Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!-Chapter 651
"According to the effect of the Trap Card 'Shattered Darkness,' I choose to destroy 'Kanzashi the Rikka Queen' on your field!"
The effect brought by the Alter Trap not only forcibly changed the battle positions of all monsters on the field, creating overwhelming pressure, but also allowed the player to select and destroy one monster on the opponent's field.
"Spread your protective barrier, Kanzashi!" Mardel immediately activated another effect. On top of the thorn-covered shield produced by Wall of Thorns, a second crystalline barrier layered over it.
"Kanzashi's effect—when a Plant monster on the field would be destroyed by an effect, I can Tribute 1 Plant monster from my hand or field instead. I Tribute the monster card 'Cyclamen the Rikka Fairy' from my hand."
Sending one of her two cards from her hand to the Graveyard, Mardel avoided the destruction from Hoshino Alter's Trap. After this exchange of Traps, it seemed that neither side had actually suffered any real losses.
"But don't forget—when a monster is Tributed, 'Kanzashi the Rikka Queen' can also activate its Xyz effect to select a monster from either Graveyard and Special Summon it~"
Pulling out the last Xyz Material from beneath Snowdrop's card, Queen Mardel once again pointed toward the Graveyard zone of Hoshino Alter's Duel Disk.
"To eliminate the troublesome resistance of 'Mad King Cu Chulainn,' this time I'll still choose 'Heroic Spirit – Cu Chulainn' in your Graveyard as the target to revive~"
["ᓫ(°⌑°) Again? Even I'm starting to feel sorry for the doggo…"]
The Cu Chulainn card that had been taken once more was placed onto Mardel's Duel Disk in Attack Position, Special Summoned as a Plant-type monster with its effects negated.
[Cu Chulainn ATK 1600]
Because Hoshino Alter had switched all their monsters into Defense Position to avoid the destructive effect of the "'Wall of Thorns," Minazuki was now unable to continue the Battle Phase.
Syrus said regretfully, "Damn it… Minazuki spent so many resources building up that board, and it got completely stopped by just one Trap Card. That's frustrating."
"But on the other hand, this also proves that he still lacks some experience."
Kaiba Man crossed his arms and said calmly, "It looked like a fierce offensive, but he didn't leave himself any backup options. Compared to this deck, his old 'junk deck' was actually more stable."
"Headmistress finally encouraged me—how can I drag things down here!"
After exchanging a glance with Hoshino Alter, Minazuki set his final card.
"I set my last card and end my turn!"
[Minazuki's: 0 Hand Card | 1 Set Card]
"At the moment the turn ends, the effects of the monster cards 'Rikka Petal' and 'Cyclamen' in my Graveyard activate~"
[Rikka Petal: If this card is in the Graveyard and you control no monsters, or only Plant monsters, you can activate this during the opponent's End Phase. Special Summon this card.]
[Cyclamen: During the End Phase of the turn this card was Tributed and sent to the Graveyard, you can activate this effect. Special Summon this card.]
"Revive, my lovely flower spirits~"
[Rikka Petal DEF 0]
[Cyclamen the Rikka Fairy★★★★ (Level 4)][WATER][Plant/Effect][ATK 1800/DEF 800]
With monsters now spread across the field—and including the Cu Chulainn stolen from Hoshino Alter's Graveyard—Mardel's monster zones were completely filled with five cards.
"They look so cute, but the pressure they give off is surprisingly intense… Is this the power of a queen?" Syrus said nervously, his legs trembling slightly.
"Duels aren't won by numbers alone. In terms of monster strength, Senpai and Minazuki still have the advantage on the field," Alexis said optimistically. In her heart, Hoshino absolutely couldn't lose.
"My turn. Draw." With her field completely filled, Queen Mardel drew a card to begin her turn, bringing her hand back up to two cards.
"I activate the effect of the monster on my field, 'Rikka Petal'—once per turn, I can add 1 'Rikka' monster from my Deck to my hand, except 'Rikka Petal.' I choose 'Primula the Rikka Fairy.'"
The second Primula the Rikka Fairy she searched was a Rikka monster that could Special Summon itself from the hand when a monster on her field was Tributed.
"Next, I Tribute 'Rikka Petal' and 'Cyclamen' on my field and perform a Tribute Summon—of myself~"
The King of the Light descended. A beam of light shone down from the clear skies of the spirit kingdom, bathing Queen Mardel's noble body.
