Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

"Alright, is this the last node that needs to be stabilized?" Looking at the distorted space in front of him, Hayato turned to ask [Temple's Water Sprite].

"Setting up the spell at this point means we've sealed off that new world?" Not only did [Temple's Water Sprite] follow Hayato, but the idle [Merged Dragon - Timaeus] also appeared beside Hayato.

"Actually, this is based on the same principle as the last time we sealed off the [Magic] world to prevent [Yubel]'s invasion. The only difference is that last time Yubel was outside the barrier, while this time she is surrounded inside," [Temple's Water Shield] explained. "Moreover, last time, because of the time constraints, we couldn't come up with a perfect plan. This time, I specially designed a new sealing barrier."

"Even the medium for the spell has been greatly updated. Last time, it was just about setting up magic anomalies in a few worlds, but this time, it's about ten worlds themselves that are used to complete the sealing spell."

In addition to the "Magic Wars" world, the Norse pantheon presided over by the "Three Gods," and the "Bird and Beast Forest and Great Desert" world that Hayato has already visited, there is also the Kingdom world with classic monsters such as the "Spirit Master" and the "Captain of the Charge," the Amazon rainforest world with a large forest but mainly inhabited by beastmen and beast warriors, and the "Justice World" controlled by an organization called the "Light Path," and so on.

To prevent Yubel from escaping again, Hayato has been running errands between various worlds these past few days. These worlds were all invaded by Yubel and had some of his power taken away. After "friendly exchanges" with the rulers of those worlds, Hayato secured their completely voluntary help to assist in completing the world-scale barrier spell used to capture Yubel.

Once the barrier is complete, even if Yubel uses herself, the "Phantom Gate," and the [Ultimate Jewel God - Rainbow Dragon]—all monsters with spatial teleportation abilities—she won't be able to escape from this world. This lair she built herself is being gradually transformed into a prison exclusively for Yubel's enjoyment under Hayato's leadership.

The barrier spells for the first nine worlds have been set up. Moreover, because of the previous experience of having the plan disrupted by Yubel's sudden actions, this time the [Temple's Water Strike] specially designed the barrier. After the nodes of the two worlds were set up, the blockade was already in place. Each additional node thereafter strengthens the power of the existing blockade.

The final world node will be provided by the world created by the [Merged Dragon - Timaeus]. After completing the ritual here, Hayato will enter Yubel's Frankenstein's monster world to resolve the many troubles that have been troubling him recently.

"However, the same situation will still occur when drawing spells at world nodes, right?" Hayato asked again, watching [Sanctuary's Water Deity] continuously release magic power to draw spell circles in the air.

"As expected of Lord Hayato, you've already learned to apply what you've learned to other situations~" [Sanctuary's Mizuki] said, giving Hayato a sweet smile.

"After all, I've already done it nine times. I'm not the kind of person who forgets everything from yesterday after just one night's sleep," Hayato remarked, glancing at the [Merged Dragon - Timaeus] beside him. "I hope the resistance won't be too intense later on."

"Hmm? What will happen then?" Looking at Hayato with confusion, [Merged Dragon - Timaeus] had been staying in its own world and hadn't left, so it naturally didn't understand what Hayato and [Temple's Water Sprite] were talking about. "If there's anything we can do to help, just say the word."

“It’s not a matter of whether you cooperate or not. It’s mainly about what the part of your power that was taken from you thinks. Your opinion is not important,” Hayato explained. “Although Yubel’s power is stronger than that of ordinary monsters, it’s still too much to ask her to create a large world out of thin air for her and Jaden to play some flirtatious games. So she had to choose to take power from other worlds to piece together a large world.”

"Even you, [Merged Dragon - Timaeus], ​​weren't you stripped of a portion of the world's power, which is why you can only manifest in dragon form now? Just like how Reverse-Flash's existence caused the Flash's Speed ​​Force to decrease and he couldn't run fast enough, the power that Yubel took from you has also been integrated into the world she created and become a part of that world."

“Normally, those powers are so powerful that even Yubel himself cannot use them to maintain the existence of the world. However, because the barrier spell we are casting this time will treat the world itself as a ‘roadblock’ to Yubel’s retreat, the worlds that are too close will awaken the same source powers that are the main components of Yubel’s world—”

As they were talking, with Hayato's explanation and the drawing of the spell by [Sanctuary's Water Strike], distorted ripples appeared in the air in front of them. Then, as if a mirror had been erected, a dragon-shaped life form that was highly similar to [Merged Dragon - Timaeus], ​​but with a completely opposite color scheme, appeared from the ripples.

