Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!-Chapter 650
"As expected, the Nine Realms King isn't so easy to deal with. Hang in there, Senpai!"
Alexis felt a bit regretful. She had thought that exchange would allow Hoshino and Minazuki to establish a decisive advantage in this duel. Unexpectedly, it had only ended in an even trade.
If they failed to gain the upper hand this turn, then when the duel passed to Minazuki next turn, the uncertainty would only grow greater. That was what Alexis and the others were worried about.
"You're just as impressive as I foresaw, Hoshino Chiyuki," Queen Mardel said. Possessing the ability to observe the entirety of human history, she was naturally very familiar with the duels Hoshino had fought her way through.
"No… that was a slip of the tongue. Though you share the name Hoshino Chiyuki, compared to the Atlantean royalty, perhaps calling you the 'King of Light' would be more appropriate."
However, Queen Mardel's understanding extended beyond just Hoshino. She was also aware of Hoshino Alter's existence and the hidden identity she inherited from the Pyramid of Light.
["This feeling of being completely seen through is really uncomfortable."]
"Aibo, you're so lewd… Though honestly, being seen through by a mature, charming big sister like her is way better than being seen through by some stinky middle-aged guy."
"No, no—the fact that your mind even jumps to that kind of doujin plot means you're the weird one…"
Taking a card from her Graveyard area on the Duel Disk, Queen Mardel continued her play.
"Now then, since a Plant monster on my field was Tributed, the effect of 'Erica the Rikka Fairy' in my Graveyard activates—"
[If a Plant monster(s) you control is Tributed, while this card is in your GY (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon this card in Defense Position, but banish it when it leaves the field.]
"Bloom once more, my beautiful flower spirit~"
[Erica the Rikka Fairy ★★★★★★ (Level 6)][WATER][Plant/Effect][ATK 2400/DEF 1000]
During the previous Battle Phase, Erica had been Tributed from the hand to boost the ATK of Kanzashi. Now the flower spirit returned to Queen Mardel's field.
"Lastly, I set two cards and end my turn."
[Queen Mardel's: 2 Hand Cards]
"She only used up two cards from her hand to create a field like this… That's impressive," Minazuki muttered. The duel had finally reached his turn, and saying he wasn't nervous would be a lie.
Of course, it wasn't that he himself was nervous—it was the spectators. "If he insists on showing off in a duel like this and ends up dragging the Headmistress down, Minazuki will be embarrassed beyond belief."
"It's here, it's here, it's HERE! A tag duel with the Headmistress!" Minazuki placed his fingers on his deck and delivered yet another incomprehensible opening line.
"Even though the opponent's resource efficiency is high, no problem! Since it's a tag duel, even if I go all-in and dump my entire hand for an explosive combo, I won't run out of follow-up. My turn—draw!"
Minazuki's simple calculation was this: even if he used up all his resources this turn, because of the tag duel format, Hoshino Alter could smoothly take over next turn and finish the job.
In other words, they were fully leveraging their six-card hand advantage over the opponent.
"Take this!! — I activate the Spell Card 'Polymerization'!"
He sent all four cards in his hand—including the Fusion Spell—to the Graveyard. Combined with his powerful shout, anyone unaware might think he was about to Fusion Summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon straight from his hand.
"I send 'Lunalight Blue Cat,' 'Lunalight Yellow Marten,' and 'Lunalight Purple Butterfly' from my hand to the Graveyard as Fusion Materials! Dance beneath the moon—Fusion! 'Lunalight Sabre Dancer'!"
Three differently shaped, adorable beast-girls leapt from Minazuki's hand and soared into the Duel Disk's Fusion projection.
[Lunalight Sabre Dancer ★★★★★★★★★ (Level 9)][DARK][Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect][ATK 3000/DEF 2600]
[3 "Lunalight" monsters]
Alexis gasped. "So this is Minazuki's new deck? But 3000 ATK… that's kind of underwhelming."
