Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

Mogi's overly familiar attitude left Yusei speechless.

After shaking his head slightly, Yusei extended his finger and gave the command to attack: "Battle continues, I will use Touhou to launch a direct attack on Mogi!"

"Take this—Heroic Flash (Physical)!"

Mogi: "...Friend Hero?"

Yusei: "...Masked Hero Dark Claw."

Swah——

The friend who was standing still instantly turned into an afterimage that was invisible to the naked eye.

Upon receiving Yusei's command, he immediately lowered his body and charged towards Mogi like a hungry wolf, then unleashed a lightning-fast combo that was almost invisible to the naked eye on the dazed Mogi.

"Ugh!"

Several sharp blades flashed by, creating a large amount of wind pressure.

Mogi, who was hit by the flash attack, was thrown backward a short distance before falling to the ground due to gravity.

(Motegi LP: 4000→1600)

"How about that, Mogi? This is Yusei's strength!" Jaden Yuki said, waving his fist at Mogi, who was sitting on the ground.

He lost 2400 HP in one go, and this was only because Yusei deliberately held back.

The burst damage of a hero deck that goes second is no joke!

Let alone 4000 health points, even if it doubled to 8000, it could easily take you down in one turn.

...provided there are no pitfalls.

"Well done..."

Brushing the dust off his body, Mogi slowly stood up and stretched his limbs.

Facing Yusei staring directly at him, Mogi scratched his head, then reached out and pressed a button on the Duel Disk, activating another face-down card in the back row: "At this moment when I am taking damage, I activate the Trap Card lying in wait in the back row—[Frigga's Apple]."

A golden apple, its surface gleaming with golden light, appeared before Mogi as the Trap Card was activated.

The golden apple floating in mid-air was covered with a layer of hazy mist.

"...A golden apple?"

Upon seeing Mogi activate the trap card, Yusei couldn't help but frown.

-

Frigg's Apple

(Common trap)

Effect: This effect can only be activated when you control no monsters and when you take battle damage. You gain Life Points equal to the damage you took. Special Summon 1 "Fairy Token" (Fiend/DARK/Level 1/ATK/DEF?) to your field. This Token's ATK and DEF become the same as the amount you gain from this effect.

-

Frigg's apple, also known as the golden apple in Greek mythology.

At the wedding of the human hero Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis, all the gods were invited to the wedding, except for Eris, the goddess of discord.

Eris, harboring resentment, presented a golden apple to the guests at the wedding, inscribed with "For the fairest of them all."

The three goddesses who were of the highest status and also the most beautiful—Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite—were arguing over the golden apple. Other gods, fearing to offend the goddesses, dared not speak. So Zeus, the king of the gods, asked Paris, a handsome young shepherd on the mountain, to be the judge.

In order to obtain the golden apple and prove that she was the most beautiful of all the gods, the three goddesses each offered Paris extremely tempting conditions.

Power, glory, or beautiful women.

Ultimately, Paris, as the LSP, faced his own heart and honestly made his choice, decisively handing over the golden apple to Aphrodite, the goddess who promised to make the most beautiful woman in the world fall in love with him and become his wife.

The beautiful woman who was later abducted by Paris and Aphrodite was none other than Helen, the Queen of Sparta.

The Spartan king, whose wife had been abducted, was naturally unwilling to swallow his anger. With a green glow emanating from his head, he immediately raised an army and set out to personally take her back.

Then, the Golden Apple incident served as the trigger for the protracted Trojan War.

……

"Based on the effect of [Frigga's Apple], I recover the damage I just received, which is 2400 LP..."

After saying this, Mogi reached out and took the golden apple in front of him, took a small bite, and then threw it to the ground in front of him.

(Motegi LP: 1600→4000)

The golden apple that touched the ground turned directly into a golden puddle.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, the puddle slowly transformed into a monster with a golden body, but whose appearance was almost identical to that of Friend Xia.

Evil Essence Derivative (Masked Hero Dark Claw): Demon Race, Dark, 1 Star, Attack 2400, Defense 2400

The golden-haired friend appeared on Mogi's field.

However, unlike the Touhou who stood proudly with his arms crossed in front of Yusei, what appeared in front of Mogi was merely a derivative with the appearance of Touhou.

Since the Token is a Normal Monster, even if the Spectral Token is destroyed later, it can still trigger the Special Summon effect of "Swarm Tactics".

"Sorry, Yusei, it seems your attack didn't do any effective damage to me!"

With a goofy expression on his face, Mogi, whose health had been restored to full, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Tsk...I was careless!"

Seeing Mogi's change and his own chain attack with little effect, Yusei clicked his tongue and continued, "However, because of the effect of Dark Claw, the cards you send to the graveyard will be banished from the game!"

"Hmm? It seals off the graveyard and has the effect of banishing cards? This monster... is a bit troublesome!"

