Page 369 of Light Leech

“If I could, I would.”

Any suggestions?

“Eliminate the other woman.”

I nodded. It was no new insight, but I took comfort in having him with me.

I drew Swine’s Servant in the same turn, played him, then used the rest of my lumens on a simple ability card that dealt one damage to an opponent for each of their legends. CarNin’s two one-cost parasite legends were of little significance as enemies, but it served to add to a total of four damage to her.

RalEsp: twenty-six.

PetNeb: twenty-five.

CarNin: thirty-four.

Ralia began her turn with another cognitive blessing, then attempted to control the other Desompositor. Despite the increased probability, the attack failed, resulting in a point of damage to her Manipulataur. She attacked the other Decompositor with the one she controlled, destroying each of them without repercussion. She then used Gnomatician to pull two random ability cards out of her deck and play them for free. The first was the same as the one I had played, dealing three damage to CarNin now that she only had that many legends. The second reversed the turn order.

RalEsp: twenty-six.

PetNeb: twenty-five.

CarNin: thirty-one.

My platform illuminated and my lumens were replenished. The counter for delayed summon reached zero.

While the Dark Dealer‘s appearance led me to believe that this would be a demon, I instead received an angel. The titanic being was taller than any legend on the battlefield and had the intense muscles that only a cartoonish god could possess. Justified Swordsman was six-cost that I did not have to pay for, but I figured the number had significance for attacks such as the one The Pain had used. Without the angel wings and the marble-white skin, I would have thought it was a demon due to its hateful glare from an eyeless face. Swords stuck out from its back as if they had been buried into it in this being’s mortal existence, but its posture and demeanor showed no sign of pain. It wore a toga that billowed in non-existent wind with the silky golden locks of hair that looked more like it was underwater than windblown.

Jealous?

“It does not exist outside of this realm. To envy that thing would be a fool’s errand.”

Do you really exist?

“You are speaking to me. If I do not, what would that mean for you?

I used Swine’s Servant to increase Zhu’s attack, which I would have ignored, had it not been for a six-cost ability card that allowed me to use two of my legends’ four-cost attacks. Zhu was reliable, but my new Justified Swordsman felt like one of those new toys that made you want to toss everything aside to enjoy. Justified Swordsman‘s attack hit every enemy with his attack and gave every other attacking legend penetrate with him. I used the rest of my lumens on a cheap ability card that gave them an attack boost prior to attacking. My legends wiped out CarNin’s field and dealt her ten additional damage.

RalEsp: twenty-six.

PetNeb: twenty-five.

CarNin: twenty-one.

“This is a load of zegging guk!” she shouted as her platform illuminated. She gave her new cards no attention as she continued to shout out into the ether for the announcer’s attention. “You said there are no teams, yet these two continue to bombard me in an unofficial alliance! I want fair play!”

“It’s your fault for not building alliances earlier,” Ralia said. “Scholars never let the rules of the world hold them back, right?” She looked up for clarification. The announcer responded. “Even the greatest minds are bound to certain laws. You are not exempt.”

“And?” CarNin asked after a pause.

Two options floated in front of her on blue holographic panels. Though they were translucent, the text was only on the front side. It was backwards from my perspective and too fine of print for me to read.

What does that say?

“She has two options for leveling the field,” Zhu said. “Destroy an enemy on each opponent’s side and deal them five damage each.”

Or?

“Double your might and finish the match as your Light Leech.”