Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V: The Six Dimensions

by BlaiseCandell

Before the invasion of the Xyz Dimension, scans done by the Fusion Dimension reveal two more dimensions. The Ritual Dimension, and the Link Dimension. Within those two dimensions, Chiaki, Yuji, Miharu and Yuno have their lives turned upside down, and are tossed into a vicious war. Also, why are there five people with the same faces as them?

45. Chapter 45: Evolution in Triplicate

Starting Notes:

Welcome back! It took a while, huh? There were times when I just wanted to split this chapter and give a ultra-mega short one for the next chapter (since this chapter has three duels, I could have gone two-one for two chapters.) It was stressful to write one duel in particular, haha. I'm finally done with these three though! *confetti* Hope you enjoy! I hope that you can forgive me for how long it took, considering how long this chapter is ;3 It's actually the second-longest chapter in Six Dimensions, behind 38, which was a filler chapter, so... yeah! I'm pretty satisfied with it.

---

Chapter 45: Evolution in Triplicate

"So the Lancers are here…" Yuri grinned. "And Yuzu Hiiragi has lost and been sent to the Underground, huh? But if Sora hasn't gotten her yet, despite how obvious of a position it is—"

"He's most certainly turned against Academia," Yuji murmured. "Who'd have thought that he'd be the smart one?"

"Should we go and pick up Yuzu Hiiragi now then?"

Yuji shrugged, before shaking his head.

"Well, why not?"

"... it's more efficient to wait until both Miharu Kogami and Serena Akaba are eliminated."

"Oh, and you're all about efficiency?" Yuri drawled mockingly. "I don't trust Roget not to pull anything. We might as well get them out early, no? And anyway, I don't think either Serena or that Kogami girl is going to lose so easily." As if they would. Both were far too stubborn and strong. And Yuri would look down on them if they lost to people in this weak city.

Yuji turned over. "... do you really want the mission to end so early?"

Yuri grimaced. The very idea was sickening. He didn't want to leave and go back just like that—without fighting anyone at all.

And…

He wanted to watch them duel too.

"Ugh. Fine, you win this round." Yuri sat on the rooftop. "I want to see how this goes too."

Especially since she's up next.

---

"... huh." Shinji looked at his opponent, tilting his head. "... alright. I guess that makes sense. I was hoping to duel one of you Lancers anyway, and after seeing how you dueled in your match, I know you're an interesting opponent."

"... that's the first time someone's called me interesting, I think," Serena said. After all, her dueling had never been intended to entertain or show anything other than her own strength. "If you're looking for entertainment, I'm probably one of the least suited Lancers for that."

"Oh, I don't care about entertainment," Shinji said. Up above in his room, despite the fact that he was currently sulking, Yuya felt a disturbance in the force. "But you're strong, right?"

Serena stared at him for a moment. "Naturally," she said. "Is that the opponent that you want?"

"I want to uproot the strong," Shinji said, voice as assertive as ever. "So yes. There's no point fighting someone unless they're strong."

"... I agree," Serena said. She held out a hand, pointing at him. "Then, I guess you're a good opponent for me to defeat then."

"Already proclaiming your victory? Well, I guess I'm used to that as well…"

The two of them rode out beneath the spotlights. Serena stared forward, focused as ever, unfazed by all the loud noises and cheers coming from everywhere around her.

She raced against Shinji, of course, and like always, she tried to win. However, Shinji ended up crossing the corner before her. Serena let out a huff of displeasure.

Well, she preferred the second turn, but even so, she didn't like losing at anything.

Never mind.

She would just have to win the whole duel.

[DUEL!]

Serena Akaba: 4000LP

Shinji Weber: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Shinji] [H:5]

"I'll start!" Shinji declared. "I'll Normal Summon Dragonbite!" A large, serpentine creature appeared, with yellow membranes forming its wings. Mandibles were all over its body, and it had two scythe-like legs.

[Dragonbite (4*/1000/1000/DARK/Insect/Tuner/Effect)]

"And when Dragonbite is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Insect monster from my hand. Come—Battlewasp - Pin the Bullseye!" A small yellow bee appeared on his field, darting about nervously.

[Battlewasp - Pin the Bullseye (1*/200/300/WIND/Insect/Effect)]

"With Pin the Bullseye's effect, I will inflict 200 damage to you for each Pin the Bullseye I control. I control one. So you take 200 damage!" Pin the Bullseye flew forward, and Serena swerved away from it.

Serena: 4000 - 200 = 3800LP

"I will then Special Summon Battlewasp - Twinbow the Attacker from my hand." A yellow and pink bee appeared next to Pin the Bullseye. "However, I can't Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck this turn, except Insect monsters."

[Battlewasp - Twinbow the Attacker (3*/1000/500/WIND/Insect/Effect)]

"I will then tune the Level 4 Dragonbite to the Level 1 Battlewasp - Pin the Bullseye and the Level 3 Battlewasp - Twinbow the Attacker! Diabolic creature slumbering beneath the earth, shore up our defences, and forge a path for those weaker than you to walk! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Diabolantis the Menacing Mantis!"

A bipedal insect-like humanoid appeared, with black 'skin' and red spikes covering it. It had a black lizard-like tail and a bronze, metallic underbelly. Its arms were two long, thick and menacing scythe-like appendages.

[Diabolantis the Menacing Mantis (8*/2500/2200/DARK/Insect/Synchro/Effect)]

"Since Diabolantis was Synchro Summoned, I can use its effect," Shinji continued. "I will send Plant or Insect monsters from the deck to the graveyard, up to the number of non-Tuner monsters used for its Synchro Summon! Since I used two non-Tuners, I will send two Insect monsters from my deck to the graveyard!" He revealed one of the monsters. "I sent Gokipole to the graveyard with that effect. Thus, I will use its effect to add a Level 4 Insect monster from my deck to my hand!"

He then picked up the other monster.

"And since Skull-Mark Ladybug was sent to the graveyard, I can gain 1000 life points."

Shinji: 4000 + 1000 = 5000LP

"And then, I'll end my turn!"

A more tactical duelist might have taken the chance to try and predict Shinji's next move.

However, Serena had never cared about being tactical.

[Turn 2: Serena] [H:6]

"Draw! I will activate the Spell Card, Polymerization!" Serena didn't waste any time—the moment that she spotted her usual winning combo in her hand, she went for it. "I will fuse Moonlight Blue Cat and Moonlight Yellow Marten in my hand! Blue cat that prowls through the darkness! Crescent-tailed moon creature that dances through the night! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to me! Beautiful beast that dances in the moonlight! Moonlight Cat Dancer!" The beautiful feline dancer appeared in front of her.

[Moonlight Cat Dancer (7*/2400/2000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]

"Oh, your ace is already out, huh?"

"Since Moonlight Yellow Marten was sent to the graveyard by a card effect, I can add a "Moonlight" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand." She picked up the card, placing it in her hand, before she picked up another card. "I will activate the Spell Card, Moon Light Perfume! Come back—Moonlight Blue Cat!" The blue-skinned dancer appeared with a determined look in her eyes, smirking.

[Moonlight Blue Cat (4*/1600/1200/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

"Blue Cat doubles Cat Dancer's attack points."

"She doubles it?" Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Aggressive play to make so early…"

[Moonlight Cat Dancer: 2400 x 2 = 4800ATK]

"And then, I will use Cat Dancer's effect! By tributing Blue Cat, she can attack each of your monsters twice this turn, and your monsters are not destroyed by the first attack. Lunatic Frenzy!" Cat Dancer's ribbons rippled through the air with great force. "And now, attack his monster! Full Moon Cresta!"

"So you're trying to take down most of my life points this turn," Shinji said. "If I hadn't healed myself, it'd be an insta-kill… well, full marks for effort." He held out a card. "But not enough. During damage calculation, if I would take damage from an opponent's monster, I can Special Summon Smoke Mosquito from my hand." A strange red and white-striped mosquito appeared on the field. It was wearing a black top hat.

[Smoke Mosquito (1*/0/0/DARK/Insect/Effect)]

"Then, the damage I take from this battle becomes halved, and the Battle Phase ends!" And due to Serena's own effect, Diabolantis wasn't destroyed by the attack.

Shinji: 5000 - 2300 / 2 = 3850LP

Serena grimaced. "I'll set a card and end my turn," she said. Cat Dancer's attack points returned to normal.

[Turn 3: Shinji] [H:3]

"Draw," Shinji said. "I will activate the Spell Card, Pot of Avarice. I will shuffle Dragonbite, Battlewasp - Pin the Bullseye, Skull-Mark Ladybug, Gokipole and Battlewasp - Twinbow the Attacker from my graveyard into the deck. Then, I can Normal Summon Battlewasp - Sting the Poison!" The main searcher of Shinji's deck appeared, the red and pink bee letting out a sharp buzz.

[Battlewasp - Sting the Poison (2*/400/800/WIND/Insect/Tuner/Effect)]

"I will use the effect of Sting the Poison to add a "Battlewasp" monster from my deck to my hand. I will then Special Summon Battlewasp - Twinbow the Attacker from my hand again!" He had clearly searched out that monster with the effect directly preceding the move.

So he was swarming the field for a second Synchro Summon?

"I will tune the Level 2 Battlewasp - Sting the Poison to the Level 3 Battlewasp - Twinbow the Attacker and the Level 1 Smoke Mosquito! Use your wings to make a storm follow your ways, and with your poleaxe, open a way to the truth! Synchro Summon! Come! Level 6! Battlewasp - Halberd the Charge!" The humanoid blue and gold insect appeared, holding up his red halberd, ready to charge to war.

[Battlewasp - Halberd the Charge (6*/2500/800/WIND/Insect/Synchro/Effect)]

"Halberd the Charge attacks your Moonlight Cat Dancer!"

Cat Dancer was destroyed, and Serena shielded herself from the blast.

Serena: 3800 - 100 = 3700LP

"When Halberd the Charge deals battle damage to you, it can also inflict 200 damage to you for each "Battlewasp" monster I control!" It was only one, but it still stung.

Serena: 3700 - 200 = 3500LP

"And Diabolantis attacks you directly!"

"Trap Card, Moonlight Exchange!" Serena called. "I will gain life points equal to twice the damage that I should've taken!" A silver glow surrounded her.

Serena: 3500 + 2500 x 2 = 8500LP

"A surprisingly defensive play from you," Shinji commented.

"Is that what you think it is?" Serena retorted. "End your turn so that I can prove you wrong then!"

Shinji very nearly rolled his eyes. "I'll set two cards and end my turn," he said. "Over to you."

[Turn 4: Serena] [H:3]

"Draw!" Serena declared. "By banishing Moonlight Exchange from the graveyard, I can Special Summon a "Moonlight" monster from my graveyard! Return to the field—Moonlight Cat Dancer!" Her most commonly used monster reappeared. "And I'll Normal Summon Moonlight Emerald Bird from my hand!" The green-themed dancer appeared, feathery cape swirling around her.

[Moonlight Emerald Bird (4*/1200/1000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

"With Emerald Bird's effect, I'll send a "Moonlight" card from my hand to the graveyard to draw a card." She revealed the card that she had sent from her hand to the graveyard.

She was trying to think more about her moves—to be more calculative than before. However, just because she was trying to change didn't mean that her dueling would change completely.

Her dueling was focused on direct damage through battle. That had never changed.

"I sent Moonlight Crimson Fox from my hand to the graveyard," she said. "And since Crimson Fox was sent to the graveyard by a card effect, I can reduce the attack points of a monster on the field to 0 until the End Phase. I will choose Diabolantis the Menacing Mantis!"

[Diabolantis the Menacing Mantis: 2500 → 0ATK]

Honestly, considering how little she knew about their effects, choosing Diabolantis was entirely a matter of pride.

She had failed to defeat it once. She wouldn't do the same thing again.

"I will activate the Spell Card, Fusion Recovery. I'll add Polymerization and Moonlight Yellow Marten from my graveyard to my hand. And I will once again activate Polymerization. I will fuse Moonlight Cat Dancer with Moonlight Emerald Bird!" The two monsters turned into dark streaks that flew around Serena as she rode forward.

It was nothing against Cat Dancer. But right now, Cat Dancer's low attack points could not take out the two monsters on Shinji's field.

"The beautiful beast dancing in the moonlight! Emerald feathers that shroud the sky! Swarm in the vortex of moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! Elegant beast dancing in the moonlit wilderness! Moonlight Panther Dancer!" The dark dancer appeared, letting out a soft hiss, a menacing aura to her.

[Moonlight Panther Dancer (8*/2800/2500/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]

"Emerald Bird's effect. I will revive Blue Cat in Defense Position, though its effects are negated." The blue-haired dancer appeared, sitting down next to Panther Dancer, who was still snarling at Shinji. "And Panther Dancer can attack all monsters you control twice, but they are not destroyed by the first attack. Attack Diabolantis the Menacing Mantis!"

"Quickplay Spell, Battlewasp - Hive. By tributing an Insect monster—" The weakened Synchro Monster vanished from the field. "I can Special Summon a "Battlewasp" monster from the graveyard. Return in Defense Position—Battlewasp - Twinbow the Attacker!"

So he was stopping himself from taking damage, huh?

Well, that was still one monster down.

"Panther Dancer attacks Twinbow the Attacker!"

Shinji's other set card flipped up. "Continuous Trap, Battlewasp - Nest. When you attack my monster, I can Special Summon a "Battlewasp" monster from my deck, place a counter on this card and end the Battle Phase! Come—Battlewasp - Sting the Poison!" Another copy of the red and pink bee appeared on the field. "With its effect, I will add a "Battlewasp" monster from my deck to my hand."

[Battlewasp - Nest: Counter(s): 1]

He was just ending her Battle Phase every time that she tried to attack… Serena was reluctantly impressed. For such an aggressive person, his defence was pretty good. "I'll end my turn," she said.

[Turn 5: Shinji] [H:2]

"Draw," Shinji said. "I'll tune the Level 2 Battlewasp - Sting the Poison to the Level 3 Battlewasp - Twinbow the Attacker! Come now, ghostly archer who fires off arrows at high velocity! Synchro Summon! Level 5! Battlewasp - Azusa the Ghost Bow!" The feminine archer appeared, holding up her bow and aiming it towards Serena.

[Battlewasp - Azusa the Ghost Bow (5*/2200/1600/WIND/Insect/Synchro/Tuner/Effect)]

"I will activate the Spell Card, Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two cards. Then, I'll activate the Spell Card, Summoning Swarm. I will Special Summon "Battlewasp" monsters from my graveyard, up to the number of monsters you control, but I cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck this turn, except Insect monsters." Sting the Poison and Twinbow the Attacker reappeared in Defense Position. "And I will use the effect of Sting the Poison to add another "Battlewasp" monster from my deck to my hand. Now, I will tune the Level 5 Azusa the Ghost Bow to the Level 3 Battlewasp - Twinbow the Attacker! Conqueror, champion of the collective, rise up and strike down those who would suppress you! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Battlewasp - Hama the Conquering Bow!" The green and orange-themed archer appeared, purple electricity buzzing all around it in sparks and small bolts.

[Battlewasp - Hama the Conquering Bow (8*/2800/2000/WIND/Insect/Synchro/Effect)]

But Hama had equal attack points to Panther Dancer, so that wouldn't work…

"I will Normal Summon Armored Bee," Shinji said. A large bee with wings made of metal appeared, surprisingly on-brand for him despite not being a member of his archetype.

[Armored Bee (4*/1600/1200/WIND/Insect/Effect)]

"With Armored Bee's effect, I can target a monster you control and halve its attack points until the End Phase!" He pointed to Panther Dancer, who was immediately weakened, surrounded by a honey yellow aura.

[Moonlight Panther Dancer: 2800 / 2 = 1400ATK]

"Attack Panther Dancer, Battlewasp - Hama the Conquering Bow!"

And Serena's second Fusion Monster exploded as the archer fired a spiralling, electrified shot.

Serena: 8500 - 1400 = 7100LP

"Since a monster was destroyed by battle with a "Battlewasp" monster I control, Azusa revives herself in Defense Position, but she is banished when she next leaves the field." The archer in a red and white dress reappeared. "Usually, when Hama inflicts battle damage to the opponent, it lowers all your monsters' attack and defense points by 1000. But there's no point." Shinji gestured to Blue Cat, which was in Defense Position. "Armored Bee attacks Moonlight Blue Cat!"

Serena covered her face as the attack hit, before raising her head, still proud. Still unable to ever feel a moment of defeat.

As long as the duel is going on, no duelist has the right to be pitiful or resentful.

"I will activate the effect of Moonlight Blue Cat! Since she was destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon a "Moonlight" monster from my deck! Come—Moonlight Purple Butterfly!" The blue-skinned dancer with bright purple wings appeared, floating in front of her in Defense Position.

[Moonlight Purple Butterfly (3*/1000/1000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

"Since a Synchro Monster was used for its Synchro Summon, Hama the Conquering Bow can attack twice per turn. Attack Moonlight Purple Butterfly!"

Why was he attacking with the stronger monster? Purple Butterfly was destroyed a second later.

"Halberd the Charge will attack you directly!"

The red wings buzzed loudly as the insect-like warrior flew by, spear stabbing sharply through the air. Serena didn't flinch, despite how close the spear was to her.

Serena: 7100 - 2500 = 4600LP

"When Halberd the Charge deals you battle damage, I can inflict 200 damage to you for each "Battlewasp" monster I control." Each of Shinji's monsters began to glow one by one as he named them. "Azusa, Hama, Sting and Halberd. That's 800 damage!" He burned through the last of the life points that she had gained earlier.

