Chapter 603: Soul Ring of the Netherworld, Prohibition of Life (7k)
The night was pitch black, and all the light in the outdoor duel arena converged on the stage where the duel took place, illuminating it brightly.
The twentieth duel of the day had already begun, with the duelists being students from the Knight Academy and the Noble Academy.
The two stood on either side of the competitors’ platform, their words sharp even before the duel began, and once the battle phase started, they were even more confrontational, shouting nonstop, making it exceptionally intense.
…
Dark and Sarah made their way directly to the exit of the competitors’ passage, watching and waiting for the duel between the two second-year students to end.
Sarah glanced slightly sideways, secretly looking at Dark’s profile, and couldn’t help but recall some of the duels from her first year.
Duels were indeed one effective way to understand someone.
Her first words to Dark were during their first duel together.
Afterwards, she found herself constantly observing this male classmate.
Before entering Saint Maryann Academy, she never thought there could be a boy who would catch her attention so much.
However, Dark Demon had entered her field of vision.
Unlike his seemingly carefree exterior, Sarah was very meticulous and had a strong competitive spirit.
She could be considered similar to Emma in type, just with a personality that made her easier to get along with.
In other words, she had higher emotional intelligence.
As the daughter of the “Ancient Sage,” Sarah felt proud of her father and confident in her knowledge surpassing her peers.
She was accustomed to standing at the center of the crowd, basking in everyone’s adoration, using it as motivation to move forward.
But now, she was at the bottom of the ladder, trying to catch up.
Yet, no one’s “position” in this world was ever permanent.
She once stood atop the ladder, and now she stood below it; in the future… she would return to the top of the ladder!
…
“Beeep!”
The referee’s whistle sounded sharply, and the twenty-first duel finally concluded.
The staff at the entrance hurriedly reminded the two to prepare for their next round.
Dark nodded, calling out to Sarah, “It’s our turn.”
Sarah stretched her arms, straightening up from her half-leaning position against the wall, then followed Dark’s pace.
Sarah was slender and graceful, almost the same height as Dark, who was already nearly 1.65 meters tall at thirteen years old.
Dark, on the other hand, was already 1.69 meters tall.
Compared to this time last year, he had grown about ten centimeters taller, and he continued to grow rapidly.
He might catch up with Senior Pandora in another year.
Sarah had a rare wheat-colored skin tone in the kingdom, with a high nose bridge, full lips, and almond-shaped eyes that were very delicate.
Her legs were straight and long, attracting much attention, though she also had the typical slim build of girls her age.
As these two contestants walked out of the passage, the nearby spectators immediately cheered.
Sarah, like Diana and Rose, frequently appeared in the novice tournament.
Of course, most of the time, she did so to test her tactics or experiment with newly refined mana cards.
There were many hidden ways to earn credits within Saint Maryann Academy, and Sarah wasn’t worried about them.
Once the interview with the winner of the twentieth duel ended, both sides moved to the outside of the arena.
Only after that student left the stage did they signal each other, then back-to-back, they walked toward their respective competitor platforms.
This time, Dark was on the red side, while Sarah was on the blue side.
…
For the third time today stepping onto the platform, Dark habitually wanted to wave to Alvaraite, but when he raised his hand, a large number of spectators on that side immediately raised theirs, swaying like seaweed.
Internally awkward, he still maintained a graceful demeanor, waved back to the audience, then slowly let go.
Appearing three times in a day, regardless of anything else, he had definitely cultivated fans.
“It seems you’re quite popular?”
Sarah’s voice, filled with laughter, came from the opposite platform.
Dark reached out to activate the spellboard, replying, “Audiences always support those they want to support, perhaps I happen to meet their preferences.”
Sarah was surprised, “So you do care about popularity? I always thought you didn’t care about such things at all.”
Dark couldn’t help but smile, “Although I don’t know what kind of person I am in your eyes, of course, I hope more people will support me.”
Sarah’s eyes turned, saying, “If I win, will your fans switch their allegiance?”
Dark laughed, “That depends on your abilities!”
Sarah raised her eyebrows, saying, “Let’s see how it goes.”
Dark replied, “I’ll wait.”
…
With their exchange over, they both immediately retrieved their prepared decks and inserted them into the card slots.
