Chapter 106: Cú Chulainn: I'm Really Lucky.
"A duel?"
Cú Chulainn pointed at himself in disbelief. "Who? With me? Kid, do you even know who I am?"
"Nope. But do you know who I am?"Matou Shinji countered, thumbing at himself.
Cú Chulainn did recognize Matou Shinji as the current first-place contestant in this duel tournament, but he didn't think much of it. After all, Servants from the Holy Grail War typically didn't participate directly. Judging by the kid's deck, he figured Shinji wouldn't stand a chance against a Servant.
"Well, since you're so confident, let's duel then!"
Cú Chulainn accepted Matou Shinji's challenge. Having been kept from fighting for a long time due to his Master's orders, he was itching for action.
"Remember my name—Cú Chulainn. You'll be defeated by me!"
The duel space expanded, and the Hundred-Faces quickly rushed out from the shadows, carrying livestreaming equipment.
[We can see that contestant Matou Shinji has accepted a challenge from Gilgamesh. He's the first to initiate a duel against another Servant—Cú Chulainn, the Child of Light from Ireland. This is a mortal challenging mythology itself! Can Matou Shinji continue his undefeated streak? Let's watch and find out!]
"I'm not interested in bullying kids. You can have the first move."
Cú Chulainn graciously gave Shinji the first turn.
"Giving me the initiative? Then I won't hold back!"
Facing a Servant for the first time, it was impossible for Shinji not to be nervous. But his brash personality wouldn't allow him to back down from Gilgamesh's challenge either. And if he had an advantage, there was no way he was going to pass it up.
"I'll go first!"
"First, I activate [Wormcraft Workshop]! I Special Summon a [Engraved Worm] from my deck in Attack Position!"
[Engraved Worm]ATK: 500
"More of those bugs..."Cú Chulainn grimaced in disgust. Although the Celts were pretty open-minded about a lot of things, he still found this kind of creature hard to stomach.
"I'm not like ordinary magi. I already knew you'd react that way. I'm not falling for it!"
"But that's fine. [Engraved Worm] has the trait of taking no battle damage. It can block two attacks as a shield, and it can absorb an enemy's destruction effect once. However you look at it, it's a great card!"
Shinji defended his worm card with righteous indignation, considering it one of his trump cards.
"The ancestor actually looks kinda handsome... just like me! Anyway, I activate the effect of [Makiri Zolgen]! I send this card to the graveyard to search for [Five Hundred Years of Obsession]!"
"[Five Hundred Years of Obsession] effect activates! I send [Matou Shinji] and [Wingblade Worm] to the graveyard from the deck, then Special Summon [Matou Zouken] from my hand!"
A mass of worms formed the silhouette of Matou Zouken.
[Matou Zouken]DEF: 2400
"Hehehe... yes, that's it. Keep winning. The Soul Crystal will be mine sooner or later."
Matou Zouken watched Shinji with a pleased expression.
Shinji smirked and set a card in his back row before ending his turn.
"2400 defense, huh? Pretty solid. But it's still not enough to stop me! My turn—draw!"
"First, I activate [Legacy of the Red Branch Knights]! I Special Summon myself, [Cú Chulainn]! from the deck!"
As the card was played, Cú Chulainn entered the battlefield.
[Cú Chulainn]ATK: 2500
"Now's the time!"
Shinji didn't fully know Cú Chulainn's deck, but he knew that summoning Cú Chulainn himself would be a major play—so seizing control was the obvious move.
"I activate the Trap Card—[False Attendant's Writings]! Cú Chulainn, serve me!"
A book with a red cover appeared before Cú Chulainn, forcibly switching his allegiance.
[Matou Shinji]LP: 4000 → 2500
[Cú Chulainn]ATK: 2500 → 1250
"Now you can't break through Grandpa's defense, can you?"
Shinji beamed triumphantly.
[Matou Shinji once again uses his signature theft strategy, seizing Cú Chulainn for himself! Rather than building his own field, he's turned an opponent's ace into his own ally! Viewers, what do you think of this psychological warfare tactic?]
[It's definitely high value—disrupting the opponent while strengthening yourself. Also, when is this game going public? I need to build a Matou deck!]
[He's nothing compared to Gilgamesh! How can this sneaky tactic even be called a proper duel!]
[I'm so excited! I'm so excited!]
[My humble opinion: the Engraved Worm needs an alternate art version.]
[Wait, why is that viewer crying? Oh, thinking about your own bad luck, huh...]
"Indeed! But that was exactly my goal!"
Cú Chulainn laughed heartily."Of course I knew you had a trap card to control enemy Servants. Summoning myself first was just a way to bait you—minimizing my real losses!"
"I now Normal Summon my Master, [Bazett]!"
A red-haired woman in a sharp suit stormed onto the battlefield.
"Cú Chulainn, this is..."
Bazett was not interested in the Soul Crystal; her main goal was to capture Caster. By rights, she shouldn't have been fighting here.
"Master, I had no choice. This seaweed-head came looking for a fight himself. Don't blame me!"Cú Chulainn shrugged."Let's teach him the difference in our strength."
Seeing Bazett nod in agreement, Cú Chulainn proceeded.
"[Bazett] effect: I discard a card from my hand to Special Summon [Fergus]!"
A burly, honest-looking man descended from the sky.
[Fergus]ATK: 2400
"Oh! Battle again! This is exciting! ...Wait, why is Cú Chulainn on the enemy's side?"
Fergus looked confusedly at Cú Chulainn standing across from him. He turned to Bazett:"Did that kid betray you?"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Cú Chulainn, known as the "Hound of Culann," wasn't someone whose loyalty could be questioned."This is someone else's effect, not my doing. Now hurry up and smash him! I want to get back to my own side."
"[Warrior's Boiling Blood] Effect 1! Target one Servant, toss a coin: if heads, it gains 1000 ATK; if tails, it gains 500 ATK, but will be destroyed at the end of the turn!"
Cú Chulainn tossed a coin—it spun in the air and landed on heads.
[Fergus]ATK: 2400 → 3400
"Looks like your luck's run out, kid! Battle phase—let's go!"
Cú Chulainn commanded Fergus to attack.