Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

"...Don't worry about it."

Pressing his other hand on the deck to forcefully suppress the strange phenomenon, Saiou smiled faintly and returned the deck to Edward: "Ed... it seems that your fate is not as the divination predicted!"

"……is that so?"

"Well... then, I'll set off. I'm sure it won't take too long."

Although still somewhat bothered by what had just happened, Edward quickly regained his composure and focused his attention on the upcoming duel.

The agency headed by Saiou had already contacted the Duel Academy in advance.

Meanwhile, Tengu Yui, who was serving as the acting principal, readily agreed to the duel and sent Professor Chronos and Coach Napoleon to the port to welcome Edward's arrival.

I came, I saw, I conquered.

Next, all Edward needs to do is head to Duel Academy and defeat Jaden Yuki.

……

Under the moonlight, at the harbor of Duel Academy at night.

Shivering from the cold wind, Professor Kronos and Coach Napoleon were waiting for Ed Phoenix to arrive, following the instructions of the acting principal.

"Ugh... It's not here yet~ Look! My body is almost frozen numb..."

"Bear with it, Professor Chronos! According to the agency's communications, Ed seems to be on her way here..."

"But no matter what, there's no need to come in the middle of the night, is there?"

"Ahhh... There's no other way. This is a sacrifice we have to make for the sake of the plans later!"

"I believe that Miss Edward will be moved by our sincerity and will then participate in our plan!"

"...That's true!"

The two, who were having unrealistic dreams and acting as greeters, huddled together for warmth and then looked up at the sky.

It was at this moment that, in the distance of the night sky, accompanied by the flashing searchlights, the silhouette of a large transport plane appeared.

“That’s…?!”

"No way? This...this actually works?"

Under their watchful eyes, a figure decisively jumped out from the back of the cabin, deployed a parachute in mid-air, and then, following the direction of the wind, swayed and flew towards the port, landing smoothly in front of them.

The Civil War of 457 Heroes has begun again!

Ed Phoenix appears to be a beautiful young woman with silver hair and blue eyes.

However, contrary to her beautiful appearance, at a young age she has already made it into the professional duelist league, which is full of strong players, and is even in the top 10.

Online information shows that her hobbies include surfing, paragliding, and skiing—high-end sports favored by the upper class.

But in reality, she is also incredibly good at sports like basketball and football. In terms of sports, she is an all-around outstanding talent.

Besides, she is also impeccable in her studies and daily life.

Despite her young age, she has already earned two doctoral degrees ahead of schedule by skipping grades.

In the duel, she has already defeated Kaiser Ryo head-on, demonstrating her formidable strength as rumored.

It can be said that Ed Phoenix is ​​an undisputed genius, a peerless prodigy born in this generation, the brightest star in the sky, and a chosen one whom mortals cannot even look up to...

Almost everything that seems illogical becomes strangely reasonable and believable when applied to her.

She, Ed Phoenix, possesses that kind of personal charm.

Her huge fan base includes not only men, but also a large number of women.

If it weren't for the traumatic events of her childhood that burdened her with such deep-seated hatred, her life would likely have been incredibly fulfilling and happy...

Unfortunately, there is no if.

For Edward, who is now caught in the vortex of revenge, dueling is merely a necessary means to achieve her goals. She cannot experience any joy from it, nor can she simply enjoy the pleasures that dueling brings like others.

Intimate relationships with someone would only make her feel disgusted from the bottom of her heart; it was a scene she could never imagine.

Therefore, although she is also a hero user, her thoughts are fundamentally different from those of Yusei and Jaden Yuki.

If I had to say, compared to Jaden Yuki, who brings warmth and enthusiasm like the sun, she might prefer a darker hero like Dephinix.

As for the wandering star, it lies between the two, in the gap between light and darkness, revealing the attributes of the chaotic category.

……

"Uh... Yusei, Manjoume, Sho... why are you guys more anxious than I am?"

"I hate to admit it... but even Kaiser Ryo wasn't a match for Edward. Judai, do you think you have a chance?"

"Well, how should I put it? For me, it doesn't really matter whether I win or lose, as long as I have a fun duel."

"Jūdai, you..."

After hearing Edward's challenge, everyone gathered in Manjoume's luxurious room to discuss their next move.

Although Manjoume himself uttered complaints such as, "Why is the meeting about Judai being held in my room?", his weak protest was quickly drowned out by the crowd and failed to cause any trouble.

Upon witnessing everyone's actions, Yuki Judai, the person directly involved, scratched his head and expressed the above thoughts.

For him, losing is not something shameful.

Rather, the defeat in the duel might actually ignite his fighting spirit, making him even stronger than before.

In fact, this should be a good thing!

"Judai, you... you really don't seem to have any sense of urgency at all!"

Looking at Jaden Yuki, who was sprawled out on the luxurious bed in his room as if he were a familiar person, Manjoume raised his arm with a helpless expression and pointed out the window: "See that lighthouse over there? Maybe Edward is making preparations there right now, ready to defeat you!"

