Duels should be played with a smile.

As the petals fall, the Flower Baroness, who had previously returned to the Extra Deck, reappears. After her re-entry, her powerful one-time three-color counter is refreshed and can be used again.

“You’re playing all your cards right now. A Baroness with flowers is more than enough to crush you.”

"You have no hope left... Round over, prepare for your final round."

The moment K declared the round over, Baroness Flower once again began to play her violin.

However, this time it was not a nocturne.

It's more like a lament.

The Snow Woman's expression was somewhat solemn; the pendulum deck's high requirement for proper setup was now glaringly obvious.

She took a deep breath and, just as she had at the start of her previous turn, slowly placed her hand on top of the deck.

"Your arrogance disgusts me, and although you have the right to be arrogant... have you forgotten that in this world that you are about to abandon, there has been an unchanging 'law' since its inception?"

"That is... in a duel, as long as it doesn't end at the very last moment, there are infinite possibilities!"

It felt like a cold wind had blown by.

The air around the Snow Woman began to slowly condense, turning into snowflakes that swirled, danced, and drifted around her.

It was as if he was protecting her, and also as if he was dancing with her.

The pure white snowflakes drifted in the wind. The Snow Woman seemed to sense something, and she raised her hand from the deck again, waving her sleeve and stirring up specks of ice crystals.

This duel is a duel of darkness, and as an elf, the Snow Woman wishes to give it a try...

The deck isn't her own, but Yuki-onna wants to try and see if she can awaken a glimmer of miracle under these circumstances.

As snowflakes and ice crystals scattered, a flash of emerald light suddenly appeared on the Snow Woman's Duel Disk. Then, as if a battle had taken place, the faint black aura, as if defeated, was dispelled from the deck.

After the black aura in the deck disappeared without a trace, the cobbled-together deck seemed to have become a little thicker.

The obvious anomaly was noticed by everyone present. Long Ke, Carly, and the others were surprised when they noticed it, but the Duel Disk did not sound an alarm, and the duel did not end, so they pretended that nothing had happened.

K also witnessed this scene, but there was no surprise in his eyes.

There were only some doubts.

But now, the Snow Woman felt only surprise and joy.

"This guy...was it intentional or unintentional? Anyway, at least this time, he did something decent..."

Looking up at the opposite side again, the Snow Woman saw K with a somewhat gloomy expression. She smiled slightly and placed her slender hand on the top of the deck.

"Your underhanded tactics seem to have failed... and it seems that you, who used underhanded tactics, cannot prevent me from taking the appropriate countermeasures."

"So now..."

"My turn!"

At that moment, the Snow Woman looked up, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.

The next second, a streak of icy blue light danced in her hand.

"A true duelist... I won't waste any more words, you bastard, your people got bullied by bad guys, isn't it time your deck showed some skill?!"

"Draw a card!"

Yadaze!

The snow maiden's face lit up with joy, her eyes sparkling. The card in her hand... had arrived just in time!

"Main Phase 1..."

"Don't think that's all I'm capable of!" K interrupted the Snow Woman's high spirits with a loud laugh.

"During your preparation phase, I activate the [Enhanced G] from my hand!"

A swarm of cockroaches darted across the ground. K adjusted his glasses and smiled slightly, saying, "Insurance is a means to prepare for a crisis before it happens and to deal with future crises. Now, I have double insurance."

"Tch..." The Snow Woman scoffed disdainfully, "Double insurance... You're the one who knows how to make money the most."

"But no matter how much money you have, you have to be alive to spend it!"

The card, which possessed restrained yet immense power, was held in the Snow Woman's hand, and a simple yet effective plan slowly took shape in her mind.

"Now, let me use this card to incite rebellion against you, against what you represent, and against the heinous acts you intend to commit!"

A dragon's roar shook the heavens and the earth.

K felt as if countless duelists and cards were appearing before him, questioning him.

"What...what kind of power is this?!"

"Heh~" Snow Woman chuckled softly, feeling incredibly happy.

"This is... the power of resistance!"

"The effect of [Super Celestial New Dragon Odd-Eyes Revolution Dragon] in my hand!"

"Discard this card from your hand and pay 500 Life Points to activate this effect. Add 1 Level 8 or lower Dragon Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand!"

"This is unprecedented! It awakens the source of all resistance!"

A magnificent figure appeared in the arena. The first thing that caught everyone's eye was the three rings on its back that resembled wings and were inlaid with green, purple and red gemstones. The dragon with heterochromatic eyes revealed its true form amidst a cluster of countless stars.

That is the revolutionary dragon that can awaken all rebellious spirits and forge a brand new future.

"Don't even think about it!" K shouted in a hint of fear, "Chain activation of the Flower Baroness's effect is nullified and destroyed!"

It wasn't just because this search result might trigger a series of chain reactions, but also because K felt fear the moment he was stared at by the Revolutionary Dragon.

This was an experience He had never had since His birth in this world.

"They're just some goods! How dare they try to resist!"

"Your rebellion, which is destined to be stirred up by discarded things, will only be suppressed!"

"The lower classes are destined to be ruled by nobles! Baroness of Flowers! Suppress this mob!!"

Chapter Nine: Chaos—Snow! Moon! Flowers! 5K

"I activate the Action Spell Card [Evasion]! Negate your attack! Hahaha! Yuzu! My last 50 LP won't be so easy to get... Eh?!"

"What happened? I lost?!"

The bright red letters "LOST" on the Duel Disk signify Yuya's defeat; the Action Spell Card he had just activated appears to have failed to take effect.

