The spectators' reactions didn't have much of an effect on the match as a whole.
The Easter Dueling Festival was still going full swing.
"Lia Goethe," who'd been forced to leave her original seat, was at this moment strolling through the crowd.
She truly hadn't expected that Dark Demon would spot her among so many students, but just now their gazes had indeed met.
Still, if she'd been spotted, she'd been spotted—she'd just walk away and that would be that.
She didn't pay it much mind.
Compared to Dark Demon, what she was more concerned about were Dark's two Magic Guide Spirits—"Leomon" and "Gatomon"—as well as that "Holy Sword."
Among those present, there weren't many who could determine at a single glance that the "Honedge" belonged to the "Holy Sword" category.
"Lia Goethe" happened to be one of them.
As she pondered how Dark had managed to forge these three Magic Guide Cards, she gave the "facial skin" of her face a few pinches, making herself no longer look like herself.
For a great Magic Guide Master, methods of disguise and transformation were available in any quantity she pleased.
She'd merely employed the simplest of them.
The slanting sunlight shone down upon her.
Her orange-red hair seemed to absorb the light, growing all the more vivid and crimson.
...
Dark Demon sat in "Lia Goethe's" original seat for a while, then finally got up and left.
He didn't return to Rose and Diana's side—after all, there were only two seats there, and he couldn't very well stay squeezed in with two little girls the whole time.
So, after thinking it over, he headed toward where Senior Pandora was seated.
He'd noticed that there was an empty seat beside Senior Pandora.
By the time he found Pandora Dragon, the backstage staff were just carrying a second table laden with Easter eggs onto the stage.
Afterward, Judy used a little hammer to crack open two eggs, selecting the first two contestants to take the field in the senior division.
Just as two number tags were drawn in succession, Dark arrived right beside Senior Pandora, and bent down to ask, "May I sit here?"
Pandora turned half her body around in slight surprise, lifting her head a little, then smiled and said, "Of course you may."
And so, under the astonished gazes of the students around them, Dark sat down in the seat beside Pandora.
Then he instinctively reached out a hand toward Pandora's bosom, grasping one of the "little fat pigs" at its soft, tender spot.
"Meow——"
That genuine "Dragon" cat-type Catnip actively rubbed itself against Dark's fingers.
Dark couldn't help but narrow his eyes, and gave it another two squeezes.
Even though the Catnip and Fox Grass at home were both terribly cute.
Still, what flower at home could be as fragrant as a wildflower?
Dark Demon... ahem, ahem!
...
Once the mood had eased a little, Pandora asked curiously, "That sword of yours—can it freely transform between weapon and Magic Guide Spirit?"
Dark nodded. "That's right. Has Senior never seen one before?"
Pandora shook her head. "Seen one, I have—I just didn't expect you'd be able to forge one this early. This type of Magic Guide Spirit can be specially summoned in weapon-card form. It's exceedingly rare and precious."
Dark gave a little chuckle, unfastened the card pack from the side of his thigh, and began infusing magic power into each Magic Guide Card one by one to replenish them.
Meanwhile, the two senior students who had been selected had already emerged from the contestants' passage.
Dark took a brief look, and one of the upperclassmen left a deep impression on him: "Is that the senior who uses the 'Dragon-Slaying Sword'?"
"Luke Bechi, a fifth-year," Pandora said softly. "A formidable opponent."
Dark: "I can tell."
Pandora nodded. "Dragons are born to reign supreme, and dragons counter one another. The 'Dragon-Slaying Sword' is actually crafted with dragon-attribute materials as part of its core."
Dark looked slightly surprised. "So that's how it is?"
Pandora smiled. "It's not exactly a secret. Oh, by the way—was this Easter Dueling Festival really planned by you? I mean, those model eggs."
Dark answered with a smile. "You could say so."
Pandora blinked at him, then took two models out of the little bag at her side and waved them at him.
Dark looked closely, instinctively rubbed his eyes, and thought for a moment that he was seeing things.
