Duels should be played with a smile.

……

"Good morning, Night City! Your friend, the famous V, is here again to bring you good news!"

"The gentry of the Upper City always do things on a whim. The Speed ​​Duel Tournament, originally scheduled for soon, has been postponed, probably because one of them wanted to stir things up for everyone again. As for the new date, the gentry said, 'Who knows?'"

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Those of you who were a bit pressed for time and didn't have enough time to collect powerful cards now have a chance to strengthen your decks! Take advantage of this opportunity to enhance your decks, and then quietly amaze everyone after the Speed ​​Duel Tournament begins!"

"To borrow a phrase from that enthusiastic young man next door, folks, it's time to soar to the heavens! The opportunity to fly from Night City to the Upper City and write your own miracles, following in the footsteps of Jack Atlas's legend, is right before your eyes!"

The newly released news came from D Wheel, and Jack's eyelids twitched. Somewhat annoyed, he changed D Wheel's settings to silent mode.

Misfortunes never come singly, and Jack is experiencing that feeling right now.

Driving his lucky D-Wheel, Jack accelerated repeatedly and finally burst onto the racetrack for the high-speed duel.

"Duelmodel! Standby!"

Synthesized sounds emanated from both sides of the track. D-Wheel switched to duel mode and began to drive automatically along the track. After drawing 5 cards, Jack did not intend to slow down. Instead, he pushed the speed to the limit, trying to be the first to pass the first bend.

"I'm so sorry! I have to take this first move!"

A voice identical to his own came from behind him, but Jack just snorted and didn't pay it any mind.

The first bend is almost here, and no one can take the initiative...

"How is this possible?!"

Like a dark shadow flashing in broad daylight, the gray-black D-Wheel, under Jack's astonished gaze, sped into the bend before Jack could even turn, seizing the initiative.

"I'll take the first strike! Jack Atlas!"

Jack remained expressionless as someone with the same appearance as him called his name, but a sense of annoyance welled up inside him.

This familiar scene brought back some not-so-pleasant memories from his past...

"So, you guys from the future have some troublesome ideas again? But it doesn't matter! Whatever your plans are, they will all be crushed by my absolute power!"

"This is the Synchro Dimension! Now, we are in the midst of a high-speed duel! In the midst of a high-speed duel, I am the strongest king!"

Jack instinctively assumed that this imposter was the same guy as before, but this time, he wouldn't be fooled right away.

Even if this guy just seemed to have used some underhanded tricks, causing all three of his Crimson Rising Dragons to disappear, he is still fearless!

He had experienced similar situations before, so there was nothing to be afraid of this time!

This time, it's a high-speed duel! It's Jack Atlas's home turf!

The strangely similar situation reminded Jack of his recent defeat, and when he realized that his previous failure seemed to be helping him now, he couldn't help but feel conflicted...

Misfortunes never come singly...

Jack is very unhappy, not only because he was dragged into a duel by some guy who appeared out of nowhere, but also because of some things that happened when he went to find Yego for the upcoming Speed ​​Duel Tournament.

"Lord Jack, it's been a long time."

At the time, Yego warmly welcomed him, because from various perspectives, Yego's current status was closely related to some of the things that happened with their 5DS team back then.

But when he asked about matters related to the competition, Yego became somewhat hesitant.

Facing away from Jack, Yego cautiously observed Jack's expression out of the corner of his eye, rehearsing his words a dozen times in his mind before carefully choosing his words to say to Jack: "Um... Lord Jack, there's probably no need to discuss matters related to the competition for the time being."

"What?! Don't you know... you have to give me a reason!"

He's really looking forward to dueling with Leyou in the Speed ​​Duel Tournament and getting his revenge!

Only a proper, high-speed duel can unleash his full power!

But now, his expectations are about to be dashed for unknown reasons.

