Duels should be played with a smile.

"Come, accept the trial I have bestowed upon you in the way this world does!"

"Duel!"

Chapter Nineteen: Mental Illness.JPG

"Your rest is here, and there is nowhere else."

As if reciting a poem, Marvin's deep voice sang the prayer, and two opposing yet inexplicably harmonious auras swirled around him, merged, and gradually dissipated.

"Heh... Interesting." Ella snorted disdainfully, as the power from the source code flowed from her body.

However, just as the source code was about to transform into a deck, the power around Marvin suddenly began to fluctuate. Visible ripples spread out from Marvin, enveloping Ella and the source code in front of her.

"On the day of rest, do not act rashly... Only by resting here, by sleeping here, can you find your way home."

Marvin's words, delivered with intonation and rhythm, were as enigmatic and difficult to understand as a riddle. However, when the source code was suppressed by Marvin's power, Ella felt a sense of familiarity.

Just as Ella was pondering the identity of the newcomer and how to unleash the suppressed source code, Marvin, who had been as calm as a devout monk, suddenly changed his demeanor.

The indifference turned into repression.

An immense, invisible pressure surged toward Ella from all directions, not to crush her body, but to trap her here... or rather, to let her rest here.

Marvin's power suddenly spread out, but to Marvin's surprise, his power swept over Ella, but nothing happened.

"An unexpected situation... but it's not a big deal. This world has its own laws, and it's enough to just use these laws to conduct the trial."

Marvin's two powers began to change, one of them devouring the other, growing stronger, and then spreading out again.

"If you are unwilling to fall into slumber... then allow me to bring you trials. My mission has been distorted, but the essence of the trials has never changed."

Without warning, the two bull horns on the strange mask fell off and were then reassembled in front of Marvin. With a series of "crackling" sounds, the new object formed by the two bull horns was tied to Marvin's arm.

"Entering a bumpy road, wandering in a realm of emptiness, in a world of rest, there is nothing..."

brush brush --

Marvin quickly shuffled the deck in the Duel Disk, and with a "click," he raised the Duel Disk on his arm and stared directly at Ella.

"So be it, accept the trial... choose eternal slumber, or..."

Marvin didn't finish his sentence, but the energy around him began to surge. As he uttered the word "trial," Ella sensed an unknown will casting its gaze upon them.

Pure will, devoid of any emotional bias, is like an absolutely neutral and impartial judge.

"What exactly is their background...? This feeling is like having to engage in an inescapable duel under the watchful eyes of the world's will."

A duel is inevitable, but it doesn't seem to be a fair duel—on second thought, it's not incomprehensible; the word "trial" itself represents overcoming numerous obstacles.

Marvin's unknown power has suppressed the immensely powerful source code. Putting aside everything else, at the very least, all of Ella's forbidden cards have been temporarily forced to "rest in peace."

That's not all. Ella recalled Leyou's advice to her before, and the situation that the Snow Maiden encountered seemed very similar to her own current situation.

However... being watched by the world's will is not something that can be done under normal circumstances... Generally speaking, those who are watched are either locked in a dark room or queuing up at the door of a dark room.

It's hard for Ella not to wonder if the accident that happened at the "former" Crystal Machine Clan's base is related to her current situation—was she implicated by the Fiberglass heir she'd never met? Or is it simply because of the unique nature of this opponent?

With the power of the source code largely suppressed, Ella's biggest problem now is what to do with her deck for this duel.

Immersing my mind in the source code, I found that most of the cards containing spirits were affected by the two strange forces and could not respond to Ella's call. Only some cards without spirits could still be used.

Information about the cards that were still usable gathered in Ella's mind. She tried, simulated, and then abandoned countless possible deck-building methods in her mind.

Ultimately, Ella chose two card sets that weren't too badly damaged. She added some cards that could synergize with them, piecing them together to create a deck of 74 cards.

"One more is needed..."

Just as Ella was struggling with that last crucial card, a jade-colored crystal suddenly appeared on her chest—exactly the same as Leyou's crystal.

The crystal emitted a stream of light and flew into the body of an elf who had been forced into a deep sleep.

The next second, a magnificent figure was awakened.

A tattered cloak fluttered behind him, his longsword and shield tapped gently, and a silent vow echoed in Ella's mind.

"We've arrived just in time..."

When she opened her eyes again, a deck of cards had appeared in Ella's hand. With her other hand, she grabbed the Source Code and pressed it against her arm, and the Source Code transformed into her Duel Disk.

"No matter who you are... if you try to stop me or hinder him, I have a reason to eliminate you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ella's demeanor changed; her previously ethereal aura turned cold and sinister.

In ordinary times, people tend to favor hope, but when dealing with enemies, all that's needed is to bring them despair.

