Duelists Never Surrender!

"How do I show it? By dueling her?" Hara Shichi looked at the collection of scythes, swords, and other weapons at Ghost Ogre's waist, and the talisman she held in her hand. She looked like a character straight out of an action anime.

"Uh, I'm not sure either," Yukikaze said, scratching her face.

"In times like these, it's up to me, this God, to step in," Ai declared from the side.

"You have a way?" Hara Shichi asked curiously.

"It's simple. Just stand in front of her, and I'll unleash my pure Duel Power. She'll definitely bow down and submit!" Ai said with full confidence.

"..."

Hara Shichi could tell that neither of them was very reliable.

He would have to do it himself.

Ghost Ogre, who was walking along, suddenly noticed a figure appear before her. She instinctively gripped her sword hilt and asked warily, "Who are you?"

"A Duelist who has come for you," Hara Shichi stated his desire plainly.

"You want me to follow you?" Ghost Ogre loosened her grip on her sword hilt. Her deep crimson eyes narrowed slightly but quickly returned to normal.

"I'm sorry, I have a mission. There are stronger Duel Spirits on this mountain than me. Young Duelist, go find them," Ghost Ogre refused.

"A mission? Can you tell me what your mission is?" Hara Shichi had no intention of letting Ghost Ogre go.

Ghost Ogre blinked and turned her gaze back to Hara Shichi.

"Perhaps... you can try," Ghost Ogre murmured. Then, she said to Hara Shichi, "Follow me. I'll take you to the trial grounds."

"Huh? The trial grounds? Is that legend true?" Yukikaze peeked out from behind a nearby tree.

"You're... that student who's been coming to the mountain recently?" Ghost Ogre said instinctively upon seeing Yukikaze.

"You know me?" Yukikaze asked in surprise.

"I've seen you many times. I thought you were here looking for powerful Duel Spirits, but you always returned empty-handed," Ghost Ogre replied.

Yukikaze said sheepishly, "As a weak Duelist like me, no Duel Spirit would want to follow me..."

"Being weak isn't scary," Ghost Ogre interrupted. "Being content with weakness is scary. Don't stay in the same place forever."

"Oh, oh..." Yukikaze said guiltily. Why did she feel like she was being lectured by a Duel Spirit...

"The trial grounds were established thirty years ago by the Dean of Duelist Academy. At that time, a powerful Duel Spirit appeared in the academy and was causing havoc. So, the Dean personally sealed it in the back mountains and set up numerous trials. He declared that only Duelists who passed the trials could control that Duel Spirit."

"And my mission is to select Duelists who I believe are qualified to participate in the trials, while also preventing those with ill intentions from obtaining this power," Ghost Ogre explained.

"Why me?" Hara Shichi asked, confused. "Do you think I can pass the trials?"

"Because... before I realized it, the back mountains seemed to have become a forbidden area," Ghost Ogre said with a somber expression. "Before, I used to observe Duelists one by one, judge if they met the requirements for the trials, and then appear before them to lead them to the trial grounds."

"But I don't know when it happened, no more students came to the back mountains. Until ten years ago, when a student sneaked into the back mountains, they told me that the back mountains had been designated a forbidden area by the school."

"Did that student from ten years ago not pass the trials?" Yukikaze asked curiously.

Ghost Ogre hesitated for a moment, seemingly reluctant to recall the event, but still said, "That student kept rambling about how 'Little Mi' and 'Na Ma' were the strongest Duel Spirits, and that he didn't need any of those messy Duel Spirits. Then he laughed three times and left."

"Crazy person." After saying that, Ghost Ogre couldn't help but curse.

"Ah! A Duel Spirit cursed!" Yukikaze exclaimed.

"..."

That student... it couldn't be, no, it was 100% Professor Nafili, Hara Shichi thought, tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"We're here. This is the entrance to the trial grounds," Ghost Ogre said as they arrived in front of a lake.

"The entrance is at the bottom of the lake?" Yukikaze asked in surprise.

"Yes, you two step back a bit. I'm going to draw my sword," Ghost Ogre said, placing her fair, tender hand on her sword hilt.

"Draw your sword? What for?" Yukikaze didn't understand, but she soon found out the answer.

With a flash of her blade, the previously calm lake surface was cut in half as if it were tofu, revealing a crack about three meters wide. Within the crack, a staircase leading all the way to the bottom of the lake appeared before them.

