Duelists Never Surrender!

"Just tough talk. I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn, draw!"

"Wait, this card is..." Nafili stared at the card he'd drawn, his heart seizing.

To draw this card at a time like this, damn it! He wasn't strong enough to use it yet, but if he didn't... he'd lose this duel!

Nafili gripped the card tightly, cold sweat beading on his forehead. What should he do? Should he use it? If he couldn't control it... Nafili glanced at Hara Shichi, who stood beside him, and fell into silence.

Chapter 24: I'm Perfectly Clear-Headed!

"Lost again?" the old man asked.

"Just bad luck. If she hadn't negated my Ash Blossom, I would have been the Duel King," Nafili said listlessly, lounging on the sofa.

"You said the same thing three years ago."

"Tch."

"What are your plans now?" the old man continued.

"I'm going to play in the pro league, aim for a spot in the Initial Land three years from now, and then become the Duel King," Nafili replied.

"The Academy has two spots as well," the old man suddenly said.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you considered staying at the school to teach?" the old man asked, fixing his gaze on Nafili.

"Why?" Nafili asked, confused.

"Sometimes, it's better to rest before moving forward," the old man said. "High-intensity duels like the league will only exhaust your spirit further. You won't get stronger like this."

Nafili was silent for a moment, then said, "I understand."

And so, Nafili ended up teaching for four years, even becoming the Head Teacher.

A deputy one, though.

"You bastard! You're not the same as you were before! You're a teacher now! Are you going to disregard your students' lives for your own victory?!" Nafili muttered, head bowed and fists clenched. "Besides, even if I use this card, I might not win..."

"But if you don't, you'll definitely lose."

"Classmate Hara Shichi?!" Nafili spun around, realizing Hara Shichi was standing behind him at some point.

"Use that card. Don't worry about my safety," Hara Shichi said earnestly. "More than something trivial like that, I want to see you win."

"You... you really suit my taste!" Nafili grinned, a flicker of madness in his eyes. "In that case, I won't hold back!"

"I enter my Main Phase! I Tribute Summon Nekroz Lizard!" Nafili slammed the monster onto his Duel Disk, then, without hesitation, inserted the card he'd just drawn. "Next, I discard Fairy Tale - Snow White from my hand and activate the Quick-Play Spell Card—Super Polymerization!"

"Super Polymerization?!" the man in the black robe exclaimed. "Are you crazy?!"

"No! I'm perfectly clear-headed! I send Nekroz Lizard on my field and Master of Chaos on your field to the Graveyard! Come forth! Nekroz of Midrash!"

Immense power surged from the dueling field. A massive vortex swallowed the Nekroz Lizard and Master of Chaos on the field, but, contrary to Nafili's expectations, Nekroz of Midrash did not appear. Instead, the energy on the field began to rage, as if it would explode at any moment.

"You bastard! Are you trying to die?!" the man in the black robe said, unhesitatingly packing up his Duel Disk to flee. But soon, with a roar, a white light enveloped the entire space.

"RUMBLE!"

"What's going on?" Yukikaze suddenly felt the ground tremble, and then a sliver of white light began to seep from the large door in front of her.

"Something's wrong, something happened inside!" Ghost Ogre grabbed Yukikaze and Julie with one arm each and carried them outside.

"Wait! Classmate Hara Shichi and Teacher Nafili are still inside!" Yukikaze shouted.

"There's no time!" Ghost Ogre's snowy bangs covered her red eyes, and a single tear traced a path down her cheek, dripping onto her toes. "There's no time, you bastard!"

"How could this happen..."

Ghost Ogre soon left the trial grounds, placing the two on the grass by the lake.

Yukikaze's blue eyes stared blankly at the calm lake surface, guilt and sorrow stabbing into her heart like knives, one, two, three...

"Don't look like your mother just died," Julie said weakly. "With Teacher Nafili there, he won't be in any danger."

"Huh? But..." Yukikaze started to say, but then a loud splash erupted from the lake.

"CRASH!"

