The woman wore a black gauze dress, a golden headscarf tied around her hair, and held a staff in her pale hand.
The moment she appeared, all the ghosts that had manifested earlier in the Duel Arena knelt in unison, bowing to welcome her descent.
However, the woman did not spare them a glance.
Her gaze swept calmly over the surrounding humans and spirits before finally resting on You Ye.
On her composed face, a gentle smile appeared.
Underworld Goddess of the Closed World
[Fiend / Link / Effect / LIGHT / Link-5]
ATK: 3000
"That's… the one from the Underworld!?"
Both Li Yuan and King Hall were visibly shaken.
Li Yuan had once seen fragmentary records about her in the Duel Association's archives.
King Hall, having existed for an extremely long time and possessing a relatively high divine rank himself, had also heard scattered rumors.
Because the Underworld was not managed by spirits from other divine systems, and because those systems deliberately concealed the truth, it had long been known that only one god presided over the Underworld.
Yet that god never left the Underworld.
As a result, no one knew who she truly was—
let alone whether a card representing her even existed.
And now—
She was standing right in front of them.
Li Yuan's gaze flickered.
The appearance of the Underworld Goddess suddenly explained many things.
Why did you suffer no harm during Dark Duels?
Why did You Ye openly call her his wife, yet never summoned her to the human world after reaching Earth Rank?
But those were no longer the key issues.
What truly terrified both men was something else entirely.
If they truly dared to make a move against You Ye—
Putting aside whether they could even kill him—
Would they still dare to enter the Spirit Realm afterward?
This was the true ruler of the Underworld.
Which spirit in the Spirit Realm would dare refuse her face?
If someone killed You Ye and then entered the Spirit Realm…
Just imagining that scene was horrifying.
It took the two of them a long while to regain their composure.
Li Yuan then carefully examined the Underworld Goddess's effect—more precisely, her summoning condition.
Lyna did not possess any effect, allowing her to use the opponent's monsters as Link Materials.
Which meant this ability undoubtedly belonged to the Underworld Goddess herself.
And that effect—he could clearly confirm.
"When this card is Link Summoned, up to 1 monster on your opponent's field can also be used as Link Material."
Li Yuan muttered softly, falling into silence.
High divine rank aside—what kind of all-purpose board breaker is this!?
As long as Special Summons weren't sealed, and enough monsters were on the field, summoning the Underworld Goddess would dismantle any board—even monsters immune to everything.
And that was only the summoning condition.
As a god-tier spirit card, the Underworld Goddess was guaranteed to have at least two effects—possibly even three.
Trading the opponent's endboard for your own endboard?
That was almost always worth it.
Unfortunately—
This card was clearly unobtainable.
She was already You Ye's wife—
There was no chance he would give up the original card.
As for going to the Underworld to negotiate?
Impossible.
The Underworld was not a place a mere King-rank Duelist could enter.
Having accepted that reality, Li Yuan shifted his focus back to the duel.
Duel Continues
"Because you Special Summoned a monster, I activate Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames in my Graveyard, targeting Underworld Goddess of the Closed World on your field and Rescue-ACE Air Lifter on my field. I destroy them, then Special Summon!"
You Ye immediately responded:
"Chain 2 — I activate the first effect of Underworld Goddess of the Closed World.
When this card is Link Summoned, all face-up monsters your opponent controls are negated!"
"And as you know, monsters Link Summoned using Lyna as material are unaffected by destruction effects.
So you can only destroy your own monster."
Li Yuan confirmed the effect, then nodded.
"So it doesn't target… and it's a permanent negate."
For other decks, this would be devastating.
But for him, it was manageable—his monsters rotated quickly.
There was an impact, but not a fatal one.
Chain Resolution
C2: Underworld Goddess's effect resolves successfully.
C1: Rescue-ACE Air Lifter is destroyed; Promethean Princess is Special Summoned from the Graveyard.
(Note: Due to the Underworld Goddess's effect, the effect of Battleship of the Wandering Fleet – Giant Whale is negated, and its ATK returns to its original 2600.)
After the resolution, Li Yuan spoke again:
"I activate R-Rescue from my hand.
Once per turn, I target 1 'Rescue-ACE' monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it."
"I target Rescue-ACE Turbulence!"
"Come back to the field—my archetype's big brother!"
In that instant, You Ye understood Li Yuan's plan.
Li Yuan intended to force him to summon Little Knight, banish Turbulence, then enter the Battle Phase and use Battleship of the Wandering Fleet – Giant Whale to destroy Turbulence and push for damage.
Because R-Rescue! had an additional effect—
As long as the Rescue-ACE Fire Hydrant was on the field, Turbulence could be revived again.
And with Fire Hydrant's continuous effect, Rescue-ACE monsters could not be targeted.
It was a perfectly layered defense against Little Knight.
By Main Phase 2, Li Yuan would surely complete Turbulence's summon, set four cards, and interfere with the next turn.
Unfortunately—
You Ye had never relied on a single path.
Little Knight was merely one option.
Absolute Shutdown
"Sorry," You Ye said calmly.
"That effect does not resolve."
"Chain 2 — I activate the third effect of my wife, Underworld Goddess of the Closed World.
Once per turn, when your opponent activates a Spell, Trap, or monster effect that includes Special Summoning from the Graveyard, I can negate that activation."
"So… the third effect is a Graveyard Summon Negate?" Li Yuan asked.
Though surprised, he wasn't shocked.
Given her identity, it made perfect sense.
Still, it was uncomfortable.
With this effect active, Promethean Princess couldn't enter the Battle Phase to send herself to the Graveyard.
