Chapter 163: One Day You Must Learn to Part Ways—Before That, Learn to Part from Kai Sa

Just before launching his attack, Judai hesitated.

Kai Sa Liang was right—he really had been distracted lately.

It wasn't just because of his earlier encounter in the Dimensional World; there was also uncertainty about the future.

Kai Sa actually said he was "at ease"…

At a time like this, should I really attack?

"Judai!"

As he stood frozen, he heard a voice. He blinked, looked up, and saw Tenjo Hikari—previously seated calmly—now standing at a distance.

"Hikari?"

His friends nearby were stunned.

When had they ever seen Tenjo Hikari so animated, so loud, while just watching?

"One day, we all must part ways!

Before that, learn to part from Kai Sa!"

Judai blinked slowly, dumbfounded.

Beside him, Kai Sa Liang, drawn in by Tenjo Hikari's shout, lowered his head in thought: "So… that's how it is?"

"What did Hikari just shout?"

"Hmm, didn't expect Judai to have a moment like this?"

"Hahahaha—" Dark Chui Xue couldn't help laughing, "I always thought Judai was carefree all day, but turns out he overthinks too."

"Judai, as Hikari said," Kai Sa Liang held up his Duel Disk, "one day, each of us must walk our own path. Before that, learn to part from me—after all, even if we part now, it doesn't mean we won't meet again in the future."

With so many people voicing his inner thoughts, Judai felt slightly embarrassed—but then, passion surged through him—

"Fine! Kai Sa, if that's how it is, then I'll defeat you today! So you can leave with peace of mind!"

"Battle! Elemental Hero Nova Master, direct attack on Kai Sa!"

"Lava Nova!"

The proud warrior leapt up, flames blazing across his body, then spreading across the field.

Kai Sa Liang LP: 4000 → 1400.

"Set one card, end turn!"

Watching the duel, Tenjo Hikari's mood lifted unexpectedly; the earlier pressure seemed to ease.

He understood this world well—due to his familiarity with the "original story," he had some sense of his classmates' minds. But in the original story, Judai would have acted strangely today too, because he wanted to appear "perfect" to respond to Kai Sa.

Yet in this world, Judai had no such worries. Every move he made in duels came from his heart—he never carried that burden. So conversely, when he was troubled, it wasn't about dueling at all.

In the original story, his bond with Kai Sa was good, but brief—just a few fleeting encounters, mostly Kai Sa treating him as a younger brother.

But in this world, Judai and Kai Sa had spent nearly a full year together in the club. He truly saw this senior, who cared for him and always stood by his side, as a "big brother"—so his attachment ran far deeper than in the original story.

If Judai, because of his own selfish hesitation, failed to give this duel his all, Kai Sa Liang—who revered dueling above all—might never speak to Judai again.

No one wanted that.

"Nice, Judai. Now it's my turn!"

"My turn, draw—At this moment, the effect of Time Capsule activates: it destroys itself, and all cards banished by it return to my hand!"

As he spoke, a capsule slowly materialized on his field, cracking open with a click-clack, revealing one card within.

"Card from the Dimensional Return!" (Note 1)

"What! Not Fusion!?!"

Kai Sa smiled: "When dueling you, I can't afford to use Fusion carelessly."

"Effect of Card from the Dimensional Return: both players draw two cards!"

He silently drew two cards. Judai drew two simultaneously.

Both stared at one of the drawn cards, momentarily stunned.

"Activate the Spell Card, Greed Pot: according to its effect, return five monsters from my graveyard to my deck, then draw two cards!

I return two Electron Dragons, Electron Dragon Type-3, Electron Dragon Core, and Electron End Dragon to my deck, and draw two cards."

The cards in his graveyard flew back into his deck, which then shuffled rapidly before he drew two cards and glanced at them.

"I Normal Summon Electron Dragon Type-4! While on the field, this card is treated as Electron Dragon!"

"Activate the Set Trap Card, Electron Revolution! This card can tribute one Electron Dragon on the field to Special Summon one—Fusion Monster using 【Electron Dragon】 as material!"

"The only one I'll summon is—Electron End Dragon!"

Zzzt—

A flash of electricity surged over Type-4 Electron Dragon, triggering uncontrollable evolution. Soon, the three-headed mechanical dragon reappeared on the field!