Then, the thought of having sent out invitations in advance, only to have to tell Leyou later that the competition was canceled and they couldn't fight for a while—Jack Atlas couldn't afford to lose face like that!

"The truth is... As you know, although I've been promoted, I still need the approval of the big shots above me to get anything done. Now, these big shots have suddenly told us that the event has to be postponed without giving a reason. We, the ones in charge of getting things done, are actually struggling to figure out what reason to use."

His short stature, slightly bizarre clown makeup, and heartfelt confession made Jack wonder if his overly assertive attitude was making things too difficult for him.

This Yego... he's just a working-class guy, I think.

"You mean, the postponement of the match was all their doing?"

This time, Yego did not answer directly, but simply pointed to the sky and spread his hands, the meaning of which was all too clear.

"Then you help me contact those people. I think, with my name, Jack Atlas, I'm qualified to meet them!"

“Well…” Yego rubbed his hands together in a low voice, looking troubled. “We can indeed get in touch, but unfortunately, there was a competition held in the Fusion Dimension a while ago, and many lords went there for a trip. Those left behind are people who can’t make decisions… In fact, this last-minute decision was an instruction sent remotely from those lords in the Fusion Dimension.”

Having said all that, Jack was at a loss for what to do. He vaguely felt that something was amiss, but most of his intelligence was spent on playing cards, and as for emotional intelligence, it seemed to be mostly limited to communicating with men. He was completely clueless about things that required social skills and social graces.

If it weren't for Carly once forcing him to experience a day of working life as a journalist with her, he probably wouldn't even bother to think about Yego's predicament right now.

Unable to get answers from Yego, and with his intuition telling him there might be something more to it, Jack came up with a very simple and efficient solution.

Go find Yusei.

Jack's years of experience with Yusei have taught him that whenever he's unsure of what to do, he can always ask the invincible Yusei Fudo.

So, after leaving the central building, Jack contacted Yusei to ask where he was, and then set off in his D-Wheel.

Then...

Halfway there, this obviously hostile guy forced them into a duel, and with their decks tampered with, they were forced to drive onto the high-speed track.

As Jack stared at the guy who had already drawn five cards and was ready to start the duel, he felt a vague unease.

This time... I hope I won't mess things up?

He always felt as if a large "danger" character was flashing above his head.

The only rule in Chapter Twelve is that happiness reigns supreme!

"I'm... back?"

As if waking from a dream, Asuka looked around. Although the surroundings were unfamiliar, the atmosphere, so different from that in the ritual rift, made her realize immediately that she had left that place.

However, for a moment, I didn't know where I was.

Choosing a direction at random, Asuka took out a card and summoned Nasaya to carry her away. While trying to locate her position using the Duel Disk, she also recalled Isis's instructions to her before she left.

"This world...is on the verge of collapse."

"Abundant malice has already extended its claws into this world, and as the most crucial link, the nameless Pharaoh has still not reclaimed his name..."

"We must prepare in advance to deal with crises... If hope is slim, then we should look for other possibilities..."

"With the help of elves, humans can unleash tremendous power because they possess unparalleled creativity..."

"Go, do what you need to do, and I will continue to wait here for the right time."

Asuka was confused by the cryptic words, but when she asked Isis, Isis remained silent and simply told her to leave.

Left with no other choice, Asuka took the card decks entrusted to her by Isis and was carried away from the ritual rift that sealed something unknown by the magnificent dragon ship, returning to the normal dimensional world.

Returning to the dimensional world, Asuka couldn't help but feel a sense of disorientation, as if she had been in that ritual rift for a long time, repeating the duel with Isis every day. After initially defeating Isis, her daily life didn't change much, except that Isis would start using various different decks each time, leaving Asuka struggling to keep up.

It wasn't until recently, when Asuka defeated Isis's last deck with a deck composed of Dragonlight Takumi, Cyber ​​Angel, and various other ritual systems, that Isis revealed some secrets to her.

