Facing 10,000 Life Points, most would fall into despair—especially in the high-pressure environment of a tournament. Many duelists, seeing no hope of victory, simply surrender in defeat.
Yet, to Morgan, it didn't matter how much LP Rowe had. Against the Dinomorphia Deck, it was irrelevant.
After all, Dinomorphia thrived on thrill and danger.
In fact, the higher Rowe's LP climbed, the happier Morgan became. Besides self-inflicted damage, Dinomorphia also excelled at dragging the opponent down with them.
Of course, Morgan didn't intend to use self-destruct cards like Final Countdown—those were simply too disgusting.
They didn't fit her sunny, bright personality.
Besides, it wasn't time to go down together just yet. With Dinomorphia Rexterm—this monster version of Skill Drain—on the field, Rowe was locked out.
This was the infamous one-card lockdown.
Even trying to overpower Rexterm was difficult. It had another effect: it could reduce all opposing monsters' ATK to match Morgan's LP.
So brute force wouldn't work either.
At this thought, Morgan smiled. What looked sunny and cheerful to her sent chills down Rowe's spine.
Rowe took a deep breath. The ATK lockdown was crippling. Aroma's strength lay in effects, not raw power. Once those were sealed, the whole Deck struggled.
But she did have one card that exceeded Rexterm's ATK. Before the match, the club leader had entrusted it to her—insisting she must win.
Though Rowe had been too proud to use it, the situation left no room for pride.
Was it time to play the card her captain gave her?
Rowe furrowed her brow and made up her mind. This duel could not be lost—not in any form.
"I activate the Spell Card [Fragrance Storm] from my hand!"
"Destroy 1 face-up Plant monster you control; draw 1 card from your Deck. If that card is a Plant monster, reveal it to your opponent and draw again."
Her demeanor changed—from cute to sharp. This was the look of a true duelist.
"I destroy [Aromaseraphy Jasmine] on my field!"
"Draw 1 card from my Deck!"
Jasmine vanished, and Rowe drew with force. She glanced at the card, then revealed it:
"I drew the Plant monster [Aromaseraphy Angelica], so I draw again!"
She didn't add the first draw to her hand yet and proceeded with the second.
Looking at both cards now in hand, Rowe smiled. She was ready.
"I activate [Aromaseraphy Angelica]'s effect from my hand!"
"Discard this card; target 1 'Aroma' monster in my Graveyard."
"Recover LP equal to that monster's ATK!"
Her Graveyard only held [Aromaseraphy Jasmine], so her LP increased by 1800.
The recovery was a bonus. Her real target was Angelica's second effect—
"I now activate Angelica's second effect!"
"If this card is in my Graveyard, my LP is higher than my opponent's, and I control an 'Aroma' monster—I can Special Summon this card."
A petite girl appeared. Her long, wavy aqua-blue hair flowed, and her massive transparent wings were nearly larger than her body.
[Aromaseraphy Angelica] Level 1│LIGHT│Plant / Tuner│0 ATK / 0 DEF
Besides being free to summon, the key reason Rowe used her was that Angelica was a Tuner.
It was time—for a Synchro Summon!
"I Normal Summon [Aromage Rosemary] in Attack Position!"
Rowe finally used her Normal Summon. Though Rosemary's effect was locked, the level combination was perfect.
The three monsters totaled Level 10.
The commentator caught on and shouted:
"Rowe has summoned a Tuner monster—she's going for a Synchro Summon!"
"But what will she summon?"
"Her Deck primarily uses Synchros, but I can't think of one that can beat Dinomorphia Rexterm!"
"Still, if she's doing this, she must have a plan. Let's watch!"
Just as the words left his mouth, Rowe began the Synchro Summon.
"I tune my three monsters!"
Angelica turned into glowing green rings, the others into lights entering the center. Together, they formed ten stars.
Then a burst of light consumed the ring and stars.
The commentator stood frozen—Level 10 Synchro? Rowe's Deck wasn't supposed to have such a monster!
Then, the light cleared, revealing a vibrant red figure—brilliant and deadly like a rose.
"Synchro Summon! [Ruddy Rose Dragon]!"
A massive dragon, wings formed of bladed petals, descended. Thorny black vines curled around it, elegant yet dangerous.
[Ruddy Rose Dragon] Level 10│DARK│Dragon│3200 ATK / 2400 DEF
"This is..."
The commentator was stunned. He knew this monster well—it was a signature card of Team Predator's leader.
The audience quickly recognized it, too.
"Isn't that [Ruddy Rose Dragon], the boss monster of Team Predator's leader? How did Rowe get it?!"
"Obviously, their boss gave it to her. Looks like Team Predator is determined to take down Morgan… they even deployed their ace!"
"Well, with how strong the Witch is, she deserves it."
Rowe grew irritated. She was the one who summoned it, yet all praise was for Morgan.
Sure, their captain was obsessed with Morgan—photos, plushies, you name it—but she was definitely cuter than Morgan. That was a fact!
And she was winning this duel, too!
[Ruddy Rose Dragon] had higher ATK than Rexterm—it could destroy it.
Just then, Rowe noticed Morgan's LP had dropped again—now only 250.
A bad feeling crept in.
[Ruddy Rose Dragon]'s 3200 ATK... suddenly dropped to 250.
"What the—?!"
Rowe shouted. Her killing blow evaporated.
Morgan smiled.
"[Dinomorphia Rexterm]'s effect."
"During either player's turn, I pay half my LP. All your monsters' ATK becomes equal to my LP until the end of the turn."
Rowe rolled her eyes in disbelief.
"What kind of busted monster even has that?!"
Before she could finish venting, Morgan casually added:
"Hey, I spent tons of LP to summon it. Of course, it has strong effects."
Rowe had no retort.
In Yu-Gi-Oh!, powerful effects came at steep costs. The most famous being Exodia. And Rexterm, with all of Morgan's LP sacrifices, certainly qualified.
Rowe froze. Her surefire win had amounted to nothing.
Luckily, Rexterm's ATK reduction effect was once per turn and lasted only until the end of turn.
That meant [Ruddy Rose Dragon]'s ATK would return next turn.
Despite that, she still couldn't use any monster effects.
The commentator exclaimed:
"Unbelievable! Rowe's overwhelming attack was brushed off like nothing by Morgan!"
"I never imagined Rexterm had such an effect… this is why she's called the Witch!"
"The duel is back in stalemate, but Rowe still has the upper hand… her LP is simply too high!"
"What could the Witch Morgan possibly do against such a lead?"
...
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