A bizarre monster with an enormous head opened its mouth, spewing shadow energy that blasted against Tivia’s life barrier.
“Ah!”
Pain accompanied the impact, making Tivia close her eyes and stumble backward repeatedly.
Watching this scene, Andral seemed to have no thought of cherishing beauty; instead, he laughed.
“By now, you must understand that your persistence is meaningless, right?”
“Dark duels aren’t those childish games you played before. Besides mere impact, the attacks from your followers also come with real pain.”
“Rather than being tormented and then having your soul devoured, why not surrender from the start? That way, you’ll suffer less, my lady.”
“I want to… protect Xiaoya.”
Tivia didn’t respond to Andral’s malicious suggestion; she just kept repeating that sentence under her breath.
Andral snorted, “It’s Sonia Seth again. Your bond is truly strong.”
“But it’s meaningless!”
Andral’s expression suddenly became twisted and sinister, the corners of his mouth almost reaching his ears.
“Friendship, love, kinship—these fragile and false things can’t offer you any help at this moment!”
“Only by mastering power and plundering others can you survive in this world!”
“I summon [Ravenous Wolf]!”
[Ravenous Wolf ★★★★ (Four Stars) Rank C]
[Dark]
[Beast 3/3]
A black wolf, decaying in many places and emitting a putrid stench, crept onto the battlefield in a crouch.
“The effect of [Ravenous Wolf] can only be activated by targeting one follower. Banish one card with the highest star rank from my graveyard from the game. That follower’s attack and defense are reduced by an amount equal to that card’s star rank!”
Andral let out a chilling laugh.
“In my graveyard, the card with the highest star rank right now is the three-star follower [Decayed Corpse] you just dealt with.”
“Therefore, your [Giant Armadillo] gets -3/-3!”
The black wolf exhaled a foul breath towards the armadillo.
Struck by the foul air, the armadillo’s fighting spirit instantly wilted.
[Giant Armadillo]: 5/5 → 2/2
“Heh, like this, this cute armadillo is no longer a threat.”
Andral raised his hand.
“Battle Phase, [Shadow Beast] directly attacks the opposing duelist, Shadow Strike!”
The ghostly blue monster lunged forward, swinging its front claws, delivering an energy strike with afterimages that slammed into Tivia’s life barrier, causing another intense impact.
“Ah!”
Intense pain surged through her again.
This time, Tivia could no longer hold back and let out a painful scream, her body thrown back and collapsing to the ground.
The pain throughout her body felt as if it would tear her apart.
Yet, Andral closed his eyes, spreading his arms wider.
“Ah, what a wonderful scream.”
“Offering a sacrifice like you, the divine being will surely be especially pleased and might even grant me more rewards, hehe hahaha!”
Amidst the crazed laughter, Tivia propped herself up with her hands, struggling to stand.
However, she could feel that this was her limit.
Her legs had lost all sensation; standing up just now had consumed her last ounce of strength.
She could still maintain a standing posture only by pressing her thighs together for support.
Her hands, though still movable, were extremely difficult to lift.
Even more critical was her consciousness.
As time dragged on, Tivia could feel her consciousness beginning to scatter.
That [Giant Armadillo] just now was a card that shouldn’t have been played in the previous turn, but she hadn’t thought of playing it directly.
Is this… the end?
Damn it, I’m going to get Xiaoya into trouble…
If I hadn’t commuted daily between the upper and lower districts, I wouldn’t have been caught in a routine by this person in front of me.
However, with that person protecting Xiaoya, she should be fine, right?
Recalling the man who vied with her for Xiaoya, a smile involuntarily appeared on Tivia’s dusty face.
“What an annoying man.”
“To appear by Xiaoya’s side and save her during her most desperate time, how enviable…”
Tivia’s consciousness grew more and more scattered.
Her mind became increasingly difficult to focus.
Andral spread his hands, looking at the red-haired girl who, though still standing, had slowly lowered her head.
“It seems this duel will end halfway through.”
“Good, let’s finish early…”
“Tivia, don’t fall! Hang in there!”
Andral: !
Tivia: !
Hearing the familiar voice, Tivia felt a surge of renewed strength within her and lifted her head.
“Xiaoya… no, Yide?”
Tivia realized, looking at the panting girl standing outside the dark domain.
Although both called her Tivia, Xiaoya’s and Yide’s tones were completely different.
Xiaoya’s tone was more intimate and affectionate, while Yide only called her that because Xiaoya did.
She had previously found this man a bit too familiar.
But now, hearing him call her name, Tivia felt a sense of security well up from the bottom of her heart.
“Impossible!”
Andral looked at the black-haired girl, his face filled with shock.
“That fellow, Gris El, actually lost to a D-rank duelist?!”
And a newly promoted D-rank duelist at that!
What on earth was he doing?!
“Tivia, hang in there, Tivia!”
Sonia, in her soul state nearby, was frantic, seeing her best friend’s miserable condition.
But seeing Yide blocked by the dark duel, she felt somewhat helpless.
“What do we do, Mr. Yide? Can a dark duel be interrupted from the outside?”
“No, this kind of amateur dark duel must end with one person’s soul being devoured for it to conclude.”
“Then what should we do? Tivia can’t hold on much longer!”
“Don’t worry, I have a plan. First, take back control of your body.”
“Huh? Okay.”
—Soul Return!
Sonia returned to her body, immediately feeling the soreness left behind from Yide’s long run.
But at this moment, she couldn’t worry about that.
“What do I do, Mr. Yide?”
Yide explained his plan: “The Millennium Puzzle itself can teleport; it definitely won’t be stopped by this small obstruction. What you need to do is throw the Millennium Puzzle directly into Tivia’s hand!”
“Eh?”
Sonia was a bit stunned, then realized a moment later, “Mr. Yide, what you’re planning to do is…”
“Don’t say anything more, saving her is urgent!”
“Okay!”
Sonia understood that this was a critical moment, so she didn’t consider whether doing this was even feasible.
She took off the pendant, held it in her hand, hesitated for a moment, but finally threw it forcefully towards Tivia.
“Tivia, catch Mr. Yide!”