[Mardel, Generaider Boss of Light ★★★★★★★★★ (Level 9)][LIGHT][Plant/Effect][ATK 2400/DEF 2400]
"When I am successfully Special Summoned, I can choose 1 Plant monster from my Deck and add it to my hand."
With such flexible resource cycling, Hoshino Alter and Minazuki could only watch as Queen Mardel's hand kept increasing.
"At the same time, since a monster was Tributed on my field, the 'Primula the Rikka Fairy' I just added can Special Summon itself."
[Primula the Rikka Fairy LV4 DEF 1800]
"Now I have two Level 4 monsters on my field. I overlay Level 4 Primula and Level 4 Cu Chulainn as Xyz Materials and perform an Xyz Summon!"
Hoshino Alter sighed. "How can you so naturally use my dog as Xyz material? Is this really the Queen of the Plants? It's making me imagine something unhealthy."
Hoshino said in confusion, "Another me… with a mind like yours, how did you even enter this pure Kingdom?"
"—Bloom, pure flower! Xyz Summon 'Rikka Queen Strenna'!"
[Rikka Queen Strenna ☆☆☆☆ (Rank 4)][WATER][Plant/Xyz/Effect][ATK 2000/DEF 2000]
[2 Level 4 monsters]
A cute pink-haired fairy girl holding a flower umbrella bounced out from the shining light of the Xyz Summon.
However, a Rank 4 Rikka monster that should normally be summoned using two Level 4 Rikka fairy monsters now had a Level 4 Cu Chulainn mixed into the materials, making the whole scene feel slightly off.
["If you replaced that flower umbrella in her hand with a dog, it might actually look more fitting."]
"The effect of 'Rikka Queen Strenna'—"
[Detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then target 1 Plant monster in your Graveyard or 1 'Rikka' card; add it to your hand.]
"I detach 'Primula' as Xyz Material and add 'Mudan the Rikka Fairy' from my Graveyard to my hand."
Whether it was the Tribute Summon earlier or the activation condition that required detaching Xyz Material now, Mardel deliberately avoided sending Cu Chulainn to the Graveyard. With this subtle detail, she effectively sealed off the resistance effect of the Mad King on Hoshino Alter's field.
"Headmistress, with that level of detailed play from the opponent just now, what 'layer' do you think it counts as?" Minazuki asked quietly.
"If your previous move could be considered the atmosphere, then this one would be the stratosphere," Hoshino Alter analyzed seriously.
["== I have absolutely no idea what you two are talking about. Isn't the atmosphere and the stratosphere basically the same?"]
Hoshino thought to herself that if those two kept stacking layers like this, the thousand-layer cake would probably reach outer space.
Placing a card that shone with golden light into her Duel Disk, Mardel declared:
"Now, witness the proof of a king. I activate the Continuous Spell Card—'Proof of the Light King – Purification'!"
"So you really do have it—the power that allows the Kings to stand undefeated when facing monsters of the same race, the 'Proof of the King.'" Hoshino Alter wasn't surprised, since she had already heard about this card from Eve.
[Rather than that, you two should be thankful you don't have any Plant monsters on your field. Seriously, were you ever planning to use Plant monsters to fight?]
[Proof of the Light King – Purification Continuous Spell Effect: Once per turn: You can Tribute 1 Plant monster on the field, or instead banish 1 Plant monster from your Graveyard; add 2 Plant monsters from your Deck to your hand.]
"What a pity—you don't have any Plant monsters on your field for me to Tribute. In that case, I'll banish 'Rikka Petal' from my Graveyard and add 'Snowdrop the Rikka Fairy' and 'Hellebore the Rikka Fairy' from my Deck to my hand."
After adding two more Rikka monsters, Mardel revealed them and immediately activated their effects.
"The special effect of 'Snowdrop the Rikka Fairy'—"
[You can activate this by Tributing 1 Plant monster you control. Special Summon this card and 1 Plant monster from your hand.]
"I Tribute 'Erica the Rikka Fairy' on my field and Special Summon the searched 'Rikka Fairy Snowdrop' and 'Hellebore the Rikka Fairy' directly."
