Hello, everyone! This is a new chapter! Chapter 67! I hope everyone will enjoy it and without further ado, let's start!

Normal POV

The four looked out at the bunch of trees and bushes in front of them.

" Should I burn it? They're inside." Naoki said

" Don't damage school property like that." Aichi said

" Then what do you propose we do with this mess?" Misaki ask

" Well, they should know that we know that they're inside somewhere." Aichi said

" ... Hey! Just come out already! We know you two have been spying on us for awhile now!" Naoki shouted

" That was too direct..." Kai sighed

Aichi laughed awkwardly as they heard rustling from the bushes. The two figures came out of the bushes, revealing to be Rath and Vee.

" Whoa, whoa! Relax, we're all schoolmates here!" Rath exclaimed as he put his hands up

" Right... Like we'll believe that. You're not hiding that flame signal really well." Naoki said

Rath sighed as Vee shook her head.

" I told you we should've put on a Mammon Chain or something." Vee said

" Oh well... I guess we'll have to do this the hard way." Rath said

" We'll leave the safety of the students to you, Misaki-san." Aichi said

" Leave it to me." Misaki said as she stepped back

" Your guys attacked us in our homes and school. So it's about time for payback." Naoki said as he cracked his knuckles

" Oh? Are you sure? We could always call those guys out again. By the time they are defeated, I'm sure you guys would already be dead." Rath warned as he pulled out a gun

" That's some threat. Since you guys are going to try this again, allow us to start up the fight this time." Kai said as a shadow loomed over them

They looked up as black clouds had gathered above them.

" Thunderbolt!"

The thunderbolt started to strike as it crashed on the two as the trees started burning.

" Hey... Don't burn down the school..." Naoki muttered

" Jeez! I just told Naoki-kun not to damage school property and now you do it too?!" Aichi exclaimed

" Relax. I'll just use rain clouds to stop the fire." Kai said

The thunder stopped as rain replaced them and showered over the fire, extinguishing them successfully.

" Hey! Don't be that impatient!" Rath exclaimed

" You guys are here to cause trouble so why not?" Naoki ask

" We're here for a friendly settlement. In other words, a bet." Rath said

" A bet?"

" You guys like that card game, right? You use that frequently to settle disputes. Why don't we use that method now? If one of you win, we'll leave you guys alone for now. If you lose, you four are following us." Rath explained

" I'm sure this isn't without some sort of rule." Misaki said

" Of course. You four are strong, after all. You'd rather leave the school unharmed than get it destroyed, right?" Vee ask

" Yeah."

" Here's the special rule then. We've made decks of our own as well. One of you four will have to pick out one of them to fight. In other words, they'll be decks that you have never used before." Rath explained

" Don't worry though, we didn't use any dirty tricks for these decks. We made sure to go by the rules and built them accordingly." Vee assured

" How nice of you." Naoki said

" Why don't we head inside? Wouldn't want to keep your clubmates waiting." Rath said

Aichi looked over to Misaki and nodded as she released the lightning barrier and communicated with Nono before heading into the practice room with Rath and Vee.

" Come in, but don't try anything funny." Aichi warned

" We won't." Rath assured

They hesitantly opened the doors as they led the two to a free fight table.

" So who are you going to fight?" Naoki ask

" I think the leader would do." Vee replied

" Okay then." Aichi said

Rath opened up a briefcase as decks were laid out but they were all face down so Aichi couldn't tell what the decks were. Aichi hesitated a little before hearing a voice in his head and before he knew it, he was holding a deck in his hand.

" Wha...?"

" So you've chosen a deck. Then I'll choose mine." Rath said as he picked a deck

He then closed the briefcase and left it with Vee. Aichi blinked at the deck and looked at the card at the front of the deck. They set their decks on the fight table as Aichi blinked again, hesitating.

" No doubt, it was PSYqualia again... But why this deck?" Aichi thought

Kai, who'd felt the same feeling, looked over to Aichi as his eyes narrowed and went deep into his thoughts while watching Aichi setting up his first Vanguard and deck. They drew their cards and did any mulligan that they needed to do before placing their hands on their first Vanguard.

" Stand up, Vanguard!"

" I ride First Aid Celestial, Peniel!"

" I ride Running Sniper!"