Serena: 4600 - 200 x 4 = 3800LP

"And with Azusa the Ghost Bow's effect, since you took damage from another "Battlewasp" monster, I can inflict damage to you, equal to the original attack points of that monster." Shinji looked at her, a resolute determination in his eyes. "So essentially, you're taking another direct attack! Do it, Azusa!" The graceful archer shot out another arrow, decimating Serena's life points.

Serena: 3800 - 2500 = 1300LP

"I'll end my turn."

At this moment, trailing behind him, with him having that look on his face…

It reminded Serena of the first time that she had dueled Kurosaki, all over again. A not-quite enemy, but still an opponent that she wanted to defeat at any cost.

[Turn 6: Serena] [H:3]

"Draw." Serena looked forward at Shinji again. She felt curiosity bubble to the surface—the same curiosity that had led her to ask so many questions when she had met Yuzu Hiiragi.

Her weakness had always been her righteousness. Even now, she found it hard to understand points of view that were not her own.

Even so…

"What drives you?" She asked.

Shinji tilted his head. "Huh?" He asked. "What's with the sudden question?"

"I'm just curious. And—" Serena raised her head confidently. "I won't get to ask you once I send you to the Underground."

Shinji scoffed. "Confident, aren't you?" He rubbed his forehead. "... no, you're not the enemy. Sorry about that. Sometimes, I just…"

See everyone like the enemy, even if it's not warranted.

You really are a lot like him, aren't you?

"I mean, if you haven't clued in yet—" Shinji raised a fist in the air. "I fight for the Commons. Specifically, I fight for my dreams that someday, we Commons will be able to exist in this society as equals with rights. That we'll stop being oppressed by those who have no right to speak for us!"

"Fighting for a… dream, huh?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow at her solemn tone. "Are you looking down on dreams?"

"No." Serena swiftly refuted him. "I know what it's like to live in a dream, and nothing more than a dream." She glanced at her hands for a moment. "It holds you captive. You can't see anything but the goal that you look for. You blind yourself to the suffering of those that you see as unnecessary for your goals. That's what a dream is."

And Serena would know.

As children raised in war, there was nothing that the children of the Fusion Dimension had worshipped more than justice. Not peace—righteousness. They had been desensitised to the idea of war before they even knew how to write anything more than simple hiragana. At the same time, they had still dreamed of being the heroes that they had wanted to see when they were children.

And they had taken those dreams—of justice, of creating a better world, of being the heroes—and entrusted them into the hands of adults like the Professor—

Who used them.

"It was naive of me," Serena murmured to herself, "to believe that a utopia could really ever exist anyway."

"Well, no. That's just bullshit."

Serena's head snapped up.

"It's naive to blindly trust in a dream," Shinji agreed. "To be fair, I don't know what your dreams are. You all talk about something beyond this city, so I don't really give a shit anyway. But just choosing to believe in a dream isn't naive." His green eyes were piercing. "It's more naive to think that there's no way to win. It's more naive to give up on finding a dream to achieve. Fighting for a better tomorrow, refusing to give in to that feeling of despair—it is still better than refusing to step forward and change things!"

"... well, I know that much by now," Serena said. His passionate words were inspiring, but at the same time, he wasn't revealing anything that Serena herself didn't already believe either. "I'm not insulting people who dream. I'm insulting people who entrust their hopes and dreams to others and live their life so complacently, believing that they can let others help them achieve their dreams. Which I refuse. My current dream is to crush those pathetic thoughts and beliefs underfoot."

Up above, Shun raised an eyebrow, watching the screen. Nue did the same in her room.

"To crush…" Shinji blinked.

"I'm going to make them change," Serena said. "It's the only way to atone for my sins of entrusting an evil man with my dreams. And I've fought too long to become strong, so I won't lose that easily now."

---

Yuri stared at the track. His heart had skipped a beat when Serena had started to talk, and it had not slowed down since.

That's one thing that we can agree on, he thought derisively. Most of the people who fight for Academia are fools deluded by promised grandeur, or misguided justice.

About time that you woke up, Serena.

There is nothing glorious about that world at all.

Except that you've taken the path of trying to fight against it, while I'm here using it for my own gain.

I never expected you to join me, but still, it stings.

---

"Atoning for sins…" Shinji said. "I don't think I understand what you mean, but I can hear that you mean it. Make your words worth it and win then."

Serena nodded. She glanced at her hand swiftly.

Jackpot.

"I will set the Scale 1 Moonlight Wolf in the Pendulum Scale. I will use its Pendulum Effect and banish Moonlight Panther Dancer, Moonlight Emerald Bird and Moonlight Blue Cat from the graveyard to Fusion Summon! Elegant beast dancing on the moonlit wilderness! Emerald feathers that shroud the sky! Blue cat that prowls through the darkness! Swarm in a vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! The king of beasts dancing atop the summit of the moonlight wilderness! Moonlight Lio Dancer!" The colourful, regal dancer that still remained her strongest monster appeared.

[Moonlight Lio Dancer (10*/3500/3000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]

"That monster…" Shinji narrowed his eyes. "What a terror."

"She is a terror," Serena agreed, accepting the title with grace. "I will activate the Spell Card, Mystical Space Typhoon! I will destroy Battlewasp - Nest!" The Continuous Trap blew up. "Moonlight Lio Dancer attacks Halberd the Charge! Shredding Moonlight Blades!"

"That's the field nuke…"

The attack hit, and Shinji's life points fell again. The bee was destroyed under the attack

Shinji: 3850 - 1000 = 2850LP

"After Lio Dancer's first attack, I can destroy all monsters you control! Lunatic Fury!"

Shinji revealed a card in his hand. "I will discard Battlewasp - Bolt the Striker. The next time that my "Battlewasp" monsters would be destroyed by a card effect, they remain on the field!" Lio Dancer's blades clashed against the monsters, but didn't destroy them. Armored Bee, however, was certainly destroyed.

"Fine. Lio Dancer can attack twice during each Battle Phase! Crush Hama the Conquering Bow!" The second attack slashed through the bee, crushing it.

Shinji: 2850 - 700 = 2150LP

"I'll end my turn."

"... you really are aggressive." Shinji drew a card. "Well, I guess there's only one resort left."

[Turn 7: Shinji] [H:1]

"Draw," Shinji said. "Your monster is… unaffected by opposing card effects, yes?"

"Yes," Serena said. She had nothing to hide, after all.

"... hah. In that case, I win."

What?

"I will activate the effect of Bio-Insect Armor in my hand. I can equip it to a monster I control. I will equip it to Azusa the Ghost Bow. And I will change Azusa the Ghost Bow to Attack Position."

Huh? Why?

"Battle. During the Battle Phase, the monster equipped with Bio-Insect Armor gains 2000 defense points… and 1500 attack points."

[Battlewasp - Azusa the Ghost Bow: 2200 + 1500 = 3700ATK; 1600 + 2000 = 3600DEF]

"Attack Moonlight Lio Dancer!"

And Serena's strongest monster, once again, fell to a monster that was simply stronger.

Serena: 1300 - 200 = 1100LP

"I'll end my turn."

And Serena blinked.

"You can't say it's over then," she said determinedly. "It's only over when my life points reach zero, so don't go announcing your own victory too early…"

Or you'll look like an idiot.

[Turn 8: Serena] [H:2]

"Draw. I will Normal Summon Moonlight Yellow Marten." The playful blonde girl appeared, wearing pink clothes. A bushy tail swirled through the air in the arc of a crescent.

[Moonlight Yellow Marten (4*/800/2000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

"I will banish Moon Light Perfume from my graveyard to Special Summon Moonlight Kaleido Chick from my hand." The yellow-themed dancer with translucent wings with a rainbow shine appeared next to Yellow Marten.

[Moonlight Kaleido Chick (4*/1400/800/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

"I will then use Moonlight Wolf's Pendulum Effect. By banishing Moonlight Crimson Fox, Moonlight Cat Dancer and Moonlight Lio Dancer from my graveyard, I will perform another Fusion Summon! The beautiful beast dancing in the moonlight! Regal nobility that shines through the darkness! Crimson cunning hiding in the shadows! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to me! Blades that shred through the curtains! Moonlight Sabre Dancer!"

The gold-haired dancer appeared, as intimidating as ever. With a confident smile, she swung her swords through the air, a sharp noise assaulting the ears of everyone around them.

[Moonlight Sabre Dancer (9*/3000/2600/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]

"Moonlight Sabre Dancer gains 300 attack points for every Beast-Warrior that is banished or in my graveyard. There are nine!"

[Moonlight Sabre Dancer: 3000 + 300 x 9 = 5700ATK]

"... so even bringing out Ballista wouldn't have worked." Shinji nodded. "... you truly are something interesting."

Serena pointed forward. Sabre Dancer cut Azusa down.

Shinji: 2150 - 2000 = 150LP

And Yellow Marten cleared out Sting the Poison, before Kaleido Chick laid the last blow.

Shinji: 150 - 1400 = 0LP

Winner: Serena Akaba!

Serena confidently clenched her fist, before slamming it onto the D-Wheel—not out of anger, but out of joy. She had done it.

For the first time in a long while, she had felt like she was in control of the match.

"Well done," Shinji said. He smiled half-heartedly. "... well, I really want to actually mean that, but I'm somewhat too frustrated with losing here to be genuine about that."

"Why?" Serena said bluntly. "We're your allies, aren't we?"

Shinji blinked.

"Surely you don't think that we Lancers are just going to leave this city like this," Serena said. "I meant what I said earlier. Even if the other Lancers don't agree, I, at the very least, am going to beat this city into submission and make it listen to you."

"—hah!" Shinji chuckled. "You're a very different kind of person from Yuto, but you're both so willing to be allies with us, without any benefits for yourself… I like that. Best of luck then." And this time, when he smiled, it was most certainly more genuine than before.

---

"She's good."

Yuri blinked, because for once, that was Yuji speaking up first, unprompted. "That brutish gorilla girl?" He said. "Sure, she's improved since I last saw her. Still not as strong as me though."

"... are you incapable of giving a genuine compliment without some kind of clapback behind it?"

Yuri opened his mouth, raising a hand. Then, after a moment of consideration, he lowered his hand and turned away.

"I'm going to defeat her," Yuji said, standing up. "When I get the chance."

Huh?

"Well, you probably could," Yuri said. "But why are you bringing it up?"

"... because she's important to you." There was something icy to the words. "You never took your eyes off her during that match."

A chill ran down Yuri's spine, but he didn't let it show.

"Still not on good terms with me?" He asked, keeping an easygoing smirk on his face.

"... obviously." Still taciturn, Yuji glanced away. "She looks happy. And even if you lie to yourself, you can't hide the fact that you want her to be happy."

"... oi, Fujita—"

"So I'll defeat her and take her back to Academia," Yuji continued, quiet and deadly. "So then maybe you'll know how it feels, to know that your important person is miserable because of you, and you can't do anything about it." He stood up. "I'll watch from somewhere else."

"Yuji Fujita!" Yuri shouted. The white-haired boy didn't turn around though, simply walking off.

Yuri stood there for a moment.

Probably the worst part about that, he reflected, was that there was no actual malice to the words. It was just a completely logical sentiment in Yuji's eyes.

And yet, Yuri still felt… shaken for a brief moment.

---

Why did I say that?

Even Yuji himself wasn't sure what to think about it. He stopped in another alleyway, still able to see the screen that showed the stadium. (It would be hard not to be able to see the stadium, considering that it was being broadcasted across the entire city.)

Why had he said any of that? He had been quiet, but that was already what he would consider an outburst, and it was unnatural. The words had left him before he could reconsider anything, and he'd had to escape before he said anything more.

He took a seat at a cafe, covering his face and considering the odd feeling in his heart.

It was no use. It was too complicated for someone like him to think about as a whole.

One. Something about seeing Yuri stare at the indigo-haired girl on the screen with that light in his eyes had made Yuji tense up.

Two. Something about that look had reminded him of Chiaki, and not in a pleasant way at all.

Three. He had been comparing Chiaki with Serena unconsciously, and Yuri with himself.

Four. Why had he been doing that? Was it just the facial similarities?

Five. Something about that had made him feel uneasy.

So. In conclusion. Six.

He had hated that Yuri got to look at that girl with those eyes when Yuji himself had not been able to.

… emotions were overcomplicated. And even harder to sort out on his own. And he could not express them—

Enough.

He didn't feel like working this out at all.

He'd just watch—

A sound of surprise left his lips for a brief moment.

Oh.

It was that person.

---

"Hey, Crow!" Yuno said, smiling enthusiastically. "Let's have a good match!"

"You're seriously this cheerful, huh?" Crow commented, somewhat taken aback. "Holy shit. Having the same face as those two guys makes that smile even more strange… well, three guys…"

Yuno couldn't help but chuckle. "Sorry, can't really tone it down. This is my face."

Crow rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure. Don't get too cocky. Even if you're still a kid, I won't have any mercy on you." True to his words, he won the first corner from Yuno, leaving him in the dust—and it wasn't even close.

Still though, Yuno had expected that much.

Meanwhile, Crow grimaced. I didn't expect you to lose so early, Shinji…

But for your sake, I won't lose! I'm going to keep going, no matter what!

[DUEL!]

Crow Hogan: 4000LP

Yuno Sugisaki: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Crow] [H:5]

"Since I control no monsters, I can banish another "Blackwing" monster from my hand to activate the effect of Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind," Crow declared, a bright red gale surrounding him. "I will first place the Continuous Spell, Black Whirlwind, from my deck into the Spell and Trap Zone. Then, I can Normal Summon Simoon the Poison Wind from my hand!"

A creature with sickly purple skin, violet-tinted red hair spiking upwards from its head, black-feathered wings flaring out, each of them looking messy and ruffled, like they hadn't been preened in years.

[Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind (6*/1600/2000/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]

"I'll then use the effect of Black Whirlwind. Since a "Blackwing" monster was Normal Summoned, I can add a "Blackwing" monster with less attack points than the summoned monster from my deck to my hand." He added the card to his hand. "And since that was a Normal Summon by an effect, it does not count as the Normal Summon of this turn. I will now send Blackwing - Shamal the Sandstorm from my hand to the graveyard, and place Black Feather Whirlwind from my deck in the Spell and Trap Zone!"

Another Continuous Spell appeared on Crow's field.

"I will Normal Summon Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North," Crow called. A blue bird appeared in front of him, flying about.

[Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North (2*/1300/0/DARK/Winged Beast/Tuner/Effect)]

"With Blizzard the Far North's effect, I can revive a Level 4 or lower "Blackwing" monster in Defense Position!" Crow declared. "Return, Blackwing - Shamal the Sandstorm!" A pale red bird appeared, the tips of its feathers black.

[Blackwing - Shamal the Sandstorm (4*/1600/0/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]

"With Black Whirlwind's effect, I will add a "Blackwing" monster with less attack points from my deck to my hand again. And now, I will tune the Level 2 Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North to the Level 4 Blackwing - Shamal the Sandstorm! Dark warrior cloaked in the night, a shadow lingering in the day, take form now, valiant raptor! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Blackwing - Nothung the Starlight!" The dark-skinned warrior appeared, swinging his sword through the air valiantly.

[Blackwing - Nothung the Starlight (6*/2400/1800/DARK/Winged Beast/Synchro/Effect)]

"I will activate Nothung's effect," Crow said. "Since he was Special Summoned, I can inflict 800 damage to you. I would normally lower the attack and defense points of a monster you control by 800 each, but you don't control any, so just take the damage. Black Stardrain!"

"Brutal," Yuno quipped, the black feathers flying all around him.

Yuno: 4000 - 800 = 3200LP

"I'll then activate Black Feather Whirlwind's effect," Crow said. "Since I Special Summoned a DARK Synchro Monster from the Extra Deck, I can Special Summon a "Blackwing" monster that is banished or in the graveyard, or "Black-Winged Dragon", as long as that monster has less attack points than the monster that I just summoned. So come from my banished monsters, Blackwing - Sharnga the Waning Moon!" A small brown bird with flames on the top of its head appeared, holding onto a bow.

[Blackwing - Sharnga the Waning Moon (2*/500/500/DARK/Winged Beast/Tuner/Effect)]

"I will tune the Level 2 Blackwing - Sharnga the Waning Moon to the Level 6 Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind! Darkened whirlwind, reveal hidden wishes on your wings! Revolutionary spirit, be born again under the crimson sun and fan the flames of revolution! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Soar, Black-Winged Revolution Dragon!" The dark dragon with long black and red wings appeared, tattered fabric floating around it in streaks, threading through rusty red gears that were all spinning rapidly.

[Black-Winged Revolution Dragon (8*/2800/1600/DARK/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]

"Since a "Black-Winged Dragon", which Black-Winged Revolution Dragon is always treated as, was Special Summoned while Blackwing - Shamal the Sandstorm is in the graveyard, I can banish it from the graveyard to add a "Blackwing" monster from my graveyard to my hand. I will add Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North from my graveyard to my hand." He nodded. "With the effect of Nothung the Starlight, which grants me another Normal Summon, I will then Normal Summon Blackwing - Gust the Backblast!" A blue and green bird appeared, feathers completely messed up.

[Blackwing - Gust the Backblast (2*/900/1400/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]

"And of course, Black Whirlwind's effect triggers again, letting me add another "Blackwing" monster with lower attack points from my deck to my hand. Then, I will end my turn. During the End Phase, the Black Whirlwind that was activated by the effect of Simoon the Poison Wind is sent to the graveyard, and I take 1000 damage. However, while I control Black-Winged Revolution Dragon, I take no effect damage." The dark gale dispersed from around him, having done no harm to him.

