"What...?" Akasha's blue eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the shield in front of her shatter. "I remember as long as I activate this card..."
"As long as you activate this card, all attack position monsters on the opponent's side of the field will be destroyed, right?" Hoshino, smiling, helped finish Akasha's half-spoken sentence.
Akasha bit her lip and nodded heavily, her gaze shifting toward Hoshino.
"But unfortunately, Akasha-chan," Hoshino continued, "because of the effect of the Field Spell Card [Wonderland], Lily monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects!"
[①: As long as this card is on the field, the ATK and DEF of your [Lily] monsters increase by 300, and they cannot be destroyed by card effects. Non-[Heroic Spirit] monsters on your field cannot be Special Summoned.]
Hoshino pointed to her two monsters on the field. "And just by coincidence, both of my monsters are Lily monsters, so Mirror Force can't destroy anything!"
"Continue the attack, Nursery Rhyme!" With the barrier completely shattered, the ice block that Nursery Rhyme had fired continued flying toward Akasha's Lemon Magician Girl.
"Since Mirror Force had no effect, I'll activate another Trap Card." Now that Akasha understood that Mirror Force had been nullified by the Field Spell's effect, she seemed less flustered and pressed the button to activate her face-down card.
The card at Akasha's feet flipped open, blocking Nursery Rhyme's attack once again.
"I activate the Trap Card [Magic Cylinder]!"
[When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Target the attacking monster; negate the attack, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to its ATK.]
"What?! Another one of those nasty traps?" Hoshino exclaimed in frustration, unable to believe that such an adorable little girl would fill her deck with so many powerful traps.
"Hoshino-nee, even if your monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects, they can still be countered by effects like Magic Cylinder that reflect damage," Akasha explained. Two red cylinders appeared in front of her. One absorbed the ice block fired by Nursery Rhyme, while the other reflected it, sending it hurtling back toward Hoshino.
"Ouch!" Hoshino cried out, completely caught off guard as the reflected ice block struck her square in the head. Although it was just a holographic image, the overly realistic effect still sent a jolt of pain to her brain.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 4000 → 2900]
"I'm sorry, Master!" Nursery Rhyme, feeling ashamed, buried her face in her book, too embarrassed to look up.
Rubbing her head, Hoshino furrowed her brow. "It's okay, Nursery Rhyme. I didn't expect two nasty traps in a row either. But don't worry, we still have Saber Lily's attack!"
"Continue the attack, Saber Lily! Target Lemon Magician Girl! The opponent has no more face-down cards!"
"Yes, Master!" Saber Lily responded firmly. With her golden sword in hand, she charged forward. "Let this attack decide the battle! Sword of Selection, grant me power!"
The holy sword, glowing with golden light, was poised to easily slice through the fragile body of Lemon Magician Girl...
At least, it was supposed to.
"Hehe~" Lemon Magician Girl giggled as she fluttered her translucent fairy wings, skillfully dodging Lily's attack.
"What? How can this be?" Saber Lily exclaimed, shocked as she watched Lemon Magician Girl float into the air.
"When Lemon Magician Girl is selected as an attack target, her special effect is triggered!" Akasha declared as she sorted through her hand, announcing the effect.
[Once per turn, when this card is targeted for an attack, you can Special Summon 1 Spellcaster-Type monster from your hand, but its effects are negated. Then, the attack target is changed to that monster, and the attacking monster's ATK is halved.]
Though Akasha only had three cards in her hand, she hesitated for a moment before deciding. "Based on the effect, I'll Special Summon a Spellcaster-Type monster from my hand!"
A new Spellcaster monster materialized on the field as Akasha placed the card on her duel disk.
"Hey~" A familiar, sweet voice and an adorable figure caused Hoshino to freeze.
"The monster I Special Summon is [Dark Magician Girl]!"
[Dark Magician Girl★★★★★★ (6 Stars)][DARK][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 2000/DEF 1700]
The enchanting and adorable Dark Magician Girl, whose graceful form had long captivated Hoshino's heart, now floated in front of Akasha.