For there, lying in that fair, tender palm, were two equally snow-white Magic Guide Spirit models.
One of them was an adorable kitty—unmistakably a model of "Gatomon."
And the other was actually one of the mere three existing "Skyvault White Dragons"!
Dark couldn't help but ask, "Senior, just how many eggs did you buy?"
The corners of Pandora's mouth curved up, and she said with a trace of showing off, "Three."
"Th-three??"
Dark suddenly didn't feel quite right at all, and instinctively asked, "Then what about the other egg?"
Pandora carefully put the two models in her hand back, then took out a third... egg!
She handed the egg to Dark and said with a smile, "I bought three at once, and never expected to draw the White Dragon on the second. As for this third one—do you want to give it a try?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Dark took the goose-egg-sized egg from her hand, stared at it for a good while, then suddenly asked, "If I draw a popularity-grade-A Magic Guide Spirit from this egg, then is that my good luck, or Senior's good luck?"
Pandora's eyelashes trembled faintly, her crystalline, jade-smooth lips parting and closing slightly as she voiced, "Why, that would of course be my good luck—after all, it's an egg that I bought."
Dark then asked again, "And if it draws a popularity-grade E?"
Pandora said as though it were the most natural thing in the world, "Then that's of course your terrible luck—after all, even from an egg I bought, you could only draw the very worst."
Dark: "..."
After a long while, he gazed solemnly at the egg in his hand, considering whether to summon "DemiDevimon."
Up to now, relying on DemiDevimon's "Strong Luck," he had already successfully drawn a C-grade "Troll" model and an A-grade "Pure White Dragon Princess" model, and afterward he'd bought a "DemiDevimon" model that a senior had disdained and didn't want, from her hand.
To be honest, compared to the D-grade model "Gatomon" and the A-grade model "Skyvault White Dragon" that Senior Pandora had drawn, its value wasn't low either.
It's just that, both being A-grade, the value of "Pure White Dragon Princess" was still slightly weaker than that of "Skyvault White Dragon."
The "Skyvault White Dragon" model could fairly be called "Super-A-grade."
"Come to think of it, I've bought a few model eggs myself, but none of them were drawn by me personally." Dark pressed his hand to the top of the egg and said softly.
Pandora asked with a smile, "So wouldn't this be your first time?"
Dark smiled. "That's how it is."
As he spoke, he put force into his fingers, and with a "crack" pressed in, breaking through that shell.
After that, he was in no hurry—he peeled away the surrounding eggshell bit by bit.
Once the eggshell had been peeled open to a certain degree, he inserted his fingers and pinched the model inside out.
"Looks like decent luck."
Dark picked up the model and waved it at Senior Pandora.
In the sunlight the model gave off a faint white glow, and—astonishingly, as though newly born—it opened both its eyes.
Within its cyan-blue cat eyes a kind of spirit seemed to be born.
The white cat, which ought to have been a mere model, actually gave Dark's finger a sudden lick.
Dark's heart stirred, and he was instantly delighted: "It's actually an animated Magic Guide model!"
This Magic Guide Spirit was, strikingly, also a "Gatomon"!
"Not bad, really not bad——"
Pandora looked at the model in Dark's hand, then suddenly took out another "Gatomon" model from her own little bag.
Then she stuffed that ordinary, non-moving model into Dark's palm, took away the animated Magic Guide model, and said with a sweet smile, "There—now it's mine——"
Dark: "..."
Since he'd gotten a "Gatomon" model for free, Dark of course wouldn't, and couldn't, have any objection.
Holding that ordinary "Gatomon" model, he said hesitantly, "So I'll just take this, then?"
Pandora: "No thank-you?"
Dark: "Thank you."
Pandora: "Good boy——"
...
In the time it took Dark to open the egg, the two contestants of the senior division had already mounted the contestants' platform.
The red side's contestant was Luke Bechi, possessor of the "Dragon-Slaying Sword," and the blue side's contestant was a senior Dark didn't have much impression of.
Although Judy had given a brief introduction of each contestant up on the stage.
