Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

"【Puppet Part - Gold】...Attack 【Elemental HERO - Burst Girl】!" Alice raised her arm and gave the attack command to her monster.

One side is the [Puppet Part - Gold] with 0 attack power, while the other side is the [Elemental Hero - Burst Girl] with 1200 attack power.

No matter how you look at it, this was a suicidal and foolish act.

"Attack with a monster of high attack power? Well... Burst Girl, fight back!"

Raising an eyebrow, Jaden Yuki, who was momentarily confused about Alice's intentions, instinctively gave his monster the order to retaliate.

Upon hearing Jaden Yuki's voice, Burst Girl raised her arm and punched the [Doll Part - Gold] that was lunging at her, shattering it into golden fragments.

(Alice LP: 4000→2800)

"Ugh...! At that very moment, I opened my back row face-down card and activated the Trap Card 'Necromancer's Puppet Creation'!" Alice, her face contorted in pain from the counterattack, explained the face-down card's effect: "According to this Trap Card's effect, at the instant my monster is destroyed, I can Special Summon two new 'Puppet Parts' monsters from my Deck!"

"...Come out! [Doll Part - Red], [Doll Part - Pink]!"

As the effect of the trap card appeared on Alice's field, parts of the doll's legs and body appeared.

After examining the two monsters that had appeared, Alice reached out and activated the second face-down card in the back row: "Next, I'll activate the Trap Card 'Awakened Soul' to revive 'Puppet Part - Gold' that was just sent to the Graveyard!"

The damaged doll arm, previously destroyed by the Explosive Girl, reappeared on Alice's field amidst a dazzling white light.

From then on, a total of four monsters made of [doll parts] gathered in front of Alice.

"Wow, that's amazing! You summoned so many monsters in one go!"

Jaden Yuki couldn't help but express his sincere admiration for Alice's actions.

Just as he was sighing, Alice, who was still in battle mode, issued a new attack command to her monster: "Hehehe... Next, I will use [Puppet Part - Blue] to attack [Bewildered Porcelain Doll - Alice]!"

Commanding the broken doll's head, Alice launched another suicidal attack with a monster with 0 attack power against the doll Alice with 1000 defense power.

However, this time, the doll Alice is in a defense position, so her monster will not be destroyed, but she will only suffer damage from the backlash.

(Alice LP: 2800→1800)

"Alice...you should remember the effects of your monster, right?"

"Yes, I know very well."

Alice, who had lost another 1000 life points and was watching her monster bounce back, pointed at the [Lost Porcelain Doll - Alice] that was currently in front of Jaden Yuki: "[Lost Porcelain Doll - Alice]'s effect is activated. This card cannot be destroyed by battle. When it becomes the target of an attack, it inflicts 500 damage to the opponent. After that, control of this card is transferred to the opponent."

"...Yuki Judai, give me back my doll!"

(Alice LP: 1800→1300)

Enveloped in light, the doll Alice once again left Jaden Yuki and returned to its original owner, Alice.

This back-and-forth blood transfusion is strikingly similar to that of a certain Lu Xing, a traitor who served three masters...

"Alice... what are you planning to do?"

"Hehehe, well, you'll find out soon enough!"

After the battle phase, Alice entered her main phase 2 with a smile. She drew one of her cards and showed it to everyone present: "...Now that the materials are gathered, it's time...to summon my ace monster!"

"...What?!"

"I activate the Spell Card from my hand—[Burial of the Wire Puppet]! According to this card's effect, I send [Puppet Part - Blue] (head), [Puppet Part - Gold] (arm), [Puppet Part - Red] (thigh), and [Puppet Part - Pink] (body) currently on my field to the Graveyard, and then Special Summon—[Puppet Chimera]!!!"

As Alice's voice faded, the four puppet-part monsters were immediately swallowed up by the darkness that suddenly appeared on the field.

After a series of teeth-ache-inducing sounds, a huge, broken female doll, its body twisted into a prone position, appeared in front of Alice, enveloped in a cloud of black mist.

It's worth mentioning that this ace monster, summoned by Alice's five-for-one exchange, still has a massive 0 attack power...

"What the hell... this is a terrifying monster..."

Gazing at the eerie black mist constantly pulsating on the surface of the [Chimera Doll]'s body, Jaden Yuki subconsciously leaned back a little.

Just like the dry well he had explored with Yusei and Manjoume long ago, he felt a deep resentment from the monster in front of him that was very similar to that time.

Clearly, this monster also has a painful history of being abandoned...

"For every [Puppet Part] monster in my graveyard, the attack power of [Puppet Chimera] will increase by 400 points..."

A slight smile played on his lips as he summoned his ace monster, Alice, and his expression relaxed: "There were a total of four [Puppet Parts] monsters sent to the graveyard earlier, therefore, [Puppet Chimera] will also increase by 1600 points!"

(【Puppet Chimera】Attack Power: 0→1600)

Having absorbed the power of the parts in the graveyard, the black mist surrounding the [Puppet Chimera] became even deeper than before.

After glancing at Jaden Yuki on the other side, Alice, with a smug look on her face, waved her hand to end her turn: "Turn over, Jaden Yuki, it's your turn next."

"This feeling... it's like being pushed closer and closer..." Frowning, Jaden Yuki, affected by the eerie surroundings and the ferocious appearance of the monster before him, raised his arm and drew a card from his deck: "My turn, draw!"

