Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

“Yes, that’s right.” Jaden drew another card from his remaining two, “Then, let’s use this card to give it a boost. Unquenchable Passion, Spell Card [H-Fiery Heart] activated!”

"This card increases the ATK of one face-up monster I control by 500 until the end of this turn. Also, if it attacks a Defense Position monster, it inflicts additional damage to my opponent equal to the amount of its ATK exceeding the DEF of the attacked monster!"

"Burn your life, [E·hero]!"

【E·hero Immortal】【ATK3200→3700】

"Then let's enter the battle phase, and go, [E·hero]!" In this unusually long first main phase, Jaden and Sera fought each other for a long time, but finally it came to an end, the moment of conclusion. "Attack [Beniki-Chiru-hime]!"

"A multi-faceted saturation bombardment!"

Chapter 1501 I think I'll never forget you.

It's not over yet.

Sera glanced at her grave and thought to herself.

She has a "Trapika of the Hollow" in her Graveyard. She can Special Summon another "Trapika" monster from her Graveyard by banishing herself. However, due to "Clockwork," even if a new "Trapika" is summoned, she will be unable to activate its monster effects because of the increased number of monsters on her field.

However, if Jaden destroys his own [Benhime-Chiruhime], that would be a different story.

With the blessing of [H-Heart of Fire], [E·hero Immortal]'s attack power increased to 3700 points and gained the effect of defense penetration. However, my own [Red Princess - Chiru Princess] has a defense power of 2800 points, so the damage I will deal to myself will only be 900 points.

You have 2000 Life Points remaining, and after taking this battle damage, you will have 1100 Life Points remaining. However, the destroyed [Beauty Princess - Chiru Princess] will activate its effect and Special Summon one Plant-Type monster from your Deck to your field, except for [Beauty Princess - Chiru Princess], such as [Sakura Princess - Talia], whose two effects do not need to be activated.

In conjunction with the other Trappet Special Summoned by the Trappet of Lutia in its own graveyard, it can even "cut off one head and grow two heads" like the legendary monster Hydra, destroying one monster but Special Summoning two monsters.

The advantage lies in—

"At this moment, I will activate this last Quick-Play Spell Card from my hand!" Jaden shouted as he inserted the card into the Spell Trap Zone, "My final Fusion, not a Fusion—[Duel Fusion]!"

Responding to the card played by Jaden, E·hero Eternal Knight, whose fists were already burning with the fervent fire of [H-Fiery Heart], was once again enveloped by a surge of electric-like fighting spirit, the source of which was [Beniki-Chiruhime] on the field of Sera?

"【Duel Fusion】is a Quick-Play Spell Card that can only be activated once per turn, and can only be activated when an attack is declared when a Fusion Monster on my field battles an opponent's monster. Under the effect of this card, the opponent's power will also be fused into the power of my monster. This is the full power of 【E·hero Eternal】, the master of the four elements, his ultimate state!"

"Not just the amplification of earth attribute, but the complete absorption of the opponent's power, and then the end, [E·hero]!"

Lightning and fire were reshaped into a sword in the hands of [E·hero Eternal Warrior]. Holding the "Thunderfire Sword" high and gripping it with both hands, [E·hero Eternal Warrior] slashed it forcefully towards [Benhime-Chiruhime].

Then, the four flowing elements merged into a torrent of dazzling golden light!

—It's common knowledge that Saber, wielding a sword, can unleash a beam attack.

【Beauty Princess - Chiryu Princess】【1800/2800】

【E·hero Immortal】【ATK3700→5500】

The power of [Duel Fusion] is to increase the ATK of Jaden's Fusion Monster by the ATK of the opponent's monster until the end of the Damage Step. Theoretically, this is a powerful card that can unleash amazing power even under overwhelming disadvantage, enough to defeat the strong with the weak, but that doesn't mean it can't be used to add icing on the cake!

The attack from [E·hero Immortal] just now still left Sera with 1100 basic points, but after adding the 1800 attack power from [Red Princess - Chiru Princess], it's a different story.

The light slash, named "Multi-faceted Saturation Barrage," instantly pierced through the body of [Red Princess - Chiru Princess]. After breaking through the 2800 points of defense, the remaining 2700 points of damage were poured onto Sera, wiping out her remaining 2000 points of basic damage in one go!

