Kairo and Nyx spent several hours debating on which card Kairo should take with him. The duo didn't agree on all and would argue like a bickering couple on each card's pros and cons. He had quite the choice for just three slots.
Even after the rain stopped, the duo didn't move immediately and continued discoursing.
"First we have the three cards that have followed me up until now. The sand paladin, The eye of truth and tactical brilliance," Kairo said.
The sand paladin was an ideal fighter. Very versatile and adequate for most forms of combat, except might be aerial combat. Its nature itself too was a great advantage; made entirely of sand, it could take attacks that would pulverize any other form of summon.
"I don't like this dead paladin card. It gives me goosebumps. If the sand paladin really stopped obeying you after he gave you this card, it is because of their mirror nature. Furthermore with wind breaker and wind slayer you don't need it," Nyx said.
Kairo fell silent, unable to decide himself. The dead paladin wasn't a fighter; it was an executioner. A one-hit executioner for Kairo's enemies.
It was the mirror card. Or to say, a reflection of the original card. This was the card he had gotten after he executed Corry with the paladin lance.
The sand paladin had handed it to him in person, then went astray for a moment refusing to obey Kairo's orders.
"Versatile fighter and an executioner. The good thing with mirror cards is both are inherent in each other. Meaning just by having the sand paladin in my launcher I can summon its mirror, the dead paladin. This is a non-negligible aspect, Nyx. I have to take it with me," Kairo said. The image of the dead paladin was still vivid in his mind. With a single lance strike he had taken down Draco in the submarine.
"You're right. I understand why Selis was so infatuated with you, Kairo. You've got only the best cards. Mirror cards, double face cards, switch cards and even one from the deck of origin. If others learned about this they would die from envy," Nyx said.
"That's one spot already filled. Next we have the Eye of Truth. No matter how we think of it, I can't keep it away. The serpent monster warned me if I wanted to save the people who will step on that island, I needed it," Kairo said, a little perplexed. He wasn't blind to the point of taking all the serpent monster's words to heart. But one thing was certain and it was that the mention of SLAYER had left them worried. Such a name could not be taken lightly.
"If things get to the worst, I will have to use it against Slayer or might in the altar? I am not certain yet," Kairo said inwardly.
"That leaves us one last spot. Animate is an auxiliary card so it's definitely going with you. We still have to choose between tactical brilliance, wind breaker/wind slayer or The Ember Sky Protector. It's not an easy choice," Nyx pursed her lips, using her finger to tap on it gently, as if she was contemplating what would be the best choice.
Amused by her action, Kairo said nothing and made his own assumptions. He wanted to figure out if she could make this choice for him.
"Just because the new name of the protector is cool, I think you should choose it for the last card, Kairo," Nyx said seriously.
"I can't believe my ears." Kairo's eyes almost fell, his brain stepped out of his skull in protest. But he quickly regained his composure; the smirk on her face made it clear she was making fun of him again. "Come on, stop fooling around," Kairo said.
"Okay... okay... Wind slayer makes this double face card too unstable. I disagree with you taking it for two reasons, Kairo. First, imagine what might happen if you found yourself paralyzed when wind slayer was about to appear. Not only do you stand a chance of getting captured or even worse killed, you have a very high chance to wound an ally. Remember this is a team endeavor, not a solo mission."
After grasping her reasoning, Kairo smiled. It was indeed the choice he himself would have made. Wind slayer was too unpredictable. Although very powerful, it was a double-edged sword that could do more harm to Kairo and the others than anything.
"What about the second reason then?"
"Pretty simple. Wind slayer is predictable," Nyx said seriously, causing Kairo to halt his thought a second. "If your opponent survives the first hit, then wind slayer will be useless because he would not only understand how to evade it but also how to use it against you. For a mission of this level, we have to assume our opponent will not be a mindless power freak but a cunning old fox with incredible power."
Kairo felt silent. Although he had thought of the shortcomings of this card, he had never pushed it to this level. But Nyx was absolutely right now that he thought of it. Wind slayer was indeed very predictable. Kairo thought of the ghost lord / ghost prison of the Collector. His own double face card had a serious disadvantage. Kairo had a greater chance of losing if those cards clashed directly.
"Very wise thought indeed. This was the reason I always had to be in motion to use wind slayer, to perfectly time my counters. But now all those at the fountain have witnessed our fight. They now know about wind breaker / wind slayer and will surely guard themselves against it. Thus it's out," Kairo finally said. "However we still have two cards for one spot. Tactical brilliance is a perfect card for close combat. Coupled with the sand paladin we make an unbeatable duo. Why not choose this one instead?" Kairo was eager to find out how she would counter this one.
Tactical brilliance was ideal because it allowed Kairo to move at a speed comparable to that of the sand paladin. With his enhanced reflexes he could easily keep himself alive and evade lightning-fast attacks. A good example was Harid's fist.
Without Danzan's intervention, Kairo would have received the blow on the head, where the protector armor was not. This would have ended the fight in an instant. However if Kairo was using tactical brilliance at that moment, he would have been able to escape. He was pretty sure Nyx too understood that point, thus he waited for her answer.
"It's pretty hard to answer this one," Nyx said. This time around she didn't answer immediately. Leaning on her seat, she took a few seconds to think.
"Yet if we take a look at it on the opposite side, it's also very easy to dismiss it. Remember the Ember Sky Protector now has the ability to summon the lightning we saw from Selis's card," she started. "This simply means you now have a way to fight as a ranged mage, Kairo. This is essential to complete your arsenal. With the sand paladin and dead paladin keeping the vanguard, the protector will grant you massive destructive power from a range. With its defense, there is no need for the speed of tactical brilliance. You can just absorb the impacts and use its switch card nature like you did with Harid."
"Perfect... I couldn't say it better," Kairo said. This wasn't his exact thought pattern but it was very similar. The Ember Sky Protector was now his most trusted ally to keep him alive. Although that meant giving away his speed, he didn't mind. The sand paladin was fast enough to handle that.
Their discussion complete, Kairo loaded all his cards in his launcher. Afterwards he closed the suitcase with the rest of his cards before setting them back in the back seat.
Nyx opened the side windows, causing a breeze of fresh air to slip into the car. "The rain has stopped."
"Yeah," Kairo nodded, starting the engine. Although they didn't voice it out, their minds seemed to say the exact same thing. The deck composition had been so exhilarating that the duo could not wait to get back home. Eager to learn about resonance cards and what the card mage police and card magic still had to offer them.
Kairo set off the engine and the duo drove back in the opposite direction. Heading straight for the card mage police, smiling and chatting happily, their journey back home was lively and entertaining.