" Spike Brothers and Angel Feather? Then this is a Force vs Protect match." Naoki said

" The problem is that the mechanics of Angel Feather are so complicated that Aichi might have a hard time mastering it in this match. His Royal Paladins have a pretty straightforward type of fighting style after all." Misaki said

" Like someone's deck... He can stand so many times that I get a headache blocking them sometimes." Naoki said

" ... What?" Kai ask

" Nothing."

" Draw. I ride Scaling Angel! With Peniel's skill, I draw one card. Scaling Angel's skill. I draw another card and discard one. Turn end." Aichi declared

" Draw. I ride Wonder Boy! With Running Sniper's skill, I draw another card and add the Quick Shield into my hand. I attack your Vanguard with Wonder Boy!" Rath declared

" No guard."

" Drive check! No trigger." Rath declared

Aichi checked for a damage trigger as it revealed none and he placed it in the Damage Zone.

" Turn end."

" Draw!" Aichi declared as he drew a card and reached for a Grade 2, but before he could, PSYqualia appeared for a brief second as his hand moved to another card, " I ride Love Machine Gun, Nociel."

" ... Again... Another PSYqualia activation..." Kai thought

Naoki looked around, noticing a few students having gathered around them.

" What's going on?" Shingo ask

" Oh... Some people wanted to have a match with Aichi, but they asked him to use another deck. That's why he doesn't have his usual Royal Paladin." Naoki explained

" Is this for the club initiation test?" Akari ask

" Not sure." Misaki replied

" Huh?"

Aichi snapped out of his daze after that as he looked at the card he'd placed on the Vanguard Circle.

" Again..." Aichi muttered

" Something wrong?" Rath ask

" N-No, it's nothing. Nociel's skill. Counterblast and Soulblast one card each. I put Happy Bell, Nociel to the Damage Zone and return the face down Bellyful Meds Angel to my hand. Happy Bell, Nociel's skill. If I have a Vanguard with 'Nociel' in its name, my front row units gets +5000 power during my turn. My Vanguard Nociel attacks your Vanguard." Aichi declared

" No guard."

" Drive trigger check. Critical trigger! I give all effects to my Vanguard!" Aichi declared

Rath opened the two cards on top of his deck and placed them in the Damage Zone. One was a normal unit and the other...

" Draw trigger! I draw one card and give the power to my Vanguard!" Rath declared

" Turn end."

" Stand and draw! I ride Adorbs-palm Rorna! I activate her skill. Counterblast. When she's placed, I can pay the cost to search for a Grade 3 in my deck and call it to the rear guard circle. I superior call Juggernaut Maximum! His skill! When he's placed, he gets +10000 power! I call Wonder Boy! Rorna attacks your Vanguard!" Rath declared

" No guard!"

" Drive check. I got a heal trigger. I give the power to Juggernaut and heal one damage." Rath declared

" Damage check. I got a draw trigger! I give the power to my Vanguard and draw." Aichi declared

" Juggernaut attacks with a boost from Wonder Boy!" Rath declared

" No guard!"

Aichi took the damage as it revealed no triggers and he placed it in the Damage Zone.

" Turn end."

" Stand and draw!" Aichi declared as he noticed the card that he drew

" A heal trigger." Misaki said

" That could've saved some damage for him." Naoki said

" The deck seems to not like him." Shingo said

" I wouldn't say that." Kai said

They all turned to him and looked at him questionably before turning back to the fight.

" ... I ride Love Sniper, Nociel! Imaginary Gift: Protect I! I activate Nociel's skill. Counterblast. I put the top card of my deck to the Damage Zone and return one card from the Damage Zone back to my hand. Battle Cupid, Nociel goes into my hand. I call Love Machine Gun, Nociel. Counterblast and Soulblast. I put Happy Bell, Nociel into the Damage Zone and put Scaling Angel into my hand." Aichi declared

" ... Huh? That's..." Misaki exclaimed

" What's wrong?" Naoki ask

" Look at his Damage Zone cards." Misaki said

" The Damage Zone cards? ...Three Happy Bell, Nociel." Shingo said as he pushed up his glasses

