Duels should be played with a smile.

Over 90% of the publicly available information has this composition, while the remaining 10% is even more disorganized. The only ones worth looking forward to are the powerful players whose deck information has not been made public.

Judging from this duel, this PlayMaker is likely one of those strong individuals—a significant departure from the PlayMaker that Leyou remembers.

What's most heartbreaking about PlayMaker is his loneliness. He was alone from beginning to end. Even though he went through many things, his beginning was lonely and his end was also lonely. He was like a person walking in a quiet alley, making no sound and attracting no attention.

He started from zero, and when the story ended, he was still zero.

Or perhaps, in this world, he is still fighting alone, but he has become even stronger, strong enough to overcome all obstacles even when he is all alone.

"This world can be quite cruel at times. When you gain a lot, you also lose a lot. As your opponent in this duel, I hope that at least during the duel, you can enjoy it, or rather, in this ordinary duel, you can stop hiding your true feelings and smile instead."

"You're only 18 years old, aren't you?"

Some of the seemingly nonsensical words that came out of PlayMaker's mouth reminded her of Leyou. As someone who also hated tragedy, she couldn't help but wonder if the story would become more interesting and bring more smiles if Leyou and PlayMaker met.

At the very least, if it wasn't a deliberately written tragedy, then the protagonist of the story should be able to embark on a new journey with a smile, right?

"When you have time in the future, you can talk to that child more often. It will always be with you and become your inseparable companion."

In a world without a banlist, that nascent fireproof dragon would be a great companion and a witness to PlayMaker's existence.

"But before that, the duel must continue."

"C8, Infinite Bubble, target your Network Dragons and negate their effects until the end of the turn."

The chain had progressed to C8, and only then did Philvo's first card appear on the field. After that, both PlayMaker and Philvo only had one card left in their hand.

Even though PlayMaker didn't quite understand what Philvo had said, he still chose to keep it in mind, as he always adhered to the principle of practicality.

Philvo's previous actions had left a deep impression on him, and Philvo's kindness also warmed PlayMaker's heart, who had always chosen to close himself off.

Of course... there's another reason that might be a little embarrassing to talk about.

He felt a sense of warmth he hadn't felt in a long time with Philvo—when he saw Philvo stroking his fireproof dragon, he felt as if he were being stroked by a warm hand himself.

To say it was the warmth of a mother might be an exaggeration, but it was at least the affection of a sister? He didn't know, because he had forgotten that feeling long ago.

Perhaps this is the maternal glow unique to women? PlayMaker asked himself.

Then...

"C9, chain activation of the Quick-Play Spell Card [Forbidden Lance]! Target Cyber ​​Dragon, reduce its ATK by 800 until the end of the turn, and it is unaffected by the effects of other Spell/Trap cards!"

Regardless of his thoughts outside of the duel, during the duel he is a ruthless card-playing man in a tight-fitting suit!

"A very good duel. Even I can feel some pleasure from it."

"Therefore, I will not back down in the slightest."

"C10, the effect of [PSY Skeleton Gear Delta] in your hand: When you control no monsters and your opponent activates a Spell Card, you can activate this effect to Special Summon this card and 1 [PSY Skeleton Driver] from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard. Negate that activation and destroy it!"

This is Philvo's last hand, while PlayMaker's last hand has just been played.

There is no way to counter this card anymore.

A series of chain reactions began to be dealt with, but the final result was that they were all invalid, leaving only Philvo's two monsters and PlayMaker's network dragon on the field.

Unable to continue with a new PlayMaker, he had to end his turn, and all the monsters summoned by Philwater were banished due to his own effect.

PlayMaker was very curious about what kind of deck Philvo had that, just like his own, carried so many means of interference and counter-interference. He was also curious about what kind of cards Philvo would need to draw to defeat him under such circumstances.

Both players had decks with a full 60 cards, plus countless extra cards. What would happen in the upcoming duel was completely unknown.

But that only applies to PlayMaker.

"I'll take the victory in this duel."

Philwell looked directly at PlayMaker, a hint of expectation in his eyes.

"Your duels are very unique. As someone who excels at this type of duel, you won't encounter much resistance during a duel."

"So when you have a little free time, you can slow down your pace and look at the scenery around you."

"You are still young. You don't need such a heavy burden on your shoulders, and you don't need to carry everything alone. You shouldn't be alone. You should have many friends who can laugh with you."

Using a single card to shoulder all tasks, and employing countless methods to arm oneself, the near-perfect defense resists all enemies but also rejects many potential friends.

Therefore, once the almost impenetrable defense is breached, only one is left all alone.

If there were other partners who could lend a hand at crucial moments, perhaps PlayMaker wouldn't be just a lone online dragon on the field.

"My turn, draw a card."

"Even if you can shoulder everything alone, that should only be after you've experienced both hardship and joy with your friends and partners."

"The same situation can sometimes represent completely different meanings."

"I usually summon the Cyber ​​Dragon."

The romance of duelists is probably about using a duel and a card to tell a story, a life story.

Chapter Thirty-Eight is out of print!

Duels can sometimes be very complex, requiring you to make flexible use of your hand and deck, as well as all the resources in your graveyard and banished cards, to mobilize all your cards and achieve the ultimate goal through a series of complicated operations, such as creating a winning first-move field or breaking through the opponent's blockade and emptying their LP.

Sometimes, duels can be incredibly simple, so simple that victory can be achieved with just a few simple steps.

This situation is most obvious when the two decks have a counter relationship.

For example, when Leyou was facing Faceless One, who had a total of five monsters on the field, he simply summoned an ordinary monster using normal summoning.

If there's anything special about this monster, it's that its effect treats it as a Cyber ​​Dragon both on the field and in the graveyard.

