Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Seeing that Jaden hadn't activated any hand traps, Sera was happy to gain two cards. She drew two more cards from her deck and placed a monster card face down on the field: "I Normal Summon 'Putica's Trap Hole' face-up in Defense Position on the field, and activate its effect when it is successfully Summoned. I add 'Trap Hole Garden' from my deck to my hand, and then I activate it."

【Putika's Trap Demon】【4☆/Land】

[Plant Tribe/Effect]

[900/1900]

A girl with flowers on her head and dressed in extremely revealing ancient Roman-style clothing appeared on Sera's field. She glanced timidly at Jaden and then shyly hid in a rather soft-looking "cushion" for defense. At the same time, the cushion secreted a certain fragrance, causing Sera to retrieve a card from her deck and add it to her hand.

As Sera played the card she had just retrieved, the surrounding environment rapidly changed, transforming from the forest into a peaceful plain. A sweet fragrance filled the air, and there was even a phantom of a green-haired girl running freely and joyfully across the plain.

But upon closer inspection, one can discover that if one follows the girl's footsteps, one might inadvertently fall into the wetlands and swamps hidden beneath this "plain." And what sways in the wind on the plain is not ordinary pasture grass, but sundews with countless pearl-like, translucent, sticky beads hanging from their branches—a famous carnivorous plant. Even in Hayato's "Predatory Plants," there is a monster based on it.

"According to that gentleman, there is still deeper potential to be explored in my deck, but it seems that due to my limitations, this potential has not been able to be transformed into a specific monster card; it has only manifested in this card." Sera said with some regret as she looked at the vanished girl on the unfolded field.

Although she didn't know what kind of power Hayato was referring to as "Xyz" and "Link," the girl who appeared in the Garden of Insect Temptation proved that Hayato wasn't lying; it's just that she really didn't have the ability to print the corresponding cards out of thin air.

(The [Trapika] deck does not include [Trapika])

Listening to Sera's mutterings, Jaden looked completely bewildered: "I don't understand. I play [Hero]."

Seeing this, Sera casually replied, "Anyway, all you need to know is that I've already set up my powerful field deck—the one called 'Trapika'."

"I then activate this card, [Insect Temptation]. This card can only be activated by discarding a Level 4 Insect/Plant monster or a Normal Trap Card from my hand."

"I discarded this Level 4☆ Plant-Type monster, [Lisse's Trap], and then, under the effect of [Trap's Temptation], I drew two cards from my deck."

[Sera: 4000LP, hand 6→6]

Seeing that both of Sera's cards featured plant-type girls, Marufuji Sho couldn't help but recall his experience in the "Duel-Links" world last semester: "Trap Monsters that are all cute girls? Although the names sound dangerous, aren't they all adorable? But why are they called Trap Monsters when they're all plant-type?"

"Don't let your guard down, Sho. Beautiful roses have thorns." Unlike Sho Marufuji, whose values ​​were swayed by appearances, Judai seemed completely unfazed, scrutinizing the cards of [Cazura's Trap] that had just been sent to the graveyard and [Putica's Trap] that were still on the field. "[Cazura], [Lissai]... these names seem so familiar."

“Ah, those are all plant names! ‘Pudica’ is taken from the Latin word ‘Pudicus’, which means shy. Then she must be referring to ‘Nepenthes-pudica’ (shy pitcher plant), and ‘Lise’ is ‘Genlisea’ (spiral bladderwort).”

Upon hearing Judai's words, Marufuji Sho was also shocked, but not because the cute girls were named after plants, but because of Judai's statement: "Big brother, you actually know so much about things that have nothing to do with tokusatsu or heroes? Unbelievable!"

"Hey! That's so rude, Sho. I only learned about this by accident. I was just looking up Hayato-sensei's 'Predatory Plants' when I was bored, and that's how I learned about quite a few carnivorous plants."

Upon hearing Judai's words, Marufuji Sho was taken aback: "Carnivorous plants... Big brother, do you mean...?"

“Ah.” Jaden nodded and looked at Sera’s field. “The mimosa and the bladderwort are both carnivorous plants. The girl we see is not their true form, so their race is the plant race. And the ‘trap’ probably refers to a collection of insects and plants that are good at disguising themselves to hunt.”

Upon closer inspection, the seemingly delicate "Putica Trap" is clearly a pitcher plant using a girl's image as bait to lure and prey on its prey! Are plants now keeping up with the times and playing the honey trap game?

