Ritter suddenly drew a card, but his expression darkened right after. It was Foolish Burial. Because it was a Spell Card, the moment he drew it, it was destroyed. Just as he expected, the instant Foolish Burial entered his hand, the effect of Eradicator Epidemic Virus activated, immediately destroying it and sending it to the Graveyard.
The chance to load his Graveyard vanished just like that, leaving Ritter quite annoyed. Albeit, he still had Dramaturge of Despia on his field, and with 3000 Attack, it was more than enough to deal heavy damage to Morgan.
And in his Graveyard, Fairy Tail - Snow's effect could still activate, letting her jump out from the Graveyard. A 3000 Attack monster plus 1850 more damage—even if it couldn't wipe out all of Morgan's Life Points, it would still leave her in a perilously dangerous spot. If Morgan made even the slightest mistake, this duel would be over.
With that in mind, Ritter launched his attack declaration without hesitation.
"Battle! Dramaturge of Despia, direct attack on the player!"
On Morgan's field, there was only a Dimension Barrier, unable to block this attack. Dramaturge's strike landed immediately, slicing away 3000 of Morgan's Life Points. Seeing the attack succeed, Ritter felt a rush of joy and pressed the advantage, activating Snow's effect in the Graveyard.
"At this moment, I activate the effect of Fairy Tail - Snow in the Graveyard!"
"By banishing seven cards from the Graveyard, I Special Summon this card to the field!"
Fairy Tail - Snow instantly appeared on the field. Seeing this, Isla's expression shifted—she hadn't expected Ritter to make a Special Summon at this point. Monsters Special Summoned during the Battle Phase could still attack. That meant Morgan would be forced to take another 1850 damage.
This left Morgan with only… 150 Life Points!
Isla's face turned pale. As a duelist, she knew all too well what it meant to be left with just 150 Life Points.
Like a candle flickering in the wind.
Sure, Morgan had previously forced her Life Points down to unimaginable lows, but that had been the specialty of her Dinomorphia Deck. Even with locked Life Points, the deck's resistance was high enough to not fear direct attacks or effect damage.
Although now Morgan only had a Field Spell and a face-down of unknown identity. That was no defense at all.
And since Dramaturge's attack had already gone through, it meant Morgan had no other means to block that strike.
Thinking this, Isla looked at Morgan with worry, hoping she could still find an opening despite being on the edge.
Meanwhile, Akiyama stared blankly at the scene before him. Ritter defeating Morgan was something he simply couldn't accept.
To him, being at locked Life Points didn't mean defeat. As long as no further attacks went through, wasn't victory still possible? After all, he'd never experienced lock Life Points himself—his Timelord Deck let him get through nearly every match unharmed.
So he couldn't truly grasp what it felt like.
Around them, the spectators cried out, especially the girls who idolized Ritter, screaming his name like he'd already secured victory. The rest, though, watched nervously, caring only for the duel's outcome.
"Didn't expect such a reversal at this point—Ritter must be overjoyed inside."
"Still, even this attack didn't finish Morgan off. As long as she still has Life Points, it's not a loss!"
"Yeah… what's the difference between 150 and 3000 Life Points?"
"Still stuck in old-school thinking? As long as your field is set up, even ten thousand Life Points can be wiped out in a turn!"
Hearing the chatter, the atmosphere grew even tenser. Anyhow, Morgan stayed calm. She'd been through Life Point locks before—she was practically a veteran.
She knew Ritter had no further moves after Snow's attack. It would soon pass to her turn.
And with Dimension Barrier in play, she had no need to worry about Ritter going into a Fusion Summon.
"Battle continues! Fairy Tail - Snow, direct attack on the player!"
Snow's attack forced Morgan into a locked Life Point state. Though instead of relief, Ritter grew tense—because though victory was just one attack away, he couldn't shake the feeling he wouldn't land it.
"My turn is over."
After a short pause, Ritter decisively ended his turn.
