"Anyway, that's how things are. Go assist him."
"So... am I monitoring him too?"
A hoarse voice sounded from the other end of the phone.
Zhuxiu fell silent for a moment before saying, "It isn't surveillance. Hara Shichi is a student of our academy. I want to trust him."
"I understand."
"..."
"Say, you didn't already know, did you?" The moment they left the office, Ai leaned close to Hara Shichi's ear and asked.
"Know what?" Hara Shichi blinked, not understanding what Ai meant.
"Playing dumb, huh?" Ai irritably punched Hara Shichi's back with her tiny pink fist. "When I asked what you were going to do with the Deck you won, you started talking about becoming an agent of justice. It had nothing to do with the question."
"Now I get it. Were you planning to win that brat over and make her one of your teammates?" Ai said, poking Hara Shichi's cheek.
Though, as a spirit, she could not touch him at all.
"I did plan to win her over, but it has nothing to do with any five-on-five elimination match." Hara Shichi nodded and explained as he walked. "Actually, ever since Julie told me that the Crimson Lotus Society had sent people to cause trouble again, I'd been considering whether I should take the initiative."
"After all, we can't keep passively taking hits. That would be too stupid."
"But on my own, I honestly can't hold things together. So when I heard Yukikaze say that Nero hadn't done anything to her, I started thinking."
"If Nero isn't some utterly vile person, then I'll find a way to win her over and have her help me deal with those Crimson Lotus Society people."
"And if she is?" Ai asked.
"Then I'll force her into becoming my Duelist tool." Hara Shichi took out the Deck he had won from Nero and waved it before Ai. "From the start, she had no right to refuse, unless she didn't want her Deck back."
"True. We can't personally deal with every stray cat and dog that comes looking for trouble." Ai nodded in agreement. How could a noble god have no underlings? "Having Nero handle some troublesome Duelists for us wouldn't be bad either."
"So, are you going to find Nero now?" Ai looked at the setting sun. "It's getting kind of late. How about we find her tomorrow?"
"Let's go now." Hara Shichi casually folded his arms behind his head. "Otherwise, if we get there too late, those jackals may have already torn her apart."
"Jackals? What are you talking about?" Ai's silver hair swayed with her little head. Could there be animals in the academy?
"When a powerful lion is wounded, those jackals naturally won't let the chance slip away. Especially if that lion may have committed plenty of evil in the past." As he spoke, Hara Shichi headed toward a secluded passage in the academy.
"You mean... someone will kick her while she's down now that she's lost her Deck?" Ai finally understood what he meant.
"Isn't that inevitable?"
Afraid? Then Come at Me Together.
In an unknown alley, Nero's frail body leaned against a cold wall. Around her, several tall girls formed an impenetrable wall, boxing her into the corner.
"What do you want with me?" Nero's black eyes swept calmly over the girls before her.
"You've got some nerve saying that. Did you forget what you did to us?" The black-haired girl at the front bent down until her face was close to Nero's, her voice hoarse.
"I don't remember interacting with any of you." Nero slightly furrowed her delicate brows.
"Of course you never interacted with us, but your Crimson Lotus Society has done quite a few 'good deeds.' As one of them, don't tell me you have nothing to do with it?!"
"I understand." Nero nodded. "You want to Duel, right?"
"Duel? Hahaha! Your Deck is gone already, isn't it?!" The leading girl clutched her stomach and laughed. "What are you going to Duel us with? Dig a Deck out of that trash can over there?"
Nero silently took out a Deck from her waist. "It isn't as good as my previous Deck, but against Duelists at your level, my backup Deck will be enough."
"A backup... a backup Deck?"
"This girl has two Decks?!"
"You... were holding something back?!" The black-haired girl unconsciously took a step back.
Holding something back? Wasn't it perfectly normal to own multiple Decks? Nero looked curiously at the group, who had been so imposing but were now shrinking back, and said, "If you're afraid, you can all come at me together."
"You mean... even if all of us come at you, we still won't be your match?!" The black-haired girl seemed enraged, her face turning livid. "Fine! Let's see what gives you the right to be so arrogant!"
"You said it yourself, so don't blame us for showing no mercy!" The others raised their Duel Disks as well.
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
"..."
Nero slowly raised her left arm and said expressionlessly, "Duel."
"I'll take the first turn!" The black-haired girl immediately slapped a Monster Card onto her Duel Disk. "I enter the Main Phase! I Normal Summon Senju God!"
"When this card is Normal or Flip Summoned, you can activate this effect. Add 1 Ritual Monster from your Deck to your hand!"
