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"Huh!?"
As Ishizu pulled out a "Big Baby", Alister watched helplessly as his invincible [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force] and [Machina Cannon] on the Field were swallowed by the magma surging from underground, turning into Lava Golem.
[Lava Golem] [DEF 2500]
"That Card, isn't that Malik Ishtar's Card? How did it end up in your Hand?!" Alister couldn't comprehend the situation before him.
Ishizu shrugged indifferently, "Yeah, why is that? I'm looking for the reason too."
Although Ishizu said this, in reality, this Lava Golem was an extra one Marik got when buying Card Packs before. Since Marik already had three in his own Deck, he gave it to Ishizu.
Alister looked at the Lava Golem in Defense Position on his Field and helplessly returned the Cards of his two Monsters to the Graveyard.
Besides the Negate ability activated by paying half its Life Points during the Battle Phase, [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force] had a second Effect: when it was destroyed by Battle or Effect, it could Special Summon up to three of its Banished [Machina] Monsters whose Levels totaled 12 or less to the Field.
And if these Monsters were destroyed and sent to the Graveyard again, the [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force] in the Graveyard could Banish Machine Type Monsters from the Graveyard to Special Summon itself again, possessing extremely powerful revival ability.
However, the prerequisite for all this was that [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force] had to be destroyed by some means. Lava Golem's Effect wasn't Destruction but direct Tribute, which happened to not trigger [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force]'s Effect. It was truly annoying.
And Ishizu drew another Card from her Hand.
"Lava Golem's Summon uses up my one Normal Summon per Turn, but Special Summon isn't restricted. I Activate the Effect of Keldo the Sacred Protector from my Hand."
Ishizu discarded a Card to the Graveyard. "I discard one EARTH Attribute Fairy Type Monster from my Hand to Special Summon Keldo the Sacred Protector, and after that, I Add one Exchange of the Spirit or a card that mentions that card name from my Deck to my Hand."
"Is it coming, Exchange of the Spirit!" Hearing this, Alister temporarily ignored the annoyance of his Monsters being eaten by Lava Golem and watched Ishizu seriously.
As Ishizu discarded a Card, an ancient golden statue appeared on her Field. Its arms were golden winged Shields, positioned in Defense Position on Ishizu's Field, defending.
[Keldo the Sacred Protector] [Level 4/EARTH]
[Fairy Type/Effect]
[1200/1600]
Ishizu also drew a Card from her Deck and showed it to Alister: "The Card I Added to my Hand is this Exchange of the Spirit."
Alister's mind immediately recalled the Effect of Exchange of the Spirit.
Exchange of the Spirit could only be Activated by paying 1000 Life Points if there were at least 15 Cards in one's Graveyard. Both Duelists' Decks and Graveyards would swap.
In other words, if one side didn't have enough Cards in their Graveyard, they could accidentally end up with very few Cards left in their Deck after the swap, leading to being decked out and losing immediately. It was an extremely dangerous and vicious Card.
However, Alister was already mentally prepared to face this Card. Since Ishizu had drawn this Card, he would Send Exchange of the Spirit to the Graveyard before she could Activate it!
"The moment you Add Exchange of the Spirit to your Hand, I flip up my Set Card in my Spell/Trap Zone, the Trap Card Compulsory Escape Device!"
"This Card can only be Activated when your Opponent Adds a Card from their Deck to their Hand. Your Opponent discards that Card Added to their Hand." Alister pointed at Ishizu, "Send that Exchange of the Spirit of yours to the Graveyard!"
Ishizu wasn't surprised by Alister's Activated Compulsory Escape Device, and she sent Exchange of the Spirit to the Graveyard without hesitation. Because Ishizu was so calm, Alister even had the illusion that "this was also part of her Plan".
After Ishizu sent Exchange of the Spirit to the Graveyard and the Effect of Compulsory Escape Device was resolved, she continued, "When I Special Summoned Keldo the Sacred Protector, the EARTH Attribute Fairy Type Monster I sent to the Graveyard was Agido the Ancient Sentinel."
