Chapter 373
At that moment, a red-haired man with an outrageously stylish hairstyle, who had been observing from the shadows, bit his lip and said, "What the hell? That man is too strong... What are you doing right now, Qiu?"
At the same time, Yusei placed a card from his hand into the Spell & Trap Zone and announced, "Face one card, end turn."
[Yusei Fudo's hand: 3 → 2]
"Furthermore, Stardust Dragon revives during the end phase of the turn in which its effect was successfully activated!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of light rose in the arena, and the figure of Stardust Dragon reappeared.
"That's amazing, but..."
As Qiu spoke, her slender fingers suddenly pulled out a card.
"My turn, draw a card!"
[Aki Izayoi's hand cards: 3→4]
With a flick of her wrist, the card she had drawn immediately came into view, and without hesitation, she tossed it out. "I activate the Equip Spell [Rose Seal] from my hand."
"By banishing a Plant-Type monster from my Graveyard, I can gain control of one face-up monster on my opponent's field. However, this effect is negated during my End Phase and continues until my next Standby Phase."
"I'll exclude the [Large Rose Reopening] from the cemetery and gain control of the [Junk Warrior]."
A black rose mark appeared on the forehead of the Junk Warrior, who then immediately moved to Qiu's front field.
She then placed another card from her hand onto the Duel Disk: "I summon Tuner monster [Glow-Up Bulb]..."
A flash of light appeared, and a short stem with a single eye and a white flower was projected onto the screen.
[Aki Izayoi's hand cards: 4 → 2]
"The Tuner monster... is it coming...?"
Just as Yusei had expected, Qiu Ba called out in a loud voice, "I'm using a level 5 [Junk Warrior] to star-change a level 1 [Glow-Up Bulb]!"
"O magnificent thorn hunter hidden in the sacred forest! Take up your punitive whip and reveal yourself now!"
"Synchro Summon! Appear, [Splendid Rose]!"
In an instant, the light of harmony shone, and a blonde woman broke through the light and landed on the autumn field. She was dressed in an outfit that was half light green and half dark green, with petals on her ankles that could be pieced together to form a rose, and four thorns protruding from her back.
[Splendid Rose: Attack Power 2200]
"Then, during the duel, by sending the top card of your deck to the graveyard, you revive [Glow-Up Bulb] in the graveyard."
After the bulb reappeared, Qiu Qian waved her hand and said, "[Splendid Rose]'s effect: Once per turn, by banishing a Plant-Type monster from your Graveyard, halve the ATK of 1 monster your opponent controls until the end of this turn!"
"Except for the [Ivy Wall] in the graveyard, the [Stardust Dragon's ] attack power is halved."
In an instant, four thorns shot out from the back of the Splendid Rose, trapping the Stardust Dragon.
[Stardust Dragon: Attack Power 2500 → 1250]
Upon seeing this, the twins in the audience immediately became worried.
Ryuusei: "Attack power has dropped to 1250..."
Ryuuga: "Damn it, the attack power on both sides has reversed!"
"Battle has begun!" Qiu shouted, pushing his hand forward. "[Splendid Rose] Attack [Stardust Dragon]!"
The Splendid Rose lashed out with a whip made of thorns, striking towards the Stardust Dragon.
Seeing Yugi, Yugi quickly waved his arm, "Trap Card [Scrap Iron Scarecrow], this card can be activated when an opponent's monster declares an attack, targeting the attacking monster to negate that attack, and after activation, this card is set again without going to the Graveyard."
As the Trap Card at his feet was lifted, a scarecrow made of scrap metal emerged.
"Useless!" Qiu suddenly revealed a card from her hand and shouted, "I activate the monster effect of [Rose Archer] from my hand. When I control a Plant-Type monster and my opponent activates Trap Card, I can send this card from my hand to the Graveyard to negate and destroy the activation of that Trap Card. This effect can also be activated during my opponent's turn."
In the blink of an eye, the Scrap Iron Scarecrow shattered into pieces with a bang.
[Aki Izayoi's hand cards: 2 → 1]
"What?!"
Qiu's sudden move caught Yusei off guard.
"Oh my god! Aki Izayoi has also activated a monster effect from her hand to counterattack!"
The Splendid Rose's attack passed without hindrance. The thorny whip struck the Stardust Dragon, instantly shattering it into pieces. Moreover, Qiu's uncontrollable berserk power was unleashed once more, and the violent impact caused some cracks to appear on the ground.