A colossal figure emerged from the lake. The bright moonlight shone on the figure, casting off crystal-clear water droplets, as if a goddess were emerging from a bath.

"Is that—Nekroz of Nefel?!" Yukikaze gasped, staring at the enormous figure before her.

Then, Nefel bent down, cupped her hands, and gently placed Hara Shichi and Nafili, who were in her palms, onto the grass before vanishing into the night.

"Hiss... Thankfully, I was prepared and had Nefel on standby. Otherwise, our lives might have ended here," Nafili said, straightening up from the grass, holding his aching waist. He then noticed everyone on the grass was staring at him and cleared his throat.

"Ahem, well, I did consider your safety. It's just that Nefel told me you had already been brought up by Ghost Ogre, so..."

"Classmate Hara Shichi!" Yukikaze cried, tears welling up, and threw herself onto Hara Shichi. "Thank goodness... thank goodness you're okay. If not..."

Nafili: "..."

"Sorry for making you worry," Hara Shichi said with a smile. "Everything's fine now. Let's head back to school."

"Okay."

"So, can we finally go? I have class tomorrow," Julie said impatiently.

"Wait a moment!" Nafili shouted. "Before we leave here, let's get our stories straight."

"I was resting in the dorms today and didn't see anything," Hara Shichi said first.

"Uh, then… me too," Yukikaze said, lowering her head guiltily. Sneaking into the back mountain was grounds for punishment, after all.

"I was also in the dorms, and I didn't see anything," Julie said, turning her head away.

"Then I noticed some unauthorized individuals had infiltrated the school. I pursued them all the way to the back mountain, and after a fierce battle, they shamelessly used a large, flammable, and explosive device, intending to take me with them. But at the critical moment, I summoned my Duel Spirit, Nafili, and with her protection, I survived," Nafili said, tapping his palm. "In short, we didn't see each other today, understand?"

"Okay."

"No problem."

"Alright, let's go then." Nafili finally felt a weight lifted from his chest after receiving their promises. If the Dean found out he'd taken students to chase some mysterious man in black, and that they'd almost all kicked the bucket using a Super Polymerization he wasn't even proficient with…

He'd probably be kicked too, and the Super Polymerization would be confiscated.

"Ghost Ogre, aren't you coming with me?" Hara Shichi asked, looking at Ghost Ogre who was squatting by the lake.

"My mission…" Ghost Ogre hesitated.

"The trial grounds are already in ruins, and the sealed Duel Spirit is also missing due to the explosion. You no longer need to be bound by your mission," Hara Shichi said.

"But I didn't protect you just now," Ghost Ogre said, lowering her head. "If it weren't for Nafili, you would already be…"

"That's because you weren't by my side, so you couldn't protect me," Hara Shichi said, extending his hand. "Now, can you stay by my side and protect me?"

Ghost Ogre looked at Hara Shichi's gentle hand. In an instant, a wrinkled hand overlapped with the hand before her, and an old woman's kind voice echoed:

"Then can you protect me?"

"It would be my honor," Ghost Ogre said, taking Hara Shichi's hand.

Hara Shichi smiled. Just then, he suddenly felt a chill down the back of his head. A cold gaze was looking down at him from a height.

"A-Qi, with an explosion of that magnitude, I could have protected you too. And I've always been by your side. Of course, I don't mean anything else by saying this, but I hope your blockhead can think about it and say something to me…"

"Got it, got it. Ai, you're so good to me. Ai, you're amazing. Ai, you're so cute. Ai is the cutest in the universe…"

"Perfunctory!"

"…"

At this moment, deep at the bottom of the lake, amidst the ruins, a scarred arm suddenly emerged. At its fingertips, a purple card emitted a seductive glow.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Lord, Please Rely On Me.

"Impossible!"

Duelist Academy, Dorm Room 307. Hara Shichi, wearing white pajamas, stood in front of the mirror, brushing his teeth. "Why would I lie to you?"

Ai, wearing a sky-blue dress, floated beside Hara Shichi. She frowned adorably, hands on her hips. "It's impossible for anyone to make you fall into an illusion without me noticing, let alone take your memories by impersonating you!"

