Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Although he had repeatedly confirmed that the seats at the Kaiba Dome were randomly selected, Manjoume still couldn't accept that Jaden was consistently seated next to him for three consecutive days. He felt that this must be related to Jaden's parents, who worked in the card design department of Kokusai Illusion, and that it was definitely a rigged operation.

Even though Judai told him that even if his parents had enough influence, they couldn't get involved in the Kaiba Group through the International Illusion Society, and that even if there were any underhanded dealings, it was more likely that the president of the Kaiba Group, Seto Kaiba, would do them himself, Manjoume still scoffed.

Just kidding. Seto Kaiba is a legendary duelist who fought against the Duel King Hayato Kobayashi in Duel City. How could he possibly do anything underhanded?

Could it be that the mighty Seto Kaiba would deliberately arrange the order of duels to guide a specific group of people to face off? Impossible, no one knows Seto Kaiba better than me.

Glancing at Judai Yuki, who was pondering the tactics Dan Kuroto had just used and trying to learn something from them, Jun Manjoume stood up, put his hands on his hips, and said smugly, "Sigh, that's all the perspective an eliminated person like you can have. After all, you're just a guy of this caliber."

"This isn't like me. I'm going to surge ahead and become the brightest new star in this KC Cup, and then win the championship!"

Just looking at Jun Manjoume's smug appearance, it was as if he had already defeated a group of strong opponents such as Yugi Muto, Seto Kaiba, and Katsuya Jonouchi, and under the spotlight, he had become the champion of the KC Cup and was about to face off against Hayato Kobayashi.

"You're really confident, Lightning-chan~" Although Manjoume looked down on Jaden, Jaden just laughed and didn't take Manjoume's words to heart at all. "You have to keep this momentum going. Go for the duel, even though you've never beaten me."

"It's Mr. Manjoume! And don't be so smug. I'm different from you. You've already been eliminated, while I haven't lost yet!"

"But you've never actually beaten me, have you?"

"I am the young master of the prestigious Manjoume Consortium, an elite!"

"But you've never beaten me."

Wan Zhangmu was getting a little frantic: "You bastard, don't bring that up again!"

"And another thing is, I was the runner-up in the Domino City Elementary and Middle School Monster Duel Tournament, which is full of powerful players!"

"Ah, I remember that too, but I'm the champion!"

"Yakamashi!"

Just as Judai and Manjoume were joking and getting angry, a person wearing a cloak passed by them in the passageway.

Watching the two boys playing around, or perhaps just staring at the carefree Jaden Yuki who was chuckling, the white-haired, bunny-eared man revealed a strange smile on his face, which was hidden by the shadow of his hood. He seemed to inadvertently move his body slightly closer to the two of them.

Sensing a dark power sealed by the familiar [Millennium Wisdom Wheel], the man extended his hand from his robe sleeve, concealing a card in his palm with utmost care. He casually swung the card with each step he took, as if by accident, and it bumped into the Duel Disk worn by the standing Manjoume.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, I bumped into you by accident."

The Duel Disk was lightly bumped, and Manjoume turned his head to look at the cloaked monster who had accidentally bumped into his Duel Disk and was now apologizing.

The face revealed beneath the hood was quite handsome. The white-haired man, who seemed to be around the same age as Hayato, looked apologetic: "I'm so sorry, I was distracted for a moment and didn't notice you. Are you alright?"

Although he always acted arrogantly in front of people he knew well, Manjoume was actually quite polite in front of strangers. The other person apologized very politely and sincerely, and also looked quite handsome, so Manjoume replied, "Ah, it's alright, it's just that I was standing too far out."

Looking down at his Duel Disk, he saw that the impact was quite minor. The Duel Disk, produced by Manjoume and known for its reliable quality, was not damaged at all, not even a scratch. So Manjoume didn't think much of it.

However, he didn't notice that there seemed to be an extra card in his deck, which he had placed directly on the duel disk for convenience.

