Luke trembled before the haunted soul, his rapid, ragged breath echoing in the arena. Yet, the more he fixed her empty eye sockets and the scarlet tears pouring down from them, the more his stomach churned, and the acrid taste of bile filled his mouth.
"Why did he force me to compete?"
A wail escaped his lips as water clouded his constricted pupils.
But the memory of his mentor's firm expression and grip on his shoulders flashed in his eyes. Then his words resounded in his ears.
"Take this card and win the tournament. Defeat is not an option."
"Why did he choose me?"
Even after five days, the question plagued him. He had simply wanted to study astral magic to discover new species in peace.
A torrent of murky water drowned his heart. But despite his fears, he had to play.
Fingers shaking, he drew his next card and placed it in the desk slot.
Then, he glanced at the haunted soul again, catching a detail he had missed because of her terror-inducing appearance.
A sliver of determination ignited in his cowardly heart.
"Virgo's lesser incarnation, attack the haunted soul."
The girl's long spear glinted. Starlights blinded the field as her valiant charge reverberated in the arena.
However, the lips of the boy facing him curled into a vicious smirk, forcing his muscles to tense and take an uncontrollable step back.
Then, Adam's determined and calculated voice reverberated.
"The Haunted soul can force a monster into battle. Once destroyed, she takes him with her to the grave."
His eyes widened in shock. The idea that a creature could do that never crossed his mind.
Unfortunately, reality's iron grip forced his weak heart to learn the hard way.
On the field's other side, Adam's eyes burned as he observed the chains the evil ghost dragged behind her come to life. Animated by their captor's will, they entangled the powerful incarnation.
Shattered metal clanged, and glinting rotting chains flew in every direction, but his smirk widened. The haunted soul had closed the distance.
Alarmed and on guard, the incarnation swung her spear, forcing the soul's torso to divorce her legs.
However, the proximity of the clash prevented her from dodging her palm. An icy sensation prickled her cheek upon contact as the soul's torso exploded into a rain of sparks.
Before everyone's hushed whisper and sweating back, dark symbols pulsed with life on the victor's face. Like a swarm of pests, they spread to her neck, arms and legs, showing no mercy.
An agonising scream pierced the arena simultaneously as she clutched her head and slumped to the ground.
With a harrowing yell, the symbols split her skin open, releasing the putrid smell of decay and dark smoke in a disturbing spectacle.
Julius paled in his spectator's seat, his heart almost stopping in his chest.
When they faced her, she had almost touched him! If not for his brother's swift reaction in going all out to save him, he would have met the incarnation's fate!
Meanwhile, Luke's hair bristled as he crouched beneath the desk.
"Why? Why me? I want to study in peace, not see those horrors!"
A different kind of determination flashed in his eyes as he resolved to play from this position, unwilling to watch the field anymore.
His mentor sighed on the balcony, his head shaking with disappointment.
The monster's demise was meaningless in his eyes. Even if Luke lost, he wouldn't care. He just wanted the boy to muster courage and face adversity head-on. That's why he chose him to deliver his gift.
"We still have a long way to go..."
His mutter reached Shepard, who grinned in response.
"If you send him in the wild, he'll be the first to end in a beast's stomach."
"Mhh. He is still young. With more experience, I'm confident he'll become a great adept," Orion whispered before pointing at the dissipating girl, his voice full of smugness.
"How do you like my gift?"
"Hehehe. I love it. I also love your method of cheating without cheating."
An icy chuckle resounded.
Indeed, If Adam got a powerful creature no student should possess from a duel, no one could complain.
His eyes took crescent shapes as he watched Luke's last monster shred his disciple's shadow ghost. Then, his gray eyes sparkled when they landed on Adam as he drew his next card.
"I summon the Poltergeist. With its effect, I add the Vengeful Spirit!"
Adam slammed his cards, making the slots' engraving pulse and their figures materialise amidst a soul-chilling fog.
His field spell came to life next, increasing their strength with its mystical energy.
"Destroy that beast and advance to his first castle!"
His forceful command reverberated, a hint of worry still present in his voice.
Even with the incarnation gone, he couldn't be sure that Luke didn't have another trump card capable of turning the tables.
'I won't underestimate him, even if he acts like a scared rabbit.'
After the vengeful spirit mercilessly gutted Luke's beast in a flash of frost and negative energy, the boy summoned another monster on his turn and destroyed the Poltergeist.
A wave of relief crashed over him, intensified by his next draw.
'I shouldn't summon the banshee queen now. I'll lose the numerical advantage and the pressure he faces.'
Fingers tucked around his chin, he summoned an ant chimaera and commanded it to destroy Luke's beast.
Meanwhile, the vengeful spirit destroyed the first castle, balancing their score.
Fortunately, Luke never drew a game-breaking card.
He didn't know if he possessed one and didn't care. All that mattered was that he swarmed his castles.
Despite the gradual process, his eyes brightened as the third collapsed and mana condensed into bright golden symbols before him.
He grinned at the victory message glinting on it.
He did it! He snatched the victory against all odds!
Without wasting a second, he blurred to the hidden boy.
"I don't know why you are so scared, but I know you're strong. It was a nice duel."
With a compliment and a genuine smile, he retrieved Virgo's lesser incarnation and added it to his deck.