How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

Rin Tohsaka saw the [Ultimate Mutant Insect Queen] on Zouken Matou's field release a white insect egg, from which a small insect queen hatched.

[Insect Monster Derivatives]

【1 stars】

[Insects/Ground]

[Attack power: 100]

[Defense: 100]

Holding his last card, Zouken Matou ended his turn.

His eyes barely glanced at the quick-attack spell [Super Evolution Cocoon] that he had covered up on the field.

That's a quick-play spell that allows you to Tribute one Insect-Type monster equipped with an Equip Card on your or your opponent's field and Summon an Insect-Type monster from your Deck without any conditions.

The last card in his hand, [Parasitic Paranoid], can be directly used as an equipment card to equip a monster on the field, turning the equipped monster into an Insect-type monster.

Next, he waits for the Tohsaka family's servant to summon a powerful enough monster, and then he will use these two cards to release that monster and summon the second "Ultimate Mutant Insect Queen" from his deck.

That's right, just like what he was about to do before Yuto and the others arrived!

Chapter Twenty-Four: Crossing the River: No one can be more considerate than me, no one!

In front of the mountain gate of Liudong Temple.

Looking at Zouken Matou, Rin Tohsaka felt a chill run down her spine, sensing that he was planning something bad. She looked at Yuuto with a hint of worry.

"My turn, draw a card."

Looking at the Insect Queen and its derivative on the field, Yuuto had already guessed that the [Ultimate Mutant Insect Queen] effect probably requires an Insect-Type monster to be present on the field to be effective.

Hmm... I'll test the waters.

While pondering, Youdu began the classic opening moves of every hero player.

"I usually summon the Elemental HERO Skywalker from my hand!"

The Sky Warrior, with a pair of mechanical turbine wings on his back, stood silently in front of Youdu, arms crossed.

"Activating Sky Warrior's effect: When this card is Summoned, you can add one 'HERO' monster from your Deck to your hand! I'm adding 'Elemental HERO Liquid Warrior' to my hand!"

The duel disk on his arm automatically shuffled the deck, retrieved the Liquid Warrior card, and popped it out to Yuuto.

Yuuto drew the Liquid Warrior card and then inserted another card into the Spell & Trap Zone.

"Activate the Spell Card [EN Switch]! Return [Elemental HERO Skywalker] from the field to the Deck, and Special Summon [Elemental HERO Mist Lady] from the Deck!"

The phantom of the Shadow Mist Lady flashed across Sky Knight's body, after which black mist continuously emanated from Sky Knight, slowly enveloping him completely. When the black mist dissipated, Sky Knight on the swimming field had transformed into the Shadow Mist Lady.

"If [Elemental HERO Shadow Mist Lady] is Special Summoned, I can add one 'Change' Quick-Play Spell Card from my Deck to my hand!"

"I'm adding [Masked Change] to my hand!"

The Duel Disk on his arm activated again, and Yuu Watari drew the card that had popped out. But before he could stop, under Rin Tohsaka's gaze, he once again swapped the card he had retrieved with a card in his hand.

"Spell Card [Fusion] activated! Fusion condition is 'HERO' monster + WATER monster! I fuse 'Elemental HERO Mist Lady' on my field with 'Elemental HERO Liquid Man' in my hand!"

A two-colored vortex stood behind Youdu, with black and blue orbs of light flying out from his field and his hand respectively, intertwining and entering the vortex.

"Watch out, this hero can send chills down your spine! Fusion Summon—"

"【Elemental Heroes Absolute Zero】!"

"Hahahaha! This is the moment I've been waiting for!"

Upon seeing the Absolute Zero Knight, whose body was completely covered in pure white armor, and noticing that the temperature around Mount Enzo had been dropping steadily since his appearance, Zouken Matou excitedly slapped down the [Parainora] in his hand.

"Activate the effect of [Parasitic Parainora] in your hand! Equip it as an Equip Card to [Elemental HERO Absolute Zero] on your field!"

Toosaka Rin: "!!!"

A bad premonition materialized at that moment. Although she didn't know the specific effect of Zouken Matou's card, Rin Tohsaka could feel a strong sense of malice emanating from him.

Just as she was about to warn Yuto to be careful, she saw Yuto calmly draw a card from his hand.

"So that's how it is. This is your backup plan?"

"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card 'Masked Change', sending the WATER 'Elemental HERO Absolute Zero' to the Graveyard, and Special Summon the WATER 'Masked HERO Acid' from my Extra Deck!"

With a flick of his white cloak, Absolute Zero dodged the onrushing parasites. As if performing a Sichuan opera face-changing act, he donned a blue mask after the cloak fell, and his armor transformed into a suit of armor the same color as the mask.

【Masked Hero Acid Water】

【8 stars】

[Warrior/Water]

[Attack power: 2600]

[Defense: 2100]

"Varied--"

Seeing this incredible maneuver on the field, Zouken Matou was speechless, as if his throat had been choked.

More importantly, if Parasite Parainora fails to equip the monsters on the field, then wouldn't the Mega Cocoon it set be completely useless?

After all, none of the monsters in this game have an Equip Spell Card.

Fortunately, he soon no longer had to worry about his card being useless, because Yudo thoughtfully solved the problem for him.

"【Masked Hero Acid Water】effect activated! If this card is Special Summoned, destroy all Spell/Trap Cards on your field! And reduce the ATK of all monsters on your field by 300!"

"Then the effect of Absolute Zero, which is sent to the Graveyard, is activated in a chain reaction. When this card leaves the field, it destroys all monsters on your opponent's field!"

