Another school day had just ended at Delta Academy as the final bell rung and Yuushi was packing up his notes and writing utensils. Beside him, Ayumi was doing the same as they talked about their day.

"Did you get the new CD yet?", the girl asked.

Yuushi shrugged, "Maybe some other time. I've got enough songs to listen to for now. Besides, with the science test coming up soon, I might get it after that."

Hikaru had already finished packing up and rushed over to the two excitedly.

"I can't wait," he said enthusiastically, "You got my e-mail last night right?"

"You already asked us that at lunch," the black-haired boy replied, "You're heading to the Duel Monastery over in Soulait City right? "

"It's for a professional duel that builds up your circuit points right?", Ayumi added in.

Hikaru nodded, "Yep. I've started to build up a winning streak and I want to keep the energy going. Hopefully that will carry a few games for me. You're still packing? Just do what I do and just sweep everything in your bag and worry about sorting things out afterwards."

After factoring in walking time, travel time, more walking, unexpected factors as well as unfamiliarity with the area, Yuushi knew that there was definitely not that much time left and that Hikaru's plan was not so bad. He looked at his desk and opened his bag and indeed swept everything in.

"See! I told you that it was a great idea!", the blue-black haired male said proudly, "Oh, Ryoko and Natsumi are probably waiting for us. We got to go before they yell at us for being late!"

At the monorail station, Ryoko had already met up with Natsumi as Yuushi, Ayumi and Hikaru soon joined the girls.

Ryoko looked over at the trio, "I found your little sister pretty easily. Well, she actually found me but it's the same right?"

Ayumi smiled, "Are you going to cheer for your big brother?"

Natsumi nodded, "Yeah. Hikaru's starting his career and I want to help him out in any way I can. Even if it's just cheering, I'll be the one to cheer the loudest."

"Thanks. It means a lot. Really. Just hearing you cheer can make the difference between a win and a loss," Hikaru stated with reassuring confidence from not only his younger sister but his family too, "With people like this supporting me, I'm sure to make it far."

A few moments later, the monorail arrived as Yuushi was still looking at the time and trying to calculate the time they would need, "The monorail's here. We should probably get on and hopefully arrive at Duel Monastery early so Hikaru can properly prepare for his duel."


Eventually, the monorail went through and past Heartland City until the group reached an area near the edge of the neighboring Soulait City. The city itself was quite large though not as big as Heartland City. Looking around, there seemed to be more trees, parks and recreational facilities in comparison. There were not as many digital billboards, corporations or other signs but the area seemed more spacious as a result. Regardless, the monorail seemed to travel through most of the larger districts as Yuushi took a look at his surroundings. Luckily for the group, they had already planned a route to the monastery as marked on a digital map contained within their D-Pads.

"If we had more time, I'd like to see some of the famous tower museums in the city. The city has several artifacts dating back from millenia including things like fossils, manuscripts, ancient necklaces, treasures from older civilizations and other stuff. Wonder when those exhibits end?," Yuushi asked with some regret.

Ryoko chuckled politely, "Sounds like you did some research into the city, Maybe next time, Yuushi. Speaking of looking into things...Hikaru, what sort of information do you have on your opponent? Deck, strategy, things like that?"

Hikaru stopped in his tracks, "Uh...I know that his name is Kogoro Sumioka and that he's the heir to the Duel Monastery. He has...a deck of some sort..."

"A deck of some sort, huh? Never would have guessed that," Yuushi muttered with sarcasm.

Natsumi chimed in, "According to some online sources, Kogoro has been using a Warrior deck with focus on Equip Spells for his past few matches."

"See, there. Nice job, Natsumi. You guys, don't worry. I've done my own preparations and Keita has been helping me out with some practice duels and other things," Hikaru implied.

"Where is Keita?", Ayumi asked, "I'm guessing he had something to do?"

The blue-black haired older male replied, "Well, he had his own duel or something to go to but he did give me a few last minute pointers that I've been keeping in my head. Besides, I want to do this on my own and prove that I can beat anyone in this circuit on my own."


Following the map, the group went along a path that led through the forest for several moments until they passed through the trees into what appeared to be a large opening which had a path that led up a small mountain. After climbing the path for some time, they reached a fork in the road as they followed the map and took the left path. By this time, the group was getting fatigued but based off the map, Yuushi predicted that they would easily make it before the appointed time. Several minutes after that, they noticed a large structure with an ancient gate in the distance above them with a long path surrounded by trees and shrubs leading up to the gates.

"So that's Duel Monastery then?" said the dark brown haired girl with amazement.

Looking further, Ryoko could make out additional details, "About a third to halfway up, the main path has some stairs at least which leads straight through the gates."

