After Merlo Threefish drew her card, the "Rule Representative" moved again during the Standby Phase.
"I'll chain the effects of the banished Genka Decoy Dragon and Genka Phoenix; c1: Genka Decoy Dragon; c2: Genka Phoenix."
"c2: Genka Phoenix's effect adds the Continuous Spell Asymmetrical Genka to my hand; c1: Genka Decoy Dragon Special Summons."
"Enough moving?" Siren asked the Rule Representative.
"Please proceed," the Rule Representative said quietly after glancing at her.
"I activate the Spell Card Bitter Choice. I select 5 cards from my Deck for you to look at. You choose one of them. The chosen card is added to my hand, and the rest are sent to the Graveyard."
Rule Representative: ???
At the sight of this card, the Rule Representative was stunned.
Bitter Choice? The Pearl Tear Elegy Tribe, also known as Yuye, when did they even have this card? How come he, a Rule Representative, wasn't informed by the dueling rules?
"I can chain my hand's Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, negating your Bitter Choice!"
The Rule Representative didn't hesitate and chose to negate.
This Bitter Choice was a card on par with Pot of Greed—he could not allow it to go through!
For a moment, he looked at Merlo Threefish—if their cards were all Sword Pointer, he could chain his set Sword Pointer to invalidate the Pearl Tear's choice.
But he quickly grew disappointed. Merlo Threefish didn't chain at all.
Effect resolution, Last-in-First-Out: c2 Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring successfully activated; c1 Bitter Choice's effect negated.
Seeing Bitter Choice negated, the little mermaid crossed her arms, snatched the final card from Siren, and coquettishly said, "Don't want to choose? Then I'll make you choose!"
"Bitter Choice has no restrictions, so that I can activate a second one!"
Rule Representative:
"You had Bitter Choice from the start?"
This was the first time the Rule Representative spoke directly to Merlo Threefish, besides dueling.
"Of course. Night already guessed that your rules would be fully targeted, and you'd have next-turn counters—it's just that you won't last long enough," said the little mermaid, speaking matter-of-factly.
At the same time, she picked five cards from the deck and presented them through the Duel Disk for the Rule Representative to choose.
Looking at the five cards, the Rule Representative was dismayed.
The five options: Merlo Mermaid, Little Mermaid, Siren Mermaid, Renohart, and Kusha-Type Nuwei.
Five low-level cards to choose from, not a single heavy card—how polite!
But what's the real bitter choice here? No matter what he picked, the board would develop.
Choosing Merlo? Full bonds stack three, Red Mermaid stack two, two low-level fusions, a placeholder Renohart doesn't even need its effect.
Choosing Little Mermaid? Red Mermaid stack two, two low-level fusions, placeholder Renohart can activate to Special Summon and continue stacking.
Choosing Siren? Same as above.
Choosing Renohart? Renohart stack one, Red Mermaid stack two, three low-level fusions possible.
Choosing Red Mermaid? Full bonds stack three, three low-level fusions, one placeholder Renohart.
Also, because these Pearl Tear mermaids were different from Yuye, the Nereid Mermaid could carry at most three cards, and two had been banished—essentially irrelevant.
After some time, with the system signaling the turn was ending, the Rule Representative reluctantly chose.
"I choose Little Mermaid."
"Since you chose me, Merlo-chan, Sister Siren, Servant (Renohart), and Red Mermaid are sent to the Graveyard."
"Merlo-chan and Red Mermaid's effects trigger in order; I choose c1: Merlo; c3: Red Mermaid."
"c2: Red Mermaid stacks two; c1: Merlo's effect fuses Sister Siren and Servant from the Graveyard into Servant Large (Karedohart)."
"Servant Large's effect targets one of your cards, returning it to the Deck—I target your S: P Little Night Knight; then the Red Mermaid's stacked two and I start a self-resolving chain, I choose c2: Servant; c3: myself."
"c4: Chain Little Night Knight's effect, banishing itself and the field's Little Night Knight."
