Want to play cards? I'll use my King's Deck!

"Did he use the power of a magic card to expand the attack range of 'Super Magical Swordsman'?" Hoshino Mai judged. "In that case, he can wipe out all the monsters on the small snowfield in one go."

"But it's not enough."

Izayoi Yuki calmly pointed out the flaw in Yuki's tactic: "I only have 2 monsters in attack position on the field. Even if you can wipe out all my monsters, you can't empty my LP."

"So what?"

Yu Xi tapped the touch button on the Duel Disk, and the lurking Gekko beneath his feet immediately stood up.

Trap Card activated: "Meteor Shower!"

"This turn, when a monster on my field attacks a defense monster, it will inflict damage to my opponent equal to the difference between the monster's attack power and its defense power."

First, "Super Magic Swordsman" was given the ability to attack the entire field, and then it was given the ability to pierce. This fusion monster, which was strengthened twice by Yuki, finally had the great power to kill the girl.

"The Phoenix Lycoris has 0 defense. If it passes in 3 attacks, I win—Go! Super Magician Swordsman, attack the Crimson Dragon!"

The declaration has entered the battle phase, with Yuki's primary target being Tamashii, who costs 250 yen.

If you defeat it first, its "Kilfa Demon" equipment will be transferred to "Moonflower Dragon," increasing its combat damage by 500 points.

"Open the cover!"

However, at that very moment, Izayoi Yuki's cold voice suddenly came, and Geka was lifted up.

"Quick-attack spell: 'Book of the Moon'!"

"Targeting 'Super Magic Swordsman - Dark Paladin,' switch it to face-down defense position. That's it, Izumi-kun. The possibilities you've shown are limited!"

Ultimately, even if the "Super Magic Swordsman" gains the privilege of attacking the entire field, it's useless if he can't attack. The "Book of the Moon" will become a deadly poison, sealing off all of Yuki's struggles. In the end, the hope brought by the "Super Magic Swordsman" is nothing but a bubble in the water.

In order to summon the "Super Magic Swordsman" and launch the Jade Shattering Strike, Yuki has used up almost all of his resources and has no more tricks up his sleeve.

In the next round, as long as "Phoenix Lycoris" launches a self-destruct special attack, it can...

"No, I won the bet, Izayoi-kun."

"……what?"

For a moment, Yuki's thoughts were interrupted, and she realized that Yuki's face did not show any signs of defeat, but rather a smile.

Why can you still laugh?

Obviously...

"I did think about what kind of card Izayoi would get, the odds were fifty-fifty. But it seems I won the bet in the end."

As Yuki saw a book with a crescent moon on its cover emerge from the flooded card art in the back row of Izayoi Yuki's cards, Yuki resolutely sent her only hand card to the graveyard.

"This is the final effect of 'Super Magic Swordsman'!"

"When a Spell Card is activated, you can discard 1 card from your hand to activate this effect. If this card is face-up on the field, negate that activation and destroy it."

The dark magic emanating from the "Ace Knight" card condensed on the blade, deflecting the incoming holy lance.

Seeing this, Izayoi Yuki couldn't help but take a step back, trembling as she said, "How is this possible? How could such a thing happen...!?"

"The battle continues, and this time it's truly over!" Yuki waved and shouted, "Super Magic Swordsman, attack! Super Magic Raging Slash!!"

The "Super Magic Swordsman" raised his weapon with an icy expression, and an even larger magical wave spread out from the weapon.

One, two, three.

Three concentric rings of wave-like blades swept across the atmosphere, each targeting its respective object in turn.

The first wave of blades severed the neck of the "Crimson Lotus Demon Dragon".

[Izayoi Yuki LP: 8000→6100]

The second wave of blades cleaved the "Moonflower Dragon" in two.

[Izayoi Yuki LP: 6100→3600]

The final wave of blades completely tore apart the phoenix's stamen.

[Izayoi Yuki LP: 3600→0]

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

A triple attack triggered a storm of multiple explosions.

By risking the possibility of the final round, Yu Xi successfully secured this important victory.

"So, this should prove my strength, right, Izayoi-kun?"

Chapter 20 Welcome to the Duel Club

"The duel is over, the victor is decided!!"

The shockwave from the explosion kicked up dust and smoke, and under the dazzling sunlight, Bob's short, golden hair shone brilliantly.

Standing at the edge of the dueling arena, Xing Yewu raised her fair hand, fulfilling her duty as a temporary referee.

"I hereby declare the victor of this duel to be—Izumi Yuuki!"

As the clear declaration echoed in the empty space, You Xi also let out a long sigh of relief.

