Despite all her constant commentary during Hikaru's Duels, Tierra was very clear about one thing:
They weren't true, inseparable allies.With Hikaru's personality, if she were ever fully revived.
He would absolutely choose to oppose her.
After all, he could never accept her reconstructing an entire ecosystem. It would inevitably mean the deaths of countless living beings, even if she no longer knew what life even remained in the DT World.
However, that didn't matter.
As long as life still existed, Hikaru would never agree.
Beyond that, they had agreed on everything from the start when they first met face-to-face.
If she had to ask Hikaru for advice on this very first proper Duel… Would she have to ask him how to fight when they eventually stood as opponents?
Obviously not.
Anyway
She pointed at a card and tapped it lightly with her finger, "Graceful Charity."
Graceful Charity floated out, flipped face-up to reveal itself to the opponent.
Draw three, discard two.
Cards like Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity, Hikaru had collected tons. Many had been fused into other cards over time, and lately, Hikaru hadn't even bothered including them in his Decks, knowing they'd change regardless.
Learning Duel from Hikaru, Tierra knew their strength and naturally included them in her Deck.
Her cards wouldn't get fused away.
The cards floated from her Deck into the air for her to inspect. Tierra carefully reviewed her entire hand, chin resting in thought.
A proper Duelist would typically glance and play fast, like in her impression, Hikaru often drew and instantly mapped out his next plays. Even so, though this was her Deck, she hadn't even finished reading some of these effects yet.
Doing the same was… tough.
"Hmm...Harmadik and Patrulea, to the cycle." Two cards flipped, displayed for the opponent, then sent to the Graveyard.
'Sending her own monsters straight to the Graveyard on turn one?'
Construct was puzzled.
"Banish Harmadik from the Graveyard. Pirmais, your turn."
Clink-clink-clink
Countless metals surfaced from the ground. A silver-white Flame Demon with angelic wings slid forward, appearing on her field.
[Infernoid Pirmais] Level 1│FIRE│Fiend│0 ATK / 0 DEF
Defense Position.
"Infernoid Pirmais?" Construct muttered the name in confusion. "Never heard of this monster."
Hearing that, Tierra froze slightly.
'Really…'
She paused for a moment.
'Good.'
Another thought struck her.
If her own body parts ever turned into Spirits and opposed her, that'd be hilarious.
"Anyway, as long as the total Level and Rank of monsters on my field is 8 or lower, I can banish Infernoids from hand or Graveyard for Special Summons."
"Let's see... what's Pirmais's effect again..." Tierra tapped the card. A larger image of Pirmais floated before her as she read the effect text, nodding repeatedly.
"Once per turn, Pirmais can return one face-down card my opponent controls to the Deck." She traced her finger along the text. "So, I'm sending your El Shaddoll Fusion back. Should be that one, your set card."
"Then I'll activate it." Construct, a veteran warrior, instinctively went to chain the effect.
Yet
It found... it couldn't activate the set card!
"Why?" It froze in confusion.
Tierra didn't notice its question, she was still reading effects.
"When Pirmais's return effect resolves, your targeted Spell or Trap can't be activated in response."
"That's... how it works?" Construct was stunned.
"Oh, so I got it right?" She glanced at Hikaru, eyes practically sparkling.
Hikaru nodded.
Absolutely right.
As a Duelist, Tierra was definitely a rookie.
Nevertheless, the effect text was clear.
If it had been him, he'd have already chained El Shaddoll Fusion, he knew Pirmais.
Meanwhile, for someone unfamiliar with this Deck, confusion was inevitable, not just Construct, Hikaru was sure even pro Duelists from his world would freeze if they suddenly ran into Infernoids.
Most would go 'Wait, what? What even is this archetype?'
Information gap, that's how rogue Decks beat the meta!
"Moving on." Tierra glanced left. "Patrulea's ready to reactivate... and Antra, your turn."
Under blue flames, a demon with fly-like features slowly emerged.
[Infernoid Antra] Level 2│FIRE│Fiend│2000 DEF
"And."
Tierra pointed at another card. "Once per turn, Antra targets one face-up card my opponent controls and returns it to the hand... Hm. Let's choose Construct. Back you go."
Helpless, Construct could only watch as its card returned to the Extra Deck, its physical form vanishing under blue flames.
"That's better," Tierra noted that only one set monster stayed on the opponent's field, nodding in satisfaction.
However
Still, she had no means to attack.
Which meant, for now;
She glanced over her cards, looked around for a while, and noticed one in particular.
"Alright, this one it is."
"Field Barrier, activate."
As she spoke, she closed her eyes and stretched out both arms.
Roaring blue flames surged behind her.
A strange tree-like diagram with ten "nodes" appeared behind her. Under her power, four nodes lit up, bottom to top.
The sky suddenly darkened.
Thick black clouds spread across the heavens.
Scorching heat began to fall.
Though surrounded by blue flames, the temperature plummeted wildly.
Zzzzt...Zzzzt.
Nearby, KaibaCorp's safety monitoring towers began shaking violently, red alerts blaring across the area.
At every Critical Nexus node, all light screens pulsed erratically.
Kaibaman instinctively pulled out his Deck, staring at Blue-Eyes White Dragon in puzzlement. Sartorius's hand slipped, scattering cards across his desk, his face stunned.
Jaden paused his work, looking skyward. Neos materialized beside him, exchanging glances.
Countless talented people instinctively looked up at the sky.
They all felt that something extraordinary was happening.
"Continuous Spell: Void Breach."
Moments later, all surrounding blue flames sank into Tierra's "body." She opened her eyes, just for a moment, she looked like a true demon. Then the dangerous aura vanished, hidden completely.
As if nothing had happened at all.
Only Hikaru, watching, and Construct, still Duelling, could fully feel this overwhelming power. Something from deep within their souls, something embedded in tribal memory, crushed them, nearly forcing them to kneel.
"You... what are you..." Construct's voice didn't finish. Its mechanical body began emitting screeches of metal grinding, utterly stunned.
Tierra paid no mind to its reaction, lost in thought.
"Components" could only be crafted by Hikaru.
Even so, her own power... had recovered quite a bit. Using symbolic power cards… wasn't an issue anymore.
"As long as this card stays on the field, Infernoid monsters gain 100 Attack equal to the number of banished Infernoids."
That said
They were all in Defense Position, so she didn't dwell on it.
Tierra traced a small circle in the air.
"And while I control only Fiend monsters, I can activate one of its effects once per turn, first: Retrieve one banished Infernoid to hand. Recovering Harmadik."
From within a blue fire ring, a card emerged, returning to her hand.
"Setting one more card. End turn."
Tierra double-checked her field and hand, then nodded in satisfaction. Her turn ended.
"I take back what I said earlier. Unknown entity, you're far stronger than I thought." Construct now realized, this opponent wasn't just an evil Spirit relying on raw power. Her cards were formidable, too. Nevertheless, as a warrior, it wouldn't yield to mere strength.
"However, a Duel Ceremony is not so simple. Mere monster power alone won't win."
Construct declared solemnly, "My turn! I'll show you... The true Shaddoll fighting style!"