The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　"A dragon man."

　In the circular area, Pandora leaned back in her chair, a hint of languor on her face. She was deep in thought, but her thoughts were unrelated to the current match. "Are there dragonkin tribes on Sky City? I'm quite curious." She couldn't go to Dragon Canyon, Dragon Island, Dragon Village, or other pure-blooded clan territories.

　But if it's a dragon race... then it might be worth a visit. Besides, that "aging curse" is indeed quite interesting.

　It would be even better if she could also learn about "Accelerated Summoning" while she was at it. She was really looking forward to her duel with the senior students from the Sky Magic Academy, but unfortunately, she had to wait another week.

　The two fighters stepped onto the dueling arena. All eyes were instantly drawn to them.

　In the hidden box of the Royal Capital Duel Hall, Arvit, no longer bothered by the old king's ramblings, stared intently at the treasure.

　She wished she could replace her eyes with a camera to record every performance of Dak and imprint them forever in the deepest part of her mind.

　Claire, who was behind her, also put down her book and focused on the field.

　The same applies to the Twin Paladins, Princess Elizabeth, King Austin, and Pope Sith.

　Inside the academy, Prince Charles, Archbishop Calenoris, and others in the circular area also stopped, concentrating their attention as they awaited the start of the duel.

　No matter how well the previous players performed, their focus remained on Dark Dimon.

　If Virtold is the "Child of Prophecy," then Darkdemon is an existence that transcends prophecy.

　In just two short years, they have seen countless possibilities in this student.

　As numerous as the stars.

　……

　[As of now, the total number of unpaid chapters owed is 4. The reward will be offered until the end of the month. Thank you for your votes.]

Chapter 1209 The Lamentations Amidst a Hail of Bullets (4k)

　"This is the sixth duel between St. Marian Academy and Sky Magic Academy."

　"Let's look back at the score, 3 to 2."

　"St. Marian Academy is currently leading by one point. But if Sky Magic Academy can win another game, they will tie the score and enter the decisive game."

　"Therefore, this duel is extremely important for Sky Magic Academy; they must win!"

　"Now let's turn our attention to the red side's arena. Standing there is the contestant from the Sky Magic Academy, their last hope, Christopher Ferguson!"

　"Ferguson is under immense pressure in this duel. But the fact that Sky Magic Academy chose him to be the last to appear shows their complete trust in him."

　"Judy believes he will not let us down and will definitely play well and perform at his best!"

　“Now, let’s hand the stage over to the commentators.” Judy put down the microphone and stepped backstage. She then looked towards the dueling arena.

　At this moment, both players are summoning their domains in the dueling arena.

　"Domain Deployment!" "Domain Deployment!"

　A wave of light surged from beneath Dark Deemon's feet in an instant. It surged wildly toward the opponent as if it wanted to devour the entire dueling arena.

　Christopher's domain, on the other hand, carried a natural dragon's might, and the radiance it emitted when unfolded resembled dragon wings.

　As the dueling arenas collide and merge, the ritual connects, the graveyard is generated, the radiance fades, and the duel enters "Preparation Phase 1".

　Needless to say.

　Dark placed the prepared deck into the Duel Disk, allowing it to shuffle automatically, and then looked up at his opponent.

　A faint red glow emanated from Christopher's body, a sign that his magic was at its peak.

　The opponent is a "Dragonman," possessing the talents and power of a dragon. If a tactic centered on their own strength is employed, they might not be inferior to Diana or Aurora.

　To determine the specifics, it depends on the purity of his dragon blood and his own potential.

　But since they are "Dragon People", they should not be underestimated.

　Before a duel begins, it's almost always accurate to judge that your opponent's physical strength is greater than your own.

　In other words, it would be extremely dangerous to engage in close combat with it without authorization.

　It seems that we need to be careful to avoid this.

　However, Dark was never a melee specialist to begin with. Under the new rules, he only needs to ensure that his strength is sufficient to support his early-game board presence.

　This alone is already an advantage that is difficult to obtain in traditional duels.

　After a moment's thought, Dark signaled to his opponent: Is it alright?