Yuushi was panting, "Give me a second before we go up. Just need a bit of a break."

Natsumi was also aware of the time, "I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"Phew," Yuushi sighed with relief.

Hikaru shook his head, "Come on Yuushi. You can't be tired already? We're so close!"

"Let me just catch my breath. Ugh, the place looks so far away. Can't it come closer or something?", the boy complained.

Ayumi chuckled jokingly, "You know that's actually not possible, right? I thought you'd be the last person to say stuff like that."


Several minutes after, the five people continued upwards onto the monastery's stairs until they made it past the two successive gates. The very outer edges were surrounded by walls with trees and grass near the edges. Not only that but there was a beautiful pond to the left that had a bridge connecting the two sides. Decorative stones were placed here and there and there were a few buildings which were inside the monastery. Overall it was a relatively large chain of buildings that was a bit smaller than Delta Academy. However, Yuushi noticed that these were very, very old structures that had signs of reconstruction and remodeling over its lifespan. Furthermore, there were even monks that seemed to be in the middle of constructing another building. As for people, there were both males and females of varying ages dressed in monk robes or some type of uniform and others that seemed to dress pretty standardly like their group. There were a decent amount of students as Yuushi could see people training not only in basic exercises and other activities but also with duels. It was easy to tell who was a monk and who was an outsider. Near the central building was a large bronze Buddha statue that seemed to overlook the front area.

Seeing the duels, Yuushi was surprised, "The technology used for dueling seems out of place compared to the more traditional methods elsewhere. There have D-Pads, AR Vision and everything to the right but to the left are just what I would expect from old-fashioned monks. Maybe I'm just ignorant about the whole thing."

Natsumi looked around, "So where do we go now? The duel could be in any of these buildings."

"The e-mail said that we should wait near the front gates and someone should escort us to where we need to go," Hikaru said looking at his D-Pad.

"I guess we have to wait then," suggested Ayumi.

A minute or two afterwards, a bald man in his thirties or so wearing the traditional garments of the monastery approached the group with a quick glance.

"Are you Hikaru Aoki? So are these your friends?," the monk questioned.

The blue-black haired boy pointed to himself, "That's me. These are my friends and my little sister."

He seemed happy, "You look exactly like the picture we received. If you'll all follow me, I will lead you to where you will be dueling today."

The group followed the monk while staring at everything along the way.

Picking up on their interest in the monastery, the monk elaborated, "Here at Duel Monastery we train duelists of course but we don't just look at the duels themselves. We believe in the ancient ways where duelists need to not only have strategy and knowledge but also body and spirit. Because of this, we have various facilities such as training grounds, a library, an infirmary, a small school and a mill to produce goods among other things."

Yuushi had a question, "So what about AR Vision and duels with D-Pads? Those aren't ancient and are quite new in comparison if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes. The Duel Monastery has undergone a lot of changes in the past few years with several debates for and against the changes but the young daughter of the master was able to convince Master Sumioka to try this change. Now we are fairly different from a normal monastery as not even our traditions could be isolated from this technological age. That is why you can see construction and AR Vision here and that is why we have partnered and helped the community who in return are helping us expand. In return, we welcome and impart our knowledge to any of their willing students. The master was heavily reluctant but his daughter was just as stubborn and it was the master who seemed to cave in first on the matter. His son, Kogoro, was supportive of this change which is why he has been a recent addition to the pro dueling world."

Ryoko had her own question, "How old is this place?"

The monk thought about it, "The Duel Monastery here in Soulait City has witnessed countless changes to the world around it for several thousands of years. Now it is a place where people can hone their skills to be the best that they can be."

Hearing these answers, the boy with the glasses was interested in the place a bit more but they reached a building by the central area as the monk led them inside. They continued inside down a hallway until they reached a large set of double doors. Opening them, there was a large open room supported by stone pillars to the sides. Inside, there were a few monks watching but there were two monks in particular who really stood out based on their position relative to everyone. One of them who was alone in the center of the room was a tall and fit man in his early twenties with short black standing hair. This individual had brown-orange monk robes like the others, a Duel Disk out and looked intensely at Hikaru who was a little confused. Up above a few steps, there was a somewhat elderly, thin gray, short-haired man with a short greying moustache and beard wearing similar brown-orange robes who was sitting on a carpet observing the area below.

"Thank you for your service," the older man said to the monk who guided the group in.

Before the monk left, he took a silent bow as everyone noticed the five young people who just entered with the doors closing behind him.

The younger duelist male monk walked up and bowed politely, "You must be Hikaru Aoki. I am Kogoro Sumioka and I will be your opponent for this professional duel. Anything you want to do before this duel?"

