How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

【Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon】

[Attack power: 3000→4000]

Blue-Eyed Chaos Dragon

[Attack power: 4800→5800]

Vlad III: "What?!"

"Battle begins!" Yuuto declares, entering the battle phase. "First, [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon] attacks your [Vampire Eater]! At this moment, activate the other effect of [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon]!"

"At the start of the Damage Step when this card battles, you can target 1 card on your opponent's field; return that card to your hand!"

"I'm returning [Number 24, Dragonblood Dragoons] from your field to your hand!"

Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon retracted its claws, closed its scales to transform into a jet engine, and spewed flames from behind as it flashed past Vlad III's field at an extremely fast speed.

The segmented tail transformed into an iron whip, lashing out at Draculus and turning him into a dark purple ball of light that returned to Vlad III's Extra Deck. Then, with a single claw, it tore [Vampire Eater] to shreds.

Vlad III's LP: 5000 → 2600

"Gurgh..."

Yuwatari pressed his advantage: "It's not over yet! Next up is Blue-Eyes White Dragon attacking your Red Noble - Vampire Bram! Destructive Shot!"

A torrent of light gathered from the mouth of the blue-eyed white dragon and spewed out, instantly engulfing the purple-armored knight in the rush of light and heat.

The aftershocks of the white light passed over Red Noble and struck Vlad III, causing wisps of white smoke to rise from his body.

Vlad III's LP: 2600 → 1100

Even at this point, we still haven't used it?

Yudu glanced at Vlad III's only remaining face-down card on the field.

"Next up is the direct attack from the [Abyssal Blue-Eyes Dragon]!"

"That moment—!"

Vlad III braced himself and waved his hand to remove the cover card from the field before the attack could arrive.

"Trap Card [Vampire Awakening] activated! Special Summon [Vampire: Red Death] from Deck in Defense Position!"

[Vampire. Red Death]

[Defense: 1400]

The hooded girl, wielding a scythe, folded her blood-red bat wings and stood in front of Vlad III, blocking the attack of the Abyssal Blue-Eyes Dragon, which exploded into a cloud of smoke.

After the smoke cleared, Vlad III's monster was still standing on the field, perfectly fine. Yuuto was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

"Is it effective?"

“That’s right!” Vlad III said in a hoarse voice.

"If [Vampire Red Death] is face-up on the field, and a monster on my field is destroyed by battle or by my opponent's card effect, I can pay 1000 Life Points to replace the destruction of 1 monster!"

"Uh-"

Vlad III's LP: 1100 → 100

"Ha... that way, as long as I wait until my next turn, the [Red Noble - Vampire Bram] that you just destroyed will return to my field from the graveyard!"

Vlad III knelt on the ground with a ferocious expression, clutching his heart and glaring at Youdu with bloodshot eyes.

"Ruler! Are you ready to face my counterattack?"

"Next round?" Yuuto shook his head under Vlad III's gaze, then raised his hand to issue an attack command to the Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon. "You don't have a next round!"

"When Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon attacks a Defense-Position monster, it will inflict damage equal to twice the amount of that monster's Defense!"

"That's it! This is the final one! [Blue-Eyes Chaos Extreme Dragon]! The ultimate explosion of chaos!"

Particles of light condensed in the mouth of the Blue-Eyed Chaos Dragon, and the excessive energy even caused the blue crystals embedded all over its body to burst out with tiny beams of light.

"How could this be... Yu actually..."

The cyan-blue burst of light engulfed [Vampire Red Death], along with Vlad III, who stood behind her with an incredulous expression.

"Gurgle, ahh—"

Vlad III's LP: 100 → 0

[Yudou: Win!]

Chapter 161 Ninety-Nine percent success rate, a rare find

After the duel ended, everyone returned from the Hall of Light to the corridor inside the Sky Garden.

With his base score reduced to zero, Vlad III, under their watchful eyes, was like a vampire exposed to sunlight, his body slowly transforming into golden magical particles that were scattered in the wind.

In the end, only a blood-drop-shaped crimson crystal was left on the ground, proving that he had once been there.

[Vampire Crystal: A+]

[A polymer containing all the vampire powers inherent in Vlad III. Because its original owner deeply resented it, it encountered almost no resistance when being extracted, thus increasing its quality.]

Yes, 99.9% is a rare find.

Yuwatari put the crystal away with satisfaction, then turned to look at the red and black Servants who, instead of immediately engaging in battle after the magic ban was lifted, were wary of each other.

"Alright, the unexpected situation has been cleared up, everyone can now continue the battle."

"..."×N

The Black Faction's Servants were completely baffled by the relaxed tone.

Did they not want to fight?

They're too afraid to fight!

The battle was already slightly disadvantageous because it was being fought on the opponent's territory. Now, their Lancer was forced to retreat by Yuwatari due to his Master's confusing actions, putting them at a disadvantage in terms of numbers as well.

Chiron is now considering the possibility of him taking on two opponents at once, but...

He glanced at his former rival—Achilles, who was his disciple.

With his immortality, attacks other than those from his divine nature are completely ineffective against him except for his heels. As a Rider, his speed after mounting his chariot is as swift as a shooting star.

Let's look at the adversary Vlad III left them—Karna, the son of the sun god Surya.

Possessing golden armor impervious to even the gods and a god-slaying spear capable of annihilation in a single blow, he is already among the highest-ranking Servants present...

It's impossible to hit it at all!

Even if Vlad III were still alive, he wouldn't be able to fight both of them at the same time!

Because of this unexpected event, the Red Team is waiting to see if Amakusa Shiro Tokisada will give any new instructions, and is not making any rash moves for the time being.