When the spellboard detected that both contestants had placed their decks, the word “Standby Phase” appeared above the frame.
Then the automatic shuffling system activated!
“Clack clack!”
The sound of the automatic shuffler was brisk and rhythmic.
Whether it was the duelers on the field or the audience outside, everyone calmed down amidst the sound of shuffling.
Once the shuffling was complete, the “Standby Phase” entered a thirty-second countdown.
This duel would begin immediately!
“It seems everyone here is as excited about this duel as I am.”
The announcer Zach Wilson’s voice echoed softly.
“We can see that on the red side, Dark Demon is already making his third appearance on stage today. In his previous two duels today, he ended them within three rounds.”
“On the blue side, we have Sarah Swati, who is making her debut today!”
“As the top student of the second year at the Mana Academy, Sarah Swati shares the same surname as the renowned ‘Ancient Sage.'”
“That’s right, she is the successor of the ‘Ancient Sage’!”
“Hearing this, I believe everyone here should think of someone… now a fourth-year student at the Mana Academy—Vini Scarlet.”
“Both Sarah and Vini have similar backgrounds and experiences, and even their surnames sound very close, making one marvel at the coincidences of fate.”
“But can Sarah become a powerful duelist like the ‘Lady of Winter’?”
“Let’s wait and see!”
…
“Beeep!”
The referee’s whistle sounded appropriately.
The countdown for “30s” appeared behind “Standby Phase”!
Whether it was Dark on the red side or Sarah on the blue side, they both showed slightly serious expressions in this instant.
Their expressions, magnified and projected, were displayed before the live audience.
As the five mana cards were drawn, their expressions changed again.
Sarah Swati must have drawn very ideal mana cards, her brows lifting in excitement.
And Dark Demon was no less formidable.
He spread the five mana cards fan-like, examining them closely.
[“Mana Spirit”]
[“Curse Cage: Imp”]
[“Eevee”]
[“Soul Ring of the Netherworld”]
[“Bliss III Moon”]
“Firstly, ‘Mana Spirit’ is the opening card, paired with the controllable ‘Bliss III Moon,’ capable of quickly summoning ‘Mana Nightmare Demon.'”
“Secondly, [Curse Cage: Imp] can evolve into ‘Black Diarumon’ if ‘Bliss III Moon’ is used.”
“And if a normal Sacrificial Summoning Spell is employed, ‘Eevee’ can also be summoned.”
“Finally, ‘Soul Ring of the Netherworld’ is also in hand…”
“I wonder how Sarah will respond?”
Thinking thus, Dark slightly lifted his head and saw Sarah’s gaze piercing him like a sharp blade.
“She looks very confident!”
Dark pointed at the “Mana Spirit”!
Sarah was already a worthy opponent for him when she was in first year.
Now in second year, she was only stronger.
And compared to Wit,
Unlike Tudor, Sarah always manages to bring him an endless stream of surprises!
Dark couldn’t help but feel even more anticipation.
…
“Drip!”
It was as if a drop of water had fallen into his heart, spreading ripples immediately.
“Standby Phase” – [Battle Phase]
The countdown for the first round’s “30 seconds” began ticking!
Both competitors instantly focused, quickly starting to cast their usual summoning spells.
Even Wit had compressed the casting time of a usual summoning spell to within 4 seconds, let alone Sarah Swati, who learned faster than him!
There was hardly any difference in their summoning speeds.
In both summoning zones, summoning lights almost simultaneously illuminated!
With the loss of his usual summoning speed advantage, how would Dark Demon obtain a new one?
Second-year duel class professor Pavar Jones couldn’t help but think this.
“In the name of Dark Demon, Mana Summoning — ‘Mana Spirit’!”
“In the name of Sarah Swati, Mana Summoning — ‘Skeleton Beauty Snake’!”
Unbeknownst to each other, both simultaneously summoned out “Ghost-type” Mana Guidance Balls!
In the Red Side summoning zone.
Dark summoned out the petite and adorable “Nightmare”, though it was a ghost, it looked like a cute plush doll-like green Mana Guidance Ball.
But the red bead string hanging on the “Nightmare’s” neck emitted a terrifying aura.
…
In the Blue Side summoning zone.
Sarah summoned out a “Skeleton Beauty Snake” with a panicked appearance!
