Author’s note:
I am using AI to edit so tell me how it is.
The fact might be wrong because i was the who wrote it so remind me.
Katsumi raised an eyebrow, gesturing gently toward her back-row center.
“First, units in the back row boost; they don’t attack.
Second, Barcgal is already rested because you used its power to boost your Vanguard.”
Aika’s cheeks flushed slightly as she realized the oversight.
“Right!
Sorry, I got ahead of myself.
I mean my other Marron!”
She tapped her right Rear-Guard, turning the second scholar sideways.
“Marron attacks your Vanguard!”
With 8,000 power aimed at Savage Warrior’s 6,000, the attack was set to land cleanly.
“Guard,” Katsumi announced smoothly, sliding a card from his hand onto the Guard Circle: Pack Dragon, Tinyrex.
“A 5,000 shield brings Savage Warrior to 11,000 power.
The attack doesn’t hit.”
Aika watched her attack dissipate against the spectral shield of the green dinosaur.
“You guarded this one…”
“Because it only cost me a 5,000 shield to completely shut down an unboosted Rear-Guard,” Katsumi explained, resting his hands on the table.
“Always check the math.
If a light attack can be stopped with minimal hand investment, saving early damage is usually worth the card.”
Aika took a steadying breath, absorbing the lesson.
“I understand.
I end my turn.”
“My turn.
Stand and draw.”
Katsumi straightened Savage Warrior, drew his card for the turn, and immediately picked one from his hand.
“I ride!
Ravenous Dragon, Megarex!”
The moment the card touched the Vanguard circle, the atmosphere around the table seemed to change.
For Crey, the ordinary Card Capital table disappeared.
The wooden surface stretched outward into a vast battlefield of cracked earth and shattered stone, while the quiet hum of the shop faded beneath the distant rumble of something enormous approaching.
A massive shadow emerged through the dust.
Metallic plates covered the body of the prehistoric predator, each one catching the light like armor forged for war.
Its jaws opened, revealing rows of serrated teeth before it released a metallic roar that seemed to shake the battlefield itself.
Ravenous Dragon, Megarex.
For an instant, it didn’t feel like a card anymore.
It felt alive.
“Next, I call Sonic Noa to the left front Rear-Guard.”
A sleek, red raptor materialized on Katsumi’s open circle.
The creature lowered its body, claws digging into the ground as its eyes locked onto Aika’s Vanguard.
Katsumi then pointed toward his center column.
“Dragon Egg boosts Megarex.
Fifteen thousand against your eight thousand Vanguard, I attack!”
The tiny dinosaur behind Megarex released a sharp cry.
A surge of energy travelled from Dragon Egg into the enormous predator.
Megarex’s armor began glowing with crimson energy as the earth beneath its feet cracked.
Then it charged.
“No guard!” Aika declared, holding her ground.
Megarex’s jaws snapped shut just inches from Marron.
“Drive Check.”
Katsumi revealed the top card of his deck.
“Black Cannon Tiger.
Critical Trigger.”
The battlefield erupted in crimson light.
The trigger’s energy surged into Megarex, wrapping around its armored body like burning chains.
“All extra power goes to Megarex, and the additional critical goes to Megarex as well.”
The predator’s roar became deafening.
“Two damage…” Aika murmured, reaching for her deck as the massive strike hit her Vanguard.
Crey watched as the imaginary Megarex crashed into Marron, the impact sending a wave of dust across the battlefield.
Behind Katsumi, Blue folded his arms with a sharp smirk.
‘Look at you, playing the kind teacher while hitting her with a crit.’
Katsumi ignored the phantom dragon’s comment, keeping his eyes on Aika’s field.
“Check your damage, Aika.
Let’s see how your deck answers.”
Aika reached for the top card of her deck, her hand trembling slightly as she drew her first damage check.
“First check…
Knight of Silence, Gallatin.
No trigger.”
The battlefield remained covered in drifting dust.
She slid it into her damage zone, then reached for the second.
“Second check…
Draw Trigger!
Margal!”
Her eyes lit up.
“I draw one card, and five thousand power goes to my Vanguard, Little Sage, Marron!”
A radiant amber light erupted around the Royal Paladin.
The tiny scholar raised his staff, and a golden barrier spread around him.
Aika’s Vanguard’s defensive power rose to 13,000.
Katsumi looked at his remaining left Rear-Guard, Sonic Noa.
At 8,000 power, the red raptor could no longer break through Marron’s temporary 13,000 defense.
“A trigger check off damage doesn’t just clear your zone,” Katsumi pointed out, resting his hand.
“It changes the math for every remaining attack in that turn.