"When this Monster is sent to the Graveyard from the Hand or Deck, its Effect can be Activated. Both Duelists Send the top five Cards from their Decks to the Graveyard. And after that, if Exchange of the Spirit exists in my Graveyard, I can Send five more Cards from the top of my or my Opponent's Deck to the Graveyard."
As Ishizu finished speaking, a Phantom of a golden sphere with mechanical arms appeared before her. A pair of mechanical arms extended, grabbing five Cards from both Ishizu's and Alister's Decks respectively and sending them to the Graveyard in one go.
"Oh my, originally I could only Send five Cards from each Deck to the Graveyard, but now because of your Compulsory Escape Device, Exchange of the Spirit has entered my Graveyard. In that case, I can Send five more Cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard."
"Nani?!"
Alister didn't expect his previous guess to be true. Ishizu had actually calculated even his Set Card Compulsory Escape Device, and even turned it into Psychological Tactics. Her Goal in Searching for Exchange of the Spirit wasn't to Use it at all, but to provoke him into helping her Send the Card to the Graveyard!
This Woman's calculations were so deep, she was just like that annoying Hayato Kobayashi!
No, I understand now, it's the Power of the [Millennium Necklace]. This Woman is setting up her Plan after seeing the Future, it's like Cheating by having full map vision in an RTS game filled with Fog of War!
"Tsk, there are already 12 Cards in the Graveyard? But Exchange of the Spirit has already been sent to the Graveyard. To Recycle that Card and Use it again, it would at least be your next Turn, and before that," Alister glanced at the Cards just sent to his Graveyard, among which were several Machine Type Monsters with suitable Levels,
"Next Turn, my [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force] can Revive from the Graveyard again. Plus the Lava Golem you put on my Field, can you survive one Turn?"
Ishizu glanced at the three Cards in her Hand and chuckled softly, "How would I know without trying? Even I occasionally can't foresee the exact Future."
"Again, I discard an EARTH Attribute Fairy Type Monster from my Hand. I Special Summon Mudora the Sword Oracle in Defense Position from my Hand."
Ishizu Activated the same Effect again. With only one Card left in her Hand, the Mudora the Sword Oracle that appeared on her Front Row held a pair of sharp fist blades, also appearing in Defense Position.
In Alister's Impression, most Fairy Type Monsters he knew were primarily LIGHT Attribute, with occasional DARK Attribute Fairy Type Monsters designed based on fallen Angels, but their number wasn't large. Besides that, Fairy Types of other Attributes were very few.
EARTH Attribute Fairy Types, in particular, gave the feeling that the combination itself was uncoordinated just by hearing it. Whether it was the Mudora the Sword Oracle that just appeared, or the previous Agido the Ancient Sentinel and Keldo the Sacred Protector, although their names had no resemblance at all, they all gave off an ancient, solemn aura, like stone statues in a tomb from a thousand years ago.
To put it bluntly, they felt incredibly rustic.
[Mudora the Sword Oracle] [Level 4/EARTH]
[Fairy Type/Effect]
[1500/1800]
When Alister heard the Summoning Method of Mudora the Sword Oracle, he felt that its Effect couldn't possibly end so simply. And sure enough, Ishizu did Activate a subsequent Effect after Summoning this Monster: "After Mudora the Sword Oracle is Special Summoned by its own Effect, I can place one Gravekeeper's Trap from my Deck Face-Up in my Spell & Trap Zone."
"Place it Face-Up!?" Alister thought for a moment. He didn't have much of an Impression of the [Gravekeeper's] Deck's Trap Cards, as the only one he paid special attention to was the [Gravekeeper's] Field Spell Card that specifically Countered his [Machina] Deck, which had high Graveyard utilization— Necrovalley.
However, the ability to directly Activate a Trap that should normally require being Set for one Turn could not be underestimated, no matter what.
From her Deck, Ishizu Searched for a Card and placed it on her Duel Disk: "I Activate the Continuous Trap Card, Gravekeeper's Trap. Then I Set my last Hand Card. End Turn."