The giant snake appeared amidst black fog, being both thick and long.
It was a true “Undead” species; its skin on the head was cracked, revealing white bones, and from three inches below the neck folds, there wasn’t even a trace of flesh, with white bones piercing through the flesh all the way to the tail.
“Skeleton Beauty Snake” had a cobra-like neck fold, with patterns on the fold resembling a heavily made-up beautiful face, emitting a bewitching and eerie aura.
[Card Name: Skeleton Beauty Snake]
[Type: Elemental Card]
[Level: ???]
[Race: Undead]
[Attribute: Ghost]
[Mana: 1200]
[Attack: 1500]
[Defense: 900]
[Ultimate Skill: Ghostly Bind]
…
Dark was not unfamiliar with this “Skeleton Beauty Snake” and knew its tricky nature well.
Thus, he immediately ordered “Nightmare” to guard the Mana Guidance Ball, not to move lightly.
Then, three seconds later, Dark immediately started summoning “Bliss III? Moon”!
But Sarah commanded loudly the instant she summoned: “Skeleton Beauty Snake” — “Ghostly Bind”!
That bone snake, which exuded a terrifying aura, sharply hissed and shot out its pale skeletal tail.
Though it was a “Ghost”, it had a physical body.
The bone tail struck the ground, making a loud noise.
But unexpectedly, its speed was quite fast.
Fortunately, the official duel field was a full 120 meters long.
When the “Skeleton Beauty Snake” rushed across half the field, Dark had already completed his summon.
The light of “Bliss III? Moon” rained down, bathing “Nightmare”.
As if feeling the pressure from the “Skeleton Beauty Snake”, “Nightmare” rarely did not laugh frivolously, instead crazily absorbing the power of “Bliss”.
“Yomimi—”
A symbol representing “Bliss” bloomed on its forehead.
Pink light continuously infused into its body.
“Nightmare” rapidly grew larger.
From its childlike form, it instantly transformed into a nearly teenage form — in just a blink, it had undergone a life-form transformation!
The now deep purple “Mana Nightmare Demon”, its overall appearance resembled a magic girl with a pointed hat, the beads once hung around its neck evolved into three red gems embedded in its body, emitting an even more astonishing and powerful aura.
[Card Name: Mana Nightmare Demon]
[Type: Elemental Card]
[Level: ????]
[Race: Undead]
[Attribute: Ghost]
[Mana: 2700]
[Attack: 2500]
[Defense: 1600]
[Ultimate Skill: Fear Gem, Pain Sharing, Same Life, Nightmare Space]
…
However, that “Skeleton Beauty Snake” showed no fear towards this five-star Mana Guidance Ball.
In an instant, the “Skeleton Beauty Snake” had charged across half the field and entered the Red Side zone.
When it approached “Mana Nightmare Demon”, the heavily made-up beauty on its neck suddenly revealed a very sinister smile.
In the next instant, the heavily made-up beauty actually emerged from the folds!
From its face to its body, it seemed to have emerged from the skeleton snake corpse.
The beauty silently laughed, like a ghost rushing toward “Mana Nightmare Demon”!
“Ghostly Web!”
Sarah Swati’s voice followed closely.
Greenish-black light burst forth from her second Mana Guidance Card like arrows, accurately piercing the body of the “Skeleton Beauty Snake”!
The main body of the “Skeleton Beauty Snake” instantly stiffened for a moment, then erupted in greenish-black mist from inside out, enveloping its entire body in an instant.
The soul of the beauty emerging from its body suddenly seemed to put on a greenish-black cheongsam, becoming more solid and real.
“Huff!”
The beauty’s soul passed through the body of “Mana Nightmare Demon”.
“Mew!”
“Mana Nightmare Demon” suddenly let out a cry, feeling a chill from outside in.
It was as if in the depths of winter, freezing every part of its body.
The soul of the “Skeleton Beauty Snake” took advantage of the gap when “Mana Nightmare Demon” had just evolved and hadn’t fully awakened, repeatedly penetrating its body several times, each penetration adding another layer of that frozen sensation.
After several times, “Mana Nightmare Demon” became completely rigid, motionless.
“Mana Guidance Ball!”
Sarah’s next command followed swiftly.