She had to stay on the field—
Otherwise, her next Special Summon would simply be negated.
Chain Resolution
C2: Underworld Goddess's third effect resolves.
C1: R-Rescue! is negated and destroyed.
"I set one card. End my turn."
Li Yuan glanced at his hand and chose to set a single card.
End Phase Surprise
"At the end of your turn," You Ye said,
"I flip R-Rescue!, targeting Rescue-ACE Turbulence in my Graveyard. I Special Summon it."
"You're even playing around a second-speed Air Lifter?" Li Yuan muttered.
Considering the earlier EMERGENCY search and now activating R-Rescue! in the End Phase—
Li Yuan's lips twitched.
You Ye was already overwhelmingly strong, and yet his precision was absurd.
"Details decide victory," You Ye replied with a smile.
Li Yuan fell silent.
He couldn't refute that.
Final Turn
"My turn. Draw."
No objections.
Main Phase 1.
"I activate Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye.
Once per turn, I target 1 face-up monster on the field, place it face-up in its owner's Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell."
"I target your Battleship of the Wandering Fleet – Giant Whale."
Li Yuan wanted to respond—but held back.
He knew that Sinful Spoils of Betrayal – Silver Wolf was in the Graveyard.
If he chained any Sinful Spoils card—
Silver Wolf would banish itself to negate him.
A guaranteed triple-color negate.
Too costly.
As expected, Li Yuan didn't chain.
But his hesitation told you, Ye, everything—
Li Yuan still had interaction in hand.
"I activate the Field Spell Rescue-ACE Headquarters, then activate its effect.
I shuffle R-Rescue!, A-Alert!, C-Contain!, and E-Extinguish! from my Graveyard into the Deck, then draw one card."
"I Normal Summon Snake-Eyes Blue. Effect—search!"
"Chain 2 — I activate C-Contain!, targeting Snake-Eyes Blue.
This turn, it cannot attack, and its effects are negated!"
"Because I control Rescue-ACE Fire Hydrant, Snake-Eyes Blue also cannot be used as Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Link Material this turn."
Li Yuan pointed at his set card as he declared it.
"Contain, huh?" You, Ye, nodded.
"Well-timed interaction."
Li Yuan had deliberately used it on a non–Rescue-ACE monster—
and one critical to You Ye's extension.
Because You Ye had EMERGENCY in hand, he could tribute around it.
"Well played," You Ye acknowledged.
"That's my last piece of interaction," Li Yuan said frankly.
"If you can still clear Promethean Princess and OTK me with just three cards in hand—
Then the victory is yours."
"Then watch my play," You Ye smiled.
The Final Board
"I activate Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye in my hand.
I send Snake-Eyes Blue to the Graveyard to Special Summon Rescue-ACE Fire Hydrant from the Deck."
"Fire Hydrant effect—add my archetype's second brother to my hand."
"Then Rescue-ACE Turbulence activates—
I set R-Rescue!, A-Alert!, C-Contain!, and E-Extinguish!."
"Fire Hydrant's second effect—
Rescue-ACE Quick-Play Spells and Traps Set by effects can be activated in the turn they are set."
"I activate A-Alert!, adding Rescue-ACE Fire Engine from my Deck to my hand."
"Then I activate Rescue-ACE Preventer, banishing Fire Hydrant from the Graveyard to Special Summon it in Attack Position."
"Because I Special Summoned a Rescue-ACE monster, Rescue-ACE Fire Engine in my hand triggers—
Once per turn, if another Rescue-ACE monster is Summoned, I can Special Summon it from my hand."
"You're not even making a board?" Li Yuan sighed helplessly.
"You already have enough damage."
He was right.
With Rescue-ACE Headquarters, all Rescue-ACE monsters gained 500 ATK.
You Ye's field:
Underworld Goddess of the Closed World — 3000 ATK
Rescue-ACE Turbulence — 3500 ATK
Rescue-ACE Preventer — 3300 ATK
Rescue-ACE Fire Engine — 3000 ATK
Plus a face-up Defense Position Fire Hydrant
Li Yuan had only Promethean Princess with 2700 ATK.
Far beyond lethal.
"It's not that I'm underestimating you," You Ye said lightly.
"But if I followed the standard combo, I'd have to Link off my wife."
"If the outcome were uncertain, fine.
But you have no interaction left. No cards in hand."
"Why would I sacrifice my wife just to flex?"
Li Yuan's lips twitched violently.
He had no response.
After You Ye declared the Battle Phase, the duel ended in a single sweep.
After the Duel
"So Snake-Eyes Sinful Spoils can be used like this…" Li Yuan said with a smile.
"I thought it was just a way to summon Diabellstar."
"You've only scratched the surface," You Ye shook his head.
If optimized with certain engines, Snake-Eyes could push Rescue-ACE even higher.
"Your Duel knowledge is terrifying," Li Yuan sighed.
"Standing on the shoulders of giants," You Ye replied.
He gently held Underworld Goddess Eres as her form began to fade.
"Ye, don't waste your power. We'll meet again."
Her clear voice echoed in his heart, and she placed a soft kiss on his forehead.
A cool sensation lingered.
When You Ye regained focus, she was gone.
Epilogue — A New Threat
Later, outside the National Tournament venue, You Ye arrived with Mei Luo and the other girl.
A man in a black hood stood nearby.
When You Ye looked at him, the man slowly removed the hood—
Revealing a face that was half mechanical, half human.
With a chilling laugh, he spoke:
Hehehe… kid.
Hand over the Tearlaments archetype.
In return, for helping me walk the path to King—
I'll spare your life.