at Duel Academy due to the overwhelmingly evil nature of the cards themselves.
This academy being personally guarded by the First Duel King Youyu was indeed reassuring for the public.
Since then, President Kagemaru had secretly kept the three Phantasm Cards in mind. He was said to be aged and plagued by illness, surviving only with the help of a Life Support Pod. He dreamed of possessing the power of the Three Phantasm, as it was rumored to restore youth and peak condition.
If President Kagemaru were to plan ahead now, intending to use Titan as a pawn to reclaim the Three Phantasm, it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility.
The other possibility is Darkness, the antagonist in the final chapter of "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX."
This old dormitory was the earliest entry point of Darkness into the real world in the animation, marking the beginning of a series of events. Rumor had it that the mysterious disappearance of the students was also due to Darkness.
When Youyu first crossed over, Darkness had tentatively surfaced. However, at that time, its awakening was light, with most of its power still sealed, and it unfortunately encountered the guardian boss Atem upon emerging, who sent it back with a defeat.
Now, with many years having passed and the main line of GX open, it wouldn't be surprising if this entity were beginning to awaken.
But regardless of who it was, they clearly had no intention of being courteous. Dark streams of air erupted from Titan's body in waves, swiftly enveloping him in a coat of darkness!
Titan opened his mouth and let out a furious roar—but it was not his own voice, as no human possessed such a voice.
"Light Fang." Youyu spoke in a low voice.
Masked Hero Koga flashed and stood in front of Youyu and the students. His steps shifted, and the blade on his wrist swung horizontally. Titan charged at the same moment, seemingly sending his own chest onto the golden fangs!
The darkness wrapped around his body was abruptly torn apart, resembling ink-black blood sprayed uncontrollably in all directions as Titan let out a wretched scream and was knocked flying onto his back.
But Light Fang's movements didn't stop, quickly following up with a rapid leap, the golden light streaming behind forming a long trail. He leaped into the air, his form spinning as twin blades carved golden arcs, encasing him like a spinning top!
Mid-air, Titan was struck continuously. The darkness screeched sharply, convulsing violently on the large figure until it was completely vanquished, leaving no trace.
"...Is it over?" Asuka asked, uncertain and wary.
"As expected of the legendary Duel King... so impressive!"
Xiang and Hayato had never witnessed such a spectacular scene of a Masked Hero adorned with effects beating someone up, and they were momentarily dumbstruck.
"Oh, oh, oh! Light Fang is super cool!" Judai's attention remained entirely focused on the cool hero, as always.
Titan was cut down to the ground, rolled several times, and then suddenly sat up again, startling the students.
However, the guy seemed to have lost his memory, looking around blankly, "What's going on? Where am I?"
He couldn't even remember how he got to this island, let alone follow the sequence of events that unfolded thereafter.
Oh crap, isn't this Duel King Youyu?
Oh crap, what's Duel King doing with my card deck?
Oh crap, why is Duel King trying to take off my clothes...
...Oh okay, he only wanted the Duel Disc I was wearing.
...Wait, still seems problematic!
The commotion they were causing in the restricted area finally caught the attention of the school, and finally, the academy's security patrol arrived.
Youyu casually knocked out the bewildered Titan. Cleaning up the mess was now a job for these professionals.
Later, dragging this guy back to the academy would probably warrant an interrogation, though Youyu didn't have high hopes for what they might learn.
After briefly explaining the situation to the patrol, Youyu let them lead the students back to the dormitory.
On the way back, Youyu deliberately trailed at the end of the group. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, he turned his head and asked, "So, do you have any thoughts?"
After a moment of silence, Yubel's phantom appeared out of thin air.
She crossed her arms, grumbling, "Probably just a nameless minor character from some corner."
"Do you really think so?" Youyu questioned.
Yubel fell silent for a while.
In reality, she didn't quite think so.
The darkness that erupted from Titan just now, even though the concentration was low and the power wasn't particularly strong, Yubel could sense that its source was certainly extraordinary.
If it could unsettle even Yubel, then it might not be a world-shaking super antagonist, but at least someone of significant status.
However...
"Hmph, aren't you the Duel King? Aren't you capable?" Yubel shot him a glance, "Leave such minor issues to you."
With that, she no longer paid Youyu any attention and floated away to follow Judai.
Hmph, why is Judai always so happy to see him?
Judai never seemed this happy to see me!
Besides being a little more handsome, having a few more spirits, being a bit more powerful, and playing cards a bit better...
...What's so great about that man?
Youyu: "?"
What's wrong with this tsundere now? What did I say?
Can't understand.
...
Outside Duel Academy, somewhere else.
A pair of eyes slowly opened in the darkness, filled with indescribable darkness and malice.
He stood silently in the darkness for a long while before speaking to himself in a deep and heavy voice.
"Yuki Judai... actually has a troublesome character like the Duel King beside him?"