[Ishizu: 4000 LP, Hand 0]
[Keldo the Sacred Protector] [DEF 1600]
[Mudora the Sword Oracle] [DEF 1800]
[Gravekeeper's Trap] (Face-Up)
1 Set Card
After Ishizu ended her Turn, Alister wasn't in a hurry to Draw a Card. Instead, he looked at the Gravekeeper's Trap Ishizu Activated with a strange Expression, specifically looking at the Card Art of that Card. Although the Effects below were also displayed on the Card, they were written too densely, and Alister was too lazy to read them.
On the Card Art of Gravekeeper's Trap, there was a Woman wearing white Egyptian traditional clothing, reaching out towards the Radiance. Although her face was covered by a white veil, wasn't this attire exactly like Ishizu, who was Dueling Alister right now!
Before Hayato went missing, because all the "God Cards" were concentrated in his Hand, Alister and the others had tracked Hayato for a long time to collect Information on him in order to better Defeat him and seize the "Three Egyptian Gods".
During this process, Alister and the others actually made some discoveries. That was, Hayato had Used his Identity as a Major Shareholder holding 30% of Industrial Illusions to manufacture Cards from the Card manufacturing department a few times. Originally, Alister and the others thought they could use this to learn about Hayato Kobayashi's hidden tactics to prepare for it.
But unexpectedly, after the Cards were completed, Hayato Kobayashi only gave some of the successful Cards to Marik, Ishizu, Mutou Yuugi, and Katsuya Jounouchi around him, but didn't Use a single one himself. He only collected some hard-to-understand words from the live recording, such as "As expected, Red Dad isn't that easy to get for free."
This Card before him must be the Card Hayato Kobayashi manufactured for Ishizu. However, to use the image of the person the Card was given to as the Card Art, that guy Hayato Kobayashi was unexpectedly playful.
Alister refocused his attention, his Finger resting on his Deck, ready to Draw.
"My Turn—"
But just then, Ishizu reached out and said, "At this Instant, the Effect of Gravekeeper's Trap on my Field Activates!"
"Huh? Activate an Effect at this Timing?"
Looking at Ishizu, whose actions were exactly the same as the Card Art at this moment, Alister was confused about what Effect could be Activated at this Timing. Could it be that the Opponent could even Seal his Draw?
"If Gravekeeper's Trap is Face-Up on the Field, I can Declare a Card Name before your Draw Phase draw and Activate its Effect."
"After your Opponent performs their Normal Draw, they reveal the Card they Drew. If it is the Declared Card Name, that Card is Sent to the Graveyard."
Alister raised an eyebrow after hearing Ishizu finish, "This Effect, it seems similar to Mind Crush. Heh, what a boring Effect. If it were Mind Crush, I could Use it after my Opponent Searches for a Card and I know their Hand. But the Effect of this Gravekeeper's Trap is too meaningless. After all, even I don't Know what Card I will Draw next."
Alister's words didn't bother Ishizu. She said calmly, "I Declare your Card Name to be, Sakuretsu Armor, and your next sentence after revealing the Card you Draw is, 'Impossible! Is foreseeing the Future really true?!'"
"Hmph, boring. My Turn, Draw a Card." Alister Drew a Card impatiently, saying, "Alright, because of your Gravekeeper's Trap, I'll let you confirm the Card I Drew. The Card I Drew is—"
"Sakuretsu Armor?!"
"Impossible! Is foreseeing the Future really—"
After flipping the Card and seeing the Archfiend of Gilfer on the Card Art of the Card he Drew, Alister couldn't believe that he had actually drawn the Sakuretsu Armor that Ishizu Declared. He subconsciously blurted out his thoughts, only realizing afterward that even the words he subconsciously said were exactly the same as Ishizu's declaration.
Ishizu had no Plan to spare Alister's feelings: "Then, because of the Effect of Gravekeeper's Trap, the Sakuretsu Armor you drew is Sent to the Graveyard."
"Then, during your Standby Phase, Lava Golem's Effect is Forced Activation, inflicting 1000 Effect Damage to you!"
