True Silent Magician! You're Still Too Naive.

"Then I Normal Summon a monster! Come forth! Assassin of Instant Kill!"

You Chen held a card between two fingers and swiftly slammed it down.

Assassin of Instant Kill
DARK Attribute/Level 4/Fiend-Type
ATK: 2000/DEF: 2000

"The effect of this card is that its ATK and DEF decrease by 400 for each card in my hand."

So it was obvious that You Chen's Assassin of Instant Kill had dropped to zero ATK.

True Silent Magician watched You Chen's plays, still unable to understand what was going on.

What exactly was he doing?

Everyone else desperately tried to raise their ATK, yet he had chosen a monster whose ATK actually decreased. Could it be that he had his eye on its 2000 ATK?

But to achieve that, he would need an empty hand. The cost was far too great.

The more she watched, the more True Silent Magician felt that this person's deck-building mindset was severely lacking in thought.

"End turn."

You Chen ended his turn just like that. Without Bow of Shooting Star, he could not attack directly. If he had it, his opponent probably would not have negated it—though that was only a possibility.

So this hand really was bricked.

But it did not matter. Even with a bricked hand, he could still fight.

"Then it's my turn! Draw!"

"From the looks of it, you've completely given up."

True Silent Magician drew a card, bringing her ATK to 3000.

She glanced at her hand and revealed a faint smile. She would end this in one turn!

She would defeat You Chen!

"I enter the Battle Phase directly!!"

True Silent Magician waved her slender hand and looked down upon You Chen from above.

Seeing this, You Chen calmly asked, "Going straight into the Battle Phase already?"

"It seems you aren't afraid of my Set Card at all."

True Silent Magician shook her head, as though she had already found this duel boring. She said indifferently, "Your strength confuses me. How could a duelist like you possess such high Dueling Acumen?"

"Perhaps it's because of your deck, but unfortunately, you've already lost."

"I attack the Assassin of Instant Kill on your field!"

"And now!"

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, Silent Magic Blast, from my hand!"

"While there is a 'Silent Magician' monster on your field, and you have more cards in your hand than your opponent, you can only activate this during either player's Battle Phase. Both players draw until they each have 6 cards in hand."

"So now, my ATK is 4000!"

"And since your Assassin of Instant Kill has zero ATK, it will be instantly destroyed!"

"These two monsters are worlds apart."

"For one, having more cards in hand is a boost. For the other, it is a burden."

"Without question, Silent Magic Blast is what will end this duel."

At that moment, True Silent Magician swung her wand, and holy waves of magical light gathered in the sky.

It formed a stark contrast with You Chen's listless Assassin of Instant Kill.

Yet at that very moment, You Chen raised his head and revealed an unexpected smile.

"Bingo!!"

"You guessed right. These two cards really are worlds apart—but precisely because of that, they are the secret weapon that will kill you!"

"True Silent Magician, you're still too naive."

"In this duel, I'll show you what a comeback is!"

The light blazing in You Chen's eyes made True Silent Magician freeze. Could it be that he had already foreseen this?

Did he still have another move?

It was useless!

No follow-up could save him.

At that moment, You Chen raised his hand and flipped over the Set Card before him.

"I flip my Set Card and activate the Trap Card, Curse of the Heavenly Evil Spirit!"

"Until the End Phase of the turn this card is activated, effects that increase or decrease ATK and DEF are reversed."

The moment those words fell—

True Silent Magician's delicate body trembled, and her pupils constricted. Only then did she realize that the hidden killing intent had been waiting right here!

If that was the case, then she was the one in danger.

Light flashed in her eyes. So this guy did understand deck-building. He had merely been waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal blow.

He was not simple.

And his deck-building mindset truly was different from the norm—he feigned weakness to lower his opponent's guard, then completed the assassination in an instant!

Only then did You Chen continue, "I have six cards in hand! So its ATK decreased by 2400, but due to Curse of the Heavenly Evil Spirit, it increases by 2400 instead."

"At this moment, the Assassin of Instant Kill on my field has risen to 4400 ATK!"

"Not only that, but because of this effect, your ATK drops to zero as well!"

"Come on! Attack me with everything you've got!"

You Chen's final remark was undoubtedly a taunt aimed at True Silent Magician.

"I take back what I said. You really aren't simple at all!"

"But that's all there is to it."

True Silent Magician's expression turned serious. Her slender hand swiftly pulled a card from her hand and spread it open!

She cried out, "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, Spellbook of Law!"

"You can target 1 Spellcaster-Type monster on the field and activate 1 of these effects.

● This turn, that face-up monster is unaffected by the effects of Spell Cards, except this card.

● This turn, that face-up monster is unaffected by the effects of Trap Cards."

"I choose myself. I will be unaffected by Trap Card effects!"

"So I won't lose my ATK because of Curse of the Heavenly Evil Spirit and get instantly defeated in one blow."

True Silent Magician knew that no matter what, she could not hold on any longer. But at least she would not be instantly defeated this turn. Once she summoned her big sister again—

She could continue maintaining her field.

"Unfortunately."

"I was prepared for that."

"I flip my other Set Card! I activate the Counter Trap Card, Magic Jammer!"

You Chen had been waiting for this moment. He flipped over the other Set Card before him.

"When a Magic Card is activated, you can discard 1 card to activate this card. Negate that activation, and destroy it."

Although he discarded a card, You Chen's Assassin of Instant Kill still had 4000 ATK.

A magic circle formed beneath True Silent Magician's feet, and countless bolts of lightning bound her Magic Card.

"What?!"

True Silent Magician had not expected him to have something prepared to guard against this as well. Judging by his expression, it seemed he had been watching out for this card from the very beginning.

But why did he know her deck so well?

As Curse of the Heavenly Evil Spirit took effect—

True Silent Magician's body went limp. By the time her magical wave reached the Assassin of Instant Kill, it could no longer harm him in the slightest.

In return, a flying knife shot toward her!

-4000 LP!!

"Ah!!!"

True Silent Magician let out a shrill scream, her entire body trembling.

Exactly four thousand. Not a point more, not a point less.

Her Life Points fell to zero.

Please keep reading. The author knows it can be frustrating to wait, so the duels will be wrapped up as quickly as possible. Only continued reading can improve the recommendations, and the story will be getting recommended soon. Please, everyone—there are few Yu-Gi-Oh! stories, and even fewer set in an original world. Please support this fledgling work.

Thanks to Tulu Guilai, Master of the Thirteen Realms, Nanjing Penguin, Black Tech Can't Be Played, Ren Yi, 5202, and reader 9369 for their recommendation votes!