"All right. But the one to release your seal won't be me. It'll be my current partner... Alicia!"
"Eh!? [・へ・?]"
Hearing Yuui mention her name, Alicia was instantly filled with question marks in her mind.
Wait… Yuui-san… wasn't he the one they were after? Why was she, such a cute, charming, and admittedly food-loving little girl, being thrown into the line of fire instead?
Her pearl-like eyes seemed to speak, staring with a pleading gaze but accusingly at Yuui.
Yuui sighed and flicked her forehead. "You idiot, I'm a Spirit right now. How could I form a contract with another Spirit?"
"Ah, right!" Alicia exclaimed, rubbing her reddened forehead as tears welled up. "Yuui-san doesn't have a body right now, so he can't make contracts with Spirits! Then... why not just use my body to duel, Yuui-san?"
"No!" Yuui shook his head firmly for once. He looked toward Neos. "This time, you must defeat Neos with your own power. Otherwise, Neos will never lend you his strength when you need it."
Although Alicia didn't fully understand, since Yuui had spoken with such resolve, she decided to trust him completely. Whatever Yuui-san's plan was, she'd follow it.
Seeing her nod in agreement, Yuui turned back to Neos. "Neos, how about letting my partner be your opponent?"
The moment Yuui said Alicia would duel him, Neos's silver gaze turned toward the blonde, white-eyed girl. For a long time, he said nothing. Then, as he looked back into Yuui's calm, unfathomable eyes, understanding dawned.
"As you wish, my master."
Raising his left arm, six different lights flew into Neos's Duel Disk, automatically forming a complete Deck within its slot.
Seeing this, Alicia immediately pulled out her own Deck and activated her Duel Bracelet, transforming it into a Duel Disk.
Right then, the most injured—but also strongest—person in the group, Instructor Claire, slowly regained consciousness.
As she opened her eyes, two voices rang out in unison.
"Duel!!"
[Alicia, LP: 4000]
[Neos, LP: 4000]
From where she lay, Claire saw Alicia dueling a silver-white Spirit not far away. She had no idea what was happening—abruptly, then her gaze shifted to the white-haired boy.
"You're awake? Good. Then you can bear witness to all of this," Yuui said in a murmur, his words leaving Claire utterly puzzled.
"What... what's going on?" she asked, blinking in confusion.
"What's going on? A duel, obviously," Yuui said flatly.
"But... why are they dueling?"
"Because if we don't duel, we can't leave this place. We have to defeat that Spirit to break the seal and escape. Got it?"
"Uh... got it!" Claire nodded quickly. Perhaps it was because her mind was still overloaded with fragmented memories, but she seemed far less sharp than usual… more like a dazed little girl.
Seeing that, Yuui decided to leave her be. She'd recover once her thoughts settled.
Meanwhile, on the field, the duel between Alicia and Neos had already begun.
Alicia glanced at her Duel Disk and declared, "I'll take the first turn! Draw!"
Scanning her cards, Alicia smiled confidently. She had already found her best opening strategy.
"I Normal Summon Elemental HERO Clayman! Then I Set two cards face-down and end my turn!"
[Elemental HERO Clayman, DEF: 2000]
Alicia looked proudly at her two face-downs—one was the Trap Card D2 Shield, the other Cross Counter.
D2 Shield could double the Defense of one face-up Defense Position monster she controlled. Cross Counter would inflict double battle damage to the opponent if her defending monster's Defense exceeded their Attack, and then destroy the attacking monster after damage calculation.
In short, if Neos dared to attack, he'd take massive reflected damage, and his monster would be destroyed.
[D2 Shield: Target 1 face-up Defense Position monster you control; its DEF becomes double its original DEF.]
[Cross Counter: When a Defense Position monster you control is attacked, if its DEF is higher than the ATK of the attacking monster, inflict double the battle damage to your opponent, and destroy the attacking monster after damage calculation.]
Just imagining the shock on her opponent's face when her trap went off made Alicia smirk.
Truth be told, her strategy was solid; a testament to how far she'd come down the path of defensive counterplay. Anyone dueling her for the first time would likely fall right into her trap.
Unfortunately, her opponent was Neos… the Elemental HERO once among Yuui's strongest Spirits, capable of battling gods and demons alike.
Neos glanced at Alicia's two Set cards, then calmly declared, "My turn. Draw!"
"I activate the Spell Card Ancient Rules! This lets me Special Summon one Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from my hand. I choose myself—the hero from Neo Space, Elemental HERO Neos!"
Seven-colored light converged in midair, and an identical silver-white hero descended onto the field.
[Elemental HERO Neos] Level 7│LIGHT│Warrior│2500 ATK│2000 DEF
From Neo Space comes a new Elemental HERO. When he bonds with Neo-Spacians, he unleashes powers yet unknown!
"Whoa... he summoned himself? And as a Normal Monster, no less!" Alicia stared in awe. Though this was only a Normal Monster, the sheer pressure radiating from it felt even greater than that of any of the Three Sacred Beasts she had seen.
Then came the next surprise.
"I activate the Spell Card Wrath of Neos!" Neos played another card. "I target one Elemental HERO Neos I control—it returns to my Deck, and then all cards on the field are destroyed! My avatar, show this girl our power—Wrath of Neos!"
At his command, the on-field Neos leapt forward, his right arm transforming into a glowing blade. With a single powerful strike, he cleaved through Clayman's crossed arms.
A deafening explosion followed. Clayman shattered into dust before he could even react, and the two face-down cards behind him were obliterated in the same instant.
The shockwave surged toward Alicia, sending her flying backward before she could even cry out—only to be caught midair by Yuui, who shielded her with a dark-violet barrier that absorbed the remaining force.
As she looked at the wreckage of her field and felt the sting in her body, Alicia froze, trembling. It was the first time she had ever encountered power like this—power that could annihilate everything in its path.
Then Neos's calm voice echoed again.
"Master, I understand your intention. However, if this girl wishes to become my new master, she must prove herself worthy. Or... will you face me yourself?"
Alicia turned toward Yuui. His face was dark, unreadable—yet, his answer came steady and firm.
"No. Alicia will defeat you, Neos. You'll see."
"...I see," Neos murmured, lowering his head a little, a trace of sorrow in his voice. "Very well. Then I will hold nothing back."
...
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