Isis was following the instructions of some being, guarding the sealed entity within the ritual rift, waiting for the destined one—Asuka was not the destined one, but she passed Isis's test, which is why Isis revealed the truth to her.

Like a riddle teller, Isis didn't reveal anything more. After a period of meditation, she handed Asuka several decks that she had never seen before, and then left her with her previous words, telling her to leave the Ritual Rift and do what she had to do.

"Really... why can't we just talk things out... can't people really understand each other? Isis is like that, some of the teachers are like that... and Jaden, she never opens up to us either..."

Asuka, feeling slightly emotional, began to let her thoughts wander, pondering all sorts of things, until she was startled awake by a particular idea in her mind.

"Jūdai... I don't know how much time has passed outside, but entrusting such a crucial matter to Jūdai is probably the best approach, isn't it?"

Whenever there's trouble, the first person Asuka thinks of is the almost omnipotent Judai. In the past, Asuka always adhered to the principle of never bothering Judai if she could handle things herself, but this time, these things seem to be beyond her capabilities.

She remembered clearly that after that arrogant guy fell in front of Judai, Judai seemed to have changed drastically overnight. The first thing Judai said to them after that was...

"I can't be bothered with things I can handle myself, but if you don't have the ability, don't try to be a hero... If you die, don't say I didn't warn you."

At that moment, Judai's cold and indifferent attitude, which made him seem like a completely different person, was like a gust of cold wind that instantly awakened those of them who were still immersed in the grief of their comrade's death. Judai's huge transformation, coupled with the unfamiliar environment of the dangerous other world, made them forcibly suppress their grief and go to complete the tasks assigned to them.

In that situation, grief is meaningless, and so is blind bravado without self-awareness.

Death is even more meaningless.

Asuka was lost in thought as she recalled the memories of the past.

"I wonder how Judai is doing now... It seems I have to go see him."

Not long after, the Duel Disk, which had lost internet access due to the cross-dimensional connection, finally restored communication. After briefly confirming her location, Asuka realized that she was still in the fusion dimension, but in the border region. She then changed direction and headed towards the nearest city with a large airport.

Meanwhile, in a small town just over ten kilometers away from Asuka, a boy with a cheerful smile was standing by the roadside, watching several children playing and having fun.

"Now it's my turn! Watch me!"

A slightly older boy happily picked up his card from the ground, skipped over to another little girl, and gently placed his card on top of hers.

The little girl's card was covered, while his card was shown face up.

"Watch closely! I, the invincible Sky Warrior, am about to defeat your monster!"

Shouting loudly, the little boy squatted slightly, gesturing back and forth between the two cards with one hand.

He gestured for a long time without making any other moves until the little girl next to him became a little impatient. Only then did he hold his breath and raise his right hand high.

"Sky Warrior! Whirlwind Charge Tornado!"

With a shout, he swung his right hand down heavily, creating a strong gust of wind that flipped the two cards on the ground over.

"Yay! Your card is mine!"

The little boy happily picked up the two cards from the ground. He first held his Sky Hero card in his hand and examined it carefully. Then he carefully wiped the dust off the Sky Hero card without a card sleeve, put it back in his pocket, and then took out the little girl's card and looked at it carefully.

"What tears what what... little fish what... hmph, you little girls just like these cards that look weak at all, and the words are so hard to read, they're nowhere near as powerful as my Sky Knight!"

"You're talking nonsense!" the little girl retorted, pouting, her eyes fixed on the card that originally belonged to her in the little boy's hand, looking unwilling.

"If you don't want it, then give it back to me! Otherwise... otherwise I'll..."

The little girl clearly liked the card, but she was also someone who accepted defeat. Although the contest with the little boy wasn't entirely voluntary, she had lost, and even though she was unhappy, she didn't want to back out.

I do really regret it.

"Hmph! Fine, take it or leave it." For some reason, the little boy disdainfully handed his prize back to the little girl.