I Lose. / Red-Eyes Fusion!

In that case, the equation for victory was complete!

"Enter the Main Phase. I activate Hotcake Owl's effect, banishing Jelly Angel from my Graveyard to Special Summon a Marincess from my Deck!"

"Not a chance. I chain Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, negating your effect." As he spoke, the man sent the big-foreheaded little girl to the Graveyard.

Hara Shichi had expected this long ago and said directly, "Then I enter the Battle Phase. I switch my owl to Attack Position and attack your owl with my owl."

"Because of Jelly Angel's effect, my owl cannot be destroyed by battle."

"But Jelly Angel's effect has a drawback too. During this turn's End Phase, your monster returns to the Deck," the man said. "And I can tell you clearly that I still have a starter in my hand. You'll lose next turn."

"Then come and try it." Hara Shichi's expression remained blank. "I end my turn."

"Because of its effect, my owl returns to the Deck." Hara Shichi returned the owl to his Deck and shuffled it, leaving his field completely empty.

"My turn, draw." The man activated a Field Spell Card. "I activate Mewfeuille Castle. I don't need to explain this card's effect, do I?"

"Next, I Normal Summon Hotcake Owl and activate its effect, banishing Proliferating G from my Graveyard to Special Summon Madolche Puddingcess from my Deck. Then I activate Pudding Princess's effect to Special Summon Magicalized Pâtissière - Jelly Angel. I Tribute Jelly Angel to Special Summon Madolche Madeleine from my Deck!"

"Then I overlay Madolche Messenger and Madolche Madeleine to Xyz Summon—Madolche Queen Tiramisu!" The man took Tiramisu of the Tiara from his Extra Deck and Summoned it onto the field.

"I activate Madolche Queen Tiramisu's effect, detaching one Xyz Material to target up to two 'Marincess' cards in my Graveyard. Return them to the Deck, then return up to that many cards on your field to their owner's Deck!" the man said. "That means I win."

"Not necessarily. At this moment, I chain Ghost Ogre!" Hara Shichi sent Ghost Ogre from his hand to the Graveyard. "Then I chain again and activate the Trap Card—Threatening Roar! You can't declare attacks this turn!"

"You even drew a hand trap?" The man tugged at the corner of his mouth. "But Madolche Queen Tiramisu's effect still resolves. I return Madolche Messenger and Jelly Angel to the Deck. Thanks to Mewfeuille Castle's effect, Jelly Angel returns to my hand. Then I return that Set Card on your field to the Deck."

"You only have one card in hand now. Including your next draw, you'll only have two cards. With neither Princess Cookie nor Chocolat-a-la-Mode in your Deck, you can't possibly beat me. 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. "Need to cut it?"

"No. Just shuffle it yourself," the man refused.

"Fine. Then, my turn, draw!" Hara Shichi looked at the card he had drawn and smiled before slapping the card he had drawn last turn onto the table.

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

I Lost.

"Oh, and then?" The man returned Princess Cookie and Hotcake Owl from his field to his hand. "Destroy them if you like. You only have one card in hand now. Show it to me."

Hara Shichi slapped his remaining card onto the field. "Enter the Main Phase. I Normal Summon Rescue Cat."

"Huh?" The man frowned. "Hey, without the card Failure, there's no point in running Rescue Cat."

"I'll tell you its point right now!" Hara Shichi sent Rescue Cat to the Graveyard. "I activate Rescue Cat's effect. I send this card on the field to the Graveyard to Special Summon two Level 3 or lower Beast-Type monsters from my Deck. The effects of monsters Special Summoned by this effect are negated, and they are destroyed during the End Phase!"

"I chain! Proliferating G!" The man once again sent a hand trap to the Graveyard.

"I Special Summon two Madolche Puddingscess from my Deck!"

"So what? Without their effects, they're just White Boards." As he spoke, the man drew another card from his Deck.

"White Boards are enough!" Hara Shichi said. "I enter the Battle Phase. Both owls attack directly!"

"Then I lose 4000 LP... Wait, why have the cards on my field disappeared?" The man looked stunned, as though he had suddenly realized something.

"It seems you've misunderstood something." Hara Shichi said, "This is no longer the original world. The standard rules of Duel Continent are—4000 LP!"

"Thanks to Mewfeuille Castle's effect, my owls each have 2000 ATK. Two direct attacks empty your LP." Hara Shichi rose from the table as the scenery around them began to dissipate toward the center.

"No." The man spoke. "Something's wrong."

"What's wrong?" Hara Shichi asked.

"The state you're in is wrong." The man pointed at Hara Shichi. "You should understand the essence of this game very well. A gap between Decks can't be erased so casually. Even that victory just now was due to your luck."

