"Next, all I need to watch out for are those two Set Cards." The man glanced at the two unknown Set Cards and said, "I'll end my turn like this. Your move."
"You seem to have gotten one thing wrong."
Sera placed her slender fingers on her deck. "Becoming a Professional Duelist was never my dream."
"My dream was to earn enough money to stay in my room playing games all day. Becoming a Professional Duelist was merely a compromise I made with reality to earn money."
"As for crushing my dream... sorry, you're not qualified."
"My turn, draw!" Sera sharply drew a card, then slapped the monster she had searched last turn onto her Duel Disk. "I Normal Summon Traptrix Tributing and activate her effect, adding Bottomless Trap Hole from my deck to my hand."
"Hmph, Bottomless Trap Hole can only cover a monster that was just successfully summoned. It can't do anything to monsters that have already been summoned on my field!" the man said disdainfully.
"That wasn't my goal." Sera chuckled and inserted the card she had just drawn into her Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Card—Special Hurricane! I discard one card from my hand to destroy all Special Summoned monsters on the field!"
"What?!"
A massive hurricane swept across the field, destroying the man's two monsters. Meanwhile, Traptrix Tributing on Sera's field remained standing safely, even blinking innocently at the man.
"How is this possible... Why do you have such a powerful card?!" The man clutched his head, unable to accept the scene before him.
"Well, you tell me." Sera shrugged. "I enter the Battle Phase. Traptrix Tributing, attack directly!"
"Urgh!"
The powerful impact knocked the man to the ground, accompanied by the crack of breaking ribs.
Unnamed Male Passerby: 4000 LP → 2400 LP.
"You're really tenacious. I'll end my turn like this. Your move." Watching the man slowly crawl up from the ground while clutching his stomach, Sera could not help but praise him.
"It's not... it's not over yet!"
That was right. I couldn't stop here.
Even if my hands were stained with blood, even if my actions were unforgivable, even if there was no glory left in my life, even if my soul had become a pool of murky, foul-smelling sewage.
But even someone like me!
Had pride of his own!
I was a Duelist. I trusted my deck, trusted my monsters. I still wanted to fight alongside my deck in duels, so... my deck, answer me once more!
"My turn, draw!"
It didn't come.
What he drew was not a second Gladiator Beast Unity, but a search Spell Card—Gladiator Training Ground.
The man lowered his head in disappointment. Of course. How could he topdeck perfectly twice? It was already good luck that his deck had answered him once.
Then, should he search for Gladiator Beast Hoplomus? Hoplomus had 1800 ATK, while Traptrix Tributing on the opponent's field only had 1600. But... the man shifted his gaze to Sera's two unknown Set Cards.
One of them might be an Attack Declaration Trap.
Should he gamble? In the end, an Attack Declaration Trap was only his own guess. Perhaps the cards in her back row were Lost Wind instead?
If he won the gamble, he would not only destroy her only monster, but also get his own engine running and turn the situation in his favor.
"If you don't have anything to do, can't you just end your turn?" Sera yawned. "My companions are waiting for me to return in triumph."
Calm down! She was provoking you! She was getting anxious!
The man clenched the Spell Card in his hand tightly, holding his breath as his mind raced. What should he do? Attack or not attack? Wait... if he didn't attack! He had it!
His deck had not abandoned him! The key to victory was this card!
"I activate the Spell Card—Gladiator Training Ground! I add one Level 4 or lower monster with 'Gladiator Beast' in its name from my deck to my hand!"
The man inserted the Spell Card, damp with sweat, into his Duel Disk.
"Finally making a move?" Sera played with her hair, seeming a little impatient.
"Then, I add Gladiator Beast Bestiari to my hand." As he spoke, the man added a monster to his hand and continued, "I Set one card and end my turn!"
That was right! If there might be an Attack Declaration Trap, then he simply would not attack!
Gladiator Beast Bestiari had 2000 DEF. As long as she attacked, he could trigger Gladiator Beast Bestiari's effect, Special Summon Gladiator Beast Octavius from his deck, and destroy the Set Cards on her field!
"Ending just like that? Then I won't hold back." Sera drew a card from her deck. "My turn, draw."
