Yugioh [844-846] (Patreon)

Chapter 844: True Heart

"Duel King"

Adrian's expression instantly turned cold.

People say Duel Academy is the King's forbidden zone. He used to think that was an exaggeration, but now it seemed the rumors weren't overstated after all.

He had just set foot on the island—not even as a stowaway, but as a legitimate exchange student.

Yet even so, the moment he approached the abandoned dorm area, he was immediately caught red-handed.

But Kira's appearance also confirmed the rumors.

Adrian adjusted his glasses and said quietly, "So, it's true, isn't it?"

"Hm?" Kira raised his eyebrows.

"The rumors about the Duel King's power," Adrian said. "This abandoned dorm connects to a world filled with terrifying dark forces. The King obtained incomparable power from that world, and the heart of that power is this island's center and this abandoned dorm."

Kira: "?"

Now it was Kira's turn to be dumbfounded.

Is that really what people say about me?

What nonsense is this?

True, there were indeed his secrets in the dorm, but in reality, it was just that Professor Lyman's old alchemy lab was hidden below. It contained Lyman's years of research, including forbidden alchemy techniques, dark powers, and card-making secrets.

Of course, Lyman had already willingly gifted all of it to Kira.

Kira massaged his temples. "Even rumors these days are this wild…"

"Want to deny it?" Adrian frowned.

"Haha, not really." Kira chuckled. "No matter what I say, you probably wouldn't believe me anyway, so just believe whatever you like."

At this moment, the ghostly Eye muttered from the side: "Honestly, I think that version is pretty convincing. You're crazy strong, and you really do look like some evil god from another world…"

Kira glared at it, and it immediately fell silent.

"So that's what you came here to investigate, young master Gecko?" Kira looked at Adrian with interest.

Adrian gritted his teeth. "That scene you just showed me… How did you know about that?"

But Kira just waved a finger, "No, no, I didn't show you anything. You showed me. What you just saw was your own inner darkness—the image that haunts your mind the most."

"What do you mean?" Adrian gritted his teeth even harder.

The most haunting image in my own mind? No way. I've already let go of that. Shido is my dearest little brother, I've never…

"Is that so?"

Kira smiled and raised his duel disk.

Adrian got the hint: "So, in the end, it's a duel, right?"

"Yep." Kira nodded. "They say dueling is the truest way for duelists to open their hearts. I know a thing or two about that. Maybe I can help you face your true self."

He paused, then gave a mysterious smile.

"Or are you afraid to face it, young master Gecko?"

Afraid to face my true self?

A flash of cold light appeared in Adrian's glasses.

What a joke.

"Fine, I've always wanted to see the Duel King's strength for myself."

Adrian snorted, activating his duel disk.

Duel King—such an awe-inspiring, lofty title.

Deep down, perhaps Adrian did feel that title should belong to him.

He'd always had absolute confidence in his own strength; in fact, Adrian's performance in GX was indeed stunning. He defeated Chazz, obtained the legendary forbidden power of Exodia, beat Aster Phoenix, and even the undefeated boss Yubel almost lost to him…

If there were a power ranking for all GX characters, Adrian Gecko would surely be at the top.

Adrian activated his duel disk.

"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP4000]
[Adrian, LP4000]

"I'll go first. Draw!"

Adrian took the first turn.

But he didn't rush to play his cards. Instead, he cautiously observed Kira.

The legendary Duel King… but he didn't seem domineering at all. There was no pressure coming from him, just a lazy, casual air.

Is this guy really the King? Or is he hiding something?

Although Adrian wasn't afraid of any opponent, facing this guy, he didn't dare be careless.

"I activate the Spell Card 'Lucky Cloud'," Adrian said. "During the turn this is activated, if I summon two or more monsters with the same name, I can draw two cards at the end phase." (Anime effect)

So Adrian is using his Cloudian deck for now.

