"Basically, it's playing cards—using people as cards. Get it?"
Asking Jalter to explain was a bit much. Even aside from her limited vocabulary, she'd only witnessed one Duel, and that ended rather abruptly before she could participate.
After her attack failed, Atalante let out a threatening roar at Jalter. She harbored varying degrees of hostility toward everyone on Jiang You's side except Jiang You himself. To put it another way, aside from Jiang You, who provided her with Magic Supply, her primal instincts compelled her to attack any living creature that approached.
"You stupid beast! Have you forgotten what your Master said? What's the point of bringing back corpses!"
Jalter's invitation made her intentions clear, but the beast-like Atalante remained stubbornly literal-minded.
"And you three—still trying to run? This time, I won't let you slip away again!"
Seizing the opportunity, Deimlet genuinely intended to do exactly that. Now that his plan had been exposed, he couldn't pretend he hadn't heard. He immediately raised his arm to expend his final Command Spell. He had deliberately refrained from using all his Command Spells at once precisely to handle unforeseen emergencies. However, he soon discovered that his Command Spells had already dissipated, leaving only a faint outline. This meant his Berserker had been completely defeated, a development utterly beyond his expectations. "How... how could it be so fast?!"
Admittedly, he had intended to sacrifice Spartacus to create an escape opportunity for himself—it was the best choice. Spartacus was relatively weak in Attack Power but possessed far greater endurance than ordinary servants. Yet the opponent's offensive capabilities were overwhelming. Could the Beast have intervened?
Even as his mind raced, Jalter's black longsword once again targeted his hand. Mistaking his hesitation for another Spell attempt, she aimed to pierce his palm as before.
This proved that Deimlet's second-rate magecraft was far too slow for Jalter. Before he could react, the sword's tip had already pricked his hand. The single puncture wound would soon be transformed into a cross-shaped gash.
Then, to everyone's surprise, Jalter's attack abruptly halted, unable to pierce Deimlet's palm.
"Duel! I accept the Duel!"
Deimlet reacted swiftly, decisively accepting this Noble Phantasm-like device. The knowledge of Duels had already flooded his mind. Realizing he was no match for Jalter, he saw this Noble Phantasm—which used personal information as combat power—as his only chance to resist. Even if his opponent was Jeanne d'Arc herself, he reasoned, she was merely a powerful familiar. The Pentel Family, despite its peripheral status, had inherited a century-old legacy and possessed hidden reserves of power that no mere village girl could ever hope to match.
"Betting the honor of my family, I will never lose!"
"You've got some guts, I'll give you that."
In truth, Jalter had long been itching to try out this device, but Jiang You had never given her the chance. Now, she intended to thoroughly examine what kind of Deck she possessed.
"I'll give you a little credit. But if you lose too quickly and fail to entertain me, I'll burn you to a crisp!"
Deimlet's Life Points: 4000
Jeanne d'Arc Alter's Life Points: 4000
"Worry about yourself first!"
Anyone can talk big. Deimlet glanced anxiously in the direction Jalter was pursuing him, unsure how long the Duel would last. But it was likely the other enemies would soon catch up. He tested the invisible barrier blocking his exit from the Main Battle Zone and immediately devised a plan: one of them would use this opportunity to flee. Even if they were caught, winning the Duel would buy the other a crucial respite, improving their chances of survival. "Yggdmillennia scum! Run while you still can if you don't want to die!"
But Caules's attention was elsewhere. Staring at the unfolding Duel Space, memories from long ago flooded back. He suddenly realized that forgotten memory wasn't a dream: "I... I've seen this Noble Phantasm before!"
"You've seen this Noble Phantasm?"
Though Deimlet couldn't fathom where Caules might have encountered such a thing, he wasn't about to pass up free intel. "Tell me quickly! You don't want to face them alone either, do you?"
"All I know is that this thing summons real people—I was summoned by it myself. Back then, two Masters were dueling with cards, and they seemed to be discussing the future. I was only summoned for one turn before being dismissed."
Caules recalled the situation. "But one thing's for sure: the beings summoned by these cards aren't mere illusions. We can use them to transmit messages. For example, Beast possesses a skill that can induce a sort of... 'corrupted Alteration'?"
"What exactly is this 'corrupted Alteration'?"
Deimlet, who was far removed from modern society, couldn't understand at all. He would have asked sooner if the situation weren't so urgent.
Caules's weathered face flushed crimson. As a young man full of vigor, he had absorbed too much unnecessary knowledge. "In short, it's the ability to force a servant to undergo Alteration—that's what it means!"
"Understood! In that case, I'll go first!"
According to the rules, Deimlet could act faster than Jalter. "First, I'll Normal Summon myself!"
Deimlet Pentel
Caster, 2-Star, Attack Power: 800
"And the Pentel brothers never fight alone. My own effect activates when this card is Special Summoned: I can Special Summon another Pentel Servant Card from my Deck. And the one I'm summoning, of course, is my brother—Cabik Pentel!"
Cabik Pentel
Caster, 2-Star, Attack Power: 800
"!!"
Still within the confines of the unascended Hanging Gardens, Cabik suddenly noticed the scenery around him shift, immediately putting him on guard.
"Is this Illusion Magic? But... why can't I sense any magical power at all?"
"My brother, I summoned you."
Deimlet instantly recognized his living brother. Twins often share a subtle telepathic connection.
"This is a special space constructed by a servant's Noble Phantasm. We've encountered Beast, and I strongly suspect its earlier disappearance was a trap. Jeanne d'Arc isn't its only ally."
"The Beast has reappeared, then?"
Cabik nodded. Beast's sudden disappearance had been an inexplicable puzzle, so its reappearance felt almost inevitable.
"Should I summon Rider?"
Cabik flashed his Command Spell. As twins, their bond was even closer than that of ordinary Magus brothers. Their very titles suggested they might possess unique combination skills.
"Rider has been defeated," Deimlet said, shaking his head. "We can't yet determine why they spared him, but there's a high probability he'll be converted into a servant for their side, just like Jeanne d'Arc. Our Archer has already been compromised. If necessary, you'll need to use a Command Spell to order him to commit suicide!"
Achilles suddenly shuddered, his gaze involuntarily drifting to his razor-sharp spear. He felt an inexplicable sense of aptitude for the Lancer class, though he couldn't explain this sudden, unfounded conviction.