"Trap Card—Magician's Circle!"
Triggered alongside Magician's Valkyria's attack, the Trap Card Irena had set during her first turn activated with a glowing hexagram representing a magic circle on the Duel Platform.
[When a Spellcaster monster declares an attack: Each player Special Summons 1 Spellcaster monster with 2000 or less ATK from their Deck in Attack Position.]
This Trap affected both players, allowing each to Special Summon a Spellcaster from their Deck—if their Deck contained any.
"Hehe, does your HERO Deck have any Spellcasters, Miles?"
"Nope. It's pure HERO," Miles said honestly.
HERO monsters were all Warriors—nothing he could do.
"What a shame."
Irena slid her finger over her Deck and drew out a Spellcaster with 2000 or less ATK.
"I Special Summon in Attack Position, the ultimate disciple of Dark Magic—Dark Magician Girl!"
[Dark Magician Girl] Level 6│DARK│Spellcaster│2000 ATK
From the hexagram, Dark Magician Girl materialized in midair, cheeks blushing as she floated with a mischievous smile. Her charming appearance and... sizable attributes sparked another round of cheers from the audience.
Now Irena's field had two Magician's Valkyrias plus one Dark Magician Girl. Even if this wasn't a duel, just seeing that field would be enough to satisfy many of the LSPs present.
Miles calmly pointed out, "Even if you summoned Dark Magician Girl, her attack won't stop the damage. The Valkyria that attacked Clayman will still take 400 points of recoil."
And with just 2000 ATK, Dark Magician Girl still couldn't pierce through Clayman's 2000 DEF.
"Hehe, you think that's all there is to it, Miles?"
Suddenly seeming a bit more lucid, Irena pulled a Quick-Play Spell from her hand.
"While Dark Magician Girl is on the field, I activate Quick-Play Spell—Dark Magic Enhancement! My Spellcasters gain 1000 ATK until the end of the turn!"
Floating midair, Dark Magician Girl chanted a spell. Magical energy surged beneath the Valkyria already attacking.
[Magician's Valkyria, ATK: 1600 → 2600]
"Now she can surpass Clayman. Go! Magical Crush!"
A crushing blow in every sense. The buffed Magician's Valkyria's staff burst with explosive energy, shattering Clayman's rock-solid form into scattered fragments.
"There goes your shield. For someone pretending to resist, your body's practically inviting me in. So honest~"
Irene's eyes snapped wide, "W-wait, Irena-senpai's kind of lewd, isn't she?!"
Miles said, "No, seriously, something is off about her today. She definitely took something weird."
While Irena could be a bit toxic in daily life, this level of thirst was new.
Not taking any more chances, Miles flipped a Set Trap Card. Two direct attacks from magical girl monsters was more than he could handle.
"A HERO's will lives on! Trap Card—Hero Signal, activate!"
[When a monster you control is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Elemental HERO" monster from your hand or Deck.]
The H-shaped HERO Signal flared in the sky, calling a new HERO to the field.
"Come forth! Special Summon—Bubbleman!"
Irene yelled, "You're not even bothering to say his full name now?!"
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman] Level 4│WATER│Warrior│800 ATK / 1200 DEF
Appearing from a spray of foam, Bubbleman triggered his draw effect since Miles had no other cards on field, letting him draw two more cards.
Deck cycling was key—he needed Polymerization or Mask Change to fight back against Irena.
"One more monster won't stop me, Miles!"
Irena's battle spirit burned hotter than ever. Even she felt her heart pounding in this duel like never before.
The second Valkyria attack crushed Bubbleman instantly.
"Now, Dark Magician Girl—direct attack! Hit him hard!"
Maybe because she didn't call out her usual attack name, she dashed in for a melee strike instead.
Unprepared, Miles watched Dark Magician Girl rush up. Her... "assets" swaying as she closed the gap turned his face bright red.
Irene shouted, "Where the heck are you looking, Miles?!"
Miles retorted, "Can you blame me?! That's not something I can not look at!"
"Hyaa!"
With a shout, Dark Magician Girl bashed Miles/Irene on the head with her staff.
"Ow!"
[Irene, LP: 4000 → 2000]
A direct 2000-point attack cut her LP in half.
"You sure don't hold back, senpai."
Rubbing Irene's red head, Miles honestly would've preferred taking a blast spell over a physical hit. At least the new Duel Platform was clean.
"Give up now, and I might make our date a pleasant one, Miles. I end my turn."
With that seductive threat, Irena ended her turn.
