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

"Equip 'Destruction Draw' to 'Chaos Giant.' If the equipped monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle, draw 1 card from your Deck. Then, 'Chaos Giant' can attack each of all monsters once during one Battle Phase. Do you know what that means?"

Apart from "Celestial Knight", Yuki has 2 monsters on her field that can be the target of "Chaos Giant", so she can draw a total of 2 cards.

You Xi suddenly understood.

"Are you trying to draw a card like 'Whirlwind' to destroy the 'Severed Darkness'?"

"That's right. I consider myself pretty lucky, especially with Feel's assistance. So, what will the outcome be? Exciting, isn't it? Entering battle phase! 'Ancient Mechanical Chaos Giant' attacks 'Valley Spirit Envoy Ors,' Ultra-Ancient Annihilation Cannon!"

"Ahhhh!"

A blow that seemed to incinerate even molecules struck, instantly engulfing the bespectacled girl's figure. The girl's scream overlapped with Yuki's scream, and an impact far more intense than the 3D image battles he had experienced before pierced through his body at that moment.

[Yu Xi's LP: 4400 → 1750]

"You Xijun!"

"Izumi-san!"

The shouts of Hoshinobu and Izayoi Yuki could be heard, but they sounded somewhat distant.

Cold sweat seeped from his pores, causing Youxi, who was breathing heavily, to tremble slightly all over.

"This is the true power of the 'Chaos Giant'..."

"Are you scared? Even though it's not the legendary dark duel, the impact is still very strong. And it's not over yet, Yuuki-kun."

Kno adjusted his glasses and smiled seemingly gently, "When 'Giant Land Spirit' is destroyed by the opponent, it can search for a monster from the deck, but 'Chaos Giant' prevents the opponent's monster effects from activating during the Battle Phase. Then, because the monster was destroyed in battle, the Equip Card's effect triggered, and I draw one card. Then I use 'Chaos Giant' to attack 'Ancient Gear Giant.'"

Another annihilation cannon shot came, unstoppably piercing and destroying the central core of the "Super Titan". A large amount of steel fell from the sky and crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

—Destruction by the "Ancient Mechanical Titan".

[Yu Xi's LP: 1750 → 550]

Kno's life points remained healthy, while Yuuki's had plummeted to rock bottom. To make matters worse, Kno drew another card, placed it in his Spell & Trap Spell slot, and said, "Looks like luck is on my side, Yuuki. It's over. I'm activating a Quick-Play Spell: Double Whirlwind!"

"Destroy one Spell/Trap Card from each player's field. The targets are, of course, 'Ancient Gear Fortress' and 'Severed Darkness'."

"not good!"

Izayoi Yuki immediately frowned.

"If the 'severed darkness' is blown away...!"

This perpetual magic is practically Yuki's lifeline. Without its protection, the difference in combat power between the "Celestial Knight" and the "Chaos Giant" would be enough to kill Yuki!

"Do not."

At this moment, Xing Yewu's relatively calm voice rang out from the side.

"It's not over yet, Xiaoxue."

"dance?"

“Look at You Xijun’s eyes, he hasn’t given up yet.”

The white-haired girl looked over upon hearing this—

Indeed, even after hearing that declaration that sounded like the Grim Reaper's, the black-haired boy never showed any sign of despair.

Just like every duel before.

"Chain 'Double Cyclone,' open the card!"

Yuki pressed the button on the Duel Disk hard, and a face-down card at his feet suddenly stood up.

"Quick-Play Spell: 'Extravagant'! Send any number of Spells and Trap Cards on my field, other than this card, to the Graveyard. I recover 1000 Life Points equal to that number."

As he spoke, the cards "Severed Darkness" and "Guardian Sword of Light" shattered instantly, turning into cookies and being absorbed into Yuki's body.

[Yu Xi's LP: 550 → 2550]

With a base score increase of 2000 in one go, escaping the edge of the cliff, even if the "Celestial Knight" is defeated by the "Chaos Giant", Yuki will not be defeated.

"Well done, but unfortunately, it's just a little bit of cleverness."

Kno calmly replied, "The effect of 'Double Cyclone' has already been applied. If 'Ancient Gear Fortress' is destroyed, and the 'Fortress' in the Spell/Trap Zone is destroyed, Special Summon 1 'Ancient Gear' monster from your hand or Graveyard."

"—Rise, 'Ancient Mechanical Thermonuclear Dragon'!"

Even if LP recovers and isn't killed by the Chaos Giant, the resurrected Ancient Giant can still finish him off.

"Double Cyclone," a wind card that is not usually included in a deck, can have a synergistic effect in "Ancient Mechs," which is a clever trick for passing down a deck archetype.

The outcome has been decided.

