So you did have hand traps after all?
Seeing his play chained, Fallen of Albaz wasn't surprised.
Throughout the earlier timing windows, priority had repeatedly passed to You Ye's side—but he hadn't responded until now.
The real question was which hand trap.
When Albaz had checked You Ye's deck earlier, he'd seen a full lineup:
Effect Veiler, Infinite Impermanence, Maxx "C", Ash Blossom, PSY-Framegear Gamma, Nibiru, the Primal Being, Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill, and more.
As Albaz was thinking, You Ye sent a monster from his hand to the Graveyard and activated its effect.
"I chain—C2—discard the monster Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill from my hand.
Once per turn: when your opponent Special Summons a face-up monster, I discard this card and target that monster. Its effects are negated until the end of the turn. And if that monster leaves the field this turn, its controller takes damage equal to its original ATK."
"I target your Granguignol the Dusk Dragon!"
"So you humans really do run hand traps seriously," Albaz muttered, frowning.
After Branded Fusion resolved, one of the hand traps he least wanted to see was Ghost Mourner—it severely disrupted his board-building.
Still, it wasn't Nibiru.
If it were, things would be much worse.
"Basic common sense," You Ye replied politely.
Chain resolution:
C2 Ghost Mourner resolves successfully
C1 Granguignol's effect is negated
After the chain resolved, Albaz produced another card.
"You Ye, this alone won't stop me."
"I activate my hand card Guiding Quem, the Virtuous, effect 1.
Once per turn: if there is a Fusion Monster on my field or in my Graveyard that lists Fallen of Albaz as material, I can Special Summon this card from my hand."
"Then Guiding Quem's effect 2—when this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I add one Branded Spell/Trap from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand, then place one card from my hand on the bottom of the Deck."
"I add the Quick-Play Spell Branded in Red, then return one card to the bottom of the Deck."
"Next, I move to my Main Phase Three—the End Phase."
"You skipped continuing your combo just to search Branded in Red instead of Branded in White," You Ye said.
"That's to dodge my hand traps, right?"
He recalled how players used to joke that Branded effectively had a third Main Phase, because so much happened during the End Phase—sometimes even more than Main Phase 2.
More importantly, Albaz was deliberately shifting his plays to the End Phase to avoid Nibiru and Veiler.
The surrounding spirits watched in awe.
This wasn't just a duel—it was a mind game unfolding during the combo itself.
Many of them had assumed earlier that You Ye was only terrifying because of over-spec decks like Runick.
Now, their perception was changing.
They were all fully invested in how this duel would end.
"Since you've already seen through it, I won't pretend anymore," Albaz said calmly.
"There's no point—given how well you understand Branded and hand traps."
"First, Bystial Magnamhut's effect—I add Bystial Saronir from my Deck to my hand."
"Since you're done pretending," You Ye replied, glancing at his hand,
"Then neither will I."
Hearing that, Albaz grew cautious—but as he watched You Ye's actions, his tension eased slightly.
Both duelists continued.
"I activate the effect of Thunder Dragon from my hand—discard it to add another Thunder Dragon from my Deck to my hand."
"I chain—C2—activate Branded in Red.
Once per turn: I target a Fallen of Albaz monster in my Graveyard, and add it to my hand. Then I can banish Fusion Materials from my hand or field to Fusion Summon."
"I target Fallen of Albaz in my Graveyard!"
Chain resolution:
C2 Branded in Red resolves: Albaz returns to hand, then fuses with Guiding Quem
Fusion Summon Albion the Sanctifire Dragon
C1 Thunder Dragon effect resolves
"Albion the Sanctifire Dragon's effect—on Fusion Summon, discard one card.
I discard Bystial Saronir, then fuse using the banished Albaz and Albion!"
"Newborn dragon and ancient cold intertwine—
Fury frozen to absolute zero, condensed into an icy blade—
Descend and sever all foes!"
"Fusion Summon—Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon!"
As Albaz placed the card onto his Duel Disk, the temperature in the arena plummeted.
For the first time, You Ye's expression turned serious.
This level of environmental influence wasn't something to ignore.
High-level Duelists in this world could summon monsters that physically altered their surroundings.
If it interfered with his thinking, the outcome could change.
Just then, a dull thud sounded near You Ye.
Kitt had tossed a fist-sized sphere beside him.
The moment it activated, a wave of warmth spread outward—instantly suppressing the cold and pressure.
You Ye, glanced at Kitt and nodded in thanks, then refocused on the duel.
Several spirits frowned at the interference.
They didn't approve of helping You Ye like this.
But since Albaz himself did not object, they said nothing.
The field finished forming.
Ice covered more than half the arena as a massive dragon, its body forged from frozen blades, stood tall.
Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon
[Wyrm / Fusion / Effect / DARK / Level 8]
ATK 3000 / DEF 2500
"I activate Bystial Saronir's Graveyard effect—send one Branded Spell/Trap from my Deck to the Graveyard.
I sent Rebranded."
"Then my Continuous Trap Branded Beast—once per turn, during either End Phase, I target one Branded Continuous Spell/Trap in my Graveyard and place it face-up on my field."
"I target Rebranded and place it."
"Next, Mirrorjade's effect—once per turn, during either turn: I send a Fusion Monster that lists Fallen of Albaz from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard to banish one monster on the field, non-targeting. Then, the next turn, Mirrorjade can't use this effect."
"I send Albion the Branded Dragon!"
"Right then, I chain—C2—Rindbrumm the Striking Dragon's effect.