“In the world of ‘Magic Wars’, I helped Alai and the others re-enact the power of the world. The only thing that materialized was the [Great Sage of Absolute Fire], which looked similar. In the ‘Bird and Beast Desert Forest’, I even played a game with [Black Winged Dragon-Black Feather]. And in the world of ‘Three Extreme Gods’, my opponents were even [King of the Thunder] and others.”

Hayato casually showed off the few cards he got when he defeated his opponent, saying it was just a matter of convenience, and then raised his Duel Disk, saying, "Besides, don't even think about defeating these monsters that have materialized from power. You can't do it."

"...Have the rulers of other worlds tried that too?" The Combined Dragon - Timaeus, whose thoughts had been guessed by Hayato, didn't try to be stubborn. Since even Hayato said so, of course he believed Hayato.

"That pig-nosed Alai thought he could beat Zoroastrianism once before and do it again this time. But when he rushed in, he was beaten so badly that he flew back with his mouth open and eyes closed. The fact that Moonlight could emerge from the Amazon world is just too amazing. It made those tigresses 'invincible'."

After a pause, Hayato added with a smile, "The most impressive one is Loki. He achieved an impressive time of 2.7 seconds, and was defeated by Shadow of the King without even casting a single spell."

"And the [Supreme Holy Emperor - Odin] and [King of the Todoroki - Hal] fought for a long time without either of them breaking through the other's defense. Both of them could use prophecy, so it became a situation of 'I predict what you predict, I predict what you predict.' Not to mention the [Light Path], even the [Light Path Athena - Minerva] appeared and still couldn't defeat the [Divine Light Dragon] formed by the fusion of the [Judgment Dragon] and the [Punishment Dragon].

"That's because the power of these worlds was contaminated by Yubel's 'Light Wave' after they left. Although they were originally just small fragments of their respective worlds, the 'Light of Annihilation' strengthened them and made those powers complete."

Following up on [The Temple's Water Dispatch]'s words, Hayato added, "After all, the famous high jumper Mr. Imia Shiro once said that you can't beat the real thing without a fake."

"Is that some celebrity?"

"Of course, he also said famous quotes like 'When a person is killed, they die,' 'King of Heroes, do you still have enough Noble Phantasms in stock?' 'I seem to like this man named Kotomine Kirei.' Oh, the last one doesn't count, but it can be counted."

Hayato was leisurely explaining things to [Merged Dragon - Timaeus], ​​but the other "Timaeus" that appeared due to the stimulation of the barrier spell was driven by instinct—because the power within its body was mostly composed of "Destruction Light," so the monsters that appeared when these world powers were activated were mostly filled with destructive desires and completely impossible to communicate with normally—and spat out a dragon flame at Hayato and [Merged Dragon - Timaeus]!
"boom!"

【Merged Dragon - Timaeus】 blocked the attack, and feeling the energy and power contained in it, he had to nod and admit: "It is indeed a violent power full of destructive aura. Even we would find it difficult to subdue. So, I will have to ask you for help again, Hayato Kobayashi."

"Just don't experience phantom pain later when you see a power avatar similar to yours getting beaten up by me." Hayato inserted the adjusted deck into the Duel Disk and looked at the dragon in front of him. "Although it looks similar, its temperament is completely opposite. Perhaps, calling this guy 'Fusion Dragon - Timaeus' would be more appropriate?"

"Come on, reveal your deck, and then face inevitable defeat—in my hands!" "Duel!"

[Kobayashi Hayato: 4000LP, hand card: 5]

As Hayato unfolded the Duel Disk, [Merged Dragon - Timaeus] also gathered its power and created a Duel Disk out of thin air in front of it. Then, a portion of its power condensed into a human form and it put on the Duel Disk.

However, even though he knew that when the other party created the "Proxy," they simply extracted a portion of the past memories from the power of [Merged Dragon - Timaeus] without specifically choosing a humanoid form, Hayato still couldn't help but retort, "Seriously? Playing cards with me in the form of [Legendary Knight - Timaeus]?"

【Legendary Knight】is the human world battle form that emerged from the period when 【Timaeus】 disintegrated into three individual “Nameless Dragons”, using the power of the 【Legendary Heart】 and the chosen warriors. 【Legendary Knight - Timaeus】 naturally corresponds to the 【Eye of Timaeus】 used in the game.