Yuzu, on the other side, was also somewhat surprised by the sudden end of the duel. After seeing Yuya land safely from the high platform with his agile movements, she put away her duel disk, ran over a few steps, and asked Yuya with concern, "Are you alright? Did your action card malfunction?"

"It seems so..." Yuya scratched his head in confusion. He had planned to use the action card he had just seen to make a comeback, but it didn't work out.

"Oh? I was just about to come looking for you, and it just so happens that you're in the same situation?"

Wearing a deep purple trench coat and sporting a very unruly dark green hairstyle, Kurosaki Hayabusa appeared at the entrance of the dueling arena at some point. Leaning against the door frame, he calmly nodded to Yuya and Yuzu, as if to say hello.

Yuya got up from the ground, and Yuzu helped him brush off the dust. Noticing the key words in Kurosaki Hayato's words, Yuya perked up as well.

"Also? You mean?"

“That’s right.” Kurosaki Hayato nodded and took a newspaper from his pocket, tossing it to Yuya.

"In the last day or two, many action duel arenas have experienced malfunctions, whether due to accidents or other reasons. The action cards inside are malfunctioning from time to time. The specific cause is still under investigation, but there are very few clues and no leads."

"Such a thing actually happened?" Yuya asked in surprise. "Then why did you come to me? Did you tell Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri?"

“I’ve already notified you. You’re the last one here… By the way, there’s another thing we might need to be aware of recently. A number of duelists have discovered that their cards have disappeared. I think the security in Arc Domain might need to be strengthened a bit… Ever since Zack disappeared, all sorts of monsters and demons have come out. You guys should all be a little more careful.”

"Hmm... I understand. I'll investigate the action card matter when I get back. As for the security issue... Didn't that guy named Ushio do a pretty good job recently? How about we let him take charge again this time? I heard him bragging about how he has several brothers who are working as sheriffs, and one of them even got promoted recently. I think he has the potential for promotion too."

“...Okay, you decide. There’s one more thing.” Kurosaki Hayato turned to look at the sleeve beside him, and after confirming that the bracelet on his wrist was not the same as his sister’s, he said, “Ruri is planning to go to the Hyperion Dimension in a while to see when the custom-made Arceus she had commissioned will be finished. She asked if you are interested in going with her.”

"Then he said, if you guys don't have anything to do lately, why don't you go on a trip to another dimension together? Once you've thought it over, you can contact each other. I'm just passing on the message."

……

Yellow sand filled the sky.

The blazing sun hung high in the sky, relentlessly unleashing its heat without any intention of abating.

Faced with the intense sunlight, people on the ground had no other choice but to endure the scorching heat.

In front of a massive pyramid, the Sphinx stands silently, guarding the peace of the tomb. But at this very moment, two duelists are engaged in a duel before it.

"The guaranteed effect of [Tsukuyomi] on the field, when flipped, targets 1 face-up monster on the field, and changes that monster face-down. Mediocre, do you feel it?"

The pure white trench coat looks like it's cast from steel. Although it's made of fabric, it completely defies the laws of physics when worn. The hem of the trench coat not only doesn't move in the wind, but it also sticks up high even when there's no wind.

Seto Kaiba stood expressionless amidst the yellow sand, controlling a monster that could never possibly be in his deck, as he dueled with his opponent.

"You have no other monsters on your field, and I only have one [God of War] on my field. Furthermore, because my God of War is affected by the effect of [Forbidden Cloth], it cannot be targeted by any effect. Therefore, your Tsukuyomi can only target itself to activate its effect. What are you referring to?"

A 20-sided die is tossed up and down in your hand. Each time it lands back in your hand, the face up is either 20 or 1.

Jonouchi glanced at the guy across from him who still called him a mediocre person, and continued playing his dice.

"Just now, I sensed that something happened in the outside world that affected this place, but I don't know exactly what it was. I'm dealing with the effect of Tsukuyomi's fate by turning myself into the reverse side."

Kaiba skillfully covered his Tsukuyomi character on the field, and then flipped it back over before releasing his grip.

"You have a feeling? But you don't know it? Kaiba, are you just imagining things because of all this time? And according to the game, no matter what happens here, the outside world can't interfere, right? The God of War's continuous effect changes all monsters on the field to face-up Attack Position as long as they are face-up."

The effect of the God of War will not trigger the effect of the Flip Effect Monster. However, Tsukuyomi is not a Flip Monster, but it has a Flip Effect that will not be canceled by the God of War's effect.

K language is just that amazing.

"Hmph! Mediocrity is mediocre. My intuition is absolutely correct! Tsukuyomi's fate has been reversed. The effect has been activated, covering myself up."

"Your intuition is indeed very accurate, and you're not a liar. In the past, I would definitely have believed you, but now... how long have we been dueling here? War God effect, flip Tsukuyomi over."

"No matter how much time has passed, my feeling is right! The effect of Tsukuyomi is to cover myself up."

"But, if we calculate based on 10 seconds per cycle, we've cycled at least... no, how many times again? I've forgotten myself... In this godforsaken place, the sun has been hanging in the sky the whole time, so we have no idea how much time has passed. War God, turn it over."

"I can't feel the passage of time, nor can I feel any changes in my physical condition. The duel is an endless cycle. At times like this, time itself becomes meaningless. Tsukuyomi, overturn it."

"Sigh, I wonder how much time we can buy for the game by going on this endless loop... I hope our duel is meaningful. War God, flip."

"I never do anything meaningless. Tsukuyomi, Gai."

"So I really hope that what you felt just now was an attempt to win. (Flip over.)"

"My intuition is right. This endless duel is already counting down to its end. Guy."