At those words, Yuui narrowed his eyes, while Alicia beside him immediately bristled.
They were still in the middle of a duel! Forcing Yuui-sama to prove he could create cards right now… wasn't that absurd!?
And yet, to her astonishment, Yuui nodded.
"Very well. If you want me to prove it, then I will prove that I possess this ability. That said, you'll have to wait a moment. And you'd better stay standing on the field until then."
"Heh… rest assured. If this old man does not wish to fall, you won't defeat me so easily!" Magical Scientist let out a faint, mocking smile.
Yuui answered him not with words but with action.
"Battle Phase! Brave Neos, attack Myutant Beast—Neos Impact!!"
Brave Neos leapt high in an instant and delivered a powerful punch that shattered the black, monstrous beast into fragments. But since the opponent's monster had been in Defense Position, Magical Scientist took no damage.
Despite that, Magical Scientist felt the force of that impact through the shockwave and nodded in appreciation. "Impressive power. Among Fusion Monsters of this level, it can be considered superior."
Yuui didn't care about the evaluation. After all, this was a card he himself had created—he knew its effects and strength better than anyone.
"Brave Neos's effect: when this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, I add 1 Spell or Trap that lists 'Elemental HERO Neos' in its text from my Deck to my hand. I choose to add the Trap Card NEXT from my Deck."
Yuui took from his Deck another freshly created card.
Ever since forming a contract with Odd-Eyes Dragon, his previously impaired soul had undergone partial restoration, greatly recovering his overall magic power.
Furthermore, the 'Power of Foundation' granted to him by Odd-Eyes had tripled his originally insufficient magical capacity—on top of the increase gained from his repaired soul.
Where he had once barely reached the entry level of a Great Magician, his magic power had now surged to the peak of that rank.
With the accumulation of the past few days, combined with Alicia and Neos's support, he had been able to quickly create three cards perfectly suited to their current needs:
Instant Contact, Brave Neos, and the NEXT he had just drawn.
Yuui looked at NEXT in his hand, then called out, "Vyon, direct attack!!"
The purple Vision HERO sprinted forward and struck Magical Scientist with a clean blow.
[Magical Scientist, LP: 6000 → 5000]
"Battle Phase ends. Entering Main Phase 2. I Set three cards, and then—"
Before Yuui could finish his Main Phase 2, Magical Scientist raised his hand sharply.
"I activate my face-down card—the Trap Card Myutant Cry!! This card can be activated during either player's Main Phase.
"I return monsters from my field, Graveyard, or from among my banished monsters to the Deck according to the Fusion Materials listed by a Myutant Fusion Monster, and then Fusion Summon that monster from the Extra Deck.
"I choose to return Myutant Beast from my Graveyard and ST-46 from my Graveyard to the Deck to Fusion Summon!!"
A Fusion vortex opened in the sky, and the black beast, along with the red meteor, shot into it.
"The Fusion requirement is two Myutant monsters with different Attributes!" Magical Scientist raised his right hand toward the swirling darkness. "Eldritch beings born of the cosmos—unite! Reveal your terrifying form to all!
"Fusion Summon! Level 9—Myutant Synthesis!!"
"Peak of a Magus, huh…" Yuui watched the magic energy being poured into the vortex and instantly determined Magical Scientist's current magical rank from its strength.
"No wonder he once ascended to the realm of Sage. Even now, with only a remnant soul and a borrowed body, he can still reach this level. Truly admirable."
As Yuui sighed inwardly, a streak of red light flashed within the vortex.
A roar—half bestial, half mechanical—shook the sky as a body glowing with ominous red light descended.
Smoke scattered. A bizarre green eye snapped open. Red light pulsed outward, and countless tendrils—each sprouting eyes, claws, or blade-like growths—spread across the ground like writhing roots.
[Myutant Synthesis, Attack: 2500]
"Ugh—!!"
Upon seeing the grotesque monster, Alice finally couldn't hold it in and vomited.
Behind Yuui, Alicia also retched—thankfully, she was still in spirit form, or it would have been far worse.
Even Aleister, standing some distance away, found all enjoyment of his tea gone as he clicked his tongue in disgust.
"Tch. Even after all these years, this old man still despises this type of monster. Absolutely nauseating. If I had known, I should have burned every last one of those cards back then!"
Had Yuui heard that, he would have agreed with Aleister immediately.
Even with Yuui's usually thick nerves, the sheer physical revulsion made his face turn pale. There was nothing he disliked more than tentacle-type monsters—whether on cards or anywhere else.
Seeing the ashen face of Alicia (Yuui), Magical Scientist let out a laugh before declaring, "Myutant Synthesis's effect! When this card is Fusion Summoned, I target 1 card on the field and destroy it. I choose to destroy your Elemental HERO Brave Neos!"
As his words fell, more than ten beams of various colors shot out from the monster's central green eye and the countless eyes on its tendrils.
Boom!!
The intense burst of flame swallowed Brave Neos whole, and the shockwave forced Yuui several steps back.
Staring at the revolting creature, Yuui frowned deeply but finally said, "My turn ends."
"Then it's my turn—draw!" Magical Scientist glanced at the drawn card and immediately placed it onto his Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Card Psychic Path. I pay 800 Life Points and target up to 2 of my banished Psychic monsters; I return them to my hand.
"I choose to return Necroface and Myutant M-05 to my hand!"
[Magical Scientist, LP: 5000 → 4200]
Watching him retrieve the two cards, Yuui suddenly spoke up. "Hold on. I want to ask you something."
Magical Scientist looked up. "Ask."
"You used to be a Sage—and you're extremely familiar with Fusion. So why don't you build a Deck centered around your own card? Why are you using a Deck like Myutant instead?"
Yuui had a reason for asking. From the knowledge he and Alicia read in the Saint Fusion Academy Library[VIL.txt] fileciteturn2file0, they learned this:
In this world, only those who surpass all others in a certain field may break through their limits and become Sages.
And the moment someone becomes a Sage—even if they cannot make cards—the world itself will grant them a Duel Monster card modeled after their very being.
Therefore, logically speaking, Magical Scientist—once a Sage—should possess a monster card modeled after himself: Magical Scientist.
Yet throughout the duel, the man had never once attempted to summon that card. Instead, he used the Myutant Deck he loathed.
In Yuui's eyes, if Magical Scientist used a burn Deck centered on his own card, the duel likely would've already ended. That Deck was powerful enough that even in Yuui's previous world, it was considered top-tier.
Despite lacking strong monsters, the few core cards allowed for easy OTK setups. And in this world, where forbidden cards weren't rare, a Magical Scientist burn Deck could unleash power far beyond its former incarnation.
4000 Life Points—if the opponent had no countermeasures set, they would be OTK'd on turn one.
For this reason, Yuui had prepared extensively before the duel, expecting to face such a Deck.
Regardless, now, all his preparations had gone entirely unused.
Thus, he had to ask.
Hearing Yuui's question, Magical Scientist's expression instantly darkened. At this moment, Aleister, floating in the air, answered instead:
"Allow this old man to explain.
"When his body and soul were devoured by that monster back then, the card bestowed upon him as a Sage was also consumed.
"Even though I rescued a fragment of his remnant soul, as long as his soul remains incomplete, he cannot recreate the card that proves he was once a Sage. He cannot remake it. Even if he wished to.
"So it isn't that he doesn't want to use it.
"He simply can't.
"The card 'Magical Scientist' no longer exists in this world.
"Unless he one day becomes a Sage once more… you will never see that card again."
...
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