The decisive card was in Morgan's hand. While Yula needed multiple miracle draws to win, Morgan only needed one. She smiled at the card—after such a long duel, the one to save her was Monster Reborn, a card she'd nearly forgotten was in her Deck. She had only added it for another Spell count.
And the monster she would revive wasn't Herald of Perfection. In a slugfest like this, only raw Attack mattered.
Her target was Yula's Borrelsword Dragon!
Seeing Morgan's grin, Yula froze. This was bad. Morgan had drawn a card that could decide everything.
Anyhow, Yula had no way to stop it… No cards in hand, and she couldn't know what Morgan held.
Could it be another Raye?
No. Morgan should've used all her Rayes. Even if she had one, she was nearly out of Extra Deck monsters… she couldn't break Unicorn that way.
Yula had no answers. Morgan revealed the card.
"I activate the Spell Card from my hand—Monster Reborn!"
"What?!"
Yula's eyes widened. Morgan had drawn Monster Reborn at the perfect moment. Was she going to revive Zeke to banish Unicorn?
No. Zeke's effect only triggered on Link Summon. Reviving it wouldn't work.
Another Hayate, for a direct attack?
Yula shook her head. That wouldn't be enough damage. Monster Reborn meant Morgan was going for the kill.
Then realization struck—Monster Reborn could revive monsters from either Graveyard.
Morgan declared:
"I revive your Borrelsword Dragon!"
The gun-barreled dragon appeared again. With 3000 ATK, it overpowered Unicorn. And with its effect to boost itself while halving the foe, the damage gap was over 2000—enough to end it.
The crowd fell silent in shock. After Yula's comeback through miracle draws, she was still undone by one miracle draw from Morgan. Some miracles were truly heaven's favor.
"Unbelievable. This is the craziest duel I've seen all year."
"Two miracle draws, and she still lost. Some top-decks are just better."
"And to be killed by her own monster… my mentality would collapse."
"Collapse or not, she's lost."
Morgan gave the final command.
"Battle! Borrelsword Dragon attacks Knightmare Unicorn!"
She smiled at Yula. "You know Borrelsword's effect, right?"
Yula's face was pale. She nodded stiffly. She knew it was over.
"At this moment, I activate Borrelsword Dragon's effect!"
"When it declares an attack on a face-up monster: its ATK gains half that monster's ATK, and that monster's ATK is halved until the end of this turn!"
ATK values shifted. Borrelsword's guns fired a massive round, piercing Unicorn clean through. Yula's LP dropped to 0. She collapsed as the crowd erupted in cheers for Morgan.
Morgan silently retracted her Duel Disk and turned back toward the dorms. As she walked, she glanced at the balcony of students—half of them looked like Shadow Duelists to her eyes. They always grew twisted after being turned. Tomorrow's matches would be chaos.
Even so, she didn't care. She'd dueled them before; even so, how to restore them was beyond her. That was Milo's specialty.
Night passed. Though last night's duel had thrilled everyone, they looked forward to today's battles even more.
After the first round's culling, most weaker duelists were gone. Only the strong remained.
Of course, some had hidden and scraped by. That said, those never lasted past the second day, so the Academy didn't care.
The survivors now gathered near the main academy building. In the forest nearby, Zelo and Akiyama stalked more lone pro duelists on Hannah's orders. Nonetheless, Akiyama ignored Hannah's plan—he hunted girl students instead.
"Zelo, you handle the pros. Leave the girls to me."
Zelo frowned. "Fine. But don't overdo it. Milo's still around."
"Relax. Milo's chasing that dark-skinned girl. He won't notice."
Akiyama strode out, searching for prey.
Meanwhile, more challengers sought Morgan, drawn by tales of her duel last night. They wanted prizes—albeit more, they wanted to improve, and the best way was to face the strong.
One man stepped forward. Dressed in a crisp pro uniform, hair gelled neatly, he cut a striking figure. Girls squealed—this was Ritter, the Duel King of hearts.
Loved by women everywhere, Ritter basked in the cheers. He looked at Morgan and said smoothly:
"Beautiful Miss Morgan, will you grant me the honor of a romantic duel?"
The girls screamed louder, some in envy.
"Oh my god, Ritter-sama invited her!"
"Why not me? My heart aches!"
"Because you're trash. Ritter-sama doesn't notice trash."
"You're trash! Your whole family's trash!"
Akiyama scowled, jealous. He hated anyone more popular. He wanted to smash Ritter—but seeing his target was Morgan, he stopped. He would watch instead.
Ritter was popular and skilled, according to Shadow Duelist intel. Regardless, to Akiyama, he was nothing special. A rookie compared to academy talent.
Still, whether Ritter won or lost, Akiyama planned to turn him into a Shadow Duelist for spite.
Morgan herself barely recognized Ritter. She didn't see why the girls swooned.
Please. They were card nerds, weren't they? Card nerds didn't date.
Still, she had no reason to refuse.
"Fine. I accept."
Ritter smiled. His agency's crew was filming nearby. Broadcasting this duel with Morgan would cause a stir.
"Then let's begin."
He activated his sleek Duel Disk, and the crowd gathered. Even eliminated duelists watched on the big screen.
The two loaded their Decks. LP appeared.
"Duel!"
The White Dragon coin flipped. Morgan won the toss and took first turn.
"My turn—draw!"
Her Deck this time was a trap-heavy build, as resourceful as Eldlich. She drew a Silver Castle monster, which searched the archetype's Field Spell.
"I Normal Summon Arianna the Labrynth Servant!"
A maid with a whip and keys appeared.
"I activate her effect to add Labrynth Labyrinth from my Deck to my hand!"
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]