"To be honest, the card I Set was Called by the Grave. Because I knew we were using the same Deck, no matter what monster you Summoned, I could banish a card with the same name from my own Deck and negate it. Yet you happened to draw Rescue Cat, a card I would never use." The man said, "Tell me, how many copies of Rescue Cat did you run?"

"One." Hara Shichi frowned as well.

"How many Black Holes?"

"One."

"What about Ghost Ogre?"

"One."

"Three cards you only ran one copy of, and you drew all of them?" the man said coldly. "Even if you really are lucky... before entering the trial, did you never consider the possibility that you might not draw them?"

"No one can keep winning forever. You understood that long ago, didn't you?" The man pointed at Hara Shichi's chest. "Something is very wrong with you right now, Hara Shichi."

"The old you would believe that you could win, no matter how strong your opponent was."

"I still do." Hara Shichi did not understand.

"No, you don't." The man shook his head. "Right now, you think it's impossible for you to lose."

"I can win, and I can't lose—they seem alike, but they're completely different." The man said, "You aren't confident right now. You're deceiving yourself!"

"Because you're afraid! You're afraid of this unfamiliar continent! Here, you can only rely on your own dueling skills! So you deceive yourself into believing that you're invincible. Only then can you feel at ease! Only then can you stay calm!" The man ruthlessly peeled away Hara Shichi's outer shell and drove straight into his heart. "You're just an ordinary person! In only a few days, you simply can't bear such an overwhelming amount of information!"

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

Hara Shichi lowered his eyes and spoke weakly. "Should I cry? Should I scream? Should I make a fuss with Ai and say I want to go back to Earth, that I don't want to stay here anymore? Or should I just sneak away from the academy alone and find somewhere to live out the rest of my life?"

"I was supposed to be dead. Ai was the one who saved me, and she even said she'd be my cheat, staying by my side all day long."

"The teachers think highly of me too. They say I'm good at playing cards and have potential. They let someone with an unknown background like me stay at the school, eating and living there for free."

"Yukikaze found an opportunity herself, yet she told someone she'd only known for a few days. She even asked me out in the middle of the night without worrying something might happen. And even Julie, the senior I beat up badly—when she saw I'd been dragged into a Dark Duel, she didn't say, 'Good, I never liked you anyway. You deserved it.' She went to find people to help save me."

"Everyone has been so kind to me. Wouldn't it be pretentious if I acted like I was so unfortunate, so miserable, so frightened?" Hara Shichi spread his hands.

"Wrong. Completely wrong!" the man retorted. "People who truly care about you will never think you're being pretentious!"

Hara Shichi froze. "Is that so?"

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

"No one can move forward alone."

It felt as though several centuries had passed before Hara Shichi finally spoke. "Seriously... is this what they mean by the strongest me? Looks like I lost this duel."

"You're wrong again." The man's body gradually began to crumble. Just before he vanished, he smiled.

"The moment you failed to draw Madolche Messenger, you had already won."

"I see." Hara Shichi raised his head, a smile blooming across his delicate face.

"..."

"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 halfway through the duel. You scared me to death! Is something wrong with your body?"

"Halfway through the duel? What are you talking about?" Hara Shichi pushed himself up.

"I'm talking about the third trial." Ai tilted her head and pointed at the spirit standing across from Hara Shichi, one with the exact same appearance as him.

"You mean... this thing is the third trial?!" Hara Shichi stiffly turned his neck, pointing at the spirit before him with a pale face.

"Yep. This spirit copies your Deck and behavioral patterns, then duels you. Nafili already won her duel and went to the place where the Duel Spirit is sealed." Ai pointed to the large door behind the spirit.

"A-Qi, what's wrong with your face? Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine. I just encountered something very strange..." Hara Shichi looked at the Duel Disk in his hand. "Let's talk after I win this duel and get out of here."

"My turn, draw."

"Hm? I can't draw?"

"Idiot! It isn't your turn! It's the other side's turn. It just didn't move after seeing you faint!"

"..."

Red-Eyes Fusion!

"I attack directly with Madolche Queen Tiramisu!" The instant Hara Shichi finished speaking, the spirit before him dispersed into the air.

"The trial is cleared. Let's go!" Ai urged. "I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling."

"Yeah." 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 to Fusion Summon—Nekroz of Midrash!"

"Has the duel already started?" Hara Shichi frowned slightly at the black-robed man standing opposite Nafili. Silver chains lay scattered across the ground behind the man. It seemed that he had already obtained that Duel Spirit.

"Next, I activate Shaddoll Hedgehog's effect, then Shaddoll Beast's effect. I add Nekroz Lizard from my Deck to my hand, then draw one card!" Nafili saw the card she had drawn and immediately slapped it onto her Duel Disk. "I Normal Summon Fairy Tail - Kaguya. When this card is successfully Summoned, I add one Spellcaster-Type monster with 1850 ATK from my Deck to my hand. I add Fairy Tail - Snow from my Deck to my hand."

