Under the azure sky, gray hair streaming, a girl of devastating beauty… why was she so angry?
Was it because she hadn't appeared in too long?
No. It was because the youngest, cutest witch had to discipline an insolent brat today.
Beat him until he questioned his life, until he repented completely!
"My turn—draw!" Taking the first move, Irena slapped down a Spell. "Spell Card, "Cost Down"!"
[Discard 1 card to activate. This turn, the Levels of monsters in your hand decrease by 2.]
"I discard a card, then reduce the Level of the "Dark Magician Girl" in my hand from 6 to 4, and Normal Summon her in Attack Position!"
With her Level lowered, the 6‑Level Dark Magician Girl slipped neatly under the 4‑Level no‑Tribute threshold.
After a flash of materialization, the Dark Magician Girl appeared, one hand bracing her wide magician's hat, pink tongue teasing playfully.
[Dark Magician Girl] Level 6│DARK│Spellcaster│2000 ATK
"I set one card and end my turn."
"My turn—draw!"
Going second, Arnold drew.
"Weird woman, it's just a Level 6 monster—don't underestimate me! Go! Special Summon in Attack Position—Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight!"
[Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight] Level 7│EARTH│Warrior│2300 ATK
[If your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.]
Using Gaia's own effect, Arnold slammed the Level 7 high‑Level monster straight onto the field.
Riding a dragon, clad in jet‑black armor, Lord Gaia raised his twin lances, their tips leveled at Irena's Dark Magician Girl.
[Dark Magician Girl, ATK: 2000]
"Crush the monster on her field, Gaia—!"
Dragon‑riding, velocity, and impact converging, Lord Gaia dove with a thrust aimed right at Dark Magician Girl's chest.
"—'Spiral Spear Strike!'"
A space‑twisting lance; the violent ripple seemed ready to distort the Dark Magician Girl's voluptuous body along with it.
Irena, furious, swept a hand and flipped her set card.
"If it's smashing you, this is more than enough! Trap Card, activate—"Magic Cylinder"!"
Two cylinders materialized beside the Dark Magician Girl, one on each side. One absorbed the spiraling thrust; the other reflected the stored force.
With [2300 ATK] on Lord Gaia, "Magic Cylinder" would convert that attack value directly into damage to Arnold's Life Points.
[Arnold, LP: 4000]
"Damn it… so you set a dirty Trap like that. 2300 damage reflected back at me!"
Arnold gritted his teeth. Having more than half his LP blown away by a single Magic Cylinder hurt, but he still had plenty left. He wasn't going to be shattered in an instant like Irena boasted.
And then, in the very next second, what he saw made him start doubting reality.
The Magic Cylinder that should've reflected just one hit from Gaia split—like a stage trick—into several.
"N-no way… how is that even possible?!"
He stumbled back in terror. Staring at the cylinders multiplying in the sky like a Gatling's barrels, Arnold rubbed his eyes hard, wondering if he was dreaming.
Worse—when he opened them again, that terrifying array of countless Magic Cylinders in the sky had already begun to charge.
"This weird woman only set one 'Magic Cylinder'—this makes no sense!"
Triple‑checking Irena's back row, Arnold could confirm she'd set only a single card on her first turn.
"And even if there were two, I've never heard of Magic Cylinder rapid‑firing!"
"Well, now you have!"
Raising a pale arm from within her billowing witch's robe, Irena gestured toward the formation overhead.
"The effect of the Trap in my Graveyard—Loaded Cylinder Nest!"
For it to be in the Graveyard on turn one, it could only have been pitched by the effect of "Cost Down."
[When you activate "Magic Cylinder," you can banish this card from your GY; the damage that effect inflicts to your opponent becomes doubled.]
"I banish "Loaded Cylinder Nest" from my GY—this "Magic Cylinder" reflects double damage! Take it all, you arrogant brat!"
2300 × 2 = 4600
The swarm of 'loaded' Magic Cylinders in the sky unleashed a doubled barrage, instantly wiping out all of Arnold's Life Points.
"Gyaaaaaaah!"
[Arnold, LP: 4000 → 0]
Trap OTK. Enveloped by multiple beams of magical light, Arnold collapsed once the blast smoke cleared, one hand pointing forward in a dramatic death‑refusal pose.
"Still cocky, brat? I said I'd skin you today—you're not getting away!"