Because you hit a trigger, my Rear-Guard can’t make a meaningful strike.
I end my turn.”
“Right!”
Aika smiled, placing the drawn card into her hand.
“My turn!
Stand and draw!”
She straightened her units and drew.
Looking down at her options, a confident smirk replaced her earlier hesitation.
“I ride!
Blaster Blade!”
A flash of blue and silver light erupted over her Vanguard circle.
The battlefield changed instantly.
Megarex’s brutal presence vanished beneath a pillar of radiant light.
A silver-armored knight emerged from within it, his blue cloak whipping behind him as his sword reflected the brilliant light.
“Blaster Blade.”
The knight raised his weapon.
“And when Blaster Blade is placed on the Vanguard circle, I pay Counter-Blast two!”
Aika flipped two cards in her damage zone face-down.
“I target your Sonic Noa and retire it!”
Blaster Blade swung his sword.
A concentrated beam of holy energy shot across the battlefield and struck Sonic Noa directly.
The red raptor screeched before dissolving into fragments of light, vanishing into Katsumi’s drop zone.
Behind Katsumi, Blue whistled softly.
‘Spot removal.
She didn’t hesitate.’
“Good call,” Katsumi said, nodding approvingly.
“You saw an exposed unit and removed a piece of my pressure before I could use it.”
“I’m not done yet!”
Aika pulled another card from her hand.
“I call Knight of Silence, Gallatin to my right Rear-Guard!”
A heavily armored knight in gold and red took position.
“Now, Blaster Blade attacks your Megarex, boosted by Barcgal!
That’s fifteen thousand power!”
“No guard,” Katsumi replied calmly.
“Drive Check!”
Aika flipped her top card.
“Bringer of Good Luck, Epona!
Critical Trigger!
All power to Blaster Blade, and the extra Critical goes to Blaster Blade as well!”
A golden flash wrapped around Blaster Blade.
His sword burned with brilliant white energy.
“Two damage,” Katsumi noted.
He drew his first damage check.
“Savage Shaman…
Since I have equal or more damage than you, I heal one damage.”
He took the card from his damage zone and placed it in the drop zone.
“Five thousand power to Megarex.”
The imaginary battlefield responded.
The enormous predator, already wounded by Blaster Blade’s assault, suddenly roared as a dark green aura enveloped its armor.
Its wounds began closing.
He then drew his second check.
“Ironclad Dragon, Shieldon.
No trigger.”
Aika blinked, watching Katsumi smoothly heal back down to one damage.
“A Heal Trigger…
but that’s okay!
Gallatin attacks Megarex!”
“Gallatin is ten thousand power,” Katsumi reminded her gently.
“Because of my Heal Trigger, Megarex is currently at fifteen thousand.”
Aika paused, looking at the board, her eyes widening.
“Ah…
it can’t hit!”
“Exactly,” Katsumi said.
“When you assign trigger power, always consider whether your upcoming attacks can still beat the new defensive total.”
Aika took a breath, letting her shoulders drop slightly.
“Right…
I end my turn.”
“My turn.
Stand and draw.”
Katsumi drew his card, his eyes sweeping across his field.
The gentle teaching tone in his voice hardened slightly into the quiet intensity of a veteran fighter.
“It’s time to show you how Tachikaze truly fights.”
Katsumi slid a card onto his Vanguard circle.
“I ride!
Tyrant, Deathrex!”
The battlefield around Crey darkened.
Megarex’s form dissolved into black particles.
Something much larger emerged.
An enormous, obsidian-plated predator dragged its claws across the ground as it stepped forward, its armored body resembling a living weapon.
Its jaws snapped shut with a sound like iron doors slamming.
A cloud of dark heat spilled from between its teeth.
“Deathrex…”
Aichi whispered from the sidelines, leaning closer.
“That’s Katsumi’s main Grade 3.”
“Next, I call Assault Dragon, Blightops to the left front, and Winged Dragon, Skyptero behind it.”
Katsumi continued, filling his left column.
“Tachikaze is a clan defined by absolute predation.
We devour our own allies to gain destructive power, but a true commander knows which allies want to be eaten.”
Aika watched the prehistoric army assemble, feeling the pressure shift dramatically.
For Crey, the battlefield had become something else entirely.
It wasn’t merely a cardfight anymore.
It was an army.
Royal Paladin knights stood beneath a radiant sky on one side.
Tachikaze predators prowled across a wasteland on the other.
And Katsumi stood in the middle of it all, completely calm.
“First,” Katsumi began, “Blightops, boosted by Skyptero, attacks your Blaster Blade.
