"Oh~ I thought my first opponent would be Yugi Muto, but I guess it's someone I don't have any grudge against… And yet—"
Standing atop the water in the form of [Deepsea Warrior], Gansley's brows furrowed at the outsider before him. "When I first saw you, I thought one of the others had changed their Deck Master. So that's how it is… Yugi Muto has a friend with hacking skills, huh?"
Before him stood another being that shouldn't exist in this world—a divine figure wielding a sacred sword and mirror, fox ears atop her head and nine tails flowing behind her: [Arahime the Manifested Mikanko].
"Isn't that more fun though? Mr. Gansley, I recall you were known as a 'corporate monster' for swallowing up so many companies, right? Seems a fitting form for you. Ah, ugh—what's that fishy smell? I can't stand it." Plugging her nose in mock disgust, Youmi's expression twisted into a wicked grin, even more mischievous than [Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle]. "Though just standing here is boring. Before this form ends, let's have ourselves a delightful duel~"
Without selecting a Deck from the system, Youmi waved her right hand. Countless flickering yellow-green lights gathered around her left wrist, forming an ornate Duel Disk, while cards materialized in midair, flying neatly into her hands and arranging themselves into a Deck.
"DUEL!"
"Duel~"
Turn 1
"I'll take the first move. You've already seen how the Deck Master system works. My Deck Master is myself—[Deepsea Warrior]."
A Duel Disk appeared on Gansley's arm, and six cards materialized in his hand—unquestionably, an automated convenience of the system. "I've already looked into your data. I don't know what kind of trick you pulled, but I assume your deck is a Trap-heavy control build, right? That won't work on me. Especially since I've got the fir—"
"You're annoying," Youmi cut him off, looking visibly irritated. "My playtime is limited, so if you're just going to talk me to death, surrender now. I have to get out of here before those guys notice me."
"How rude of me, making a lady uncomfortable. It seems I still have room to improve my conversational art. However—" Gansley's eyes gleamed sharply beneath his mask. "To regain a physical body in the real world, I'll do whatever it takes! I Set three cards and end my turn!"
Two Spells/Traps and one face-down monster appeared on his field. His turn ended.
Turn 2
"Finally, my turn~ Draw!"
Spinning gracefully as she drew, Youmi's new card traced an orange-golden arc through the air.
She spread her hand of cards like a fan to hide her face, then folded them together—one card slid out naturally, which she caught in her other hand. "I activate the Normal Spell [Stop Defense]! I target your Defense Position monster and change it to face-up Attack Position. A petty thief waving blades before a god—show your true form!"
Gansley's face-down monster was sealed by two white charms forming an 'X.' The creature beneath the card, displeased, tore through the seals and emerged—only to realize it had been forced into Attack Position.
"My Set monster was the Flip Monster [Sniper Soul Bird]!¹ Its Flip Effect activates—you must discard one card from your hand!"
Though concerned that his 500-ATK monster was now exposed, Gansley stayed calm.
Due to [Sniper Soul Bird]'s effect, Youmi discarded one card, then revealed another from her hand. "I reveal the Ritual Monster [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] to activate its effect. I add one [Mikanko] card other than [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] from my Deck to my hand, then discard one card."
Gansley scowled. "A Ritual Monster that activates from the hand…? And Mikanko? I don't recall KaibaCorp's database having any record of that archetype."
"Never underestimate divine power~"
After adding [Great Mikanko Ceremony] from her Deck to her hand, Youmi wagged her finger and discarded [Double-Edged Sword].
"I may have been sent here to help, but since I'm here, I might as well have some fun before I'm kicked out. I activate [Great Mikanko Ceremony]!"
"I Special Summon [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] from my hand, ignoring its Summoning conditions! Monsters Special Summoned by this effect return to the hand at the end of the turn."
"By the way, my Deck Master is also [Ohime], though not this one."
