Duelists Never Surrender!

"Hold on, I'll chain your Fiend's Hand North River II's effect activation with the Counter Trap Card - Mage of the Madolche Night. You can only activate this card if there are no monsters in your Graveyard. Negate the activation of an Effect Monster's effect." Hara Shichi interrupted.

"Tch!" Black-Clad Man #1 clicked his tongue. "You think that'll stop me? I'll set one card, then immediately activate this card, Phantom Knights Dark Cloth Armor!"

"Wait! That's a Trap Card! You can't activate a Trap Card the same turn it's set!" Yukikaze shouted, noticing the red-bordered card.

"Hmph, ignorant brat, let me tell you this card's effect!" Black-Clad Man #1 sneered. "If there are no Trap Cards in your Graveyard, this card can be activated the same turn it's set. After this card is activated, it becomes a Normal Monster (Warrior/DARK/Level 4/ATK 0/DEF 300) and is Special Summoned to the Monster Zone in Defense Position (it is not treated as a Trap Card)."

"Since I have no Traps in my Graveyard, I can activate it right away!" The black-clad man placed the card in the Monster Zone.

"Now, all the conditions are met!" the black-clad man shouted.

"There are two Level 4 monsters, be careful, it's coming," Yi reminded Hara Shichi.

Black-Clad Man #1 raised a card, shouting to the sky: "With two Level 4 monsters, I overlay Fiend's Hand North River II and Dark Cloth Armor! The two monsters form an Xyz Network! Xyz Summon – Fiend Death God Thanatos!"

A dark warrior rode a warhorse from hell, its crimson eyes flashing with a dangerous light, its sword seeming ready to cleave an enemy's head at any moment.

"Xyz Summon?" Yukikaze exclaimed.

"Hahaha, never seen it before? That's right, this is Xyz Summon!" Black-Clad Man #1 roared with laughter.

"Then what's its effect?" Yukikaze asked nervously.

"Effect? Its effect is... you thought I'd tell you?" Black-Clad Man #1 sneered. "Don't be naive, kid. This is a life-or-death dark duel, so feel the fear!"

"Its effect is once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to activate. This turn, this card is unaffected by the effects of monsters other than this card. This effect can be activated on your opponent's turn as well," Yi whispered in Hara Shichi's ear. As a goddess, she naturally knew all card effects.

"I know," Hara Shichi nodded.

"Aren't you going to tell Yukikaze?" Yi asked curiously.

"No, I can finish it next turn," Hara Shichi said, looking at the monster on the field.

"I'll set one card. Turn end!" Black-Clad Man #1 declared.

"You talk too much, hurry up and finish it," Black-Clad Man #2 said. "My turn, draw!"

"Entering the Main Phase, I activate the Field Spell Card - Fusion Regeneration Facility. Then I activate its effect, once per turn, you can discard 1 card from your hand to activate. Add 1 'Fusion' from your Deck or Graveyard to your hand."

As he spoke, Black-Clad Man #2 sent a card from his hand to the Graveyard. "I discard White Rabbit from my hand and search for a Fusion from my Deck."

"White Rabbit? Hara Shichi! You can't let him search for it!" Yi shouted anxiously. "A Deck that runs both Fusion and Normal Monsters, his target is that monster!"

"I know!" Hara Shichi used a card from his hand without hesitation. "I'll chain the effect of Ghost Ogre from my hand! When the effect of a monster on the field is activated, or when the effect of a Spell/Trap Card that is already face-up on the field is activated, you can send this card from your hand or field to the Graveyard to activate. Destroy that card on the field!"

A small figure appeared on the field. Ghost Ogre leaped up, her small, delicate hands gripping a hilt. Then, with a flash of light, Fusion Regeneration Facility was cut in half.

"That card is Ghost Ogre?! It really is powerful!" Yukikaze was shocked.

"This... this couldn't be... the hand traps that only those top Duelists possess?!" Black-Clad Man #1 exclaimed excitedly. "We're rich! We're going to be rich!"

"Ghost Ogre... I was fortunate enough to watch a video of a top Duelist once. In that video, someone did use this card," #2 murmured. "Top Duelist... do I have a chance to become a top Duelist too?"

"Nonsense, of course you do! As long as we win this duel, all their decks will be ours!" Black-Clad Man #1 patted Black-Clad Man #2's shoulder.

But... there's only one Ghost Ogre. The black-clad man didn't voice his thoughts and continued, "I'll Normal Summon Agent of Creation Venus."

A winged angel appeared on the field. The angel had golden hair and a slender figure. She kept her eyes closed, her arms crossed over her chest, as if praying for something.

"I activate the effect of Agent of Creation Venus, ①: You can pay 500 LP to activate. Special Summon 1 'Sacred Sphere' from your hand or Deck."

Black-Clad Man #2: 4000 LP → 3500 LP.

This duel saw its first LP change, though it was from the opponent paying for their own effect.

As soon as the LP was paid, a crystal-clear white sphere appeared on the field.

"I'll pay again."

3500 LP → 3000 LP

Another sphere appeared on the dueling field.

