Chapter 688 “Request for Subscription” Dark Demon Does Not Discuss Victory or Defeat
Dark Demon has not been the first time battling senior students on the dueling stage.
Those who have paid attention to him no longer view him as a normal second-year student.
Especially after his victory over Fern Morse from the fifth year Fool’s Academy in the last duel, this became even more evident.
Although Fern Morse is not among the top contestants in the fifth year, he is far from being a pushover.
With the failure of Fern Morse as a precedent, those in the fourth and fifth years who want to challenge Dark Demon now have fewer reservations.
“Since even that Fern Morse lost, isn’t it natural that we aren’t his match?”
In short, the pressure high schoolers feel when challenging lower grades has instantly decreased to an acceptable level.
This is one of the reasons why Dark Demon received so many challenge letters this Tuesday.
Regardless of winning or losing, there’s nothing to lose, and if they win, they can gain the title of “Dark Demon’s Unbroken Streak Terminator.” Therefore, more people want to duel with him personally.
Dark Demon welcomes this trend.
Moreover, selecting opponents from many challengers feels quite good.
However, these past two weeks, he has always found past defeated opponents among the challengers.
Dark is very considerate; in such situations, he always thinks about giving these old rivals a chance to redeem themselves.
Therefore, he accepted the challenge from Stewart Farn and Angus Jeffrey.
Speaking of Angus Jeffrey, this former president of the noble history research society regained his courage after the incident of being possessed by the “Underworld Fire.” His resilience is much stronger than Dark imagined.
“I wonder how he views our last duel?”
Dark arrived at the outdoor dueling arena early and waited in the competitors’ lounge.
During his idle moments, he pondered.
After that duel, Angus Jeffrey’s memories of the “Underworld Fire” should have been removed.
But that period of time should have left a massive void in his mind.
Moreover, what happened cannot simply disappear.
After investigating, it shouldn’t be difficult for him to reconstruct what happened back then.
I wonder if he can connect it with the “Underworld Fire”?
…
“Hey, Dark.”
Stewart Fane entered the competitors’ lounge and greeted Dark upon seeing him.
Dark slightly raised his head and clearly saw the appearance of this fourth-year senior.
Stewart Fane had delicate features, center-parted hair, shoulder-length brown hair, deep black eyes, fair skin with a slight roughness, and his overall demeanor remained as gloomy as ever.
But failure fosters growth.
After the bitter defeat at the Easter Duel Festival, Stewart Fane’s attitude towards dealing with people has noticeably changed.
Although his appearance remains the same, his inner self has become much smoother.
“Good afternoon, Senior Fane.”
Dark stood up and greeted the senior.
Stewart Fane said nostalgically, “Our last encounter was at the Easter Duel Festival. I didn’t expect you to accept my challenge.”
He still remembered that he was dissatisfied with Dark’s ability to squeeze into the third-year stage as a first-year.
Now, Dark is only a second-year, yet he already surpasses fifth-year students.
After the Easter Duel Festival, he has been closely watching Dark, fully aware of every stage of his changes.
Later, he suddenly realized that some people are born to transcend their classes.
His “classism” was shattered through continuous observation.
Now he finally acts like a normal person.
…
Facing Stewart Fane’s reflections, Dark smiled, “On the path forward, you chase me, I chase you. Facing past opponents tests one’s progress.”
As long as there are no underhanded moves involved, he warmly welcomes these open challenges.
Stuart Fane’s lips twitched, revealing a sinister smile, “I think the same way.”
The atmosphere between them instantly became tense.
“Both of you,” the staff member from the Dueling Club poked their head in from the door and reminded them, “It’s time to go on stage!”
Thus, Dark Demon and Stewart Fane walked out of the competitors’ lounge one after another, heading toward the designated dueling stage for this duel.
At this moment, the previous duel had just ended, and the applause was still echoing.
After a while, many spectators suddenly noticed that Dark Demon had already stepped onto the competitors’ platform!
Frequently defeating seniors as a second-year, Dark Demon’s popularity continued to soar, and he has now become a genuine star contestant.
Therefore, when he appeared, thunderous applause erupted from the audience seats outside the arena.
Contrastingly, although Stewart Fane is not weak in terms of strength, his past personality did not attract many fans.
The difference in popularity between the two created a significant disparity, almost one-sided.
But Stewart Fane was not affected by this.
After stepping onto the blue side platform, he chuckled, “Since we’re here, there’s nothing else to say. Among duelists, there’s only victory or defeat.”
…
Circular belt…
Many came specifically to watch this duel, but even so, Angus Jeffrey stood out among them.
He sat in a dim corner, with no other students around him. The face hidden under the hood was even more gloomy than Stewart Fane’s.
He does not hope that Stewart Fane will win; in fact, his current thoughts are very chaotic, and he himself does not know what he needs.
The deafening applause drowned out his thoughts, forcing him to concentrate on the match, with his suppressed emotions seemingly ready to explode at any moment.
…
And the duel between Dark Demon and Stewart Fane began under everyone’s gaze!
Standing on the red side platform, Dark glanced around and took out his deck from his card pack.
Of course, he had adjusted his deck, but not specifically for Stewart Fane; he made routine adjustments to add new mana spirit cards.
There are almost no useless cards in this deck; unless the starting hand consists entirely of “Capital Sin Cards,” it can handle any situation.
Activating the spellboard, he placed the deck into the card slot.
Dark slightly raised his head and looked across.
Stewart Fane came prepared, completing his preparations faster than him.
Their gazes collided for an instant and then instantly separated.
All necessary exchanges were done outside the arena, leaving only the duel itself.
The referee’s whistle sounded quickly after both decks were shuffled, signaling the start of the Standby Phase, projected in the air.
The applause and cheers gradually subsided both inside and outside the arena.