And coincidentally, all the monsters on the Faceless One's field are Machine-type.

Currently, duelists using either the Machine or Dragon races must be extremely careful that their opponents don't just summon an ordinary monster, leaving them with no chance of winning. This is only the current situation because, as the dueling genre evolves, other races might also produce monsters that could be considered traitors to their race.

The moment the Cyber ​​Dragon Core appeared, the Faceless One reflexively used its countermeasures. On one hand, it used the effect of the Magma Lion Tiger to destroy the Cyber ​​Dragon Core, and then immediately used the effect of the Silver Tyrannosaurus Rex to nullify the Cyber ​​Dragon Core's effects. With the chain of reverse processing, the Cyber ​​Dragon Core was defeated without causing much trouble.

However, for a tiny electronic dragon core to receive such solemn treatment, it can be said that its life has not been in vain.

It has successfully completed its mission.

"Activate the Spell Card 'Cyber ​​Emergency Call' from your hand, and search your Deck for 1 'Cyber ​​Dragon' monster or a Machine-Type LIGHT monster that cannot be Normal Summoned."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Leyou couldn't help but laugh.

The reason was simple: this seemed to be the first time he had used Cyber ​​Emergency Call to search for Cyber ​​Dragon. He didn't play Cyber ​​Dragon decks much, and for him, Cyber ​​Emergency Call was always just Dragon Radiance Emergency Call.

"Search for Cyber ​​Dragon, and since there are only monsters on your field, you can card summon this card from your hand."

This time, the Faceless Ones had no means to stop Leyou.

The duel was over the moment Cyber ​​Dragon made its dazzling entrance.

No matter how cool the mechs are, or how powerful the mechanical beasts are, as long as they are still mechanical, they cannot escape the punishment of the electronic dragons.

"The summoning conditions are 1 or more Cyber ​​Dragons and Machine-type monsters!"

"Send all monsters that meet the requirements from both sides to the Graveyard to perform a Fusion Summon! I send my Cyber ​​Dragon and all five Machine-Type monsters from your field to the Graveyard!"

A scene that would make countless Machine-type decks, including Cyber ​​Dragon itself, stop their hearts from beating appeared on the field: after six monsters were sent to the Graveyard, a brand new monster appeared.

"Fusion Summon! LV8! [Chimera Fortress Dragon]!"

Its body, constructed of countless mechanical structures, gleamed with a metallic sheen, and faint flames spewed from its mouth. Its sprawling body occupied a large area, making it a true fortress dragon.

Of course, because its body is somewhat like a series of tires joined together, it also has the nickname "Tire Dragon".

"The original ATK of Chimera Fortress Dragon becomes 1000 times the number of monsters used as Fusion Material for this card!"

[Dark 8★ Mechanical Attack Power 0→6000]

After his series of actions, Faceless One's LP was reduced to only 2000 points. This LP, which was neither high enough to prevent an instant kill nor low enough to be called "a candle flickering in the wind," was actually the most dangerous in the duel.

The Faceless Ones clearly do not understand this.

"Go to battle! And then seize victory!"

"Evolutionary Termination Cannon!"

[Faceless One's LP: 2000 → 0]

"If nothing unexpected happens, the next thing to happen is the card? Should I then say, 'It's a limited edition!'"

Endless flames erupted, victory was easily secured, and the Faceless One, just as Leyou had expected, became a blank card.

"To be honest, it feels quite out of place. The idea is good, but why include a card like Soul Charge when playing with Magneton? Is it simply because there's no banned card list, so they added this powerful card, or is it just because the deck is old-fashioned?"

In fact, the moment the Faceless One pulled out Soul Charge, Leyou had already noticed that Soul Charge, as a card that has become stronger with the progress of the times, was not a banned card in the early days. At that time, many decks would actually include it.

Furthermore, the decision to create four powerful black monsters with decent interference capabilities but not the powerful Magnetron is indeed somewhat puzzling.

Playing with a Magneton without actually becoming a Magneton is like just hovering at the door but refusing to go in.

Then it's better not to play at all!

So, filled with questions, Leyou opened his Duel Chronicles after a long time and began searching through them.

As the duel on Leyou's side came to an end, Yuki-onna and Ella seemed to be on the same wavelength, each launching a final attack on their respective opponents.

"No. 100 Source Dragon! Roar of Creation!"

The pure gold dragon roared, its equally dazzling golden light engulfing the enemy's body without leaving a trace.

[Faceless One's LP: 9000 → 0]

"I activate the face-down Trap Card [Beast's Lure], banishing 15 cards from my Extra Deck face-down, and banishing 15 cards from your Extra Deck until the end of the turn!"

"Activate two more face-down Trap Cards [DD Dynamite]! Inflict damage equal to LP equal to 300 times the number of cards you banished!"

A monster, probably a relative of the Card-Eating Beast, sprang out from the Trap Cards, swallowed 15 cards from the Snow Woman's Extra Deck in one gulp, then turned around and devoured all of the Faceless One's cards as well, sending them into another dimension through its bottomless stomach.

Immediately afterwards, two explosives from another dimension turned all the cards into fuel.

Ignite, detonate.

Then it ends.

[Faceless One's LP: 8000 → 0]

Both Yuki-onna and Ella followed Leyou's instructions, so the decks they pulled out were all the kind that could end the battle quickly—DD Dynamite and Shining Destruction, never requiring a third turn.

After all three had defeated their respective opponents, Ed and John's duels were also over—they had both fallen unconscious, and were barely kept alive thanks to the timely treatment provided by Jasmine after the duels ended.

The Faceless Ones who were supposed to be their counterparts had already left.