As Ishizu pulled out a "Big Baby", Alister watched helplessly as his invincible [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force] and [Machina Cannon] on the Field were swallowed by the magma surging from underground, turning into Lava Golem.
[Lava Golem] [DEF 2500]
"That Card, isn't that Malik Ishtar's Card? How did it end up in your Hand?!" Alister couldn't comprehend the situation before him.
Ishizu shrugged indifferently, "Yeah, why is that? I'm looking for the reason too."
Although Ishizu said this, in reality, this Lava Golem was an extra one Marik got when buying Card Packs before. Since Marik already had three in his own Deck, he gave it to Ishizu.
Alister looked at the Lava Golem in Defense Position on his Field and helplessly returned the Cards of his two Monsters to the Graveyard.
Besides the Negate ability activated by paying half its Life Points during the Battle Phase, [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force] had a second Effect: when it was destroyed by Battle or Effect, it could Special Summon up to three of its Banished [Machina] Monsters whose Levels totaled 12 or less to the Field.
And if these Monsters were destroyed and sent to the Graveyard again, the [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force] in the Graveyard could Banish Machine Type Monsters from the Graveyard to Special Summon itself again, possessing extremely powerful revival ability.
However, the prerequisite for all this was that [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force] had to be destroyed by some means. Lava Golem's Effect wasn't Destruction but direct Tribute, which happened to not trigger [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force]'s Effect. It was truly annoying.
And Ishizu drew another Card from her Hand.
"Lava Golem's Summon uses up my one Normal Summon per Turn, but Special Summon isn't restricted. I Activate the Effect of Keldo the Sacred Protector from my Hand."
Ishizu discarded a Card to the Graveyard. "I discard one EARTH Attribute Fairy Type Monster from my Hand to Special Summon Keldo the Sacred Protector, and after that, I Add one Exchange of the Spirit or a card that mentions that card name from my Deck to my Hand."
"Is it coming, Exchange of the Spirit!" Hearing this, Alister temporarily ignored the annoyance of his Monsters being eaten by Lava Golem and watched Ishizu seriously.
As Ishizu discarded a Card, an ancient golden statue appeared on her Field. Its arms were golden winged Shields, positioned in Defense Position on Ishizu's Field, defending.
[Keldo the Sacred Protector] [Level 4/EARTH]
[Fairy Type/Effect]
[1200/1600]
Ishizu also drew a Card from her Deck and showed it to Alister: "The Card I Added to my Hand is this Exchange of the Spirit."
Alister's mind immediately recalled the Effect of Exchange of the Spirit.
Exchange of the Spirit could only be Activated by paying 1000 Life Points if there were at least 15 Cards in one's Graveyard. Both Duelists' Decks and Graveyards would swap.
In other words, if one side didn't have enough Cards in their Graveyard, they could accidentally end up with very few Cards left in their Deck after the swap, leading to being decked out and losing immediately. It was an extremely dangerous and vicious Card.
However, Alister was already mentally prepared to face this Card. Since Ishizu had drawn this Card, he would Send Exchange of the Spirit to the Graveyard before she could Activate it!
"The moment you Add Exchange of the Spirit to your Hand, I flip up my Set Card in my Spell/Trap Zone, the Trap Card Compulsory Escape Device!"
"This Card can only be Activated when your Opponent Adds a Card from their Deck to their Hand. Your Opponent discards that Card Added to their Hand." Alister pointed at Ishizu, "Send that Exchange of the Spirit of yours to the Graveyard!"
Ishizu wasn't surprised by Alister's Activated Compulsory Escape Device, and she sent Exchange of the Spirit to the Graveyard without hesitation. Because Ishizu was so calm, Alister even had the illusion that "this was also part of her Plan".
After Ishizu sent Exchange of the Spirit to the Graveyard and the Effect of Compulsory Escape Device was resolved, she continued, "When I Special Summoned Keldo the Sacred Protector, the EARTH Attribute Fairy Type Monster I sent to the Graveyard was Agido the Ancient Sentinel."
