Yukikaze tremblingly placed her hand on her deck.
She couldn't draw it.
Were her hands shaking so badly that she couldn't even draw a card?
Was it because of her earlier injuries?
No, she was afraid.
Yukikaze knew one thing clearly.
The kind of card that could turn the tables with a single draw did not exist in her deck.
No matter what card she drew, she could not reverse the situation before her.
Then what should she do?
Who could tell her what to do now?
"Isn't this fine? You still have 500 LP."
A familiar voice rang out in her mind. Like a traveler lost in the desert finding a spring, it instantly calmed Yukikaze's restless heart.
Right, what would Hara Shichi do?
Yukikaze closed her eyes. Images surfaced one after another in her mind. Yes, if it were Hara Shichi, no matter what situation he faced, he would remain calm and composed, fighting tenaciously until the very end and never giving up, right?
Think. Don't panic. There had to be power in her deck that she had yet to notice...
All forty cards spread out in Yukikaze's mind, continuously combining, arranging, and calculating.
Then, Yukikaze found the answer.
Yukikaze opened her eyes. Her trembling hand had already steadied. "My turn, draw!"
It was here!
"I enter the Main Phase. I Normal Summon Lone Fire Blossom. I tribute Lone Fire Blossom to Special Summon Rosemary of the Six Flowers from my deck, then activate Rosemary of the Six Flowers's effect to add Flower Princess Hellebore from my deck to my hand."
"Next, I activate the effect of Snowdrop of the Six Flowers in my hand. I tribute Rosemary of the Six Flowers on the field and Special Summon it from my hand in Defense Position together with Flower Princess Hellebore!"
"Then, I activate Flower Princess Hellebore's effect and add the Spell Card Six Flowers Brilliant from my deck to my hand!"
"I end my turn like this!"
Without the slightest hesitation, as if she had practiced it thousands of times, Yukikaze cleanly completed the play she had envisioned.
"That's it?" The woman, who had remained silent all along, could not help speaking. "All that flashy nonsense, and you only barely managed to hold your line?"
Yukikaze said nothing. She merely stood there expressionlessly, her azure eyes filled with determination.
"Hehe, a dying struggle." The woman sneered. "How boring. Let me crush your hopes."
"My turn, draw!"
When the Dagger Is Revealed
After casually glancing at the card she had drawn, the woman could not wait to launch her assault on Yukikaze. "I enter the Battle Phase. Maestro Schubert attacks Flower Princess Hellebore!"
The masked noblewoman thrust her light, slender silver sword at the girl holding an icy-blue parasol. With the girl's pained cry, Hellebore turned into white snowflakes and scattered into the air.
"Next, Flower Diva attacks Flower Princess Snowdrop!"
Yukikaze: 1200→500 LP.
Bang!
Yukikaze silently endured the heavy blow, yet her slender legs remained firmly planted where she stood, as though she were grass rooted deep in the soil.
"She actually took it head-on?" The woman widened her eyes in surprise at Yukikaze's stubbornness.
In her understanding, most duelists would be crushed by fear when faced with such a predicament and sink into utter despair.
Yukikaze clearly still looked like a young girl, yet she possessed such formidable willpower that even her opponent could not help wanting to praise her.
"If you hadn't met me, you surely would have become an incredible duelist someday." The woman muttered. Of course, this was not because she felt any regret. On the contrary, she felt immensely delighted now, as though her brain itself were trembling.
How wonderful.
Such a resolute duelist.
Such a young duelist.
Such a talented duelist.
And she was about to be snuffed out by me before she could even grow!
"I end my turn. Your turn." Though the woman's tone was calm, it carried a trace of impatience. She did not even enter the Main Phase before ending her turn outright.
Yes, she could no longer wait to savor the moment she personally snapped the young sprout.
"During your End Phase, I activate the effect of Rosemary of the Six Flowers in my Graveyard and Special Summon it from the Graveyard." Perhaps because she was already covered in wounds, Yukikaze's voice had lost its earlier softness and sweetness. What emerged from her throat was low and hoarse.