The Rule Representative felt frustrated but had not yet fully given up.
"Futile struggle."
Yuye whispered beside him, shaking his head. Little Mermaid made a slight misplay—the target should have been Genka Executioner, not Little Night.
But it didn't matter.
Without the Divine Bow, unable to maintain full-field banishing, the duel's outcome was already determined.
Simply put, even random plays now would win. Especially once Nereid Mermaid appeared next, the resource gap between both sides would immediately widen.
Effect resolution, Last-in-First-Out: c4: Little Night Knight's effect activates successfully, Karedohart and it are banished; c3: Little Mermaid fuses with the hand's card into Nereid Mermaid; c2: Renohart Special Summons; c1: Karedohart loses its target.
"Nereid Mermaid's effect activates, retrieving a Pearl Tear Tribe card; c2: Servant stacks a native monster to the Graveyard."
"c2: Servant stacks Sister Siren; c1: Nereid Mermaid retrieves Continuous Spell String Resonance."
"I activate Continuous Spell String Resonance, then Nereid Mermaid's second effect targets herself to Special Summon Red Mermaid from the Graveyard."
"The effects of String Resonance, Nereid Mermaid, and Red Mermaid all trigger self-resolving chains; I choose: c1: Nereid stacks five; c2: String Resonance stacks three, reducing your monster's ATK by 500; c3: Red Mermaid stacks three, totaling 11 cards!"
"The stacked Sister Siren, Elegy, Drumbeat, and Echo trigger self-resolving chains: c1: Elegy retrieves a native monster; c2: Drumbeat recovers a Continuous Trap from Graveyard, Elegy; c3: Sister Siren fuses; c4: Echo recovers a banished Trap."
"c4: Echo's effect recovers banished Shadow Claw; c3: Sister Siren and Nereid Mermaid fuse into Rusaka Sister; c3: Drumbeat adds Elegy to hand; c1: Elegy retrieves Sister Siren to hand."
"I Normal Summon Sister Siren, then Deadly Desire Dragon in Graveyard's effect: pay half LP to target Sister Siren to Special Summon, Level becomes 3."
"I fuse Level 3 Deadly Desire Dragon, Servant, and Sister Siren into Level 11 Psychokinetic Terminal Executioner!"
"I banish Three-Step Karma from Graveyard, add Field Spell Pearl Time World from Deck to hand, then activate it to retrieve Red Mermaid."
"Red Mermaid's effect banishes Echo from Graveyard and Special Summons it; then we enter Battle Phase!"
"This is Psychokinetic Terminal Executioner's effect, increasing its ATK by our LP difference!"
"Our LP: 1600; yours: 7000; difference: 5400, so Psychokinetic Terminal Executioner ATK increases!"
(Psychokinetic Terminal Executioner ATK: 3500 → 8900)
"I attack your Genka Executioner with Psychokinetic Terminal Executioner!"
Under its psychokinetic might, Genka Executioner is destroyed. Rule Representative LP: 7000 → 500.
"I attack your Genka Decoy Dragon with Red Mermaid!"
The Red Mermaid swings her axe; Genka Decoy Dragon shatters.
"Finally, I attack you directly with Rusaka Sister!"
Little Mermaid announces as the sword in Rusaka Sister's hands slices through an immense water-form attack, striking the Rule Representative.
Rule Representative LP: 500 → 0
With the Rule Representative's LP reduced to zero, the duel field disappears. He doesn't look at the victorious Threefish, only at Yuye.
After a moment, he slowly says, "I thought Albert losing to me was a fluke, but it seems there's no fluke at all."
"Dueling doesn't leave room for flukes. If the bonds aren't enough, you rely on the deck build," Yuye said with a smile.
In this world, deck builds were abnormal. Even high-level duelists could have distorted builds—bond levels concealed it.
Otherwise, Deadly Desire Dragon wouldn't have banished ten cards with only two effects, and the "own" cards being banished were negligible—what's the point?
"Not reconsidering? I believe if you became a Representative, the rules would favor you even more, maybe making you the top duelist under the rules," the Rule Representative invited.