Even though multiple duels were happening simultaneously in the outdoor dueling arena, almost everyone’s attention was focused on this one.
Applause and shouting would only distract viewers; if one isn’t fully focused, they might miss精彩瞬间.
— It’s said that professional competition arenas are gradually adding post-match replays and analysis sections, and Saint Maryann Academy lags behind in this aspect.
…
“Beep—”
The whistle sounded again.
“Standby Phase” [30 seconds]
The battle begins!
Dark Demon instantly focused, reaching for his cards.
Stewart Fane looked serious, quickly drawing five cards.
This time, he managed his expressions well, not letting his emotions show.
Dark Demon’s expression remained calm as usual.
He laid out his five mana spirit cards like a peacock spreading its feathers, then quickly scanned them all into his mind.
[Bliss III Moon]
[Demon Fox Beast]
[Trash Slime]
[Magical Beast: Ditto]
[Huhu]
“Four mana spirit cards…”
“Luckily, ‘Bliss III Moon’ pulled three, avoiding a starting hand of five mana spirit cards.”
Mana surged, thoughts accelerated.
In the thirty seconds of the Standby Phase, Dark quickly thought through his options.
Among these five mana spirit cards, “Bliss III Moon” was undoubtedly the core.
The mana spirit cards that could pair with it were “Demon Fox Beast” and “Magical Beast: Ditto.”
But the three-star [Magical Beast: Ditto] currently lacks intelligence and doesn’t offer an advantage in battle.
Without knowing the opponent’s mana spirits, starting with [Magical Beast: Ditto] is too risky—it’s better suited as a hidden trump card later on.
“Let’s go with ‘Demon Fox Beast’!”
…
[Battle Phase (1)] [30 seconds]
The sound of the round switching instantly rang out.
Dark drew the mana spirit card for “Demon Fox Beast” from his hand and displayed the summon.
“In the name of Dark Demon, mana summon — Demon Fox Beast!”
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the Demon Fox Beast knelt on one knee, materializing from a pure white summoning circle.
“Attack!”
Dark pointed forward, blowing the horn of offense at the beginning of the match.
For someone skilled in defense and counterattacks, this is a rare choice.
But the Demon Fox Beast faithfully executed his command, launching forward with a burst of speed!
“Hu!”
The wind howled.
The slender and agile Demon Fox Beast shot out like lightning.
Though it hasn’t used its ultimate skill yet, its full-blast speed is impressive.
…
Facing the rapidly charging Demon Fox Beast, Stewart Fane immediately issued commands to his mana spirit.
His summoning speed wasn’t slower than Dark’s; a mana spirit resembling a shadow had already appeared in the blue side summoning zone.
“Shadow Insect, explode!”
Under Stewart Fane’s slightly cold command, the shadow-like mana spirit emitted a shrill insect sound. Black lightning burst from its body, wrapping around it before exploding!
[Card Name: Shadow Insect]
[Type: Elemental Card]
[Level: ???]
[Race: Insect Type]
[Attribute: Dark / Electric]
[Mana: 1600]
[Attack: 1300]
[Defense: 100]
[Ultimate Skills: Lightning Flash, Shadow Explosion]
Born in the Shadow Realm, the Shadow Insect combines dark and electric attributes. Its mana value exceeds three-star elites. With its lightning-fast speed and ultimate skill “Lightning Flash,” it can cross hundreds of meters in a breath to attack Dark’s mana guidance ball.
But Stewart Fane chose to make it explode in place!
What is called “explode” is actually “Shadow Explosion!”
Stewart Fane is very clear that the Demon Fox Beast is also extremely fast and has a nearly instantaneous acceleration ultimate skill.
His Shadow Insect has a fatal flaw—only 100 points of defense!
100 points of defense, 1600 points of mana.
Without a speed advantage, the Shadow Insect is inevitably destroyed by the Demon Fox Beast.
Therefore, before the Shadow Insect is destroyed, he chose to use its residual power.
“Boom!”
The blue side mana guidance ball rose skyward under Stewart Fane’s control.
The explosion of the Shadow Insect did not affect the upper area; the explosion method was particularly special. The lightning released from its body radiated outward with dark energy, spreading wildly in all directions.
In an instant, the Shadow Insect’s body completely vanished.
The entire field, including the red side area, was covered by the sudden surge of dark energy, turning pitch-black.
On the dark curtain, black currents seemed to have a consciousness, quickly gathering toward the landing point of the Demon Fox Beast.
Caught off guard, the Demon Fox Beast’s feet were entangled with lightning. The current climbed up from its feet, spreading throughout its body.
Its brows furrowed sharply, feeling a tiny pain akin to insect bites, and its body was paralyzed on the spot.
“What is this?”
The Demon Fox Beast’s mana dropped significantly, but the paralysis effect from the current was very noticeable.
And as time passed, the pain intensified, indicating that the black current was breaking through defenses and seeping into its body, attempting to destroy it from within!
Almost simultaneously.
The red side mana guidance ball on Dark’s side also suffered a black current attack, causing the mana value of the Life Barrier to plummet rapidly.
Despite Dark reacting quickly and lifting it into the air, 8000 points of life value had already fallen by nearly 500.
A bad start!
In a flash, Dark raised the “Bliss III Moon” he had prepared earlier.
The battlefield effect created by the Shadow Insect’s explosion at the cost of its own existence is very tricky.
But since it covers the ground and poses no threat to airborne objects, and since it cannot be eliminated temporarily, the battlefield must be shifted to the sky!
“In the name of Dark Demon, Demon Fox Beast evolves — Nine-Tailed Fox Beast!”
The “Bliss” force channeled into its body temporarily dispelled the paralysis of the Demon Fox Beast.
It burst forth with full power, shooting up like an arrow.
Glowing brightly!
