Chapter 55. Leviathana of Envy #3

"I'm activating the effect of Rusty Factory! By consuming three Factory Gauges, I can summon the Vision Creature Lost Soldier! I'm burning through nine Factory Gauges to summon three of them!"

Screeech—thud. Screeech—thud. Screeech—thud.

Screeeeeeeeech...

A relentless clamor echoed from inside the [Rusty Factory], like metal stamps pounding out something new. Moments later, with a spine-chilling creak, the factory doors swung open. From that pitch-black darkness beyond, three mechanical soldiers marched forth.

Camera eyes glowing red. Armor of steel rusted to ruin. Thick, black oil oozing from every joint, repainting the corpse of the old world.

"And now, activating the special ability of the Lost Soldiers!"

They began prowling the graveyard of the old world. No words passed between them—just the eerie whine of their machinery rattling through their frames.

In that silence that wasn't quite silence, one [Lost Soldier] swept its camera eye like a searchlight, flashing wildly before snapping something up.

"Effect hits! I retrieve Machinery Deep-Sea Dragon - Nautilus from my deck and tribute the three Lost Soldiers to summon it!"

Having completed their mission, the three mechanical soldiers knelt as one. As always, they uttered not a word, simply gazing silently at the old world's ruins before crumbling to dust.

Why was it? A scene they'd witnessed time and again, yet the students and the two professors felt a profound melancholy wash over them.

"Young Lord Bardi!"

"The student council's here... Huh? Professors?"

"Seven's Finger? What in the world is going on!? ...No, Professor Georgia? Professor Beltum?"

"Hush. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Duel—in progress. Watch—quietly."

And so, with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the student council and other professors now gathered, a red gleam flickered beneath the wreckage of the mechanical soldiers.

"Come forth, Nautilus!"

-GRRROOOOAAARRR—!!!

A mechanical dragon with the silhouette of a whale fused with a lizard reared its head and unleashed a roar. The [Nautilus].

"Gasp!"

"Th-that's the rumored dragon...!"

"It's here—!!"

"Go get her, Bardi! Crush that creepy bitch!"

Reactions split starkly. Professors who'd only heard tales of dragon cards paled and swallowed hard, while the Nicola Class first-years, familiar with Nautilus's might from prior sightings, cheered wildly.

As for Leviathana...

"There it iiiis—. Finally, it cameee—. That's the dragon card I've only heard aboooout—. So jealooous—. I want iiiit—. Cuter—and more beautiful—than I imagined—."

She pulled her lips into a grin that was less "smirk" and more "squish." I narrowed my eyes.

"Then, with Nautilus—."

"Aaaaah—, but firstttt—, I'll activate my set magic circleee—!"

Leviathana flipped a card with hands dripping black slime.

"My card iiiis—Magic Recovery—!"

"What? Magic Recovery?"

Eden reacted first with shock. The professors and some student council members followed suit. Only the newer Nicola first-years, light on knowledge, turned to him eagerly.

"As expected of Rogers! You know what it is, right?"

"Explain, Rogers! Like always!"

"Uh, erm!"

Eden looked momentarily flustered but pressed on with his explanation. As always.

"Magic Recovery... It's a card that lets you tribute one of your own creatures to retrieve a magic circle from the graveyard and add it to your hand."

"I see... Is that a rare card too?"

"Something like a rare card..."

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Eden's cheek.

"What's wrong, Rogers?"

"That rare, huh? I've never even heard of it."

"No, it's not that. It's... an Origin Card."

"...What?"

The students froze. As if their brains couldn't process Eden's words.

"An Origin Card?"

"That possible?!"

"Indeed—. Correct."

Professor Beltum spoke up. A rare faint anger simmered in his eyes.

"Magic Recovery—belongs to a man named—Langton Graybeard—who served as Tower Lord—forty years ago—."

And Langton had been Beltum's close friend.

"Langton Graybeard... I've heard the name! But..."

"Yes—. That man returned to dust—nine years ago—. Suddenly."

