The body suspended in midair had long since lost all sensation. Only the heart within his chest still beat faintly.
Those hanging purple-black threads, like blood vessels with a will of their own, tightly wrapped around Raku's wrists. His originally lowered head was slowly lifted under the pull of the threads.
Those eyes, overtaken by purple-black, locked onto the final [Eldlich the Golden Lord] crouching at the center of the hall.
"Then my turn–draw!"
Raku's voice echoed through the empty hall. There was no hoarseness, only a cold, mechanical tone. The threads guided his right hand as it drew a card from the top of the Deck.
"I activate Meshahrail's effect, and pay another 800 Life Points!"
This body had already reached its limit. Whatever. As long as he didn't die, there was still a chance to win.
The sensation of pain had been numbed by the Duel Disk's warning alarms.
[Raku, LP: 6900 → 6100]
"Then, I add the final [Shaddoll Fusion] from my Deck to my hand."
The card popped out from the Deck. Raku's violet eyes did not even blink.
"I activate Shaddoll Fusion!"
The phantom of the Spell Card lit up in the air, and the purple-black mist began gathering once again within the hall.
"I send [Shaddoll Hound] from my hand and [El Shaddoll Construct] on the field to the Graveyard, and Fusion Summon a second [El Shaddoll Construct]!"
That massive female puppet dissolved into purple light, and immediately, another identical colossal form rose from the vortex, its shadow completely engulfing the Golden Lord ahead.
"And auto chain."
With the threads' assistance, Raku rapidly called out his actions.
"Chain Link 1 Shaddoll Hound, Chain Link 2 Construct, Chain Link 3 second Construct."
The chain icons lit up one by one on the interface.
"Chain Link 3, Construct effect: send [Shaddoll Core] from the Deck to the Graveyard!"
A card flew into the Graveyard Zone.
"Chain Link 2, Construct third effect: if this card is sent to the Graveyard, you can target 1 "Shaddoll" Spell/Trap in your Graveyard; add it to your hand. I recover [Shaddoll Schism]!"
A card rose from the Graveyard and returned to Raku's hand.
"Chain Link 1, Shaddoll Hound second effect: if this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, you can target 1 monster on the field; change its battle position. At this time, Flip Effects of monsters other than "Shaddoll" monsters do not activate."
His purple eyes shifted slightly downward.
"I change your Golden Lord to Attack Position."
On the field, the Golden Lord–left stunned after losing the Mad Golden Lord–was forcibly pulled out of its defensive stance.
"Then I resolve Shaddoll Core's effect in a new chain, retrieving Shaddoll Fusion."
All resource management was completed at this moment. Behind Raku, Meshahrail emitted a low hum, its cannons locking onto the target ahead.
The Duel Disk entered the Battle Phase.
"Battle Phase–Meshahrail attacks the Golden Lord."
The massive mechanical monster fired a beam of purple energy, blasting into the Golden Lord.
2800 against 2500.
The Golden Lord exploded within the beam, turning into golden dust.
[Mad Golden Lord, LP: 8000 → 7700]
The final line of defense collapsed. In the hall, only Eldlich remained–returned to human form after the Mad Golden Lord was cleared, trapped within the crimson glow of the Philosopher's Stone.
"Then Meshahrail and Winda attack–"
Raku leaned forward slightly, the threads pulling taut along with his movement.
"2800 plus 2200 equals 5000!"
The massive purple puppet and the girl riding the shadow dragon launched their attacks simultaneously.
"Wake up already, Eldlich!!!"
Purple beams and dark energy intertwined, crashing violently toward the figure wrapped in red light ahead.
Boom!
A powerful shockwave stirred a small storm within the hall. The already crumbling remnants of the Mad Golden Lord's armor were completely shattered by this force.
Amid the flying golden fragments, a piece suddenly fell from the cracked golden mask.
Beneath the mask, a human eye was revealed.
There was no madness in that eye–only painful struggle.
The man trapped within the monster's shell–Eldlich.
The intense soul shock from the attack allowed him to regain a fleeting moment of clarity.
The cracked skeletal hand of the Mad Golden Lord moved with great difficulty, reaching toward the top of the Deck at his waist.
He wanted to press his hand down. He wanted to end everything.
However, the flawed Philosopher's Stone embedded in his chest erupted with blinding crimson light. That light formed a tangible resistance, fiercely opposing his movement.
His bones emitted brittle cracking sounds, on the verge of breaking.
"Ah…"
Eldlich forced out a broken sound from deep within his throat.
Just a few centimeters away from the Deck, yet his skeletal hand could not press down no matter what.
Raku's purple eyes stared forward without blinking.
At last, the skeletal hand suddenly dropped, the palm slamming heavily onto the Deck.
Beep!
The Duel Disk emitted a sharp end-of-duel signal.
Aleister, who had been standing at the side of the field, eventually relaxed his grip on his staff and let out a long breath of relief. He stepped forward and announced the result of the duel.
"Eldlich surrenders. The winner of the duel is Raku."
Aleister looked at the crimson gem, gradually losing its glow, a smile forming beneath his hood.
"The Philosopher's Stone must pay the price of the Shadow Duel, and has been subdued by Eldlich…"
As the duel's result took effect, the fierce red light was forcibly suppressed back into the Philosopher's Stone. The skeletal body was finally no longer corroded by gold and crimson light.
"Eldlich survived."
The moment those words were spoken.
The purple-black threads wrapped around Raku's wrists, ankles, and torso instantly lost all tension, dispersing into specks of purple light.
Without support, Raku fell forward, crashing onto the stone floor with a heavy thud, losing all consciousness.
...
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