"... tough match-up!" Yuno commented. "But not unsalvageable, I think…"

[Turn 2: Yuno] [H:6]

"Draw!" Yuno declared. "I'll Normal Summon Marincess Sea Horse!" The blonde girl appeared in front of him, smiling just as brightly as him.

[Marincess Sea Horse (3*/1400/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]

"I'll open the circuit of the limitless ocean! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are a Level 4 or lower "Marincess" monster! I will set Marincess Sea Horse in the Link Markers! Shine, beautiful water creature that dwells in the depths! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1! Marincess Blue Slug!" Blue Slug appeared once again.

[Marincess Blue Slug (L1/1500/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/↓)]

"Blue Slug's effect. I will add Marincess Sea Horse back to my hand!"

"And that's how you start your combos, right?" Crow commented. Yuno blinked in surprise at the interruption. "I'll be stopping you in your tracks then. I can activate this card from my hand since I control a "Blackwing" monster! Trap Card, Blackbird Close! I will send a "Blackwing" monster I control, like Gust the Backblast, to the graveyard. I will then negate your effect and destroy that card!"

Blue Slug exploded, even as Gust the Backblast faded away into blue and green feathers.

"Nice!" Yuno praised. "I will activate the Spell Card, Marincess Dive. I can't Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except WATER monsters, but I can revive a non-Link "Marincess" monster from the graveyard." Sea Horse reappeared on the field. "Open, circuit! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are one Level 4 or lower "Marincess" monster. I will set Marincess Sea Horse in the Link Markers! Beautiful angel floating through the ocean, ascend now! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1! Marincess Sea Angel!" The pale girl appeared with a bright smile and a wink.

[Marincess Sea Angel (L1/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/←)]

"I will use Sea Angel's effect. I will add Marincess Battle Ocean to my hand and activate it. And now, by targeting Marincess Battle Ocean, I will Special Summon Marincess Sleepy Maiden from my hand!" The girl dressed in white appeared, with light blue hair.

[Marincess Sleepy Maiden (5*/500/2500/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]

"And once again, open, circuit! The conditions are two WATER monsters! I will set Marincess Sea Angel and Marincess Sleepy Maiden in the Link Markers! Appear now, colourful idol of the reef! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Marincess Coral Anemone!" Yuno's primary extender appeared, letting out a soft laugh.

[Marincess Coral Anemone (L2/2000/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/←, ↓)]

"Coral Anemone's effect," Yuno continued. "I'll revive a WATER monster with 1500 or less attack points to her Link Marker. Return—Marincess Blue Slug! However, I cannot Special Summon monsters this turn, except WATER monsters."

"So you're going to pull off another… what? Link Summon?"

"Yup!" Yuno called cheerfully. "I'll banish Marincess Sea Angel from the graveyard to Special Summon Marincess Springirl!" The girl with dark blue hair appeared.

[Marincess Springirl (4*/1200/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]

"Open one more time, circuit of the limitless ocean! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are three monsters with different names, including a Link Monster! I will set Marincess Coral Anemone, Marincess Springirl and Marincess Sleepy Maiden in the Link Markers! Cybernetic dragon that crosses into reality! Now, infuse yourself with the ocean waves that crash against the shore, and pull the world into your magnetic field! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Magnetic Current Link Dragon!"

The blue and purple dragon appeared with a ferocious roar.

[Magnetic Current Link Dragon (L3/2500/WATER/Dragon/Link/Effect/←, ↓, →)]

"Coral Anemone will add Marincess Sleepy Maiden from my graveyard to my hand," Yuno explained, even as Crow was staring at the dragon.

"... interesting dragon."

"I agree!" Yuno winked, smirking as he did so. "And I'm sure that your monster agrees too."

"What?..."

"Magnetic Current Link Dragon's effect," Yuno continued. "I will target a Level 5 or higher monster you control, and negate its effects, before taking control of it until your next End Phase. You then gain life points equal to that monster's attack points. Magnetism Drive!" The wires shot forward, grabbing onto—of course—Black-Winged Revolution Dragon and dragging it to Yuno's side of the field.

Crow: 4000 + 2800 = 6800LP

"You took my dragon?" Crow said in shock. He had been circumvented just like that… "Damn it."

Yuno took a quick moment to check the dragon's effects, since he now had control of it. Alright.

"Attack Nothung the Starlight, Black-Winged Revolution Dragon," Yuno called calmly. The dragon took flight, laying waste to Crow's field in an instant, destroying his only remaining monster.

Crow: 6800 - 400 = 6400LP

"And Magnetic Current Link Dragon attacks directly! Circuit Breaker!"

Electric shocks and wires swerved all around the dragon, before a stream of water shot out as well, directly towards Crow.

Crow: 6400 - 2500 = 3900LP

"I'll end my turn," Yuno said.

"So that's how it works?" Crow sighed. "Jeez… what a cruel monster."

Yuno blinked.

Cruel?

[Turn 3: Crow] [H:5]

"Draw." Crow glanced at his hand. "So I have to fight my own ace, huh? Never really considered that was possible… ah, never mind. I'll Normal Summon Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North again." The blue bird that he had added back to his hand appeared on the field. "And with Blizzard the Far North's effect, I can revive another Level 4 or lower "Blackwing" monster. Come back—Blackwing - Sharnga the Waning Moon!" The other Tuner monster appeared on Crow's field. "And I'll Special Summon Blackwing - Bora the Spear from my hand!" The orange and yellow avian man appeared, black wings bursting out behind him.

[Blackwing - Bora the Spear (4*/1700/800/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]

"And I'll tune the Level 2 Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North to the Level 4 Blackwing - Bora the Spear! Poisonous gale. Crimson edge. Slash through the unknown and make the world concrete! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Burst of malice, Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind!" An avian figure with bright purple hair and orange feathers appeared, crimson wind swirling around it as its metallic wings cleaved the air.

[Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind (6*/2400/1200/DARK/Winged Beast/Synchro/Effect)]

"First up," Crow said. "I won't use Black Feather Whirlwind's effect for now. I'll instead use Boreastorm's effect. By sending the Level 5 Assault Blackwing - Kunai the Drizzle from my deck to the graveyard, I'll have Boreastorm copy its Level."

[Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind: 6* → 5*]

"Then, I'll tune the Level 2 Blackwing - Sharnga the Waning Moon to the Level 5 Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind!"

Using his Synchro Monster and—laddering up?

"Spread your jet-black wings, and storm forth in tandem with the roaring thunder! A slash of lightning! Synchro Summon! Level 7! Cascade, Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower!" Crow's other most commonly used monster made its appearance known with a screech.

[Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower (7*/2600/2000/DARK/Winged Beast/Synchro/Effect)]

"Black Feather Whirlwind's effect! I can revive a "Blackwing" monster with less attack points than Raikiri!" Crow declared. "Return to the field—Blackwing - Nothung the Starlight!" The first Synchro Monster that he had brought out reappeared on the field. "And Nothung the Starlight's effect activates! I will inflict 800 damage to you, and decrease your monster's attack and defense points by 800! And since you negated Black-Winged Revolution Dragon's effect, it won't stop you from taking damage! Black Stardrain!"

Yuno shielded himself from the dark feathers again.

Yuno: 3200 - 800 = 2400LP

[Magnetic Current Link Dragon: 2500 - 800 = 1700ATK]

"And Raikiri's effect—I will destroy my own dragon!"

"Oh, jeez—"

The dark dragon blew up into feathers and fabric.

"I won't let my monsters be held hostage against me," Crow said determinedly.

"... ok, I think there's been a misunderstanding here—"

"Raikiri attacks Magnetic Current Link Dragon!"

Yuno sighed. "Well, you're probably too hot-headed to listen, huh? I'll send another "Marincess" monster from my hand to the graveyard and Special Summon Marincess Crown Tail from my hand in Defense Position!" The black-haired girl appeared, a red ribbon tying up her hair.

[Marincess Crown Tail (5*/600/2300/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]

"And I take halved damage from that attack!"

Yuno: 2400 - 900 / 2 = 1950LP

"Tsk… Nothung attacks Crown Tail." The dark-haired girl was destroyed. "I end my turn."

[Turn 4: Yuno] [H:2]

Yuno picked up the top card of his deck—

And he grinned.

"Finally!" He cheered.

"What." Crow stared blankly.

"I've been waiting. I'll activate another copy of Marincess Dive. And this time, since I control Marincess Battle Ocean, I can Special Summon a "Marincess" monster from the deck instead. So come—Marincess Blue Sunfish!"

And the Tuner monster appeared on Yuno's field with a flip of her skirt.

[Marincess Blue Sunfish (3*/1400/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Tuner/Effect)]

"And with Blue Sunfish's effect, I will Special Summon a "Marincess" monster from my deck in Attack Position! Come—Marincess Blue Tang!" The blue-haired girl appeared next to her counterpart.

[Marincess Blue Tang (4*/1500/1200/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]

"With Blue Tang's effect, I will send a "Marincess" monster from my deck to the graveyard," Yuno explained. "Now—I will tune the Level 3 Marincess Blue Sunfish to the Level 4 Marincess Blue Tang!"

"Wait, hold on—you can Synchro Summon?"

"Yeah. Just didn't have a moment when it was that necessary so far."

Crow blinked, dumbfounded. "Necessary?"

"Yeah?" Yuno was just as confused by Crow's shock. "I mean, I'm not the kind of person who just dramatically pulls out my newest card the moment that I get it. Even if I learned Synchro Summoning a long time ago, I still needed to wait until there was a match where it would actually make sense to use her instead of my other monsters! It wouldn't have worked against Kirijo-san, after all… and in the end, I wanted to beat Sherry-san with the power of my own voice." He shook his head like an oblivious duck shaking water off its feathers. "Point is—I can't believe that I finally get to use her. I've been waiting forever—and especially waiting forever to show this to Miharu too!"

"... god, you're such a simp," Crow muttered, reflecting on literally every moment that he'd been in Sugisaki Yuno's vicinity.

Yuno rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, is that in a negative way? Positive way?"

"Uh. Neutral way?..."

"Alright then!" Yuno launched into his summon chant immediately. "Unfurl, petals and drift across the still water! Let sunlight stream through the river and give you a new strength! Synchro Summon! Level 7! Marincess Crystal Hyacinth!"

A pool of water appeared in front of him, before a figure dressed entirely in green appeared, swimming out of the swirling waters. There was a glimmer to her skin—translucent and pale. Long, round leaves layered over each other, forming a sleek and long dress. The shoulders of the dress, however, were covered by small purple petals. Long blue hair rippled through the air, with a purple tiara that resembled the shape of a water hyacinth's petals on the top of her head.

[Marincess Crystal Hyacinth (7*/2500/2000/WATER/Cyberse/Synchro/Effect)]

"When Marincess Crystal Hyacinth is Synchro Summoned, I can add a "Marincess" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand!" Yuno swiped up a card from his graveyard. "And then, Marincess Crystal Hyacinth attacks Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower! Buoyant Force!" Bright green leaves and water shot out.

"Huh?" Crow jolted back in shock. "But—Raikiri has higher attack points!"

"Not for long," Yuno replied. "First—that statement is just untrue, because Marincess Battle Ocean grants all "Marincess" monsters 200 attack points."

[Marincess Crystal Hyacinth: 2500 + 200 = 2700ATK]

"And on its own, that already surpasses Raikiri. However, Marincess Crystal Hyacinth's effect also triggers. Once per turn, when a WATER monster I control battles an opponent's monster—and yes, that includes Hyacinth herself—I can discard a WATER monster from my hand! I will gain life points equal to the defense points of the discarded monster. Then, Crystal Hyacinth gains attack points equal to the discarded monster's defense points! Healing Petal Dance!"

"... sorry, repeat that?"

"It's a mouthful," Yuno admitted. "I guess I'll show it in practice then. I discarded Marincess Sleepy Maiden from my hand. So first, I'll gain 2500 life points."

Yuno: 1950 + 2500 = 4450LP

"Then, the battling monster, in this case, Marincess Crystal Hyacinth, gains attack points equal to the discarded monster's defense points!"

[Marincess Crystal Hyacinth: 2700 + 2500 = 5200ATK]

The two monsters clashed, and Crystal Hyacinth eventually sliced through Raikiri with a razor sharp whip that formed from water and ice, looking like a thorned vine.

Crow: 3900 - 2600 = 1300LP

"And then, at the end of the Damage Step, since I activated Crystal Hyacinth's effect, once per turn, I can Special Summon a monster from my graveyard with equal or less attack points to the life points I gained, but that monster cannot attack this turn! Return! Marincess Coral Anemone!"

The orange and white-themed woman reappeared on the field.

"I will move into my second Main Phase. With Coral Anemone's effect, I will revive Marincess Blue Tang! And now, open again, circuit of the limitless ocean! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two or more WATER monsters! I will set Marincess Coral Anemone and Marincess Blue Tang in the Link Markers! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Lovely sea idol arriving for the finale of the performance! Marincess Marbled Rock!"

The dark-haired woman appeared, appearing far more composed than any of the monsters before her.

[Marincess Marbled Rock (L3/2500/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/←, ↓, →)]

[Marincess Marbled Rock: 2500 + 200 = 2700ATK]

"First, Coral Anemone will add Sleepy Maiden from my graveyard to my hand again. With the effect of Marincess Blue Tang, I will excavate the top three cards of my deck and add a "Marincess" card from among them to my hand. And finally, with the effect of Marincess Marbled Rock, I will add a "Marincess" card from my graveyard to my hand."

"... did you just add three cards to your hand with one move?" Crow sputtered.

"Oh, that's rich coming from you," Yuno deadpanned. "Look at your first turn and tell me that I went overboard. I'm ending my turn there."

[Turn 5: Crow] [H:4]

"Draw!" Crow declared. "You might have the upper hand, but I'm not going to back down!" He still had Nothung, after all—he wasn't starting from scratch. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Allure of Darkness! I will draw two cards and banish a DARK monster from my hand. And now, by banishing Black-Winged Revolution Dragon, treated as "Black-Winged Dragon" and a Tuner Synchro Monster, like Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind from the graveyard, I can Special Summon this monster from my Extra Deck."

Huh? Banishing two monsters from the graveyard?

"Crush those clustering wishes born of innocent naivete, to cross into the true battlefield that awaits us! Darkened wings that shroud the sky, protect those forced to the ground from the tyrants from up high! Emerge now! Black-Winged Assault Dragon!"

And a wild creature descended from the sky, razor sharp claws cleaving through the air like blades. It was hard to tell what the dragon's body was actually shaped like—it was all claws and long feathers and wings like fans that seemed oddly detached from the main body—if there was a main body at all. The head itself felt almost skeletal, for all that it was colourful gold metal bent around a face that was covered in orange feathers. Long spindly tails whipped through the air like whips. Every part of the dragon was a weapon—and yet it looked a lot like it was disconnected from itself—a bunch of body parts instead of a complete being.

[Black-Winged Assault Dragon (10*/3200/2800/DARK/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]

"Is that an evolution of your dragon?"

"An evolution of my dragon that I can bring out when my dragon falls? Yes." Crow clenched a fist. "Black Feather Whirlwind's effect triggers. Return to my field—Black-Winged Revolution Dragon!" The younger dragon appeared. "Black-Winged Revolution Dragon attacks Marincess Crystal Hyacinth!"

"Huh?" Yuno tilted his head. "... right. Your monster's effect triggers during the Damage Step. You want to bait out my monster's effect at the start so that you can use your own monster's effect to boost your own attack points."

… how the fuck had he figured that much out immediately, when he had probably only seen Crow duel once? Especially considering that he was clearly a bit of a ditz. (And no, Crow did not mean that as an insult, but there was something about Yuno Sugisaki that was earnestly oblivious and carefree in a way that Yuto and Yuya had not been. Maybe a little closer to Yugo than those two…)

"Sorry to disappoint then, but I have no need for Crystal Hyacinth's effect to defend herself." Instead, Yuno gestured to Marbled Rock. "By discarding a "Marincess" monster from my hand, Marbled Rock prevents monsters from being destroyed by this battle, and I take no damage."

So he protected himself again…

"Each time you activate a monster effect, Black-Winged Assault Dragon's effect triggers!" Crow countered. "I place a Black Feather Counter on it and inflict 700 damage to you!"

"Oh, that's scary," Yuno said with a chuckle, though there was no sarcasm to his voice at all. "Since I control a Link 3 or higher "Marincess" monster, I can activate the Trap Card, Marincess Wave, from my hand. I will target Black-Winged Assault Dragon and negate its effects, and then, since I control a Link 2 or higher "Marincess" monster, all my monsters become unaffected by your card effects until the End Phase!" A rippling force burst across the field, and Crow's dragon let out an annoyed roar as it was weakened by the waves.

The attack concluded, but nothing happened.

"Black-Winged Assault Dragon attacks your Crystal Hyacinth too!"

Yuno revealed another monster in his hand, discarding it and essentially rendering Crow's attack moot.

"I'll end my turn," Crow said with a sigh. "Your defences are top-notch, huh…"

"Well, I wouldn't want to lose so easily," Yuno said, still smiling.

"Are you always like this?" Crow said, still somewhat baffled by the attitude of the person in front of him.

"Always like what?"

"Uh. Nothing?..."

"Alright then. I'll take my turn now!"

