Duels should be played with a smile.

Ella held both weapons in her hands, and then...

Click—

The Duel Disk transforms, splits in the middle, and the weapon shrinks and flies into it.

Click—

The Duel Disk closed as if nothing had happened, but the Overlay Network reappeared in the sky.

"RankUpXYZChange!"

"I will use myself as material to undergo an over-level transformation!"

"This is my true self!"

"A future that belongs only to the soul!"

"【Future No.0 Future Dragon Emperor Hope】!"

[Light - Nothingness (1☆ according to the rules) - Warrior - Attack Power 3000]

Her figure hadn't changed much; she was still as tall and slender as ever. Her clothing hadn't changed much either; she was still wearing a simple long dress without any embellishments. What was different was her otherworldly aura, as if she didn't even exist in this world.

But the next second, as Ella integrated the future Dragon Emperor's card into her body, a suit of armor adorned with emerald crystals, seemingly from the future, appeared on her white dress.

Calling her a mecha girl might be a bit inappropriate, but calling her a Kamen Rider doesn't quite fit the mold... so let's just call her a Knight of the Round Table for now.

However, the weapon in his hand was still the Duel Disk... although that Duel Disk seemed to be able to transform into a jade greatsword.

At this moment, Marvin was completely dumbfounded.

There was only one thought in his mind.

This world is terrifying. Playing cards is one thing, but how can duelists personally engage in combat?

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Minotaur is part of Yu-Gi-Oh!, if you don't like it, don't play.

"Advance! to! Battle! Rank!"

Nothing is more satisfying than personally stepping into a duel and beating someone up.

If there is such a thing, it would be walking up to someone with a big sword and slashing them in the face.

When Ella brandished her greatsword and announced the start of the battle, Marvin even felt his heart skip a beat.

If it weren't for the monsters on his field reminding him that this was just a duel, he might have doubted whether he should go back to his own place and abide by his own rules of rest.

The outside world is far too dangerous.

"It's just a duel...no problem."

"Really?"

At this moment, Ella was wearing futuristic armor, and the greatsword in her hand was glowing, which added to her heroic and dashing aura.

She pointed her longsword at Marvin, but after seeing Marvin instinctively take a step back, she shook her head and chuckled, then changed her target to someone else.

After all... although I really want to just kill someone, this is Yu-Gi-Oh!

"I can see that you're a bit rusty in some areas... so even though you created such a complicated setup, I still managed to break through it."

"But now I need to remind you of something else... I can't directly slap you in the face while your monster is still around."

Having come this far, Ella, though somewhat curious about the identity of the person opposite her, could tell he was most likely an outsider...

It's just that it's not this "outside world," it's which "outside world."

"You almost seriously injured me just now... Now, it's time to pay for it!"

The greatsword in his hand transformed, and the blade shone with emerald light. The Ella sword stepped forward and charged towards the Carrot Sprite.

Compared to other monsters, we still can't keep Satellite Shining on the field.

The power from the future Dragon Emperor form and the dual power originating from the God of Despair himself converged on the sword under Ella's control.

In that instant, a blade of light tens of meters long burst forth from the sword.

He slashed down with his sword.

"The future - eternal calamity!"

A sword light seemed to cleave the heavens and earth.

After easily defeating the Carrot Sprite, the Greatsword's energy did not diminish in the slightest, and it charged fiercely towards Marvin behind it.

"Monsters can become your shield, but once the shield is broken, the master isn't safe either~"

[Marvin LP: 7000 → 5000]

Ignoring Marvin's disheveled appearance, Ella turned around, leaving behind her back, and returned to her duelist's position.

In the place where the future Dragon Emperor should have been, armor and a greatsword served as her placeholders.

"End battle, proceed to Main Phase 2... Cover a backline card, end turn."

The back row has a top-tier super factorial, but the power of some cards lies in the fact that even if you know what their effect is, you still have to grit your teeth and go for it—or get crushed.

"Tsk... Duels are really interesting. They even make me want to break the precepts of Rest and study them properly," Marvin said intermittently, clutching his chest.

"I think I've discovered a new way to play this duel game... As long as you defeat the duelist, you'll naturally win the duel... In this case, the pre-set requirements can be easily met... Cough cough cough, what an interesting game."

Marvin underestimated the power of the Dark Duel. Even though he reacted later and set up the Domain of Rest to protect himself from a lot of damage, the aftershock of that slash still injured him quite badly.

"To be honest, I really want to have a proper duel with you, but just now... you made me bleed."

"My turn! Draw a card!"

With a somewhat desperate shout, Marvin swung his hand in a wide arc, drawing his card for this turn from his deck.

"I want..."

"Don't be impatient!" Ella suddenly said.

"After your gacha pull phase, there's a preparation phase too!"

"During the preparation phase, I activate the face-down trap card, [Severing Machine Super Factorial]!"

The data stream reappeared, drawing an equilateral triangle in the air. At the triangular point of the triangle, three different slashing monsters raised their weapons.