"When this Monster is sent to the Graveyard from the Hand or Deck, its Effect can be Activated. Both Duelists Send the top five Cards from their Decks to the Graveyard. And after that, if Exchange of the Spirit exists in my Graveyard, I can Send five more Cards from the top of my or my Opponent's Deck to the Graveyard."
As Ishizu finished speaking, a Phantom of a golden sphere with mechanical arms appeared before her. A pair of mechanical arms extended, grabbing five Cards from both Ishizu's and Alister's Decks respectively and sending them to the Graveyard in one go.
"Oh my, originally I could only Send five Cards from each Deck to the Graveyard, but now because of your Compulsory Escape Device, Exchange of the Spirit has entered my Graveyard. In that case, I can Send five more Cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard."
"Nani?!"
Alister didn't expect his previous guess to be true. Ishizu had actually calculated even his Set Card Compulsory Escape Device, and even turned it into Psychological Tactics. Her Goal in Searching for Exchange of the Spirit wasn't to Use it at all, but to provoke him into helping her Send the Card to the Graveyard!
This Woman's calculations were so deep, she was just like that annoying Hayato Kobayashi!
No, I understand now, it's the Power of the [Millennium Necklace]. This Woman is setting up her Plan after seeing the Future, it's like Cheating by having full map vision in an RTS game filled with Fog of War!
"Tsk, there are already 12 Cards in the Graveyard? But Exchange of the Spirit has already been sent to the Graveyard. To Recycle that Card and Use it again, it would at least be your next Turn, and before that," Alister glanced at the Cards just sent to his Graveyard, among which were several Machine Type Monsters with suitable Levels,
"Next Turn, my [Machina Force - Ruin Armed Force] can Revive from the Graveyard again. Plus the Lava Golem you put on my Field, can you survive one Turn?"
Ishizu glanced at the three Cards in her Hand and chuckled softly, "How would I know without trying? Even I occasionally can't foresee the exact Future."
"Again, I discard an EARTH Attribute Fairy Type Monster from my Hand. I Special Summon Mudora the Sword Oracle in Defense Position from my Hand."
Ishizu Activated the same Effect again. With only one Card left in her Hand, the Mudora the Sword Oracle that appeared on her Front Row held a pair of sharp fist blades, also appearing in Defense Position.
In Alister's Impression, most Fairy Type Monsters he knew were primarily LIGHT Attribute, with occasional DARK Attribute Fairy Type Monsters designed based on fallen Angels, but their number wasn't large. Besides that, Fairy Types of other Attributes were very few.
EARTH Attribute Fairy Types, in particular, gave the feeling that the combination itself was uncoordinated just by hearing it. Whether it was the Mudora the Sword Oracle that just appeared, or the previous Agido the Ancient Sentinel and Keldo the Sacred Protector, although their names had no resemblance at all, they all gave off an ancient, solemn aura, like stone statues in a tomb from a thousand years ago.
To put it bluntly, they felt incredibly rustic.
[Mudora the Sword Oracle] [Level 4/EARTH]
[Fairy Type/Effect]
[1500/1800]
When Alister heard the Summoning Method of Mudora the Sword Oracle, he felt that its Effect couldn't possibly end so simply. And sure enough, Ishizu did Activate a subsequent Effect after Summoning this Monster: "After Mudora the Sword Oracle is Special Summoned by its own Effect, I can place one Gravekeeper's Trap from my Deck Face-Up in my Spell & Trap Zone."
"Place it Face-Up!?" Alister thought for a moment. He didn't have much of an Impression of the [Gravekeeper's] Deck's Trap Cards, as the only one he paid special attention to was the [Gravekeeper's] Field Spell Card that specifically Countered his [Machina] Deck, which had high Graveyard utilization— Necrovalley.
However, the ability to directly Activate a Trap that should normally require being Set for one Turn could not be underestimated, no matter what.
From her Deck, Ishizu Searched for a Card and placed it on her Duel Disk: "I Activate the Continuous Trap Card, Gravekeeper's Trap. Then I Set my last Hand Card. End Turn."
