Trading away a large number of low-star Magic Guide Spirits for a small number of high-star ones is the standard logic behind Sacrificial Summoning.
Most Magic Guide Masters pursue quality rather than quantity in a Magic Guide duel. Tom Nixon was no exception.
So when he successfully completed his Sacrificial Summoning and found his side of the field left with no other Magic Guide Spirits at all, he felt not the slightest unease.
He tilted his head up slightly, watching the six-star Magic Guide Spirit take shape within the enormous sacrificial summoning array, listening to the tsunami-like roar the spectators outside the arena let loose because of it, and felt his heart stir with excitement.
What does it feel like to successfully summon a high-star Magic Guide Spirit powerful enough to seal victory in a Magic Guide duel?
This, most likely, was exactly it.
...
"Aroooo—"
A shrill wolf's howl, as though it came drifting out of some gloomy forest.
A blood-red demonic wolf standing over three meters tall condensed into form within the dark-red demonic light.
The moment it appeared it spread its arms wide, reared upright, and loosed a piercing roar at the sky.
Bloody light seeped from within its crimson eyes.
Its somewhat gaunt physique only made it look all the more savage.
A wisp of bloody cloud rose into the sky.
[Card Name: Blood Moon Demon Wolf]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ??????]
[Species: Demon Species]
[Attribute: Shadow-type]
[Magic: 2500]
[Attack: 3000]
[Defense: 2400]
[Ultimate Moves: Bloodthirst, Sky-Veiling Moon, Parasitic Demon Seed]
A six-star orange card boasting three Ultimate Moves—this was the trump card Tom Nixon prided himself on.
With a terrifying 3000 points of attack, a respectable 2400 points of defense, and a high magic value of 2500, this "Blood Moon Demon Wolf" could hold its own and dominate among six-star Magic Guide Spirits on its base stats alone.
Having successfully summoned the "Blood Moon Demon Wolf," Tom Nixon slammed a palm down on the card table, his voice soaring to its limit: "Use Ultimate Move—Sky-Veiling Moon!"
The "Blood Moon Demon Wolf's" long howl grew all the more ferocious, echoing ceaselessly through the venue as if it would burst through the very clouds.
All at once—
A thick bloody light erupted from within its body.
A pillar of blood-red surged skyward with it at the center, staining that stretch of sky above the field a dark crimson.
The suddenly dimmed light made Espeon squint involuntarily, the red gem on its forehead rapidly darkening.
But Black Gatomon grew gradually excited in this dark-red, intoxicating environment, the "Holy Sword" in its hand already stirring restlessly.
Merely slaying a lizard infected with dragon's blood was not enough to satisfy it.
Under countless gazes, upon the dark-red curtain of blood that had blotted out the sky, a crimson moon then rose into view!
That crimson full moon, radiating bloody light, gave off a chillingly terrifying aura.
Stare at it too long and it felt as though one's very soul would be drawn away, a coldness rising all through the body.
...
"A field technique, of all things?"
Dark Demon added the two Magic Guide Cards drawn this turn to his hand, brows knitting slightly.
With his Black Gatomon wielding the "Honedge," he hadn't been all that worried about Tom Nixon's Sacrificial Summoning.
But this six-star Magic Guide Spirit that had been summoned seemed unexpectedly powerful.
This sort of near-world-altering field technique was not something an ordinary Magic Guide Spirit could master.
"Sky-Veiling Moon, is it?"
He lowered his head and glanced at the Magic Guide Cards in his hand.
The two newly acquired Magic Guide Cards were:
[Sylveon]
[Magic Guide Scribe]
One four-star Magic Guide Spirit, one two-star Magic Guide Spirit.
Of these, "Sylveon" could adapt perfectly to the field altered by "Sky-Veiling Moon."
But to Sacrificially Summon a four-star Magic Guide Spirit required either one one-star and one three-star Magic Guide Spirit, or two two-star Magic Guide Spirits.
Yet Dark had no material fit for sacrifice, neither in his hand nor on his field.
Unless he used a would-be four-star Magic Guide Spirit as the sacrifice.
But the three four-star Magic Guide Spirits on the field all had uses no less valuable than "Sylveon's," and if it was merely coveting the doubled power of "Moon Power" beneath the moonlight, Dark had no need for that.
"Then I'll hold onto it for now."
Dark glanced at Shuckle, which had already used its three Ultimate Moves—the three-star Shuckle plus the two-star "Magic Guide Scribe" happened to make up the material needed to summon a five-star Magic Guide Spirit.
If he could draw "Leomon" next turn, then the first "Hero" could take the field!
...
The "Blood Moon Demon Wolf's" grand entrance and Ultimate Move performance had taken a very long time.
Dark did not seize the chance to attack; instead he used this stretch of time to think.