Gabe Newell (GabeN) clicked the downvote.

"With the effect of Super Factorial, I Special Summon [Slicing Machine], [Slicing Machine], and [Slicing Machine] from Graveyard Effect Invalidation!"

"And use them as materials for Xyz Summoning!"

The overload network is emerging again, and an even more turbulent data storm is brewing.

"Warrior who masters the mysteries of numbers! With the power of infinite transformation, reveal all the secrets of the world before your eyes!"

"Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Unleash the mysteries of the world!"

"【Laplace of the Block-Cutting Operator】!"

[Earth · 4☆ · Electronic Realm · Attack Power 2000]

A more powerful machine-slaying warrior than Dallumbell descended onto the field. At this time, it was still the preparation phase. Marvin, who had not yet entered the main phase, had no way to prepare in advance and had to deal with the storm that was stirred up by Labras.

"Laplace's effect: If this card is Xyz Summoned, I detach 2 Xyz Materials and activate 2 of its effects!"

"Send 1 random card from your hand to the Graveyard, and without targeting, send 1 monster from your field to the Graveyard!"

Marvin's backcourt was completely empty, otherwise Laplace could have shown what it means to be the "Black Trident Dragon of the Machine Slash".

Faced with the enormous threat posed by Laplace, Marvin could not remain indifferent, but there was not much he could do to deal with it, so he could only bite the bullet and face it head-on.

Not choosing a target is just that noble; there's no escaping the effects. I can only release the usable effects first, otherwise I won't have a chance to use them later.

"Chain your Laplace's effect, activate the Twin Dragons' effect, send one Jet from my hand to the Graveyard, target your Future Dragon Emperor on the field, and return it to your hand!"

Marvin had just checked the effect of the monster on Ella's field. The somewhat troublesome resistance and the even more troublesome counter were obstacles he had to overcome.

He sent down a trial called Rest, but now, Ella has instead laid down trials for him called Despair and Hope.

"Chain your Twin Dragons and activate the effect of Future Dragon Emperor! When a monster's effect is activated, detach 1 Xyz Material to chain this effect. Negate that activation. Furthermore, if this effect negates the activation of a monster's effect, regain control of that monster!"

"Dragon Emperor's Other Dimension!"

Marvin had no way to counter it and could only watch helplessly as the Dragon Emperor unleashed his power.

At Ella's command, the armor and greatsword that had been stationary flew swiftly behind the two dragons, pointing the greatsword behind them and inviting them over in a very peaceful and friendly manner.

The strategist in the Twin Dragons shook his feather fan, somewhat amused and exasperated. Back then, he had been persuaded to come out of seclusion by the man beside him who had visited him three times. Now, he and the man beside him were being led away by a greatsword.

This is probably what the world's diversity is all about.

The monster was taken away by the cow. Although Marvin's expression was hidden by his mask, Ella could easily sense his great displeasure. So, she kindly comforted him in a soft voice.

"The Minotaur is part of Yu-Gi-Oh! If you don't like it, don't play it."

"The effect of the Twin Dragons is negated, then the effect of Labraz is dealt with, the Giant Jet on your field is sent to the graveyard, and another card from your hand is sent to the graveyard!"

Marvin's hand was all face up, and Ella saw a puppy being thrown into the graveyard.

Ella's matter is settled, but Marvin has now started another chain: "Because of Kit's graveyard, I activate Kit's effect, and send one [Ironclad Front] card other than the same name to the graveyard... I send [Ironclad Front Flacdull] to the graveyard."

The two sides traded blows several times, but in fact, the main phase of this round has not yet begun.

"During the main phase, I usually summon the Little Kangaroo."

With only a small seal left on the field, a small kangaroo in hand, and nothing else to jump from in the graveyard, Maven decided to make a final stand after realizing that he had fallen into an absolute disadvantage in an instant.

He had heard that there was a tradition of struggling at full health in this duel, but he didn't understand it before. Now, looking at his 5000 LP, he suddenly understood.

Having LPs but lacking resources means we definitely need to struggle.

"Xyz Summoning... is indeed a summoning method that can bring about miracles, so at this moment, I will also begin my struggle and begin my Xyz Summoning!"

Marvin had already put the trial out of his mind. Rather than thinking that it didn't really matter if he touched it, he should think about how to win the duel first... Wait, why did he think it didn't matter if he touched the trial?

A question flashed through his mind, and Marvin, who had been quite dutiful, suddenly didn't want to think about it anymore. He shook his head, putting the unimportant question out of his mind, and decided to begin his own struggle.

"Now there are two Level 2 monsters! It's my turn!"

"I will stack kangaroos and seals that are both LV2 to build an oversaturated network!"

Ella was secretly on guard. Although there weren't as many monsters and demons in R2 as in R4, there were still many capable individuals. Right now, she actually had no means of interfering... No, she still had some! And there was more than one!