Listening to Yusei's explanation, Mogi put the trap card he had just activated into his pocket, looked at Tomokazu standing proudly on the field, and couldn't help but show a thoughtful expression.

It seems that if I want things to proceed smoothly, I first need to find a way to deal with this monster...

"Then, I'll lay two cards in the way, and the turn will end."

After the battle phase ended, Yusei placed his two cards face-down in the back row area and then waved his hand to end his turn.

Although it can still be continued, the benefits are not much now that the battle phase has ended.

Instead of doing that, it's better to save the resources for your next turn.

"At the end of this turn, I activate the effect of the Continuous Trap Card 'Swarm Tactics'. Because 'Yoyo' was destroyed by the Shadow Mist Lady's attack, I can now Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Normal Monster from my Deck."

Mogi, after saying this, pondered in silence for a moment, then suddenly drew a card from his deck and slammed it onto the Duel Disk: "I've decided, this is it... I summon the Level 2 Normal Monster, 'Happy Lovers,' in Attack Position—(Fairy/LIGHT/Level 2/ATK 800/DEF 500)."

With four wings and a round body, a little angel with a heart-shaped symbol on its head bringing happiness to lovers appeared on Mogi's field as he moved.

"Another low-level Normal Monster... Why are all the cards in Mogi's deck these weird ones?" Scratching his cheek in confusion, Jaden Yuki turned his head to ask for everyone's opinion.

However, when he turned his head, he saw a spectacular sight: everyone lying scattered and broken.

With a lewd grin on his face, Marufuji Sho was embracing the overweight Hayato, seemingly indulging in some unrealistic dream.

Daichi Misawa smiled, seemingly satisfied, just like the white-haired man (Kiryu).

Asuka, meanwhile, leaned against a pillar, her long legs tucked in, letting her proud breasts sway with each breath...

"Huh... what's going on?" Judai Yuki asked, completely baffled.

"Huh? Is everyone asleep?"

Upon hearing Jaden Yuki's exclamation, Yusei turned his head to glance at the state of the people around him, and then turned his gaze back to Mogi, who was sitting opposite him, and immediately intended to ask him about the cause of this strange phenomenon.

However, at that moment, a figure wearing protective clothing suddenly leaped down from the sky and blocked Yusei's view.

That handsome face, like a pot of greed, with its distinctive features... was none other than Professor Chronos, who had harassed them many times before!

"Professor Chronos? What are you doing here... and what's with your outfit?"

...COSPLAY?

...Personal hobbies?

Looking at Professor Chronos, who was now wrapped in a thick protective suit and wearing a transparent helmet that resembled a spacesuit, Yusei couldn't help but feel a big question mark above his head.

“Hehehehehe…”

"Surprised, aren't you! Osiris's red...dread...uh...everyone!"

Wrapped in layers of protective clothing, he approached Mogi and placed his hand on Mogi's shoulder. Professor Chronos, who instinctively wanted to call Yusei and Jaden Yuki "losers" or "bad students"—a derogatory term—temporarily changed his mind and blurted out a rather appropriate term.

At this moment, although he has not yet achieved the desired result, he has subdued the enemy without fighting, outside of the duel.

But Professor Chronos, still excited, couldn't wait to run out and appear in front of Yusei, then loudly declared, "You're wondering about everyone's condition, aren't you? That's right! That's because... this is Mogi's exhaustion duel!"

Oh my friend, this is perfectly scientific, okay? It's nothing to be surprised about at all.

Yusei: "...A duel while exhausted?...Are you trying to cause trouble?"

With a furrowed brow, Yusei felt a strong urge to lift his foot and kick Professor Chronos hard in the buttocks.

After so many failures, Pot of Greed, you still haven't given up?

This extraordinary persistence—should we call it great willpower, or something else entirely...?

Jaden Yuki: "...What's that?"

"Yes, a duel of exhaustion~ Here we go!"

As if wanting to show off his achievements to the two, Professor Chronos, with his hands on Mogi's shoulders, showed a look of reminiscence on his face: "You may not know, but three years ago, Mogi was just like Kaiser Ryo is now, the Duel Academy's proud No. 1!"

"No way... No. 1?... If Marufuji Ryo is Kaiser Ryo, then Mogi is Kaiser Shigeru, right?... With his current appearance? Is this for real...?"

The duel was put on hold due to Professor Chronos's intrusion.

Upon hearing Professor Chronos's speech, and glancing at Mogi, who was lazily stroking his nose and gazing into the distance with a bored expression, Jaden Yuki couldn't help but voice a question.

308 The Fallen Genius

"Seeing Mogi looking so disheveled now, you find it hard to believe, right?"

Seeing Jaden's reaction, Professor Chronos wagged his finger and continued, "But! Back then, Mogi's tactical predictions and his understanding of ambush cards were outstanding among his classmates... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a genius!"

"Oh? A genius?"

Listening to Professor Chronos's explanation, Yusei, with an interested look on his face, asked, "So, how did that genius become like this?"