A duelist never gives up!

"We can't leave it to him!" Yisha shouted, "The God of Duel's goal is very likely..."

"Shut up! What does that have to do with me!" Murata Koichiro glared, then threw the card in his hand to Yuan Qi without any reluctance, "Since you want this, then I'll give it to you. This way you can concentrate on the duel, right?!"

Yuan Qi subconsciously took the flying card and couldn't help but feel a little surprised, but soon, he smiled faintly and threw the card back: "I do want this card, but thank you for your kindness. I plan to come and get it myself later - with the victory of this duel!"

After saying that, Yuan Qi quickly reached for his deck and said, "My turn, draw a card!"

"brush!"

Accompanied by a sharp sound of breaking through the air, Yuan Qi's hand of cards returned to five.

"Hehe, what a great card!" Ai looked at the card Yuan Qi had drawn and immediately smiled. He put his cute little head next to Yuan Qi's cheek and said, "We'll use this, this, and this to trick him into playing Kangdu, and then use this to give him a decisive kill!"

"Yes, it seems that your dueling skills have improved." Yuan Qi was a little surprised when he heard Ai's decision.

"Of course, I'm the God of Duels!" Ai raised his chin proudly and said, "Since the opponent is so enthusiastic, let's show him our strength!"

"Hmm!" Yuan Qi nodded seriously and pulled out a card. "I enter the Main Phase and Normal Summon the Pearl Tear Singer, Merlo Mermaid!"

Chapter 7: You can't use the Narcissus Mermaid, right?

The petite Merlot mermaid, wearing dark blue soft armor and light gauze, appeared in front of Yuan Qi, gently swinging her slender legs. Her skin, as white and smooth as porcelain, was as dazzling as pearls under the light of the setting sun, making people unconsciously focus their attention on her.

"……What a nice view."

Even though it was a monster held by the enemy, Yisha couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. She had long heard that the Pearl Tear Elegy deck used by Yuan Qi was a gorgeous and powerful deck composed of mermaids. However, even though she was mentally prepared, the moment she saw the Merlo Mermaid, she couldn't help but feel surprised and even a little pity - it was a pity to use such an elegant monster in battle.

However, Murata Koichiro, who was also witnessing the Merlo Mermaid for the first time, nodded as a matter of course and said, "Such an elegant monster is worthy of the God of Duel. Come on, attack me!"

"Ah, then it's as you wish!" Yuan Qi stretched out his palm and shouted, "I will activate the effect of the Merlo Mermaid!"

"You can only activate this effect if this card is successfully Normal Summoned or Special Summoned. Send the top 3 cards of your deck to the Graveyard!"

"chain!"

Without hesitation, Murata Yukichiro opened a face-down card on his field and said, "I activate the Trap Card - Infinite Bubble! This negates the effect of the Merlot Mermaid on your field!"

"Boom!!!"

Just as the Merlo Mermaid, holding the silver hammer, was about to make a move, a blue lightning suddenly fell from the sky and struck the Merlo Mermaid fiercely like a punishment from heaven!

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Accompanied by a miserable whimper, the Mello Mermaid once again perfectly completed her pit-stepping mission, which is cause for celebration.

"Then I will chain activate the effect of Decoder: Fiery Soul! Pay 1000lp and draw a card from the deck!" Yukiichiro Murata said, and drew another card from the deck.

but……

"Isn't that too hasty?" Hara Nana suddenly asked, looking at Murata Koichirō. "Wouldn't it be better to wait until the Narcissus Mermaid of the Pearl Tearful Lamentation Clan appears before using Infinite Bubble?"

"Hehehe..." Murata Koichiro sneered, his dark green eyes fixed on Yuan Qidao, "Can you really summon the Narcissus Mermaid from the Pearl Tear Lament Clan?"

"..."

Yuan Qi frowned, thinking to himself that this was not good. He didn't expect that it had only been about a month and he had already been discovered?

Seeing that Hara Nana remained silent, Murata Koichiro's suspicions grew more resolute. "Although you've only personally fought a handful of times in the past month, there's something strange about every duel—you didn't summon the Narcissus Mermaid of the Pearl Tear Lament Clan. Instead, you used the Demon King and a Pearl Tear lower-level monster to summon the Rusalka Mermaid of the Pearl Tear Lament Clan. It's possible you were just too lazy to do more, but..."

"With a high-quality card like Ancient Vanguard, there's no need to invest in a useless card like the Swamp Demon King, right?"

"Maybe it's because of Chimera and the Dragon God King?" Yuan Qi said lightly.

"Really? Then let's just assume it's that," Murata Koichiro said gravely. "But if that's the case, how about you summon the Narcissus Mermaid of the Pearly Tear Sorrow Tribe for this duel?"

Yuan Qi raised his eyebrows: "What if I don't summon it?"

Murata Koichiro laughed again.