When a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Link monster activates its effect: negate that effect, then I may return one monster on the field to the hand."
"C2 Rindbrumm negates Mirrorjade. I choose not to bounce.
C1 Mirrorjade sends Albion—but its effect is negated."
"Well played," You Ye remarked sincerely.
"You really understand Branded."
Albaz didn't respond, deep in thought.
But the Branded-world terminal spirits were stunned.
They'd once thought Albaz had misplayed this line.
They were wrong.
Mirrorjade's restriction and banishment were tied to the same clause—
If the banish is negated, the self-restriction never applies.
Free Extra Deck dump, zero downside.
They'd all lost badly before because they hadn't understood this nuance.
And You Ye saw it instantly—without surprise.
Only now did they truly understand why the Swordsoul spirits acknowledged You Ye as their master.
"I'm starting to look forward to your breakthrough," Albaz said, smiling.
"Then finish setting up," You Ye replied with a grin.
"You still have two steps."
"Alright."
Albaz pointed to his Graveyard.
"Guiding Quem's Graveyard effect—once per turn, if a Fusion Monster was sent to my Graveyard this turn, during the End Phase, I add this card to my hand."
"And Albion the Branded Dragon's effect—once per turn, during the End Phase of the turn it was sent to the Graveyard, I add or Set one Branded Spell/Trap."
"I Set the Counter Trap Branded Retribution."
"Alright," Albaz said. "Your turn."
You Ye, studied the field and nodded.
Branded Retribution — a triple-attribute negation Counter Trap.
Branded Beast — destruction.
Rebranded — revive + recycle + draw.
Mirrorjade — non-targeting banish.
Rindbrumm — negate + bounce.
Granguignol — extension into Dis Pater or Quem.
For the first time, You Ye felt genuine pressure.
The Branded Spirits finally relaxed.
This board is oppressive.
There's no way he breaks this.
After thinking carefully, You Ye moved.
"I activate Allure of Darkness—draw two, then banish one DARK monster from my hand.
I banish Thunder Dragonroar."
"Thunder Dragonroar's effect—when banished, I Special Summon a Thunder Dragon from my Deck in Defense Position."
"I chain—C2—Rebranded's effect.
Once per turn: when a LIGHT or DARK monster is banished, target it. Return it to the bottom of the Deck, then draw one."
"I target your Thunder Dragonroar."
Resolution:
C2 Rebranded returns Dragonroar, Albaz draws
C1 Dragonroar Special Summons Thunder Dragon
As expected, Albaz was prepared to interrupt again.
"Granguignol's effect—when your opponent Special Summons via monster effect, I banish this card to Special Summon a Dogmatika monster from my Deck or a Despia monster from my Extra Deck."
"Then C2—Rebranded—when a monster is Special Summoned, I target a Bystial in my Graveyard and Special Summon it."
"I target Bystial Magnamhut."
Resolution:
C2 Magnamhut is Special Summoned
C1 Granguignol Special Summons Despian Luluwalilith
Despian Luluwalilith
[Fairy / Effect / Level 8 / DARK]
ATK 2500 / DEF 2500
"Magnamhut will search in the End Phase."
Albaz smiled. "Your move."
You, Ye, nodded and continued.
"I discard Bystial Druiswurm to search Bystial Druiswurm."
"I Special Summon it by banishing your Bystial Saronir from the Graveyard."
"When you Special Summon, I activate Mirrorjade, sending Albion the Branded Dragon to banish—non-targeting!"
"I banish your Bystial Druiswurm!"
Mirrorjade's icy claw swung—Druiswurm shattered into frozen fragments.
"I won't let you send one of my monsters to the Graveyard," Albaz said confidently.
"No problem," You Ye smiled.
"I activate Chaos Space—send one LIGHT or DARK monster from my hand to the Graveyard, then add a Chaos monster with a different attribute and Level 4–8."
"I send Thunder Dragon; I add Wyverburster."
"I banish Thunder Dragon to Special Summon Wyverburster."
"Thunder Dragon's banish effect adds Thunder Dragonhawk."
"Now I use Wyverburster as Link material—Link Summon Striker Dragon!"
A small metallic dragon appeared.
"Switching to the Rokket engine?" Albaz muttered.
Thunder Dragon.
Bystial.
Chaos.
Now Rokket.
Four engines already.
"Don't worry," You Ye smiled.
"You'll understand after today."
"Striker Dragon's effect—add Boot Sector Launch."
"C2—Wyverburster's effect—add Collapserpent."
"I banish Wyverburster to Special Summon Collapserpent, then Link both into Dragunity Knight – Romulus."
"Romulus adds Dragon Ravine.
Collapserpent returns Wyverburster."
"I banish Chaos Space to recycle Wyverburster and draw one."
Seeing the card, You Ye smiled.
"Albaz—brace yourself. If you fail to stop this, you'll lose badly."
Albaz nodded grimly.
You Ye, activated Dragon Ravine, discarding Wyverburster.
At that instant, Albaz's heart raced.
Stop this.
Right now.
"I chain Branded Beast—I tribute Bystial Magnamhut to destroy Dragon Ravine!"
"Good instinct," You Ye said calmly.
"But now—"
"You'll understand why you lost."
Albaz frowned.
"How could I lose?"
Four monsters.
Multiple negations.
Counter Trap unused.
The Branded spirits were equally confused.
Breaking this board required destroying four bosses, pushing 8000 damage, through Luluwalilith's shield.
Fail to kill—and next turn, Branded snowballs back to victory.
And yet—
You Ye, smiled.