Ray here doing the intro, and we're at what may be the pinnacle of this Duel, and boy is it a doozy. We're actually gonna break the mold this time around, and it may blow your minds for sure. Hopefully you guys are protecting yourselves and keeping safe with what's going on. Lastly, a big shout out to our beta, Eneko95, for her continued work and support. We'd pretty much be half as good without her.
With that, enjoy the end of this epic Duel.
Chapter 38
Nature's Strings
Part III
Elysium
Laura - 7100
Tauni - 5300
As tiny pale dots began appearing across the darkened sky, the grass at the base of the pillar darkened from white to indigo to violet-blue. The color spread across the entire arena in a matter of seconds. Then some of the pale dots clustered together and turned into a familiar galaxy-like vortex.
"I use Number 88: Gimmick Puppet of Leo to rebuild the Overlay Network!" Tauni roared. "Go, Chaos Xyz Evolution!"
The large automaton roared before he and his throne transformed into an orb of light, flying upward before entering the vortex in the sky. This time though, when the orb entered, the shape turned into a funnel before exploding with negative neon light.
"Cower before Number C88: Gimmick Puppet Disaster Leo (R9/3500/2500)!"
Laura shielded her eyes against the harsh neon light; thankfully the shock wave she braced herself for wasn't that much different from a normal XYZ Summon. It eventually died down, allowing her to lower her guard and open her eyes. However, when she did, her look of shock returned as she was looking up at the new monster.
A massive black paneled orb held up by clawed metal feet descended from the blast and landed with enough force to shake both sides of the field. On closer inspection, the clawed feet looked like the upper halves of mannequins, and dark red energy pulsed beneath the panels. A winged lion in probably-solid gold rested atop the orb, the same red energy running across its body like a circuit board. Four balls of light circled the orb, presumably the overlay units.
"Yes! YES! There's that look right there! That's the look I want to see plastered all over your face for the rest of this Duel!" Tauni exclaimed, one hand going to the side of her face. "That look of shock. Terror. The agony of defeat! The only way to make it better would be by activating Disaster Leo's effect. By discarding one of the Xyz Materials from this card, I can deal 1000 damage directly to you!"
One of its overlay units entered the winged lion's mouth, who then released a blast of energy with a roar. Laura barely had time to register that said blast looked like a miniature lion before it made contact, knocking her to the ground and prompting a shout of pain.
Laura - (7100 - 6100)
Tauni - 5300
Even with the pain, Laura didn't let it stop her as she got back up to her feet just a few seconds after.
"As much as I like seeing the moment you realize how screwed you are, it's good to see you've got some fight left in you. Everyone knows it's boring when you give up too early," Tauni commented. "Destroy your counterpart, Disaster Leo."
The lion roared again, jumping from the top of its construct and attempting to divebomb the other leonine monster. Leo sidestepped quickly and, moments after his challenger got up, leapt for the golden lion with a deep growl and bared fangs.
The ensuing wrestling match was almost surreal in how normal it was compared to the nature of its participants. To Laura's surprise, Leo even got a solid bite on the gold one's back leg; she'd never seen Leo in close-range combat before. But at another critical moment, Disaster Leo charged and released that same energy blast, going straight through her Leo's armor.
The resulting explosion from the attack hit Laura due to her being closer, causing her to yell out in pain even more. Though despite it, she didn't falter and panted heavily, keeping herself from falling over.
Laura - (6100 - 5700)
Tauni - 5300
"Hmm… Maybe I overstated things when I said you'd have been a better minion than those other fools. Sure, you can take a hit and fight through the pain, but I just destroyed your ace in the hole with no problem, so how good really are you?" Tauni mused.
"Good enough not to rely so much on talking trash," Laura retorted, drawing her next card. "Don't start planning your victory dance just because you destroyed my Leo. I activate my facedown Trap, Naturia Sacred Tree!"
As the card revealed itself, a large tree erupted from the ground and sprouted high into the air.
Countless branches all grew and twisted together, forming into a massive tree that looked more like a mass of snakes coiled together than a singular tree. The immensity and density of the plant gave it a sense of ancient timelessness, like the tree always had and always would exist.
"As long as this is active, I can tribute an EARTH Insect- or Plant-type monster in play to Special Summon a new level 4 or lower monster from one of those categories. For instance, sacrificing my Fairy King allows me to special summon an Insect-type monster in his place."
