In the dead of night at Saint Fusion Academy, the Academy's Headmaster, Crowley Aleister Bredt, sat together in the headmaster's office with the Kingdom of Bredt's current Great Sage—the Crystal Sage, Sandrillon Ning Aluru.
The two were silently watching the crystal mirror before them.
This crystal mirror was one of Great Sage Sandrillon's spells, capable of monitoring every being imbued with magic within a hundred-mile radius.
Usually, this mirror was used to keep an eye on rebel organizations. Albeit, at this moment, what appeared on its surface was, surprisingly, the dorm room of a certain gluttonous blonde girl.
However, nothing indecent was happening in that dorm. Instead, what was unfolding was an assassination through a duel.
And judging by the situation, the gluttonous blonde girl—Alicia—was already at the brink of life and death.
Yet neither Aleister nor Sandrillon made any move to intervene. After all, the girl had already drawn the card that could turn the tables.
Aleister thought for a moment, then patted the nearby onlooker Chorozo and said, "Go call Instructor Morgan. Have her handle the cleanup afterward."
Then came a descent into darkness. Thick black-and-red mist materialized out of nowhere, twisting and writhing until it formed countless terrifying, feral dragon phantoms.
At last, all of those dragon shadows converged upon the ground. A few strands of red-tinted hair swayed amid white locks. With dark skin, white hair, and a half-tattered yet regal black-and-crimson cloak draped over his shoulders, the red-eyed dragon youth appeared on Alicia's field.
[Fallen of Albaz] DARK│Dragon│1800 ATK / 0 DEF
"It's actually… Fallen of Albaz!!"
Elina stared at the white-haired, dark-skinned youth, her heart plummeting instantly.
She could never mistake him… this was his monster, his incarnation: Fallen of Albaz.
It was a monster that only that man, Lord Albaz, or the Saintess of the Order could possibly possess. And now, Alicia had truly summoned it.
Still, Elina quickly composed herself. Even if Alicia had summoned Fallen of Albaz, in her current state, it couldn't deal much damage.
Her Life Points were still at 1900, and her weakest monster had 2600 Attack. Even if Fallen of Albaz fused away one of her monsters, she believed she could withstand whatever Fusion Monster resulted from it.
Her reasoning was sound—regardless, unfortunately, she had overlooked something crucial.
Meanwhile, Yuui reentered Alicia's body, and the two cried out together: "I activate Fallen of Albaz's effect! When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can discard one card to activate it! Using monsters on either field, including this one, as Fusion Material, I Fusion Summon one Fusion Monster!"
"I discard one card, and choose Fallen of Albaz on my field, and Frightfur Sabre-Tooth on your field as Fusion Material—to Fusion Summon!
"Fusion materials: Fallen of Albaz and one monster with 2500 or more Attack!"
At her words, though no Polymerization was played, a gigantic fusion vortex appeared in the sky.
In Alicia's astonished gaze, the white-haired youth on her field and Elina's Sabre-Tooth Tiger were drawn into the vortex by an immense suction force. At the same time, the remaining monsters on Elina's field saw their Attack Points drop sharply.
[Frightfur Kraken, ATK: 2600 → 2200]
[Frightfur Leo, ATK: 2800 → 2400]
Boom!
Thunder roared as crimson lightning fell from the vortex, accompanied by dragon howls as if from afar in the skies.
Alicia raised her right hand and poured her magic into the fusion vortex.
It was a necessary process for any Special Summon—channeling a Duelist's magical power as the fuel for summoning.
But this time, the monster they were trying to summon was far too powerful. Even though Alicia had poured in enough magic to summon three Elemental HERO Thunder Giants, it still wasn't enough.
Gradually, Alicia's complexion turned pale, while Elina smirked coldly as she saw that Alicia's magic wasn't sufficient.
"Heh… you can't even summon Lord Albaz's incarnation? Looks like you really aren't qualified to be a Saintess after all. Don't worry—after you lose, I'll inherit your Stigmata and his incarnation. Rest easy, kouhai. Hahaha!"
Alicia clenched her teeth in frustration. With Yuui's help, she finally had a chance to turn the tide, only for her magic to fall short at the crucial moment.
