Chapter 54: Reward from the King
Even though she suffered an attack from a god, that seemingly world-destroying explosive energy, Aisha didn't feel the impact force comparable to real combat, as she usually did in duels.
Otherwise, with Aisha's light body, being hit by an attack effect of this level, she would have at least rolled a few times backward to negate it.
At this moment, Aisha just stood blankly in the light enveloping her from the god, watching the number representing her life slowly drop to 0.
"Still, lost after all."
To say she wasn't disappointed would definitely be a lie; although before the duel, You Ling had also reminded her that this duel would be very hard to win.
But after grasping a sliver of hope for a reversal, ultimately still losing the duel, this sense of disparity was perhaps even greater than being directly crushed and defeated.
"I'm sorry, Mr. You Ling, I'm still too useless."
"Aisha, you are not allowed to say such things again in the future."
"Why?"
"You are a Duelist who forced out a god. If even someone like you is considered useless, then how are others supposed to live?"
"A Duelist who forced out a god... Is that me?"
Like a dream, Aisha Carlos, who previously had no idea what a God Card meant, felt an unprecedented sense of pride in her heart because of You Ling's praise.
"That's right, Yuna, you can be prouder. The brilliance of humanity hidden in your heart is your greatest weapon. If you make good use of this characteristic, the grown-up you might even be able to surpass gods."
The Pharaoh put away his Duel Disk; the mechanical Duel Disk deployed during the duel, accompanied by the clinking sound of metallic assembly, once again hung on his arm in a very wearable shape.
"I think after this duel, even if you haven't truly found the answer, you are clear about the direction to find the answer. In that case, you should at least be able to cope with the duels you might face in the future."
"Duels we might face in the future?" You Ling asked curiously: "Does that refer to duels after advancing to higher grades? For example, the ranking battles of the three academies in the Elf Sacred Land."
"Not limited to that."
The Pharaoh gently lifted the Millennium Puzzle on his chest, identical to Aisha's.
However, the Millennium Puzzle in the Pharaoh's hand, like his body, was in a semi-transparent state, not truly existing in this world.
"The seven Millennium Items , I believe you also saw one tonight besides the Millennium Puzzle, the Millennium Ring."
"Mm, I saw it. It's the one used by the Dark Duelists." Aisha nodded.
"Just as Yuna, you summoned the Millennium Puzzle by chance, the other six Millennium Items, attracted by some special existence, have all been summoned to this Elf Continent."
"Artifacts like the Millennium Puzzle, there are actually six more?"
"Even I still don't understand why the seven Millennium Items, which symbolize the power of darkness, were summoned to the Elf Continent. But undeniably, because of the advent of the seven artifacts, the balance of light and dark on the continent has been broken. Not every holder of an artifact can, like you Yuna, use their own brilliance to balance the darkness of the artifact."
As for why the seven Millennium Items symbolize the power of darkness. This point must be traced back to their birth in ancient Egypt three thousand years ago.
You Ling also only vaguely remembered that the seven Millennium Items seemed to have been forged from the souls of countless living people.
Countless living people were directly cast into liquefied, scalding hot metal through an ultimate dark ritual.
The deathly resentment thus induced allowed the seven Millennium Items to access the deepest dark powers.
"Fate attracts each other. Since the Millennium Items have descended upon the Elf Continent, they will inevitably reunite at some point. Please consider this my request, successor of Aibo and the Millennium Puzzle, do not let the Millennium Items fall into the hands of unscrupulous people."
What are unscrupulous people? Simply put, like the Dark Duelists encountered today.
Although wearing a counterfeit Millennium Ring, they could still conduct Shadow Games, seize other people's cards, and harm the lives of innocent Duelists.
You Ling asked: "Speaking of unscrupulous people. Where did the Dark Duelist who fell here earlier, and Shuiyue Wu, go?"
"I sent them back to where they belong."
Shuiyue Wu should have been sent back to the academy; as for where the already deceased Dark Duelist should return to, You Ling felt he didn't need to ask further.
The Pharaoh was, after all, also the King of the Underworld (冥界 - Míngjiè).
"I understand, Pharaoh," You Ling comprehended.
"As for your request, I cannot deny that the Shadow Games brought by the Millennium Items are very dangerous. Since fate attracts each other, at least while ensuring my own safety, I will not lose battles against holders of the artifacts."
"That's good, You Ling." The Pharaoh nodded lightly, "Although the current you can win most duels in Yuna's place. But you need to realize that truly difficult battles must be faced by you together, not shouldered alone."
"Mm, I will also support Mr. You Ling with all my strength, don't worry, Mr. Pharaoh!"
"Mr.... Pharaoh?"
Aisha's overly polite and strange suffix address made even the Pharaoh somewhat scratch his starfish head ( referring to Yugi/Atem's iconic hairstyle).
"By the way, Mr. Pharaoh, this card should be returned to you."
Aisha took out the [Brilliant Goddess of Reversal] she obtained from the Pharaoh after [Hand Exchange].
According to the rules of the Elf Continent, normally after a duel ends, these cards taken over would automatically return to their original owner's deck.
But for some reason, the Pharaoh's card had remained in Aisha's deck without disappearing.
"No, I also said just now, she wants to go to your side."
Raising his hand to refuse, the Pharaoh didn't take the card Aisha handed over.
"Yuna, as a reward for you successfully forcing out a God Card, you are qualified to use this card."
"R-really?"
Aisha, somewhat unable to believe the events of tonight, first received [Polymerization] from Yilin, and this time actually received [Brilliant Goddess of Reversal] from the Pharaoh.
This card, which one could tell was extraordinary at a glance, its nature of reversing the tide of battle with a single card, was simply an overwhelmingly powerful, beyond-standard specification in Fusion Academy.
"You're so generous, Mr. Pharaoh!"
Aisha's blurted praise, though simple, came from the heart.
However, the King's generosity seemed not to end there.
"Of course, You Ling, you also showed me the potential of weak monsters. And as a reward for your first confrontation with darkness tonight. These three cards are yours."
"Three cards?" You Ling, in his soul state, instantly became excited, "Could it be, the Three Egyptian..."
Dream on, how could there be such a good thing.
The three cards subsequently obtained from the Pharaoh were the three knights representing JQK in playing cards, used as main monsters tonight.
With this, Aisha's deck's "Spell Catalog" unlocked another branch. A branch route concerning Spell Cards supporting the three Poker Knights.