"Haha... How could that be? It's the middle of the night! Besides, the odds of winning don't really matter, right? Like I said before, I just want to enjoy the thrill of the duel~"

"……coming."

Just as Jaden Yuki was waving his hand and teasing Manjoume, Yusei, standing to the side, spoke with certainty in a deep voice: "Just as Manjoume said, Athena... has arrived."

Just as Stand users are drawn to each other, Yusei also learned from the Spirits about Edward and the arrival of the "Light of Destruction" she carries.

"What...really???"

Upon hearing Yusei's earnest words, Jaden Yuki paused for a moment, then immediately stood up from the bed with an excited expression. He went to the window and looked at the distant lighthouse: "Yusei, you mean... Edward is just as excited as I am for this battle between heroes, so she came here early in the middle of the night?"

"Expectations? Well... I guess so."

Shrugging, Yusei looked at Jaden Yuki, who was standing up excitedly, and, unwilling to expose the cruel reality, gave an ambiguous answer.

He could probably guess that Edward hadn't come here with any expectations.

In reality, she may simply be following the so-called guidance of fate to defeat Jaden Yuki, who is a "stepping stone" on her path forward.

Furthermore, Yusei had a strange feeling that he might very well have a head-on confrontation with Edward in the near future, a confrontation where their respective beliefs would be at stake...

"He should be at the port right now... Judai, are you planning to go there?"

Following the spirits' guidance, Yusei pointed to the location of Professor Chronos and Instructor Napoleon, and asked Jaden Yuki in this way.

"Is that even a question? They've come all this way, so of course we have to go and greet them! ...What are we waiting for? Let's go take a look!"

"Hey, hey, hey... Big brother, slow down... Don't drag me along!"

Upon hearing this, Yuki Judai could no longer contain his excitement and immediately grabbed his younger brother Marufuji Sho and ran towards the port.

Manjoume and Yusei, who were left behind, exchanged a glance, shook their heads, and followed behind them.

……

"Ah! It really is Ed Phoenix!"

"Really... she actually... showed up at this moment..."

"Earplugs, goggles, parachute... Could it be that she just flew down from the sky? No... that's a bit too brave, isn't it?"

Guided by fate, the three heroes came together.

Shortly after Edward arrived in front of Professor Chronos and Coach Napoleon using a parachute, Jaden Yuki and his companions, who were nearby, also quickly appeared at the same spot.

Upon seeing Edward dressed in sportswear, everyone couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

As expected... Just like how President Kaiba can use his suitcase to stop bullets and his card to cut through steel bars, the physical abilities of the card player cannot be measured by common sense!

Under such inhuman standards, if you can't take down a black bear with your bare hands, you almost wouldn't dare call yourself a qualified card player...

"Jūdai, it's been a long time."

Removing her protective gear, revealing her long, slender, snow-white neck to everyone, the girl, with her silver-white hair tied into twin ponytails and dressed in casual clothes, politely greeted Yuki Judai who had arrived.

This time, she didn't choose to pretend to be someone she wasn't, nor did she use honorifics to act obedient; she simply offered her greeting in a plain manner.

"Ed...don't you use honorifics when you speak to your seniors?"

Before Judai Yuki could even speak, his underling Sho Marufuji preemptively challenged him.

Facing the girl who had defeated his own brother, Ryo Marufuji, Sho Marufuji naturally felt a little resentful.

On one hand, there was fear, and on the other hand, there was a little resentment.

Even someone like him realized that when they first met, Edward was just pretending to be well-behaved and had not revealed his true personality to everyone.

"Ah……"

Ed glanced at the blue-haired dwarf in front of him out of the corner of his eye, and then let out a slightly mocking snort.

It's unclear whether she was disdainful of the intimidating remark or simply didn't take a clown like Marufuji Sho seriously.

"Calm down, Xiang!"

Patting Marufuji Sho on the shoulder, gesturing for him to stand behind him, Yuki Judai, his older brother, then stepped forward and asked, "Ed...did you come all this way just to duel with me?"

"...That's right."

Putting aside her previous disdainful attitude, the girl crossed her arms and looked in the direction of Yuki Jaden: "Yuki Jaden, just as I announced before, I came here specifically to have a showdown with you, who also has a Hero Deck."

"Ah! You two wait a minute... Before that, I have a suggestion!"

Seeing Jaden Yuki and Ed Phoenix engaged in conversation, Coach Napoleon, whose eyes were darting around uncontrollably, seized the opportunity to interject: "Ed Phoenix... I've got a great idea! How about this? We wager the existence of the Osiris Red dormitory in this duel? If Jaden Yuki loses, we'll just cancel the bottom-ranked Osiris Red dormitory altogether~ That way, to avoid having his dormitory demolished, he'll definitely fight with all his might, right?"