# Chapter 42: Lunalight
"Rank 7, is this your ace monster?" Serena looked at the gigantic beetle crackling with electricity in front of Yūga Hōzumi and sneered, "It doesn't seem like much."
"My turn! Draw!" Serena drew a card, then slammed a monster onto her sword-shaped duel disk.
"I summon Lunalight Emerald Bird in Attack Position!"
"When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can send one 'Lunalight' card from my hand to the Graveyard to draw one card from my deck."
"I send Lunalight Yellow Weasel to the Graveyard and draw!"
"The effect of Lunalight Yellow Weasel in the Graveyard activates! If this card is sent to the Graveyard by an effect, I can add one 'Lunalight' Spell or Trap Card from my deck to my hand."
"I add the Spell Card, Lunalight Fusion, to my hand!"
"The effect of Lunalight Yellow Weasel in the Graveyard activates! While this card is in the Graveyard, I can target one 'Lunalight' card I control, other than 'Lunalight Yellow Weasel,' return it to its owner's hand, and Special Summon this card in Defense Position. If this card, Special Summoned by this effect, leaves the field, it is banished."
"I return Lunalight Emerald Bird to my hand and Special Summon Lunalight Yellow Weasel!"
"I activate the Spell Card, Lunalight Fusion!"
"Send Fusion Material monsters listed on a 'Lunalight' Fusion Monster from my hand or field to the Graveyard, and Fusion Summon that one Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck. Also, if my opponent controls a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can use up to one 'Lunalight' monster from my deck or Extra Deck as Fusion Material."
"I fuse Lunalight Emerald Bird from my hand, Lunalight Yellow Weasel on my field, and Lunalight Crimson Fox from my deck!"
"Oh, graceful beast that dances on the Lunalight field! Let the moon's pull draw you into a vortex and be reborn with new power! Fusion Summon! Appear! Ruler of the Lunalight Field! Lunalight Sword Tiger Dancer!"
Serena clasped her hands before her chest as soft moonlight shone upon the fusion vortex behind her. A moment later, with a tiger's roar, a beast-warrior dancer wielding twin blades was born from within.
Lunalight Sword Tiger Dancer (ATK: 3000)
"The effect of Lunalight Crimson Fox in the Graveyard activates! If this card is sent to the Graveyard by an effect, I can target one face-up monster on my opponent's field; that monster's attack becomes 0 until the end of the turn."
A phantom of a beast-eared dancer with a long red tail rushed toward the Digital Bug Bus Beetle on Yūga Hōzumi's field, transforming into a red force field that enveloped it.
Digital Bug Bus Beetle (ATK: 2600 → 0)
"It's not over yet! The effect of Lunalight Emerald Bird, sent to the Graveyard by Lunalight Fusion, activates!"
"If this card is sent to the Graveyard by an effect, I can target one Level 4 or lower 'Lunalight' monster in my Graveyard or among my banished cards, except this one. I Special Summon that monster in Defense Position with its effects negated."
"Return from the banished zone! Lunalight Yellow Weasel!"
"Lunalight Sword Tiger Dancer cannot be targeted by my opponent's effects, and its ATK increases by 200 for each Beast-Warrior monster in our Graveyards and banished zones! There are currently two Beast-Warrior monsters in the Graveyard, Lunalight Crimson Fox and Lunalight Emerald Bird, so this card's ATK increases by 400!"
Lunalight Sword Tiger Dancer (ATK: 3000 → 3400)
"Next, I activate the effect of Lunalight Purple Butterfly from my hand! By sending this card to the Graveyard, I can target one 'Lunalight' monster I control, and that monster gains 1000 ATK until the end of the turn."
A dancer with butterfly wings flew above the twin-bladed dancer's head, scattering glittering powder.
Lunalight Sword Tiger Dancer (ATK: 3400 → 4400)
"Also, since the number of Beast-Warrior monsters in the Graveyard has increased by one, this card's effect raises its ATK by another 200 points!"
