Chapter 216: The Sprite's Mirror
Chapter 216: The Sprite's Mirror
"Great, now the only card Big Brother has is useless."
The four-eyed demon's eyes turned red with rage.
"Roar!"
The four-eyed demon roared, his head thrown back in fury.
"I'm going to kill you!"
His roar shook the entire arena, causing his underlings to tremble and back away, afraid of incurring their boss's wrath.
"Now, now, let's not get too heated during this duel."
You Xuan remained calm and collected despite the demon boss's anger, a smile playing on his lips as he continued to raise his hand.
"Due to the effect of 'Great Cold,' you cannot activate or set any of the four cards remaining in your hand this turn. I assume that ends your turn?"
Four-eyed Demon: "..."
"If you don't object, then it's my turn. I draw a card. First, I activate the magic card 'Angel's Alms' and draw three cards from my deck, then discard two cards from my hand."
You Xuan discarded two cards, but quickly retrieved one of them.
"One of the discarded cards is the magic card 'Treasure of Compensation,' which allows me to draw two cards from my deck when sent to the graveyard from my hand."
He then drew another card from his hand.
"Next, I activate the magic card 'Trickster Twin Demons,' paying 1000 life points to randomly discard one card from your hand. Then, you select another card to discard."
[You Xuan, LP 4000 → LP 3000]
You Xuan casually indicated one of the demon's hand cards. The four-eyed demon boss gnashed his teeth, and after nearly grinding his molars to bits, he slowly chose a card from his hand.
A red and a blue little demon appeared, with the numbers 1 and 2 printed on their heads, respectively. The two demons grinned mischievously as they flew away with the demon boss's two cards.
Resources -2, leaving him with only two cards in his hand. The four-eyed demon's eyes widened in fury.
Damn, he didn't let me set any cards last turn so he could directly destroy my hand this turn?
"Now, I flip the face-down monster on the field."
You Xuan flipped the facedown monster on his duel disk, changing it to attack position. It was a red-skinned blacksmith holding a hammer.
"Master Craftsman Hotei, when this card is flipped face-up, I can add an Equipment Magic Card from my deck to my hand.
The card I'm adding to my hand is this one."
You Xuan drew a card from his deck.
"Equipment Magic Card: 'Thief's Smoke Bomb.'"
The four-eyed demon hadn't heard of this card before. But given You Xuan's performance so far, he had a bad feeling about it.
"I normal summon 'Iron Knight Gearfried.'"
[Iron Knight Gearfried, ATK 1800]
"Then I activate the Equipment Magic Card 'Thief's Smoke Bomb' and equip it to 'Iron Knight Gearfried.' However, due to the effect of Iron Knight, any Equipment Card equipped to this card is immediately destroyed.
Therefore, according to Iron Knight's effect, 'Thief's Smoke Bomb' is destroyed."
Demons: "?"
Once again, the demons were confused. Why would he equip a card to his monster when he knew it would be destroyed?
If this had happened at the start of the duel, the four-eyed demon boss might have mocked You Xuan for forgetting the card's effect. But after the torment of the previous turn, the demon boss dared not underestimate You Xuan anymore. Any seemingly meaningless action now made him instinctively suspect there was something more to it.
"The effect of 'Thief's Smoke Bomb' activates," You Xuan smiled, "When this card, equipped to a monster, is destroyed by a card effect, I can look at your hand and choose one card to discard."
Four-eyed Demon: "!!!"
Again?
Come on, you've already seen all my cards. What else is there?
The combination of Iron Knight and Thief's Smoke Bomb allowed You Xuan to peek at his opponent's hand and precisely discard one card, creating a tactical advantage and paving the way for a one-turn kill with an infinite loop.
This interference, which could precisely discard a card, was quite powerful and could be a backup strategy if the infinite loop couldn't be achieved.
Compared to the butterfly loop, however, the combo of Iron Knight and Thief's Smoke Bomb had less of an impact on competitive play. So, while this combination had always existed, this old card had quietly lingered in the card pool for twenty years without attracting much attention.
That is until a new deck called "Flame Holy Knight" emerged, forcing this obscure old card back into the spotlight, ultimately leading to its demise.
