"Raaawr!!"
The gray-blue sea turtle surged forward atop a roaring tidal wave, swallowing the legendary beast once again. When the waters receded, the turtle opened its mouth and let out a small burp, as though it had eaten a bit too much.
[Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju, ATK 2200]
Raviel's expression darkened to the point it could almost drip water, while the glare from Hamon behind him made his back prickle uncomfortably.
As for Uria, who had already been eaten twice, he couldn't help but burst into delighted laughter.
From that alone, it was easy to tell: whether human or Spirit, anyone would be furious when they're the only one suffering misfortune. But when your teammates are just as unlucky as you are, suddenly, it's all much easier to laugh about.
Raviel took a deep breath, ignoring the bickering now erupting between the enraged Hamon and Uria, and glared coldly at Aleister. "Even if a monster is Special Summoned to my field, my avatar's effect still activates, summoning another Phantasm Token!"
A second Phantasm Token appeared on Raviel's field.
[Phantasm Token (No. 2), DEF 1000]
"Then, whenever a new card appears on your field, Invoked Purgatrio's Attack increases again!" Aleister followed up immediately.
[Invoked Purgatrio, ATK 3500 → 3700]
"Hmph! Even if your monster's Attack rises, you still can't attack under Gravity Bind's effect! And once my next turn comes, I'll summon Hamon again! When that happens, all your defenses will be meaningless!" Raviel sneered.
"Oh? I wouldn't be so sure about that." Aleister's aged yet handsome face curved into a sly grin.
Then he asked a question that made the hairs stand on everyone's necks.
"Tell me, Raviel—besides you Three Sacred Beasts, are there any other monsters that can be Special Summoned by devouring Spell or Trap Cards?"
"What!?"
An ominous feeling crept into Raviel's heart. The next instant, his premonition proved true.
Aleister raised his hand. "First, I activate the effect of the Tuner monster I discarded earlier—Magical Hound! This card's effect can only be used once per Duel. If it's in my hand or Graveyard, I can target one face-up Spell or Trap on your field; return that card to its owner's hand, and then Special Summon this card!
"I target your Continuous Spell, Cerulean Skyfire! Return it to your hand, and Special Summon Magical Hound from my Graveyard!"
Howl!!
A golden mechanical hound appeared on the field, barking sharply toward Raviel's back row. Pale gold lightning surged from its body, striking the green Spell Card Cerulean Skyfire, which promptly vanished from the field and returned to Raviel's hand.
[Magical Hound, DEF 800]
"Damn it!" Raviel growled, his unease deepening. "Since you've Special Summoned another monster, my avatar's effect activates again, summoning yet another Phantasm Token!"
[Phantasm Token (No. 3), DEF 1000]
"It doesn't matter!" Aleister raised another card with a calm smile. "Next, I activate the effect of the Tuner monster Trap Eater! This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. It can only be Special Summoned by sending one face-up Trap Card your opponent controls to the Graveyard.
I choose to send your Continuous Trap, Gravity Bind, to the Graveyard to Special Summon this card!"
A dark red mouth full of razor fangs appeared beneath Gravity Bind, swallowing the card whole before morphing into a grotesque, wide-mouthed fishlike creature that returned to Aleister's side of the field.
[Trap Eater, DEF 1600]
"And with that, your monster lockdown is gone!" Aleister said gently, his tone calm but his eyes glinting with confidence. "Even if I've lost a card, Purgatrio's power is already more than enough!"
[Invoked Purgatrio, ATK 3700 → 3500]
Raviel said nothing. His once-dominant position had completely collapsed within a single turn of his arrival—he had no words left.
Seeing this, Aleister didn't bother taunting him further. He simply raised his hand. "Battle Phase! Purgatrio, end this duel! Attack both Phantasm Tokens—Infernal Purgatory Dance!!"
The three flame demons of Purgatrio finally moved after several turns.
The smiling demon and the blindfolded demon lunged together at one Token, while the hulking, one-eyed demon charged the other.
Within seconds, both Tokens were torn apart. Aleister spoke coldly: "When Invoked Purgatrio attacks a Defense Position monster, it inflicts piercing damage equal to the difference between its Attack and that monster's Defense. That's 2500 plus 2300—totaling 4800 points of damage!
Go, Invoked Purgatrio—Infernal Flames of Purgatory!!"
Heehee!
Ha!
Hrr!
The three demons let out gleeful cries and unleashed pale violet hellfire at Raviel.
The flames burned not the body, but the Duelist's very soul—and since Raviel was the one controlling Instructor Claire's body, he bore the brunt of the agony himself.
[Three Sacred Beasts, LP: 3800 → 1300 → 0]
Life Points reduced to zero. The duel was over. The Shadow Barrier shattered!
As the barrier broke, it marked the price of defeat in this Shadow Duel—the Three Sacred Beasts would forfeit their freedom. They could no longer flee and were now at Aleister's mercy.
In the next moment, three streaks of red, blue, and yellow light burst from Instructor Claire's body, forming the fading phantoms of the Sacred Beasts.
Clearly, their loss had pushed them to the brink of disappearance.
This did not mean their souls were destroyed—only that, like before, they would fall into deep slumber until the day they regained their strength and could awaken once more.
Yet before fading completely, Raviel glared at Aleister and spat bitterly, "Aleister! Next time, when we awaken again, we will have our revenge!"
Aleister chuckled softly as he straightened his disheveled beard. "Heh... don't worry. There won't be a next time. Before long, you'll be back with your original master where you belong."
At those words, all three Sacred Beasts widened their eyes. They wanted to protest, but before they could speak, they vanished entirely.
And just before disappearing completely, they saw Aleister's finger subtly point toward someone.
It was a young girl with short golden hair, however, that wasn't the part that shocked them most.
What truly seized them up in place was the white-haired man standing beside her.
For an instant, countless emotions surged within the Three Sacred Beasts, but only one thought echoed in their minds—
'You bastard... you're back!'
...
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