In the later part of the anime, after gaining forbidden power in the other world, Adrian used the Exodia deck. He's also one of the only characters besides Atem and Grandpa Solomon to command the real Exodia spirit.

But after being made into a real card, Lucky Cloud became Cloudian-exclusive—you can only trigger the effect by summoning Cloudians with the same name. No such restriction in the anime.

"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell 'Summon Cloud'," Adrian continued. "This card allows me to Special Summon any Level 4 or lower 'Cloudian' monster from my hand."

He immediately revealed two cards from his hand.

"I Special Summon these two:
Two 'Cloudian – Sheep Cloud'!"

Two small white clouds appeared on the field, each with cartoonish eyes squinting into crescents.

[Cloudian – Sheep Cloud, DEF 0] x2

The real card has restrictions: you can only activate it if your field is empty, and only once per turn. But you can summon from hand or Graveyard (but the Spell destroys itself if you summon from the Graveyard). The anime has no such limits; you can spam as many as you want if you meet the condition.

"Then I Set one card face-down."

Adrian said.

"End Phase: 'Lucky Cloud' activates. Since I summoned monsters with the same name this turn, I draw two cards from my deck!"

Adrian drew two cards.

"Turn end!"

Kira: "My turn. Draw."

Kira drew his card and smiled lightly at his starting hand.

He muttered to himself, "Since you want to take the stage so badly, today I'll give you a chance. Don't disappoint me…"

He looked up.

"When my opponent controls more Spell/Trap cards than I do, I can Special Summon this card directly from my hand.

Special Summon 'Psychic Megacyber!'"

[Psychic Megacyber, ATK 2200]

"Then I tribute Psychic Megacyber to Tribute Summon—"

Kira raised his monster card.

"The king of psychics, nemesis of traps—
Jinzo, the Trap-Suppressor—
—Jinzo, Summon!"

Chapter 845: Cannon Fodder Again

The moment the monster hit the duel disk, a ring of translucent electricity erupted from Kira, with red lightning forming a force field. The dark red energy first formed a pair of dangerous round glasses, then a steel body, arms folded, exuding overwhelming pressure.

Jinzo, Summon!

[Jinzo, ATK 2400]

Jinzo spread his arms, electricity bursting from his center, chin raised as if exhaling long-suppressed pride.

Finally!

Some fresh air on the duel field!

He was eager to show off, but the Shadow Monarch whispered gloomily behind him, "Master only gave you this chance out of pity… Not that it matters, you'll be cannon fodder again in a minute."

"Shut it!" Jinzo boomed. "Watch closely, this time I'll soar to victory!"

"Haha, everyone's so fired up. Good." Kira smiled. "Let's keep up the momentum.

Jinzo, attack 'Cloudian – Sheep Cloud'!"

Jinzo's eyes flashed red, his invisible force field locking onto Adrian's set card like red electric chains.

That was the power of Jinzo's trap-suppression field. No trap could be activated in this domain.

But Adrian didn't seem like he planned to trigger any trap anyway. Jinzo's attack went through unopposed, blasting one of Adrian's white clouds.

Adrian shielded himself from the impact, but said, "Now, 'Cloudian – Sheep Cloud's effect activates.
When destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I Special Summon two 'Sheep Cloud Tokens' in Defense Position."

The exploded cloud split into two smaller clouds, which hovered on Adrian's field.

[Sheep Cloud Token, DEF 0] x2

Kira: "Turn end."

"My turn. Draw!"

Adrian looked at his card, but didn't play it right away. He looked up at Kira.

"I don't know how you learned about me, Duel King. I don't know how you see me, but I know you don't actually understand me."

"Oh?" Kira smiled. "Are you so sure?"

"Of course." Adrian closed his eyes. "You, as King, could never understand.
Abandoned by parents from birth, ignored by society, destined for death from the moment I was born… The only thing left was to watch the clouds, waiting for death…"

Kira nodded. "Yeah, I can't understand that at all."

The blunt answer left Adrian speechless, making him forget his next line.

