"You think you've already won?" Fairy Tristan scoffed, disgusted by Aurora's arrogance.
"Of course," Aurora sneered. "Your so-called 'savior' ability requires such a ridiculous ritual and even gives your opponents a chance. It's laughable. Although this worthless lump of flesh has betrayed me, she was born from me. Look at her—the Dragon of Calamity! Far stronger than a useless creature who needed Morgan to grant her a name."
Fairy Tristan had only been granted her name by Morgan in the last two or three hundred years; before that, she was completely unknown. "Speaking of which," Aurora sneered, "what clan are you from? Don't tell me you're some low-class trash who wallows in the mud?"
"That's still better than a rotting corpse dressed up in gaudy flowers like you," Fairy Tristan retorted.
Fairy society was stratified, with clear distinctions between high and low status—otherwise, the Six Great Clans would never have emerged. In the original story, when Fairy Tristan's True Name and race were revealed, she was branded a "filthy bloodsucker" fairy, a blow that shattered her already fragile psyche. Aurora's taunt struck a raw nerve.
"Because of you, the Wind Clan is about to be stripped of its status as one of the Six Great Clans!"
"Get one thing straight," Aurora declared, her confidence backed by over two thousand years of history. "It was my existence that made the Wind Clan one of the Six Great Clans in the first place! Even if every other Wind Fairy dies, as long as I'm still here, no one can strip us of our title!"
"You've got some nerve," Fairy Tristan shot back. "Aren't your Six Great Clans just coasting on the glory of your ancestors?"
Jiang You mercilessly cut her down. "Speaking of which, I bet that personality of yours is hereditary too."
This damn Lostbelt only existed because the six Original Fairies were such scum. Continuing down that line of thought would be rude, essentially insulting every fairy present. With Morgan's reputation already on a knife's edge and Fairy Gawain right beside him, he decided not to stir up more trouble for now.
"You seem to know quite a lot," Aurora remarked. "No wonder that pile of rotten flesh took a liking to you."
Having lived long enough, Aurora knew fragments of the Faerie Realm's history. Though she didn't know the full story, her understanding was that the six Original Fairies created this world. In her eyes, Morgan's rule was illegitimate. "Then you must also know how that rotten flesh—Melusine—came to be, right?"
"Of course I do."
He had already discussed this with Melusine during their Duel. Although the answer hadn't satisfied her, Aurora's attempt to sow discord was equally useless. Melusine was still on his side, even if she currently had no other choice. "You don't need to worry about that. In my opinion, you look far uglier now than she did back then."
"Ugly? If striving for one's goals is considered ugly, then I can't imagine what beauty even is."
Aurora spread her wings, hovering in place and radiating a seven-colored brilliance. "Don't you think this sight of me, climbing upward by any means necessary, is dazzling? Anyone! Be it King Uther, Morgan, or the Child of Prophecy—if they stand in my way, I will eliminate them all! Therefore—I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card: [This is Named the Celebratory Poison Wine]!"
The card art depicted Aurora smiling as she poured poison into a wine glass. The brilliant light behind her starkly contrasted with the deathly aura emanating from the poisoned wine. Behind her lay the bodies of a lavishly dressed man and a pink-haired woman.
Although she never personally carried out the deeds, she orchestrated them all. The card art captured this very image.
"That pink-haired one... that's Cnoc na Riabh, right?"
Aurora gazed at her card with amusement. "Ha ha ha! Look, Morgan! Your Britain will ultimately be seized by the Northern Fairies after all. This dying look... how pathetic. Everyone, take note: if you ever have a chance to rise to power, never drink the wine!"
"So, you were the one who killed Uther!"
Morgan's expression darkened considerably. This woman had plunged Britain into the Abyss for her own selfish desires, all because someone had stolen her glory. It was utterly irrational.
"Of course, I did it," Aurora declared, no longer needing to hide her true feelings. She spoke openly, revealing her innermost thoughts. "My only regret is not delivering the poisoned wine on the day you ascended the throne. That expressionless, dead-man's face of yours—I so wish I could have seen what expression you would have made in your final moments."
"Wow, is it really okay for you to say that?" Jiang You remarked, guessing her intention to flee north with Fairy Tristan as a hostage, though he knew such a plan had virtually no chance of success. If Melusine hadn't made that bet, there might have been a slim possibility. "Cnoc na Riabh is the queen over there. Even if you escape there, do you think they'll spare you when they hear about this?"
"Why would I trust intelligence from my enemies?"
Aurora was unfazed. As a master of lies, she knew how hollow words could be. "And how much truth did you all speak during this Ritual of the Child of Prophecy? The effect of this Spell Card is to declare one card name. If the opponent possesses it, they must send all cards with that name from their Deck, hand, and field to the Graveyard! Furthermore, those cards sent to the Graveyard cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard for the rest of this Duel! I declare Tristan! Drink this poisoned wine!"
"Damn it!"
One card from Fairy Tristan's hand and all copies from her Deck were sent to the Graveyard. However, since the Extra Deck wasn't specified, her Fusion Card, Swimsuit Fairy Tristan, escaped the effect.
"That form of yours requires you to be on the field to appear, doesn't it?"
Aurora hadn't missed a single one of Fairy Tristan's Duels; she had memorized all her card effects. "What can you possibly do now that you're in the Graveyard? It was your mistake to force me to reveal this side of myself. My true strength is unleashed only when I use these cards!"
"Next, I Set three cards in my Backrow and end my turn!"
Aurora ended her turn with three cards left in her hand. As the mastermind behind the scenes, her Backrow was naturally well-stocked.
"A Graveyard Summon lock... The old me might have been helpless, but I'm different now!"
Fairy Tristan glanced at Jiang You, thinking, Is this also part of your plan? "My turn! I draw!"
"Since I can't use my own cards, I'll just have to fight you with these. First, I activate the effect of Dragon Shooter of the Faerie Realm! When I control no cards, I can Special Summon this card!"
Fairy Tristan summoned a card she had acquired during the Seventh Singularity—one of her most precious memories.
[Dragon Shooter of the Faerie Realm] Archer, Level 2, ATK 800.
"Her Majesty the Queen!"
The Dragon Shooter immediately bowed to Fairy Tristan. He was a warrior who had chosen to remain after the Seventh Singularity was repaired, becoming a part of her Deck.
"Please call me Princess here."
Fairy Tristan glanced nervously at Morgan.