Hara Shichi looked at another adjacent opening and inserted his left hand into it. He felt something like a chip, followed by something that seemed to seep from the chip into his body.
"Duel Power is coming in!" Ai said excitedly.
"You're certainly not holding back... Don't press random buttons on the console." The Masked Girl had no objections either. Just as she had said, there was so much Duel Power that she could not absorb much of it by herself.
"This is too slow." Ai quickly frowned. "I'll increase the frequency."
"Huh?" Before Hara Shichi could react, a powerful surge of energy flooded into his body, nearly making him yank his hand out.
"Wow, so much Duel Power! This feels amazing!" The glow around Ai intensified, changing from the light of a tiny firefly into something like a lightbulb—a hundred-watt one at that.
"That should be enough, right?" Hara Shichi glanced over and noticed that the Duel Power within the pillar of light seemed to have decreased by a small section.
"Not enough. Far from enough!" A wolfish hunger flashed in Ai's eyes. "How little do you think that was? Do you still want powerful cards or not?"
Hara Shichi honestly shut his mouth.
However, the girl beside him sensed that something was off.
"Why did the energy in the pillar suddenly drop by so much?"
"You saw it wrong, didn't you? Maybe it was always like that." Hara Shichi lowered his head as he spoke.
The girl looked at Hara Shichi beside her suspiciously, then shook her head. How could that be possible? Even a Duel King could not absorb that much Duel Power in an instant. Their body simply could not withstand it. She must have been overthinking things.
"Alert! Alert! Massive energy loss detected! Please enter core password! Please enter core password!"
"What did you do?!" the girl demanded of Hara Shichi. She had never triggered the alarm, not even once after all these attempts.
"I... I didn't do anything." Hara Shichi guiltily looked at the refreshed and radiant Ai beside him.
"Please enter core password! Please enter core password!"
As the alarm kept blaring, Hara Shichi looked at the numbered buttons on the console and hurriedly asked the Masked Girl, "What's the core password?!"
"How would I know?" As she spoke, the girl started to extend her hand. But at that moment, the enormous port suddenly contracted and tightly clamped around her wrist.
"Core password not entered. Intruder identified. Detainment procedure activated!"
"Tch, I can't break free at all." Hara Shichi looked at his tightly restrained wrist.
"Stop moving around. You touched my hand," the Masked Girl said coldly.
"This is not the time to care about that... Let's think about how to get out. I don't want to get arrested," Hara Shichi said helplessly.
"Sorry, A-Qi. I was too hasty." Ai sounded annoyed with herself. "But don't worry. I anticipated this situation and already came up with a solution."
"What solution? Hurry up and tell me," Hara Shichi asked quietly.
"Call out Ghost Ogre and have her chop this stupid machine apart." Ai blinked.
"Brute-forcing it? That makes sense... Wait, no!" Hara Shichi abruptly looked at the Masked Girl beside him.
Quite a few students knew that he had Ghost Ogre as a Duel Spirit. If he summoned Ghost Ogre here, his identity would be exposed!
But at that moment, the Masked Girl spoke.
"Hey, according to the Duel Law, I can request a Duel under these circumstances. If I win, you have to let me go." As she spoke, the Masked Girl kicked the machine. "Don't play dumb. I know you can understand me."
"...Request processing. Request approved... Constructing decks... Setting virtual avatars... Codename... aaa76."
An expressionless girl appeared before the pillar of light like a projection. Holding a Duel Disk, she spoke in a mechanical voice. "1 vs 2 Mode activated. Preparing Duel."
"You can do that?!" Hara Shichi was stunned. Could they escape through a Duel even after being captured?
"What are you surprised about? Didn't I tell you already?" Ai knocked on Hara Shichi's head. "It's only been a few days and you've already forgotten? Or did you simply not listen when I told you about it?"
"Enough talking. Get your deck ready," the Masked Girl said flatly.
"How am I supposed to do that with one hand?" Hara Shichi waved his right hand. The silver Duel Disk was already attached, but how was he supposed to load a deck into the Duel Disk on his right arm using his right hand?
"I'll load yours, and you'll load mine." The girl extended her left hand. "Where's your deck?"
"On the left side of my waist. Lift my jacket and you'll be able to get it," Hara Shichi said instinctively.
"Fine." The girl slipped her hand into Hara Shichi's coat and was just about to feel around when he suddenly twisted aside.
"Wait!" Hara Shichi hurriedly said.