A vine dropped down from somewhere in the middle of the tree and gently wrapped itself around Fairy King's hand. He closed his eyes, and a soft green glow suffused his body before the vine pulled itself (and him) back into the tree. Seconds later, a seed pod with a similar green glow popped off a branch and landed on the ground.
"Welcome back, Naturia Dragonfly!"
The pod split open to reveal a familiar cherry-red insect, who buzzed around a bit before hovering next to Laura. She smiled at it before continuing.
"As you know, since Dragonfly's on the Field, it gets an additional 200 Attack for every Naturia monster in my Graveyard. There are seven in there now, so that's a total of 1400 more points!"
Her Graveyard slot glowed brightly as each of her monster's spirits left it, circling around and entering into Dragonfly. When they did, it suddenly grew much bigger than it originally was.
Dragonfly (1200 - 2600)
Tauni cackled in a mocking tone. "Your little fruity friend couldn't hurt Leo before, what on Earth makes you think it can touch him now?! It can't even dent Disaster Leo's golden armor!"
"Not yet it can't. I discard my second Naturia Marron in order to Special Summon another Power Giant in Defense Mode!"
After putting the card into her Graveyard, another group of crystals emerged as Power Giant appeared once more. This time though, he was taking a defensive stance.
Power Giant (lvl 6 - lvl 3)
"And since I just sent another Naturia to the Grave, Dragonfly gets a little bit stronger."
Another soul entered the bug's body, making it grow slightly.
Dragonfly (2600 - 2800)
Laura tightened her hand into a fist, frustrated by the fact she was still lacking enough power to defeat Disaster Leo.
"I'll end my turn with that."
"And we're back to pathetic stall tactics," Tauni sighed while she drew. "So boring. At least this should make the fight more interesting."
A second Overlay Unit entered her monster's mouth, releasing yet another blast at Laura. This time however, it didn't knock Laura down like before and instead pushed her back a few feet away.
Laura - (5700 - 4700)
Tauni - 5300
"Now, be a good kitty and eat that bug, Disaster Leo." Tauni ordered.
The beast ran forward and swatted Dragonfly out of the air with a heavy paw. Tauni's mask meant that Laura couldn't appreciate her sadistic smile as Disaster Leo pinned the bug down and tore into its newest kill. Conversely, it also hid that smile disappearing when she realized Laura had a confident smile of her own rather than a despairing look.
Disaster Leo kept trying to bite or claw Dragonfly, but every time a small clear barrier surrounded the bug, protecting it from actual harm. The beast finally growled in frustration and swatted Dragonfly back towards Laura.
Laura - (4700 - 4000)
Tauni - 5300
"Why is that worthless insect still on the field?" Tauni demanded as she saw that the monster didn't disappear.
Laura helped Dragonfly up and patted its head reassuringly. "Now who forgot to read the fine print? Dragonfly's effect keeps any monsters with at least 2000 Attack points from destroying it. And, well, your Disaster is pretty strong, so…"
"You're just desperate to delay the inevitable!" Tauni snarled. "You know there's nothing in that pitiful deck of yours that could match mine! Soon, I'll have won this duel and Then I can go have my way with two worthless boys you hold so dear!"
Laura immediately had a look of anger in her, causing the entire dimension to start rumbling as her Dragonfly squeaked, causing her to calm down instantly. She looked at her monster, smiling and apologizing. She then took a deep breath and stood back up with her Dragonfly getting back to its spot.
Despite having endured quite a bit over the Duel, it was starting to take its toll. Even with the new power she gained from the dimension they were in, it wasn't a perfect connection and she couldn't control it too well yet. Which meant she wasn't able to properly protect herself and it wouldn't be long before she completely fell down.
For now, all she could do was keep fighting.
"My move, and looks like I may finally have a chance," Laura declared while adding the card to her hand. "First, I'm activating the Spell Magic Planter. By sending a Continuous Trap card on my side to the Graveyard, I'm allowed to draw two extra cards."
The tree in front of her shuddered, visibly cracked, and then shattered like it had been struck by multiple lightning bolts at once. Wood bits and leaves rained down around her, two of which landed on her Disk. The leaves vanished after she drew her two cards.
"And since my Sacred Tree is in the graveyard, its second effect activates. I can pick any Naturia card from my Deck and add it to my hand."
She took a quick look at her Deck as a single card ejected out of it for her to grab. Pulling it out, Laura then turned it to reveal her second Naturia Cosmobeet.