"Because of Lemon Magician Girl's effect, Hoshino-nee, your attacking monster's ATK is halved, and the attack target is switched to Dark Magician Girl!"
[Saber Lily 1500 → 750]
"Oh no!" Hoshino snapped out of her daze, realizing that now was not the time to be distracted by Dark Magician Girl's cute appearance.
"Counterattack, Dark Magician Girl! Dark Magic Attack!" In her childish voice, Akasha loudly called out the name of her signature move.
A purple-red magic sphere shot out from Dark Magician Girl's staff, exploding upon impact with Saber Lily.
"Ugh, I guess I still have much to learn!"
[Heroic Spirit - Artoria Pendragon Lily] destroyed.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 2900 → 1650]
"What's going on, Hoshino?!" Mokuba asked anxiously, his tone filled with worry. "Didn't you say you were confident with this new deck? You're completely overwhelmed!"
After all, in the last duel against Keith, the former U.S. champion, Hoshino had ended the match with 4100 life points remaining. Although the duel had been tough, she had essentially won with a near-full health bar.
But now, in just the first turn, her life points and field were already under heavy pressure.
"This isn't my fault!" Hoshino said seriously, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.
"This girl is strong!"
The blonde loli, Akasha, might look harmless, but she possessed the skills of a top-tier duelist.
And combined with her slightly ditzy personality, Hoshino found her completely unreadable.
"If I had to choose, I'd rather face Keith again!"
No wonder she was Marik's sister, the leader of the rare hunters. Fortunately, from the looks of it, Akasha didn't seem to possess any God Cards. Marik must have been extremely cautious.
"But I'm not someone to be easily defeated either!" Hoshino regained her composure and continued her play.
"After the battle phase, I'll activate the special effect of the Field Spell Card [Wonderland]!"
[You can target 1 [Lily] monster you control; return that [Lily] monster to the Deck, then Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower [Heroic Spirit] monster from your Deck.]
"Using the effect, I'll return Nursery Rhyme to the deck and Special Summon a new monster!" Hoshino declared, slamming the retrieved card onto the field.
"Go, Special Summon in Defense Position! [Heroic Spirit - Medea Lily]!"
[Heroic Spirit - Medea Lily ★★★★ (4 Stars)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000→1300/DEF 1500→1800]
[This card is also treated as [Heroic Spirit - Medea].]
"It's been a while, Master~" Medea Lily elegantly appeared like a magical girl, twirling her petite body and speaking with an innocent expression.
"Although I'm not very good at fighting, I'll still accomplish what I need to!"
"What a cute dueling monster." It seemed that Medea hit Mokuba's soft spot, as his face blushed slightly after she appeared.
After summoning Medea, Hoshino let out a slight sigh of relief. "Let's fight together, Medea! First, let's restore my Life Points!"
"Activate [Heroic Spirit - Medea Lily's] special effect!"
[This card's ①② effects can each be used once per turn. ①: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can activate this effect. Add 1 Spell or Trap Card that lists [Heroic Spirit - Medea] in its text from your Deck to your hand. ②: You can activate this during your Main Phase. Gain 1000 Life Points.]
"According to Medea's effect, I add the Trap Card Rule Breaker to my hand. Also, recite the incantation, Medea!" Hoshino gestured toward Medea Lily, who had already closed her eyes and begun chanting on the field.
"Leave it to me, Master!" With a determined voice that didn't match her small frame, her cherry-like lips began the chant.
"May this world be free of harm, and may no one suffer... Pain Breaker!"
A gentle, starlight-like magic covered Hoshino. The warm feeling, like basking in sunlight, made her let out a long sigh of relief.
"So beautiful!" Mokuba stood nearby, staring blankly at the radiant scene, muttering in awe.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 1650 → 2650]
"Ah, that was refreshing! Such a satisfying heal!" Hoshino, now comfortably above the danger line in Life Points, made a comment like someone soaking in a hot bath.