All eyes turned to Morgan. Her next draw would decide the duel's direction. Every draw was a moment of suspense—after all, it could determine victory or defeat.
Under everyone's gaze, Morgan placed her hand on the top of her Deck and declared loudly:
"My turn—draw!"
She glanced at her card and was surprised—it was another Dimension Barrier. Though it gave her another card to restrict Ritter, it wasn't a chainable play, which was a bit frustrating.
That said, with Labrynth Labyrinth on the field, she could activate her set card, trigger her Field Spell, and directly pull Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle from the Graveyard.
"I activate the Trap Card, Dimension Barrier!"
"Declare one monster type—Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Pendulum—to activate."
"For this turn, neither player can Special Summon monsters of the declared type, and all such monsters on the field have their effects negated."
"I declare Fusion Monsters!"
Ritter froze for a moment, then realized what that meant: he couldn't summon Fusion Monsters this turn. For a Fusion Deck, being unable to summon was suffocating.
Nonetheless, with Dramaturge's 3000 Attack still present, one clean strike could finish the duel.
Of course, Morgan wouldn't give him that chance. Activating the Trap at the start of her turn was only to trigger her Field Spell's second effect.
"At this moment, I activate the effect of Labrynth Labyrinth!"
"When you activate a Normal Trap Card other than Welcome Labrynth, you can Special Summon one Fiend monster from your hand or Graveyard."
"I Special Summon Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle from my Graveyard!"
The dignified big sister appeared once more on the field. While her Attack wasn't as high as Dramaturge's, she could reset Trap Cards from the Graveyard for the next turn's setup.
And thanks to Dimension Barrier, Ritter chose not to activate Branded in Red, while Morgan also refrained from destroying Snow. After all, if Snow revived next turn, she could flip Lovely Labrynth face-down, sealing her effect—a risk Morgan had to avoid.
"I activate Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle's effect!"
"Set Welcome Labrynth from my Graveyard back onto the field!"
"Then I Set one card and end my turn!"
Morgan set her remaining Dimension Barrier face-down. She had to ensure Ritter couldn't summon Fusion Monsters. If another Mirrorjade came out to clear her field, that would spell trouble.
Seeing Morgan end her turn like this, Jade showed a puzzled look.
"Why didn't Morgan take the chance to destroy Snow? Every bit of damage counts!"
Isla shot her a glance and sighed.
"You need to look at the bigger picture. Sure, she could've destroyed Snow for some Life Point damage."
"But Snow's threat in the Graveyard is far greater than on the field."
"If Snow revives next turn, she can flip Lovely Labrynth face-down, preventing her from activating her effect. Then Morgan would be in big trouble."
Jade finally understood, a chill running through her. If it had been her, she would've gone for the attack without a second thought.
Seeing Morgan hold back, Ritter felt uneasy. To Special Summon Snow, he'd already banished fourteen cards, leaving his Graveyard sparse. Most of his setup was gone.
This was dangerous, especially since all three Fallen of Albaz were now in the Graveyard—two milled, one sent by Fusion Summon. If he summoned Snow again, he could kiss further Albaz Fusions goodbye.
So his position wasn't as favorable as it seemed. And with Fusion Summons locked, he felt cornered.
"My turn, draw!"
Ritter swiftly drew. It was the last turn of Eradicator Epidemic Virus's effect. Unfortunately, it was yet another Spell Card—Branded Opening.
Two straight draws destroyed on sight. Even Ritter couldn't hold his frustration.
Angrily, he rushed into the Battle Phase.
"Battle! Dramaturge of Despia attacks Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle!"
As Dramaturge lunged at Lovely Labrynth, Morgan suddenly flipped her set card. A Welcome Trap chaining with her Field Spell could cleanly take out one of Ritter's cards.
"Now, I activate my face-down, Welcome Labrynth!"
"I Special Summon Arianna the Labrynth Servant from my Deck!"
...
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