Chapter 202: It’s The Chazz!

“It’s over, Chazz!”

Banner swept a hand toward the three monsters on the field before him.

“Golden Homunculus, attack Armed Dragon LV5! Tin Eagle, Mercury Fish, attack Chazz directly! Triple Alchemic Blast!”

“Roooar! Screeech!!”

At Banner’s command, the golden rock giant, the tin-gray eagle, and the mercury-silver fish all let out strange cries and lunged forward in succession, striking at Chazz’s Armed Dragon LV5 and at Chazz himself!

“Looks like I should start browsing the exchange early, and pick out some new nightmare deck that would be perfect for bringing a little warmth to this squinty-eyed Professor Banner.”

Watching the scene unfold, Rowan shook his head and thought it over silently.

Given the state of the goofball’s field, and the 2500 Life Points he had left, taking this triple attack would clearly finish him.

Chazz did still have one face-down card on the field. But knowing what he did about that goofball, Rowan figured it was most likely a Continuous Trap like Call of the Haunted, the kind that revives a monster from the Graveyard.

After Professor Banner’s 4200 ATK Golden Homunculus destroyed Armed Dragon LV5, Chazz could bring it right back. Normally that would be a perfectly good way to hold off the rest of an opponent’s attackers.

But both of the professor’s remaining Alchemy Beasts had the special effect of attacking directly!

Even if Chazz revived Armed Dragon LV5, it would be completely useless.

And in fact, things went exactly as Rowan had predicted!

“Gaaah!!”

Flames and streams of water poured out in beams from the mouths of Golden Homunculus and the two Alchemy Beasts in quick succession.

Chazz’s Armed Dragon LV5 was swiftly blown apart in a burst of fire and smoke.

Chazz made one last struggle, flipping his face-down card to revive Armed Dragon LV5, but it could not stop the onslaught in the slightest.

Then the two Alchemy Beasts’ beams of fire and water struck him directly. He clutched at his chest, grunting in pain, and his strength gave out. He collapsed face-first onto the ground!

His remaining 2500 Life Points ticked away, tick tick tick, until they hit zero.

“It seems you were not the one I was hoping for after all, Chazz.”

Banner did not sound surprised in the least.

“It’s… The Chazz.”

Hearing this, Chazz forced his battered body to hold on, lying prone on the ground. Just before he lost consciousness, he managed to pry one eye open, lifted his head, and spoke his final words in correction.

A single sweat drop rolled down Banner’s face.

“…” Rowan, Alexis, Jaden, and the others all sweat-dropped as well.

Each of them felt a pressing urge to say something.

If he had put this stubbornness anywhere else, then with his not-bad talents in every other respect, that goofball would probably be famous and successful by now…

Rowan’s mouth twitched.

Still, with this result, the key around Chazz’s neck clearly couldn’t be kept.

“According to the stakes of the Shadow Duel, I will be taking the Spirit Key that Chazz holds.”

Banner looked at the pendant key hanging on Chazz’s chest and spoke.

The next instant, that strange, golden, oddly shaped key dissolved into a faint glimmer and vanished, taken away in an instant.

From beneath his gray cloak, Banner drew out a Shadow Charm in the form of a book, with a golden eye set upon its cover. Smiling through squinting eyes, he continued.

“And at the same time, as the price for losing a Shadow Duel, Chazz will be sealed inside this Shadow Charm in my hand, the Emerald Tablet!”

“Hum!!”

The next moment, a green alchemical sigil rose up on the cover. The book flipped open to a page, and a green light shone out from within, swallowing Chazz whole!

“Then I’ll be your next opponent. Besides me, I doubt there’s anyone else suitable right now.”

Rowan glanced at Alexis and the others beside him, then at the hot-blooded idiot trio over on Jaden’s side, before turning to the squinty-eyed professor.

“But before that, let me think about which deck would be the most fitting for a Shadow Duel against you, Professor.”

“N… no, Rowan. I have no intention of dueling you.”

Cold sweat nearly broke out on Banner’s face. He hurriedly forced the words out.

Back when he had taken a bit of Slifer Red’s food money to secretly buy cat food, only to be caught in the act by Rowan, he had been dragged off and tortured with a nightmare deck.

Rowan had only been using a hastily thrown together ordinary deck at the time, but Banner had no wish whatsoever to duel him a second time.

Even if he did not believe he was certain to lose…

Besides, as for the hope that Rowan might be the one to stop the person pulling the strings behind him, Banner had already made up his mind after watching him for some time.

What he had to do now was add a second layer of insurance.

He needed to test the other student he had high hopes for but was not yet sure of: Jaden.

“You won’t duel me…?”

Rowan froze in surprise for a moment. Then he raised an eyebrow, held up his own Spirit Key, and said:

“So you don’t want this last Spirit Key anymore?”

“Of course I do. To repay the one who has supported my alchemy research from behind the scenes all this time, and to settle the debt I owe, I must take that last Spirit Key, no matter what.”

Banner nodded, his answer firm.

“However, I intend to take it by other means.”