[Rikka Fairy Snowdrop ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][WATER][Plant/Effect][ATK 1200/DEF 2600]
[Rikka Fairy Hellebore ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][WATER][Plant/Effect][ATK 2600/DEF 1200]
Hoshino finally noticed something. The Level 4 Rikka monsters were basically in child form, the Level 6 ones had grown into near-maiden forms, and these final two Level 8 flower spirits possessed the mature charm of elegant older sisters.
"Bloom, the radiance of Rank 8 spirits! I use the two Level 8 monsters on my field as Xyz Materials to perform an Xyz Summon!"
Her pure white fingers brushed across the two newly summoned Rikka monsters on the Duel Disk. Mardel stacked them sideways, constructing her third overlay.
"—The ultimate power of the Rikka Saints! Xyz Summon 'Teardrop the Rikka Queen'!"
[Teardrop the Rikka Queen ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (Rank 8)][WATER][Plant/Xyz/Effect][ATK 2800/DEF 2800]
[2 Level 8 monsters]
Hoshino Alter frowned slightly and guessed, "So a king isn't as shabby as us—only able to perform two Xyz Summons. Inside the World Tree, does that mean we don't have to follow the 'nerfed rules' Kaiba set either?"
Having successfully Xyz Summoned three Rikka monsters, the field created by Mardel was like the most brilliant bloom within the Kingdom.
"The effect of the Continuous Spell 'Proof of the Light King – Purification'—the Plant monster with the highest ATK on my field can attack a number of times during the same Battle Phase equal to the number of Plant monsters on my field. During the turn this effect is activated, my other Plant monsters cannot attack."
The Plant monster with the highest ATK on Queen Mardel's field was clearly the newly summoned Teardrop the Rikka Queen. With three Rikka monsters plus Queen Mardel herself, it could attack four times.
Minazuki said confidently, "But that's no problem! Headmistress has Mad King Cu Chulainn on the field. Not only are his ATK and DEF higher than the Rikka monsters, but anything that battles him gets destroyed afterward. Even if the opponent attacks multiple times, it won't matter!"
As for Minazuki himself, his two Lunalight Sabre Dancer monsters had been switched to Defense Position with 2600 DEF. Despite their huge ATK, they clearly couldn't stop the incoming assault.
"Hehe… then I'll remove the only obstacle. I activate the Xyz effect of Teardrop the Rikka Queen—"
[Detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then target 1 monster on either player's field; Tribute it. If this card has a Plant monster as Xyz Material, this effect can also be activated during the opponent's turn.]
"I detach 'Rikka Fairy Snowdrop' as Xyz Material and choose to Tribute 'Mad King Cu Chulainn' on your field!"
The illusory scenery shattered like a reflection in water. The power of the Rikka enveloped Mad King Cu Chulainn, attempting to erase the most troublesome monster on Hoshino Alter's field through a forced Tribute.
Misawa said nervously, "This is bad! If it's a forced Tribute, you can't use destruction-replacement effects. The entire frontline will collapse!"
"Minazuki!"
"Yes!" Responding instantly to Hoshino Alter's call, Minazuki activated his face-down card. "I've been waiting for this moment—Trap Card 'Wonder XYZ'!"
[Wonder XYZ – Trap Effect: Use monsters you control as materials to Xyz Summon 1 Xyz Monster.]
"Huh? Minazuki is going to perform an Xyz Summon in this situation?" Hoshino asked in confusion, completely unable to follow what the two of them were planning.
Hoshino Alter smiled mysteriously.
"It's not Minazuki who's performing the Xyz Summon… we are!"
"Take it, Headmistress—this is my final ripple!" Minazuki grabbed his two Lunalight Sabre Dancer cards and tossed them toward Hoshino Alter.
At the same time, the Xyz light formed by the three monsters stacked on the field exploded instantly.
[Lunalight Sabre Dancer – Level 9 | Beast-Warrior]
[Lunalight Sabre Dancer – Level 9 | Beast-Warrior]
[Mad King Cu Chulainn Alter – Level 9 | Beast-Warrior]
"Minazuki… I accept your fighting spirit!"
Catching the Lunalight Sabre Dancer cards, Hoshino Alter stacked them together with the Mad King Cu Chulainn on his own field.
"According to the effect of Wonder XYZ, I overlay the three Level 9 Beast-Warrior monsters on the field to construct an Xyz Network. Watch closely—this is our final layer of Xyz Summoning!"
"—Xyz Summon 'Devouring Deathfang Beast – Cu Chulainn Alter'!"