　Christopher nodded solemnly.

　Both sides reached an agreement, and a ten-second countdown appeared in the air. As the countdown ended, the duel entered "Preparation Phase 2." Both players drew cards simultaneously.

　Dark placed his right hand on the duel disk, and five magic cards flew out from the top of the deck and fell down.

　With a thought, the projections of the five cards in his hand appeared before him.

　"Elysium IV: Paradise", "Gabumon" [Devimon], "Kaguya's Orb" [Elysium IV V]

　His opponent was a "Dragonman," and Dark didn't use any fancy decks, going straight for "Elysium." Therefore, his deck contained three copies of "Elysium IV IV" and three copies of [Elysium IV: Paradise].

　It's perfectly reasonable to have one of each of the five cards in your starting hand. Besides these two "Paradise Cards," his starting hand consisted of a three-star "Devimon" and a three-star "Gabumon," as well as the final "Kaguya Orb."

　"Kaguya's Orb" is an item card with a Field Skill that can summon the moon and enhance its power.

　In addition, some special moves that require darkness or a full moon to be used can also be paired with it.

　However, under the current circumstances, the "Kaguya Orb" is not very useful. It can be left until the opponent's summoning area is reached, and then used to overwrite it later.

　The most crucial cards in this hand are the three-star "Devimon" and the three-star "Gabumon".

　With a starting three-star Digimon, Dark can evolve it to Champion level using only his mental power, even without using the "Paradise Card," which will help him get through the early stages smoothly.

　However, since he already has two "V of Elysium" cards in his hand, he naturally doesn't need to reveal his mental powers.

　In those thirty seconds of preparation time, all he needs to do is choose between launching "Devimon" first and "Gabumon" first.

　If it were a matter of habit, he would naturally choose "Devimon".

　But considering the feelings of the magical spirits... Dark frowned slightly and waited intently.

　The two fighters stared at each other, their gazes clashing, the atmosphere tense and tense. As the thirty-second countdown of "Preparation Phase 1" came to an end, the duel officially began!

　[Battle Phase (1)][30s]

　"In the name of Dark Deemon, a magical summoning! This time, I choose you! Come forth, Gabumon!"

　Without hesitation, Dark summoned Gabumon the moment the duel began!

　As the light of summoning is released from the card, a small dinosaur wearing a blue and white wolf skin quickly materializes in the air.

　"Gabumon, come on!"

　Finally, Gabumon made its first appearance, its face cold and aloof, as if Schwarzenegger had possessed it. An unprecedentedly strong fighting spirit was concealed beneath its wolf-skin mask, only its eyes revealing its true nature.

　It shines through.

　It is already waiting for Dark to call its name again. At that moment, it will transform into the most brutal battlefield killing machine (just kidding).

　Dark continued to hold his hand on the magic cards on the Duel Disk, intently watching his opponent.

　Christopher's actions will determine his next course of action.

　However, when dueling with duelists from the Sky Magic Academy, you usually don't need to worry about being sniped at the start.

　Because the duelists of the Sky Magic Academy also need time to nurture the growth of their magical spirits.

　Although Christopher is a physically powerful dragonman, he still used a conventional starting move in this game, at least in this one.

　—He first summoned a dragon egg!

　Upon seeing the dragon egg, Dark felt a surge of warmth and familiarity. It had been so long since he'd encountered a dragon egg.

　However, the targets of the "Aging Curse" used by the "Dragon People" are either "baby dragons" or "dragon eggs".

　It's still unknown what other abilities this "dragon egg" possesses besides "aging and growing."

　A thought flashed through Dark's mind, and he placed his finger on "Elysium IV" to begin the second summoning of this duel.

　No matter what special abilities that dragon egg possesses, it's impossible for it to suddenly jump out of its shell and deliver a ranged spell.

　Dark successfully got through the opening move, and in a few seconds, what awaited his opponent was a nine-star magical spirit!

　“Crack!

　Catalyzed by the "Aging Curse," the magical spirit inside the "Dragon Egg" was the first to hatch.