"As long as there's enough power to impact the lake's surface, the stairs will appear," Ghost Ogre said, sheathing her chilling blade.

"So that's how it is. I thought you actually cut the lake in half," Yukikaze said, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.

Ghost Ogre didn't say anything, just led the way up the stairs.

Huh? Ignoring me?

"Let's go," Hara Shichi said, patting the dazed Yukikaze.

They followed the stairs all the way down to the bottom of the lake. Perhaps because the back mountains had become a forbidden area, the lakebed was very clean, with no trash. In the center of the lakebed, an old altar stood tall.

Ghost Ogre ascended the altar, and then her snow-white eyebrows furrowed slightly. A hint of worry flashed across her delicate and adorable little face.

"What's wrong?" Hara Shichi asked, seeing that Ghost Ogre's expression seemed a little off.

"Just now, the altar was activated." Ghost Ogre said seriously.

"Someone sneaked into the trial grounds without my knowledge!"

Chapter Fourteen: Tag Duel

"Someone sneaked into the trial grounds without my knowledge," Ghost Ogre said.

"Does anyone else know about this place besides you?" Yukikaze asked.

"Impossible. Anyone who doesn't pass the trial has their memory erased," Ghost Ogre replied, shaking her head. "There's no point in staying here and guessing. Let's go inside."

"How do we activate the altar?"

"Just infuse it with Duel Power," Ghost Ogre said. She then crouched down and placed her palm on the altar. Immediately, the altar lit up with a white glow. Before Hara Shichi could react, they found themselves in a vast underground space.

"The first trial is solving a situation. You must do it within one turn... Wait, who are you?" Ghost Ogre was about to explain the rules to Hara Shichi when she suddenly noticed two men in black robes who had appeared in the space without anyone knowing.

"It seems Lord Wood's concerns were valid. I didn't expect stray mice to actually sneak in," one of the black-robed men cackled.

"They look like students from the Duelist Academy, tsk tsk tsk. I love picking on kids the most," the other black-robed man said.

"Something's wrong. Yukikaze, run!" Hara Shichi shouted to Yukikaze, only to see her looking at him with teary eyes, raising her fair wrist.

"Something strange seems to have wrapped around my wrist."

"This is... a Dark Duel! The loser will have their soul devoured!" Ghost Ogre exclaimed, looking at the black mist that had ensnared Yukikaze's wrist.

"A-Qi, your wrist too!" Ai quickly warned.

Hara Shichi raised his wrist and discovered that, at some point, a black mist had also wrapped around it.

"Don't worry, neither of you will escape. Once a Dark Game begins, no one can end it!" the black-robed men said with sinister laughter.

"Snap!"

With a snap of fingers, the black mist spread instantly, enveloping Hara Shichi and Yukikaze like a dueling field.

"Now then... let me hunt your souls!" the black-robed man declared, activating his Duel Disk.

Black-Robed Man 1: 4000 LP Black-Robed Man 2: 4000 LP vs Hara Shichi: 4000 LP Yukikaze: 4000 LP

"A tag duel? I've never done one before!" Yukikaze exclaimed. In all her time as a duelist, this was her first tag duel.

"It's okay. The rules for tag duels are mostly the same as regular duels, except no one can attack on the first turn," Hara Shichi reassured her.

"Beep!"

Just then, Hara Shichi's Duel Disk chimed.

"Looks like I'm going first," Hara Shichi said. "My turn, draw!"

"Huh, this card is... Ghost Ogre?" Hara Shichi subconsciously turned his head and saw Ghost Ogre standing behind him, watching him silently.

"I can't stop this duel, so this is the only way I can help you," Ghost Ogre explained.

"I understand. Then, I'll count on you," Hara Shichi replied.

Hara Shichi placed a monster card on his Duel Disk. "Main Phase 1, I Normal Summon Marincess Jellyfish."

The cute Jellyfish appeared on the dueling field, but its usual bright smile had faded due to the surrounding black mist, replaced by a worried frown.

"Pfft!" Black-Robed Man 1 couldn't help but laugh. "Summoning such a weak monster. It looks like you've already given up resisting."

"Whether something is weak or not isn't up to you to decide," Hara Shichi said coldly. "I activate Jellyfish's effect. I Tribute it to Special Summon one Marincess monster from my Deck. I Special Summon Marincess Puddingscess in Defense Position."

"Next, I activate Puddingscess's effect. By banishing Jellyfish from my Graveyard, I Special Summon Marincess Messenger from my Deck. Then, I activate Messenger's effect to add Mage of the Madolche Night from my Deck to my hand."

