The Gravedigger stared intently at the Dark Room of Nightmare on Morgan's field. As a battle-hardened veteran, he almost instantly grasped her basic strategy—using that card to increase her Deck's burn damage output steadily.
The tactic was simple enough, but it put him in a bind. His Deck had very little in the way of counters to her approach, and he didn't know how much her Deck relied on Graveyard effects.
If it relied heavily, his Deck's power would drop sharply.
Still, looking at her monsters' overall Attack Points, they weren't high enough to take down his Gravekeeper's Supernaturalist. All he needed to do was keep pressing with its 3900 Attack to chip away at her Life Points.
Morgan, of course, understood this too. With her Graveyard sealed and her Field Spell locked in place, she couldn't achieve a swift kill. That 3900 Attack monster was the greatest threat.
She couldn't take it down this turn, but she still had another Candina in hand. As the key starter of the Trickstar engine, Candina would be her main counterattack next turn under the Graveyard lock.
Her gaze sharpened. "I use Trickstar Candina and Trickstar Divaridis to set the Link Arrows!
Link Summon! Link-3—Trickstar Foxglove Witch!"
Candina and Divaridis turned into streams of red light, striking the three Link Arrows. A girl in a pink high hat appeared, clad entirely in pink and holding a magic wand.
[Trickstar Foxglove Witch] Link-3│2200 ATK
Seeing the cute monster, the Gravedigger no longer dared to underestimate her—if he guessed right, it could still inflict damage directly.
And that damage would also trigger Dark Room of Nightmare.
His expression turned grim. At this point, he was the one being "educated."
"I activate Trickstar Foxglove Witch's effect!
When this card is Special Summoned, inflict 200 damage to your opponent for each card they control."
With only two cards on his field, he'd take 400 damage—but with Dark Room of Nightmare, that became 700.
A true burn Deck.
He could feel his Life Points evaporating.
After summoning Foxglove Witch, Morgan paused and didn't continue chaining moves. She had intended to summon Holly Angel, but with the Graveyard sealed, Foxglove Witch would have to hold the field.
There was another reason for choosing Foxglove Witch—if it was destroyed by battle or effect, she could Special Summon a Link-2 or lower Trickstar from her Extra Deck.
That way, she could bring out Holly Angel and keep chaining Special Summons to whittle away at his Life Points.
With that in mind, she set Trickstar Reincarnation and ended her turn.
"I set one card and end my turn."
The Gravedigger glanced at her field. Leaving only a 2200 Attack monster? That had to be her highest-attack monster, and it was nowhere near his Supernaturalist.
He'd take back the Life Points he'd lost.
"My turn, draw!"
He drew fast, slid the card into his hand, and kept going. His entire Deck revolved around Necrovalley.
That meant Necrovalley's restrictions on him were minimal.
"I activate the Spell Card Gravekeeper's Stele from my hand!
Target 2 'Gravekeeper's' monsters in my Graveyard and add them to my hand.
This effect is not negated by Necrovalley!"
Two cards slid out of his Graveyard—the very same Fusion Materials from earlier.
With Gravekeeper's Spiritualist back, he could Fusion Summon again. Two 3900 Attack monsters—could she handle that?
But before he could act, Morgan flipped her set card.
"Now, I activate the Trap Card Trickstar Reincarnation!
Banish your entire hand, then draw the same number of cards from your Deck!"
Necrovalley only restricts banishing from the Graveyard, not from the hand or field. Morgan had exploited that loophole perfectly.
His play had given her the timing she needed.
He had intended to Fusion Summon again, but now… no chance.
Morgan smiled. Even without Lycoris on the field to deal damage, cutting off his setup was still a win.
The Gravedigger was stunned. His hand had been perfect—not only could he have Fusion Summoned, but he could have further locked her down.
Now, it was all gone.
And since the cards were banished, not sent to the Graveyard, he had no way to recover them.
Grinding his teeth, he banished his hand and drew replacements.
One glance, and his brow furrowed—no Spiritualist. His combo was dead.
He went for the attack instead.
"Battle! Gravekeeper's Supernaturalist attacks Trickstar Foxglove Witch!"
The attack obliterated Foxglove Witch, dropping Morgan's Life Points by 1700.
The Gravedigger's mood improved—he'd finally landed a solid hit.
Then he noticed her wand was still on the field. A bad feeling rose.
"I activate Trickstar Foxglove Witch's effect!
If this Link Summoned card is destroyed by battle or effect: Special Summon 1 Link-2 or lower 'Trickstar' monster from your Extra Deck, then inflict 200 damage per card your opponent controls."
Her wand flared with light, forming a slim silhouette before exploding into Holly Angel.
Another 700 damage struck him. Adding in last turn's burn, he had now lost 1900 Life Points—more than he'd dealt to her.
Special Summoning from the Extra Deck this way wasn't hindered by Necrovalley.
With nothing else to do after the attack, he ended his turn.
"I set one card and end my turn."
