Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

He hadn't reduced the opponent's base score to begin with, and now he was still increasing it. Although there's a saying that "as long as the base score doesn't go to zero, it's infinite," Jaden didn't want to challenge himself to see how much combat damage he could deal in one turn.

If the opponent's base score is so high that they can't be killed in one turn, then who knows how many more variables will arise if it takes an extra turn to finish them off—especially since they don't have the extra time for a leisurely and steady duel right now. With the [Awakened Three Phantom Demons] activated, the faster they finish off the opponent, the better.

So, let's go back to [M·hero Gale]. Since it's ineffective, why did Jaden choose the level 6 [M·hero Gale] instead of the level 8 [M·hero Kamikaze] which has higher attack power when using [Mask Change]? The answer lies in the second effect that Jaden actually wanted to use.

"If [M·Hero Gale] is Special Summoned, its effect can be activated, but since [Awakened Three Phantoms] will negate its effect, whether or not it is activated is irrelevant." After a pause, Jaden played a card from his hand. "Next, I will activate the Spell Card [Masked Charge], targeting one [Hero] monster and one [Change] Quick-Play Spell Card in my Graveyard, adding them to my hand. I chose [Miracle Excluder] and [Masked Change] from my Graveyard."

[Yujo Judai: 2000LP, hand size 4→5]

Jaden immediately activates the effect of [M·Hero Gale] after recovering [Mask Change]: "Next, I activate the second effect of [M·Hero Gale], which is the key to both players' turns. I pay 500 Life Points and can target one Spell/Trap Card on my opponent's field to return that card to their hand."

"The card I've chosen is naturally the [Awakened Three Phantom Demons]!"

Compared to breaking the resistance granted by [Paradise Lost], it is obviously a higher priority to deal with the troublesome [Awakened Three Phantoms]. More importantly, Jaden and John can no longer tolerate their beloved spirits being tormented because of this card.

Along with the activation of [M·hero Gale]'s effect, Jaden's barely-used [Mask Change] card also activated: "Chain activation of my Quick-Play Spell Card [Mask Change], sending [M·hero Gale] from my field to the Graveyard, Special Summoning one [M·hero] monster with the same Attribute from my Extra Deck!"

"Mask Change! Level 8☆!"

"【M·Hero Kamikaze】!"

A stronger wind warrior, cloaked in armor, appeared where [M·hero Gust] had vanished in a whirlwind, whipping up a gale that swept outwards. Unfortunately, he too was not spared; a portion of his power was still seized by the [Awakened Three Phantom Demons] and absorbed into Gana Malden's body. But this was the last bit of power the [Awakened Three Phantom Demons] provided to Gana Malden.

【M·hero Kamikaze】【8☆/Wind】

[Warrior Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2700/1900]

【"Ghana Malden": 12700→15400LP, Hand: 1→2】

After the Special Summoning of M·hero Kamikaze was completed by the Mask Change, it was time for the effect of M·hero Gale, which had already left the field, to be dealt with. The last power of M·hero Gale, which disappeared as a whirlwind, formed a tornado that was very similar to the Spell Card Cyclone, which picked up the card of Awakened Three Phantoms and kicked it back into "Gana Malden's" hand.

[Yujo Judai: 2000→1500LP, Hand: 5→4]

As a result, Judai's already low Life Points have been reduced even further, and now his Life Points are less than one-tenth of "Gana Malden's".

However, as the card of the Awakened Three Phantoms left, the Thunder King Hamon successfully regained consciousness and immediately stopped absorbing the power of the Spirit World. The Phantom King Rabiel, who was standing next to him, also stopped his actions after being reminded by Hamon's behavior.

Furthermore, from now on, the restrictions on Jaden and John's field are finally lifted, and there is no longer any need to worry about Special Summoned monsters being unable to use their effects and instead causing the opponent to recover Life Points.

"So, that's how it works!" Looking at the [Awakened Three Phantom Demons] back in his hand, he knew that he could only play it again after his next turn. Until then, the card was just a decoration and would be useless. "Returning the card to my hand, well done, Jaden!"

