"Overwhelming Shadows!"
Stuart Fawn activated the third Magic Guide Card in his hand at this critical moment.
Under the sweep of this "Overwhelming Shadows," the entire field transformed into a land shrouded in shadow.
Looking down from the player's platform, it seemed as if layers of thin gauze covered the field, dimming the light so severely it was hard to make out anything.
Faintly, one could only see shadows squirming beneath the dark curtain.
On the surface, this Magic Card of Stuart Fawn's already had the foundation of a "Field Card"—the only question was whether it amplified his Magic Guide Spirits.
Dark pondered briefly and immediately noticed that Espeon's mana value had stopped rising!
Yet when "Overwhelming Shadows" swept in, Espeon had not actually stopped exerting itself.
That immense Confusion clamped onto one of the "Shadow Worms," forcibly dragging it out of a "Shadow Den" and then slamming it viciously into the ground.
"Bang!"
The thunderous crash of an object hitting the ground and the agonized shriek of the "Shadow Worm" rang out one after another.
This indicated that this "Confusion" had at least successfully unleashed its power.
But what to do next?
Dark thought for a moment, and mana surged at his fingertips.
The Magic Sphere in the blue side's summoning zone instantly shot upward, bursting through the curtain of shadow at extreme speed and reaching the high sky within visible range.
"Tick!"
The sound of the turn switching reached his ears.
Dark immediately reached out to draw a card.
The first round, lasting only thirty seconds, had already turned the field's situation upside down.
The fierce contest between the two sides was beginning to take shape.
Stuart Fawn also drew immediately, and the moment he saw those two Magic Guide Cards clearly, his laughter rose again.
At once he began his second round of summoning without pause.
Dark, after seeing his Magic Guide Cards clearly, mused briefly, then began summoning the "Magic Guide Scribe."
As for the two newly drawn Magic Guide Cards, they were added to his hand for now.
[Sylveon]
[Fusion]
The four-star "Sylveon" required Magic Guide Spirits totaling four stars as sacrifices for a Sacrificial Summoning.
But the Magic Guide Spirits in Dark's hand were only the three-star "Meowth," the two-star "Magic Guide Scribe," and the four-star "Espeon."
At this point, sacrificing "Espeon" was of course impossible.
Therefore, he could not summon "Sylveon" right away.
And the other card, "[Fusion]"...
Without having assembled the materials needed for the fusion, he could only hold onto it for now.
Honestly, this draw luck could only be called average.
...
Three seconds later, both sides simultaneously completed the summoning of their fourth Magic Guide Card.
Directly in front of the blue side's player platform, less than half a meter away from it, that thick black magic guide book was summoned forth.
Dark's gaze flickered as he poured a trace of mana into the Magic Guide Card, and then the "Magic Guide Scribe" flipped open, a melodic chanting voice—like the sound of a zither—softly rising.
That was the incantation of "Normal Summoning," a summoning technique Dark had recorded beforehand.
Just as "Honedge" was hard to immediately recognize as a Magic Guide Spirit, the same was true of this "Magic Guide Scribe."
It looked just like an ordinary book, giving the impression of an "Equipment Card."
People would subconsciously overlook it and not launch targeted attacks against it.
Therefore, when it appeared for the first time, it was relatively safe to a certain degree.
But once someone understood and studied it...
To keep Stuart Fawn from paying too much attention to the "Magic Guide Scribe," Dark, after ordering it to begin chanting, immediately issued attack commands to Meowth and Espeon below.
And he himself manipulated the Magic Sphere with all his might to dodge the incoming attack.
Because after this summon, Stuart Fawn had finally launched his offensive!
...
The brand-new Magic Guide Spirit summoned in the red side's summoning zone was a giant pot nearly two meters tall—the "Ghost Vine Pot," another of Stuart Fawn's core Magic Guide Spirits!
The "Ghost Vine Pot" was a ghastly pale color, its ceramic-like body carved with black ghostly totems, two venomous snakes twisting into vine shapes to form the pot's handles.
This merely three-star Magic Guide Spirit was like a giant abyssal maw, exuding a terrifying aura.
In Stuart Fawn's previous duel, Dark had personally seen him use this "Ghost Vine Pot" to summon a five-star Magic Guide Spirit—the "Shadow Ghost"!
[Card Name: Ghost Vine Pot]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ???]
