Know Your Heart—Know Your Ally!
"Battle."
Hikaru adjusted his hand. "Gem-Knight Prismaura—Attack Harpie Dancer."
"Then, Meteor Black Dragon, direct attack!"
[Guardian of the Mountain, LP: 5600 → 2100]
"That was a huge hit!"
"So cool!"
"Come on, Big Brother Kujakujaku!"
Kujakujaku emerged from the veil of blocking feathers, staring down at Hikaru.
'What a remarkable Duelist…'
"Since Dark Simorgh has left the field, we can Set cards again."
Hikaru glanced at his hand. "I Set two cards."
Although he had said earlier that his hand was full of Spells, he'd drawn one more card; So neither Kujakujaku nor Hundred Dragon could be sure what had just been Set.
"That ends my turn."
"A splendid Duel, warrior of humanity," Hundred Dragon said, cradling his claws and nodding repeatedly. "Everything you've used was Fusion, wasn't it? In all my hundred years of life, I have never encountered such a unique Duelist.
"But alas, as a guardian of The Mountain, I cannot hold back."
"My turn, draw!"
He drew a card with his dragon claw.
"First, I activate the effect of Dark Simorgh in the Graveyard. If it's in the Graveyard, I can banish one WIND and one DARK monster from my hand to Special Summon it!
"I banish Baby Dragon and Darkflare Dragon from my hand.
"Rise again, Dark Simorgh!"
A gale howled as the fallen divine bird returned to life.
"A bird that can endlessly revive as long as WIND and DARK exist... Normally, it's just something you'd see in textbooks." Atticus shielded his face from the wind, speaking casually.
"Next, Spell Card, Monster Reincarnation. I discard Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand from my hand and add Harpie Channeler from the Graveyard back to my hand."
Hundred Dragon tossed a monster from his hand and retrieved Harpie Channeler.
"Discarding a higher-level monster to get a lower-level one? Is he short on tributes?" Atticus mused.
"No, he probably has something like Monster Reborn," Hikaru explained. "Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand has a special effect when revived from the Graveyard."
"Ah, I see."
Atticus nodded.
"I activate the face-down card, Call of the Haunted!" Hundred Dragon flipped the card he had Set on turn one. Kujakujaku knew exactly why it had been Set then, and why it hadn't been triggered earlier despite the risk to LP.
"This card revives a monster from the Graveyard.
"I revive Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!"
A single golden scale fell from the sky.
"This card was entrusted to me by Lord Felgrand, the guardian of the Dragon tribe. Witness his power!"
Each of the three tribes had a rotating guardian, and when they weren't present themselves, they entrusted a card rich with their power to their most trusted warrior. For the Dragons, that was the Hundred Dragon.
Likewise, Kujakujaku was clearly the most trusted among the Winged Beasts.
They might not be the strongest, but they were the most devoted warriors to protecting the children!
Zzzzzt—
Golden light flashed.
Centered on the scale, light formed into a giant dragon, with cosmic wings of pitch black, adorned with stars.
[Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand] Level 8│LIGHT│Dragon│2800 ATK
"When Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I can target 1 monster in your field or Graveyard and banish it. Then, Felgrand gains ATK and DEF equal to that monster's Level or Rank x 100!"
"What?! Even Xyz Monsters?!" Atticus was startled by the effect.
"Banish Meteor Black Dragon!"
"Not a chance—I activate my face-down Quick-Play Spell, De-Fusion!" Hikaru reacted immediately. "Return a Fusion Monster on the field to the Extra Deck and Special Summon its materials from the Graveyard!"
Meteor Black Dragon's body twisted, then separated into two monsters.
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon, DEF: 2000]
[Meteor Dragon, DEF: 2000]
"Dodged a lethal strike? That was a sharp move." Kujakujaku nodded slightly.
"A lethal strike?" Atticus said, confused.
"Ha, you'll see soon enough!" Hundred Dragon laughed. "Battle!"
"Dark Simorgh—Attack Gem-Knight Prismaura!"
[Duel Academy Students, LP: 5300 → 5050]
"Then Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand attacks Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
A burst of holy light erupted. The black dragon shattered.
"At this moment, Felgrand's effect activates! When this card destroys a monster by battle, I can Special Summon a Level 7 or 8 Dragon from either player's Graveyard, except Felgrand itself!
"Serve The Mountain, legendary black dragon—activate Felgrand's effect and Special Summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon to my field!"
"What?!" Atticus' eyes widened.
Bathed in radiance, the black dragon appeared on the guardian's field.
"The Battle Phase isn't over. Red-Eyes Black Dragon attacks Meteor Dragon!
"Inferno Fire Blast!"
Red-Eyes inhaled deeply, exhaling a scorching fireball that blasted its former partner.
"Ahhh—nngh—"
"Wahhh—"
A few of the little Spirits were frightened.
"Yikes," Atticus muttered. "I thought Hundred Dragon was a gentle type... didn't expect this kind of brutality when he fights."
Now he understood why they had called it a "lethal strike."
"I Set a card and end my turn."
Having cleared the field, Hundred Dragon exhaled a puff of dragon breath and gave Atticus a sharp look.
Through this Duel, he had come to understand Hikaru's "beliefs" and "principles." If any of the young ones wished to leave with him, perhaps that wouldn't be so bad.
But this human named Atticus...
He glanced at the card he had just Set.
It was the Counter Trap [Barrel Behind the Door]. A trap that could be activated when the opponent tries to deal effect damage—it would redirect that damage right back at them.
If Atticus dared to use another card like "Inferno Fire Blast," he was going to be in for a surprise.
Elsewhere, Atticus began his turn. After drawing, he first checked the Set card, then glanced at what Hikaru had Set.
Smiling, he laughed, "Ahahaha, Hikaru, you Set that kind of card? You really believe I can make use of it?"
"If what you said before wasn't a lie—that pride and frustration were real—then I believe you can."
"Hahaha—as expected of a Fusion Duelist. You truly understand your partner!!"
"Then I won't hold back!"
...
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Bonus Chapter @100 PS