　However, the baby dragon did not hatch from the egg; instead, it continued to be catalyzed by the "curse of aging" inside the egg.

　However, when the "dragon egg" hatched, the ground beneath it suddenly lit up with patterns resembling crimson wheels.

　The pattern flashed by, clearly indicating some kind of "hatching effect".

　The young dragon that hatches from this dragon egg inherits a certain buff at birth.

　Three-second summoning time.

　The baby dragon inside the "dragon egg" rapidly grew larger, suddenly bursting open the eggshell, causing the shell to scatter and vanish into magic in the air.

　And Dak sang the final words.

　"In the name of Darkdemon, the mage calls out—'Elysium IV'!" As soon as the words were spoken, a highly concentrated pillar of light descended from the sky, and a huge magic circle inscribed with the "Elysium Emblem" and "Elysium Magic Mark" appeared beneath Gabumon's feet.

　Gabumon's face immediately lit up with excitement. It accepted the infusion of Elysium IV's power as if enjoying it, its entire body becoming transparent and ethereal within the golden-pink pillar of light, transforming into a luminous form.

　Immediately afterwards, its body rapidly expanded and evolved!

　Gabumon → Evolution → Gurumon → Mega Evolution → Astarmon!

　When the glory faded, what appeared in everyone's sight was a dark nobleman wearing a wolf's hood, with long, wild, gray hair, a gray-white cloak, and a blue striped suit—"Astarmon"!

　[Astarmon]'s wolf headgear has two sharp horns, and its wings on its back resemble those of a vampire.

　Its aura was perfectly captured by its attire. Not only did it wear a cloak, a blood-red scarf, and white gloves, but it also had inverted wolf fangs along the edges of its cloak and the tips of its shoes.

　What's particularly eye-catching is the machine gun it's holding! The presence of that Gatling gun makes people completely overlook the dagger in its other hand, giving it the aura of a "yakuza boss".

　That's a machine gun called "Golden Salmon," and the bullets it fires are sentient and will track enemies to the ends of hell!

　However, due to limited magical power, Astaromon always needs to restrain its urge to fire.

　He carried the "Golden Salmon" on his left shoulder, casually tossed the dagger in his right hand, and naturally began to walk in the "Sky Step".

　Suddenly, a melody resembling "Billie Jean" began to play in the venue.

　Astaroth's steps became even more rhythmic.

　At the same time, its innate "Demon Ruler Aura" instantly spread out, covering the entire area.

　This wasn't a field technique, but it made the entire duel arena feel like it had entered a demonic realm.

　"The Demon King..."

　Many people subconsciously recalled this word.

　But that's what a mage is—a powerful profession that can even summon and command demons!

　“Let me see your strength, Astarmon.” Dark retracted his magic cards and said in a deep voice. “Watch my performance!”

　Upon hearing the command, Astarmon instinctively curled its lips into a smile and instantly sped off, seemingly riding on thin air.

　Dark casually pulled out "Devimon" and waited for the cooldown.

　Christopher's magic was indeed immense. The dragon in his hand was rapidly growing, reaching five or six meters in height in just a short time, and it was still growing.

　Its immense dragon might was already emanating, and magma seemed to flow between its crimson scales.

　That was clearly a red dragon, a fire-attribute dragon! A "magma dragon"!

　As the "magma dragon" continued to grow larger, the scalding magma flowing from its body had already formed a magma pool on the ground.

　Magical spirits without fire resistance simply cannot find a foothold in this kind of place.

　Even Christopher himself had spread his dragon wings and taken to the air.

　At this point, Christopher not only had wings on his back, but also a dragon.

　The tail. But that wasn't his true form, but rather a "half-dragon" form he transformed into using his bloodline power. Both the dragon wings and the tail were condensed magic. After entering the "half-dragon" form, Christopher gained even greater speed, strength, and control over magic.

　As he watched the "Astaroth" rushing towards him, he immediately poured all the remaining magic power he needed into it.

　The "magma dragon" suddenly let out a terrifying roar, its arms outstretched, its body cracking. But from the cracked skin sprouted even sharper horns!