Chapter 294: The Body Moved on Its Own

Chapter 294: The Body Moved on Its Own

"[Archfiend Black Skull Dragon], Attack [Harpie Lady 2]! Black Magic Thunder Flame Bullet!"

Following Joey Wheeler's command, [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon] spat out an energy orb wreathed in lightning and Black Flame, striking towards [Harpie Lady 2]. Although she knew resistance was futile struggle, Mai Valentine responded with fighting spirit, unwilling to be looked down upon, "I won't let you underestimate me!"

"[Harpie Lady 2], let's meet it head-on too! Harpie Shock!"

However, spirit is one thing, but the gap in ATK cannot be bridged by mere courage. The moment [Harpie Lady 2] was hit by [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon]'s Attack, it was Destroyed, and Mai Valentine took the expected amount of Damage.

[Mai Valentine: 2700 → 1000 LP]

Black Flame and lightning landed beside her, but Mai Valentine showed no fear. Instead, she immediately Activated the Effect of a Card in her Backrow, "Because [Harpie Lady 2] was Destroyed by your [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon], I Activate the Effect of [Hysteric Party] once per Turn!"

From the full-length mirror in Mai Valentine's Backrow, another [Harpie] Monster appeared.

[Harpie Lady 3][4☆/Wind]

[Winged Beast Type/Effect]

[1300/1400 → 1500/1600]

[Harpie Lady 3], Summoned to the Field, was wreathed in fierce winds. At the same time, Mai Valentine explained, "Like my other sisters, the Card Name of [Harpie Lady 3] can also be treated as [Harpie Lady]. Furthermore, because the Effect of [Harpie's Hunting Ground] is a Mandatory Activation, when I Summon a [Harpie Lady], I must choose one Card to Destroy."

"There are no Spell/Trap Cards on my Field," Joey Wheeler confirmed his Field, where only the Monster [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon] existed. "That means, Mai, you have to Destroy your own Card now."

"Hmph, you don't think this Effect is a drawback, do you, Joey Wheeler?" Mai Valentine glanced at the Card in Joey Wheeler's hand. "Although I don't know what that Card in your hand is, now that [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon] has already Attacked, you have no Monsters left to Destroy my [Harpie Lady]s."

"Ladies?"

"That's right, the Card I'm choosing to Destroy is [Hysteric Party] on my Field!" As Mai Valentine confirmed the target of the Effect, the whirlwind around [Harpie Lady 3] easily shattered the large full-length mirror in Mai Valentine's Backrow. "When [Hysteric Party] on my Field is Destroyed by an opponent's Effect or the Effect of my [Harpie] Card, I can Activate its second Effect!"

"From my Graveyard, I can Special Summon one [Harpie] Monster!" Mai Valentine looked at the figure that appeared on her Field after the mirror shattered and said, "Return from the Graveyard, [Harpie's Pet Dragon]!"

"Gah~!!"

A slender pink Flying Dragon appeared amidst the scattered mirror fragments, responding to Mai Valentine's call with a Dragon roar. However, upon seeing the majestic [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon] on Joey Wheeler's Field, it immediately cowered, shrinking back on Mai Valentine's Field.

[Harpie's Pet Dragon][7☆/Wind]

[Dragon-Type/Effect]

[2000/2500 → 2300/2800]

"When did that Card get there... So that's it, from the [Dark World Dealings] just now?" Joey Wheeler was somewhat surprised when Mai Valentine had Sent [Harpie's Pet Dragon] to the Graveyard, but he quickly remembered that when he Sent [Summoned Skull] to the Graveyard earlier, Mai Valentine had also Sent a Card to the Graveyard.

"[Harpie's Pet Dragon]'s Effect can increase its ATK/DEF based on the number of [Harpie Lady]s on the Field. This Effect has no upper limit. But anyway, you can't Attack anymore, right?"

Saying this, Mai Valentine glanced at the top Card of her Deck, thinking to herself:

'This feeling... it's [Successor of Creation]. Joey Wheeler can't Attack this Turn, so as long as it reaches the next Turn, if I use [Successor of Creation] to Tribute [Harpie Lady 3], [Harpie's Pet Dragon]'s ATK will be boosted to 3300, which is just enough to take care of that [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon].'

'It seems I still have the upper hand, Joey Wheeler!'

Just as Mai Valentine had finished planning everything that would happen next, she heard Joey Wheeler across from her suddenly start laughing.

"In that case, I just won't Attack."

"What?"

Joey Wheeler flipped over the Card in his hand, revealing its true form—the Quick-Play Spell Card, [Burial from a Different Dimension].

"A Card that targets up to three Monsters that are Banished by either player and returns them to the Graveyard?" Mai Valentine recognized this Card. In an era where there were few ways to return Monsters after they were Banished, many people included Cards with similar Effects in their Decks to prevent important Cards from being accidentally Banished and becoming inaccessible. Mai Valentine herself carried one.

