-PHASE OPEN-

‘She only has two Royal Rank cards left! I can do this!’ Jacques tries to cool his head.

His Queen may be down to 2 HP and the Jack down to 1 HP, but his King remains at full power!

If Faith does not locate it, then his victory is inevitable. Faith’s tantrum is the equivalent of a child having their favorite toy taken away!

‘Poor baby…losing her favorite card…’

‘Heh.’

“Phase Close!” he must hold on a bit longer…

…

The stone slab begins to rumble…

Jacques hears something!

He scrambles and looks down…

Nightfall Swamp is loudly bubbling over like a stovetop!

The tar simmers, large bubbles begin popping. Jacques wipes his brow.

This heat. Uncomfortably hot.

His attention is drawn to a bright red crack at his top row, between his II and III-zones. In a zigzag line, it connects with the Burning Lands, and as it does…

MAGMA ERUPTS!

The volcanic earth parts any remaining ground! Giving rise to small geysers firing out steam like cannons!

Faith’s side of the war grid is now even more treacherous…

“PHASE OPEN!” her turn starts again!

Jacques could barely see it happen! When Faith drew her card just now, it was with lightning speed!

Faith takes a moment to consider her next move.

‘Damn! Her face…I can’t get a read…’ Jacques grumbles.

*BLOOP*

*BLOOP*

The black bubbles on his side of the grid continue to balloon…

*POP*

Jacques winces in pain! He is snapped out of his thoughts!

When one of the bubbles busted open, a scalding droplet hit his cheek…

It stings…

He wonders if it will scar…

“I ADVANCE!”

What!? Jacques missed it again! Faith must have already rolled the Field Dice!

How high was the result?

Faith propels a card forward across the grid like a comet!

It collides with another card!

Sparks ignite!

It’s another Field Clash!

Faith’s card reveals itself first…

With the beat of its majestic wings, The Falcon of BurningHEARTS returns to the fray!

Jacques’ card is next!

Tearing its own card apart to scraps! A ferocious and unruly Ape roars into view. Thick rippling muscles and fur, salivating all over the tiles as it beats its chest.

The Brute of JungleCLOVERS!

Like its Warrior brethren, it also is covered in chains, a thick metal collar around its neck!

The beast stares down its feathered combatant…as do the two duelists…

“FALCON OF BURNINGHEARTS! MOLTEN WING SLASH!” Faith commands!

The bird caws are so loud that Jacques feels his eardrums may burst!

He looks to it…something feels different about it this time…

…and he’s right!

As it spreads its wings, the rainbow spectrum it emits almost blinds him.

It launches forward! Ready to face its prey!

The Ape-man beats its chest harder! Roaring louder! From the pile of card scraps it made upon its entrance, he retrieves his weapon! A crude club made of animal bone!

He is not prey! He is a PREDATOR! Swinging the club with no finesse as it tries to outpace that bird’s flying with a forward charge!

…only to get cleanly sliced in half at the torso…like butter…thanks to a shining wing…

Rather than waste the effort of a head-on collision, The Falcon chose to slightly overtake The Brute by letting a straight wing slice through like a knife.

After all, for its rabid appearance, The Brute was only LV.2…

Jacques feels shame that it even had a spot in his deck…

‘What is that brat planning next?’

The Falcon is still pushing onward…it makes a sharp right!

‘NO, IT CAN’T BE!!!’ Jacques’ eyes widen…

It’s coming for a card of his still guarding his II-zone!

Faith has every intention of locking it!

Cawing a second time! The Falcon prepares for another Field Clash!

A Skull Warrior that radiates power faces it! Axe in hand!

It’s a LV.ACE Warrior of NightSPADE!

That Falcon is only LV.10! HAH! Time to show it some manners and hack it down and feast on the meat! Down to the bone!

The Skull Warrior grips its axe tightly and swings with all the force it can muster!

The Falcon closes its eyes…

As does Jacques…because he is ashamed again…

The Falcon flies directly into it…the skeleton’s bones melt into cake batter!

Jacques’ plans for that zone did not go as intended…

Earlier, Faith easily locked his I-zone with an Ace level card. So he figured she may attempt a similar move again.

According to the Expert Guide, when two cards of the same level Field Clash, they both perish…

Not only that, but there is another crucial detail about Ace level cards in particular…

When a LV.ACE Reserve Rank card initiates a Field Clash its attack value is 14, but when it defends against a Field Clash, its value drops to 1.

‘Damn it…’

A bad miscalculation on his part…

The victorious Falcon takes to the skies, somersaults in a perfect loop, and dives back down at Mach speed! All the way down into the II-zone!

“ZONE LOCKED!” Yes! Faith secured it!

Another red vortex forms in The Falcon’s steed!

Faith closes her eyes, letting the pain pass…as she bleeds from her lip.

She technically still lost one Soul Four-Ce as the candle above the word Ten goes out. But, this was a sacrifice she was willing to make. And certainly, not one Jacques could predict. He does not even dare to make eye contact with his Queen.