The mask she had taken off earlier was shattered by the aftershock of the impact, and Sera's hood was also lifted up. However, she did not show any regret for her unexpected defeat. Instead, she focused on the last few cards that Jaden played.

"Well, I lost, but I've learned enough."

[Sera: 2000LP → 0, 0 cards in hand]

"Whew! We finally won." Jaden, who had achieved a "1:10" comeback victory with 200 life points to 2000 life points, breathed a sigh of relief and showed a happy smile. "What a satisfying battle! Especially since I was tormented for so long in the main phase, I was able to vent all my frustration in the battle phase."

"It's just like saving your favorite toppings for the last bite of ramen and then eating it all in one go—it's so satisfying!"

"Still that quirky metaphor that's so typical of an older brother," Marufuji Sho remarked, then reminded Judai, "But older brother, you forgot about that, you know, that one."

"That? Oh, right, I forgot about that because it felt so good." Hearing Marufuji Sho's words, Judai also remembered something quite important. He glanced at Manjoume and the others behind Sera, looked at Sera, and drew a line in front of his face with his finger. "You won! What an interesting duel!"

"I thought you were going to remind Sera to wake up Manjoume and the others!" Fubuki almost fell over, and complained, "You really do enjoy dueling as much as ever, Jaden."

Sera, however, didn't react much to Jaden's actions, simply saying to herself, "The Miracle Fusion that gathers the power of bonds, the Heart of Passion that gives the motivation to move forward, and the Duel Fusion that can even utilize the opponent's power. While there are people who can forcibly suppress their subconscious reactions and continue to pretend even in dire situations, Jaden, you should be one of the vast majority of people who would reveal your true personality in a critical moment."

"The support of his partners, his passion for dueling, and his sharp and driven dueling instincts—that's what makes up Jaden Yuki's dueling style." After a pause, Sera continued, "But if one part of this 'triangle' falters, can the other parts continue to exist?"

"Huh?" Jaden didn't quite understand what Sera was saying. Feeling an itch on his scalp, he reached out and scratched it. "So what are you trying to say, Sera-senpai? It's hard to understand what you mean by using such long and complicated sentences of more than twenty words."

Will the cactus flower bloom?

"No, that kind of communication that skips too much content won't work either," Jaden retorted, hearing Sera not using long, complex sentences but instead speaking in strange, New-Type-like language.

It's so difficult to make others understand you with words. That's why I always feel out of place in the academy.

Ultimately, having witnessed a wider world, higher-dimensional communication, and more radiant minds, Sera, even while in school, found herself unable to integrate due to her overly mature mind. Especially among her peers of similar age: there was the playful and unconventional like Minazuki, the overly serious and even somewhat rigid like Caesar, the overly romantic like Fubuki, and others with deep-seated resentment, seemingly suffering alone while pursuing power.

Sera recalled her past experiences at school, shook her head helplessly, and clapped her hands lightly.

As Sera moved, Manjoume and the others behind her suddenly came to their senses. Misawa looked at the stone Kenzan was holding with a puzzled expression, then at the pile of leaves in his hand that had just been a picture of him in the newspaper, and said in surprise, "Am I under a spell? How did I end up in the forest?"

"Huh? How could you actually take it seriously?" Manjoume glanced at Misawa with disdain. "Being trapped by illusions is one thing, but you can't even tell which side is reality? What a disgrace."

"That's right, Senior Shizhe, this is clearly the reality. Although, I didn't actually figure it out at first either." Kenzan threw away the stone in his hand. Although he liked dinosaur fossils, he wasn't a 16-year-old girl band lead singer who wanted to become human, so he wasn't interested in ordinary stones.

Hearing Kenzan address him by his name, Misawa clutched the leaf with some resentment and said, "Even if I can tell the difference, compared to the miserable reality that no one can call me by my name, I feel it's better to stay trapped in this illusion."

"Then you can drown in your fantasies, but I'm fully awake now and ready to claim the first place I deserve." Manjoume said, turning to the air, "Right, Yuki Judai? Hmm? You see how hard I've worked and you want to give me a back massage to relax? I just can't do anything with you... Hmph! How many times have I told you, Caesar, you have to call me Mr. Manjoume!"