Dark wasn't a recording device, so naturally he hadn't bothered to remember those he didn't care about.
Pandora, however, clearly knew something about them, and right then, as though reciting a familiar inventory, rattled off the profiles of those two contestants.
Luke Bechi VS Eluri Clarissa.
"Dragon-Slaying Warrior" VS "Fairy Princess."
Fifth-year VS fourth-year!
"Luke Bechi is a fifth-year student of the Fool's House. For a time he was the rival of the fellow fifth-year 'Dark Night Baron'—Noah Sharp—and it was because of that he earned the title 'Dragon-Slaying Warrior.'"
"As for Eluri Clarissa, she's a fourth-year student of the Noble House. Her status is noble; she has royal blood... I'd assumed you'd more or less know her."
"Luke Bechi has many decks; the one he's best at is a dragon-slaying deck. Eluri Clarissa, on the other hand, specializes in Fairy Species Magic Guide Spirits—a very troublesome person."
Fairy-type, on a certain level, holds a measure of countering power against Dragon-type.
On the surface, both Bechi and Clarissa were clearly targeting Dragon Species.
But on reflection, it was perfectly natural for such a situation to arise.
After all, among this year's students of St. Marian's Academy, the two star duelists who enjoyed extremely high popularity were both Dragon-type specialists!
And with these two facing off in the very first round, one of them was bound to be eliminated.
That being so, the "Dark Night Baron" Noah Sharp, who'd barely scraped through in eighth place, would have it much easier.
The "Dark Night Baron"—he was probably snickering to himself right now, wasn't he?
Dark listened to Senior Pandora's commentary, watching the match attentively.
A high-quality duel was a thing of chance, not to be sought out at will.
If one watched attentively, one could always gain something.
...
The duel between the "Dragon-Slaying Warrior" and the "Fairy Princess" went the full thirty rounds.
Even though both sides' forty Magic Guide Cards had already been entirely drawn by the eighteenth round, a victor still hadn't been decided.
Afterward, relying on their remaining hands, the two sides exchanged fierce attack and defense, taking turns clearing the field. The grandeur of the battle had the spectators watching with blood boiling in their veins.
Dark had never experienced a duel that dragged on for such a long time, and he found himself enthralled.
It wasn't until the thirtieth round that the "Dragon-Slaying Warrior" Luke Bechi gained a slight edge and shattered the "Fairy Princess's" Magic Sphere.
The instant the blue side's Magic Sphere dropped to a magic value of 0, the referee's whistle sounded sharply, and the entire arena fell into a fervent frenzy.
Compared to the three-round duel between Dark and Mike Owen, this thirty-round duel between the two senior students was obviously far more captivating to the spectators, and far more satisfying to watch.
Dark straightened his spine and couldn't help letting out a breath.
"Too strong."
The strength these two contestants had displayed in this duel alone was enough to leave one astounded.
Even Vampire Vlad, in all likelihood, wouldn't last many rounds before them.
In these dozen-odd years since the war ended, Magic Guide technology had erupted explosively, and the students' strength had surpassed that of past generations at a visibly rapid pace.
After defeating Mike Owen, Dark's somewhat restless heart had also settled down with the conclusion of this duel.
"Next up is the junior division's dueling segment. But compared with the senior division's duels, the junior division's are probably only a palate-cleanser."
With this thought in mind, Dark waited, all the while drawing knowledge from Senior Pandora's lips.
...
Easter Dueling Festival, junior division, main tournament round one, match two.
Elsie Kevin VS Ma Li Bond!
...
As the two contestants were settled, Dark blinked, and suddenly grew interested.
Both Senior Elsie Kevin and Senior Ma Li Bond had had dealings with him.
Watching a duel between people one knew, and watching a duel between strangers, were of course two entirely different feelings.
Dark watched the two mount the contestants' platform, and couldn't help but remark, "Second-year versus second-year, Noble House versus Noble House—you could call it a complete civil war."
Pandora raised her hand, pushed a strand of hair back behind her head, and asked with great interest, "Since you know them both, then who do you think will win?"