After doing all that, Nafili Set one card and said, "I end my turn. Your move."

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

"Not a chance! I chain Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring! I negate your Red-Eyes Fusion!" Nafili sent Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring from her hand to the Graveyard.

"I chain Gravekeeper's Imprisoning Mirror, banishing Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. Do you have Ghost Belle? Oh, the other card in your hand is Nekroz Lizard. And your back row? Solemn Strike?" The black-robed man muttered to himself. "Then I've won this duel."

"How arrogant. So what if your Red-Eyes Fusion resolves?" Nafili said disdainfully. "Isn't it just Stardust Dragon or Meteor Black Dragon? Go on, Summon it."

"No, it's not Stardust Dragon or Meteor Black Dragon!" Ai's expression turned solemn.

"There's no mistake. It's that monster." Hara Shichi held his breath as well.

"I send Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Dark Magician from my Deck to the Graveyard. Fusion Summon—feel despair, Super Magician Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Black Dragon Knight!"

The black dragon with crimson eyes transformed into black armor that clad Dark Magician's body. Brilliant gold trim and crimson gems adorned the armor, while Dark Magician's black magic staff joined with the dragon's claw and became a sharp long blade, as though it could tear space itself apart.

"Super Magician Dragon Knight? I've never heard of that monster. Is that the sealed Duel Spirit?" An invisible pressure suddenly bore down upon Nafili. She snorted coldly. "In that case, you clearly don't have a second Red-Eyes Black Dragon Knight in your Extra Deck. I activate Fairy Tail - Kaguya's effect, targeting one face-up monster on your field. You can send a card with the same name as that monster from your Deck or Extra Deck to the Graveyard to negate this effect. If you don't, this card and the targeted monster return to their owners' hands!"

"Since Super Magician is a Fusion Monster, return it to the Extra Deck!" Nafili said.

Yet Super Magician Dragon Knight remained where he stood, utterly unmoved.

"..." Nafili looked at Fairy Tail - Kaguya on the field as if asking what had happened.

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

"Teacher, I've heard of Super Magician Dragon Knight. He can't be targeted by effects." Hara Shichi moved beside Nafili and reminded her.

"Can't be targeted by effects?" Nafili found that troublesome, though fortunately, her trump card Nafili could destroy Effect Monsters that had been Special Summoned.

"And he can't be destroyed by effects either," Hara Shichi continued.

"Tch, his resistances are pretty high. It's fine, I still have a way." Nafili waved a hand, signaling that Hara Shichi need not worry.

"Also, once per turn, when a Spell, Trap, or monster effect is activated, he can discard one card to negate and destroy that activation, then gain 1000 ATK," Hara Shichi said quietly.

"...Hm?" Nafili turned her head and eyed Hara Shichi suspiciously. "Are you sure all three of those effects belong to this one monster?"

"Yeah. And he has another effect, which is..." Before Hara Shichi could finish, the black-robed man had already demonstrated it for Nafili.

"I activate Super Magician's effect. During my Main Phase, I can destroy one monster on your field and inflict damage equal to that monster's original ATK. This effect can be used once per turn, up to the number of Normal Monsters used as this card's Fusion Materials."

"Midrash can't be destroyed by effects, so I'll only destroy Fairy Tail - Kaguya."

"Damn it, I chain!" Nafili flipped her Set Card. "Contact with the God's Imposter! I will use the monsters on my field—"

"Don't bother. I chain Super Magician Dragon Knight's effect. I discard one card to negate and destroy your Contact with the God's Imposter." The black-robed man sneered. "Then we resolve the chain. First, my Super Magician gains 1000 ATK, becoming 4000. Next, your Fairy Tail - Kaguya is destroyed by an effect, and you take 1850 LP damage."

"Ugh!" The powerful impact struck Nafili. She gritted her teeth, her violet eyes fixed firmly on Super Magician Dragon Knight.

Nafili: 4000 LP → 2150 LP

"It's not over. I enter the Battle Phase. Super Magician Dragon Knight attacks Midrash directly!"

Super Magician Dragon Knight raised his enormous blade. With a flash of silver light, Midrash shattered and vanished.

2150 LP → 350 LP

"What a pity. I was just a little short of ending this duel," the black-robed man said.

"That really is a pity." Nafili panted. "I activate Midrash's effect. When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I can target one 'Shaddoll' Spell or Trap in my Graveyard and add it to my hand. I choose Shaddoll Fusion!"

"Do as you please. The moment you activate Shaddoll Fusion next turn, my Super Magician Dragon Knight will negate it," the black-robed man said indifferently.

"So what?" Nafili retrieved Shaddoll Fusion from her Graveyard. "As long as my LP haven't reached zero, the duel isn't over!"