Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

(By the way, here's a concept art of Gino. His main body is the tip of his hair, and his humanoid form is actually his buttocks.)

Although the cost was that Jaden himself had no monsters left on the field, he was finally able to deplete his opponent's cards until only one face-down card remained. Jaden was somewhat relieved, but it was a pity that he didn't have many cards left in his hand, only two left.

But if we use two cards and get one, surely we won't run into any more trouble...

“Your next sentence is, ‘Two cards in hand play one face-down card, the advantage is in my hands.’”

"Two cards in hand against a face-down card, the advantage is... What?!" Jaden was startled to hear Sera say what he was thinking almost simultaneously. "How did you know...?"

"'How did you know what I was going to say next?' right?" Relying on the boost that the [Quantum Cube] gave to her Prana abilities, Sera once again answered Jaden's question. She suddenly realized why Hayato Kobayashi always liked to use this method to tease his opponents; this sense of superiority was incredibly satisfying.

"I told you, your enthusiasm won't last long. You're only so optimistic because you're focused on the present. But Earth isn't humanity's eternal home, and humanity can't stay in Mother Earth's embrace forever. That's a reality that your passion and fighting spirit can't change!"

Saying things that Jaden didn't understand, Sera raised her Duel Disk, "Your deck uses the 'elements' of nature, right? There should be a limit to your unrestrained exploitation. Can you withstand the backlash from this land?"

"Trap Card [Strange World Opening] activated!"

(Also known as: Where the hell did you come from? Is this still China?)

In Sera's backcourt, the final face-down card was finally revealed, and at the same time, a ripple full of the breath of time was released from the card, wantonly reshaping the surrounding environment.

"This card can only be activated if a monster on my field is destroyed by an attack or card effect. I can place one Field Spell Card with the same name that is not in the Field Zone from my Deck onto the Field Zone face up. I choose this card!"

As the [Strange Realm Opening] was activated, the fluctuations in spacetime gradually subsided, revealing a completely different landscape. The card Sera activated at this moment was no longer the Field Spell Card [Garden of Insect Temptation], which she had used once before, but rather a rather familiar world!

"Field Deployment—" Sera slammed down the card and shouted, "—Field Spell Card, [Magic Bell Cave]!"

Chapter 1500: A Multi-faceted Harmony of Saturation Barrage

"Field Deployment—" Sera slammed down the card and shouted, "—Field Spell Card, [Magic Bell Cave]!"

Looking at the familiar surroundings, Jaden couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, it's the same Field Spell Card!"

"The field spell card 'Clockwork,' which puts the side with more monsters on the field at a disadvantage and prevents monster effects from being activated or attack declarations from being made, is extremely suitable for 'Hero' to fight against multiple opponents."

After a pause, Jaden looked at Sera: "But this [Calm Bell Cave] card of mine was given to me by a senior. I have never seen anyone else use this card besides him. So where did your card come from, Sera?"

“Who knows? Maybe it’s a fake card I forged myself, maybe it’s one I found lying on the street that no one wanted, maybe it’s just someone who suddenly wanted to see the image of two identical cards matched.” Sera didn’t answer directly. “No, maybe it’s the card I snatched from your ‘senior’.”

"Stop talking nonsense!" Rather than believing that this person could snatch the card from Mr. Yugi Muto, who gave him the [Cave of the Demon], Jaden felt that he would rather believe that Mr. Hayato would remove [Summoning Exosome] from his deck.

"I'm not talking in my sleep, this is the truth." Sera had already revealed the truth. Just like with [Trapika], the [Clockwork] she was activating was also a card from the deck that Hayato had given her. Even Hayato had emphasized when he gave her the card that he wanted to see how two people who both used [Clockwork] would perform when they faced off, as if he had been certain all along that Sera would meet Jaden.

This is understandable, since there is indeed a gravitational pull between duelists. As for how Hayato obtained the [Clock Cave] – it's a card from the game's drop list, and after playing a few more games with Yugi in Domino City, Hayato naturally got it.

"The effect of 【Strange World Opening】 is not yet finished. After placing a Field Spell Card, I can show five monsters with different names from my Deck to my opponent, and my opponent can randomly choose one from them."

Sera's Duel Disk dispensed five cards, which she placed one by one on the empty Duel Disk surface, projecting five afterimages behind her.

