Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

(A well-known female devil, a loli old lady)

“Vell.” With her arms crossed over an imaginary chest, the blue-haired girl flashed an arrogant smile reminiscent of a little imp. “Just as you are now ‘Aleister,’ my name is now Vera—【Master Witchcraft Craftsman, Headmaster Vera】.”

"Lady Vera, why are you here?" Upon seeing Vera, Heine didn't immediately react, but now she finally realized something was amiss. "Didn't you say you had something to attend to and entrusted the [Witchcraft] workshop to us for maintenance? Because of this, Miss Jenny, Miss Andel, and I have been working tirelessly from dawn till dusk every day in this world, while also continuing our alchemy training to ensure we can reach the 'Crystallization' stage..."

Upon seeing Vera again, even someone as socially awkward as Heine couldn't help but pour out all the stress he had been under lately, turning it into endless complaints. Vera, with sweat dripping from her forehead, chuckled and said, "Well, you've been working really hard, Heine, but it's no use telling me that now. I'm just a product of a spell attached to you."

"See? My body is actually an alchemical creation made from the things around me." Showing off her elbow, the joints were completely puppet-like spherical structures rather than real elbows. Vera turned to Hayato and said, "Although I took Aruru away, I didn't completely abandon you. At least I left special spells on you to protect your safety."

"This spell will be triggered when you encounter danger. I thought it would only be triggered after Endymion discovered our espionage activities, but I didn't expect it to be triggered by the Sorcerer instead. What surprised me even more was that the old friend I encountered was not that bearded man Endymion, but this arrogant brat Crowley."

"It's not your place to say that, you've already become a real brat, are you?" Alai retorted, the atmosphere between him and Vera becoming more harmonious. "More than a hundred years have passed, are you still clinging to this world and refusing to die, even turning yourself into this state?"

"Don't laugh, some people just like lolis!" With her hands on her hips, Vera teased Alai, "You've gotten rid of the backlash from [Summoning Magic] and become quite the smooth talker, haven't you, Crowley? And has your power declined at all?"

"Duel Monsters have their own rules, and for now, I'm called [Summoner - Aleister]." Aleister smiled and opened his arms. "As for my changes... you can tell from the fact that I can still use [Summoning Magic] that the priestess blood within me hasn't disappeared~"

"Hmph, are you just showing off? Let me try my hand." Vera glanced at Heine, who was habitually standing beside her. "Even though you're just an agent, Heine, you're still our 'master' from the [Witchcraft] workshop. Show some guts, will you?"

Within the artisan industry, titles are divided into "apprentice," "journeyman," and "master." Before Vera ran away, Vera was the "master," but now Heine is acting as the "master." This title not only represents the responsibility of teaching apprentices, but also the responsibility of leading the workshop's development and maintaining its operation. This is why Heine always pretended to be mature before.

Seeing Heine barely muster his spirits, Vera sighed. Although this disciple had great potential in alchemy and had even reached the "crystallization" level of their school, he was still lacking in leadership skills, unlike herself who could run the workshop in an orderly manner even if she slacked off every day.

"Let it go this time. You can stand on the sidelines for a bit... or rest on the field. The guy on the other side is beyond your capabilities. It's better if I take over from now on."

Looking at Hayato's side, Vera said, "Can you accept this, the one on the other side? Even if you don't accept it, I will forcefully intervene to fight in place of my disciples. Also, what price do I need to pay for interfering in a duel in your world?"

"No need to pay the price, because the cost of our side's intrusion is only a mere 2000 life points, which is meaningless. I don't mind changing the player." Hayato looked at Heine and then at Vera. "In fact, I would prefer to duel with you. Not only because I can duel with a slightly more complete [Witchcraft] deck, but also because I can be more ruthless towards you than the rather kind Heine."

"That's outrageous, saying he can be even more ruthless towards me." Vera casually pulled out a few cards and stuffed them into Heine's deck, forcibly taking over Heine's Staff Duel Disk. However, with her short hands, it seemed she couldn't quite put it on. Embarrassed and annoyed, Vera simply tapped Heine's staff, turning it into a crystal gem that floated in mid-air, allowing her to easily manipulate the cards on it. "I'm not as easy to deal with as I look, you brat who's no more than twenty years old."