Heh, by all means, don't hold back. I'm waiting for your attack. Come on, attack the Set monster on my field, then... fall into the hell of the defeated!
Chapter 76: Ugh! I'm Going to Throw Up.
"I enter the Main Phase and Normal Summon Thio the Entomologist."
A languid young girl appeared on the Duel field. Her silky, flowing green hair draped over her bare fragrant shoulders and fair back. She swept her indifferent red eyes across the field, as if searching for a toy that could pique her interest.
Another Traptrix monster!
The man watched the newly appeared monster warily. The effects of the previous two Duel Monsters had been searching for monsters and searching for Traps respectively. He wondered what this monster's effect would be.
However, Sera soon answered his doubts.
"I activate Thio the Entomologist's effect, Special Summoning Lankaa the Entomologist from my Graveyard in Defense Position." As Sera spoke, she slapped Lankaa the Entomologist from her Graveyard back onto her Duel Disk.
Reviving a monster from the Graveyard?
The man breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at the three girls on Sera's field. Their ATK values were 1500, 1600, and 1700 respectively. Good. None of them could break through his 2000 DEF.
"Then I enter the next phase." Sera did not notice the turmoil in the man's heart and entered the Battle Phase without hesitation. "I use Thio the Entomologist to attack the Set monster on your field."
It's here!
The man flipped over Gladiator Beast Bestiari on his field and shouted, "My Gladiator Beast Bestiari has 2000 DEF, while your Thio the Entomologist only has 1700 ATK, so you take 300 LP of damage!"
Sera: 4000 LP → 3700 LP.
The tiny impact brushed through Sera's hair like a breeze. Sera waved her little hand dismissively. "It's only 300 LP. Why are you shouting so loudly?"
Hmph, what did you know? This tiny 300 LP of damage was the horn of my counterattack! The first step toward turning the tables!
"Are you still going to attack?" the man asked impatiently.
Sera glanced at her monsters and realized that she had no way to deal with that 2000 DEF wall for the moment. She could only say flatly, "I'll end the Battle Phase like this."
This was the moment I had been waiting for!
The man hurriedly said, "At the end of the Battle Phase, I activate Gladiator Beast Bestiari's effect! At the end of a Battle Phase in which this card battled, I can return it to its owner's deck to Special Summon one 'Gladiator Beast' monster other than 'Gladiator Beast Bestiari' from my deck!"
"Come forth, Gladiator Beast Octavius!"
A humanoid White Bird clad in green armor appeared on the field.
"Immediately after that, I activate Gladiator Beast Octavius's effect!" The man pointed at the Set Cards on Sera's field. "When Octavius is Special Summoned by the effect of a monster with 'Gladiator Beast' in its name, I can destroy one Set Spell or Trap Card!"
"I chain Lankaa the Entomologist's effect and return the Set Cards on my field to my hand," Sera said flatly.
Octavius on the field swung the scepter in his hand, firing a beam of white light at the Set Card in the middle of Sera's field. But before it could strike, Lankaa used the vine whip around her wrist to wrap up both Set Cards and remove them from the Duel field.
"Tch, you even have an effect like that?" The man clicked his tongue in displeasure. "But it's not over yet!"
"I continue by activating Gladiator Repulsion Wave's effect! This can only be activated when a 'Gladiator Beast' monster is Special Summoned from my deck. I Special Summon one 'Gladiator Beast' monster from my deck in Defense Position, provided there are no monsters of the same Type on my field!"
"I Special Summon Gladiator Beast Hoplomus from my deck!"
"Are you done now?" Sera asked listlessly.
"Continue your turn." Though he had not destroyed the opponent's Set Cards, the man was still fairly satisfied with successfully summoning two monsters.
"Then I enter Main Phase 2, Set two cards, and end my turn." As Sera spoke, she Set the cards in her hand once more.
"My turn, draw!" The man looked at the card he had drawn and inserted it into his Duel Disk without hesitation. "I enter the Main Phase and activate the Spell Card—Gladiator Return."
"I return Gladiator Beast Director, Gladiator Beast Caesar, and Gladiator Beast Nero from my Graveyard to my deck, then draw one card from my deck!"
"Whoosh!"