The terrifying golden-red mechanized insect—【Machine Monster God - Super Machine Monster Insect God】;

Giant mechanical cockroach – [Super Armored Weapon Robot - Black Iron G];

The Flower Princess – [Beauty Princess - Chiryu Princess];

And the seemingly ordinary [self-destructing mosquito] and [atomic firefly].

Wait, sis? Is this still a [Trapika] deck? And putting everything else aside, aren't the art styles of those last two Insect-Type monsters a bit too different from the others?

"The feeling of pulling out a random card halfway through a card game is just too pure, it's just like the feeling Hayato-sensei gives off," Marufuji Sho commented from the sidelines. "Is that guy really not a student at Duel Academy?"

"Hmm... My magical girl radar is sounding the alarm. I do have a strong feeling of familiarity with that person." Fubuki nodded in agreement.

Suddenly turning his head to look at his side, Marufuji Sho looked startled: "Tenjōin-senpai!? When did you get here?"

"It was right when [Clock Cave] was being used. At first, I thought it was Jaden activating a Field Spell Card, but it turned out to be the card used by my opponent," Fubuki said with a smile. "I was originally planning to go straight to the finish line while you guys were being held up, but then I suddenly felt that I might run into someone I knew if I came here, so I came to check it out."

"How carefree!"

“Acting on instinct is a kind of romance, Marufuji-kun.” Fubuki said, looking at Sera with a puzzled frown. “Not just you guys, I also feel that the style of that duel has the feel of our Duel Academy students. It would be even better if there were some cards like [Catapult Turtle].

"But unfortunately, it's the eldest brother's turn now, and that woman named Sera probably won't be able to summon the [Ejector Turtle]."

But Fubuki's eyes lit up: "Oh, is it Senior Sera? That makes it no surprise."

Fubuki's words not only drew the attention of Marufuji Sho beside her, but also Jaden, who was in the middle of a duel: "Eh? We just said it looked somewhat similar. Is Sera really a student of our Duel Academy?"

"And she's Fubuki-senpai's senior...isn't that someone who graduated even earlier than Caesar?"

Seeing the surprised expressions on the faces of Judai and Marufuji Sho across from her, Sera sighed helplessly: "As expected, there is a gravity that attracts people to each other. To have my identity revealed before I even finished the trial—it's unfortunate to know you, Tenjouin Fubuki."

As she spoke, Sera removed her mask, revealing her true face.

(When creating the virtual character, I didn't honestly add a lot of filler content.)

"It really is you, senior. But saying things like that is really hurtful, isn't it?" Hearing Sera's words, Fubuki looked hurt. "My heart aches so much, it's so sad."

"That sweet talk is just too much. I get tired of it every time I hear it," Sera said, frowning as if she really disliked Fubuki.

"Senior Sera... she looks like she really dislikes you, Senior Tenjouin?" Marufuji Sho looked at Fubuki strangely. He thought that this senior, who was very good at dealing with girls and quite popular, should be good at interpersonal relationships. But when he thought about it carefully, it seemed that whether it was David Labb from the Western Branch, Ayukawa Emi-sensei from the school, or Senior Sera in front of them, they all seemed to dislike Fubuki.

"Time and time again, this guy has toyed with the hearts of countless women, yet he shows no sign of restraint." Sera's impression of Fubuki had been extremely poor since they entered school. "What a vulgar thing!"

"There's nothing I can do. After all, I'm just what you call an 'old-timer,' so I can't see too far into the future. Just living in the present is already a huge challenge." Fubuki spread her hands helplessly, then said with some regret, "But back in my first year, I never imagined that the 'new-timers' and 'elves' you talked about weren't just childish fantasies, but the reality of the world. If I had known earlier—"

It's clear that more than two years before Judai and the others enrolled in school, and even before Fubuki disappeared, Fubuki seemed to have experienced something that he still can't forget.

“I don’t really understand other things, but Fubuki said that you are our senior, Sera?” Jaden interrupted Fubuki’s recollection and looked at Sera. “Then, what were you trying to do by attacking Manjoume and the others? And you kept saying some strange things during the duel.”

"Could it be that you're not an enemy?"

