Chapter 338: You and I are not different (Four updates, please vote for monthly tickets!)

"My turn, draw!"

Aster Phoenix drew a card.

If it were any other time, in front of so many people, he would absolutely not expose his affairs, because he had no interest in letting so many people know his background.

But this time was different.

He had, more or less, already "given up."

"How could you possibly understand my feelings?" He gritted his teeth, his voice trembling as he spoke, "Does telling others mean they can understand me?

Or are you saying I should tell my story to everyone I meet, and then beg for pity like a clown?!

Don't joke around!"

His teeth chattered: "I don't need that kind of thing!"

"..." Astray Kō pondered for a moment, then raised his voice, "Aster Phoenix—"

"I am Astray Kō, I am the head of the Fusion Department, I am the chief representative of the glorious Duel Academy—I am the person in charge on the day you joined the department!

I have known your story for a long time."

Astray Kō also held a card, staring at Aster. Under Aster's surprised gaze, Astray Kō spoke slowly: "I heard that when you were young, your father was killed by someone in an accident, and then his cards were taken away."

"Since then, you have been searching for your father's killer. I know all these things, and I can understand them."

"How can you understand?"

"Aster. I also have no parents." Astray Kō calmly stated a simple and unadorned answer.

Aster was stunned for a short time, and the surrounding students looked at each other, completely not expecting the plot to develop like this.

But—

Often, this kind of answer is the most appropriate one in the heart of someone whose brain is in a mess.

Aster closed his eyes and tried to take several deep breaths.

"I found my father's killer." Aster opened his eyes, looked at his trembling right hand, and said slowly, "He was a very important person to me, the one who, after my father died, acted as my foster father and trained me to become a professional duelist."

*Whoa—*

The onlookers could only sigh that this duel was truly worth watching.

"I discovered that he took the cards my father left behind just for powerful strength, just for that kind of reason!" He raised his right hand, looking at his fist. His fist, voice, body, and even his soul were trembling violently, "He used the power of that card to absorb my father's soul. To take revenge, to defeat him, I destroyed that monster with my own hands—

With my own hands, I completely destroyed my father's soul...

I couldn't even hear my father's last words. I could only watch him disappear, not even a single word... not a single word could I hear."

Astray Kō's pupils shrank suddenly.

It's here—

So the point was here!

Astray Kō suddenly realized.

In the original work, Aster dueled D. D. In the middle of the duel, his father's soul appeared in Plasma. Although he suffered, he called out to Aster, hoping Aster could defeat Plasma and repair his stalled clock so he could move forward again.

But listening to Aster's version, the version of him in this world discovered his father's soul in Plasma during the duel, but that soul couldn't even make a sound.

Because the Light of Destruction was stronger, did it produce this butterfly effect?

That would definitely be difficult to handle!

After all—in this matter, besides his father, who could easily guide Aster out of his inner demons?

Astray Kō sighed.

No wonder even Aster, who was absolutely impossible to be infected by the Light of Destruction, fell for it.

The black aura on Aster's body spread, gradually even dyeing his silver-white suit dim.

He was now full of confusion and had no way to stop his wild thoughts.

Defeating the Blood Demon-D with his own hands was certainly gratifying enough to make him feel a sense of relief after successfully avenging himself, but what about after that?

"What exactly am I doing?" Aster spoke slowly, but the voice gradually became calm from trembling.

It was just that this calmness was not stability, but a kind of death.

Everyone could feel Aster's desire to die.

"Perhaps 【Destiny】 is truly impossible to defy." Aster spoke slowly, "Destiny killed my father, guided me to use Destiny HEROes, disguised as a Phoenix, and caught thieves and robbers all over the world, but it never told me that my true enemy was my 【foster father】, the person I respected, who was the most damnable murderer in the world.

Destiny guided me, letting me get easy victories as long as I wanted to win.

And now, destiny is guiding me, letting me come to this duel..."

"Department Head Astray, only at this moment do I envy you. Your pursuit of Fusion, your purity, your disdain for power. Destiny truly favors you."

He reached out and took the Dystopia card from the field, saying: "And I... I was just under the guidance of destiny, thinking I was a hero, thinking I was punishing evil and promoting good, but I didn't know I was just a foolish person. Perhaps just like D. D. said, I didn't desire to become a hero; I just relied on the power of Destiny HEROes, relied on more powerful cards, to vent my own destructive desires!"