"That proves that for some reason you are unable to use the Narcissus Mermaid of the Pearly Tear Lament Tribe!"

"Can't use the Pearl Tear Lament Tribe: Narcissus Mermaid?!" Yisha couldn't help but look at Yuan Qi in astonishment. Even she, who knew almost nothing about the Pearl Tear deck, knew that the Pearl Tear Lament Tribe: Narcissus Mermaid was the absolute core card of the Pearl Tear deck. If Yuan Qi couldn't use this monster now... wouldn't that mean his strength would be greatly weakened?!

"Tsk, what a tricky old man..." Ai couldn't help but exclaimed at this. If she just wanted to win the duel, she could still do it easily, but if she used the Narcissus Mermaid of the Pearl Tear Lament Clan in this duel... she had no way out!

"Can I use the devil's proof to argue?" Yuan Qi shrugged.

"What is that?" Yukiichiro Murata was slightly stunned and didn't understand what Yuan Qi was talking about.

"If I want to prove I can use the Narcissus Mermaid, I only need to recruit them. But if I want to prove I can't summon them... I can't prove it simply by not summoning them," Yuan Qi said calmly. "Perhaps not using the Narcissus Mermaids of the Pearl Tear Sorrow Tribe is just a trick to lure the enemy."

Yes, Yisha suddenly realized that even if Yuan Qi didn't summon the Narcissus Mermaid, it couldn't prove that he couldn't use the Narcissus Mermaid. After all, she had never heard of a card being unusable. Maybe Yuan Qi was deliberately retaining his strength?

"No need for more precise proof." Murata Yukichiro's powerful voice rang out again. "Until the absolute results come out, I will trust my own judgment!"

"Really? Your willpower is admirable." Yuan Qi said no more. The fact that he couldn't use the Narcissus Mermaid of the Pearl Tears Elegy Clan would be exposed sooner or later. Now he could only temporarily cover it with a veil to confuse the enemy. As for the extent of the confusion, it was not something he could control.

Let’s end this duel quickly. Murata Yukichiro’s hidden cover card has been confirmed, and nothing can stop me!

"I activate the magic card—Fusion!" Yuan Qi inserted a card into the duel board and said, "I will use the Merlo Mermaid on the field..."

"Don't even think about it! I'm chain-activating a Counter Trap Card—Network Conflict!" Murata Yukichiro said, flicking open a face-down card on his field. "I have a 'Code Talker' monster on my field. This can only be activated when the monster's effect, Spell, or Trap Card activates. That activation is negated and banished. Until the end of your next turn, your opponent can't activate the effect of a card with the same card name as the card banished by this effect!"

"Snapped!"

Accompanied by a huge white beam of light, the fusion of the original seven fields was swallowed by the beam and then dissipated into the air.

"As expected, you won't let me activate the Fusion Magic Card." Yuan Qi said with a slight smile, "This way, your strongest weapon - the Counter Trap Card - has also been used up."

Yukiichiro Murata didn't say anything, just stood there quietly, as if to say come on!

"Then I activate the effect of my hand card, Tearful Lament Tribe - Siren Mermaid!" Hara Nana said, showing the Siren Mermaid in his hand. "This can only be activated during your Main Phase. Special Summon this card from your hand, select 1 monster from your hand and send it to the Graveyard. After that, send 3 cards from the top of your Deck to the Graveyard!"

Chapter 8: The final blow!

"I Special Summon Siren Mermaid!"

As Yuan Qi slapped the Siren Mermaid on the duel disk, a Siren Mermaid with a pair of wine-red eyes appeared in front of Yuan Qi. Compared with the Mermaid next to her, she might be more suitable for the word "girl", and her slender waist and long thighs were proof of that. However, this was only her soft appearance. The silver sword in the girl's finger truly revealed her inner warrior!

"I send my Fairy Legend Princess - Snow White to the Graveyard, and then send three cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard!"

Yuan Qi looked at the cards being sent to the Graveyard, paused for a moment, and then continued, "The cards being sent to the Graveyard are the Pearl Tear Lament-type Kusha Rage, the Shaddoll Lizard, and the G of Proliferation!"

"I activate the effects of the Pearl Tear Lament-type Kushafu and Shaddoll, c1c2!"

"I sent Shaddoll from my deck to the Graveyard, and then sent two cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard!" Yuan Qi looked at the cards being sent to the Graveyard and continued, "The cards sent to the Graveyard are Demon King of the Swamp and Lament of the Eternal Destruction!"

"I activate Lament of a Lifetime of Destruction and the effect of Shaddoll. I draw a card from my deck, then add a Tearful Lament-Tribe-Kusha-Wrath-Tribe from my deck to my hand!"

After some operations, there were suddenly two more cards in Yuan Qi's hand. During the whole process of Yuan Qi's action, Murata Yukichiro did not respond at all, as if he was a sniper waiting for the best opportunity to come.

