NOVEL WEB Chapter 20: DSMW [20]
[Elemental HERO Knospe] Level 3│EARTH│Plant│600 ATK
A budding flower hero, not yet fully bloomed, appeared on Irene's field.
'So Irene Austin really does use a HERO Deck,' Miles mused, slightly envious.
"Go, Knospe! Attack Aisha's face-down monster!"
With the summon complete, the battle phase immediately began. Elemental HERO Knospe's 600 ATK wasn't high.
But Irene attacked confidently because she knew Aisha's Deck inside out.
Roughly half of Aisha's low-level monsters couldn't withstand a 600 ATK hit.
A coin-flip.
"You lost the bet, Ren!"
Miles flipped Aisha's face-down monster card to reveal its identity.
"The monster I set in Defense Position is—White Duston!"
[White Duston] Level 1│LIGHT│Fiend│1000 DEF
From the flipped card emerged an adorable, floating monster with no ATK but solid DEF.
With 1000 DEF, it was just enough to fend off [Knospe].
"You take 400 damage as battle damage rebound."
"Lost the bet? You're jumping to conclusions, Aisha."
As Knospe clashed with Pixie, Irene quickly tossed out a Spell Card from her hand.
"Quick-Play Spell—Graceful Dice!"
A C-rank Spell Card.
[Effect: Roll 1 die. All monsters you control gain ATK and DEF equal to the result x100 until the end of the turn.]
Above the two cute monsters, a giant die floated into the air, hugged by a tiny angel.
"If we're gambling, this is where it really begins. Graceful Dice, boost Knospe's power!"
To break through White Duston's 1000 DEF, Irene needed to roll at least a 5.
Miles seemed to have the better odds—
At least, if he hadn't witnessed Irene's absurd dice luck during Royal Monopoly.
Result: 6
"You can't beat a cheater," Miles muttered under his breath.
"Graceful Dice gives Elemental HERO Knospe +600 ATK!"
[Elemental HERO Knospe, ATK: 600 → 1200]
With divine blessing, the blooming petals of Knospe tore through the innocent White Duston.
Only a faint wisp of smoke remained where the monster once floated.
"Turn end."
"At the end of your turn, I activate my Set Trap Card—[Human-Wave Tactics]!"
A C-rank Continuous Trap Card Aisha crafted using her Magic Points after the win against Kevin.
[Continuous Trap Effect: During the End Phase of each turn, Special Summon from your Deck 1 Level 2 or lower Normal Monster for each such monster of yours destroyed by battle that turn.]
Like Tri-Wight, it synergized perfectly with Aisha's low-level swarm Deck.
So long as Human-Wave Tactics remained on the field, for every weakling destroyed in battle that turn, another would rise from the Deck at the End Phase.
"Since White Duston was destroyed this turn, I can Special Summon one Level 2 or lower Normal Monster from my Deck."
Miles opened Aisha's Deck through the Elves' Eyes and picked the strongest defender among the weaklings.
"I Special Summon in Defense Position—Crowned by the World Chalice!"
[Crowned by the World Chalice] Level 2│WATER│Spellcaster│2100 DEF
With an impressive 2100 DEF for a low-level monster, the flat-chested blue-haired priestess touched down with delicate grace.
"That's the same card that gave Kevin a hard time. But Aisha, you didn't summon this monster before, did you?"
With her keen observation—or perhaps just her deep familiarity with Aisha—Irene saw through it immediately: Aisha had never used this card before.
"Even using cards you didn't originally have... You really have changed, Aisha. Though it makes sense. People grow. Staying still only makes you lose what matters."
"Lose what matters…" Miles frowned. That wasn't something cheerful Irene would normally say.
Aisha said, "She's probably thinking about what happened eight years ago..."
Only a childhood friend could understand what that meant. Aisha explained to Miles.
Despite her confident personality now, Irene had once been timid—even more so than Aisha.
When trouble came, she often hid behind little Aisha.
Until that incident…
Eddie Austin.
Second son of the Austin family—The brother who doted on Irene the most—No matter how much she misbehaved, Eddie would always fix it for her.
"Leave it to me, Ren."
No matter the danger, Eddie's warm, spring-like smile had once been Irene's greatest comfort.
…Until that day.
Aisha, Irene, and Eddie were caught in a Shadow Game orchestrated by cultists.
To protect the two girls, Eddie risked everything to face the cultist in a Duel.
All nations of the Continent of Elves outlaw Shadow Games—the stakes are too real. Each clash in a Shadow Game pits the Duelist's soul and life force against destruction.
In the end, Eddie used the Self-Destruct Button to take the cultist down with him.
He saved the girls.
Yet, the damage he took left his Elves' Eyes crippled. He could never Duel again.
"So that happened..."
Hearing Aisha's story, Miles couldn't help but reflect. Behind Irene's cheerful smile was a heavy past.
However, that smile also showed she hadn't fallen into despair. What she saw that day pushed her to walk the path of growth.
Ending her turn, Irene smiled.
"Only by moving forward and getting stronger can you protect the ones you care about. I will become a Hero who guards her friends and her family!"
...
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