Morgan looked at the card she drew and immediately smiled. It was one of the Dogmatika high-level monsters, the 'Dogmatika Knight'. As long as there was a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck on the field, she could Special Summon it from her hand. And when this card attacked, its Attack would increase, reaching as high as 3000.
It was one of the highest-attack cards in Morgan's deck.
And because Dogmatika Ecclesia had been destroyed and sent to the Graveyard last turn, she still had LIGHT Fusion material available. But this turn, she didn't plan on summoning immediately—instead, she intended to make a Quick Effect play on her opponent's turn to interrupt their combo.
After a moment of thought, Morgan finalized her move.
"I set two cards and end my turn!"
The audience erupted. This was nothing like what they had expected. In their minds, Morgan should have pulled off a comeback no one could have predicted and defeated Hayley in a single turn. On the flip side, instead, she hadn't even counterattacked… just set two cards, without even summoning a monster for defense.
The crowd was sorely disappointed.
"So even Morgan is helpless now? Just setting cards, not even summoning anything."
"Looks like she's completely given up. This duel is already over… who would've thought her first defeat would come like this?"
"Still, don't you think it's strange? Morgan would never normally end a turn with only set cards. Could it be because of her deck?"
"Nonsense! Everyone knows Morgan's deck-building skills are top-tier. Maybe this is just her limit."
Even Hannah was puzzled. This wasn't Morgan's style at all. Almost every Duelist who faced her had been crushed by her relentless counterattacks, but now she was defending so feebly it didn't even seem like her.
Could it really be, as the others said, that two opponents was her limit?
Hannah thought for a while, then shook her head. She didn't believe it. She knew Hayley's strength well—and it was nowhere near enough to defeat Morgan. Reaching this stage was already beyond expectations. In the near future, Morgan might lose, but never to Hayley.
After all, Hayley and Dukon were only arranged to pave the way for Luli. No one expected them to actually beat Morgan, only to deplete her resources so Luli could win against her with numbers and tricks.
That meant the only explanation was that Morgan's two set cards were the key to her counterattack.
Thinking this, Hannah sighed. Hayley was about to suffer.
Jade's eyes widened—she had never seen Morgan show weakness before.
"Isla, what is Morgan doing? Shouldn't she be hitting back hard right now, smashing her opponent? Why just set cards and do nothing?"
At Jade's question, Isla gave a wry smile.
"This isn't boxing… there's no way to literally beat your opponent to a pulp.
"As for Morgan's counterattack… if I'm right, it's already begun."
"Already begun?"
Jade tilted her head in confusion.
Isla nodded, her smile fading as she spoke seriously.
"Do you remember the Shaddoll Schism Morgan retrieved last turn? I'd bet that's one of the set cards."
"And I noticed Shaddoll Schism can activate during the opponent's Main Phase. That means Morgan can make her plays on Hayley's turn. She's setting just to throw Hayley off."
…
Hayley, seeing Morgan's passive play, sneered.
She hadn't even summoned a monster—was it because she had already used up her monsters with Invoked Mechaba's effect?
Remembering how Morgan hadn't used Mechaba's effect to stop Judgment Dragon earlier, Hayley grew even more certain. Her luck was incredible—she could defeat the legendary Morgan without even trying. Clearly, Hannah had been wrong. Morgan's strength wasn't much after all; she wasn't a threat to the Shadow Duelists and wasn't even worth recruiting.
Better to give her resources to someone else with a stronger deck.
Hayley pouted, but quickly got excited again. If she won here, the boss would definitely reward her. She had been eyeing that Fairy deck for a long time…
"My turn—draw!"
Hayley drew sharply. It was the very monster she had planned to use to finish Morgan.
"I Normal Summon Jain, Twilightsworn General in Attack Position!"
A figure clad in armor stepped forth from dazzling light, gripping a crimson sword. Silver armor gleamed beneath a dark cloak.
[Jain, Twilightsworn General] Level 4│LIGHT│Warrior│1800 ATK / 1200 DEF
Three monsters alone wouldn't be enough—but Hayley had more tricks.
"I activate the Equip Spell, Lightsworn Sabre, from my hand!"
"I equip it to Jain, Twilightsworn General! The equipped monster gains 700 ATK."
Jain's Attack immediately rose to 2500, making it the strongest monster on the field.
Abruptly, just then, Morgan's lips curled upward. During Hayley's Main Phase, she activated a set card.
"I flip my set card—Shaddoll Schism!"
"During either player's Main Phase, I can banish monsters from my Graveyard to Fusion Summon! I banish Shaddoll Falcon and Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous!"
"Fusion Summon! El Shaddoll Construct!"
From a spiraling vortex of fusion appeared a pale-faced doll. Her joints were mechanical, her stiff body strung with endless violet threads, as if another life was pulling her like a puppet.
[El Shaddoll Construct] Level 8│LIGHT│Fairy│2800 ATK / 2500 DEF
'She could Fusion Summon during my turn?!'
Hayley froze. Construct's sudden appearance crushed her entire offensive. With 2800 Attack, it eclipsed every monster on her field.
"Next, I activate El Shaddoll Construct's effect!"
"When this card is Special Summoned, I can send one Shaddoll card from my Deck to the Graveyard!"
"I send Shaddoll Fusion!"
...
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