Misawa analyzed, "Spending four cards to Fusion Summon a monster of this level is clearly inefficient. But if it's Minazuki… he must have a follow-up."
With 3000 ATK, combined with Mad King Cu Chulainn on Hoshino Alter's field, they could still deal significant damage to Queen Mardel.
But as the man who once defeated him, Misawa had a certain level of confidence in Minazuki.
"Next, I activate the effect of 'Lunalight Yellow Marten' in my Graveyard—"
[If this card is sent to the GY by card effect: You can add 1 "Lunalight" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand.]
He searched his Deck, just as Misawa expected. The three monsters sent to the Graveyard weren't merely Fusion Materials.
"I add the Spell Card 'Lunalight Fusion' to my hand!"
"Another Fusion Spell? Don't tell me he plans to Fusion Summon again?" Syrus wondered.
After using three materials just to summon a 3000 ATK Sabre Dancer, and now only having two cards left, it didn't seem like Minazuki could pull off anything spectacular.
"Heh heh. Don't let your jaws drop now! I activate the Spell Card—'Luna Light Perfume'!"
[Target 1 "Lunalight" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it.]
"With Lunalight Perfume, I Special Summon my Fusion Material 'Lunalight Blue Cat' from the Graveyard!"
[Lunalight Blue Cat ★★★★ (Level 4)][DARK][Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 1600/DEF 1200]
With a sensuous, feline posture, Blue Cat crouched onto Minazuki's field. Together, she and Sabre Dancer united under the power of moonlight.
[If this card is Special Summoned: Target 1 "Lunalight" monster you control, except "Lunalight Blue Cat"; its ATK becomes double its original ATK until the end of this turn.]
"I use Blue Cat's effect to double the original ATK of 'Lunalight Sabre Dancer'!"
[Lunalight Sabre Dancer ATK 3000 → 6000]
"6000 ATK?!" The sudden surge shocked everyone present. "So Minazuki can reach numbers like this too? I thought he only played trash-tier decks!"
"I'm not done yet. I activate the effect of 'Lunalight Yellow Marten' in my Graveyard again—"
[If this card is in your hand or Graveyard: You can target 1 "Lunalight" card you control, except "Lunalight Yellow Marten"; return it to the hand, and if you do, Special Summon this card in Defense Position.]
"I return the 'Lunalight Blue Cat' on my field to my hand and Special Summon 'Lunalight Yellow Marten' from my Graveyard!"
[Lunalight Yellow Marten ★★★★ (Level 4)][DARK][Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 800/DEF 2000]
Taking Blue Cat's place on the field, the beast-girl Yellow Marten revived herself from the Graveyard with her own effect.
"And finally, I activate the Spell Card—'Lunalight Fusion'!"
He placed the Fusion Spell he had just searched onto the Duel Disk. Under the moonlight, a far more dazzling summoning effect appeared—different from ordinary Fusion.
"The difference between 'Lunalight Fusion' and normal 'Fusion' is that if my opponent controls a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can choose 1 'Lunalight' monster from my Deck as Fusion Material!"
On Queen Mardel's field was the Xyz Monster "Kanzashi the Rikka Queen," which had been Special Summoned from the Extra Deck. Seizing that opportunity, Minazuki immediately activated Lunalight Fusion.
"I send 'Lunalight Yellow Marten' on my field, 'Lunalight Blue Cat' from my hand, and 'Lunalight Crimson Fox' from my Deck to the Graveyard as Fusion Materials! Triple Fusion under the moon—my second 'Lunalight Sabre Dancer'!"
[Lunalight Sabre Dancer ATK 3000]
Standing side by side, the second Sabre Dancer Minazuki summoned had the power of the fallen Lunalight warriors in the Graveyard infused into her blades.
"'Lunalight Sabre Dancer' gains 200 ATK for each Beast-Warrior monster in my Graveyard and banished zone!"
[Lunalight Sabre Dancer ATK 3000 → 3800]
However, the first Sabre Dancer—whose ATK had been doubled to 6000 by Blue Cat's effect—could not gain additional ATK due to its effect restriction.