[Ishizu: 4000 LP, Hand 0]
[Keldo the Sacred Protector] [DEF 1600]
[Mudora the Sword Oracle] [DEF 1800]
[Gravekeeper's Trap] (Face-Up)
1 Set Card
After Ishizu ended her Turn, Alister wasn't in a hurry to Draw a Card. Instead, he looked at the Gravekeeper's Trap Ishizu Activated with a strange Expression, specifically looking at the Card Art of that Card. Although the Effects below were also displayed on the Card, they were written too densely, and Alister was too lazy to read them.
On the Card Art of Gravekeeper's Trap, there was a Woman wearing white Egyptian traditional clothing, reaching out towards the Radiance. Although her face was covered by a white veil, wasn't this attire exactly like Ishizu, who was Dueling Alister right now!
Before Hayato went missing, because all the "God Cards" were concentrated in his Hand, Alister and the others had tracked Hayato for a long time to collect Information on him in order to better Defeat him and seize the "Three Egyptian Gods".
During this process, Alister and the others actually made some discoveries. That was, Hayato had Used his Identity as a Major Shareholder holding 30% of Industrial Illusions to manufacture Cards from the Card manufacturing department a few times. Originally, Alister and the others thought they could use this to learn about Hayato Kobayashi's hidden tactics to prepare for it.
But unexpectedly, after the Cards were completed, Hayato Kobayashi only gave some of the successful Cards to Marik, Ishizu, Mutou Yuugi, and Katsuya Jounouchi around him, but didn't Use a single one himself. He only collected some hard-to-understand words from the live recording, such as "As expected, Red Dad isn't that easy to get for free."
This Card before him must be the Card Hayato Kobayashi manufactured for Ishizu. However, to use the image of the person the Card was given to as the Card Art, that guy Hayato Kobayashi was unexpectedly playful.
Alister refocused his attention, his Finger resting on his Deck, ready to Draw.
"My Turn—"
But just then, Ishizu reached out and said, "At this Instant, the Effect of Gravekeeper's Trap on my Field Activates!"
"Huh? Activate an Effect at this Timing?"
Looking at Ishizu, whose actions were exactly the same as the Card Art at this moment, Alister was confused about what Effect could be Activated at this Timing. Could it be that the Opponent could even Seal his Draw?
"If Gravekeeper's Trap is Face-Up on the Field, I can Declare a Card Name before your Draw Phase draw and Activate its Effect."
"After your Opponent performs their Normal Draw, they reveal the Card they Drew. If it is the Declared Card Name, that Card is Sent to the Graveyard."
Alister raised an eyebrow after hearing Ishizu finish, "This Effect, it seems similar to Mind Crush. Heh, what a boring Effect. If it were Mind Crush, I could Use it after my Opponent Searches for a Card and I know their Hand. But the Effect of this Gravekeeper's Trap is too meaningless. After all, even I don't Know what Card I will Draw next."
Alister's words didn't bother Ishizu. She said calmly, "I Declare your Card Name to be, Sakuretsu Armor, and your next sentence after revealing the Card you Draw is, 'Impossible! Is foreseeing the Future really true?!'"
"Hmph, boring. My Turn, Draw a Card." Alister Drew a Card impatiently, saying, "Alright, because of your Gravekeeper's Trap, I'll let you confirm the Card I Drew. The Card I Drew is—"
"Sakuretsu Armor?!"
"Impossible! Is foreseeing the Future really—"
After flipping the Card and seeing the Archfiend of Gilfer on the Card Art of the Card he Drew, Alister couldn't believe that he had actually drawn the Sakuretsu Armor that Ishizu Declared. He subconsciously blurted out his thoughts, only realizing afterward that even the words he subconsciously said were exactly the same as Ishizu's declaration.
Ishizu had no Plan to spare Alister's feelings: "Then, because of the Effect of Gravekeeper's Trap, the Sakuretsu Armor you drew is Sent to the Graveyard."
"Then, during your Standby Phase, Lava Golem's Effect is Forced Activation, inflicting 1000 Effect Damage to you!"
