Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

Professor Chronos: "...Huh? It can't be that bad, can it?"

If the dormitories are demolished, where will all those students be placed? We can't just expel them all and kick them out, can we?

Even if the current acting principal doesn't care, once Principal Samejima returns and finds out about this, won't he skin them both alive...?

"Heh... If you want to take advantage of my duels, then become my sponsor first."

For the first time, Edward gave the two of them a positive response.

Looking at this filthy adult who intended to take advantage of her, she spoke in a flat tone, uttering cold and realistic words.

"A sponsor?" Upon hearing this word, Napoleon's heart skipped a beat, and a bad look immediately appeared on his face.

“That’s right, a sponsor… but with your salary, that’s impossible.”

With a soft chuckle, Edward shook his head at Coach Napoleon, then turned his back to the crowd and walked towards the Obelisk Blue dormitory.

According to the rules of Duel Academy, students like Edward, who were admitted from outside the academy, could only be assigned to the Sun God Huang dormitory at most, no matter how outstanding they were.

However, because she was a girl and the sun god Huang was a man, Ed was exceptionally allowed to enter the Obelisk Blue girls' dormitory and have her own luxurious room, arranged by the Heavenly Palace Knot.

"Mmm... I wish I had money..."

Biting his handkerchief with a regretful expression, Napoleon had never hated his poverty as much as he did now.

Damn it! If only I had money! I wouldn't have to endure this humiliation!

"There's nothing I can do, Coach Napoleon... You'll just have to give up this unrealistic plan! There's nothing I can do about it!"

Seeing Napoleon standing there, furious and powerless, Professor Chronos shrugged and let out a helpless sigh.

"Jaden Yuki, I'll be waiting for you at the dueling arena tomorrow morning, but... there can't be any other spectators besides you and your companions."

No longer looking in the direction of the crowd, Edward turned around and walked to the other side of the road, at the same time announcing her next plan.

Yusei: "...A match without spectators? Do you not want anyone to see it?"

"Well, after all, this duel is of no benefit to me."

After giving Yusei a slight nudge, Edward calmly explained, "Professional duelists can't just reveal their skills casually... One careless move and their opponent might have prepared in advance, putting them at a disadvantage in the duel."

One of the reasons Caesar lost was that he didn't think about this aspect and didn't consider the fact that Edward had seen through his tactics.

Not everyone will be foolish enough to stand still and withstand the penetrating attack of the [Electronic Terminator Dragon].

"Ah! This duel... As a fellow hero user who also uses a hero deck, I absolutely cannot lose..."

Clenching his right fist tightly, Jaden Yuki shouted from the depths of his heart as he faced the girl's retreating figure: "For me, the Hero Deck is everything!"

"Everything you have? Heh heh heh..."

As if he had heard something amusing, Edward stopped in his tracks and glanced at Yuki Judai out of the corner of his eye: "I hope you don't forget what you said today, Yuki Judai!"

458 Dual Fusion

Amidst a jumble of thoughts, time slipped away unnoticed.

Soon, the time for the final battle between Ed Phoenix and Jaden Yuki arrived.

In the Duel Academy's dedicated arena, the two who had arrived early and were already prepared stood on the left and right sides of the dueling arena, respectively.

As Edward had said before, in order to ensure that the tactics of professional duelists were not widely disseminated, the only spectators watching this duel, besides Yusei and his friends who arrived at the port last night, and Asuka who came temporarily after hearing the news, were Professor Kunonos and Coach Napoleon, who served as referees and witnesses.

Therefore, this duel can be said to be more of a private matter and not widely known.

"Hmm! Now that both sides are ready, I hereby declare... the duel between Edward Phoenix and Jaden Yuki officially begins!"

Seeing that both sides were ready, Coach Napoleon, who was sitting in the front row of the audience with Professor Chronos and holding a microphone, announced the start of the duel.

Professor Chronos, who was intently watching Jaden Akagi's figure on the stage, displayed a completely different attitude from Coach Napoleon.

As if talking to himself, he whispered words that sounded almost encouraging: "Good luck... Judai Yuki..."

Professor Chronos's feelings towards Jaden Yuki, a former thorn in his side, are actually quite complex.

Over the course of more than a year, through his continuous interactions with Judai Yuki, he realized his previous mistakes and that Judai Yuki was not the unambitious bad student he had imagined.

In fact, the positive and optimistic Jaden Yuki always inspires those around him.

It is thanks to people like Jaden and Yusei that Osiris Red, who was originally a perennial loser, has been able to keep appearing in everyone's eyes and constantly showcasing his undeniable presence.

……

"...Please, my heroes!"

With his left arm, adorned with the Duel Disk, crossed over his chest, Jaden Yuki quietly felt the bond between himself and his deck. A slight smile played on his lips as if he were cheering himself on. Oblivious to his surroundings, he spoke words of prayer to his deck.

The duelist's intentions are linked to the cards.

As long as he silently holds onto his beliefs, the deck will respond to his call, delivering the key to reversing the current situation into his hands.

"Then let's begin, let's begin this destiny that has already been decided."

At the same time, Edward, standing opposite Jaden Yuki, slowly put the Duel Disk on his left arm, ready for the duel.