Hikaru quickly ran forward to the opponent side of Kogoro, "Nope. I had a good meal beforehand and some exercise to get here. I'm pumped and ready to go."

"Father...no, Master. I will try to make you proud," Kogoro said partially nervous while glancing at the elderly man who nodded back.

"Good luck!," Natsumi quickly shouted.

Some of the monks were startled by the echoing from her voice but they did not say anything as both Duel Disks deployed themselves and both D-Gazers from Hikaru and Kogoro lit up.

Now Kogoro seemed serious as he looked at Hikaru, "I am the heir to this Monastery so I hope to learn a lot from this."

His opponent chuckled, "Then let's start this duel!"

The area around them began to digitize to setup this duel. Numbers and data flowed through the monastery as final preparations were completed. Everyone had D-Gazers of some sort on except the Master who was watching through his large, bulky and rectangular Duel Disk.


In the shadows, there was another figure watching the duel with perhaps even more interest than anyone in the room right now. This individual had a particular interest in both Hikaru and Kogoro, the current duelists.


The model of the Duel Disk was one that Yuushi recognized but had only seen in textbooks, "That's one old Duel Disk. It's not even a D-Pad which came out after. The only thing that model can do is duel while D-Pads have other functions including touch screens, higher resolution, interact access, compactability and other features.

"AR Vision, Link Established," a digital female voice announced.

With both players swiping the top five cards of their decks, there was just one thing left to do.

"Duel!"

Hikaru – 4000 LP
Kogoro – 4000 LP


Several turns passed with Hikaru and Kogoro having somewhat slow first turns. Eventually, Kogoro was about to push out an attack but Hikaru countered. Kogoro's overextension of the field cost him a majority of his cards as Hikaru had Laval Stennon ready for the final attack. Though Kogoro had the Continuous Spell Card, The A. Forces on his field, it did not help him right now as Hikaru announced his move.

"Molten Cannon attack!"

The golem raised up its arm cannon and the weapon released a blast of lava at Kogoro. He defended from the blast with his arms as he was covered in red. Though he was knocked back, the heir managed to stack on his feet as he opened his eyes in defeat.

Hikaru – 2200 LP – WIN
Kogoro – 0 LP

"Looks like Hikaru's winning spree continues," Yuushi observed.

Natsumi was smiling, "Alright! You did it, big brother! That's another win!"

As the duel ended, both duelists walked to the center of the room.

With another bow, the monk stated, "It was a total defeat for me. I will be sure to fix my mistakes so that next time we meet, I will be up to your standards. Master, do you mind if I train right now?"

The master opened his eyes, "You did a good job Kogoro and while this duel was your defeat, make sure you that you take this as a learning experience and use this to improve yourself. I will modify your regimen accordingly."

"Sounds like a plan!," the Laval duelist shouted back.

Finishing his sentence, Hikaru extended his arm out for a handshake. Though it seemed more traditional to do a bow again, Kogoro chuckled and extended his arm out as both duelists shook hands. After heading out the door, the group went out the building and past the gates again.

"That monk's deck had a lot of Equip Spells. Congratulations on the win," Ryoko said to Hikaru.

He chuckled, "See. All about winning sprees. You get some wins and you feel good and it seems like anything you do is the right call. Wait until I tell Keita about this!"

"That's called momentum. Just don't get too carried away," warned Yuushi.

"It's still a good win. You actually waited on that Trap Card. I thought you would have sprung it the first opportunity you got," Ayumi said stating her observations.

"You pick things up here and there in the pro leagues. Honestly, I just wanted that trap to do more damage and I figured that I was not under too much pressure to act," Hikaru said back before sighing, "Speaking of pressure, I have some work to do when I get back."

The little sister tilted her head, "Don't tell me you slacked off on chores. You promised mom and dad that you'd finish them before they got back."

"I did half of them. Just need to do the other half before they get back and it'll be fine, Natsumi," Hikaru stated confidently.

"Hey, mister! Please wait!", a female voice suddenly shouted.

Everyone stopped and tried to figure out where the voice was coming from. There was nobody behind or in front of them as suddenly, a young girl jumped out through some bushes from the side. She had tied-up light purple hair and light blue eyes and wore a plain red dress jacket and matching pants that went down to her knees. In addition, she was wearing wooden sandals on her feet and her right hand had a glove along with a red and light purple Duel Disk attached to it. Based off her appearance, voice and height, Yuushi guessed that she was about one to three years younger than himself. If she were walking around in Heartland City, she would probably stand out.

"You're Hikaru, right? You faced Kogoro in the duel at the monastery today," the girl asked with a smile.

Hikaru confirmed, "Yep. That's me alright!"