Dark furrowed his brow and thought it over.
He had once dueled Elsie Kevin in his debut match of the Rookie Tournament.
This Senior Kevin's "Mechanical" series deck was indeed quite distinctive.
Whether it was the assembly and fusion among the "Mechanical Components," or the effect by which components, even after being destroyed and broken apart, could still be used as sacrifices for summoning, or the final Ritual Summoning—all of it had left him at the time greatly amazed.
It was a pity that Kevin's final trump card—the six-star Magic Guide Spirit, [Mechanical Dragon]—was slightly inferior in strength to Bastemon.
Otherwise, Dark might not necessarily have been able to win.
As for Senior Ma Li Bond.
In the qualifier battle royale he hadn't actually gone out of his way to provoke her; their one and only contact had merely been a bare-equipment one-on-one between "Leomon" and the "Berserker Tiger."
In a formal duel, of course, such a situation could never have arisen.
That "Berserker Tiger's" close-combat strength had indeed left a deep impression on him.
But it was only that, and no more.
In terms of emotional bias, Dark of course hoped Senior Ma Li could win.
But if it came down to dueling skill, then Senior Ma Li—who had expended a great deal of effort on her own training—should, under normal circumstances, fall somewhat short.
So by rational judgment, he reckoned that Elsie Kevin's strength was higher than Ma Li Bond's.
As for who would win?
"Fighting counters Steel—Senior Ma Li's odds of winning aren't low," Dark said.
...
Pandora blinked, but said, "Type-countering isn't everything. How about a little wager?"
Dark was taken aback, suddenly feeling that this scene seemed somehow familiar, but he still said, "What kind of wager?"
"Let me think." Pandora pressed her index finger to the corner of her mouth, putting on an air of deliberation.
Dark rolled his eyes and said, "How about this—by the rules of personal duels, 100 credits."
"That's no fun at all." Pandora immediately rejected it. "If you lose, come and help me with something."
Dark asked curiously, "What thing?"
Pandora revealed a trace of a mysterious smile: "A little experiment."
Dark said, "If it's just an experiment, even without making it a bet..."
Pandora immediately stopped him. "That won't do."
Dark gave a helpless ╮(╯╰)╭ smile. "Fine, then. If I win, then Senior should help me with something too."
Only then did Pandora say gladly, "No problem."
...
And so the duel between Elsie Kevin and Ma Li Bond began.
To Dark's surprise, this winner of the previous Crimson Star had actually abandoned the "Mechanical Component" series deck he'd used before, and instead employed an entirely different deck.
Evidently, Elsie Kevin had a certain degree of understanding of Ma Li Bond's deck. The moment he realized his "Mechanical Component" deck was countered by the "Fighting" series deck, he decisively switched to a Flying-type deck that counter-countered the Fighting-type!
The soaring eagle he summoned with his opening move caught Ma Li off guard in an instant.
Ma Li Bond specialized in the Fighting-type; she wasn't proficient at "special summons," and was skilled at using such things as "Equipment Cards," "Armament Cards," or enhancement-type "Spell Cards" to boost her own Magic Guide Spirits' combat power, so that they could fight at a level beyond their rank.
Her greatest distinguishing trait was that every one of her Fighting-type Magic Guide Spirits possessed above-baseline close-combat ability.
Compared to ordinary Magic Guide Spirits, her Magic Guide Spirits reacted faster and more fiercely.
But faced with Elsie Kevin's Flying-type Magic Guide Spirits, Ma Li's Fighting-type Magic Guide Spirits were at an obvious disadvantage.
Especially since, among her Magic Guide Spirits, very few possessed flight capability...
This was simply far too fatal!
With no choice, Ma Li could only give up on attacking and adopt the defensive tactics she wasn't good at.
She had one of her three-star Magic Guide Spirits hide the Magic Sphere against its chest, using the "head-clutching crouch defense" tactic that Sarah Swati had once employed, doing all it could to keep the Magic Sphere from harm.
