Although the Three Sacred Beasts could at least be considered Duel Spirits of the divine class, with the proper bearing that status entailed… let's be honest: if you watched your own avatar get eaten in such a humiliating way, there wasn't a creature alive that could just let it slide.
Yuui thought that if not for the Shadow Duel rules binding Uria to settle things by Duel alone, it would have already manifested in its true form and blasted Alester with a Hyper Blaze on the spot.
"Haa… haa… haa…"
After venting for nearly two full minutes, Uria finally stopped, panting heavily as it glared daggers at Alester.
Throughout Uria's furious tirade, the old man merely stroked his perfectly groomed beard, smiling serenely as he watched the beast lose its mind.
Perhaps this was what a true Shadow Duelist enjoyed most.
Winning or losing didn't matter—what mattered was watching the opponent go insane.
Even Yuui, who still considered himself a proper Duelist of the light, felt an urge to curse at this point.
On the field, seeing that Uria had finally caught its breath, Alester spoke again. "Don't get too worked up. You're using my student's body—if you damage it out of anger, you couldn't afford to pay for it!"
"You—!!" Uria's fury flared again, but before it could speak further, control of Claire's body abruptly switched—Raviel had taken over.
Raviel's crimson eyes locked onto Alester, his voice deep and cold. "Enough of your petty tricks, Alester. Continue the Duel! Or are such underhanded tactics all you're capable of?"
"Hehe, it seems you're in quite a hurry." Alester chuckled twice before his eyes turned icy. "Very well, let me show you—Saint Fusion Academy's pride and foundation… Fusion!!"
With that, Alester drew two cards in succession. "First, I activate the Spell Card Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two! Then, I activate the Spell Card Invocation!"
A green Spell Card materialized behind Alester, releasing an immense surge of magic power that rose into the sky, forming a vast azure magic array overhead.
"That's the Dean's signature move—Invocation! Such terrifying magical energy!"
"It's not a Fusion vortex, but a magic array… what kind of Fusion Summon will the Dean perform this time!?"
"This time, those demons are finished! The Dean's power is beyond what those Spirits can handle!"
As Alester unleashed his famed technique, the teachers and students inside the academy building looked on with joy and awe.
Elsewhere, Autrys and his group, still searching the building for anyone conscious enough to help, felt their spirits lifted anew, working even harder to rally others.
Outside, Alicia stared up at the massive array, a strange feeling rising within her. She asked silently, "Yuui-san, is this the strongest Fusion Spell?"
Yuui also looked up at the Grand Magic Array and shook his head. "No. It's among the highest tier, though not the strongest."
"I see."
Upon hearing that, Alester's mouth twitched slightly, his tone rising as if in protest. "The effect of the Spell Card Invocation! I fuse monsters from my hand to Fusion Summon one Fusion Monster!
"When Fusion Summoning a Invoked Monster, I can also banish monsters from my field or either player's Graveyard as Fusion Material!
"I choose to banish my Alester the Invoker in my Graveyard, and your Uria, Lord of Searing Flames from your Graveyard, to perform a Fusion Summon!
"Fusion materials: Alester plus one FIRE monster!"
As his voice fell, the magic array above flared with dazzling blue light. The card in Alester's hand transformed into a young man in a hooded mage's robe—holding a staff identical to Alester's and a foreboding grimoire in his other hand.
It was the younger version of Dean Alester himself—and yes, he definitely had the face of a womanizer.
Meanwhile, within Claire's body, Raviel frowned as he saw Uria's card rise from the Graveyard.
"Tch, so he noticed."
Though the Three Sacred Beasts saw themselves as equals and rivals to the Egyptian Gods, belonging to the unique Phantasm Beast Type and blessed with natural resistance, there was still one fundamental difference.
Unlike the Gods, whose Attribute was Divine, the Three Sacred Beasts each possessed standard Attributes—FIRE, LIGHT, and DARK.
This difference, minor as it might seem, separated them in essence—and to see a human like Alester recognize and exploit that weakness left Raviel in disbelief.
As for Uria, the one whose avatar had been used as Fusion Material, let's just say… it was now swearing so foully even Raviel felt secondhand embarrassment.
Back to the field.
The crimson dragon that was Uria's avatar merged into the blue array alongside the young Alester. Moments later, the elder Alester's resonant voice echoed across the sky:
"Demon of Purgatory who devours souls of the damned! I offer to you the avatar of the Fiery Phantasm Beast! Descend through the flames of damnation—Fusion Summon! Invoked Purgatrio!!"
BOOM!!
Lavender flames burst from the array, accompanied by eerie laughter, ghostly wails, and deep guttural growls.
From the fire emerged three familiar demons, each bearing a sigil of summoning upon their heads, chests, and right arms.
Invoked Purgatrio—descends!
[Invoked Purgatrio, ATK: 2300]
"The effect of Invoked Purgatrio! This card gains 200 Attack for each card on your opponent's field! You currently have two cards, so its Attack increases by 400!"
[Invoked Purgatrio, ATK: 2300 → 2700]
"Excellent. That's enough to surpass Lava Golem's Defense!"
Inside the academy building, a new instructor standing beside Professor White clenched his fist in excitement. "That means on that guy's next turn, he won't have a single monster left on the field! And his most important card has been sent to another dimension by the Dean himself! That's the true strength of our Dean… so powerful!"
