(Planet Granada, Leo's POV)
Outwardly, Leo showed no emotion, his face completely stoic as he reached for the second card to play, his movents steady and controlled as he ensured that not even a sliver of his maroon aura leaked from his body, as he refused to give Mauriss even the smallest indication of what he was truly feeling.
However, internally, his thoughts moved rapidly, dissecting the first exchange with ruthless clarity as he acknowledged what the outco truly ant.
This... was not ideal.
His golem had taken significant damage right from the opening move, and although the difference was not catastrophic, it was enough to shift the balance slightly out of his favor, forcing him into a position where he would have to play more carefully moving forward.
Ideally, starting the ga with a multiplier was not the most efficient way to play, as the value of such cards increased significantly in later stages where fewer options remained and each move carried greater weight.
And yet...
There had always been exceptions.
In the countless simulations Leo had run, there were several scenarios where his opponent had opened with an attacking multiplier against his standard attack, and in a noticeable number of those cases, the match had slipped away from him by a narrow margin.
Not because the opening decided everything outright.
But because it forced him into a reactive position far earlier than he preferred.
Which ant that in this situation, what Mauriss deduced wasn't wrong..... as after the first exchange, the Deceiver did hold the advantage, even though it was only a small one.
'So this is how the madman plays... so damn reckless from the very start....
Leo assessed calmly, as instead of resisting that realization, he accepted it imdiately, understanding that denying the reality of the board would only lead to worse decisions.
However, the real danger was not in the damage itself, but rather in the intention behind it.
As Mauriss had not used the multiplier out of necessity.
He had used it on a whim.
To challenge structure and to force Leo out of the ga plan he had co in here with.
And if Leo allowed himself to respond emotionally to that disruption, then the Deceiver would control the pace of the ga from this point onward, which was sothing that Leo could absolutely not allow.
*Exhale*
Leo's fingers hovered over the remaining cards, his gaze briefly shifting down to the board before returning to Mauriss, as he forced himself to detach from the previous exchange and focus entirely on what ca next.
The second move.
Across from him, Mauriss watched quietly, his grin still present, his eyes fixed not on the cards, but on Leo, as though he was far more interested in how the man reacted than what move he would choose.
"Go on then... show how you plan to recover," Mauriss said softly, his tone light, almost teasing, as he tapped his fingers against the table in a slow, irregular rhythm, before eventually selecting his card and slotting it in, as Leo reacted by doing the sa.
*Click*
For a brief mont, silence returned between them once more, the storm continuing its relentless roar around the lone rock as both players rested their hands near the board, waiting for the reveal. Then, simultaneously.....
The board flipped both cards.
*Flip*
Guard.
Grapple.
For the briefest mont, Leo's eyes narrowed slightly, as although his expression remained composed, he imdiately realized that this
interaction was not ideal.
The constructs moved.
Leo's golem reacted first, its damaged fra lowering into a stable
stance as its shield rose instinctively, locking into a defensive posture ant to absorb incoming force, as its weight shifted backward as it prepared to withstand another impact.
However, the expected strike never ca.
Instead, Mauriss's golem surged forward with a completely different
intent, its movent sharp and invasive as it closed the distance without hesitation, and slipped into Leo's range before the guard
could serve its purpose.
*Clack*
Stone hands latched onto Leo's purple construct, gripping it hard as it locked its upper fra with precise positioning, as one arm hooked past the shield while the other secured control over its shoulder joint.
As in that instant, the guard beca aningless. Leo's golem remained braced, its shield still raised, yet the defensive
posture now served no function, as the incoming force it was ant to absorb never arrived, and was instead replaced by a control move
that it could not block.
*Grind*
Mauriss's construct tightened its hold, pulling Leo's golem slightly off alignnt, forcing its stance to shift just enough to compromise its balance, as the damaged fra struggled to resist while its movent beca restricted.
For a mont, neither spoke.
Then-
A low chuckle escaped Mauriss.
"Heh..."
He leaned forward slightly, his grin widening as he stared directly into
Leo's eyes, his tongue briefly passing over his lips in quiet
amusent.
"Looks like I've got the better of you yet again... you're now defenceless for the next attack."
He said softly, almost thoughtfully, as his eyes widened in joy.
"Hahahaha..."
A soft laugh followed, as the Deceiver mocked Leo more openly now.
"I don't know what practice you did boy, but it's certainly not paying
off just yet...."
He said as he pulled the third card and chose a multiplier to go with
it, as he looked into Leo's eyes rather teasingly.
"I already know what I'm going to do next....
However, the question is....
Do you know what you're gonna do?"
He asked, as he slid his card into the gaboard chanism.
*Click*
The card locked into place, as a second later, Leo did the sa, as he
chose a card and a multiplier as well, and slid it into the chanism
without doubt.
*Click*
Both cards loaded into the board, as for a brief tense mont, the
chanism paused, before flipping them both simultaneously, as both Mauriss and Leo waited for the outco of this exchange with bated
breaths.
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