"Then, I set 3 cards in my Backrow and end my turn."
As the Miko of the Outer God, Prisma Illya's Deck was brutally straightforward—a common flaw among Foreigner-type Decks.
"Is Jiang You going to hold the field alone?"
Nero couldn't see Jiang You's effects, but her own ability allowed her to negate the effects of other face-up cards on the field. While it couldn't affect the Graveyard, it was more than enough to handle most opponents. She sensed that Jiang You in his current state wasn't at full power (knowledge granted by her Spirit Origin). This meant she might still have a chance to struggle.
If it's just Jiang You in this state, he probably can't lock me down completely. The real threat must be those face-down cards. Nero's goal wasn't ambitious: she just needed to survive for two turns. After all, she couldn't truly defeat Prisma Illya anyway.
"My turn! I draw!"
Nero glanced at her hand. Gaining an advantage would be quite simple.
"First, I activate the Spell Card [The Endless Concert Until the End of Time]! By paying half of my opponent's Life Points, I can Special Summon one [Invisible Piper] from my Deck, Graveyard, or Banished Zone!"
Prisma Illya's LP: 4000 → 2000.
"Aaaaaah!"
This was Prisma Illya's first Duel, and her first time experiencing the soul-crushing pain of a Shadow Game. Caught completely off guard, she screamed in agony.
It took her a long moment to get back on her feet. Even then, her chest was still heaving violently. This level of damage was far too much for an elementary school student.
"A card that uses the opponent's Life Points as its cost?"
Her knowledge of Dueling told her that costs were mandatory. Even in her first Duel, Prisma Illya knew how absurd it was to Special Summon a monster by consuming the opponent's Life Points. Nero had all the advantages.
"No matter. You performed a Summon, correct? According to Twin Miko's effect, you must pay 1000 Life Points to complete the Summon. Will you pay the cost?"
"It has an effect like that?"
Nero hadn't expected such a restriction on her Summons. Still, as Jiang You's miko, it wasn't entirely unreasonable. Besides, her Deck wasn't the type that relied on frequent Summons. If she were using her Roman Emperor Deck, she might as well have surrendered on the spot.
"Of course I will continue the Summon!"
Nero's LP: 4000 → 3000.
[Tru'nembra (Nero)]Attack Power: 3800
Nero, now possessing an Outer God Spirit Origin, descended onto the field herself. Her current power was just one tier below Grand-class. A powerful aura radiated from her, completely unrestrained. In terms of sheer presence, she would not be outdone.
"The Summon was successful, right? Then I activate Chloe's effect! I restore 1000 of my own Life Points!"
Prisma Illya breathed a sigh of relief. This evened out their Life Points. Losing half her LP in one go had been incredibly stressful. In fact, aside from Jiang You and a few specific Heroic Spirits, everyone was protective of their Life Points; they didn't share the mindset that "as long as you have any LP left, you're at full health."
Prisma Illya's LP: 2000 → 3000.
"Truly worthy of being his miko. You are not to be underestimated."
Whether it was mere courtesy or not, Nero's expression turned serious. She looked toward the Great God of her Spirit Origin's pantheon and bowed respectfully.
"Forgive my impertinence. I activate my own effect! When I am Special Summoned, I can negate the effects of all face-up cards on my opponent's field!"
Even if she didn't rely on Servants to win, Nero still needed to establish some board presence. Letting Prisma Illya continuously gain a Life Point advantage was not a good idea.
"Not so fast!"
Jiang You was Prisma Illya's ace; she couldn't let him be dealt with so easily.
"I activate the effect of Avatar of Blind Stupidity! When my opponent activates an effect, I can detach one Xyz Material to activate this! I detach Chloe to negate your effect's activation! Then, I Special Summon one card from my opponent's Extra Deck. Of course, this effect isn't without its drawbacks—when a card summoned by this effect leaves the field, it's banished face-down!"
"You're using my card, and when you're done, it gets banished face-down? You call that a drawback?"
Nero was so furious she almost laughed. Not only was Prisma Illya stealing her card, but she wasn't even sending it to the Graveyard or returning it to the Deck afterward. Truly worthy of my Great God's card, Nero thought sarcastically. Shameless to the core.
"Let's see what we have here."
Prisma Illya flipped through Nero's Extra Deck, but she quickly became lost. She had no idea what any of these cards did. She even spotted a card depicting Nero in a wedding dress and gazed at it with longing. Then, remembering her current identity, she realized she would probably never have the chance to wear such an outfit. With a sudden shift in mood, she turned and glared fiercely at Jiang You.
"Hey, why are you getting so worked up just from picking a card to Special Summon? And what does this have to do with me?"
Jiang You was genuinely baffled. He couldn't believe Prisma Illya was blaming him for something she saw in an Extra Deck.
"It has everything to do with you!" Prisma Illya snarled, gritting her teeth. "She's a god from your pantheon, isn't she? Help me out here—which of these cards is stronger?"
Jiang You certainly wasn't going to refuse a chance to look at Nero's cards. Besides the Bride version, Nero's Extra Deck also contained her Goddess of Beauty Venus and Swimsuit forms. The relationship between those two cards seemed similar to the Synchro climbing mechanic in a Fiend Deck, allowing for consecutive Synchro Summons, though he couldn't tell which card was the Tuner.
Apart from these Synchro Cards, Jiang You also spotted a purple Fusion Card: United Performance. The card art depicted the Dragon Girl and Nero singing together in idol outfits.
[United Performance]Level 11 / Foreigner / ATK 4500
[Tru'nembra (Nero)] + [Suc'naath (Elizabeth Bathory)]
1. This card's name is also treated as "Tru'nembra (Nero)" and "Suc'naath (Elizabeth Bathory)".
2. If this card is Special Summoned: Banish all face-up non-Foreigner cards your opponent controls.
3. During each End Phase: Inflict 1500 damage to your opponent.
4. Once per turn: You can pay 1000 of your opponent's Life Points; draw 2 cards.
5. Unaffected by Spell and Trap Card effects.
This was one of the few cards in the current meta with a base Attack Power exceeding the Grand-class threshold of 4000. It was essentially a fusion of Nero's and the Dragon Girl's Outer God State Card effects. However, Nero's original effect—paying 1000 Life Points three times per turn for a total of 3000 to draw three cards—had been transformed into a Pot of Greed-like effect that cost the opponent 1000 Life Points to draw two cards. It was hard to say whether this was a nerf or a buff. The combination of burn damage and card draw was undeniably potent and incredibly versatile.
Still, compared to the combo with Chaos Dream, which could burn the opponent for 3000 damage and then draw three cards, this felt like a pale imitation.
"Pick this one," Jiang You said decisively. If Nero couldn't recover her Life Points, Prisma Illya could win the Duel next turn simply by ending her turn.