Chapter 1230

Mosquito Ninja: "Ahhh—"

【Mosquito Ninja, LP 0】

Swept head-on by the destructive breath of Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, the Mosquito Ninja, who was already small and inconspicuous, was almost blown into pixels.

Kaito put away his Duel Disk, his expression cold and stern, and slowly turned around without looking at his opponent again.

No matter what methods the opponent used, even if they played dirty, Kaito had already decided that he would never lose again.

Because he had finally, with great difficulty, stood up once again as a duelist from the edge of corruption.

And even now, that guy's words still echoed in his ears.

"You possess the power to fight and the ability to stand up for others, yet you gave up dueling for such a reason—isn't that just running away from your responsibilities?"

It was clearly a very annoying voice, and even now, thinking back, it still sounded harsh in his mind. But for some reason, this voice had become impossible to shake from Kaito's mind.

Also impossible to shake was that guy's back, which seemed to be walking further and further away from him, yet becoming taller and taller.

So Kaito made a decision.

Before he met that guy again, he would absolutely, definitely never lose again.

Now, only Yuma's duel was still ongoing.

"Kaito finished his too..." Yuma scratched his head, "Damn it, doesn't that make me look like the weakest one?"

His opponent shouted, interrupting his thoughts: "Do you still have the leisure to look around!?"

Yuma turned around, his attention returning to his opponent.

His opponent was called "Jellyfish Man"—that probably wasn't his real name, but that's what he was called now anyway.

This person was also in a form similar to a Barian, looking strange like a jellyfish, and the deck he used was also a jellyfish-themed one, which did indeed fit his name.

And the ace he controlled was also one of the fake Numbers hand-crafted by Don Thousand.

【No. 4 Stealth Kragen, ATK 1900】

"Activate the Spell Card 'Jellyfish Rain'!" Jellyfish Man said, "All monsters on the field become WATER attribute!"

Raindrops fell with a splash, and translucent blue water enveloped Yuma's Number 39: Utopia, like a suit of water armor covering its body.

Yuma: "Eh? Turning my Utopia into WATER attribute..."

"Then I activate the effect of 'Stealth Kragen'! Once per turn, during either player's turn, I can destroy one WATER monster on the field and inflict damage to the opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK!"

Jellyfish Man laughed loudly.

"Give me your Utopia, now that it's turned into a WATER monster!"

After being turned into a physical card, Stealth Kragen came with the effect of "turning all monsters on the field into WATER attribute," which was actually stronger than the original anime version.

In the anime, this destruction effect only worked on WATER monsters, so one had to use Spell/Trap effects like Jellyfish Man did to change the opponent's attribute first, making it less practical than the physical card.

"Ahhh—"

Utopia was destroyed, and Yuma was sent tumbling by the blast, falling heavily to the ground.

【Yuma, LP 3000 → LP 500】

"This is the end! Die, Yuma Tsukumo!" Jellyfish Man laughed wildly, "Direct attack with 'No. 4 Stealth Kragen'!"

But Yuma, half-kneeling on the ground, saw a rainbow light shoot out from his Graveyard.

"Kuri-Kuri!" A Kuriboh enveloped in rainbow light jumped onto the field.

"The monster effect of Rainbow Kuriboh in the Graveyard!" Yuma said, "When the opponent declares a direct attack, Rainbow Kuriboh can be Special Summoned from the Graveyard to the field!"

【Rainbow Kuriboh, DEF 100】

Rainbow Kuriboh in Defense Position caught a glimpse of the attack, was instantly pierced by the jellyfish, and shattered into pieces.

"Heh, you managed to scrape by for one more turn," Jellyfish Man sneered, "Stealth Kragen is immortal! By next turn, you're finished anyway."

Yuma gritted his teeth.

Indeed.

He had already experienced the trickiness of this jellyfish Number. Besides the destruction effect just now, this Stealth Kragen also had the ability of an immortal body, like a jellyfish dividing.

No matter if the Stealth Kragen on the field was destroyed by battle or effect, it could Special Summon two Xyz Monsters, "Stealth Kragen Spawn," from the Extra Deck or Graveyard. And the original Xyz Materials of Stealth Kragen would become the Xyz Materials for these two new spawn jellyfish respectively.

And the jellyfish spawn that split off were basically copies of the parent, with basically the same ATK and effects.

In other words, no matter how you destroyed the spawn, the spawn's effect could revive the parent. Destroy the parent again, and it would split into spawn again, forming an infinite loop, just like a jellyfish that truly possessed an immortal body of infinite division.

Yuma knelt on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Can you still stand, Yuma?" Astral asked.

"Do you even have to ask? Isn't that a given?" Yuma smiled and stood up shakily, "This is... nowhere near the end, I haven't even warmed up yet."

Astral also smiled easily: "That's right. You never give up, you always 'kattobingu' (fly high), that's how you've always been. From now on, no matter what kind of predicament you encounter, no matter how powerful the enemy, I'm sure you'll be able to keep moving forward like this."

"That's right. And now, it's long since stopped being 'my kattobingu', Astral," Yuma smiled.

Astral was stunned.

"It's 'our' kattobingu!" Yuma said with a grin, "We've been fighting side-by-side until now, and it will be the same now and in the future. The bond between us will cut through all obstacles, fly high, and win our future!"

"Yuma..."

Astral was dazed, looked at him for a few seconds, and then laughed freely.

"You're right, Yuma."

Just at this moment, the card case at Yuma's waist seemed to flash with a golden radiance once again.

It was a golden light similar to when Astral first met him and Number 39: Utopia first appeared.

Astral: "We're going to win, Yuma!"

"Alright!" Yuma's spirit was high, "My turn, draw!"

"Activate the Equip Spell 'Xyz Revenge Shuffle'! This card revives an Xyz Monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position and equips this card to that Xyz Monster!

I revive 'No. 39 Utopia' from my Graveyard!"

【No. 39 Utopia, ATK 2500】

Jellyfish Man was not afraid at all: "Utopia again? Hahaha, can't you come up with something new?"

"And when my Life Points are 1000 or less, I use Utopia as Xyz Material to overlay! Chaos Xyz Evolution! Appear! The messenger who transforms chaos into light—

—Chaos Number 39: Utopia Ray!!!"

【Chaos Number 39: Utopia Ray, ATK 2500】

"So it's Utopia Ray this time," Jellyfish Man sneered.

Well, it's a monster that's also in the data. Although it's very powerful, there's nothing to be afraid of.

Besides, he still had the Trap Card "Sakuretsu Armor" set in his back row, which was his second line of defense. Even if Utopia Ray weakened his Stealth Kragen's ATK and attacked, he could use Sakuretsu Armor to counterattack, surely plunging the opponent into the abyss of despair.

Jellyfish Man's plan was well-calculated, and his mouth curled into a smug, cold smile.

Come on, attack with Utopia Ray.

In this instant, you will fall into hell!

However, he then heard Yuma say: "Then I use 'Chaos Number 39: Utopia Ray' as Xyz Material, Shining Xyz Evolution! Appear! The messenger of hope who can even cut through thunder—

—(Number S) Number S39: Utopia the Lightning!!!"

Jellyfish Man: "???"

What the hell is this!?