"B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core's attack!"
Lorenzo smiled.
"Celebrities should stay obediently on stage. Once you step onto the battlefield, be ready to be blasted to pieces."
"Thanks for the heads-up, but no need."
Alexis didn't budge an inch.
"Activate the trap 'Doble Passe'! When the opponent declares an attack with a monster on their field, that monster's attack becomes a direct attack to you!"
"Nani?"
This actually surprised Lorenzo.
Turn it into a direct attack? Is this woman insane?
Sure enough, once the trap took effect, Blaster Cannon Core's shot curved away, bypassing the Etoile Cyber in the front row and sweeping straight toward Alexis herself.
Boom!
Alexis grunted as she was engulfed by the barrage, the force of the holograms making her drop to one knee.
"Using the duelist's own body to protect the monster?" Lorenzo was baffled by the odd play. "Why?"
But then, a lithe figure tore through the wall of flames, whipped around with a gorgeous roundhouse, and lashed straight at him. Lorenzo started, reflexively raised his duel disk to block, yet the kick still made his upper body shudder as he staggered back.
"What—!?"
"'Doble Passe' turns the opponent monster's attack into a direct attack," Alexis explained. "But it also inflicts damage to the opponent equal to the ATK of the monster that was targeted."
[Alexis, LP 4000 → 1500]
[Lorenzo, LP 4000 → 2800]
"I see, a card that trades damage?"
Lorenzo brushed ash off himself and still sneered.
"But is that really wise?"
"My side had a 2500-ATK Tribute monster, and you traded to hit me with that weak little dancer's ATK? Isn't that a bit of a loss?"
"No need to worry about that," Alexis smiled. "'Doble Passe' has a follow-up effect.
That monster of mine can make a direct attack next turn!"
This was one of the upgrades Alexis earned from those long hours in the lab—one of her favorite traps.
In the anime, it turned the opponent's attack into a direct attack, then immediately let your own monster also make a direct attack. Of course, "making your own monster attack directly during the opponent's Battle Phase" screams nonstandard and non-OCG.
The real card not only standardized it but strengthened it. After the duelist takes the direct attack, the opponent takes effect damage equal to your monster's ATK—no battle, just effect damage. And next turn you get another face-shot opportunity.
That turns it from pure damage trade into your offensive advantage.
"Also, when I took that direct-attack damage, my other set card already activated."
Alexis flipped her second backrow.
"Activate the trap 'Damage Gate'!"
The blast and shockwave surging over Alexis didn't dissipate; guided by the trap, they converged and formed a gate-like shape.
"Damage Gate can only be activated when you take battle damage. Special Summon from the GY 1 monster with ATK less than or equal to the damage you took."
Golden light flared from Alexis's GY. A monster card flew out, passed through the Damage Gate, and spun down lightly to the field as a petite figure.
"The card I discarded with 'Graceful Charity'—Cyber Tutu—Special Summon!"
[Cyber Tutu, ATK 1000]
"I see."
Lorenzo understood.
"Direct-attack again next turn to widen the gap—and convert the damage you took into a new body on the field, growing your resources. As expected of Duel Academy's so-called No. 1 Miss duelist."
Lorenzo chuckled oddly twice.
"Alright… then I'll activate the Continuous Spell from my hand, 'Boss Rush'!"
A Spell card appeared in his backrow.
"This card can only be activated during a turn in which I didn't Normal Summon," Lorenzo said. "While it's face-up, each time a face-up 'B.E.S' monster I control is destroyed and sent to the GY, at the end of the turn I can Special Summon a different 'B.E.S' from the Deck!"
"A Continuous Spell that gives all the warships a 'last word' effect, huh." Alexis frowned.
She instinctively felt this card was strong—ignoring levels to pull any B.E.S directly from the Deck meant the entire monster suite could be freely dispatched.
"Lastly, I set 1 card and end my turn," Lorenzo said.
"Then it's my turn. Draw!"
Alexis slid the drawn card into her disk.
"Activate Equip Spell 'United We Stand'!"
The Spell appeared in her backrow.
"Equip to 'Etoile Cyber.' The equipped monster gains ATK/DEF equal to 800 times the number of monsters I control."
A soft yellow aura wrapped Etoile Cyber.
"I control two monsters, so her ATK increases by 1600!"
[Etoile Cyber, ATK 1200 → 2800]
"Two-thousand-eight hundred!?" Lorenzo's face fell instantly.
He hadn't forgotten—she could attack directly this turn!
A 2800 direct swing? That's brutal!
"And when Etoile Cyber makes a direct attack, she gains an additional 600 ATK." (Anime effect)
In the real card it became 500—who knows why that 100 makes a difference.
Alexis raised her hand.
"Battle! Etoile Cyber attacks directly by 'Doble Passe'!"
Seeing the golden aura-wreathed Etoile charge in, Lorenzo's expression tightened. He hadn't expected that after just starting, it had already come to a life-or-death moment.
A forced trade trap plus an ATK boost—indeed, it's a blitz that can kill before you can react. You can't let your guard down at all.
"Activate set card, the trap 'Destruct Potion'!" Lorenzo said. "Destroy a monster I control and gain LP equal to its ATK.
I destroy 'B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core'!"
With a boom, the warship exploded from its core. The steel vessel became a ball of fire, shrapnel flew, and streams of golden light kept pouring into Lorenzo.
[Lorenzo, LP 2800 → 5300]
"Then Etoile Cyber's effect," Alexis said. "When she attacks directly, she gains an extra 600 ATK."
[Etoile Cyber, ATK 2800 → 3400]
The star leapt in, spun, and unleashed a powerful roundhouse!
Lorenzo felt like that kick nearly took his jaw off.
[Lorenzo, LP 5300 → 1900]
"We're not done," Alexis continued. "Next, 'Cyber Tutu' attacks directly!"