Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V: In a New World Redux

by SakushiRyu

Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V is about to air, and an excited youth can't wait. But when the episode starts, he is suddenly thrown into a Yu-Gi-Oh! series, ARC-V itself! Watch as he makes friends, rivals, and foes in this isekai and discovers his role in a war between dimensions and gods from the past, present, and future! (Rewrite of "Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V In A New World") (Cover Art made by AiraAura)

7. Ambition

I'm back, everyone! This was a fun chapter to write, and it ended up being very different from its predecessor, which means you're in for a treat! If that wasn't enough, it's the longest chapter of the story so far, so get your reading glasses ready!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!

- In response to ZarcEternal's review:

"The answer to your first question lies in this chapter, as for the second, no, the possession isn't required to get new cards. There, Demiurge did it to simply save Vince."

- In response to deku rose's review:

"I'm not accepting any 'Mythorror' suggestions at the moment, but if I'll ever need them in the future, I'll see what I can do with these monsters."

- In response to Zeromk7's review:

"Of course he'll use Ritual. As for your other question, the same thing I wrote to deku rose."

- In response to SoulMatter's review:

"I haven't been playing with it lately, but my Adventurer Rank is...21, I think? And I have to agree, it's an amazing game!"

- In response to FairyTailNut's review:

"Sadly, I won't use any Earthbound Immortals to avoid over-bloating the plot."

[Using Anime/Manga Effects.]

---

"Vince!" "Vince-oniichan!"

Hearing the sudden shouts of Yuya, Yuzu, Shuzo, and the three kids after entering You Show's lounge through the school's elevator made me take a step back in surprise. Sora was silently eating a chocolate bar in a corner of the room, while Nico Smiley and a woman I never saw before smiled at my arrival.

"You finally came back!" Ayu beamed.

"We were so worried." Tatsuya sighed in relief.

"Everyone... You were all waiting for me...?"

"Why are you so surprised?" Yuya raised an eyebrow and placed his hands to his hips.

"Of course we were!" Shuzo burst out, actually crying tears. "After all, you're my student and their friend!"

"I-I'm really sorry for making you wait!" I quickly apologized while bowing a couple of times. If I knew they were anxiously awaiting my return, I would've rushed back here instead of Dueling Manek! And it took me some time to get here from Cinema Duel School, too...

"Hey, there's no need to apologize." Yuya smiled. "We're happy you returned without a scratch."

"I could say the same..." I sheepishly chuckled while rubbing the back of my neck. "Thank you, everyone."

"But to think you would get lost and pass out from exhaustion..." Yuzu crossed her arms with a huff. "Don't make us worry like that ever again, OK?"

"That was the plan!" I nodded, relieved she didn't punish me with her paper fan.

"It's a pleasure to finally talk to you, Vince." the woman spoke up as she stepped forward. "I'm Sakaki Yoko, Yuya's mother."

"You're Yuya's mother...?" I echoed in surprise; so that's who she was. I smiled back. "The pleasure's all mine, Yoko-san."

She softly chuckled, "You must be a good person." I blinked twice. "Everyone was so worried about you... You Show Duel School is lucky to have a kind and strong Duelist like you on board. I'm sure Yusho would be overjoyed."

"Mom..." Yuya's eyes widened in shock, a sentiment shared by all of us, except Nico who was continuously nodding. I didn't expect her to mention Yuya's father...

"That said, please, take care of these guys!" Yoko's smile widened.

"Um, mom, did you forget what happened to Vince yesterday?" her son inquired with a flat stare. Oh, Yuya, if you knew what really happened then, you would be singing a different tune...

"Strange," Yoko showed her mischievous smirk. "I heard you lost to Vince in a Tag Duel and he let you win during your second Duel." Yuya was about to say something when he was interrupted by her mother. "And if memory serves me right, you also got lost one time when you were twelve—"

"When was this about me!?" he cried out, prompting all of us to laugh.

"Oh, that's right!" Futoshi looked at me. "Did you really talk with that Akaba Reiji, Vince-oniichan?"

"Oh yeah." Sora spoke up, seemingly more interested than before. "I was really surprised when he personally contacted us! So, did you?"

"Of course." I told them. "But we didn't talk about anything too noteworthy. He just wanted to know if I was alright, that's all."

"For Akaba Reiji-san to pay you a visit, he must be really interested in your abilities." Nico chuckled as he suddenly appeared behind me, causing me to take a step away in surprise. That Hitler-mustache of his up close was seriously unnerving...

"I-It was a group of LDS students who found me, so he must've got wind of the situation and wanted to talk..." I stated and he hummed in agreement.

"Well, now that we rendezvoused with Vince-kun, shall we head to your fourth and final opponent, Yuya-kun?" Nico addressed the tomato-haired youth, who nodded with a smirk in return.

"Eh?" I blinked in confusion. "Wasn't your next match supposed to be this morning?" then I realized what that meant. "You postponed it!?"

"Well, yeah." Yuya shrugged a shoulder. "How could I Duel with a clear mind before seeing you?"

"That makes sense but...to postpone it even after knowing I wasn't in danger..." I sighed in exasperation before smiling wide. "Thank you. You didn't get into trouble with your opponent, did you?"

"No. They were pretty on board with it, actually." Yuya pointed out. "Which makes me all the more interested in meeting them."

"I'm pleased to hear that!" Nico remarked with a grin. "Shall we get going, then? You should hurry or you'll be late!"

"I thought you'd never ask! Let's go!" Yuya fist pumped and grinned.

"That's the spirit, Yuya!" Shuzo cheered as they and Nico left the lounge, followed by the rest of us.

"Finally, all this emotional talk was getting boring." Demiurge sighed in relief. C'mon, don't say that...

"Yoko-san, you're coming with us?" Tatsuya inquired in curiosity.

"Yes." Yoko proclaimed. "Today is the most important day that determines whether or not my son takes his first step as a pro. As a mother, I must see it through."

A normal thing for a mother to do, I thought as I walked after them and out of the lounge. But when I noticed we were missing a certain cyan-haired Duelist, I glanced back. "Sora—"

I almost yelped when I saw the spirit of a 'Mythorror' Monster floating around him.

"Coming!" he reassured me while tossing the finished chocolate bar's packaging into a trash bin, unaware of the spirit's presence. He raised an eyebrow when he saw my expression. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah!" I quickly chuckled with an awkward smile. "L-Let's go before we fall behind."

"Yeees~!" Sora sang as we followed the others.

"Heh heh, did I scare you? Sorry, sorry~." Adaro sang as well while floating after us, although it looked more like he was swimming in invisible water. He was a merman and had yellow eyes, fangs instead of teeth, gills behind his ears, and a horn shaped like a shark's dorsal fin. His body was covered in fern green scales, except for his face, torso, and hands and the tip of his fingers that were white and olive green respectively. He also had a fin on each of his arms, webbing between fingers, and a blue, diamond-like earring on his left ear. "Or am I...?" he wondered with a mischievous grin.

I think everyone would jump if they were to see a nine feet long merman out of the blue...

"Why did you appear?" Demiurge addressed Adaro, earning a chuckle from him.

"That boy's scent baited me out," he explained while resting his body onto my back and crossing his arms over my head. Because he was present as a spirit, he was light as air. "He stinks of evil."

"He does?" Demiurge voice my thoughts. Why would the extremely childish and carefree Sora...have that smell? Demiurge scoffed in my mind. "And why are you sharing this with us only now? This isn't the first time you see this child."

"Ah, that's certainly true." Adaro confirmed with a chuckle. "But I was too lazy to mention it previously..." he then slowly faded away, much to Demiurge's annoyance. I...will talk with him later about this 'evil'.

---

Turn 7:

Ambition

---

"I'm...done...with stairs...for today...!" I wheezed out when we finally reached our destination, which was a dojo located at the city's outskirts, on top of a long stairway.

"Me too..." Futoshi agreed with a nod. At least I wasn't the only one out of breath.

"Raise your heads high, you two!" Shuzo patted us on the back a couple of times with a wide smile. "You burnt out at the right moment; we arrived!" he then rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression. "But I guess we'll have to work on your stamina starting from tomorrow... I can't send you off to the Championship like this."

"Just..."

"...Give us a minute." I finished for Futoshi as we sat down to catch our breaths.

"There, there." Yuzu sighed while fanning us with her paper fan. I frowned; she doesn't only use it for slapping us? Since when!?

"But this is...!" Ayu gasped.

"The Gongenzaka Dojo!?" Tatsuya exclaimed in shock. Eh!?

True to their words, the householder name plate on the gate read exactly that. Then was Yuya's fourth opponent...?

"My fourth opponent is here...?" Yuya asked in disbelief and pointed at the gate. "Don't tell me it's..."

"You can confirm that yourself." Nico playfully said as he entered the dojo grounds, and we followed him, Futoshi and I for last as we were still recovering.

"I was tired of waiting for you, Yuya!" Gongenzaka declared, standing firmly before the entrance of his father's dojo. So our guess was correct.

"That means the reason why your opponent was understanding is that it was Gon-chan." Sora remarked, followed by a wave of his bulk lollipop.

"I, the man Gongenzaka, was worried about Vince as well. I couldn't accept a match until everything sorted out," the burly youth proclaimed. "That said, how are you, Vince?"

"I'm fine, thanks." I reassured him with a smile. "I guess a thank you for postponing this match is in order."

"I still don't understand why you went out of the way to make me fight Gongenzaka, though." Yuya pointed out as he stared at Nico with a confused expression.

It turns out Gongenzaka wanted a serious match from Yuya in order to purge the weakness that formed in his heart from pitying his childhood friend and to hone his Steadfast Dueling. The Hitler-mustached man explained he even went as far as betting his entry into the Junior Youth Championship, which unexpectedly shocked all of us.

Before any of us could comfort the Performapal user, Nico politely asked us sans Yuya to follow him into a secluded room next to the dojo's Duel arena, so that we couldn't interact with him. We were reluctant at first, but after he told us his reasoning, namely that Yuya needs the strength to fight alone to become a pro, we decided to do as we were told. We weren't completely OK with it, but he had a point...

Then Demiurge remarked loneliness is the only key to acquire strength; sigh, what a blunt god...

Yuya was hesitating at the beginning of his first turn, but after Gongenzaka scolded him for it, he finally started playing seriously himself. It was revealed that thanks to Todo Yaiba's tutoring, Gongenzaka has learned how to Synchro Summon, which was the symbol of the new Steadfast Dueling he aspires to create. Yuya answered his childhood friend's feelings by Fusion Summoning Rune-Eyes through a Pendulum Effect- which was similar to Lindworm's Pendulum Effect- and then Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, a new Fusion Monster that won him the Duel.

We all congratulated Yuya, even Gongenzaka who vowed to do his best to get qualified into the Championship. Judging by his importance as a character, I was sure he'll make it, and we all wished him good luck.

Time Skip: at night

"Yuzu?" the pink-haired youth was heading to her room when I called out to her, causing her to stop. She then turned around.

"Yes?"

"Um..." Shuzo was downstairs watching TV, so the coast was clear. "Yesterday, where did you suddenly run off to?" her eyes widened in surprise. "I tried following you, but I got lost..."

"Why did you follow me?" she asked in a low tone.

"To make sure nothing bad would happen to you, of course." I stated the obvious with an exasperated expression. "Although, in the end, something happened to me..."

"...Honestly, I thought that was the case when the others told me you followed me." Yuzu admitted. She then smiled. "Thank you for putting yourself out, though."

"Don't say that. We're in this together." I smiled, too.

She nodded, but then frowned. "...I saw Masumi and ran after her."

"Masumi?" I asked, now frowning as well.

"Yeah. She looked as if she was searching for someone," Yuzu explained.

"And knowing Masumi, you deduced that someone was Shun, the guy who's the culprit of the repeated assault incidents." I finished for her, prompting her to nod.

"What happened after that?" Demiurge impatiently demanded.

"She managed to find him, that's for sure." Yuzu said, unconsciously answering his question. "However, I wasn't able to see their fight because Yuto blocked my way to them."

"Yuto, huh..." Demiurge muttered. "That was Sakaki Yuya's lookalike who uses Xyz. So he was making sure his comrade's Duel would go undisturbed." yes, by the looks of it.

"But I talked with Yuto, even if it was for a short amount of time." Yuzu continued. "He and Shun are trying to save their captured comrades from an enemy who uses Fusion."

"Uh-huh..." I see, they want to save those captured by Academia. "Like that Ruri."

