huh?

Initially, it was just a faint breeze, but it quickly escalated into a literal tornado.

The massive vortex acted like a relentless disintegrator, swallowing everything in its path.

And when the dust settled, the rancid, putrid breeze still lingered.

Of course, they also remained standing atop the Undying World.

"In any case, by the effect of Mystical Space Typhoon, I'm destroying your Pandemonium."

Yu Ming took a deep breath, scanning the surroundings—a landscape of skeletal remains and rampant zombies.

"Please continue your turn, Mr. Hades."

Under the young man's gaze, the Archdemon merely frowned, as if a rusted machine needed time to restart. After a long silence, he finally snapped out of it.

"To manipulate wind magic so freely, it seems your proficiency in White Magic is higher than I imagined..."

"No, why are you bringing up that nonsense again? Do you know your idiotic commentary almost made me miss my activation window..."

"But even so, you still don't have the right to stand between him and me!"

"..."

For a moment, Yu Ming felt like he must be suffering from some illness.

When Hades roared loudly, he felt dizzy, his heart throbbed, and even his eyes flickered with a strange heat, as if his eyeballs were about to dissolve at any moment.

"I..."

He really wanted to curse out something else, a unique heat bubbling deep inside him, even rising to his throat.

The searing sensation in his throat, as if it were being roasted, ultimately made him abandon the idea of being a loudmouth.

After all...

"I will expend a portion of magic to fill the wings of this Undying Phoenix!"

Hades really didn't listen.

He had been cursing him this whole time, but the guy just wouldn't listen.

In this situation, forget about insulting his family; even bringing up his entire family tree would be useless.

"Speaking of which, Hades, do you have a mother?"

BOOM

Amidst the scorching, burning flames, Yu Ming sighed.

"Never mind."

Since the other party refused to speak reasonably, he could only rely on himself now.

After taking a deep breath, his gaze fixed on the front.

There, amidst a mournful phoenix cry, the appearing feather had already burned to ashes.

"Phoenix God's Feather."

Unless he was mistaken, it had to be this card.

"With the power of these wings, I will re-guide the path to the demonic lair."

Discard 1 card from your hand, then target 1 card in your Graveyard; return that target to the top of the Deck.

This was the card's text description, and there was nothing particularly problematic about it.

The crucial point was that Hades now only had one card in his hand!

Whether he wanted to get a Field Spell from his Deck or make further plays, considering the face-down card in his back row, he only had these two cards to work with.

And with the card pool of the DM environment, even with some later derivations, making such a move was almost impossible.

So...

"It should be a Pot of Greed or something."

Card of Sanctity?

Card of Demise?

Destiny Draw?

Or...

"Compensation."

"Huh?"

"When I destroy this special vessel, the stored magic will grant me a return!"

Ignoring these mystical pronouncements, Yu Ming simply looked upwards.

Hades' Graveyard was glowing faintly, and the phantom of a card burning with pale flames slowly appeared.

Compensation Pot of Greed (Original Card)

On the card's face, gilded letters flickered:

"When this card is sent from the hand to the Graveyard, draw 2 cards." (Original effect)

"Oh, wow, there's something like this."

"With this, the path to ascension has finally returned to my hands."

After a series of maneuvers, Hades finally retrieved the Field Spell card.

And what he was going to do next was obvious.

"Come, witness its power!"

RUMBLE

Under its immense power, the field changed once again.

Flashes of arcane lightning dispelled the stench of decay from various corpses.

Amidst the Demons' wails, the Demons' nest returned.

"Pandemonium - Demon's Nest"

"With this, the preparations are complete."

Standing in the center of the altar-like field, Hades slowly raised his hand.

"Young wizard, witness this great power!"

BOOM

Lightning flashed, and a colossal figure emerged.

Yu Ming had seen that axe-wielding figure before, as a Duelist.

"Berserk Demon, is it?"

Berserk Demon (LV6)

Attribute/DARK

Type/Fiend

ATK/2000 DEF/0

"My battle-hardened servant will devour the weak!"

BOOM

The Berserker punched down, tearing the cavalry apart.

"It will lock onto the enemy and bring me victory."

Berserk Demon

ATK/2000 → 3900

Meanwhile, the annihilated remains didn't completely vanish.

They were cast onto the altar, finally merging into the burning azure flames.

"The power of Pandemonium will transform the remains of Demons not destroyed by battle into a path, guiding the arrival of their kin!"

"When a 'Demon' monster is destroyed by a non-battle effect and sent to the Graveyard, you can add 1 'Demon' monster from your Deck to your hand whose Level is lower than the destroyed monster's Level..."

Silently correcting it with more formal language, Yu Ming sighed.

"I'll guide Hell Soldier Demon to my hand."

And that wasn't all.

"My loyal servant will guide the path to the Underworld."

As Hades roared, the remaining spear carved out a blood-red vortex.

Of course, this combo had been demonstrated before, also by special summoning a Demon from the Graveyard through Demon Cavalry's effect.

However, he was summoning a different one.

"It will bring the sleeping gatekeeper before its master."

As Hades chanted, the orange Demon unfurled its dark green wings.

Archfiend General (LV4)

Attribute/DARK

Type/Fiend

ATK/2100 DEF/800

"You see, this is the path of Red Magic, this is the ascension of Demons!"

"...Uh, so can you please hurry up and continue?"

"Now, you will personally feel their power!"

"Oh my goodness..."

As Yu Ming couldn't help but slap his forehead, the massive Demon finally began to move.

His gaze fixed on the Demon Soldier, he charged forward with primal fury.

Then...

He brought his axe down!

BOOM

3900 vs 2500. A pure numbers game, with no suspense.

CRASH

Yu Ming LP: 4000→2600

Thump

As the monster was destroyed, a wound appeared on Yu Ming's chest, as if struck by a battle-axe.

Blood welled up, staining his dark top, as if pushing the blackness into a viscous abyss.

"Ugh..."

The searing pain of the Shadow Game assaulted his mind, making Yu Ming involuntarily close his eyes.

But a response was still necessary!

"When Claw of Hermos is sent to the Graveyard because the equipped monster was destroyed by battle, I activate its effect: that destroyed monster is Special Summoned to my field and equipped with this card again. And after that, if this card leaves the field, it will..."

He felt nothing. That inexplicable emptiness made Yu Ming's voice trail off.

"Banished?"

With that question, he opened his eyes, but nothing had happened in front of him.

Yet, he was sure he had activated the card's effect.

So there was only one answer...

"I summon the vengeful spirit from the East."

When Yu Ming looked at Hades, he saw him extend a withered finger.

And amidst the enraged roar of the Demon Soldier, the faint image of a girl slowly materialized.

And that girl...

That card...

That monster's name was...

"Shiranui Solitaire—she will drag your familiar into the abyss!"

Suddenly, Yu Ming's initially furrowed brow relaxed at a strange angle.

He wanted to say something, but...

"Huh?"

Sorry, I wrote a bug. I originally intended to use Gravekeeper's Servant for dramatic effect, but then realized I misunderstood the basic definition of the damage step. After careful consideration, I changed it to Shiranui Solitaire. I hope the chapter's humor isn't diminished. Deck construction is so troublesome; I got lazy and didn't test it, leading to a bug.