Yu-Gi-Oh!: This isn't a duel!

Sunny's arrogant expression froze instantly. "Hey! You, you just called me back and now you're sending me away again?!"

"Enough talk! This is to prepare for a real miracle!"

Kisskill didn't give Sunny a chance to protest; the data stream at her fingertips suddenly tightened.

"Offer these two linked monsters as sacrifices to the supreme Twin Stars!"

"When the souls of red and blue completely merge at this moment, both the virtual and the real will submit to our brilliance!"

"Special Summon! — [Evil★Gemini Kiskill Lira]!!"

"Buzz—!!!"

Sunny's neon throne and the blood-red holy coffin collapsed simultaneously. Countless golden, red, and blue data fragments spun and converged wildly in the air, eventually transforming into a two-colored spiral storm that pierced through the heavens and earth.

At the eye of the storm, two figures slowly emerged.

No longer as independent individuals, Kissgeller and Lila now embraced tightly, their red and blue wings of light intertwining to form a pair of enormous, sky-covering wings. Their attire was exquisitely magnificent, as if the entire online world had crowned them.

Gone are their usual playful and aloof demeanor; at this moment, they exude a sacred and inviolable majesty and an absolute sense of oppression.

【Evil Twins Kisgiler Lira】【★8】【DARK/Dark/Special Summon/Effect】【ATK: 2200 / DEF: 2200】

"This is...our true stance!"

"This isn't over yet! The real horror is just beginning!"

As Kiskill gazed at the towering figures on the field, her red eyes burned with a fervent fighting spirit.

She suddenly pointed to the pair of twin stars on the field who had appeared as if by divine intervention:

"At this moment, the effect of [Evil★Gemini Kisgiler Lira] activates!"

"While you have a 'Giskiller' monster and a 'Lira' monster in your Graveyard, this card gains 2200 ATK and DEF!"

She opened her arms wide, as if embracing the entire database of the virtual world:

"Of course, my graveyard holds the lingering data of my past with Rira-chan!"

"Data Synchronization - Full Power!"

"Buzz—!!!"

With a deafening roar of energy, the red and blue wings on the back of [Evil★Gemini Kisgiler Lira] suddenly expanded, and the dazzling light instantly illuminated the entire dark cyberspace.

The numerical value panel, which was already as high as 2200, skyrocketed at this moment as if it had been launched into a rocket!

【Evil★Gemini Kisgiler Lira】【Attack Power: 2200→ 4400】

"Attack power...4400?"

Feeling the terrifying wind pressure rushing towards him, Lucien Valentine subconsciously pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty, and he swallowed hard.

"That's really... a dangerous number."

Although he maintained aristocratic decorum, the fine beads of cold sweat on his forehead betrayed his inner turmoil.

This kind of fierce offensive that crushes everything with sheer power is completely different from the opponents he had encountered in the Free Federation who only followed the established methods.

"However... even so, it's still not enough to defeat me!"

Lucien took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, his eyes behind his glasses fixed on the battle, searching for a glimmer of hope.

Kisskill, on the other side, clearly wasn't going to give him any chance to breathe.

"Stop spacing out, the climax is coming!"

Kiskill suddenly swung her hand forward, issuing a declaration of attack:

"I'm entering combat mode!"

"Crush him! — I use [Day of Tears of the Demon] to attack your [Time Stalker - Dial Restorer]!"

"A mournful requiem!!"

Upon receiving the command, the demon god [The Day the Demon Weeps], whose body was flowing with scarlet energy, let out a mournful roar.

He raised the heavy hammer in his hand, forged from sorrow and resentment, and with a force that seemed capable of shattering space itself, he smashed it down fiercely towards the lone Time Thief standing on the field!

Faced with this deadly attack, Lucien showed no sign of panic. On the contrary, the corners of his mouth once again curved into an elegant and composed smile, like a magician taking his final bow.

"Heh, being too hasty isn't the proper way for a lady to behave."

Lucien gracefully raised his right hand and snapped his fingers crisply in the air, activating the escape command he knew by heart:

"Then—chain your attack!"

"I'm activating the effect of [Time Stalker - Clockwork Restorer] on the field again!"

"Ban this card until the end of the turn!"

"Time Jump - Initiate!"

"Click, click..."

The sound of precise mechanical operation instantly drowned out the demon god's roar.

Just as the destructive hammer was about to touch the hem of the phantom thief's clothes, the spacetime rift behind the [Time Stalker - Clockwork Repairer] tore open once more.