With the rumbling roar of the mechs behind him, Kno was certain of this.

"Hahaha, well done! That's how it should be, Kno! Beat that guy to a pulp!"

Satomi Sho also burst into laughter, as if he could already see Yuki kneeling down and singing "Conquer".

The dean of students shook his head in disappointment and said, "Hmph, that's all there is to it. He's not qualified to be our school's special dueling recruit."

"No, your other monsters won't have a chance to attack."

But Youxi doesn't think so.

"I will activate the second effect of 'Sword of Light' to banish it from my Graveyard. This turn, your opponent's monsters cannot attack directly!"

The card, which had only been in the graveyard for less than three minutes, was taken out by Yuki again. The golden sword of light stood in four pieces, forming an unbreakable sword array around Yuki's body.

No monster's attack can penetrate its defenses.

...At least the "Thermonuclear Dragon" won't work.

"Then let's use the Chaos Giant to attack the Celestial Knight."

The third "Ancient Annihilation Cannon" was fired, vaporizing the air and engulfing the "Celestial Knights" who were trying to resist the attack.

"Ahhhhh!!"

[Yu Xi's LP: 2550 → 1850]

The front line was swept away, and under the unreasonable bombardment of the "Chaos Giant", Yuki was unable to leave any monsters behind.

"How miserable!"

The poignant scene, coupled with the young people fighting for it, made many kind-hearted students feel reluctant to watch.

It's just a duel, why fight so fiercely?

"The effect of 'Destroy Draw' activates; draw 1 more card."

Kno looked at the new cards he had drawn and said, "Because of the effect of 'Light's Guardian Sword,' I can't attack directly, so let's proceed to Main Phase 2. Activate the Spell Card: 'Ancient Excavator.' If you control an 'Ancient Gear' monster, discard 1 card from your hand; you can set 1 Spell Card from your Deck. Cards set by this effect cannot be activated this turn."

"I set 'Linear Cannon.' This card allows me to Tribute 1 monster I control, inflicting damage to my opponent equal to half of that monster's original ATK. In other words, if I Tribute 'Chaos Giant' next turn, I can reduce your Life Points to 0. The final result is the same."

"Hahahaha! How are you feeling right now, You Xi!"

Ignoring the strange looks and expressions of those around him, Satomi Sho loudly mocked the seemingly hopeless boy, venting his own pleasure.

"No matter what you do, it's useless. The Chaos Giant is a monster your pathetic methods can't handle. Just etch this feeling of powerlessness deep into your heart, and say goodbye to your dream school life! Hahahaha!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Satomi Sho's two henchmen also burst into laughter. The trio... no, and the students who had been bribed by him to join in the mockery, that wave of laughter turned into pressure, pressing down entirely on Yuki's shoulders.

"Damn it! I can't hold back anymore, Xiaoxue."

Clenching her fists, Xing Yewu's face no longer held the cheerful smile that was usually so easily seen.

A surge of anger swelled and boiled within the girl's chest.

"I'm definitely going to beat that Satomi Sho up!"

As she spoke, Hoshino Mai was about to take a step forward, but was pulled back by Izayoi Yuki.

"Wait a moment."

"What? Don't you dare say you're going to stop me, or I'll break off all ties with you."

Izayoi Yuki gently shook her head.

"No, I'll go with you, but not now. There are too many people here, and even if we wanted to fight, the adults would stop us."

"……you mean?"

"Wait until he's alone..."

The two girls exchanged a glance, their emerald green and crimson eyes flashing with the same light.

"Are you going to surrender?" Keno asked Youxi, who was being verbally abused, with a leisurely air. "There's a saying, 'Know when to quit while you're ahead.' Why don't you give up sooner rather than later?"

You Xi asked strangely, "Know when to stop? That's not how you use that phrase, is it?"

"That's not important. What's important is that if you continue, you'll only humiliate yourself more. You don't really want to become like what Satomi-kun described, do you? Right now, you can still maintain your last bit of dignity."

"……really."

After a moment of silence and thought, You Xi said, "There are countless card games. It's not shameful to surrender when you realize you can't win. No one will die, at most you'll just lose face. I remember quite a few professional duelists surrendered in professional matches here."

"That……"

"However, I still cannot surrender."

Before Keno's smile could fully appear, Yu Xi suppressed it.

He extended three fingers and slowly pressed them down in sequence.

"Firstly, I have never surrendered in any of my duels so far, unless I lose connection. Even in online games, I will continue to play until the very end. Secondly, this is not a trivial duel, but one that concerns a goal I must achieve, and some people have helped me a lot to be standing here. Thirdly... listen."

"what?"

"Listen carefully."

You Xi gestured with his palm around himself.

"Among so many voices, it wasn't just booing me."

"……come on……"