NOVEL NEXT Chapter 112: TST [112]
A deep purple humanoid appeared on Morgan's field, clad in tight-fitting armor with a distinctively shaped helmet, like a lone wolf.
[Mask HERO Dark Law] Level 6│DARK│Warrior│2400 ATK / 1800 DEF
The moment this monster appeared, it drew gasps from those nearby—not just for its cool appearance, but also for Morgan's unique summoning method.
'Mask Change?'
They had never seen a HERO summoned this way before. Dark Law was clearly a Fusion Monster, yet Morgan hadn't used a Fusion Summon, but rather a Quick-Play Spell that resembled a transformation. This both amazed and made the crowd envious, as most of them were reminded of the tokusatsu heroes they'd watched as children—like Kamen Riders.
Naturally, a HERO like Dark Law piqued their interest.
A summoning method that could transform one monster into another truly offered a fresh way for a HERO to make their entrance.
"Wow Wee Woah! When did Morgan get such a cool card?"
Jade's eyes sparkled. She had been a lively tomboy growing up, often hanging out with boys, and thought Kamen Rider was awesome.
She never expected to see a monster just like one in Morgan's deck.
Isla gave Jade a helpless glance. Though she bore no ill will toward her, she couldn't help thinking Jade was far too naïve—only looking at the surface.
Morgan's summoning method was indeed novel, but no one knew what Dark Law's effect was. Judging by Attack alone, Morgan was still no match for Charles.
However, since Morgan had chosen to summon this monster, she must have a reason. Isla trusted her judgment.
Charles narrowed his eyes at Morgan's field. Judging from her chain of summons, Morgan was indeed a highly skilled duelist—the best talent he had seen in a long time. The last person with such ability had become Duel King.
Even so, breaking through his backrow wouldn't be easy.
He glanced at his three set cards. Karakuri Deck effects often involved changing battle positions, and his set cards were no exception.
With Dark Law summoned, Sunrise's Attack rose again. Morgan was fully prepared.
Promptly, she declared an attack.
"Battle! [Mask HERO Dark Law], attack [Karakuri Muso mdl 818 'Haipa']!"
Dark Law's Attack wasn't enough to beat Burei or Bureido, so Morgan targeted the lowest Attack monster first.
But Charles saw through it. He wasn't afraid of Morgan attacking Haipa, because once attacked, Haipa would switch to Defense Position.
"Now, I activate [Karakuri Muso mdl 818 'Haipa']'s effect!"
"When this face-up Attack Position card is chosen as an attack target, change it to Defense Position."
Before Dark Law's attack connected, Haipa switched to Defense Position.
Yet, a smile spread across Morgan's face. Attacking Haipa was just bait—her real goal was to trigger Sunrise's effect.
"I activate [Elemental HERO Sunrise]'s effect!"
"When another of your [HERO] monsters declares an attack: target 1 card on the field; destroy it."
"I destroy your [Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X 'Bureido']!"
Charles's eyes widened—he hadn't expected Sunrise to have such an effect! He quickly flipped a set card.
"I activate the Trap Card, [Karakuri Cash Shed]!"
"When the battle position of a face-up 'Karakuri' monster you control is changed: target 1 card on the field; destroy it."
"I destroy your [Elemental HERO Sunrise]!"
But it was too late. Though Charles could destroy Sunrise, he couldn't negate the effect.
In the chain's resolution, both Sunrise and Bureido were destroyed, and Dark Law's attack went through, destroying Haipa.
Then Charles noticed something strange: neither his Trap nor Bureido went to the Graveyard—they were banished instead.
"...What's going on?"
Morgan grinned at his confusion.
"[Mask HERO Dark Law]'s effect—while this card is in the Monster Zone, any card sent to your opponent's Graveyard is banished instead."
Charles froze, realizing he should have destroyed Dark Law instead of Sunrise… As long as Dark Law stayed, he essentially had no Graveyard!
After this exchange, the two were evenly matched, but Morgan had the edge—she'd removed his strongest monster.
The crowd was in awe… witnessing a student holding their own against the Director of General Affairs.
"Who is this kid? She actually made the Director lose ground?"
"Wow! Banished instead of going to the Graveyard… now he can't use it at all!"
"But the Director's Burei still has more Attack than Dark Law, and she has no more attackers."
"That effect's nasty, but he should be able to deal with it next turn."
Hannah smiled knowingly. Beating Morgan wasn't easy; even Shadow Duelists had fallen to her before.
Though Morgan's field looked unfavorable now, Hannah knew the Trap in her backrow was key to her next combo. It was just a matter of whether Charles noticed.
"I set two cards and end my turn."
Morgan set two cards, partly to distract Charles from the Increase in her backrow.
Though experienced, Charles still had no clue about Increase, so he focused on Dark Law. If he didn't get rid of it, his Graveyard would stay locked.
"My turn—draw!"
He glanced at his draw. Though he'd miss a chance to deal heavy LP damage, destroying Dark Law with Burei and then summoning more monsters was the smarter play.
"Battle! [Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 'Burei'], attack [Mask HERO Dark Law]!"
Burei put away its fan, drew its long blade, and cut Dark Law in two.
The duel's first LP loss occurred—Morgan's LP dropped by 200.
With his Graveyard free, Charles exhaled and began his next move to keep Morgan under pressure.
"I activate the effect of [Karakuri Bonze mdl 9763 'Kunamzan'] from my hand!"
"Change the position of [Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 'Burei'] I control; Special Summon this card as a Tuner."
With a Tuner on the field, he only needed one more monster for a Synchro Summon.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card [Karakuri Cash Cache] from my hand!"
"Target 1 face-up 'Karakuri' monster you control; add 1 Level 4 or lower 'Karakuri' monster from your Deck to your hand, then change the targeted monster's battle position."
"I add [Karakuri Ninja mdl 919 'Kuick'] from my Deck to my hand!"
"Then I Normal Summon it in Attack Position!"
A slender robot with twin short blades appeared.
Now his field was set for his ace monster.
"I tune [Karakuri Bonze mdl 9763 'Kunamzan'] and [Karakuri Ninja mdl 919 'Kuick']!"
"Synchro Summon! [Karakuri Super Shogun mdl 00N 'Bureibu']!"
A massive mechanical general appeared, twice the size of Burei, wielding twin blades and clad in heavy armor.
[Karakuri Super Shogun mdl 00N "Bureibu"] Level 9│EARTH│Machine│3000 ATK / 1500 DEF
"When [Karakuri Super Shogun mdl 00N 'Bureibu'] is Synchro Summoned: Special Summon 1 'Karakuri' monster from your Deck."
"I summon [Karakuri Ninja mdl 7749 'Nanashick']!"
"Turn end!"
Although Morgan had destroyed two of his monsters last turn, in just one turn Charles had wiped out all her monsters and brought out an even stronger Karakuri.
The gap between them was now clear.
The crowd sighed—Charles's skill was undeniable, and Morgan had already done well as a student.
Jade and the others looked at Morgan with concern.
Albeit Morgan had no intention of giving up. Even without Dark Law, she still had other HEROes waiting to take the stage.
So, which HERO would come to the rescue next?
Morgan glanced at her Deck, smiling as she declared:
"My turn—draw!"
...
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