"Yes. Ruri is one of their comrades...and Shun's younger sister." wait, a girl who looks like Yuzu is Shun's younger sister!? I wasn't expecting that. "That's all I was able to learn before Yuto left. I tried finding Masumi, but I wasn't able to find her." she looked at the floor in concern. "I hope she won, or at least escape..."

"Agreed." I think losing to Shun is almost like losing to The Hitwoman... "But Masumi's a strong Duelist. I'm sure she managed to survive." ah, wait! "I have Reiji's number." Yuzu raised her head in surprise. "We exchanged numbers after our talk. It's late now, so I'll write him a message asking if Masumi's alright."

"I...would like that." Yuzu smiled in relief. "Thank you, Vince."

"Don't sweat it." I grinned.

"Always going out of the way to help others." Demiurge let loose of a long sigh, causing me to chuckle.

"Sorry for keeping you up. Good night, Yuzu."

"Good night to you as well."

We walked into our respective rooms and closed the door behind us, but before I could fully close mine, I saw a Duel Spirit standing in front of Yuzu's shut door: it was Mozarta, who was staring at me with a fond smile and her hands intertwined behind her. She slightly bowed her head when our eyes met, and she vanished into Yuzu's room, walking through the door like a ghost. Huh...did she like me because I helped her user...?

"Wasn't Mozart a man?" Demiurge snapped me out of my thoughts. "Why on Earth is he a female Duel Monster?"

"I find it strange as well." I chuckled while closing the door. I sat down on my bed and started writing a message to Reiji, making sure not to make any stupid grammar mistakes. "There aren't any legends or beliefs that he was secretly a woman. I guess whoever designed his card thought it would be a good idea to turn him into a waifu. Or maybe he himself took some liberties."

"Moral of the story: I can't understand humans." I was sure Demiurge would shake his head if he had one. "This exceeds my daily intake of folly. I'll go meditate for a little bit."

"Um, you don't need sleep?" I curiously asked him, taking a short break from writing.

"Gods don't need as much sleep as humans do." Demiurge stated. "But there's a chance we'll be attacked while you're asleep, so I'm volunteering to stand guard overnight. Feel honored."

"I-I don't think that will happen, but thanks nonetheless..." I admitted and sweatdropped. Sneaking into the house to challenge me for a Duel sounded much more plausible. After I finished the message and sent it, I placed the Duel Disk on my bed with a tired sigh; today was also rough...was this the life that comes with being in an anime?

Wait, Sora's evil that Adaro mentioned! I can't go to sleep before clearing that up.

I extracted my Monsters from my Duel Disk and stepped out to the balcony; the sun has long set, but it wasn't a particularly cold night. I rested my body on the handrail and took hold of Adaro's card with my other hand.

"Adaro, are you there?" I inquired in a low tone, hoping he's willing to talk. Luckily for me, he materialized in the air in front of me seconds later, in a position that suggested he was lying on an invisible bed.

"Hmmm?" he replied, looking bored.

"About Sora's evil..."

"Oh, yeah. That." he grinned, all boredom gone from his face. "I almost forgot. But what else would you like to know? That's all the info I can give you on the matter."

"Eh?" I frowned. "Like, what type of evil it is, why him...you can't tell me that?"

"You don't have a clear idea of my abilities, don't you?" I shook my head. I didn't manage to find a lot of details about the Adaro... He sighed, now bored again. "I was born from the wicked part of a deceased person's spirit; that gives me the ability to sense the evil of any human—and only humans, I might add." he waved a hand around. "Don't expect me to sniff out evil gods, too."

He rolled over to look at me directly in the eyes. His yellow eyes seemed to give a glow of their own in the dark as he continued, grinning once more.

"Evil can only see the worst in others, and good can only see the best in others. I find it ironic~. That's why that blond-haired lady said you're good; she's good, too, so it's only natural the first thing she would say is 'you must be good'!" he said while trying to imitate Yoko's voice. "If she were an evil person, she would've addressed you from a different angle, haha!"

"U-Uh, yeah..." I couldn't find anything better to say. The way he was staring at me was starting to creep me out...did I fall into a trap by starting this conversation...? I guess this is his favorite topic. "So you can only sense there's evil in humans, but you can't describe it..."

"That's correct."

OK, think outside the box... "Then...what is evil?" he blinked twice, prompting me to smile. "Maybe if I learn what your definition of evil is, I could get closer to Sora's evil."

"You...want my opinion?" he asked in surprise and I nodded. His tail twitched in embarrassment, but he did a good job to hide it with his playful face and tone. "Let's see, let's see~! Hmm...there are different types of evil in the Real and the Duel Spirits worlds, and they're all unique. What one calls evil is good to someone else. I think being evil means having an ambition."

"An ambition?" I parroted in confusion.

"Of course!" he waved a hand. "It means you're ready to fight and to defeat others who're aiming for the same thing, shattering their hopes and dreams with no remorse whatsoever. Don't you think that's evil, Master~?"

"I-I...I don't think so..." I muttered, taken aback. "That would mean Yuya, who wants to become a pro, is evil—"

"Exactly!" he giggled with a crazy look. "Don't you think it's funny how evil exists in good, too?"

"But isn't that a contradiction...?" I inquired. "If everyone's evil, then why did only Sora's smell draw you out...?"

"That boy's scent was reeeally strong!" Adaro pointed out. "The bigger the ambition, the eviler you are."

That's...confusing, honestly... But in any case, I'll have to keep an eye on Sora; if he starts acting suspicious...I don't know what I'll do, but I'll try my best to stop him.

"I understand. Thank you, Adaro." I smiled at him. "But...do you think Entertainment Dueling could be a way to turn all Duelists good? After all, if everyone's smiling when the Duel is over, hypothetically there's no winner and no loser. Everyone's happy."

"...Are you an idiot?" Adaro scowled. "There's no such thing as 'everyone's happy'. People wear masks all the time in order to hide their true feelings; they can smile and envy the strong at the same time. And when people are jealous, they can resort to some pretty nasty things."

"Yeah...I'm...sorry." I didn't expect such a serious and angry answer. "That was a pretty stupid thing to say. I'm just a very optimistic fellow as you can see."

"Maybe too optimistic for your own good..." he muttered under his breath while turning around and fading away. Yeah...he may be right. But that's just how I am.

I raised my head at the starry sky. "Say, Ereshkigal...what do you think of the surface?"

"I haven't seen much of it to give a proper evaluation." she spoke up, but didn't appear before me like Adaro had done. "But...I think the sky is beautiful, especially at night."

"I'm glad to hear that." my smile widened. She was free; she was able to leave Kur! "But...I'm a little curious: how did you leave the underworld?"

"I didn't leave Kur. Well, not entirely that is," she excitedly explained, proud to reveal the truth. "Only my spirit left Kur. My body is technically still there."

"You can do that?" I asked in surprise.

"It's all thanks to this game you play, Duel Monsters was it?" and again, because this is Yu-Gi-Oh, everything was related to it. "Many gods and legendary figures of the Real World can choose to become Duel Monsters in order to preserve their existence or to take part in battles, or Duels as you call them. I've done so myself, in turn unlocking the ability to leave my domain."

My eyes widened, "Did you—..."

"Yes?"

"No...it's nothing." I reassured her. It would've been too straightforward to ask 'did you become a Duel Spirit so you could leave Kur', even if I'm pretty sure that was the case. "Do you regularly return to Kur?"

"Of course." she confirmed my words. "I am its queen after all; I have to make sure no misfortune befalls it." I nodded in agreement. "But I'm really lucky to have children who support me. If they didn't volunteer to guard my kingdom while I'm away, the other gods would've not let me become a Duel Monster."

"You have a supportive family." I noted in glee. I'll have to thank them; it's thanks to them she could be here after all. Maybe...they wanted their mother to be happy, too. But at the remembrance of her husband, I frowned. "And Nergal? What did he think about your choice?"

"Nergal, you say?" she sounded confused. "Why did you call out his name?"

"Um," did I anger her...? "He's your husband, isn't he?"

"That crude king of sunset? My husband!?" she exclaimed in disgust. "What gives you that idea, Master!? Weren't you an expert when it came to myths? I, Ereshkigal, would never bow to him!"

"E-Eh!?" I whisper-shouted in disbelief. Was this why I couldn't find any details about their relationship when I was researching my cards' lores!? "I-I can't believe it...then you're a slightly different Ereshkigal from the one of my universe..."

"So the Ereshkigal you know married Nergal...?" she slowly asked. "Could you...tell me more? I'm really curious about the reason behind her choice." I did so, and the more I revealed, the more I could feel her anger rising towards the god of war. "To think he could outsmart me like that... what a sly fox. Thank you, Master. I learned something very interesting today."

"Me, too." I agreed with a nod. I couldn't help but smile before saying, "I'm happy this didn't happen to you, Ereshkigal... Nergal was the last thing you needed."

I felt a sudden spark of shock and joy coming from her card, but before I could open my mouth to speak again, she stuttered.

"I-I think you should rest, Master." she was clearly embarrassed by what I've said. "This was a long day, and who knows what'll happen tomorrow! I-I'm going back to Kur! Goodnight!"

"The same..." I muttered, surprised by her sudden outburst. Praise and care are so foreign to these guys...to the point it hurts. Sigh, but Ereshkigal had a point, it's time I go to sleep.

I checked my Duel Disk when I got back to the bed and noticed Reiji had replied. His message said Masumi had indeed Dueled Shun and lost, but then Reiji arrived on the scene and apparently took care of him personally. Masumi was able to escape with some minor bruises, huh? Those were some great news! I'm sure Yuzu will agree with me when I'll tell her tomorrow.

Time Skip: a week later

"Yuya, Yuzu, Vince, Sora, Tatsuya, Ayu, Futoshi—the day has finally come!" Shuzo excitedly declared after we gathered in front of You Show.

This week just flew by: while the others focused on training, I also had to endure several other 'dreams'- which I decided to dub Visions to make things easier- this time involving my Main Deck Monsters. They were...horrible, like the Visions of my Extra Deck Monsters; I sometimes woke up with a dry throat or weeping or just being angry at the world as if I was the protagonist of the Vision. But...now I felt much closer to all of my Monsters, to the point where I treat them as my family. I can't say they do the same, though; they're unaware of my Visions, too, but sometimes I could feel them enjoy my company.

Demiurge and his servants were a different story; we're still at square one, and strangely, I haven't had any Visions featuring them either. Demiurge's been helping me from time to time to get stronger at the game, even giving me some new Monsters of his, but it's evident he just wants to leave my body as soon as possible. It still pained me they haven't even considered the idea of becoming a team, or at least less detached from us...

"To think all of our students from You Show Duel School qualified for the Maiami Championship..." tears formed at the corners of Shuzo's eyes as he spoke. "I...I'm...so proud of all of you!" he cried out and ran towards us with opened arms, but we dodged his hug, causing him to fall on the asphalt face-first. A random cyclist then rode by, shamelessly riding over his back. "Why did you dodge...?" he wheezed out.

"We're sorry..." I sheepishly chuckled.

"Dad, you're way too excited..." Yuzu remarked.

"We aren't even at the stadium yet..." Ayu added.

"Y-Yeah, that's right..." he admitted with a sheepish smile and stood up. "Ahem. Then allow me to explain again: the Maiami Championship is divided into three different classes, Junior, Junior Youth, and Youth. Tatsuya, Ayu, Futoshi, you're in the Junior class."

"Yes!" the kids confirmed.

"Yuya, Yuzu, Vince, and Sora are in the Junior Youth class."

"Yes!" we nodded in unison.

"The LDS-sponsored Maiami Championship isn't just all the Duel Schools from Maiami City, but also qualifiers from all of Japan, nay, the whole world! In order to promote our You Show Duel School's Entertainment Dueling style, you should all be aiming for victory!"

"Oi, I'm getting bored of this pointing-out-the-obvious." Demiurge proclaimed. It seems the others felt the same way and started boarding our mini school bus, ignoring Shuzo who continued talking, so I did the same. I really can't wait for this to start...and to think I'll get to be a part of it! I was excited and worried at the same time.

I extracted my deck and smiled at it. But as long as I have the Mythorrors, I can win. It's time I show the world my Entertainment Dueling!

...Wait...

Where's Yuya?

Time Skip: at the stadium

"I still don't understand why I can't help you guys search." I angrily muttered.

"Because you would get lost." Sora simply stated.

"It was one time!" I raised a finger. I then sighed in exasperation. "But seriously, what was Yuya thinking, vanishing at a time like this...?"

Sora and I were cross-legged at a corner of the stadium's lounge, with the cyan-haired boy holding our school's placard and consuming a lollipop. Right when we were going to leave You Show, Yuzu and I noticed our tomato-haired friend disappeared. Now we're all trying to find him, even Yoko, and we have to hurry because the Championship will start soon!