However, after Yuuto finished speaking, there were still two figures in Matou Zouken's back area, which was covered in acid, and his front area, which was frozen.

It is the [Ultimate Mutant Insect Queen] and the [Insect Monster Derivative].

"You're too naive, kid!"

While there are other Insect-Type monsters on the field, [Ultimate Mutant Insect Queen] will protect all my Insect-Type monsters from being targeted by or destroyed by monster effects!

Zouken Matou stared at [Masked Hero Acid Water] with his cloudy, unclear eyes.

2800 attack power...

Although the ultimate mutant insect queen is most likely doomed, there's still a chance if she survives...

As long as we can make it to the next round—

"No, there will be no next round, Zouken Matou."

Without changing his expression, Yuto activated the effect of the Liquid Knight that had just been sent to the graveyard, drawing two cards from his deck. He added one of them, Elemental HERO Neos Knight, to his hand, and sent the other, Neo Spacman Earth Mole, to the graveyard.

"This is your last!"

"Activate the Spell Card [EN-Clashing Universe] to send [NeoSocioman Dark Panther] from your Deck and [Elemental HERO NeoSocioman] from your hand to the Graveyard!"

Then, recycle the [Fusion] card from the Graveyard, Special Summon the second [Elemental HERO Neos] card from your Deck, and increase its ATK by 1000!

【Elemental Heroes: Neo-Universe】

[Attack power: 2500→3500]

But that's not all; this alone is not enough to deplete Zouken Matou's life points.

So, under Rin Tohsaka's horrified gaze, Yuuto drew another card.

It's not over yet?!

"Spell Card [Easy Contact]! Pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon [Elemental HERO Sunrise Warrior] from the Extra Deck!"

[Yoto LP: 4000 → 3000]

After the change in health points, Yuwatari's leg was visibly missing a section from the middle. Rin Tohsaka keenly noticed this and understood what he meant by "the loser loses everything."

A crimson hero, as red as the morning sun, flew in from the horizon, his blue cloak billowing as he showed people what a miracle was.

Because Neoskewer is on the field, the effects of monsters summoned by Easy Contact cannot be negated, and they can also attack.

Yuwatari retrieves the Miracle Fusion card retrieved from the deck when Sunrise Summoning is successful.

"Due to the effect of [Elemental HERO Sunrise Knight], the ATK of the monsters on my field increases by 200 points for each type of monster!"

【Elemental Heroes: Sunrise Warrior】

[Attack power: 2500→3100]

【Masked Hero Acid Water】

[Attack power: 2800→3400]

【Elemental Heroes: Neo-Universe】

[Attack power: 3500→4100]

"How can it be?!"

Zouken Matou looked at the three Neos on the field, all of whom had an attack power of over 3000, and one of whom even had an attack power of over 4000. He involuntarily took two steps back.

Is this...fear?

Feeling the fear that his body was involuntarily generating, Zouken Matou looked down at his trembling hands in confusion.

Why was he afraid?

This is clearly just a shell. As long as his main body is safe, it shouldn't matter how many shells he loses!

But why does he feel a fear that comes from the depths of his soul?

"Battle has begun!" Without giving him time to think, Yudou launched an attack directly at him.

【Elemental HERO Sunrise Knight】 destroyed 【Insectoid Monster Token】, but because it was in Defense Position, Zouken Matou was not harmed.

【Masked Hero Acid Water】 destroyed 【Ultimate Mutant Insect Queen】, and he took 600 points of combat damage. Immediately, he felt a pain originating from his soul sweep over him.

【Matou Zouken LP: 4000→3400】

At this moment, Zouken Matou realized something; he understood where the tremor that arose from the depths of his soul came from.

"The winner takes all, the loser loses everything... So that's how it is, this 'duel' is a ritual!"

"What you've unleashed with your Noble Phantasm isn't a barrier at all, but a ritual! A duel where souls are at stake!"

Looking coldly at Zouken Matou across from him, who seemed to know he was about to die and was trembling all over, Yuwatari did not stop and continued to give orders.

"This is the last one, Zouken Matou..."

【Elemental Hero Neos】is launching a direct attack on you!

"No! I... I... how could I possibly die like this! Ah—!"

Zouken Matou's wailing finally stopped under Shinu Kakeru's fist, which was enveloped in white light. His body disintegrated into a clump of lifeless insects in front of Yuuto and Rin Tohsaka, and then turned into dust.

【Matou Zouken LP: 3400→0】

【Win】

Just as Zouken Matou's life points reached zero, the duel ended with a winner.

Inside the Matou residence, the Crest Worm hidden in Matou Sakura's heart let out a mournful cry, and the entire worm disappeared without a trace as if it had been erased by an eraser.

Chapter Twenty-Five Medea: I'm terrifyingly strong now!

[A soul filled with obsession: B+]

The soul of someone who had a strong obsession in life is filled with that obsession with survival. If you listen closely, you can even hear their last words spoken in life.

It seems like the monster dropped something strange...

The winner has everything, while the loser loses everything.

These are the rules of the duel.

Therefore, after Zouken Matou lost this duel that staked their souls on each other, his soul, after being erased of his consciousness, became the property of Yuuto.

This is also related to how quickly his insect-like body turned to dust.

But where should we put this?

Yuto examined the lump in his hand that looked like white slime but was actually a collection of souls, and couldn't help but look troubled.

After all, although this thing looks like it's in his hands now, its essence is still composed of an elusive soul.

Therefore, it is unlikely that any container can be used to put it in, unless it is a container specially made for storing souls. Otherwise, other containers cannot even touch it, let alone store it.