As he spoke, the man drew another card, then slapped it directly onto his Duel Disk. "Immediately after that, I Normal Summon Gladiator Beast Teacher."
"Then, I return the three monsters on my field to my deck and Special Summon from the Extra Deck—Gladiator Beast Nero!"
"Wait." Sera opened one of her Set Cards. "I chain and activate Torrential Tribute."
"..."
For a moment, the man lost his voice.
He watched helplessly as the monsters on his field were swept away by the massive torrent. It felt as though something deep in his heart had shattered.
"How... how could this happen... My hope... my..." With a thud, the man dropped to his knees, seemingly unable to accept reality.
"Hey, don't be so wishy-washy just because you're a grown man." Sera put her hands on her hips and sighed. "My monsters were destroyed and sent to the Graveyard too."
"..."
"Don't just stand there looking stupid. Are you ending your turn or not?"
"..."
Right, I still couldn't give up... Her monsters had been destroyed too. Aside from the one Set Card still on her field, we were in the same position.
The man encouraged himself and struggled back to his feet. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I'll end my turn like this."
"Then it's my turn, draw." Sera looked at the card she had drawn and paused slightly. "Not bad luck."
As she spoke, she slapped the drawn card onto her Duel Disk. "I Normal Summon Thio the Entomologist and Special Summon Thio the Entomologist from my Graveyard in Defense Position."
"Immediately after that, I activate Thio the Entomologist's effect. When this card is Special Summoned, I can target one 'Hole' Normal Trap Card or 'Trap Hole' Normal Trap Card in my Graveyard and Set it on my field."
"I Set Bottomless Trap Hole from my Graveyard back onto the field."
"Ugh!" Upon seeing this, the man finally could not hold back any longer. He clutched his stomach, bent over, and dry-heaved.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? That's very rude!" Sera said, frowning her cute brows.
"Give him a break. You've nearly beaten him into shutting down. What's wrong with him dry-heaving a little?" A cool voice rang out. Sera turned her head and discovered that Julie had somehow appeared behind her.
"Huh?! When did you get in here? No, wait, this is a Dark Duel! How did you get in?!" Sera pointed at Julie in shock.
"Quit nagging. I got in somehow, that's all." Julie was not foolish enough to reveal Hara Shichi's secret.
Although Sera had become one of their companions, Julie would not tell anyone about something like that unless Hara Shichi agreed.
"Since everything's fine on your side, I'm heading to the other side." Julie turned to leave, but Sera grabbed her with one small hand.
"Wait! I'm scared here all by myself! You're already here, so stay with me until the end!" Sera said with tearful eyes.
"Besides... nothing will happen over at Yukikaze's side."
"How did you know I meant Yukikaze?" Julie looked at Sera suspiciously.
"Because Hara Shichi is stronger than Yukikaze." Sera said it as though it were only natural. "The one still trapped in a Dark Duel must be Yukikaze, right?"
"You're quite sharp." Julie looked surprised.
"Don't worry. Yukikaze actually came to me for help before, saying she wanted to trade for a few Trap Cards." Sera revealed a sly smile. "As her senior, how could I ignore a cute junior asking for help?"
"So I specifically gave her a few 'good things'~"
Chapter 77: Only Third-Rate Duelists Think Buffing ATK Is the Way to Duel!
"Beep."
With a clear sound from the Duel Disk, this Dark Duel officially began.
"Since that's the case, I'll take the first turn." The woman drew five cards from her deck and said coldly, "I enter the Main Phase and activate the Spell Card—Sonata No. 1. This can only be activated if I control no monsters. I Special Summon one Level 4 or lower 'Melodious' monster from my hand or deck!"
"I Special Summon from my deck in Defense Position—Melodious Aria!"
A girl with short purple hair appeared on the Duel field, swaying her graceful figure like a dancer. A black bodysuit tightly wrapped her lovely body, exposing only her fair waist and long legs.
"Melodious... I've never heard of that deck." Yukikaze pursed her lips and watched the monster on the Duel field with a solemn expression. A faint sheen of sweat even formed at her temples.
For some reason, compared to the previous Dark Duel, this one made her even more nervous.
Before you continue