Honestly, it's mainly because you had no cards on the field. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been only sixteen."
You Ye spoke with genuine regret.
What he regretted even more was that this deck had originally been built to counter the Swordsoul Monument lineup. Unfortunately, due to missing cards, he had to replace part of the engine with a Naturia package.
The surrounding terminal-level spirits all subconsciously took several steps back.
Banishing sixteen cards in a single turn—and you're calling that 'only'?
This human Duelist in front of them was the real devil, wasn't he?
"Effect of Munin the Runick Wings — I draw two, discard one.
Then I activate Card of Demise's effect that I just drew — draw three, discard two."
After resolving Heavenly Charity, You Ye looked at the six different Runick Quick-Play Spells in his hand, plus Crossout Designator, Called by the Grave, and a Field Spell.
All he could say was—This feels amazing.
"I set three cards. End my turn. Your move."
"My turn. Draw."
Seeing the card he drew, Kitt's eyes lit up with joy.
In addition to the Droll & Lock Bird from earlier, he had drawn yet another reinforcement card granted by the Duel Rules.
"I pay 1000 LP. I activate the Quick-Play Spell Cosmic Cyclone, targeting your Runick Fountain."
"I chain—C2—activate the Quick-Play Spell Crossout Designator, declaring Cosmic Cyclone."
Seeing this, You Ye casually waved his hand and flipped his set card.
"Crossout…? You predicted Cosmic Cyclone?"
Kitt was completely shaken.
It wasn't shocking that You Ye had Crossout—after filtering and drawing this much, not having it would be strange.
What truly terrified him was the anticipation of it.
Last turn, You Ye had deliberately shuffled Cosmic Cyclone back into the deck.
He had been waiting for this exact play.
"You're not the first person who tried to blow up Fountain with Cosmic Cyclone," You Ye replied with a smile.
"And I doubt you'll be the second."
That smile made Kitt feel even worse.
Because both Crossout Designator and Cosmic Cyclone were Quick-Play Spells.
Which meant—
He was about to be banished two more times.
"Runick Slumber's effect—two chains resolved. Banished 2."
You Ye's voice rang out.
Kitt's face was filled with bitterness, but there was nothing he could do except endure it.
"Don't rush to feel miserable," You Ye added cheerfully.
"It's about to get worse."
Kitt: "…"
Are you even human?
Is that how a 36-degree mouth says something this ice-cold?
"During your Standby Phase," You Ye continued calmly,
"I activate my set Runick Flashing Fire — draw 1, banish 4.
Continuous effect banish 1.
Dispel Chain banish 1 from hand.
Deck banish 2."
With a single sentence, nine more cards were banished.
"Oh? You milled Tri-Brigade Kitt this time. Want to activate her effect?
If not, I'll keep chaining."
Kitt: "…"
He was genuinely numb now.
A forty-plus card deck—and before he even reached Main Phase, nearly thirty cards were already gone.
Including his opening hand, his deck now had around ten cards left.
How am I supposed to set up my graveyard like this?
Isn't milling just losing faster?
"You're not responding? Then I will."
"C1 — Continuous banish.
C2 — Fountain returns three, draw three."
"I object to Fountain's effect!"
"C3 — I chain Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring from my hand. Negate your Fountain's effect!"
"Useless," You Ye replied smoothly.
"That just makes me banish even more."
"C4 — I chain my set Called by the Grave, targeting your Ash Blossom in the graveyard."
Chain resolution:
C4 Called by the Grave resolves successfully
C3 Ash Blossom negated
C2 Fountain returns three, draw three
C1 Runick banishes 1
"I activated a Quick-Play Spell—banish 1 more!"
"I Special Summon Munin with Geri's effect—banish 1. Your turn."
After drawing three and returning three, You Ye glanced at his hand.
Only then did he finally pass priority.
"I activate the Continuous Spell Tri-Brigade Stand-Off."
"Don't bother," You Ye interrupted.
"I chain Runick Destruction, targeting your Stand-Off—destroy it, banish 4.
Then Runick banishes 1 more."
He fired the Runick Quick-Play straight from his hand.