"No," Professor White shook his head. "Although the Dean's display of strength is already incredible, I must tell you… this is not the full extent of his power!
"Watch closely, Professor Leck! This is the true might of Saint Fusion Academy's Dean!"
Then, turning his head toward Autrys and his group, who were running up the stairs, White at once understood their intentions and nodded in quiet approval of Autrys's leadership.
On the field, Alester raised his hand once more. "Next, I activate the second effect of the Spell Card Invocation in my Graveyard! While this card is in the Graveyard, I can target one of my banished Alester the Invoker. This card returns to the Deck, and the targeted monster returns to my hand.
"Return to me once more—my avatar!"
A pale-blue magic circle appeared again, and the handsome mage holding his staff and grimoire emerged once more, transforming into a card that flew back into Alester's hand.
Retrieving his avatar, Alester declared, "Battle Phase! Go, Purgatrio! Attack Lava Golem! Let those so-called Sacred Beasts experience flames that scorch the soul—Infernal Purgatory Dance!!"
As his voice fell, the three demons lunged toward their old acquaintance, Lava Golem.
After all, they had once served under the same master, so the trio naturally recognized the molten giant.
Three Demons: "Hey, buddy! Who'd you devour this time?"
Lava Golem: "Hehe, this time I ate one of the Sacred Beasts—seems it was the avatar of the one who rules over the fiery depths! Delicious!"
Three Demons: "You've had your meal, old pal. Time to hit the road!"
Lava Golem: "Got it!"
With that brief exchange, the three demons tore into Lava Golem, ripping it apart in a macabre, dance-like motion. Then, all three unleashed blazing violet flames toward Instructor Claire.
"Purgatrio inflicts piercing damage! You take 200 points of battle damage," Alester said calmly.
"Hmph, insignificant." Raviel seemed unfazed by the oncoming flames—yet when they actually struck Claire's body, burning her soul, his expression changed slightly.
Because that fire… actually hurt.
[Three Sacred Beasts, LP: 4000 → 3800]
"Then I Set two cards and end my turn!" Alester slid two cards into his Duel Disk, then smiled at Raviel, whose expression had darkened. "Now then, which of you will take the stage next? You, or perhaps Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder?"
Raviel raised his head and stared at Alester. He realized the old man seemed to know far too much about them. It was strange—within their thousands of years of memory, they had never once encountered this human. Some legends mentioned him, but none with this level of detail.
Something was off—although now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
Hamon: "My lord, allow me this turn! With my strength, I can ensure we are not defeated."
Raviel fell silent for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Very well. I leave it to you, Hamon."
At that, Claire's aura changed drastically. Pale-blue lightning crashed behind her, freezing over the molten ground beneath her feet. A golden skeletal demon appeared behind her.
Seeing the figure, Alester raised an eyebrow. "So, this time it's the King of Magic, Phantasm of Ice and Thunder, is it? Very well, let me witness your sorcery firsthand!"
"Oh? You know my title?"
Hamon sounded surprised. Compared to his brothers Raviel and the hotheaded Uria, his name was far less known among mortals. Yet that did not mean he was weaker—on the contrary, Hamon possessed certain powers that surpassed the other two Sacred Beasts. That was why he was called the King of Magic, the Phantasm of Ice and Thunder.
"Then let's see whose magic reigns supreme!" Hamon roared, sweeping his hand. "My turn, draw!!"
A thunderclap split the air, bright lightning flashing outward in all directions.
Seeing this, the onlookers immediately guessed what Hamon had drawn—his own avatar card, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!
Inside the academy, Chuck, walking alongside Autrys toward the third-year floor, stopped in his tracks. Gazing out the window at the dark-golden phantom demon, he swallowed hard and muttered, "Don't tell me that one can also be Special Summoned by sending three Trap Cards to the Graveyard!?"
Carl, walking past him, glanced sideways with annoyance, though he still replied, "Unlikely. My family's archives contain information on the Three Sacred Beasts—including Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. He's the Phantasm Beast of sorcery, so I suspect his summoning method mirrors Uria's… but instead of Traps, he sacrifices three Spell Cards."
"Three Spell Cards!" Chuck blinked, then said excitedly, "Still, he only has two cards in hand… he shouldn't be able to summon himself, right?"
Carl gave him a disdainful look. "Don't underestimate such legendary monsters. They're true demons… not ordinary Duelists like us. If they wish to summon themselves, they'll find a way."
"I… I see." Chuck scratched his head uncertainly.
"Hmph, stop slowing down His Highness. Let's catch up!"
"R-right, Mr. Carl!"
Chuck turned to follow Autrys again—but as he reached the landing on the third floor, he stopped once more.
There stood Autrys, and across from him, a group of senior students led by none other than the Grand Princess of the Bredt Kingdom.
Seeing his sister at the head of more than twenty third-year Duelists, Autrys bowed respectfully.
"Princess Sister."
"Mm." The Grand Princess cast him a brief glance and gave a small nod before turning back toward the Duel below.
To her, royal politics meant little. What she sought was to become the strongest Duelist on the continent… or even in the entire world.
That was her greatest wish—Sera Bredt's ultimate goal!
...
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