The 30-second countdown of the seventh turn quietly slipped by in this manner.
Seeing the seventh turn about to end, Tom Nixon, who had likewise finished his draw, finally raised his head high and issued the attack command to the "Blood Moon Demon Wolf"!
The "Blood Moon Demon Wolf" abruptly lowered its head, its dark-red eyes sweeping across the field. They lingered a moment on the "Honedge" in Black Gatomon's hand, then turned toward the nearest Espeon, and at once it let out a growl of disgust.
Then it drove down with its feet, stamping hard enough to shatter a corner of the "Blood Platform," and its whole body dropped naturally from above.
When it landed on the ground, half-crouched, it stood less than twenty meters from Espeon.
The two Magic Guide Spirits of "Sun" and "Moon," locked in a sudden stare from close range, both had murderous intent brewing in their gazes.
"Hachi!"
The "Blood Moon Demon Wolf" opened its blood-basin maw, saliva dripping from the corner of its mouth onto the ground.
"Drip."
In that instant, it was as if the starting gun's crack had sounded.
A storm of blood whipped up beneath the "Blood Moon Demon Wolf's" feet, and in that instant its body turned into a blood-red arrow, launching itself fiercely at Espeon.
But Espeon stood unflinching, its eyes even brimming with disdain.
"Aroooo!"
The distance between the two closed in an instant to five or six meters.
The "Blood Moon Demon Wolf's" eyes surged with intense bloodthirst, its raised right claw kindling with bloody light, the knife-sharp nails all the more terrifying under the glow of the blood moon.
"Dilibiii!"
Espeon, its command of timing all but perfect, suddenly gave a soft cry.
Between it and the Blood Moon Demon Wolf, a golden radiance abruptly blazed from out of nowhere.
That golden orb of light—delayed a full thirty seconds, as though it had crossed time and space to arrive—burst apart in an instant right before the "Blood Moon Demon Wolf's" eyes!
In that moment.
The "Blood Moon Demon Wolf's" eyes went wide to their utmost limit, with nothing but confusion surfacing deep within them.
Up on the blue-side player's stand, Tom Nixon smacked a palm down onto the card table, slapping his palm sore.
"That attack again, like some Grand Divination Spell!"
On the commentary stand, Zach Wilson at once let out a soaring cry, and the spectator seats erupted with gasps.
Down in the ring-shaped strip, Angus Jeffrey lifted his head and shot Zach Wilson a glare.
But of course, there was no way Zach Wilson would notice this tiny glare from someone lost in the crowd.
The eruption of "Future Sight" blasted the "Blood Moon Demon Wolf"—its momentum climbing to its peak—forcibly back.
Its whole coat of sleek, flowing fur was blown into utter disarray.
When it struggled back to its feet, the impression it gave had changed entirely.
If a moment ago it had been a terrifying demon wolf, "ferocious and bloodthirsty," then now it was at best a red husky that had "caught rabies."
...
"Espeon, come back."
As Dark Demon issued the command, he reached out to draw a card.
"Tick!"
The eighth turn had arrived.
Receiving the command, Espeon immediately returned to the red-side zone and reset its stance.
Dark, meanwhile, drew a new Magic Guide Card.
"Leomon, Leomon, Leomon!"
[Leomon]
[Blink Spell]
"Leomon" answered his call outright, appearing in his hand.
Dark's heart leapt with joy, and he immediately set about summoning "Magic Guide Scribe."
The "Magic Guide Scribe's" identity as a Magic Guide Spirit had already been exposed, so summoning it directly in midair was no longer an option.
But it was itself a formless "fairy," and with other Magic Guide Spirits present—especially with Shuckle on the field right now—he only needed to summon it onto Shuckle's back.
The summoned "Magic Guide Scribe" immediately shrank into Shuckle's shell.
With that, the five-star sacrificial material was fully prepared.
"Leomon," the sole five-star Magic Guide Spirit card in Dark's hand, was deeply trusted.
In the gap while waiting for the cooldown to pass, Dark lifted his head slightly and saw that Tom Nixon, wearing an ugly expression, was also summoning.
But what he summoned was not a Magic Guide Spirit—it was an "Equipment Card."
"In the name of Tom Nixon, Magic Guide Summon—'Wings of the Wicked Soul'!"
A wisp of black light drilled out from the card's face and shot straight at the "Blood Moon Demon Wolf."
Then, behind the "Blood Moon Demon Wolf," a pair of pitch-black wings like those of a ghost sprouted forth, granting the "Blood Moon Demon Wolf" the ability to fly.
...
Dark suddenly noticed that quite a few duelists seemed to have prepared this type of "Equipment Card."
"Is it to chase down the Magic Spheres in the air?"
"Should I be preparing a Magic Guide Spirit of this type too?"