"Sorry, human. I only held you back." The Duel Spirit behind Yukikaze showed a guilty expression. Although she did not understand dueling very well, she could see that Yukikaze's situation was far from good.
"It doesn't matter." Yukikaze's slender fingers rested on her deck. With her eyes lowered, she softly said, "It's already over."
"My turn, draw."
What card she drew no longer mattered. Victory and defeat had been decided last turn.
"First, I activate Rosemary of the Six Flowers's effect to search a Flower Princess from my deck. I add the second Hellebore from my deck to my hand." As Yukikaze spoke, she directly slapped the Hellebore she had just drawn onto her Duel Disk. "I activate Hellebore's effect, tribute Rosemary of the Six Flowers on my field, and Special Summon it from my hand in Attack Position."
Attack Position? Why Attack Position?!
Shouldn't she be trying everything possible to defend herself right now?
The woman's heart suddenly lurched, as though a giant hand had fiercely clenched it. A deep sense of foreboding slowly rose within her.
"Then, I activate the Spell Card—Dark Hole." Yukikaze inserted the Dark Hole she had kept unused all this time into her Duel Disk. "Destroy the monster on your field with the highest Defense. Since your two monsters have equal Defense, I may freely choose one to destroy. I choose Maestro Schubert on your field."
Rumble!
Cracks suddenly appeared across the level ground. Then, a hole opened beneath Maestro Schubert's feet, catching her off guard and sending her plunging into a bottomless abyss.
"Just as expected." The woman's expression did not change. Maestro Schubert was a White Board with no protection, and she had been destroyed countless times in her hands. But what was the point of destroying her now? Could Yukikaze possibly destroy my Flower Diva?
No, absolutely not.
If she could destroy it, she would have done so long ago. She could not possibly have kept it hidden until now without revealing the slightest sign.
But what was this instinctive unease rising from the depths of her heart?
The woman instinctively looked toward Yukikaze. The girl had her head lowered, white strands of hair casually stuck to her cheeks. She looked messy, like a madwoman, yet she was unexpectedly quiet, like... the sea before a storm. Calm and peaceful on the surface, while beneath the depths unseen by the naked eye, raging waves had long begun to surge!
"I activate Hellebore's effect once again and add Six Flowers Blizzard from my deck to my hand." Yukikaze spoke unhurriedly. "I activate the Continuous Spell Card—Six Flowers Blizzard."
"I continue by activating the Spell Card—Six Flowers Brilliant. I tribute Hellebore on my field and add Cyclamen of the Six Flowers and Primrose of the Six Flowers from my deck to my hand."
What was it? What was making her remain so calm? What was she relying on?!
For some reason, the woman felt her mouth go dry. Even though she kept telling herself that her opponent was merely bluffing and pretending to be calm, her body still began trembling uncontrollably.
"Next, when Hellebore on my field is tributed..." At that instant, Yukikaze suddenly raised her head. She drew the blade she had hidden and swung it straight at the woman. "The effect of the Continuous Spell Card—Six Flowers Blizzard activates!"
"It can only be activated when a 'Rikka' monster on my field is tributed. You must tribute one monster on your field!"
"What?!" The blood drained from the woman's face in an instant, leaving it shriveled and ugly. She staggered back two steps in a daze, then collapsed weakly onto the ground.
The blade had pierced perfectly through the woman's heart!
"Impossible! My Flower Diva is invincible!" The woman was both furious and afraid. "You can't destroy her! You can't!"
"I indeed cannot destroy her." Yukikaze said flatly, "I merely activated the effect of Six Flowers Blizzard, requiring you to tribute one monster on your own field."
The woman stared blankly at the only remaining monster on her field, Melodious Diva Flower. She shook her head. "No. I won't."
"Please choose one monster on your field to tribute." Yukikaze repeated coldly.
"No! I won't!" The woman shrieked hysterically, venting her rage. She clutched her hair tightly and viciously scratched at her scalp with sharp nails, seemingly trying to escape through pain.
"Please... choose one monster on your field to tribute." Yukikaze merely watched the woman's miserable appearance in silence, saying nothing else.
"..."