"I've never experienced that, so of course I can't understand." Kira shrugged. "But so what? You don't win a duel by having the saddest backstory."

Adrian: "…"

He remembered hearing that the King's mouth was as punchable as his duels—now he saw it was true.

"My apologies, I suppose the King has no need for my boring backstory." Adrian took a deep breath. "But I just wanted to say: the tenacity and strength of someone who clawed his way up from hell—"

He adjusted his glasses, voice steady.

"My Cloudians and I will never lose to anyone."

Adrian raised his head, eyes firm.

"Summon Cloud effect: During my Standby Phase, I must send a card from my hand to the Graveyard, or this card is destroyed.
This turn, I won't send a card, so 'Summon Cloud' is destroyed." (Anime effect)

That was a cost only in the anime; the real card's effect was weakened, so the cost was removed. Adrian didn't pay, so the card vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Then, I tribute my two 'Sheep Cloud Tokens' and my remaining 'Cloudian – Sheep Cloud'—three monsters in total—to Tribute Summon!
Appear, Cloudian - Nimbusman!"

A pillar of water enveloped the three clouds, which merged and reshaped into a new form—a squat, chubby cloud with a bald head and scrunched-up features, glaring at the opponent.

[Cloudian - Nimbusman, ATK 1000]

"Huh?" Eye beside Kira asked, "It's only Level 5, but he used three tributes?"

"It's a special effect monster," Kira explained.

"As expected of the Duel King, you saw through it immediately." Adrian smiled. "Yes! Cloudian - Nimbusman can be Tribute Summoned using any number of WATER monsters on my field.
For each WATER tribute used, its ATK increases by 500!"

"I see," Kira replied. "You used three tributes—all WATER."

"Exactly," Adrian said. "Nimbusman's ATK increases by 1500!"

[Cloudian - Nimbusman, ATK 1000 → 2500]

Eye exclaimed, "Oh no, it's stronger than our Jinzo!"

"And that's not all." Adrian sneered. "When Nimbusman is Tribute Summoned, all opponent's monsters lose ATK equal to 500 x number of WATER tributes used!" (Anime effect)

After becoming a real card, it only kept the ATK boost, not the opponent ATK reduction. So the Cloudian deck was nerfed compared to the anime.

Jinzo, who'd been folding his arms, nervously pointed at himself.

Me? My ATK drops?

Adrian shouted, "Jinzo, take Nimbusman's effect: lose 1500 ATK!"

A blue vapor surrounded Jinzo, his body crackling as if corroded by water.

[Jinzo, ATK 2400 → 900]

"Battle!" Adrian ordered. "Cloudian - Nimbusman, attack 'Jinzo'!"

A swirling spear of wind pierced right through Jinzo's chest!

Jinzo was dejected.

Damn, I'm cannon fodder again.

Chapter 846: Cloudians

Boom!
The cloud's strike pierced Jinzo's chest, leaving a smoking crater. Jinzo looked at Kira, as if to say "I tried," then exploded.

[Kira, LP4000 → LP2400]

Jinzo, now a ghost again, floated to the back, face dark.

His buddy Shadow Monarch popped up, grinning, "Back already?"

Jinzo: "Shut up!"

…

Adrian: "Set one card. Turn end!"

"So this is your Cloudian power. Not bad." Kira dusted himself off. "Looks like I can't hold back, either…
My turn. Draw."

He glanced at his card and immediately summoned it.

"Summon 'Witch of the Black Forest'."

A black-robed witch appeared, hands crossed over her chest, eyes closed in prayer.

[Witch of the Black Forest, ATK 1100]

"Then I equip the Spell 'Wonder Wand'," Kira said. "Equip to a Spellcaster to increase ATK by 500.

I equip it to Witch of the Black Forest."

A staff with a green gem appeared in the witch's hand, glowing with green magic.

[Witch of the Black Forest, ATK 1100 → 1600]

"Now the Wand's second effect: send both the equipped monster and Wand to the Graveyard to draw two cards.

