Duelists Never Surrender!

The equation for victory is complete!

"Entering my Main Phase, I activate the effect of Owl, banishing Madolche Puddingcess from my graveyard to Special Summon a Madolche from my Deck!"

"No way, I chain Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring to negate your effect." The man said, sending the loli with the big forehead to the graveyard.

Hara Shichi had anticipated this and immediately stated, "Then I'll enter my Battle Phase. I'll switch my Owl to Attack Position and have my Owl attack your Owl."

"Due to Puddingcess's effect, my Owl cannot be destroyed by battle."

"But Puddingcess's effect has a drawback; at the end of this turn, your monster returns to the Deck." The man said, "And I can tell you clearly, I still have my opening move in hand. You'll lose next turn."

"Then try me," Hara Shichi said expressionlessly. "My turn ends."

"Due to its effect, my Owl returns to the Deck." Hara Shichi placed the Owl back into his Deck and shuffled it, leaving his front row empty.

"My turn, draw." The man said, activating a Field Spell Card. "I activate Madolche Castle. I don't need to explain its effect, do I?"

"Following that, I'll Normal Summon Owl, activate its effect, banish Proliferating G from my graveyard to Special Summon Madolche - Princess Cookie from my Deck. Then, I activate Princess Cookie's effect to Special Summon Madolche Puddingcess. I Tribute Puddingcess to Special Summon Madolche Madeleine from my Deck!"

"Then, I'll Overlay the Mailman and Madeleine to Xyz Summon... Madolche Queen Tiramisu!" The man took a Tiramisu of the Tiara from his Extra Deck and summoned it to the field.

"I activate Tiramisu of the Tiara's effect, detaching one Xyz Material. You can target up to 2 'Madolche' cards in your graveyard; return them to the Deck, then target up to that many cards on your opponent's field and return them to their owner's hand!" the man declared. "With this, I win."

"Not necessarily. At this very moment, I chain Ghost Ogre!" Hara Shichi sent Ghost Ogre from his hand to the graveyard. "Next, I'll continue to chain the Trap Card - Threatening Roar! You cannot declare an attack this turn!"

"You can draw a hand trap and add it to your hand?" The man twitched his lips. "But my Tiramisu of the Tiara's effect still resolves successfully. I return the Mailman to the Deck, and Puddingcess is returned to my hand by Madolche Castle's effect, then I return that Set Card on your field to the Deck." the man said.

"Now you only have one card in hand, meaning a total of two cards including your next draw. Without Princess Cookie or Chocolate a la Mode in your Deck, you can't possibly win. Are you still going to struggle?" the man raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I can win." Hara Shichi shuffled Scrap-Iron Scarecrow back into his Deck and handed it to the man. "Do you want me to cut it for you?"

"No, just cut it yourself," the man refused.

"Alright, then, my turn, draw!" Hara Shichi smiled as he looked at the card he drew, then he placed the card he drew last turn onto the table:

"I activate the Normal Spell Card - Black Hole! Destroy all monsters on the field!"

Chapter 22: I Lost.

"Oh, and then what?" The man returned Princess Cookie and Owl on his field to his hand. "Destroy them, fine. Now you only have one card left in hand. Show it to me."

Hara Shichi placed his last card on the field. "Entering my Main Phase, I Normal Summon Rescue Cat."

"Huh?" The man frowned. "Hey, if you don't include Rescue Cat, summoning it is pointless."

"I'll show you its meaning right now!" Hara Shichi sent Rescue Cat to the graveyard. "I activate Rescue Cat's effect. You can send this card on the field to the graveyard to activate. Special Summon 2 Beast monsters with 3 or less stars from your Deck. Monsters Special Summoned by this effect have their effects negated and are destroyed at the end of the turn!"

"I chain! Proliferating G!" The man sent another hand trap to the graveyard.

"I Special Summon two Madolche - Hotcake Owl from my Deck!"

"So what? Without effects, they're just vanilla monsters," the man said, drawing a card from his Deck.

"Vanilla is enough!" Hara Shichi said. "I enter my Battle Phase. Both Owls will attack directly!"

"Then I take 4000 LP... Wait, where did the cards on my field go?" The man seemed to realize something, his face filled with shock.

"You seem to have misunderstood something," Hara Shichi said. "This isn't the original world anymore. The standard rules on Duel Continent are - 4000 LP!"

"According to Madolche Castle's effect, my Owl's ATK is 2000. If both Owls attack directly, your LP will be depleted." As he spoke, Hara Shichi stood up from the table, and the surrounding scenery began to dissipate towards the center.

"No," the man said. "Something's not right."

"What's not right?" Hara Shichi asked.

"Your current state is wrong," the man pointed at Hara Shichi. "You should know the essence of this game. The difference in Decks can't just be smoothed over like this. Even your victory just now was due to luck."

"Let me tell you the truth. The card I Set was Called by the Grave. Because I knew you were using the same Deck as me, no matter what monster you summoned, I could directly banish a card with the same name from my Deck to negate it. But you just happened to draw Rescue Cat, which I would never use." The man said, "Tell me, how many Rescue Cats did you include?"