"Sora, Vince!" Yuzu shouted as she and the kids arrived at our rendezvous point. "Has Yuya...?"

"Nope," Sora shook his head. "He hasn't come here yet."

"I tried calling him, but he won't answer the phone." I added in concern.

"I called his house, and he hasn't gone back there either..." why can't we get a hold of him!? "Where could Yuya have gone...?"

"What did you say?" we turned our heads to the source of that voice, seeing a familiar young girl with a crystal apple in her hand approaching us.

"You're..."

"Mieru." I finished for Yuzu. Man, I would enjoy seeing jealous-Yuzu again if it wasn't for the fact Yuya was still missing!

"Is it true my darling hasn't arrived yet?" she inquired, frowning.

"My...darling?" Yuzu ominously intoned, prompting the kids to yelp. There it was: jealous-Yuzu!

"Y-Yuzu-oneechan!?" Tatsuya called out.

"Could it be..." Mieru's eyes gained stars and she blushed. "Darling snuck off to meet with my papa and mama! Oh my, what a surprise!"

"What are you talking about!?" Yuzu snapped as she gained a dangerous aura, her paper fan already in her hands. "There's no way that could happen!"

"Y-Yuzu-oneechan, calm down!" Tatsuya called out again.

"But what should we do...!?" Ayu asked. "The opening ceremony is about to start..."

"Don't worry!" Mieru reassured her. "I'll find where darling is with my future telling!"

"A wannabe witch, is it?" I heard Sidonia sneer before she appeared beside me, her hands crossed under her chest. "How interesting~! But don't scold me for laughing if it fails."

"You're from Unno Divination School." I pointed out after Mieru gently kneeled down and placed a piece of cloth on the floor. "This kind of thing should be your forte."

"Of course!" she smirked before placing her crystal apple on the cloth.

"Let's see if she studied, then." Demiurge remarked.

Mieru waved her hands above the crystal, "Darling, darling, where could you be...?" Sidonia broke into laughter, while Yuzu raised her paper fan in anger, ready strike. "My darling...my sweet darling...!"

The Mythorror Gnostic beside me suddenly stopped laughing. Why did...? "I see him!" Mieru exclaimed, catching our attention and causing Yuzu to calm down. Wait...

"I-Impossible..." Sidonia placed a hand to her chin and eyed the little girl curiously. "Just now, I felt a spark of magic from her...she really is a witch." I smiled; never judge a book by its cover! I think this became my motto by now.

"Wh-Where is he?" Ayu stepped closer to her.

"That way!" Mieru pointed forward, outside of the stadium and at the city across the sea.

"Huh, that...way?" Futoshi echoed in confusion.

"Yes!" Mieru fumed and pointed forward once more. "I just told you he's that way!"

"If that's the case, let's hope he'll make it in time." I said and crossed my fingers, earning a nod from Sora.

[Players will enter the stadium in twenty minutes.] a female voice said through the speakers and Sidonia decided to vanish. [All competitors, please begin lining up in front of your respective team placards.]

"That's my cue." Mieru bounced up, smiling wide. She waved at us before running off. "Tell darling I said hi!"

"Just so we're clear, nobody heard that, understood?" Yuzu asked while glaring at her.

"Y-Yes..." we sweatdropped in unison.

While we anxiously awaited Yuya's return, people started giving us nasty glances and we could hear them comment about Yuya's absence and his similarity to his father, which honestly angered me. I hate rumors! I could see the others feel the same way from their expressions, so I got ready to shout—

"Ah, there you are!" we looked to the side, seeing our tomato-haired friend running towards us with a big smile. "Oooi! Yuzu! Guys!"

"Yuya-oniichan!" the kids cried out in relief.

"Yuya...!" Yuzu gasped.

"Sorry for the wait!" Yuya apologized when he reached us.

"Yuya!" Yuzu shouted as she grabbed his hands, glaring at him as well. "I was so worried about you! Where did you wander off!?"

"Sorry, sorry!" he smiled again and winked. "I just had to take care of something. We can enter the stadium soon, right? Let's go line up." he motioned us to follow him, and he walked off.

"You really...!" Yuzu muttered in exasperation, and I chuckled. I couldn't say I wasn't angry at Yuya for making us worry, but what's important is that he's here, with us. And I guess this was payback for when I made them worry.

"Don't worry about it—Ugh!" Yuya bumped into a youth with an imposing frame.

The guy turned around and smirked when he saw who bumped into him. "It's been a while, weakling." he sneered. What's his problem?

"You're...!" Yuya recognized him.

"It was before an important tournament, so I was certain you'd run away!" the guy continued. "Just like your old man!"

"What was that!?" Yuya gritted his teeth.

"I'll never accept that someone like you beat Strong Ishijima!" the guy scowled.

"Who's this weirdo?" Sora asked the kids, voicing my thoughts.

"No idea..." Tatsuya muttered.

"How about I crush you right here and prove what a pushover you really are?" the guy taunted as he leaned closer to the Performapal user.

"Oi, leave him alone." I grabbed Yuya's arm and pulled him away from this idiot. "Jeez, if there's another thing I hate, it's bullies."

"Heh, is this your serious side?" Demiurge noted in surprise. "I finally got the chance to see it."

"Vince..." Yuya did a double-take after hearing my cold tone.

"Who the Hell are you?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm one of Yuya's friends." I glared at him. "So, didn't you hear me? We have to line up, but you're in our way. Get lost."

"You sure know how to run your mouth, brat." he scoffed and returned my glare.

"That's enough, Ankokuji Gen!" a hand grasped Gen's shoulder, interrupting us.

"Gongenzaka!" Yuya said in surprise when we saw who it was.

"Calling a senior disciple by his name, are we?" Gen pointed out, irritated by his appearance. He knew him? "You must be a real big shot now, Gongenzaka!"

"You're no longer my senior." Gongenzaka remarked and the two glared at each other. Oh, they were schoolmates in the past...

[Players can enter the stadium in a moment.] an announcement interrupted us next. [All competitors must line up in front of their respective team placards.]

"Heh!" Gen jerked his shoulder free with a smirk and left. "At least try and stay in the tournamnet until I crush you!"

"To think we'd meet him here..." Gongenzaka muttered.

"Gongenzaka!" Yuya addressed the said person, smiling from ear to ear. "You qualified for the tournament, right!?"

"Yeah!" he proudly declared. "I, the man Gongenzaka, made the 60% win rate qualification right before the entry deadline!"

"Those are great news." I commented. "All of us will be participating in the tournament!"

"Great job!" Yuya agreed with a nod and extended his hand, which Gongenzaka clasped.

"I have to line up with the others." he gestured towards his fellow schoolmates. "Good luck to all of you."

"Thank you!" the kids said in unison.

"The same, Gongenzaka." Yuzu added and he nodded in reply.

We watched the entrance procession on a large screen in the lounge, with the first Duel School to enter the center court being LDS. I was able to spot Masumi, Hokuto, and Yaiba among the chosen participants, but then I saw someone who should definitively not be there!

"Shun...!?" I breathed out in shock.

"Since when...!?" Yuya gasped as well.

"Why is he in LDS?" Yuzu wondered out loud.

Wait. Yuzu and I looked at Yuya in surprise, and he returned out gaze with a confused 'eh?'.

"You know him, too, Yuya?" Yuzu asked.

"Yeah..." he narrowed his eyes. He then lowered his voice. "He attacked members of the LDS top team in front of my eyes."

"What?" Yuzu's eyes widened.

"Hooh...?" Sora narrowed his eyes as well, now serious.

"But, Vince-oniichan," Ayu spoke up. "Didn't you say Akaba Reiji took care of the culprit?"

"That's what he said." I nodded, glancing at the screen again, although they weren't showing him anymore. Reiji wasn't stupid; there must be a reason why Shun was there.

"It's not that hard to figure out." Demiurge groused. "What are their objectives?"

Their objectives...? Shun wants to save his sister from Academia and Reiji wants to stop his father—I see! The enemy of my enemy is my friend, huh...

"They teamed up, that much is obvious." I told my friends. "Reiji must have a plan."

"Well, I hope so." Yuya frowned. "Letting a criminal take part in this...what is he thinking...?"

"It's our turn." the staff member holding our placard informed us. "Please, follow me."

I had to admit, walking into the center court and hearing the audience's cheers in person was overwhelming at first, but when I saw how calm the others were, I took a deep breath to calm down. It's too late to chicken out and go home now, and as long as I have the Mythorrors, everything will be OK.

"Up next, the talk of the town with their Entertainment Dueling, You Show Duel School!" a female reporter announced.

"Guys! Have Fun!"

"You Show Duel School, fight! Fight! Fight!"

We smiled awkwardly at Yoko and Shuzo's vigorous cheers.

"You Show Duel School's Sakaki Yuya-kun is becoming a household name with his new Summoning Method, Pendulum Summon!" the reporter continued. "We'll be keeping our eyes on him this tournament!"

"Who knows what faces they'll make when they see my Pendulum, eh, Yuya?" I chuckled at the idea, but when he didn't reply, I glanced at him curiously. Oh, he's having a glaring contest with Reiji...well, no surprise there.

After all the participants aligned in the middle of the stadium, the tournament's organizer delivered a speech about fair play and congratulated all the Duelists who've gathered here today. Yuya was then selected by Nico to deliver this year's oath of fair play, much to everybody's surprise. Despite his weak start, Yuya managed to improvise a decent speech!

"Now then, we will now announce the first matches!" Nico proclaimed. "All competitors, please put your registration card into your Duel Disk!"

We all did as we were told, and the image of our opponent was shown.

I gasped, "What a coincidence!" wait, was it actually a coincidence...?

"Who is it?" Sora tilted his head to get a better look at me.

I showed them my Duel Disk with a smirk, "Manek Wierrd." I declared. "I really wanted to Duel him." again, was left unsaid. I haven't told them I Dueled Manek that day, actually. I couldn't just tell them I was enjoying my life while they were anxiously awaiting my return.

"You'll be Dueling Manek-san!?" Yuzu stared at his image intensively. "L-Lucky...!"

"Eh? You're a fan?" I blinked twice.

"You haven't seen that huge poster of Manek in her room?" Yuya raised an eyebrow. Her head swung around to glare at him, and he yelped. "I-I mean, yes, she is!" he quickly chuckled. "My mom, too!"

"Oh...I see." his fame even reached the girl lead and the MC's mom, not bad. Then I looked around us. "But I can't see him anywhere..."

"He was probably allowed to skip opening ceremony." Yuya said. "I heard he's friends with Reiji, so it's not out of question."

I nodded and looked at the screen again, "My match is today this afternoon. What about you guys?"

"My opponent is..." Yuya gasped when his eyes landed on the image. "Sawatari!?"

"My opponent is Masumi?" Yuzu's eyes widened. All the coincidences!

"The match date is tomorrow, huh?" Yuya narrowed his eyes.

"Mine is today before Vince's." Yuzu said.

"Mine is tomorrow." we all turned to Gongenzaka. He then showed us his screen.

"You're playing against Ankokuji!?" Yuya asked in shock.

"I'm starting to think these weren't coincidences at all." Demiurge remarked, and I nodded in agreement.

"This must be fate." Gongenzaka told as he lowered his Duel Disk.

"Mine's right after this." Futoshi smiled in excitement.

"Mine after that." Ayu added.

"And mine's tomorrow." Tatsuya concluded.

"Alright!" Yuya raised a fist and smiled. "We'll be cheering for Futoshi, Ayu, Yuzu, and Vince today!"

"What about you, Sora?" Tatsuya glanced at the said person.

"It's tomorrow." he stated. "My opponent is from LDS." his eyes then narrowed. "And it seems I'm also fighting someone familiar." after he showed us his screen, we gasped in unison.

"Kurosaki..." I whispered as I read his surname with a worried expression. "It's Shun. I've got a bad feeling about this..."

"Don't worry." Sora suddenly smirked. "I'm not planning on losing against this guy."

"He sounds very energetic all of the sudden." Demiurge warily noted. "Well, that will be one Duel to look forward to. Who knows what we'll learn about this little human."

Oi, this is serious! Sora may be in danger here! Even if you have a point, this isn't something to get excited about! That said, where's Shun? I started looking around; didn't we see him enter the stadium earlier—I abruptly met Shun's intense and cold gaze, prompting me to look away. He's already shooting daggers at us!?

"Hiiragi Yuzu, it seems you're my opponent." a familiar voice declared, catching our attention.

"Oh, Masumi." I waved a hand at her, as well as Hokuto and Yaiba who were there with her.