Fifteen thousand power.”
The cyborg dinosaur lunged.
“I…
I guard!”
Aika placed Little Sage, Marron from her hand onto the Guard Circle.
“Five thousand shield brings Blaster Blade to fourteen thousand!”
“Fifteen thousand beats fourteen thousand,” Katsumi said evenly.
“The attack hits.”
Blightops crashed into Blaster Blade.
The royal knight was knocked backward, his sword scraping against the ground as sparks erupted around him.
Aika drew her damage check.
“Solitary Knight, Gancalot.
No trigger.”
She now had three damage.
“Now, the Vanguard,” Katsumi declared.
“Tyrant, Deathrex attacks Blaster Blade, boosted by Dragon Egg!
When Deathrex attacks, its auto skill gives it five thousand power!”
Deathrex roared.
Its power surged.
“Twenty thousand power?!”
Aika checked her hand rapidly.
“I can’t guard that with normal shield…
I use Flash Shield, Iseult!
Sentinel!”
She dropped the perfect guard onto the field, discarding a card.
“The attack cannot hit!”
A shimmering blue barrier appeared between Deathrex and Blaster Blade.
The predator’s jaws slammed into the barrier.
The entire battlefield shook.
But the barrier held.
“Twin Drive,” Katsumi announced unfazed, flipping two cards.
“First check: Herbivorous Dragon, Brutosaurus.
Draw Trigger.
Power to Deathrex, and I draw a card.”
He flipped the second card.
“Second check: Savage Warrior.”
He looked up at Aika.
“Now, notice Deathrex’s ability.
If its attack hits, I must retire one of my Rear-Guards.
But because you used a Perfect Guard, the attack missed.
That means my Rear-Guards remain on the field, untouched.”
Aika exhaled a heavy sigh of relief.
“I survived…”
“You guarded correctly,” Katsumi acknowledged.
“You recognized a lethal column and used your absolute defense.
Now, let me see your counterattack.”
“Right!”
Aika drew her card for turn four.
“Stand and draw!”
She looked at the Grade 3 in her hand, the card she had just drawn from her damage check.
“I ride!
Solitary Knight, Gancalot!”
A majestic knight clad in shimmering silver armor and a trailing white cape appeared on her Vanguard circle, wielding a massive double-edged sword.
“Gancalot’s Vanguard skill!”
Aika declared, flipping two damage face-down.
“Counter-Blast two!
When Gancalot attacks, it gets five thousand power and an extra Critical!”
“A power surge and aggressive criticals,” Katsumi observed.
“A classic Royal Paladin push.”
“Gancalot attacks Deathrex, boosted by Barcgal!”
Aika shouted, turning her units.
“With its skill, that’s twenty thousand power and two Critical!”
The battlefield erupted into a clash of white and black.
Gancalot charged.
Deathrex lowered its head.
Katsumi didn’t hesitate.
He pulled a card from his hand.
“Archbird.
Sentinel.
I discard Vacuum Mammoth to negate the attack.”
A sleek, prehistoric bird interceded, its wings spreading as a transparent barrier swallowed Gancalot’s holy blade.
“A Perfect Guard…” Aika muttered, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“Then Twin Drive!”
She revealed her checks.
“First check: Flogal—Stand Trigger!
I stand Gallatin, and give five thousand power to Gallatin!”
“Gallatin stands…” Emi noted from behind them.
“She can attack again!”
“Gallatin attacks Deathrex!” Aika called out.
“Twenty-one thousand power with the trigger!”
Gallatin charged across the battlefield.
Katsumi reached into his hand, placing two cards on the Guard Circle with practiced speed.
“Ironclad Dragon, Shieldon for ten thousand shield, and Cannon Fire Dragon, Cannon Gear for five thousand.”
“Total defense: twenty-five thousand.”
Gallatin’s sword bounced uselessly off Shieldon’s hardened armor.
Aika bit her lip, looking at her rested field.
“I end my turn…”
“You pushed well,” Katsumi said softly, straightening his deck.
“You forced my Perfect Guard and made me spend fifteen thousand shield from my hand.
But now, you’re out of Counter-Blasts, and your hand is running low.”
He drew his card for turn five.
“Stand and draw.”
Katsumi looked at his hand, then at Aika’s three damage.
“I ride!
Ravenous Dragon, Gigarex!”
Deathrex dissolved into dark energy, replaced by an even larger, armored tyrannosaur whose back bristled with heavy artillery.
“Gigarex’s skill,” Katsumi explained, pointing to his Vanguard.
“Whenever one of my Tachikaze Rear-Guards is put into the drop zone during my turn, Gigarex gains one thousand power until end of turn.
