Chapter 78 78: Rowan: I’m a Champion of Justice Too

The central dueling arena of Duel Academy had been officially reopened, just one day after its last use.

"Thank you all for your patience!"

Professor Crowler stood at the center of the arena floor and addressed the crowd the moment Rowan and Jaden's group arrived after breakfast.

The students filling the spectator stands around them had been waiting for a good while already.

"We will now begin the duel to determine Duel Academy's representative!"

"Those two Slifer Red guys seriously just strolled in that late..."

"We've been here for almost half an hour already..."

"Show a little consideration for the people watching, would you..."

Students from Obelisk Blue and Ra Yellow grumbled from the surrounding stands, eyeing Rowan's unhurried figure and the group trailing behind Jaden with unconcealed irritation.

Their complaints rippled through the crowd in low murmurs.

But not one of them could actually do anything about it.

Because at the end of the day, elite duelists like Bastion Misawa, the top student of Ra Yellow, and Chazz Princeton, the pride of Obelisk Blue, had both already lost.

Not to mention the legendary duo of the Paradox Brothers. The defeats spoke for themselves.

Whatever people thought of Rowan and Jaden, most of the crowd, however reluctantly, privately acknowledged they probably couldn't win against either of them.

"These two really have zero sense of time..."

Alexis, seated in the front row, watched Rowan's leisurely arrival and pressed a hand to her forehead with a long-suffering expression.

Jasmine and Mindy, flanking her on either side, wore matching looks.

...

"One of our candidates is Rowan of Slifer Red, and the other candidate is also from Slifer Red, Jaden..."

Crowler introduced the two duelists with absolutely no enthusiasm as they took their positions on opposite ends of the arena.

If this weren't a required formality, with Chancellor Sheppard, Professor Banner, and a significant portion of the student body watching, he would have happily skipped the whole thing.

Rowan, the underperforming Slifer Red student. Jaden, also from Slifer Red.

Dueling each other to decide who would represent Duel Academy.

Both of them from the worst dormitory on campus.

It was, frankly, an embarrassment to him as the head of Obelisk Blue and the academy's chief overseer of practical dueling.

And to make it worse, these were the exact same two students who had already humiliated him personally.

Crowler could barely stand it.

The only first-years he could have put forward to salvage even a shred of dignity were Bastion Misawa from Ra Yellow and Chazz Princeton from Obelisk Blue.

And both of them had already been beaten by Rowan and Jaden before any of this even started.

Chazz had even withdrawn from the academy entirely some time ago. There was no trace of him left.

...

Jaden, entirely oblivious to Crowler's quiet suffering, was already fired up and staring across the arena at Rowan.

"Rowan! Show me what this new deck of yours can do!"

"Gladly."

Rowan set the deck he'd redeemed from the system the day before into his duel disk, and put on an expression of beaming, wholesome heroism.

"Allow me to show you the power of my Evil HERO deck."

He looked, for all the world, like someone about to fight on the side of justice.

"A HERO deck?!"

The words landed like a small explosion.

Jaden and Crowler across the arena.

Alexis and her friends in the front row. Bastion, Syrus, and a dense crowd of other students in the stands.

Even Zane, not typically a man given to readable expressions.

Every face in that arena went blank with the same stunned disbelief.

The same HERO deck as Jaden?

That was what Rowan was playing?

The shock rippled visibly through the crowd.

Though even as it did, Alexis, Bastion, and Syrus all felt a faint, creeping unease beneath the surprise.

Something about this didn't sit right. They each arrived at the same silent conclusion:

Rowan, by no reasonable measure, seemed like the kind of person who would have anything to do with a HERO deck.

"I don't know what you've got in there exactly, but I'm already excited to find out!"

Jaden called over, grinning wide.

"Then, without further delay, let us begin!"

Crowler said, and promptly stepped off the arena floor as fast as his dignity would allow.

The two duelists faced each other across the field.

"Duel!"

"Duel!"

Both drew their opening five cards.

The duel disks lit up red as holographic fields expanded between them.

On either side, a single figure shimmered into view.

[4000 LP] vs. [4000 LP]

"I'll take first turn. My turn, draw!"

Jaden pulled his card and immediately broke into a grin.

"I Summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in Defense Position!"

A flash of blue light, and a masked figure materialized on Jaden's field: blue suit, billowing cape, high-pressure water cannons mounted on both arms.

A caped hero, ready for battle.

[Elemental HERO Bubbleman] Stars: 4 / WATER ATK: 800 / DEF: 1200

"Bubbleman's effect! When he's the only card on my field, I can draw two cards from my deck!"

Jaden reached for his deck and pulled two more cards.

"Starting off with the Pot of Greed of Heroes, huh," Rowan remarked. "Coming in hot."

His own Evil HERO deck did contain a number of HERO monsters. But not Bubbleman.

Drawing two cards under specific conditions was fine, but the activation requirement was a little too narrow, and the card itself wasn't nearly sinister enough for what he had in mind.

That kind of card belonged in the hands of someone with genuinely blessed draws.