"Huh? You guys are all so terrible, seniors and seniors. As expected, only my eldest brother is a man worth following." Seeing Banjou's embarrassing appearance, Kenzan walked over helplessly and shook his body vigorously. "Wake up, Banjou-senpai!"

"Manjoume and Misawa have both woken up, but they still seem a little disoriented?" Marufuji Sho said, then realized his words sounded odd, like "Manjoume and the others might be awake, but it's unlikely they've fully woken up." He corrected himself, "What I mean is, they don't seem to be fully awake."

"It's normal for the illusion traps I had the [Trap] set up to cause this kind of situation depending on the individual's constitution and the amount they inhaled; they'll recover on their own," Sera said casually.

Hearing this, Jaden felt relieved. Looking at Manjoume who was talking to thin air, he laughed and said, "Manjoume, your pantomime is really funny, hahaha. You really have the talent to be a comedian."

Kenzan shook himself for a long time, but it wasn't as effective as Jaden's words. He suddenly came to his senses and glared at Jaden: "Huh? What did you just say, Jaden? You didn't see anything, right!"

"Yes, I don't think I'll ever forget your performance."

"Damn it! Forget about it all!"

While the others were joking around, Fubuki went to her senior, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, and said curiously, "I have a feeling that you went easy on me, senior."

"Why do you say that? Could it be that after graduation I didn't focus on Duel Monsters because I was busy making a living, so I regressed?" Sera glanced at Fubuki, took a step back to create some distance, and said calmly.

"Wow, that's a hurtful move." Fubuki clutched her chest, feigning injury, but still grinned. "If you, Senpai, changed yourself so easily because of life, you wouldn't be the senpai I know, right? Because you seem to have feelings for Hayato-sensei—Ouch! Why did you suddenly hit me!"

Seeing Fubuki dodge her elbow strike, Sera frowned and said, "You know why yourself. You deserved to get beaten up for talking nonsense."

"That's true, he's usually a very cold person, but he only relaxes in front of the principal—okay, I won't say anymore." Fubuki made a zipping motion near her mouth, looking like she was afraid of Sera, and quickly changed the subject, "So, did you find the answer you were looking for in Jaden's duel, Senpai?"

"To clarify, I don't need an answer, I'm just curious. I'm curious about what kind of person Mr. Hayato has his eye on."

"So, in your eyes, what kind of person is Judai... Ah, this question seems a bit redundant. No matter what you say, it doesn't seem to affect my image of Judai," Fubuki said with a smile.

"Is he any better than before, when he would easily fall for someone else and flirt with other women?"

"So, senior, would you consider retracting your assessment of me as a 'manipulator'?"

"Let's talk about it when Mr. Hayato stops releasing monsters."

"So there's nothing to talk about then." Fubuki looked helplessly at Misawa and the others, whose legs had gone numb from sitting on the ground for too long, and Marufuji Sho and Judai and the others who were walking towards them. He then looked at Sera, "But, Senpai, you don't seem to care at all about letting Manjoume and the others go after you stopped them? Didn't you say before that you came here to stop people who wanted to get closer to the finish line?"

“I did say that, but to be precise, it should be—'stop anyone who wants to be the first to reach the finish line.'” Sera nodded, looked at Jaden and the others who were also looking curious, and said calmly, “But now that some people have already reached the finish line, it doesn’t matter whether I stop you or not.”

"Eh!?" X5

Judai, Manjoume, and the others were all stunned. They hadn't expected that someone would have reached the finish line before them. It hadn't been long since Sera stopped them and Judai defeated Sera, allowing Manjoume and the others to be released. Judai even won the duel OTK in his first round.

“But even though someone reached the finish line first, I remember there were three winners, right?” Sera paused, pointing in one direction. “If we rush over from here now, we might not be completely squeezed out of the top three?”

There was a moment of silence, but the next instant, Manjoume, Judai, and the others suddenly sprang into action—

"Sprint! Sprint!" Misawa, whose legs were still numb, started running like crazy. "At least, top three!"

"Being second forever is fine, at least I'm still in the top three!" Manjoume shouted. "Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you helped me. You'll be exiled to the Tenth Generation!"