Although it was meant as a compliment, it had a hint of gritted teeth about it. Jaden responded with a smile: "Do you even need to tell me? Now that the three Awakened Phantom Demons are no longer in your way, I can finally slowly clear out the rest of your cards."

Jaden organized the four cards in his hand, three of which were [Miracle Excluder], [EN - New Universe Intervention], and [Winged Kuriboh LV6], which he had already revealed to others. He played one of the cards and said, "Next, I will use the Normal Spell Card [EN - New Universe Intervention]."

"I can activate this effect by sending one [E-hero] monster and one [N] monster from my hand and Deck to the Graveyard. I send [Winged Kuriboh LV6] from my hand to the Graveyard—this card's name can be used as [E-hero] in addition to [Beloved]." Jaden discards the card in his hand and takes out a card from his Deck. "And, what I discarded from my Deck is this [N-Dark Panther]."

"Under the effect of [EN-Neo Cosmic War], I can Special Summon a single [N] monster or a Level 5 or higher [E-hero] monster from my Deck, and add one [Fusion] card from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand. I choose to Special Summon the Level 7 [E-hero Neo Cosmic Spirit] and add a second [Displacement Fusion] card from my Deck to my hand."

"Come out, Neos!"

With a translucent, pure white body adorned with red patterns and a blue indicator light on its chest brimming with power, the spirit form of the new universe hero—[E·hero Neo-Ultraman]—who bears a striking resemblance to Ultraman, has made its dazzling debut!

【E·hero New Universe Elf】【ATK2500】

"If [E·hero Neos Elf] is Special Summoned, activate this effect and add one Spell/Trap Card or [Fusion] with the name of [E·hero] monster from my Deck to my hand."

The first half of the search effect of 【E·hero Neospiel】 is the same as that of 【Miracle Excluder】, so Jaden chose the card with the most 【E·hero Neospiel】 in its name, "I choose this 【EN Switch】 card with the 【E·hero Neospiel】 in its name."

The moment that [E·hero Neo-Elf] appeared also marked the first meeting between "Gana Malden" and "E·hero Neo-Elf," representing the "Darkness of Justice."

"...Is that the guy? He was a card with me, but you were the only one chosen by the so-called 'Darkness of Justice,' and you even arrived at Jaden's side a whole year before me!" Ghana Malden glared at [E·hero Neospiel], clearly agitated. "It was me! I was first! I was here first!"

"Whether it was making a promise to Judai, protecting him, or winning his love—I was the one who came first!"

"I will never allow you to take Jaden away from me, so—Trap Card activated!"

Although the Awakened Three Phantoms have left, that doesn't mean that "Gana Malden" has no cards left to use. There's always a card set face-down on her back row—the unknown "Magic God" Spell/Trap Card set face-down by "Resurrection of the Demon God Realm"!

As the card was revealed, a powerful magical force suddenly erupted from "Gana Malden's" graveyard, firmly locking onto the aura of the [E·hero Neos Elf] that had just appeared on the field in Jaden's game. Because of personal grudges, "Gana Malden" was acting against him recklessly, not caring at all whether it was reasonable to just hand over his only face-down card.

"【Magical God】only has three Spell/Trap Cards: a Field Spell Card, a Continuous Spell Card, and this Trap Card, 【Magical God of Rebellion】." Discarding a card from his hand, "Gana Malden" said, "You can activate this effect by targeting one 【Magical God】 monster in my Graveyard and one face-up monster on the field. Discard one card from my hand, Special Summon the targeted monster from my Graveyard, and destroy the targeted card on the field!"

"【E·hero Neo-Elf】, I can no longer tolerate your existence in this world with ten generations! Die under this 【Rebellious Demon God】!"

Because of the angle, John could clearly see that the opponent had actually discarded the [Awakened Three Phantoms] card that had just returned to their hand!

"What deep-seated grudge could this be...?" John complained as the newly appeared [E·hero Neos Elf] was shattered, and Jaden didn't even have time to use its other effect to return to the deck and Special Summon [E·hero Neos Knight].

