7. Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V: A New Story of Pendulum (Fusion Arc)

Chapter 4 Groups and Goals

Within the marble corridors of Academia, the hum of machinery echoed faintly beneath the sound of crashing waves. The atmosphere was cold, sterile — the calm before an inevitable storm.

Akaba Leo stood before a massive monitor, its glow washing over his face in pale blue light. On the screen, a fleet of ships approached, cutting through the fog like spears of defiance.

One of the instructors hurried into the room, his voice trembling. "Sir, the Lancers... they're coming. Their fleet has entered Academia's perimeter."

Leo's sharp gaze never left the screen. "So... the Lancers are coming to Academia." His voice carried neither fear nor surprise, only the quiet weight of inevitability.

The footage shifted — a close-up of the resistance vessel flickered into view. Leo's breath caught for the briefest moment as familiar faces appeared among the crew.

His eyes narrowed. "Yusho... Sarah..."

The reflection of his ex-wife, Sarah, and his former friend, Sakaki Yusho, gleamed across the monitor. Standing beside them was the girl who bore the face of destiny — Hiiragi Yuzu, vessel of the lost soul Akaba Ray.

Leo's expression darkened, his hands tightening behind his back. "Even she's aboard that ship... the final piece I need."

Deep beneath the main structure, in the sealed chamber known as the Arc Reactor, the air shimmered with crimson light. Three figures stood in its heart — shadows of power drawn together by something older than time.

Mira-Vahl, her mask reflecting the reactor's glow, turned her head slightly. "Looks like Black Mist has failed. I can no longer sense his energy."

Erebus, standing beside her, folded his arms with measured calm. "Failure or not, we've already gained what we needed. The interference delayed them long enough." His crimson eyes flickered faintly. "Now the pieces of the Genesis Omega Dragon rest in the hands of those children. All that remains is for the Supreme King to awaken within them... and compel them to summon all ten."

Across the room, Chronos gave a low, humorless laugh. "That fool Akaba Leo still believes the Supreme King's soul resides only within Zarc and Zarine. He doesn't realize his precious daughter carries the third fragment herself."

The reactor pulsed brighter, its rhythmic hum resembling a heartbeat — slow, deliberate, and dangerously close to awakening.

The storm outside began to build, and the echoes of destiny stirred once more within Academia's walls.

The ship drifted through the mist like a phantom, its engines humming softly beneath the rising dawn. Inside the strategy chamber, a holographic map of Academia Island glowed above the central table, casting blue reflections across the faces of the Lancers and their allies.

Reisho stood at the front, his expression calm but sharp. "I'm not sure who exactly guards each location, but one thing is certain — these twenty areas are the ones under the heaviest protection."

He tapped the control panel, and twenty red points illuminated on the island's grid.

Yuya stepped closer, his eyes scanning the holographic layout. "The names of the locations are: Main Classroom, Harbor, Obelisk Female Dorm, Obelisk Male Dorm, Ra Yellow Dorm, Osiris Red Dorm, Duel Classroom, West Tower, East Tower, Duel Monster's Lab, Training Facility, Volcano, Prison Cell, Library, Abandoned Dorm, SAL Lab, Forest, Warehouse, Cliff, and Experimental Lab."