Before Myura could react, she saw Dragonmaid Sheou open its jaws and unleash a dragon breath, instantly destroying Vampire Scarlet Scourge and negating its effect. Myura had effectively paid 1000 Life Points for nothing. She frowned, never expecting Morgan's monster to have such an ability.
What surprised her even more was Morgan's timing. She had held back through all the earlier chains, only activating her effect when Myura was about to succeed. Such intuition was something only a battle-hardened duelist could have.
Myura glanced at Morgan and admitted she had underestimated her opponent.
Still, Myura didn't believe she would lose. Even if her combo had been interrupted, she still had enough monsters on the field to keep going next turn, and there was no way Morgan could finish her this turn.
At that moment, An'er's eyes widened at the sight of Myura's monster's effect failing. She realized Morgan had been waiting precisely for this moment—once Vampire Scarlet Scourge was destroyed, Myura could do nothing but end her turn.
Impressive that Morgan had the patience to wait this long. If it were An'er, she would have used the effect early—and wasted it, letting the opponent succeed instead.
Was this what a top-level duel was like? Even the timing of effect activations was under perfect control.
An'er felt a wave of discouragement. Compared to real duelists, she still had a long way to go. What shocked her most was that Morgan showed no fear before a powerful foe—in fact, she looked excited. Was this what duelists truly pursued?
An'er pondered, unaware that Morgan didn't care about being a "true duelist." For her, all that mattered was Duel Points. Shadow Game or not, victory was victory.
The old man, who had been tense moments ago, now stared blankly at Morgan. His experienced eyes saw clearly how Myura had just been outplayed in Morgan's hands. This was an ancient Shadow Duelist, yet Morgan had completely crushed her momentum. No wonder the clubs all courted Morgan despite her young age—she truly had something special.
He turned his gaze toward the principal. Such a promising talent would be wasted here. If he could bring Morgan to Forest Academy, she could be properly nurtured.
He began scheming how to lure Morgan to his school, though he knew it wouldn't be easy—the principal was no fool.
Meanwhile, Hannah, seeing Myura on the back foot, felt her relief vanish. Just when she thought handing things to Myura was foolproof, the situation flipped. The sudden reversal nearly left her stunned.
Could even Myura fall here?
The thought crossed Hannah's mind; however, she quickly shook her head. This was an ancient Shadow Duelist. Even if at a disadvantage, Myura should be able to recover quickly.
Reassuring herself, she turned her attention back to the duel.
After destroying Vampire Scarlet Scourge with dragon breath, Dragonmaid Sheou vanished from Morgan's field. In its place appeared a graceful Dragonmaid Butler. Dressed in an old-fashioned maid uniform that covered every inch of skin, she exuded an oddly bewitching charm. This was Sheou's alternate form: House Dragonmaid.
"According to Dragonmaid Sheou's effect!" Morgan announced. "After negating that effect and destroying it, this card returns to the Extra Deck, and I Special Summon House Dragonmaid from the Extra Deck!"
Even with the transformation, House Dragonmaid still had 3000 Attack—the highest on the field. Without Scarlet Scourge, Myura had virtually no way to strike back. The other Dragonmaid, Parlor Dragonmaid, was in Defense Position, making it meaningless to attack.
Myura quickly regained composure. Calmly glancing at the Trap Card in her hand, she declared:
"I Set two cards and end my turn."
Switching to defense wasn't shameful—it was a setup for counterattack. With her vast duel experience, Myura knew that well and ended her turn decisively.
As her turn ended, Isla finally breathed a sigh of relief. Myura's relentless chains had been suffocating to watch, and without Morgan's timely interruption, who knew what might have happened? Even so, she hadn't realized Morgan's monster had such an effect.
No wonder Morgan had waited until now to use it… just watching made the spectators nervous. What must it feel like to be the one dueling?
"My turn, draw!"
Morgan swiftly drew a card, slipped it into her hand, and declared:
"I activate House Dragonmaid's effect!"
"During either player's Standby Phase, target 1 other Dragonmaid monster I control. Then, Special Summon 1 Dragonmaid monster from my hand or Graveyard, whose Level is 1 higher or 1 lower than that target, in Defense Position."
On the field beside House Dragonmaid, Morgan had Parlor Dragonmaid and Laundry Dragonmaid. Her Graveyard was empty, but in her hand she held a Level 4 Chamber Dragonmaid, while Parlor Dragonmaid was Level 3.
"I target my Level 3 Parlor Dragonmaid!"
"Special Summon Chamber Dragonmaid from my hand!"
A Dragonmaid in a flowing black gown appeared, her long pink hair adorned with teal horns tipped with black, her tail sparkling like the night sky. Blushing shyly, she held a broom seemingly crafted from her own shed scales.
[Chamber Dragonmaid] Level 4│DARK│Dragon│500 ATK / 1800 DEF
"I activate Chamber Dragonmaid's effect!"
"When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: Add 1 Dragonmaid Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand."
"I add Dragonmaid Hospitality to my hand!"
She searched her Deck and added the card with a smile. It could only be activated if there were Dragonmaids in the hand or Graveyard—and now all of hers were on the field.
Regardless, Morgan wasn't worried. Her Graveyard still held Dragonmaid Changeover, ready to bounce monsters back to the Deck and trigger House Dragonmaid's destruction effect.
Thinking this through, Morgan immediately declared:
"I activate Dragonmaid Changeover's effect in my Graveyard!"
...
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