"Come on out, little guy!"
As before, a new sprout emerged in Laura's garden and grew rapidly before blossoming into her new plant monster.
"Good, give it everything you've got! That'll make my victory all the sweeter." Tauni's words oozed out around a wicked smile.
"Fine then," her opponent sniped back. "I now Tune together my Level four Dragonfly with my Level three Cosmobeet to Synchro Summon!"
Dragonfly nodded and flew straight up into the air. Cosmobeet closed its eyes in concentration, then burst into three green rings of light that surrounded its ally. The rings grew bigger in seconds, almost touching before they burst into the familiar pillar of light.
"Meet Splendid Rose (7/2200/2000) in Attack Mode!"
When the pillar faded away, a blond humanoid in two-toned green armor floated down and landed gracefully in front of Laura. Rose bowed to her, and thorny vines whipped themselves into existence as she turned her attention to Tauni. Fittingly, the monster's wrist and shoulder guards were also thorned, and one half of a rose blossom decorated each ankle.
"To end my turn, I'll switch my Power Giant into Attack Mode."
Her large monster stood up and readied itself for whatever would happen.
"How precious." Tauni spat in disgust. "Those worthless monsters of yours actually care enough to want to protect you. However, their pitiful protection will amount to jack shit! Especially considering you stupidly left yourself wide open by putting all your monsters out of Defense Mode. Let me show just how poorly that cost you by once again activating my Disaster Leo's effect!"
Like before, another Overlay Unit soon entered its mouth as the beast began charging once again. This time, however, Tauni found her monster's attack met with a confident smile rather than a distraught face.
"You really can't help wanting to show me up, can you? It's a good thing I knew you'd act like a total blowhard and try that move again. I reveal my other facedown Trap card, Divine Wrath!"
Tauni's eyes widened in shock at the reveal when the card lifted itself upward.
"Now by discarding one of my cards, I can negate and destroy your Disaster Leo," Laura explained, discarding her Pot of Duality Spell. "And I am aware that its effect lets it not be targeted by card effects. However, my Trap doesn't target and instead just negates the effect activated regardless."
Lightning flashed in the sky above them, jumping from cloud to cloud with booms of thunder close behind. Then a particularly large bolt burst from the sky and struck Disaster Leo full-on. The winged lion's final roar couldn't drown out the bone-rattling thunderclap that came seconds later, but it did rise above the sounds of rapidly collapsing machinery. When the spots in everyone's eyes faded away, there was simply a pile of blackened rubble on Tauni's side of the field.
Laura's smile, however, didn't last as she saw her opponent simply dust off the debris that came her way.
"Was I supposed to care about your puny attempt?" Tauni questioned as she grabbed a card from her hand to activate. "It doesn't really matter, especially since I'm activating my Junk Puppet spell. Thanks to this, I can target any Gimmick Puppet monster from my Graveyard and bring it right back out. Show this bitch what you got once more, Gimmick Puppet of Leo!"
A black portal opened in front of the duelists again, and phantom puppet strings reached into the center. The strings spun themselves together and pulled the familiar leonine warrior back into existence.
"And since I just Special Summoned Leo back to the field, that allows me to add Rank-Up-Magic Argent Chaos Force from my Graveyard back to my Hand."
Darkness enveloped her Graveyard slot as it ejected her Spell Card for her to grab, disappearing when she placed it back into her hand.
"Now, Leo, cut that bejeweled robot down to size!" Tauni declared.
Once again, the monster pulled out its blade and lunged forward, piercing Power Giant before slashing upward, bisecting it.
Laura's stunned look turned to shock as she felt herself pushed back once again by the force of the attack, the pain increasing more than the previous time she got hit with it.
Laura - (4000 - 3000)
Tauni - 5300
"That's how you play a turn," Tauni snapped.
Laura struggled to draw her next card, adding it to her hand and kept going forward despite the pain.
"Since I couldn't use Rose's effect last turn because of your Disaster Leo, this seems like a good time to make it up to her. By banishing any Plant-Type from my Graveyard, I can cut your Gimmick Puppet of Leo's Attack Points by half!"
Her Fairy King card ejected from the Graveyard slot, and his spirit appeared before Splendid Rose. Rose saluted as the spirit flew up and entered into its old enemy.