[Species: Undead Species]
[Attribute: Ghost-type / Dark-type]
[Mana: 1600]
[Attack: 0]
[Defense: 100]
[Ultimate Move: Ghost in the Pot]
With the Ultimate Move "Ghost in the Pot," it devours Ghost-type and Dark-type energy to summon a Magic Guide Spirit of the same species and attribute, no more than one tier above itself.
Each summon consumes a mana value greater than the mana value of the summoning target.
When Stuart Fawn summoned this "Ghost Vine Pot," Dark realized the core reason Stuart Fawn had used "Overwhelming Shadows"—it was clearly not merely for obscuring vision!
Sure enough, the next moment.
Stuart Fawn intoned in a low voice, "Devour, howl, and then be born! Ghost in the Pot!"
And that "Ghost Vine Pot" suddenly trembled, its lid opening automatically to reveal an interior as black as an abyss.
A suction force arose from nothing, and shadows filling the sky were drawn in with a howling sound, gradually forming a massive vortex!
Sounds like wailing ghosts and howling wolves emanated from within the "Ghost Vine Pot," a sinister and terrifying aura escaping along with them.
Espeon and Meowth, who had just charged past the midline under Dark's command, were instantly startled into a halt.
From the player platform, Dark could see the shadow curtain below his vision thinning at extreme speed, more and more of the field becoming visible.
"Just as I thought, obscuring vision was only a feint. Espeon, Future Sight!"
"Eee-fi!"
Upon hearing the command, Espeon abruptly raised its head, the red gem on its forehead releasing sun-like rays of light that instantly dispersed the surrounding shadows.
Then a terrifying wave of Confusion was released—but nothing happened.
Espeon stopped its movements and, at Dark's reminder, accelerated toward the "Ghost Vine Pot."
"Meow!"
Meowth, unwilling to fall behind, touched its forepaws to the ground and galloped on all fours.
"Destroy that ghost pot!"
The "Ghost Vine Pot's" Ultimate Move—"Ghost in the Pot"—had a cooldown between each summon, but as long as the cooldown finished, it could continuously summon qualifying Magic Guide Spirits.
To stop its summoning, it had to be destroyed!
However, at this very moment, Stuart Fawn's two "Shadow Worms" had already successfully dug out a full six Shadow Dens in the red side's area.
Just as Espeon and Meowth were about to approach the "Ghost Vine Pot."
A "Shadow Worm" suddenly burrowed out from one of the "Shadow Dens," its plump body abruptly stretching, its shuttle-like head viciously ramming Meowth's body!
"Meow!"
Meowth turned angrily and swiped out a claw.
But that "Shadow Worm" struck and fled, in a blink burrowing into another "Shadow Den."
Although the "Shadow Worm," with merely 1000 attack power, couldn't deal much damage to the 900-defense Meowth, this tickling-like attack still annoyed it to no end.
Meowth thus halted its steps.
Espeon, meanwhile, continued forward.
The other "Shadow Worm," after being slammed by its Confusion, did not burrow out to court death.
In a blink, Espeon arrived before the "Ghost Vine Pot," and without hesitation leapt into the air, viciously slamming into the "Ghost Vine Pot"!
"Bang!"
Unexpectedly, the "Ghost Vine Pot" was actually shattered by this headbutt without any defense at all.
Zach Wilson's commentary even stalled because of this.
But Stuart Fawn instead sneered coldly, "Too late."
This single "Too late" landed with weight.
Amplified through the loudspeaker, it spread throughout the arena.
Stuart Fawn's calm confidence made the spectators fix their attention intently.
The "Ghost Vine Pot" abruptly shattered.
The ceramic-like fragments were still dancing in the air.
The shadow curtain, already reduced to a thin layer, was sucked into the pot's mouth with one final shriek.
The pitch-black vortex was still spinning at high speed.
A Magic Guide Card in Stuart Fawn's hand thus emitted a strong light.
That was clearly proof that the Ultimate Move "Ghost in the Pot" had successfully chained with the Magic Guide Card.
This indicated that the summoning was already underway!
"Come forth, Ghost King in the Pot!"
Stuart Fawn abruptly raised the Magic Guide Card high, roaring as if victory and defeat were already decided!
...
In an instant...
From within the vortex inside the "Ghost Vine Pot" came a sound like the shriek of an evil ghost, and a pitch-black Ghost-type Magic Guide Spirit suddenly burrowed out. Its enormous body, like a giant python, rushed into the high sky in the blink of an eye—actually reaching the height of the player platform!
Excitement showed in Stuart Fawn's eyes as he reached out to lightly stroke the back of the great serpent's neck, saying sinisterly, "Ghost King in the Pot, it's time to let the prey know what true terror is!"