[Turn 6: Yuno] [H:2]

As Yuno drew his next card, Yuya considered the situation from above.

It was… interesting, but even though all of the other Lancers were all rather competent (except maybe Sawatari), the one that he would want the least as his opponent was probably Yuno, despite how well they got along—no, maybe because of how well they got along. But it wasn't exactly the same as what Yuya felt about his other friends.

Because even if Yuno himself didn't know it, everyone else definitely knew the same thing that Yuya did.

Yuno Sugisaki was scary. Not in the sense that he was going to hurt any of them, but rather, he was scary because he seemed to genuinely mean everything that he said. Honest to a fault, no deceit in his actions, everything that he said and did was without any kind of filter of distrust. Which was just… it made everyone a little uneasy, even if it also made it easier to trust him. It should be something perfectly natural to have things that you hid from someone else, and yet Yuno never seemed to consider the idea of distrusting them at all—just taking what they said at face value, just trusting that there was a good reason for everything that they did.

In a sense, Yuno was a little scary because he was kind without any reason. Because he trusted all of them without any hesitation, and for a jaded group like the Lancers, it was hard to believe that there was nothing else behind that smile. Harder to believe that there was no malice at all.

And so it was easy to hear Yuno's words and search for hidden meanings in them. Yuya would admit that he was sometimes guilty of that too.

But in the end, no matter how easy it might be to distrust him because of all of that, Yuya still couldn't help it. Yuno had helped him too many times for Yuya to think that he was lying about anything.

Even so…

It also meant that sometimes, Yuno was a bit oblivious to the conflicts that he was stirring up.

Such as the fact that Crow was still somewhat rattled by Shinji being sent to the Underground. Such as the fact that Crow was clearly annoyed at the fact that Yuno was fighting with what he perceived as underhanded methods. Such as the fact that Yuno was clearly unintentionally reminding him of the Tops with the way that he was fighting.

It's not like that, Yuya wanted to shout towards the track. He's not thinking about things the way that you are, right now. Don't misunderstand.

Crow, however, spoke up as Yuno was drawing a card, forcing the issue. "Do you always duel so defensively?" He said, his voice on edge. "Stopping anyone from even approaching where you are on that pedestal?"

Yuno tilted his head. "I don't understand what you—" After a moment, he nodded, his smile fading from his face. "You're talking about the fact that you haven't actually landed a definitive hit on me, right?"

Ok, for him to just say it outright—

Yuno shook his head. "Don't project your stress on me," he said, though he did grimace at the harshness of his own words. "I'm not the cause of your problems. Even if you're upset about your best friend getting sent to the Underground—even if I do feel bad for you too—don't jump to your conclusions and make me the scapegoat for your helplessness! Do I look like I'm looking down on you?"

"... no," Crow admitted. "Sorry. I've been on edge for a while."

"I understand," Yuno said, back to the smile from before once they had cleared up the misunderstanding. "I know it can be frustrating when you're losing, especially when it feels like there's so much at stake… but in the end, it's still a duel. There is always someone that has to win and someone that has to lose. And this one is one that I intend on winning too, not just for myself, but because there's something more going on. Because I have comrades up here that I want to defend too. So even though there's a part of me that doesn't want to fight, because I know that winning will make you miserable, this time, I have to pick myself over my opponent!"

In her room, Miharu blinked. "... Yuno… that's a little uncharacteristic of you."

"I will use the effect of Marincess Marbled Rock. I will add a "Marincess" card from my graveyard to my hand."

"You're activating a monster effect though! Black-Winged Assault Dragon's effect—"

"You're right! My mistake." Yuno winked. "I'll take the damage then."

"... I really can't get a read on you…" Crow muttered.

[Black-Winged Assault Dragon: Black Feather Counter(s): 1]

Yuno: 4450 - 700 = 3750LP

Crow couldn't help but smirk though. With a Black Feather Counter and Black Feather Whirlwind on the field, he would be able to defend his monsters from destruction once, at the very least.

Then, Yuno revealed the card that he had added back to his hand.

"I'll target Marincess Marbled Rock and Special Summon Marincess Sleepy Maiden from my hand!" Yuno declared. "Open once again, circuit of the limitless ocean! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are at least two monsters with different names, including a Link 3 or higher Link Monster. I will set the Link 3 Marincess Marbled Rock and Marincess Sleepy Maiden in the Link Markers. Water, the lifeblood of the world. Pour forth violently from the skies and waterfalls, and finally come to rest within the beautiful oceans. Now, dragon born from the sapphire waters, raise those claws that tear through storm and deluge, and open up an era of peace! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 4! Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon!"

The large blue and purple dragon appeared, its rather organic appearance contrasting to its pre-evolution's mechanical appearance. It raised its sharp blue claws, black-blue-purple making up its wings in a spectrum of light to dark.

[Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon (L4/3000/WATER/Dragon/Link/Effect/←, ↙, ↘, →)]

---

"That's his dragon's evolution, but he summoned it… without his dragon as material?" Yuri rubbed at his eyes. "Where's the drama? Where's the 'ooh look at how strong I've become by evolving my monster'? I'm pretty sure that's illegal in some worlds!"

---

"You… summoned that monster to the right Extra Monster Zone?" All of Yuno's prior Link Monsters had been on the left side of the field, with even Crystal Hyacinth having been summoned to the leftmost Main Monster Zone.

"Yep! Because as pretty as my monster is, with her there, I wouldn't be able to do this." Yuno raised a hand, nodding to his dragon. "Once per turn, when Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon points to no monsters, I can negate the effects of all Level 5 or higher monsters on the field until the End Phase, and Hydrostatic Current gains 500 attack points for each! Peaceful Wavebreak!"

Water formed around them, swirling around—and as it washed across the field, it left a serene feeling, as though nothing had gone wrong or could go wrong.

Yuno breathed out slowly.

He would never get tired of the water.

(His life points still dropped because Black-Winged Assault Dragon would still affect him, but that was besides the point. It wouldn't affect him from now on.)

Yuno: 3750 - 700 = 3050LP

"This effect affected Blackwing - Nothung the Starlight, Black-Winged Assault Dragon, Black-Winged Revolution Dragon and Marincess Crystal Hyacinth. So Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon gains 2000 attack points!"

[Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon: 3000 + 500 x 4 = 5000ATK]

Yuno nodded. "I'm not putting it past you to have a hand trap," he said. "Good luck! Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon attacks Black-Winged Assault Dragon! Shifting Tidal Seizure!"

And the thing was, Yuno was right. Crow had a hand trap.

… a hand trap that protected from battle destruction. Specifically, it protected a "Blackwing" monster, which his dragon did not count as.

Yuno seemed to pick up on his mood, and he nodded. "Don't hate me too much for it, Crow," he said. "But I'm far past the point where I can hold back for the sake of an even match."

And wasn't that something?

The attack collided with his monster.

Crow: 1300 - 2000 = 0LP

Winner: Yuno Sugisaki!

"I'm not mad at you," Crow said. "I'm mad at myself. Because I finally want to win for something that's actually important, and yet I'm not strong enough…"

Yuno got off his D-Wheel.

"I know that feeling," he said, thinking about the loss that was still burning at him now. "So there's only one thing to do. Become stronger."

It sounded simple in concept, but wasn't it so hard?

'To become stronger'. Who didn't want that? But to do that, one had to understand their own weaknesses, themselves—

It was not easy to actually find a way to become stronger.

Yuno blinked as Crow patted his shoulder.

"I think I misunderstood you slightly," he said. "You're still a bit oblivious, still a bit of an idiot… but you're only a bit of both those things. For a kid, you're surprisingly mature, Yuno Sugisaki. So you better keep going and get stronger, alright? So that when I become stronger, I can then come back and beat you down too."

Yuno couldn't help but laugh. Crow's eyes softened, and he held out a fist. Yuno returned the fist bump.

"I'll go and look for your comrades, along with Shinji," Crow continued. "Best that we can do in these circumstances, and I know that Shinji wanted to look for his opponent down there too. We'll take care of them, so just do what you can up here. Since you stole my chance from me, that's the least you can do."

"Sure," Yuno agreed. "See you later then, Crow."

Yes.

Yuno just had to keep faith that every loss in this tournament was just a 'see you later'. That nothing bad was actually happening where he couldn't see it. (Like Chikyu. No. He couldn't think about Chikyu right now, or he would—)

(Calm down.)

That at the end of this, all the comrades that had lost would find their way back safe and sound.

---

"... you're a bit less intimidating than what I thought!" Yugo laughed loudly, rubbing the back of his neck in clear nervousness.

"Oh?" Kiryu said, leaning on the D-Wheel that had been provided to him. "What did you think I would be like?"

"Well, when I heard the tales about you, they said that you were over three metres tall," Yugo said obliviously. Kiryu pinched his nose in exasperation. "Oh, and that your hair was so long that it blocked out the sun! And that you carried bombs everywhere, and—"

"What are they telling the Commons kids about me these days?" Kiryu muttered to himself, before turning to Yugo. He spoke up, slightly louder now. "Does any of that sound possible for a human?"

"Well, no!" Yugo said enthusiastically. "But it still sounds cool, you know. And I know everyone says you're a criminal and all, but I don't really care about that! I just know that you're strong, so I wanted to defeat you!"

A smile tugged at the edge of Kiryu's lips, though he managed to keep his usual stoic expression. "You're very different from her…" He shook his head. "Well, I suppose it's a good thing that we were matched up. I've been wanting to duel you too, Yugo Kirijo."

"Ah—ah?" Yugo sputtered. "What did you just call me?"

"Is that not your name yet?" Kiryu folded his arms. "You are Arisu Kirijo's mysterious younger brother, correct?"

"You know who Arisu is?" Yugo said, sounding incredulous. Kiryu raised an eyebrow. "Ok, well, I guess you knowing who she is isn't that farfetched, but—you've talked to her?"

"... hmm. You don't actually know that much about your sister's exploits, huh?" Kiryu hummed. "You could say that we've encountered each other once or twice."

"Whoa…" Yugo's eyes were wide, despite the fact that Kiryu had said nothing of substance at all. "But I'm not currently a Kirijo, y'know… don't know if I'll ever be."

And there was a slight shadow hanging over his face, a certain amount of despair that annoyed Kiryu slightly.

"So uh, don't call me that?"

"... if you say that." Kiryu held out a hand. "I hold no hard feelings about this duel, though I do wish to test something about you." It was a bit of a shock to see this boy's face, after all—the same face as Yuto Kamisoka. "Let's have a good duel."

"Yes!" Yugo cheered. He grasped Kiryu's hand in a surprisingly tight grip. "I'm going to do my best to defeat you!"

Kiryu finally cracked a smile. Despite his own lack of energy, Yugo's excitement was surprisingly infectious. "Do your best," he agreed. "I want to see nothing but that."

Yugo headed back to his D-Wheel—a custom model. Had he built it himself? Impressive.

Kiryu gripped the ring around his neck, before he slowly exhaled.

Time to duel then.

---

In the end, it was really quite close.

But Kiryu won the first corner.

And that might have seemed nonsensical to anyone, because Kiryu had been locked up for most of the year. How could he compare to a clearly talented rider who had been practising for a long time?

Well—

He had never felt more alive than when he was on a D-Wheel.

And so, naturally—

He would never lose a race on purpose.

"So cool!" Yugo shouted from behind him, and Kiryu cracked a smile again.

What a ruffian.

[DUEL!]

Yugo: 4000LP

Kiryu Kyosuke: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Kiryu] [H:5]

"I'll start then," Kiryu said. "I will send an "Infernity" monster from my hand to the graveyard and Special Summon Infernity Wildcat from my hand." The bright red cat appeared, surrounded by flames.

[Infernity Wildcat (3*/1400/0/DARK/Fiend/Tuner/Effect)]

"Spell Card, This Creepy Little Punk." The name itself set Yugo off, the blue and yellow-haired boy laughing from behind him. "I'll Special Summon an "Infernity" monster from my graveyard. Return—Infernity Conjurer." The shaman-like monster in red robes appeared on the field next to Wildcat.

[Infernity Conjurer (3*/1200/900/DARK/Fiend/Effect)]

"I will tune the Level 3 Infernity Wildcat to the Level 3 Infernity Conjurer. Darkness that lays low any mortal being. Flames that burn through purgatory. Take on the form of the demonic creature, and let no person escape your gaze. Synchro Summon. Level 6—Infernity Doom Archfiend." The demon with fiery red hair appeared, cloak sweeping around it as its multiple red eyes stared back at Yugo ominously.

[Infernity Doom Archfiend (6*/2200/1600/DARK/Fiend/Synchro/Effect)]

"I will then set a card facedown and end my turn."

"Huh? Isn't your deck the one with the Handless Combo?"

Kiryu blinked. This boy knew his strategy to that extent? Maybe he wasn't as big of an idiot as he appeared then…

"You probably bricked!" Yugo declared with a grin. "It's alright though, it happens to everyone!"

Kiryu stared at him with a deadpan expression.

Alright. He retracted that last thought.

[Turn 2: Yugo] [H:6]

"Draw!" Yugo called. "I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Ultra Hound!" A red ultra hand made out off several criss-crossing pieces of metal that were bolted together appeared, decorated to look like a dog's face, with cute dog ears and eyes on one end and a tail at the other hand.

[Speedroid Ultra Hound (3*/800/800/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"When Speedroid Ultra Hound is Normal Summoned, I can send a "Speedroid" card from my deck to the graveyard." Yugo placed down another card. "I'll Special Summon Speedroid CarTurbo from my hand since I control a WIND monster!" The strange card-like monster appeared, with the battery in the middle of the card letting out a buzzing noise. "However, I can't activate monster effects for the rest of this turn, except WIND monsters!"

[Speedroid CarTurbo (3*/800/1200/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]

"Are you going to perform a Synchro Summon now then?" Kiryu said. It seemed like the obvious play, but Yugo shook his head.

"Oh, this is my usual set-up to bring out Kendama," he admitted, still grinning. "But a certain someone gave me something new to try out recently, and there's no one better to try it out on than you, Kiryu Kyosuke!"

"Something new…" Kiryu frowned. "Do you mean a new Synchro Monster?"

"Nope! I mean a new summoning method! Open, circuit of optimistic futures and dreams!"

… what.

"Uh, how does it go again? Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two WIND monsters! I will tune—uh, set Speedroid CarTurbo and Speedroid Ultra Hound in the Link Markers! Missile that flies through the air and opens the path to my dreams! Crash forth! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter!" A large blue and silver rocket appeared, shooting down from the sky, orange flames creating a force for it to fly. Blue glowing lines could be seen all over it.

[Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter (L2/1000/WIND/Machine/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]

"How did you get a Link Monster?"

"I don't know!" Yugo said with a grin. "Miharu just taught both me and Yuzu, and apparently she was able to make them for us? I'm not gonna question it! I'm just glad that I have it. I'll activate the effect of Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter! By banishing Hi-Speedroid Kendama from my Extra Deck, I can reveal two 'Speedroid" monsters from my deck whose Levels equal that of the monster that I banished, and you randomly pick one for me to add to my hand! I will reveal Speedroid Terrortop and Speedroid Taketomborg!"

Both of them were extenders in their own right, so it didn't matter which one Kiryu chose.

"The left one," Kiryu said, after the cards were shuffled.

"Then the one on the right is sent to the graveyard!" Yugo declared loudly. "I'll then use the other effect of Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter! I can Normal Summon a WIND monster immediately after this effect resolves! Come to the field! Speedroid Terrortop!" The set of spiky tops appeared, spinning around on the road in front of him.

[Speedroid Terrortop (3*/1200/600/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"When Speedroid Terrortop is Normal or Special Summoned, I will add a "Speedroid" monster from my deck to my hand! I'll add Speedroid Taketomborg to my hand! And while I control a WIND monster, I can Special Summon Speedroid Taketomborg from my hand!" The blue and gold miniature robot appeared in front of Yugo, next to the spinning tops.

[Speedroid Taketomborg (3*/600/1200/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"And with the effect of Speedroid Taketomborg, by tributing it, I can Special Summon a "Speedroid" Tuner from my deck! Come—Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper!" The green-haired doll appeared in place of Taketomborg.

[Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper (4*/1000/1000/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]

"Fuki-Modoshi Piper's effect. I will excavate cards from the top of my deck up to the number of other WIND monsters I control—that's two—and add one of them to my hand, while placing the other one on top of my deck!" He quickly checked the cards, before picking one up. "And here we go! I'll tune the Level 4 Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper to the Level 3 Speedroid Terrortop! Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

Yugo's ace emerged, beautiful wings reflecting the lights of the stadium all around them.

[Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (7*/2500/2000/WIND/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]

"Attack Infernity Doom Archfiend! Helldive Whirlwind Slasher!"

"Well, you certainly don't waste any time," Kiryu muttered. "I'll activate the Continuous Trap, Depth Amulet. I'll discard a card to negate your attack." Kiryu discarded the final card in his hand.

Yugo blinked as Clear Wing came to a stop. He looked dumbfounded. A few seconds later, he said: "Oh! You didn't brick!"

Kiryu stared at him, before sighing.

"Well, I end my turn." Yugo grinned. "Over to you!"

[Turn 3: Kiryu] [H:1]

"... hmm. I see." Kiryu put down the card in his hand. "I will Normal Summon Infernity Necromancer." A green-haired, skeletal demon in a purple robe appeared in front of him.