"Masumi, tell me!" Yuzu implored. "Why is Kurosaki Shun listed as an LDS member?"

"What are you talking about?" Masumi frowned in confusion like her friends. "He's been part of our group from the start."

"Eh!?" Yuzu was taken aback.

"From the start, you say...?" Yuya parroted.

"OK, something's really wrong here..." I muttered. Did she forget what happened at the pier, or the Duel they had a week ago?

"I don't feel any magic from them, so they aren't controlled..." Demiurge observed. "Which means it's either blackmail or their memories have been erased." no way, Reiji would do that...? The god inside me chuckled in amusement. "I'm a little interested in Akaba Reiji now..."

"Sakushi Vincent," Hokuto pointed a finger at me. "I've honed my skills in the past week in order to defeat you! You aren't allowed to lose to anyone except me, got it?"

"So you want a revenge match?" I couldn't help but grin. It's true that I said I'd only accept a revenge match if he changes his attitude, but it can't be helped if we'll be selected to Duel each other. And hey, I didn't get a chance yet to assert that he hasn't changed. "Better look out because I've also gotten stronger."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." he smirked, displaying his fighting spirit.

Once the opening ceremony was over, we moved to the stadium's third court to watch Futoshi's Duel against a kid from the Niko Niko Duel School. It wasn't a too noteworthy fight, and Futoshi successfully won by using his ace Monster, Doodle Beast - Tyranno, earning You Show its first win.

"Ayu-chan is up next." Yuzu glanced at the said girl.

"Yep!" she nodded and looked at the data of her opponent on her Duel Disk. "Oh, now that I look more closely, my opponent is from LDS..."

"LDS?" Shuzo's eyebrows furrowed.

"Is it...him?" I questioned when I spotted a short boy walking towards the third court. The way he was dressed screamed "leave me alone": he wore a hooded sweatshirt and kept its hood up despite also wearing a black cap, which concealed the majority of his face. The fact he hung his head wasn't helping at all.

"Y-Yes." even Ayu was surprised this. "He's called...Akaba Reira."

"Akaba?" Yuya's eyes widened a little in shock, a sentiment shared by all of us. So the rival of this series also had a younger brother...

While the others encouraged Ayu, Mythorror Snow and Coco appeared around me and stared at the boy in concern.

"This child...ara ara," Snow covered her mouth with the sleeve of her white kimono. She was a tall, beautiful woman with inhumanly pale skin, blue lips, gray eyes, and black hair cascading over her back. "What sadness and fear are seeping out of her." Coco faintly nodded in agreement.

"Her?" I whispered, staring at Ayu's opponent in confusion.

"Yes, this child is a girl." Snow confirmed as she giggled behind her sleeve. "It's hard to discern it with your vision because of those clothes, but spirits like me and Coco can tell. Also, 'Reira' is a name that can be applied to either boys or girls."

Reira glanced in my direction when she was about to walk past our group, and her eyes widened in shock and fear. She immediately quickened her pace, almost running away from us, tightening the grip on her patchwork teddy bear.

Oh... "She can see Duel Spirits." Snow realized, her eyes widening a little. "Poor child, we must have scared her. Coco, let us leave for now." she tugged his cloak as she said that, prompting him to slap her hand with his tail; he really hates it when people do that. "We can watch on from inside our cards."

Coco was reluctant at first and just stared at Reira, but he eventually vanished with an annoyed growl, and Snow followed suit. Due to my abilities, I could feel their sadness; they love children, so it pains them greatly to see one be scared of them...

Using her 'Aquaactress' Monsters, Ayu did a good job at cornering the impassive Reira, who used cards that create copies of her opponent's Monsters for the majority of the Duel. But then, in the last turn, Reira bust out a Fusion Monster by using a Continuous Spell Card's effect and Ayu's ace Monster to her advantage and defeated our friend. After we comforted the little girl, we tried congratulating Reira seeing how nobody cheered for her throughout the entire Duel, but she just dashed past us and met Reiji at the entrance of the stadium.

"I see. Her brother gives her strength." Snow commented as we watched Reiji pat Reira's head. "That's nice...thank the gods he's there for her."

I smiled as I felt her and Coco's relief. "Yeah." I nodded.

With that over, we returned to the stadium's center court to watch Yuzu's Duel against Masumi, and what a Duel it was! It was a neck and neck fight for Action Cards and Fusion Monsters, with Yuzu- no surprise there- emerging victorious!

Now it was my turn to shine!

"Now then, without any further delays, let's introduce our Duelists for our next match!" Nico shouted into his microphone, causing the audience to roar in excitement. He gestured in my direction with his free hand, and I took the stage with a fired up smile. "Following in Hiiragi-senshu's footsteps is You Show Duel School's Sakushi Vincent!"

I glanced at my friends when I stopped walking: even if their voices went lost in the crowd's loud cheers, I was sure they were shouting something encouraging for me, so I replied by giving them a thumbs up.

"So you'll be Dueling that actor again, eh?" Demiurge spoke up as I lowered my hand. He then sighed in disappointment. "It was already proven you're stronger than him, but now I'll have to watch you defeat him once more; what a letdown. I hope he has new tricks up his sleeve or else I might die out of boredom."

"Don't worry." I reassured him. "Manek is a strong Duelist. I'm sure he'll make this very interesting."

"Our next player is Maiami City's treasured superstar and fan favorite!" Nico exclaimed as he gestured at the other side of the stadium, signaling my opponent to reveal himself. Manek walked into the center court with a solemn look, and instead of wearing his dark purple jacket, he was clad in a suit reminiscent of Kamen Rider Eternal - Blue Flare. "Ladies and gentlemen, Cinema Duel School's ace Duelist, Manek Wierrd!"

All the fangirls in the crowd went wild at that, much to Manek's annoyance. I glanced at Yuzu and Yoko—and yep, they were screaming for him as well, ignoring Yuya's and Shuzo's scoldings.

"That's a cool costume, Manek." I pointed out as I equipped my Duel Disk.

"I know, right?" Manek did the same with a smirk, which soon vanished after another round of fangirl-screaming. He scoffed, "I'm wearing this to promote a movie I'm starring in. In this Duel, I'll be portraying the character who wears this suit, namely Lord Eternal!"

"Hoh, how interesting!" Nico chuckled with a grin. "Since Lord Eternal is the villain of the movie, this Duel becomes a confrontation between good and evil! Who will win? The villain or the hero?"

"I don't mind role-playing." I admitted. "After all, it will make my Entertainment Dueling shine even more splendidly!"

"But treating the Mythorrors as henchmen of a hero..." Demiurge groaned. "Bah! I will never understand your tastes."

"The die has been cast! What's left is to select a Field Spell!" following Nico's announcement, a giant Action Card encased in a sphere of lines of white squares materialized above our heads, and started spinning. "And it is..." the card came to a stop, causing the sphere to shatter. "This! Action Field on: Field Spell, Battleground of Good and Evil, activate!"

The entire arena started glowing, taking the shape of two different fields: the one on my side was a peaceful grassy field with a royal and heroic castle behind me, while Manek's side was a wasteland littered with swords and with a dark and evil castle behind him.

"What a fitting Field came out!" Nico commented. "But I can't help but feel sorry for our hero! This Action Field is one of Cinema Duel School's signature fields, so he's currently in enemy territory!"

"That means, more than likely, Manek knows the location of its Action Cards." I cursed my bad luck in my head. "But I guess it can't be helped. Besides, the heroes are always in a pinch when they confront the villain."

"Well said." Manek grinned. "Duelists locked in battle!"

"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their Monsters!" I continued.

"They storm through this field!" Manek spread his arms. "Behold!"

"This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!" I pointed at my opponent.

"Action...!" Nico cried out and raised an arm.

"DUEL!" Manek and I declared in unison. Nico snapped his fingers, causing Action Cards to scatter around the field.

Manek: LP 4000

VS

Vince: LP 4000

"This time, I'll be going first!" Manek declared. He then laughed, "Time for Lord Eternal to conquer this land! I play the Spell Card Card Destruction! This forces both of us to discard all the cards in our hands and then draw the same amount of cards we lost!"

"Dammit..." I frowned and looked at the three Monsters in my hand. "I'm sorry, everyone."

"Eeeh, I'm already out of the game? Not fair~." Adaro whined, followed by an equally irritated growl from Lindworm.

"It isn't your fault, so don't worry about it, Vince-kun." Snow reassured me. She then addressed the others, "Let's go, you two."

After we sent our cards to the GY and drew, Manek continued, "One of the cards I sent to the Graveyard was Cursed Bamboo Sword. Its effect now activates! If this Equip Spell is sent to the Graveyard, I can add one non-Cursed 'Bamboo Sword' card from my Deck to my hand. I add a Golden Bamboo Sword to my hand. Next, I activate Hand Destruction! We send two cards from our hands to the Graveyard and then draw two new ones!"

"I have to discard again?" I gritted my teeth in vexation, glancing at my cards. I could avoid ditching a Monster, but that would leave me defenseless for Manek's next turn... "Yamatochi—"

"You may, my master." he cut me off, knowing what I was about to ask. "I'm going to keep the others company."

"Thanks." I nodded with a smile before sending him and a Counter Trap to the GY.

After we drew, "I sent another Cursed Bamboo Sword to the Graveyard just now." Manek chuckled. "Using its effect, I search another Golden Bamboo Sword! Now, feast your eyes on this, hero! I activate the effect of Dopant of T-Rex in my Graveyard. When I control no cards and this Monster is in my Graveyard along with four Spell Cards, I can Special Summon my destructive powerhouse, but she'll be banished when she leaves the field!"

A Monster that resembled T-Rex Dopant burst out of the ground in front of Manek.

Dopant of T-Rex: Earth / Dinosaur / Effect / ATK: 1000 / DEF: 1000 / LV: 10

"A Level 10 Dopant like Death." that's why he sent all those Spells to the GY... "But it only has 1000 Attack..."

"T-Rex's effect isn't over yet!" Manek laughed. "After she's Summoned, I can equip up to four Spell Cards from my Graveyard to her as Equip Spells with a new effect, namely one that increases her Attack and Defense by 1000 points! I equip Card Destruction, Hand Destruction, and two Cursed Bamboo Sword to T-Rex, raising her stats by 4000 points!"

"What!?" I breathed out.

His Monster let loose of a resounding roar, attracting chunks of ground and some swords towards herself, which then fused with her body to become Big T-Rex Dopant.

(T-Rex: 1000→5000 ATK, 1000→5000 DEF)

"5000 Attack!" Nico yelled on top of the crowd's cheers. "On his first turn to boot! Lord Eternal isn't pulling any punches!"

"With a Bamboo Sword on my field, I'm allowed to activate the Spell Card Golden Bamboo Sword, and I activate them both!" Manek shouted and raised his hand count to seven. "I draw a total of four cards! And then..."

The actor/Duelist jumped onto T-Rex's tail, who then proceeded to catapult her user into the air. He made a 360 before landing on a watchtower of his side's castle, and the crowd cheered as he 'found' an Action Card there. He had seven cards in his hand and still went for an Action Card...?

"Akushon Torappu, Evil Curse!" a card, which depicted a humanoid silhouette struck by a purple lightning bolt, appeared. He purposely searched for an Action Trap!? "This card inflicts me 600 damage. However! I activate the effect of Dopant of Smilodon in my hand, Special Summoning him to negate the activation of a card effect that would inflict damage! Come to me!"

A purple lightning bolt shot down from the sky, and at the same time, a Monster that resembled Smilodon Dopant materialized above Manek and absorbed the hit into his left hand.

Dopant of Smilodon: Earth / Thunder / Effect / ATK: 2400 / DEF: 2000 / LV: 7

"And once more, this human used an unfavorable effect to his advantage." Demiurge sneered. "What a disappointment this is the best he can offer to entertain me."

"Now I Special Summon Dopant of Luna from my hand!" a Monster that resembled Luna Dopant appeared next. "I'm permitted to do this when the difference in the number of the Monsters you and I control is two!"

Dopant of Luna: Light / Fairy / Effect / ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2000 / LV: 7

"What a marvelous display of power!" Nico looked astonished. "By using an Action Trap to his advantage, Lord Eternal has Summoned two more powerful Monsters!"

"I set one card and end my turn!" Manek exclaimed. "Come at me, hero. Although, I doubt you will be able to defeat the great Lord Eternal!"

"Let's test that theory." I teased with a smirk. "Boku no turn! Draw! First things first, I activate the Continuous Spell Anti-Trunade." a card, which depicted a field layout, appeared. One side had several Spell and Trap Cards on it, among which itself, while the other side had Giant Trunade, with a prohibition sign over it. "As long as I control this card, cards on the field can't be returned to the hand!"