"Did you notice? After all, it's an answer that's out in the open. You weren't misled by what you saw like those other people, so this performance is more like it." Sera said, not holding back because of Jaden's performance. She inserted a card into the back row and then revealed another card in her hand. "I'll place a Trap Card face down on the back row and then discard a Normal Trap Card from my hand."

"The card I set is this [Trap Card of Ludia's Hole]. This card can be activated during the turn it is set by discarding a Normal Trap Card from my hand." Pressing the button to activate the set card, I violated the basic rules by activating the Trap Card I just changed during the turn it was set. "And after this card is activated, it is transformed into a Normal Monster and Special Summoned to my Monster Zone in Defense Position!"

On Sera's field, a clump of green vines rapidly grew its creeping stems, leaves stretched out freely, and bright yellow flowers bloomed. Beneath the leaves, the fruits on the stems ripened and turned black quickly. A girl hid under the leaves, staring blankly at Judai's group, who seemed fearless and posed no threat whatsoever.

However, Jaden, who had studied carnivorous plants in order to research them, quickly recalled their plant prototype based on their name and appearance: Lutia rotundifolia. The key point is "Lutia," which means "yellow flower" in Greek. It refers to the most bizarre and legendary invasive plant in the world, known as the "yellow-flowered devil's claw," the yellow-flowered sesame.

(Although it looks fuzzy, horned, and like an insect, it is actually a plant. The original fruit does indeed have such long horns and looks rather silly.)

【The Trap of Lutia's Insect Temptation】【4☆/Land】

[Plant family/General]

[400/2400]

"Unlike ordinary Trap Monsters, the [Trap Monster of Lutia] on my field is not considered a Trap Card, but a Normal Monster, which supports my use of this card."

Sera played a card and said, "The Normal Spell Card [Price of Horse Bones] can be activated by sending a monster other than a One-of-a-Kind Effect Monster to the Graveyard. I send [Trap Monster of Lutia the Hollow] to the Graveyard and then draw two cards from my Deck."

[Sera: 4000LP, hand 3→4]

The Trap Monster that had just been activated was immediately sent to the Graveyard. After playing several cards in a row, Jaden didn't see anything new appear on Sera's field, but her hand was getting smaller and smaller: "She sent her own monsters back to the Graveyard again?"

“That’s how the Trap Crypt Fiends fight. Compared to their ordinary counterparts, they lack the ability to obtain the nutrients needed for survival, so they can only disguise themselves and absorb the power of the dead to survive.” Sera glanced at the graveyard and said calmly, “No one can live alone, even on the most ordinary days, something is being sacrificed behind the scenes.”

"Are you prepared to move forward carrying the burden of those who have been sacrificed?"

"Not long ago, Mr. Keith seemed to have said something similar?" Upon hearing Sera's words, Jaden paused for a moment, then replied without hesitation, "I don't have that kind of resolve. Because a hero cannot stand by and watch others sacrifice themselves before his eyes!"

"Even if you say that, that's just how the world is. Like the trolley problem, there's always a victim. No matter how unwilling you are, the most you can do is change the number and the victims."

Sera gestured behind her as she spoke: "Just like your three companions behind me, if you could only save two of them, what would you choose?"

"Childhood friends I never really got along with? Schoolmates whose names I barely remember? Juniors I've known for less than two weeks?"

Sera posed this question to Jaden, wanting to see what kind of person the student Hayato favored was, and what kind of power Prana sensed.

But Jaden completely ignored Sera's conditions and stubbornly said, "All three! I'll save them all, whether it's Manjoume, Kenzan, or No. 3!"

"Although I've never heard of the trolley problem, I won't make a choice that sacrifices others. How will I know if I can push the trolley back if I don't try?"

"Tsk." Even Sera couldn't help but be speechless at Jaden's disobedience. However, she hadn't intended to confirm things with simple words anyway, otherwise there would have been no reason for this duel to begin. "Then let me see what answer your cards can provide. But before that, I need to use the power of 'Sacrifice'!"

"The first effect of [Trapika] is that I can summon one [Trapika] monster during my Main Phase, in addition to a Normal Summon. That is to say, even if I have already Normal Summoned [Trapika], I can still Normal Summon it once more."

"I Normal Summon [Tio's Trap] to my field in Defense Position!"

On the grass, a Venus flytrap grew, its two enormous leaves, resembling gaping, menacing maws, revealing a girl lying lazily within, stretching and saying, "Ko~no~Dion da~".

