Tapping the ground lightly with her staff, ripples of water spread and seeped into Lan-Maid's body, and the Flip effect seized Lan-Maid's mind.
"Heehee, Goshujin-sama, I do feel bad about yeeting your rare cards… but I'm the opponent's monster now~"
With her mind under control, Lan-Maid wore a look that said "yes, I was wrong, and I'd do it again," and proudly walked over to Lishia's field, facing Miles.
Princess Nova shouted, "Traitor Lan-Maid… I don't like you anymore!"
Miles glanced at the monster Lishia had Flip Summoned and analyzed, "Still, the fact that it just happened to be a WATER monster that got caught by Lishia… we can only blame our luck."
[Eria the Water Charmer]'s Flip effect can only change control of a WATER monster—its applicable range is quite limited.
And the only monster Miles drew this turn happened to be the WATER Dragonmaid, Lan-Maid.
Getting overrun by luck like this—aside from against Ren—Miles rarely experienced it.
Also, from the very start of the Duel, Miles had felt something strange.
It didn't feel like he was Dueling only Lishia—more like two opponents stood there.
Yet this sensation was different from the back-seat spirit involved in a soul swap.
That golden gaze behind the thick lenses of Lishia, the country girl from the western backwoods, seemed to be hiding something.
After taking control of Lan-Maid, Lishia continued by placing a Spell in her back row.
"—Continuous Spell, activate: Awakening of the Possessed!"
"Possessed?" In that instant, upon hearing the word, it was as if a certain doubt in Miles's mind clicked into place.
From the start of the Duel, the strange feeling seemed to be that some deeper, more mysterious existence had descended into and Possessed the girl Lishia.
Which was why Miles felt like he was Dueling two people.
Yet, apparently no one else noticed—except him.
Even when he asked Nova, she said she hadn't sensed anything at all.
"It shouldn't just be my imagination, right?"
[Awakening of the Possessed — Continuous Spell effect: Monsters you control gain ATK equal to 300 × the number of different Attributes you control.]
The Continuous Spell Lishia activated buffed monsters based on the number of Attributes on her field. After it applied, both [Eria the Water Charmer] and Lan-Maid each gained 300 ATK for the single WATER Attribute present.
Fortunately, even with an ATK 300 and an ATK 500 monster getting a boost, they still couldn't land a one-hit kill in a Practical Test played with 2000 Life Points.
Lishia's fingertip slid to her Spirit Eyes Deck as she declared:
"I'm going to activate a monster's effect from the Deck—Familiar-Possessed!"
"Familiar-Possessed? An effect that actually starts from the Deck?"
Even Miss Erin had never seen this style of combat.
On Lishia's field, the chanting [Eria the Water Charmer] drove water-blue mana to envelop herself and Lan-Maid completely. A circular water-style barrier briefly blocked everyone's view—like a transformation sequence.
"I send the [Eria the Water Charmer] and [Laundry Dragonmaid] on the field to the Graveyard. From the Deck, Special—Familiar-Possessed - Eria!"
[Familiar-Possessed - Eria] Level 4│WATER│Spellcaster│1850 ATK 1500 DEF
[You can Special Summon this card (from your hand or Deck) by sending 1 face-up "Eria the Water Charmer" and 1 WATER monster you control to the GY.]
When the water barrier fell away, Eria turned Lan-Maid into power to strengthen herself, completing a Deck jump into a Possessed form.
The newly transformed [Familiar-Possessed - Eria] appeared on the field.
"Continuous Spell—Awakening of the Possessed, effect activate!"
[Once per turn: If a Spellcaster monster with 1850 original ATK is Normal or Special Summoned to your field: Draw 1 card.]
"Draw! And per Awakening of the Possessed, with 1 Attribute (WATER) on the field, ATK increases by 300!"
[Familiar-Possessed - Eria, ATK: 1850 → 2150]
With Possession and Awakening's twin boosts pushing ATK to the 2000-LP kill line of the test Duel, Lishia seized the moment and declared Battle Phase.
"Sorry, Nova-chan. Even if you made that kind of wager, I don't want to lose my first Academy Duel."
She thrust her staff forward with all her might. Water-blue Possession mana erupted, and Lishia's game-ending direct attack roared at Miles.
"—Possession Offensive: Grand Spirit Wave!"
Nova panicked, "T-this is bad! It's coming in, Miles!"
"Don't panic, Nova. Watch closely and learn—what a Duelist needs is the courage to keep calm in a crisis, and a deep grasp of where your Deck's strengths lie!"
"My Deck's strengths? Obviously, the Dragonmaids, right?"
"No—your Deck's strength is its wealth of nasty, rare traps—Trap Card, activate: Dimension Wall!"
A simple, straightforward line of play—paired with the space twist created by [Dimension Wall], the offensive flipped in an instant.
[When an opponent's monster declares an attack: The battle damage you would have taken becomes damage to your opponent instead.]
The warped dimensional space turned [Familiar-Possessed - Eria]'s direct attack back onto its user.
"You stole my Lan-Maid, so I'll let your monster punch you—fair enough, Lishia. By Dimension Wall's effect, you'll take this battle damage in my place."
It was effectively a 2150 direct attack aimed at Lishia. In a 2000-LP test Duel, the scales of victory tipped at once.
"Huh? Don't tell me we win just like that."
A few seconds was all it took to rise from hell to heaven. The little princess who had been flustered and on the verge of defeat now stood at victory's door.
"N-no, that won't do!"
Startled enough to blurt out her dialect, Lishia hurled a Quick-Play Spell from her hand as the balance swung against her.
"—Quick-Play Spell, Shrink—activate!"
[Target 1 face-up monster on the field; its ATK becomes half its current ATK until the End Phase.]
