"My turn, draw! I activate the Magic Card 'Merciful Machine Angel' from my hand again!" Asuka said. "I tribute 'Cyber Angel' Ritual Monsters from my hand and field, then draw two cards from my Deck. After that, I choose one card from my hand and return it to the bottom of the Deck."
"I tribute the 'Cyber Angel Benten' I searched from my Deck last turn, and draw two cards!"
She swapped in two fresh cards, then put one back into the Deck. Right after that, the effect of the Benten that was just sent to the Graveyard also activated.
"Effect of 'Cyber Angel Benten'," she said. "When tributed, add a Fairy-Type, Light Attribute Monster from your Deck to your hand.
I add 'Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands' from my Deck to my hand."
Another Deck search. After she pulled that "Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands" out into her hand, the Deck was quickly shuffled and cut.
"Then I Normal Summon 'Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands'!"
[Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, ATK 1400]
"Effect of 'Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands': when it is Summoned, I add 1 Ritual Magic or Ritual Monster Card from my Deck to my hand." Asuka once again precisely searched her Deck. "From my Deck, I add the Ritual Monster 'Cyber Angel Dakini' to my hand!"
With that, her setup was pretty much complete.
Asuka snapped two cards up in one go and revealed them. "Ritual Magic 'Machine Angel Ritual' activate! I tribute Monsters from my hand and field until their total Levels are equal to or exceed the Level of the Ritual Summoned Monster, and Ritual Summon the 'Cyber Angel' in my hand!
I tribute the Level 6 'Cyber Angel Benten' in my hand and perform a Ritual Summon! Appear now—
—Level 6, Cyber Angel Idaten!!!"
Idaten, a Buddhist guardian deity, but here she appeared as a graceful female Angel, with an alluring, spectacular figure and soft curves like rolling waves.
[Cyber Angel Idaten, ATK 1600]
Darkness sneered. "Heh, all that effort just to Summon this kind of…"
He didn't even finish before Asuka cut him off. "Effect of 'Cyber Angel Benten' that was used as a Ritual Tribute! When tributed, add a Fairy-Type, Light Attribute Monster from your Deck to your hand!
Next is the effect of 'Cyber Angel Idaten' that was Ritual Summoned! When Ritual Summoned, I select 1 Ritual Magic Card in my Deck or Graveyard and add it to my hand."
Asuka pulled out the two cards that automatically popped out from the Deck in one motion.
"I add the Fairy-Type, Light Attribute 'Senju of the Thousand Hands' and the Ritual Magic 'Machine Angel Ritual' to my hand!"
By this point, quite a few players were already impressed; many gazes shifted toward Asuka's mentor, Cola Sprite.
Not to mention anything else, just in terms of search power, card advantage, and combo lines, little Asuka's duel already had the flavor of a top-tier Deck!
Under everyone's gaze, Cola Sprite couldn't help but straighten his back a little, feeling a bit proud.
Powerful, right? Of course! Who do you think taught her!
Even the guildmaster Sandbag nodded slightly in deep satisfaction, suddenly feeling that all the recent whaling, impulse spending, and his guild brothers' hardcore grinding had been worth it.
"Magic Card 'Machine Angel Ritual'!" Asuka continued her narration. "I tribute Monsters from my hand and field until their total Levels are equal to or exceed the Level of a Ritual Monster, then Ritual Summon 1 'Cyber Angel' Ritual Monster from my hand!
I tribute the Level 4 'Senju of the Thousand Hands' I just searched, and the Level 6 'Cyber Angel Idaten' on my field, to perform a Ritual Summon!
The mightiest Angel descends here and now—
—Level 8, Cyber Angel Dakini!!!"
A mechanical altar appeared, and an Array unfolded beneath it. Strange flames were lit in the braziers, and the two tributed offerings turned into beams of light and vanished into the altar as a torrent of energy erupted outward.
Stepping out from the Ritual vortex was a mechanical war goddess. She had four powerful arms, two hands gripping gleaming long blades, the other two crossed around a long, gold-inlaid Magic Staff.
[Cyber Angel Dakini, ATK 2700]
"Effect of 'Cyber Angel Dakini'!" Asuka called out. "When this card is Ritual Summoned, your opponent must send 1 Monster they control… to the Graveyard!"
"Nani!?" Darkness's face changed dramatically.
This effect was downright terrifying.
Because Dakini's effect doesn't say "send 1 Monster on your opponent's field to the Graveyard," it says "your opponent must send 1 Monster to the Graveyard." The target it chooses and the object it affects are the opposing player, not the Monsters themselves.
"Send a Monster to the Graveyard" is a mandatory action forced on the opposing player, meaning that neither "cannot be targeted" nor "unaffected by card effects" type Resistances can stand up to this overwhelming power.
Even Egyptian Gods with top-tier Resistance are no exception.
Just from the nature of this effect, 'Cyber Angel Dakini' already belongs to the absolute top class of field-clearing power, fully worthy of being the Deck's ace.
Right now Darkness only had one Monster on his field. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and send his ace, 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon,' to the Graveyard.
Red-Eyes let out a resentful wail, but under Dakini's irresistible Power of Judgment, it couldn't resist at all. Its body disintegrated in an instant under the Holy Light and vanished from the field.
"And then there's the effect of 'Cyber Angel Idaten' that was sent to the Graveyard as a Ritual Tribute!" Asuka went on. "When she is used as a Tribute, all Ritual Monsters I control gain 1000 ATK and DEF!"
[Cyber Angel Dakini, ATK 2700/DEF 2400 → ATK 3700/DEF 3400]
Darkness's expression turned sour. "ATK… 3700?"
"Battle!" Asuka swung her snow-white arm. "Cyber Angel Dakini, direct attack!"
The mechanical war goddess strode forward, her expression as frigid as a dead pond. The twin steel blades in her hands swung down along with her Magic Staff, like merciless judgment falling upon a sinner.
But in that instant, the panic on Darkness's face vanished without a trace, replaced by a cold, triumphant smile.
"Heh, how naive," he said icily. "You never even considered a possible counterattack, and allowed yourself to be intoxicated by the sheer power of your Monster. That arrogance will be your undoing!
I activate the Trap—'Mirror Force'!"
The moment that card appeared, many people sucked in a breath of cold air—especially the Hanno Knight Guild's guildmaster Sandbag, who nearly leapt to his feet.
Good grief, using 'Hanno's Sublime Power' as a pitfall against our guild's disciple?
"When an opponent's Monster declares an attack: destroy all Attack Position Monsters your opponent controls," Darkness sneered. "You've done well to make it this far, but this is the end of the line!
All of your Monsters will be annihilated in the radiance of 'Mirror Force'!"
The hemispherical shield released a sacred glow, and the dazzling light reflected back! Blue rays poured down like a torrential curtain of rain, covering Asuka's entire field with no room for her Monsters to escape.
But Asuka's face remained calm as she slid a card out from her Graveyard.
"I activate the effect of the Ritual Magic 'Machine Angel Ritual' in my Graveyard," she said. "If a Light Attribute Monster I control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can banish this card from my Graveyard instead!"
"Nani!?" Darkness's jaw practically hit the floor.
The defense of the sacred shield was cleaved apart by a single strike from Dakini, and the Cyber Angel's assault surged forward like an unstoppable blade, that 3700-ATK blow slamming straight into his completely undefended face!