[Yumi, LP 4000]
[Celina, LP 4000]
Both Duelists stared at each other from across the field. Yumi still wore his usual cheerful smile, while Celina looked slightly annoyed, as though she already knew he was about to do something troublesome.
Behind him, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon let out a low roar. Across the field, Lunalight Cat Dancer stood her ground, refusing to back away from the terrifying dragon.
Yumi raised another card from his hand.
"Quick-Play Spell, De-Fusion! I defuse my Starving Venom!"
The dragon's body began to glow brightly. Its massive form broke apart, separating into the two monstrous plant creatures that had originally been used as its Fusion Materials.
[Predaplant Lilizard, 1200 ATK]
[Predaplant Cordyceps, 0 ATK]
"Predaplant Lilizard's effect activates! When this card is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I get to draw one card."
Yumi drew from his Deck and added the card to his hand. After taking a quick look at it, he immediately raised another card.
"Spell Card, Metamorphosis! By Tributing a monster on my field, I can Special Summon a Fusion Monster with the same Level!"
White light began circling around Predaplant Cordyceps. The small, withered plant monster let out a strange roar as its body began to twist and mutate. Its tiny frame expanded, transforming into a massive mass of grotesque black flesh.
Numerous small, tightly packed eyelids appeared across its back before spreading outward like a pair of wings. A single eye grew from its head, while a massive mouth opened across its belly.
[Thousand-Eyes Restrict, 0 ATK]
"What's with all these grotesque, horror-themed monsters!? Isn't it a bit too early for Halloween?" Celina complained again, feeling another wave of goosebumps run across her skin.
"I just think they fit my Predaplant Deck," Yumi replied with a smile.
He then snapped his fingers.
"Thousand-Eyes Restrict's effect activates!"
"Not so fast! Quick-Play Spell, Effect Shut!"
Celina quickly interrupted him, raising her hand as one of her face-down cards flipped face-up.
"When you activate a monster's effect, I can negate its activation and, if I do, destroy it!"
Yellow electricity suddenly surrounded Thousand-Eyes Restrict. The grotesque monster twitched as the electricity intensified, before its entire body shattered into pieces and disappeared from the field.
Yumi watched it happen without showing much concern. Instead, he simply reached for another card.
"I Normal Summon Predaplant Chlamydosundew!"
A new plant monster appeared on his field. Its body resembled a frilled lizard, with a wide neck frill and a long, slender tongue that moved restlessly as it looked around.
[Predaplant Chlamydosundew, 600 ATK]
"Predaplant Chlamydosundew's effect activates! During my Main Phase, I can Fusion Summon a DARK monster using monsters from my hand or field, as well as monsters with Predator Counters!"
Chlamydosundew let out a sharp hiss. Its neck frill spread open, and a Fusion vortex formed around its body. The little plant lizard then shot out its long tongue, wrapping it around Predaplant Lilizard before pulling the other monster into the vortex.
The swirling light grew brighter as the two monsters were drawn together.
"Fusion Summon! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"
The monstrous dragon reappeared beside Yumi, letting out a low, menacing growl. Its glowing green eyes remained fixed on Celina and her monsters, while the fleshy maws growing from its wings and shoulders slowly opened.
[Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, 2800 ATK]
"Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's effect! When it's Fusion Summoned using monsters on the field, it can gain ATK equal to the combined ATK of all Special Summoned monsters you control!"
Yumi smiled as the dragon spread its wings and released a deafening roar. The crimson orbs scattered across its body began glowing brighter, and its enormous frame seemed to swell with the energy gathering inside it.
[Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, 2800 -> 6200 ATK]
"Now, I target your Lunalight Cat Dancer! I negate its effects, and my Fusion Dragon gains those effects until the end of the turn!"
Yumi closed his right fist, and Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's green eyes flashed.
The Starving Venom Fusion Dragon in Yumi's possession is the anime version, bypassing the limitation of the real-world version and turning the only fusing monsters on the field into an option.
"You really don't know how to hold back against a girl, both in bed and in a Duel," Celina remarked, sounding thoroughly annoyed.
This was their first Duel together since that night and everything that had happened afterward. Normally, the two of them would spend quite a bit of time dueling inside their dorm room, so she was familiar with how Yumi played.
Still, knowing him didn't make it any less annoying when he decided to go all out.
"Sorry, sorry. But being gentle isn't really my style," Yumi replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
His embarrassed expression didn't last long. The familiar playful smile soon returned as he thrust his right hand forward.
"Battle! Go, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon! Attack Lunalight Cat Dancer!"
The dragon opened its enormous jaws, gathering a condensed sphere of venomous energy between its teeth. The orb grew larger with every passing moment before Starving Venom released a powerful breath attack aimed directly at the Cat Dancer.
"Trap Card, open! Time Chain!"
Celina quickly waved her hand, activating one of her face-down cards.