"One," Hara Shichi frowned.

"How many Black Holes did you include?"

"One."

"Ghost Ogre?"

"One."

"Three cards that you only included one of, and you drew all of them?" The man said coldly. "Even if you were truly lucky... before entering the trial, didn't you consider the possibility of not drawing them?"

"No one can win forever. You've understood this for a long time, haven't you?" The man pointed at Hara Shichi's chest. "You're not yourself right now, Hara Shichi."

"In the past, no matter how strong your opponent was, you still believed you could win."

"I still do," Hara Shichi said, confused.

"You don't now," the man shook his head. "You now believe you cannot lose."

"I can win and I cannot lose seem the same, but they are completely different," the man said. "You're not confident now; you're deceiving yourself!"

"Because you're scared! You're afraid of this unfamiliar continent! Here, you can only rely on your dueling skills! So you're deceiving yourself into thinking you're invincible. Only then can you feel at ease! Only then can you remain calm!" The man coldly peeled away Hara Shichi's outer shell, directly piercing his heart. "You're just an ordinary person! You can't handle this much information in just a few days!"

"Then tell me, what am I supposed to do?!"

Hara Shichi lowered his eyes, speaking weakly. "Should I cry or scream? Should I go cry to Ai and say I want to go back to Earth, that I'm not staying here anymore, or should I just sneak away from the academy by myself and find a place to spend the rest of my life?"

"I, who should have died, was saved by Ai, and she said she'd be my cheat, staying by my side all day long."

"My teacher also thinks highly of me, saying I'm good at dueling and have a bright future. They let me stay at the school, eat, and live here for free, even though they don't know where I came from."

"Yukikaze found her own opportunity but told me, someone she just met. She even met me late at night without fearing any danger. Even Senior Julie, whom I beat up, didn't say 'I don't like you, you deserve it' when she saw me in a dark duel. Instead, she went to find help to save me."

"Everyone is so good to me. If I act like I'm miserable, in pain, or scared, wouldn't that seem overly dramatic?" Hara Shichi spread his hands.

"Wrong, completely wrong!" the man retorted. "Those who truly care about you won't think you're being dramatic!"

Hara Shichi was stunned. "Is that so?"

"Of course it is. Hara Shichi, open your heart and learn to rely on others," the man said.

"A person can't move forward alone."

After what felt like centuries, Hara Shichi finally spoke. "Honestly, what else can I say? I guess I lost this duel."

"You're wrong again," the man's body began to disintegrate. Just as he was about to vanish, he laughed.

"The moment you didn't draw the mailman, you had already won."

"I see," Hara Shichi looked up, a smile gracing his clear features.

"..."

"A-Qi?"

A familiar voice rang out. Hara Shichi opened his eyes and saw Ai crouching beside him, looking down at him.

"You're finally awake!" Ai said worriedly. "You suddenly fainted mid-duel just now, you scared me so much! Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

"Mid-duel? What are you talking about?" Hara Shichi stood up.

"I'm talking about the third trial," Ai tilted her head, pointing at a spiritual body opposite Hara Shichi that looked exactly like him.

"You mean... this thing is the third trial?!" Hara Shichi stiffly turned his neck, pointing at the spiritual body in front of him, his face pale.

"Yeah, this spiritual body can copy your deck and behavior patterns, then duel you. Nafili already won their duel and went to the place where Duel Spirits are sealed," Ai said, pointing at a large door behind the spiritual body.

"A-Qi, why is your face so pale? Are you feeling a bit unwell?"

"I'm fine, I just encountered a very bizarre event..." Hara Shichi looked at the Duel Disk in his hand. "Let's talk about it after I win this duel."

"My turn, I draw."

"Huh? I can't draw?"

"Idiot! It's not your turn! It's the opponent's turn, they just didn't make a move because they saw you faint!"

"..."

Chapter 23: Red-Eyes Fusion!

"I attack directly with Madolche Puddingcess!" As soon as Hara Shichi finished speaking, the spiritual body in front of him vanished into thin air.

"Trial passed, let's go!" Ai urged. "For some reason, I have a bad feeling."

"Okay." Hara Shichi pushed open the door. Before he could see anyone, he heard Nafili's voice:

"I activate the Spell Card Shaddoll Fusion! I send Shaddoll Beast and Shaddoll Hedgehog from my hand to the Graveyard, Fusion Summon—Nekroz of Midrash!"

"The duel has already begun?" Hara Shichi frowned slightly, looking at the man in the black robe standing opposite Nafili. Behind the man, silver chains were scattered on the ground, indicating he had already obtained that Duel Spirit.

"Next, I activate the effect of Shaddoll Hedgehog, then I activate the effect of Shaddoll Beast, adding Shaddoll Lizard from my deck to my hand. Then, I draw another card!" Nafili saw the card they drew and unhesitatingly placed it on their Duel Disk. "I Normal Summon Majespecter Princess - Kaguya. When this card is successfully Summoned, I can add 1 Level 7 Spellcaster monster with 1850 ATK from my Deck to my hand. I add Fairy Tale - Snow White from my Deck to my hand."