Electron End Dragon, Level 10, Light Attribute, Machine Type, ATK 4000.

"Monsters Special Summoned by this effect cannot attack directly, and are destroyed at the End Phase of the next turn!"

"Battle! Electron End Dragon, attack Elemental Hero Nova Master!"

"Not so fast! I activate my Set card—Trap Card, Absorption Shield!"

As the massive mechanical dragon began charging energy, Judai instantly flipped his Set card: "Nullify the opponent's attack and restore that much LP!"

Yūsei Jūdai LP: 2400 → 6400.

"Interesting, Judai. I'll Set three cards, end turn!"

"Draw—"

"Electron End Dragon will be destroyed at the end of this turn." Ming Xiang watched the duel intently. She felt either duelist could win—but she didn't want either to lose. This strange emotion made her more focused, more eager.

"But with Judai's personality, he won't wait." Wan Wan Zhangmu said.

"Of course! Lightning!" Judai raised a card from his hand, "Heroes never retreat!"

"Activate Fusion Gate's effect: fuse Winged-Beast and Clay Man from my hand!"

"Come on—my friends! Unite your strength!"

"Fusion requirement: Elemental Hero monster and Wind Attribute monster!"

"The wild winds shall rise once more!"

"Fusion Summon—Elemental Hero Wildheart!"

Shhh—

A gust of wind swept across, Winged-Beast leapt onto the field, flinging aside its tattered cloak, transforming into a new form, staring down its opponent.

Elemental Hero Wildheart, Level 8, Warrior Type, ATK 2800.

"When Wildheart is Fusion Summoned, all monsters on the opponent's field lose half their ATK and DEF!"

Electron End Dragon, ATK: 4000 → 2000.

"Perfect!" San Ze slammed his hands on the table and jumped up in excitement, "If this attack lands, Judai wins!"

"That's it—" Judai commanded Wildheart, "Winged… no, Wildheart, attack Electron End Dragon!"

"Impossible! I activate the counter Trap Card, Attack Nullification! Nullify the opponent's attack and end the Battle Phase!"

"Ah! Dodged it!" Ming Xiang patted her chest, "That was tense."

"But at the end of the turn, Electron End Dragon will be destroyed—" Wan Wan Zhangmu added.

"Just negate that effect before it's destroyed," Tenjo Hikari said casually.

"What?"

"Activate Quick-Play Spell, Fusion Reversal! This card returns one Fusion Monster on the field to the Extra Deck!" Kai Sa Liang instantly flipped his Set card, sending his trump card back to the Extra Deck.

"No wonder Kai Sa—his defense leaves no gaps!" Judai stared at his hand.

The card he'd drawn earlier thanks to Card from the Dimensional Return…

"I Set two cards, end turn!"

"Fascinating. Truly fascinating, Judai." Wan Teng Liang seemed to ignite with excitement, drawing a card and activating it: "I Set one Spell Card, then activate Spell Card, Hand Destruction! Both players discard all cards in hand and draw the same number!"

Set one card!?

Then—

Both discarded and drew cards. Wan Teng Liang immediately flipped his newly Set card: "Next, flip this Set card—Normal Spell, Fusion!"

"Finally!"

"But Liang only has a few cards left in hand—"

"Then, Quick-Play Spell: pay half your LP to activate Electron Fusion Support! This card lets you banish cards instead of using Machine-Type monsters as Fusion materials!"

Kai Sa Liang LP: 1400 → 700.

"I banish Electron Dragon, Electron Dragon Type-4, and Electron Dragon from my hand. Fusion Summon—return to me, Electron End Dragon!"

"Aaaoooh!!!"

Electron End Dragon, Level 10, Light Attribute, Machine Type, ATK 4000.

"Due to Fusion's effect, its ATK doubles!"

The three-headed mechanical dragon's body swelled uncontrollably, growing twice its original size!

Electron End Dragon ATK: 4000 → 8000.

"Eight thousand isn't enough to win this turn!" Dark Chui Xue said, "Judai still has too much LP!"

"Then keep increasing it!! Quick-Play Spell, Limit Release!!" Wan Teng Liang revealed his last Spell Card: "According to its effect, the ATK of all Machine-Type monsters on the field doubles again!!"

Electron End Dragon ATK: 8000 → 16000.

Electron End Dragon's body swelled further until the entire Duel Field seemed too small to contain it!

