In the lantern-lit glow of Mondstadt, Diluc and Klee stood on opposite sides of the entrance to the Cat's Tail.
Inside the tavern, customers drinking and playing Genius Invokation TCG immediately noticed the commotion outside. Curious, they rushed out to see what was happening.
As soon as they stepped out, they saw Diluc and Klee—each equipped with a Duel Disk.
Those who had witnessed the duel earlier in the day instantly understood.
Klee and Diluc were about to duel.
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
Both voices rang out as Diluc and Klee raised their Duel Disks, blocking their lines of sight from each other.
Kaeya, Amber, the tavern patrons, and even the adventurers who had been out all day and missed the earlier duel between Luya and Diluc watched with intense curiosity as this large-and-small pair prepared to fight.
"Klee… You can choose—first or second turn."
Diluc looked at her confidently. After his duel with Luya, he knew his Deck inside and out, so he let her decide.
"Diluc-uncle is a good person! Klee chooses to go first!" she cheered happily.
Hearing her call him uncle… Diluc fell silent.
How did he suddenly become an uncle?
...
Regardless, the duel began.
Klee took the first turn.
Both duelists drew five cards to form their starting hands.
Klee studied her cards carefully. Her face lit up with excitement. After thinking for a moment, she pulled out a card depicting three radiant swords of light.
"I activate the Spell Card, Swords of Revealing Light!" Klee shouted.
Diluc didn't stop her. The Spell Card activated successfully.
The moment her voice fell—
The night sky above the Cat's Tail flashed.
Three enormous swords of light appeared above Diluc's field. For an instant, time seemed to halt. Everyone was stunned.
"What is that?!"
"So bright!!!"
"This card looks seriously strong…"
"Even if we don't know the effect, effects that fancy HAVE to be strong…"
...
"Swords of Revealing Light stays on the field after activation. After your third End Phase, it destroys itself. As long as it remains in the Spell & Trap Zone, your monsters can't declare attacks."
Klee proudly explained its effect, eyes sparkling.
Diluc gazed calmly at the swords. He already knew what Swords of Revealing Light did—he had seen it in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime.
If he didn't remove that Spell, he wouldn't be able to attack for three full turns.
Upon hearing the effect, the crowd erupted.
"Way too strong!!"
"Three turns of being unable to fight back… brutal."
"Absolutely busted…"
"I wonder what other cursed cards Klee has in her Deck…"
Everyone eagerly waited for her next move.
"I Normal Summon Thundercrash Mammoth!"
With a burst of crackling sparks, a mammoth-like creature materialized on Klee's field. It had massive white tusks like carved jade pillars, and pale-blue hide that shimmered with flickering lightning.
[Thundercrash Mammoth] Level 3│EARTH│Beast│1200 ATK / 1000 DEF
The crowd murmured.
That was… a bit low in ATK. Only 1200.
Despite that, Klee only grinned brightly.
"I activate the Spell Card Jumpy Dumpty – Projection!"
The artwork showed Klee holding two Jumpy Dumpties while blasting fish in Starfell Lake.
Suddenly—two bombs materialized in her hands.
Klee tossed them toward Diluc.
The two Jumpy Dumpties transformed into cards—[Jumpy Dumpty]—and slipped into Diluc's Deck.
"Jumpy Dumpty – Projection sends two Jumpy Dumpty cards into your Deck! When you draw a Jumpy Dumpty, its effect activates!"
[Jumpy Dumpty] (Spell Card) Effect: Take 500 damage, then draw 1 card.
"I activate Thundercrash Mammoth's effect! Whenever a card is added to either player's Deck, add an extra copy of that same card! Since I added two Jumpy Dumpty cards to Uncle Diluc's Deck—Thundercrash Mammoth adds two more!"
After she explained, Thundercrash Mammoth generated two more Jumpy Dumpty cards.
Klee grabbed them and tossed them into Diluc's Deck.
Now Diluc's Deck contained four Jumpy Dumpties.
His Deck originally had 40 cards.
After drawing 5 for his opening hand, 35 remained.
After Klee added four bombs, he now had 39 cards—four of which were Jumpy Dumpties.
Every time Diluc drew… he had nearly a one-in-ten chance of pulling a bomb.
And this was only the beginning.
There were definitely more bombs coming.
Diluc felt a headache forming. This was beyond cursed.
But he kept a calm expression.
"…Don't call me uncle."
...
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