Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!-Chapter 636

"Even though they’re both using HERO decks, this is the first time I’ve seen Jaden-kun completely unable to fight back, nyah."

With his thin, frail frame, Banner barely managed to carry the unconscious Jaden back, letting out a long sigh.

"Sensei, is he going to be okay?" Akasha asked worriedly.

"He probably just lost consciousness temporarily from the impact. I don’t think there’s any serious physical harm."

With an alchemist’s eyes, Banner could easily perceive the faint elemental magic flowing through the air. He was certain Jaden hadn’t fainted from a magical injury—Frodi’s attack had simply carried overwhelming force.

Or perhaps the shock had been too great. Even without conscious awareness, the body might have activated its own protective response.

"This King Frodi... he’s far stronger than that errand boy Loptr."

At a moment of crisis for the academy, Alexis also wanted to step forward and fight. But the glaring difference in strength left her legs unable to take that step.

"If only Senpai were here right now..."

"I already texted Hoshino-nee," Akasha replied. "But she hasn’t responded. I don’t know what’s happening on her side."

Not only had Akasha tried contacting Hoshino, she had also attempted to call out to Nursery Rhyme, Jack, and the other Heroic Spirits. But the little brats who usually popped out at a single call were strangely unresponsive today.

"Let’s observe for now. At least they haven’t done anything harmful yet," Akasha said, taking Alexis’s delicate hands in hers.

This King Frodi didn’t seem like some irredeemable villain. If anything, there was a certain nobility in the way he spoke.

"But if they really try to hurt the academy or the students... then even if I have to stand in for Hoshino-nee, I’ll fight."

"Akasha..." Feeling the resolve conveyed through Akasha’s slender fingers, Alexis secretly admired her—and felt even more frustrated at her own hesitation. "I won’t let you fight alone. I’ll help too!"

Sheathing his golden greatsword, King Frodi slowly turned to leave.

"Today’s battle was quite enjoyable. As the Art of War says: Warfare is the way of deception. When capable, feign incapacity; when active, appear inactive; when near, make it seem far; when far, make it seem near. On the first day the World Tree has taken root, a direct assault is unwise. I shall withdraw for now."

"Yes. We respectfully see you off, King Frodi," Loptr said, kneeling on one knee.

However, Queen Mardel clearly had objections. Her bright eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced at the departing Frodi.

"Honestly... Frodi snatched away the prey I had my eye on, and yet he just drags things out instead of devouring it immediately."

As one of the equal-ranking Nine World Kings, Queen Mardel wasn’t about to swallow her dissatisfaction the way Loptr did.

"But oh well. The ’human’ resources in this world are quite abundant."

With a sensual flick of her rosy tongue across her fingertip, Queen Mardel raised a captivating smile.

"So then—aside from that boy named Jaden Yuki, are there any other cute and energetic boys here?"

Completely different from Sword King Frodi, Queen Mardel—ruler of the Plant-type Duel Spirits—took the form of a bewitching, mature noblewoman.

Her lush green hair flowed like willow branches over her shoulders. Her alluring figure, long legs, and flawless pale skin radiated the charm of a fully mature woman.

The boys at the academy stood no chance against that kind of stimulus.

At Duel Academy, the girls they usually saw were mostly peers their own age—or the even younger-looking "middle schooler" principal.

As for mature, sexy women? There was Ms. Dorothy from the school shop... and the female teacher who managed the infirmary and Blue Dorm.

"I say... why not let me do it?"

From the crowd, a boy in a blue uniform bravely stepped forward—only to be immediately dragged back down by the boys beside him.

"No, I think I’m more suitable! If anything happens, let it happen to me!"

"Let me do it! How can I just stand by and watch everyone else sacrifice themselves?!"

"You bastard, are you trying to ruin this for me?!"

Before long, the boys were wrestling each other in a chaotic pile. Somehow, their original purpose had subtly changed—they were now competing to be chosen by the beautiful and sexy Queen Mardel.

"== I suddenly don’t feel like fighting anymore. Let’s just let these idiots get captured," Akasha said flatly.