"I will now Activate this Card's Effect, targeting three of my Banished Monsters to return them to the Graveyard." As he spoke, Joey Wheeler took out three Cards from his pocket. Two of them were indeed [Summoned Skull] and [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], which Joey Wheeler had Banished from the game earlier to Summon [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon].

The other Card was [Ground Star Soldier], one of the four Cards Joey Wheeler had Banished from his Deck after using [Card of Fate].

Mai Valentine looked at Joey Wheeler with some confusion. He was just returning three Monsters to the Graveyard, yet he wore a smile as if victory was assured. "It's just three Monsters returning to your Graveyard. You shouldn't have Cards like [Dragon's Mirror] that can Fusion Summon using Monsters in the Graveyard anymore, right, Joey Wheeler?"

Joey Wheeler nodded. "This [Dragon's Mirror] Card was given to me by Hayato, a symbol of our Bond. I only have one. Besides, even if I had a second [Dragon's Mirror] in my hand, during the Battle Phase, [Dragon's Mirror], which isn't a Quick-Play Spell Card, cannot be Activated at all."

Not only that, but Mai Valentine wasn't like Joey Wheeler, who would carelessly leave [Time Wizard] in Attack Position for others to Attack. Both [Harpie Lady 3] and [Harpie's Pet Dragon] on her Field were in Defense Position. Even if Joey Wheeler Summoned some new Monster to Attack, as long as it didn't have Piercing Damage, it wouldn't inflict Damage.

Just as Mai Valentine was guarding against Joey Wheeler using any other Cards, Joey Wheeler spoke, "Alright, I end my Battle Phase."

"Huh?" Mai Valentine was also a bit surprised. Just moments ago he seemed so confident, why would Joey Wheeler suddenly Declare the end of the Battle Phase now? "It's ending just like that?"

"Yeah, after all, I don't have any Monsters left to Attack with." Joey Wheeler spread his hands, but then pointed downwards. "However, the Power of [Red-Eyes] sleeping in my Graveyard is only just beginning to show itself."

"At the end of the Battle Phase in which the Fusion Summoned [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon] engaged in Battle, I Activate its Effect!" As Joey Wheeler Declared the Activation of the Effect, the [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon] that had Attacked raised its demonic Dragon claws above its head, then slammed them heavily towards the ground!

"Boom!"

The ground shook violently. The center of the desert where [Harpie's Hunting Ground] was located was smashed into a large pit by [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon]'s sheer brute force. Within the pit, the Black Flame from its body transformed into tangible lava, quickly filling the pit and forming a natural lava pool.

The dark red lava pool formed in just a few seconds, then suddenly boiled like water being heated. To Mai Valentine's astonished gaze, a massive figure suddenly flew up from the lava, covered in lava, and surged towards the sky!

Joey Wheeler also explained at the right time, "I can choose one [Red-Eyes] Normal Monster from my Graveyard, inflict Damage to the opponent Duelist equal to that Monster's ATK, and then return that Monster to the Deck!"

Covered in a coat of lava, what else could it be but the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] that had just returned to Joey Wheeler's Graveyard? [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] dissipated into photon a few seconds after erupting from the lava, returning to Joey Wheeler's Deck. And the lava it had been covered in, having lost its anchor, fell directly towards Mai Valentine!

"Are you kidding me?!" Seeing the scorching lava falling towards her, Mai Valentine forgot that the image before her was merely a Virtual Projection due to the overly realistic visuals. Instinctively, she covered her head and crouched down, closing her eyes in fear.

But something felt strange to her. Let alone the heat of the lava, even the impact she should have received didn't come.

She opened her eyes in confusion, only to find Joey Wheeler standing in front of her, arms spread wide, shielding her head, also with his eyes closed and looking scared.

"Ah, huh?" Almost the second Mai Valentine opened her eyes, Joey Wheeler also opened his eyes in confusion, saying with a puzzled expression, "Why doesn't it hurt at all?"

"Idiot, have you gone mad from Dueling? This is just a Virtual Projection image." From the audience seats, Hayato felt like he was force-fed a mouthful of sweetness and retorted.

The lava passed through both Mai Valentine and Joey Wheeler's bodies and fell back to the ground. Although there was no impact, Mai Valentine still took Damage to her Life Points due to [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon]'s Effect.

[Mai Valentine: 1000 LP → 0]

"Uh, um, sorry about that." Joey Wheeler belatedly realized he had made a fool of himself. "Seeing your scared expression just now, my body just moved on its own."

"Idiot, who was scared?!" Mai Valentine abruptly turned her head away, hiding her face with her blonde hair so Joey Wheeler couldn't see, looking quite angry as she quickly put distance between herself and Joey Wheeler. However, while Joey Wheeler couldn't see, everyone in the audience seats saw Mai Valentine's red face clearly.

And Iso also pronounced the result of the Duel, "The winner has been decided. Player Mai Valentine's Life Points have been Reduced to Zero, so the winner of this Duel is—"

"Joey Wheeler!"