"Alice... I'll show you the light I spoke of before!"

"……what?"

"...Going!"

Raising his arm, Jaden Yuki slammed the card he had just drawn onto his Duel Disk: "I summon [Star Bird Laris] in Attack Position (Winged Beast/Wind/Level 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 800)!"

At this moment, in the sky above everyone's heads, in the place where those stars exist eternally.

A golden meteor streaked across the sky and, under the influence of gravity, descended upon Jaden Yuki.

Emerging from the meteor was a large golden bird, its body enveloped in golden light, as dazzling as a star!

Responding to Jaden Yuki's call, a new monster appears, revealing its form to everyone!

"...【Star Bird Laris】? A monster I've never seen before..."

Stunned by the imposing presence of [Star-Viewing Bird Laris], Alice's expression froze for a moment before quickly transforming into one of confidence: "However, when it comes to attack power... my [Puppet Chimera] is still superior!"

Jaden Yuki: "Solvadorana (Is that really true?)!"

Alice: "...What?"

Jaden Yuki: "Based on the effect of [Hoshino Riris], this card's ATK increases by 200 points equal to the level of the opponent's monster! [Puppet Chimera]'s level is 5, so [Hoshino Riris]'s ATK will also increase by 1000 points!"

(【Star Bird - Laris】Attack Power: 800→1800)

Alice: "Hmm...?!"

As Jaden Yuki finished speaking, five small golden stars representing the monster's level appeared above the head of [Hoshimi Bird Laris].

These stars surround [Star-Viewing Bird Laris], giving it the power of light.

"...Attack! Alice, I'm attacking the [Puppet Chimera] with [Star-Viewing Bird - Laris]! Take this! Starlight!!!"

Jaden Yuki swung his arms wildly, looked at the strange-looking combination doll on Alice's field, and then gave his monster the order to attack.

Having received Jaden Yuki's command, [Hoshimi Bird Laris] flapped its wings and poured all the gathered starlight power onto the body of [Puppet Chimera].

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the [Puppet Chimera] let out a mournful cry as its body was swallowed up by the starlight of [Star-Viewing Bird Laris], and for a moment, it vanished into nothingness...

It seems that the monster that Alice summoned at great cost was so easily destroyed by Jaden Yuki's monster and sent to the graveyard.

Alice herself suffered 200 points of combat damage as a result of the difference in attack power between the two monsters.

(Alice LP: 1300→1100)

"...The ace monster we pulled out by trading five for one, and this is all we got?" Yusei scratched his head, a puzzled look on his face.

I feel like there are way too many flaws in this duel...

556 Evil Hero - Lightning Troll

"【Star Bird Laris】will be removed from the game after the damage step of an attack ends, until the next battle phase begins..."

After finishing his attack and inflicting further damage on Alice, Jaden Yuki watched as the [Puppet Chimera] was engulfed by the smoke of the explosion. With a satisfied nod, he then waved his hand to remove the monster card from the Duel Disk and put it into his uniform pocket.

This action also means that this monster card will be temporarily banished.

"【Star Bird Laris】...See you before my next battle turn." With a slight smile at Katu, Jaden Yuki then looked in Alice's direction.

"Hmph... Jaden Yuki, you don't actually think you've defeated my ace monster, do you?"

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, Alice's smiling face was revealed.

Surprisingly, despite the monster being easily destroyed, she did not show any sign of despair.

On the contrary, the corners of her mouth curled up, revealing a knowing smile.

It was as if Yuki Jaden had already fallen into her trap.

"...Revive me! [Chimera the Doll]!!!"

Raising her arm, Alice loudly called out the name of her ace monster during Jaden Yuki's battle phase.

As Alice spoke, the various parts of the [Puppet Chimera] that had been damaged by [Star Bird Laris] reassembled with a burst of golden light, finally restoring it to its original state.

Furthermore, after its reorganization, the eerie aura surrounding it became even stronger than before.

"...What?! What's going on?"

"Hehehe... The effect of [Puppet Chimera] is that when this card is destroyed, you can send two [Puppet Part] monsters from your Deck to the Graveyard in their place."

Explaining the current situation, Alice casually waved her arm and sent two [Puppet Part] monsters from her deck to the graveyard.

As she moved, [Puppet Chimera] also received a bonus from the number of [Puppet Parts] monsters in the graveyard, increasing its attack power by another 800 points!

(【Puppet Chimera】Attack Power: 1600→2400)

"...Guh! I change my [Elemental HERO Burst Lady] to Defense Position, and then end my turn..." Looking at the strange doll that had come back to life, Jaden Yuki instinctively frowned, and then announced the end of his turn.

In any case, everything that could be done in this round has been done.

"My turn, draw a card!"

With a smile, Alice drew the top card of her deck, glanced at it briefly, and then inserted it directly into the back row of her Duel Disk: "I activate the Spell Card 'Puppet Hammer' from my hand! According to this card's effect, I destroy 'Puppet Chimera' on my field!"

"What? It actually destroyed its own monster?" Marufuji Sho couldn't help but exclaim in surprise at Alice's bewildering actions.

What is this monster that destroys itself planning to do?

"No... Alice is planning to..."

Recalling the scene from not long ago, Yusei, who was watching the situation on the field, roughly understood Alice's thoughts.