This resulted in the fact that, apart from his right eye being closed due to injury, the entire appearance of the Legendary Knight - Timaeus was practically identical to Yugi Muto. In particular, Hayato had seen what the other looked like after removing his helmet, and even the starfish head had been preserved. In other words, the feeling of Hayato dueling with the "Legendary Knight - Timaeus" created by the Combined Dragon - Timaeus was almost like dueling with Yugi!
"DDuDuel!" The voice was a little hoarse at first, but "Dragon Knight - Timaeus" quickly adapted to the human way of speaking, shouting while wearing the Duel Disk, and even taking the initiative while Hayato wasn't paying attention, "The first turn is mine, my turn, draw!"

【Timaeus the Dragon Knight: 4000 LP, Hand: 5→6】

"In my main phase one, I set a card." Like a [Infernal] player, he sets a card right from the start, and then plays a card from his hand. "Then I pay 1000 Life Points and activate [Simple Fusion]."

【魔龙骑士-提迈欧斯：4000→3000LP，手牌：6→5→4】

"You can only activate one card with the name '[Simple Fusion]' per turn. You must pay 1000 Life Points to activate this effect. Special Summon one Level 6 or lower Fusion Monster (excluding Effect Monsters) from my Extra Deck as a Fusion Summon. The monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot attack and is destroyed during the End Phase."

Compared to the commonly known "cup noodles" Fusion, the card art for Simple Fusion has been changed to a more sophisticated pre-made meal kit. Correspondingly, the level of the Fusion Monsters that can be Special Summoned has been increased from 5☆ to 6☆. However, despite this upgrade, the number of monsters that can be Fusion Summoned has actually decreased, and it's become less useful. This is because this card can only Special Summon Fusion Monsters other than Effect Monsters, essentially "plain monsters" like Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, which have no effects and aren't even considered Normal Monsters.

However, the monsters summoned by [Simple Fusion] cannot attack and will be destroyed during the End Phase. Even if Hayato had cards to counter this effect, he wouldn't bother activating it.

The Dragon Knight Timaeus took out a card and said, "The monster I Special Summon is this one, a Level 6 ☆ [Three-Eyed Wizard]."

Sometimes, 1+1 doesn't equal 2, or even greater than 1. The card "Three-Eyed Wizard" is the best example, fully demonstrating that sometimes fusing two powerful cards together is not as good as letting the two cards stand alone. The two monsters that form its fusion material, whether it's "Three-Eyed Monster" or "Black Forest Witch," are quite high-quality monsters, but what about "Three-Eyed Wizard"?
The fact that this card can be Special Summoned by [Simple Fusion] shows that it's just a regular card with no effect!

【The Three-Eyed Little Wizard】【6☆/Dark】

[Mage Race/Fusion]

[2100/1800]

However, after playing the card "Three-Eyed Wizard," the Dragon Knight Timaeus, without playing any cards from his hand, pointed to the "Three-Eyed Wizard" on the field—which was affected by the negative effect of "Simple Fusion," unable to attack, and would self-destruct at the end of the turn—and said, "During the turn a Spell Card was activated, banish one DARK Spellcaster monster with a Level 6 or higher that I control—"

The three-eyed little wizard, whose appearance was not particularly good-looking but could be described as "endearing," was suddenly infused with a large amount of magic. The power from the "Light of Annihilation" instantly distorted his form, causing his entire body to grow abnormally and was forcibly transformed into a tall humanoid figure.

With its cold, stern face, pale long hair, scarlet cloak, and hideous robes, along with the unidentifiable straps on the robes, the monster that appeared before Hayato felt strangely familiar. When Hayato called out the monster's name, Hayato couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise.

"The power of shattered light permeates, unearthing destructive force from the darkness!" The Dragon Knight, Timaeus, placed the card down.

"Dominion Transformation, Level 8☆!"

"—【The Dark Magician of Destruction】!"

【The Dark Magician of Destruction】【8☆/Dark】

[Mage Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2800/2600]

"Not only does it use a game character's face, but this monster is even 'Dark Magician'?!" Looking at the card name of [Dark Magician of Destruction], which seemed to change to [Dark Magician] and then back again due to its own effect—clearly having an effect like "using the card name as [Dark Magician]"—Hayato couldn't help but cover his mouth. "This is truly—"

But what he couldn't hide was the corner of his mouth, which he tried so hard to suppress but ultimately couldn't hide, and he grinned: "Truly—fate!"

(Although I posted a picture of the new card, I feel it won't pass the review, so I'll just post it for now and see.) (End of this chapter)