"Ugh...!"
[Yusei Fudo: LP 4000 → 3050]
After the attack, Qiu stopped the battle phase for that turn. Although Splendid Rose still had the effect of banishing a Plant-Type monster from her Graveyard and halving her own ATK to launch an additional attack, unfortunately, there were no Plant-Type monsters left in her Graveyard, so she couldn't continue attacking.
Of course, she had something else on her mind right now. "Are you alright, Yusei?"
The audience erupted in shouts of abuse again, with countless voices angrily calling her a "witch."
After hearing these annoying noises, Yusei shook his head and said, "I'm fine, let's continue the duel, Aki."
"Yusei?"
"You're not a witch. I can sense that you don't want to hurt anyone, that you're afraid of hurting others... But I won't run away. In my eyes, there's only you, the duelist. No matter what harm you inflict on me, I will take it all."
Hearing these words, Aki Izayoi's heart raced. She felt that the Dragon Seal, which she had always been wary of, brought more than just sadness; at least Yusei genuinely considered her a companion.
Chapter Twenty-Five Black Garden
Just as Qiu was moved, a furious voice suddenly came from outside the arena.
"Qiu, don't listen to his nonsense! Have you forgotten? The people of this world have abandoned you!"
"Divine ..." Qiu frowned unhappily.
Even though Divine was someone Aki Izayoi trusted before, Aki was still unhappy with his slander of Yusei. After all, she felt from the Dragon Seal that Yusei's sincerity was genuine and could not be faked.
'There's no other way... I have to use that trick!' Seeing that Qiu didn't react, Divine's face hardened: 'Qiu, have you forgotten that even your parents have abandoned you? Only I, Divine, will accept you. He was lying to you!'
SoUSUO:‖⌒["Shut up, Divine!"
Qiu had never found Divine so repulsive; not only did he poke at her sore spots, but he also slandered the first person she wanted to trust.
"That man..." Yusei glanced calmly at Divine behind Qiu, then quickly ignored him.
"Aki, all you think about is the duel. I don't know the truth about what happened to you, so all I can do is face all your attacks without fear. That's the pride of a duelist."
The worst thing is comparison. Look at Yusei, then look at Divine. One has charismatic personality, the other only knows how to rub salt in people's wounds and slander them. Qiu suddenly felt that there was something wrong with Divine. It seemed she needed to re-evaluate Divine.
Qiu calmed herself down, focused her gaze on her opponent, and temporarily put aside those upsetting thoughts, ignoring the barking man behind her.
In short, let's play cards. She decided to properly respond to Yusei's feelings, "Let the duel continue, Yusei."
"Um."
Seeing Yusei nod, Aki played the card in her hand. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell [Prosperity's Joy] from my hand. You can use this card the turn you destroy an opponent's face-up Synchro Monster by battle or card effect. Draw two cards from your Deck."
[Aki Izayoi's hand cards: 1→2]
After glancing at the two cards in her hand, Qiu revealed one of the Spell Card: "I activate the Spell Card [Aroma Storm] again. Based on its effect, I destroy one Plant-Type monster on the field, and draw one card from my Deck. If the drawn card is a Plant-Type monster, I can draw another one. I destroy [Glow-Up Bulb]..."
Immediately, the bulb shattered into pieces with a bang, and at the same time, she flipped over the card on top of the deck and immediately displayed it.
"The card I drew is a Plant-Type monster [Copy Plant], therefore I can draw another card."
[Aki Izayoi's hand cards: 2→3]
With two consecutive Spell Card, Qiu quickly replenished her lost hand.
"It's not over yet... I'll activate the Field Spell [Black Garden]!"
Swish!
As the cards were stored in the arena card slots, a large number of vines suddenly sprouted from beneath Aki's feet, quickly spreading across the entire arena and forming a dense cage of vines covered with black roses, enveloping her and Yusei together.
"Then set a card face down to end this turn."
[Aki Izayoi's hand cards: 3 → 1]
"My turn!"
Yusei glanced at the card he had drawn and, without thinking, tossed it out. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell [Synchro Overdrive] from my hand. This card can Special Summon a Synchro Monster whose Level is one level higher than a Synchro Monster on your opponent's field."
"[Splendid Rose] is a Level 6 monster, therefore I can Special Summon a Level 7 monster to the field... Appear, [Nitro Warrior]!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of light rose up in the front field, and a green 'big-butt' warrior emerged in the light.