"This will put a stop to Bat's and Utopia's annoying effects." Demiurge told. Hokuto, who must surely be watching, must've already realized the threat this card posed to his own deck. I still can't believe I pulled this from that booster pack Yuya bought me the other day...

"Moving on, since my opponent is the only one to control Monsters, I can Special Summon Mythorror Huldra from my hand!"

The beautiful, young woman with pale skin, light blue eyes, short blonde hair, and wearing a white Victorian dress with a matching light blue shawl and bonnet and having a cow tail peeking out under her skirt joined me.

Mythorror Huldra: ATK 1400 / DEF 1600 / LV: 4 / SC: 9

"Huldra can be treated as two sacrifices for the Advance Summon of a Mythorror!" she confirmed my words with a firm nod. "So I release her to Advance Summon Mythorror Willauk!"

Huldra clasped her hands as she vanished in particles, which took the form of the giant humanoid demon with blue skin, white irises, a bald head, pointy ears, and tribal tattoos decorating his face, wearing a skirt made of serrated wrack and a necklace with a skull strapped to it, and holding a kanabo half his size.

Mythorror Willauk: ATK 2400 / DEF 1900 / LV: 7 / SC: 2

"I'm here, boss!" my new comrade excitedly declared. "Ready when you are!"

"So what?" Manek asked in a dismissive manner before he hopped onto T-Rex's head and crossed his arms. "2400 Attack isn't enough to defeat any of my Monsters!"

"Not for long!" my smirk widened. "I activate the Equip Spell Demon Halberd and equip it to Willauk! This weapon raises the Attack of the Fiend-Type Monster that wields it by 700 points!"

The menacing halberd with a black handle and a skull attached to its tip that had a crimson blade emerging from its opened mouth appeared in the demon's free hand, and he brandished his weapons with a wide grin.

(Willauk: 2400→3100 ATK)

"Take care of the most bothersome pest for first." Demiurge instructed me. "Willauk's effect will raise his own Attack, but only for this turn. If that t-rex stays on the field, then you'll lose in his next turn."

"Right." I nodded and pointed forward. "Battle! Willauk will attack Dopant of T-Rex!"

"Naïve, hero!" Manek abruptly shouted when Willauk charged forward. "I activate Luna's effect! Only once during this turn, when a Monster declares an attack, he can negate that attack! Lunar Illusion!"

The said Monster raised his whip-like arms and conjured an octagon-shaped wall of yellow energy in front of T-Rex. Dammit...this attack has to hit, or else I'm in trouble!

I picked up an Action Card from the ground, and thanked the gods for their kindness after I read its effect.

"Akushon Majikku, Royal Assault!" a card, which depicted a humanoid silhouette wearing white armor and a red cape and charging at the viewer with a sword in his hand, appeared. "I can use it because you control a Monster with 3000 or more Attack. It gifts my Monster with 1000 Attack until the end of this Battle Phase and you cannot negate his attack!"

(Willauk: 3100→4100 ATK)

"Coming through!" Willauk swung his kanabo at the energy wall, causing it to shatter, but T-Rex intercepted the attack with her tail and made sparks fly as neither Monster yielded.

"Smilodon's effect!" Manek exclaimed as he leaped back to the watchtower. "I move him to an unoccupied Monster Zone on my field to destroy one card in that column! Obviously, I move him to Willauk's column and destroy said Monster!"

"You predicted the zone I'll Summon my Monster to!?" how could anyone do that!?

"You Summoned Willauk to the Middle Monster Zone," Demiurge explained. "That's the zone a player usually Summons their Monsters to when it's free. It's not like he predicted you, he just based his move on the public's general preferences."

This was supposed to be a children's card game! How many things do I have to learn before I master it!?

"I activate Crocell's Teachings' effect from my Graveyard!" I called out. The spectral image of a Counter Trap, which depicted a man in his early thirties with long, loose, dark blue hair and crimson eyes, wearing black spectacles, a dark gray turtleneck sweater with a burgundy harness under a red coat which had a raised collar and black epaulets on its shoulders, black pants, and knee-high metal boots, briefly appeared next to Willauk. The man was talking to the viewer while pointing a chalk stick at a blackboard, which had geometry formulas written on it. "Since a 'Mythorror' card I control would be destroyed, I can banish this card to negate its destruction, then I have to send a different Spell or Trap Card from my Deck to the grave!"

Smilodon fazed out of existence, only to reappear behind Willauk with his right hand raised and ready to strike. The demon swung his hand which held the halberd around, but Smilodon jumped away before he would be slashed in half.

"Why bother!?" Manek loudly scoffed. "4100 is still lower than T-Rex's 5000 Attack!"

"Not for long! Willauk, time to use your effect!" I ordered my Monster, who gained a purple aura. "Only once during this Duel, if he attacks a monster, I can make him gain the Attack of the attacked Monster until the end of this turn! Accept my comrade's Demonic Smash, villain!"

(Willauk: 4100→9100 ATK)

"9-9100 Attack!" Nico screamed at the top of his lungs. "This hero isn't playing around! If this attack makes it through, Lord Eternal will lose in one hit!"

"Laughable!" Manek admonished. "Torappu hatsudō: Sacrificial Lamb!" a card, which depicted an injured Gagagigo fighting Desrook Archfiend in Pandemonium, appeared. "By destroying the attacked T-Rex, I gain Life Points equal to her original Attack and the Battle Phase ends!"

"What!?" I gasped as the dinosaur exploded into green particles, which then surrounded my opponent.

Manek: LP 4000 + 1000 = 5000

"So close, too...!" Willauk growled as he returned to my side.

"Wh-What an intense exchange!" while Nico wiped away the sweat from his face with a handkerchief, the crowd cheered. "It's just the second turn but both players have shown us some incredible moves! I can't be the only one who's sweating bullets."

"Well, it would've been stupid to think he'd lose so easily..." I begrudgingly admitted. "Since the Monster powered up by Royal Assault's effect battled, its other effect activates, letting me shuffle one Monster my opponent controls into the Deck! Return to the place from which you were born, Dopant of Smilodon!"

The feline Dopant growled in discomfort before he turned into particles.

"I set two cards and pass! Now that my turn is over, Royal Assault's and Willauk's effects end."

(Willauk: 9100→3100 ATK)

"My turn!" Manek announced in English. "Draw! I activate the Spell Card Memory Shells!" a card, which depicted Kamen Rider Accel in his Bike Mode racing against Smilodon and Cockroach Dopant, appeared. "This card enables me to activate one of two effects, and I choose the first one, Special Summoning two Dopants from my Graveyard by negating their effects. Return to me, my comrades!"

The portcullis of the evil castle was raised, allowing Dopants of Arms and Bat to walk out and join their user and Luna. Those were Monsters he discarded in his first turn...

Dopant of Arms: ATK 2300 / DEF 1000 / LV: 6

Dopant of Bat: ATK 2200 / DEF 1000 / LV: 6

"I will personally show you what happens when you challenge Lord Eternal to a fight, hero!" Manek vowed as he raised a card from his hand. "I activate the Spell Card Polymerization!"

"You're doing what now!?" my eyes widened in shock, a sentiment shared by the entire audience. "You can Fusion!?"

"Hoh...?" Demiurge muttered.

"Using its effect, I fuse Dopants of Arms and Bat on my field and Dummy from my hand!" his Monsters turned into red, blue, and yellow energy respectively, which then spiraled into a portal as he chanted. "Time to bring forth the main star of this show! Fusion Summon! Reveal yourself, Level 9! Masked Warrior - Eternal!"

The space and light around the portal distorted for a couple of seconds as a Monster that resembled Kamen Rider Eternal - Blue Flare emerged from it with a loud battle cry.

Masked Warrior - Eternal: Light / Warrior / Fusion / Effect / ATK: 3000 / DEF: 2000 / LV: 9

"What a stunning surprise!" Nico grinned wide as the crowd cheered once more. "Lord Eternal has performed a Fusion Summon, entering the fray in person!"

"And the surprises just keep on coming! Here's the thing about Eternal: the more Dopants you defeat, the stronger he gets! Due to Eternal's effect, he gains the effects and names of all 'Dopant' Monsters in my Graveyard!" what did he say!? There wasn't even a limit to how many effects it can gain!? "For the finishing touches, I activate the Continuous Spell Dopant of Zone!"

A Monster that resembled Zone Dopant appeared above Manek's field, staring down at us with her eye.

"A Dopant that's a Continuous Spell...?" I frowned.

"Battle!" Manek gestured to Luna, who nodded in acknowledgment. He extended his arms to the watchtower, creating a makeshift slide for Manek to use. "Learn your place, hero! Masked Warrior - Eternal attacks Mythorror Willauk!"

At the same time, he collected an Action Card from the ground. "Akushon Majikku, Dire Choice!" a card, which depicted a humanoid silhouette with a wicked smile and clad in purple robes, extending his hands to the viewer, appeared. In one hand he held a sword, while in the other a chestplate. "If my opponent controls both a Monster and a card in their Spell & Trap Zone, they have to destroy one of the two!"

"I can't destroy my only Monster..." I muttered before gritting my teeth. "I have no choice but to destroy Demon Halberd!"

"The Attack of Sakushi-senshu's Monster returns to 2400!" Nico stated as the halberd vanished. "Eternal can now destroy it!"

"I also have effects to play!" I declared and gestured at my field. "I activate the other effect of Demon Halberd! If it's sent from the field to the Graveyard, my opponent takes 400 damage!"

A purple lightning bolt shot down from the sky, striking Manek and making him grunt in pain.

Manek: LP 5000 - 400 = 4600

"Now I activate the Continuous Trap The Final Problem!" a card, which depicted a colored illustration of Sherlock Holmes and Prof. James Moriarty fighting at the Reichenbach Falls, appeared. "All the clues have led us to this moment, villain. It's time to solve the problem! Once per turn, this card allows me to activate one of four effects, and I choose the third! By targeting Willauk, his Attack becomes double his original Attack for this turn, but in return, you won't take any battle damage involving him!"

"That's what I'm talking about!" the demon laughed as a purple aura enveloped him.

(Willauk: 2400→4800 ATK)

"Another reversal!" Nico remarked. At the same time, our two Monsters charged at each other.

"Then we're at an impasse!" Manek exclaimed as he gestured at the floating pyramid. "Thanks to Zone, instead of letting Eternal leave the field by battle or an opponent's card effect, I can send one Monster whose original name includes 'Dopant' from my Deck to the Graveyard, and I choose Dopant of Smilodon!"

Willauk swung down his kanabo and Eternal made a 360 kick, clashing in the middle of the Action Field with a loud CLANG, but neither of them was destroyed.

"Talk about 'pinnacle of annoying'..." Demiurge snorted, and this time I agreed with him. "That isn't a once-per-turn effect, and it helps the human send the exact Monster he wants to the grave, adapting Eternal to the situation. You have to remove it from the field or negate its effects as soon as possible."

I nodded in acknowledgment. Now that Smilodon was in the GY, Eternal could use his effect to destroy both of my cards since neither of them were in the same column as him... I can't let that happen, I thought as I started searching for an Action Card.

"I activate Eternal's effect he inherited from Smilodon!" my opponent stated, just as I've feared. "By moving him to The Final Problem's column, I can destroy the said card!"

Right when his Fusion Monster unleashed a lightning bolt from his hand, I found an Action Card stuck in a small crevice of my castle's wall.

"Akushon Majikku, Invisible Cloak!" a card, which depicted a humanoid silhouette clad in purple robes and showing the viewer a white cloak, appeared. "I can target one card I control, and during this turn's Battle Phase, that target cannot be targeted or be destroyed by my opponent's card effects! Of course, my target is The Final Problem!"

The mentioned card turned transparent, causing the lightning bolt to phase through it.

"Turn End..." Manek concluded with a frown.

(Willauk: 4800→2400 ATK)

"Sakushi-senshu's managed to escape unharmed!" Nico shouted over the crowd's cheers. Right? I've probably—actually, for sure, I've used up all my daily luck to find two Action Cards that could help me get out of trouble. "But he isn't in the clear yet. Lord Eternal controls his Monster-self and Luna! Can our hero turn this around in his next turn!?"

"Only one way to find out." I said and started my turn. "Boku no turn! Draw! To start things off, I activate the effect of Solemn Command in my Graveyard. During my Standby Phase, if I control one or no 'Mythorror' Monsters and this card is in my Graveyard, I can banish it to negate the effects of one Monster you control!"