“As an old friend, I also have to remind you of the same thing, Sander… no, ‘Vell’.” Alai pulled down his hood, assuming a more formal fighting stance with a magic book in one hand and a staff in the other. “My current Master’s abilities are not limited by age. If you were me, you would understand the situation that happens to geniuses like us, right?”

Upon hearing this, Vera couldn't help but recall the past. She remembered a time when Crowley easily replicated an extremely rare teleportation spell just by glancing at someone else's book collection. Even in his youth, his magical power was stronger than Vera's and Endymion's combined power when they were both adults...

'Tsk, I'm clearly considered a peerless genius by others, yet there's someone like Crowley, who's a genius even among geniuses, and that Zoroya guy...'

While inwardly criticizing Aleister, Vera nodded and looked directly at Hayato, saying, "Then, let's refocus our attention on the duel—we just reached the point where you used Crow... [Summoner-Aleister]'s power to search for [Summoning Magic], right?"

"That dangerous [Summoning Spell] is a very dangerous thing, let me hitch a ride on it a little—using the effect of my [Witchcraft Substitute Master] on the field." Vera waved her hand and shouted, "Heine, go!"

“I understand!” Heine stood on the field, holding a spare staff and casting a spell. “So now, you want me to call in other people from my deck, right?”

“That’s right, just call ‘Jenny’ over now.” As Heine cast the teleportation spell, Vera manually retrieved the card she wanted from her deck and showed it off, “The effects of Spellcaster monsters other than Fusion Monsters and Spell Card effects can trigger the effect of [Witchcraft Substitute Master]. The effect of [Summoner - Aleister] will allow me to Special Summon one [Witchcraft] monster of Level 6 or lower from my hand or Deck.”

"I've Special Summoned 'Jenny'—but not the [Witchcraft Artisan - Omni Jenny] you just saw, but this [Endymion's Handmaiden - Jenny]!"

Emerging from Heine's summoning circle was not the mage who had appeared before. Instead, [Witchcraft Craftsman - Omni], dressed in a black and white maid outfit, hopped onto the field, full of energy: "Hi~ This is Jenny-chan."

Even Hayato was taken aback: "[Endymion]? Shouldn't the Special Summon of [Substitute Witchcraft Master] have the [Witchcraft] field restriction?"

"Hmph, it's alright. How can you strip someone of their identity just because they changed their clothes? Jenny is still a member of our [Witchcraft] workshop. This outfit is just what she wore when we were spies as maids at [Endymion]." Vera waved her hand and explained, "Although it's not written in the card name, the card name [Endymion's Maid - Jenny] is used as a [Witchcraft] card according to the rules."

[Heine → Vera: 4000LP, Hand 3 → 2]

[Witchcraft Substitute Master] [DEF2800]

[Witchcraft Craftsman - Tailor Heine] [DEF1000]

【Endymion's Handmaid - Jenny】【1☆/Wind】

[Mage Race/Effect]

[300/500]

Back row: [Witch's Alley] [Face Card] x2

As Vera said, [Endymion's Handmaid - Jenny] seems to be just a "reskin" of [Witchcraft Craftsman - Omni]. Apart from the name being different, everything else, such as attributes, level, race, and attack and defense, is exactly the same as the original. It's just unknown how her effects will change.

"If you can summon a new monster by taking advantage of my momentum, then it's alright if I borrow your card a little, right?" Hayato glanced at Vera's grave. One of Heine's previous moves was quite correct, which was to use [Dead Soul Fusion] with [Witch Magic Substitute Master] excluded as fusion material. If she hadn't done that, it would have been his turn to do it.

Fusion Summoning with the [Summoning Magic] ability allows you to use monsters from your field and both players' graveyards as fusion materials, instead of being limited to your original hand. However, it's a bit of a shame that [Five Magician] has too much resistance to Tribute and fusion materials, making it impossible for it to be included in Fusion Summoning.

Even though there are no more Fusion Monsters in either player's graveyard, Heine still left a considerable number of cards in Vera's graveyard for Hayato to choose from. Moreover, the types of monsters among them are quite diverse, which can basically meet most of Hayato's needs—such as the LIGHT attribute.

However, first of all, Hayato still needs to make the most of the [Summoner-Aleister] on the field. Since it will be banished whether it is on the field or in the graveyard for fusion, it is more worthwhile to send it to the graveyard to exchange for something else. It is a pity that there is no Link Summon, otherwise Hayato really wanted to use it to directly transform into a "Saint-Demon Girl" and give Endymion a sense of participation at the moment when Aleister and Vera, the old friends, reunite.