"Hassss!"
The giant python named "Ghost King in the Pot" instantly opened its bloody maw and let out a piercing shriek.
[Card Name: Ghost King in the Pot]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ??????]
[Species: Undead Species]
[Attribute: Ghost-type / Dark-type]
[Mana: 2600]
[Attack: 2800]
[Defense: 1700]
[Ultimate Moves: Pot Seal, Sealing Pot, Ghost Serpent Carnival]
Three Ultimate Moves—but this was not an orange card; it was a purple card!
The appearance of the "Ghost King in the Pot" made even Wilson in the commentary booth involuntarily contract his pupils.
"It's not the 'Shadow Ghost' after all!"
As the duel entered its second round, Wilson involuntarily set aside the snide, almost "going-through-the-motions" tone he had started with, and entered a state of fully focused commentary.
Stuart Fawn's technique of using the "Ghost Vine Pot" to summon the "Shadow Ghost" had already appeared many times in dueling matches.
But this was the first time he had summoned the "Ghost King in the Pot."
One could even say.
This "Ghost King in the Pot" was making its first-ever appearance!
"Good grief, when did he successfully transmute the 'Ghost King in the Pot'?"
Angus Jeffrey, president of the Noble History Research Society, also couldn't help letting out a low chuckle.
The "Ghost King in the Pot" and the "Ghost Vine Pot" were closely related Magic Guide Spirits.
Therefore, any Magic Guide Master who had studied the "Ghost Vine Pot" knew of the "Ghost King in the Pot."
And although the "Ghost King in the Pot" appeared to have three Ultimate Moves, one of them, named "Pot Seal," was actually a "self-limiting" mark.
[Pot Seal: A Magic Guide Spirit possessing the "Pot Seal" can only be summoned by the Ultimate Move "Ghost in the Pot," but the mana required for the summon is reduced.]
Therefore, although it had three Ultimate Moves, it was merely a purple card.
But this did not mean its strength was lower than an orange card's.
...
"Ghost King in the Pot, bite it to pieces!"
Ink-black, with a massive flap of skin behind its neck and a tail tip as illusory as a ghost, the "Ghost King in the Pot" obeyed its master's command and dove down toward the nearest Espeon. Its bloody maw suddenly opened, its scarlet forked tongue flicking rapidly, its two fangs releasing layers of ghostly aura.
But Espeon merely stepped back once, then charged without any wariness toward the "Ghost King in the Pot's" tail.
"Ha!"
The "Ghost King in the Pot's" gaping maw suddenly bit toward Espeon.
The dainty Espeon couldn't even fill its mouth.
But just when nearly everyone thought Espeon was about to be swallowed into the serpent's belly, the gem on Espeon's forehead burst with golden light.
The sunlight shining directly down now that the shadow curtain had dispersed boosted the power of Espeon's "Confusion" once again.
The "Ghost King in the Pot's" massive maw was forcibly held open, unable to close.
Espeon then abruptly accelerated, evading the serpent's mouth, and ran to the ghostly tip of the "Ghost King in the Pot's" serpent tail, raised its paw pad, and slapped down hard!
Compared to the scale-covered serpent body, this tail was clearly a weak point at a glance.
Espeon attacked this weak point without hesitation.
"Owooo!"
Sure enough, after this slap, the "Ghost King in the Pot" let out a strange cry, as if its sore spot had been stepped on.
The spectators, who had been shouting at the "Ghost King in the Pot's" ferocity, suddenly held their tongues.
To empathize with it was as if their own groin had been kicked.
Although in fact the "Ghost King in the Pot's" mana value hadn't dropped much from this, the pain and humiliation made it suddenly fly into a rage.
"Ghost Serpent Carnival!"
Seeing this, Stuart Fawn seized the opportunity to issue a command.
And so, amid the "Ghost King in the Pot's" fury, one "Ghost Serpent" after another burrowed out from its shadow.
These "Ghost Serpents" were about one to two meters long, with no skin flap on their necks; apart from that, they looked exactly like the "Ghost King in the Pot," as if cast from the same mold.
In merely a few seconds, dozens of Ghost Serpents had burrowed out, swarming densely toward Espeon.
But Espeon merely looked with slight regret at the ghostly serpent tail that had retracted, thinking quickly as its gaze shifted.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Meowth, who had finally fished a "Shadow Worm" out from a "Shadow Den," had also been targeted by some of the Ghost Serpents.
But it grinned, the gold coin on its forehead flashing with golden light.
"Tick!"
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