[Infernity Necromancer (3*/0/2000/DARK/Fiend/Effect)]

"When Infernity Necromancer is Normal Summoned, it is changed to Defense Position." Kiryu gestured to Infernity Doom Archfiend. "I will use the effect of Infernity Doom Archfiend. I will target Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, negate its effects, and since I have no cards in my hand, destroy it! Infernal Sealing Flame!"

"Well, I'll activate the effect of Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Yugo replied eagerly. "When a Level 5 or higher monster activates its effect, I can negate that effect and destroy that monster! Dichroic Mirror!" Clear Wing let out a sharp roar, and Infernity Doom Archfiend shattered. "Then, Clear Wing gains attack points equal to the attack points of the monster that it destroyed with its effect!"

[Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: 2500 + 2200 = 4700ATK]

Kiryu, however, seemed unsurprised. "Since an "Infernity" monster I control was destroyed by an opponent's card effect or by battle, I can set This Creepy Little Punk back to my field."

This set Yugo off into a fit of laughter again.

"I will then activate the effect of Infernity Necromancer. I will revive an "Infernity" monster, since I have no cards in my hand. Return to the field—Infernity Doom Archfiend." The Synchro Monster from before returned to the field.

"I will activate Doom Archfiend's effect. Once again, I will target Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. Infernal Sealing Flame!" The flames shot towards Clear Wing, and this time, Yugo could not stop it. Clear Wing was consumed by them, and burned away.

"Oh, you baited me…" Yugo grimaced.

"I will then activate my set card, the Spell Card, This Creepy Little Punk. Please stop laughing."

Yugo, who had tears forming at the edge of his eyes, tried to stop, but it only made him laugh more. Kiryu sighed.

"Is it that funny?"

"Kind of?" Yugo deepened his voice, making himself sound like a gruff adult man. "It reminds me of the kind of stuff that Tops would say. 'You dirty Commons!' 'Damn brat! I'll sue!'" His impression was admittedly very accurate and impressive, and Kiryu barely held back a laugh. "'You creepy little punk!' See? It's the same thing!"

"It might be," Kiryu said, valiantly fighting to avoid ruining his image as a tough and immoral person to the eyes of the public. "Uh. Anyway. I will revive the card that I discarded for Depth Amulet's effect. Infernity Beetle." The dark insect showed up on his field as well.

[Infernity Beetle (2*/1200/0/DARK/Insect/Tuner/Effect)]

"While I have no cards in my hand, I can tribute Infernity Beetle to Special Summon two copies of Infernity Beetle from my deck." The two dark beetles with beady eyes appeared, looking as though the beetle from before had been cloned. "I will tune the Level 2 Infernity Beetle to the Level 6 Infernity Doom Archfiend."

"Oh! A Level 8 Synchro Summon?"

"Darkness burns in the depths of purgatory. Flames of hell, form the fiendish dragon of punishment! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Void Ogre Dragon!" The crimson dragon with long silver claws appeared, letting out a loud, shrieking roar.

[Void Ogre Dragon (8*/3000/3000/DARK/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]

"Whoa! Cool!"

"I will tune the Level 2 Infernity Beetle to the Level 3 Infernity Necromancer," Kiryu continued. "Twin-headed devil that sleeps within the river of the underworld. Rise now, fall from your orderly grace, and serve rebellion. Synchro Summon. Level 5—Stygian Sergeants!" A chimeric figure with two heads on longer necks appeared, having a muscular body with two long leathery wings. It was sitting on a large motorcycle.

[Stygian Sergeants (5*/2200/1800/DARK/Fiend/Synchro/Effect)]

"Stygian…" From his office, Roget chuckled. "That's a name I haven't heard in a while."

"Stygian?" Arisu blinked, tilting her head. She was currently seated in her office in the Security building. "He didn't have that when we met, right? I would have seen it…"

"Stygian…"

Even the Tops and Commons seemed a bit confused.

Yugo blinked, oblivious as always. "That archetype sounds familiar!" He said cheerfully. "... uh, what is it?"

"It used to be the other deck used by Security, alongside Goyo monsters. It was discontinued three years ago, because Roget wanted Security to all mostly use the same type of monsters." Kiryu shrugged. "I stole it once and never gave it back. I thought it would be ironic to use it when I am the furthest thing from Security that the world has ever seen." He gestured forward. "Stygian Sergeants will attack Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter!"

The Link Monster was crushed by the strange warrior, and Yugo took the damage.

Yugo: 4000 - 1200 = 2800LP

"And when Stygian Sergeants destroys a monster by battle, it gains 800 attack points, and can perform a second attack this turn."

"What?" Yugo exclaimed.

[Stygian Sergeants: 2200 + 800 = 3000ATK]

"Attack directly, Stygian Sergeants!" Kiryu did not say 'finish him off', because this was that woman's brother.

He expected better of him, at the very least—

And Yugo did not let him down.

"When my opponent declares a direct attack, I can Special Summon Speedroid Menko from my hand!" The strange shuriken-like monster appeared, spinning around rapidly and spinning wind through the air.

[Speedroid Menko (4*/100/2000/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"And all your monsters are changed to Defense Position!" Both Void Ogre Dragon and Stygian Sergeants were changed to Defense Position, falling down.

"I see. A hand trap that can only be used on a direct attack." Kiryu shrugged. Yugo had been absurdly lucky there, or it had been the card that he had added to his hand earlier. After all, Void Ogre Dragon had been Synchro Summoned using Infernity Doom Archfiend as material, meaning that it could attack monsters twice per turn. Meanwhile, Stygian Sergeants was also capable of two attacks with its own effect. Kiryu had ended up overpreparing, it seemed—and because Yugo had used a monster effect instead of a Spell or Trap, Void Ogre Dragon could not use its effect to negate it either.

"I'll end my turn then," Kiryu said nonchalantly.

[Turn 4: Yugo] [H:5]

"Draw," Yugo said. "I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" The spinning golden dice appeared on his field, glowing brightly.

[Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice (1*/100/100/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]

"And I'll use its effect! I will make Speedroid Menko Level 3!"

[Speedroid Menko: 4* → 3*]

"And I'll tune the Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to the Level 3 Speedroid Menko. Thousand-face possessing shadow of the labyrinth. With that sharp blade, render chaotic darkness! Synchro Summon! Level 4! Hi-Speedroid Puzzle!" The slender, dark figure appeared, spinning through the air with a sword as its left hand and a gun as its right hand.

[Hi-Speedroid Puzzle (4*/1300/1600/WIND/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]

"Spell Card, Iron Call! I will revive a Level 4 or lower Machine monster!"

"Void Ogre Dragon's effect. While I have no cards in my hand, once per turn, I can negate a Spell or Trap you activate!" His card exploded.

"... well, that sucks," Yugo muttered, before he grinned. "I will activate the Spell Card, Speed Recovery! I will target a "Speedroid" monster in my graveyard and revive it! Return—Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper!" He was originally going to bring back Rubber Band Shooter, but while the Link Monster had a really good effect, leaving it on the field would literally be asking for Kiryu to attack it and win.

"So you did have another way to bring your monster back then."

"Fuki-Modoshi Piper's effect!" He excavated the top card of his deck, adding it to his hand. "I'll tune the Level 4 Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper to the Level 4 Hi-Speedroid Puzzle! Metal dragon with the power of the shining, free winds, take flight with the ideals of those who wish to rise! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake!" The large metal dragon appeared, the green light around it lighting up the entire track.

[Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake (8*/3000/2800/WIND/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]

"I will activate the effect of Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake! When Synchro Summoned, I can choose one of two effects. I will choose the effect that destroys all other cards on the field, 'cause well, I don't control any other cards on the field. Leisure Hurricane!"

The winds shattered every card on the field, leaving Kiryu's field just as empty as his hand.

"This Creepy Little Punk sets itself back to my field," Kiryu said, and Yugo had to take a moment for his brain to properly understand what that meant. The Spell Card reappeared on Kiryu's field.

"Fair enough! Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake attacks directly!" The dragon lunged forward, winds bursting forth around them, whipping up his hair in a frenzy. "Howl of the Drifting Dragon!"

The winds surged forth, cutting down a large chunk of Kiryu's life points.

Kiryu: 4000 - 3000 = 1000LP

"I'll end my turn there!"

"You're so happy-go-lucky," Kiryu commented. And yet surprisingly deadly too… 'rend the field and then attack directly, even if it costs your own cards' is a strategy that doesn't fit that carefree smile of yours.

It's a very similar strategy to her. The Ghost.

The Ghost…

The Ghost, who is a Commons. The Ghost, who knew Arisu Kirijo before she even became a Security Officer.

Kiryu felt distinctly like his brain had stumbled upon something that he should not have realised.

A dueling style… if Speedroid Menko had distinctly resembled a certain card of Arisu Kirijo's that sparkled bright purple, then this card resembled a certain large, domineering whale.

"Hey, you good?"

"I'm fine," Kiryu said. He would talk about it later. For now, he was still in a duel.

[Turn 5: Kiryu] [H:1]

"Draw," Kiryu said. "Since I drew Infernity Archfiend while I have no other cards in my hand, I can Special Summon it from my hand." The younger form of Infernity Doom Archfiend appeared on the field as well.

[Infernity Archfiend (4*/1800/1200/DARK/Fiend/Effect)]

"Then, since Infernity Archfiend was Special Summoned while I have no cards in my hand, I can add a "Infernity" card from my deck to my hand. I'll then set a card facedown." He emptied out his hand again. "I will activate the Spell Card, This Creepy Little Punk again. Return to my field, Infernity Necromancer." The green-haired fiend reappeared in Defense Position. "And with Necromancer's effect, return—Infernity Doom Archfiend. And I'll use Infernity Doom Archfiend's effect to target Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake, negate its effects and destroy it. Infernal Sealing Flame!"

"Again?" Yugo yelped. The dragon shattered under the flames. "Uh—when Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake is sent to the graveyard, I can add a "Speedroid" monster from my deck to my hand!"

Was that another copy of Speedroid Menko then? If so, then…

"Infernity Doom Archfiend attacks you directly!"

He would at least force that monster out now.

"I'll banish Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice from the graveyard to negate your attack!"

… hmm. That was clearly the monster that he had sent there with Ultra Hound's effect at the start of the duel. Had he been thinking that far ahead? However, the fact that he hadn't used Menko's effect meant that the card that he had added to his hand wasn't Menko. Interesting. Was he already thinking ahead to his next turn instead of worrying about his defences? Was he an idiot or not? Kiryu really couldn't tell.

"Attack directly, Infernity Archfiend." Kiryu dismissed his thoughts. Sure enough, the weaker attack connected.

Yugo: 2800 - 1800 = 1000LP

"I will end my turn there."

[Turn 6: Yugo] [H:5]

"Draw!" Yugo declared. "I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Double Yoyo!" He didn't seem too shaken by the fact that his stronger monsters—those two blue dragons—had already been taken down. Two spinning green discs appeared in front of him.

[Speedroid Double Yoyo (4*/1400/1400/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"Double Yoyo lets me revive a Level 3 or lower "Speedroid" monster from my graveyard when it is Normal Summoned! Come back—Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" The Tuner monster from earlier reappeared. "I won't use Red-Eyed Dice's effect, because Double Yoyo's at exactly the Level I want it to be! I'll tune the Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to the Level 4 Speedroid Double Yoyo! Lively soul of swordplay. Synchro Summon! Come, Level 5! Hi-Speedroid Chanbara!" The red and green sword appeared on Yugo's field.

[Hi-Speedroid Chanbara (5*/2000/1000/WIND/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]

"Hi-Speedroid Chanbara attacks Infernity Archfiend! And when Chanbara battles, it gains 200 attack points!"

[Hi-Speedroid Chanbara: 2000 + 200 = 2200ATK]

Kiryu let it happen.

Kiryu: 1000 - 400 = 600LP

After all—

"I will activate the effect of the Spell Card, This Creepy Little Punk, setting it back to the field." Kiryu continued. "I'll then activate the Trap Card, Infernity Break," Kiryu replied. "By banishing Infernity Beetle—one of them, anyway—from my graveyard, I can destroy Hi-Speedroid Chanbara."

"Ah!" Yugo gasped as his monster was destroyed. However, he didn't stay down for long. "Chanbara's effect! I will add a banished "Speedroid" monster to my hand! And by banishing Speed Recovery from my graveyard—" He had already moved onto the second Main Phase at this point. "I'll add Speedroid Terrortop from my graveyard to my hand! And when I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop from my hand!"

The three spinning tops appeared in front of him.

"When Speedroid Terrortop is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add a "Speedroid" monster from my deck to my hand!" Yugo didn't place down that monster though. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Iron Call! I'll revive a Level 4 or lower Machine monster with its effects negated, like Speedroid CarTurbo!" The card-like monster from before appeared. "And I'll tune the Level 3 Speedroid CarTurbo to the Level 3 Speedroid Terrortop! Powerful dragon rising from the mist of legend! Now, blow our enemies away with the power of the storm! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Orient Dragon!" A large, golden dragon appeared, with large and terrifying eyes gleaming with golden light. Two large, jade green wings burst out behind it, causing a sharp ripple in the air. Twin white tusks wrapped around its jaw regally.

[Orient Dragon (6*/2300/1000/WIND/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]

"... that's not a Machine monster, or even a monster of your archetype…"

"True, but it is a WIND monster! And I haven't really gotten to use her in a while too." Yugo grinned. "I've been facing too many people with those weird summoning methods, but this will work perfectly well against you! When Orient Dragon is Synchro Summoned—I can target a Synchro Monster on the field and banish it! So this is the last time that I'll have to see that archfiend of yours!" Infernity Doom Archfiend evaporated from the field, turning to bloody mist.

Kiryu raised an eyebrow. "You are aware that my Spell Special Summons "Infernity" monsters from the graveyard and my banished cards, right?"

If Yugo wasn't currently on a D-Wheel, he would probably have dramatically face-planted the ground. "What?"

Silence filled the air for a moment. Kiryu swore that he heard a few crickets chirping in the distance.

"... well, that sucks!" Yugo quickly regrouped. "I'll set two cards and end my turn!" He had summoned Orient Dragon in Defense Position, so he still had some basic defences if Kiryu mustered a full offensive force.

[Turn 7: Kiryu] [H:1]

"Draw," Kiryu said. He gave the card in his hand a passing glance. "I will activate the set Spell, This Creepy Little Punk once again. Return to the field, Infernity Doom Archfiend." The dark demon reappeared. "Destroy his set card. Infernal Sealing Flame!"

Kiryu caught the sight of a purple border as the card was destroyed. So he had gotten rid of one of the Traps, at the very least…

"And I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Infernity Launcher. By sending Infernity Launcher from the field to the graveyard while I have no cards in my hand, I can revive two "Infernity" monsters from my graveyard. Return in Defense Position—Infernity Beetle and Infernity Necromancer." The two monsters reappeared on his field as well.

"You got them all back!" Yugo yelped.

"I'll activate Infernity Necromancer's effect. Return to the field, Infernity Archfiend." This monster was also Special Summoned in Defense Position—Kiryu was being more careful, considering that both of their life points were already in the red. It felt like he was walking a tightrope. "Infernity Archfiend will let me add an "Infernity" card from my deck to my hand again. And I will once again set it facedown. And now—I will tune the Level 2 Infernity Beetle to the Level 6 Infernity Doom Archfiend! The dead and the living...The moment they meet at zero, the demonic dragon will be released from the cage of eternity! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Come forth, Infernity Doom Dragon!"

A black dragon with tattered wings appeared, drifting down from the sky like a piece of seaweed drifting through the ocean. Its arms were thin and misshapen, ending on bone white claws that resembled pincers more than any mammalian limb. Smaller, thinner hands could be seen protruding out from the dragon's midsection, each of them so thin that they were practically unnoticeable—even smaller than the pincers themselves. Grey-green tendrils could be seen all around the dragon's head, like a crown of driftwood and maggots. A thin horn could be seen protruding from the 'snout' of the dragon. Bird-like claws acted as the dragon's feet, seeming too thin to support the weight of the dragon's body. The bushy tail behind it slammed on the ground.

[Infernity Doom Dragon (8*/3000/2400/DARK/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]

"Infernity Doom Dragon?" Yugo repeated.

"It's the best option to deal with you right now," Kiryu replied. "I will activate Infernity Doom Dragon's effect. I will destroy your Orient Dragon and deal you damage equal to half its attack points!"

"Huh?" Yugo blinked. 'Uh, I'll—uh. I'll activate the Continuous Trap, Follow Wing. I'll target Orient Dragon, and while I control Follow Wing, you can't destroy Orient Dragon by battle or by card effects!"

… hmm.

So he had avoided that disaster, huh?

And Infernity Doom Dragon couldn't attack after using its effect.

"Pass," Kiryu said neutrally. It would have made no difference if he had brought out Yusei's dragon either. For now, he still had some level of defence. He could manage this.

[Turn 8: Yugo] [H:4]

"Draw!" Yugo declared. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Monster Reborn! Return to my field, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

"I'll activate the Counter Trap, Infernity Barrier. You won't get your monster back. This card negates a Spell, Trap or monster effect activated while I control an "Infernity" monster in Attack Position and I have no cards in my hand." Monster Reborn shattered.

"I see!" Yugo sighed. "... and I really wanted to look cool for this too…"

Look cool?

"Well, I guess there's nothing saying that I have to use Clear Wing to summon that guy!" Cheerfully, Yugo placed down another card. "I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke!" A blond punk-like monster with large eyes appeared on the field.

[Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke (3*/1000/1000/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]

"And I'll activate the Spell Card, One for One! I'll send a monster from my hand to the graveyard to Special Summon a Level 1 monster from my deck!"