"I'll set three cards and end my turn. Yukikaze, it's your turn." Hara Shichi said.

"I know. My turn, draw!" Yukikaze gently drew a card from her Deck.

"Here it comes!" Yukikaze smiled happily as she looked at the card she drew.

"I Normal Summon Lone Fire Blossom!" Yukikaze summoned the card she just drew. "I activate Lone Fire Blossom's effect. Once per turn, I can Tribute 1 face-up Plant monster I control; Special Summon 1 Plant monster from my Deck. I Tribute Lone Fire Blossom on my field to Special Summon—Rikka Princess!"

An elegant woman in a purple gown, holding a crystal-clear umbrella, appeared on the dueling field.

Rikka Princess: Level 8, LIGHT, Plant, ATK 2600 / DEF 1200.

"Ooh, an ATK of 2600. Looks like you're a bit stronger than your classmate," Black-Robed Man 1 said mockingly. "I wonder how much such a powerful card would fetch on the black market?"

"Hmph, I won't let that happen!" Yukikaze declared, placing a monster from her hand onto her Duel Disk. "I activate Rikka Grass's effect. This card can be Special Summoned from the hand when a monster on my field is Tributed."

As soon as Yukikaze finished speaking, a little girl with blonde twin-tails appeared before everyone. Compared to the mature older sister beside her, the young girl only had 800 ATK, but she had 1800 DEF, so Yukikaze summoned her in Defense Position.

"Next, I activate the Field Spell Card—Marincess World!"

After speaking, Yukikaze looked around. The seawater that should have appeared with the Field Spell Card didn't materialize for some reason, and the dark mist still enveloped Hara Shichi and Yukikaze.

"It's useless. In a Dark Duel, there is only one Field: this bottomless mist!" Black-Robed Man 2 explained.

"But Marincess World's effect still activated successfully. All my WATER monsters gain 500 ATK and lose 400 DEF."

Rikka Princess: ATK 2600 / DEF 1200 → ATK 3100 / DEF 800. Rikka Grass: ATK 800 / DEF 1800 → ATK 1300 / DEF 1400.

"It's not over yet," Yukikaze said, placing another Spell Card on the field. "I continue by activating the Continuous Spell Card—Marincess Stage. This card's effect prevents my WATER monsters from being destroyed by battle with monsters that are not WATER monsters."

With that, the defense was complete. Yukikaze looked at the attack power of Rikka Princess on her field, which was even higher than Blue-Eyes White Dragon's, and the tension in her heart eased.

"I'll set one card, and end my turn," Yukikaze said, concluding her turn.

"Since you're both done, it's my turn," Black-Clad Man #1 said. "My turn, draw!"

"Oh ho, I didn't expect to draw it so quickly," the Black-Clad Man said with a knowing smile.

"In that case, let me show you the abyss of despair," he shouted, raising the card in his hand.

"I activate the Spell Card—Black Hole!"

"Its effect is to destroy all monsters on the field!"

Chapter Fifteen: Is it possible that Xyz Summoning is actually a very simple summoning method...

The powerful Black Hole swept across the entire dueling field, and the monsters on Hara Shichi's and Yukikaze's fields vanished in an instant.

"Wha... You're kidding me?" Yukikaze stared at her completely empty front field, her face pale. "My Ace Monster that I worked so hard to summon..."

"Stay calm, Yukikaze! Your LP hasn't decreased, you still have a Set Card on the field and cards in your hand. The duel has only just begun," Hara Shichi said, returning the destroyed Madolche Puddingscess and Madolche Messenger to his Deck.

"Hey, destroyed monsters should go to the Graveyard! Don't you know the rules?" Black-Clad Man #1 shouted, seeing Hara Shichi's actions.

"Idiot, that's a characteristic of the Marincess Deck. When monsters are destroyed, they return to the Deck," Black-Clad Man #2 said.

"Huh? What's the point of such a boring effect?" the Black-Clad Man scoffed upon hearing this. "Let me show you a more powerful Deck!"

With that, Black-Clad Man #1 slammed a monster onto his Duel Disk. "I'll Normal Summon Fiend's Hand North River II! And activate its effect: on the turn this card is Normal Summoned, in addition to your Normal Summon, you can only once summon 1 monster that has 'Fiend's Hand' in its name. Then, I'll Normal Summon again from my hand..."