A large, condensed orb of light appeared between the two Duelists. Metallic chains circled its surface before suddenly shooting outward, wrapping tightly around both Starving Venom Fusion Dragon and Lunalight Cat Dancer.
The chains continued tightening around the two monsters until their bodies vanished, leaving only the glowing orb suspended just above the ground. Its metallic chains continued circling around it, moving despite having nothing to hold in place.
"When one of my monsters is targeted by an attack from your monster, I can negate both monsters' effects and banish them until the end of their controller's second Standby Phase!"
Celina explained the effect with a confident smile.
"Huh. So that's where my Time Chain went."
Yumi couldn't help but mutter under his breath.
He had almost forgotten that his sisters and close friends had a habit of taking cards from his collection whenever they wanted. Well, at the moment, the only ones who had been doing that were Celina and Jaden.
Still, he didn't really mind.
He printed plenty of cards, and there were more than a few that he never got around to using. If someone close to him wanted to put them to good use, then he didn't see a reason to complain. It was certainly better than leaving them in a box to gather dust.
"If you aren't using it, I'm borrowing it," Celina replied.
Having gotten used to Yumi by now, she knew he wouldn't mind as long as she didn't deliberately damage or destroy his cards.
"You really shouldn't pick up Momo-nee's bad habits," Yumi said, feeling that his older sister had been a rather terrible influence on his roommate.
"Wow. The pot is actually calling the kettle black."
Celina shot back without missing a beat.
Yumi could only chuckle; he didn't have much room to argue with that one.
He turned his attention back to his hand, looking at the final card in his hand.
"I set one card."
A face-down card materialized in the empty space on his field.
"Turn end."
Celina placed her fingers on top of her Deck, her gaze shifting toward the opponent standing across from her.
"Draw!"
She looked at the card she had just drawn before placing it onto her Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card, Dual Gate! By banishing this face-up card along with another Dual Gate in my Graveyard, I get to draw two cards!"
The Spell Card emerged from her Graveyard. Its image briefly glowed before both copies vanished in a flash of light. Celina then drew two cards from her Deck, taking a moment to look through them before deciding on her next move.
"I Normal Summon Lunalight White Rabbit!"
She spun the card between her fingers before placing it onto her Duel Disk.
A small figure appeared on her field. The slim rabbit girl wore a white silk outfit and held a large sledgehammer with both hands. Despite her rather delicate appearance, she seemed perfectly comfortable carrying the oversized weapon.
[Lunalight White Rabbit, 800 ATK]
"When White Rabbit is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Lunalight monster with a different name from my Graveyard in Defense Position!"
A card popped out of Celina's Graveyard. She picked it up and placed it onto her Duel Disk.
"Come back, Gold Leo!"
A familiar lion girl appeared beside White Rabbit, taking her place on the field.
[Lunalight Gold Leo, 1600 DEF]
"Now, I activate White Rabbit's effect! Once per turn, I can target Spell and Trap Cards on your field and return them to your hand, up to the number of Lunalight monsters I control!"
White Rabbit immediately sprang into action. She leaped forward, raising her sledgehammer high above her head with both hands before bringing it down against the ground.
The impact produced a powerful shockwave that raced across the field, heading straight for the only face-down card on Yumi's side.
"Trap Card, open!"
Yumi pressed the button on his Duel Disk, flipping his face-down card face-up.
"Predaplant Reborn! I target Predaplant Lilizard in my Graveyard and Special Summon it!"
A familiar, monstrous plant creature emerged from the Graveyard and appeared on his field.
[Predaplant Lilizard, 1200 DEF]
"Lilizard's effect! Since it was Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I get to draw one card!"
Yumi quickly drew a card and added it to his hand.
The shockwave continued forward, but with his face-down card already activated and gone, it struck nothing but empty space. Predaplant Reborn disappeared from the field and was sent to the Graveyard.
Celina didn't seem particularly bothered. She had already moved on to her next play.
She raised her Duel Disk, opening the Field Spell Zone before taking another card from her hand.
"I activate the Field Spell, Fusion Gate!"
The sky above the field darkened as a massive, cloudy vortex appeared overhead. It spun continuously, its center glowing with the energy of the Fusion Summon about to take place.
"With Fusion Gate, I can Fusion Summon by banishing the Fusion Materials from my hand and field."
Celina clenched her fist and raised it toward the sky.
"I fuse Purple Butterfly, White Rabbit, and Gold Leo!"
The three female Beast-Warriors gathered together beneath the enormous vortex. Their bodies began glowing as the Fusion energy pulled them closer, their forms gradually merging before being swallowed by the swirling darkness above.
The vortex grew brighter.
Then, a new figure emerged from within.
A humanoid woman with light purple skin and golden hair stepped onto the field. She wore an elegant black-and-gold dancer outfit, with white fur covering parts of her attire, and held a short blade in each hand. Her movements were graceful, but there was no mistaking the dangerous aura surrounding her.
