Effect of Siren Mermaid, mill three. I send Tearlament Counter: Resonance to the Graveyard. Its effect activates— I add one of my banished Tearlament monsters back to my hand. Then Red Mermaid chains as Chain Link 2 and mills two.
Chain resolves in reverse order:
CL2: Red Mermaid mills two.
CL1: Resonance returns the banished Narcissus Mermaid to the Extra Deck.
"The cards milled by Red Mermaid include Merrli. Merrli's effect activates— she fuses with Renoheart and Siren Mermaid on my field. I Fusion Summon Kaleido-Heart!"
"Kaleido-Heart's effect— I target your Little Night Knight and return it to the Extra Deck."
"And then, the field spell Perlereino chains as CL2— I target your Lina and destroy it!"
Seeing You Ye blow away one interruption after another in a single sequence, Angel Statue no longer hesitated.
As Little Night Knight and Lina were targeted, it immediately declared:
"CL3— Little Night Knight! I banish her and your Kaleido-Heart until the end of the turn!"
"CL4— Lina! During your turn, I accelerate a Link Summon!"
Angel Statue chained without pause.
Chain resolution:
CL4: Lina and Interwoven Sheep Link Summon Link-4: Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax.
CL3: Little Night Knight and Kaleido-Heart are banished.
CL2: Perlereino loses its target and fizzles.
CL1: Kaleido-Heart loses its target and fizzles.
Angel Statue looked at Avramax on its field, eyes filled with pride.
"Human— do you see my Avramax? This is my ultimate trump card. Combined with Lina's protection from effect destruction, he is the strongest shield for my Herald of Ultimateness!"
You, Ye, stared at the towering knight.
Speechless. Completely speechless.
His build— whether partial or complete— contained many cards.
Unfortunately, Avramax was not one of them.
Why?
Because accelerating Apollousa or Little Night Knight was simply better.
What use was a wall?
Still, the deck he had provided did include a Link-4, so You Ye couldn't help asking:
"…Where's Apollousa?"
"Apollousa?" Angel Statue scoffed. "I already have Herald of Ultimateness. Why would I need her?"
"She can only negate monsters once per chain— she's a burden! Avramax can hold the battlefield alone. If the opponent doesn't break through four negations, then facing my IP-boosted Avramax is basically death!"
"Your deck's core concept is solid, but this part needs improvement. Fix it, and you might become one of the very top duelists even among Kings."
Angel Statue spoke confidently, even offering what it believed to be valuable advice.
You Ye, fell silent.
The advice sounded good—
But in reality, it was utterly worthless.
To high-level duelists, as long as the hand isn't terrible, a single "untouchable wall" is meaningless.
If someone wants to remove it, they will.
But Apollousa, negating twice or forcing out two to three interruptions, wasn't that infinitely more uncomfortable?
"Then prove it to me," You Ye said calmly.
"Struggle with your last cards, then," Angel Statue replied coldly.
Seeing You Ye show no sign of stopping, Angel Statue's aged voice grew icy.
Fine. If he wouldn't listen, then he'd understand the terror of IP Avramax firsthand.
"I control no monsters. I Special Summon Kshatri-La Fenrir from my hand."
"Fenrir's second effect— once per turn, I search a Kshatri-La monster. I add Red Mermaid to my hand."
"Red Mermaid's effect— I banish Mournful Chant from my Graveyard, Special Summon her, then mill three."
"I mill Lightsworn Archer Felis. Since she was sent by a monster effect, she Special Summons herself.
Then Destrudo in my Graveyard targets Felis, reduces her Level by four, and Special Summons itself!"
"Felis's second effect— I Tribute her, target one monster you control, destroy it, then mill three."
"I target and destroy your Herald of Ultimateness— then I mill three!"
"This time I mill Little Mermaid, Shaddoll Beast, and Merrli."
"CL1: Little Mermaid fuses.
CL2: Shaddoll Beast draws one."
"CL2 draws one.
CL1 fuses Siren Mermaid into Narcissus Mermaid!"
"Narcissus Mermaid searches Merrli.
Then Narcissus targets herself— I Special Summon Merrli from hand and mill eight!"
"I mill Siren Mermaid. Siren fuses with Narcissus Mermaid in the Graveyard— I Fusion Summon Rulkallos!"
"Next, I Synchro Summon!
Level 7 Red Mermaid + Level 3 Destrudo—
Level 10 Swordsoul Grand Duke – Chengying!"
"Effect of Snow in the Graveyard— I banish seven cards to Special Summon her!"
"Chengying triggers! Once per turn, when a card is banished, I can banish one card on your field and one in your Graveyard— without targeting!"