When the power of hope faded from Ella, her true nature was revealed, and she was indeed slightly taken aback, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Marvin.

Just then, Marvin seemed to sense something and looked over.

After taking another look at Marvin and carefully sensing the power surrounding him, a look of understanding flashed in Ella's eyes.

Having spent the past few days with Long Ke, Carly, and Qiu, Ella sensed that most of the power was closer to hope, while one of the two powers emanating from the person before her was despair, which she was extremely familiar with.

"This is...interesting."

While remaining vigilant about her opponents, Ella also

"So that's how it is... I rejected your peace, so you tried to make me feel despair with endless emptiness, and then willingly throw myself into a peaceful sleep where I don't need to pursue anything?"

"What a pity... you chose the wrong target for today!"

The dueling arena appeared between the two, and the dice of fate spun before them.

"I am the embodiment of despair!"

"Your duel, your so-called trial, I accept!"

"Duel!"

"Duel".

The duel, or rather, the trial, began the moment the two declared their intention to duel.

At the same time, the dice of fate will reveal the lucky one in this duel.

[Ella: 6 o'clock]

Marvin: 1 point

"Hmph, my luck has always been pretty good! I'll take the first strike!"

It seems she has switched to the God of Despair form, and the God of Despair's mindset has not been used for too long, accumulating a large amount of negative emotions, making Ella now resemble a complete villain.

However... considering Ella's stunning looks, tall figure, and queen-like aura, even if she were a villain, she would probably be a "cute and charming" queen older sister who is extremely popular and can overshadow the good guys.

The dice had already revealed the result, and Ella had chosen to go first, but the duel had not yet begun.

Under Ella's astonished gaze, an object resembling a millennium scale appeared between the two.

No, it doesn't seem like it. Ella also possessed a portion of the Millennium Items, and she could sense that it was the real Millennium Item, the genuine Millennium Scales.

"No... Logically speaking, all the Millennium Artifacts should be in the game's hands. Given the current situation... Write this down, and when we get back, let him use his imagination to guess what's going on."

While Ella was still thinking, a message suddenly popped into her mind—in this "absolutely" dark game, both sides needed to agree on what they would get from their opponent before it even began.

That's right, in a true dark duel, what needs to be determined beforehand is what to take, not what to give.

As long as the value is equal, the price the loser has to pay is not up to him.

"Tsk...This is getting more and more interesting."

Marvin immediately wrote down what he wanted, and after a moment's thought, Ella also conveyed her thoughts to the World Will watching the duel.

The next second, a voice resounded in Ella's heart from the depths of her soul.

The ritual of dueling is hereby established.

A knowing glint flashed in Ella's eyes. The condition she had just proposed was that the other party provide clues about the whereabouts of the inherited fiberglass.

The fact that this condition was approved indirectly proves that the other party was indeed aware of this.

'This guy was most likely sent by the enemy Le You mentioned, but judging from his erratic behavior, his relationship with that enemy might be somewhat special.'

Having made a mental note of this, after the Millennium Scales quietly disappeared, the duel filled with a strange aura officially began.

"I'm about to show you just how foolish it is to try to use despair against me!"

"My turn, draw a card!"

With only one elf in her deck, and it sleeping in the Extra Deck, Ella had no expectations for the bond between herself and her deck.

But when she drew all five cards, she couldn't help but twitch her lips slightly.

This opening move... it can't be called perfect, it's just incredibly clunky.

Ella exaggerated her expression slightly, raised her head, and looked at Marvin, trying to glean some useful information from his face, only to find that her opponent seemed indifferent to her performance—the mask was truly useful in this situation.

Moreover, after Marvin announced the trial, he remained silent, which seemed to perfectly match the word "rest in peace" that he kept repeating.

Marvin is now as quiet as if he's asleep.

"Tch...no fun, my hand is stuck."

Ella covered all four cards with her hand and pouted.

"Backcourt block 4, it's your turn."

It's really just a bad hand, definitely not some kind of weird deck.

Really.

The backcourt block, a move that would make countless card players' eyelids twitch, didn't elicit any extreme reaction from Maven.

After Ella announced the end of the turn, he slowly drew a card, as if he had just woken up.

"Doing nothing in the first round, a very standard opening... No, wait, I think I'm getting a little confused."

While muttering words that Ella didn't quite understand, Marvin shook his head for a while before finally looking at his hand.

“Different worlds do indeed have different rules... but this deck that the Creator gave me doesn’t seem to require too much attention to the rules.”

After muttering to himself for a while, Marvin used the first card he had played since waking up in this world.

"Summon [Iron Beast Front Nabel]".

After waiting for two seconds and seeing that Ella didn't react, Marvin continued with his actions.