“It’s really hard to understand, isn’t it, just with words.” Sera shook her head. Even if it wasn’t a “New-Type” like Hayato, but rather her brother Deva, a former “Planar” who had touched a higher dimension, Jaden wouldn’t be so slow to realize that he had no hostility towards him until now. “What exactly did Mr. Hayato see in this gravity-bound soul?”

"Let's continue the duel; a duel is a more direct answer."

Sera repeated what she had said before the duel began, “This is a trial, a trial from the past. Only by overcoming the past can one be transformed, that’s what I believe. So now, I’ve laid the past before you, and it’s up to you to choose your own future.”

As Sera finished speaking, the phantom images of the five monsters behind her disappeared, turning back into five cards with only the backs of the cards. They overlapped and then unfolded again, waiting for Jaden to make a choice.

"The monster you choose will be Special Summoned to my field, and the remaining cards will return to the deck."

After glancing at the five cards above Sera's head, Jaden said, "Although I haven't looked closely at the effects of the five cards, because of [Clockwork], even if you Special Summon a monster, you won't be able to attack or activate its effects because I don't have any monsters on my field, which would mean you have more monsters on your field."

"In that case, it should be the same no matter which one is Special Summoned, and since it's random anyway, I'll just choose the one in the middle!"

As Jaden made his choice, all five cards above Sera's head were revealed. [Exploding Mosquito] and [Atomic Firefly] were on the left and right sides respectively. The second and fourth cards were the formidable [Machine Monster God - Super Machine Monster Insect God] and [Super Armored Weapon Robot - Black Iron G]. The card in the middle was the only Plant-Type monster among the five cards—[Beauty Princess - Chiru-hime].

The other four cards transformed into streaks of light and flew back into Sera's deck. Sera then flipped over the last card remaining on her Duel Disk: "Did you avoid the impending calamity and embark on the right path without deviation? It is indeed the choice of an idealist. But even idealists who lead the way in progress cannot avoid being swallowed up by bureaucracy and the masses."

"At your choice, [Beauty Princess - Chiru-hime] will be Special Summoned to my field!"

【Beauty Princess - Chiru Princess】【8☆/Location】

[Plant Tribe/Effect]

[1800/2800]

"The attack and defense stats are so high, but it's really lucky that it avoided [Exploding Mosquito] and [Atomic Firefly]." Fubuki breathed a sigh of relief for Jaden. "After all, Jaden only has 1000 life points left, and those two monsters both have a last-word effect that can avoid the damage from [Demon Bell Cave]."

"Huh? Big brother's luck is really good." Marufuji Sho said with relief, but also a little nervous. "However, big brother only has two cards left in his hand. He has to deal with the opponent's monster under the restrictions of [Demon Bell Cave]. It seems like it will be a tough fight."

Although Marufuji said that, Jaden showed no anxiety looking at [Benhime-Chiruhime] on the field. Instead, he was full of fighting spirit as he threw himself back into the duel: "I've chosen a powerful monster as my opponent, but that suits me just fine. My [Hero]s haven't reached their limit yet!"

"Activate the Spell Card [Warrior Survival]! Add one Warrior-Type monster from my Graveyard to my hand."

Jaden retrieved a card from the graveyard and showed it to Sera, saying, "The card I chose is this one: [E·hero Bubble Man]."

"Don't forget I haven't performed a Normal Summon this turn. Now I'm going to Normal Summon [E·hero Bubble Man] from my hand in Attack Position, and since I only have one of him on my field, I'll activate his effect when he's successfully summoned: I draw two cards from my deck!"

Because of the strict activation conditions, neither of the two effects of [E·hero Bubble Man] is limited to once per turn. This actually benefits Jaden, allowing him to draw a card a second time this turn using the effect of [E·hero Bubble Man], increasing the number of cards in his hand.

Meanwhile, because Jaden summoned a monster, making the number of monsters on both sides roughly equal, Sera's [Benhime - Chiruhime] also moved its body and seemed to have temporarily recovered its ability to activate its effect.

[Yujo Judai: 1000LP, hand size 2→3]

After drawing his card, Jaden played the other card from his hand, saying, "Next is this card, a magic card called 'Demon's Dressing Room,' which requires 800 Life Points to activate. Take my Life Points, and I'll activate this card!"