Irene raised her voice, "You can't give in just like that, Miles! Don't accept such a shameless condition!"
The condition itself wasn't that bad. Even so, Irena's attitude made it feel suspicious.
"My turn, draw!"
He drew a card.
Spell Card—Polymerization. One of the HERO deck's key cards.
Irene cheered, "Yay! Finally!"
Not only that, he had the fusion materials in hand—Elemental HERO Avian and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix.
He could summon Flame Wingman this turn with 2100 ATK and a burn effect. Enough to swing the momentum.
"Time to fuse, right, Miles?!"
"Not yet. We can't fuse now."
Miles firmly rejected the idea and focused his gaze on Irena's field.
"Why not? She has no Set cards... Wait, I get it! You DO want to go on that date, traitor! I'm telling Aisha!"
"Calm down. I said I'd give it my all. I won't betray your trust, Ren."
"O-okay..."
Instantly calmed, Irene became docile like a kitten.
"Even if we summon Flame Wingman, we can't attack."
"...Why not?"
She double-checked. Irena only had three monsters and no Spells or Traps.
"The problem is in her monsters. I'll prove it."
Instead of fusing, Miles Normal Summoned a HERO.
"I summon Elemental HERO Avian in Attack Position!"
[Elemental HERO Avian] Level 3│WIND│Warrior│1000 ATK
With fists clenched and wings spread, Avian hovered over the field.
"Now, I enter the Battle Phase."
"Huh?"
Only summoning a 1000 ATK monster and immediately going into battle made no sense to Irene.
Then she saw what Miles meant by "prove it."
"Avian can't attack? What's going on?!"
His card was grayed out—unable to declare an attack.
Normally, players can force an attack even if it means suicide. However, now Avian couldn't attack at all.
"It's Magician's Valkyria's effect, right, Irena-senpai?"
"As expected of you, Miles. You figured it out before Battle Phase even started."
Magician's Valkyria's effect: "As long as this card remains on the field, your opponent cannot select another Spellcaster as an attack target."
A simple taunt mechanic. You had to attack Valkyria.
That said, Irena had two Valkyrias.
Therefore, it meant whichever one you tried to attack, the other's effect would invalidate it—creating a paradox.
Unlike other TCGs, Yu-Gi-Oh!'s taunt interactions could cause this kind of contradictory targeting lock.
When two Valkyrias were present, their overlapping effects formed a complete attack lockdown.
With crossed staves in perfect sync, the two Valkyrias created a wall even Hamon or Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon couldn't break.
Let alone a HERO.
"I've never been this serious, Miles. You can't win this duel!"
"We'll see about that. Even if we can't attack, HEROes have other ways to fight!"
Miles slammed down three cards.
"I Set three cards and end my turn!"
Can you really challenge a man with three face-downs?
The alternate way of the HERO. Miles was fully committed to the "Hinder-O" path for now.
"My turn, draw."
Without pause, Irena declared the Battle Phase.
Despite Miles's three backrows, his only monster was Avian with 1000 ATK, and Summoning him in Attack Mode to test the lock had cost him LP.
"Go, Dark Magician Girl! Destroy Avian! Dark Burning Attack!"
This time, Irena shouted the true move name.
Placing a hand on her witch's hat, Dark Magician Girl blasted pure magical energy.
"You're the one taking the hit, senpai. Trap Card—Mirror Gate, activate!"
He triggered his Set Trap the instant the attack was declared.
A cascade of dimensional mirrors shimmered and shattered.
In an instant, the battlefield had flipped—now Dark Magician Girl under Miles's control was destroying Avian under Irena's.
[Irena, LP: 4000 → 3000]
[When an opponent's monster declares an attack targeting a face-up "Elemental HERO" monster you control: Switch control of the opponent's attacking monster with the targeted monster you control, then calculate damage.]
Frowning slightly, Irena felt the sting of her own black magic.
"You stole my Dark Magician Girl?! So that's why you summoned Avian in Attack Mode. You planned this, didn't you, Miles?"
His move baited 1000 LP damage and prevented follow-up attacks from the 1600 ATK Valkyrias.
"But Mirror Gate only lasts until the end of the turn! She'll return to me afterward!"
"Sorry, senpai. I'm not giving her back."
Miles smirked and flipped his second face-down—a Quick-Play Spell.
"Quick-Play Spell—Mask Change II! Let's make Dark Magician Girl... a HERO too!"
…
TL: Dark Magic Expanded's effect here is either wrong, or this world's version of it; since it would only buff the Dark Magician herself by 1000.
...
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