"Still not moving?" Hara Nana murmured softly, then showed a card in his hand. "Then I activate the effect of my Pearl Tear Lament-type Kusaka Rage-tribe. This can only be activated during your or your opponent's Main Phase. Special Summon this card from your hand, and banish 1 Kusaka Rage-tribe or Pearl Tear Lament-tribe card from your hand or Graveyard!"

The Kusha Nuwei tribe of the Pearl Tears Elegy tribe, holding a black giant axe, appeared on Yuan Qi's field like a robot, with an expressionless face, exuding the smell of blood and steel, causing the Siren mermaids and Mello mermaids standing on both sides to subconsciously shrink their necks.

As the price of his appearance, Yuan Qi sent the mournful song played by Yishihuai in the cemetery to the exclusion zone.

"Then I activate the effect of the Pearly Lament-Tribe, Kusaka's Wrathful Power!" Hara Nana stretched out his hand and commanded the monster he had just Special Summoned. "This can only be activated if this card is successfully Normal Summoned. Send three cards from the top of your or your opponent's deck to the Graveyard!"

Yuan Qi once again sent the top three cards of his deck to the graveyard, and this time, he finally got a lower-level monster of Pearl Tears.

"The cards sent to the cemetery are the Demon King of the Swamp, the Siren Mermaid of the Pearly Tear Lament Clan, and the Sword Priest M'dora!"

"I activate the effect of Little Mermaid, a member of the Pearl Tearful Song Tribe, in the Graveyard!" Hara Shichi said with a wave of his hand. "This can only be activated if this card is sent to the Graveyard by an effect. Return the Fusion Material monsters of this card, including those in the Graveyard, from your hand, the field, and the Graveyard in the order you prefer to the bottom of the owner's Deck, and Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck!"

"chain!"

Murata Koichiro, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke up. He sent a card in his hand to the graveyard and said, "I'm activating the effect of my House-daughter, negating the effect of your Little Mermaid!"

As soon as Yukiichiro Murata finished speaking, the girl in a black Gothic skirt came to the grave of Hara Nana slowly, twisting the hem of her skirt like an elegant lady, and pressed down the little mermaid who was about to activate the effect with an expressionless face.

"Yashiki-dono?" Yuan Qi was slightly stunned, then quickly reacted and said, "Did you just draw the fire code?"

"Ah, I just happened to draw it." Murata Yukichiro said in a deep voice, "I wonder what you think of my luck?"

"Not bad," Yuan Qi replied, quickly pulling a card from his extra deck. "I'm going to link the Merlo Mermaid and the Pearly Lament-Tribe-type Kusha-Wrath-Tribe on the field!"

"Eh? Don't you want to use the card in your hand?" Ai couldn't help but asked in surprise when he saw this.

"No, that's fine." Yuan Qi raised the monster in his hand high and said, "The summoning conditions are two monsters, including a 2-star, 2-level, 2-link monster. Link Summon—"

"Satellite Flash Swift Dragon Cannon!"

As a blue connection circuit appeared in mid-air, the satellite Shining Swift Dragon Cannon, covered in a black coat, floated out of the connection circuit like a ghost and stopped in front of Yuan Qi.

"I activate the effect of Satellite Shining Swift Dragon Cannon!" Yuan Qi stretched out his hand and said, "This card can only be activated if it is successfully Link Summoned. Send a Level 1 monster from your deck to the Graveyard!"

"I'm sending the Pearl Tearful Sorrow Tribe, Merlot Mermaid, to the Graveyard from my deck!"

Murata Koichiro narrowed his eyes and said, "You're actually using a semen pile at a time like this?"

"Indeed, I'm sure you understand my purpose, right?" Hara Nana said, looking at the Fire Guard Dragon on Murata Koichiro's field. "I activate the effect of Merlot Mermaid in the Graveyard. This can only be activated if this card is sent to the Graveyard by an effect. Fusion Material Monsters from your hand, field, and Graveyard, including this card in the Graveyard, are returned to the bottom of their owner's Deck in the order you prefer, and I Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck."

Are you forcing me to hand in my health certificate?

Yukiichiro Murata frowned. There were two Demon Kings of the Swamp in the original seven cemeteries. If he were asked to summon the Dragon King or Kaleidhart, it would be troublesome.

"I activate the effect of my Fire Guard Dragon!" Murata Yukichiro shouted. "This effect can only be used once while this card is face-up on the field. Target monsters on your or your opponent's field or in their Graveyard up to the number of monsters linked to this card. Return those monsters to their owners' hands."

"I will return the Merlo Mermaid from your graveyard to my hand!"

"This is what you've been waiting for!"

Yuan Qi fiercely displayed a card in his hand and said, "I activate the effect of the Little Mermaid of the Pearl Tear Lament Tribe!"

