CCTnovel Chapter 705 - 705
Chapter 705 - 705
"I still don't really get what's going on, but as long as I duel Sensei, the souls sealed away will be freed, right?!"Activating his Duel Disk, Jaden—the very embodiment of a duel-brained duelist—had no intention of thinking too deeply about anything complicated.
"Well, that understanding isn't exactly wrong."
But Hoshino wasn't the type to stop thinking and immediately throw herself into a duel.
To be honest, after analyzing so many Kings, Hoshino had always considered Harr the easiest to deal with.
Whether it was Illya's Magical Girl system from the Heroic Spirit branch or Yugi's trademark Dark Magician Deck, both Spellcaster-type Decks would give him serious trouble.
Yet unexpectedly, this old man's cunning was completely different from the previous Kings they had encountered. From the very beginning, he had never intended to duel personally.
["Aibo, although we don't know why he chose Jaden… he's way too obsessed with making allies fight each other, even wagering the biggest bargaining chip he has."]
"If that's the case, then I can only think of one explanation."
Quietly nodding while secretly planning things out, Hoshino subtly touched the Pyramid of Light hanging on her chest.
A Shadow Game—no, according to the terminology used in the world of the Kings, it should be called a King Barrier.
If the barrier's abilities were similar to the Shadow Game opened by Marik—forcing duelists inside to fight with their lives on the line—then a duel between Hoshino and Jaden would become extremely dangerous in a certain sense.
["So we're really going with layered barriers again, huh, aibo?!"]
"Exactly. I'll set up a defensive Reality Marble ahead of time. That way, even if he tries anything tricky, it should greatly reduce the harm Jaden and I receive during the duel. Though… some pain probably still can't be avoided, so Jaden will just have to endure it."
A barrier layered within another barrier—Hoshino secretly prepared a safeguard in advance.
"Stop stalling and begin already!" Harr urged impatiently.
"Yes, yes, we hear you. (monotone)"
Loading her Heroic Spirit Deck into the AR Duel Disk attached to her arm, the deck data was imported, and pale-blue virtual cards appeared before Hoshino's eyes.
"It's been a while since we dueled, Jaden. Let me see how much you've grown."
"Bring it on! Right now, I've become seriously strong, Sensei!"
Duel——!
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 8000]
VS
[Jaden Yuki LP 8000]
Just as Hoshino had predicted beforehand, the moment the duel began, magical power from Harr spread beneath their feet, forming a barrier engraved with mysterious symbols.
"So you really were planning this little trick." Hoshino smiled. "Trying to make Jaden and me kill each other? Unfortunately, your intentions were way too obvious."
Taking the first turn, Hoshino drew a pale-blue virtual card from her Deck. The hand automatically arranged by the AR Duel Disk floated before her eyes at an angle visible only to her.
"My turn! I summon Magical Girl's Other Half – Chloe in Attack Position!"
Moving her fingertips across the virtual card, Hoshino dragged Chloe into the Monster Zone for a Normal Summon.
[Magical Girl's Other Half – Chloe ★★★★ (Level 4)][DARK][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]
[This card is also treated as an "Heroic Spirit" card]
"It's been a while since I've appeared instead of Illya. My magical energy is completely full, Master~"
Sticking out her tongue to lick her finger, Chloe smiled seductively.
"Then I activate the Continuous Spell Card—Phantasm Summon!"
Dragging another virtual card into the Spell & Trap Zone, magical girl starlight mana swirled across Hoshino's field.
[Continuous Spell Effect: Once per turn, send Fusion Materials listed on an "Heroic Spirit" Fusion Monster from your hand or field to the Graveyard, then Fusion Summon that monster from the Extra Deck. When Fusion Summoning a "Magical Girl" Fusion Monster, you may also use 1 monster from your Deck as Fusion Material.]
"I fuse the Magical Girl's Other Half – Chloe on my field with Heroic Spirit – Knight of the Round Table Mordred from my Deck!"
Another material card automatically popped out from the Deck as the Fusion Material for the "Magical Girl" Fusion Monster. The magical energy covering Chloe's dark skin merged together with Mordred's Spirit Origin.