But which one: Eternal or Luna...? The latter could negate an attack on either himself and Eternal, but the former's effect was way more dangerous. With Card in Pandora's Box in my hand, there's a chance I'll draw something to deal with Luna's effect, too, so for now I should play it safe and focus on Eternal.

"I target—Luna!" I confidently shouted, but then I blinked in shock. Wait, no, that's not—!

A lightning bolt shot down from the sky and washed over Luna, causing him to grunt in pain and fall to one knee. THAT WASN'T WHAT I WANTED TO SAY!

"Instead of targeting Eternal, the hero renders Luna useless!" Nico proclaimed, albeit confused. "I may not know what he's thinking, but he must surely have a plan. I for one can't wait to see it!"

What happened!? I wanted to say 'Eternal', I'm sure of it! Then why did...?

"Calm down. I intervened before you could mess this up." Demiurge spoke up. So he made me say that! But why...? "Eternal may be dangerous, but don't let that cloud your judgment. You also have to be confident in a Duel; letting the opponent or their Monsters scare you won't get you anywhere! Grow a backbone, you're my vessel!" he shouted, now angry. "You have the cards to defeat Eternal and weaken Luna at the same time, so pay more attention!"

E-Eh!? I-I did...?

"My lord, I believe Sir Demiurge is referring to my Pendulum ability." a new, male voice politely hinted.

I looked at the second card in my hand, Mythorror Reynardine...it's true he can destroy Dopant of Zone with his effect, but Eternal would maintain his effects, meaning he can destroy Willauk during the Battle Phase as they weren't in the same column...

Seeing I was lost, the god in me sighed and spoke again, this time calmly. "Think outside the box," he suggested. "Why is Eternal strong?" Ah, that's simple. Because he can inherit the effects of his comrades from the GY... Inherit the effects of his comrades from the GY...inherit effects from the GY...inherit...from the GY...

THAT'S IT!

"What's the matter?" Manek taunted. "You were so confident a second ago, hero!"

I couldn't help but chuckle, prompting him to raise an eyebrow. "I'm sorry. It's just that my plan was so perfect I've even impressed myself. Here I come! I, using the Scale 2 Mythorror Reynardine, set one of the Pendulum Scales!"

I placed his card on my energy blade, causing a pillar to appear on my left. It contained a spindly anthropomorphic fox with yellow-green eyes, wearing a white shirt with a small collar under a black waistcoat, a burgundy coat over those, black moleskin trousers, and black leather boots with spat covering.

"Th...This is!" Nico and the crowd couldn't believe their eyes. "Sakushi-senshu has a Pendulum Monster! This is unbelievable... The Pendulum Summoning which Sakaki Yuya used to beat Strong Ishijima wasn't unique to him!"

"Go, Vince!" Yuya and Yuzu's shouts were easy to hear now that the audience fell into silence.

"Burn! Hot-blooded!" Shuzo's roar came next.

"You can do it, Vince-oniichan!" the kids concluded.

"Yeah!" I replied to their cheers with a nod. "However, I don't plan on Pendulum Summoning yet." I pointed at my opponent with a wide grin, "What I plan to do is defeat your Monster-self, villain! I activate the Spell Card Card in Pandora's Box, whose effect allows me to draw until I have five cards in my hand since I have three or less cards in my hand counting itself and my opponent controls more Monsters than I do Mythorrors!"

After doing so, "Now I activate Reynardine's Pendulum Effect! By sending him to the Graveyard, I can target one Spell or Trap Card on the field and destroy it. My target is Dopant of Zone!"

"For now, I bid you farewell, Sir Manek!" Reynardine apologized, but then he grinned wide, displaying his white fangs. "But the same goes for one of your cards, too!"

A brown walking stick with a purple orb on its tip materialized in his hand and he pointed it at Zone, conjuring a GY Portal above each of their heads. The portals fell down, swallowing them before vanishing.

"Eternal lost his invincibility." I boasted. "And now I'll have him lose his powers, too! I activate The Final Problem's fourth effect. By discarding three cards, I can add any card I want from my Deck to my hand!" a card emerged from my deck, and I took hold of it, "The answer to this problem is Mazda Yasna, which I activate!"

A Spell Card, which depicted a blue Faravahar illuminated from behind by a sacred glow, appeared.

"With this card, by targeting three 'Mythorror' Monsters in my Graveyard, I can target three Monsters in my opponent's Graveyard, and shuffle them all into our respective Decks!" Manek gritted his teeth hearing this. "I target Lindworm, Snow, and Yamatochi in mine, and Bat, Dummy, and Smilodon in yours!"

"See?" Demiurge asked teasingly. "You can do it if you think for once."

"What a turnaround!" Nico gasped as we shuffled the said Monsters into our Decks. "Eternal has also been rendered useless! However, the hero's remaining Monster only has 2400 Attack, which is lower than both Luna and Eternal. How does he intend to defeat them!?"

"By putting all the cards in my Graveyard to use!" I answered his question. "I activate Seth's Darkness' effect from my Graveyard! By banishing this card, I can target Mythorror Adaro in my Graveyard and Special Summon him!"

The spectral image of a Trap Card, which depicted a close-up of Seth, appeared. His eyes were glowing as a miniature black hole of sand and darkness swirled between his raised hands. Moments later, Adaro swam out of the card with a mischievous smile.

Mythorror Adaro: ATK 0 / DEF 2000 / LV: 2

"Aah, finally~." he stretched his arms behind his head. "It's my turn to play!"

"Battle!" I threw my right arm forward. "Adaro, attack Eternal! At the same time, I activate Reign of Terror's effect from my Graveyard! If a Monster Special Summoned from the Graveyard declares an attack, by banishing this card, I can destroy that Monster!"

The spectral image of a Trap Card, which depicted a terrorized crowd of commonfolk before an imposing guillotine, which was surrounded by an ominous aura, appeared before turning into red energy that enveloped Adaro.

"Then why attack in the first place?" Manek raised an eyebrow.

"For this." I smirked. "I activate Mazda Yasna's effect from my Graveyard! As my 'Mythorror' Monster would leave the field by my own card effect, by banishing this card and shuffling that Monster into the Deck, until the End Phase, one comrade I control gains Attack equal to the Defense of the Monster shuffled into the Deck this way!"

Adaro brought his hands together, turning his aura blue. He then spread his arms and his body turned into a stream of water that enveloped Willauk's kanabo, causing it to double in size.

(Willauk: 2400→4400 ATK)

"4400 Attack!" Nico shouted over the audience's cheers. "By only using the effects of cards in his Graveyard, Sakushi-senshu increased his Monster's Attack! It's as if he planned this all along!"

"This time, for real—" Willauk raised his weapon.

"You will sink into the blue abyss!" Adaro finished for him, followed by a crazy chuckle.

The demon swung down his kanabo, unleashing a tsunami at Eternal and destroying him with ease. Manek used his cape as a makeshift shield against the ensuing shock waves.

Manek: LP 4600 - 1400 = 3200

"I end my turn with that! Mazda Yasna's effect ends, returning my Monster's Attack to normal." I destroyed Eternal and negated Luna's effect; this turn was a huge success. "Thank you, Demiurge, everyone."

The god inside me hummed and Willauk gave me a thumbs up.

"I finally got the chance to kill a foe." Adaro said through our communication link. "Well, it was an assist to be correct, but that still counts in my book."

"You put all your cards to good use, even the ones you had to discard in the first turn." Snow added, and by her tone, I was sure she was grinning. "What a shrewd man."

"The power of a king such as mine always leads to victory!" Seth's voice boomed from the Extra Deck, followed by a hearty laugh. "And you've used it splendidly if I do say so myself."

I scratched the back of my neck with an embarrassed chuckle; I didn't expect all this praise...

"It's my turn now!" Manek interrupted us. "Draw! I activate a Spell Card we should all be familiar with, Card of Demise. It lets me draw from my Deck until I have five cards in my hand, at the cost of sending all the cards in my hand to the Graveyard on my fifth Standby Phase after its activation!"

After doing so, my opponent let out a wide grin. "I won't lie, hero. So far, this has been a great Duel...so in return, I'll defeat you with my newly acquired trick! I, using the Scale 3 Dopant of Bird and the Scale 9 Dopant of Yesterday, set the Pendulum Scales!"

"Eh!?" I cried out in surprise, taking a step back.

He placed his cards on his energy blade, causing the word [PENDULUM] to flash between them and the two pillars to appear around him, containing Monsters that resembled Bird and Yesterday Dopant. We knew this would happen someday- that Reiji would create new Pendulum Cards- but we didn't expect a non-LDS member to use them so soon...

"W-What's this!?" Nico broke the silence that had formed. "Wierrd-senshu—I-I mean, Lord Eternal revealed his own Pendulum Cards! This became a showdown between two Pendulum users, what a major surprise!"

"Akaba Reiji is plotting something." Demiurge snarled, already making theories. Man, he really hates him and his D/D/Ds, doesn't he? "Why would he give Pendulum Cards to somebody who isn't part of his school or company? Is this some kind of test?"

"Well, considering how strong Academia is, it makes sense he'd test me..." I reasoned, but it wasn't enough to calm him.

"I can now simultaneously Summon Monsters from Levels 4 to 8!" Manek raised a hand to the sky. "Swing, my Pendulum of memories! Bring forth my allies onto this stage! Pendulum Summon! Appear, Dopant of Metal and Dopant of Heat!"

A portal opened between his two pillars, and two beams shot out of it before landing on his field, revealing Monsters that resembled Metal and Heat Dopant, with the latter riding her signature bike.

Dopant of Metal: Dark / Warrior / Effect / ATK: 2700 / DEF: 2000 / LV: 7

Dopant of Heat: Fire / Pyro / Effect / ATK: 2400 / DEF: 2000 / LV: 7

"I activate Heat's effect!" Manek declared. "Only once during a turn, she can hit you with 1000 points of damage! Do it!"

The female Dopant aimed a hand at me, unleashing a ball of fire from her palm that made me gasp in pain when it hit me.

Vince: LP 4000 - 1000 = 3000

"Next, I overlay the Level 7 Luna, Metal, and Heat!" his Monsters turned into a yellow, purple, and red beam respectively and entered a swirling galaxy, from which a pillar of light shot out. "With your calm rage, shake it all off! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 7! Masked Warrior - Accel!"

A bike zoomed out of the portal, and after it shouted [Hen...shin!], it transformed into a Monster that resembled Kamen Rider Accel.

Masked Warrior - Accel: Earth / Warrior / Xyz / Effect / ATK: 2800 / DEF: 2400 / RK: 7

"You even had an Xyz Monster!?" my eyes widened in surprise. This guy was full of surprises...

"Lord Eternal turns up the heat by performing an Xyz Summon!" Nico grinned. "He used Pendulum Summoning to gather the materials required for an Xyz Summon... Yes, he performed a Pendulum-Xyz Summon!"

"Did it need a name...?" I wondered out loud, sweatdropping. Well, it was a pretty simple and accurate name, so I'll roll with it.

"Let's put this into high gear! Battle!" Manek announced. "Accel, attack the hero's Monster!"

"Did you forget The Final Problem's third effect?" I inquired, even if I was sure he didn't. "Using it, I target Willauk and double his Attack!"

(Willauk: 2400→4800 ATK)

"Akuseru no kōka hatsudō!" Manek stated while grabbing an Action Card stuck in a small crevice of his castle's wall. "If he battles a Monster whose Attack is higher than his original Attack, he gains 1000 Attack during the Damage Step! Engine Overheat!"

The Xyz Monster's body started glowing as if it was overheating.

(Accel: 2800→3800 ATK)

"I also activate the Action Magic Bi-Attack, targeting Accel for it!" Manek exclaimed. "My target's Attack becomes double its current Attack for this Battle Phase!"

(Accel: 3800→7600 ATK)

A sword materialized in the warrior's hands as he charged forward. With a quick slash, Willauk left the field with a pained moan and the shock waves sent me flying against my castle's wall, which hurt a lot, mind you. I'm telling you, Action Duels are dangerous!

...Or maybe that's just Yu-Gi-Oh anime in general.

Vince: LP 3000 - 2800 = 200

"Lord Eternal instantly drives Sakushi-senshu into a corner!" Nico shouted.

"Accel's other effect activates!" I gasped. "Since he destroyed an enemy Monster by battle, by using an Overlay Unit, he can declare an additional attack! Get ready to lose, hero!"

After Accel absorbed one of his Overlay Units into his chest, he jumped into the air and performed a Rider Kick, aiming his feet at yours truly.

"Vince-oniichan!" I heard the You Show kids shout in concern.

"MANEK-KUN WON~!" followed by the scream of my opponents' fangirls.