" That's it! Happy Bell, Nociel gives the front row units +5000 power during his turn when they're in the Damage Zone as long as he has a 'Nociel' unit on the Vanguard. With three there, his Vanguard and rear guard units already gets an instant +15000 power!" Akari exclaimed

" Correct. If he'd healed, that wouldn't have been possible." Misaki said

" Still feels a little wrong, but it does make sense." Naoki said

" I call Black Call, Nakir. Her skill activates. I look at the top five cards of my deck and search for a Grade 3 unit to add to my hand. Nothing there. I'll shuffle my deck afterwards. Nakir gets +5000 power for this turn since a new card had been placed in my Damage Zone. My Vanguard Nociel attacks your Vanguard." Aichi declared

" No guard!"

" Twin drive... First check. Second check. Critical trigger! I give the critical to my Vanguard and the power to my rear guard Nociel." Aichi declared

" Damage check." Rath declared, checking the two card from the top of his deck, " No triggers."

" My rear guard Nociel attacks with a boost from Nakir!" Aichi declared

Rath took another damage as they noticed the green icon.

" Heal trigger. I heal one damage and give the power to my Vanguard." Rath declared

" Turn end."

" Stand and draw. I ride Exceptional Expertise, Rising Nova! Rising Nova's skill. I get both Imaginary Gifts: Force I and II!" Rath declared as he placed both markers under Juggernaut, " With this, Juggernaut has an extra critical and +10000 power during my turn!"

" No way! That's cheating!" A student exclaimed

" No, it is part of Rising Nova's skill. Because of this, Aichi can't be careless and take too much damage." Misaki said

" But his damage count right now is three..." Naoki said

" He's in a big pinch already!" Shingo exclaimed

" But it's just the Vanguard, right? He could just use Protect..." Akari said

" Wrong. It's just the beginning of Spike Brother's true terror." Kai said

" Juggernaut's skill! I put him into the soul and superior call another Juggernaut from the deck! This Juggernaut gets +10000 power! I use the same skill with Wonder Boy! Superior call! Wonder Boy's skill! I put a normal unit from my Drop Zone to the bottom of my deck and he gets +5000 power! I call Spiking Cyclone and Adorbs-palm, Rorna! Rorna's skill! Counterblast! I superior call Deadheat Bullspike behind my Vanguard! Expectional Expertise, Rising Nova's skill! Soulblast! For this turn, I'll copy the skills of two Grade 3 units on my field. Spiking Cyclone and Deadheat Bullspike!" Rath declared

" ... Here it comes." Misaki warned

" Juggernaut will attack your Vanguard without a boost!" Rath declared

" I guard with two Critical Hit Angels!" Aichi declared as he placed the two cards onto the Guardian Circle

" Exceptional Expertise, Rising Nova attacks your Vanguard! Using the skills I copied! Soulblast! I move all of the Force markers to Rising Nova! And then I use the skill from Spiking Cyclone! Counterblast! When my Vanguard attacks, I can stand one rear guard! I stand Juggernaut!" Rath declared

" If he doesn't guard this, he'll be at five damage at most." Naoki said

Aichi looked at his hand before looking at his field. That was when his PSYqualia briefly activated again.

" ... No guard."

" Twin drive... First check! No trigger. Second check! Critical trigger! I give the critical to Rising Nova and the power to Spiking Cyclone! This is the end! With this additional three damage, you'll have six!" Rath exclaimed

" Aichi!"

" ... Damage check. First check. I got a draw trigger. I give all effects to my Vanguard Nociel and draw. Second check. No trigger." Aichi declared as he placed both cards in the Damage Zone and reached for the last damage, " ... Third check..."

He flipped the card as a green icon was shown on it and he smirked while Rath became surprised.

" I got a heal trigger! I heal one damage point and add another +10000 power to my Vanguard Nociel!" Aichi declared

" ... Spiking Cyclone attacks your Vanguard! Soulblast! I move all the Force markers to him! His skill! For every Force markers I have on the field, he gets +5000 power!" Rath declared

" I intercept with my rear guard Nociel and guard with Happy Bell, Nociel." Aichi declared

" Juggernaut attacks with a boost from Wonder Boy! Skill activates! I move all Force markers to Juggernaut after a Soulblast!" Rath declared

" Battle Cupid, Nociel. I discard a card from my hand and nullify that attack." Aichi declared

" ... Turn end..."

