The moment Judgment Dragon was destroyed, Morgan's field was instantly swept away like a storm scattering clouds, and in just a brief instant, both sides had no cards left on the field. The spectators were stunned by the unexpected scene. None of them had imagined that Hayley had sent so many cards to the Graveyard just for this single strike.
Though it had cost a massive amount of resources, the strike was both unexpected and spectacular.
And it had indeed broken through Morgan's lock.
"This Hayley really does have some skill."
Seeing that someone else had finally taken the pressure off her, Hannah nodded in satisfaction. But although Morgan's lock was broken, Hayley now had no monsters on her field either. If she passed her turn like this, Morgan would surely come back in the next turn, and Hayley would still be unable to avoid defeat.
Then she turned her gaze back to Morgan. To be able to counterattack even after such a sudden field wipe without falling behind—truly worthy of the name Morgan.
Now the match depended on who could act first.
Meanwhile, Jade at the repair station turned pale. She hadn't expected that an opponent who had just been making reckless moves a moment ago would suddenly flip the table with a field wipe. Hayley had perfectly seized the gap in Morgan's lock, using that one Special Summon opportunity to destroy every card on the field.
Fortunately, Morgan managed to respond in time and destroyed Judgment Dragon, or she would have lost a huge amount of Life Points.
Morgan was facing more than one opponent now, and every point of Life was precious.
From the moment Judgment Dragon appeared, the spectators completely changed their view of Hayley. No longer did they see her as just some lunatic throwing cards into the Graveyard, but as a skilled Duelist. Even if it had cost her a mountain of resources, the payoff wasn't small.
"So that's it… her reckless milling was all for summoning Judgment Dragon. Summoning that monster is no easy task."
"But even if she caught Morgan off guard, Judgment Dragon was still destroyed. Looks like Morgan had prepared for it."
"The match is back to square one. Now it's all about who can rebuild and strike first."
"I think it'll be Morgan. After all, a lot of her monsters trigger effects when sent to the Graveyard. Though, since this is Judgment Dragon's archetype, Hayley should have ways to deal with it too, right?"
While the audience whispered among themselves, Morgan glanced at Hayley. Though she had some Graveyard effects, most of her monsters weren't strong in terms of attack power. The OTK by Judgment Dragon's field wipe was essentially the deck's limit. But for Morgan, the hallmark of Shaddolls was sustainability—being sent to the Graveyard only meant more effects could be activated.
"I activate the effect of El Shaddoll Winda on my field!"
"If this card is sent to the Graveyard, I can target one Shaddoll Spell/Trap in my Graveyard and add it to my hand."
"I add Shaddoll Schism back to my hand!"
The card Dukon had wanted destroyed, no matter what, was now back in Morgan's hand. And even with all her monsters destroyed, that didn't mean Morgan was left without defenses.
"Next, I activate the effect of Shaddoll Falcon!"
"When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon it face-down Defense Position!"
A set monster appeared on Morgan's field once again, completely blocking Hayley from making a direct attack. Still, with Shaddoll Falcon's Defense only 1400, Hayley had a chance to break through Morgan's last wall.
Hayley gritted her teeth. She had thought Judgment Dragon alone would finish Morgan, but Morgan was far tougher than she had imagined. Luckily, Hayley still had other means prepared.
Glancing at her hand, Hayley quickly declared:
"I Normal Summon Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman in Attack Position!"
This turn, she hadn't yet used her Normal Summon.
A woman appeared on the field, wearing white clerical robes and bearing a healthy complexion. Her golden hair was cut short, and in her hand swirled a strange violet energy.
[Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman] Level 3│LIGHT│Spellcaster│1000 ATK / 1000 DEF
"I activate Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman's effect!"
"By banishing one Lightsworn monster from my hand or Graveyard, I can target one of my banished Lightsworn monsters (other than Lumina) and Special Summon it."
Hayley glanced at her Graveyard. Thanks to all her milling, she had plenty of Lightsworn monsters to choose from, and she had already decided which one.
"I banish Ehren, Lightsworn Monk from my Graveyard!"
"And I Special Summon Felis, Lightsworn Archer from the Graveyard!"
A strong woman archer appeared on the field. She wore a sleeveless shirt, her toned arms flexed with muscle, and her piercing eyes looked as if they were ready to fire an arrow at any moment.
[Felis, Lightsworn Archer] Level 4│LIGHT│Beast-Warrior│1100 ATK / 2000 DEF
Hayley hadn't brought her out to battle Shaddoll Falcon. Felis's Attack was too low for that. That said, Felis had a powerful effect: by tributing herself, she could destroy one opponent's monster.
And then she would mill three cards. That meant not only could Hayley destroy Morgan's last wall, but also set up for another direct attack.
A smile spread across Hayley's face. In her eyes, Morgan was defenseless now.
"Heh, Luli, looks like you won't get a chance to appear after all."
Hayley turned excitedly toward Morgan. She had a perfect chance to finish her without even needing Luli as her finisher.
At the repair station, a quiet girl frowned as she heard this through the headset. She didn't warn Hayley not to get careless, only letting out a long sigh. Against Morgan, this was the moment when caution was needed most.
It was exactly what Hannah had taught them. Despite that, clearly, Hayley had forgotten it herself.
Luli stood up, sliding her Duel Disk into her D-Wheel. She was ready for the next duel.
If Hayley let her temper get the better of her, there was no point in wasting words.
"I activate the effect of Felis, Lightsworn Archer!"
"By tributing this card, I destroy one monster on your field, and then I send the top three cards of my Deck to the Graveyard."
"I destroy your Shaddoll Falcon!"
Felis drew her bow, pouring all her skill and experience into a single golden arrow. As she released it, her body began to fragment, vanishing completely.
The arrow pierced through Morgan's set card, shattering her last defense.
Hayley burst into excited laughter. Among the three cards she had just milled was another monster that could be Special Summoned. For her, the more attackers, the better.
And beyond Felis's effect, Lumina would also trigger her effect whenever a Lightsworn monster's effect activated, letting her mill three more cards. That meant Hayley could send six more cards to the Graveyard in total.
"I activate the effect of Wulf, Lightsworn Beast!"
"When this card is sent from the Deck to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon it!"
An armored beast-warrior appeared, his silver armor gleaming. Beneath it rippled solid muscle, and his glowing claws and sharp staff radiated a holy power.
[Wulf, Lightsworn Beast] Level 4│LIGHT│Beast-Warrior│2100 ATK / 300 DEF
"Its Attack is actually 2100?!"
Jade's eyes widened. With Morgan's field empty, these two monsters could deal 2900 damage. It wasn't fatal; regardless, it would weigh heavily on the rest of the duel.
Anyhow, Jade was already eliminated. All she could do was pray for Morgan.
Hayley, however, didn't hesitate to declare her attack.
"Battle! Wulf, Lightsworn Beast, direct attack!"
The beast-warrior charged at Morgan, his claws slashing down. Morgan's Life Points immediately dropped by 1900.
After the attacks ended, Morgan was left with just 5100 Life Points. Against two opponents who still had nearly full LP, victory seemed impossible.
The audience shook their heads.
"It's over. With no monsters, Morgan's going to be pressured the whole way."
"A three-on-one really is too much. Facing three different Decks in a row… even Morgan can't handle tricks like this."
"At this rate, they won't even need their third player."
Despite that, Morgan didn't panic. As long as she still had cards to start her plays, the duel was far from over. Aleister was already back in her hand, and with Shaddoll Schism as well, Hayley's two monsters weren't enough to stop her.
Morgan smiled.
"My turn—draw!"
...
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