"Farewell," Yuye replied, not even bothering to refuse—signaling he could leave.
Seeing that Yuye didn't even want to speak, the Rule Representative sighed lightly and left without lingering.
"Hahaha, Yuye, thank me!"
"My low levels can reach max three now!"
The speaker, Little Mermaid, crossed her arms proudly at Yuye.
"Night, my low-levels, you can carry two, plus a Servant," added Siren with a smile.
Merlo watched silently.
Not that she couldn't give cards—she could give two.
But if she could give two, a Servant, and Red Mermaid, she herself had none!
Shouldn't the youngest elf be favored to give the most?
Why not a single one for her? Was this bullying the youngest elf?
"What's wrong, Merlo?"
Yuye noticed her silence, looked at her, and asked with concern.
"Night, the rules messed with my mindset. I can give you two cards, but I get none," Merlo cried, tears dropping like tiny pearls.
"Shh, it's fine," Yuye comforted, patting her head.
"When I finish drawing the Pearl Tear cards, I'll let you experience breaking the rules all by yourself."
Siren and Little Mermaid, remembering past experiences, felt angry with Merlo. Nereid Mermaid silently hugged her from behind.
After some time, Merlo calmed down in their comfort.
"If you want, Merlo, you can come to my world to relax," Yuye gently suggested.
Little Mermaid hesitated, Siren wanted to speak, but Nereid said:
"Merlo, go. Take a breather."
Merlo, eyes red, turned to Nereid, hesitating: "Weren't you supposed to be summoned first, Night?"
"It's fine, you replace me," Nereid smiled, gently wiping the tears.
"Thank you, Nereid. You're the best," Merlo hugged her tightly.
Afterward, Threefish gave all her available cards to Yuye.
Nereid also handed over what she could, mostly Spell/Trap cards, completing his Pearl Tear deck except for one Nereid.
Now, Yuye's Pearl Tear deck was fully functional—ready to roll, no longer a crutch, fully mobile.
Pearl Tear Elegy Tribe Little Mermaid: 1 → 3
Pearl Tear Elegy Tribe Siren: 1 → 2
Pearl Tear Elegy Tribe Renohart: 1 → 3
Pearl Tear Elegy Tribe Kusha-Type Nuwei: 2 → 3
Six-card completion; remaining cards: one Nereid, low-levels maxed at three, Pearl Tear fully collected.
Yuye considered waiting for rule-altered cards.
Double-serve decks are possible, but still not fully healthy Pearl Tear—obtaining certain rare cards would make it into a pre-travel ultra-strong meta deck.
The next morning, Yuye returned from communicating with the elves.
He immediately took out Merlo's cards to prepare a summon.
Muning quietly observed, surprised but not asking.
She wasn't surprised by Yuye summoning an elf, but that he summoned Merlo, not Nereid.
Blue light shimmered, and soon Merlo appeared in the room.
Her previously finned and fishtail limbs were now human-like.
Feeling Yuye's gaze, Merlo blushed, whispering, "Night, what are you looking at?"
"Nothing, just curious about your hands and feet—they're different from earlier," Yuye replied.
"Oh? Nereid said using human form in the human world is easier. Should I switch back?"
"No need, this is fine," Yuye nodded approvingly.
She was small and cute!
Yuye introduced Merlo to Muning, and the two quickly bonded.
Mainly elves, no barrier; they got along well.
Seeing this, Yuye informed Yang Xuequn to prepare to go to Egypt to investigate the King-Class Duelist's tomb.
No need to delay now; it was time.
Yang Xuequn arrived at Yuye's room about five minutes later, immediately captivated by Merlo.
Pearl Tear Elegy Tribe—the strongest evaluated by the association—was right in front of her; how could she not be attracted?
Merlo, shy, shrank behind Yuye.
Yang Xuequn immediately apologized, "Yuye, sorry for startling Merlo."
"It's fine, I understand," Yuye smiled.