At the same time, the [Demon God] in the "Gana Malden" graveyard was also resurrected—the [Demon God - Leviathan], a superior being with a level 10☆!

【Leviathan】【ATK3000】

Although in the previous use of "Gana Malden", its main purpose was basically the same as "Little Horned Dragon" in the Dinosaur-type deck: to be destroyed to activate its effect, this does not affect its noble 3000 ATK, which is rarely exceeded by monsters.

"You did very well, Jaden, but you overdid it. You angered me by Special Summoning [E·hero Neospiel], and I will punish you—by what is called 'Pain'!"

With his arms outstretched, "Gana Malden" grinned maliciously: "Don't forget an important rule of this duel—your and John Anderson's field cards are not interchangeable. Your monsters cannot protect John Anderson. With his field currently empty, I can defeat him directly in the first battle phase of this duel next turn!"

“Right now I have two monsters with 4000 ATK and one monster with 3000 ATK on my field. Even without the effects of the ‘Phantom Demons’, I have enough power to kill John Anderson right in front of you. And what can you do to stop me when you can’t even enter the Battle Phase? There’s no way, absolutely none!”

"【Paradise Lost】grants the 'Phantom Demons' resistance, and the destruction of 【Demon God - Leviathan】will provide me with a large amount of resources to allow me to expand in the next turn. You can't even kill me this turn by reducing my base score, because my base score is now as high as 15400 points, which is your 1000%!"

"Pain, Judai, pain! Struggle in the hatred of losing your 'friend' right before your eyes, just as I watched you being taken away by someone else. Feel my pain, feel my love too!"

Chapter 1816 True Name Dissolves: Yubel

"Tch, all they do is play threatening tricks," Judai said unhappily.

However, although he called the other party's methods "tricks," Jaden had to admit that the other party's threats were indeed effective against him and that he had them under his control.

If this duel were just a one-on-one duel, Jaden would simply need to fight as usual, unleashing the power of a hero. However, since it's a two-person team duel, he has to consider John's situation. The monster on the field, "Gana Malden," must be eliminated, otherwise John's situation will be in danger.

However, even though the card "Awakened Three Phantoms" has been dealt with, eliminating two "Phantoms" is still not an easy task. The "Prestige" resistance, which prevents monsters from being targeted by effects and destroyed by effects, is becoming more common with the acceleration of the game, but it is still a troublesome thing. In particular, the first battle phase of this duel can only be entered when Jaden's turn ends and the second turn of "Gana Malden" arrives. This makes it impossible for Jaden to even destroy the opponent's monsters by battle.

“This seems to be getting really bad.” John realized this after being reminded by the other person. “But don’t worry about me, Judai. Just do what you want to do.”

“Even if you say that, John, I can’t really just leave you alone.” Jaden frowned and chose to take a card from the graveyard first. “Anyway, I’ll use the power of [Winged Kuriboh LV6] in my graveyard first—once per turn, if this card is in my hand or graveyard, I can Special Summon one [E-hero] Fusion Monster or [Winged Kuriboh] that is face-up in my hand, graveyard, or on the field.”

"Except for the [E·hero Absolute Zero] in the cemetery, resurrect, Aibo!"

"Curry, Curry!"

Winged Kuriboh LV6, cosplaying as E. Hero Flame Wingman, jumped out of the Graveyard and appeared on Jaden's field in Defense Position. Upon landing, she cautiously glanced at Gana Malden's field, and only after confirming that the card "Awakened Three Phantoms" was not there did she breathe a sigh of relief and stay on the field with peace of mind.

"【Winged Kuriboh LV6】Can be released when an opponent declares an attack or when a monster on the field activates its effect, destroying that monster and inflicting damage to your opponent equal to its original ATK." "Gana Malden," who clearly knew Jaden's cards thoroughly and easily explained their effects, smirked. "But—it's meaningless! That weakling doesn't deserve to be your 'Aibo,' Jaden. That affectionate nickname should belong to me!"