" He survived!" Naoki exclaimed

" But if he doesn't clinch it this turn, he'll be in trouble again." Misaki said

" Stand and draw. I ride Love Sniper, Nociel once more! Imaginary Gift: Protect I. I call Black Arquerias, Japhkiel. I use her skill. Counterblast. I add Bellyful Meds Angel to my hand from the Damage Zone and perform a damage check. Damage check. Critical trigger. I give all effects to Japhkiel. I call Scaling Angel. Her skill. Since I have a normal unit in my Drop Zone, I can add a face up grade 2 or less card to the Soul. I'll add Hot Shot Celestial, Samyaza to the Soul and then I'll add a normal unit from my Drop Zone to the Damage Zone." Aichi declared as he placed the Happy Bell, Nociel in the Drop Zone to the Damage Zone

" Now his front row has an additional +20000 power!" Naoki exclaimed

" Nakir's skill. Since I placed a new card in the Damage Zone, she gets +5000 power for this turn. Love Sniper, Nociel's skill. Counterblast. I put Battle Cupid, Nociel into my hand and put the top card of my deck into the Damage Zone." Aichi declared as he flipped the top card and smirked again, " ... Holy Seraph, Nociel is added to my Damage Zone. And then I call Love Machine Gun, Nociel. Using her skill with a Counterblast and Soulblast, I add Holy Seraph, Nociel to my hand and add another 'Nociel' card into the Damage Zone. Let's see... I'll add another Love Machine Gun, Nociel into the Damage Zone. I call Bellyful Meds Angel. Without a boost, my Vanguard Nociel attacks Rising Nova!"

" I'll use Cheer Girl, Marilyn! Perfect guard!" Rath declared as he discarded a card for the sentinel

" Twin drive... First check! Critical trigger! I give all effects to my rear guard Nociel! Second check! Draw trigger! All of the power will go to Bellyful Meds Angel!" Aichi declared

" He didn't boost and gave the power to that boosting unit?" Akari wondered

" Just watch." Kai said

" Love Sniper, Nociel's skill! I'll Soulblast one card and discard one Protect marker and Japhkiel to superior ride a grade 3 'Nociel' unit from my hand! I superior ride Holy Seraph, Nociel! Imaginary Gift: Protect I!" Aichi declared

" He superior rode another Nociel!" Naoki exclaimed

" But that Nociel will have -1 drive." Misaki added

" But it's still amazing!" Akari exclaimed

" My rear guard Nociel attacks your Vanguard without a boost!" Aichi declared

" Again with no boosting?" Shingo wondered

" You'll see." Kai said

" ... No guard! Damage check! First check! No trigger... Second check! ... No trigger..." Rath declared

" Japhkiel attacks your Vanguard without a boost as well!" Aichi declared

" I guard with Cheer Girl, Tiara!" Rath declared

" Holy Seraph, Nociel attacks your Vanguard with a boost from Bellyful Meds Angel! Her skill! I Soulblast one card and if I have three or more 'Nociel' cards in my Damage Zone, I can stand one of my rear guards. But if I have five or more, I can stand two!" Aichi declared as Rath gasped in surprise, " I stand Japhkiel and Love Machine Gun, Nociel!"

" ... Wow..." Naoki exclaimed

" Adding the Vanguard's attacks, that's five attacks!" Shingo exclaimed

" ... No guard..."

" Drive check! I got a critical trigger! The critical will go to my Vanguard and the power will go to Japhkiel!" Aichi declared

" Damage check... No trigger..." Rath declared

" He won!" Naoki cheered

" As expected of our captain." Misaki said

" That was a great fight!" Akari exclaimed

As the other students cheered and got closer to them, Aichi tried to smile towards them while noticing Rath and Vee making their exit.

" You won this time. But the next time will be different." Rath said

" ... Don't you try to do anything funny..." Aichi warned again

" Who knows." Rath said

The two left as Aichi laid his hands on the fight table while staring at the cards laid out in front of him. Kai noticed his dazed look as he quickly cut through the crowd.

" Aichi!"

Just as he arrived at Aichi's side, he had finally collapsed as Kai quickly caught him.


And that's the end of this chapter! Thank you for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!