Only then did his tense mind finally relax.

Although this duel was not comparable in intensity to the card games he had experienced in YGO and MD, its importance was incomparable, even surpassing the first duel he had just transmigrated to yesterday.

Fortunately, he pulled through this time.

Thank you, my deck.

Yu silently thanked him in her heart. This time, Youxi also felt a warm current coming from the card box, probably because a brand new card had appeared inside.

I don't know if it's an anime card or a nostalgia booster card like the last one.

However, now is not a good time to confirm this.

"So, this should prove my strength, right, Izayoi-kun?"

You Xi asked the white-haired girl opposite him.

Affected by the three consecutive impacts, Izayoi Yuki collapsed to the ground, looking rather disheveled.

But she didn't care about any of that. Instead, she looked at Yuki with complicated emotions, and at the monster that quickly disappeared when Yuki put down the Duel Disk.

"'Super Magical Swordsman'... There's actually a card like that? I've been completely outmaneuvered..."

"Right? I told you that You Xijun would give you a big surprise, now you believe me, right, Xiaoxue?"

The sunlight in front of her was blocked by shadows, and her vision focused. She realized that it was her friend, who had come to mock her the moment she arrived.

"What are you going to do next?"

"What can we do? That's all we can do."

Izayoi Yuki sighed softly, using Hoshino Mai's hand for support to get up from the ground. She brushed the dust off her school uniform skirt and met the gaze of the boy who had just defeated her once more.

The latter is still waiting for a reply.

"It is a duelist's basic quality to honor a bet, and I will keep my promise. So, as agreed before the duel, welcome to Kiyosumi High School's Duel Club, Izumi-kun. I look forward to your continued support."

……

"Now that we've decided to let Izumi join the club, let's talk about the more important things."

As a qualified duelist, one must also have a strong mental fortitude.

They moved from the dueling arena back to the lounge, where the three sat down separately.

Holding the cup in both hands, Izayoi Yuki blew on the hot tea prepared by Hoshinobu and took a small sip. She had completely shaken off the shadow of her previous defeat and switched to a tone similar to that of a teacher or class monitor in a meeting.

"Business?"

"Yes. Although I did promise to let Izumi join the Duel Club, it doesn't matter if I promised or not."

Izayoi replied to Yuuki, "Izumi-kun, you're not a student at Kiyosumi High School yet, are you? Outsiders can't join clubs."

If it were a game or band club, that would be a different story, but the Duel Club is meant to represent a school in the Star Cup, so obviously all the members must be students of the school.

At present, it is definitely impossible for You Xi to meet this condition.

Upon hearing Izayoi Yuki's words, Yuki and Hoshino Mai were not particularly alarmed.

"Don't worry about that. I discussed it with You Xijun yesterday. He's not currently attending any other school, so we just need to get him transferred to this one."

Yu Xi added, "I heard from Miss Hoshino that Kiyosumi High School has a tradition of recruiting special students, and I plan to get in through that."

"A duel for special admissions students?"

"Yes, yes, Xiaoxue, you also think this is a good idea, right?"

Xing Yewu said proudly, "I took this path back then, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get here. With You Xijun's strength, becoming a special recruit for duels is not difficult at all."

"Once you become a Duel Special Admission student, you get a tuition waiver and don't need to worry too much about your grades in other subjects. The only condition is that you have to get the school as high a ranking as possible in competitions every year, and you can even earn scholarships if you perform well. This is a system that exists precisely for people like us!"

"But the special recruitment exam stage is over now, isn't it?"

Izayoi Yuki spoke up, pouring cold water on the two daydreaming individuals: "Currently, the school has no need to admit special students. At this time, trying to get in through this channel..."

"That's why I need your help, Xiaoxue."

Xing Yewu clasped her hands together, closed one eye, and began to plead with the white-haired girl in a cute manner.

"Xiaoxue, you and Grandpa Principal must have a very good relationship. He treats you like his granddaughter. Please take care of things in this regard."

"This kind of crooked and unorthodox approach... you were planning to use back channels from the very beginning."

"How can this be called using connections?"

Xingye Wu earnestly corrected Izayoi Yuki's misconception, saying, "This is called making flexible and reasonable use of personal connections."

Isn't that just using connections?

You Xi almost blurted out a complaint, but considering that Xing Ye Wu was speaking up for him, he held back his impulse.

"...I really can't do anything with you, okay?"

In the end, Izayoi Yuki said helplessly, "Normally, I wouldn't grant you this kind of request. But this is a special case, so this won't happen again."