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Dark Magic Attack.
Lily Everhart walked into the arena to thunderous cheers from the Moonvale side. The casual disinterest she'd worn through the earlier matches was gone. Her eyes were sharp, focused. Four teammates dismantled in a row, and she was the last line standing.
"Moonvale Academy. Lily Everhart." Her voice was clear and melodic, but there was nothing soft about the way her hand moved. The summoning circle blazed beneath her feet, and from the shimmering void, a fox emerged.
It stepped onto the arena floor like royalty gracing a lesser court. Chin high, posture immaculate, radiating aristocratic contempt for everything around it. Silver fur flowed across its body like liquid mercury, catching light even under the midday sun. And despite the fact that there wasn't a moon in sight, every person watching felt an inexplicable pull, as though they were standing beneath a full moon on a clear winter night.
「 Silver Moon Fox 」 Race: Beast / Fox Tribe Quality: Legacy Level: ★★★★★★ (Six-Star) Skills: Moonlit Stroll, Moon's Blessing, Godspeed, Nine-Tail Fox Hammer
"Six-Star Legacy, Silver Moon Fox." The stats flickered through Luke's mind the instant he laid eyes on it. Beast-type, Fox Tribe. A full tier above the Storm Sparrow he'd faced in the exam. The strongest opponent he'd encountered since arriving in this world.
"Ohhh!" Beside him, Mana's staff drooped to her side. Her eyes went wide, sparkling like a kid who'd just spotted a puppy in a pet shop window. "Master, look! It's so pretty! Can I pet it? Can I? Just once?"
Luke stared at her. His brain, which had been running threat assessment on a Six-Star Legacy beast, ground to a halt.
"...Mana. That's our opponent."
"But it's so fluffy!" Mana clasped her hands together, practically bouncing on her heels. "Look at that fur! And the little face! And the tail!"
Across the arena, Lily opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Nothing came out. In all her preparation for this fight, in all the scenarios she'd gamed out, "the enemy Card Spirit wants to cuddle my fox" had not been one of them.
The Silver Moon Fox itself looked deeply offended, its aristocratic posture stiffening as if it had been personally insulted.
"YOU'RE CUTER THAN THE FOX, MANA!"
"FORGET THE FOX, MARRY ME!"
"SOMEONE PROTECT THAT SMILE AT ALL COSTS!"
The Ashenvale student section had apparently decided this was more important than the match.
Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. I built the most powerful Original Card in modern history and she wants to pet the enemy. "Mana. Focus."
"Fine, fine~" Mana pouted, but picked her staff back up. She gave the fox one last longing look. "After I win, though. You promised nothing, but I'm holding you to it anyway."
He had promised nothing. That was accurate.
"Silver Moon Fox!" On the Ashenvale side, Hailey's expression shifted the instant the fox materialized.
"That bad?" Marcus caught the change in her tone.
"It's Six-Star Legacy. Stronger than the Storm Sparrow from the exam." Hailey kept her voice low, her gaze fixed on the arena. "The Silver Moon Fox draws power from moonlight. Under a full moon, it can walk on air, and its stats get a significant boost across the board. It's one of the most popular beast-type cards among female Card Masters because of how gorgeous it is, but don't let that fool you. It's a genuine powerhouse."
The Silver Moon Fox wasn't an Original Card. It was a well-documented entry in the Card Codex, popular enough that Hailey had studied it in detail. She'd been developing toward beast-type cards herself and had considered building one eventually.
Marcus and the others tensed.
"But look," Hailey added, glancing at the blazing sun overhead. "It's the middle of the day. No moonlight means no air-walking, no stat boost. Half its toolkit is locked out. And Mana already proved she can handle Six-Star beasts in the exam. Luke's odds are still good."
That helped. But the easy part of the exchange match was over. Everyone could feel it.
"Your Spellcaster is impressive." Across the arena, Lily addressed Luke directly for the first time. That he'd read her fox's full stats at a glance told her everything about his analytical ability. "But I won't lose this fight."
"Is that right?" Luke didn't posture, didn't puff up. His voice was level, almost casual. "Because I don't think your Silver Moon Fox can beat Mana."
Lily was genuinely dangerous. The fox was a real threat. He acknowledged both facts and dismissed neither. But this was Mana. He trusted her.
No more talking.
"Dark Magic Attack!"
Mana whipped her staff forward, and a bolt of concentrated dark mana screamed toward the Silver Moon Fox like a black comet.
The fox moved. A single fluid rotation, body twisting with the grace of a dancer, silver fur fanning out in a crescent arc as the attack tore past close enough to ruffle its tail. Mana's spell curved back on a homing trajectory, looping around for a second pass, but the fox was already gone. Another spin, another dodge, the return shot dissipating against the arena floor.
"It dodged! Even the homing follow-up!"
"Of course it did. Among Six-Star cards, the Silver Moon Fox's agility is top-tier, even without the moonlight boost!"
For the first time since the exchange match began, a Moonvale card had survived Luke's opening attack. Levi and Zane couldn't help cheering. After four straight losses, watching their side dodge anything felt like a miracle.
"Silver Moon Fox, Godspeed!"
The fox's body blurred. Afterimages, dozens of them, streaking across the arena like silver ribbons unspooling in every direction. The real fox was somewhere in that storm of motion, but pinpointing it was nearly impossible. Faster than the Venomous King Serpent's lunge. Faster than the Howling Moon Wolf at full sprint. And the gap between the fox and Mana was shrinking fast.
"The arena's not that big. With Godspeed active, the fox will close the distance before that Spellcaster can fire again." In the Moonvale camp, confidence was rebuilding fast. "Sure, she held her own against the wolf in close quarters, but the wolf was Five-Star Rare. The Silver Moon Fox is Six-Star Legacy. That speed gap is a different world entirely."
On the VIP platform, Edwin Pace felt the tension in his shoulders loosen for the first time in twenty minutes. He glanced sideways at Harlow, expecting worry. Or at least tension.
Harlow was leaning back in his chair, arms folded, wearing the most irritating non-expression Edwin had ever seen on another person. Townsend and Brandt flanked him with matching poker faces. None of them looked even slightly concerned.
What the hell?
"You don't seem worried about this, Harlow." Edwin probed, searching for the crack. "This next exchange decides the match. And the entire exchange tournament with it."
"Don't rush things, Pace." Harlow's smile was small and infuriating. "Just keep watching. You'll see."
He didn't explain further.