Maya looked at Daniel in surprise before bursting out in an evil cackle. "You can't seriously believe that you can possibly defeat me!?" she exclaimed. "While I'll grant that your unique tricks and skills may present a greater challenge than the normal magician your age, your abilities can't possibly come close to matching mine," she said. Daniel glared at her and replied, "Then you shouldn't have any problem accepting my challenge."

As Daniel began to pull out his lightsaber, showing he was serious, Mayumi tried to stop him as she grabbed him and exclaimed, "No! Don't do it! She could kill you!" Tatsuya then came up to them and stated in a concerned tone, "Mayumi's right, Daniel. Besides, if you defeat Maya, it most likely means that you killed her. In that case, other members of the family would come after you and kill you out of vengeance."

At this, Maya interjected and said, "He's absolutely right. According to family rules and traditions, if you were to kill me, the entire family would have no choice but to declare a vendetta against you." Daniel thought about what Mayumi, Tatsuya, and Maya had just said, but he was still determined to not allow Maya to follow through with her coup. "How about this," he began, "I'll challenge you to a non-lethal duel right here, right now."

Daniel then squared up his body to face Maya. "If I win," he stated, "then you and the rest of the Yotsubas involved in this coup will back down completely – and no seeking vengeance against me or anyone else!" Maya chuckled once again, finding Daniel's continued defiance to be amusing. "Very well, I'll humor you," she said. "However, if I win, then you agree to pledge your services to the Yotsuba clan for the rest of your life." As Daniel thought about this, Maya added, "I'm feeling generous, so I'll even let you keep your little girlfriend there," as she indicated towards Mayumi. "Keep Mayumi out of this!" Daniel exclaimed. "As for the rest of your terms, I accept," he finally said as he held out his hand towards Maya. As they shook hands sealing the deal, Mayumi tried once again to stop Daniel. "Don't do this! They'll control your every move for the rest of your life! Is that what you want!?"

Daniel turned to Mayumi and replied, "I don't have a choice – what she's proposing to do to all of you is completely unacceptable. I won't have you lose your freedom without a fight!" He then took her hand and said softly, "Please, have faith in me. I can do this." He then turned with his lightsaber in hand and walked towards the middle of the room where Maya was waiting. As the floor cleared to provide the combatants space, Tatsuya said softly to everyone around his immediate area, "I really hope he knows what he's doing."

As Daniel stood there, he watched as Mr. Hayama, Maya's butler, came in and handed Maya her CAD. Once Maya and Daniel stood facing each other ready to duel, Ayako and Fumiya's father – Mitsugu Kuroba – made his way in between them as the referee to explain the rules. "The rules are as such: no attacks that would kill or permanently injure the other, no touching your opponent in inappropriate places, no help from others, and the winner is the one who renders their opponent unable to continue in the duel." He then looked at the two combatants, and after getting the signals from both that they were ready, shouted, "Begin!"

At first, the two decided to feel each other out, with Maya using some energy and lightning attacks, while Daniel was able to fend them off fairly easily with his lightsaber. "You realize that you agreed to make this a non-lethal duel," Maya commented at one point. Daniel replied simply, "I can still use my lightsaber for defensive purposes." Maya shrugged as she responded, "As you wish." While Maya continued her attacks, Daniel attempted to counter by using his telekinesis to hurl various objects towards Maya, though she was able to fend them off easily. As they continued to circle and feel each other out, Daniel was thinking of a way to get to her and defeat her. He eventually formed an idea in his head and prayed that it would work.

At one point, Maya decided to up the ante and use ice crystals to attack Daniel, similar to Mayumi's attack. When she paused to reset her spell, Daniel put his plan into action as he channeled the Force to slow down his perception of time. While Maya knew about this particular ability, what she didn't know is that he had been able to combine it with the ninjutsu training he had undergone with master Kokonoe. Combined, his speed was even greater than what she had been told! She barely had time to even blink when Daniel appeared right in front of her. Before Maya could react, Daniel grabbed her shoulder with his left hand to keep her in that spot, while he used his right hand to initiate a mind meld. Those who knew him realized what he was attempting (though not what he would do once inside Maya's mind), while the rest of the people present murmured in concern and confusion over his actions.