Surrounded by the Three Sacred Treasures—the Kusanagi Sword, the Yata Mirror, and the Yasakani Jewel—[Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] appeared before Youmi, glancing at her disapprovingly.
"Next, I banish [Great Mikanko Ceremony] from my Graveyard to activate its effect, sending one [Mikanko] card from my Deck to the Graveyard. I send [Ha-Re the Sword Mikanko]!"
"Now, I activate the Equip Spell [Mikanko Fire Dance]! I Special Summon [Ha-Re the Sword Mikanko] from my Graveyard and equip it with this card!"
The Spell transformed into a flaming sword, which Youmi tossed behind her—where a red-haired girl leapt forward and caught it. "Ha-Re's effect activates! I add [Mikanko's Water Arabesque] from my Deck to my hand."
"[Ohime the Manifested Mikanko]'s effect activates! I target one Equip Spell in my Graveyard and equip it to an appropriate monster. I choose [Double-Edged Sword] and equip it to—" Youmi playfully pointed at [Sniper Soul Bird]. "That's right, your monster! That Equip Spell increases its Attack by 2000. You're welcome~"
"What's the point of powering up my monster…?"
Ignoring Gansley's confusion, Youmi continued. "I activate the Equip Spell [Mikanko's Water Arabesque]!"
"I equip it to [Ha-Re]. Then I use its effect—Special Summon one [Mikanko] monster with a different name from my hand or Deck, and equip this card to it."
"After that, the monster previously equipped returns to its owner's hand. I Special Summon [Hu-Li the Jewel Mikanko] and return [Ha-Re the Sword Mikanko] to my hand."
"Battle Phase—[Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] attacks your [Sniper Soul Bird] with 2500 Attack!"
A 0-ATK monster attacking a 2500-ATK one—it made no sense. Gansley, sensing something off, tried to flip his face-down card—abruptly, an error appeared on his Duel Disk. "What?! Why can't I activate [Sakuretsu Armor]?! [Negate Attack]—even that won't work! You hacked the duel system, didn't you, you damn hacker!"
"What's he rambling about?"
Sharing a look with [Hu-Li], Youmi shrugged. "Thanks to [Hu-Li the Jewel Mikanko], as long as I control an Equip Spell, my [Mikanko] cards can't be targeted by effects. And due to [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko]'s effect, she can't be destroyed by battle, and any battle damage I would take is inflicted to you instead."
"Oh, and here's a bonus tip—because of [Double-Edged Sword], battle damage involving the equipped monster is inflicted to both players. Combine the two effects, and the damage I would've taken is also inflicted to you. Now, a simple math quiz: 2500 + 2500 = ?"
As [Ohime the Manifested Mikanko] approached his powered-up monster, Gansley let out a blood-curdling scream. Damage taken in this system caused real pain, and the excess damage beyond his LP sent waves of agony through him. "No… my setup… my plan—AAAAAGH!"
His avatar dissolved into digital fragments. Youmi watched him sink into the sea, bubbles rising until he vanished.
Wrinkling her nose again, she muttered, "Ugh, that fish smell still lingers…"
Glitches began crawling across her elegant outfit—just like when the world tried to reject her. "What a shame. I wasn't done playing yet… Oh well. I'm sure someday, at the point of choice, the one chosen will be 'me.'"
Dancing gracefully in a circle, she shimmered and scattered into radiant motes of light.
…
As her glow dispersed on the breeze, a girl in black clothing with long violet hair approached from the distance.
"Huh? Where's Gansley? How far did he wander off…" Her brows knitted as she reached the water's edge and spotted a Deck Box. "This is… a [Mikanko] deck? But I didn't pick this one. How is there a full set here…?"
Opening it, she drew out a card. "[Arahime the Manifested Mikanko]… What in the world is this…?"
...
¹ I looked for this (狙魂妖鸟 - Sniper Soul Bird) everywhere, but it seems not to be an official or even unreleased/anime/manga card.
...
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