"Targeting the [Five Magician] on my field, I activate the effect of this [Level Thief Bug] that I discarded from my hand as the cost of [Super Polymerization] from my Graveyard. I lower the Level of the targeted monster by 1 star and Special Summon [Level Thief Bug] from my Graveyard."

Retrieving a card from the graveyard that Vera completely disregarded, Hayato, whose Level Thief Bug was not a Spellcaster-Type monster and did not trigger the effect of Witchcraft Substitute Master, played a card from his hand and said, "Next, I activate the Spell Card Displacement Fusion! I send my DARK Level Thief Bug and Summoner Aleister from my field to the graveyard as Fusion Materials for Fusion Summoning!"

"Bloom, bewitching poisonous flower; open your eyes, Wagatsumashi—[Fierce, Hungry, Poisonous Fusion Dragon]!"

Vines burst forth from the earth, entangled Alai and the [Level Stealing Bug], dragging them underground. In their place appeared a gigantic, demonic flower, its vibrant colors dazzlingly striking. Within its blooming petals, an evil dragon with fierce eyes, an insatiable hunger, and venomous fangs appeared!

[Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon] [ATK2800]

Chapter 1841 Light Body

[Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon] [ATK2800]

As the alluring poison dragon appeared on Hayato's field, Vera held up a card and waved it at Hayato: "The activation of the spell card just now triggered the effect of [Witchcraft Substitute Master]. I used that to use Heine's second ability—to add a [Witchcraft] spell/trap card from my graveyard to my hand."

"I naturally chose the [Demonstration of Witchcraft] that Heine activated this turn."

[Vell: 4000LP, Hand: 2→3]

Seeing that Vera's hand was growing, Hayato raised an eyebrow. Because when [Demonstration of Witchcraft] and Vera's Spellcaster monsters were activated, Hayato couldn't chain their effects, which meant that he couldn't counter her effects. Even using [Summoning Magic] to summon "Light Chariot" wouldn't be very useful.

Perhaps this is why there aren't many cards with explosive power in the [Witchcraft] category, just like how it's difficult to strengthen the Reptile class with [Snake Rain].

As for the additional cards Vera has, there's not much to worry about. While cards are certainly an important resource, the ones you can actually play are the real resources. All three cards in Vera's hand are face-up and cannot be played during Hayato's turn; they're just used as cost for activating the [Witchcraft] monster's effect.

The only troublesome thing facing Hayato now is that, under the blessing of [Witch's Alley], [Witch's Magic] monsters have gained resistance that cannot be destroyed by battle or effect for one time. And with Vera having three monsters on the field, it seems that even if Hayato fills the field with five monsters, he will not be able to break through.

—But it doesn't matter! The seemingly impenetrable defense actually relies entirely on the existence of the continuous spell card "Witch's Alley". Although Hayato doesn't have any cards to destroy the back row, Vera does!

"【Ferocious Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon】 requires two DARK monsters as fusion materials. However, if only monsters on the field are used as fusion materials, it can be activated on the turn it is successfully Fusion Summoned. Its ATK increases by the sum of the ATKs of all monsters Special Summoned by your opponent until the end of the turn."

Hayato's finger traced over the three monsters on Vera's field: "【Witchcraft Substitute Master】, 【Witchcraft Craftsman - Tailor Heine】, and 【Endymion's Handmaid - Jenny】. All three monsters were Special Summoned, and their attack power will become fuel for 【Hungry Poison】!"

"It is the power of your [witchcraft] that propelled me to heaven!"

【Fierce, Hungry, Poisonous Fusion Dragon】 plunges its roots into the earth, frantically absorbing the power of the monsters on Vera's field, causing its attack power to surge!

[Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon] [ATK 2800 → 8200]

"Hey, seriously? Such outrageous attack power right from the start?" Vera's eyelids twitched, startled by the power unleashed by the [Fierce Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon]. "And didn't we agree that you were using a 'pure spellcaster' deck? That monster is clearly a dragon!"

"But no matter how high its attack power is, it's meaningless if it can't harm me. This mere [Fierce Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] is nothing but a weakling that can't hit anyone, a weakling~ a weakling!"