"Agreed," Alexis nodded.

Ignoring the background characters fighting over the right to become prey, Queen Mardel’s gaze swept across the crowd before settling on the Red Dorm side.

"Oh? Isn’t there an especially cute little boy over there?"

With a light tap of her fingertip, Queen Mardel locked onto her target.

Minazuki: "No way... out of everyone, you pick me? I’m done for..."

Akasha gasped. "(°Д°) She is into Minazuki’s type? That one I did not see coming!"

To be fair, Minazuki was indeed fair-skinned and delicate-looking. If you only looked at his eyes, you might even mistake him for a girl. But for Queen Mardel to lock onto him so decisively was still shocking.

"Hmph... is this as far as I go..."

Having made up his mind, Minazuki slowly stepped out from the crowd.

Syrus encouraged him anxiously. "You can’t give up, Minazuki! Even if Jaden lost, we have to keep fighting!"

"No, Syrus. I’ve already decided." Shaking his head, Minazuki continued forward without looking back.

"After watching Jaden’s duel, I realized something clearly. There are limits to human dueling ability. The more you refine your tactics, the more you understand that dueling has its limits... unless you go beyond dueling itself."

"What are you even talking about, Minazuki?!"

Raising his arm, Minazuki suddenly stripped off his red Osiris jacket and held it high, staring firmly at Queen Mardel.

"I’m not dueling, Syrus!"

"Huh?"

"Queen Mardel, this time I’ll defeat you like a man! Come on—take me away!"

Infuriated by Minazuki’s behavior, the boys who had been scrambling moments ago collectively cursed, "Damn it, Minazuki, you pervert! You’re not even resisting at all?!"

Wait a second—wasn’t that your goal from the start too? How do you even have the nerve to say that?

"Hehe, what an interesting boy. Very well, I shall take you back to my chambers~"

With a seductive smile, Queen Mardel controlled several plant roots extending from the World Tree, binding Minazuki tightly and dragging him to her side.

Wearing a tragic expression, Minazuki loudly declared, "Though I sacrifice myself to save this academy, without Sensei, I will definitely return alive, my dear classmates!"

"Minazuki, just go die already!"

"Don’t come back, you traitor!"

"Damn it, I’m so jealous I could die!"

Dragging Minazuki away as she turned around, Queen Mardel instructed, "Then I shall take my leave for today as well. I’ll leave the rest to you, Loptr."

"Yes, Queen Mardel. Please leave it to me!"

Amid radiant light, the second king to appear also vanished from everyone’s sight, leaving only Loptr.

"So... what exactly is going on here?" Akasha was gradually losing track of the situation.

Two figures who had appeared with overwhelming royal pressure—clearly boss-level enemies at first glance. One instantly knocked Jaden unconscious and left. The other forcibly kidnapped Minazuki and disappeared as well. Neither had done anything particularly dangerous.

"Could it be... that this is already over?" Alexis asked tentatively.

"But it’s called the Nine Kings, right? Shouldn’t there be nine kings, nya?" Professor Banner, carrying the unconscious Jaden over his shoulder, analyzed. "If there are nine opponents of this level, that would be truly despair-inducing, nya."

Touching the roots of the World Tree and sensing the flow of energy, Loptr narrowed his eyes and explained:

"The noble kings will not descend all at once. The first three kings to arrive serve as the vanguard. Their initial goal is to transform this academy into a place suitable for kings and spirits to reside. Using it as a base, we shall conquer the human world."

Akasha twitched at the corner of her mouth. "Conquer the world? I can’t believe that even in this day and age, someone is still plotting something straight out of a last-century villain script."

"Wait, he said there were three kings in the vanguard?" Asuka caught the key detail and tensed up. "Does that mean... there’s still one more—"

Whoooosh—!

A massive black object tore through the sky, the noise ripping through the air hundreds of times louder than a jet plane. Everyone instinctively covered their ears.

"What is that thing?! It’s huge!"

"A monster? A robot? Wait—it’s landing!"