"This isn't targeting.
Not destruction.
Not sending to the Graveyard.
Your IP Avramax's protections mean nothing."
"I banish your Avramax on the field—
and your Herald of Ultimateness in the Graveyard!"
As You Ye spoke, Chengying swung his blade. Two pale-blue slashes flashed—
Avramax and Herald vanished.
Angel Statue:
"..."
It felt miserable.
The IP Avramax, which it had been so proud of, was dismantled effortlessly—
without even triggering any grave effects.
And worse—
You Ye's field now contained:
Chengying at 4300 ATK (14 banished cards),
Rulkallos at 3500 ATK (boosted by the field),
Kshatri-La Fenrir at 2400 ATK,
plus Merrli.
The damage was more than enough.
The duel was lost.
"You win."
Angel Statue no longer resisted and surrendered outright.
What was the point of continuing?
You Ye, clearly still had plays left.
You, Ye, nodded slightly. Duel over.
"There's something you should understand," he said calmly afterward.
"To real duelists, interruptions are far more valuable than walls.
That's why I don't run Avramax."
"Interruptions… are worth more than walls…"
Angel Statue murmured, suddenly enlightened.
If it had made double Apollousa instead, You Ye would've had to break through two negations first—
At the very least, the duel wouldn't have ended without even entering the Battle Phase.
"Yay~! You Ye and our Tearlament clan are unbeatable!" Merrli cheered first.
The moment she shouted, everyone present— humans and spirits alike— stared at her with red-rimmed eyes.
The Tearlament archetype was right there.
Even ignoring Graceful Charity, anyone could tell from that duel alone:
Tearlament low-level monsters required at least two negations even after being negated and destroyed.
How could anyone not be jealous?
Sensing those gazes, Merrli immediately hid behind You Ye.
The crowd then noticed You Ye— and Chang Xingge, who had quietly stepped beside him, clearly representing the Duel Association.
Their expressions darkened, and one by one, they wisely looked away and left.
The Tearlament spirits were here, yes—
But so was the Duel Association.
They couldn't win Angel Statue openly.
Winning against You Ye was even more impossible.
And covert methods? Also impossible.
There was no point staying.
"Thank you," You Ye said.
He wasn't stupid— he'd noticed those malicious gazes earlier.
Chang Xingge, standing beside him, made a clear statement.
Even if he didn't need it, gratitude was still due.
"No problem. I'm here on Lady Silver Princess's orders, representing the Duel Association," Chang Xingge replied matter-of-factly.
Though even without those orders, she would've stood with You Ye.
Without him, there would be no Drytron.
Without Drytron, who was she?
Just another Mystic-rank duelist playing Sacred Idol Knights?
In a sense, You Ye was her reborn parent.
Even if it meant defying the Duel Association, she would still stand with him.
It just so happened that Yang Xuequn had given instructions, so everyone benefited.
"Alright. I'll head back and help Yang Xuequn understand another form of Silver Castle," You Ye said.
Simple logic:
Help me, I help you.
That was all.
After their conversation ended, the Angel Statue spoke again:
"Human duelist— take whoever you wish inside."
The stone gate opened slightly, allowing You Ye and the three girls to enter.
Inside, candles ignited along the walls, revealing the chamber.
Ancient murals covered the stone— indistinct, chaotic.
At the center stood two rows of animal statues, and beyond them, a stone altar.
Upon it lay a massive crystal coffin, four to five meters long.
You Ye, scanned the room, frowning.
Aside from the coffin, there was no sign of Ishizu cards, spirits, or even Harpie's Feather Duster— not to mention That Grass Looks Greener.
Just as he was wondering how to locate the Ishizu cards—
A golden card floated out from his body.
A Sword Saint Priest, wielding a ring-blade, appeared.
He bowed slightly to You Ye, then looked toward the left wall.
"After thousands of years… my brother, have you become a mural?"
As he spoke, a spirit emerged from the mural.
Golden in color, forearms formed from massive golden shields, each bearing a crimson gem—
It was Keldo the Sacred Protector, one of the Twin Gods.
"Keldo spoke calmly. "Sword Saint… why are you here? And why have you allowed this human to obtain your original card?"
"My lord and I are here to take you with us," the Sword Saint replied seriously.
"Where is Agido? Let us leave together."
"My lord?" Keldo mused, turning his gaze toward You Ye.
As a fellow Ishizu spirit, he understood what that title truly meant.
"Must we duel to obtain your cards?" You Ye asked directly.
"No need. If the Sword Saint agrees, so do I. You may have our original cards— but leaving requires Lady Ishizu's decision."
