Alicia's skill in "defensive counterattack tactics" was already well known, so when Yuui summoned her favorite monster—Elemental HERO Clayman—Lily immediately assumed he intended to use a counter-defense strategy against her.
Unfortunately for her, Lily guessed wrong.
If Alicia were the one dueling, it would indeed be a "defensive counterattack."
However, with Yuui, there was only "counterattack."
Yuui raised his hand. "I activate the Spell Card Fusion Substitute! I fuse Bubbleman and Clayman on my field. With your sturdy body, forge an unbreakable defense to protect all that I cherish! Fusion Summon! Appear—Elemental HERO Mudballman!"
The massive gray body slammed onto the field—but to everyone's surprise, Mudballman appeared in Attack Position instead of Defense Position.
[Elemental HERO Mudballman] Level 6│EARTH│Warrior│1900 ATK
Everyone watching was puzzled. After all, Mudballman was known only for one thing—its incredible Defense. With 3000 Defense Points, even ordinary Level 8 monsters couldn't break through its wall without support effects.
So when Yuui chose to summon it in Attack Position, the decision struck many as reckless.
Of course, among the spectators were still a few who believed in Yuui—or rather, in Alicia's strength—like Professor White and the student Chuck.
Meanwhile, while Yuui was dueling Lily, Class A's students were slowly approaching from afar.
Class A's instructor was a tall, elegant woman with a mature figure and a strict expression. Her name was Janice Leo—the eldest daughter of the Leo family, one of the three ducal houses that swore unwavering loyalty to the king under any circumstances.
At twenty-eight years old, her temper had grown sharp and irritable, a result of being considered a "late unmarried woman" by the standards of their age. So when she saw someone daring to duel in front of the Book of Summoning, her delicate brows shot up immediately.
Though the academy had no written rule forbidding dueling near the Book of Summoning, it was still an unspoken one. After all, no one wanted to risk the shockwaves from a duel damaging it. Even if the Book couldn't be destroyed—not even by the strongest spirit summoned by an Archmagus—there was still an old saying: "Better safe than sorry."
If, by some rare chance, the Book of Summoning were destroyed, it would be a catastrophic loss—not just to Saint Fusion Academy, but to the entire Bredt Kingdom.
Thinking this, Janice Leo turned to her students. "Everyone, pick up the pace. I'd like to see who has the nerve to duel in front of the Book of Summoning!"
At her words, the students of Class A looked toward the source of the duel. The moment they saw the Skyscraper field, both Class A's representative Autrys Bredt and student Alice Tutt froze in surprise.
"This field… isn't that Skyscraper!? Could the one dueling be Alicia?"
Their thoughts weren't baseless. It wasn't that Alicia was the only person in the academy who owned Skyscraper—though it wasn't common, most Duelists who ran HERO decks each had a copy. Rather, they thought of her because, among all the HERO users in the academy, Alicia was the only one bold enough to duel in front of the Book of Summoning.
Because of that, and because Autrys had always been interested in the girl, he called out to his classmates, "Everyone, stay close and don't fall behind!"
"Yes, Class Rep!"
The group followed Autrys, while in the crowd, Alice Tutt—who regarded Alicia as her personal "source of amusement"—was also eager to get closer. The more she learned about Alicia's deck and tactics, the better she could defeat her in their inevitable duel.
Back on the field, Yuui looked at the card in his hand, but instead of playing it immediately, he waved his hand. "Next, I activate the second effect of Fusion Substitute in my Graveyard! I banish it to target one Fusion Monster in my Graveyard and return it to my Extra Deck, then draw one card! I choose Elemental HERO Grandmerge and return it to my Extra Deck to draw one card!"
He drew a new card from his Deck, glanced at it, and his eyes narrowed as a slight smile formed. "Not bad luck at all."
Sliding the card into his Duel Disk, Yuui declared, "I activate the Spell Card Pot of Greed! I draw two cards!"
The draw Spell that had fascinated both him and Alicia long ago—back when they couldn't afford it or earn enough academy credits to buy it. But now, after a month of dueling and gathering gold coins and credits, Alicia had long since redeemed a copy from the academy card shop.
After Yuui drew two new cards, Alicia looked over and gasped. "Yuui-san, with those cards…"
"Yeah," Yuui smirked, glancing up at Lily, the Class Rep of Class B. "Looks like she won't be escaping this time."
Seeing that predatory look on Yuui's face, Lily shivered involuntarily.
Although when she looked at her two monsters on the field, she reassured herself that she had nothing to fear.
Her Ritual Beast Ulti-Pettlephin had a massive 2800 Defense, far higher than Mudballman's Attack. Unless Mudballman could somehow attack using its Defense instead of its Attack, there was no way he could break through.
As for destroying it with Spell or Trap effects—that was impossible too. Ulti-Pettlephin possessed top-tier resistance: it couldn't be destroyed by card effects. That was what made it her strongest wall.
[Ritual Beast Ulti-Pettlephin] Level 6│WIND│Aqua│200 ATK / 2800 DEF
Then, Yuui suddenly revealed a card with a sharp motion. "I activate the Spell Card Shield & Sword! When this card is activated, the original Attack and Defense of all face-up monsters on the field are swapped until the End Phase! Mudballman, transform from the mightiest shield into the mightiest spear!"
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]