"N-no way..."

"He fell ill—overnight and passed—without a word—. I wondered what hurried him so... So this was why."

Regret clouded the old turtle's eyes. Leviathana cackled madly.

"Hahahahahaha—! Right, that was the nameee—! Turtle knows wellll—?"

She giggled, spewing black slime from her mouth as she continued.

"Yesss—! Nine years agooo—, I stole it from that old geezer—!"

"...!!"

"Seven's Finger can even steal Origin Cards!?"

The shock pinned the crowd. Leviathana savored it gleefully before speaking.

"With thaaat effect—, I tribute Darkness Pudding—to fetch Fission Proliferation from the graveyard—."

-Screech! Screeeeeeeeech—!

The [Darkness Pudding] melted slowly, like chocolate under blazing sun. But its horrific shriek and the drone wreckage it had devoured lingered on the field—far from any sweetness.

"Nowww—, you have nothing to attack withhh—?"

Leviathana mocked me triumphantly. I didn't rise to it.

"Then I end my turn."

"W-wait! Doesn't that mean she can steal Bardi's dragon too?"

"...!"

"We have to stop this now...!"

"No, let it continue."

"Professor Georgia! What are you saying!? If that dragon falls into their hands...!"

"I trust my student. Or rather, I've decided to."

"Urgh...!"

The other professor groaned at Georgia's resolute gaze.

"Hahahahaha—! Trust, huh? So enviousss—! My tuuurn—!"

Leviathana roughly drew her card, face twisting as she bellowed.

"I'll show you it's uselessss—! I activate the magic circle Cost Down—!"

"Cost Down! A rare card that drops the rank of one high-level creature in your hand by 2!"

"Th-then...!"

"Yesss—! Smart kiddd—! Now I can summon up to rank 4 creatures without tributeee—! I special summon Void Slime - Blank—!"

Even after Leviathana placed the card on the Battle Arc, no creature appeared at first.

As murmurs rose among the students, a subtle ripple caught my eye in the corner of my vision. Focusing, I spotted a fully transparent slime manifesting in her zone.

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

Empty as it seemed, I knew instinctively.

The real threat had arrived.

"With Void Slime - Blank—, I attaaaack—your Nautiluuus—!"

A stats-zero creature challenging my 3,500 Nautilus. Clearly to meet the activation condition of [Fission Proliferation] she'd added to hand.

-GRRROOOOAAAR—!!

Nautilus roared, spewing torpedoes from its gaping maw. The powerless [Blank] stood no chance.

"Heheheheee—! Foolishhh—! I activate Fission Proliferation—! When a slime falls in battle—, call as many same-name creatures from deck as possibleee—! Come oooout—! My cute Blanks—!!"

As Nautilus's barrage faded and dust settled in Leviathana's zone, three more transparent slimes joined the fray.

"Anddd—with this effect, when summoning rank 3+ creatures—, battle-destroyed slimes and same-name creatures can't attack this tuuurn—!"

An odd restriction on closer thought. It specifies "battle-destroyed slimes and same-name creatures"?

Change the name somehow, and the lock breaks.

"And nowww—, activating the special ability of Void Slime - Blank—!"

Leviathana pointed a dripping black finger at my [Nautilus].

Her gesture confirmed my hunch.

"Blank copies a creature from your field—name, rank, stats—! I'll copy the water oneee—! Machinery Deep-Sea Dragon - Nautilus—!"

"What!?"

"Copies the opponent's abilities!?"

"Damn it, stop using these busted cards!"

The three [Blanks] convulsed. Palm-sized bodies ballooned instantly, transparent voids filling with ashen gray.

-GRRROOOOAAARRRROOOO—!!!

The three [Blanks], perfect replicas of my dragon, roared in unison. The sound prickled my skin.

Fakes or not, their draconic presence was vivid. Students—and even some professors—collapsed to their knees.

"I-impossible...!"

"Dragons... three of them...!"

"H-how do you beat this...!"

"Bardi!"