"It isn't over yet!" I abruptly cried out. "I activate the effect of The Pearly Gates to Heaven in my Graveyard! If I'm being attacked directly and this card is in my Graveyard, I can banish it to end the Battle Phase and inflict 600 damage to my opponent!"

Manek gritted his teeth as the giant double door of stone with angelic figures carved on it appeared in front of me, intercepting the Masked Warrior's kick. The spot that was touched suddenly glowed, releasing a lightning bolt at my opponent.

Manek: LP 3200 - 600 = 2600

(Accel: 7600→2800 ATK)

"A futile delay!" Manek remarked. "I end my turn, allowing Dopant of Yesterday's Pendulum Effect to activate! I select one 'Dopant' Monster's Monster Effect that I activated this turn and repeat it. Of course, I select Heat's effect which inflicts you 1000 points of damage!"

Yesterday brought her hands together, conjuring a magic circle with a clock design in front of her. Moments later, a ball of fire like the one Heat fired at me was shot out of it.

"I activate Deal with the Baron's effect from my Graveyard!" a purple, transparent shield appeared to deflect the ball. "By banishing it, I can avoid taking one instance of effect damage!"

"Sakushi-senshu isn't wasting any of his cards!" Nico told. "By using the effects of the cards he sent to the Graveyard through The Final Problem, he survived by the skin of his teeth!"

"It's a good thing you're a human who thinks ahead, or that might have actually done you in." Demiurge commented. My policy was finally coming in handy. "But you can't stay on the defensive forever."

"I know." I nodded in agreement. "Boku no turn. Draw!" upon seeing my new card, I couldn't contain a delighted grin. "With this... Villain, I have a feeling this will be the last turn."

"Hoh?" Manek grinned as well.

"Allow me to reply to your Pendulum-Xyz Summon in kind. I activate the Spell Card Hephaestus' Gift! The god Hephaestus will build me the weapons I need to defeat you. Since I control no Monsters, I can draw one card and add the face-up Mythorror Huldra in my Extra Deck to my hand! And using her, I set one of my Pendulum Scales!"

The pine tree Mary appeared in the Pendulum Zone on my right, with a [9] under her.

"I activate Huldra's Pendulum Effect! When she's activated, I can add one Mythorror from my Graveyard or face-up in my Extra Deck to my hand. I return Reynardine to my hand, then I use him to complete my Scales!"

When I placed him on the other end of my energy blade, the word [PENDULUM] flashed between my cards and Reynardine appeared on my left, with a [2] under him.

"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lady Huldra!" the werefox bowed to the said Monster. When he straightened his back, he placed a hand to his chest and winked. "It was getting lonely in that graveyard."

A faint pink dusted Huldra's cheeks as her eyes slightly widened. She smiled back with her eyes closed in appreciation and in embarrassment. Reynardine didn't say a word; as a gentleman, he didn't see fit teasing a lady.

I smiled at their interaction, "Moving on, I summon Mythorror Nokk!"

The humanoid Monster covered from head to toe in wet green and brown seaweed with a tiny, light blue glow radiating from where his eyes should be joined us.

Mythorror Nokk: Tuner / ATK 1500 / DEF 0 / LV: 4 / SC: 2

"At least this time you Summoned me at the coda." Nokk said in appreciation. "So? Who do you need?"

"I'm glad to see you're eager to help me." I observed with a chuckle, prompting him to roll his eyes. "When Nokk is Normal Summoned successfully, I can use his effect to add a different 'Mythorror' Monster from my Deck to my hand. For who it is, you'll find out soon enough, villain."

I raised my hand to the sky as I chanted.

"Battalion of mythical creatures and gods. With our souls on the line, our power becomes the hammer which crushes despair! Pendulum Summon! Be reborn, Mythorror Willauk! And from my hand, Mythorror Nattmara!"

A portal opened between my two pillars, and two beams shot out of it before landing on my field, revealing my Monsters.

Mythorror Nattmara: ATK 1700 / DEF 400 / LV: 4 / SC: 6

"Now I activate The Final Problem's second effect, discarding the Level 12 Legacy of the Mythorror Familia," I explained. "A Shadow Mythorror Token with the same Level as the discarded Monster will be Special Summoned to my field!"

Black mist oozed out of the shadows, solidifying into a humanoid, slender Monster. They had smooth, featureless, black skin, a horn emerging from the left side of their head, clawed hands and feet, with two toes in front and one behind, and a bizarre crevice in their chest and where their right eye would be, which glowed with periwinkle energy. They were a really peculiar Monster...they never talked or emitted emotions. Demiurge told me it was normal, for they're an empty shadow that can only carry out orders.

Shadow Mythorror Token: Dark / Fiend / ATK: 1700 / DEF: 1700 / LV: 12

"So what?" Manek inquired. "None of those Monsters have enough Attack to defeat Accel!"

"Yes, they don't." I confirmed his words, raising the last card in my hand. "But what if they join hands?"

"What?" my opponent blinked.

"I activate the Ritual Spell Horrific Occultism!" a card, which depicted a hooded figure kneeling in the center of a magic circle in a destroyed church, appeared. "By releasing Monsters from my hand or field, I can Ritual Summon a 'Mythorror' Ritual Monster from my hand—or Graveyard!"

"Sakushi-senshu is going to Ritual Summon!?" Nico sounded incredulous. "And from the Graveyard to boot! His response to Lord Eternal's Pendulum-Xyz is a Pendulum-Ritual—nay, a Pendulum-Phantom Ritual!?"

"I see it's a trend to name everything..." I noted with a sweatdrop. I shook my head to focus. "I release Nokk, Willauk, Nattmara, and Shadow and Ritual Summon! Let's go, everyone!"

The magic circle in Horrific Occultism materialized in front of my field, and as my Monsters turned into particles and were absorbed into it, I chanted.

"When the small tales of the folk combine, a new legend is born. With the ancient ritual, now, be revived! Phantom Ritual! Behold, Level 12! Legacy of the Mythorror Familia!"

A cloud of colorful particles flowed out of the magic circle, mesmerizing the audience.

"This isn't your typical Ritual Monster." I snapped my fingers to catch their attention. "This card gains Attack and Defense equal to the total Attack and Defense of the 'Mythorror' Monsters I used for its Ritual Summon, and it also gains their names!"

The cloud divided into four and took the shapes of my Monsters. Nokk and Nattmara awkwardly stood side by side in the front, while Willauk towered behind them, grinning wide and resting his kanabo against a shoulder, and Shadow was sitting on his other shoulder.

Legacy of the Mythorror Familia: Dark / Fiend / Ritual / Effect / ATK: 0→7300 / DEF: 0→4000 / LV: 12

"This is so...annoying?" Nattmara herself was unsure of how to describe what she was feeling. "I'm a lone wolf."

"While I don't hunt, I agree with her." Nokk remarked.

"Eh? I don't." Willauk said, visibly confused by their words. "Guys, a cooperative hunt will help us kill the prey faster! It's a win-win for us." that wasn't enough to lighten them up, but they didn't say he was wrong either.

"7-7300 Attack!" Nico exclaimed. "Does this mark Lord Eternal's defeat!?"

"Sure does." Demiurge chuckled eerily.

"I activate Mythorror Familia's other effect, banishing Nattmara from my Extra Deck." her eyes flashed purple as I said that. "Thanks to that, Mythorror Familia gains her effects. Here I come, villain. The final Battle! My comrades, with your strength as one, attack Masked Warrior - Accel!"

Manek gritted his teeth and started running. "In that case—"

"Action Cards won't help you this time!" he came to a halt. "During Nattmara's attack, she gains 400 Attack and my opponent can't activate cards or effects until the end of the damage calculation. Mythorror Familia inherited this effect!"

"Crap...!" his eyes widened.

"Manek!" Accel shouted in concern as he got in front of his user, activating Engine Overheat.

(Familia: 7300→7700 ATK; Accel: 2800→3800 ATK)

Shadow jumped off Willauk's shoulder as the demon discarded his weapon and extended his hand to Nattmara, who reluctantly accepted his help. She backflipped onto his palm, and Willauk threw her at Accel like a pitcher.

Before the Xyz Monster could even ready his sword, Nattmara's claws sunk into his chest, causing him to explode with a pained cry. The shock waves sent Manek flying into his castle's wall, which broke apart due to the impact's force, burying the actor/Duelist under rubble.

"M-Manek!" I gasped.

Manek: LP 2600 - 3900 = 0

Winner: Vince!

Did things really have to go south!? I thought in exasperation as I ran over to him. When the Action Field vanished and Manek was freed from the rubble, he didn't move.

He was out cold, and he was bleeding from the forehead. I hastily checked his pulse—thank the gods, he's still alive...

A medical team rushed into the center court and carried Manek away on a stretcher.

"N-No need to worry!" Nico spoke up reassuringly, although he looked shaken, too. Hell, who wasn't? "LDS has a very skilled medical team! Manek Wierrd is in good hands. Let's congratulate You Show Duel School's Sakushi Vincent for winning and thank these two Duelists for the amazing Duel they've shown us!"

Those who've recovered from the horrible ending started clapping; the others stayed silent.

"I...am sorry..." I whispered while staring at where Manek was taken away.

"Why are you apologizing?" Demiurge laughed with a confused tone. "It was just an accident."

"No... I mean, yes, but...I..."

"Hmm?" he interrupted my mumbling, but I didn't know what to say back. What should I say?

I walked out of the court without another word, concerned for my opponent and feeling guilty...

---

Fan-made Cards:

Action Cards:

Evil Curse

Action Trap

You take 600 damage.

Royal Assault

Action Spell

If your opponent controls a monster with 3000 or more ATK: Target 1 monster you control; until the end of this Battle Phase, it gains 1000 ATK, your opponent cannot negate its attacks, and if it battles, at the end of the Damage Step, you can shuffle 1 monster your opponent controls into the Deck.

Dire Choice

Action Spell

If your opponent controls a monster and a card in their Spell & Trap Zone: Your opponent destroys 1 of them.

Invisible Cloak

Action Spell

Target 1 card you control; during this Battle Phase, it cannot be targeted or be destroyed by your opponent's card effects.

Manek:

Dopant of T-Rex (Earth/Dinosaur/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000/LV: 10)

Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. If you control no cards, you have 4 or more Spells in your GY, and this card is in your GY: You can Special Summon this card, but banish it when it leaves the field, then equip up to 4 Spells from your GY to it as Equip Spells with this effect.

- The equipped monster gains 1000 ATK/DEF, and if it would be destroyed, you can destroy this card instead.

You can only Special Summon 1 "Dopant of T-Rex" per turn this way.

Dopant of Smilodon (Earth/Thunder/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)

(This card is also always treated as a Beast-Warrior monster.)

If a card or effect that would inflict damage is activated (Quick Effect): You can Special Summon this card from your hand, then negate that activation. During the Battle Phase (Quick Effect): You can activate 1 of these effects.

- If an attack is declared involving this card and an opponent's monster, banish this card until the end of the Battle Phase.

- Change this card from Attack Position to face-up Defense Position, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half of this card's original ATK.

- Move this card to an unoccupied Monster Zone on your field, and if you do, destroy 1 card in its current column.

- Return this card to your hand.

You can only use each effect of "Dopant of Smilodon" once per turn.

Dopant of Luna (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)

If the difference in the number of the monsters controlled by you and your opponent is 2, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). When a monster declares an attack: You can negate that attack. You can only use each effect of "Dopant of Luna" once per turn.

Sacrificial Lamb

Normal Trap

During your opponent's turn, if a monster you control battles: Destroy that monster, and if you do, gain LP equal to its original ATK and end the Battle Phase.

[Trivia: this card is the antecedent of "Altar for Tribute".]

Memory Shells

Normal Spell

Activate 1 of these effects.

- Target 2 "Dopant" monsters in your GY: Special Summon them, but negate their effects.

- Target 1 "Masked Warrior" monster in your GY: Special Summon it, but negate its effects.

You can only activate 1 "Memory Shells" per turn.

Masked Warrior - Eternal (Light/Warrior/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000/LV: 9)

3 "Dopant" monsters with different original names

(This card is always treated as a "Dopant" monster.)

Must be Fusion Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. This card gains the effects and names of all "Dopant" monsters in your GY.

Dopant of Zone

Continuous Spell

Once per turn: You can target 1 monster you control; move it to an unoccupied Monster Zone on your field. If you control "Masked Warrior - Eternal", the previous effect is replaced with this effect.

- If exactly 1 "Masked Warrior - Eternal" you control would leave the field by battle or an opponent's card effect, you can send 1 monster whose original name includes "Dopant" from your Deck to the GY instead. You can only control 1 "Dopant of Zone".

