Machinery's Great Sea Dragon - Mnemotillus

Adella declared in her clear, ringing voice.

"Southern Forest Queen - Titania's special ability, one~! By sending up to two Creature cards from my hand to the graveyard, I can recover SP equal to their stats~."

Adella pulled two cards from her hand. They were the creatures she'd stolen from the opponent earlier with [Hawk Eye]'s special ability.

"I'll send these to the graveyard~. Heraclessler's stats are 2,100~. Spear Hippo's are 2,200~. So, we recover 4,300 SP~."

The [Heraclessler] and [Spear Hippo] returned to the earth. Titania's massive hand gently stroked over them.

Then, from the mound of soil, plant stems sprouted vigorously, droplets of dew glistening at the tips of fresh green leaves, dripping down to us one by one.

So that's why they grabbed those bug-type cards they hated. Clever.

"Hah, recovering SP with our cards? Thrifty little things, aren't they?"

"Damn, marry me."

"You lunatics! The game's not over! You haven't even passed the turn yet! I need to win for my Raging Boar!"

"Yeah, my turn hasn't even come, and they've got two Rank 4s over there. What is this? A dream?"

Meanwhile, their reactions were a sight to behold. I couldn't hide my pitying gaze...

"Hehe~ Not yet~."

Adella, acting like she hadn't even heard the marriage proposal, hummed proudly like a puppy fresh from a win.

Well, she'd said "Titania's special ability, one" just now. That meant there was a second one.

"Titania's special ability, two~! By paying 1,000 SP~, I can add one Magic Circle from the graveyard to my hand~. But~ I can't deploy it until the end of the opponent's next turn~."

[Titania] slowly, gently buried her hand in the soil.

A faint golden glow flowed over her body. Rose-petal hair swaying softly in the wind. And her colossal frame, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with [Quetzalcoatlus].

All of it combined to make the simple act of "burying her hand in the earth" feel profoundly sacred.

"The card I'll retrieve~ is of course Bottle of Greedy~. I'll set it up and end my turn~."

Soon, [Titania] pulled a small seed from the soil and handed it to us with a benevolent smile.

"M-my turn...! Uh, wait."

The next player, a plump-faced guy, was sweating bullets.

"This is when attacks become possible, right...?"

Yeah, exactly. The only one who hadn't taken their turn yet was this lazy "Plump" guy.

In other words, from my next turn, [Quetzalcoatlus] and [Titania] could move.

Well, technically, attacks were allowed starting from Plump's turn now.

"Yeah! That's why your role is crucial! Do something!"

"They already took the Bottle of Greedy we barely got, and now they're using it perfectly."

"Just do it anyway!"

His eyes narrowed. "Barely gotBottle of Greedy." Wonder who gave it to them. Time to shake them down after the game.

"F-first, draw!"

Sweat pouring like a waterfall—no, a river—he drew his card and peered at his hand cautiously.

His hand was now at three cards. He'd eaten two [Hawk Eye] effects, losing half his original hand, and the remaining two were already exposed to us. In that situation, had he drawn something useful?

"I'll summon Armadilloider!"

Thud. The card info began materializing on the Battle Table. Soon, a Beast-type creature covered head to toe in bumpy armor shell strode out boldly.

But its condition didn't look great, gait aside.

Bloodshot eyes, abnormally developed upper body muscles. Traps nearly swallowing its neck, pecs and bis like titanium slabs. Meanwhile, its thin, short lower body scrambled to keep up.

Armadillo? More like a bipedal, drugged-up gorilla. Wouldn't look out of place.

Boosted by the forest environment adaptation, its muscles swelled further. Worried it might burst.

"I'll activate Armadilloider's special ability! Designate any number of Beast creatures on my field, and for each, boost this card's stats by 200! But the designated creatures can't activate special abilities, declare attacks, or be designated by Armadilloider again until the end of the opponent's next turn!"

Plump gasped mid-sentence, chugging a juice from his belt.

"I'll designate Raging Boar, Drunken Hare, Misbreed—all three! So ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Armadilloider's stats rise by 1,000!"

What a subtle special ability. Solid demerit, but the boost felt meh.

As I thought that, the five designated beasts slumped to the ground. Yellow juice bottles popped up over them. [Armadilloider] rushed over with bloodshot eyes, gulping them down.

Huff—.Huff—.

[Armadilloider]'s muscles ballooned again. Less muscular now, more like a cluster of giant balloons.

"Ooh!"

"That surpasses Quetzalcoatlus and Titania's stats!"

