"Duel!!" ×2
[Armed Tyrant Dragon, LP: 4000]
[Golden Princess of Gun and Shield, LP: 4000]
Alicia glanced at her Duel Disk and declared, "My turn first—draw!!"
"First, I Normal Summon Marauding Captain in Defense Position. Then, according to Captain's effect, I Special Summon Elemental HERO Clayman from my hand!!"
[Marauding Captain, DEF 400]
[Elemental HERO Clayman, DEF 2000]
"Next, I activate the Spell Card Downbeat. I Tribute 1 face-up monster I control; then I Special Summon from my Deck 1 monster with the same Type and Attribute, but 1 Level lower than the Tributed monster.
"I choose to Tribute Marauding Captain and Special Summon Hero Kid from my Deck!!"
[Hero Kid, DEF 600]
"Then Hero Kid's effect activates! When this card is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon any number of Hero Kids from my Deck. I Special Summon two more Hero Kids!!"
[Hero Kid, DEF 600] ×3
"Next, I Set three cards. Turn end!" Alicia looked at the four monsters on her field. She hadn't used this setup in a long time—but it seemed she wasn't rusty at all.
Around her, the audience reacted with mixed awe and contempt.
"Amazing! She summoned four monsters in one turn!"
"Amazing, my ass, they're all small fry. Against Armed Dragons, she'll get wiped in no time!"
"Crush her, Armed Tyrant Dragon!!"
"Let me hear her scream, Armed Tyrant Dragon!!"
"Go for it, Armed Tyrant Dragon!!"
Hearing the cheers aimed at him, the boy known as Armed Tyrant Dragon felt troubled.
Because at that moment, he suddenly suspected the identity of the person standing opposite him. If she was who he thought she was… then he had a very real chance of losing this duel.
Albeit maybe not. After all, this tactic wasn't unique to that one woman. Others could copy it.
With that thought, he declared: "My turn—draw!!"
He scanned his hand. His eyes widened—then a grin crept up.
"Perfect hand!!"
"I Normal Summon Vanguard of the Dragon!!"
[Vanguard of the Dragon, ATK 1700]
"Vanguard of the Dragon's effect: I send 1 Dragon monster from my hand to the Graveyard, and this card gains 300 ATK. I discard Armed Dragon LV5 and increase Vanguard of the Dragon's ATK by 300!"
[Vanguard of the Dragon, ATK 1700 → 2000]
"Next, I activate the Spell Card Level Modulation! My opponent draws 2 cards, then I Special Summon 1 monster with 'LV' in its name from my Graveyard, ignoring its Summoning conditions. The monster summoned this way cannot attack, activate its effects, or apply its effects this turn.
"Go on—draw two cards!"
Alicia blinked. "There's actually a card like this? It feels even more fun than Card of Sanctity!"
Yuui, beside her, tugged at the corner of his mouth. Someone really used Level Modulation.
Still, she drew two cards.
"Now, Level Modulation lets me Special Summon Armed Dragon LV5 from my Graveyard—ignoring the Summoning conditions!!"
A deep roar echoed. A massive dragon clad in black armor, covered in drills and blades, every inch a weapon, descended onto the field.
[Armed Dragon LV5, ATK 2400]
"So this is an Armed Dragon… it really does look pretty strong," Alicia observed the black‑red dragon.
The boy smirked and revealed another card.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card Level Up! I send an 'LV' monster I control to the Graveyard. Then, the monster written on that card is Special Summoned from my hand or Deck—ignoring its Summoning conditions.
"I send Armed Dragon LV5 to the Graveyard and Special Summon—weapon incarnate, the dragon that suppresses all—Armed Dragon LV7, descend!!"
As the boy shouted, a sphere of light enveloped Armed Dragon LV5. Its body swelled, its already‑useless wings twisted into a pair of blades, its armor thickened and grew more vicious, and every weapon on its body gleamed with a chilling, murderous light.
"Rooooar!!!"
The enormous dragon—over four meters tall even while crouching—let out an earth‑shaking roar, its savage aura sweeping across the arena.
[Armed Dragon LV7, ATK 2800]
"There it is… the strongest ace of the duelist known as Armed Tyrant Dragon! Possessing the overwhelming power to annihilate all monsters—Armed Dragon LV7 has appeared!!!"
"Kill that woman, Armed Dragon!!"
"That dragon looks like the embodiment of every weapon ever made!"
"I wonder what expression that woman will make when all her monsters are wiped out!"
"Looks like it's going to be a one‑turn kill. Boring duel. What a shame about those five thousand coins!"
On the field, the boy declared loudly: "I activate Armed Dragon LV7's effect! I send 1 monster from my hand to the Graveyard. Then, all monsters your opponent controls with ATK less than or equal to the sent monster's ATK are destroyed.
"I discard the 2500‑ATK Wattaildragon, and destroy all monsters you control with less than 2500 ATK—Armed Destruction!!"
The card hit the Graveyard, and a blue‑electric‑tailed dragon spirit flew into Armed Dragon LV7's body. Blue lightning erupted from LV7's frame as it charged toward Alicia's field.
A sweeping motion like a meteor hammer—blue lightning swallowed all the monsters on Alicia's side.
"Hahaha! Now you're—"
The boy's voice suddenly stuck in his throat.
Because all four monsters on Alicia's field were still there… hand‑in‑hand, wrapped in radiant, multicolored light.
"What…?"
Alicia said calmly, "The Continuous Trap Scrum Force. While I control two or more face‑up Defense Position monsters, my Defense Position monsters cannot be targeted by your effects, nor destroyed by your effects.
"So you cannot destroy my monsters by card effect."
"Scrum Force… Isn't that an ultra‑rare card!?"
"Damn rich people! Even THAT card she can get!?"
"That card's not even that good! How is it rare!?"
"Hmph! If you can get me one, I'll buy it for five hundred gold coins. Bring me one if you can!!"
The appearance of Scrum Force stirred even greater jealousy among the knowledgeable spectators—and it also made the boy increasingly certain of Alicia's identity.
Nonetheless, that didn't mean he would give up.
"Hmph! If I can't destroy them with effects, I'll destroy them by battle! Vanguard of the Dragon—attack Hero Kid!!"
The dragon‑spearman charged forward.
Alicia raised her hand: "I activate my face‑down—Trap Card Attack Guidance Armor! When a monster declares an attack, I can either destroy that monster or redirect the attack to another monster on the field. I choose the second effect—redirect Vanguard of the Dragon's attack to your Armed Dragon LV7!"
A bizarre oni‑faced armor materialized around Armed Dragon LV7. The dragon inspected the armor curiously—it actually thought it looked good.
Meanwhile, Vanguard of the Dragon let out a crazed roar and charged straight at its own boss.
Armed Dragon LV7 (Taunt Aura): Are you stupid? You can't even tell who the boss is?
Vanguard of the Dragon (Taunted): DIEEEE!!
BOOM!!
With a single contemptuous slap, Armed Dragon LV7 obliterated Vanguard of the Dragon, and the boy took the resulting damage.
[Armed Tyrant Dragon, LP: 4000 → 3200]
Seeing this, Alicia finally felt her frustration ease.
Alicia: Yes… this is my style of dueling.
Yuui: Yep. You're definitely built for troll tactics.
...
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