Now, let me show you how this deck recycles itself.”
He placed a card on his right Rear-Guard circle.
“I call Assault Dragon, Blightops.”
“Blightops attacks your Vanguard,” Katsumi declared.
“Fifteen thousand power.”
“Guard!” Aika called, dropping a 5,000 shield Marron.
“Fourteen thousand defense!”
“Drive Check?” Aika started to say, but caught herself.
“Wait, it’s a Rear-Guard!”
“It hits,” Katsumi confirmed.
Aika drew her damage check.
“Yggdrasil Grace…
Heal Trigger!”
She healed one damage back to two, giving 5,000 power to Gancalot.
“Good,” Katsumi said.
“Now for the main event.”
He pointed to his Vanguard.
“Gigarex attacks Gancalot, boosted by Dragon Egg!
Fifteen thousand power!”
Aika looked at her hand.
She had a 10,000 shield and a 5,000 shield left.
“I guard with Gallatin and Epona!
Total defense: twenty-nine thousand!”
“A massive guard,” Katsumi noted.
“Then let’s see what the deck gives me.
Twin Drive.”
He flipped the first card.
“First check: Pack Dragon, Tinyrex.
Stand Trigger.
Five thousand power to Blightops, and I stand Blightops.”
The battlefield froze for a fraction of a second.
Then Blightops slowly rose again.
Its claws dug into the ground.
Its eyes burned brighter.
Katsumi flipped the second card.
“Second check: Black Cannon Tiger.
Critical Trigger.”
Aika’s breath caught.
“All power and the extra Critical go to Blightops,” Katsumi stated calmly.
The Stand Trigger’s energy merged with the Critical Trigger.
Blightops’ body erupted with power.
The cyborg dinosaur surged to twenty-five thousand power.
Two crimson symbols appeared above it.
Two Critical.
Aika looked down at her completely empty hand.
“Blightops attacks Solitary Knight, Gancalot,” Katsumi said softly.
“Twenty-five thousand power, two Critical.”
Aika stared at the towering cyborg dinosaur charging toward her Vanguard.
The battlefield around Crey seemed to shake with every step.
There was nowhere left to run.
No shield remained.
No card remained in her hand.
“No guard…” she whispered.
The attack struck Gancalot dead center.
The silver knight was thrown backward, its radiant armor shattering into fragments of light before the entire battlefield faded into mist.
Aika drew her final two damage checks.
“First check…
Marron.”
“Second check…
Blaster Blade.”
No triggers.
She placed the fifth and sixth cards into her damage zone, placing her hand over her deck as the digital field completely cleared.
Silence fell over Card Capital’s table for a brief moment.
The vast battlefield that Crey had imagined vanished.
The concrete wasteland disappeared.
The dragons and knights dissolved into flickering particles.
The table was once again just a table.
The cards were just cards.
But the feeling remained.
“Game set,” Katsumi said softly, picking up his deck and neatly squaring it against the table.
“Thank you for the fight.”
Aika sat frozen for a second, staring at her damage zone before letting out a long, exhaled breath.
A wide, breathless grin slowly spread across her face.
“That was…
incredible!”
She looked up at Katsumi with wide eyes.
“When you pulled that Stand Trigger and pointed everything back at Blightops…
I thought I had guarded enough!”
“You guarded the Vanguard correctly based on the math,” Katsumi replied, leaning back in his chair with a faint smile.
“You forced me to rely on triggers to break through.
That means your defensive reading was right.”
“She played really well for her first real training match,” Aichi said, stepping forward with an approving nod.
“She managed her hand well against Tachikaze’s raw power.”
“Yeah!” Emi chimed in, smiling at Aika.
“You almost had him with that Gancalot attack!”
Aika bowed her head slightly toward Katsumi.
“Thank you, Katsumi.
I think…
I actually understand what you meant now.”
She looked down at the cards scattered across the table.
“Every time I attacked or guarded, it felt like we were having a conversation.”
Hovering just above Katsumi’s shoulder, Blue folded his arms, snickering silently.
‘Look at that, Father.
You didn’t even have to eat a single one of your own units to crush her spirit.
You’re getting soft.’
Katsumi silently glanced at the phantom dragon out of the corner of his eye.
‘She learned how to read the field and respect trigger probabilities.
That’s worth far more than a flashy combo.’
Katsumi stood up from the table and offered Aika a polite nod.
“You’ve got the basics down.
Next time, we’ll work on resource tracking so you don’t run out of cards in the final push.”
Aika straightened up, her eyes burning with fresh determination.
“Right!
I’ll be ready!”