He was not a hero.

But a prisoner of destiny!

"No—you're wrong, Aster!" Astray Kō interrupted Aster's self-pity, "You got it wrong."

"What did I get wrong?"

"There is no such thing as 'destiny,' only 'choices'." Astray Kō said, "When you chose to use Destiny HEROes, when you chose to act as a vigilante, when you chose to catch thieves and robbers on the street, you had already become a hero, regardless of the starting point!"

"Your 【Destiny】 is your own choice. Your use of 【Destiny HEROes】 is also your own choice."

"What are you talking about at this point."

"Because it's simple—I wasn't a firm believer in 【Fusion】 from the beginning, nor was I 【chasing】 Fusion from the beginning!"

"What did you say?" Aster was taken aback.

"Ah!?"

"Eh???"

Now, not to mention Aster, who was dueling, even the students watching couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

What, what?

Astray Kō didn't always believe in Fusion?

This was somewhat of a shock to their worldview.

After all, everyone knew Astray Kō's unconditional trust in Fusion.

"Everything stems from choice." Astray Kō reached out and picked up the card hanging on his chest, taking a slight look at it.

Coming to this world, all the cards in his deck were replaced with Fusion cards, but this didn't mean he couldn't use other cards.

If it were purely for victory, he could put down Super Polymerization and use some traps to temporarily use a more stable, trap-oriented deck. The reason he kept using Fusion, and insisted on a "pure Fusion" deck even now, was not because he could only do so, but because he increasingly believed in "Fusion"!

Not just because of the power of Super Polymerization, but because he gradually truly fell in love with Fusion!

"Aster, could it be that when you were acting chivalrously, when you were using the HERO deck, you never had any happiness in your heart? Could it be that when you were helping others, when you were saving others, your heart was as dead as stagnant water?"

Astray Kō's words touched Aster's heart, reigniting a small spark in his heart that sought death.

"Before I joined the Duel Academy, I was never a user of a Fusion deck." Whether it was the original body in this world or himself before transmigrating, he was never purely using Fusion. It was only after coming to this world that he slowly changed, "I used Fusion to get to know Jūdai, to get to know Flame Swordsman, Dark Flare Knight, Captain Bai Jing, Wan Rong... to get to know one friend after another in the Fusion Department, and even to get to know you, to get to know this guy beside me. These friends are important to me!"

He glanced at Tiera with his peripheral vision, and Tiera crossed her arms, looking up happily.

"Along with using Fusion, I became more and more comfortable with Fusion, and increasingly trusted Fusion—this wasn't something that happened in an instant, but a gradual process, an increasing persistence.

I and Fusion should get along like this!"

"Then what about you? You should also be similar to me, getting to know one partner after another, right?! As a result, look at your useless appearance now! Look at your disgraceful appearance!"

Astray Kō waved his hand, as if a purple vortex swept through the entire duel arena, and said solemnly:

"Aster Phoenix!!

The only difference between me and you is one thing!

That is—I am more firm and more believing on this path of Fusion. No matter what happens around me, I will not change!

And you!

You encountered hardships, and because the hardships were too great and too painful, you couldn't bear it, so you chose to give up!

【HERO】 is not child's play. To become a true hero, setbacks, hardships, pain, and sorrow are all possible! You just retreated because the world wasn't as easy as you imagined!"

"Weakness is not a mistake; the mistake is giving up! It's not changing!"

Hearing these words, the black aura on Aster's body climbed sharply.

"Hey, Astray Kō, what are you doing? Aren't you trying to save your junior? Isn't this even more dangerous?" Tiera was shocked when she saw this, speaking for the first time in this duel.

Because with the change in Aster Phoenix's state, she could see that a terrifying power, not at all inferior to the "Sacred Beasts," and perhaps even more terrifying, was reviving in Aster's body!

Astray Kō didn't answer.

At this point, what use was talk therapy?

Only by adding more fierce ingredients and taking more risks would it be meaningful!

"Department Head Astray, I can't guarantee what will happen next." Aster said in a low voice.

"Bring it on, I will wake you up hard!" Astray Kō didn't mind, "With my Fusion!"

"Then—my turn!!" Aster widened his eyes, his momentum changed suddenly. Behind him, a bloody figure mixed with a light curtain began to twist crazily!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 339 =====