"What can its power do? My 'Phantoms' on the field have resistance that cannot be destroyed by effects, so even if the effect is not targeted, it cannot stop my 'Phantoms' from attacking!"

“Of course I know you’re right, but doing something meaningless is better than doing nothing.” Jaden glanced at his hand and played a card. “Spell Card: Pot of Greed. Return five monster cards from my Graveyard—E·Hero Shadow Mist Lady, E·Hero Solid Man, E·Hero Neos Elf, M·Hero Gust, and Multiplying G—to the Deck, shuffle them, and draw two cards.”

Although the field is not shared, Jaden and John's graveyards are still connected in this duel. Therefore, Jaden can also shuffle John's card into his own deck using the effect of "Pot of Greed" - anyway, Jaden will return this card to John after defeating his opponent.

As for Jaden not choosing to return the [N] monsters from the Graveyard to the Deck... those cards naturally have other uses.

【游城十代：1500LP，手牌4→2→3→4】

"Next, I activate this [EN Switch] card in my hand that I just searched using the effect of [E·hero Neospiel]." Although it was destroyed by "Gana Malden," the effect of [E·hero Neospiel] had still functioned correctly, allowing Jaden to search for the card. "I return one [E·hero] monster or [N] monster on my field to my Deck, and Special Summon one [E·hero] monster or [N] monster with a different name from that monster from my Deck."

"I'm going to return [E·Hero Flameman] to the deck, and then I'll Special Summon—[E·Hero Skyman]!"

If you had three copies of Sky Warrior, who wouldn't want to play as a hero? Jaden was one of those people who had three copies of Sky Warrior, although he only put one in his deck to make room for other more important cards—such as [E·Hero Winged Man]—but he hadn't actually summoned it in this duel yet.

【E·hero Sky Warrior】【DEF300】

Generally speaking, the most common use of [E·hero Skywalker] is its search function. For example, Edward often uses [Hero Arrival] to Special Summon [E·hero Skywalker] to search for [V·hero] and [D·hero], since its search effect only requires the [Hero] field. Even he would find it difficult to remove it from his deck because it is so useful.

However, for Jaden at this moment, [E·hero Sky Warrior] is the second most useful.

"When 【E·Hero Sky Warrior】is Normal or Special Summoned, you can activate one of its two effects. Here, I choose to destroy up to the number of other 【Hero】 monsters on my field!" Jaden shouted, pointing to his opponent's field. "Besides 【E·Hero Sky Warrior】, I also have two 【Hero】 monsters on my field: 【M·Hero Kamikaze】 and 【Winged Kuriboh LV6】, so I can destroy up to two Spell/Trap Cards!"

"I will destroy the opponent's Continuous Spell Card 'Seven Essences Release Gate' and Field Spell Card 'Paradise Lost'!"

"Psionic Storm!"

【M·hero Kamikaze】 and 【Winged Kuriboh LV6】 stood behind 【E·hero Sky Warrior】, and as the propellers of the wings on its back spun at high speed, they unleashed their respective powers, adding even stronger energy to the two whirlwinds created by 【E·hero Sky Warrior】, causing flashes of electricity to appear within the storm from time to time.

The seven obelisks that invaded this world were destroyed by the storm, and even Paradise Lost itself was torn apart by the tornado, returning the three to the desert where they originally were.

"Big Brother!" "Tenth Generation!"

After the duel began, Jaden and John heard the voices of Sho Marufuji and Asuka again after a long time, and couldn't help but turn around and look: "Asuka, and everyone else?"

“We haven’t seen you guys since that ‘Paradise Lost’ card was activated.” Seeing that Judai was still lively and energetic, Asuka breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness, it seems like nothing happened to you guys.”

"Kenzan and I were just trying to summon monsters to rush in, but we got hurt instead." Marufuji Sho's face was a little pale, but he still smiled. "But it's good that you're alright, big brothers."

"Although everything is fine now, it doesn't mean everything will be fine in the future." The "Gana Malden" opposite him had a gloomy face as he looked at Asuka and Saotome Rei, who were trying to approach Judai, and muttered to himself, 'Why are there more and more troublesome people?' He raised his hand.