People in this world may be primitive with cards, but not stupid; they knew Pearl Tear's strength.
Even pre-travel card pros would realize Pearl Tear's power: the more resistant, the stronger.
"This one thing: the Pearl Tear Elegy Tribe deck cannot be obtained by you," Yuye warned Yang Xuequn.
"What? I thought elves could get any deck if they agreed?" Yang Xuequn was stunned.
Normally, yes, but Pearl Tear was an exception.
Even if Nereid agreed, outsiders couldn't get the Pearl Tear deck—rules forbade it.
Yang Xuequn realized the association's attempts to help Yuye were strategic: gaining favor, avoiding conflict, and preparing opportunities to acquire decks.
Now, Yuye nullified that last purpose.
She suspected Yuye might be lying, but thinking about Pearl Tear's strength, she accepted it.
Even Yuye, with so many rare cards, found Pearl Tear difficult to complete—how could others expect to obtain it?
Of course, there were other ways: rule replication, or Dark Duels—winning against Yuye could secure the deck.
Yang Xuequn decided to keep this secret for now.
"Yuye, let's go. I've arranged the Egypt elves. With Chang Xingge leading, you'll quickly reach the bottom layer," she said with a smile.
Yuye followed her to Egypt.
Egypt: Tomb of the King-Class Duelist.
Once there, guided by Chang Xingge, Yuye, Merlo, and Muning reached the lowest level.
He noticed scattered people and elves and then focused on an angel statue resembling the Announcer of Divine Light.
Chang Xingge explained: this angel statue's body is actually a slime, copying his deck.
The statue stirred, ignoring everyone, facing Chang Xingge, its ancient voice echoing:
"Human duelist, by rules, you cannot defeat me. You are not the fated one spoken of; pursue your own kingly path."
"This time, it is not I challenging you, but my predecessor."
Chang Xingge smiled at Yuye.
"Predecessor?" the statue asked, surprised, looking at Yuye, "You're stronger than her?"
"Yes, slightly stronger than Chang Xingge," Yuye nodded, gesturing with his hand.
Those who knew the truth fell silent.
A Level-Gen third-task duelist surpassing a Level-King duelist, the developer of Dragon Brilliance decks, slightly stronger than Chang Xingge? They felt like they glimpsed a universe.
Chang Xingge, witnessing this, turned away silently.
"One point isn't enough; going first or second isn't balanced by one point!"
The statue didn't catch the aside, only the ancient voice warning.
"Whether enough, we'll see—right?" Yuye smiled, challenging.
"Then come!" the statue accepted.
Yuye's left hand waved lightly; a Duel Disk of deep blue, ocean-like hue appeared.
A local duelist's ability: no Duel Disk needed, can form a Duel Disk through elf communication.
This time, using Pearl Tear, Yuye borrowed the elves' power.
Yuye (8000 LP) vs Angel Statue (8000 LP) (Bo3, 2 wins)
Angel Statue goes first; both draw five cards; duel begins.
"Your Standby Phase is clear? Then I'll discard G in your Draw Phase."
Seeing its hand, Yuye predicted Main Phase 1; he discarded G to the Graveyard.
"Interesting! You're the second duelist I've seen using G below King level without a rule card!"
The statue focused on the act, not the effect, then chained:
"I c2 chain Little Mermaid, negating your G's draw effect!"
No further chains; LIFO effect resolution: c2: Little Mermaid successfully activates; c1: G's effect negated.
The statue continued:
"Main Phase 1, I Normal Summon Sorcerer. Its effect: I can send Angel monsters from the Deck or Extra Deck to the Graveyard."
"Wait, I can chain my Little Mermaid. When your monster's effect activates, I can Special Summon this from hand, sending three cards from the Deck to the Graveyard."
Yuye revealed his Little Mermaid to chain.
"Special Summon and mill three blindly?"
"No worries. My Master Kong will teach you a lesson later."
The statue murmured lightly.
Effect resolution, LIFO: c2: Little Mermaid Special Summons and mills three; c1: Sorcerer sends *