Nero froze slightly as she watched the monster suddenly appear on the field. A faint ripple passed through her black eyes as she looked at the black-haired girl and asked, "Your name?"
"My name? Hahaha! So you really don't remember! Well, the name of an illegitimate daughter from a branch family isn't worthy of being remembered by a lofty big shot like you." The black-haired girl sneered. "But on the Duel field, status makes no difference. Victory only favors the strong!"
"Witness my Duel!"
"I add Evil★Twins Ki-sikil & Lil-la from my Deck to my hand!" The black-haired girl searched a Monster Card from her Deck. "Next, I activate the Spell Card—Ritual's Soul Mirror! It is required for the Ritual Summon of a Ritual Monster with 'Ritual' in its name. I must pay LP equal to the Ritual Summoned monster's Level times 500!"
"My Evil★Twins Ki-sikil & Lil-la is a Level 6 monster, so I pay 3000 LP! Ritual Summon—Evil★Twins Ki-sikil & Lil-la!"
A monster with a humanoid upper body and a squid lower body appeared on the field, writhing its countless tentacles.
Black-haired Girl: 4000 LP → 1000 LP.
"Cough, cough!" Having paid so much LP at once, the black-haired girl seemed to suffer some backlash, but she still laughed wildly. "It's not over! Evil★Twins Ki-sikil & Lil-la's effect: when this card is Ritual Summoned, randomly reveal up to 2 cards in your opponent's hand, then choose 1 of them and return it to its owner's Deck!"
"I'll check the two cards on the far right of your hand!"
Nero turned over the two cards on the far right of her hand for the black-haired girl to see. They were Hand of the Six Samurai and Preparation of Rites.
"I choose to return Hand of the Six Samurai to the Deck!" A trace of disgust appeared in the black-haired girl's eyes as she pointed at Hand of the Six Samurai and shouted.
Nero silently returned Hand of the Six Samurai to her Deck.
"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell Card—Marincess Stage, Set 1 card, and end my turn!"
"My turn, draw!" Another girl said as she sharply drew a card from her Deck. "I enter the Main Phase, then activate Fiend King of the Swamp's effect. I send Magicalized Fiend King of the Swamp from my hand to the Graveyard and add the Spell Card—Polymerization from my Deck to my hand!"
"Then I activate Thunder Dragon's effect. I discard 1 Thunder Dragon from my hand and add up to 2 Thunder Dragons from my Deck to my hand!"
"Finally, I activate the Spell Card—Polymerization! I send the two Thunder Dragons in my hand to the Graveyard. Come forth—Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!"
Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon: ATK 2800/DEF 2100!
"Now it's my turn!" said a short-haired girl. "My turn, draw!"
"I Normal Summon Bee Army—Stinger Bee, then activate its effect. When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add 1 'Bee Army' monster other than 'Bee Army—Stinger Bee' from my Deck to my hand!"
"I add Bee Army—Twin Crossbow Bee to my hand, then activate Twin Crossbow Bee's effect to Special Summon it from my hand!"
"Next, I activate Bee Army—Sure-Hit Giant Pin Bee's effect. If I control an Insect-Type monster, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!"
"Then, with its second effect, during the Main Phase, I inflict damage to my opponent equal to the number of 'Bee Army—Sure-Hit Giant Pin Bee' monsters on my field times 200!"
A sharp bee sting suddenly pierced the back of Nero's pale hand.
Nero: 4000 LP → 2800 LP.
"3 + 2 + 1 = 6! I tune the three monsters on my field! Synchro Summon—Bee Army—Assault Hook-Spear Bee!"
"It's not over! I banish two Insect-Types in my Graveyard to Special Summon Devil Excavator Worm from my hand!"
The two enormous insects let out terrible roars, striking fear into anyone who saw them.
"I end my turn!"
"My turn, draw!"
"I activate the Field Spell Card—Umi! Next, I activate Brute Force Prediction to Special Summon from my Deck... Then I activate Monster Reborn... Tribute Summon—Sea Dragon—Daedalus!"
"..."
By the time everyone had ended their turns and only Nero remained, the cramped alley had become packed with powerful, grotesque monsters. They bared their fangs and claws at Nero, as if they would rush forward and tear her to pieces the next second.
"Are these your trump cards?" Nero softly asked as she surveyed the enormous monsters before her.
"That's right. If you surrender and beg now, perhaps we'll be kind enough to let you off!" The black-haired girl said smugly, hands on her hips.