"Wow, you must be pretty good. I know Kogoro trains a lot but you beat him pretty good so you must know what you're doing," she declared with admiration, "Not too many pros come here to duel so it gets sort of boring. Lift that, run here, read this, stand there...ugh! Sometimes I need to see the outside world, you know. It's a pretty big place. So come on and duel me! Please!"

"She said 'outside world'. Does that mean she's a part of the monastery? If so, then what's with the clothes? She certainly doesn't look like a disciple at Duel Monastery," Yuushi noted to himself.

It did not take long but Hikaru got ready, "Well if you came down all this way, then sure. You got yourself a duel! So what's your name?"

"I'm Yuka," the girl introduced while quickly pulling out her D-Gazer, "Good thing I have this little thing on me!"

"Alright Yuka, you'll be my second challenger at this monastery! Are you ready? Let's do this!"

Both duelists got their D-Gazers out and activated them.

"AR Vision, Link Established."

By now, Yuushi, Ayumi, Ryoko and Natsumi had their D-Gazers out to watch and the duel was about to begin as both duelists grabbed their starting hand.

"Duel!"

Hikaru – 4000 LP
Yuka – 4000 LP

Yuka was quick to draw, "I got the first move! I place this Monster Card facedown and another face-down and end my turn!"

Just like that, an unknown monster and an equally mysterious Spell/Trap card materialized onto the field.

Hikaru had no idea what his opponent was planning but that never stopped him, "Draw! I activate Molten Conduction Field! This Spell Card will let me send Laval Lakeside Lady and Laval Warrior from my deck to the graveyard."

A blast of flames shot out from Hikaru's Duel Disk as he grabbed the two named cards from his deck and sent them into the graveyard as the deck auto-shuffled itself.

"I can Special Summon Spirit of Flames by banishing a Fire monster from my graveyard!"

As Hikaru placed the card on his Duel Disk, a fiery image of Laval Warrior was consumed by a pillar of fire as the fire began to the shape of a large red humanoid creature. This monster was like an elemental as it had the top half of its body resembling a red-skinned human with arms and a head but the bottom half of its body was just flames. Its green eyes lit up and smoke was coming off the monster itself (ATK: 1700, Level 4).

Yuka was a bit surprised, "Whoa! That monster doesn't look too happy to see me."

The boy grabbed another card, "I also summon Hand of Nephthys!"

A human female wearing yellow and orange cloth with a short orange dress emerged from a nearby fiery light. She was wearing a large golden helmet encrusted with a blue gem in the center near her forehead. Overall, her attire was Egyptian themed as she stood on the battlefield (ATK: 600, Level 2).

"Battle!", the boy commanded before pointing to the face-down monster on his opponent's field, "Spirit of Flames gets a nice 300 ATK boost during my Battle Phase which increases its ATK to 2000!"

Now the humanoid resembled a fire elemental even more as its while body was covered in burning flames (ATK: 1700+300= 2000 ATK). With a thrust of its arm, two fireballs were shot out and Yuka's face-down card turned over revealing that it was Future Samurai. This female was wearing cloth-like teal dress-armor though underneath was metallic armor covering her arms and body (DEF: 1200). She tried to defend herself with her dark green-bladed sword but the explosion from the fireballs were too much as even her blue vizor shattered on impact.

"So that card was Future Samurai," Yuushi noted to himself.

"Hand of Nephthys! Direct attack now!"

She opened her hands which started to brightly glow orange-red as a small wave of fire was shot out from her body and slammed into Yuka who managed to hold her ground. Even with that, she momentarily closed her eyes and when the attack was over, she knew that she took a hit.

Hikaru – 4000 LP
Yuka – 3400 LP

That was not the only thing left to do as Hikaru moved into his second Main Phase, "Hand of Nephthys has a special effect! By tributing itself and another monster, I can Special Summon Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys right from my deck!"

The human female kneeled down alongside Spirit of Flames before rising up into the air surrounded by a circular curtain of flames. The two monsters disappeared and the flames began to take a different form as a head, feathers, mouth, wings and talon began to take shape.

"Ancient avian of death and rebirth. Shine from the burning ashes once more and flare up your blazing soul! Be reborn! Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!"

With a screech, a Winged Beast creature began to appear with golden feathers that resembled scaly armor and a fiery mane that spread down from head to body to wings. Even the talons were gold as the creature spread its wings out in all its glory (ATK: 2400, Level 8).

Natsumi was a bit surprised, "Guess Hikaru wanted more damage so he summoned Sacred Phoenix after his attack."

"Now I set this card and end my turn!", Hikaru stated while the card digitized onto his field.