"Then, I overlay the two Sacred Spheres! The two monsters form an Xyz Network! Xyz Summon – Cornflower Centaur."

A monster with a man's head and torso, and a horse's lower body, holding a spear, appeared on the dueling field.

"Xyz Summon... again?" Yukikaze was numb. Could it be that Xyz Summon was actually very simple, and anyone could learn it with a flick of their fingers?

"I'll set two cards. Turn end."

"Your turn," Black-Clad Man #2 said, looking at Hara Shichi.

Hara Shichi looked at the two giant monsters on the opponent's field and said:

"My turn, draw."

Chapter Sixteen: Senpai's Power is Invincible!

"I enter Main Phase 1," Hara Shichi said. "Next, I summon Madolche Madeleine."

"It's up to you again, Miss Witch," Hara Shichi said with a smile to the witch riding a silver fork.

Miss Witch adjusted her large hat, revealing a sly smile, as if saying, "Leave it to me!"

"I activate the effect of Madolche Madeleine. When this card is Normal Summoned or Flip Summoned, you can add 1 Madolche monster from your Deck to your hand."

"No way! I'll chain, activate the Trap Card Breakthrough Skill," Black-Clad Man #2 said, revealing his Set card. "This card allows you to negate the effect of one monster on your opponent's field. I choose your Madolche Madeleine on the field."

The witch, just as she was about to cast her spell, was interrupted by the energy released from a trap card, causing her to pout in annoyance.

"That negates your Madolche Madeleine's effect," said the second man in black.

"Hmph, you think you're the only one who can interrupt someone's combo?!" the first man in black taunted, seeing this.

But he noticed that Hara Shichi's face wasn't filled with impotent rage from his combo being broken, but rather... a smile?

"Fooled you~" Yi said with a laugh, looking at Hara Shichi's hand.

"Yeah, I really did fool you," Hara Shichi said, revealing a face-down card on his field.

"I activate the trap card—Madolche Festival! I can Special Summon any number of monsters from my hand whose names contain 'Madolche'. Monsters Special Summoned by this effect return to their owner's Deck at the end of this turn!"

"I Special Summon Madolche - Magicalized Pâtissière - Hotcake Owl from my hand!"

The bespectacled owl hopped onto the field, spreading its wings.

"So that's how it is. Your initial combo was in your hand all along, and Madolche Madeleine was just a monster you used to probe my backrow," the second man in black said, looking at the owl on the field.

"Why would you think I only have Madolche Madeleine as my initial combo?" Hara Shichi asked calmly. "In a 4000 LP environment, disrupting a monster is a pretty serious matter, wouldn't you say?"

"If that's the case, isn't it only natural to commit a lot to your initial combo?"

"The Hotcake Owl's effect can Special Summon monsters from the Deck. You've already seen it once, so why would you use your trap on Madolche Madeleine?" the first man in black complained.

No, it wasn't the owl.

The owl could only Special Summon one monster. If they had let the trap go to the owl and allowed Madolche Madeleine's effect to resolve, the monster the owl wanted to Special Summon could still have been summoned through the Festival's effect. Whether they interrupted Madolche Madeleine or the owl, the outcome would have been the same. So why did he say he was fooled?

"A monster! There must be a powerful monster in his Deck!" the second man in black suddenly became alert. "Stop him from developing his combo!"

"Huh?" The first man in black looked at the trap card he had previously set—Aggressive Erosion Infection. This card was just a searcher, not an interruption at all.

"This means you don't have any interruptions, right?" Hara Shichi instantly understood their conversation. "In that case, I won't hold back!"

"I activate the Hotcake Owl's effect, banishing Ghost Ogre from the Graveyard, and Special Summoning Madolche - Glace-Glace Mailman from my Deck!" Hara Shichi moved Ghost Ogre to the banished zone. "Next, I activate the Mailman's effect, adding one 'Madolche' Spell/Trap Card from my Deck to my hand!"

Madolche Ticket popped out of the Duel Disk, and Hara Shichi took it and inserted it directly into the Duel Disk. "I activate the Continuous Spell Card—Madolche Ticket!"

After doing all this, Hara Shichi said to Yi beside him, "Yi, let's go."

"Yeah, let's do this!" Yi placed her hand on Hara Shichi's, and colorful light began to flash and flow between them.

"Two Level 4 monsters! I overlay Madolche Madeleine and Glace-Glace Mailman on my field! These two monsters form an Xyz Network! Xyz Summon—Madolche Queen Tiramisu!"

Queen Tiramisu reappeared, a composed smile on her face. Her neat dress and silver-gray curly hair gave her an air of dignity in addition to her beauty, as if the word "elegant" was tailor-made for her.

"Xyz Summon?! Impossible! Why would this kid use Xyz Summon?!" the first man in black exclaimed, eyes wide.

"So this is your confidence?" In contrast, the second man in black was much calmer. "Go ahead, activate her effect. Isn't that your goal?"

"You don't need to tell me," Hara Shichi said. "I activate Queen Tiramisu's effect! Once per turn, by detaching 1 Xyz Material from this card, target up to 2 'Madolche' cards in your Graveyard; return them to the Deck, then target up to that many cards on your opponent's field; return them to the owner's Deck."

