Morgan's Life Points were instantly halved, dropping from 8000 to 4000. The crowd was stunned by such a drastic reduction.
Everyone was confused… Morgan had activated her own Trap Card, so why did she reduce her own LP?
Did she activate the wrong Trap?
The commentator gave voice to the audience's confusion, his tone uncertain:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't think I'm mistaken… Morgan activated her own Trap Card."
"But she just lost 4000 LP."
"I can think of two possibilities. Either she really activated the wrong card, or… reducing her LP is actually a cost to activate it. Let's find out which it is."
All eyes turned back to Morgan. This Witch always made moves that defied logic.
Rowe was equally baffled. She hadn't done anything yet, and Morgan had already halved her LP… What? Was she looking down on her?
It made Rowe's constant LP recovery look like cowardice in comparison.
She was indeed annoyed, but in order to win, she had to stick to her strategy—for now.
With all eyes on her, Morgan declared:
"I activate the effect of [Dinomorphia Frenzy]!"
"During the opponent's turn, I halve my LP as a cost to activate this card!"
"Send 1 'Dinomorphia' monster each from my Main Deck and Extra Deck to the Graveyard as Fusion Materials, and Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck."
"I send [Dinomorphia Diplos] from my Deck and [Dinomorphia Stealthbergia] from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon [Dinomorphia Kentregina]!"
A Fusion vortex emerged, swallowing the selected cards from her Deck and Extra Deck. They merged at the center, and a new monster emerged.
It was a woman clad in an armored bodysuit, her long grayish-white hair framing a proud, sharp face. Her tight suit showed off her curvy figure, with armor that enhanced her allure.
Behind her swung a mechanical tail shaped like a dinosaur's, and in her hand was a glowing red ion dagger.
[Dinomorphia Kentregina] Level 6│DARK│Dinosaur│4000 ATK / 0 DEF
The crowd was buzzing, especially the young boys who couldn't stop staring at the Queen's weapon. Meanwhile, the adults scoffed and focused on other aspects.
"This monster is so cool! Just like the dinosaur anime I watch!"
"Right?! That weapon and tail are amazing."
"Pfft, weapons, and tails? Wait till you're older—you'll know what to focus on."
"Who says I don't know already? I just aged up instantly!"
As the audience went off track, the commentator remained professional:
"This is unexpected… Morgan's Trap Card really costs her LP! It even has Fusion capabilities, fusing from both Main and Extra Decks!"
"Incredible! Could Morgan's other face-downs also require LP payment?"
"Her strategy seems the polar opposite of Rowe's!"
There was one thing the commentator didn't mention: if Morgan's other Trap Cards also cost half her LP, she'd soon be left with just a few hundred points. A single attack could end her.
But Morgan had long planned for this.
While Dinomorphia cards consume a lot of LP, their resilience skyrockets when LP drops below 2000.
Morgan was actually hoping her LP would drop faster.
"I activate [Dinomorphia Kentregina]'s effect!"
"During either Main Phase, pay half my LP and banish 1 'Dinomorphia' Normal Trap from my Graveyard. This effect becomes that Trap's effect when activated."
'More LP reduction?'
Even Jade and Isla were stunned. Halving your own LP during your opponent's turn? It was suicidal!
Morgan now had only 2000 LP!
"What is she thinking?! Everyone else tries to increase their LP, and she's doing the opposite!"
Jade looked worried. She couldn't make sense of Morgan's plan.
Isla, however, was thoughtful. Rubbing her chin, she said:
"Morgan wouldn't do something self-destructive. If she's reducing her LP, it means there's an advantage to doing so. I bet that Trap Card has another effect."
Morgan went for another Fusion Summon, and people almost forgot it was still Rowe's turn.
"I pay half my LP again, banish [Dinomorphia Frenzy] from the Graveyard—Kentregina's effect becomes Frenzy's!"
"Then I perform another Fusion Summon by sending Fusion Materials from my Deck and Extra Deck!"
"Fusion Summon! [Dinomorphia Rexterm]!"
A massive mechanical foot slammed down, scattering debris. The roar of the Tyrannosaurus echoed across the field.
However, this was no ordinary T Rex. Its body was loaded with machinery—even its tail had become a mechanical weapon. It looked like a mobile fortress.
[Dinomorphia Rexterm] Level 8│DARK│Dinosaur / Fusion│3000 ATK / 0 DEF
The crowd gasped at its might—until they remembered Morgan now had only 1000 LP left.