Dopant of Bird (Wind/Winged-Beast/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 300/LV: 3/SC: 3)

Pendulum Effect: You can only Pendulum Summon "Dopant" monsters. This effect cannot be negated. If a "Dopant" monster(s) you control would be destroyed by battle, you can send this card to the GY instead.

Monster Effect: If this card is in your GY: You can place it face-up into your Extra Deck. If this card is added to the Extra Deck: Gain 200 LP for each "Dopant" monster in your GY.

Dopant of Yesterday (Light/Machine/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1900/DEF: 900/LV: 9/SC: 9)

Pendulum Effect: You can only Pendulum Summon "Dopant" monsters. This effect cannot be negated. During the End Phase: Select 1 "Dopant" monster's Monster Effect that you activated this turn; this effect becomes that Monster Effect when it is activated (you have to pay eventual costs). You can only use this effect of "Dopant of Yesterday" once per turn.

Monster Effect: If this card in the Pendulum Zone is destroyed, during the End Phase of the next turn: You can place this card and 1 other face-up "Dopant" Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck in your Pendulum Zones, and if you do, replace this card's Pendulum Effect with this effect.

- (Quick Effect): You can destroy this card; for the rest of this turn, you take no battle damage involving "Dopant" monsters.

You can only use this effect of "Dopant of Yesterday" once per turn.

Dopant of Metal (Dark/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)

You can Tribute 1 "Dopant" monster to Tribute Summon (but not Set) this card. The first time this card would be destroyed by battle each turn, it is not destroyed. If this card destroys an opponent's monster that was in Defense Position by battle: You can activate this effect; this card can declare an additional attack during this Battle Phase. You can only use this effect of "Dopant of Metal" once per turn.

Dopant of Heat (Fire/Pyro/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)

During your Main Phase: You can inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. You can only use this effect of "Dopant of Heat" once per turn. If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

Masked Warrior - Accel (Earth/Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2400/RK: 7)

3 Level 7 "Dopant" monsters

If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: You can detach 1 material from this card; this card can declare an additional attack this Battle Phase. If this card battles a monster whose ATK is higher than this card's original ATK, this card gains 1000 ATK during the Damage Step. During the End Phase, if this card has no materials: Destroy this card.

Vince:

Mythorror Snow (Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 400/DEF: 1800/LV: 4/SC: 8)

Pendulum Effect: You can only Pendulum Summon "Mythorror" monsters. This effect cannot be negated. If you control only "Mythorror God" monsters (Quick Effect): You can discard 1 Normal or Counter Trap; this effect becomes that card's effect when it is activated. (You have to pay eventual costs.) You can only use this effect of "Mythorror Snow" once per Duel.

Monster Effect: This card is also treated as a Zombie monster while on the field. If this card would be placed face-up in the Extra Deck, it is sent to the GY instead. You can target 1 "Mythorror" monster you control; equip this card from your hand or your side of the field to that target. It gains 400 ATK, and if it would be used as a material for the Summon of a "Mythorror God" monster, you can treat it as a "Mythorror God" monster.

[Trivia: Yuki-onna, whose name translates to snow woman, is a spirit/yōkai in Japanese folklore.]

Anti-Trunade

Continuous Spell

Cards on the field cannot be returned to the hand.

[Trivia: artwork and name credit go to scififan599 and Nova Kaiser Joe respectively.]

Crocell's Teachings

Counter Trap

When your opponent activates a card or effect that would affect a "Mythorror" card(s) in your Pendulum Zone: Discard 1 card; negate that activation. If a "Mythorror" card(s) you control would be destroyed: You can banish this card from your GY; negate that destruction, also send 1 Spell/Trap from your Deck to the GY, except "Crocell's Teachings". You can only use 1 "Crocell's Teachings" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

[Trivia: in demonology, Crocell is the 49th spirit of the Goetia, and when summoned by a conjuror, he can teach them geometry and other liberal sciences.]

The Final Problem

Continuous Trap

Once per turn: You can activate 1 of these effects.

- Banish 1 Spell/Trap from your GY; draw 1 card.

- Discard 1 "Mythorror" monster; Special Summon 1 "Shadow Mythorror Token" (Dark/Fiend/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1700/LV: ?) with the same Level as the discarded monster.

- Target 1 "Mythorror" monster you control; this turn, its ATK becomes double its original ATK, but your opponent takes no damage from battles involving it.

- Discard 3 cards; add 1 card from your Deck to your hand.

You cannot activate Monster Effects the turn you use this card's effect, except the effects of "Mythorror" monsters. You can only control 1 "The Final Problem".

[Trivia: this card's a reference to the short story of the same name, The Final Problem, written by Arthur Conan Doyle and featuring Sherlock Holmes and Prof. James Moriarty. Effect credit goes to UNHOLY LIGHT.]

Mythorror Reynardine (Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2200/DEF: 500/LV: 7/SC: 2)

Pendulum Effect: You can only Pendulum Summon "Mythorror" monsters. This effect cannot be negated. You can send this card to the GY, then target 1 Spell/Trap on the field; destroy it. You can only use this effect of "Mythorror Reynardine" once per turn.

Monster Effect: This card is also treated as a Beast monster while on the field. You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by Tributing 1 "Mythorror" Pendulum Monster you control, then you can destroy 1 Spell/Trap on the field, or 2 if the Tributed monster's Scale was 8 or more. You can only use this effect of "Mythorror Reynardine" once per turn.

[Trivia: Reynardine is a traditional old English ballad; in versions most commonly sung and recorded today, Reynardine is a werefox who attracts beautiful women so that he can take them away to his castle, and their fates are usually left ambiguous.]

Mazda Yasna

Normal Spell

Target up to 3 "Mythorror" monsters in your GY, then you can target that same number of monsters in your opponent's GY; shuffle those targets into the Deck(s). If your "Mythorror" monster(s) would leave the field by your card effect: You can banish this card from your GY and shuffle that monster(s) into the Deck; until the End Phase, 1 monster you control gains ATK equal to the total DEF of the monsters shuffled into the Deck this way. You can only use each effect of "Mazda Yasna" once per turn.

[Trivia: Mazdayasna is one of the world's oldest continuously practiced religions.]

Seth's Darkness

Normal Trap

Target 1 "Mythorror" monster face-up in your Extra Deck or GY; Special Summon it. If this card is in your GY: You can banish it, then target 1 "Mythorror" monster face-up in your Extra Deck or GY; Special Summon it. Monsters Special Summoned by this card's effects cannot attack directly that turn. You can only use 1 "Seth's Darkness" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

[Trivia: concept credit goes to UNHOLY LIGHT.]

Reign of Terror

Normal Trap

Destroy 1 other card you control, then apply 1 of these effects based on the type of the destroyed card.

- Spell/Trap: Add 1 "Mythorror" monster face-up from your Extra Deck or GY to your hand.

- Monster: Draw 1 card.

If a monster Special Summoned from the GY declares an attack: You can banish this card from your GY; destroy it. You can only use each effect of "Reign of Terror" once per turn.

[Trivia: this card's a reference to the Reign of Terror.]

Legacy of the Mythorror Familia (Dark/Fiend/Ritual/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 12)

You can Ritual Summon this card with "Horrific Occultism". This card gains ATK/DEF equal to the total ATK/DEF of the "Mythorror" monsters used for its Ritual Summon. While on the field, this card and its name are also treated as the same Types and names as the "Mythorror" monsters used for its Ritual Summon and which it banishes with its effect. You can target 1 "Mythorror" monster face-up in your Extra Deck or GY; banish that target, and if you do, this card gains its effects, and if this card had a different name from it when this effect was activated, it also gains its ATK/DEF. You can only use this effect of "Legacy of the Mythorror Familia" once per turn. Once per turn, during your End Phase, if this card did not declare an attack this turn: You can gain 700 LP.

[Trivia: effect credit goes to UNHOLY LIGHT.]

Horrific Occultism

Ritual Spell

This card can be used to Ritual Summon any "Mythorror" Ritual Monster from your hand or GY. You must also Tribute monsters from your hand/field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon. If this card is in your GY: You can banish it, then target 1 Level 4 or lower "Mythorror" monster in your GY; Special Summon it, but negate its effects. You can only use 1 "Horrific Occultism" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

---

Why are my latest chapters so looooooooong!? They take so much time to write! But all jokes aside, I hope you guys liked it.

Going in order, we see Vince return to You Show, the Yuya vs. Gongenzaka Duel, and that small dialogue between Vince and Yuzu. I think they speak for themselves, so moving on we have the Adaro scene: he's definitely right in saying Sora is evil, but due to his inability to discern said 'evil', Vince wasn't able to learn the little boy's secret.

Then we have Ereshkigal, and I thank Erik for helping me decide if I should change her myth or not. I did that for two reasons: 1) this is a pretty stupid reason and involves favoritism on my part for Ereshkigal, which can't be helped because I tend to take a liking to my characters (especially the Mythorror family), but I think she was handled pretty rudely with the entire Nergal ordeal.

He was disrespectful to Namtar when he showed up at the banquet (oh, by the way, this is based on the myth we have on Wikipedia; I know there are other versions of it, but I chose to focus on this one) and he was sent to Kur to apologize to Ereshkigal but instead forced our queen to become his wife and share half of her power with him. Not to mention, Nergal could still leave and return to Kur, unlike Ereshkigal who was still trapped in there. In my story, she already had to endure the sadness of not being free, so a part of me couldn't bring itself to add this on top of that.

The second reason: nothing really happened after Nergal became king of Kur, so I think it would be a safe alteration. So the Nergal of ARC-V also welcomed Namtar at the banquet and didn't anger anyone as a result. Ereshkigal was forced to be a queen, can't leave her domain, and needs love, the least we can do is let her be THE queen of Kur. And I like to treat Gugalanna as her one and only husbando, who dies in the Epic of Gilgamesh and sparks that hatred towards Ishtar in Ereshkigal's heart (which yes, does make her past even more tragic). Since I made changes to her past, I decided to add my own twist to her children as well, but I'll reveal that later when Vince himself will meet them.

Moving on, Vince reveals he had more Visions, this time involving his Main Deck monsters. While I didn't show them here, I'm planning on doing so in a different story that I'll start soon. It isn't really a story, more like a collection of those Visions and special info regarding the Mythorros! Adding them all here would've been an ordeal to write...

The tournament finally starts after that, and we have Vince vs. Manek Round 2. Like in the last version, the latter loses and gets injured (we'll see how he's doing in the next chapter), but in Redux Vince wins without using his Extra Deck! Since he'll be pretty dependent on it from now on, I thought it would be nice for him to win without using it for one last time. Oh, I also used Bi-Attack's OCG name since there's already a Normal Spell called Double Attack and I personally like it more.

A thank you to Erik who betaed this chapter's first half!

Reviews really make my day and it's a great way to communicate with you readers, and maybe find out errors I can avoid making. Please review, and with that said, here's the chapter's last scene!

---

A single card appeared on the screen before turning around, revealing Legacy of the Mythorror Familia. It suddenly glowed, and Vince and Adaro and Snow's cards emerged from it.

"I liked that ending, Master!" Adaro giggled from his card, floating closer to his user. "I didn't expect you from all people to be so brutal. Nice, nice~!"

"E-Eh!? No, I didn't do that on purpose!" Vince angrily shouted. He then placed his hands to his hips and frowned. "I wouldn't even think of doing that, Adaro."

"Hmm, you're no fun." he whined, poking his cheek with the border of his card.

"Please, don't tease Vince-kun, Adaro." Snow got between us with a tone that suggested she was pouting. "It was just an accident."

"Mmmake me."

"Ara ara...are you sure about that?" Snow giggled as a paper fan appeared out of nowhere, and she took hold of it with the border of her card.

"Yuzu's paper fan!?" I exclaimed in surprise.

"O-Oi, where did you get that barbaric contraption from...?" Adaro asked in confusion while hiding behind me.

"Do you like it? I made it myself," she explained. "When I saw that Yuzu girl's paper fan, I thought 'why not?'"

"You shouldn't have thought anything..." Adaro muttered. "Fine, I pass."

"Fufu, thank you." Snow's paper fan vanished at that. "It's time for the Secret of the Chapter, Vince-kun."

"Y-Yes." Vince nodded before turning to yours truly. "Here's the secret: my battle theme is Fate/Apocrypha's Main Soundtrack, the first track of its OST! It has such a mythical and grand vibe, I simply love it. I hope you'll like it too when you read my battles with it playing in the background! And with that said, goodbye, everyone!"

The screen faded into black, followed by the words [To Be Continued...].