NOVEL WEB Chapter 22: DSMW [22]
A HERO's blow pierced straight through the 0 ATK Crowned by the World Chalice.
"Attacking monster against attacking monster—2100 points of battle damage. That's another win for me, Ai-chan."
From childhood until now, every Duel between Irene and Aisha had ended in Irene's victory.
And this one looked to be no different.
"Hahaha, pay up, Irena."
The second-year students who had bet on Aisha losing were all smiles, acting like fortune had smiled on them.
"Not so fast." Pressing down the wide brim of her witch's hat, Irena left only a mysterious smile.
"What's there to wait for? Don't tell me you're trying to weasel out, Irena."
"The Duel's not over yet. Just watch~"
[Aisha, LP: 2000]
"Huh? What the—she took that hit in Attack Position, and her Life Points didn't drop at all!"
Seeing Aisha's LP still steady at 2000, the second-years who were expecting a gambling payout rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
In the Spell/Trap Zone on Aisha's field, another Continuous Trap Card had been flipped up during the battle between HERO and priestess.
"—Continuous Trap Card activated: Spirit Barrier!"
[While you control a monster, you take no battle damage.]
A faint golden barrier shimmered in front of Aisha—a C-rank Spellcraft Trap Card.
Its defensive power was no match for cards like Negate Attack or Mirror Force in terms of practical protection or counterattack potential.
Continuous Trap Cards may look enticing since they stay on the field, but Spirit Barrier's effect only prevented Aisha from taking battle damage as long as she controlled monsters.
If her field was wiped and a direct attack followed, she'd still take a fatal blow.
"Used that Trap to block the damage, huh?" Irene said, "Gotta admit, Ai-chan—you've gotten harder to beat."
Continuing the Battle Phase—since Sparkman didn't end things in one hit—the other HERO, Elemental HERO Knospe, attacked Aisha's second face-down monster.
[Volcanic Rat] Level 2│FIRE│Pyro│500 DEF
Flipped from face-down Defense Position, the small, crimson squirrel-like monster adorably squeaked—yet lost by a narrow 100 Defense points.
"Squeak squeak!"
"I Set one card. Turn end."
Irene tossed a Spell/Trap card into her back row and ended her offensive push for the turn.
And the moment Irene's turn ended, Aisha's Continuous Trap triggered again.
"Is it really just that I've gotten harder to beat now?" Miles said, "Continuous Trap Card Spirit Barrier, plus Continuous Trap Card Human-Wave Tactics—you probably haven't grasped what that really means."
Human-Wave Tactics activated during the End Phase allowed Aisha to Special Summon the same number of low-level Normal Monsters as were destroyed this turn.
"Since two of my monsters were destroyed this turn, I can Special Summon two more from the Deck!"
"No way!" Irene's round eyes went wide.
Two usually overlooked C-rank Trap Cards had unexpectedly created a surprising synergy.
With a mysterious grin under her witch's hat, Irena said, "Spirit Barrier keeps Aisha from taking damage while she controls monsters. And Human-Wave Tactics guarantees she'll have monsters."
"Absolute defense!" the second-years shouted.
In all their dueling at Fusion Academy over the past year and a half, none had seen a tactic like this.
Irena added, "It's a strategy only a Deck full of low-level monsters can pull off—Aisha's exclusive technique~"
Amid everyone's shock, Miles used Aisha's hand to Special Summon two monsters from her Deck using Human-Wave Tactics.
"Using Human-Wave Tactics, I Special Summon two Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters from the Deck—two Mokey Mokeys!"
[Mokey Mokey] Level 1│LIGHT│Fairy│100 DEF
Like perfectly aligned Tetris blocks, two tofu-like cubes with question-mark faces materialized side by side, floating over Aisha's field.
Aisha said, "Aren't these the two Mokey Mokeys I summoned yesterday? Both Ren-chan and I are using brand-new monsters—so cool!"
Well, technically, one was an old Mokey Mokey, but they looked identical, so no one could tell.
"A wall of low-level monsters, huh? Definitely a pain, Ai-chan. But did you forget one thing?"
After her initial surprise, Irene instantly identified the tactic's main flaw.
"Human-Wave Tactics lets you endlessly summon Level 2 or lower monsters—but your Deck still has a limited monster count. Especially in a field test, where only 20 cards are allowed, that weakness becomes clearer."
As long as Irene kept attacking and destroying Aisha's monsters, the time would come when there'd be none left in the Deck.
"Just taking hits won't win a Duel, Ai-chan."
"Just taking hits? Sounds like you're the one who doesn't get how serious this is, Ren. My turn—draw!"
Drawing for the turn, and sure enough, guided by the Mokey Mokeys, Miles pulled the third Mokey Mokey from the Deck.
"I Normal Summon my third Mokey Mokey in Attack Position, and switch the other two on the field to Attack Position as well!"
[Mokey Mokey, ATK: 300] ×3
The tofu-like cubes lined up again—three Mokey Mokeys floating in a row made for a sight that was both strange and amusing.
"All three Mokey Mokeys in Attack Position? You're kidding, Ai-chan…"
It looked like suicide. Even so, Aisha's confident energy made even these seemingly harmless cubes feel dangerous.
"I'm not just gonna sit there and take it. Watch closely—this is the way low-level monsters fight! B-rank Spell Card—Triangle Power!"
"You've gotta be kidding!"
No one watching could believe it. Who would spend 100 Magic Points to craft a B-rank Spell just to support Mokey Mokeys?!
...
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