# Chapter 5: Double or Nothing, Etched in His DNA
"So you didn't draw a monster? Are you preparing to defend next turn?" the Academy Army Vanguard said.
It was a simple math problem. The monsters on Yūga Hōzumi's field had 2700, 2500, and 2400 ATK respectively.
Meanwhile, his opponent only had a single monster on their field with 1700 ATK.
Yūga Hōzumi could use his Constellar Pleiades, with its 2700 ATK, to destroy his opponent's monster by battle and inflict 1000 points of battle damage.
However, his opponent's field would then be empty, allowing them to use the Continuous Trap, Ancient Gear Reborn, to special summon a monster from the Graveyard and block one attack. As for his remaining monster, neither Number 39: Utopia with 2500 ATK nor Number 70: Malevolent Sin with 2400 ATK was strong enough to finish off his opponent, who still had 3000 LP.
The battle-hardened Academy Army Vanguard had calculated everything perfectly.
"Battle!" Ignoring his opponent's words, Yūga Hōzumi waved his hand, entering the Battle Phase.
"Constellar Pleiades, attack Ancient Gear Wyvern!"
The Ancient Gear Wyvern in mid-air was instantly shattered by the laser beam unleashed by Pleiades, and fragments of its parts rained down on the Academy Army Vanguard below.
Academy Army Vanguard's LP: 4000 → 3000
"Number 70: Malevolent Sin, attack directly!"
"At this moment, I activate the Continuous Trap, Ancient Gear Reborn! Once per turn, if I control no monsters, I can target one 'Ancient Gear' monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it!"
"Arise! Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!"
Ancient Gear Hunting Hound DEF: 1000
"Number 70: Malevolent Sin, attack Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!"
The Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, having just returned from the Graveyard, had barely found its footing before it was destroyed by the fangs of Number 70: Malevolent Sin.
"My Life Points are still at 3000, but your monster's attack is only 2500. What are you going to do? On my next turn, I'll finish you off," the Academy Army Vanguard sneered.
"There won't be a next turn," Yūga Hōzumi said calmly.
"Then go ahead and try!" the Academy Army Vanguard said. It was the Battle Phase, so even if Yūga Hōzumi had an Equip Spell in his hand to increase his monster's ATK, it would be too late to use it.
"Number 39: Utopia, attack directly!"
"A pointless tantrum! Come on! Vent all you want! Once I turn you and your companions into cards, you'll never get another chance!" Facing Utopia's attack, the Academy Army Vanguard even spread his arms wide to welcome it, his eyes filled with mockery for Yūga Hōzumi.
"At this moment, I activate the effect of Number 39: Utopia!"
"When any player's monster declares an attack, I can detach one Xyz Material from this card to negate the attack! Moon Barrier!"
Utopia swung its greatsword forward, but just as the blade was about to fall on the opponent's head, one of the golden orbs of light orbiting it vanished. Its wings flashed, and it halted its attack.
"Hahaha! Are you kidding me? What's the point of this meaningless combo?" the Academy Army Vanguard burst into laughter.
"At this moment, I activate my face-down card, the Quick-Play Spell, Double or Nothing!"
"When a monster's attack is negated, I can target that monster. It can make a second attack during this Battle Phase. If it does, its ATK is doubled during the Damage Step!"
"Nani?!" The Academy Army Vanguard's expression changed drastically.
In the air, a bingo machine materialized out of thin air. As the lever was pulled, the spinning reels stopped one by one: x2, x2, x2—a triple hit.
"Number 39: Utopia, attack directly!"
Number 39: Utopia ATK: 2500 → 5000
All the energy gathered in Utopia's wings surged into the greatsword in its hand. It soared forward and brought the blade down in a single slash.
Academy Army Vanguard's LP: 3000 → 0
After taking the full force of Utopia's attack, the once-arrogant Academy Army Vanguard was now sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. The Duel Disks in this world were a form of dark technology capable of giving monsters physical mass, making their attacks quite literal. Fueled by the lingering hatred from his predecessor's memories for the Academy's Obelisk Dog-Walking Squad, Yūga Hōzumi had aimed Utopia's strike to kill.
Yūga Hōzumi walked up to the Academy Army Vanguard, who was collapsed on the ground, and pointed his Duel Disk at him.
Seeing this, the man summoned the last of his strength to scramble backward, pleading incessantly:
"Don't turn me into a card! I can give you lots of intel on the Academy Army. I can even fight for you. Please, don't turn me into a card!"
Yūga Hōzumi ignored him. He casually pressed a hidden button on his Duel Disk and, amid the man's screams, turned him into a card.
What a joke. An invader like you, and you choose now to regret it?
Yūga Hōzumi picked up the card and looked at the man's terrified expression printed on it.
[Current Main Quest Node Completed. Reward Issued. Shop Module Unlocked. Please Explore on Your Own, Host.]
The electronic voice announcing the mission's completion rang in his mind right on cue.
Just as Yūga Hōzumi was about to examine the system's changes, the little boy who had approached him earlier handed him a jacket.
"Good work, Big Bro Yūga Hōzumi," the little boy said.
"It was nothing. What were our casualties from this ambush?" Yūga Hōzumi meticulously searched his predecessor's memories and recalled that the little boy's name was Shinjō Katsu. Before the war began, he had been one of the most talented new students at Heart Academy.
After the war began and the principals of the Four Major Academies were sacrificed one by one, he had followed Yūga Hōzumi, protecting the survivors. Due to the original host's reclusive nature and poor communication skills, Shinjō Katsu had become the de facto leader of this small resistance squad, while the original Yūga Hōzumi was more of an enforcer.
"Big Bro Yūga Hōzumi, why are you suddenly asking about this?" Shinjō Katsu asked, surprised.
"Yesterday, I had a realization. We can't keep going on like this. A resistance movement like a bunch of headless chickens has no future," Yūga Hōzumi said gravely. Since the system gave him a mission, continuing to act like the original host was simply not an option. He couldn't just do nothing and wait for that red-and-green-haired guy from the neighboring dimension to come and preach, could he?
"We need to consolidate the remaining forces of the Xyz Dimension. If we don't, we'll be facing a well-trained army. Our scattered forces will be devoured by them piece by piece before long. By the time that happens, it will be too late for everything," Yūga Hōzumi said, looking at the growing number of survivors behind him.
"It's not that easy, Big Bro Yūga Hōzumi." After hearing Yūga Hōzumi's words, Shinjō Katsu's eyes dimmed.
"Hm? Why?" Yūga Hōzumi frowned. It was such a simple principle. Could it be that no one else in this world besides him understood it?
"Before the principals sacrificed themselves, there might have been a chance, but now…" Shinjō Katsu trailed off.
"Speak plainly, Katsu." Yūga Hōzumi sighed. From Katsu's tone, Yūga Hōzumi realized things were probably not that simple.
After a moment of thought, Shinjō Katsu spoke. "Ever since the four principals were ambushed and sacrificed by the Academy Army, the Four Major Academies have been fractured. Besides Diamond Academy, where only the Chief survived that day, the other two academies are just like us—led by their own Chiefs, protecting a group of survivors, and fighting their own separate battles."
(end of chapter)