"I... I choose to tribute... Melodious Diva Flower on my field." A duelist was still a duelist. In the end, the woman extended her trembling hand and sent the monster on her Duel Disk to the Graveyard.
"Since I haven't used my Normal Summon this turn, I Normal Summon Cyclamen of the Six Flowers." Yukikaze slapped the monster she had just searched onto her Duel Disk, then changed Snowdrop of the Six Flowers on her field to Attack Position. "I enter the Battle Phase."
"Cyclamen, Snowdrop, give her the final blow."
"AAAAAAAAAH!" With a scream, the woman flew into the distance like a kite with its string cut, then crashed viciously onto the ground.
1700+2300＝4000.
Win: Yukikaze!
"I finally... won..." Yukikaze watched the black mist coil around the woman. Her mind suddenly grew heavy as the exhaustion she had accumulated came crashing down, and her whole body was about to collapse.
Just then, a pair of warm arms caught Yukikaze. The girl slightly turned her head, and a familiar face entered her sight.
"It's really wonderful that you're okay." Upon seeing who had come, the frost on Yukikaze's little face seemed to melt in the spring breeze, blooming into a radiant smile.
Then, she fell soundly into that person's embrace.
"Yes, it's really wonderful that you're okay." Hara Shichi brushed aside the hair stuck to the girl's cheeks and spoke softly.
How Could Ugly Humans Compare to Cute Duel Spirits?!
When Yukikaze woke up, she found herself leaning against a thick tree.
When she raised her head, she saw a group of fairy-like girls beneath the beautiful glow of the sunset, their bare, tender feet stepping across the soft green grass as they played and frolicked.
"Have I... come to heaven?" Yukikaze rubbed her eyes and asked dazedly.
"You're awake? How do you feel?" Hara Shichi crouched down and asked.
"Huh?" Yukikaze turned her head in shock, reached out, and pinched Hara Shichi's face. "Hara Shichi, did you lose the Dark Duel too?!"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Hara Shichi said weakly. "Did you forget who caught you at the end?"
Yukikaze blinked, then hurriedly released her hand. A faint blush spread across her fair cheeks.
So that wasn't a dream. She had truly won the Dark Duel, and then... then she had collapsed into Hara Shichi's arms.
"Seeing how you look, you should be fine." A cool voice sounded. Julie appeared before them carrying a pile of fruit. "Eat something. Dueling takes a huge toll on the body."
"Julie!" Yukikaze abruptly stood up, her little face flushing as she prepared to say something, only for soft fingertips to press over her mouth.
"If you're planning to apologize, then shut up." Julie said impatiently. "I don't think what you did then was wrong. Besides, as long as I continue down the path of a duelist, I won't be able to avoid Dark Duels. On the contrary, this Dark Duel gave me a great deal of useful experience. I'm satisfied."
"But I didn't follow your orders and acted on my own..." Yukikaze muttered.
"Stop dithering. If you hadn't done that, I would have looked down on you instead." Julie irritably stuffed a red fruit into Yukikaze's arms. "Take it. This is the Duel Spirits' thanks to us."
"Then, Sera is okay too, right?" Yukikaze looked at the two of them and asked.
Julie turned her head away.
Hara Shichi painfully covered his face.
A heavy atmosphere spread between them. The color instantly drained from Yukikaze's fair little face. "D-Don't tell me..."
"Alas." Hara Shichi let out a long sigh and patted Yukikaze on the shoulder. "Though it may be hard to accept, that's the truth."
"Forget her, Yukikaze. It will be better for all of us." Julie's voice carried several traces of world-weariness.
"How could this happen?" Yukikaze could not help taking a step back, the soft back of her head bumping against the rough, hard tree trunk.
"That's how it is."
"Don't be too sad."
"Hey! Why are you talking as if I died?!" Sera's little head popped up between the three of them, her face full of indignation.
"Tch, so you didn't die." Julie clicked her tongue.
"I think it would be better if you disappeared into the river of our memories." Hara Shichi said expressionlessly.
"Huh?! Sera, you didn't die after all?" Yukikaze asked in astonishment. "What exactly happened?"
"Simply put, she committed the sin of greed." Hara Shichi looked down at Sera and said.
Before you continue