"What?! Returning to the Deck?" The second man in black's pupils contracted. He quickly opened his face-down card. "I activate in response! Trap Card—Threatening Roar! You cannot declare an attack this turn!"

"I..." The first man in black subconsciously started to open his face-down card as well, but looking at the monsters on the second man in black's field, the movement of his hand suddenly stopped.

"I send the Xyz Material Mailman to the Graveyard, then return the Mailman and Mage of the Madolche Night from the Graveyard to the Deck!" Hara Shichi returned these two cards from his Graveyard to the Deck, then pointed at the first man in black. "Next, I target Fiend Death God Thanatos on your field and the face-down card in your backrow; return them to the Deck!"

"You wish! I activate Fiend Death God Thanatos's effect in response! Once per turn, by detaching 1 Xyz Material from this card, this card is unaffected by the effects of monsters other than itself this turn. This effect can be activated during the opponent's turn." The first man in black said, "Then I activate the effect of the trap card Aggressive Erosion Infection! I return Fiend Giant Eagle Horas from my hand to the Deck, and add Fiend's Hand North River II from my Deck to my hand!"

"Hahaha! With this, your Queen Tiramisu's effect is wasted! When it's my turn, I can use Fiend Death God Thanatos to directly destroy your Queen Tiramisu with an attack!" the first man in black roared with laughter.

However, all he received were two sighs.

"Sigh."

"Sigh."

"Look at your field," the second man in black couldn't help but remind him.

"Huh? My field? My field isn't..." The first man in black looked at his field, his voice suddenly cut short.

On his field... there was nothing.

Chapter Seventeen: Battle Phase.

"What's going on... I activated in a chain!" the first man in black said, his voice trembling as he looked at his empty field.

"It couldn't chain," the second man in black explained. "Queen Tiramisu's effect to return cards to the Deck does not target. In other words, the moment she returned cards from the Graveyard to the Deck, her effect had already successfully activated."

"If you knew, why didn't you warn me?!" the first man in black grabbed the second man's collar and roared.

"I didn't warn you?!" the second man in black rasped. "Then tell me, why didn't you activate your face-down cards and monster effects when I activated Threatening Roar in a chain?! What were you thinking at the time? What were you hesitating about?!"

"You were thinking he might target my Centaur Cornflower on the field! Thinking you had a chance to save an Xyz Material!"

The first man in black let go. He had been hit by the truth.

At that moment, that thought had indeed flashed through his mind. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he had not chosen to activate his face-down card.

"Tsk, this is my fault! This kid isn't like ordinary students. We have to cooperate if we want to win this duel!" the first man in black said. "After we win, you can have the Deck."

There was no more cooperation. The situation had already fallen into disadvantage.

The opponent used one Xyz monster and one Xyz Material to trade for three cards, and the result was... The second man in black looked at the first man in black's empty field and made his judgment.

He wouldn't get to see his own turn.

Hara Shichi didn't stop his actions despite their argument. "When a Madolche card returns from the GY to the Deck, I activate the effect of Madolche Ticket: If a 'Madolche' card(s) on my field or in my GY is returned to my hand or Deck by a card effect, activate this effect. Add 1 'Madolche' monster from your Deck to your hand. If you control a Fairy-Type 'Madolche' monster, you can also Special Summon it to your field in Attack Position instead of adding it to your hand."

"Since my Madolche Queen Tiramisu is Fairy-Type, I can Special Summon Glace-Glace Mailman from my Deck. Immediately after that, I activate Glace-Glace Mailman's effect, adding one Madolche Spell/Trap from my Deck to my hand."

Even though Mailman can't activate its effect if Normal Summoned, and it needs a Beast-Type Madolche on the field to activate its effect, and it always ends up in my hand, hindering my combos, and it always likes to end up in my hand... but!

It doesn't have a "Once per turn" clause for its name!

"I add Mage of the Madolche Night to my hand!" Hara Shichi once again added Mage of the Madolche Night to his hand, then set it on the field. "Since I cannot declare an attack, I end my turn."

"I... it's my turn now?" Yukikaze finally snapped back to reality. She had been so mesmerized by Hara Shichi's flashy plays that she was completely stunned.

Classmate Hara Shichi is truly amazing. Even though this is a 2v2 tag duel, he's holding his own against two opponents. Perhaps... is he actually fighting them alone? Can I really make a difference in this duel?

"Weakness isn't scary. It's accepting weakness that's scary. Don't stay in the same place forever."

She's right. I've known about the secret passage to the back mountain for ages, and I've known about the powerful Duel Spirit Ghost Ogre for ages, yet I haven't had the courage to even approach her. Ghost Ogre must have noticed me already, right? My timidity must have disappointed her.

It's so annoying.

My timid self, my cowardly self, my self that uses weakness as an excuse.

But...

"Yukikaze? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Hara Shichi asked, concerned when Yukikaze didn't make a move.

"Huh? I feel great right now." Yukikaze shook her head.

But I can't keep going like this. I'll be left behind.