Because it was so obvious, even without Judai's explanation, Marufuji Sho recognized that the name 【Tio the Insect Trap】 came from the abbreviation of the first part of the English name of Dracula's Venus flytrap, "Dionaea-muscipula".

Unlike when he first met the [Putica's Trap], Marufuji Sho was not easily captivated by the girl in front of him. This was not only because he had seen so many cute girls that he had naturally developed some immunity, but more importantly, even though he was wearing glasses, he still noticed the skull hidden deep in the leaves behind the girl form disguised by the [Tio's Trap].

Other beauties are involved in honey traps, but the girl from [Bug Temptress] is a honey trap where you lie down! Others want money, she wants your life!

(Manjoume, Kenzan, Misawa: Oh no, we've been tricked by the immortal!)

【The Terror of Tio】【4☆/Land】

[Plant Tribe/Effect]

[1700/1100]

"When [Trickster] is successfully summoned, you can target one [Trickster] monster in my Graveyard to activate this effect and Special Summon the targeted monster to my field in Defense Position."

Sera retrieved the card she had sent to the graveyard to activate [Temptation of Insects] from the graveyard. "The one I Special Summon is naturally the only monster in my graveyard, [Temptation of Insects Lise].

Her true form is the aquatic carnivorous plant Spiral Bladderwort. The [Lisse's Trap] emerged from the wetlands hidden beneath the grasslands. When she appeared on the Sera field, water droplets were still dripping from her body. Her white hair even had a special attack on people from a certain country. The hole exposed at the end of her long white hair could even inspire some daring thoughts. But like other [Trap] before her, the skulls that appeared around her indicated that she was equally dangerous.

【Lise's Insect Temptation】【4☆/Land】

[Plant Tribe/Effect]

[1200/1600]

In the blink of an eye, Sera's number of monsters on the field increased from one to three, but Sera only had four cards left in her hand.

"Although I've just returned to the field, I'm going to activate the effect of [Lise's Trap] and release her." As she spoke, Sera sent the card to the graveyard, but at the same time, she took out another card from the graveyard, and at the same time, she retrieved a card from the Duel Disk. "I choose one [Trap Hole] or one [Trap Hole] Normal Trap Card from my Deck and one from my Graveyard and set them on my field. If the card set by this effect leaves my field, banish it."

"The cards I set face-down are the [Trap Hole] Normal Trap Card that was previously sent to the Graveyard to activate [Trap Hole of Ludia], namely [Infernal Trap Hole], and [Electric Net Trap Hole] from my deck."

Not content with setting two cards face-down on the back row, Sera even set down three of the remaining four cards in her hand, saying, "Next, I'll set down three more cards on the back row to end my turn."

[Sera: 4000LP, 1 card in hand]

【Putika's Trap】【DEF1900】

【The Trap Demon of Tio】【DEF1100】

[Gaikka (Purgatory's Pitfall)] [Gaikka (Electric Net Pitfall)] [Gaikka] x3

Location: [Garden of Insect Bewitching]

Sera looked at Jaden, revealing a "sunny" smile through her mask, clearly having inherited someone's talent: "Alright, now it's your turn to play Duel Monsters."

Chapter 1498 Sera? That sounds like the name of a plant. Is it actually a human?

Although the monsters in Sera's frontcourt don't look very high quality, as if they would break at the slightest touch, the focus is not on the monsters, but on the card in her backcourt.

The five face-down cards created a strong sense of pressure, and even the energetic Jaden's expression turned somewhat serious when he saw the five face-down cards in Sera's back row.

"That's really bad, so many traps." Jaden couldn't help but complain as he looked at the field. "Even if heroes can't run away in the face of battle, with so many traps, even [Hero] would have to think twice before charging in."

"Anyway, it's my turn, draw a card!"

Under Marufuji Sho's watchful gaze, Jaden drew a card from his deck and smiled, as if he had drawn a good one.

"I activate the Spell Card [Pot of Greed] and draw two cards from my deck."

Seeing Jaden's starting hand, Sera's lips curled up: "Professor Chronos taught me to use [Pot of Greed] to test if the opponent has any means of hindering me? Then you can draw cards with peace of mind, I don't have any special counter cards in my back row."

"Let's assume you're telling the truth." Seeing that the activation of [Pot of Greed] went smoothly, Jaden drew two cards and immediately played another. "Since that's the case, regardless of whether you have any means to hinder others, I'll play this card to clear the field first!"