Seeing that monster made Yuka happy, "Wow! Amazing! That was nice but something like that isn't going to win this duel! I'll show you how to really go on the attack! I need to hurry or else I'll get in big trouble!"

That last sentence caused a few of the spectators to wonder what she meant but nobody said anything as her turn was about to begin.

Before doing anything though, Yuka looked around the trees and shrubs in the area suspiciously before hesitantly shouting, "I...I activate this Spell! Polymerization!"

Everyone was a bit taken aback as Ryoko wondered, "Wait, doesn't that card let you summon a Fusion Monster?"

"You have that in your deck?", Hikaru said with some shock.

Natsumi tilted her head, "Fusion Monster? I haven't heard of that."

"It's a monster that needs two or more Fusion Material Monsters from your hand or field and in many cases Polymerization or another Fusion Spell Card. You can Special Summon that Fusion Monster to your side of the field," explained Ayumi.

Yuushi nodded, "It's not as versatile as Synchro or Xyz Summon and you normally need a Spell Card on top which is why you might not have heard of it. It's still a decent yet niche option though in some situations."

"Here goes! I fuse my Blazewing Butterfly and Chthonian Emperor Dragon to create a new monster! I'm so excited! I never get to play this back at the monastery!", Yuka said jumping up and down while sending the two cards to the graveyard.

"She never gets to play it?", Yuushi wondered.

A blue, teal and black swirling portal opened in front of the young girl as two monsters appeared in front. The first was an orange butterfly with large wings of orange flames and the second was a dark green and gold dragon with orange spots along its body and a spiked green and golden patterned tail. Both monsters were drawn into the swirling portal as a dragonic figure began to make its way out.

"It's finally here! The coolest and greatest dragon! Superalloy Beast Raptinus!"

The swirling portal was now a purple portal as the dragon flew out and landed. This was certainly an odd dragon as it had sectioned scales that were nearly all colors of the rainbow including blue, yellow, green, teal and many more. The strange part was that it seemed to have parts from various animals including the finns of a fish on its head, unicorn horns, a large central rhino horn, wings of a griffin, claws of a tiger and scales and legs of a dragon. If it had to be classified, it would almost be a chimera of some sort though Yuushi was still in awe (ATK: 2200, Level 8).

Hikaru looked at the monster nearly speechless, "Whoa...whoa...never seen that before."

Ayumi whispered to the others, "Future Samuai from before is a Gemini Monster too right?"

"Yeah," Yuushi simply confirmed with a bit of worry and intrigue as he had no experience with Gemini Monsters other than hearing about them online or in books.

Yuka revealed a Monster Card from her hand, "I can also Special Summon Knight of the Red Lotus when I have three Normal Monsters on the dot in my graveyard! I just need to banish two of them, that's all."

"How did she get three Normal Monsters in the graveyard?", Natsumi asked.

"I used Polymerization so that means those two monsters and Future Samurai last turn was in my graveyard. Since they are all Gemini Monsters, they are treated as Normal Monsters when they are face-up on my field or in my graveyard meaning that I have exactly three Normal Monsters in my graveyard," Yuka explained.

"She might be young and a bit loud but she knows what she's doing. Polymerization not only got out a strong monster but she used it to also bring out another monster on top," Ryoko realized.

Just as Blazewing Butterfly and Chthonian Emperor Dragon were sent to the graveyard, both were now sent to the Banished Zone following the remarks. From the skies above, a blue male human crashed onto the ground below as a cloud of smoke shot out from the area of impact. As the smoke cleared, this male figure's orange eyes and hair were the most striking features of this individual. Not only that but the male swordsman wielded a massive blue broadsword with several sharp protrusions and matching bony armor and cape. The purple mask covering the lower half of his face, purple leather gloves and bandages showed that this individual was well-equipped for battle (ATK: 2100, Level 6).

Yuka was gathering quite the force as she was not quite finished yet, "I use Knight of the Red Lotus's other effect which lets me bring out a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from my graveyard! Here comes Future Samurai again!"

The swordsman slammed his broadsword into the ground as an area beside him lit up and the female warrior carrying a green sword emerged forward ready for action (ATK: 1600, Level 4).

"That's a lot of monsters but they won't get through my phoenix!", Hikaru boasted.

Yuka grinned excitedly, "We'll just see about that since I still have this face-down! Gemini Spark!"

The Quick-Play Spell sprung up as suddenly, the ground below Future Samurai began to glow as lightning and sparks began to shoot out as it traveled into her sword. With an instantaneous swing of her sword, lightning was released at Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys who screeched in pain before exploding off the field. However, that blast exhausted Future Samurai just as badly as she vanished into bolts of lightning.

"Gemini Spark lets me destroy a card on the field by tributing a Level 4 face-up Gemini Monster and then I can draw one card!"