Nero did not respond. She merely placed her hand on her Deck. "My turn, draw."
A Bird in a Cage.
Nero inserted a Spell Card into her Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Card Preparation of Rites and add Demise, King of Armageddon from my Deck to my hand."
"I activate the Spell Card Terraforming to add the Field Spell Card—World Destruction to my hand. Next, I activate World Destruction." As soon as Nero inserted World Destruction into her Duel Disk, she casually slapped a monster onto the field. "I Normal Summon Hand of the Six Samurai and activate its effect to add Demise, Supreme King of Armageddon from my Deck to my hand."
"Tch, you still drew it?" The black-haired girl clicked her tongue. She had clearly shuffled it back in, yet Nero had another copy in her hand. Or had she just drawn it?
"I activate the Spell Card—World Immortality. I Tribute the Hand of the Six Samurai on my field and Ritual Summon—Demise, King of Armageddon."
"When Demise, King of Armageddon is Summoned, I can draw 1 card due to World Destruction's effect. Next, I activate Demise, King of Armageddon's effect. When this card is Ritual Summoned, destroy 1 monster on the field. I choose to destroy Evil★Twins Ki-sikil & Lil-la on your field."
"So you came after me first, just as expected?" the black-haired girl said coldly, then flipped open her Set Card. "I activate the Trap Card, Call of the Living Dead. Return to the field, Evil★Twins Ki-sikil & Lil-la!"
"No. Demise's effect is mandatory. I merely chose a monster that happened to be closer." Nero shook her head and continued. "Next, I activate World Destruction's effect. I target 1 Ritual Monster I control and reveal 1 Ritual Monster in my hand until the end of the turn. The revealed Ritual Monster's Level becomes equal to that target's Level until the end of the turn."
"I target Demise, King of Armageddon on my field and reveal Demise, Supreme King of Armageddon in my hand. Demise, King of Armageddon becomes Level 10."
"Then, I activate the Spell Card—End of the World. I Tribute Demise, King of Armageddon on my field and Ritual Summon—Demise, Supreme King of Armageddon!"
A huge armored monster appeared on the field, wielding a silver battle-axe. Chilling cold radiated from him, making everyone present except Nero shudder.
"When this Ritual Summon succeeds, I chain the effect of Demise, King of Armageddon in my Graveyard, targeting Demise, Supreme King of Armageddon on the field. While that monster remains face-up on my field, my opponent cannot activate card effects in response to the activation of my Ritual Monsters' effects."
"With this, you can't chain to Demise, Supreme King of Armageddon's effect." Nero waved her small hand and coldly declared, "I activate Demise, Supreme King of Armageddon's effect. Once per turn, I can pay 2000 LP to destroy all other cards on the field and inflict 200 damage to my opponent for each of their cards destroyed."
"Crush everything, Demise!"
"What?!"
"How is that possible?!"
The girls had no time to be shocked. The giant axe rose high into the air, then... came crashing down!
Bang!
After the devastation, only Demise remained standing on the field in the once-crowded alley.
"Don't give up! She only has 800 LP left! She can only use such a powerful effect once! As long as we take her remaining 800 LP..." The black-haired girl stopped midway through her words, as though her throat had seized up and she could no longer speak.
Because Nero had casually revealed her remaining LP: 2800 LP.
"How is that possible?! You should have paid 2000 LP!"
"Demise, Supreme King of Armageddon's third effect makes the LP paid to activate the effect of this card, if it was Ritual Summoned using only Ritual Monsters, unnecessary," Nero explained.
"Incidentally, his second effect is that while this Ritual Summoned card remains in the Monster Zone, my Ritual Monsters cannot be destroyed by battle."
"...Monster."
"No way. Why are there cards this powerful..."
"Damn it!"
Nero ignored the girls' voices and said, "I enter the Battle Phase. Direct attack!"
"..."
Ten minutes later, Nero looked at the girls who had been knocked to the ground by the impact. She put away her Duel Disk and said to the black-haired girl, who was barely able to stand by bracing herself against the wall, "You were right. Victory only favors the strong."
"Now, it seems I'm a little stronger."
"Don't... don't get cocky... you bird in a cage!" The black-haired girl gritted her silver-white teeth, panting heavily. "Before I came... I already wrote to the family... about your humiliating defeat... and losing the family Deck!"
"Just wait! Before long... the family will send someone... to lock you back in that cage... Hahaha... hahaha!"
Nero's body stiffened. The color instantly drained from her delicate face. After a long silence, she replied softly:
Before you continue