"Although you are very motivated, my legs and I have not agreed to let you get ahead!" Jaden said, relying on his excellent physical strength to move forward at full speed!

Even Marufuji Sho and Kenzan quickly caught up with the others, unwilling to fall behind even though they knew they might not make it into the top three—at least, they had to be faster than that dinosaur guy/glasses guy who was also a junior member of the Judai group!

"Wow, that's really energetic." Fubuki watched the others walk away first with a Zen-like attitude, then turned around and greeted Sera, "This unexpected encounter ended really quickly, Sera-senpai. I can't fall behind Judai and the others."

"Since we're moving forward, will we get lost again this time?" Sera said something cryptic as she looked at Fubuki.

"As always, it's hard to understand. But this time I managed to understand a little bit." Fubuki looked troubled. "No, because Judai is a very reliable person. I can even entrust my cute little sister to him without worry."

"Then let's cherish this hard-won guiding light."

"Well, I will."

Watching the conversation between Sera and Fubuki on the monitor, Malik said boredly, "How come kids these days speak like my brother-in-law, using such incomprehensible language? Unlike back in our day, when we spoke much more simply and clearly. If we said we were going to kill you, we really meant it."

"When were you talking about that?" Hayato retorted. "And have you ever actually done anything with those threats you made before? Teach me a lesson for provoking Grus, defeat Yugi, or take the God Card from Kaiba?"

"Don't rub salt in the wound, brother-in-law. And speaking of which, did I just hear something juicy? Does that girl named Sera have any special feelings for you, brother-in-law?" Malik chuckled mischievously. "Hmph, brother-in-law, aren't you afraid I'll tell my sister?"

"What a joke! You're a three-year-old, how could you possibly ruin the relationship between me and your sister?" Hayato said dismissively, hanging up on Malik. He already knew from Malik that the other students were on their way.

This (Malik) is no longer needed.

"So, could you repeat that, Edward? What was the wish you said you wanted me to grant?" Hayato asked, looking at the boy in front of him.

"I want to see the vastness of the world, I want to see the limits of power. I want to understand the magnanimity of [Hero]!" Edward said firmly. "Please duel me and my [Hero] deck, Mr. Hayato!"

Chapter 1502 Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

"It's exhausting to have a duel as soon as you get back. But, sure, you can have the duel you want."

Hayato looked helpless, but still accepted Edward's duel challenge, even though he hadn't actually arrived at the villa much earlier than Edward. "But is it appropriate to use such a rare wish in a place like this? I thought you would want something like an autograph or a photo?"

"Me too..." He had to admit that Edward was indeed tempted. After all, his initial wish was something like this: to take a photo with his idol, whom he had always admired, or even get an autograph. It was impossible to refuse.

However, he restrained himself and, recalling the adventures he had experienced on the island over the past week, looked at Hayato with a resolute gaze: "Although I am tempted, I have realized these past few days that as a duelist, one must have enough power. All other pursuits must be put after the pursuit of power."

"That's exactly what I like to hear, that's right, that's right, Towa! The essence of Duel Monster battles is a battle of 'Towa'! Whether it's the power of cards, the power of hearts, or anything else, only the side with more Towa has the right to continue existing as the victor, while the loser who loses Towa has no right to talk about pursuing anything."

Hayato nodded in agreement. "Duel Monsters has always been such a cruel game. I'm very pleased that you've developed such a passion for Pwato. All the effort I put into this island hasn't been in vain."

"The effort put in?"

Ed could guess that Hayato was responsible for the materialization of the Duel Monsters on the island, but listening to Hayato's words, he felt that Hayato had another meaning behind it, as if he had made some move recently.

However, Edward did not voice his doubts. Instead, he said earnestly, "Yes, although I know I am no match for you, Mr. Hayato, only by seeing a sufficiently ambitious goal can I have enough motivation to move forward."

"I'm glad you won't lose confidence from this setback. But don't worry, I'm not about to pull out a crazy deck like [Tears of the Pearl], [Kusan], or [Divine Stele] while we're playing cards." Hayato patted Edward on the shoulder and said with a smile, "But you probably want to start the duel in your best condition, right? Anyway, there's no rush. Go and rest first. This villa was prepared for that."