Lunalight Sword Tiger Dancer (ATK: 4400 → 4600)
"Battle! Lunalight Sword Tiger Dancer attacks Digital Bug Bus Beetle! Go to hell and repent your arrogance!" Serena waved her hand, and the sword-wielding dancer lunged forward, swinging a blade.
"Arrogance? I haven't underestimated you at all. We always go all out against invaders from the Fusion Dimension!" Yūga Hōzumi watched the approaching twin blades with a mysterious smile. "A monster that can't be targeted by effects? In that case, I'll just have to deal with it using a non-targeting effect."
"At this moment, the effect of Digital Bug Bus Beetle activates!"
"Once per turn, by detaching one Xyz Material from this card, I can destroy the monster with the highest DEF on my opponent's field. This effect can also be activated during my opponent's turn."
"Nani?!" Serena was startled. The moment the dancer's sharp blades touched the beetle, the golden orbs circling it flowed into the horn on its head. The circuits covering the beetle's body began to glow, releasing a powerful electric current that melted the Sword Tiger Dancer in an instant.
"Was it a trap from the very beginning?" Serena's expression turned grim. The monster she had summoned with such difficulty—and at a great card disadvantage—was destroyed without accomplishing anything. She glared at Yūga Hōzumi and said fiercely, "As an opponent, you're worthy. If those other two had your strength, then after I finish you all, I can gain the Professor's recognition and justifiably take my place on the front lines."
After speaking, Serena set three cards on her duel disk. "I set three cards and end my turn. At this moment, Lunalight Crimson Fox's effect ends, and your monster's ATK returns to its original value."
Digital Bug Bus Beetle (ATK: 0 → 2600)
"You want to go to the front lines? Can you tell me why?" Yūga Hōzumi couldn't help but ask before drawing his card.
"Of course! To build a legacy of accomplishments in this war that you people started, so the Professor can no longer look down on me!" Serena's voice was firm and powerful.
Yūga Hōzumi: ...
Yuto: ...
Shun: ...
"What a joke?! This war was clearly started by you!" Shun Kurosaki was seething.
"Calm down, Shun. It seems she doesn't know anything," Yuto said.
"That's to be expected. This girl has probably been overprotected. Besides, that Akaba Leo fellow probably isn't stupid enough to openly call it a war of aggression in the Fusion Dimension," Yūga Hōzumi said. "Alright, that's enough talk. Let's just capture her and tell her the truth later. My turn, draw!"
"The truth?" Serena was baffled by their words and wanted to ask for clarification, but Yūga Hōzumi had already begun his move.
"I summon Gagaga Magician in Attack Position!"
"Gagaga Magician's effect activates! Once per turn, I can target one 'Gagaga' monster in my Graveyard, other than this card, and Special Summon it. After this effect resolves, I can only Special Summon 'Gagaga' monsters for the rest of this turn."
"Revive! Dododo Banchou - Gagaga Coat!"
"I overlay my two Level 4 monsters!"
"Xyz Summon! Descend! Rank 4! The swordsman who cleaves the gale! Gagaga Samurai!"
...
Regarding the deck issue, some people say the restrictions on the protagonist are too severe.
But in my last book, I gave the protagonist access to all cards from the start, and by the end, I had no idea how to write duels with any back-and-forth.
If the cards are too powerful, a protagonist like this one, who dies if he loses even once, would definitely become a total tryhard. He'd just set Mystic Mine every match, then hit you with a hand trap the moment you make a move. That might be interesting once or twice, but what's the appeal if every duel is like that?
Also, the protagonist hasn't completed the first stage of his main quest yet. He can only get the Emperor's Key and unlock his skills after the Standard Dimension arc is over and he returns with his two brothers.
As for the subsequent Utopia forms, I plan for those to be unlocked during the Synchro Dimension arc.
Also, Serena is the female lead of this book. Now that she's appeared, shouldn't you all toss a few more votes this way?
(end of chapter)