Duels should be played with a smile.

Never believe everything the enemy says... Whether there is a solution or not, you will only know after you try it yourself—this is the understanding that Ella derived from Leyou's saying "unity of knowledge and action".

It might be a little crooked, but it doesn't seem like it's unacceptable.

"Continue your duel! Even if it's not a dark duel and I can't achieve my goal by defeating you, at least I can get rid of you, you disgusting maggot!"

Ordinary duels cannot have very high stakes, but the loser cannot interfere with the winner's actions for a short period of time.

After all, it's a world where playing cards determines everything. If you win the game and nothing happens, then what's the point of playing cards?

It would be better to just hit them directly.

“You’re right,” K nodded in agreement, “but only if you can win.”

"My antelope and armadillo lizard on the field are both Level 3 monsters... I have two monsters of the same level, so I think you should know what I'm going to do!"

Two raging flames shot straight into the sky, turning the dim yellow sky red with fire. The illusory supercomputer network appeared in the sky, triggering the source code within Ayra's body while also unleashing even more intense flames.

“This…this world is a bit strange,” Ella murmured to herself.

She could clearly sense the fluctuations generated by the supernetwork, but it didn't feel as real as it would in the normal world. At the moment when the supernetwork resonated with the source code, she felt that everything in this world was somewhat illusory.

Like a bubble, it bursts at the slightest touch.

"Xyz Summon! Rank 3! [Reincarnated Flame Beast Mirage Horse]!"

Like a celestial horse descending to earth, a mirage-like mare with fiery wings descended upon the battlefield. After the super-network gradually faded away, Ella felt the world become real again.

However... the surreal feeling created by that scene made Ella constantly feel that everything she saw seemed somewhat out of place.

The defensively positioned Mirage Horse folded its wings, its body obscured by flames, standing alone on the field, appearing somewhat weak.

"The effect of Mirage Horse allows you to extract one Xyz Material from this card to activate this effect, and Special Summon one 'Reincarnation Flame Beast' monster from your Deck in Guard List."

"I will use the special recruitment method to summon the [Reincarnated Flame Beast Falcon]!"

"Then activate the Quick-Play Spell Card [Reincarnated Flame Beast's Flame Array], and search the Deck for [Reincarnated Flame Beast Rat] based on its effect!"

K retrieved a rather rare Flame Beast card and drew it. Ella frowned slightly after recalling the card's effect.

This scene was naturally captured by K, who had been waiting for it.

“Somewhat surprised?” K raised an eyebrow, his eyes behind his red glasses brimming with confident assurance.

He nodded slightly and said in a meaningful tone, "Not surprising, everything is as I expected... Your deck is quite special, I could smell it from a long way off."

Ella's brow furrowed even more.

Regardless of whether this deck is as appealing as K claims, Ella must admit that the deck she prepared is quite unique.

So special... if necessary, she would pay a certain price to forcibly awaken the power that had long been sealed within the source code.

At that point... it will be the duelists themselves stepping into the arena to fight.

Looking at it now... the situation that these five cards can create may not necessarily lead to a quick victory after the Flame Beast fully unleashes its power.

Before it was even her turn, Ella had already started summoning her sixth card—this was something Leyou had taught her; summoning your deck early might awaken any dormant cards.

After all, many people need to ring ten or eight alarm clocks in turn to wake up in the morning.

“Actually, you don’t need to worry too much.” K spoke again while Ella was thinking. “I’m not really familiar with the Fire Beast deck, and my starting hand isn’t very good either.”

"So... I'll cover two cards, and that's the end of the turn."

"Come on, let your show begin! Use your super-fast deck to quickly defeat me!"

"..."

K's flamboyant performance did not elicit a response from Ella. After a few seconds of silence, Ella slowly shifted her gaze and looked directly into K's eyes.

There wasn't much emotion in his eyes, but it was precisely this somewhat empty gaze that made K subconsciously look away.

“All bark and no bite,” Ella replied coldly.

"Whether it's your duel or your 'performance,' it's all the same. In essence, it's a collection of businessmen who only know how to pursue profits. No matter how arrogant they are, that's all they can do."

"They can only maintain their superior status and hypocritical demeanor by relying on their superior authority."

She ruthlessly revealed the true nature of K's existence, and Ella was completely different from her usual quiet self.

However, her revelations do not seem to have had a very good effect.

"So what?" K shook his head nonchalantly: "No matter what kind of being I am, no matter what I rely on to laugh at you like this, at least when I am conscious, everything I experience is real and true, and I am an independent individual."

"But what about you?" K's voice suddenly became even colder than Ella's. He, who had been avoiding Ella's gaze, was now staring at her directly.

"But what about you? You parasite."

"..."

Once again, Ella fell silent, but this time the reason was somewhat...