"What is it? Time is tight. Just say it," the Masked Girl said with some displeasure.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Hara Shichi's temple. The deck on the left side of his waist was his Marincess deck. Wasn't he the only person in the entire school who used Marincess? If he used it here, would that not directly confirm his identity?
"The right side. I remembered wrong. My deck is on the right." Hara Shichi coughed twice. He had no choice but to use that pile of miscellaneous cards. Hopefully, this Masked Girl was capable enough.
"How can you even remember your deck's location wrong?" The Masked Girl quickly found Hara Shichi's deck and inserted it into his Duel Disk.
"Where's your deck?" Hara Shichi asked.
The Masked Girl froze, then quietly said, "On my right thigh."
"...Huh?" Hara Shichi nearly thought he had misheard.
"Hurry up!" the girl said irritably.
"Oh, right... Sorry for the trouble." Hara Shichi swallowed and extended his hand.
"Wait!" Ai loudly stopped him. "Are you two idiots? Why not take out your own decks, then have the other person put them into the Duel Disks?"
Hara Shichi had just extended his hand when he pulled it back.
"Only one hand is locked up! Your other hand can still move! Or do you just want an excuse to touch a girl's thigh?!" Ai glared coldly at Hara Shichi.
"I forgot because I panicked." Hara Shichi coughed dryly and turned to the Masked Girl. "By the way, you can take out your own deck with your own hand, right?"
"..." The Masked Girl's body stiffened. The mask on her face trembled slightly, but she quickly calmed down. She reached beneath her skirt, took out a deck, and said to Hara Shichi, "Put your deck into my Duel Disk, and put my deck into yours."
"I see." Hara Shichi instantly understood what the Masked Girl meant. With only one hand free, they could not draw a deck from the Duel Disk on their own arm. In practice, they could only operate the Duel Disk on the other person's arm.
"According to the rules, you may not view your teammate's hand. Otherwise, it will be treated as cheating," aaa76 suddenly said.
"Don't worry. We won't pull such boring tricks," the Masked Girl said disdainfully.
The two quickly inserted their decks into each other's Duel Disks.
"Then... Duel."
"Duel."
"Duel."
As he spoke, Hara Shichi reached toward the Duel Disk on the Masked Girl's arm and drew five cards.
"Wait. You're too close."
"Then move your hand over a little..."
"..."
aaa76 silently watched the two of them without saying anything.
"Anyway, I get to go first." Hara Shichi looked at the five cards he had drawn and suddenly felt a stomachache.
His so-called miscellaneous pile was actually a collection of cards he could not use but had been too lazy or too reluctant to throw away, saving them for later. So... why had he not thrown away White Rabbit back then?
Looking at the adorable White Rabbit in his hand, Hara Shichi felt for the first time that rabbits were such detestable creatures.
"Could you bring your Duel Disk closer?" Hara Shichi said to the Masked Girl.
The Masked Girl lowered her hand of cards and extended her arm.
"I enter the Main Phase. I set one monster, set two cards, and end my turn," Hara Shichi said.
"Then it's my turn," aaa76 said. "My turn, draw."
"I enter the Main Phase. I activate the effect of Lord of D.—Dragon's Dictator—in my hand. I send one Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to the Graveyard, then Special Summon this card from my hand."
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" Hara Shichi was stunned. He had not expected his opponent to use a Blue-Eyes White Dragon deck. Although Blue-Eyes White Dragon was extremely popular and well-known, the series itself was not particularly strong. His miscellaneous pile might not be able to beat it, but this mysterious Masked Girl certainly could. They had this in the bag.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card—Monster Reborn. Special Summon—Blue-Eyes White Dragon from the Graveyard."
Like a silver meteor streaking across the sky, a massive dragon with emerald eyes appeared on the Duel field.
"I enter the Battle Phase. Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack the monster on your field."
An intense white light blasted from Blue-Eyes White Dragon's mouth, flipping over the Set Monster Card on the field. A rabbit chewing on a carrot appeared in a daze, only to disperse into the air before it could understand what was happening.
"That was... White Rabbit? Are you serious??" The Masked Girl instantly recognized the monster defeated by Blue-Eyes White Dragon and could not help voicing her confusion.
"I can't help it. I'm actually a very weak Duelist. My deck is full of weak monsters like White Rabbit, so I'm counting on you," Hara Shichi said shamelessly in response to the Masked Girl's doubts.
The Masked Girl froze, then said in a low voice, "I... am actually also 'very weak.'"
This was bad!
