"Alright, I'll do as you say."
Prisma Illya had complete faith in Jiang You's judgment. "I Special Summon United Performance from your Deck!"
"How utterly..."
Nero wanted to say "despicable," but considering Jiang You was her direct superior, she forced the word back down. A pure version of Nero would never have hesitated, but the Tru'nembra part of her was completely subordinate to Azathoth. This card was indeed the ace of her Deck, and with Jiang You's knowledge, exploiting an information gap was impossible.
As the card materialized, seven-colored spotlights swept across the stage. The beams of light bloomed like flowers, heralding the arrival of two figures.
[United Performance]Level 11 / Foreigner / ATK 4500
Appearing before everyone was the first multi-character card to debut in the Duel. A vacant-eyed Nero and a girl in a black and purple idol outfit appeared simultaneously, sharing the same Battle Zone.
"Yoo-hoo~! The universe's number one idol group is here!"
In stark contrast to Nero, the girl—flat as a board but sporting a large, meaty(?) tail—waved excitedly to the audience. Her flamboyant skirt spun like a whirlwind with her every move.
"My little puppies—did you miss me?"
"..."
The audience remained dead silent. They genuinely had no idea who this overly familiar girl was. Only a few ambitious Magi offered sparse, scattered applause.
"Hmph... Honestly."
The Dragon Girl puffed out her cheeks. "Is this how you treat a universe-class TOP idol? I demand fan service!"
"Hold on, who here even knows you?"
Seriously, what "universe-class idol"? Besides Jiang You and Nero, probably no one here had a clue who this girl was. Fan service was out of the question—there were no fans to begin with.
"My Lord, have you grown tired of me?"
The Dragon Girl was about to throw a tantrum at the question—how dare anyone doubt the Royal Orchestra's prowess? But when she saw who had spoken, her excitedly wagging tail instantly drooped. Even her spinning skirt seemed to lose its energy, limply falling still.
"I've spent almost my entire life singing for you, yet you won't even grant me proper recognition. Now, who is your new favorite? Ah, that's right. You said it before—Ghroth is the true number one diva in the universe..."
"Hold on a minute!"
Jiang You decisively cut off the Dragon Girl's misleading tirade. As she spoke, whispers had already started rippling through the audience—and with Jiang You's current Parameters, it was as if they were shouting right into his ear. Being called a scumbag was one thing, but a flat-chest fetishist? What the hell? He was just a simple lecher, and he preferred them bigger!
"I don't even know who Ghroth is! And stop accepting memories that don't exist!"
When a Servant fused with an Outer God, their memories and personality were primarily dominated by the Servant, but they were still influenced by the Outer God's memories.
"You haven't even met her, yet you call her the universe's number one diva? Are Nero and I not enough to satisfy you? My Lord, you've gone too far!"
The Dragon Girl stomped her foot in fury. Jiang You was denying her singing ability, and on this point, her reaction was identical to Nero's.
"Just you wait! We'll prove ourselves!"
"Maybe don't prove anything."
Jiang You desperately wanted to say that, but he knew the Dragon Girl's personality meant she would never listen. To protect his reputation, he chose to keep his mouth shut. Still, he couldn't escape Prisma Illya's disdainful glare.
After all, to Prisma Illya, Jiang You truly was Azathoth's avatar. Azathoth had locked the Outer Gods Tru'nembra and Suc'naath in his house to sing for eternity—and Jiang You had done the same.
Jiang You covered his face. The more I try to explain, the guiltier I look. Another fabricated dark past had just been added to his record.
Fortunately, Nero wasn't dwelling on the matter. She was still agonizing over the Duel. She didn't want the Dragon Girl to see her in a pathetic state; if she lost, she'd be nagged about it for the rest of her life. But she couldn't win either—if she did, Jiang You would likely hold it against her. Trapped in a dilemma, she hesitated for a long time before finally continuing the Duel.
"Next, I activate the Field Spell Card: Golden Theater of the End of Time! This card's activation cannot be negated."
Like Chaos Dream, Nero also possessed a Spell Card that could bypass its activation cost—and this was it.
Since the current field was already within Nero's Noble Phantasm, Golden Theater of the End of Time, the scenery remained unchanged.
"The effects of Golden Theater of the End of Time are:
1. When I activate an effect by paying Life Points, I gain Life Points equal to the amount paid instead.
2. If your opponent successfully Summons or Special Summons a Servant, and my Life Points are higher than that Servant's original Attack Power, I can activate this effect: As long as this card remains face-up on my field, I gain control of that Servant!
3. While this card is face-up on the field, my Servants cannot be destroyed by battle, and I take no battle damage."
This version was a significant upgrade from the original, countering its own life-cost effects and allowing her to steal the opponent's monsters. The only trade-off was the lack of a Parameter boost. This mirrored her actual abilities—those with insufficient power would be utterly charmed and converted into fans.
"Now, I pay 1000 LP to draw one card!"
Nero stared intently at Jiang You. She had already figured out one of his effects and hoped to bait it out. After all, she could activate this "pay life to draw" effect three times, while Jiang You had only one Xyz Material left.
"I won't allow it!"
Nero didn't know that Jiang You could see the effects of all cards.
Of course, a few Servants had already figured this out. It was only natural for Jiang You's Noble Phantasm to grant him special privileges—after all, Noble Phantasms were never balanced. Some were as trivial as a mere laugh. Because Prisma Illya was mentally linked to Jiang You, she effectively shared his advanced information network.
How could I let her get away with gaining 3000 LP and drawing three cards?
"I activate the effect of Avatar of Blind Stupidity to negate the activation of your effect!"
"You fell for it!"
A faint smile touched Nero's lips. Even with the negation, she could still gain 2000 LP and draw two cards. All she had to do now was manage her resources, maintain her advantage, and find an opportunity to send it away.
Unfortunately, Prisma Illya would never allow such a disadvantageous trade.
"The effect I choose this time is—the negated card type cannot activate its effects until the start of the next turn!"
"!"
This completely sealed off her options.
However, Nero quickly found a new opening. "In that case, does this mean your Servants can't activate their effects either? You've been a great help!"