"Spell Card, [Great Storm]! Destroy all Spell & Trap Cards on both players' fields!"

This [Great Storm] wasn't the card Jaden just drew with [Pot of Greed], but rather the card he drew during this turn's draw phase. However, because he was worried about the existence of cards like [Bribery of the Demon Palace] that could negate the activation of spell cards, he chose to use [Pot of Greed] to test the waters first, but Sera didn't respond.

In that case, let's assume that Sera really doesn't have that card. It's always good to clear out the opponent's back row cards first!

The indiscriminate destruction of both sides' Spell & Trap Cards by "Great Storm" began to unleash its power. Since Jaden's side didn't have even half a card, the power of "Great Storm" was entirely applied to Sera's field, including not only her five face-down cards in the back row but also the Field Spell Card "Garden of Insect Temptation."

Amidst the deafening gale, all the sundews on the wetland grassland were swept up and sucked into the tornado. The Field Spell Card [Garden of Insect Temptation] was the first to be destroyed. However, as the storm subsided slightly, Jaden discovered that it seemed that only the Field Spell Card [Garden of Insect Temptation] was ultimately destroyed. The five cards on Sera's back field had all survived unharmed without any activation.

Furthermore, a new [Trapika] monster appeared on Sera's field. Judging from the fact that the opponent's hand was completely empty, it seemed to have been Special Summoned by [Great Storm] in a chain.

"【Trapika】If I control a 【Trapika】monster, I can activate its effect during both players' Main Phases to Special Summon this card from my hand. However, as a trade-off, after this effect is activated, I cannot Special Summon non-Insect/Plant monsters from my Fusion Deck until the end of this turn."

【Gino's Trap Demon】【4☆/Land】

[Insect Clan/Effect]

[1300/1500]

The "Kino" in the name of 【Kino the Trap】 appears to be taken from the luminous fungus fly (ヒカリキノコバエ), also known as the luminous mushroom fly. Like the original form, it is adept at using long, sticky threads to capture other insects attracted by the blue light emitted from its body. However, this habit is not exhibited by the adult form but by the larval stage of the luminous fungus fly. Therefore, the 【Kino the Trap】 appearing in the Sera arena is also depicted as a young girl.

(It looks pretty good)

"It's not a Plant-type monster anymore, but an Insect-type? After all, it's called 'Trapika.' If it were only Plant-type, it would have been called 'Predatory Plant' by now." Jaden wasn't too surprised that there would be an Insect-type monster in Sera's 'Trapika,' but he was more concerned about why the cards on Sera's back field weren't destroyed. "Was it that card that made 'Great Storm' ineffective?"

“No, to be precise, [Great Storm] worked, and the destruction of [Garden of Trap Zone] is the best proof.” Sera shook her head and denied it. “The reason why my face-down cards in the back row were not destroyed is mainly because of the third effect of [Genio Trap Zone] – that is, each face-down card in my Spell & Trap Zone can only be protected from being destroyed by an effect once per turn.”

Upon hearing this, Jaden carefully examined the face-down cards in Sera's back row and discovered that all five cards had broken blue threads along their edges. It seemed that after [Gino's Trap] appeared, it had placed a layer of threads to protect each card, and [Great Storm] had exhausted its power after tearing through this layer of protection, making it unable to destroy the cards any further.

"In the end, I still have five face-down cards. What bad luck. Unfortunately, I don't have any other spell cards in my hand to clear the back row." Muttering to himself, Jaden glanced at the cards in his hand, drew one, and said, "Then I'll activate the spell card 'Transform Contact' to send 'N-Flame Beetle' from my hand and 'N-Earth Mole' from my deck to the graveyard, and then draw two cards from my deck."

"Then comes the second [Transform Contact]! Send [N-Sky Hummingbird] from my hand and [N-Water Dolphin] from my deck to the graveyard, and draw two more cards from the deck!"

"The third [Transform Contact]! Send the last [N-Black Panther] in my deck and [N-Radiant Moss] in my hand to the graveyard, and draw two more cards!"

In the blink of an eye, Jaden, while keeping his hand size at six, dumped a full six [N] monsters into his graveyard and successfully drew the card he needed from his deck through a bluff. Meanwhile, Sera remained calm, refusing to use a single face-down card no matter how Jaden tried to play, whether she genuinely lacked cards to activate or was simply waiting for a big surprise.