"Uh, but did you need to designate all five? Quetzalcoatlus is 2,800, so four would make 2,880 and win."

"Uh, yeah."

"'Uh, yeah' my ass! What did my Raging Boar ever do to you!"

"Uh, anyway, just grab 'em! Battle!"

Plump jabbed a chubby finger at [Titania].

"Armadilloider attacks Southern Forest Queen - Titania!"

Makes sense. Titania recycles graveyard Magic Circles. Smart first target.

Huff—!!

[Armadilloider] curled into a ball. Already looked round anyway. Probably couldn't move normally with the swollen muscles—best form for efficiency.

The muscle ball rolled toward Titania, plowing the dirt at terrifying speed—

BAM!

—and whiffed completely. It smashed into an empty wall.

"Wh-what!?"

"Blinded by the drugs, looks like."

I muttered cynically. One went for the boar, now a junkie. What kinda dump did Costanzo and Fabio crawl out of?

"Wh-what're you saying! Armadilloider has no such drawback!"

"Hehe~."

As he flailed, refusing to take it as a joke, Adella cut in with a V-sign.

"That's when~ Adella makes her entrance~."

"Eek!?"

"Marihuanight's special ability activated~."

"M-Marihuanight? That card was clearly netted by Sacrifice Net earlier..."

"That sealed attacks~ but special ability's fine~?"

Adella wagged her finger—tsuk, tsuk, tsk—then rested a hand on her hip. Her usual drowsy face, but eyebrows firm, giving her a proud puppy look.

"Marihuanight~ negates one opponent attack declaration~ and deals damage equal to that creature's stats to them~."

"What...?"

Before long, the battlefield was shrouded in thick fog, swirling in eerie, smeared colors like refracted light. At its center, [Marihuanight] lounged, chin propped, eyes half-lidded.

Meanwhile, [Armadilloider] yanked its head from the wall, furious, curled again—and this time bowled straight into its own master.

"W-wait...!"

BAM!!

Oh, strike.

"Urk!"

Watching it all, I thought calmly.

Public service announcement material right there.

"I-I end my turn..."

Good. Time to wrap this up.

"My turn! I deploy the Bottle of Greedy Adella set! Draw 2 extra from deck!"

A smile crept across my face as I checked the draws. Perfect timing—that one had awakened.

Before pulling the card that'd been blank until recently, I glanced at Adella.

No words needed between us. Her grass-green eyes sparkled with excitement as she nodded eagerly.

"I return Machinery Foothold - C-17 Quetzalcoatlus, Southern Forest Queen - Titania, and Marihuanight to the earth—no."

I met her gaze and grinned.

"To the soil."

"Eek~."

She lit up at the elven phrasing, eyes wide.

I nodded back and pulled the returned card without hesitation.

"Come forth, Machinery's Great Sea Dragon - Mnemotillus!"

In an instant, a vast, blue ocean spread across our entire field. Faint memories rippled on its surface. But no more sinking. That was enough now.

Rooooar!!

A massive silhouette rose from the depths. Whale-lizard hybrid look intact, but the ash-gray steel body now shimmered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pale blue. Jagged protrusions neatly stowed inside. And the camera eye—once a red abyss beacon—now gleamed blue.

Mnemosyne. Goddess of memory. The trauma I'd decided not to bury anymore blended naturally into my recollections, forming "me."

"Whoa...!"

Adella gasped, eyes shining.

"Hits different, huh? Right, Mnemotillus."

Every dragon summon before got shock at best. Now awe? Major progress.

[Mnemotillus] didn't reply, but its blue camera eye quietly met mine. Deep and serene as the sea.

"Here we go, battle! Mnemotillus can attack every enemy creature!"

Original [Nautilus] burned Factory Gauge per fight. Not anymore.

Its power source now flowed from within me. And I took one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more step.

"Plus, from my hand, deploy Magic Circle, Roar of the Siege Dragon!"

The second dragon ahead: Machinery Siege Dragon - Gustav Dora.

Using its power gladly, I readied to face it.

"When my Dragon creature destroys an opponent in battle! Instead of normal damage, deal damage equal to my Dragon's stats!"

"Uh...?"

[Mnemotillus] slowly opened its massive maw.

From within rose missile-shaped bubbles.

They shot skyward in a barrage, blanketing the battlefield in clouds.

"Atomic Aria!!"

And the shining rain fell.

Not the black rain from my past life, the one that poured endlessly in my mind.

Pure white rain.

The beasts hit by it dissolved like watercolor in water.