Even with the instant kill, the thought of the hard‑won item she'd retrieved being smashed kept Irena's anger burning hot.
"Arnold got wrecked so badly," Lishia murmured. Anyone could see the gap between Arnold and Irena; she was glad she'd brought Aisha.
"Aisha‑senpai, save Arnold first! If this keeps up, that woman will eat him alive!"
"Alright, I'll try to talk her down—but no promises."
Even Aisha had never seen Irena this angry, so she wasn't confident.
Still, Arnold had sworn to follow her, and he was her roommate's childhood friend. If she didn't step in, it would look heartless.
"I‑Irena‑senpai?"
"That voice—Aisha?"
Like a Sichuan opera face‑change, Irena turned at once upon hearing Aisha, rage melting into a smile.
"Long time no see, Aisha. Was your break good?"
"Pretty good, but…"
Though Irena's face beamed, her hands hadn't stopped pelting Arnold with elemental spells.
Flame, frost, and lightning alternated. Individually, they weren't powerful; however, the rotation had Arnold twitching, unable to stand.
"Irena‑senpai, what did Arnold do to make you this mad?"
If she wanted to calm Irena, Aisha first had to understand the cause.
"Arnold? So you know this arrogant little brat too, Aisha?"
Seeing the connection—helpful for negotiating—Irena finally stopped flinging spells, as a favor to Aisha.
"Aisha… senpai…"
Weakly, Arnold lifted his head. To be saved at such a time by the senior he respected most—what could be more reassuring?
"Senpai, I'll follow you for life…"
"...She called you 'senpai'?" Irena blinked. "Oh, right… New term means you're second‑years now; you'll have juniors. Wait—this brat's a first‑year?"
Even if she'd one‑turned him, the bold play of going second and Special Summoning Gaia to break through—by a brand‑new first‑year—surprised Irena.
"So the first‑years are that strong now. Even so, what he did is unforgivable!"
Lishia spoke up timidly, apologizing in his place. "Sorry, senpai. Arnold didn't mean to break your thing. We don't have money… could we compensate in another way?"
"It's mostly his attitude—infuriating."
At least Lishia, as his childhood friend, had a better attitude—easier to accept.
"And I never asked you for money. This isn't something money can measure."
"Irena, you mean those shards on the ground?"
Inside the princess's body, Miles crouched to examine the crystal fragments.
Each reflective shard looked less like it was 'smashed' and more like an assembled crystal disassembled upon impact back into its original pieces.
"You should address me as senpai." Seeing another unfamiliar kid call her by name, Irena's delicate brows knit again. "Honestly… do first‑years have no manners?"
Abruptly, then, glancing at the crouching Miles, she noticed the Millennium Puzzle hanging at the princess's chest.
"Wait—are you… Miles?"
"Long time no see, Irena… senpai~"
With the princess's pure, cute face, Miles managed a passable smile.
"Wait a second… you turned into a loli?
"I mean, looks matter more than gender to me, but still… Something's off. Don't tell me this is your new body… you finally went after little girls?"
"It's not that bad. It's just—" Miles lowered his voice so Lishia wouldn't hear, "—just a normal substitution."
"Oh, then we're fine."
As a mage, Irena adapted fast. She'd been quick to accept soul‑swapping the first time, too.
Miles pointed at the crystal shards again, analyzing. "It doesn't seem broken so much as taken apart. If we reassemble it, won't it be as good as new?"
"It's not that easy." Hands on her hips, Irena sighed. "Do you know what this is, Miles?"
"A puzzle toy?"
"It's not a toy! Why does everyone keep calling it a toy? You're making my entire vacation's worth of effort sound cheap!"
"So you spent your whole break on this?"
"Not just the break—also the days I took off after term started. Most of the time went to travel, but to bring back the legendary 'Pyramid of Light,' I staked the honor of legendary dueling!"
"'Pyramid of Light,' the legend?"
"I found it on day two, flipping through ancient books in my family's warehouse…"
Irena slipped into recollection on her own.
"'A crystal pyramid, the symbol of light. It sleeps in the deadlands of the West. Only those who, through the trial of the Relic of Light, defeat the King of Destruction can claim it.'"
In the deadlands at the heart of the western desert, after nearly half a month in the ruins, Irena finally reached the final trial.
