Shen Sui truly hadn't expected his opponent to be so stubborn as to keep extending his plays under Anna's effect.
Although Yuan Youxin had already found himself in a difficult position midway through, that was only because he had been too greedy and wanted to FTK.
In a Soul Card Duel, a new card could indeed catch someone off guard the first time they saw it. After all, unlike card games from Shen Sui's previous life, players couldn't inspect their opponent's card effects during a duel—this was why even accomplished professional players continued grinding for Life Cards in the Soul Card World.
Yuan Youxin had probably spent too long crushing weaker opponents in amateur matches and had lost even the most basic awareness of how to guard against traps.
Since Shen Sui had dared to send Anna to the graveyard right in front of his explosive combo deck, he naturally wasn't afraid of Yuan Youxin turning Anna's effect against him.
After Yuan Youxin summoned Luo Fengu, Shen Sui's hand had risen to fifteen cards.
When Shen Sui's health was reduced to 500 by Anna, or when the number of 0-star Life Cards in his hand reached ten, Anna's effect had to activate.
Fifteen cards was a lot. It was inevitable that discarding them would hurt a little.
But compared to victory, that pain was nothing worth mentioning.
As Anna's effect activated, Shen Sui's field underwent a bizarre change.
A pool of pitch-black sludge surged from the ground in the follower slot Shen Sui had chosen.
A strange, bewildering fragrance spread in every direction.
Though it had lost its supernatural power after crossing the barriers between worlds, the scent was still intoxicating.
It was the scent of sin, an amplifier of human desire.
If this hadn't been the real world, everyone nearby would probably have gone mad and freely unleashed the desires buried deep in their hearts.
This was also why Soul Card Duels were so popular. That kind of realism was something projection technology could never replicate.
Along with the spreading fragrance came an irritating noise, like bones stretching.
The sludge rose and formed a human-shaped clay figure. As power surged through it, the black mud coating it gradually faded away, revealing Anna, wrapped in sin.
From the description on the Duel Instrument alone, Shen Sui had found it difficult to imagine what a young girl corrupted by the Sin Grail would look like.
But now, through the Duel Instrument's link, he truly saw Anna, Alice's closest friend, as she was at this moment.
Her long hair flowed like a pool of night, steeped in silence and mystery. Every strand was a waterfall of darkness cascading elegantly to her heels, as though connecting her to the most wicked of sins.
Her eyes were deep and black, like starlight glimmering within an endless night. They held boundless tenderness and sorrow, as though they had accumulated all the hardships of the world. Whenever she looked at someone, they would be moved by that gentle yet steadfast strength, as if immersed in an infinite sea of warmth.
This was the appearance of the Saintess of Sin after being corrupted by the Sin Grail.
At this moment, Anna was the living vessel of the Sin Grail.
Once merely an ordinary person, she was now a terrifying Thirteenth-Order powerhouse.
She wore a black nun's robe. It was not her original clothing, but garments woven from sin itself.
Yet the robe's blackness was not a symbol of sin, but a reflection of her pure heart. When Alice had crossed endless sin to reach her, this kind-hearted girl had already regained her former purity.
She had anchored her heart to Alice's and temporarily escaped sin's influence.
The robe clung to her body and danced gently, like a pair of black wings, allowing her to retain a sacred image even within a world of darkness.
"I activate Anna's effect," Shen Sui said. "When she is successfully Special Summoned, directly banish the cards on your field and in your hand. The number of cards banished this way cannot exceed the number of cards I discarded."
"After that, Anna's Spirit Value becomes the number of banished cards multiplied by 1,000."
"What?" Yuan Youxin shouted in shock. "A card like that is impossible!"
Yet the activated effect slapped him hard across the face.
An irresistible force, accompanied by surging black mud, directly flooded his field.
His hand was swallowed in the process as well.
Yuan Youxin had one card left in hand and five followers on the field, six cards in total.
Anna's Spirit Value instantly rose to 6,000.
Meanwhile, Yuan Youxin only had 3,000 health remaining.
And he no longer had any cards he could use.
"H-How is that possible?" Yuan Youxin found it impossible to accept.
Just a second ago, he had been only one step away from victory. Yet in the next second, he was facing defeat!
"This card! What is going on? Why is there a card like this?!" Yuan Youxin couldn't understand it, nor could he accept it.
"The Soul Card World is vast," Shen Sui said. "You dared to extend your plays like that against a new card you'd never seen before. Are you really such an experienced duelist?"
Damn it. He had underestimated him.
Only now did Yuan Youxin come to his senses.
His greed for victory and resentment toward Shen Sui had consumed his reason, leaving him unable to properly judge the state of the duel.
But even if a professional player had been in his place, faced with the possibility of an FTK, no one could guarantee they would remain calm and not get greedy.
He had already lost.
There was no room to recover.
Yuan Youxin looked at Anna on Shen Sui's field.
She still retained that sacred appearance, despite being wrapped in sin.
Card Name: Saintess of Sin Type: Follower Card Star Rank: 13 Stars Effect: This follower cannot be Normal Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by the effects of other cards. Its Special Summon cannot be chained to by other cards. During the first turn it enters the field, it is unaffected by the effects of other cards. ① When this follower is added to the hand or sent to the graveyard by another card's effect, it loses all effects other than Effect ①. When the opponent activates an effect with Special Summon or search effects, you may discard Saintess of Sin from your hand to activate: negate that effect, then send that card to the graveyard. ② While this follower is in the graveyard, if the opponent successfully Special Summons a follower, this effect must activate: draw one card from your deck, then take 500 source-less damage. ③ While this follower is in the graveyard, if the opponent successfully activates a Spell Card effect, this effect must activate: reveal one card in your hand and reduce that card's star rank to 0. ④ When your health is ≤500 due to this follower's Effect ②, or when the number of 0-star Life Cards in your hand equals 10, interrupt the current chain and activate this effect: Discard All Hand Cards, then Special Summon this follower from the graveyard to your field. After that, you may banish up to X Life Cards from the opponent's field and hand, where X is the number of cards discarded by this effect. ⑤ This follower's Spirit Value is equal to the number of cards banished by its Effect ④ × 1,000. Spirit Value: ???
Lost! He had already lost! There was absolutely no way to turn this around!
Yuan Youxin had never imagined that after spending so long crushing weaker opponents in amateur matches, he could actually lose—and to a complete newcomer with no prior match experience.
Where had he gone wrong?
Was Shen Sui's card simply too powerful?
Yuan Youxin's mind had grown muddled. His empty hands trembled slightly as he glared at Shen Sui and gritted his teeth. "I end my turn."
"Then it's my turn!" With victory firmly in hand, Shen Sui did not relax or let the joy of winning cloud his judgment. After all, his opponent still had followers in the graveyard. Who knew whether there were any graveyard traps? On his own turn, Anna had already lost her protection. "Draw!"
Shen Sui hesitated as he looked at the Event Card Chaos in his hand.
If he activated Chaos's effect, Anna could deal 12,000 damage.
Should he make an unnecessary play?
Shen Sui closed his eyes and recalled the duels of Yuan Youxin's that he had studied the night before. None of the followers in Yuan Youxin's graveyard had graveyard trap effects.
Then he would leave him a little dignity and not make any extra plays.
"Anna! Direct attack!" Skipping straight to the battle phase, Shen Sui pointed at Yuan Youxin and declared the attack.
Anna's attack was completely silent, without the slightest sign of an attack.
If his health had not dropped to zero, Yuan Youxin might have thought Shen Sui hadn't declared an attack at all.
Ding!
The bell of victory rang out, formally declaring Shen Sui the winner of this duel.
Five updates complete!
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