He emptied out his entire hand with that move, much to Kiryu's surprise.

"Come! Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" Another copy of Red-Eyed Dice appeared on the field in Defense Position. "And I'll use Red-Eyed Dice's effect! I will change the Level of Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke to 2!"

[Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke: 3* → 2*]

"And now, I will tune the Level 2 Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke to the Level 6 Orient Dragon!" The two monsters shot up in the air. "Shine the wings that store the holy light, and strike down your enemies with its radiance! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 8, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!" The beautiful, bright and reflective evolution of Clear Wing descended from the sky with a loud roar.

[Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon (8*/3000/2500/WIND/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]

Kiryu narrowed his eyes.

He understood what this monster was, from the previous match that Yugo had in this tournament.

… it seemed that was it then. Even if he had kept his Counter Trap, Yugo would still have brought back Clear Wing, and he would've had another avenue to pursue.

Kiryu sighed.

"Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!" Yugo pumped his fist in the air. "Attack Infernity Doom Dragon! And when Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon battles a Level 5 or higher monster, it gains attack points equal to the attack points of the monster it is battling! Dichroic Refraction!"

[Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon: 3000 + 3000 = 6000ATK]

"Let's go! Crystallos Edge of Gale!"

Kiryu closed his eyes. He turned away.

… well. It wasn't like he regretted losing, anyway.

Kiryu: 600 - 3000 = 0LP

Winner: Yugo!

"Yes!" Yugo cheered—while most people might try to be sensitive to their opponent's feelings, the excitement that Yugo was feeling seemed to overflow immediately. "I won!"

And Kiryu allowed himself to laugh. They both came to a stop, even as Yugo looked at him, seeming puzzled.

"Huh? Did something happen?"

"No. I'm just nostalgic." Kiryu glanced up at the sky. "I've defeated so many opponents in all my rampages, and never held back on a single one. So that just makes every loss more memorable. Such as my loss to you today. It's nostalgic. It reminds me of the last time I lost—and it helps that he had the same face as you too."

"You mean Yuto?" Yugo grinned. "Yeah, I really want to beat that guy too!"

"Yes, you remind me of him, somewhat." Kiryu shrugged. "But you also remind me of the last time that I lost before all of that, before I got locked up in the Facility in the first place. The day that I faced your sister, Arisu Kirijo, and lost to her like I lost to you today."

Yugo blinked. "Wha—what?"

"So she didn't tell you, huh? Maybe she wanted you to think that she was still within your reach…" Kiryu shrugged. "As strong as you are now—you're still weaker than she was back then. Don't let this victory make you arrogant. You have a long way to go."

Yugo recovered quickly, as expected. "Sure!" He declared loudly. "I will! And when I win against her, will you acknowledge that I'm strong then?"

Kiryu raised an eyebrow. "If I don't acknowledge that you're strong now, aren't I slapping myself in the face?" He said. "You're strong in your own way. Someday, if I leave the Facility again, we can have another match."

Yugo nodded. "I'd like that!"

---

"He's pretty strong," Serena muttered. "There's too many strong people here." From her own comrades to the people she was less familiar with, she had far too many people that she wanted to challenge herself with. And yet, in a tournament like this, she would only be able to duel around four or five of them, even if she won every match.

For a moment, she thought that she saw a familiar shade of violet on a rooftop in the distance, but when she blinked, it was gone.

… it was probably nothing, right?

She stepped away from the window, walking to the door—she wanted to get a cup of water. However, when she opened the door, the next participant happened to be exiting her room at the same time.

Serena made eye contact with the girl with the same face as her.

Miharu Kogami looked back at her neutrally. The blonde girl was tugging at the wrists of her jacket.

"... you had better win and come back," Serena said abruptly. "No matter who you're up against. Only I get to defeat you."

Miharu glanced away. "... I was going to do that, regardless," she said.

"Good." Serena cleared her throat. "Right now, you're my…" She hesitated. "My goal. The one that dealt me such an embarrassing defeat that I had no choice but to reconsider everything. So you had better stay above everyone else until I knock you down."

"... it'll take you a while yet," Miharu said. Despite still being quiet, that invincible confidence was still there. She walked off, and Serena glanced after her.

… water. Right.

And afterwards, she might as well check on Yuya too.

---

"Those bastards."

Shun glanced at her. Nue didn't look back. They were currently both in Shun's room, because Nue gave very little shits about any rules that had been set up, and she had come over around the start of Yuno and Crow's duel. She rubbed her forehead.

"Maybe I should just forfeit," Nue muttered. "Maybe that'd be better."

"Better? You still haven't told me why you're so upset."

"You still haven't figured it out?" The black-haired girl turned to him. "It can't be a coincidence that neither of us are in the sixth match—that we've been left to the last two matches again. It can't be a coincidence that they're continuing to force us to struggle for their entertainment again! These despicable bastards…"

"Struggle…" Shun leapt up. "You think—"

"Who else am I going to be facing? Faceless ghost lady? Kogami? Red-haired psychic woman? That one criminal that Sugisaki defeated?" Nue let out a defeated sound. "It's you, Shun. Of course it is. Like making me eliminate my own brother wasn't enough already? What kind of monster am I, if I eliminate the two people here that are mine to protect? What kind of monster am I going to be, if I make you do it instead?"

Shun's gaze softened, slightly uncertain. He reached out his arms towards her awkwardly, pulling her into a hug. He didn't know what to say.

But for now, all he could do was hope that she was wrong, and hope that they would be alright.

---

"Reiji Akaba." The words were spoken in a rather brisk and terse manner.

"... I don't think we've met in person, but I do know who you are," Reiji said. "It's odd to see you at the High Council building when most of Security is mobilised near the Friendship Cup, Arisu Kirijo-san."

The purple-haired woman narrowed her eyes. "... I've heard about your group," she said. "Yugo wants to join you all. Correct?"

"According to what Miharu Kogami and Yuzu Hiiragi have told me, that would be correct." Reiji folded his arms. "Why do you ask? Are you here to offer your help as well? We could certainly always use the help."

Arisu shook her head. "The city's enough of a mess, even before we start worrying about other worlds and what not," she said. "I'd rather fix the mess before I even think about anything else."

"We could certainly cooperate on that," Reiji said. "Depending on what you mean by fixing the mess, of course."

"... I don't have the luxury of believing in a fleeting dream like a revolution," Arisu said tensely. "All I can do is protect people in the small ways that I know how."

She sat down at the opposite side of the table.

"Still. I refuse to allow my brother to recklessly charge off into the unknown without knowing what he's doing again. So I'll accept that offer of cooperation for now—I'll tell you what I know, in exchange for what you know."

"An exchange of information. Well, I'd have to be a fool not to accept." Tsukikage had already reported to him about the current situation, after all. "Let's start with the obvious point. Security is associated with Academia. Correct?"

And despite expecting many things, the one thing that Reiji had not expected was for Arisu to blink, tilting her head in genuine confusion. "What's Academia?" She asked.

Reiji pushed up his glasses, a sinking feeling in his stomach. If someone as high up in Security as this woman was didn't know anything about Academia, then this agent had to be far more insidious than Sora Shiun'in had been—or even Dennis Mackfield, from what Reiji had glimpsed from the match between him and Dennis. This was someone who had truly burrowed their way into the City.

And the thing was, there were no clues, and perhaps that was the giveaway. Only someone so high-up and integrated in the City could hide this much. Could plot so insidiously against them.

"Tell me everything that you know about Roget," Reiji said.

Knowledge is the key. I have to know everything.

If not, the result will be a loss for us. And a loss here means the loss of everything.

I will not allow that to happen, when I have not even come close to meeting my father face to face yet.

And my Lancers deserve better than that.

---

Duel 1 Summary: Serena Akaba vs Shinji Weber

Duel Format: Normal Duel

Turn 1: Shinji Weber

Shinji Normal Summons Dragonbite. (4*/1000/1000) He uses Dragonbite's effect to Special Summon Battlewasp - Pin the Bullseye (1*/200/300) from his hand. He uses Pin the Bullseye's effect to inflict 200 damage to Serena. [SA: 4000 - 200 = 3800LP] He then Special Summons Battlewasp - Twinbow the Attacker (3*/1000/500) from his hand with its own effect. He tunes the Level 4 Dragonbite to the Level 1 Pin the Bullseye and the Level 3 Twinbow the Attacker to Synchro Summon Diabolantis the Menacing Mantis. (8*/2500/2200) He uses Diabolantis's effect to send Gokipole and Skull-Mark Ladybug from the Deck to the GY. With Gokipole's effect, he adds a Level 4 Insect monster from his Deck to his hand. With Skull-Mark Ladybug's effect, he gains 1000 LP. [SW: 4000 + 1000 = 5000LP] He ends his turn.

Turn 2: Serena Akaba

Serena draws. She activates Polymerization, fusing Moonlight Yellow Marten and Moonlight Blue Cat in her hand to Fusion Summon Moonlight Cat Dancer. (7*/2400/2000) With Yellow Marten's effect, she adds a "Moonlight" Spell/Trap, Moonlight Exchange, from her Deck to her hand. She then activates the Spell Card, Moon Light Perfume, Special Summoning Moonlight Blue Cat (4*/1600/1200) from the GY. With Moonlight Blue Cat's effect, she doubles Cat Dancer's ATK. (MCD: 2400 x 2 = 4800ATK) She uses Cat Dancer's effect, tributing Blue Cat to allow Cat Dancer to attack every monster Shinji controls twice each, and have those monsters not be destroyed by the first attack. Moonlight Cat Dancer attacks Diabolantis. Shinji activates the effect of Smoke Mosquito (1*/0/0) in his hand, Special Summoning it in Defense Position and halving the damage he takes from the attack, before ending the Battle Phase. [SW: 5000 - 1150 = 3850LP] Serena sets 1 card and ends her turn.

Turn 3: Shinji Weber

Shinji activates the Spell Card, Pot of Avarice, shuffling Dragonbite, Pin the Bullseye, Skull-Mark Ladybug, Gokipole and Twinbow the Attacker from the GY into the Deck to draw 2 cards. He Normal Summons Battlewasp - Sting the Poison. (2*/400/800) With Sting the Poison's effect, he adds Battlewasp - Twinbow the Attacker to his hand. He Special Summons Twinbow the Attacker from his hand with its own effect. He tunes the Level 2 Sting the Poison to the Level 3 Twinbow the Attacker and the Level 1 Smoke Mosquito, Synchro Summoning Battlewasp - Halberd the Charge (6*/2500/800) in Attack Position. Halberd the Charge attacks Moonlight Cat Dancer. [SA: 3800 - 100 = 3700LP] Halberd the Charge's effect activates, inflicting 200 damage to Serena for each "Battlewasp" monster he controls. [SA: 3700 - 200 = 3500LP] Diabolantis attacks directly. Serena activates the Trap Card, Moonlight Exchange, gaining LP equal to twice the damage that she would have taken. [SA: 3500 + 5000 = 8500LP] Shinji sets 2 cards and ends his turn.

Turn 4: Serena Akaba

Serena draws. She banishes Moonlight Exchange from the GY to Special Summon Moonlight Cat Dancer from the GY. She Normal Summons Moonlight Emerald Bird. (4*/1200/1000) With Moonlight Emerald Bird's effect, she sends Moonlight Crimson Fox from her hand to the GY to draw 1 card. She uses Moonlight Crimson Fox's effect to change Diabolantis the Menacing Mantis's ATK to 0. (DTMM: 2500 → 0ATK) She activates the Spell Card, Fusion Recovery, adding Moonlight Yellow Marten and Polymerization from the GY to her hand. She activates Polymerization, fusing Moonlight Cat Dancer with Moonlight Emerald Bird to Fusion Summon Moonlight Panther Dancer. (8*/2800/2500) She uses Moonlight Emerald Bird's effect to revive Moonlight Blue Cat in Defense Position with its effects negated. Panther Dancer attacks Diabolantis. Shinji activates the Quickplay Spell, Battlewasp - Hive, tributing Diabolantis to Special Summon Twinbow the Attacker from the GY in Defense Position. Panther Dancer attacks Twinbow the Attacker. Shinji activates the Continuous Trap, Battlewasp - Nest. He Special Summons Sting the Poison from his Deck, places a counter on Nest and ends the Battle Phase. (BN: 1 Counter) He uses Sting the Poison's effect to add a "Battlewasp" monster from his Deck to his hand. Serena ends her turn.

Turn 5: Shinji Weber

Shinji draws. He tunes the Level 2 Sting the Poison to the Level 3 Twinbow the Attacker to Synchro Summon Battlewasp - Azusa the Ghost Bow. (5*/2200/1600) He activates the Spell Card, Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two cards. He activates the Spell Card, Summoning Swarm, Special Summoning Sting the Poison and Twinbow the Attacker from the GY in Defense Position. He uses Sting the Poison's effect to add a "Battlewasp" monster from his Deck to his hand. He then tunes the Level 5 Azusa the Ghost Bow to the Level 3 Twinbow the Attacker, Synchro Summoning Battlewasp - Hama the Conquering Bow. (8*/2800/2000) He Normal Summons Armored Bee. (4*/1600/1200) Using its effect, he halves Panther Dancer's ATK. (MPD: 2800 / 2 = 1400ATK) Since Hama the Conquering Bow was Synchro Summoned using a Synchro Monster as material, it can attack twice per turn. Hama the Conquering Bow attacks Panther Dancer. [SA: 8500 - 1400 = 7100LP] Since a monster was destroyed by battle with a "Battlewasp" monster, Shinji Special Summons Azusa the Ghost Bow from the GY in Defense Position. Armored Bee attacks Moonlight Blue Cat, but since it is in Defense Position, Serena takes no damage. With Blue Cat's effect, Serena Special Summons Moonlight Purple Butterfly (3*/1000/1000) from the Deck in Defense Position. Hama the Conquering Bow attacks and destroys Moonlight Purple Butterfly. Halberd the Charge attacks directly. [SA: 7100 - 2500 = 4600LP] Halberd the Charge's effect activates. [SA: 4600 - 800 = 3800LP] Azusa the Ghost Bow's effect inflicts damage to Serena equal to Halberd the Charge's ATK. [SA: 3800 - 2500 = 1300LP] Shinji ends his turn.

Turn 6: Serena Akaba

Serena draws. She sets the Scale 1 Moonlight Wolf in the Pendulum Scale. By banishing Moonlight Panther Dancer, Moonlight Blue Cat and Moonlight Emerald Bird from the GY, she Fusion Summons Moonlight Lio Dancer. (10*/3500/3000) Serena activates the Spell Card, Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying Battlewasp - Nest. Moonlight Lio Dancer attacks Halberd the Charge. [SW: 3850 - 1000 = 2850LP] Serena activates Lio Dancer's effect to destroy all monsters that Shinji controls. Shinji discards Battlewasp - Bolt the Striker to negate the destruction of his "Battlewasp" monsters, but Armored Bee is still destroyed. Lio Dancer attacks Hama the Conquering Bow. [SW: 2850 - 700 = 2150LP] Serena ends her turn.

Turn 7: Shinji Weber

Shinji activates the effect of Bio-Insect Armor in his hand, equipping it to Azusa the Ghost Bow. He changes Azusa the Ghost Bow to Attack Position. During the Battle Phase, Azusa the Ghost Bow gains 1500 ATK and 2000 DEF from Bio-Insect Armor. (BATGB: 2200 + 1500 = 3700ATK; 1600 + 2000 = 3600DEF) Azusa attacks Lio Dancer. [SA: 1300 - 200 = 1100LP] He ends his turn.

Turn 8: Serena Akaba

Serena draws. She Normal Summons Moonlight Yellow Marten. (4*/800/2000) She banishes Moon Light Perfume from the GY, Special Summoning Moonlight Kaleido Chick (4*/1400/800) from her hand. She uses Moonlight Wolf's Pendulum Effect, banishing Moonlight Crimson Fox, Moonlight Cat Dancer and Moonlight Lio Dancer from the GY to Fusion Summon Moonlight Sabre Dancer (9*/3000/2600) in Attack Position. Sabre Dancer gains 300 ATK for each Beast-Warrior monster in the GY and that is banished. (MSD: 3000 + 300 x 9 = 5700ATK) Sabre Dancer attacks Azusa. [SW: 2150 - 2000 = 150LP] Yellow Marten attacks Sting the Poison, but since it is in Defense Position, Shinji takes no damage. Kaleido Chick attacks directly. [SW: 150 - 1400 = 0LP] Serena wins!

