Some even called out teasingly.
"Six thousand six hundred Life Points! The girl from Duel Academy is impressive!"
"Association Chief's 'Cyber Blader' is really useful."
Misaki Takahashi said nothing.
"Now the effect of 'Cyberized Ballet Practice Skirt' in my hand." Asuka Tenjoin revealed another monster card. "By Tributing Warrior or Fairy monsters from my hand or field, I can Special Summon it. I Tribute the Fairy-Type 'Cyber Angel Nasha' and Special Summon 'Cyberized Ballet Practice Skirt'!"
Nasha dissolved into golden light again, and the ballerina clad Cyber Dancer leapt onto the field.
'Cyberized Ballet Practice Skirt', ATK 1800.
"Next, I activate the recovered Ritual Spell 'Machine Angel Ritual'!" Asuka Tenjoin continued. "I Tribute 'Cyber Angel Idaten' and 'Cyberized Ballet Practice Skirt' as Ritual materials. Let the light illuminate the path forward. Angel of Light, descend here. Level 8, 'Cyber Angel Dakini'!"
'Cyber Angel Dakini', ATK 2700.
"'Cyber Angel Idaten's' new effect. When used as a Tribute, all Ritual monsters on my field gain 1000 ATK!"
'Cyber Angel Dakini', ATK 2700 to ATK 3700.
"Three thousand seven hundred in one move," Misaki Takahashi said quietly. "That is a powerful new effect."
"There is more. When 'Cyberized Ballet Practice Skirt' is used as a Ritual Tribute, I can recover a Ritual Spell card from the Graveyard." Asuka Tenjoin displayed the recycled Spell Card. "I recover 'Machine Angel Ritual' again."
"It can still be recovered?" Misaki Takahashi was startled.
She was beginning to understand that this reinforced Cyber Angel had gained remarkable consistency and endurance compared to before.
"And 'Cyber Angel Dakini's' effect," Asuka Tenjoin continued. "When 'Cyber Angel Dakini' is successfully Ritual Summoned, you must send one monster you control to the Graveyard."
Without much hesitation, Misaki Takahashi chose. "I send 'Cyber Angel Idaten' to the Graveyard."
The monster dissolved into golden particles and vanished into the Graveyard.
"You did not choose Ballet Skirt with the lower ATK."
Familiar with the electronic Deck, Asuka Tenjoin glanced toward the opponent's Back Row. She already had a good guess what the set card was.
"Now I banish the 'Cyber Angel Idaten' that was just sent to the Graveyard. Then I activate the effect of 'Cyber Angel Nasha' in the Graveyard! Nasha Special Summons herself and gains control of your 'Cyber Blader'!" (ANIME EFFECT)
"It can activate again? There is no usage limit?" Misaki Takahashi exclaimed.
"As long as Nasha is in the Graveyard, it can activate any number of times in a turn," Asuka Tenjoin replied. "I take control of 'Cyber Blader'!"
Seeing her last monster about to be taken, Misaki Takahashi acted at once. "I activate my set card! Quick-Play Spell 'Heroine's Light'! I send my 'Cyber Blader' to the Graveyard and Special Summon 'Cyber Heroine' from my hand!" (ANIME EFFECT)
A surge of magic erupted. The petite figure vanished, replaced by a mature heroine in Defense Position.
'Cyber Heroine', DEF 1600.
At the same time, Nasha had already returned from the Graveyard.
'Cyber Angel Nasha', ATK 1000.
"In that case, the target 'Cyber Blader' is gone, so the control effect loses its target and becomes invalid," Misaki Takahashi said.
"Then I activate 'Cyber Angel Nasha's' effect again. Once Per Turn, choose a monster I control and gain Life Points equal to half its ATK." (ANIME EFFECT)
Asuka Tenjoin smiled. "Because Nasha returned from the Graveyard, her usage resets. This time I choose 'Cyber Angel Dakini'. With 3700 ATK, I gain 1850 Life Points."
Asuka Tenjoin, LP 6600 to LP 8450.
"Eight thousand four hundred," Misaki Takahashi murmured.
On the surface she only had 'Cyber Heroine' left. If Asuka Tenjoin attacked with the taken 'Cyber Blader' and then struck directly with the empowered 'Cyber Angel Dakini' and Nasha, it would be over.