Seeing that Vera was really putting on that classic little brat look, Hayato felt that this was more like it. The Vera he met with Alai earlier was too serious. This little brat was the Vera he knew.

He nodded and pointed at Heine, saying, "The first effect of [Fierce Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] is pure attack power, but her power is not just about attacking. During the power absorption, she has already marked the monsters on your field as her prey. Now it's time to reap the rewards!"

"Once per turn, you can target one Level 5 or higher monster your opponent controls to activate the second effect of [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon]! Until the End Phase of this turn, the targeted monster's effects are negated, and [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] gains the same original card name and effect as that monster!"

Hayato's "Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon" has evolved multiple times, and its effect is already a hybrid version of the OCG and anime cards. However, even without any evolution, whether it's the physical card or the anime version, it has the ability to copy the opponent's monster effects. The only difference is whether it can obtain the same card name and whether it can negate the opponent's effects.

The cards of the [Witchcraft] category are not that strong, so Hayato's rabbit head doesn't support him in memorizing all of their effects. However, he has the "System Shop" which allows him to check the effects of cards at any time. He had already found the third effect of [Witchcraft Substitute Master], which was hidden by Vera and Heine - destroy any card on the field without targeting!

Although its other two effects are useless to Hayato, this one effect alone is enough, because it allows Hayato to remove the [Witch's Alley] spell on Vera's back row to remove the "cannot be destroyed by battle or effect" resistance on Vera's monsters, and the conditions required to trigger this effect are too simple to worry about.

"As long as I use its third ability, I can easily destroy your [Witch's Alley], and the destruction resistance on your card will be removed!"

"Huh!?" Before Vera could say anything, Heine was quite surprised. "W-how do you know about my third ability? I've never used it before!"

"Because I'm Batman!" Hayato casually dismissed Heine with a bluff, then added, "If you want to protest the unequal information, I can tell you the effects of my card: [Five-Element Magician] cannot be released, cannot be used as fusion material, and cannot be destroyed by effects. Is that fair?"

Upon hearing Hayato's words, Vera quickly regained her composure after her initial surprise and, drawing on her years of experience, instantly analyzed how to break the deadlock.

"You said that the effect of [Fierce Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] requires targeting, right? Based on that premise, your operation cannot be done because Heine—not [Witchcraft Substitute Master], but [Witchcraft Craftsman Tailor Heine]—cannot target any other Spellcaster monster on my field as its effect because of her effect!"

Hayato smiled upon hearing this: "Of course I know that—that's why I told you about the despair you're about to face, based on the premise that this card will be activated first."

"I was merely describing it; I didn't actually activate the second effect of [Fierce Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon]. On the contrary, I activated the Quick-Play Spell Card [Called by the Grave] in my hand—targeting a monster in your opponent's Graveyard, banishing the targeted monster, and then negating the effects of the banished monster and any monsters with the same name as that monster until the End Phase of the next turn!"

"I target another [Witchcraft Craftsman - Tailor Heine] in your graveyard, banish it, and the effect of Heine on your field will be negated. Then, no card can stop me from using the power of [Hunger Poison] to gain the effect of your [Witchcraft Substitute Master]!"

"Eat my invincible Tomb Finger!"

Instead of taking any action, a bright green finger burst out of the ground and pointed directly at Heine, startling Xiao She so much that he almost couldn't stand up, because no matter how you looked at it, that hand looked like the hand of a zombie or some kind of monster.

While Vera wasn't afraid of demons and monsters, she hadn't anticipated that Hayato would have a card capable of countering [Witchcraft Craftsman - Tailor Heine]. Nevertheless, she seized the opportunity and shouted, "But since you're trying to achieve your goal with a magic card, don't blame me for using this opportunity to counterattack—that is, before your effect arrives, I'll use Heine's hidden effect first!"

"The second effect of [Witchcraft Craftsman - Tailor Heine] can be activated during the opponent's turn. By discarding one Spell Card from my hand and targeting one face-up card on the opponent's field, I can destroy the targeted card. And now I'm going to destroy your [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon]!"

Vera tossed a card from her hand and said rather smugly, "That way, you won't be able to get the effect of [Witchcraft Substitute Master]!"

As Vera discarded her card, the floating sewing needles embedded in the staff of [Witchcraft Craftsman - Tailor Heine] flew out, tracing overlapping arcs in the air as they flew around [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon]. Once they found the right angle, they suddenly thrust out, piercing through the body of [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] in an instant!