The effect was instant and somewhat spectacular. Leo made a noise akin to brakes rapidly being slammed, its limbs twitched erratically, and its formerly immaculate armor and weapon became covered in a layer of rust and dirt.
Gimmick Puppet of Leo (3200 - 1600)
Tauni's hand tightened into a fist when she saw what happened to her monster.
"And since I'm feeling generous, I'll summon Naturia Eggplant (2/1000/700) in Attack Mode to join the fun!"
Yet another flower popped up in Laura's garden, and a deep purple insect-like creature with big yellow eyes crawled out of the center. It rubbed its flowery legs together to get rid of any pollen and took to the air, translucent wings beating rapidly.
"Go, Rose, take apart her monster with Vine Rampage!"
Splendid Rose nodded as she manifested two thorny vines made of pure energy. She twirled and threw them like a grappling hook, wrapping around Puppet of Leo. Once her grip was secure she pulled down hard, piercing its metal armor and causing an explosion strong enough to actually push Tauni back a little.
Laura - 3000
Tauni - (5300 - 4700)
"Oh I almost forgot," Laura said in an innocent tone. "Whenever Rose attacks, I can banish another Plant-type monster from the Graveyard to halve her Attack Points. Which would be a dumb idea if it didn't also let her attack again."
Tauni's face was still hidden, but now had a look of horror from what she heard.
Another card ejected itself, and this time Naturia Marron's soul appeared. Rose held out both hands for the ghost to land on. Marron's soul disappeared, and Rose's armor began to turn light brown. The shoulder and wrist guards actually curled in at the edges.
Splendid Rose (2200 - 1100)
"Show her what you've still got, Rose!"
Nodding, her monster summoned another pair of vines. This time, she snapped them at Tauni's shoulders like a whip, complete with a muted crack sound as the thorns pierced her.
This caused Tauni to scream out in pain.
Laura - 3000
Tauni - (4700 - 3600)
"And for my final trick, Eggplant will attack the audience directly!"
Her insect buzzed towards Tauni, paused in midair, and swung itself forward such that the stinger made contact with her upper arm. She let out another painful scream as the attack finally managed to knock her on her back.
Laura - 3000
Tauni - (3600 - 2600)
"I end my turn," Laura announced. She was slightly out of breath, starting to feel her limit reaching much more quickly than expected. Despite the pain, she knew that there was a chance to win and protect Nick and Barclay, it would all end with just one more turn.
'You can do this Laura. For Nick and Barclay, you can win this!' The Ra student thought to herself.
Rose's armor returned to its usual green as Eggplant flew back to her side.
Splendid Rose (1100 - 2200)
Tauni was still for a few long moments. Then an unsettling, honest-to-God howl burst out of her along with an eruption of dark energy. Elysium began shaking, and Laura screamed in pain.
Unlike the pain from direct attacks or being too close to the blast zone, this new pain concentrated on her head and her ribcage. It felt like something made of pure anger was trying to claw its way out of her skull. The knowledge that she had an empathic link with Elysium itself barely registered through the pain and hatred she felt.
After a few seconds, the pain subsided enough for Laura to get a look at her opponent.
Tauni was back on her feet and had drawn her next card, but her mask had completely changed. Both eyes were now visible, and had gone from blue to a particularly demonic shade of red. Her hair and lips had also darkened to pure black.
"I gave you the option to surrender, but you chose torment. I could live with that, since I'd still be able to make you beg for mercy…" Tauni's voice sounded increasingly distorted, even demonic, the more she talked. "But that's no longer enough. I will crush your worthless spirit so thoroughly you'll wish I'd just killed you back at the academy! You and your equally-worthless friends!"
After saying that, she drew to continue the Duel, causing a shift in the darkness surrounding the dimension.
"Here's where your punishment starts; I activate the effect of my Gimmick Puppet Dreary Doll from my Graveyard, so by banishing my Gimmick Twilight Joker that's also in the Graveyard, I can Special Summon her to the field in Attack Mode."
Twilight Joker returned to the stage, followed by an unassuming black coffin that opened for him. Upon entering it, the lid closed automatically; there was a short scream and the sound of crunching wood. Moments later, the coffin opened again and Dreary Doll sat up, turning to look Laura directly in the eye.
"Next up, I Normal Summon Gimmick Puppet Scissor Arms (4/1200/600) in Attack Mode!"
