Duels should be played with a smile.

A delicate fragrance filled the room, invigorating everyone and making them feel as if they were in paradise.

A rustling sound rang out all around, and vibrant green plants quietly covered the area in front of Ella, as if welcoming someone's arrival.

"The stage is ready, it's time for the grand entrance!"

"Come forth, creations of nature, containing both boundless beauty and boundless danger!"

"Normal Summon! [Lanka's Trap Crypt]!"

[Earth · 4★ · Insect · Attack Power 1500]

The ground trembled slightly, and the grass, which had spread out like a carpet, suddenly seemed to move and scatter in all directions as if it were aware of its own existence. In front of Ella, two butterflies fluttered and landed on the alluring flower buds that had emerged from the ground.

Then—the flower bud opened its huge mouth and swallowed the butterfly whole.

A moment later, a lazy moan was heard, and a petite girl, dressed in a small dress woven from flowers and leaves, awoke from the flower bud.

There was still a hint of weariness between his brows.

"Ranka's effect can only be activated when the monster is successfully summoned: Search your Deck for 1 [Trapika] monster!"

Under Lanka's control, another flower bud sprouted from the ground, and within that bud was nurturing another of her companions.

“Searching is a very dangerous thing to do,” Marvin said calmly. “Coincidentally, I know a little about your deck. The search with Trap Hollow isn’t too dangerous, but I can’t just stand by and do nothing.”

"Little Kangaroo's effect can only be activated if your opponent successfully summons a monster. Return this card to your hand...then, Special Summon up to two different 'Fairy Tale Animal' monsters from your Deck, excluding the same card."

Priority was transferred back to Ella, who did not intend to continue the chain, so the little kangaroo returned to Marvin's hands.

"I am specifically recruiting 【Fairy Tale Animal - Baby Seal】 and 【Fairy Tale Animal - Puppy】."

[Water · 2★ · Beast · Adjustment · Defense 100]

[Earth · 2★ · Beast · Defense 100]

The kangaroo returns to its hand and Special Summons two more monsters, bringing Marvin's total to six monsters, up from five already on the field.

And they're all 2.

"Then it's my turn. Based on Lanka's effect, I'll search for [Gina's Trap].

"After your effects have finished dissipating, I still have other effects to activate!"

Under Ella's questioning gaze, Marvin gave instructions to the fairytale animal family.

"If any face-up [Fairy Tale Animal] monster you control other than this card returns to your hand, target Ranca on your field. As long as Ranca is on the field, it cannot attack and its effects are negated!"

Marvin wasn't really keen on using it right now, but the downside of this effect was its trigger condition, and if he didn't use it now, he might not have the chance to use it later.

Under Marvin's command, the harmless animals unleashed their most powerful techniques!

A cute, adorable gaze!

The effect is excellent!

Sri Lanka! It can't rise again!

In short, Lanka was seduced by the furry little animals—although Lanka is a girl and ordinary charms don't affect her, the furryness of the animals is gender-neutral!

"...Whatever makes you happy. As for Lanka's second effect, I really don't plan to use it right now."

"Reveal yourself! The circuit of enchantment!"

"The summoning condition is 1 [Trapika] monster other than a Link Monster! I'll set Lanka as an arrow!"

"Capture your prey in deep caves, and bewitch all things with your petite figure!"

"Link Summon! Link 1! Be born! [Sera's Trap Demon]!"

Just like when Lanka arrived, Sera, who looked even younger than Lanka, also crawled out from the plant bud that had nurtured her.

Petite and endearing.

Of course, it's also best to put away any bad thoughts.

"At that moment, the effect of my puppy on the field activated. This card returns to my hand, and I Special Summon 1 Level 2 or lower Beast monster from my Deck, except for the same card with the same name!"

The animals in fairy tales don't have much fighting ability, so they are extremely good at running away. Of course, they can't just run away all the time. After running away, they must call for help in order to win against others.

Ella sneered and flipped over the trap card she had planted in the first turn: "Don't pretend I don't exist! C2! Activate the face-down trap card!"

"【Insulated Pitfall】! Can only be activated when a Link Monster is successfully Link Summoned. Destroy all monsters on the field that are not in a Link state."

The Trap Hole deck doesn't react to Trap Hole at all; this seemingly mutually destructive card is actually a one-sided suppression.

However, Marvin was not surprised: "Heh, I was prepared for you too. As long as you're in the back row, you're nothing to fear! C3! The effect of Carrot Fairy, release my Animal Family on the field, negate and destroy your trap cards!"

Ella no longer had any cards to chain with, the effect of Trap Hole was negated, the puppy escaped, and a new monster arrived on the field.

"I specially recruited the [Forest Sacred Beast Moon Rabbit Earmon]!"