"Young Lord Bardi!"

Amid the cries, Eden, Princess Alessia, and Daphne—who'd arrived unnoticed—called my name desperately.

A crisis beyond compare. The dragon power that had carried me to victory now bared its fangs at me.

I ignored the shouts, steeling my numb legs against the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coming assault.

"My babies with new names are free from Fission Proliferation's demerittt—! Attack—! With Machinery Deep-Sea Dragon - Nautilus—, hit his Nautiluuus—!"

One [Blank] mimicking my Nautilus gaped wide. Dozens of torpedoes emerged from the abyss-like darkness.

"Counter it, Nautilus!"

-GRRROOOOAAAR—!!

My [Nautilus] bellowed fiercer than usual, enraged by the imposter, and fired back.

Two dragons facing off like mirror images.

In the hair-trigger tension, our voices rang out together.

Atomic Bite—!!

Fwoooosh—BOOMCRASHCRASHCRASH!!

Fangs clashed. Heavy impacts and lashing crimson flames stripped steel plating, shattering inner mechanisms that scattered everywhere.

KA-BOOOOOM—!!!!

A colossal blast. Like history repeating, a mushroom cloud billowed from the world-scorching flash.

"...!"

A searing pain pierced my chest and temples. I clenched my jaw. Not physical—no Magic & Creature inflicts real agony.

This was my past life clawing back—emotions surging from those memories, gnawing my brain and heart.

Soul-shredding agony. I thrashed through the erupting emotions, seizing rage from the depths.

Grind...

My teeth ground involuntarily. Heat from the fury bloomed in my heart, surging through my veins.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

My heartbeat thundered like war drums. Was this the rhythm of battle's onset?

"Hehehehe—."

Half-melted in form, Leviathana chuckled darkly. Her misaligned gaze fixed on me.

"Your dragon's goooone—but I still have twooo—?"

"... ."

"My two Nautiluses will attaaaack—your cursed wooden doll—!"

Atomic Bite—!

From the mushroom cloud, two [Blanks] emerged, unleashing torpedoes. Death incarnate carved precise arcs through the air, obliterating my [Cursed Marionette] without trace.

"Too baaad— if that cursed wooden doll wasn't stats zerooo—, it'd be over right thereee—."

Her upturned lips oozed grotesquely with a squelch.

"Anywayyy—. I end my tuuurn—."

Already tasting victory, she passed the turn leisurely.

"... ."

I silently eyed my deck. One card—that was all I needed now.

Drawing it would decide this duel. I closed my eyes.

Index and middle fingers atop the deck. My pounding heart—was it mine, or the deck's?

Like some cartoon hero bonded soul-deep with their deck? Honestly, no. To me, this deck was a portrait of raw agony, a self-portrait of the me who couldn't fully let go of my past life.

Even as Magic & Creature recreated only forms and sounds, wielding these cards filled my mouth with metallic tang and my nose with acrid smoke.

The texture of war. Hateful, painful—death and despair intertwined.

Yet I gripped this card. In a way, I trusted it.

Believed that before an enemy stealing my precious again, I'd never yield.

That I'd claw victory from the dirt if needed.

Because these weren't mere paper scraps. They were extensions of me.

Shff—!

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

I pulled hard. The card slid smoothly, heartbeat thundering like lightning.

My two hand cards pulsed in resonance.

Slowly, without hesitation. Steady gaze on the fresh draw.

Silently, I slid it into my hand.

"Bardi..."

"Young Lord Bardi...!"

Eden and Princess Alessia sighed my name, thinking I'd conceded.

But not Alexander and Diego, who'd dueled me before.

"...Hahaha! Drew it, eh, Bardi!"

"Hmph, lucky bastard..."

I answered by slamming a card from hand onto the Battle Arc.

"I tribute two Cursed Marionettes to summon Atomic Core!"

The trump card to turn the tide.

A massive sphere rising from the old world's heart, radiating blinding light like a mock sun. Leviathana's brow twitched.

Time to play my final hand.