"Yuui-san… I'm sorry. I've disappointed you again!"
"What are you saying?" Yuui's voice was gentle. "It's far too early to call this over, Alicia."
"But Yuui-san, our magic isn't enough to summon that monster!"
"If your and my magic isn't enough, then we'll use the magic someone else gave us!"
"Someone else's magic?" Alicia didn't understand, then, abruptly, the next instant, Yuui took control of her body and grasped the pendant hanging inside her clothes, resting on her chest.
In the next moment, a surge of magic flooded from the pendant into her body.
Alicia's eyes shot open in shock. She knew what that was—the Eye of Wisdom, the compensation the Headmaster had given her upon admission.
Yuui's voice rang in her mind again.
"The Eye of Wisdom, an alchemical artifact, was once used to open and seal powerful bindings. The stronger the seal, the greater the magical power required to manipulate it. Since one person's power often isn't enough, the Eye of Wisdom was designed to store magic over time for that purpose.
"When your Headmaster gave it to me, I noticed it then… the magic sealed inside was immense, equivalent to ten of you at your current level. I didn't tell you because I wanted to save it as our trump card. I didn't expect we'd need it this soon!"
After hearing his explanation, Alicia didn't care that Yuui had kept this secret. What mattered now was only one thing.
"Yuui-san, with this magic… can we summon your other form?"
Yuui smiled within her body. "Of course. This should be just enough to call forth my first form. Now, say its name with me, Alicia!"
"Yes, Yuui-san!"
Boom!
As Alicia continued channeling the torrent of magic into the fusion vortex, bolts of lightning rained down one after another. When her magic reached its peak, a brand-new card automatically ejected from the Extra Deck slot of her Duel Disk.
Alicia instinctively drew it and raised it high above her head.
Right then, as lightning and flames crashed down, their voices rose in unison:
"Born in the abyss, the youth who devours his enemies' power, let your raging thunder reduce all to ashes! Fusion Summon—Come forth! The Silver Dragon who commands the thunderflame—Titaniklad the Ash Dragon!!"
Roar!
Boom!
Crimson lightning descended amid a deafening dragon's roar. The ground split apart, and amidst a storm of dust, a pair of molten-red wings unfurled.
Scorching winds scattered the haze, revealing their owner in full.
Wings red as magma, a body of gleaming silver, jagged horns of lightning sprouting from his metallic frame—all exuding destructive majesty.
Albaz's First Form—Titaniklad the Ash Dragon—descends!
[Titaniklad the Ash Dragon] DARK│Dragon│2500 ATK / 2000 DEF
"This… this is impossible! Didn't she lack the magic power to summon it!?"
Elina's eyes went wide, her mind blank. By all logic, Alicia shouldn't have had the power to summon Titaniklad… even so, reality had proven her wrong.
Meanwhile, Alicia's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the majestic Titaniklad before her.
Alicia: "Yuui-san, so this is your other form? So cool!!"
Hearing the girl's heartfelt words, Yuui inevitably smiled. Perhaps this was simply a man's pride being satisfied.
Then he chuckled softly and said, "Alicia, a fusion that requires no 'Polymerization'—this is my own power! The current Ash Dragon is merely a small part of my strength. Among my many forms, it's actually one of the weaker ones.
"If you want to see the rest, you'll have to work hard for it."
Alicia: "Mm! I'm going to summon all of your forms, Yuui-san. Every single one of them, hehe~ ☆: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:☆"
Seeing her like this, Yuui smiled helplessly, then his expression turned serious. "The pieces of victory are in place. It's time to end this Duel, Alicia!"
Hearing that, the girl immediately refocused.
"Yes, Yuui-san!" Then, turning toward Elina across the field, she said firmly, "Now, Titaniklad the Ash Dragon's effect activates! Its Attack increases by 100 times the combined original Levels of the Fusion Materials used to Summon it.
"Fallen of Albaz and Frightfur Sabre-Tooth have a total of 12 Levels, so Titaniklad the Ash Dragon's Attack increases by 1200 points!!"
Roar!!