Morgan smiled as his turn ended.
…
Meanwhile, in the Duelist League arena, Milo burst out of a cloud of smoke, his Life Points cut nearly in half by Hannah's direct attack.
He looked a bit battered but wasn't about to give up—victory was still possible.
"I send Blaze Accelerator on my field to the Graveyard to activate the Continuous Spell Tri-Blaze Accelerator from my hand!"
The standard cannon vanished, replaced by an enormous triple-barreled version.
"I activate Tri-Blaze Accelerator's effect!
Send 1 Pyro monster from your hand to the Graveyard to destroy 1 monster your opponent controls, then inflict 500 damage to them!
I send Volcanic Rocket from my hand to destroy your Yuki-Onna, the Ice Mayakashi!"
The triple cannon loaded the rocket and fired like a spear, piercing Yuki-Onna's chest and dealing 500 damage.
Hannah's silver D-Wheel wobbled but stayed upright.
Behind her visor, her beautiful eyes widened in disbelief. Even in such a disadvantage, Milo had found a way to counterattack.
A sudden pain flared in her mind as the scene sparked a distant memory—riding behind Milo on a D-Wheel.
The feeling vanished as fast as it came.
Milo pressed on.
"I flip my face-down, Blaze Accelerator Reload!
This card can be treated as Tri-Blaze Accelerator while on the field.
During my Main Phase, I can send 1 'Volcanic' card from my hand to the Graveyard to draw 1 card."
He discarded Volcanic Scattershot and drew. His eyes lit up.
"I activate Volcanic Doomfire from my hand, sending Blaze Accelerator Reload to the Graveyard to Special Summon it!"
A molten demon emerged, its head crowned in blazing fire.
The commentator grew excited. "Milo summons Volcanic Doomfire—the Volcanic Deck's boss monster! 3000 Attack and a taunt effect! Any Attack Position monster must attack it, and none of Hannah's can overpower it!"
The crowd roared as the Riding Duel raged on.
Viviana cheered too, though she couldn't help glancing at the empty seat beside her.
Such an exciting duel—where was Morgan?
Milo, seizing the momentum, played another card.
"I activate Soul of Fire!
You draw 1 card, then I banish 1 Pyro monster from my Deck to inflict damage equal to half its Attack!"
He chose the highest-Attack monster in his Deck.
"I banish Infernal Flame Emperor to deal 1350 damage!"
Hannah drew, then a rain of fire crashed down around her, dropping her Life Points below Milo's.
She steered her D-Wheel to avoid the flames, teeth clenched.
"I set 1 card and end my turn," Milo said, his face serious. Strangely, he'd felt a pang of reluctance when attacking.
Why was he worrying about a Shadow Duelist?
He shook his head—the next turn would decide everything.
"My turn, draw!"
Hannah bit her lip. She had to destroy Doomfire now—if not, she'd be forced to attack it next turn.
"I activate the effect of Mayakashi Winter in my Graveyard!
Banish this card and 1 Zombie monster from my Graveyard to target 1 'Mayakashi' monster in my Graveyard; Special Summon it.
I revive Gashadokuro, the Skeletal Mayakashi!"
With 3300 Attack, it was enough to destroy Doomfire.
"Battle! Gashadokuro attacks Volcanic Doomfire!"
Doomfire fell, leaving Milo with only 100 Life Points—but he smiled.
That was exactly what he wanted.
Hannah's heart sank—too late to stop it.
"I activate Volcanic Counter's effect in my Graveyard!
When I take battle damage, banish this card from my Graveyard to inflict damage to my opponent equal to the battle damage I took!"
With her Life Points below 300, the effect would finish her.
Unable to stop it, she took the hit.
Her Life Points dropped to zero. Her D-Wheel screeched to a halt, releasing a hiss of gas.
She removed her helmet, letting her long hair fall, revealing her face.
Milo's eyes widened in shock.
…Her? Why was she a Shadow Duelist?
…
"My turn, draw!"
Morgan smiled, adding the card to her hand. With Holly Angel on the field, she could start her moves.
"I Normal Summon Trickstar Candina! Her effect adds Trickstar Lycoris to my hand!"
She summoned Candina to Holly Angel's Link Zone.
"I activate Trickstar Holly Angel's effect! Whenever a Trickstar is Summoned to a zone it points to, inflict 200 damage."
With Dark Room of Nightmare, that became 500 per summon.
The Gravedigger's Life Points plummeted, panic creeping in.
Morgan bounced Candina with Lycoris's effect, Special Summoning Lycoris to Holly Angel's zone for another 500.
The next three minutes became the Gravedigger's worst—an endless cycle of summons and burns.
She Link Summoned Trickstar Bloom, Special Summoned Trickstar Narkissus from her hand when he took effect damage, then used both to Link Summon Divaridis.
His jaw dropped—such a relentless, dirty combo was unheard of in the modern meta.
One thought flashed in his mind:
'...Do your parents know you play this dirty?'
...
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