Chain resolution:
C2 Runick Destruction resolves
C1 Stand-Off is destroyed, Special Summon fails
Kitt stared at the two remaining cards in his deck, his heart bleeding.
Second turn.
Only the second turn.
And my deck is already down to three cards?
This is something a Profound-tier Duelist does?!
He seriously began to suspect that the Duel Rules had gone insane to allow something this cursed to exist.
"…Hah."
After taking a deep breath, Kitt prepared for a final gamble.
This turn ends the duel.
"I Normal Summon Tri-Brigade Kitt!"
"You still had Kitt?" You Ye said casually.
"Doesn't matter. The duel's over."
The instant the summon succeeded, You Ye declared calmly.
"I activate Sword of Sharpness from my hand, searching Anger Storm.
That and Runick banish 2.
Then I activate Anger Storm—banish 1.
Runick has nothing left to banish."
"…"
Kitt stared at his empty deck, completely speechless.
The first time.
In countless years of existence, he had faced mill decks before.
But this was the first time he had been decked out during his own Standby Phase.
What even is Runick?
Not only him, when You Ye had earlier declared that Spright was the strongest archetype in their world, the other spirits hadn't openly objected.
But deep down, they were displeased.
Who wants to admit their archetype is weak?
But now?
Strength didn't matter anymore.
Because none of them wanted to duel You Ye.
Second turn.
Monster summoned.
Deck gone.
Whoever steps up next is just kneeling.
Even Albaz silently retreated to the very back.
Yes, his archetype was powerful.
Yes, Branded was the strongest Fusion strategy.
But—
What the hell were these cards?!
Banishing everything nonstop.
Dueling, You Ye felt like asking whether life had been going too smoothly.
For a moment, the once united terminal spirits were no longer thinking about dueling—
They were thinking about how to leave without being rude.
"Cough. Let me remind you of something," You Ye said calmly.
"My Light-Dark Synchro Twin Wings are unaffected by monster-activated effects, and they also protect my monsters from battle destruction."
"Also, even if you make Double Dragons or force out your boss monsters, it's useless—Munin will block the fountain's targeting effect."
He paused slightly.
Rarely, You Ye chose to persuade instead of crush.
"My suggestion is surrender. There's no need to continue."
Kitt ran the calculations in his mind.
No breakthrough.
8000 LP to cut through.
Deck is completely banished.
How exactly is Tri-Brigade supposed to win this?
After a long silence, he finally spoke:
"You're right. I surrender."
With his concession, the duel ended.
You Ye completed his first task with ease.
After the duel, Kitt expected to be mocked by the other terminal spirits.
Instead—
Most of them had already backed so far away that if the arena were any smaller, they'd have fled outright.
Seeing this, Kitt understood.
They're scared too.
If I've already suffered this much, why shouldn't they experience it as well?
"Why are you all standing so far away?" Kitt sneered.
"I remember Icejade Emperor, Divine Beast—you both said you wanted to duel You Ye.
Didn't you want to show him the power of the Bystials?"
"And you, Abyssal Knight—weren't you going to give him a taste of Dis Pater?"
"And Albaz—weren't you acting all aloof before, saying you were eager to crush You Ye?
Did you forget his task includes dueling you?"
"We're all from the same world—don't tell me you're going to throw us under the bus just because I got wrecked!"
The one who spoke was Divine Source Beast, forcing himself to remain calm.
"Correct. The Abyssal Divine Beast is right."
"We spirits value peace. How could we possibly think of bullying a human Duelist?"
"Especially one who is the master of the Swordsoul archetype."
"Since Swordsoul spirits are part of our world, You Ye is also one of us.
How could we behave so rudely?"
The Abyssal Knight immediately followed up, turning the blame onto Kitt.
"Yes!"
"We're brothers. I only meant a friendly spar."
"But let's postpone. Something came up at home.
Earth-tier certification takes a long time anyway—within a month is fine."
At the very back, Fallen of Albaz nodded in agreement.
"What family business?" You, Ye, asked calmly.
"Abyssal Knight and Divine Beast can wait—but my task doesn't involve them."
"How about we duel now?"