In the Jaden arena, a stage was raised, covered by a red cloth, giving it a mysterious appearance. However, the price for its appearance was that Jaden's already meager Life Points plummeted further, leaving him with only 200 points!

[Yujo Judai: 1000→200LP, Hand 3→2]

"I flip over the top four cards of my deck, and then I Special Summon two of the Level 3 or lower Normal Monsters—Level 3 [E·hero Wingman] and [E·hero Burst Lady]—to my field, and return the rest of the cards to the deck."

Jaden placed the two other cards he had flipped over—[Thunder King] and [Lava Demon]—back into the deck, and waved his hand, "Come forth, the star duo of [E·hero]—[E·hero Wingman] and [E·hero Burst Girl]!"

The stage curtain rises, and [E·hero Wingman] and [E·hero Burst Girl] appear together at Jaden's call. Although this makes Jaden's field look more lively, the increase in the number of monsters also restricts Jaden's control by [Demon Bell Cave]!

"Oh no! [Clock Cave] has prevented Jaden from attacking or activating monster effects!" Fubuki frowned. "I thought Jaden might use [Sudden Mutation] to Special Summon [E·Hero New Bubble Man] to deal with the opponent's powerful monster, but now he can't even attack."

"However, at least the [Demon's Dressing Room] helped Big Brother Special Summon [E·hero Wingman] and [E·hero Burst Girl]. If it were a fused [E·hero] like [E·hero Flame Wingman]... it still wouldn't work. Its attack power is still no match for [Ultimate Complete Form Moth], and it's also held back by [E·hero Bubble Man] and can't attack."

Marufuji Sho also looked distressed, "If only there were a Fusion Monster that could utilize all the monsters on Big Brother's field, but unfortunately, we're still one material short of [E·Hero Eternal]..."

Just then, Jaden spoke up: "No, I've already gathered enough materials, Sho, they're in my graveyard."

"I previously searched for the [Fusion] attribute in order to Fusion Summon [E·Hero Absolute Zero], but I ended up sending [Demon King of the Swamp] to the Graveyard. Another relatively less used effect of its is that it can replace one specified Fusion Material Monster in a Fusion Summon!"

Showing off the Miracle Fusion he drew using the effect of [E·Hero Bubble Man], Jaden said, "Activate [Miracle Fusion]! Banish all three-body monsters on my field and [Swamp Demon King] from my Graveyard as Fusion Material!"

"Earth, water, wind, and fire, under this miraculous power, gave birth to the fifth element! The five radiances merged into one—'Expectation,' 'Awakening,' 'Hope,' 'Courage,' and finally, 'Soul,' here, Oppa-lei!"

A being radiating an invincible aura appeared amidst golden light!

"Four elements finally fused, level 10☆!"

"Breaking News! [E·hero Immortal]!"

【E·hero Immortal】【10☆/Light】

[Warrior Race/Effect/Effect]

[2900/2600]

"When [E·hero Eternal] is successfully Special Summoned, its effect activates!" In the instant the four elements merged into one, as the number of monsters on the field returned to one, Jaden regained the ability to activate monster effects, waving his hand and saying, "Return all banished cards of both players to their respective decks and shuffle them!"

"Everyone, come back to me!"

Under the miraculous light of [E·hero Eternal], cards such as [E·hero Bubble Man], which had just been banished, and [N·Water Wave Dolphin], which had been banished earlier from the back side, all flew back into Jaden's deck, making his deck suddenly much thicker.

Not only that, he pointed to Sera's field: "And there's the second effect of [E·Hero Eternal]: for each monster with the same attribute as it on the opponent's field, [E·Hero Eternal] gains 300 ATK. And another effect of [E·Hero Eternal] is that in addition to its original LIGHT attribute, this card can also be used as an EARTH, WATER, WIND, or FIRE monster!"

"Because the opponent has the Earth-attribute [Red Princess - Chiru-hime] on the field, [E·Hero Immortal]'s attack power increases by 300 points!"

【E·hero Immortal】【ATK2900→3200】

"Does your attack power exceed the defense power of [Benhime-Chiruhime]?" Sera's expression didn't change much. "However, [Benhime-Chiruhime] is in defense position on my field, so no matter how high your [E·Hero Immortal]'s attack power is, it's meaningless if it can't deal damage!"