The main body of the “Skeleton Beauty Snake” ignored “Mana Nightmare Demon” entirely, shrinking and springing towards the Red Side’s Mana Guidance Ball.
Sarah’s goal was clear: she intended to use the power of the “Skeleton Beauty Snake” to bite into Dark’s “HP”!
But Dark had long known its attack pattern and would not allow it to succeed.
“Fearful Light!”
Following Dark’s command, the rigid “Mana Nightmare Demon” suddenly widened its eyes.
Pink light shone from beneath its hat.
The three red “Fear Gems” on its chest abruptly released gem-like radiant mana light!
The fear emotions it had accumulated every night were stored as mana; now, they were instantly released, causing the “beauty soul” touched by the light to melt away like snow!
…
“Good thing I evolved it in time.”
“If it had been a ‘Mana Nightmare’, it might have frozen my mind.”
Dark said with relief as he watched the main body of the “Skeleton Beauty Snake” continue to collide with the Mana Guidance Ball despite the mana light.
Then, he flicked his finger, and the Mana Guidance Ball bounced upward like it had a spring.
Next, the “Mana Nightmare Demon,” gradually regaining its mobility, widened its eyes and used telekinesis to firmly clamp the body of the “Skeleton Beauty Snake”!
…
The situation in the arena flipped rapidly.
On the Blue Side platform, Sarah continued summoning even while giving commands to the “Skeleton Beauty Snake.”
Her third summoning had already been completed.
In the Blue Side summoning zone, a mummy少女裸露在外的肌肤饱
With vitality, half of her face was exquisitely smooth.
…
“The ‘Living Mummy’ with the ‘Dark Rebirth’ ultimate skill!”
Dak felt a warning signal, experiencing an unprecedented pressure in this duel.
Yet, he smiled at the corners of his mouth, issuing a command before the round switch: “Mana Nightmare Demon, Nightmare Space!”
“Yomimi!”
The Mana Nightmare Demon responded seriously, releasing purple fog from beneath its body, spreading out like smoke clouds in all directions.
The lower half of the “Skeleton Beauty Snake” was submerged in the thick fog.
…
“Battle Phase (2)” [30s]
…
Both competitors drew cards simultaneously, without any delay.
[Primordial Dragon Egg]
[Bliss III]
Dak added these two Mana Guidance Cards to his hand but did not show much excitement.
The Mana Nightmare Demon on the ground had not fully spread the “Nightmare Space.”
Although the purple smoke was just an “effect” of the “Nightmare Space,” it indicated the range of the “Nightmare Space.”
It only covered a small part of the field.
Due to the constant spatial distortion effect of the “Nightmare Space,” and since the Mana Nightmare Demon could only deploy but not retract it, deploying it all at once would actually be troublesome for Dak.
Especially since Sarah’s “Mummy” series were mostly slow-moving mummies, they would benefit more within the “Nightmare Space.”
After deploying the “Nightmare Space,” the Mana Nightmare Demon flashed and gathered its claws, fiercely attacking the struggling “Skeleton Beauty Snake!”
Infused with the “Forest of Ghostly Aura,” the energy of the “Skeleton Beauty Snake” had already broken through the first tier, but with only its physical body left, it was no match for the Mana Nightmare Demon.
Dak glanced briefly and began to perform a normal summoning spell.
“In the name of Dak Demon, Mana Summoning — ‘Primordial Dragon Egg’!”
…
When the enormous dragon egg materialized within the purple smoke, the audience who remembered it cheered loudly.
Wit and Tudor on the circular platform also clenched their fists tightly.
But Sarah Swati on the blue side platform was not nervous at all. She flicked her fingers, and a Mana Guidance Card floated in the air.
A pitch-black light instantly shot out from the card, piercing directly into the dragon egg before the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” hatched!
The black light coiled into a spiral shape, bypassing the defense of the dragon egg and greedily absorbing its energy.
Dak’s pupils contracted as he once again felt the scarcity of knowledge.
For a moment, he couldn’t recall what specific magic spell this clearly “Magic Spell Card” held by Sarah was.
“It’s the ‘Mana Drain Spell’!”
But Sarah suddenly laughed and blurted out.
The “Mana Drain Spell,” also known as the “Mana Siphon Spell,” was a difficult spell developed by human mages to address their insufficient total mana.
However, its practical application was poor.