But she still had one last measure. The other card she discarded with 'Graceful Charity' was 'Shield Warrior'. From the Graveyard, it could be banished to prevent one of her monsters from being destroyed by battle. (ANIME EFFECT)
With 'Shield Warrior', the heroine could block two attacks. She would only take 1000 battle damage from Nasha this turn. As long as she survived, she still had a chance next turn.
Asuka Tenjoin raised her hand. "I activate a Spell Card! 'Merciful Machine Angel'!"
Misaki Takahashi froze.
She was not attacking?
"By Tributing a Cyber Angel Ritual monster from my hand or field, I Draw two cards from the Deck, then return one card from my hand to the bottom of the Deck. I Tribute 'Cyber Angel Nasha' and Draw from my Deck!" (ANIME EFFECT)
Nasha dissolved once more into golden light as Asuka Tenjoin drew.
Misaki Takahashi's pupils shrank. The danger was not the draw. It was that Nasha had gone back to the Graveyard again.
For this Cyber Angel, the Graveyard was not an exit. It was home.
"Quick-Play Spell 'Burial from a Different Dimension'. It returns up to three banished monsters to the Graveyard," Asuka Tenjoin declared. "I return 'Cyber Angel Benten' and 'Cyber Angel Idaten'!"
Misaki Takahashi said nothing. She already knew what was coming.
"Activate the effect of 'Cyber Angel Nasha' in the Graveyard once more! I banish 'Cyber Angel Benten', Special Summon Nasha, and take control of your 'Cyber Heroine'!" (ANIME EFFECT)
'Cyber Angel Nasha', ATK 1000.
Nasha reappeared yet again, raising her hand as if issuing a command. 'Cyber Heroine's' eyes glowed red as she obediently crossed to Asuka Tenjoin's field.
In an instant, Misaki Takahashi's field was empty, while Asuka Tenjoin's side was filled with powerful monsters, half of them taken from the opponent. One of them was even her own Tamashii.
"Battle," Asuka Tenjoin said calmly. "'Cyber Angel Dakini', direct attack!"
With 3700 ATK, the strike landed heavily. Association Chief staggered backward, her face pale.
Misaki Takahashi, LP 4000 to LP 300.
"And finally, your 'Cyber Blader'," Asuka Tenjoin continued. "Direct attack."
'Cyber Blader' spun forward in a graceful arc and kicked Misaki Takahashi across the face.
She fell onto her back.
She suddenly felt very tired.
Misaki Takahashi, LP 300 to LP 0.
?Misaki Takahashi, LP 0?
Even Sakurako, the young girl from Electronic Research Association who had come together with the Association Chief, stood frozen for a moment. Her expression was blank, as if she could not quite accept what had just happened.
The Association Chief had lost. Not to some other random Deck, but to a user of their own Cyber Deck, and a student from Duel Academy at that. To make it worse, the final blow had been delivered by her own soul card, 'Cyber Blader'.
Sakurako lowered her eyes in thought. She had no idea what the Association Chief or the Student Council would think, but if it were her, she felt she might need a real Mind Crush after a Duel like that.
She turned to look at Asuka Tenjoin, who was putting away her Duel Disk. That thing really was Cyber Angel? The effect that required leaping up from the Underworld to activate, the Life Point recovery, the attack lock, the shell like defense, and the way it kept coming back to torment the opponent again and again. Even a devil would think twice facing that.
After the Duel, Asuka Tenjoin picked up Nasha from her Duel Disk and studied it for a moment, her expression complicated. The card had only been printed two days ago, and today was her first real test in actual combat. She had not even had time to properly adjust her Deck build, so most of the tactical advice for the strengthened version had come from Yugen.
When Yugen first shared this interesting idea, her instinct had been to reject it. After years of playing Cyber Deck, charging in with big monsters after a Summon was almost in her blood. Building her strategy around a thousand attack defensive angel that kept reviving itself had felt strange.
But now that she had tried it, she had to admit a faint, lingering feeling she could not ignore. It was different from the straightforward, intense Duel she used to chase, and hard to describe. At the moment the Duel ended, a line Judai Yuki often said surfaced in her mind.
Win or lose, that was a fun Duel.