God of the Battlefield #6

"I'll set one magic circle and end my turn."

The situation had reversed in an instant. Maximilian ended his turn with an arrogant look on his face.

"To think he'd turn this around..."

"Spinola lives up to his name, after all."

The third-years flipped their attitudes like pancakes, letting out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gasps of admiration.

"......"

The first-years, who knew that Ricardo hadn't lost even a single Soul Point in any duel so far, remained silent in shocked faces.

"Nngh...!"

Among them, Alexander—who had directly clashed with Ricardo before—gritted his teeth, his face flushed beet red.

"...Kkh!"

Diego looked ready to leap straight onto the Battle Table at any moment. It was as if his expression screamed, 'I should have been the one to first chip away at that bastard's Soul Points.'

But he couldn't act on it. No matter how riled up he was, there was no lunatic here who'd interrupt with the professors watching.

"My turn."

Amid all that, Ricardo calmly drew his card.

In truth, "calm" wasn't quite the word. He was just nonchalant. Things had gone unusually well for him up to now, but games had their ups and downs—that was all.

His position wasn't bad at all, really.

He'd lost some Soul Points and creatures, sure, but his hand, Mana Crystals, and Factory Gauge were all plentiful.

"I'll summon Machinery Swan - Signus."

The first-years had expected him to burn Factory Gauge for a dragon summon straight out of Rusty Soldier.

But unexpectedly, Ricardo called forth only a Rank 2 low-tier creature.

That said, the sheer size of this new summon made it impossible to dismiss as mere Rank 2 fodder. It dwarfed even [K-2 Black Panther] or [Apache], coming in at over half the bulk of [Machinery Deep-Sea Dragon - Nautilus].

Its body, once pristine white, was scorched and dented from horrific heat exposure, twisted grotesquely with all manner of machinery bolted haphazardly onto it.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

A sharp horn extended from beneath its tailfeathers, and the moment [Signus] appeared, it jammed that horn into the top of Rusty Factory.

"Signus's special ability activates! When this card is successfully summoned and Rusty Factory is on my field, I gain 3 additional Factory Gauge."

As the horn pierced it, the Factory's trembling gauges spiked upward.

"Indeed, Factory Gauge is crucial in Bardi's strategy. That's why he's stocked up on cards to refill it."

"Now Ricardo can summon 5 Lost Soldiers~?"

"But he's used his summon for this turn..."

"Hm, he's got something else in mind."

"I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."

"!?"

Eden's prediction missed the mark. With Ricardo's turn-end declaration, the only sound was once more the tolling of Rusty Factory.

[Signus] continued fueling the factory district in the exact pose it had appeared.

"Why not summon the dragon?"

"Wary of the magic circle Spinola senior set?"

"Fair enough. Even if something's up, it's suspicious. Spinola senior's down to 300 Soul Points. One dragon attack and he's done, so he's gotta have something prepared."

"Mm, even so, he's got plenty of Soul Points left. Feels like a waste..."

"...Hm."

Amid the first-years' murmurs, Maximilian quietly drew his card. His refined eyes narrowed to slits.

'What's your game, Ricardo Bardi?'

If left alone, [Signus] would fall to Captain of the Azure Wing Knights - Fried's attack, dealing 1,900 damage to Ricardo's Soul Points. That would drop him to a precarious 1,000—higher than Maximilian's 300, but out of the safe zone.

'Counting on that magic circle?'

There was no other explanation: he'd baited [Signus] to spring a trap.

'But don't think something like that will work on me!'

Yet Maximilian already held the card to dismantle any trap.

"My turn! I summon Vanguard Knight - Lion Heart! With its special ability, I'll call forth a Rank 2 or lower Warrior creature—Heretic Inquisitor - Witch Slasher!"

The tediously recurring [Lion Heart] raised its lance, and another knight charged in swiftly.

A heavy thud of hooves from a black steed. Atop it sat a knight clad in somber ebony armor. A black conical hood shrouded his face, pierced by two eyeholes revealing hollow, lightless gazes.

"Witch Slasher's special ability! While this creature is on my field, your Mage creatures lose 500 status, and during my chain of attacks, you cannot activate magic circles!"

True to its name, an ability that sniped all magic! The first-years gaped.

"Witch Slasher! That's a rare card too!"

"Where's he getting all these cards!?"

"Stop using broken cards already!"

Ignoring them, Maximilian smirked, convinced he'd thwarted Ricardo's scheme.

'Traps aren't dug so sloppily.'

His blue eyes flicked to the face-down card on his field.

It was a card from the "organization," a snare prepared for the dragon. A slow but certain trap to catch it.

'Ricardo Bardi. The moment Signus falls, your only move left will be summoning the dragon.'

That's when the trap would strike.

Maximilian's gaze drifted to Princess Daphne. Her body looked so soft it could slip through grasping fingers like clouds, stirring base desires.

If this went his way, claiming that body—and elevating House Spinola—would be within reach.

Hiding his scheming thoughts behind a nobleman's facade, Maximilian elegantly extended his right hand.

"Battle! Captain of the Azure Wing Knights - Fried attacks Machinery Swan - Signus!"

The captain atop his white steed charged back into the fray. His elegantly drawn famed sword traced an unwavering arc, unshaken even by the leaping horse's motion.

-Kikik, kigigik... Boom—!!

[Signus] split along the sword's path, exploding and vanishing, as Ricardo's Soul Points plummeted.

"At this moment, I activate the effect of Lost World."

"Lost World's effect?"

"It had more besides summoning Rusty Factory and Libertus?!"

Beep— Beep— Beep— Bweeeeeeee—!!!!

Beep— Beep— Beep—.

The siren from [Lost World] wailed in an even more unsettling tone. Less an alarm than the cry of some colossal deep-sea beast—or a dirge heralded from the underworld.

"When Lost World is on my field and my Soul Points drop to 1,000 or below, I can summon Machinery Alarm - Siren Tower from deck, hand, or graveyard."

Rumble rumble rumble...

One of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠siren towers in [Lost World] collapsed with a roar. From the rubble rose a giant skeletoned in intricate machinery. The blaring speakers had merely been its head all along.

The grotesque giant loomed over the dead world. An eerie siren wailed endlessly from its head.