After doing all this, Nafili set a card and said, "My turn ends. It's your turn."

"My turn, I draw," the black-robed man said. "I enter my Main Phase and activate the Fusion Spell Card—Red-Eyes Fusion."

"No way! I activate Chain: Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring! Negate your Red-Eyes Fusion!" Nafili said, sending Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring from their hand to the Graveyard.

"Chain: Called by the Grave, banish Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. Do you have Yashiki? Oh, your other card is Shaddoll Lizard. What about your back row? Is it Solemn Strike?" the black-robed man muttered to himself. "If that's the case, I've won this duel."

"How arrogant. Even if your Red-Eyes Fusion goes through, so what?" Nafili scoffed. "It's just Stardust Dragon and Meteor Black Dragon, right? Come on, let me summon them."

"No, it's not Stardust Dragon or Meteor Black Dragon!" Ai said with a grave expression.

"You're right, it's that monster," Hara Shichi also held his breath.

"I send Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Dark Magician from my Deck to the Graveyard, Fusion Summon! Feel the despair, Quintet Magician - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight!"

The black dragon with crimson eyes transformed into black armor that clad Dark Magician. The armor was inlaid with brilliant gold trim and crimson gems. The Dark Magician's staff merged with the dragon's claw, becoming a sharp longsword that seemed to tear through space.

"Quintet Magician? I've never heard of this monster. Is this the sealed Duel Spirit?" an invisible pressure suddenly hit Nafili. Nafili snorted, "In that case, it means you don't have a second Quintet Magician in your Extra Deck. I activate Majespecter Princess - Kaguya's effect. You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; your opponent can send 1 card with the same name as that monster from their Deck/Extra Deck to the Graveyard to negate this effect. If they do not send a card, return this card and the targeted monster to their owner's hand!"

"Since Quintet Magician is a Fusion Monster, it will return directly to the Deck!" Nafili said.

However, Quintet Magician remained standing in place, unmoving.

"..." Nafili looked at Majespecter Princess - Kaguya on the field, as if asking what was happening.

"Wuwuwu..." Kaguya shook her cute little head, indicating she was powerless.

"Teacher, I've heard of Quintet Magician. It cannot be targeted by effects," Hara Shichi said, leaning closer to Nafili to remind them.

"Cannot be targeted by effects?" Nafili found it a bit tricky, but thankfully, their Ace Monster, Nafili's effect, could destroy Special Summoned Effect Monsters.

"It also cannot be destroyed by effects," Hara Shichi continued.

"Tch, it has quite high resistance. It's fine, I still have a way," Nafili waved their hand, signaling Hara Shichi not to worry.

"Also, once per turn, when a Spell, Trap, or Monster effect is activated, you can discard 1 card from your hand to activate this. Negate that activation and destroy it, and this card gains 1000 ATK," Hara Shichi whispered.

"...Huh?" Nafili turned his head, looking at Hara Shichi suspiciously. "Are you sure all three effects belong to this one monster?"

"Yes, and there's one more effect, which is..." Before Hara Shichi could finish speaking, the black-robed person opposite him demonstrated it for Nafili.

"I activate the effect of Quintet Magician. You can activate this during your Main Phase. Choose 1 monster on your opponent's field and destroy it, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's original ATK. This effect can be used a number of times per turn equal to the number of Normal Monsters used as Fusion Material for this card."

"Nekroz of Midrash cannot be destroyed by effects, so I will only destroy Majespecter Princess - Kaguya."

"Damn it, I chain and activate!" Nafili opened his Set Card. "Contact with the God's Imposter! I will..."

"Don't bother. I chain and activate the effect of Quintet Magician - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight. Discard one card from your hand to negate and destroy your Contact with the God's Imposter," the black-robed person sneered. "Then, we resolve the chain. First, my Quintet Magician gains 1000 ATK, becoming 4000. Immediately after, your Majespecter Princess - Kaguya is destroyed by its effect, and you will take 1850 LP damage."

"Ugh!" A powerful impact struck Nafili. He gritted his teeth, his purple eyes fixed on Quintet Magician - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight.

Nafili: 4000 LP -> 2150 LP.

"It's not over yet. I'm entering the Battle Phase. Quintet Magician - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight will attack Nekroz of Midrash directly!"

Quintet Magician - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight swung its massive greatsword. With a flash of silver light, Nekroz of Midrash shattered into pieces and disappeared.

2150 LP -> 350 LP.

"A shame, I was just a little short of ending this duel," the black-robed person said.

"That is indeed a shame," Nafili replied, panting. "I activate the effect of Nekroz of Midrash. When this card is sent to the Graveyard, you can target 1 'Shaddoll' Spell/Trap Card in your Graveyard; add it to your hand. I choose Shaddoll Fusion!"

"Be my guest. Anyway, the moment you activate Shaddoll Fusion next turn, it will be negated by my Quintet Magician - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight," the black-robed person said calmly.

"And what of it?" Nafili took Shaddoll Fusion back from his Graveyard. "As long as my LP isn't 0, the duel isn't over!"