Two black whirlwinds burst forth from the wings behind Stratos, and upon seeing this scene, Lily was stunned.
She hadn't expected that this hero called Stratos, in addition to being able to search any HERO monster, could also destroy multiple Spells or Traps on the field without targeting, depending on the number of HERO monsters present.
Realizing this, Lily felt a chill in her heart. A monster this strong—at only Level 4—was simply overpowered!
Still, despite her shock, she didn't pause.
"I activate my face-down card, the Trap—Emergency Teleport!" the chestnut-haired girl called out coldly. "By targeting one Level 5 or lower Psychic monster in my Graveyard or that is banished, I can Special Summon it! I choose to Special Summon Ritual Beast Tamer Winda from my Graveyard!"
A turquoise wind swept across the field, and a girl with emerald-green hair appeared once more.
[Ritual Beast Tamer Winda, DEF 1800]
"So she managed to stall!" From the sidelines, Class B's instructor Richards raised a brow as he looked at the girl's faint, almost teasing smile. "Or perhaps… she still hasn't shown her true power?"
The next moment, Yuui raised his hand. "Don't think I can't deal with your monsters just because my Shining Flare Wingman can't move! I activate the Field Spell—Skyscraper!"
The scenery instantly shifted—the bright sun was replaced by a towering full moon, and black skyscrapers rose from the ground.
This was a city of darkness… but also a city protected by heroes.
"Not good!" Seeing the city rise around her, Lily immediately realized Yuui's intent—he planned to use his Field Spell's effect to destroy her monsters!
Skyscraper's effect: When an Elemental HERO monster attacks a monster with higher Attack than its own, it gains 1000 Attack during damage calculation.
At this moment, aside from Shining Flare Wingman, Yuui's monsters—Liquid Soldier and Stratos—both had lower Attack than her Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio.
That meant that if Yuui chose to attack Ulti-Apelio with Stratos, Stratos's Attack would rise to 2800 under Skyscraper's boost—enough to destroy her Ulti-Apelio!
Realizing this, Lily's gaze hardened. She immediately raised her hand and shouted, "Now, I activate Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio's effect! During either player's turn, I can return this card to my Extra Deck to target one of my banished Ritual Beast Tamers and one Spiritual Beast, and Special Summon them in Defense Position!
"I return Ulti-Apelio to the Extra Deck, and Special Summon Ritual Beast Tamer Lara and Spiritual Beast Apelio in Defense Position! Spiritual Return!!"
"Roar!!"
The flaming lion let out a mighty roar, and the girl on its back swung her staff, enveloping them both in a red aura. Ulti-Apelio turned into twin lights that split apart and reformed on the field.
[Ritual Beast Tamer Lara, DEF 2000]
[Spiritual Beast Apelio, DEF 200]
Class B's students looked on calmly, but Class E's students were confused. It wasn't that they were surprised by Ulti-Apelio's effect… they just didn't understand why Lily would return her ace monster to the Extra Deck and instead summon its Fusion Materials again.
Was it just to avoid losing Life Points?
Alicia also couldn't make sense of Lily's move. She turned to Yuui and asked, "Yuui-san, why did she resummon her Fusion Materials? Was it just to keep her ace monster from being destroyed?"
"That's only part of the reason," Yuui replied calmly, meeting Lily's determined gaze. "But whatever she's planning, I'll defeat her all the same."
Then he raised his hand. "Battle Phase! Stratos, attack Spiritual Beast Apelio! Turbine Storm!!"
"Haah!!"
Stratos let out a sharp cry as twin cyclones blasted from his wings, shredding the dazed Fire Lion into fragments.
"Then I Set one card and end my turn!"
Yuui slid his last card into his Duel Disk and ended the turn.
He couldn't attack any further anyway. On Lily's field, aside from the defeated Fire Lion, the remaining monsters couldn't be destroyed by his Liquid Soldier, and Shining Flare Wingman still couldn't attack monsters with lower Levels. There was nothing else he could do.
"Then, my turn! Draw!!" Lily looked at her drawn card, then declared, "I activate the effect of Spiritual Beast Pettlephin! Once per turn, by banishing one Ritual Beast card from my hand, I can target one card on the field and return it to the hand.
"I banish the Spell Card Ritual Beast Inheritance from my hand and target your Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman—Natural Echo!!"
The pink dolphin-like beast let out a sound like a whistle, releasing a visible soundwave that struck Shining Flare Wingman, bouncing him straight back into Yuui's Extra Deck.
Seeing this, Class B's morale soared, while Class E's members began to worry.
After all, even though Shining Flare Wingman couldn't attack monsters with lower Levels, its high Attack power alone was enough to deter Lily's offense. Once Yuui cleared her field, Wingman could easily finish the duel in one blow.
Now that Wingman had been returned to the Extra Deck, Class E's students saw this as a serious blow to Yuui's position—even Alicia thought so.
Even so, Yuui didn't seem bothered at all. Lily, on the other hand, saw this as the perfect opportunity to strike.
She raised her hand and shouted, "I banish Ritual Beast Tamer Lara and Spiritual Beast Pettlephin to perform another Fusion Summon! The materials—one Ritual Beast Tamer and one Spiritual Beast!"