“EMERGENCY STRIKE!” two of her cards on the war grid evaporate!

Jacques tries to ready himself!

The Jack of BurningHEARTS reveals herself once more!

She plucks a strand of her own hair. It elongates all the way into a sharp point and ignites into a flaming arrow!

As she pulls back on the bow, Faith rolls the Range Dice!

It lands on a measly 3…

Jacques’ confidence returns, “I will gladly counter that roll! I discard a 6 card from my hand!”

He pulls in the Range Dice and rolls it!

Landing on an 8!

‘Yes!’

‘Time for that brat to take her punishment! Surely, she will not-’

“COUNTER ROLL!” Faith shouts!

HE MISSED IT AGAIN! The Range Dice vanished in an instant! Is she going for a counter chain?

She flips over a 10 card from her hand as it turns to ash!

‘NO WAY! IS SHE OUT OF HER MIND!? Yeah…yes…that’s it!’ Jacques begins to calm himself, and with good reason! The odds of her rolling a 9 are slim to none!

When Faith chucks the dice back onto the war grid…it’s whirling into a spin…

It’s like a spinning top. Could it spin forever? Glowing brighter and brighter until it fades...

Standing upright…

*CLACK*

It falls over…

…it landed on a 9…

Faith glares at Jacques and tightens a fist. Did he take her for a coward?

“CRITICAL STRIKE! GO! JACK OF BURNINGHEARTS!”

The Heart Jack closes one eye to focus on their target!

“THERE! Straight through the HEART! SCARLET SHOOT!” Faith has made her choice!

Releasing the arrow, it’s swift, creating a beautiful streak of scarlet light!

The speed of Jacques’ targeted card turning around feels painfully slow in comparison!

The target…

…a clean hit to the chest…

It’s The King of NightSPADE!

The arrow had gone through the ribcage and pierced the parasite’s tendril. The fleshy bulb begins to viciously start pumping as if in agony!

The tendril burns away in sparkles, leading all the way to the fleshy tumor at the top and eradicating it.

…

The Spade King takes a moment to look to Faith…

Has he been freed?

Then he snaps over at The Queen of NightSPADE!

The King has a menacing stream of aura pouring out from him!

The Queen appears nervous…

He takes one big step ahead!

But…he cannot go any further…

The game rules will not allow him to fulfill his wish for vengeance, as it is still Faith’s turn.

The Queen, in frustration, looks to Jacques next. He is grasping his shirt tightly and is wheezing. He had lost two Soul Four-Ce.

She harbors no care for his pain. The stupid bastard set them back!!!

He is thinking to himself, ‘How!? Did she really get that lucky!? NO! It was those voices! It had to be! Conspiring against my sweet Mother and I. CHEATERS!’

He looks forward again.

It shocks him!

The phantoms from before are clearer…all standing beside Faith…

They want him dead.

Jacques recognizes the faces all too well…men…women…children…can Faith see them too? He is not sure…

Faith ends her turn, “PHASE CLOSE!” and the phantoms subside.

Jacques eagerly draws a card and begins his turn.

“Go Field Dice!” he rolls it…

…landing on a 1…

“FOR CHRIST’S SAKE! FINE!” he impatiently moves a card forward!

“WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED BY LOSERS, WHORES, AND TRASH!”

“YOU WILL SUBMIT! FIELD CLASH!” he is charging again with a black aura.

His card moves closer into one of Faith’s!

*SLAAAAAAAAASH*

Before it could even exit its card…he had already lost…Jacques’ card was sliced up in the shape of an X.

The victor proudly shows itself, standing in place.

Wielding two curved swords forged by the best of the best! A reptilian tail slaps the ground…

The Swordsman of SaurDIAMONDS! LV.8!

A lizardman from a faraway land, his army known for their skill on the battlefield…

Sworn to protect the honor of their throne…

It may be far from home, far from its princess…but Faith will do just fine.

The Swordsman looks to her, and she nods in approval.

Jacques wants to tear out his own hair! He can feel another energy though…

Oh…The Queen of NightSPADE…

She doesn’t seem content with wanting to pull out his hair…

She would rather rip something else off!

Jacques wisely turns his attention to the game and plans his next move! He can still go for a Range Strike!

“E-E-Emergency Range Strike!” he intended to say it with confidence but stuttered instead.

In a questionable strategy, he gives up two cards from his grid. One of which was meant to be guarding his III-zone…

He pulls over the Range Dice.

Barely holding onto it. Jacques’ hand is shaking too much!

He rolls the Range Dice!

…it lands on an 8…

Faith has no cards in her hand to counter with. She stays silent. Allowing it to continue.

“THIS STRIKE WILL NOT FAIL US! Jack of NIGHTSPADE!” he says with gusto.

With her sharp claws, The Spade Queen rips off a slab of flesh from her forearm. Not nearly as much as the last time.

