Carl, Donut, and Mongo continue their march toward the giant dirt mound in the Florida Keys, collecting deckmaster tokens with little resistance. The first five deckmaster fights end before any cards can be played, and Carl concludes the monsters are literally frozen in place until approached. Their levels climb from the steady experience, reaching Carl at level 68, Donut at 59, and Mongo at 40, even as Donut complains the repetitive encounters are boring for spectators.

At the mound’s base near a Key West sign, the sixth opponent appears: a level-65 ghost-class Reef Explorer in a glowing dive suit with four level-50 Swordfish Interloper bodyguards. When Carl tries a holy water-infused hob-lobber, a swordfish spits water to deflect it, then launches itself like a missile. As Carl and Mongo engage, the Reef Explorer finally plays cards, summoning two Swordfish Interloper totems with 90-second timers, then stacking Precision buffs to make one totem’s attacks more accurate and dangerous.

To end the fight quickly, Donut summons a new combo totem created from Uzi Jesus and Asojano: Lazarus-A-Bang-Bang. After an elaborate entrance, Lazarus reveals a magical bazooka and immediately disables and kills the swordfish enemies by coating them in devouring iridescent beetles. Donut then summons Raul the crab and orders Lazarus to guard her while Raul earns experience; Lazarus grouses and postures, showing he has mixed memories and attitude from both parent totems.

Raul, boosted by Donut’s Greased Lightning card, chases down the fleeing Reef Explorer, who can’t get additional cards out, and kills him by tearing off a leg, deflating the ghostly suit and ending the battle. Carl is unsettled by how powerful Lazarus is and asks about his interactions with other totems; Donut explains Lazarus and Shi Maria compete, both tolerate Jola, Lazarus bullies Raul but likes Geraldo, and Skylar Spinach is mostly ignored.

After the reset, they review the dropped deck: Donut discards unwanted totems and criticizes the Reef Explorer’s overreliance on utility cards. Carl takes a Precision card and realizes the stacking buffs could have made the fight lethal if the swordfish had landed a hit. Carl also notes his Scavenger’s Daughter soul bar is nearly full, making him uneasy, and he debates whether to discharge that stored power now or save it for the likely boss guarding the key. With the sixth coin secured, they decide to return to the saferoom to check in and refresh buffs before climbing the roughly 700-foot mound, racing against erosion washing the area away.