She looked at the card she just drew and showed it, "Here goes! I summon Evocator Chevalier!"

Now Yuka had her own fiery monster with this new red breastplated warrior coated with gold, silver and orange trimmings. Over the breastplate was a massive red cape and coattails attached to some red shoulderpads. There was a sheath as well for the warrior's sharp and curved blade (ATK: 1900, Level 4).

Beside the newly summoned Warrior-Type monster though, Raptinus suddenly emitted a circular wave of golden energy from its body which spread over to Evocator Chevalier who had a golden aura around itself now.

"What the...", Hikaru mumbled to himself.

Yuka explained, "Raptinus has a very special, special effect. Gemini Monsters count as Normal Monsters with no effects but every Gemini Monster has more potential power that can be unlocked when you Normal Summon them again and they become Effect Monsters. I like to call it Gemini Summon. When I have Raptinus, all face-up Gemini Monsters automatically get their effects and become Effect Monsters so it's like free Gemini Summons!"

Yuushi was not expecting something like that, "So that's probably a very important card for her deck."

"I can't use Evocator Chevalier's effect though but that won't stop me from battling now!", she shouted as she moved into the Battle Phase.

Natsumi was worried, "Uh oh. My brother doesn't have any monsters to defend him and she has 6200 damage among three monsters!"

"Here comes the attack! This is going to hurt!", the girl announced, "I attack directly with Superalloy Beast Raptinus!"

The chimera-like dragon opened its mouth as a stream of blue and white lightning shot out at Hikaru who swung his arm dramatically.

"I activate Firewall!"

Just as the name suggested, a wall of fire appeared from out of nowhere in between Hikaru and the attack. The wall of flames managed to hold out against the stream of lightning as the attack ended up having no effect.

Hikaru explained, "This Continuous Trap only works against direct attacks. By banishing a Pyro-Type monster from my graveyard, that attack is negated."

From the graveyard, Spirit of Flames ejected out and the male duelist placed that card in the Banished Zone.

This did not deter Yuka at all, "Fine then! I'll just keep on attacking! I attack with Knight of the Red Lotus!"

The swordsman jumped into the air and prepared to swing down as the wall of fire emerged once again. Despite the massive swing, the firewall still held up as the warrior was forced to step back for the time.

"Fine then! I'll banish Laval Lakeside Lady to negate that attack too!"

Hikaru looked at it graveyard and scowled as his opponent moved on, "Evocator Chevalier! It's time for one last attack!"

A burst of fire shot out from Evocator Chevalier's left arm which was red flames. The burning arm touched and went along the horizontally-placed blade as the sword was now covered in flames. With a burst of speed, the warrior dashed forward and slashed at Hikaru who winced a bit before falling to one knee.

The blue-black haired student recovered, "That was pretty rough. I didn't think you would get through Firewall that quickly."

Hikaru – 2100 LP
Yuka – 3400 LP

Yuushi knew why the Continuous Trap did not activate once more, "The only monster in Hikaru's graveyard now is Hand of Nephthys and that's a Spellcaster so it can't be used for Firewall's effect."

"Wow! I thought for sure you would lose from that! You're pretty good!", Yuka complimented.

"Thanks. So are you though for someone your age," Hikaru admitted.

"That makes me sound old. I end my turn then!", she declared.

Looking at his hand and graveyard, Hikaru knew he was in trouble but moved on, "Here goes! Draw!"

He drew a monster which was honestly not a bad draw but he had other things to do first.

"During my Standby Phase, I can pay 500 Life Points to keep Firewall on the field but I won't so it's destroyed."

The Continuous Trap shattered into pieces as Hikaru raised his arm up for another occurrence, "Since you destroyed my Sacred Phoenix last turn with Gemini Spark, I can Special Summon it from the graveyard and destroy all Spell and Traps on the field which is why I didn't pay for Firewall since it would have been destroyed anyways! So be reborn! Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!"

A red portal opened up in mid-air and the golden phoenix flew out and hovered in mid-air on Hikaru's side of the field again (ATK: 2400, Level 8).

"When Sacred Phoenix comes back like this, its other effect activates which actually doesn't do anything right now since there are no Spell or Trap Cards on the field," Hikaru pointed out before continuing, "Now let's summon out a new monster! Come on out, Laval Cannon!"

A menacing mechanical blue golem with red-orange eyes stomped down. There was a metal emblem, wristband, leggings and eyepatch on this monster which was a bit strange. Not only that, but on this Laval monster's left arm was a mechanical cannon connected to a machine of some sort. This hand cannon was the most dangerous part of the creature as smoke was still coming off the weapon (ATK: 1600, Level 4).