"Don't worry. I'm very strong."
"The suffering— I mean, the duel—will end quickly."
Your gaze locked onto Fallen of Albaz.
Albaz's face immediately collapsed.
Dueling You Ye—
Dueling Runick—
Even if he won, the psychological damage would be massive.
And winning wasn't even guaranteed.
"Albaz, what family business?" the Abyssal Divine Beast said instantly.
"Tell your brother. We'll solve it for you—right now."
There's still a chance to escape.
Selling teammates?
Why not—especially when it's not himself.
"Exactly," the Abyssal Knight echoed.
"No matter who it is, they'll give us face. Duel in peace—leave the family matter to us."
"I'll help too," White Relic added.
"We're all spirits of the same world."
They all wanted to leave this cursed place.
You Ye wasn't here to overthrow Dogmatika—just certification.
"You guys are real brothers," Kitt muttered sarcastically.
"Of course. Family is family," Divine Beast said solemnly.
"Enough nonsense," You Ye interrupted with a strange smile.
"I never said you could leave."
"You're just not my first targets."
The smile sent chills through them.
"Duelist… are you saying you want to destroy us?
Or enslave us, like the Swordsoul spirits?"
Faces changed instantly.
A chilling pressure spread through the arena.
Tasks didn't matter.
Suffering didn't matter.
But destruction or enslavement?
That meant death—or eternal domination.
They were high-ranking spirits, many close to godhood.
They would never accept that.
And if You Ye initiated such a duel, bond restrictions would be lifted.
With full bonds and tailored counters, they weren't afraid of Runick.
"We don't need destruction or servants," You Ye said calmly.
"I need your archetypes."
"…Oh?"
The tension vanished instantly.
"You should've said that earlier!" Divine Beast laughed heartily.
"We're brothers—just ask!"
He extended his hand.
Cards appeared before You Ye.
"These are all Bystial cards under my jurisdiction. They're yours.
I've already notified the other spirits—they'll bring the rest soon."
"Exactly," Abyssal Knight followed.
"These are all Dis Pater cards. The others are on the way."
All eyes turned to Fallen of Albaz.
Albaz smiled bitterly.
So I really can't escape, huh…
Just as he hesitated—
His eyes suddenly lit up.
He stepped forward, stopping about ten meters from You Ye.
"Heh… You Ye. I agree."
"But the rules say I can reject your deck if it's too over-spec."
"You can use any cards you want—but I don't have to accept the deck."
"So you won't accept Runick?" You Ye asked, smiling.
"Correct."
"Then how about Tearlaments?" You Ye, smiled strangely.
The deck appeared before Albaz.
At first, he considered accepting—
to show the value of the Number One Fusion archetype.
But his instincts screamed.
This is even more cursed than Runick.
Accepting it would shatter his Dao Heart.
Trusting his Duelist intuition, Albaz rejected it.
"Full-Power Kashtira?"
"Even worse."
"Exodia?"
"Floowandereeze?"
"Tenyi Cup Dragon?"
"…60-Card Abyss Dragon Fist?"
Only then did Albaz stop.
After careful inspection, aside from a few over-spec Chaos Dragons, plus Thunder Dragon and Rokket engines, it seemed… reasonable.
Most importantly, it used Bystials, which he understood.
And it was all Dragons.
Set Albaz. Roll tires. Win.
Low difficulty.
"No objections? Then we duel?"
You Ye, smiled.
He knew Albaz thought he had the advantage.
But Dragon Fist vs Branded was a 6–4 matchup.
Slightly favorable—for Dragon Fist.
"…Fine," Albaz said, frowning.
You Ye (8000 LP) vs Fallen of Albaz (8000 LP)
Albaz chose to go first.
Both drew five cards.
The duel began.
"Hahahaha! You Ye, the Duel God, is with me!"
Looking at his opening hand, Albaz grew excited.
I've got the perfect board!
"Oh?" You Ye, smiled.
"Then I look forward to it."
"I activate Fusion Deployment…"
And just as Albaz prepared to continue—
"Wait," You Ye said, raising a card with a smile.
I chain—C2—from my hand…