Then, [Called by the Tomb] banishes [Witchcraft Craftsman - Tailor Heine] from Vera's graveyard, removing the effect of [Witchcraft Craftsman - Tailor Heine] that allows her to be targeted only while she is on the field.

"【Hunger Poison】!" Hayato exclaimed, a sorrowful expression on his face, seemingly distressed by his monster's injury. "You actually destroyed my 【Hunger Poison】, you really are..."

"So he really is just a kid." Seeing Hayato making a big deal out of the destroyed card, Vera became a little careless. "Paying attention to temporary gains and losses will only give others an opportunity to strike you hard. Besides, how can you easily win a duel without sacrificing cards?"

However, because [Fierce Hunger Poison] was destroyed and was about to be sent to the graveyard, Alai, who was in Hayato's graveyard, couldn't help but peek out to see what was happening and complained to Vera, "No, I think Master might not have meant that..."

"You destroyed my [Fierce Hunger Poison], you really are..." Hayato slowly raised his head, his face showing no trace of sadness, but rather a sinister grin of triumph. "Truly—A☆Da☆Thief!"

"Because I explained the effects of [Ferocious Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] and [Five-Element Magician] to you beforehand, you won't waste the destruction effect on [Five-Element Magician] and will only focus on [Ferocious Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon]. But what you don't know is that [Ferocious Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] has a third effect that can only be activated when it is destroyed!"

"The most ferocious and malevolent power that can only be activated when [Ferocious Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] is destroyed—destroy all Special Summoned monsters on the opponent's field and inflict damage equal to the sum of their ATKs!"

With its three effects being a bizarre combination of damage, high attack speed, and devastating board presence, Hayato frequently includes "Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon" in his Extra Deck because its effects are so useful and its summoning is so easy. And now, although the second effect didn't get to activate, the third effect of "Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon" has come into play.

The [Fierce Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon], which had just absorbed a large amount of energy, was destroyed by [Witchcraft Craftsman - Tailor Heine]. The uncontrolled energy within its body instantly went berserk, sweeping away everything around it indiscriminately. It was as if endless laser beams were blooming from the broken gems it left behind, sparing no monster on Vera's field.

"Imitation of the Holy Moon Magic - Dream Fork!"

Just as Heine and the others were about to be destroyed, Vera activated a powerful spell using the [Witch's Alley] spell in the back row. She used a hazy illusion to conceal Heine and the others, preventing them from being destroyed by the dying counterattack of [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon]. After [Hungry Poison] destroyed the field, the three spellcasters were still standing on Vera's field, at the cost of their one and only "cannot be destroyed by battle/effect" resistance being consumed.

"Ugh... I'm suddenly so sleepy..." Vera yawned suddenly after casting a spell. "I had a sudden urge to replicate Endymion's magic, but it's definitely too much for me right now..."

"But to think you had such a trick up your sleeve, that was really dangerous, buddy. If it weren't for the [Witch's Alley] helping me with my defense, I probably would have been killed by you in an instant, right?" Vera said angrily, puffing out her cheeks. "You don't show any mercy to a beautiful girl at all!"

"Where are the pretty girls, please? You, Alai, and Endymion are the same age, aren't you all over a hundred years old?" Hayato retorted.

(The reason Sandri can stay young forever is that she wanted to be as beautiful as she was when she was young, but she couldn't control the spell's range and would turn into a baby or an old woman at the same time, so she finally fixed herself in the form of a young girl.)

“Since I used a forbidden magic to make me younger, my age is calculated based on my current appearance!” Vera patted her chest, which contained nothing at all. “I haven’t even asked you for Halloween candy, Christmas presents, or New Year’s red envelopes!”

"So you just celebrate whichever festival has something to give away, right?" Hayato was speechless at Vera's shamelessness. "But in doing so, the resistance of the monsters on your field will be depleted, and at the same time, the fusion materials I need will be in my graveyard."

"The Spell Card [Summoning Magic] is activated! You must be familiar with this card from an old friend, right? This card can send monsters from my hand to the Graveyard as Fusion Material to perform a Fusion Summon. However, when performing a Fusion Summon of a [Summoned Beast] monster, it can go a step further by banishing monsters from my field and both players' Graveyards as Fusion Material."