"Magic Card, 'Armed Regeneration,'" You Xuan announced. "It allows me to equip an Equipment Magic Card from either player's graveyard to a monster on my field."
This card, also from the DM side story, had finally been made into a physical card nearly twenty years later. However, the original version was a normal magic card, while the physical card was changed to a quick-play magic card.
The four-eyed demon boss's eyes widened, and his breathing became rapid again. "An Equipment Card from the graveyard?!
"That's right," You Xuan confirmed. "I'm equipping the Equipment Magic Card, 'Thief's Smoke Bomb,' to Iron Knight Gearfried once more."
You Xuan drew the card that had returned from the graveyard and smiled faintly.
"Then, the effect of Iron Knight Gearfried destroys 'Thief's Smoke Bomb.' So, according to the effect of 'Thief's Smoke Bomb,' I get to look at your hand again and choose one card to discard."
Four-Eyed Demon: "!!!"
Again?!
Come on, you've seen all my cards already. What else is there?!
The combination of Iron Knight Gearfried and Thief's Smoke Bomb allowed You Xuan to peek at his opponent's hand once more and precisely discard a card, creating a tactical advantage and paving the way for a one-turn kill with an infinite loop.
This interference, which could pinpoint and discard a specific card, was quite powerful and served as a backup strategy if the infinite loop couldn't be achieved.
However, compared to the butterfly loop, the combo of Iron Knight Gearfried and Thief's Smoke Bomb had less of an impact on competitive play. So, while this combination had always existed, this old card had languished in obscurity within the card pool for two decades without attracting much attention.
That is, until a new deck called "Flame Holy Knight" emerged, thrusting this forgotten card back into the spotlight and ultimately sealing its demise.
The four-eyed demon boss's mouth twitched as he took a deep breath and stood up straight again.
It wasn't over yet.
He still had some life points left, and the duel wasn't finished.
At the very least, he should try to play one card, right?!
"My turn! I draw!" the demon exclaimed, his eyes suddenly alight with hope.
"I activate the magic card, 'Greed Jar'!" he cried, his voice filled with newfound enthusiasm. "I draw two cards from my deck!"
Drawing two more cards might just give him a chance to turn the tables!
"Then I activate my face-down trap," You Xuan said, his tone calm. "Trap Card—Trap in the Darkness. When my life points are below 3000, I can pay 1000 life points to inflict the effect of a trap card in my graveyard on my opponent. Afterward, that trap card is removed from play."
[You Xuan, LP 2000 → LP 1000]
Four-Eyed Demon: "?"
At this juncture?! Inflict a trap card's effect from the graveyard?!
What trap card's effect is he going to use?!
"So, I have 'Trap in the Darkness' gain the effect of 'Sprite's Mirror' from the graveyard," You Xuan explained, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.
The trap card on the field shimmered with a golden light, transforming into the image of the Sprite's Mirror. A sprite flew out, holding a round mirror that reflected the image of 'Greed Jar.'
The four-eyed demon's eyes widened in realization.
No way... No freaking way...
His breathing quickened, his throat turned dry, and his face transformed from shocked comprehension to despair.
"That's right," You Xuan continued, his smile widening. "Sprite's Mirror can redirect the effect of a magic card targeting one player to the other player. So, I redirect the effect of your 'Greed Jar' to myself.
I draw two cards from my deck."
You Xuan drew two cards and then smiled as he gestured for his opponent to continue.
"Go ahead. It's still your turn."
Four-Eyed Demon: "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
He still had nothing on the field and no cards in hand, while his opponent had just drawn two more cards.
What was the point of continuing this duel?!
Damn that Sprite's Mirror! It had completely screwed him over! You get to use Great Cold, and I get hit by my own Greed Jar?! What kind of demonic mind could come up with such a hellish strategy?!
"Not giving up yet? Very well, it's my turn. I draw," You Xuan said, waving his hand nonchalantly.
"Iron Knight Gearfried, attack directly!"
Iron Knight Gearfried's blade fell, and the four-eyed demon boss's furious rant came to an end as he was slashed and flipped over.
[Four-Eyed Demon, LP 1700 → LP 0]
(End of Chapter)
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