The Amber Sword

Ina cursed under her breath and sighed with a worried expression on her face.

“That Pendulum monster is right. The Paradise of Purity has unparalleled defense, but its offense leaves much to be desired for. In fact, I have never won against it before. Boy, you have been watching for quite some time now. Isn’t it time you did something?”

Brendel nodded. A green glow cast upon his face with the Card of Fate’s information floating on it. He placed a certain card in his hand and pressed it lightly.

“There is something I can do, but you have to buy me some time.”

“I’ll try to reduce the number of Nightmare Forges, but it will come at a hefty cost,” Ina stared at him for a moment before saying. She pointed her finger, and the Platinum Dragon abandoned its opponent, instead charging towards the Pendulum Golem. The Devil raised its cold-flame greatsword, cleaving down on the dragon’s back. The Platinum Dragon let out a thunderous roar of pain, but it continued to thrash on the ground. The Pendulum Golem dared not try to stop it, so it could only look at its Nightmare Forges get destroyed. Due to the difference in size, the Nightmare Forges were annihilated within seconds.

However, a price had to be paid. The Devil, wrathed in blue flames, walked towards the Platinum Dragon. The dragon, with its wound gushing golden blood, had its back pierced by the Devil once more, the cold flames engulfing its heart. The magnificent creature raised its head, a look of unwillingness in its eyes, and bit down on the Devil’s muscular neck. However, the dragon had long lost its strength. Its teeth slid off, leaving only light wounds on the Devil’s neck.

There the dragon lay unmoving, like a mountain in the middle of a lake of gold.

“Ina, this youngster has made you rash. Now that your Platinum Dragon is out of the way, my victory has been assured,” the Pendulum Golem sneered.

Brendel felt strange that the deer lady was so silent. He turned around to look at her, only to see her grinding her teeth.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized.

“It’s fine,” Ina let out a sigh. “That monster’s monotonous look is pissing me off, like it thinks it can represent master. That’s not how master is! I know that Planeswalkers are supposed have noble beliefs and persistence. So what if it is good at calculating? I’m going to teach that thing a lesson and let him know how wrong he is!” Ina clenched her fist, anger flashing in her eyes.

For the first time, Brendel was not annoyed by her.

He placed his palm once more on the card, staring into its pitch-black depth, its color like the flames of hell. Its color meant that it was a contract card. Brendel felt a prickly cold feeling emit from the card, and the connection between the Planeswalker and Law started to build.

This card was not his only Dark creature. The card depicted a Bone Dragon who was being revived, depicting death and defeat.

The card was Graveyard Revival. The Dark element flowed around Brendel as he tapped on Rougen’s Swamp, Forest of Death, Water of Forsaken City. A total of 5 Dark EP flowed into his Elemental Pools. The Elemental energy activated the effects of Law, opening a gateway to another world.

Cards flew out from the Graveyard. His eyes glanced past his strongest Fireclaw Chieftain and his favorite Wind Spirit Spiders. Instead, he picked out a white card, Pristine Archangels. Black tendrils of energy was injected into the card by Graveyard Revival, and the Pristine Archangels’ corpse was reanimated by that corrupted energy. Its wings were pitch black, skin as white as bones, and its eyes blood red. The Archangels, once holy, had been brought back with the ‘Undead’ status.

A ball of mercury with orbiting brass tracks appeared from beneath Brendel’s cloak. He inserted three fingers in the ball, and paid 5 Fire EP.

The Archangels’ silhouette appeared in the Eternal Orb. Both the Archangels stepped into the battlefield, and their summoning effects activated.

“When Pristine Archangel enters the battlefield, pick a card from the Graveyard and put it into your deck.”

-Fireclaw chieftain has been summoned.

-Wind Spirit Spiders have been summoned.

It was a magnificent sight. Green portals appeared all over the room as the Wind Spirit Spiders were summoned. Brendel was the first Planeswalker to enter that place in over a thousand years. Both Ina and the Pendulum Golem couldn’t help but stare at the grand army before them.

“My lord, where are your enemies?” Ropar the Fireclaw Lizard Chieftain wielded a flaming trident, his eye slits carrying the coldness of a reptile. With only his stare, he managed to freeze the Death Sentinels in place. Dark creatures are naturally afraid of fire. While the Death Sentinels may not have a consciousness, they still couldn’t overcome their nature.

“So you still had some strong summons!” Ina shouted with glee. “Good! Attack the Nightmare Forges! I’ll defend, you attack, as long as you can break its defense, we still stand a chance of victory!”

“Destroy the Nightmare Forges,” Brendel commanded.

Ropar rushed headfirst into the enemy lines. He was a whirlwind of fire. Even though he was only a few levels above the Death Sentinels, the Fire element gave him a huge advantage. “Petty tricks!” The Pendulum Golem snarled, raising its hand and pressing its last Death Sentinel card on the scales.

The already crowded battlefield suddenly became a sea of black bodies. The Pendulum Golem was trying to overcome its weaknesses with sheer numbers, but before he could boast, a purple web appeared from the skies, trapping the Death Sentinels. Andrea had recovered at that moment too, thus she rejoined the battle. Of course, she still wore a bored expression, like this high-level spell was nothing to her.

The battle raged on, but very quickly, the Devil writhed in green flames came face to face with Ropar. Even though it was injured by the Platinum Dragon, its Summoning element was not a good match for Ropar. Before Brendel could command his Undead Pristine Archangels to distract it, Ina said, “Leave that one to me.”

She placed her hand on her Grimoire of Life and said, “Sacrifice.”

Brendel was shocked. The Grimoire of Life was the core summon of the Paradise of Purity, it could fully recover all the health and energy of every ally creature on the field. Upon using it, if they could not win the battle quickly, they were bound to fail.

However, Ina was firm with her decision. She tore apart her Grimoire, while its energy transformed into a ray of light that encompassed the entire field, fully healing every friendly creature, including the Platinum Dragon. It opened its wings, roaring out loud, proving that it was alive.

“Holy Shit!” Brendel could not suppress his surprise.

Ina turned around, her expression pinched. “Without the Grimoire, my deck has lost its core power, so I won’t be able to last long. Boy, I have created this opportunity for you, can you defeat the Pendulum Golem quickly? If you can’t, then it’s better if we escaped.”

Brendel looked at Ina, his hand resting on the hilt of Halran Gaia. He was slightly conflicted. There was a chance to win, but he still needed more time.

“What are you waiting for?” Ina was calmer than Brendel had expected. She managed to discern his thoughts. “You’re waiting for a chance to draw a card, aren’t you?”

“You’re setting up for your next move?”

“You have a sure-win card in your deck?” Ina bombarded Brendel with questions.

Smart lady. Brendel nodded his head.

“What are the chances of drawing it?”

Brendel was waiting for Holy Swords.

He could tell that the Pendulum Golem really admired a Planeswalker’s abilities. In truth, the Pendulum Golem’s own true power was much more than what it was showing with its Planeswalking. But if Brendel was given a chance, if he could destroy the Golem’s core, then both him and Ina stood a chance at victory.

“I only have a few cards left in my deck. The chances that I will draw that card is extremely high.”

“Your next draw is in 15 minutes, I don’t think we can hold out for that long.” Ina clenched her teeth before saying, “Aha! I have an idea! Check out my barrier.”

A glowing curtain of light appeared behind Ina.

– Accelerated Thoughts (Paradise of Adversity)

– 22 Light or Dark EP

– Barrier

– Effect: When this card is used, draw 3 cards from the summoner’s deck. Before the next time this Card is reactivated, shuffle 8 cards from the hand into the deck.

– “Acting fast is the advantage of the battlefield.”