Although it could draw mana from other mages, it faced issues in the infusion process—only one-tenth efficiency.
Ten percent utilization.
This made the “Mana Siphon Spell” a useless spell among useless spells.
Demons naturally possessed vast amounts of mana, so using the “Mana Siphon Spell” was ineffective, and they wouldn’t stand still to be drained.
Over time, the “Mana Siphon Spell” was rarely mentioned.
But Sarah adapted it for Mana Dueling, making it unexpectedly applicable.
The “Mana Siphon Spell” was practically the bane of Mana Golems!
Although Mana Golems gained partial immunity starting from the second tier, first-tier Mana Golems were almost defenseless against it.
The students watching the Mana Guidance Card appeared thoughtful.
Dak, however, frowned.
The “Mana Drain Spell” had limited effect on the five-star Mana Nightmare Demon, but it precisely halted the hatching of the “Primordial Dragon Egg.”
But Sarah clearly didn’t watch him and Tudor’s duel; was she merely basing this strategy on the end-of-year duel assessment?
Or was she improvising?
…
Now wasn’t the time to ponder these reasons.
Dak forcibly interrupted his thoughts, not wasting time on this.
He continued summoning.
“In the name of Dak Demon, Mana Summoning — ‘Curse Cage: Imp Beast’!”
Since Dak had moved the Mana Guidance Ball to the height of the competitor platform, the Imp Beast was summoned right in front of it.
“Huh?”
The summoned Imp Beast wasn’t excited. It probably hadn’t expected to have a chance to appear. After materializing, it flapped its wings to stay airborne.
On the opposite side,
While ensuring the “Mana Drain Spell” worked normally, Sarah was also preparing to summon another Mana Golem.
Her situation wasn’t good.
The reinforced “Skeleton Beauty Snake” was no match for the Mana Nightmare Demon and wouldn’t last long.
Even if relying on the “Living Mummy’s” “Dark Rebirth” to temporarily revive it,
No, “Dark Rebirth” was a skill that could only revive dark attribute Mana Golems up to three minutes below its own level (within three minutes of death).
The “Skeleton Beauty Snake” was a “Ghost-type,” not a “Dark-type”!
In this regard, Dak had misunderstood.
This meant that once the “Skeleton Beauty Snake” was destroyed, Sarah’s field would lose its combat strength.
Thus, she needed to take measures to compensate.
In her first year, lacking high-star Mana Golems was her weakness.
But that was in the past.
“In the name of Sarah Swati, Mana Summoning — ‘Death Vessel’!”
A black ceramic jar-shaped Mana Golem appeared next to the blue side Mana Guidance Ball.
From above, one could see three black spheres floating inside—the concept of dead souls condensed into Death Spheres!
Three Death Spheres were three one-star sacrifices.
Combined with the three-star “Living Mummy,” they could sacrifice summon up to a six-star Mana Golem.
But Sarah didn’t do that.
The “Living Mummy” was crucial in her tactical system and couldn’t be used purely as a sacrifice.
So after summoning the “Death Vessel,” she started summoning the second Magic Spell Card — “Life Suppression Spell”!
A spell that even those without talent couldn’t touch.
…
But before Sarah successfully summoned the “Life Suppression Spell,” Dak preemptively summoned the “Netherworld Soul Ring.”
“In the name of Dak Demon, Mana Summoning — ‘Netherworld Soul Ring’!”
Dak flicked his fingers, and a thick collar about two inches wide appeared in front of the Imp Beast.
Of course, this wasn’t for the Imp Beast…
Dak glanced at the “Living Mummy” still guarding the blue side Mana Guidance Ball and softly commanded, “Go!”
The soul collar vanished instantly.
When it reappeared, it was firmly around the delicate neck of the Mummy girl!
A collar from the Netherworld, binding the soul, capable of dragging first-tier Mana Golems to their side as sacrifices.
The “Living Mummy” felt the constriction on its neck and instinctively reached out to pull away.
But the “Netherworld Soul Ring,” formed by Grey Flames, exerted strong force against first-tier Mana Golems.
The “Living Mummy” let out a silent scream as it was dragged swiftly toward the red side!
And Sarah’s “Life Suppression Spell” only succeeded now — just a beat late!
The wall of dark energy stretched across the blue side Summoning Area!
