Chapter 51: My 4000 HP is like a candle in the wind
"(||ﾟДﾟ) Both sides' attack power is even!"
First of the Dragons VS Dark Magician; the ultimate clash erupting in the sky above the back mountain, the immense energy exploding from the dragon and the magician almost completely illuminated the night sky.
Such a huge and conspicuous wave of impact naturally attracted the attention of various students in the academy.
Even though it was already past curfew for the Fusion Academy dormitories, it didn't stop the students who noticed the external anomaly from curiously poking their heads out of their dorm windows.
"What is that, such a huge dragon!"
"It's a dragon I've never seen before."
The first thing that caught their eye was the colossal dragon body of [First of the Dragons] flying in the sky, comparable in size to a mountain.
"To be able to fight such a huge dragon, just what kind of monster is it?"
Due to the great distance, and Dark Magician's size being no different from a normal human's, the scene the academy crowd could see was only First of the Dragons roaring out a powerful draconic aura, clashing with the black magic energy erupting in the sky.
"Could it be Xiao Ai and You Ling dueling?"
Yilin, having quietly slipped back into the dormitory while the dorm supervisor wasn't paying attention, looked towards the distant battle with concern.
Yilin had certainly never seen [First of the Dragons]; she didn't know if this monster belonged to Aisha or to the mysterious opponent.
But regardless of which side was using the ancient dragon, being able to command such a massive and mysterious monster, or to contend with it, was enough to show that both sides' strength was very terrifying.
This duel was even more intense than the previous Shadow Game.
"Ah, look quickly, the dragon disappeared."
"Is the duel over?"
Just as the academy crowd was anticipating what kind of exaggerated and magnificent battle scene would appear next after the colossal ancient dragon.
The clash ended; the two monsters with identical attack power destroyed each other and vanished.
The restless sky, after the terrifying collision energy dissipated, returned to tranquility.
[First of the Dragons] destroyed
[Dark Magician] destroyed
The Pharaoh's ace monster, and the strongest monster You Ling could currently use, were both annihilated after just one exchange, leaving both sides' monster zones empty once again.
First of the Dragons, a monster that would absolutely be a massacre-level existence in Fusion Academy's first year, didn't even last one turn before the Pharaoh.
"Activate the effect of Equip Magic Card [Book of Secret Arts]: when this card is sent to the Graveyard, I recover 1000 Life Points."
Pharaoh LP: 2800→3800
"Using an incomplete deck, yet still managing to take down my strongest servant, Dark Magician, simultaneously. You Ling, you have fully demonstrated your strength to me."
You Ling's counterattack, combining a D-rank Trap Card and trash monsters to forcibly trade with Dark Magician, also received high recognition from the Pharaoh.
"Under the constraints of this world's rule system, utilizing limited resources, fully thinking about ways to strengthen the deck, and then seizing one victory after another that was originally unachievable... pursuing victory in a rational way, this is your talent, You Ling."
Aisha: "Mr. You Ling, you seem to have received praise from that strongest Pharaoh."
"But under these circumstances, I'm not very happy about it."
Forcing a very strained smile, even though Aisha possessed an exceptionally cute girlish face, with the stiff, twitching smile of You Ling on it, it instead looked somewhat amusing.
Even if he received the Pharaoh's recognition, You Ling really couldn't smile in this situation.
"Didn't expect the gap to be this big."
It seemed like a battle where both sides were annihilated, but the Pharaoh used it to recover his Life Points to near maximum. Not to mention, when the Tribute Summon triggered [Card of Safe Return], he also supplemented his hand with 2 extra cards.
In comparison, You Ling only had the last monster card [White Dust Demon] left in his hand at this moment. 0 ATK, 1000 DEF; without other support cards, it couldn't provide any combat power.
His own 4000 Life Points truly felt like a candle flickering in the wind.
From Aisha's amusing expression, the Pharaoh read You Ling's current thoughts.
"Excessively strong talent, the power it brings, can lead to confusion in the environment of an unfamiliar world. Confusion, in turn, makes one value dueling victory and power itself even more. This point, even the former me couldn't avoid."
The Pharaoh, recalling past events, when he was Yugi Muto's spirit, also nearly ignored Seto Kaiba, who was threatening with death, for the sake of dueling victory.
"The strength of the soul is a sharp blade capable of cleaving everything. And the sheath that restrains the danger of the sharp blade, allowing strong power to be more stable. The existence of the host as a companion is equally very important."
Aisha: "The host as a companion, does that refer to me? I'm important to Mr. You Ling... very important!"
Striking right at Aisha's heart, these words from the Pharaoh probably made Aisha Carlos happier than any words of praise.
"✧｡٩(ˊᗜˋ)و✧*｡ Hehe, hehehe, so I'm such an important existence to Mr. You Ling. You flatter me, you flatter me~"
As if able to hear the echo of Aisha's soul voice from within the Millennium Puzzle, the Pharaoh smiled gently.
"Yuna, the brilliance of humanity you possess is very similar to my Aibo's. Wield that power, it can change the direction of your deck's summons, and even repair the balance of light and dark that has been disturbed in this world."
"I can change my deck? Meaning... no longer just summoning low-star Normal Monsters?"
"This point, you and You Ling need to discover together. Right now, what you need is to fight together, not just rely on You Ling to fight."
After speaking, the Pharaoh flipped over the card set in the very first turn.
"——Activate Continuous Trap Card [Bond Between K Q J]!"
[Bond Between K Q J Continuous Trap Card Effect: Once per turn, if you control no monsters other than "Queen's Knight", "Jack's Knight", or "King's Knight": You can target 1 "Queen's Knight", "Jack's Knight", or "King's Knight" in your hand or Graveyard; Special Summon it.]
"Revive on my field, Jack's Knight!"
[Jack's Knight ATK: 1900]
A Trap Special Summon still within the Battle Phase; the Pharaoh, with an empty field, revived Jack's Knight, the one with the highest attack power among the JQK trio.
"Direct attack!——Knight Sword Slash!"
You Ling & Aisha LP: 4000→2100
The silver-white sword blade drew a cold arc of light in the night sky, slashing across Aisha's barren chest, causing You Ling to feel a startling pain.
Just like the Pharaoh's words moments ago, it startled him awake.
"The sheath that restrains the blade... Do Aisha and I need to fight together?"
When he came back to his senses from the pain of the cold sword blade, You Ling found that he was already in a soul state, back inside the Millennium Puzzle.
And standing on the duel field at this moment was Aisha Yuna Carlos herself.