[Nitro Warrior: Attack Power 2800]
Just then, a large number of vines suddenly stretched out from the Black Garden and gave the Nitro Warrior a binding play.
Qiu then slowly explained, "Each time a monster is Normal or Special Summoned outside of the effect of [Black Garden], the monster's ATK is halved, and one [Rose Token] is automatically Special Summoned to the opponent's field in Attack Position."
A rose bloomed beside her...
[Rose Token: Attack Power 800]
[Nitro Warrior: Attack Power 2800 → 1400]
"Oh my god! So the [Nitro Warrior]'s attack power is no match for [Splendid Rose]!"
At this moment, Yusei picked up two cards from his hand with his right hand and said, "Monsters Special Summoned by the effect of [Synchro Overdrive] cannot activate their effects this turn. However, if [Nitro Warrior] is on the field and you activate Spell Card during your turn, its ATK increases by 1000 points only once during damage calculation this turn. This effect does not need to be activated."
"In other words, this is a perpetual effect; [Synchro Overdrive] cannot limit this effect."
Upon hearing this, Qiu showed a slightly surprised expression. "So, if we activate just one more Spell Card, the attack power of [Nitro Warrior] will rise to 2400 points, surpassing the effect of [Splendid Rose]?"
"That's right..." Yusei nodded, then put a card from his hand into the graveyard and revealed another Spell Card: "I discard [Stardust Dragon] from my hand and activate the Spell Card [Chart of Harmony]."
"This card can be activated by discarding one Dragon-Type Tuner monster with 1000 or less ATK. Draw two cards from your Deck."
"And due to the activation of the Spell Card, [Nitro Warrior]'s attack power increases by 1000 points."
[Nitro Warrior: Attack Power 1400 → 2400]
Then Yusei swung his arm down and shouted, "Battle begins! [Nitro Warrior] attacks [Splendid Rose], Explosive Fist!"
The next moment, the Nitro Warrior temporarily broke free from the vines' restraints and used the propulsive energy to smash his fists at the enemy in front of him.
However, at that moment, Aki decisively pressed the button to set the card. "Since you've gone all out, I'll live up to that Yusei! I activate the Trap Card [Thorn Wall]: When a face-up Plant-Type monster on my field becomes the target of an attack, all Attack Position monsters on your opponent's field are destroyed!"
"What?!"
In an instant, a large number of thorny vines quickly sprouted in front of the Splendid Rose, forming a solid barrier. The Nitro Warrior crashed into the thorny barrier and was instantly shattered by the reflected damage.
Boom--!!!
The violent explosion tore apart the area near the stands, frightening some spectators who quickly fled.
"That wretched witch!"
"Get out of here!"
Although Yusei dared to confront Aki's power directly, this unusual destructive force was indeed a headache.
"I set a monster, then set a card face down, and end my turn."
[Yusei Fudo's hand: 2 → 0]
Chapter Twenty-Six: Moonlit Dragon
At the same time that Yusei was being suppressed, Divine had already left the arena. He had figured out that Qiu didn't want to hurt Yusei at all, and he wasn't so easily fooled anymore.
Verbal Mind Control is no longer effective; should he consider physical Mind Control of Qiu? Or should he find a time to eliminate Yusei?
So Qiu's suspicions were correct; in just a short while, Divine had already been brewing a lot of bad ideas.
Back to the match, after Yusei's declaration ended his turn, it was Aki's turn to make his move.
"My turn, draw a card!"
[Aki Izayoi's hand cards: 1→2]
With a slight flick of her wrist, the card she drew immediately came into view. After glancing at the card, Qiu's eyes widened slightly, and then she decisively played another card from her hand. "First, I summon the Tuner monster [Copy Plant] from my hand!"
[Copy Plant: Attack Power 0]
"Since a monster was summoned to my field, based on the effect of [Black Garden], Special Summon 1 [Rose Token] to your field in Attack Position."
The derivatives summoned on the Yusei Field would undoubtedly become targets for the Splendid Rose, so Yusei would naturally not allow them to appear.
Then he swept his arm and shouted, "Activate the Trap Card [Scrap Iron Idol]! When a Spell or Trap Card that is face-up on the opponent's field activates its effect, destroy that card!"
"What did you say?!"
In an instant, the vines and flowers of the Black Garden withered and collapsed, and due to the disappearance of the site, the effects that had just been activated were no longer applicable.