---

Duel 2 Summary: Yuno Sugisaki vs Crow Hogan

Duel Format: Normal Duel

Turn 1: Crow Hogan

Since Crow controls no monsters, he banishes a "Blackwing" monster from his hand to use the effect of Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind. (6*/1600/2000) He activates the Continuous Spell, Black Whirlwind from the Deck with the effect, before Normal Summoning Simoon the Poison Wind without a tribute. With the effect of Black Whirlwind, he adds Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North (2*/1300/0) from his Deck to his hand. He sends Blackwing - Shamal the Sandstorm (4*/1600/0) from his hand to the GY to place the Continuous Spell, Black Feather Whirlwind from the Deck into the Spell/Trap Card Zone. He Normal Summons Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North. With Black Whirlwind's effect, he adds Blackwing - Gust the Backblast (2*/900/1400) from his Deck to his hand. He uses Blizzard the Far North's effect to revive Blackwing - Shamal the Sandstorm. He tunes the Level 2 Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North to the Level 4 Blackwing - Shamal the Sandstorm, Synchro Summoning Blackwing - Nothung the Starlight. (6*/2400/1800) He uses Nothung the Starlight's effect, inflicting 800 damage to Yuno. [YS: 4000 - 800 = 3200LP] He uses the effect of Black Feather Whirlwind to Special Summon the banished Blackwing - Sharnga the Waning Moon (2*/500/500) to his field. He tunes the Level 2 Blackwing - Sharnga the Waning Moon to the Level 6 Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind, Synchro Summoning Black-Winged Revolution Dragon. (8*/2800/1600) Crow banishes Shamal the Sandstorm from the GY with its own effect to add Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North from the GY to his hand. He uses Nothung the Starlight's effect to Normal Summon Blackwing - Gust the Backblast from his hand. He uses Black Whirlwind's effect to add a "Blackwing" monster with less ATK from his Deck to his hand. Crow ends his turn. The Black Whirlwind activated on the field by Simoon the Poison Wind's effect is sent to the GY, and Crow takes 1000 damage. However, while he controls Black-Winged Revolution Dragon, he takes no effect damage.

Turn 2: Yuno Sugisaki

Yuno draws. He Normal Summons Marincess Sea Horse. (3*/1400/1000) He uses Sea Horse to Link Summon Marincess Blue Slug. (L1/1500/↓) He activates Sea Horse's effect. Crow activates the Trap Card, Blackbird Close from his hand, sending Gust the Backblast from the field to the GY to negate Blue Slug's effect and destroy it. Yuno activates the Spell Card, Marincess Dive, Special Summoning Marincess Sea Horse from the GY. He uses Marincess Sea Horse to Link Summon Marincess Sea Angel. (L1/1000/←) He adds the Field Spell, Marincess Battle Ocean from his Deck to his hand and activates it. He Special Summons Marincess Sleepy Maiden (5*/500/2500) from his hand. He uses Sleepy Maiden and Sea Angel to Link Summon Marincess Coral Anemone. (L2/2000/←, ↓) He uses Coral Anemone's effect, Special Summoning Marincess Blue Slug from the GY. He banishes Marincess Sea Angel from the GY to Special Summon Marincess Springirl. (4*/1200/1000) He uses Coral Anemone, Springirl and Blue Slug to Link Summon Magnetic Current Link Dragon. (L3/2500/←, ↓, →) He uses Coral Anemone's effect to add Marincess Sleepy Maiden from his GY to his hand. He then uses Magnetic Current Link Dragon's effect to target Black-Winged Revolution Dragon, negate its effects and take control of it until Crow's next End Phase. [CH: 4000 + 2800 = 6800LP] Black-Winged Revolution Dragon attacks Blackwing - Nothung the Starlight. [CH: 6800 - 400 = 6400LP] Magnetic Current Link Dragon attacks directly. [CH: 6400 - 2500 = 3900LP]

Turn 3: Crow Hogan

Crow draws. He Normal Summons Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North. With Blizzard the Far North's effect, he Special Summons Blackwing - Sharnga the Waning Moon from the GY. He Special Summons Blackwing - Bora the Spear (4*/1700/800) from his hand with its own effect. He tunes the Level 2 Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North to the Level 4 Blackwing - Bora the Spear, Synchro Summoning Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind. (6*/2400/1200) He uses Boreastorm's effect to send Assault Blackwing - Kunai the Drizzle from the Deck to the GY to copy its Level. (BBTWW: 6* → 5*) He tunes the Level 2 Blackwing - Sharnga the Waning Moon to the Level 5 Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind, Synchro Summoning Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower. (7*/2600/2000) He uses Black Feather Whirlwind's effect, Special Summoning Blackwing - Nothung the Starlight from the GY. With Nothung the Starlight's effect, he inflicts 800 damage to Yuno and decreases Magnetic Current Link Dragon's ATK by 800. [YS: 3200 - 800 = 2400LP] (MCLD: 2500 - 800 = 1700ATK) Crow uses Raikiri's effect to destroy Black-Winged Revolution Dragon. Raikiri attacks Magnetic Current Link Dragon. Yuno sends a "Marincess" monster from his hand to the GY to Special Summon Marincess Crown Tail (5*/600/2300) in Defense Position and halve the damage. [YS: 2400 - 450 = 1950LP] Nothung attacks and destroys Crown Tail. Crow ends his turn.

Turn 4: Yuno Sugisaki

Yuno draws. He activates the Spell Card, Marincess Dive, Special Summoning Marincess Blue Sunfish (3*/1400/1000) from the Deck. He uses Blue Sunfish's effect to Special Summon Marincess Blue Tang (4*/1500/1200) from the Deck. He uses Blue Tang's effect to send a "Marincess" monster from the Deck to the GY. He tunes the Level 3 Blue Sunfish to the Level 4 Blue Tang, Synchro Summoning Marincess Crystal Hyacinth. (7*/2500/2000) He uses Crystal Hyacinth's effect to add a "Marincess" Spell/Trap from his Deck to his hand. Crystal Hyacinth attacks Raikiri the Rain Shower. With Battle Ocean's effect, Crystal Hyacinth gains 200 ATK. With Crystal Hyacinth's effect, Yuno discards Marincess Sleepy Maiden to gain LP equal to its DEF and increase Crystal Hyacinth's ATK by Sleepy Maiden's DEF. [YS: 1950 + 2500 = 4450LP] (MCH: 2500 + 200 + 2500 = 5200ATK) [CH: 3900 - 2600 = 1300LP] Then, at the end of the Damage Step, he revives Marincess Coral Anemone. With Coral Anemone's effect, he revives Blue Tang. He uses Blue Tang and Coral Anemone as material to Link Summon Marincess Marbled Rock (L3/2500/←, ↓, →) in Attack Position. He uses Coral Anemone's effect to add Sleepy Maiden from his GY to his hand, while using Blue Tang's effect to excavate the top three cards of his Deck and add a "Marincess" card from among them to his hand. He then uses the effect of Marincess Marbled Rock to add a "Marincess" card from his GY to his hand. He ends his turn.

Turn 5: Crow Hogan

Crow draws. He activates the Spell Card, Allure of Darkness, drawing two cards and banishing 1 DARK monster from his hand. He banishes Black-Winged Revolution Dragon and Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind from the GY to Special Summon Black-Winged Assault Dragon (10*/3200/2800) He uses Black Feather Whirlwind's effect to Special Summon Black-Winged Revolution Dragon to his field from his banished cards. Black-Winged Revolution Dragon attacks Marincess Crystal Hyacinth. Yuno discards a "Marincess" monster from his hand to use Marincess Marbled Rock's effect, negating the destruction of both monsters and stopping himself from taking battle damage. Crow activates Black-Winged Assault Dragon's effect. Yuno activates the Trap Card, Marincess Wave, from his hand, since he controls a Link 3 or higher "Marincess" monster. He negates Black-Winged Assault Dragon's effects, and his monsters become unaffected by Crow's card effects until the End Phase. Black-Winged Assault Dragon attacks Marincess Crystal Hyacinth. Yuno discards a card to use Marincess Marbled Rock's effect again. Crow ends his turn.

Turn 6: Yuno Sugisaki

Yuno draws. He uses the effect of Marincess Marbled Rock to add a "Marincess" card from his GY to his hand. Black-Winged Assault Dragon's effect triggers. (BWAD: BFC:1) [YS: 4450 - 700 = 3750LP] Yuno Special Summons Marincess Sleepy Maiden from his hand. Using Marincess Marbled Rock and Marincess Sleepy Maiden, he Link Summons Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon. (L4/3000/←, ↙, ↘, →) He activates the effect of Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon, negating the effects of all Level 5 or higher monsters on the field until the End Phase, with Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon gaining 500 ATK for each monster affected by the effect. (HCLD: 3000 + 500 x 4 = 5000ATK) He takes 700 damage from Black-Winged Assault Dragon. [YS: 3750 - 700 = 3050LP] Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon attacks Black-Winged Assault Dragon. [CH: 1300 - 2000 = 0LP] Yuno wins!

You might wonder why this is technically shorter than the other two in terms of turn count. I assure you, it's the longest in terms of the number of plays made. Crow's first turn alone gave me a mild seizure.

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Duel 3 Summary: Yugo vs Kiryu Kyosuke

Duel Format: Normal Duel

Turn 1: Kiryu Kyosuke

Kiryu sends Infernity Conjurer (3*/1200/900) from his hand to the GY to Special Summon Infernity Wildcat (3*/1400/0) from his hand. He activates the Spell Card, This Creepy Little Punk, reviving Infernity Conjurer. He tunes the Level 3 Infernity Wildcat to the Level 3 Infernity Conjurer, Synchro Summoning Infernity Doom Archfiend. (6*/2200/1600) He sets 1 card facedown and ends his turn.

Turn 2: Yugo

Yugo draws. He Normal Summons Speedroid Ultra Hound. (3*/800/800) He uses Ultra Hound's effect to send a "Speedroid" monster from his Deck to his hand. He Special Summons Speedroid CarTurbo (3*/800/1200) from his hand. He uses CarTurbo and Ultra Hound to Link Summon Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter (L2/1000/↙, ↘) to the Extra Monster Zone. He uses Rubber Band Shooter's effect to banish Hi-Speedroid Kendama from the Extra Deck and reveal Speedroid Terrortop and Speedroid Taketomborg from his Deck. He randomly adds Speedroid Terrortop to his hand. He activates the other effect of Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter, Normal Summoning Speedroid Terrortop (3*/1200/600) from his hand. He uses Terrortop's effect to add Speedroid Taketomborg from his Deck to his hand. He Special Summons Speedroid Taketomborg (3*/600/1200) from his hand. He tributes Taketomborg to Special Summon Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper (4*/1000/1000) from the Deck. He uses Fuki-Modoshi Piper's effect to excavate two cards from the top of his deck, adding one to his hand. He tunes the Level 4 Fuki-Modoshi Piper to the Level 3 Terrortop, Synchro Summoning Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. (7*/2500/2000) Clear Wing Synchro Dragon attacks Infernity Doom Archfiend. Kiryu activates the Continuous Trap, Depth Amulet, discarding a card to negate the attack. Yugo ends his turn.

Turn 3: Kiryu Kyosuke

Kiryu draws. He Normal Summons Infernity Necromancer. (3*/0/2000) He uses the effect of Nccromancer changing itself to Defense Position. He uses Infernity Doom Archfiend's effect to target Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and destroy it. Yugo uses Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's effect to negate the effect of Infernity Doom Archfiend and destroy it. Kiryu uses This Creepy Little Punk's effect to set it to the field. He uses Infernity Necromancer's effect to revive Infernity Doom Archfiend. He uses Infernity Doom Archfiend's effect to destroy Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. Kiryu activates This Creepy Little Punk, reviving Infernity Beetle. (2*/1200/0) He tributes Infernity Beetle to Special Summon two copies of Infernity Beetle from the Deck. He tunes the Level 2 Infernity Beetle to the Level 6 Infernity Doom Archfiend, Synchro Summoning Void Ogre Dragon. (8*/3000/3000) He tunes the Level 2 Infernity Beetle to the Level 3 Infernity Necromancer, Synchro Summoning Stygian Sergeants. (5*/2200/1800) Stygian Sergeants attacks Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter. [Y: 4000 - 1200 = 2800LP] Stygian Sergeants gains 800 ATK and attacks again. (SS: 2200 + 800 = 3000ATK) Yugo activates the effect of Speedroid Menko (4*/100/2000) to Special Summon it from the hand and change Kiryu's monsters to Defense Position. Kiryu ends his turn.

Turn 4: Yugo

Yugo Normal Summons Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice. (1*/100/100) He changes Menko's Level to 3. (SM: 4* → 3*) He tunes the Level 1 Red-Eyed Dice to the Level 3 Menko to Synchro Summon Hi-Speedroid Puzzle. (4*/1300/1600) He activates the Spell Card, Iron Call. Kiryu negates it with Void Ogre Dragon's effect. Yugo activates Speed Recovery, reviving Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper. With Fuki-Modoshi Piper's effect, he excavates the top card of his deck and adds it to his hand. He tunes the Level 4 Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper to the Level 4 Hi-Speedroid Puzzle, Synchro Summoning Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake. (8*/3000/2800) With Kitedrake's effect, he destroys all other cards on the field. Kiryu sets This Creepy Little Punk back to his field. Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake attacks directly. [KK: 4000 - 3000 = 1000LP] Yugo ends his turn.

Turn 5: Kiryu Kyosuke

Kiryu draws. With Infernity Archfiend's (4*/1800/1200) effect, he Special Summons it from his hand and adds an "Infernity" card from his Deck to his hand. He sets 1 card facedown. He activates This Creepy Little Punk, reviving Infernity Necromancer in Defense Position. Infernity Necromancer Special Summons Infernity Doom Archfiend. He uses Infernity Doom Archfiend's effect to destroy Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake. Yugo uses Kitedrake's effect to add a "Speedroid" monster from his Deck to his hand. Infernity Doom Archfiend attacks directly. Yugo banishes Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice from the GY to negate the attack. Infernity Archfiend attacks directly. [Y: 2800 - 1800 = 1000LP] Kiryu ends his turn.

Turn 6: Yugo

Yugo Normal Summons Speedroid Double Yoyo. (4*/1400/1400) He revives Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice. He tunes the Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to the Level 4 Speedroid Double Yoyo, Synchro Summoning Hi-Speedroid Chanbara. (5*/2000/1000) Chanbara attacks Infernity Archfiend. It gains 200 ATK when it attacks. (HSC: 2000 + 200 = 2200ATK) [KK: 1000 - 400 = 600LP] Kiryu sets This Creepy Little Punk back to the field. He activates the Trap Card, Infernity Break, banishing Infernity Beetle from the GY to destroy Hi-Speedroid Chanbara. Yugo uses Chanbara's effect to add a banished "Speedroid" monster. Yugo banishes Speed Recovery from his GY to add Speedroid Terrortop from his GY to his hand. He Special Summons Speedroid Terrortop from the hand with its own effect and adds a "Speedroid" card from his deck to his hand. He activates Iron Call, reviving CarTurbo. He tunes the Level 3 Speedroid CarTurbo to the Level 3 Speedroid Terrortop, Synchro Summoning Orient Dragon (6*/2300/1000) in Defense Position. With Orient Dragon's effect, Yugo banishes Infernity Doom Archfiend from the field. Yugo sets 2 cards and ends his turn.

Turn 7: Kiryu Kyosuke

Kiryu draws. He activates This Creepy Little Punk, Special Summoning the banished Infernity Doom Archfiend. Infernity Doom Archfiend destroys the left set card. Kiryu activates the Continuous Spell, Infernity Launcher. He sends it to the GY to revive Infernity Beetle and Infernity Necromancer. He uses Infernity Necromancer's effect to Special Summon Infernity Archfiend from the GY in Defense Position. He adds Infernity Barrier to his hand and sets it facedown. He tunes the Level 2 Infernity Beetle to the Level 6 Infernity Doom Dragon to Synchro Summon Infernity Doom Dragon. (8*/3000/2400) He activates Infernity Doom Dragon's effect. Yugo activates the Continuous Trap, Follow Wing, protecting Orient Dragon from destruction by battle or card effects. Kiryu ends his turn.

Turn 8: Yugo

Yugo draws. He activates the Spell Card, Monster Reborn. Kiryu activates the Counter Trap, Infernity Barrier. He negates the Spell. Yugo Normal Summons Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke. (3*/1000/1000) He activates the Spell Card, One for One, sending a monster from his hand to the GY to Special Summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice from the Deck in Defense Position. With Red-Eyed Dice's effect, he changes Den-Den Daiko Duke's Level to 2. (SDDDD: 3* → 2*) He tunes the Level 2 Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke to the Level 6 Orient Dragon, Synchro Summoning Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon. (8*/3000/2500) Crystal Wing attacks Infernity Doom Dragon. With its effect, it gains ATK equal to Infernity Doom Dragon's ATK. (CWSD: 3000 + 3000 = 6000ATK) [KK: 600 - 3000 = 0LP] Yugo wins!

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OC Cards:

Moonlight Exchange

(Trap)

If you would take damage: You can gain LP equal to twice that amount instead. You can banish this card from your GY: Special Summon 1 "Moonlight" monster from your GY. You can only activate each effect of "Moonlight Exchange" once per turn.

Battlewasp - Hive

(Spell/Quickplay)

You can Tribute 1 Insect monster you control; Special Summon 1 "Battlewasp" monster from your GY. You cannot Special Summon monsters this turn, except Insect monsters.

Battlewasp - Bolt the Striker

(3*/900/600/WIND/Insect/Effect)

(Quick Effect) You can discard this card; the next time that your "Battlewasp" monster(s) would be destroyed by a card effect, it remains on the field. You can target 1 "Battlewasp" monster you control; increase its Level by 1 until the End Phase.

Trivia: Named after a crossbow bolt. I originally made this as an alternative 3* for Battlewasp, but I ended up using it as a handtrap.

Black-Winged Revolution Dragon

(8*/2800/1600/DARK/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)

1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters

(This card's name is always treated as "Black-Winged Dragon".)

You do not take effect damage while you control this Synchro Summoned monster on the field. If a monster you control is destroyed or banished by a card effect: You can place 1 Black Feather Counter on this card. Once per turn: You can remove all Black Feather Counters from this card, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; that target loses 700 ATK for each Black Feather Counter removed, and if it does, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK lost by this effect. Once per turn, if a monster you control battles an opponent's monster with higher ATK, at the start of the Damage Step: That monster you control gains ATK equal to this card's original ATK.