Natsumi smiled, "Here goes! Show her that you won't be pushed around so easily!"

The big brother was planning to do just that as he explained Laval Cannon's effect, "I can bring back Laval Lakeside Lady from my Banished Zone when this card is Normal Summoned!"

Just as he said, a young tan-skinned red-orange haired girl emerged from a summoning portal. She had orange-red eyes and a short blue and white dress. In her hair was a silver-grey ornament of some kind (ATK: 200, Level 3 Tuner).

Yuushi looked at the field, "Hikaru should be able to get some field presence back after this."

"Now I tune my Laval Lakeside Lady with my Laval Cannon to summon out a new Level 7 monster," Hikaru declared.

After seeing the duel at Duel Monastery, Yuka was quite familiar at what would be called out as she looked on with anticipation. Laval Lakeside Lady closed her eyes as she was transformed into three green rings that shot up above the duelists. With a massive jump, Laval Cannon made it quite high into the high as the rings surrounded the monster who turned into an orange outline of itself before transforming into four small, round stars of light. Following that, a bright pillar of light went through the rings as the pillar landed onto Hikaru's side of the field.

"In the molten volcano, a roar which cannot be silenced! Flames which swell in the heart of fire! Synchro Summon! Laval Stennon!"

Taking an echoing stomp forward, a bulky and blue massive golem with bronze, silver and gold steampunk armor stepped forward. Though the armor itself was minimal with rings around the limbs, wristbands and kneebands with large gauntlet and metal spikes, the sheer size of the creature could more than likely be counted as armor itself. This creature was also equipped with a magma cannon on its left arm with machines and gauges to improve the cannon's efficiency (ATK: 2700, Level 7).

There was something Hikaru had to address before moving on, "When this card is Synchro Summoned, I have to send a card to the graveyard from my hand. The card I'll choose is Laval Judgment Lord."

Two of Hikaru's strongest cards were out which was a massive confidence boost for the pro duelist going into this Battle Phase, "Yuushi's right about that Raptinus. Free effects like that are probably things I want to avoid. When it goes down, so do those free effects which means that..."

Pointing his finger at the dragon, Hikaru declared, "Laval Stennon! Use Molten Cannon to destroy Superalloy Beast Raptinus!"

Taking aim, Laval Stennon raised up its arm cannon which began to exude and radiate waves of heat and red-orange light as the cannon charged up. Seconds later, a large fireball was shot out from the cannon that collided with Superalloy Beast Raptinus as the explosion and smoke left nothing behind of the dragon.

Hikaru – 2100 LP
Yuka – 2900 LP

Just as Raptinus faded, the golden aura around Chevalier disappeared as well with the Warrior-Type monster returning back to its original state.

"Sacred Phoenix! Burn down Knight of the Red Lotus! Go, Flames of Reckoning!

Hearing this command, the phoenix flew up as flames coated its body and the monster was burning brightly as an avatar of flame. Charging forward, the phoenix crashed into the warrior as an explosion consumed both monsters. Soon after though, Sacred Phoenix flew up into the air as its flames dissipated and the smoke cleared with no sign of Knight of the Red Lotus.

Hikaru – 2100 LP
Yuka – 2600 LP

The only monster left for Yuka was Chevalier Evocator but Hikaru had nothing else to do this Battle Phase as he grabbed a card, "I set this card down and end my turn!"

Unknown to everyone but Hikaru, the set card was Searing Fire Wall, a Quick-Play Spell Card with a numerous amount of uses. It was definitely a nice card to have as he prepared for the girl's counterattack.

Yuka put her hand on her deck, "Here goes!"

She quickly grabbed the top card of her deck and opened her eyes, "Rose, Warrior of Revenge along with my Gemini Trap Hole isn't too bad but..."

There was another movement of her head as she looked around at the pathway behind her, the trees and the shrubs surrounding the duel. Everyone noticed this suspicious move but nobody really said anything again. This time she looked around a bit more as she grabbed the card.

"I summon...!"

From the sides though, the shrubs and trees rustled as four people jumped out. They were all from the monastery based off their robes. One of the people was even Kogoro Sumioka who the group still recognized back at the monastery. They quickly moved over to Yuka as Kogoro was one to step out towards her.

He sighed, "Yuka...why are you bothering these people? I saw that card in your hand."

Yuka moved back, "Come on, big bro! I want to keep dueling though! We're having a great time!"

"Bro? So this is the young daughter of the master. I thought monks couldn't have one kid let alone two or more kids but maybe this monastery is different or maybe the rules are weird...I don't know," Yuushi shrugged.