"Fusion Summon! Lunalight Sabre Dancer!"
[Lunalight Sabre Dancer, 3000 ATK]
Sabre Dancer landed on the field beside her Master, standing tall with both blades held at her sides. She briefly crossed them in front of herself before settling into a ready stance.
"Sabre Dancer gains 200 ATK for each Beast-Warrior monster in my Graveyard or that has been banished!"
One after another, the ghostly figures of Celina's Lunalight monsters appeared behind her. Their images gathered around Sabre Dancer, and the energy they released flowed into her body.
Her blades began to glow as her ATK increased.
[Lunalight Sabre Dancer, 3000 -> 4000 ATK]
"Go, Sabre Dancer! Attack Predaplant Lilizard!"
At Celina's command, the Beast-Warrior immediately leaped forward.
Her movements were swift and graceful, almost resembling a dance. She closed the distance between herself and Lilizard in an instant, twisting her body as she swung both blades.
The plant monster barely had time to react before the blades crossed through its body, cutting it apart. Its monstrous form broke into pieces before disappearing from the field.
Celina lowered her hand.
"Turn end."
Yumi smiled as he placed his finger on top of his Deck.
"My turn. Draw!"
His gaze briefly shifted to the card he had just drawn before he raised his Duel Disk. Another card emerged from his Graveyard, and he picked it up.
"During my Standby Phase, I can banish Predaplant Cordyceps from my Graveyard to Special Summon two Level 4 or lower Predaplant monsters from my Graveyard!"
After putting Cordyceps away, two familiar plant monsters reappeared on his field.
[Predaplant Lilizard, 1200 ATK]
[Predaplant Chlamydosundew, 600 ATK]
"Lilizard's effect activates!"
Yumi drew another card and added it to his hand before raising his other hand.
"Now, I activate Chlamydosundew's effect! I Fusion Summon using Predaplant Lilizard and the DARK monster, Predaplant Chlamydosundew!"
The frilled lizard-like plant let out a sharp hiss. Its neck frill spread open, creating another Fusion vortex that began pulling both monsters toward its center.
Their bodies disappeared into the swirling light, and a new shape gradually emerged from within.
A massive, thick plant creature appeared on Yumi's field. Its head resembled an enormous red flower, with a gaping mouth sitting at its center. Several thick vine-like tendrils extended from its body, each ending in a large, veined flytrap maw that snapped and twisted impatiently.
"Fusion Summon! Predaplant Chimerafflesia!"
[Predaplant Chimerafflesia, 2500 ATK]
Celina stared at the monster for a moment.
"I never thought there would come a day when I'd actually wish you were using your Sky Striker Deck instead," she muttered.
She wasn't exactly scared of the thing. It was more that looking at it made her question whether she would ever be able to look at vegetables the same way again.
Seriously, what was wrong with Yumi?
She was starting to wonder if something had happened to his brain for him to actually come up with monsters like these, let alone put them in a Deck and use them.
His previous Decks had mostly consisted of cute little furballs, dragons, warriors, heroes, mechas, girls, and even more girls.
So how the hell had he gone from all that to horrifying plant monsters?!
"What is that supposed to mean?" Yumi asked, tilting his head slightly.
He had no idea that Celina was currently considering whether she should crack his skull open just to check what was going on inside.
"Nothing," she replied immediately.
Yumi looked at her for another moment but eventually decided not to bother asking. He simply waved his hand toward the field.
"Battle! Chimerafflesia, attack Lunalight Sabre Dancer!"
The monstrous plant suddenly lunged forward. Its thick vine tendrils whipped through the air, stretching toward Sabre Dancer from several directions at once.
"Chimerafflesia's effect activates! Once per turn, when an attack involves this card, I can increase its ATK by 1000 and decrease the ATK of the monster it's battling by 1000 until the end of this turn!"
Yumi explained the effect with a cheerful smile.
Celina clicked her tongue. She had already expected something like this from him. There was no way he would let his monster attack without some kind of trick behind it.
[Predaplant Chimerafflesia, 2500 -> 3500 ATK]
[Lunalight Sabre Dancer, 4000 -> 3000 ATK]
The vines shot forward and wrapped around Sabre Dancer's arms and legs. The Beast-Warrior struggled against their hold, trying to cut herself free with her blades, but the tendrils continued tightening around her.
Before she could escape, the massive plant lifted her off the ground and dragged her toward the enormous mouth in its flower-shaped head.
The jaws opened wide.
Then, with one final pull, Sabre Dancer disappeared into its maw.
[Celina, LP 4000 → 3500]
Celina stared at the spot where her monster had just been, then slowly shifted her gaze toward Yumi.
Watching one of her monsters get eaten by that disgusting plant was apparently the last straw.
"After this, I'm cracking that skull of yours open."
Yumi: "???"
He genuinely had no idea what he had done wrong.
...
AN: Sorry for the late upload, got bored and been busy with writing a JJK fic.