"Parasites, a very apt description."

Just as nonchalant as K had been, Ella seemed even less concerned about the derogatory term "parasite" than he was.

They might even like it.

A smile that K couldn't decipher flickered in Ella's eyes. All he could see was a condescending gaze that was even more condescending than when he looked down at Ella from his superior position.

But in an instant, that condescending, or rather disdainful, look vanished without a trace.

Instead, there is a "disregard" that is even stronger than looking down on or showing contempt.

"The prerequisite for a parasite to survive is the existence of a host that allows it to parasitize... Unfortunately, we do have such a host, and... even more unfortunately, it seems to enjoy parasitizing us."

"Or to put it more elegantly, rely on."

"We depend on him for existence, and he depends on us in every way. We support each other, move forward together, enjoy wonderful times, and live an incredibly comfortable life..."

"Isn't this more pleasant than being all alone like you?"

With a flicker of his eyes, his previous indifference had transformed into pity for the weak.

At the very least, on the level Ella described, she undeniably delivered a devastating "kill" to K.

Speechless, K looked as pathetic as a clown.

"My turn, draw a card!"

"You like blocking the backcourt, huh? Well then, I'll let you have that first!"

"Quick-Play Spell Card [Cosmic Cyclone]! Pay 1000 LP to banish the face-down card to your left!"

A whirlwind suddenly arose, and before K could react, one of his face-down cards in the backcourt had been banished.

"Light-Protecting Spirit-Sealing Sword...tsk tsk tsk, I'm starting to believe you do know my deck. If I hadn't been lucky, you would have succeeded."

K chuckled dismissively: "You were just lucky... I have another card waiting for you..."

"This isn't luck, it's destiny! Second Cosmic Whirlwind! Hand over your second backcourt card too!"

K's smile froze on his face, but this time he still reacted and flipped the card over.

"Chain activation of Flame Array, search the deck for [Reincarnated Flame Beast Meerkat]."

Cosmic Cyclone only excludes, not negates, allowing the meerkats to be successfully drawn, although the back row was indeed completely wiped out.

"The effect of Meerkat is that this card can be revealed and Special Summoned when it is added to your hand through means other than drawing cards!"

"Whatever, it doesn't matter how many monsters you have, the result is the same," Ella said nonchalantly, placing the only core of her deck in the Field Spell Card zone from her hand.

"Field Spell Card [Source Network] activated!"

"Activate its effect again! Copy the effects of all cards that directly belong to the Graveyard in your deck!"

"The gates of destiny have been opened! The power of the origin is now in my hands!"

A classic operation at the DNA level; in the blink of an eye, four Source Gates were already standing in front of Ayla.

That tiny reborn fire beast seemed rather insignificant.

"Advance to combat level! Group attack!"

The Source deck is so simple and straightforward. Without any hesitation, the four Source Gates launched an attack under Ella's command.

The meerkats were killed in a single encounter by the Gate of Source, and the battle made all the Gates of Source even more powerful.

"Next, attack Falcon!"

Another loud rumble rang out, and four monsters with an attack power of 4000 stood on the ground, while the falcon had vanished without a trace.

"And then it's Little Pony!"

"This last barrier cannot be broken by you! The effect of the Raven in my hand: When one of your Reincarnation Fiery Beast monsters is targeted by an opponent's monster for an attack, send this card from your hand to the Graveyard and target those two cards to activate this effect!"

"Your LP is restored equal to the attacking monster's ATK. This turn, your targeted monster cannot be destroyed by battle!"

A hazy protective shield of flames suddenly rose up, not only blocking all the violent power of the Gate of Source, but also absorbing it and feeding it back to K.

[KLP: 8000 → 12000]

K already had a victor's smile on his face.

However, Ella remained unmoved.

"Fourth gate, continue the attack!"

The Gate of Source, whose attack power had soared to 8000, attacked again, but with a protective shield in place, no matter how powerful the attack was, it could not shake it in the slightest.

But Ella didn't give up; in fact, she intensified her efforts.

"At the end of the combat phase, my Source Gate currently has an attack power of 16000."

"So what? The battle is over," K said with a smug smile.

"That's right, the battle is over."

Ella played another quick-play spell card.

"[Limit Removal]! All Machine-Type monsters on your field gain double ATK until the end of this turn!"

The dial rotated, and the Gate of Source, whose attack power had already exceeded 10,000, continued to soar after all restrictions were lifted. With an attack power of 32000 points, it was enough for a duelist to die several times over in a normal duel.

However, in the present situation, it would all be futile. Outside of the battle rank, no matter how high the attack power is, it doesn't seem to have much meaning—K thought to himself.

Until Ella spoke again.

"You seem to have forgotten something. Should I remind you?"