The Ash Dragon let out a thunderous roar, crimson lightning erupting from its body. In a heartbeat, its jagged horns of lightning grew even larger and more menacing.
[Titaniklad the Ash Dragon, ATK: 2500 → 3700]
Seeing the dragon's power suddenly surge, Elina snapped back to her senses, then screamed, her expression twisting, "So what if you summoned Ash Dragon!? Even with that Attack power, you can't defeat me this turn!
"Once my next turn comes, it'll be your end! Everything you have will belong to me!!"
Watching Elina's deranged expression, Alicia felt a slight sense of pity.
She didn't understand why Elina had become a Shadow Duelist, why she took pleasure in the pain of Shadow Duels, or even what that 'Stigmata' she mentioned earlier truly was.
All the same, she knew one thing—she would never let Elina take anything from her. Not her memories, not her heart, not Yuui.
She didn't have much, and everything she did have was irreplaceable. That was why she had to defeat Elina and shatter her ambitions completely.
With that resolve, Alicia raised her hand and shouted, "Battle Phase! Titaniklad the Ash Dragon, attack Frightfur Kraken!"
As her words fell, the Ash Dragon spread its wings and soared into the sky. Crimson lightning cascaded down once more, merging into its body to fuel its devastating assault.
Seeing this, Elina gritted her teeth and yelled, "It's useless! You can't defeat me! Next turn, I'll kill you!!"
Looking at Elina, Alicia erased the last trace of pity from her heart.
"Trap Card, Soul Strike, activate! When my Life Points are 4000 or less, when a battle is declared involving a monster I control, I can pay half my Life Points and target one monster I control. That monster's Attack increases by the amount my Life Points are below 4000, until the end of your turn.
"I pay half my Life Points and target Titaniklad the Ash Dragon, increasing its Attack by the amount my LP are below 4000—that's 3950 points!!"
[Alicia, LP: 100 → 50]
As the Trap's effect resolved, a crimson aura burst from Alicia's body and flowed into the Ash Dragon.
In the blink of an eye, the Ash Dragon's already terrifying presence skyrocketed severalfold, reaching a level of might only gods could touch.
[Titaniklad the Ash Dragon, ATK: 3700 → 7650]
ROOOAARR!!
The Ash Dragon's roar shook the very air, the pressure of its wings causing the entire Shadow Zone to cry out in agony. Clearly, this dimension could not withstand such overwhelming power.
"7650 Attack Points!!" Elina stared, dumbstruck. She had never seen such an absurd number. Not even their academy's top-ranked princess had ever achieved such a thing!
Alicia gazed at the Ash Dragon before her. She hadn't used Soul Strike before because, even with it, her HERO monsters lacked the base power to end the Duel.
But the Ash Dragon was different. From Yuui's shared memories, she knew that although he called it his weakest form, this was the one that could truly achieve victory through sheer Attack power.
That was why Yuui had chosen to use the Eye of Wisdom's magic to forge the Ash Dragon.
"Then, this really is the final moment!" Yuui grasped the girl's hand and asked, "Are you afraid of killing someone?"
"I'm not afraid!" Alicia tightened her grip, her eyes unwavering. "As long as you're with me, Yuui-san, I'm not afraid of anything!"
"Good. Then give the command."
"Yes, Yuui-san!" Alicia raised her arm and cried out, "Go, Ash Dragon! Reduce our enemy to ashes—Thunderflame Dragon Bullet!!"
"No, stop—"
ROOOAARR!!
Elina tried to beg for mercy, but her voice was drowned out by the dragon's thunderous roar. A bolt of crimson lightning, like divine retribution, pierced through Frightfur Kraken's massive body and engulfed Elina as well.
No screams. No agony.
The moment the lightning consumed her, the moment her Life Points hit zero, Elina's soul was swallowed by darkness.
Yet, at the brink of death, she once again saw that white-haired boy.
Seeing the cold gaze identical to that of the Ash Dragon, she finally understood who he truly was… and who Alicia really was.
Nevertheless, sadly, she would never be able to tell her master, Albaz, what she had learned.
[Elina, LP: 1900 → 0]
...
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