Once again, the vortex of fusion appeared—this time combining the girl Lara with the pink river dolphin.
"Tamer of spirits, cross the endless river with your bonded beast and burn away all darkness! Fusion Summon! Roar once more—Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio!!"
"Roar!!"
A pillar of fire erupted once again, and the familiar lion's roar echoed as the grown-up Lara reappeared astride the majestic, blazing holy beast.
[Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio, ATK 2600]
"I switch Ritual Beast Tamer Winda to Attack Position, and enter the Battle Phase!"
[Ritual Beast Tamer Winda, DEF 1800 → ATK 1600]
"First—Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio attacks Elemental HERO Stratos! Holy Flame!!"
The flame of nature, imbued with purifying power, surged toward Stratos. He raised his arm to defend himself—but in the next instant…
"Boom!!"
A deafening explosion erupted. Stratos was shattered instantly, and the shockwave forced Yuui back a step.
[Yuui, LP: 3200 → 2400]
"Next—Ritual Beast Tamer Winda, attack Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier! Breeze of Mourning!!" Lily commanded.
At her words, the sorrowful-faced girl raised her staff, summoning a jade-green storm filled with countless invisible wind blades that tore toward Liquid Soldier. The water hero resisted only for a brief moment before exploding into vapor.
[Yuui, LP: 2400 → 2200]
Facing the slicing wind, Yuui remained unfazed. As Liquid Soldier vanished, he swiftly raised his hand. "I activate my Set card—Trap Card, Hero Signal! When a monster on my field is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can activate this card to Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Elemental HERO monster from my hand or Deck! I choose to Special Summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman from my Deck!"
From the remnants of the water left behind by Liquid Soldier, a new hero emerged—draped in a pure white cape and wearing a bat-like mask, another water hero took the stage.
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, DEF 1200]
"At this moment, Elemental HERO Bubbleman's effect activates! When this card is Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned successfully, and I control no other cards, I can draw two cards!"
Yuui calmly drew two new cards from his Deck. Watching him, Lily felt a chill—everything that had just happened seemed to have been within his calculations. The realization left her uneasy.
Since that was the case, Lily glanced at her Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio and made her move. "I activate Ulti-Apelio's effect again! During either player's turn, I can return this card to the Extra Deck to target one banished Ritual Beast Tamer and one Spiritual Beast, and Special Summon them in Defense Position! I return Ulti-Apelio to the Extra Deck and Special Summon Ritual Beast Tamer Lara and Spiritual Beast Pettlephin! Spiritual Return!!"
Ulti-Apelio was once again enveloped in crimson light, and from its body burst forth its two components—the Tamer and her beast—returning to the field.
[Ritual Beast Tamer Lara, DEF 2000]
[Spiritual Beast Pettlephin, DEF 2000]
"Ah, she unfused again! Does that mean she plans to summon another Ulti form? Given her situation, she must be preparing to strengthen her defenses!"
Seeing Lily once more voluntarily undo her Ulti Fusion, Yuui immediately grasped her intent and even predicted what she planned to summon next.
Lily then waved her hand again. "I banish Ritual Beast Tamer Lara and Spiritual Beast Pettlephin to Fusion Summon once more! Fusion materials—one Ritual Beast Tamer and one Spiritual Beast!!"
The golden-haired girl and the pink dolphin exchanged a look before leaping together into the swirling black vortex of fusion.
Raising her right hand, Lily cried out, "Tamer of spirits, cross rivers and mountains alongside the spirit of the river, and become the water's protective barrier! Fusion Summon—sing softly, Ritual Beast Ulti-Pettlephin!!"
The azure waves surged into towering tides, but in the next instant, a soft dolphin call echoed. The raging sea instantly stilled, returning to calm waters. From within those waters, a pink dolphin leapt forth, its rider standing gracefully atop it—a sight of tranquil beauty.
Her rider was a young girl with short golden hair and sky-blue eyes. Despite her youthful appearance, the cold expression on her face made her seem more like an iceberg than a human being.
It was hard to imagine how such opposites could be partners.
[Ritual Beast Ulti-Pettlephin] Level 6│WATER│Aqua│200 ATK / 2800 DEF
Yuui gazed at the girl sitting sidesaddle atop the dolphin. "Winda, huh… Poor kid," he murmured inwardly. "She's had a rough life."
Still, pity was one thing—those days were long gone, and he couldn't change the past.
Lily's cold voice cut through the air. "I end my turn."
"Then it's my turn! Draw!!"
Alicia: "Yuui-san, those cards…"
"Ah, maybe we can bait the snake from its hole," Yuui said with a grin. "First, I activate the Spell Card Fusion Deployment! I reveal one Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, and Special Summon from my hand or Deck one of its listed Fusion Materials!
"I reveal Elemental HERO Thunder Giant and Special Summon from my Deck its Fusion Material—Elemental HERO Clayman!"
[Elemental HERO Clayman, DEF 2000]
"Clayman!?" Lily looked at the earth-colored hero, thinking, 'Is he planning a counter-defensive strategy against me?'
...
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