Meanwhile, with Kaiba keeping "Mardel" occupied, Jaden and the others returned to the academy without trouble after dealing with Rock Spirit.
Just as they were standing in the front entrance hall, complaining about His Majesty and wondering why no one was defending the academy...
"Grr..." Suddenly, crowds of people shuffled toward them from every direction.
"Hey! Where's everyone else? Why are you walking like that?" Jaden greeted them casually.
"Something's wrong!" Zane Truesdale grabbed him and pulled him back.
Aster scanned their surroundings with a grave expression.
"Jaden, do you think there's something off about them?" Jesse asked, equally puzzled.
"What's wrong?"
"Use your head. Let's back up and keep watching them," Amon suggested, stepping in front of Eiko's team.
"Right. Let's go."
"Damn it, they've cut off our retreat." They looked back to find seven or eight students blocking the academy gates.
"What's wrong with you guys? It's us! I'm Jaden! Jaden Yuki!" Jaden was still introducing himself.
"It's no use. Haven't you noticed they all have something in common?"
"Duel... duel..."
As the crowd drew closer, everyone noticed that those people moved slowly, their eyes dark and unfocused, muttering about dueling.
"You mean we should use our speed to slip through?"
"That's our only option. We have to find out what happened to the academy."
"Exactly. Have you noticed how many people are missing from this crowd?"
As they warmed up, they took a closer look. "You're right. There's no sign of the chairman, the principal, Professor Mutou, Mayor Kaiba, Lord Maximillion Pegasus, or the others..."
"Ah! I see Chazz Princeton, Sho, and Kenzan!"
"And Mr. Tristan Taylor, Mr. Bakura, and Professor Crowler!"
Jaden suddenly began shouting.
The eyes of the people still waiting in the secret passage lit up at the sound!
They quickly opened the passage