With her face still expressionless, she spoke in a flat, monotonous tone, repeating similar remarks about "fate" as before.

"Oh? Edward's side has already started? Heh... although we already know the result..."

On the other side, in a pure white room, the King of the West, sitting upright at the table and playing with the tarot cards in his hand, began to emit a faint purple light in his eyes.

Through information obtained from the guards at the duel arena who were acting as traitors, Saiō was able to keep abreast of the duel's progress even from a great distance.

Upon learning that the duel between the two had already begun, a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips, a feeling of satisfaction that his plan had succeeded: "Hehehe... In this way, Jaden Yuki will also become a member of our Society of Light, and through this opportunity, Ed Phoenix will reach an even higher level..."

"Perfect for both sides, everything is going as smoothly as I predicted... Hehehehehehehehehehehe!!!"

……

"Alright! Let's just seize the initiative!"

Returning to Duel Academy, just as Jaden Yuki was about to strike while the iron was hot and take advantage of his overwhelming excitement to seize the initiative, Winged Kuriboh suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Curry, curry~~~"

While making its distinctive cry, Winged Kuriboh also waved its short claws, reminding Jaden Yuki not to become arrogant just because it felt it had an advantage.

His current opponent is the powerful figure who defeated Caesar Liang in a direct confrontation.

Although she is a girl, she is not comparable to the previous duelists.

Facing Ed Phoenix... we absolutely, absolutely cannot be careless in the slightest!

"Ah! Aibo (partner)... Don't be careless, I know..."

Slightly paused, and after realizing the meaning that Winged Kuriboh was trying to convey, Jaden Yuki waved his hand at the Winged Kuriboh that had appeared in front of him and continued, "I will not lose. After all... this duel is a duel to prove how much we have grown this year!"

"...Curry~!"

Blinking its eyes, seemingly very satisfied with Jaden Yuki's answer, Winged Kuriboh disappeared after lingering for a while and returned to its original deck.

Edward, who witnessed all of this, frowned slightly and began to question the meaning of this duel: "Yuki Judai, a duelist of this caliber... what exactly is Saiou obsessed with? Is he really... worth us expending so much energy on?"

"Ed, the duel between heroes has begun! Let's have the best duel ever!"

After finishing his conversation with his partner Pokémon, Jaden Yuki clenched his right fist and forcefully punched it into his left palm.

Jaden Yuki, with a bright smile on his face, addressed Edward, who was expressionless, and delivered a positive and uplifting speech.

"Ha... Let's settle this once and for all who truly deserves to use heroes!"

With a cold snort, Edward, somewhat annoyed by Jaden Yuki's enthusiastic attitude, simultaneously activated his Duel Disk.

"DUEL!" ×2

(Yujo Judai LP: 4000)

(Ed Phoenix LP: 4000)

And so, with shouts coming from both sides at the same time, this civil war between heroes officially began.

"I'll go first, draw a card."

Edward drew a new card from the top of his deck, gave it a slight nod, and then placed it directly on the Duel Disk: "I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman from my hand. The effect of this card is: If you have no other cards on your field when this card is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned, you can draw 2 cards from your deck."

With a mysterious smile on its face, and looking somewhat like a chubby old man, the 4-star Water-type Hero Monster appeared on Edward's field as he moved.

Known as "Greed Hero," he also gave Edward two new cards upon his appearance.

“Next, I’ll target Bubble Launcher on the field and activate my Equip Spell Card – [Bubble Launcher]!” After taking out a card from his hand and inserting it face up into the back row of the Duel Disk, Edward continued, “…”

The monster equipped with this card gains 800 ATK. Furthermore, if the equipped monster is destroyed by battle, this card is destroyed instead, and battle damage to the controller of the equipped monster becomes 0.

With a high-pressure water cannon slung over his shoulder, the Water Bubble Man's body, bearing the pressure, involuntarily slumped slightly downwards.

However, now that he is equipped with weapons, his attack power has doubled.

(【Elemental Hero - Bubble Hero】 Attack Power: 800→1600)

"As expected, Edward's deck is truly a hero deck!"

Although they had witnessed the previous live stream, seeing Edward actually control Manjoume still elicited a surprised shout.

Before this, Manjoume, who had been repeatedly crushed by Yusei's hero deck, almost suffered a PTSD attack the moment he saw yet another hero user appear...

"The combination of Bubble Hero and Bubble Launcher allows you to draw cards while also giving yourself a chance to defend against any attack..."

While earning cards, he also provided support. Asuka, watching from the audience, couldn't help but sigh in amazement after seeing Edward's actions.

Unlike the students at the Duel Academy, Edward, as a professional duelist, rarely makes mistakes in his gameplay.

There's naturally a reason why she does something.

"Finally... two cards are laid in ambush, turn ends."

Edward placed his two cards face down in the back row and then waved his arm to end his turn.

"Alright! My turn. Draw a card!"

Jaden Yuki, who had been eagerly anticipating the moment Edward ended his turn, immediately drew a new card from his deck.

After examining the card in his hand, he slammed it onto the duel disk without hesitation: "Ed, just like you... I also summon [Elemental HERO Bubbleman] in Attack Position and activate its effect to draw two new cards from my deck!"