When Aleister finished speaking, Alicia was utterly stunned.
She never imagined that the elderly man not far away—who looked a bit… creepy… well, honestly, he just didn't look like a good person—had once committed such horrifying crimes.
Although he was now nothing but a remnant soul, his situation was entirely different from Yuui's.
Yuui had never committed those atrocities; the crimes placed upon him were forcibly and falsely imposed.
Meanwhile, this old man had truly done things so terrible most people wouldn't even dare imagine them—even if he had been influenced by that so-called meteorite from space, even if he regained clarity at the last moment and helped the Headmaster defeat the meteorite, that didn't absolve him.
Still… seeing him now—someone who had lost all will to live, who no longer had a body, whose soul had been reduced to a single wisp, seemingly destined to be imprisoned in this artificial form forever…
Perhaps living without freedom, without a future, for all eternity was the punishment the Headmaster had chosen for him.
On the other side, Yuui furrowed his brows after hearing the Magical Scientist's story.
He had never known the lore behind the Magical Scientist, nor what had happened in the past. But based on what he'd just heard—yes, this man had truly done terrible things.
"I understand. In that case, let's talk about learning cardmaking," Yuui said to the Magical Scientist.
"Learning cardmaking!? Heheheh!" The Magical Scientist let out a cold laugh, as if he'd just heard a joke. He looked at Yuui with a rasping voice. "First, with your identity as Albaz, cardmaking shouldn't be difficult for you. Second! Why should I teach you?
"Do you think that just because I'm a prisoner, I have to obey your demands? Don't talk to me about the Arce family's recommendation. They're nothing worth mentioning anymore.
"In all of Bredt Kingdom, there were fewer than ten marquis families, and yet before the Magical Scientist, even they were nothing worth mentioning."
Anyhow, when one thought about it, perhaps that was true.
After all, gathered inside this tiny castle were: a duke's daughter, a former criminal Sage reduced to a single remnant soul, a Great Sage, and a former world-conquering overlord whose current strength was less than one ten‑thousandth of his peak—plus his accessory (Alicia).
Given this lineup, if Yuui and Alicia actually took out the Arce family's recommendation letter here, it truly would have been embarrassing.
Yuui raised an eyebrow at the remark, then glanced toward Aleister—still calmly drinking tea—and could only internally curse the old man for being utterly black‑hearted. Clearly, Aleister knew the situation from beginning to end, yet he insisted on watching them struggle as if enjoying a show.
So Yuui had no choice but to say:
"Magical Scientist—no, Remington Shepherd. Your dream is to create a Duel Monster that rivals the Gods, isn't it?
"Even when you were controlled by that meteorite, that desire never changed."
"So what!?" The Magical Scientist looked at him disdainfully. "Don't tell me you think you can create a monster that rivals the Gods!"
"No. Not a monster that rivals the Gods.
"A monster that is a God."
The Magical Scientist's brows tightened.
"You… what do you mean?"
"What do I mean? Hmph. I'm telling you your vision is too narrow," Yuui said bluntly. "Magical Scientist, despite having talent acknowledged by Aleister himself, your dream is merely to create something that 'rivals' the Gods? That is far too small‑minded.
"Why not think of surpassing them? To create a true God… even a Duel Monster that exceeds the Gods! Isn't that what someone like you should aspire to!?
"Or are you telling me that in your eyes, Quintet Magician and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon are the limit of what a cardmaker can achieve? Is that your limit?
"In any case, whether that's your limit or not, let me tell you this: Quintet Magician and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon are absolutely not the limit of cardmakers.
"Cardmakers have no such thing as a limit. The only question is whether you dare to imagine it—dare to create it."
Yuui's voice echoed through the laboratory. Everyone looked at him with different expressions.
To Alice, this proved once again that he was a madman. Anyone who claimed they could create a Duel Monster that surpassed Gods had to be insane.
Alicia simply believed him. In her memory, Yuui had never lied to her. If Yuui said he could do something, then he could.
As for the two foxes—Magical Scientist and Aleister—their eyes revealed nothing, though neither of them looked calm.
And was Yuui telling the truth?
Of course he was. The hundreds of monsters engraved within him already included several with enough power and lore to be called Gods—and he even had God‑slaying weapons.
Not to mention the absurdly powerful cards created every year. Each one was more ridiculous than the last.
And the cards within him—given enough time to grow, along with sufficient magic and materials—truly could be created into Duel Monsters worthy of being called "Gods," or even beings that surpassed the Gods.
Nevertheless, doing all of this alone would take an impossible amount of time. He needed help—and Alicia was the best possible partner.
He also wanted Alicia to truly learn cardmaking, so she could have a means of making a living in the future.
As for learning from him—that was impossible.
Not because he didn't want to teach her, but because his situation was totally different from hers. He had the "engraved imprints" of those cards within his body. He wasn't creating cards so much as reproducing the ones engraved inside him.
Thus, he could only ever remake cards of the past. That said, if Alicia learned the cardmaking knowledge of this world, then in the future, the two of them could create entirely new cards.
That was important—for him, and for Alicia's future.
After nearly five minutes of silence, the Magical Scientist finally looked at Yuui and said, one word at a time:
"You speak well… but I don't believe you have that kind of power."
"Want proof? Is that it?" Yuui smirked, then turned to Alicia. "Alicia, I'll need to borrow your body again."
"No problem, Yuui-san!" Alicia nodded. The next moment, the others saw Yuui slip directly into Alicia's body. Alice immediately sensed a familiar aura emanating from her.
"So you were the one dueling in Alicia's place all along!"
Yuui glanced at Alice. "Not always. At the very least, when you duel her in the future, I definitely won't interfere."
Then Yuui activated the Duel Bracelet on Alicia's left wrist and looked at the Magical Scientist.
"Since you don't believe me, I'll show you through a duel.
"If you acknowledge my ability, then you must teach Alicia cardmaking and even assist us in creating cards in the future. But if you don't… then I'll still tell you the information of at least two Duel Monsters that rival the Gods, and I'll never bother you again.
"That is the condition of this duel. Do you accept?"
The Magical Scientist stared at him in silence for a long while before finally asking:
"You trust me that much?"
"No. Of course, I don't trust you as a person." Yuui said without a second thought.
Then he added calmly, "But I do trust that a cardmaker who once dreamed of creating monsters rivaling the Gods… would never betray his own principles when it comes to cardmaking."
"Heh… hehehe… hahahahaha!!"
The Magical Scientist suddenly burst into laughter. He slowly stood up, his withered left hand extending into a Duel Disk made of black crystal.
"In that case… let this old man witness the power of the 'Founder of Duel Cards.'"
"Founder of Duel Cards!!?"
Alice stared in disbelief. That title clearly belonged to the Star-Creating God Sophia. What did this have to do with Albaz?
Then she glanced at Aleister, who was floating casually in the air and eating cookies as if nothing unusual had been said. He didn't deny it. He didn't even react.
As if… he agreed with the Magical Scientist's words.
But… how could that possibly be!?
Before she could think further, Aleister clapped his hands sharply.
"Don't duel here. I paid for everything in this laboratory, and you two can't afford to break it.
"Soooo, let's change locations."
A blue magic circle immediately appeared beneath their feet. Light flashed—and everyone vanished.
When Alice opened her eyes again, they were standing atop the mountain behind the academy, on a large dueling field built into the summit.
"Alright, here will do. I won't feel bad if you break something."
Both Yuui and the Magical Scientist turned to look at Aleister—floating midair and munching on cookies—and spat in their hearts at the carefree old man.
Then they faced each other.
And shouted together:
"Duel!!"
...
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