"Let's go, Master!"
"—Fusion Summon in Attack Position! Magical Girl – Mordred Chloe!"
Crimson magical power erupted forth as Chloe fused with Mordred's Spirit Origin, the Clarent in her hand radiating brilliant energy.
[Magical Girl – Mordred Chloe ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][LIGHT][Warrior/Fusion/Effect][ATK 2300/DEF 2200]
["Magical Girl's Other Half – Chloe" + "Heroic Spirit – Knight of the Round Table Mordred"]
"Finally, I set one card face-down. Your turn, Jaden!"
[Hoshino: 3 Hand Cards | 1 Set Card]
"So Jaden really ended up fighting Headmistress after all…"
It wasn't until an entire turn had already passed that Minazuki truly processed what was happening.
"Do you guys think Jaden actually has a chance of winning?"
"No way~ Hoshino-nee and Jaden aren't even on the same level."
Akasha waved her hand confidently.
During the time Jaden had trained under Hoshino as her student, his competitive personality had driven him to challenge her countless times.
However, Jaden's completely winless record against her was more than enough to demonstrate the overwhelming gap in strength between them. Simply relying on stubborn determination and hot-blooded passion wasn't enough to overcome that difference.
"But Jaden beat King Frodi!" Syrus added. "And the brand-new power he gained—the Neo-Spacians—even Headmistress has probably never seen them before, right?"
"My turn, draw!"
Unlike Hoshino's flashy AR Duel Disk, Jaden simply drew a card normally from his Deck as his turn began.
"This excitement really takes me back. Sensei is still the same as ever—casually summoning Fusion Monsters like it's nothing!"
Thanks to the Magical Girl system, Hoshino could essentially send materials from the Deck to the Graveyard or banish the original cards themselves to perform one-material Fusions.
Compared to the standard three-for-one or even four-for-one Fusion methods widely used nowadays, it was an absurdly efficient way to use resources.
"So what about you, Jaden? Are you planning to hand-fuse Flame Wingman and activate Skyscraper again?" Hoshino teased.
Back then, Professor Crowler had mocked Judai's "three-step predictable strategy" dueling style. Yet the so-called 3000 ATK killer combo of Flame Wingman plus Skyscraper had honestly been pretty practical in its own way.
"Nope, this time is different!"
Sliding the Fusion Spell in his hand into the Duel Disk, Judai declared confidently:
"Take a look at how much I've evolved, Sensei! I activate the Spell Card—Neos Fusion!"
[Spell Card Effect: Special Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck that lists exactly 2 monsters as material, including "Elemental HERO Neos", by sending those monsters from your hand, Deck, or field, ignoring its Summoning conditions. For the rest of this turn after this card resolves, you cannot Special Summon monsters.]
"Elemental HERO Neos?" Hoshino's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Heh heh, surprised, Sensei?! This is the brand-new HERO from outer space!"
Jaden selected two monsters from his Deck as Fusion Materials and sent them to the Graveyard as the light of Neos Fusion illuminated the field.
"I send Elemental HERO Neos and Neo-Spacian Grand Mole from my Deck to the Graveyard! Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Grand Neos!"
[Elemental HERO Grand Neos ★★★★★★★ (Level 7)][EARTH][Warrior/Fusion/Effect][ATK 2500/DEF 2000]
["Elemental HERO Neos" + "Neo-Spacian Grand Mole"]
Alexis widened her eyes in surprise.
"With just a single Spell Card, he's using materials directly from the Deck to complete a Fusion Summon. Jaden's Neos Fusion actually has even better resource efficiency than Senpai's Magical Girl system!"
"(╯°Д°)╯ No way, is this really the same idiot Jaden who used to run terrible five-for-one vanilla Fusions?"
"As expected of Neo-Spacians—they're awesome!"
"Neo-Spacians, huh… that really brings back memories."
Hoshino narrowed her eyes slightly as she smiled nostalgically.
"Memories? Wait, Sensei, you've seen Neo-Spacians before?" Jaden asked in disbelief.