"Memories don't lie. Why don't you try probing my memories?" Hara Shichi said, narrowing his eyes and tapping his head.

"I would never do something so rude!" Ai muttered. "But if what you're saying is true… doesn't that mean my existence is also exposed?!"

"It seems so," Hara Shichi said, rinsing his mouth.

"Then why are you still so calm?!" If she could materialize now, Ai would have already punched Hara Shichi a couple of times!

"I'm a God! What if the other party has ill intentions towards me and they capture both of us…" Ai suddenly lowered her voice. "Hey, do you feel anyone eavesdropping on our conversation nearby? There seems to be a shadow on the balcony behind the curtains."

"That's a tree branch. I checked it last night," Hara Shichi said nonchalantly.

"Go look again! Go look again!" Ai insisted.

"Alright, alright." Hara Shichi pulled back the curtains and pointed to a few branches extending onto the balcony, illuminated by the sun. "See? I didn't lie to you."

Several ancient trees were planted behind the boys' dormitory. According to the Academy, this was to allow students to enjoy the freshness of nature in the early morning.

"Cut it down," Ai said coldly.

"Huh?" Hara Shichi looked at Ai in surprise.

"I said cut down this tree!" Ai fussed. "You think it's just a branch now, but if someone were actually standing on the balcony, you'd instinctively think it was a branch too! And what if someone climbs onto the balcony using the branches?! Cut it down! Cut it down!"

"It's… convenient for us to sneak out of the dorm at night," Hara Shichi said, twitching his lips. "Don't you remember I climbed down from here last night to avoid the dorm supervisor?!"

"I don't care! I sense danger!"

"Okay, stop making a fuss. I need to change and get ready for class. Or do you want to watch me change?"

"You think I haven't seen it?! My business is more important right now!"

"…Spare me."

"…"

"Actually, you don't need to worry too much," Hara Shichi said, walking to class while biting into a piece of bread.

"If the other party truly had ill intentions, they would have made their move already," Hara Shichi said, smiling slightly. "Besides… I don't feel any malice from him."

"That's a weird smile… Did you get enchanted?" Ai tilted her head.

"No, perhaps it was just a pleasant conversation?" Hara Shichi replied.

"What did you say?" Ai asked curiously.

"He told me not to be too strong and to rely on the people around me." As he spoke, Hara Shichi's gaze shifted to Ai.

"Why… why are you looking at me like that?" Ai said nervously, "I've always been your…"

"Please, rely on me to your heart's content, my Lord." Her silver hair scattered in the gentle breeze as a small figure suddenly appeared beside Hara Shichi.

"Ghost Ogre? Why are you out?" Hara Shichi blinked, looking at the figure before him.

"Didn't my Lord just say he wanted to rely on others? I came out as soon as I heard." Ghost Ogre's small face was a little confused, "Wasn't the person my Lord was referring to me?"

"No, it was you." Hara Shichi patted Ghost Ogre's small shoulder.

"Really? It seems I understood my Lord's meaning correctly." Ghost Ogre nodded happily, then continued, "In that case, allow me to escort my Lord to the classroom."

"Is that necessary?" Hara Shichi asked, feeling a bit awkward as he noticed the strange looks from the people around them. To make matters worse, his hearing was quite good, and all the surrounding whispers reached his ears:

"What a cute child, is she a student at our school?"

"Idiot, look at the decorations, that's clearly a Duel Spirit!"

"Speaking of which, isn't that the legendary Hara Shichi, the one who uses Xyz Summon?"

"It seems so. I heard his deck is also the cute Marincess style, and his Duel Spirit is this adorable. I didn't expect such a grown man to have a girlish heart…"

"No, I smell something… criminal."

"Funny, I smell a kindred spirit."

"…"

Clearly, Ghost Ogre's appearance had drawn everyone's attention. While some people liked to summon their Duel Spirits, it was rare to see one as cute and human-like as Ghost Ogre.