Hara Shichi suddenly realized it. Since he was worried that using his usual deck would reveal his identity, the girl in front of him would surely have considered the same thing. So she had brought a miscellaneous pile or a deck she normally did not use too?!
Hara Shichi looked up at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the opponent's field, feeling fear toward Blue-Eyes White Dragon for the first time in his life...
"Dragon's Dictator, attack directly."
A massive impact rushed toward the two of them.
Hara Shichi & Masked Girl: 4000 LP → 2800 LP.
"Is the LP shared?" Hara Shichi immediately noticed that.
"Not only that, your field and Graveyard are shared as well," aaa76 said. "That is the only way to make it fair."
"Tch, what a pain," the Masked Girl said unhappily.
"I set two cards and end my turn," aaa76 said.
"My turn, draw." The Masked Girl drew a card from the Duel Disk on Hara Shichi's arm, then swiftly slapped a Monster Card onto the Duel Disk.
"I enter the Main Phase. I Special Summon Cyber Dragon from my hand!"
Cyber Dragon: ATK 2100/DEF 1600. If only your opponent controls a monster, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.
Unlike Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Cyber Dragon had a metallic texture born of machinery, cold yet frenzied.
"Next, I activate the Equip Spell Card—Axe of Despair. The equipped monster gains 1000 ATK."
Cyber Dragon: ATK 2100 → 3100!
"Aren't you pretty strong? Its attack is higher than Blue-Eyes White Dragon now." Hara Shichi praised her. It seemed he had lost heart too early.
"Let's hope it goes smoothly." The Masked Girl commanded Cyber Dragon, "Enter the Battle Phase. Cyber Dragon, attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
Cyber Dragon opened its iron jaws, revealing sharp fangs as a blinding energy blast shot from its mouth. Yet just before it struck Blue-Eyes White Dragon, a transparent mirror suddenly appeared and reflected the blast back.
"I chain and activate Sacred Barrier—Mirror Force." aaa76 flipped over a Set Card. "This card can only be activated when an opponent's monster declares an attack. Destroy all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls."
"I knew it." The Masked Girl watched as Cyber Dragon turned into a pile of scrap metal and vanished from the Duel field, showing no surprise whatsoever. "I set two cards and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn again. Draw." aaa76 drew a card from her deck.
"This is bad. We don't have any monsters on the field now. If she attacks directly with Blue-Eyes White Dragon, our LP will hit zero," Ai said worriedly as she looked at Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"It's fine. I still have a countermeasure." Hara Shichi looked at the Set Card on the field.
The moment Hara Shichi finished speaking, aaa76 suddenly made her move. "I enter the Main Phase and activate the Spell Card—Harpie's Feather Duster. Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on your field."
"Pfft!" Hara Shichi nearly spat out blood. What kind of nonsense was this? She drew Harpie's Feather Duster right off the top?
"Not so fast!" The Masked Girl directly pulled Hara Shichi's arm over and operated his Duel Disk. "I chain and activate Constellar Aldebaran, banish Cyber Dragon from the Graveyard, and Special Summon—Cyber Laser Dragon from my hand. I continue the chain and activate Messenger of Peace!"
"I continue the chain as well." Hara Shichi flipped over the Set Card he had placed earlier. "Trap Card—Rival Appears! Select one face-up monster on your opponent's field. Special Summon one monster from my hand with the same Level as the selected monster. I select your Dragon's Dictator and Special Summon Demonic Imp Bloodstone from my hand!"
"Only one card was traded away?" aaa76 looked at the single Set Card sent to the Graveyard and said flatly, "In that case, I activate the effect of Dragon's Dictator in my hand once again. I send one Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to the Graveyard and Special Summon it from my hand."
"Next, I activate Dragon Shrine. Send one Dragon-Type monster from my deck to the Graveyard. If the monster sent to the Graveyard by this effect is a Dragon-Type Normal Monster, I can send one more Dragon-Type monster from my deck to the Graveyard."
"I send Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the Graveyard, then send Jet Dragon to the Graveyard as well."
"One, two, three... A-Qi, she has gathered three Blue-Eyes White Dragons between her field and Graveyard. She wants to summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Ai hurriedly warned him upon seeing this.
"Don't worry. She has already used all the cards in her hand. Without Polymerization, the Blue-Eyes White Dragons in the Graveyard are meaningless." Although aaa76 had made a whole string of flashy plays, she had merely stocked up two Graveyard resources that might not even be useful.
Before you continue