When Bai Yun'er said that, Mu Ning and Sheng Ning exchanged knowing smiles.
Did she really think Runick could be shut down that easily? Of course not.
Effects resolve last-in, first-out — chain resolution begins.
Chain 2: Raigeki Break resolves successfully, but Runick Wings – Hugin's continuous effect banishes itself to protect Runick Fountain from destruction (does not start a chain).
Chain 1: Runick Fountain's effect resolves — You Ye returns three Runick spells to the deck and draws three cards.
"Hugin can do that?" Bai Yun'er blinked in surprise, taking mental note of the effect.
Wu Ping, meanwhile, sighed slightly in relief — but the smile on her face froze the next instant when You Ye spoke again.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Runick of Flashing Fire, targeting your Archfiend Black Skull Dragon! That monster is destroyed, and the top two cards of your Deck are banished!"
A massive, rune-engraved firearm appeared behind You Ye, unleashing a barrage of flaming bullets that rained down on the demonic dragon.
The Archfiend Black Skull Dragon roared, spitting black fire in defiance—but the barrage swallowed it whole. With a thunderous boom, the mighty beast shattered and vanished into its master's Graveyard.
"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell Messenger of Peace. Neither player can declare attacks with monsters that have 1500 or more ATK."
"Finally, I set one card and end my turn."
As You Ye ended his turn, Mu Ning's eyes sparkled with excitement. Now she understood why he called his version the "light-side playstyle."
Compared to hers, his was truly bright and elegant — her own approach looked almost merciful by comparison.
With Hugin's self-protection and Messenger of Peace locking the field, there was no way to destroy his setup. The opponent could only sit there helplessly while he calmly banished their entire Deck, piece by piece.
The only real countermeasure would be to remove Runick Fountain and Messenger of Peace — but even if Wu Ping somehow drew the nearly impossible-to-find Harpie's Feather Duster, Hugin could just banish itself to protect the field.
What was she supposed to do, banish the entire field?
Sheng Ning felt a chill crawl up her spine. Having personally experienced Mu Ning's "Runick torture" before, she knew exactly what came next.
This wasn't just a duel. It was psychological warfare.
Bai Yun'er, still unaware of how dire things had become, simply thought You Ye's defensive play was clever—locking Wu Ping out of aggression completely.
But Wu Ping herself was already sweating.
Her deck hardly had any monsters under 1500 ATK. Like any respectable duelist, her lineup was full of high-power creatures.
Only now did she realize how utterly disgusting Messenger of Peace was — one card, and her entire strategy was paralyzed.
And worse, she understood exactly how You Ye planned to win:
Not by attacking, but by banishing her entire deck until she had nothing left to draw.
Her stomach sank. Bai Yun'er had told her repeatedly on the way here that You Ye's style was "OTK-oriented." But this? This was the opposite — slow, methodical annihilation.
"My turn, draw!"
Despite her dread, Wu Ping still drew her card.
One glance at it, and she sighed helplessly — no spell or trap removal. She Normal Summoned Red-Eyes Wyvern, then set one card and ended her turn.
There was nothing else she could do. Until she drew a way to remove those oppressive cards, she was completely locked down.
"My turn, draw!"
You Ye's smile widened slightly as he looked at his hand.
"Anything during my Draw Phase?"
Wu Ping swallowed. "...No."
The way he looked at her sent a shiver down her spine.
It wasn't losing that scared her — it was the helplessness of knowing there was no way out.
"In my Standby Phase, I pay 100 Life Points to maintain Messenger of Peace," You Ye announced calmly. (You Ye LP: 7900)
"Then, during my Main Phase 1 — I activate the Quick-Play Spell Runick Freezing Curses! I target your Red-Eyes Wyvern — its effects are negated until the end of this turn, and the top two cards of your Deck are banished!"
Wu Ping's remaining defenses continued to vanish one by one.
"I also activate Runick Dispelling! You discard one random card from your hand, then banish the top two cards of your Deck."
"Now, Runick Fountain's effect! I target Freezing Curses and Flashing Fire in my Graveyard, return them to the Deck, and draw two cards!"
He drew, glanced at one of the cards, and smiled faintly.
"I Normal Summon the Level 1 Tuner, Effect Veiler."
"Then, I tune my Level 1 Effect Veiler with my Level 9 Runick Slumber – Sleipnir!"
"Elegant white lilies — the time for revolution has come!"
"Let the flower of victory bloom in my hands!"
"Synchro Summon! Level 10!"
"Bloom, Baroness de Fleur!"
The entire shop was filled with a storm of rose petals as the sound of galloping hooves echoed.
A majestic female knight appeared astride a white warhorse, clad in shining silver armor, crimson cloak fluttering, sword in her right hand, and shield in her left.
Baronne de Fleur
[Warrior / Synchro / Effect / WIND / Level 10]
ATK: 3000 / DEF: 2400
As she took her place on the field, the Baroness subtly turned her head, her eyes glancing back toward You Ye.
Three years ago, he had come to her with an Original Card granted by the Duel System, showing her proof of his record — consecutive years ranked #1 in Master Duel.
She had admired him then, gifting him her card out of respect.
She had expected to be summoned immediately, to fight proudly at his side. But three whole years had passed before this moment.
Had she not heard from a certain mermaid spirit that he hadn't even owned a full deck all this time, she might have been truly disappointed.
The four women watching were completely stunned.
When did You Ye acquire that card? None of them had heard a thing!
And wasn't "Fleur" a weak archetype — one barely on par with "Tenyi"?
At most, the strongest known user was a low-tier Earth-Rank duelist.
None of the records mentioned this card at all.
Yet now, the pressure emanating from Baronne de Fleur dwarfed even that of the Archfiend Black Skull Dragon — easily tenfold stronger.
Clearly, this was no ordinary monster.
If it weren't taboo to probe another duelist's secrets, Bai Yun'er would've already demanded to know where he'd gotten it.
Then You Ye spoke again, his voice calm but commanding.
"Baronne de Fleur, activate your first effect — once per turn, target one card on the field and destroy it! I target your Red-Eyes Wyvern!"
"A once-per-turn destruction effect?"
All four women were taken aback — and immediately realized something else.
He said, "first effect." Meaning she had at least one more—maybe even two!
Bai Yun'er's eyes lit up. She was already plotting how to get that card for her own Swordsoul deck.
With her easy access to Level 10 Synchros through Longyuan, summoning Baronne would be trivial—if only she could get a copy!
Wu Ping, on the other hand, was despairing. Her field was completely wiped, and the constant banishment effects were leaving her with almost no cards left in her deck.
Meanwhile, You Ye stood calm and collected, his setup unbreakable.
"I skip my Battle Phase and end my turn," he said with a faint smile.
Wu Ping tightened her grip on her cards, her expression tense as if facing a final boss.