Mordred knew nothing and originally intended to continue inviting Siegfried to battle as before, but was stopped by Shiki-kai.

The current situation is somewhat abnormal. Although the red and black sides appear to be at peace, it is actually a mountain of gunpowder that can be blown apart by just a tiny spark.

He didn't want Mordred to be the one to stick his neck out.

Although Karna was somewhat disappointed that his battle with Vlad III had not continued, he did not show it on his face.

With no rivals left, he turned his attention to Siegfried.

He remembered that he and this man also had an unfinished battle.

You Du looked around, and although he found their unusually quiet atmosphere a little strange, he didn't pay it any mind.

After all, he didn't participate in the Holy Grail War, so whether the two sides fight or not is none of his business. All he has to do is say, "The situation is urgent now, let's kill this cheater!" when someone cheats.

He then waved to Leticia, leading her past the Red Faction Servant, and continued deeper into the Sky Garden.

……

Inside the Sky Garden, Semiramis and Amakusa Shiro Tokisada watched Yutaka's receding figure in the scene and fell into silence.

After an eternity of deathly silence, Amakusa Shiro Tokisada broke the strange atmosphere by asking Semiramis, "...Did you see anything?"

“No…” Semiramis frowned, her face looking extremely pale. “I can’t see anything happening on my end. What about you, Master?”

Amakusa Shiro Tokisada sighed: "Me too..."

Just now, they witnessed the entire process of Vlad III's strange card duel with Yudo, from the beginning to his turning to ashes, leaving only a crystal on the ground.

Amakusa Shiro Tokisada also received the revelation, but the revelation only allowed him to experience the duel from Vlad III's perspective.

But even after watching the whole thing, they still didn't understand what had happened between Yudo and Vlad III, nor did they understand why Vlad III would leave the game after losing a playful match.

Since their communication magic had been unable to contact Karna and the others since the duel began, they, who were not present at the scene, had to deduce the rules from the duel themselves.

It wasn't until after the duel ended that they obtained more information from the Servants present.

But it's still not enough...

Semiramis bit her nails in frustration.

There's absolutely no doubt that the game was strange.

But what exactly was that game?

Noble Phantasm? Magic? Ritual? Curse? Or something else entirely?

If they don't understand the nature of the game, they won't be able to take appropriate defensive measures, let alone find a way to counter it.

Do you expect her to apply her benevolence to every aspect and set up defensive measures in every way?

But... putting aside the question of how strong the measures they could ultimately implement would be, and whether they could defend against Ruler's methods, just the fact that they wanted to take care of all aspects would already take up a lot of their time.

They simply couldn't get these things done before the ferry arrived!

"We need to find a way to prevent him from using that suspected Noble Phantasm." Semiramis and Amakusa Shiro Tokisada made the decision at the same time.

Since it's impossible to defend against, we might as well prevent him from using that move in the first place!

“His Noble Phantasm must have some kind of limitation, perhaps it’s the distance, or perhaps it requires seeing the opponent to use it…” Amakusa Shiro Tokisada pondered, discussing with Semiramis.

Otherwise, there would be no need for Youdu to enter this sky garden at all.

So after much discussion, they decided to split into two groups.

Semiramis remained in the hall to fight Yutaka, while Amakusa Shiro Tokisada waited by the Greater Grail, monitoring Semiramis's situation through his surveillance magic.

Semiramis will first try to kill Yutari with poison before he uses that Noble Phantasm. If that doesn't work, she will try her best to get more information out of Amakusa Shiro Tokisada.

Even if Semiramis fails, doing this will give Amakusa Shiro Tokisada an extra chance of winning before he leaves the stage.

"Thank you, Assassin..."

Clutching the Miike Tenta Mitsuyo in his hand, Amakusa Shiro Tokisada stood before the door leading to the Greater Grail, glanced back at Semiramis sitting on the throne awaiting his passage, and murmured.

They didn't choose to recall the other Servants from the Red side to stop Yutaka, after all, the Servants weren't stupid, and no one would be willing to do a mission that sounded like a suicide mission.

"Hmph, I already said that I sometimes feel like doing things like a servant, so don't worry about it."

Semiramis waved her hand without turning her head, making a gesture as if shooing away a small animal.

"Master, you'd better hurry over there..."

Chapter 162 This is the standard procedure

"This place is so big..."

In the rather long corridor, Leticia's voice rang out. After leaving that dangerous place, her expression was noticeably more relaxed, and she even had the leisure to look at the decorations in the corridor.

Even though she was only average at history class, she couldn't see what was so appealing about the decorations or what era they belonged to.

But just like people who go to art exhibitions, even if they don't understand it at all, they still have to pretend that they do.

"After all, the cost of purchasing the necessary materials alone was enough to buy a small country, and it took Semiramis a lot of effort to successfully activate the Noble Phantasm, so it's normal for it to have such a large area."

Youdu led her along the red carpet laid out on the ground. Without any navigation or map, the carpet was the only thing that could guide him.

The surrounding decorations all looked the same and did not help him find his way at all.

The blood-red crystals were tossed and caught repeatedly in his hands, and Youdu tried to look through the crystals at the lights in the corridor.

Because he had completely purified Jack after the duel and reincarnated, he didn't get anything from Jack. So strictly speaking, this crystal was the first material he obtained in this Holy Grail War.

He was thinking about what kind of card he could make from this.

Although he can't precisely control which card he will get, he can increase the probability of getting that card by controlling the materials he invests after he has decided on his target in advance.

Vampire...blood...