Even a weak monster could take her down now.
But Morgan grinned and looked at Rowe's monsters.
"[Dinomorphia Rexterm]'s effect: Monsters on your field with ATK higher than my LP cannot activate their effects."
"What?!"
Rowe's face changed. Her [Aromage Marjoram] and [Aromaseraphy Rosemary] both had ATK above Morgan's LP. As long as Rexterm remained, their effects were locked out.
Worse yet, dealing with Rexterm would be difficult without effects—Aroma monsters had low ATK.
Still, Rowe wasn't giving up. She couldn't deal with Rexterm now, but Morgan couldn't defeat her either. The duel was still in a stalemate.
Rowe now understood why Morgan slashed her own LP—it had all been to pave the way for this.
The commentator, too, was astonished:
"So that's her plan! Morgan deliberately slashed her own LP to prepare for this monster!"
"Rexterm has 3000 ATK… Rowe's monsters can hardly scratch it!"
"Even so, Morgan must be careful. With her LP this low, she's walking a razor's edge!"
Of course, Morgan knew that. Regardless, she had already achieved her real goal: getting her LP below 2000.
This allowed her to use Dinomorphia Trap Cards' secondary effects.
When your LP is below 2000, they can be banished from the Graveyard to prevent effect or battle damage.
That's what makes Dinomorphia so resilient.
It was still Rowe's turn. Though she couldn't touch Rexterm yet, she had another idea—Morgan had more than one monster.
Besides Kentregina and Rexterm, there was also Therizia.
Therizia only had 1500 ATK. Rowe could destroy it with [Aromaseraphy Rosemary] to shave more LP off Morgan. She wanted to see how low Morgan would dare go.
Even if she couldn't outpower Morgan, she had other ways to destroy her monsters.
"I activate the face-down card: [Dried Winds]!"
One of Rowe's face-downs flipped up—and immediately, she chained another Trap.
"Chain Activation: [Blessed Winds]!"
Both Traps were flipped. By chain resolution order, [Blessed Winds] resolved first.
"Activate [Blessed Winds]'s second effect!"
"Target 1 Plant monster in my Graveyard, shuffle it into the Deck, then gain 500 LP."
The only target was [Spore], but whether it returned or not didn't matter—Rowe's goal was LP recovery.
Because [Dried Winds] only activates when you gain LP.
This was standard Aroma chaining, and Rowe was a pro at it. She'd spent plenty of time mastering duels, even if she also focused on being cute.
She shuffled [Spore] back, gained 500 LP, and rose to 9500 LP—a stark contrast to Morgan's 1000.
To a new viewer, it'd look like Rowe had the advantage. Yet, in reality, she was out of options.
"Now I activate [Dried Winds]'s effect!"
"When I gain LP, I target 1 face-up monster on the opponent's field and destroy it!"
She pointed to Rexterm. This was one of Aroma's rare single-target destruction tools.
But Morgan wasn't about to let her prized Fusion monster fall.
"Not happening! I activate the face-down: [Dinomorphia Sonic]!"
Morgan swiftly flipped her Trap:
"When I control a 'Dinomorphia' monster, I can activate this in response to your Spell/Trap. I pay half my LP—"
"Negate that activation and destroy it!"
Caught off guard, Rowe's [Dried Winds] shattered—its effect nullified.
Morgan then followed up:
"Then I destroy 1 'Dinomorphia' monster I control. I choose [Dinomorphia Therizia]!"
Not only did she stop Rowe's play, she also removed her lowest-ATK monster—Rowe was now unable to threaten any of Morgan's monsters.
Despite Morgan's dangerously low LP, Rowe couldn't lay a finger on her.
The LP gap was absurd, yet Rowe was helpless. Even the commentator admitted Morgan was living up to her title as the Witch.
Rowe looked at Morgan's 500 LP and felt powerless.
Despite all that, she quickly refocused. It was still her turn. She hadn't used her Normal Summon. If she couldn't beat Morgan fast, then she'd double down on LP recovery.
Let's see who outlasts who!
Frowning, she slammed a card onto her Duel Disk:
"I activate the Field Spell: [Aroma Garden]!"
Suddenly, the field bloomed with flowers, filling the Duel Stage with fragrance.
"I activate [Aroma Garden]'s effect!"
"Once per turn, if I control an 'Aroma' monster, I gain 500 LP!"
Rowe's LP ticked up again.
She now had 10,000 Life Points!
...
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