"Xyz Summon?!" Even using a low-tier deck himself, Miles hadn't expected Aisha's dark side to employ a summoning method like Xyz Summon at a
"Xyz Summon?!"
Even using a low-tier deck himself, Miles hadn't expected Aisha's dark side to employ a summoning method like Xyz Summon at a time like this.
That was a specialty of XYZ Academy—and not even Luca Slint, who transferred in as a first-year, had used it in their test Duel.
But the beauty of Xyz Summoning lay in its simplicity. Unlike Fusion Summoning, which required a Polymerization Spell and specific materials, the most basic Xyz Summon only needed two monsters of the same Level on the field to bring out an Xyz Monster of the same Rank from the Extra Deck.
In this case, Aisha's dark side used two Level 1 monsters to summon a Rank 1 Xyz Monster.
"May all things in creation blossom into new possibility through Xyz!—Xyz Summon, Rank 1: [Sylvan Princessprite]!"
Aisha muttered, "A black card… with black stars?"
As the overlay effect gathered, a completely different kind of card materialized at her fingertips.
[Sylvan Princessprite] Rank 1│LIGHT│Plant│1800 ATK
[Xyz Materials: 2 Level 1 monsters]
An elegant maiden clad in a green kimono gently descended onto the field.
Aisha was stunned, "You can use two Level 1 monsters to summon such a graceful monster?! I'm amazing!"
Truth be told, even Miles hadn't seen this coming.
The key trait of Xyz Summoning was that as long as the Level requirement was met, even the weakest monsters could be used—even Level 1 jobbers.
From the dark Aisha's account earlier, it was clear she had developed this summoning style after being expelled from Fusion Academy.
A style completely distinct from the "Weakling Swarm" strategy Miles had built.
This was Aisha's own path: the Xyz series.
"This power born from despair—I'll make you feel it too! Sylvan Princessprite's effect activates!"
[Detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; reveal the top card of your Deck. If it's a Spell/Trap, add it to your hand. Otherwise, send it to the Graveyard.]
Unlike Fusion Materials, Xyz Materials aren't sent to the Graveyard immediately. They're stacked underneath the Xyz Monster as overlay units.
Right now, Princessprite had [Mokey Mokey] and [Volcanic Rat] stacked beneath her. These materials would only go to the Graveyard when detached as cost.
"I detach [Mokey Mokey] to activate Princessprite's effect and reveal the top card of my Deck."
She drew and revealed—Spell Card: [Tri-Wight].
Since it was a Spell, she could add it to her hand.
Miles analyzed cautiously, "If the dark Aisha was expelled from Fusion Academy, then her Spell and Trap cards..."
They wouldn't have come from Academy credits but were instead earned through "growth" as recognized by the Spirit Eye.
In this nonexistent IF worldline, Aisha Carlos, expelled from Fusion Academy, found her own Xyz Monster—and her own form of growth.
"All of this is for revenge against the world that abandoned me. Go, Princessprite! Destroy Mokey Mokey on his field!—'Floral Samsara'!"
Princessprite waved her fan, and countless rapidly growing trees erupted, wrapping around and crushing the lone, soft, and short stature of Mokey Mokey.
[Aisha, LP: 4000 → 2500]
An 1800 ATK Rank 1 Xyz Monster—inflicting unexpectedly heavy damage.
And with it came pain like that of a Shadow Game.
"Oops, forgot to mention," Camille tapped his head.
"Because this is a battle against your own soul, real pain can't be avoided. Bear with it a little. In fact, this kind of pain helps you understand despair more deeply."
"I Set one card and end my turn!"
With an unexpected Xyz play seizing control, dark Aisha Set a card and ended her turn.
The twisting-tree pain numbed Miles's arm.
Meanwhile, Aisha's soul inside the Millennium Puzzle felt it too.
"Getting expelled really twisted your personality, huh, Aisha?"
"No, Mr. Miles!" she objected. "That's not the real me… Maybe darkness and thoughts of revenge are inevitable sides of human nature."
As Camille had said, even saints cannot escape their inner darkness.
"But that darkness and despair—they were born from something false. Because you came into my life, Mr. Miles… I was saved. That twisted version of me will never come to exist."
"...Aisha."
"Let's fight too, in our way, Mr. Miles—let's defeat despair together!"
"Well said!"
Miles flipped his face-down card.
"At your End Phase, I activate the Continuous Trap—[Human-Wave Tactics]!"
[During each End Phase, Special Summon Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters from your Deck equal to the number of your Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters destroyed by battle this turn.]
"One monster of mine was destroyed this turn, so I Special Summon one Level 2 or lower Normal Monster from my Deck! Come forth—my second [Mokey Mokey]!"
As tofu blocks began stacking under his strategy, Miles drew his card to start the turn.
"—I activate the Spell Card: [Polymerization]! I fuse the [Mokey Mokey] on my field with the [Volcanic Rat] in my hand!"
Same materials as before: [Mokey Mokey] and [Volcanic Rat].
While Dark Aisha used them for an Xyz Summon, Miles was going the Fusion route.
"Roar, miracle fusion of the wretched—resonating with ancient souls! Fusion Summon—[First of the Dragons]!"
[First of the Dragons] Level 9│DARK│Dragon / Fusion│2700 ATK
[Fusion Materials: 2 Normal Monsters]