At the start of the new duel, Milo frowned as he looked at the strange woman before him. The fact that she had collected so many badges in such a short time showed that her dueling skills were quite high.
However, she was definitely not from the club, nor an independent duelist. She had just appeared out of nowhere.
Considering the mission Milo had received, she was very likely a Shadow Duelist.
Although, would a Shadow Duelist really show up so brazenly?
Milo recalled the moment last year when the Shadow Duelist took the championship. He gave a bitter smile—back then, not only had they shown up openly, they had taken the title everyone dreamed of, humiliating the Duelist Alliance. Now, no matter what the Shadow Duelists did, nothing could surprise Milo anymore.
Everyone around was captivated by the sudden appearance of the woman, staring at her intently. She seemed accustomed to the attention, relaxing her body naturally, her posture forming a breathtaking curve.
Chelsea glanced at the crowd. In truth, she cared nothing for the principles of the Shadow Duelists. Even after becoming one herself, she paid no mind to the place or time of a duel. As for the spectators' gazes, Chelsea didn't care either. It was only natural for the weak to admire the strong.
After stepping onto this island, she had received Zelo's message instructing her to duel Morgan.
She had fought her way here, finally spotting Morgan near the academy building. By now, she had already defeated more than a dozen duelists.
Even Zack, a professional duelist, found this record terrifying.
Now the duel began, both duelists' Duel Disks activating as their Life Points appeared.
The White Dragon coin, symbol of turn priority, flipped in the air and granted the first turn to Morgan.
"My turn, draw!"
Morgan glanced at her hand. It was decent—Mo Ye and Taia were both there. But with the Graveyard empty on turn one, Taia's effect was unusable. That left Mo Ye as her only starter.
In the past, Morgan would have launched into her plays without hesitation. Albeit now, with hand traps becoming common, she wasn't sure whether her opponent carried interruption.
Still, with only one starter, she had no choice but to try.
"I Normal Summon Swordsoul of Mo Ye in Attack Position!"
A figure in white appeared on the field, a sharp longsword gleaming in her hand.
Just as Morgan was about to activate the effect, her opponent suddenly placed a card from her hand onto her Duel Disk. The motion was all too familiar—Morgan herself often did the same.
"I activate the Trap Card from my hand, Infinite Impermanence!"
"When there are no cards on the field, this card can be activated from the hand. Negate the effect of one monster your opponent controls!"
Morgan went still, her expression turning strange.
So her opponent really did have a hand trap—and it was Infinite Impermanence.
Regardless, she couldn't complain. After all, she was the one who had popularized this playstyle in this world. It was only natural that others would adapt their decks after seeing the power of hand traps. She just hadn't expected karma to come back this fast.
Zack gave a wry chuckle. It seemed he wasn't the only one learning from Morgan's strategies.
With Mo Ye's chain cut short, Morgan had to stop there. Still, she had Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring and Called by the Grave in hand. This was going to be mutual destruction, wasn't it?
"I Set one card and end my turn."
Morgan set Called by the Grave. If her opponent was really playing Branded, that card would be key.
"My turn, draw!"
Seeing Morgan interrupted right at the start brought a smile to Chelsea's face.
As expected of the deck reconstructed by the boss—it really had become more effective.
Before coming to the island, the boss had strengthened everyone's decks. The card she'd just used was one of those additions—and it had proven useful.
"I activate the Spell Card Frightfur Patchwork from my hand!"
"Add one Polymerization and one Edge Imp monster from my Deck to my hand!"
Frightfur?
That meant it was indeed a Branded deck. A certain variation of Branded often included a few Frightfur cards to search Polymerization faster.
Morgan nodded to herself. With Polymerization in hand, the first play would likely be Lubellion the Searing Dragon.
"I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization!"
"I fuse Fallen of Albaz and Despian Tragedy from my hand!"
"Fusion Summon! Lubellion the Searing Dragon!"
A blazing dragon burst forth from the fusion vortex, its rocky scales gleaming in the flames.
[Lubellion the Searing Dragon] Level 8│LIGHT│Dragon│2500 ATK / 3000 DEF
This card could return Fusion Monsters from the Graveyard to the Deck and Special Summon another Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck—one of the Branded deck's core starters.
"I activate Lubellion the Searing Dragon's effect!"
"When this card is Fusion Summoned, discard 1 card to activate its effect."
"Return Fusion Materials listed on a Level 8 or lower Fusion Monster, except Lubellion itself, from the field, Graveyard, or banished zone to the Deck. Then Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck."
Chelsea discarded Edge Imp Chain, then activated Despian Tragedy's effect in the Graveyard. When sent to the Graveyard by card effect, it could search a Despia monster.
Nonetheless, Morgan had Ash Blossom in hand. She wasn't about to let that go through.
"I activate Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring from my hand!"
"Negate Despian Tragedy's effect!"
Morgan knew the Branded deck too well. Her opponent would have searched Aluber the Jester of Despia, then used its effect to fetch Branded Fusion. She wasn't letting that happen. Lubellion's effect, however, was unavoidable.
Seeing her card's effect negated, Chelsea stiffened. She felt Morgan seemed to know her cards too well, always breaking her plays at the critical moment. Yet, she was sure this was their first time meeting.
Was this why Hannah had marked Morgan as a priority target?
Indeed, she was quite a promising duelist.
With Lubellion's effect resolved, Chelsea smiled.
"By Lubellion the Searing Dragon's effect!"
"Special Summon Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon!"
A colossal dragon of ice appeared, surrounded by floating blades of frozen crystal.
One of Branded's core boss monsters, Mirrorjade, could banish an opponent's monster during their turn. Most Branded players summoned it early to lock down the field.
After a brief pause, Chelsea, aiming to maximize damage this turn, activated Mirrorjade's effect.
"I activate Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon's effect!"
"Send a Fusion Monster that lists Fallen of Albaz as material from the Extra Deck to the Graveyard. Then banish one monster on the field!"
...
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