Trivia: Got errataed on the last effect because I forgot to write "at the start of the Damage Step" even though that's how most effects like this work.

Magnetic Current Link Dragon

(L3/2500/WATER/Dragon/Link/Effect/←, ↓, →)

3 monsters with different names, including a Link Monster

Once per turn: You can target 1 Level 5 or higher monster your opponent controls; negate its effects, then, place that opponent's monster in a Main Monster Zone this card points to and take control of it until your opponent's next End Phase, and if you do, your opponent gains LP equal to the original ATK of the targeted monster. If this card is sent to the GY: You can Set 1 Trap from your GY to your field. It can be activated this turn.

Marincess Blue Sunfish

(3*/1400/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Tuner/Effect)

If this card is Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Marincess" monster from your Deck in Attack Position. If this card is sent to the GY: "Marincess" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle this turn. You can only activate each effect of "Marincess Blue Sunfish" once per turn.

Marincess Crystal Hyacinth

(7*/2500/2000/WATER/Cyberse/Synchro/Effect)

1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner Cyberse monsters

WATER monsters and/or Link Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects. If this card is Synchro Summoned: You can add 1 "Marincess" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand. If a WATER monster you control battles an opponent's monster, during the start of the Battle Step: You can discard 1 WATER monster from your hand; gain LP equal to the DEF of the discarded monster, and if you do, your battling monster gains ATK equal to the discarded monster's DEF until the End Phase. At the end of the Damage Step, if you activated the previous effect of "Marincess Water Hyacinth" this turn: Special Summon 1 monster from your GY with equal or less ATK to the LP that you gained, but this monster cannot declare an attack on the turn it is Summoned. You can only activate each effect of "Marincess Crystal Hyacinth" once per turn.

Trivia: Obvious references from the name are Crystal Heart and the water hyacinth plant, a plant that floats on the surface of the water, and was chosen due to the fact that it's exposed to the sun. Going in order, the first effect is a reference to the largest weakness of Yuno's deck without Crystal Heart—as well as Miharu's deck. The second effect is directly ripped from Sunavalon Dryas. The third effect is more complicated. The focus on DEF is because most Marincess monsters have lackluster ATK. The LP gain is a way of invoking the idea of photosynthesis. The reason why Yuno says that it wouldn't have helped against Arisu is because the fact that Link Monsters can't be changed to Defense Position was the only thing stopping Arisu from demolishing him.

And you might ask—why so many references to Miharu, and not Rin? Well, Yuno doesn't know Rin. And he's absolutely a simp (/pos), haha. I also wanted to make some more Marincess monsters based on sea plants because that feels like such a waste otherwise! I'll also admit that the later Xyz Monster that I came up with for Yuno—let's be real, it's not a spoiler that Yuno's going to learn more summoning methods—is also based on plants, so that's how it goes.

Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon

(L4/3000/WATER/Dragon/Link/Effect/←, ↙, ↘, →)

2+ monsters with different names, including a Link 3 or higher Monster

Once per turn, if this card does not point to any monsters: You can negate the effects of all Level 5 or higher monsters on the field, and if you do, this monster gains 500 ATK for each monster affected by this effect until the End Phase. If you control no Set cards, this card is unaffected by your opponent's monster effects. You can only activate 1 of the following effects of "Hydrostatic Current Link Dragon" each turn, and only once per turn.

- If your opponent activates a monster effect: You can target that monster; negate that effect, and if you do, take control of that monster and place it in a Main Monster Zone that this card points to, and then, gain LP equal to its ATK.

- If your opponent activates a Spell/Trap card or effect that would target or destroy a monster you control: You can target that card; negate that effect, and if you do, gain 500 LP for each monster that this card points to.

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Different Card Effects from TCG:

Moonlight Cat Dancer - Anime effect. This is like the one Serena card I cannot change, even though I really want to.

Moonlight Blue Cat - Uses its TCG effect, minus the clause where it can't double its own ATK.

Moonlight Panther Dancer - Anime effect.

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon - Anime effect.

Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon - Anime effect.

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End Notes:

Sorry this took so long! Serena vs Shinji alone took me five days, lmao. It was a bit difficult to write properly. Yuno vs Crow came easily enough, but then I took a break to start my first proper playthrough of Persona 3! It's been fun so far, haha, though I'd appreciate no spoilers for now.

And man, I forgot what it felt like to write duels with decks that actually have decent combos. So, the duels themselves were fun, but I do think that they're not quite as self-explanatory as Mion vs Reira or Yuya vs Yuzu, so I'll drop a brief explanation down here! Most people probably expected Shun vs Shinji, due to their similar personalities. However, I thought that it was precisely due to the fact that Shinji is so similar to Shun that it would be nice to give Serena her first big win by defeating him. Shinji reminds her of Shun, which stokes her fighting spirit. Furthermore, the part where she and Shinji talk about what dreams are… ah, it's probably my favourite part of the chapter, to be honest. Well, I don't want to praise myself, but I loved writing it. Originally, Ballista was supposed to be summoned and banish all of Serena's monsters from the graveyard, and then be followed up with Sabre Dancer still gaining power from the banished monsters. However… uh, Ballista can't out Lio Dancer, who had to be defeated first because of how the duel's flow went. :'D So that's it, really.

Yuno vs Crow is probably even more unexpected. And probably made like 90% of the people reading this think that I was going to pull Berserk shenanigans in the second round, lmao. No, Crow has been spared/honourably discharged from having to deal with Berserk Mode this time. Why? Because it made no sense that he was the one dealing with it in the anime, and I'd much rather try something else. :) Anyway, Yuno and Crow were kinda the leftover pair in this round—or in other words, everyone else had much more obvious/appealing/plot-relevant matchups. So they're definitely just kinda there, but I think it's a good showcase of the decks. (Also, can you tell I actually kind of like Blackwings? I'm surprised myself—I used to hate them.)

Finally, Yugo vs Kiryu! LHOCIN actually guessed this one. Why Yugo vs Kiryu? I just liked the character dynamic that it offered, when I was first coming up with the Friendship Cup. Having Kiryu, who is pretty much consumed completely with despair, face Yugo, who is brimming with hope. I considered putting a flashback to Arisu vs Kiryu in Chapter 42, but I decided that it was better not to reveal it earlier, for the sake of giving at least a bit of tension to this duel, and also so that it wouldn't be that obvious that the matchup here was Yugo vs Kiryu. Also, Yugo learns Link Summoning from Miharu as well, because they're friends, your honour. Orient Dragon is a pretty cool card in a format where everyone is forced to use Synchro Monsters, so I tossed it to Yugo as well.

By the way, the Shorts fic got an update with a 'cut' scene from Chapter 41 for its Chapter 6, which might be referenced in this fic at some point, so take a look if you like!

So, moving on from the duels in general—we can talk about some of the other scenes, I guess. :D Uh, the Yuji and Yuri scene is definitely intended to give you whiplash after the Serena duel. In terms of Yuji, I've seen people being like "ooh, Yuji should do [insert edgy thing here]" and like, it always makes me a little amused because it would be so out of character? It's like—this guy is a bookworm that quotes books as his summon chants because he's a nerd and is bad with words, has no clue how to talk to people, clearly has some kind of disorder, is emotionally stunted due to several reasons, lacks drive and can't do anything unless he's directly told to do it. Yuji has never been intentionally cruel, and he's not exactly the best OC to become a edgy power fantasy, all things considered, considering that he's pretty powerless in his own right. If you look through the whole story, the only things Yuji has done that could count as 'cruel' are things that he is completely unaware of himself. It's always something observed from an outside perspective.

But anyway, on that note, Yuji has always been written specifically with dysthymia and schizoid personality disorder in mind. (Which is different from schizophrenia, before anyone asks.) Both of these contribute to his seeming inability to make actually good decisions himself, his emotional distance from others, stilted speech, and most importantly, his inability to take direct action against others. No matter what Academia does to him, quite honestly, Yuji will never have the mindset/emotions necessary to fight back. Yuji isn't holding back some kind of talent, or some badass who is more powerful than what you see—what you see is what you get with him. He has no reason to hide anything, because that would require him to want something. I've honestly talked enough here though, and I also talk about it in a review response down below. Most of this will be explained in universe at some point, so we'll leave it here.

Meanwhile, Yuya's thoughts on Yuno are… well, interesting. In a sense, Yuno is a deconstruction of the typical oblivious, trusting and friendly protagonist. Yes, everyone likes him, but there's always a sense of unease, because they'll always suspect that there has to be something more to him. And they're kinda half-right? It's the thing with people—it's hard for us to believe that someone can be genuinely kind at no gain to themselves.

And yes, after all the matches above—the remaining contestants in the round are Miharu, Nue, Shun, Kaname, Aki and Sherry. Quite the stacked line-up, huh? The matchups seem obvious, but I guess you'll still have to wait and see. :D

(Sometimes, it's a bit hard to make it not obvious that I've played some decks more than others. I don't think I realised how much my experience with decks affected how I wrote duels until I had to spend several chapters in a row writing for decks that I had less experience (or none) with. There's just something more… 'alive' to the way that the duel flows? I don't really know how to describe it. At least all six decks left in this round are ones that I've played tons ever since they came out, so I should probably be fine.)

Review responses!

To cardfan135, pretty insightful review there! I've heard a lot of things about Blue Lock, but no, I haven't read/watched it myself. I have watched Jujutsu Kaisen with a friend, and it was pretty interesting! I haven't read the manga though.

To phantomdragons, oh, absolutely, both of them are giving really shit advice. In fact, I'm ninety percent sure that the advice given by characters in this story either falls in the category of 'shit advice' or 'please get therapy', with no in between. Cardfight Vanguard was one of the anime that I watched when I was a kid, so I do know about it. I know nothing about the later seasons though—I fell out of love with the show and the game quite early on.

To king, I'd actually disagree with that! I think it's pretty clear that Yuji did care a lot about Johan and Asuka, and especially Kyorin. Yuji isn't quite mature enough to raise anyone, haha. The later arcs do explore those dynamics more, but I won't spoil that. I'll refer back to schizoid personality disorder here—people with it usually want to avoid positive or negative emotional expectations from others, along with any expectation that they disclose things about themselves. However, they don't necessarily want to avoid people! They find it easier to connect with others who don't expect them to feel or act in a certain way. In a sense, back in the Ritual Dimension, Chiaki, Kyorin, Asuka and Johan (and Yuji's guardian, who I won't talk much about here) were the only people that accepted Yuji as he was without trying to encourage him to be someone different, and so to him, they were the only people that he could connect with. It's painfully different for people with this disorder to 'improve' their personality. In essence, it's not that Yuji can't connect with people. The reason why he rejects Kyorin in the Standard Arc is entirely a misunderstanding—while Kyorin is just trying to understand, Yuji himself thinks that this friend of his who previously accepted him is now trying to force her own expectations of how he should feel and react on him, and his immediate reaction (which is similar to those with SzPD) is to try and escape this feeling of entrapment. But he's still not cruel to her—instead, he defaults to dismissive avoidant behaviour, which is to play off his emotions and ignore her intentions, to pretend that her presence doesn't matter to him.

His feelings towards Yuri are similar—the reason why he cannot connect to Yuri properly and cannot acknowledge him is because Yuri is forcing negative emotional expectations on him, and Yuji doesn't want to adhere to his expectations. He feels that whether he hates or likes Yuri, he's still living in those expectations. So it's easier to emotionally distance himself than to work out whatever is going on there. In contrast, Yuji actually does like Yuno, because when they met, Yuno didn't try and demand explanations or anything from him—Yuno just tried to understand, without expecting Yuji to explain. He heard what Yuji said, understood that Yuji was bad with words, and so he just accepted his intentions without digging deeper. And that is the only reason that Yuno was able to connect with Yuji.

So in conclusion, Yuji really isn't as unfeeling as he thinks he is. He's just unable to properly process those feelings. And the persistent feelings of hopelessness that his dysthymia causes him to feel also stop him from even trying to change any of that.

(Yes. I am in fact studying for a minor in psychology. :) Thus—I do like my characters to be a little more psychologically complex.)

I do like the omake ideas, though I can't promise that I'll use them. Hope that you understand. :) As for the Yu-boys and what I feel their non-dueling skills are, that's an interesting question. The characters are still people, and I don't necessarily feel like they have to have one distinct category where they are better or worse than others. Sure, Yuno is friendlier than the rest, and Yuto is far more responsible and organised, but I don't consider either of those skills. They're just parts of their personality.

Intelligence-wise, it's pretty hard to judge, because they're all honestly pretty smart in different ways. Just academically, the smartest is obviously Yuto. If you include tactical analysis, etc, then it might end up being Yuno. In the end, it really depends.

That was a long response, though to be fair, you did give me quite a few long reviews! :D Thanks for that! I do hope you get where I'm going with that though. I don't know if this will disappoint people, but Yuji is not hiding any skills. He's not a prodigy in anything, and he lacks the drive to learn any skills or hide any skills. If he was secretly some master at tons of things, it would actually devalue his character, because the whole point of his character is that he has no motivation to do anything or make choices of his own. He might work on that in the future, he might not, but for now, that's just how he is.

To Freezer Uchiha, I'll admit that Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist are a bit too long for me to really commit to watching them. I have a short attention span, haha. I was a fan of Fairy Tail when I was younger—in fact, some of the first fanfics I read were Fairy Tail fanfics! My interest dipped around the Tartarus arc though, so I stopped keeping up with it after that.

To Haru Dragion, yup, that's what I meant!

To LHOCIN, I sort of had a joking answer to this during the Q&A, but truth be told, I don't really ship a lot of other characters together. Yuto and Yuzu are probably the only two that I can see working out well based on anime personalities, because everyone in Arc V is just so aggressive/traumatised/not really emotionally ready for a relationship. Yuto/Ruri was pretty cute though, and Yuya/Yuzu is also pretty cute in its own way, even if I prefer it less. If just based on personality and not based on general story context, the only two other pairings that I could see working out might be post-character development Serena/Chiaki, or funnily enough, post character development Yuji/Yuno! In general, I just think that most of the other pairings would result in rather unbalanced relationships. It's a rather interesting thought though! I'll have to think about it more. Still though, thank you for your review.

To kikuruhime, I personally haven't watched Owl House. Berserk has been on my 'watch later' list for quite a while, though, so I might get to that eventually! Honestly, 5Ds is such an interesting series, but not really because of the supernatural stuff, though obviously that's cool and all. But the general societal structure that they set up is so fascinating to me as someone who analyses literature academically. A point that I didn't really bring up in the last chapter was that Lotten is (rather intentionally) no threat in the Six Dimensions universe, because he's just outclassed by so many larger threats—Security, the City itself, Academia—and so, what is he compared to any of those?

To PhilJS89, thanks for the review! Yeah, I'm not surprised that it took you a while to catch up, considering how long the fic is, but I enjoyed the review regardless :) In the end, while Crow vs Shun was a pretty decent duel, I didn't want to repeat duels from canon too much, and there was a much more emotionally impactful opponent for Shun to face, haha. Thanks for your comment on the characters' interpersonal relationships! I had a lot of fun planning them, though admittedly some of them surprised me when I was writing because of how well they came together. And yeah, I'm in this for the long run—this fic is going to be pretty long, and we're currently less than 20% into it. :D

To the Guest asking how long the Synchro Arc will last, at this point, I kind of have no clue?... my original plans said that the Synchro Arc was going to be around 30 chapters long, going to around Chapter 54. I've split and fused so many chapters though that I've kinda lost track. I will say that it's definitely going beyond 54 at this point.

- Me around Chapter 23: "Oh, I'll probably be done with the Friendship Cup by like Chapter 40 if I really cram the duels together. How hard can it be to fit 16 duels in three chapters? And they don't even have to be that long too, I'm sure people will understand if I just rush through to get to the good stuff."

- Me at Chapter 33: "The fuck was I thinking? I can't just rush through the duels, I have to give the characters actual good screentime. Ok, I'll have to split the chapters up more, I think, but I still should be able to get the first round done by Chapter 38."

- Me at Chapter 38: "... we're going to be here a while."

So yeah. I'm not even confident in my initial estimate of how long the whole fic is going to be anymore, because as it turns out, I feel bad about not writing actual normal-length duels. But hey, that does mean that I get to show off more cards. Net positive?... maybe.

To T.V. 2000, glad to hear it! Originally, I did think about having Yuya vs Mion here, to have him show his improvement from Standard, but at the same time, he's not actually stronger than Mion at this stage, so it didn't work out. In the end, having him duel Yuzu served the same purpose. And I love Code Geass! It was one of the first anime I watched. Death Note's pretty good too! One Punch Man and MHA are pretty good animes too, even if they're not really my thing. You have good taste. :))

Alright, that's it. For now, the tentative plan is for each of the next three chapters to have one duel. If it ends up not flowing as well, I might change that plan though. We'll see how it goes. Thank you so much for reading!

QOTC: Which of the Yu-Gi-Oh anime series have you all actually watched, and did you watch it in sub or dub version? Have you read the manga versions?

For myself, I've watched DM's dub, GX's sub, 5D's sub, ZEXAL II's sub (I never watched ZEXAL I, haha), Arc-V and VRAINS. And I've read all the mangas except OCG Structures.

See you next time! (It might take a bit longer, because that duel needs to be absolutely perfect before I post it, and… um, I also want to finish off the next few parts of Persona 3. Hope you guys understand!)