Meanwhile, across from her, Akasha's watery blue eyes seemed to hold a trace of frustration as she stared at Hoshino's sudden recovery.
"What's wrong, Akasha-chan? Did my healing mess up your plans?" Hoshino, having keenly noticed Akasha's subtle change in expression, raised an eyebrow with a knowing smile.
"No." Akasha replied honestly in her usual calm tone, unaffected by Hoshino's teasing.
"Such an obedient little girl, I almost feel bad for teasing you~" Hoshino, slightly thrown off by Akasha's straightforwardness, felt a bit awkward about her earlier taunt.
"I'll set three cards face-down and end my turn!" Hoshino said boldly, inserting three cards into the duel disk's spell and trap zone.
Hoshino's remaining cards: 3
It was only at this moment that Mokuba realized just how many moves Hoshino had pulled off during this turn, and yet by the end, she still had a full hand of 6 cards.
"What... kind of strategy is this?" Mokuba, witnessing this for the first time, felt his worldview being shattered once again.
"It's Akasha's turn now!" Even Mokuba had noticed the unusual flow of Hoshino's strategy, so Akasha was undoubtedly aware of it too. "Draw!"
After a quick glance at her hand, Akasha's expression visibly relaxed, indicating she had drawn a good card.
"I activate a Spell Card from my hand..." Akasha swiftly placed it on her oversized duel disk.
"[Heavy Storm]."
[Heavy Storm: Destroys all Spell and Trap Cards on the field.]
"Damn, that card!" Mokuba bit his lip and exclaimed, "This is bad for Hoshino!"
Though the effect of destroying all spells and traps on the field seemed double-edged, Akasha currently had no cards in her Spell or Trap Zone. On the other hand, Hoshino had three set cards plus the active Field Spell. If this card's effect went through, Hoshino, with no backrow left, would be at a significant disadvantage.
"By this effect, I destroy all of Hoshino-nee's backrow." Akasha said calmly, awaiting the incoming storm.
"???" Akasha's usually calm expression finally showed confusion.
"Strange, isn't it?" Meanwhile, Hoshino's triumphant smile indicated that she had done something behind the scenes.
"Dueling with you really requires constant vigilance, Akasha-chan." Holding up the already-activated card, Hoshino pointed at Medea Lily on the field.
"No more hiding, Medea~"
"Hehe, so I've been found out~" Medea playfully stuck out her little red tongue and revealed the hidden Noble Phantasm.
"This is the Counter Trap [Rule Breaker] that I just added to my hand."
[Rule Breaker Counter Trap Effect: If you have [Heroic Spirit - Medea] on your field, this card can be activated from your hand. ①: When a Spell/Trap is activated, if you control a [Heroic Spirit] monster, you can activate this card. Negate that activation, return it to the owner's Deck, and during this turn, your opponent cannot activate cards with the same name as that card.]
"What a useful card." Hoshino praised while looking at Medea's twisted dagger-like Noble Phantasm.
Although Rule Breaker is classified as a Noble Phantasm, its function as a weapon is virtually nonexistent. Instead, it nullifies the magic contracts or entities born from magic by resetting them to their pre-magic state.
If it could break contracts and even magic-based lifeforms, countering a storm made of magic was child's play.
Even though this Counter Trap could be used from the hand as long as Medea was present, considering Akasha's trap-heavy deck, Hoshino felt more secure by setting it on the field.
"Now your plan to destroy my backrow has failed. Let's see what else you've got, Akasha-chan!"
"Hoshino-nee, don't forget that I still have the upper hand in terms of monsters." Akasha quietly reminded her, pointing out that her monsters were currently stronger than Hoshino's. Yet, Hoshino acted as if she held the advantage.
"Akasha-chan, just having stronger monsters doesn't give you that much of an advantage~" Hoshino's mischievous smile clearly showed she had something up her sleeve.
(*****)
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