The instant this thought flashed through his mind, he had already begun reciting the incantation of the Sacrificial Summoning technique.
The nine-second casting time took up nearly a third of a turn, and afterward, because the summoning technique fell into cooldown, there were another nine seconds during which he couldn't summon.
So for duelists not fast enough at Sacrificial Summoning, it really did need to be used with caution.
But Dark was full of confidence in his own Magic Guide Spirits.
Just as he entered the summoning state, his eyelid suddenly twitched, and he saw that upon the "dark-red curtain" overhead, that ring of "Sky-Veiling Moon" burst forth with a dark-red pillar of light, pouring down from above into the "Blood Moon Demon Wolf's" body.
The "Blood Moon Demon Wolf," whose momentum had originally withered, bathed in this blood-moon light, and that ferocious, terrifying aura rekindled, climbing steadily higher.
Then its limbs and joints transformed beneath this moonlit bathing, its once "hunched" posture abruptly straightening, changing completely into a classic figure of the Demon race—a werewolf!
Werewolf—this should originally have been the general term for the wolf-kind among beastmen.
But as the demon-corrupted werewolf faction within the Demon race grew ever more infamous, the wolf-kind among beastmen came instead to be overlooked.
The moment people mentioned werewolves, they would think of the demon-corrupted werewolves of the Demon race.
Those were two creatures already utterly different at their very roots.
The "Blood Moon Werewolf," having completed its Transform beneath the blood moon, had base stats that clearly skyrocketed—even matched against a seven-star Magic Guide Spirit it would not fall short.
This was the main reason Tom Nixon regarded it as his trump card.
In fact, so long as "Sky-Veiling Moon" was deployed, this second-tier six-star Magic Guide Spirit could fully be regarded as a third-tier seven-star Magic Guide Spirit.
"Arooo—"
Amid the long howl, the "Blood Moon Werewolf" spread its "Wings of the Wicked Soul" and once more lunged in for the kill.
This time, without the obstruction of "Future Sight," the "Blood Moon Werewolf" flew across half the field in an instant.
But at the midfield line, it met its opponent.
Black Gatomon, wielding the "Honedge," charged in like the wind, carried by its thrill at battling a powerful foe.
Black Gatomon's base stats fell comprehensively behind the "Blood Moon Werewolf's"—only its attack power, bolstered by the "Honedge," came fairly close.
Therefore, if it wanted to contend with the "Blood Moon Werewolf," it could only "use offense as defense," answering attack with attack, and could not let the "Blood Moon Werewolf" catch it even once.
It was like dancing at the edge of a cliff—yet that only made Black Gatomon all the more excited.
The fierce collision of long sword and steel claw thus unfolded!
"Bang, bang, bang!"
After three exchanges, the transformed "Blood Moon Werewolf" ultimately gained the upper hand.
Even though Black Gatomon parried in time, it was blasted flying, sword and all, by the "Blood Moon Werewolf."
But mid-air it did a backflip spin to shed the force and landed successfully; though it slid backward several meters, it was none the worse for wear.
Still, the corner of its mouth twitched—it had, after all, come to understand the gap between the two of them.
This made it stroke the "Honedge" in its hand with lingering reluctance, then abruptly hurl it up into the sky.
"Leomon," taking the field within the sacrificial summoning array, reached out a hand and caught the hilt of the "Holy Sword," then descended to the ground, majestic and commanding.
It was that Dark had finally completed his Sacrificial Summoning, using "Shuckle" and "Magic Guide Scribe" as material to summon the five-star Magic Guide Spirit—"Leomon"!
[Card Name: Leomon]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ?????]
[Species: Animal species]
[Attribute: Fighting-type]
[Magic: 2300]
[Attack: 2300]
[Defense: 2300]
[Ultimate Moves: Beast King Fist, Shishiōmaru, Heart of Justice]
...
The instant the "Honedge" came into its hand, Leomon's aura shifted, its attack power rising to 3800 points.
It swept out a hand, flourishing the blade, and "Heart of Justice" suddenly blazed bright.
The sacred power within the "Honedge" resonated with its heart—a sword-cry surged to the heavens, a sacred light erupting skyward, and it actually tore open half of the "dark-red curtain" overhead, letting sunlight shine down once more.
Leomon raised the Holy Sword high, the sacred light flickering endlessly.
Before this sacred light, the "Putrid Curse" was like thin paper, dispelled without the slightest resistance.
The "Honedge" at once recovered its condition, the scabbard giving off a soft ring, quite exhilarated.
But the "Blood Moon Werewolf," caught in the sacred light, could not help but squint its eyes.
Just like the expression on its master's face at this very moment.
...
[14000/12000]
[To be continued tonight.]
Hand:
[Blink Spell]
[Sylveon]
[Pride II·Old]
[Pride II·New]
[Wishful Die]
[Push Spell]
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