Drawing is a Grave Matter #6
“Battle! I’ll attack the Astrologer - Carne with Sea Drifter - Specter Jelly!”
“What? With a creature at 0 stats against my Carne?”
An attack that could only be described as a suicide run. Pollux glanced briefly at the magic circle he’d set up last turn, pondering for a moment, but ultimately chose not to deploy it.
“I don’t know what you’re scheming! Counter it, Carne!”
Heh heh heh...
A short, mocking chuckle escaped from [Carne]. She sensually stroked her crystal orb.
Hug— Hug—
Even as she did, the ghostly song grew ever closer, moment by moment. When the melody playing from beneath the sea finally reached Pollux’s side...
Foosh!
Cleaving through the currents from the deep abyss, a single transparent jellyfish burst forth.
[Sea Drifter - Specter Jelly]. Rank ★1, a bottom-tier creature with 0 stats.
The thing wobbled as if it barely possessed a sense of self, extending its thread-thin, nearly invisible tentacles—like heat haze—toward [Carne].
But [Carne], her opponent, boasted 1,200 stats. Far too powerful a foe for [Specter Jelly] to hunt.
Heh heh!
With a smile of utter disdain, [Carne] rhythmically tapped her crystal orb with her slender, swaying fingers.
The orb flashed sharply, spewing a beam of pure white light.
Paang!
In the blink of an eye, the beam shot out, incinerating [Specter Jelly]’s tentacles and piercing straight through its body.
“Hahaha! That Specter Jelly has 0 stats—lucky for us right now! No Soul Point damage!”
Pollux bellowed with laughter, echoing something we’d all heard before. Alexander grinned in response.
“Uahaha! You think that’s the end of it for me?!”
“What?!”
“At this moment! I activate the special ability of Sea Drifter - Specter Jelly!”
“A special ability...?! Damn it, so there was something!”
Pollux’s eyes widened in realization.
Meanwhile, rather than vanishing after being pierced by the beam from [Astrologer - Carne], [Specter Jelly] shuddered violently in its transparent form.
“Ever been stung by a jellyfish, Pollux?”
Pale electricity began leaking from the creature, bit by bit.
“Specter Jelly’s special ability! When this card is destroyed in battle against an opponent’s creature and sent to the graveyard! It paralyzes the battling opponent creature!”
“Paralyzes?!”
“That’s right! The creature that destroys Specter Jelly has its stats reduced by 300, can’t activate special abilities, and can’t declare attacks until the opponent’s next turn ends!”
“!”
“This locks Carne out of divining other cards next turn! She’s stuck with the Piana she’s already got!”
“Tch...!”
Boom—!
[Specter Jelly]’s transparent body swelled up, then erupted in pale lightning, binding [Carne].
Kyaak...!
[Carne] stiffened, letting out a scream. Satisfied, the [Sea Drifter] evaporated away.
Astrologer - Carne
Stats: 1,200 → 900
“As you said, Pollux, Specter Jelly has 0 stats. Even destroyed in battle, no damage to me.”
“Heh heh... Ouch, that stung. I underestimated it because of the 0 stats!”
“Uahaha! Then consider it a lesson from Ricardo Bardi! Just like I learned!”
“Ricardo Bardi?”
The two muscleheads’ gazes naturally turned to me. Embarrassing and burdensome—please stop.
“But is that all, Alexander Wales Belluraca? I still have the Star Beast - Cherawim to summon next turn! Binding Carne for one turn won’t change the tide!”
“Uahaha! Of course not the end! That Specter Jelly special attack gave me another chance!”
“What!?”
“The moment Specter Jelly hits the graveyard, I deploy a magic circle!”
Alexander Wales Belluraca
6 → 5
“Echo of Overfishing! This card activates when my Water-type creature is destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard!”
The sea where [Specter Jelly] vanished. The deep blue waves, usually calmly rippling, began bubbling fiercely.
“These jellyfish, man. Real headaches.”
Alexander grinned mischievously.
“Catch too many of their predator fish, and boom—their numbers explode. Well, it’s the same jellyfish now! Uahaha!”