Once Daniel regained cognizance inside Maya's mind, he looked around and saw that it appeared much like Tatsuya's mind, only the cavern was far larger, with many more crystals covering the ceiling above. 'It must run in the family,' Daniel thought. 'This should make it easier to find what I'm looking for.' He ended up being correct as only a few moments later, he came to what he presumed was the center point of the cavern. As he looked up, there was one giant crystal serving as the centerpiece of the room with an eerie glow about it. It served as a kind of keystone for the rest of the crystals there.

However, the top of the ceiling was quite high up, and with no obvious way to reach it. As Daniel was figuring out what to do, he heard rapid footsteps racing towards his position. When the footsteps came into visual range, he saw what appeared to be Maya Yotsuba coming towards him ready to attack! She was screeching and howling, "Get out!" and "How dare you!?" Daniel tried to fend her off, and was able to do so initially, but he was being driven away from the target he was going for.

Finally, Maya began to initiate what Daniel could sense was a very powerful spell. Indeed, it was, as Maya unleashed her infamous Meteor Stream spell – a scaled-down version to be sure, but still powerful enough that Daniel couldn't avoid it. Knowing he had only moments to do something, he took his lightsaber and began to hold it in his hand like he would a javelin. He then looked up, aimed for the giant keystone crystal, and let it fly just as Maya's spell came crashing down upon him. Daniel could tell that his mind meld with Maya was about to be broken. Before that happened, however, he saw his lightsaber hit the target, shattering the giant crystal and causing a chain reaction affecting the remaining crystals. There was a blinding flash of light before he was thrust back into the real world.

Once he regained consciousness in the real world, he was feeling a bit sore, as he had been thrown back a few feet after having been ejected from Maya's mind, though Maya had also been thrown back slightly. As Daniel got up, he was noticeably tired, as his breathing had become heavy, though he seemed prepared to defend himself. Maya, however, seemed no worse for the wear after getting up – stunned at what Daniel had done, but still looking full of energy. She glared hard at Daniel as she exclaimed, "How dare you touch me! I don't know what you were hoping to accomplish with that little stunt, but I'm still feeling just fine, despite your insolence!"

She then began to tap the buttons on her CAD as she stated, "I'm finishing this now!" As she aimed her CAD at Daniel to unleash one of her spells, there was confusion as nothing happened. Maya tried her CAD again, but again nothing happened. "It must have broken when I fell," she said. "No matter. Mister Hayama – my backup!" As Hayama came to his mistress to switch out CADs, Daniel began to form a small smile on his face. Once set up with her backup CAD, Maya again tried to activate a spell, and again nothing happened. "What the hell is going on? Why aren't my CADs working?" Maya asked aloud. "It's simple," Daniel stated. "I won."

Maya looked at Daniel in anger and confusion as she asked, "What are you talking about!?" As Daniel slowly regained some strength, he steadied himself where he stood and explained, "After I initiated my mind meld, I was able to locate the source of your magical abilities inside your mind." He then smiled and continued, "Just before you were able to expel me, I was able to destroy that source, causing you to lose the ability to perform any type of magic spell. In short, you're no longer a magician." As the crowd gasped in surprise at Daniel declaration, he went further. "Since you're no longer able to use magic, you're no longer able to continue in this duel, which means I win."

As Maya took in what Daniel just said, her face was twisted in rage and fury. She began to move towards Daniel in an attempt to physically attack him, but was suddenly stopped by two bodyguards taking her by the arms from behind. She was then approached by master Kudou. In the confusion of the duel's aftermath, the bodyguards were able to escape their captors, free their master, and were now taking Maya into custody. "You have much to answer for, Maya," Kudou stated as his bodyguards took her away.