[Theinen the Great Sphinx] Level 10│LIGHT│Beast│3500 ATK
[When this card is Special Summoned, you can pay 500 Life Points; until the end of this turn, this card gains 3000 Attack.]
[King of Destruction, LP: 1700 → 1200]
[Theinen the Great Sphinx, ATK: 3500 → 6500]
With 6500 Attack, the Sphinx would devour any who dared touch the Pyramid of Light, just as the ancient text warned—the guardian none had ever overcome.
Irena's final monster on the field was—
[Dark Paladin] Level 8│DARK│Spellcaster│2900 ATK
["Dark Magician" + "Buster Blader"]
From the Dark Magician's Fusion branch, Dark Paladin brandished his long blade against the King of Destruction's ace beast.
"—Light of the Destruction Beast King!"
Facing the overwhelming difference in Attack, the King of Destruction drove [Theinen the Great Sphinx] to bombard [Dark Paladin].
Dazzling light flooded the ruins in an instant, blasting from the deepest chamber to the top, piercing the sky in a pillar.
"Heh heh heh heh heh! It's over, coveter of the Tower of Light. Death is the only reward you'll receive!" the King of Destruction cackled.
"I'd say it's over for you!"
Pressing down her witch's hat so it wouldn't be blown away by the shock, Irena flipped her last set card.
"Let this card sever a millennium of fated cycles—hand over the Pyramid of Light today, King of Destruction! Trap Card, activate—"Rebirth Judgment"!"
[Once per turn: declare 1 Type; this turn, all monsters in both players' GYs become the declared Type.]
"Changing Types now?!"
A confident smile curled at Irena's lips. Changing the GY Types would be the turning point of the duel.
"I declare Dragon! By 'Rebirth Judgment,' the 10 monsters in both GYs all become Dragons!"
Dragon souls welled up from the graves, roaring into the light‑bathed field and coiling around the long blade gripped by [Dark Paladin].
"And this is [Dark Paladin]'s effect!"
[This card gains 500 Attack for each Dragon on the field and in either GY.]
"Thanks to the Judgment, there are 10 Dragons in the GYs! So Dark Paladin gains 10 × 500 = 5000 Attack! —'Dragonbane Blade'!"
[Dark Paladin, ATK: 2900 → 7900]
"Impossible—his Attack surpassed [Theinen the Great Sphinx]?! What power is that?"
"It's the indomitable will of humankind!"
The smile beneath the witch's hat grew radiant as Irena swung her arm to declare the final reversal.
"Cut down the Sphinx, Dark Paladin! —'Super Magic Rift Slash!!'"
With a single stroke, it was as if ten dragons roared forth. The overwhelming counterstrike sent the pillar of light skyward, and the final Sphinx fell, swallowed by the slash.
[Theinen the Great Sphinx, destroyed]
"Gwaaaaaaaaaaah!"
[King of Destruction, LP: 1200 → 0]
The trial's duel ended in victory. After spending half a vacation in the ruins, Irena finally recovered the slumbering symbol of light recorded in the ancient text: the Pyramid of Light.
"That's about how it went."
When she finished, everyone swallowed nervously.
Irena really was born to tell stories.
Her vivid narration made it feel like they'd witnessed that life‑and‑death duel in a far‑off ruin with their own eyes.
"Awesome, Irena‑senpai," Ren said in admiration. "You actually challenged a legendary mystery ruin alone?"
"So now you see why I'm this mad? The Pyramid of Light I risked my life to bring back was smashed by a brat."
Reliving the break only made Irena gaze at the crystal shards with deeper regret.
"And according to the ancient text, after the King of Light forged the pyramid, it took a hundred years to finish assembling it—so it's not easy to restore."
"It takes centuries to piece together?"
The irregular transparent pieces on the ground offered no obvious starting point. Already complex, and completely clear—there was nowhere to begin.
In any case, Miles felt he might be able to do it.
Not blind confidence—after crouching and studying the shards for so long, he seemed to have found the 'pattern' that should exist in the crystal.
Picking up a shard, Miles asked casually, "Why did you even decide to go looking for the Pyramid of Light? Did you want it that badly?"
That question brought a blush to Irena's fair cheeks.
"I thought you might need it, Miles… so I went to get it. I was originally checking books in the warehouse about spirit possession."
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]