No sooner had the Relinquished appeared and devoured the Maiden in Love than it transformed again. A denser darkness wrapped that hideous body; shrouded in black mist, it seemed to rapidly level up and evolve. In mere moments its mass swelled, becoming a form several times more terrifying than before.
Thousand-Eyes Restrict, summoned!
[Thousand-Eyes Restrict, ATK 0]
Anime is anime, after all—the 3D version of Thousand-Eyes Restrict would be a final boss fit to carry an entire horror film. Being brought out via holographic projection only made it more grotesque and dreadful.
The girl stumbled back two steps, too scared to look straight at the monster.
"Thousand-Eyes Restrict's effect: once per turn, absorb one opposing monster as an Equip to gain its ATK and DEF," Kira said evenly.
"Let's start by taking back 'Alchemist of Black Spells,' shall we?"
Countless horrifying eyes opened at once, as if a thousand pupils flashed together.
Terrifying magic rode the darkness and swallowed the Magic Refiner without debate.
[Thousand-Eyes Restrict, ATK 0 → ATK 1200]
Blair herself was the one running a NTR control deck, yet within a single turn all the monsters on her field had been NTR clean by the opponent. Blair's feelings were complicated.
"Battle," Kira said. "Thousand-Eyes Restrict, direct attack."
Despite the crushing fear and pressure, Blair steadied herself. "Then I activate my set card! Trap Card—Intruder Alarm - Yellow Alert! When the opponent declares an attack, Special Summon a monster from my hand and force that attacking monster to attack the summoned monster instead!" (Anime effect)
Blair revealed the monster in her hand.
"I Special Summon another 'Maiden in Love' from my hand!"
[Maiden in Love, ATK 400]
"And at this moment I also flip my other set card! Quick-Play Spell—Inferno Reckless Summon!" Blair said. "When a monster with 1500 or less ATK is Special Summoned, Special Summon as many copies of the same name as possible from Deck, hand, and GY in Attack Position.
"So I summon all three copies of 'Maiden in Love!'"
[Maiden in Love, ATK 400] x2
The crowd hissed in unison.
Good grief—three Maidens, all cockroach-tough and hard to kill. And every time you attack one, you risk your own monster getting NTR into her control. What kind of NTR defensive line is this?
The pure-love warriors were about to cry.
"But Reckless Summon has a drawback," Kira said. "Since you summoned three Maidens, I can also choose one of my own monsters and Special Summon as many copies of that name as possible."
"Yes."
Blair held her breath.
Her heart was pounding. She thought, surely he doesn't have three copies of that Thousand-Eyes, right?
If Kira pulled out three Thousand-Eyes Restricts here, it would be a kill shot.
"How could I have three of such a rare card?"
Kira laughed.
"But I do have three copies of another monster on my field. I Special Summon two more 'Magical Exemplars.'"
[Magical Exemplar, ATK 1700] x3
Kira: "Intruder Alarm - Yellow Alert also forces the attacking monster to attack the summoned monster.
"So Thousand-Eyes Restrict attacks 'Maiden in Love.'"
The Thousand-Eyes' strike swerved; the remotely-controlled Alchemist of Black Spells clubbed the Maiden again.
The onlookers caught on quickly.
Though Blair had three Maidens, their 400 ATK was a fatal flaw. Reckless Summon also handed Kira three 1700-ATK Magical Exemplars. With so many monsters taking turns grinding the Maidens into the dirt, even if they can't be destroyed by battle, those tiny bodies can't hold up…
"I activate the Continuous Trap 'Spirit Barrier'!" Blair triggered another backrow. "As long as I control a monster, all battle damage I take becomes 0!"
The Spirit Barrier flared, shielding her from harm.
"Oh? That patches the Maidens' low ATK weakness," Kira smiled. "So now, our battles can't destroy your monsters and can't deal damage. Only my monsters will get Maiden Counters placed, and then their control will slowly be stolen by you."
"Exactly!"
Blair beamed. "I told you, a girl in love is very strong!"
Syrus on the bleachers pondered a few seconds. "From a formation standpoint, it's a kind of attack lockdown. Can't destroy, keep stealing the opponent's monsters—feels a bit like Kira's style…"
Misawa mused, "A bit, yeah. Not surprising if she's said to be a fan of that guy."
He wore a peculiar expression.
Even the freshly enrolled newbies are dueling like this already. Ever since Kira became the Duel king, has the entire dueling scene's meta been steered into something… strange?
Blair: "Maiden in Love's effect—place a Maiden Counter on 'Thousand-Eyes Restrict!'"
By now the spectators understood her deck.
Clearly she was setting up to seize the Thousand-Eyes later.
"This is a battle over monster control rights," Syrus pushed up his glasses.
In other words, a NTR war. Both sides running NTR decks—see who can NTR harder.
"But Reckless Summon also placed new Spell Counters on the Magical Exemplars," Kira added. "Also, the monster Special Summoned by Intruder Alarm - Yellow Alert returns to the hand at the end of the Battle Phase."
One of Blair's three Maidens returned to her hand.
"My turn is over."
Blair exhaled long, as if only upon hearing "end turn" did her taut nerves relax a bit.
"I survived… Kira-sama's pressure is too much," she wiped sweat. "Seriously, your opponent is a lady, and you summon something that over-the-top? Won't even let me breathe."
Kira smiled. "Exactly because you're a girl, I should go even harder, no?"
The crowd: "…"
Is that even human speech?
Kira put away his smile and spoke solemnly.
"You said before you came to Duel Academy with all your might just to get close to me, right?"
"Y-Yes!"
Being asked so directly made Blair blush, but she nodded.
"No. That's not it."
Kira shook his head.
"Eh?" Blair blinked.
"Though I appreciate you thinking so highly of me, as your senior at the same academy, I have to be responsible and say this."
He paused and looked at her calmly.
"The reason we duelists stand here, the reason we duel, isn't for someone else. It's for ourselves."