A bead of sweat trickled down Judai's forehead.

"Attack power: 16,000 points!?"

Gasps of astonishment rose from the students.

"Battle! Use Electronic End Dragon to attack Elemental Hero Big Tornado Man!"

"Whoa! 16,000 attack? Even 8,000 life points would be instantly wiped out!"

"Ten Dai!" Big Tornado Man, seeing the attack coming, swallowed hard and cried out instinctively.

"I get it! Flip the face-down card: Quick-Play Magic, Duel Fusion!"

"Can only be activated when a Fusion Monster on your field battles a Fusion Monster on your opponent's field. The attack power of your monster increases by the attack power of your opponent's monster!"

As he shouted, Big Tornado Man's body swelled larger and larger; fierce winds howled, and his attack power surged relentlessly!

Elemental Hero Big Tornado Man, ATK: 2800 → 18800

"18,800 points!??"

"My god—"

"Oh my goodness…"

Yet, seeing this card, Ryo Fujiki felt no tension—only smiled: "Same goal—but the timing is different!"

"After your monster's attack power increase ends, I flip my face-down card—Quick-Play Magic, Duel Fusion!"

"Ah!?"

"Oh!!!"

"Electronic End Dragon's attack power rises by Big Tornado Man's attack power!!"

Electronic End Dragon ATK: 16000 → 34800.

"Three… thirty thousand?!?" A student's face turned pale as he saw the number.

Other students didn't even blink.

Thirty thousand!?

Forget thirty thousand—our brothers rarely even see three thousand!

Can anyone survive an attack of thirty thousand?!

"I knew it, Kai Sa! You really are the strongest!" Ten Dai stared at Kai Sa's Electronic End Dragon and couldn't help shouting excitedly.

"Heh, Ten Dai, watching your duel, I can see how much you've grown," Ryo Fujiki smiled. "Life in the Fusion Club has given you a whole new understanding of Fusion."

"Ah! So—" Ten Dai's eyes lit up, "I won't lose!"

He shouted again: "Kai Sa, the card you discarded from your hand just now—wasn't there a purple one?"

"Purple? Could it be—!"

"Exactly!"

Ten Dai shouted excitedly: "As a challenge from a current student, here's your graduation gift—take it, Kai Sa!"

As a member of the Fusion Club, in the end, I must use this!

Flip the face-down card!!"

"Final Fusion!"

The card's illustration showed two giant dragons locked in battle.

"Haha, Ten Dai… you hate losing, don't you?" Kai Sa, seeing the card revealed, instantly understood everything. His already brilliant smile grew even warmer.

"Can only be activated during the Battle Phase when a Fusion Monster on your field battles a Fusion Monster on your opponent's field. That attack is negated, and both players take damage equal to the combined attack power of those two Fusion Monsters!"

"Big Tornado Man's attack power is 18,800 points," Ten Dai declared seriously, stating his monster's ATK.

"Electronic End Dragon's attack power is 34,800 points!" Kai Sa said with a light chuckle, revealing his monster's ATK.

"So the final damage will reach 50,000!?" The watching students, teachers, professors, and principal were all stunned. They gaped at the field, mouths agape, helplessly staring at the blinding, nuclear-blast-like light growing ever brighter. Only Tenjo Hikari, as if expecting it all along, had already put on his sunglasses and smiled as he watched the final moment.

The two stood within the blinding light, invisible to outsiders, gazing at each other as they spoke their final words.

"Then, farewell, Ten Dai. I hope one day I'll see you on the dueling field!"

"Ah. Kai Sa, don't worry—we'll keep protecting Duel Academy just as always!"

BOOM—

Amid the quiet farewell, a deafening explosion erupted.

The final result is!

Both players' life points dropped to zero—a draw!

Third update, bonus chapter, four thousand characters, written all at once—mainly because it doesn't suit being split.

In the original work, this duel's final damage reached 57,800—the highest effect damage recorded in the anime, since in this book Ten Dai's trump card is the Big Tornado series, so Flashfire Wingman never appears.

Thank you all for your continued support. My updates this month have been visible to all—I've never delayed. Next month, I'll keep pushing for more updates! I'll ask for monthly votes again next month, haha.

Note 1: Original card, no O-card.

By the way, the title is a famous line from Tenjo Kaito's famous duel and iconic scene.

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(End of Chapter)