The phantom thief elegantly adjusted his hat brim, gave a defiant salute to the roaring demon god, and then his body transformed into a stream of golden data, instantly disappearing into the spacetime rift leading to the future and vanishing without a trace.

"boom--!!"

The demon god's hammer struck empty air, its terrifying force creating a huge crater in the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.

Looking at his empty space, Lucien's eyes shone even brighter.

"Although this leaves my field completely empty, it's part of my plan."

He was secretly making plans in his mind.

For someone capable of defeating a fool like the "Dark Dragon Emperor," this situation was still within his control.

His confidence was not unfounded—his deck was built specifically to counter opponents who like to go all in and unleash a burst of damage!

"As long as I still have this card... I can stop your direct attack!"

Lucien's fingers gently caressed a card in his hand, his last trump card, the very reason he dared to send the monster away.

"Furthermore, rather than letting [Time Stalker - Clock Repairer] be destroyed in battle, it's better to activate its effect and temporarily leave the field."

At this moment, the [Time Stalker - Clockwork Repairer] possesses three types of Xyz materials: Magic, Trap, and Monster.

Therefore, it can unleash its full power.

The effects of Monster Materials, except until the end phase.

The effect of the magic material, draw 1 card yourself.

And most importantly, the effect of Trap Material—returns 1 face-up card on the opponent's field to the top of their deck.

Lucien's gaze swept past the smoke and dust, casting a cold glance at the [Dream Shattering Shadow - Griffin] on the field, which was emanating a repressive aura.

He had a very bad feeling about that Link-4 monster. He had to find a way to get rid of it!

However, the moment he gave the order, a bizarre scene unfolded.

"Om..."

The spacetime rift behind him had just opened a tiny crack when it collapsed instantly.

The figure that should have leaped nimbly into the river of time now seemed to be filled with tons of lead, frozen stiffly in place.

The next second, a devastating torrent of data swept in.

"boom--!"

It was neither excluded nor successfully dodged.

【Time Stalker - Clock Face Restorer】Under the irresistible force, it was directly transformed into countless fragments of code, unwillingly falling into the dark abyss of the graveyard!

"Wha...what's going on?!"

Looking at the empty arena, Lucien's face, which had always maintained a perfect mask, finally cracked, revealing an incredulous astonishment.

"Ah!"

Seeing the bewildered expression on the other side, Kiskill let out a pleased, cold laugh, as if she had been waiting for this moment:

"Did you really think that all that revival and reconnection I did just was for fun?"

She extended her index finger, pointing to the colossal beast beneath her that emitted an eerie green glow:

"Open your eyes wide and take a good look—the permanent effect of [Dream Shattering Shadow - Griffin]!"

"As long as this card is in the Monster Zone, monsters Special Summoned to the field cannot activate their effects if they are not in a Link state!"

"That is an absolute rule called 'Nightmare'!"

"And look closely, where is my [Dreamlike Shadow Griffin] standing now, and where is your monster!"

Upon hearing this, Lucien and Andre Anf behind him suddenly looked up, their eyes sweeping across the entire battlefield layout.

Upon seeing this, Lucien's pupils contracted sharply, and cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes.

At this moment, standing in Kissgill's connection area was not a connection monster, but the towering Fusion Demon God—[The Day the Demon Weeps].

As for [Dreamlike Shadow Griffin], due to the complex resurrection and connection operations performed earlier, it is currently sitting in the main monster area in the center.

Its connecting arrows pointed in all directions, forming a complex and intricate net. But this net only sheltered Kiskill's own monsters.

In contrast, Lucien's [Time Stalker - Clock Repairer] stands alone in the opposite monster area, without any connecting arrows to guide him, like an isolated island in a signal blind spot.

"In this nightmare-shrouded realm..."

Kiskill's eyes gleamed red, her voice carrying the arrogance of a victor:

"The lonely soul, devoid of any connection or bond, is even deprived of the right to breathe!"

"Your time-manipulation trick has completely failed!"

As the shattered data fragments of [Time Stalker - Dial Restorer] completely dissipated into the abyss of the graveyard, Lucien Valentine's previously empty front line was now completely exposed to Kisskill's firepower.

Only at this moment did Lucien, amidst the suffocating sense of oppression, suddenly understand the true meaning behind the scheme devised by the mad witch before him.

This is the deepest, most unfathomable trap laid by Kiskill.

All her previous seemingly casual, even somewhat chaotic, actions—whether it was the repeated resurrection, the seemingly superfluous equipment and magic, or the somewhat inexplicable adjustments to positioning—were all foreshadowing for this very move.