Her roulette of magic numbers lands on a 1 and strikes it!

She carelessly drops the blood-soaked meat on top of the wooden puppet near her feet, with no excitement or pleasure on her face.

It envelopes the puppet like a blanket…

The parasite sloppily curls around it…

It looks like it is dressing the doll up in clothes made of skin…

The doll stands, wobbling as it does…

Its arms are almost too heavy now…thanks to the scythes growing out of the back of its wrists…

The wooden doll with nappy hair blankly stares at Faith, blood leaking from its eyes down to the toes.

It is a crude caricature of Faith…nastier in appearance…they even share a red bow…

The Queen of NightSPADE and Jacques start to chuckle.

Jacques says, “A fitting look! Much prettier than the reference! Don’t you agree?”

…

Nothing from Faith…

“…we can dress her down if you want to inspect the accuracy and articulation…” as he says this, The Queen licks her lips.

Faith doesn’t budge.

Jacques proceeds with his intended Range Strike…

“THERE! JACK OF NIGHTSPADE! TWIN TWISTED AXIS!”

Despite its small stature, the doll can jump high into the air!

Selecting its target, The Spade Jack slashes downward! Two circular saws of air curve out and into each other. Each time they collide, it creates a black spark!

The target reveals itself…

It’s a cartoonish badger that can’t stop laughing! It’s howling so hard it can barely focus!

When it sees the deathly gale heading its way…IT LAUGHS HARDER!

Like it had remembered a hilarious routine, it reaches back into its card and rapidly starts pulling out and throwing away various items...

Tools…guns…knives…hammers…it’s searching for something…

Even a whiskey bottle! The Badger gives it a passionate kiss before casting that aside too.

What it pulls out…it never should have fit in the card!

It’s a comically oversized bomb! His noodle-like legs can barely support the weight.

He continues laughing as he holds it up high over his head.

*YIPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

The laughter stops because the bomb’s wick is almost out! The Badger’s eyes bug out of his head, and he chucks it at The Spade Jack.

This is the infamous Black Bomber Badger! Completely two-dimensional in mind and body.

When the wind blades connect…

Chunks of the bomb are quickly cut apart, revealing a tinier bomb, no larger than a pea.

The pea-sized bomb continues its path, gently hitting The Spade Jack on its forehead.

*Tink*

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

THE BOMB EXPLODES!

Under normal circumstances, it would have wiped out the entire manor, but this isn’t a cartoon…

The words TOO BAD! are left behind in smoke.

Black Bomber Badger is a Joker rank card, and when Joker cards are targeted for a Range Strike…

“Joker Crash! Your strike is negated, and your turn is forfeited!” Faith says to Jacques.

He is speechless.

Caked in soot, The Jack of NightSPADE lands at the feet of The Queen.

She stomps on the doll and grunts.

The Badger walks back to its card, whistling along, but it checks out Faith before going in.

HIS JAW DROPS LIKE AN ANVIL!

The Badger’s eyes turn into large HEARTS, then become the words SAUCY LADY!!!!!!!

Once again, he sifts through items, but even more hurriedly than before!

He puts on a nice bow tie and slides towards Faith!

Down on one knee, he is suddenly too nervous about maintaining eye contact and is sweating buckets.

He pulls out a flower and holds it up to Faith…

Teeth chattering like ice cubes…

Easily cracking as such…

He peeks and screams when he notices the flower is wilted, quickly hiding it while he blows on it and rubs it with a cleaning cloth…

Somehow…out comes a beautiful bouquet of flowers and butterflies! The Badger now has a smug grin! Romance Pro!

…

He sucks in his own grin at the sight of Faith revealing her total indifference…

She points at his card, “…go home to your family…”

He turns around, and a woman badger caring for three raucous babies waits by the card, brandishing a frying pan.

Heartbroken, Black Bomber Badger sobs as he marches back home…to his prison.

“Hey!” Faith says.

He looks at her. His eyes are so big!

Faith winks at him, “You fought hard! Thank you!”

The Badger blushes as he bashfully scoots into his card. The wife follows him, but not before angrily pointing her frying pan at Faith! She enters the card too…

…one loud *POW* and the whole card vibrates and shatters! Black Bomber Badger died a hero…

Faith leans a bit forward, giggles, and says to Jacques, “I caught Dee secretly doodling him on one of my blank cards.”

“He doesn’t know yet, but I finished the art for him!” ♥

“Oh…Dee also constructed quite the lengthy effect for Mr. Badger.”

Giggling more, “But I had ’ta edit most of it down!” ♥

…

“…he didn’t need to keep it a secret from me…” her voice now has a somber tone.

…

“…we play and play…but do I listen to him?”

…

“It’s my move!” Faith draws a card.

“Sorry, Mr. Lenoir, you’re fired! I already had the world’s greatest game critic right at home!”

-CHAPTER END-

-PHASE CLOSE-