The bubbles staining the surface soon took the form of transparent jellyfish, floating up from the sea.
Hug— Hug—
Playing an eerie wail like a ghost’s cry.
“Echo of Overfishing lets me search my deck for a Water-type creature of rank equal to or below the destroyed one and summon it! I’ll summon Sea Drifter - Specter Jelly! And furthermore!”
As if that weren’t enough, Alexander raised the [Specter Jelly] card.
“I activate Specter Jelly’s special ability!”
“It still had a special ability left?!”
“Yes! When summoned by a card effect, Specter Jelly can summon as many copies of itself from the deck as possible!”
Wait, this development feels familiar...
“Hmm, reminiscent of Bardi’s tactics.”
“Yeah~ Mass-summoning low-rankers for advantage~. Makes sense, since it’s an Origin card born from Ricardo’s influence~.”
“Hmph, even that boar of a man grows, it seems.”
“Eek!”
The group’s half-hearted gazes turned to me again. My limbs felt all tangled up.
Not that I hated it... Definitely not! But that ticklish itch was hard to bear!
Of course, Beatrice was predictably clutching her old amulet, trembling...
Sea Drifter - Specter Jelly
★1 / Water / Fish, Undead
Stats: 0
Three [Specter Jelly]s summoned in one go.
Hug— Hug— Hug— Hug— Hug— Hug—
Their eerie yet somehow mystical chorus began.
“And I deploy another magic circle! Key of the Deep Sea!”
Alexander Wales Belluraca
5 → 4
“While Maritime Kingdom - Belluraca is on my field! I can fetch Gatebreak Magic Circle - Deep Sea Gate from my deck!”
“Gatebreak~?”
“...Alexander, surely you don’t mean.”
Gatebreak Magic Circle. A magic circle card that liberates a sealed entity through specific tribute.
This ‘sealed entity’ varies wildly by individual. It could be an ancient monster too dangerous to roam free, sealed away long ago. Or a legendary being passed down through family heart-images from ancestors. Or even the most intimate, raw symbol unconsciously sealed in one’s psyche.
In Alexander’s case, probably the second.
“I tribute my three Water-type creatures on the field! Deploy Gatebreak Magic Circle - Deep Sea Gate!”
Alexander Wales Belluraca
4 → 3
The moment Alexander pointed at the sea, the world seemed to hold its breath in silence. The three [Drifters] circled quietly, as if understanding the ritual, converging at the center.
Grrrrumble...
Ancient runes surfaced over the sea around Maritime Kingdom - Belluraca.
[Gatebreak – Deep Sea Gate]. A deep-sea gate locked centuries ago breaks its chains, using the three [Drifters] as tribute.
Alexander drew not from his main deck, but from a separate ‘Latency Deck,’ pulling the card of the entity slumbering beyond the deep gate.
Grrrrumble...!
The deep-sea gate began to creak open slowly.
Its shockwave literally split the sea.
As the [Specter Jellies] dissolved into the magic circle, the water surface churned wildly. No waves rose. Instead, the surface sank. An immense, ineffable weight from below called forth something.
Beyond the parted sea, an unseen abyss opened like a king’s path crafted for one alone.
A colossal shadow slowly rose from the gap.
A being with a human torso, yet scaled chest and arms, and a thick orca-like lower body.
“Gatebreak Summon! Descend, Sea King - Nerbarus!!”
The ancient sea king from legends passed down through Belluraca royalty.
Grrrrumble—!
A teal trident pointed skyward. The heavens obeyed, welcoming the king’s procession.
Storm clouds gathered in the artificial sky over the Battle Table, winds howled, and thunder boomed in a grand orchestra.
Gray hair cascading to his shoulders. Eyes gleaming like bottled lightning. A torso sculpted from deep-sea rock-hard muscle, emblazoned at center with an ancient sea rune. His orca lower body robustly supported the royal form—vast, thick, rugged, yet graceful.
The instant the deep gate opened, Alexander slammed the newly formed card onto his field.