"Burn everything before me to ashes—hahahahaha!!"
With Jalter's 'cheerful' maniacal laughter echoing, the direct attack that would lead to victory ignited and detonated across the battlefield.
[Loptr LP 3000 → 0]
"No… impossible! I actually lost? As a servant of the great King, how could I be utterly powerless before mere humans?!"
Unable to accept the duel's outcome, Loptr's final shred of dignity was burned away in the flames.
[Duelist Rank Evaluation Complete. Duelist Loptr, Overall Rank A+. Reward Granted: 70 Saint Quartz. Remaining Saint Quartz: 110.]
["A+? That's it?"]
This time, it was Hoshino who was shocked. She had assumed he was just a small fry, yet his duel rank rivaled that of Aster Phoenix. Could it be that mastering Xyz Summoning granted a bonus to one's rank?
Still, an A+-level duelist being able to crush Crowler made sense.
If even a Loptr was A+, then the actual Kings of the Nine Realms would be at least A++, or even pushing toward EX rank.
"Looking at it this way, for someone like Zane, who's also only A+, to defeat a King… he really pushed out power beyond his limits," Hoshino couldn't help but sigh.
"No—that can't even be called surpassing his limits anymore," Kaiba Man interjected. "Zane Truesdale was dueling by burning through his own life. If he keeps fighting like that, his body will definitely collapse."
"He's already done more than enough by defeating one of the Kings. In the next battle against a King… let's not have him interfere," Hoshino concluded after some thought.
Although Zane was among Duel Academy's strongest, he had already defeated a King who also used Machine-types. The remaining eight Kings of other races were probably beyond the reach of Cyber Dragons.
Then Hoshino turned to the stunned, defeated Loptr and threatened, "Loptr, it's time for you to be useful. Since you lost the duel, obediently take us to your boss!"
Why the King had abducted Minazuki—Hoshino still couldn't figure it out even after hearing Akasha's explanation.
But judging from the furious unity among the academy's male students, it was clear just how angry everyone was about Minazuki being taken.
As the Headmistress, she couldn't just sit back. She had to rescue her student.
"Human, you dare try to make me betray the great King?!" Loptr roared.
"Watch your tone, loser! Right now, I can beat some 'justice' into you without any worries."
With the duel lost, Loptr no longer had the protection of the world's absolute rules. Using righteous, knightly violence to force a confession now came with no consequences.
"Don't underestimate my loyalty!"
But then something happened that Hoshino never expected. Drawing the sword at his waist, Loptr stabbed it straight into his own chest without hesitation.
Amid the terrified screams of the academy girls, crimson blood sprayed across the surface of the World Tree.
"You bastards… sooner or later, the King will wipe you all out!"
Blood filling his mouth, eyes bulging red with hatred, Loptr's body—sustained only by resentment—left behind one final threat.
"Be grateful for today's petty victory, humans! When the final despair comes, the end awaiting you will be even more miserable than mine!"
His mortally wounded body crashed to the ground, his final cry echoing through the academy like a curse.
Hoshino frowned. "So he chose to end it this way… Maybe I underestimated him from the start."
Loptr's unwavering resolve to give up his life as a servant made Hoshino realize that the World Tree towering before them—stretching as if into the heavens—was truly an invading enemy.
Even if they were Duel Monsters, what came next would be a war stained with blood.
(***)
On the Throne—
"Oh? So Loptr chose suicide."
Shrouded in darkness, the massive King lounged lazily with his head resting on one hand, not a trace of emotion stirred by Loptr's death.
"Seems that dwarf guy lost too. Loptr aside, if humans can wield the power of the Nine Realm Kings… maybe they're more capable than we expected."
The inhuman King, churning within lava, sounded as if he were praising them—but his tone dripped with mockery.
"Dwarves are still an inferior race. Even their King is nothing worth noting."
"What about Loptr, then? Losing a Shadow of the King will be troublesome, won't it?"
"That's true. In that case… we'll just make more."
Reluctantly rising from the throne, the King waved his arm. Before the glorious throne, the creation of "Shadows" was completed in an instant.
Tens of thousands of Loptrs were constructed at once.
"Didn't you make too many?"
"No matter. Once the real war begins, there won't be such a thing as too many."
Tens of thousands of A+-rank duelists—just like Loptr's dying curse—would surely plunge the resisting duelists of this world into despair.
(***)
"So… what now?"
With Loptr's suicide, Hoshino lost the lead she had hoped to gain from interrogating him about entering the World Tree.
The World Tree before them looked enormous, but in the end, it was still just a tree. From the outside, there was no sign of the nine kingdoms said in legend to be connected along the branches of Yggdrasil.
"Kaiba Man, do you know anything?"
Kaiba Man, who had been standing there with his arms folded in a cool pose, didn't answer at first. He simply shook his head lightly.
"If it were the Priestess, she'd probably know something."
"Oh, right—I almost forgot about Eve."
Since Eve's goal was to help Hoshino gain the power to stand against the Nine Realm Kings, she definitely wouldn't be completely ignorant about the World Tree, Yggdrasil.
But the biggest problem now was that, before Hoshino left, Eve had exhausted herself assisting with the gacha. Even tied up tightly, she was sleeping like a log and couldn't be woken no matter what.
"Do we really have to wait until tomorrow, after Eve wakes up, before we can rescue Minazuki?"