The next moment, the ground suddenly bulged, lifting Judai, John, and "Gana Malden" all up until they reached a height inaccessible to anyone else on the ground. "The duel with me wasn't even over yet, and you so easily took down my Judai..."

"You are not allowed to attract Judai's attention!"

However, even though "Gana Malden" moved as fast as possible, Asuka and Rei, who were closest to the platform, managed to grab onto the edge of the rising sand and stone platform and were lifted up several meters above the ground.

"Asuka, Rei?!" Judai was surprised by his friends' reckless actions. "You don't need to do this. John and I will take down this guy soon, so don't worry."

“But Judai, you’re usually too reckless. How can anyone feel at ease?” Asuka climbed onto the sofa and said earnestly, “I was so worried about you while you were gone... and John, and everyone else too. So now I’m going to make sure you come back safely.”

“Me too! Unlike that old woman, I’m especially worried about you, Judai-sama, far more than anyone else!” Saotome Rei followed up with Asuka, unable to tolerate her “running away”.

As Asuka gritted her teeth and said, "Who's the old woman?!" Rei looked across at Judai and John and said, "Besides, this guy stole my important little brother. Judai-sama, you should also support me, as the eldest sister, to personally confirm that you can bring Malden back."

"Oh, that's true. Taking care of your younger brother is the eldest brother's duty." Hearing Rei's words, Judai nodded, his attention easily diverted.

"Heh, really for this person's body? I doubt it. I saw it clearly, that look in your eyes... you woman, you clearly have designs on Judai!" The source of that sour voice was none other than "Maldives." She poked her chest and said, "Do you think that if I give this body back to you, you'll disappear from Judai's side?"

"In that case, I'll just give it back to you. Anyway, I've already absorbed most of the dark power deep within this person's heart, and with the power that 'Phantom Demon' just provided, it's more than enough for me to fully recover and store a considerable amount of energy. This one is unnecessary."

As he spoke, without Jaden interfering with cards like the [Wisdom Stone Alchemist], Gana Malden's body exhibited the same behavior as when Amon was controlled. First, Malden's own hand, which had the Duel Disk, drooped down as if it had clipped through the frame. Then, Malden's entire body knelt down and collapsed forward, while in its original position, golden duel energy surged, gathered, and deformed.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, although still under the control of others, [Thunder Emperor - Hamon] was able to do something else for John and the others. He caught Malden's body, which was falling to the ground, and threw it toward Judai. [M·hero Kamikaze] also made a move, using a gentle airflow as a buffer to catch Malden and hand it to Saotome Rei.

"Little Pony?!" Saotome Rei thanked [M·hero Kamikaze] for returning Malden so easily, and then, to prevent him from running away, pulled Asuka along to check on Malden's condition. Meanwhile, Judai and John stared intently at the golden energy lifeform.

The life form first took on a similar appearance to Malden, then transformed into the likeness of Amon, followed by the form of Rick, the one who had induced Professor Cobra's death. Finally, the energy began to truly reveal its original form, growing much taller and becoming slender.

Behind it, a pair of demonic bat wings spread out, and its hair stood on end in a frenzy, reflecting its mad mental state. For the first time, the golden energy life form's eyes displayed colors other than the gold of energy: one eye was orange, the other was green, and a third red eye opened on its forehead.

Under the watchful eyes of Judai and John, the energy transformed into a real substance, one half of the body possessing strong pectoral muscles, the other half displaying a mature and rounded female secondary sexual characteristic, all wrapped in a black leather outfit.

Half of her hair was purple and the other half was white, just like her half-male and half-female body. The being standing in front of John and Judai raised her left hand and casually smoothed the hair that fell in front of her forehead so that Judai could see her clearly, and also so that she could see Judai's appearance clearly with all three eyes. She/he said with a smile: "Finally, after so long, I can use my own body again."

(I wanted to post some nicer pictures, but none of them passed the review, so I'm posting the original ones, especially the sexy parts of Sister You.)