As Daniel began to sigh in relief at having won the duel, he turned to Mr. Hayama and stated, "The rest of you Yotsubas had better live up to your end of the deal, so I suggest you release all the hostages here right now!" At this, Tatsuya, Miyuki, Ayako, Fumiya, and Minami came to the middle of the room to stand with Daniel, indicating that they would confront anyone who broke the agreement. Hayama then walked up towards the group and stated, "The rest of the Yotsuba family is honor-bound to live by the terms of Miss Maya's agreement with you, Mister Horowitz. Anyone who does otherwise will be stripped of the family rights." Daniel nodded as he replied, "Well that's good to hear, I guess."

Daniel then felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw Tatsuya grinning at him as he said, "Way to go, Daniel – very impressive! I guess we should now be calling you Superman?" As they chuckled, Fumiya had a practical question. "Wait! Since Aunt Maya is now in custody and no longer able to use magic, who's the head of the family?" Daniel smiled and answered, "I believe that would be Miyuki." As everyone gasped in surprise, Daniel explained as he looked at Miyuki, "If I heard correctly, before the duel, Maya officially named Miyuki as her successor. Since Maya is no longer able to serve as the head of the family, I believe that now falls to you."

Miyuki then put her hands up to her face, positively terrified at the prospect of suddenly becoming the head of the most powerful magical family in Japan. "I'm not ready for this," she said as she shook her head, "I'm much too young!" Daniel then took Miyuki gently by the shoulders and said to her, "Sometimes the best leaders are those who come to power without looking for it. You have both the strength and the respect to lead your family. Most importantly, you have a lot of people on your side who are willing to help guide you in your leadership, including me."

Miyuki then looked around to the people closest to her, as Tatsuya, Fumiya, Minami, Honoka, Shizuku, and Mayumi all smiled and nodded at her. Even Ayako nodded at her in acceptance of her leadership. Hayama then stated, "You will have my support as well, Miss Miyuki." Miyuki then turned back to Daniel as he released her and said, "Sometimes leadership is shown not just through pure strength, but from the wisdom displayed in knowing who to trust. You have a good heart and a strong spirit, Miyuki. Make sure your leadership shows both."

"Well said, young Jedi master," came a familiar voice. Everyone turned towards the source and saw that master Kudou had returned to the room. He then walked up to Daniel's group in the middle of the room and said to Miyuki, "It appears that you have quite a challenge ahead of you – a challenge that I believe you are more than capable of meeting." As Miyuki bowed to Kudou in gratitude at his words, he then turned to Daniel and stated, "As for you, Mister Horowitz, it appears that everyone here – as does all of Japan's magical society – owes you a great debt of gratitude."

Then, to everyone's astonishment, master Kudou gave a deep bow to Daniel. Soon after, everyone else in the room began to follow suit. As Daniel stood there stunned, he tried to waive everyone off from this sudden display. "Everyone, please!" he exclaimed. "I neither deserve nor desire this kind of adulation! I was just doing what I felt was right!"

Daniel then felt someone grab his arm from behind him. Before he turned around, he was able to use the Force to sense not only who it was that held his arm, but also that person's aura. When he turned around, he saw Mayumi there giving him what looked like a big smile, but he could see that her aura had become quite terrifying. "Oh, Daniel," she said, "when were you going to tell your beloved girlfriend that your housemates were actually the heirs of the Yotsuba family, hmmm?"

As Daniel tried to think of how to answer this, Ayako interjected. "He's known about this since before you two became a couple – shortly after Scorched Halloween," she said. Daniel's eyebrows twitched as he said to Ayako, "You're not helping!" Miyuki then tried to calm Mayumi's aura by stating, "Please, Mayumi, don't hold it against Daniel. Big brother and I swore him to secrecy about that. We didn't want people to find out and begin to fear and avoid us."

This seemed to work at least somewhat, as her aura's temperature dropped a little. She then sighed and replied to Miyuki, "I guess I can understand your reasoning, and I can forgive you for not telling me." She then turned to Daniel and said in a seemingly calm manner, "As for you, we need to talk about this privately." Daniel groaned internally, as he just knew he was about to get his ear chewed out by Mayumi about this. As Mayumi began leading him out of the room, master Kudou exclaimed, "Ah, young love!" As they were exiting the room, Daniel could hear most of the people inside burst out laughing.