Kogoro looked at her graveyard and the cards she had, "Rose?! Raptinus?! You know that our father doesn't want you to use cards like that. It's part of your training regimen! Father just wants you to succeed."

Now the young girl sighed, "I know he does but...he's just so stubborn! You know what I mean, right?!"

"Yeah, I know our father can be like that. You've had your fun though and he's worried about you. I'll try to talk to him but you have to talk responsibility for taking those cards and putting them into your deck like that," Kogoro explained.

Hikaru spoke up, "Come on! She's right. We're just getting to the good part."

"Hikaru, I know you're a great duelist and all but this isn't about being a duelist. It's about honor and tradition that Duel Monastery here in Soulait City has carried for generations. We have acted on our ancient rules to grow to this point and we have to follow these rules and carry on our traditions. It does not concern you," Kogoro sternly warned.

"But I have to do something if he doesn't! You understand right? You were the one who showed me these cards in the first place," Yuka said.

Kogoro nodded, "Yeah. I know that you have your point but our father is still the master of the temple. As such, we have to show him the respect and honor he deserves. I was sent here by our father to take you back to the monastery."

Yuka moaned, "But the duel...!"

"Is over. I an sorry but the master has requested your immediate presence. He already knows that the cards are missing and has a good suspicion of what happened here even if I say nothing. I will talk to him about this however," Kogoro replied.

The girl was pouting but conceded, "I guess it won't be fun dueling with you watching me like that. Sorry, Hikaru. We should duel another time though. Promise me that we'll get another chance."

The boy nodded, "It's fine, I promise. We can finish this another time!"


Minutes after, Yuka had left with Kogoro and the other monks while Yuushi, Ayumi, Hikaru, Ryoko and Natsumi were continuing down the mountain to get back to Soulait City. It was getting late and they were planning to take the monorail back to Heartland City in the reverse order they took to get here.

Natsumi stetched a bit, "I'm a bit hungry."

Hikaru looked at her, "Same here. Maybe we'll just get take out on the way back and go home."

Yuushi was panting, "I need to work on my stamina and cardio if I want to see the world one day. I think...I'll just rest at home for a bit before doing anything. Those monks must get a lot of exercise going in and out of the place."

"What about Yuka? Do you think she's a monk?," Ryoko asked.

"I don't know. Nonetheless, she seems pretty young but she's definitely a strong duelist. She held up pretty well against you," Yuushi complimented.

"If that duel continued, do you think you had that won?", Ayumi questioned the Laval duelist.

Hikaru pumped his fist, "Of course. I had my best monsters and she only had one monster out and one card in her hand. Well, two cards after her turn starts. How bad could it have been?"

Ryoko retorted, "You never know. She might have had something set up."

"Well, we'll never know," Yuushi concluded as they continued.


Hours after that duel, Kogoro met up with his father in a separate room to discuss what had happened after they found Yuka. The master was sitting in thought as Kogoro was already in discussion with him.

"I'm glad Yuka is safe. There's a lot she doesn't know about the outside world," the master said before looking to a box, "These cards are our legacy and by tradition, they are yours Kogoro and only yours."

"I did see some of her duel. She held up greatly against an opponent who defeated me with relative ease and might I say, she was about to strike back and take control," Kogoro admitted.

"Even so. She did not do it with the deck that I approved and victory without honor is no victory at all. That is one of the sayings of our monastery," the older man said back.

"Another saying though is that we should bring out latent potential in those who study here, is it not? We cannot deny her great personal potential and strong mastery over the monastery's heirlooms. Maybe we should let her use these cards more often. Slowly but surely, in her hands, these cards can...", Kogoro argued back.

The master boldly interrupted, "That's enough! There are changes I'm ready to accept but that is not one of them! The ancient scriptures declare that the oldest child will be the one to solely inherit the cards within this box. You are the oldest and as such, these cards are yours and yours alone until the next generation where you shall pass these cards down to your oldest child. I just need to prepare and train you properly so that you can carry on our legacy and bring pride and honor to our Duel Monastery. That is the way my father and his father and his father before him have done it and how it will continue."

Kogoro spoke up, "But...but...!"

"That's enough! That is my final say! I've worked myself up and have nothing more to say on the matter," the other man yelled back.

Though Kogoro still had words, he knew that for the time that they would do no good as he left the room awkwardly.


Chapter 8 Preview

Hikaru: Thanks for the support. You guys are the best!

Ayumi: Good luck in your professional dueling career, Hikaru.

Ryoko: No problem. It was nice to take a look at a real monastery.

Yuushi: Speaking of places to look at, Reiji said that he has somewhere he wants me to see with him. He found a clue using Osamu's blank card. Chapter 8: Ritual Representative. Wait, there's somewhere there already but just who is this person?