[Earth · 2★ · Beast · Defense 1400]

To reiterate, it's a moon rabbit with ears, not a moon-eared rabbit!

"Ugh, this is a bit annoying." Ella glanced at the cute little bunny and sighed.

In this chaotic world, very few people who look harmless are truly harmless.

"This is my turn! Don't even think about making any sudden moves!"

"I activate Sera's effect!"

Chapter Twenty-Two: I'm...gradually understanding all of this!

"Activate Sera's effect! This effect can only be activated when a Normal Trap Card is activated. Special Summon 1 [Trap Monster] monster with the same name that is not on your field!"

"The bewitching insect demon's call to its companions!"

The fragrance of flowers filled the air once more, and beneath the petite Serra, even more plant vines stretched out.

Taking the lead, Marvin didn't sit idle either: "Moon Rabbit Ears' effect: If this card is Special Summoned by the effect of a Beast-Type monster, you can target 1 card on the field; destroy that card!"

"I'm targeting your Serra on the field!"

"We can't let that dangerous monster stay on the field for too long!"

That's how rabbits are; they seem harmless, but they might just bury their opponents at any moment.

Of course, the tiny, fragrant, and adorable imps are equally impressive.

"Let them destroy it, it's all within my expectations... In that guy's words, the formula for victory has been established!"

Unaffected by Sera's disruption, Ella continued to handle the effects methodically, though a beautiful smile curved her lips when she thought of Leyou.

She preferred being awakened and living with Leyou to a peaceful, uneventful sleep.

The journey that began due to an accident is, so far, quite good.

If nothing unexpected happens, she will probably revert to her original form at the end of this journey, a form she no longer likes. However... considering his unreliable personality now, she feels that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, there will most likely be some unexpected events that she would like to see.

"Based on Sera's effect, I Special Summon [Tio's Trap] from my deck."

Ella was in a good mood, and her tone was more lively than before when she was giving her commentary.

In contrast, Marvin was somewhat puzzled. He didn't understand why Ella, who was clearly at a significant disadvantage and had lost a key monster, suddenly started laughing.

"You wouldn't understand... I think I suddenly realized just how pathetic you are, beings who seem to have been manufactured just to fulfill a certain mission."

A few more words of pity appeared in Ella's gaze as she looked at Marvin.

Just now, her intuition told her that this guy who kept saying he wanted to bring her peace must be someone important.

It was like a sudden flash of inspiration.

It felt as if a shackle on my heart had been broken.

She herself seemed to have the potential to become like that... Fortunately, an accident happened.

She had a vague feeling... she felt like she was starting to like "surprises." The original her seemed to prefer well-organized plans and things that were expected.

However... accidents often represent possibilities that shouldn't exist in the first place.

"It seems...quite interesting. Isn't a duel itself something full of unexpected events?" Ella's gaze had lost focus as she muttered to herself, completely ignoring Marvin's presence.

“I think I understand why he came into this world... It’s a world full of both ‘planned’ and ‘unexpected’ things.”

Competition and entertainment.

Competitive decks aim to stay within the planned scope, even if it means lowering the ceiling, to ensure a minimum standard.

Entertainment, on the contrary, can be described as a prime example of winning once and feeling great for a whole year.

In the pursuit of victory, it is almost inevitable to fall into stagnation, and the only way to break this stagnation is through external interference.

In other words, without external interference, once things begin to solidify, there are no other possibilities left.

But... just like that famous saying goes.

True happiness begins when people stop making victory their ultimate goal.

Countless possibilities will arise from different purposes, and because people's thoughts are always changing, their goals will naturally change at will. Even without external interference, the future of the duel will not be stagnant under all sorts of ingenious ideas.

Perhaps just a flash of inspiration could bring about a new lease on life.

As her thoughts raced, Ella's level had transcended the duel and reached a higher dimension.

"I'm...gradually coming to understand all of this..."

At this moment, she was even somewhat grateful to her opponent named Marvin.

If the power of the source code hadn't become incomplete, perhaps she wouldn't have discovered this combination in her deck, and wouldn't have realized that she could actually win using decks other than the mainstream and banned cards.

While using overpowered and banned cards is undeniably fun, simple, and straightforward...

Bringing her thoughts back to the duel, Ella's expression had become calm.

Rest in peace, despair, and hope—these have all lost their meaning for her now.

She just wanted to go back to Leyou's side and see what other surprises he could come up with that she would love to see in the days to come—and then share the joy with him.

"Tio's effect: When this card is Special Summoned, target [Trap Hole] in my Graveyard. Set it on my field. The Set card is banished during the End Phase of your next turn."

Despite her very exciting name, Theo is actually quite quiet by nature; she just wants to quietly cover her backcourt with five cards that land in the hole.

But the opponent was clearly unwilling to just watch.