"This is my all-in explosive combo! And when 'Lunalight Crimson Fox' is sent to the Graveyard, I can choose 1 monster my opponent controls and make its ATK become 0 until the end of the turn!"
He pointed at "Kanzashi the Rikka Queen" on the opposing field. From the Graveyard, Crimson Fox launched a sudden ambush, slashing with sharp claws and snapping the parasol-sword she wielded as a weapon.
[Kanzashi the Rikka Queen ATK 2400 → 0]
Misawa exclaimed, "A 6000 ATK monster, a 3800 ATK monster, reducing the opponent's monster to 0 ATK, plus Mad King on Headmistress's field—Minazuki's offensive this turn is fierce!"
"Headmistress, you might not even get a chance to take the stage!" Minazuki clenched his fist excitedly and immediately entered the Battle Phase.
"—Forget it, I've already blasted past the limit and flown into the atmosphere! 'Lunalight Sabre Dancer,' attack 'Kanzashi the Rikka Queen' directly!"
He ordered the 6000 ATK Sabre Dancer to slash at the 0 ATK Snowdrop. With such a massive difference, the damage would be practically the same as a direct attack.
"Minazuki, at least be a little wary of the opponent's back row…"
Even though the offense looked overwhelming, Queen Mardel's two set cards and her calm demeanor made Hoshino Alter uneasy.
Minazuki scoffed. "What, is she going to flip some Mirror Force like Akasha did?"
(If I say this, you might not believe it—but years ago there was a Pharaoh with starfish-shaped hair who also loved using that Mirror Force.)
"—The moment you declare your attack, I activate the Trap Card 'Wall of Thorns'!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Her set card flipped open, and a wall of sharp, spiked vines instantly spread across Queen Mardel's entire field.
[When a Plant-Type monster you control is targeted for an attack: Destroy all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls.]
["May I ask, aside from the Plant-type restriction, how is this any different from Mirror Force?"]
Queen Mardel declared, "According to 'Wall of Thorns,' the three face-up Attack Position monsters on your field will all be destroyed."
"Some 'flying into the atmosphere,' huh? Minazuki, you're lucky if you don't crash into the mantle," Hoshino Alter muttered, chaining her own set card to the activated Trap.
(Da Vinci's Mini Lecture: The mantle lies beneath the crust, between the outer transition layer and the core, at a depth of roughly 2,900–4,700 kilometers.)
"—Trap Card, 'Shattered Darkness'!"
[Activate only if you control an "Alter" monster. Change the battle positions of all face-up monsters on the field. Then, destroy 1 monster on the field.]
"Since I chained 'Shattered Darkness' to 'Wall of Thorns,' before 'Wall of Thorns' resolves, the three monsters on our field are all switched to Defense Position."
[Mad King Cu Chulainn DEF 3000]
[Lunalight Sabre Dancer DEF 2600] ×2
As long as they were no longer in Attack Position, they would not be destroyed by Wall of Thorns' effect of "destroy all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls." Although they lost their chance to attack this turn, at least they avoided total annihilation.
Of course, even without this card, Mad Cu Chulainn could have used his destruction replacement effect to banish another Cu Chulainn from the Graveyard.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Minazuki said gratefully, "That was close. Saving the field in a situation like that—just what I'd expect from Headmistress."
"Heh, boy, you're completely dragging down the King of Light," Queen Mardel said bluntly. "Your courage to duel is commendable, but a battle of this level is not one you can interfere in."
"That's not necessarily true, Queen Mardel! How can you say Minazuki's efforts are meaningless before the duel reaches its final moment?!"
Unexpectedly, the first person to defend Minazuki—who had just mocked him for crashing into the mantle—was Hoshino Alter herself.
Only she was allowed to scold her own student. Outsiders were not. Sorry—being the head of Duel Academy meant being this protective.
"According to the effect of 'Shattered Darkness,' I choose to destroy your 'Kanzashi the Rikka Queen'!"
