"Mm..." On the other side, watching Silver-Claw Wolf explode and vanish, Yuya looked a bit embarrassed and spoke. "When a Pendulum Monster is destroyed, it isn't sent to the Graveyard. It's sent face-up to the top of the Extra Deck."
Yugi had already seen that happen, so he didn't question it.
"But I still have a Monster on my field that can fight—I'll use Golden-Tooth Wolf to attack Toy Soldier."
Golden-Tooth Wolf leaped in front of Toy Soldier, bit down on the soldier's body, destroyed it, and it turned into a pile of puzzle pieces.
"Nice! That means Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon can attack directly now!" Yuya's good buddy Gongenzaka Noboru saw this and quickly shouted in excitement.
"Here it comes, Mr. Muto Yugi—this direct attack from a Pendulum Monster you've been waiting for—"
"I activate my Set Card, Trap Card, Counter Gate. It can only be activated when an opponent's Monster declares a direct attack. That attack is negated, then I draw 1 Card from my Deck. If the drawn Card is a Monster, I can Normal Summon that Monster in Attack Position."
"Eh..." Pendulum Dragon had already flown right up to Yugi and was about to bite down, but before he knew it, Muto Yugi flipped up a Set Card.
Counter Gate!
A huge transparent mirror appeared in front of Yugi. He chuckled softly, sidestepped the attack, and casually drew a Card.
"Hmm... I Summon in Attack Position, Lemon Magician Girl."
Lemon Magician Girl, LV 2, Light Attribute, Spellcaster-Type, 800 ATK.
"So cute!" The female trainees cried out in surprise and delight.
It's just that after three consecutive failed attacks, Yuya—whose mood had already been somewhat bad—felt even more dejected, and when he heard the kids cheering for Yugi, he felt even worse.
"It's fine, Yuya!" Up in the stands, Gongenzaka Noboru saw Yuya's attack get negated, put his hands together like a microphone to focus his voice, and shouted down to Yuya, "Even if the attack failed, it still forced out Cards. As long as Pendulums exist, you can Special Summon from the Extra Deck again and again. There's nothing to be afraid of!"
That really was true.
Yuya forced himself to perk up.
"You look pretty nervous?"
"Ah? N-no, not really."
"Heh, there's no need to be so tense, Yuya-kun." Muto Yugi laughed softly and shook his head. "The Duel has only just begun."
"Y-yeah... The real show is still ahead!"
Yuya forced himself to shout his catchphrase.
That line had appeared in several of Sakaki Yuya's Duels, so Yugi had a strong impression of it.
"It's a fun phrase. It reminds me of a very interesting junior of mine... Pendulum Summon, huh...
Just looking at you, I'd say you've probably been worrying a lot lately—worrying that you're not the one and only user of Pendulum Summon. But that actually doesn't really matter, does it?
If you really cared that much, you wouldn't be trying out and explaining Pendulum Summon to your friends or the younger trainees in your everyday life, and you wouldn't be sharing that joy with them. So what's truly weighing on you should be that you've realized you're somewhat special, yet not that special. Am I right?"
Yuya let out a couple of awkward, embarrassed laughs.
He was fairly mature, had a good personality—helpful, bright, and cheerful—but in his heart he had still indulged in a fantasy: the fantasy of being the most special person in the world. Then he saw that he wasn't that one most special person, so of course he felt down.
"Then... Mr. Yugi, I..." For some reason, Yuya felt that the person in front of him had both convincing words and a pleasant way of speaking, so he'd already started using honorifics. Yet even though he wanted to seek an answer, for the moment he didn't know what to ask.
"Ah, that. Haha. Actually, if you think about it carefully, you may not be the most special person, but you truly are someone who leads the way in Pendulum Summon, so you inherently possess that quality and talent. Whether you are the first, or the only Pendulum Summoner, isn't really important, is it? What's important is your understanding of the Summon, and your trust in it.
For example... I know someone who specializes in Polymerization. He isn't the creator of Polymerization, but on the path of Fusion Summon, I'm afraid there are very few who can even stand beside him."
"Ehh—someone that strong?" Yuya was a bit incredulous; he couldn't quite imagine what kind of Level that represented.
However, Sora Shiunin, who was watching from the side, knew very well who Muto Yugi was talking about.
Tenjo Hikari!
That ultimate, Absolute Fusion Master—that peerless Fusion Duelist—that strongest human Alchemist—that Absolute Fusion Duelist whom even their Fusion Army had no choice but to acknowledge!
"So..." A gentle, warm, kindly smile appeared on Muto Yugi's face, and he chuckled softly as he said, "The key is that you must understand your Pendulum Summon."
Sakaki Yuya looked a bit puzzled and hesitated. "There's still something about it I don't understand?"
"Then let's test it first—My turn. Draw."
Muto Yugi glanced briefly at his Hand Cards.
Hmm...
"First, there's something we really need to confirm."
"Eh?"
"And that is: why exactly do Pendulum Monsters get sent to the top of the Extra Deck?"
"B-because of their Attributes?"
"Haha, of course it's because of their Attributes, Yuya-kun. The question is: how wide is the scope of that Attribute?"
Yuya half-understood, half-didn't.
"Then, I'll Tribute the Magigirl on my field to Special Summon, Silent Magician."
The petite girl Mage slowly turned into motes of light. Pure white radiance shone down, glittering brilliantly.
A tall woman in a blue Magic Robe and silver-white Magical Hats appeared silently on the field within that light.