"You can only activate this effect when your opponent activates a monster on the field. Special Summon this card from your hand, and send the top 3 cards of your deck to the Graveyard!"

"I'm counting on you, Little Mermaid! Give your opponent the final blow!!!"

As transparent bubbles appeared in the air, the little mermaid with long silver-gray hair once again appeared in front of Yuan Qi. However, this time, a hint of helplessness appeared on her cute little face. "I already said I can't control the tomb, so it's no use asking me to do that..."

Chapter 9: Snow White! Snow White!

Yuan Qi certainly knew that the little mermaid couldn't control the tomb, he just wanted to shout like that. If he turned his expectations into words, maybe something good would happen?

Good things actually did happen.

"The three cards sent to the Graveyard are: Raynor Heart, a member of the Pearly Tearful Lamentation Clan; Siren Mermaid, a member of the Pearly Tearful Lamentation Clan; and Strings That Pierce a Life of Evil!"

"That's it!" shouted the Seven Greats. "I activate the effects of the Siren Mermaid and the Strings of the Slicing One Life in the Graveyard! I add the Claws of the Slicing One Life from the Deck to my hand. After that, I return the Siren Mermaid, the Pearly Tear Singer, and the Demon King of the Swamp from the Graveyard to the Deck!"

"Fusion Summon! Come out! Kaledohart of the Pearl Tear Lament Tribe!!!"

"Snapped!"

Kaledohart of the Pearl Tears Elegant Tribe appeared in front of Yuan Qi with a long whip in hand, his long octopus tentacles wriggling under him. An excited expression appeared on his handsome face, as if he was happy to be able to appear on the stage.

"I activate the effect of Tearful Lament Tribe, Caredo Heart!" Hara Shichida shouted. "If this card is Special Summoned successfully, or if a Water-Type monster is sent to your Graveyard by a card effect while this card is on the field, you can activate this effect by targeting 1 card your opponent controls. Return that card to its owner's Deck!"

"I choose to return the Fire Dragon on your field to the deck!"

Tough whips rained down on the Fire Dragon, crackling and sending it back to the Extra Deck. Murata Koichiro understood the trap he was facing and quickly revealed his last card.

"I activate the Trap Card—Zero Mech Hyper Factorial!" Murata Koichiro shouted, "I target Zero Mech Enbu, Zero Mech Gabu, and Zero Mech Sigma in my Graveyard. These monsters' effects are negated and Special Summoned. Using only these monsters as materials, I Xyz Summon 1 Zero Mech Monster!"

"It's useless." Yuan Qi reached into the graveyard and said, "I activate the effect of Sword Priest Mdora in the graveyard to banish this card, and return all of the Slasher Enbu, Slasher Kabu, and Slasher Sigma in your graveyard to the deck!"

Since the monsters have been returned to the deck, the Xyz Summoning naturally failed, which also means that Yukiichiro Murata has lost his last means of counterattack.

"Then, I enter the battle phase!" Yuan Qida waved his hand and said, "I will use the Pearl Tear Sorrow Tribe's Kaledohart to attack..."

"Wait!" Ai hurriedly called out to Yuan Qidao, "Don't attack!"

"Huh?" Yuan Qi stopped what he was doing and looked at Ai in confusion. The opponent only had one known weapon reduction card in his hand, and there was only one fire code left on the field. There were no resources in the graveyard, so there was no risk anymore.

"You can't just attack him like that, because..." Ai stared at Murata Koichiro with a serious expression, "His life is already as fragile as a candle in the wind. If you attack him directly, the powerful impact will probably kill him in this duel!"

"?!!"

Yuan Qi's face suddenly changed, and he slowly lowered his raised arm.

"Did you notice?" Murata Koichiro frowned, but quickly relaxed his brows and said, "As expected of the God of Duel, I didn't expect that he could even see things beyond the duel."

Yuan Qi looked at Murata Koichiro solemnly and said slowly, "Do you... want to die?"

"That's right," Murata Koichiro grinned. "I realized my life was coming to an end months ago. I had originally planned to die peacefully on a quiet afternoon, lying on a padded wooden chair. But... the duelist spirit within me resisted!"

Murata Yukichiro clenched his chest with his old hands and said passionately, "I've spent my whole life in duels. If that's the case, dying casually would be too unreasonable! I want to die in a duel! I want to enjoy dueling once more at the end of my life!"

"So you designed to lure me into a duel with you?" Hara Nana looked at Murata Yukiichiro with a complicated expression. This old man had devoted his entire life to duels, and now even his death had to end with a duel?

"That's right!" Murata Yukichiro pointed at Hara Nanamichi, "And just at this moment, I learned of your existence. Nothing could be a better ending than a duel with the God of Duels! Or perhaps... this is simply a gift from fate! Let me enjoy this top-level duel before my death!"