The stage behind Tauni closed its curtains once more, and there was a familiar muffled hum. When they opened, a blank-faced purple humanoid with its arms raised and studded leather belts wrapped around it unsteadily stepped forward. The unsteadiness came from the light purple belt holding its legs together, though the weight and size of its eponymous scissor-blade hands might have also contributed to that.
Laura knew this Duel was unlikely to end with her as the victor, but she kept a poker face regardless.
"Good, keep that confident and cool expression on your face. It'll make it all the sweeter when you're begging for mercy! Now I activate the effect of Perform Puppet once more," Tauni proclaimed. "I banish Gimmick Puppet Bisque Doll to make all my Gimmick Puppet monsters the same level she was."
Soon, Bisque appeared as her body exploded with her strings now adding to the stages, which connected to Scissor Arms.
Scissor Arms (4 - 8)
"Now the stage is set, literally, to greet my second biggest star! I use Gimmick Puppet Dreary Doll and Scissor Arms to build the Overlay Network!"
Both monsters transformed into orbs of light, flying together into the galaxy spiral that appeared behind them on the stage once more as the curtains closed.
"I Xyz Summon Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder (R4/1500/2500) in Attack Mode!"
The curtains, and the stage floor itself, opened up, and a large black puppet on a blue throne rose into view. It was so large that it didn't appear to be sitting on its throne at all; more like leaning against the back of it. It had bright red hair and a simple golden crown with the number 15 on it. There was also a gaping hole in the center of its chest marked with gold stripes. Oddly, despite the detail in its arms, legs, and torso (it had abs, for crying out loud), its pelvis was just bare metal framework, as if the pieces had been assembled individually but they'd run out of materials when the time came to put it together.
"You were never going to beat me no matter what new power you pulled out of nowhere," Tauni said mockingly. "I'll give you this, however: You're definitely the most tenacious opponent I've ever faced. Take whatever sliver of pride you can in that as I destroy you! I activate Rank-Up-Magic Argent Chaos, rebuilding the Overlay Network using Giant Grinder! Go, Chaos XYZ Evolution! This Duel is over!"
After activating it, the large mechanical monster bellowed before transforming into an orb of light with the other orbs of light surrounding it like a ring. They entered into the vortex that appeared up in the sky, doing the same thing that Disaster Leo did as the explosion occurred.
Soon enough, a single being descended down onto the Field once again. The closer it got, the more force it emitted as the entire area began to shake from its immense power.
"Behold, I Xyz Summon Number C15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Hunter (R9/2500/1500) in Attack Mode!"
The overall body was still humanoid, but its color scheme had completely changed. It was gold instead of black, and familiar lines of red energy ran through its torso, limbs, and face. It had dispensed with the throne as well, being held aloft by a nearly circular structure with multiple pillars. Giant Hunter's crown resembled a sunburst, and its hair had gone from red to silver.. This form still didn't have a pelvis, though Laura didn't think the large rotating gear was an improvement.
When it landed, strong winds blew across the field as Laura held her arms up to keep it from blowing her visor off her own face. When it stopped, she let her arms down and lowered her head as if ashamed.
"Yes… there it is," Tauni uttered with satisfaction. "And the fun's not done yet! Now I activate Giant Hunter's effect: By using an Overlay Unit, I can destroy one of your worthless monsters that's on the Field. And the best part? You take damage equal to its original Attack Points!"
One of the orbs flew into the energy-line portion of its chest, and there was the sound of multiple gears whirring to life at once. Then its chest panel opened and chains made of that same red energy shot out and grabbed Splendid Rose.
The chains pulled her monster close with an unsettling wrenching noise, prompting a scream from Rose and a disgusted shudder from Laura. When she could make herself look again, Giant Hunter's head had opened to reveal a machine gun turret where its mouth would be.
"Make her suffer!"
With that command, the monster's turret began spinning before a barrage of red fire sprayed onto her side of the field. The screams of pain could be heard as Laura's garden lost all of the flowers and life it once sustained.
Laura - (3000 - 800)
Tauni -2600
The dust settled to reveal a decimated field except for Naturia Eggplant, trying its best to support Laura's hurt body. It showed that the barrage of gunfire managed to pierce holes in the girl's uniform, almost as if someone actually shot her. However, it didn't completely ruin it and could be fixed.
"You deserve this," Tauni said, her voice barely above a whisper. "If you had just listened to me earlier, you'd be sleeping peacefully in your room awaiting a welcome from the Mistress. Instead you're here, suffering. Such a shame to see such a lovely face reduced to the gnawed remains of a discarded dog's bone."