Her other several Magic Guide Spirits, meanwhile, took up a battle formation to build a defense.
Relying on all sorts of enhancement methods, Ma Li struggled to weather Elsie Kevin's frenzied onslaught.
On the ninth round, she at last drew a Magic Guide Card capable of turning the tide—"Gravity Tide"!
The Fighting-type's greatest weaknesses were the Flying-type, the Psychic-type, and the Fairy-type.
Of these, it was the generally airborne Flying-type Magic Guide Spirits that were the most troublesome, so Ma Li of course couldn't have failed to prepare a countermeasure in advance.
Within her deck, just such a Magic Guide Card had been hidden all along.
"Finally, it's here!"
The instant she drew "Gravity Tide," Ma Li breathed a slight sigh of relief.
She looked gravely toward Elsie Kevin across from her, pouring a large amount of magic power into that Magic Guide Card.
"Spell Cards" like "Gravity Tide," though at the extreme they need only three seconds to summon.
But the "Spell Cards" thus activated were generally limited in power.
Only by infusing more magic power and spending more time on the summoning could the power of such Magic Guide Cards be brought to bear at a level near its upper limit.
Ma Li's magic-power aptitude could only be called excellent; it took her a full round to fill this "Gravity Tide" to the brim.
At this moment on the dueling field, Flying-type Magic Guide Spirits, like so many bombers, were savagely bombarding the Fighting-type Magic Guide Spirits on the ground, the situation falling for a time into crisis.
But she forcibly held this breath steady, and only after filling it with magic power did she loudly summon "Gravity Tide."
"In the name of Ma Li Bond, Magic Guide Summon!"
As the closing words of the summons rang out, transparent currents surged forth from within the "Gravity Tide" card, gradually growing turbulent like a tide, and under her control they streamed toward the sky above the dueling field.
Elsie Kevin's Flying-type Magic Guide Spirits were immediately affected.
The weakest of them plummeted straight down as though its wings had been broken.
The suddenly increased gravity threw this flock of great birds off balance, forcibly pressing them down from the high air.
The remaining Flying-type Magic Guide Spirits, though they didn't crash on the spot, could only fly at low altitude under the pressure of the tide overhead.
And once they descended in altitude, Ma Li's Fighting-type Magic Guide Spirits had room to counterattack.
Elsie Kevin's eyes filled with astonishment; he simply couldn't fathom how Ma Li Bond, whose Magic Guide Theory grades weren't outstanding, had managed to forge this near-field-skill "Spell Card."
But his adaptability was extremely swift as well. He immediately offered up two of the Flying-type Magic Guide Spirits as sacrifices, thereby summoning a second-tier Magic Guide Spirit.
It was a Magic Guide Spirit whose wings had metamorphosed, resembling a wyvern.
Faced with a prolonged inability to break through, Elsie Kevin had long been contemplating strategy.
This wyvern-like Magic Guide Spirit could spew a ranged breath like a "sea of fire."
By controlling the field with a violent gale, it could keep the sea of fire entirely confined to the blue side's summoning zone, forcing Ma Li's Magic Guide Spirits to shift position.
And once they began to shift, the defensive battle formation that had been maintained all along would expose a flaw.
As long as that defensive battle formation was shattered, victory could be expected.
...
The two contestants' attack and defense were extraordinarily fierce.
Although the scene wasn't as spectacular as the senior division's, it was equally brilliant within the smaller scope of the battle.
...
Ma Li successfully forced Elsie Kevin's Magic Guide Spirits down from the sky.
Elsie Kevin successfully forced Ma Li's Magic Guide Spirits out of the blue side's summoning zone.
In the head-on attack and defense that immediately followed, Elsie Kevin held the upper hand steadily, relying on the advantage he'd built up early on.
Ma Li, though she held on bitterly, stood unfallen.
But on the fifteenth round, Ma Li Bond gathered three equipment cards into her hand, namely: [Beast King Greaves]
[Beast King Bracers]
[Beast King Belt]
...
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