Send Witch to the Graveyard, draw two."

Kira drew two, but the witch's spirit appeared behind him, eyes still closed, mumbling an incantation.

"Witch of the Black Forest's effect: when sent to the Graveyard, I search a monster with 1500 or less DEF from my deck."

Kira's duel disk auto-searched, ejecting a card. The deck auto-shuffled.

Kira paused, glanced at Adrian's duel disk, and smiled.

"As the Gecko heir, you're still using the old duel disk, huh?"

He showed off his own.

"Look, the latest model. KaibaCorp's top version now has auto-search and auto-shuffle—freeing your hands, making duels pure and easy.

Not interested?"

Adrian blinked.

Why the sudden sales pitch?
But he just snorted.

"Thanks, but I'll pass. A duelist's strength doesn't come from the duel disk. No matter how fancy, it won't help you win."

He crossed his arms coldly.

"My current duel disk is just fine."

"Is that so?" Kira shrugged. "That's a shame. But in practice, the difference is huge. Maybe you just haven't noticed."

He paused, smiling mischievously.

"I'll help you realize it."

Adrian: "…"

He didn't respond, but at that moment, facing the King's sly smile, he had a sense that something terrifying was about to happen in this duel.

"I add a DEF 1000 'Silent Magician' from my deck to my hand."

Kira took it and revealed it.

"Next, the effect of 'The Tricky' in my hand: by discarding a card, I can Special Summon it."

Kira discarded a card.

"Special Summon 'The Tricky'!"

A caped magician with a question mark on his chest appeared.

[The Tricky, ATK 2000]

Adrian: "But even so, it's no match for Nimbusman."

"I know," Kira smiled. "But 'Silent Magician' in my hand can't be Normal Summoned; it can be Special Summoned by tributing a Spellcaster.

So I tribute 'The Tricky'!

Wings of silent hope, magician of light—
—Silent Magician, Summon!"

The Tricky vanished into light, a white magic circle spread, and from the holy radiance, a white-robed magician spun out, magic circles rippling at her feet as if walking on air.

[Silent Magician, ATK 1000]

"Silent Magician's ATK increases by 500 for each card in my hand. I have three cards left, so +1500!"

[Silent Magician, ATK 1000 → 2500]

Adrian: "So its ATK matches Nimbusman?"

But Cloudians are known for "can't be destroyed in battle."

Adrian smirked inwardly.

If he tries a mutual KO, he'll find only the Silent Magician is destroyed.

If you stare at clouds, you realize—clouds may change shape, but can't be destroyed, they're endlessly resilient.

That's the kind of person Adrian is; in ever-changing clouds, he sees himself.

"Battle." Kira commanded. "Silent Magician, attack 'Cloudian - Nimbusman'."

Silent Magician obeyed without hesitation, flying forward, staff glowing with white light, striking at the cloud-formed figure.

Adrian's lips curled.

He really fell for it.

"Nimbusman, counterattack!"

But just as they were about to clash, Kira played a card:

"Quick-Play Spell 'Silent Burning'!
If I have Silent Magician on the field and more cards in hand than you, during the Battle Phase, both sides draw until they have six cards in hand!"

Adrian: "!"

Both instantly refilled to six cards. Silent Magician's ability:

"Right, Silent Magician's ATK increases as my hand grows. With six cards…"

[Silent Magician, ATK 1000 → 4000]

Four thousand attack!

Adrian immediately: "Then I activate my face-down!
Trap Card 'Rain Storm'!"

His set card flipped, the artwork unleashing a tidal wave, engulfing his Nimbusman in a tsunami!

"Rain Storm must target a 'Cloudian' monster I control!" Adrian declared.

"By reducing that monster's ATK by 1000, I can destroy an opponent's card!" (Anime effect)

Adrian pointed at the charging Silent Magician.

"Reduce Nimbusman's ATK by 1000 to destroy Silent Magician!"