The enormous black-steel mech crashed down onto the academy grounds. The moment its iron legs touched the earth, it caused a violent tremor comparable to when the World Tree first rooted itself, as if the entire academy might be overturned.

[Iron King – Dovelgus]

Nearly as tall as the academy’s main building, the third of the Nine Kings appeared wielding a giant hammer. Compared to the Sword King and the Light King who had appeared before, this one seemed like an entirely different species.

"Behold, mortals!" Loptr shouted excitedly. "This is the great Iron King—Dovelgus!"

"So this is the place that requires reconstruction."

A cold, heavy voice echoed from within the giant machine, reverberating throughout the academy. Dovelgus’s true identity was the king of the dwarves, famed for their wisdom, operating this colossal mech.

Of course, in the world of Duel Monsters, he was the supreme ruler of the Machine-type race.

"Indeed, these buildings lack any aesthetic value. If they are to match the dignity of a king, they must be completely demolished and rebuilt."

He swung the massive black iron hammer. With a body of that size and a weapon like that, a single strike would likely reduce Duel Academy’s main building to rubble.

The sight turned Crowler’s face green—both figuratively and almost literally, making him resemble a Pot of Greed even more.

"Mamma mia! It’s going to tear down the academy! That simply won’t do, no-ne! Someone stop it!"

"Hahaha, useless!" Loptr laughed wildly. With the other two kings gone, he felt bold again. "You humans’ insignificant power cannot stop the Iron King!"

"Creation requires destruction—!"

With a booming shout, Dovelgus’s hammer shattered the air, gathering immense force as it swung toward the academy’s main building.

"Fly—Cyber Dragon!!!"

Just as the steel hammer was about to make contact, a leaping Cyber Dragon burst forward. The blazing light of its Evolution Burst struck true, knocking the hammer’s trajectory off course and causing it to crash heavily into the ground beside the building instead.

"C-Cyber Dragon, no-ne?! Masaka?!"

Despairing, Crowler looked up. Sure enough, standing atop the academy’s main building at some unknown moment was a dark-clad figure, summoning light shining in his hand.

"I had a bad feeling about tonight, so I came back early."

Standing proudly at the top of the academy was the king in a black trench coat—Zane, who had originally been scheduled to return the next day.

"Zane—it’s Zane! He’s back!"

"Thank goodness! Our king—the strongest—has returned!"

After facing the despair of their academy’s imminent destruction, hope ignited instantly within the crowd.

"Brother... is that really my brother?" Syrus stared in disbelief. "Why does he feel completely different? What happened during spring break?"

Due to their parents’ situation, Zane and Syrus didn’t live together, so Syrus naturally had no idea about the hellish training Ryo had undergone.

Holding up his Cyber Dragon card and pointing it at Dovelgus, Zane arrogantly declared:

"A pile of scrap metal like you dares try to destroy this academy? Don’t overestimate yourself!"

"Human! A mere human dares obstruct the great Dovelgus?!"

"Cut the nonsense. I already watched Jaden’s duel earlier!"

Even while facing such a colossal enemy, Zane fearlessly provoked:

"Iron King, was it? You dare claim to rule over Machine-types? Then I’ll use the power of the Cyber Style to shatter that ridiculous title of yours!"

"He’s... taunting his opponent? Is that really Zane?"

Not only Syrus, but the other students had also noticed the obvious change in Zane.

The usually courteous and respectful Zane—no matter who his opponent was—now seemed like a completely different person: arrogant, brimming with confidence.

"But honestly... it doesn’t feel bad," someone muttered. "It’s actually kind of satisfying!"

"Yeah! Nine Kings? Conquer the world? Show them what you’ve got, Zane!"

After finally releasing the pressure he had suppressed within himself, the real Kaiser Ryo was, paradoxically, more readily accepted by everyone at the academy.

Only Akasha had a strange thought cross her mind.

"A trench coat... standing dramatically at the highest point... that arrogant attitude... that wild laugh... Is Zane heading down the Seto Kaiba route?"