"My target is my own [Familiar-Possessed - Eria]!"
With the Quick-Play activated, Eria's size shrank by half—becoming a mini blue-haired loli.
[Familiar-Possessed - Eria, ATK: 2150 → 1075]
By halving her monster's ATK in an emergency, Lishia also halved the reflected battle damage.
But she still had to eat the hit head-on.
[Lishia, LP: 2000 → 925]
Left with a very awkward sliver of Life, Lishia's thin commoner garb was soaked and clung to her by the water's wash—faintly outlining her figure… which seemed a bit better than Aisha's.
"I almost got carried off—too close. I Set three cards. Turn end."
Apparently planning to repay traps with more traps, Lishia slammed down a reverse three-Set. As her turn ended, the Shrink effect wore off and [Familiar-Possessed - Eria] returned to normal size and ATK.
Only after this exchange did the first-years watching all around suddenly realize—
These two were playing on another level.
Unlike any Duel so far, this was actual back-and-forth using cards—real mind games and clashes.
A catfight—no, a cardfight—between women could be this fierce?
"My turn. Draw!"
It rotated back to Miles. This time, he didn't draw a slumbering Dragonmaid monster—but he did draw another key Spell.
With Lan-Maid already lying in the Graveyard, and with a Dragonmaid present there, this card could marshal resources effectively.
A support card exclusive to Dragonmaids.
Though little Princess Nova hadn't summoned any new Dragonmaid monsters in so long, the Dragonmaid-exclusive Spells and Traps forged by the Deck binding had accumulated a few.
"—Spell Card, activate: Dragonmaid Hospitality!"
[Special Summon 1 "Dragonmaid" monster from your hand or GY in Defense Position, then you can send 1 "Dragonmaid" monster with the same Attribute but a different Level from your Deck to the GY.]
"I Special Summon [Laundry Dragonmaid] from the GY in Defense Position."
[Laundry Dragonmaid, DEF: 1500]
Revived on the field, the turncoat Lan-Maid looked full of guilt, her head nearly buried to her chest.
"Then, via Hospitality's effect, I'll send [Dragonmaid Nudyarl], a WATER Dragonmaid of a different Level, from the Deck to the GY."
Abandoning reliance on Lan-Maid's mill, Miles manually loaded the transformed dragon form into the Graveyard.
"Believe in me one more time, Goshujin-sama! Let me mill again—Lan-Maid will make a miracle!"
"Last chance, Lan-Maid. One more bad mill and there'll be no blue left in this Deck!"
"Uguu?!"
Threats aside, Miles obviously wouldn't remove the few Dragonmaid monsters from the princess's Deck.
But with only 20 cards in a test Duel, the Deck's thickness couldn't afford brainless milling—one or two more and they'd deck out.
"Laundry Dragonmaid—effect, activate. When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: send the top 3 cards of your Deck to the GY!"
"Hee—ya!"
With even more gusto than last time, a small hand swung—and the cards went to the Grave.
This time, the three were all red Traps:
[Magic Cylinder] [Mirror Force] …
"Lan-Maid, I swear I'll stuff you into a washing machine and tumble you!"
…[Dragonmaid Tidying]
Wait—the last Trap milled might actually be useful. Not usable now, but not a total waste of a mill either.
"You've bought yourself another lease on life, Lan-Maid. Next—Battle!"
"See? Lan-Maid can be reliable too—Goshujin-sama mustn't abandon me!"
They entered the Battle Phase—and at the start of battle, it was Dragonmaid transformation time.
"Laundry Dragonmaid—effect, activate. Lan-Maid, henshin—!"
[At the start of the Battle Phase (your turn or your opponent's): You can return this card to the hand, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Level 7 "Dragonmaid" monster from your hand or GY.]
"I return Lan-Maid on the field to the hand and Special Summon [Dragonmaid Nudyarl] from the GY!"
Amid the awestruck gazes of the first-years, Lan-Maid's human form bathed in light, unfurled dragon wings, and soared into the sky as the noble Nudyarl.
[Dragonmaid Nudyarl] Level 7│WATER│Dragon│2600 ATK 1600 DEF
A 2600-ATK monster was already beyond first-year comprehension—especially one summoned via such a flashy transformation.
It looked even cooler than the Spellcaster girl Lishia had Special Summoned through Possession.
Indeed, compared to women, card nerds love dragons more.
"Step aside, Nudyarl! Attack target: Familiar-Possessed - Eria—Azure Dragon Sundown!!"
A brilliant azure beam gathered in the dragon's maw. The destructive energy blasted across the field, instantly suppressing the possessor of water mana.
[Lishia, LP: 925 → 475]
"I've still got follow-up!"
As the water ripples faded, a new elemental hue flared on Lishia's field—gorgeous fire.
"—Continuous Trap, activate: Unpossessed!"
[While this card is in your Spell & Trap Zone, if a monster(s) you control is destroyed by battle or an opponent's card effect: Special Summon 1 Spellcaster monster with 1500 DEF and a different original Attribute from that monster, from your Deck, in face-up Attack Position or face-down Defense Position.]
"After [Familiar-Possessed - Eria] was destroyed, I Special Summon from the Deck in Defense Position—[Familiar-Possessed - Hiita]!"
[Familiar-Possessed - Hiita] Level 4│FIRE│Spellcaster│1850 ATK 1500 DEF
A new Familiar-Possessed monster, in the form of a blazing fox spirit, took shape on Lishia's field.
Wielding a shrine-maiden-like wand, the possessor of flame stood off against the Nudyarl in the sky.
"Isn't… isn't this a bit much?" Miss Erin, score placard in hand, had been called in to help on short notice—only to witness a Duel that was nowhere near a first-day freshman level.
...
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