Seven years ago, during Hoshino's graduation duel against another timeline's Jaden, it had also been the first time she encountered the power of the Neo-Spacians.
["Didn't expect that, aibo. So this version of Jaden obtained this Deck after losing to Frodi?"]
"Not bad at all. That really suits your style, Jaden~"
Opening her eyes once more after drifting through her memories, Hoshino looked directly at him.
"Come on then, attack me with everything you've got. Show me the full extent of your power, Jaden!"
"Then don't blame me for going all out, Sensei!"
Swinging his Duel Disk, Jaden activated the effect of the newly Fusion Summoned Elemental HERO Grand Neos.
[Once per turn: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls; return it to the owner's hand.]
"Before that, prepare yourself, Chloe!"
Hoshino activated Chloe's effect first and declared:
"Magical Girl – Mordred Chloe can activate once per turn during either player's Main Phase. Change this card to face-down Defense Position. After this effect resolves, this card cannot be destroyed by card effects until the end of the turn!"
Crimson magical power condensed into the materialized form of Secret of Pedigree, flipping Chloe face-down while concealing both her card name and effect.
"But it's useless! Elemental HERO Grand Neos can still target face-down Defense Position monsters with its effect!"
Continuing the effect activation, Grand Neos drilled its giant mole-like arm into the ground. Starting from Jaden's side of the field, the earth split apart as massive waves of shattered stone surged toward the face-down Magical Girl – Mordred Chloe.
"I activate Elemental HERO Grand Neos's effect to return your Fusion Summoned Chloe to the hand!"
Although it was technically a "return to hand" effect, since Chloe had been Fusion Summoned from the Extra Deck, she would instead return directly to the Extra Deck itself—a result arguably even worse than being sent to the Graveyard.
"Take this, Sensei! —Nebula Void!!"
"Hehe, you walked right into it, Jaden!"
Just as the effect of Nebula Void was about to touch Chloe, cracks suddenly spread across the helmet concealing her, revealing the confident smirk rising at the corner of her lips.
"I activate the effect of Magical Girl – Mordred Chloe—"
[When an effect targeting this face-down card is activated: Change this card to face-up Attack Position; negate that effect, then you can destroy 1 monster on the field.]
Magical power exploded from the shattered helmet, igniting the battle spirit of Clarent as crimson lightning erupted from Chloe's sword.
Flipping over Magical Girl – Mordred Chloe, Hoshino launched her counterattack declaration.
"I negate Elemental HERO Grand Neos's effect, then destroy it with Chloe's effect. The one who should brace himself is you, Jaden!"
Swallowing the shattered rock waves torn open by Grand Neos, scarlet lightning streaked across the ground, unleashing Mordred Chloe's reversed Noble Phantasm.
"—『Clarent Blood Arthur』!!"
"So strong! Sensei is still ridiculously strong as ever!"
Even while facing the crimson lightning rushing toward him, Judai showed no fear whatsoever.
"Then I banish Neos Fusion from my Graveyard to activate its effect—it can prevent the destruction of a Neos monster on my field once!"
The Spell Card in Jaden's Graveyard zone popped out from the Duel Disk, transforming into a barrier of Neos energy that blocked Chloe's rebellious strike.
[Neos Fusion] banished (destruction replacement)
"So it already does a one-card Fusion, and now it can protect monsters too? That card's fake as hell!" Minazuki complained.
Yet despite it being his usual casual complaint, a strange red mark suddenly appeared on his arm.
"Heh heh… the duel has already begun. There is no turning back for any of you now!"
Harr, who had remained silent ever since the duel began, finally spoke again.
"As the duel progresses, beneath my King Barrier, the judgment of the Seven Deadly Sins shall assign each of you your destined seat in the coming calamity!"
Minazuki — 『Wrath』
"The Seven Deadly Sins? Wrath? Why the hell am I Wrath?! And what is even happening here?!" Minazuki shouted in confusion.
"(;ﾟдﾟ) I wanna know what's happening too!"
Akasha had developed the same symptom. The mark engraved onto her thigh represented the sin of 『Lust』 among the Seven Deadly Sins.