"Absolutely not, Headmistress!"
The academy boys, desperate to save their friend, grew anxious the moment they heard they couldn't rescue Minazuki tonight.
"If we don't save him tonight, something terrible might happen!"
"Yeah, something terrible! Worst-case scenario… someone could die!"
"We absolutely can't let Minazuki pull that off! Even if I have to risk my life today, I'll stop him!"
"Just thinking about that guy stepping onto the path of becoming a man ahead of us makes me furious!"
Hoshino blinked in surprise. "I didn't expect the situation to be this serious…"
She didn't fully understand the last few reasons, but it was easy to see that if they didn't rescue Minazuki tonight, he might be killed by the King and become the first human casualty of the war.
"What should we do…"
Lost in thought, Hoshino stroked her chin.
The inscription on the stone tablet read: "In Norse mythology, the nine realms are connected along the branches of the World Tree Yggdrasil."
Hoshino Alter said, "Aibo, since it's Norse mythology, maybe the Valkyries—as residents of the Norse pantheon—might know something."
"What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing."
Hoshino pulled out three Valkyrie cards and summoned them through her Duel Disk's projection.
The radiant light of the Valkyries blended perfectly with the background World Tree. Even if their worldviews were different, being from the same Norse myth system meant there was still some overlap.
"How may we serve, Master?" ×3
The perfectly synchronized greeting from the three Valkyries made Hoshino feel oddly uncomfortable.
"I want to ask about the World Tree Yggdrasil. Do you know anything about it?" she asked simply.
"Searching individual memory… apologies, Master. No information related to 'Yggdrasil' found," replied the black-haired Valkyrie, Ortlinnde, crisply.
"I don't have any info either. Sorry to disappoint you, Master," said the pink-haired Hildr, sticking out her tongue.
"The information shared among Valkyrie 'counterparts' has very little discrepancy," the blonde Thrúd added.
"The term 'Yggdrasil' doesn't appear in our memories, but there is a similar term—"
Half-kneeling, Hildr used magical power at her fingertip to write a word on the floor—one Hoshino immediately recognized.
"That's it!" Hoshino cried.
Your search engines are way too dumb. "Yggdrasil" was just Kaiba's translated version. The word on the tablet—though Hoshino couldn't read it—was clearly this one.
"Updating individual memory search. Searching keyword '—'!" the three Valkyries said in unison.
They might be primitive search engines, but considering they were thousands of years old, Hoshino couldn't really complain. Compared to them, human search engines from just over a decade ago might not even have been as good.
After compiling the results, the Valkyries reported:
"The World Tree '—' has nine derived realms—
Midgard, the world inhabited by humans.
Above it lies the realm of the Aesir, between the sun and moon in the heavens, connected to Midgard by the rainbow bridge, Bifrost.
Below it is the Land of Mist, an icy realm where those who die of illness or old age go.
The Land of the Dead.
The Land of Fire.
The Land of Giants.
The Realm of Elves.
The Realm of Dwarves and Gnomes.
The home of the Vanir.
At the very bottom coils the black dragon Nidhogg, gnawing endlessly at the roots of the World Tree. When the roots are eaten away and the tree rots, the world will be destroyed, ushering in Ragnarok."
Hoshino nodded. "Nine realms branching from the World Tree… The details are a bit different, but overall they line up. Is there a way to enter these realms?"
"With the power of the Valkyries, it is possible," Hildr answered. "But each realm has its own entry restrictions, Master."
"For example, the Land of Mist can only be reached by those who died of illness or old age. It is a place the living cannot touch."
"That's troublesome… Which realm would the Light King belong to?"
"Hoshino-nee, I know!" Akasha, who had seen the Queen of the King's—Mardel—with her own eyes, raised her hand proudly. "It has to be the Realm of Elves! The Light Realm King looks exactly like the elves in legend!"
Noble, elegant, beautiful, one with nature—and most importantly, those iconic pointed ears.
"The Realm of Elves, huh? Doesn't sound too dangerous. What are the entry conditions?"
Hildr replied, "Only those with pure and innocent hearts are qualified to step into the Realm of Elves."
Akasha: "(ㅍ_ㅍ) Sorry, Hoshino-nee… I guess I was wrong."
Putting aside whether Queen Mardel's heart was pure, based on what Minazuki said before leaving, he definitely didn't qualify as pure and innocent enough to enter the Elven Realm.
"Is there… a more lewd kingdom?" Akasha asked timidly.
Ortlinnde answered seriously, "If you mean reproduction-related behavior, that would indeed be the Realm of Elves."
Thrúd added, "After all, the sacred act that allows life to continue is considered pure in the eyes of elves. And the elf ladies are very cute too~"
"That's the one!" the academy boys shouted excitedly. "Quick, let's go to the Elven Realm and rescue Minazuki from his suffering!"
Waving her spear of light, Thrúd smiled brightly. "Then we will open a temporary passage with the Valkyries' power. Students, please judge for yourselves whether you can enter."
"(╯°Д°)╯ For the sake of humanity, charge, brothers—!"
"Of course, if you cannot maintain a pure and innocent heart, you may instead fall into the Giant Realm of… philosophy~"
The charge halted instantly. After Thrúd's mischievous final warning, no one dared take another step forward… including Hoshino.