# Chapter 41: Serena Capture Plan
"Oh well, at least I still have a Gandora and a Cosmic Cyclone," Yūga Hōzumi consoled himself after putting away the cards.
"I have three Dream Scrolls left. What should I exchange them for?" Yūga Hōzumi opened the redeemable card list for generic Spell/Trap Dream Scrolls.
"Let me see... Mystic Mine, Imperial Order, Macro Cosmos, Skill Drain... all good stuff!" A trove of powerful cards at the very top of the list made Yūga Hōzumi's eyes light up.
"I've got to get Mystic Mine! Don't the duelists in this dimension love to spam the board with Pendulum summons?" Yūga Hōzumi rubbed his hands together and clicked on Mystic Mine.
[This card requires 10 Dream Scrolls to redeem. The host has insufficient Dream Scrolls. Do you wish to go to the Lucky Spin Wheel interface?]
???
I knew this damn system wasn't that generous. Ten scrolls? You might as well just rob me!
Still unconvinced, Yūga Hōzumi tried to redeem Macro Cosmos and other useful cards, only to find he couldn't afford any of them.
Even Gandora, the card he had just drawn, was listed at a cost of a full five Dream Scrolls.
Yūga Hōzumi scrolled through the list, card by card, until he finally found some he could afford.
[Mystical Space Typhoon: Requires 1 Dream Scroll]
[Book of Moon: Requires 1 Dream Scroll]
...
After pondering for a moment, Yūga Hōzumi used his three Dream Scrolls to get two copies of Book of Moon and one Mystical Space Typhoon.
After exchanging for the three cards, he routinely opened the daily lottery. The quality of his rewards had been declining recently. Every day, it was either Aunt Tome's fried shrimp burgers or Yuma's grandmother's duel rice balls. The most outrageous prize was a book titled "A Guide to Self-Rescue After Being Kidnapped," written by Sugoroku Mutou. Yūga Hōzumi had no idea what use it could possibly be. Was he supposed to find a way to send it to Ruri Kurosaki so she could break out on her own?
[Congratulations, Host! You have received an Ultra Rare Reward: Pendulum Card Dream Scroll ×3]
Yūga Hōzumi: ???
What the hell am I supposed to do with these?! Onomats have zero potential for a Pendulum engine.
Yūga Hōzumi casually tossed the three Dream Scrolls into his inventory, grumbling as he exited the system.
...
Three days later, Yūga Hōzumi and his two companions easily defeated their respective second-round opponents, qualifying for the second stage: the grand melee.
It was worth noting that Tomato, who had been completely demoralized by his defeat to Yūga Hōzumi, had inexplicably become optimistic again. Yūga Hōzumi was marveling at this until he saw the Spell Card—Smile World.
Yūga Hōzumi: ...
That thing is seriously toxic.
After the second-to-last day of the first stage's matches, the announcer gave his routine introduction of the next day's schedule before leaving the stage. Among the duelists scheduled for the next day, one name caught Yūga Hōzumi's attention.
"Hokuto Shijima? The Xyz user from the Leo Duel School? He's dueling tomorrow? That means..." Yūga Hōzumi schemed silently. Noticing his expression, Yuto couldn't help but ask, "Did you figure something out?"
"Not a discovery, exactly, but we're going to be busy tonight. We might just find a way to rescue Ruri," Yūga Hōzumi said with a smile, glancing toward the Leo Duel School trio on the other side of the audience stands.
"Really?" Shun Kurosaki asked, pleasantly surprised.
"Of course. You two just follow my lead," Yūga Hōzumi said, smiling.
...
That night, after browsing the Leo Duel School's card shop, Hokuto Shijima started on his way home, completely unaware that he had picked up three little tails.
"The key to rescuing Ruri you mentioned... is it this guy who uses Xyz Summoning but doesn't even know what a Rank-Up-Magic spell is?" inside an alley behind Hokuto Shijima, Shun Kurosaki, who had been following the whole time, asked with a dark expression.
"Patience. He's just the bait. See? The big fish has arrived," Yūga Hōzumi said. Just after Hokuto Shijima turned into an alley, a cloaked figure darted out from another and followed him.
"Let's go. The fish has taken the bait; it's time to reel it in," Yūga Hōzumi beckoned to the other two, and they moved in.
Inside the alley:
Hokuto Shijima activated his Duel Disk, looking warily at the person blocking his path. "Who are you? Why are you in my way?"
"You're one of the XYZ Remnants. You can't escape," the cloaked person said, activating their own Duel Disk and lifting their head. "My first battle will start with you."
"You're... from the Yusho Duel School... Yuzu Hiiragi?" Hokuto Shijima asked in shock, recognizing the face under the hood. "Why are you stopping me? And what do you mean by 'remnants'?"
"She's not Yuzu Hiiragi," a voice called out from the end of the alley, just as the two were about to duel.
"Who's there?" the cloaked person asked warily.
"The 'XYZ Remnants' you were talking about." Yūga Hōzumi stepped out of the darkness and activated his Duel Disk.
"Yūga Hōzumi?" Hokuto Shijima said with relief.
"Go on, get out of here. This next fight is out of your league," Yūga Hōzumi told him.
"You have backup?" the cloaked person frowned.
"Don't misunderstand, he's not with us. But we do have accomplices," Yūga Hōzumi said. As he spoke, Yuto and Shun Kurosaki emerged from both ends of the alley, blocking the cloaked person's escape.
"She has the same face as Ruri and Yuzu. Is she the counterpart from the Fusion Dimension you told us about?" Shun Kurosaki asked, staring at the cloaked person.
"That's right. If we capture her and use her to threaten Akaba Leo into releasing Ruri, isn't that a much more reliable plan than your idea to kidnap Reiji Akaba?" Yūga Hōzumi said, then looked at the cloaked person. "Wouldn't you agree, Serena?"
"You know me?" Hearing her name, Serena stopped trying to hide. She lowered the hood of her cloak, revealing an indigo ponytail tied with a yellow ribbon. "I don't know what you're talking about, but since you're XYZ Remnants, there's nothing left to discuss. All three of you can come at me at once!"
"Don't misunderstand. To deal with you, I alone am enough," Yūga Hōzumi said with a cold laugh.
"Are you underestimating me?" Serena became furious. "Then I'll turn you into a card first before I deal with those two!"
"Duel!" ×2
"My turn!" Yūga Hōzumi declared. "I summon Gagaga Sister in Attack Position!"
"When Gagaga Sister is summoned, I can add one 'Gagaga' Spell or Trap from my Deck to my hand."
"I add Gagaga Thunder to my hand."
"Next, I activate the effect of Dododo Banchou - Gagaga Coat from my hand! Since I control another 'Gagaga' monster, I can Special Summon this card!"
"Now, Gagaga Sister's other effect activates! Once per turn, I target the other 'Gagaga' monster on my field. The Levels of both this card and that monster become their combined total until the End Phase!"
Gagaga Sister LV: 2 → 6
Dododo Banchou - Gagaga Coat LV: 4 → 6
"I overlay my two Level 6 monsters!"
"Xyz Summon! Rank 6! Inzektor Exa-Beetle!"
"Next, I'll summon a monster from my Extra Deck using its own effect!" A card popped out of Yūga Hōzumi's Extra Deck. "By detaching two Overlay Units from my Rank 6 Insect-Type Xyz Monster, Inzektor Exa-Beetle, I can use it to perform another Xyz Summon! Xyz Change! Rank 7! Appear! The ultimate beetle constructed from optical cyber components!"
"Digital Bug Corebage!"
Digital Bug Corebage ATK: 2600
"I set two cards and end my turn."
(end of chapter)