"Speaking… from personal experience…?" Laura managed, exhausted but still able to laugh a little.
If Tauni had been holding anything breakable, it would have snapped in her hand.
"WHY. WON'T. YOU. DIE?!" she demanded, voice cracking in anger and disbelief.
Laura smiled calmly. "I'm not sure either. I guess knowing that even if I lose the duel, or my life… it doesn't really matter," she began. "The boys are still safe, and neither you nor your Mistress can touch them from Elysium.
"Huh, I just realized something. It makes a lot of sense for you to have a puppet Deck, doesn't it? You're not nearly as in control as you want me to think you are. I'll bet if your boss, whoever she is, hadn't told you Nick and Bar were your enemies we wouldn't even be having this conversation. You'd be waiting for someone to pick up your strings and give you directions."
Tauni started breathing heavily. "Stop. Talking. You worthless worm…"
"If you weren't such a bitch I'd almost feel sorry for you. No real drive, no idea what gets you out of bed in the morning, and judging by what you threatened to do to me that's your Mistress' standard punishment for failure. Complete mental obliteration, and getting kicked out just to drive home the point."
"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" Tauni roared, barely intelligible through demonic rage. "FINISH HER, GIANT HUNTER!"
The monster's turret spun once more, releasing another barrage onto Laura as her Eggplant did its best to protect her. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as it too got shredded into multiple pieces.
Its attack triggered one last immense explosion on Laura's side as the dimension and its occupants began to disappear. Strangely, though, there was also the faint sound of Laura's carefree laughter.
Laura - (800 - 0)
Tauni - 2600
Duel Academy
Main Building
Laura and Tauni reappeared on the walkway in two small bursts of light. Surprisingly, their arrival also repaired all the damage the latter had done before. All the pedestals she'd destroyed were back to their original forms, as if nothing had happened.
Tauni's disguise, too, returned to its usual state. Unfortunately whatever magic was responsible couldn't fix the shredded parts of her cloak, or the exhaustion she felt after the dark aura died down. Clearly that Duel had taken more out of her than she'd thought.
Regardless, she ignored her exhausted body and got up, looking around for her victim and soon finding her leaning against a pillar with her eyes closed and head tilted down.
"Now who's the worthless fool?" Tauni gloated, a sadistic laugh bubbling up. "You stupid, insolent bitch?! I won! That's right, me!"
With that, she pulled out her belt knife and limped towards the pale girl. She fell down once, but got back up and kept going in sheer spite. Eventually standing in front of the pillar, Tauni knelt and moved Laura's head to get a better view of her face.
Incredibly, despite losing their Duel and bearing God knew how many wounds, the unconscious girl still had a faint smile on her face.
Tauni snarled. "Looks like you need a permanent reminder of this night…"
She dug the blade into her left cheek and began dragging it down. It was hard to judge since head wounds always bled out of proportion, but Tauni was fairly certain that the cut would heal and leave a scar rather than cause actual damage.
Tauni's sadistic grin widened at the blood on her pale skin, and the fact that she didn't even twitch from what she was doing. No sooner had she laid the tip on her victim's other cheek, however, than a demonic whistle sounded.
She looked over to the forest with an irritated expression. "Seriously? Now he gives the order? He's out of his mind if he thinks I'm going to disappoint the Mistress again…" she groaned. But after a moment, she decided it wasn't worth disobeying new orders and thus bringing more wrath down on her head.
She wiped a bit of blood off her knife and stood up, stowing it as she did. With a snap of her fingers, dark energy encircled her body in preparation for a teleport. The last thing she did was lift her mask up slightly to make sure Laura heard her parting words perfectly.
"See you in your nightmares, bitch."
With that, the masked girl vanished from sight, leaving nothing but the empty night and her unconscious opponent.
Seconds later, light surrounded Laura's body, healing all the wounds she'd accumulated (but not the bullet holes in her clothes). But just as Tauni had hoped, even her magic couldn't fully erase the knife wound. Laura would wake up later with a thin red scar crossing her jawline.
Were you guys expecting Laura to lose? I worry that we have her lose all the time, but that's just how the duels have been working out. But I think this time she failed forward and really stuck it to her opponent in a different way. Wonder who we'll see dueling next? Like Ray said up top, hope everyone is keeping safe.