"Why isn't it [ Hercules ]?!" Medea stared in disbelief at the card in her hand. It wasn't even an [ Argo ] servant—she had forcibly searched for Jason himself using her own cards.
"[ Hercules ], you weren't even on top of my deck! Where did you go?!"
Medea's gaze shifted to Jiang You, her eyes tinged with hostility. Even Gilgamesh's Ea, a Noble Phantasm designed to pierce barriers, couldn't circumvent the rules of this absurd Noble Phantasm. If someone had tampered with the Deck, only one person could be responsible: its owner.
Jiang You inexplicably received a notification that Medea's favor toward him had decreased. How can an NPC's self-generated grievances actually affect their relationship? Irritated, he was already preparing to log off and draft a righteous declaration against such absurdity.
"Did you forget that you need to shuffle your Deck after searching it?" Shinji Matou helpfully explained, seizing the rare opportunity to demonstrate his knowledge of Magecraft. He had meticulously studied the Duel rules.
"Hercules was shuffled back into the Deck after you searched for a Trap Card."
"I... is that how it works?" Medea had barely participated in any Duels, having inherited her ranking directly from Jason.
"Still, it feels like your Deck is rejecting you... how peculiar." Shinji knew that feeling well. Sakura Matou's Servant Card was notoriously difficult for him to draw, while Old Man Worm always seemed to get it in his opening hand. After all, Duels weren't just card games; the Servants within the Deck also chose their own masters.
Before they could exchange more than a few words, Shinji Matou's true colors began to show. "How utterly ridiculous! Is this what the Magi of the Age of Gods are like?"
"Just you wait!" Medea hissed, not only at Shinji but also resolving to thoroughly punish Jason upon her return.
"I summon Atalante!"
A green mountain cat leaped onto the battlefield.
Atalante: Attack Power 2000
"Medea." Atalante nodded to her mistress. The price for Medea sparing Jason earlier was that Atalante would betray him to assist Medea when needed, but it seemed that time had come sooner than expected. Medea's disguise as her younger self had been precisely for this purpose. Fortunately, Gilgamesh had inadvertently given her the opportunity.
Atalante felt a surge of relief. She no longer had to stab Jason in the back. Despite her deep contempt for him, he remained a friend from thousands of years past. She drew her bowstring taut. "Who's my target?"
"Atalante's effect destroys 'Argonaut Recruitment'!"
Atalante nodded and fired an arrow through the Trap Card behind her.
"What?!" Shinji was stunned. He hadn't expected Medea to target his own card.
"Argonaut Recruitment" effect: If this card is destroyed by an effect and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon an "Argo" Servant from your Deck.
Unable to draw Hercules through her bond, Medea decided to force a summon using the card's effect. "I summon Hercules!"
Hercules: Attack Power 3000.
"I've been waiting for this!" Shinji exclaimed. "I activate False Attendant's Writings! I'll snatch Hercules right out of your hands!"
Shinji Matou's Life Points: 4000 → 2500.
Hercules' Attack Power: 3000 → 1500.
"If that's how it is, then I'll send Hercules to the Graveyard!" Medea retorted.
Since destroyed cards return to their original owner's Graveyard, Medea planned to trigger Hercules' Graveyard revival effect.
"I enter the Battle Phase!"
"Atalante attacks Hercules!"
Atalante's arrow pierced Hercules' heart.
Shinji Matou's Life Points: 2500 → 2000.
"I set my last card face-down and end my turn," Medea said, having exhausted all her options. She had no choice but to end her turn.
"My turn, draw!"
Shinji Matou replenished his hand to two cards.
"At this moment, Hercules' effect activates! Special Summon from the Graveyard!"
Hercules revived once more!
Hercules: Attack Power 3000.
"Let me guess," Shinji said, analyzing the situation. "You know I can summon another Engraving Worm next turn, so that face-down card in your back row must be Rule Breaker. That's why you recklessly activated Hercules' effect."
"So what if I know?" Medea replied, completely confident in her Noble Phantasms. "Being able to perfectly activate a servant's effect without any cost far surpasses False Attendant's Writings."
"I activate the effect of Insect Magecraft Workshop! Special Summon an Engraving Worm from my Deck!"
"You know about Rule Breaker and you're still summoning that thing? Rule Breaker! I won't let you activate its effect!"
Medea once again seized control of the Engraving Worm.
Engraving Worm: Attack Power 500.
"Of course, because knowing it means I can end this!"
Shinji Matou slammed his hand of cards down. "I Normal Summon the Wing Blade Insect!"
Wing Blade Insect: Attack Power 1000
"It's over, Medea! Even an Age of Gods Magus is no match for Shinji Matou! I'm entering the Battle Phase!"
"First, Zouken Matou attacks the Engraving Worm!"
"Are you insane? The Engraving Worm deals no battle damage! You're just handing me a Servant Card!"
Zouken Matou destroyed his own worm, triggering the Engraving Worm's effect. He was about to become Medea's servant.
"Who said that? I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, Insect Magecraft Reconstruction! From my Deck or Graveyard, I Special Summon up to two Engraving Worms and Wing Blade Insects whose combined star levels equal the star level of the destroyed Servant!"
Under Shinji's command, Zouken Matou disintegrated into a swarm of insects, evading Engraving Worm's control effect.
"I'm summoning two Engraving Worms!"
Engraving Worm: Attack Power 500 x 2
"Too bad, Medea. The stronger your cards, the stronger I become! Whether you're a legendary hero or a god, you're no match for Shinji Matou!"
Two Engraving Worms attacked Hercules and Atalante, successfully seizing control of them.
"Now the 5,000 Attack Power on the field is mine! Oh wait, there's another Engraving Worm—that's a total of 6,000! Do you have any cards left to block this attack?"
Shinji Matou, on the verge of victory, slicked back his hair and puffed out his chest as he challenged Medea.
Medea wasn't without cards to counter such a situation; Medea Lily could have easily turned the tide. Unfortunately, Medea Lily remained silent, unresponsive. Perhaps that purer version of herself disapproved of Medea's current state.
"If that's the case, it's over!"
Hercules and Atalante, now under Shinji's control, unleashed their relentless attacks on Medea.
Medea's Life Points plummeted from 4,000 to 1,000, then to zero!