He gestured toward the crystal coffin.
"Come."
A woman's voice echoed.
The coffin opened slowly.
A woman rose and looked at You Ye.
She wore white robes and a veil, wheat-colored skin, and—
Her appearance was identical to Ishizu Ishtar from Yu-Gi-Oh! DM.
"Yes, Lady Ishizu," Keldo replied immediately.
"You are Ishizu? Not the Gravekeeper Trap spirit?" You Ye asked curiously.
"Both," she answered, eyes filled with interest.
"You know much about us?"
"Only your effects— not your origins."
"Even those of Agido and Kelbek?"
"Yes. Do you know where they are?"
"They parted from us long ago."
Ishizu shook her head, gaze growing deeper.
Those two cards had never appeared in this Duel World—
Yet You Ye knew of them.
That alone spoke volumes.
"I see… then I'll have to obtain them through rule-equal cards, or perhaps from the Egyptian Gods," You Ye murmured.
He changed the subject and asked, "Aside from you, where are the other cards I'm here for?"
"Cards? You mean Harpie's Feather Duster and That Grass Looks Greener? Other than those, this tomb only holds outdated trap cards— likely beneath your interest."
You Ye was stunned.
A King-rank tomb… with so little?
Ishizu explained:
"This tomb belongs to one of the first King-rank duelists. Back then, the rules were loose— ranks were easy to obtain. He had no archetype, only luck."
"Luck carried him to King rank— and no further."
"So the true treasures here are Grass, and us."
"…Alright," You Ye said dryly.
King-rank prestige back then really was cheap.
After collecting the cards, You Ye left the tomb with the Ishizu spirits and returned to Hangzhou.
The moment he arrived, Wang Cheng rushed over and dropped to one knee.
"Senior— please help the Inspector Bureau! If you don't, Hangzhou is finished!"
"Get up and explain. If I can help, I will," You Ye said immediately.
"Three days ago, Kshatri-La Riseheart appeared in our bureau. He demanded to enslave humans.
We challenged him under rule mandates— all lost."
"We requested headquarters support. Two Heaven-rank duelists and even a King-path duelist were defeated."
"He says it's still not enough— he plans to take people to the Kshatri-La world as slaves!"
"Riseheart… capturing slaves?"
You Ye was surprised.
He'd just been thinking about when he'd meet Kshatri-La—
And now they'd come knocking.
"The rules really do deliver on time," he thought calmly.
Still, something didn't add up.
Heaven-rank losing made sense.
But a King-path duelist?
Kshatri-La had almost no resistance.
Lightning Storm, Dark Hole, Raigeki, Kaiju, Nibiru—
They should've won easily.
"So," You Ye asked, "is there something special about Riseheart, or restrictions in the duel?"
Wang Cheng's eyes lit up.
"As expected of you, Senior."
"Riseheart doesn't have special combos— but when dueling him, we cannot use board-breakers or hand traps. We must dismantle his field directly."
"And the bond level matches the challenger. 玄 rank fights at 玄 rank, Heaven rank fights Heaven rank."
"That explains it," You Ye nodded.
"No breakers, no hand traps— losing at King-path makes sense."
"Is it pure Kshatri-La?" he asked finally.
"Only archetype cards and generics. No other engines."
"Then there's no problem," You Ye smiled.
"I'll go acquire Kshatri-La— ah, sorry— rescue people."
Wang Cheng fell silent.
Lives were on the line…
And You Ye was thinking about getting an archetype.
Still— with You Ye involved, victory was assured.
After all, Tearlament and Kshatri-La were clearly connected archetypes.
Even if not 100%— 99% was guaranteed.
They rushed to the Hangzhou Duel Inspector Bureau.
Ten minutes later—
Riseheart lounged in a chair, red armor gleaming.
Beside him, Sheng Ning fanned him gently.
"Another one here to die?" Riseheart said lazily, opening his eyes.
At first glance—
Tearlament mermaids?
Annoying, but manageable.
Let Fenrir deal with them.
He was about to close his eyes again—
Wait.
Human world… Tearlament mermaids?
He snapped upright.
"Why is Tearlament here? Summoned as reinforcements?"
"I'm not dueling you," Merrli said, stepping behind You Ye.
"Our Tearlament duelist is."
"You gave your archetype to a human?" Riseheart sneered.
"I treated you as rivals— and this is how you fall? Serving a human?"
"Is this moral collapse— or the extinction of fish pride?"
"Kshatri-La is different! Except for that traitor Red Mermaid, we would never allow duelists to command us!"
Fenrir / Unicorn / Ogre:
He's right—but please stop talking.