Chapter 442 Tragodia

Hayato, who had just left the dueling arena, was unaware of what had happened between Jaden and Manjoume. At that moment, he looked at the card in his hand with a serious expression.

Because of the KC Cup format, Hayato hadn't enjoyed the thrill of taking someone's entire deck after winning a duel in a long time. Today, taking advantage of Tira Muku's unconscious state after losing the Dark Game, he seized the opportunity to take out his opponent's deck.

Tira Muku, who should have lost her life due to being betrayed by her own card spirit [Vampire Fairy], is now only unconscious due to excessive mental damage. Hayato, who saved her life, also successfully stole her deck. This is what is known as a "win-win" situation.

However, after acquiring Tira Muku's deck, Hayato discovered something quite strange—every card in Tira Muku's deck was imbued with a faint, eerie aura, which, in Hayato's opinion, was exactly the same as the feeling given by the now-vanished [Vampire Witch].

At first, Hayato had a guess that this might be something left behind when the [Vampire Queen] died. However, after discovering that even using the power of the [Millennium Wisdom Wheel] to purify this power was somewhat ineffective, Hayato was certain that the source of this power was definitely not simple, and it was certainly not a monster of the [Vampire Queen] level.

This speculation was further supported when Hayato found the card with the most concentrated mysterious power in the Tira Mukuka set.

Looking at the [Great Saturn] in his hand, it might have been a surprise when he first saw the [Magnificent Venus] with its Pegasus Moon movement, but this is already the second one. Hayato's previous guesses seem to be gradually becoming a reality.

Whether it's Tira Muku's "Great Saturn" which wasn't used in the duel, or Hayato's "Magnificent Venus" which he had already defeated, although they have no relation in terms of attribute, race, card name, or effect, they both belong to the "Planet" series, named after celestial bodies in the solar system that include the Sun and Pluto.

The individual monsters in the [Planets] series are not that important; what is important is that they are combined to seal an evil monster born in ancient Egypt—[Tragodia].

Legend has it that the monster possessed the ability to manipulate people's minds. Even after being sealed away for thousands of years, it did not dissipate but instead waited for an opportunity to escape throughout the long years. Putting everything else aside, this perseverance alone surpasses that of Kars, who easily gave up on thinking.

Wait, manipulating people's hearts?

Hayato stopped holding the Great Saturn and began to recall all the information he had gathered during this time.

The stories of "Night" and Pegasus's nighttime journey, Pegasus and Pegasus's moontime journey, the photos collected by Kaiba, plus the "Planet" series that seals "Tragodia," then there really can only be one answer.

Although he didn't know how they did it, Hayato had good reason to suspect that after [Terragotia] modified most of the memories of those associated with "Pegasus Night Walk", they also deleted most of the information about "Pegasus Night Walk" on the internet.

Hayato now even suspects that [Tragodia] is currently possessing Pegasus Nightwalker. Although he is not absolutely certain, the probability is quite high.

"No, think about it calmly. If [Tragodia] had already left the seal, things would have blown up long ago. How could it be as simple as 'Pegasus in the Night' disappearing from the memories of countless people?"

"But strangely enough, the [Planet] series, which serves as the key to the seal, shows no sign of being collected by anyone. It's more like the seal has already been broken, so there's no need for the [Planet] series, rather than anyone preparing to break it."

"Why is that?"

Just as Hayato was deep in thought, Rainbow Kuriboh escaped from the card box and perched on Hayato's shoulder.

"Curry~"

"Hmm?" Turning his head, Hayato's eyes met those of Rainbow Kuriboh. He noticed that Rainbow Kuriboh was staring at him expectantly, pointing to the Tira Muku deck that Hayato was holding in his other hand.

"You want this, Aibo?"

As he spoke, Hayato raised his hand, but to his surprise, Rainbow Kuriboh, who had initially been very interested in Tira Muku's deck, seemed to have confirmed something after getting closer, and then fled back as if it had smelled a durian that had been sun-dried for three days and run over by a car five or six times.

"Curry! Curry!"

With basic card-playing skills—Hayato, speaking Kuriboh, easily understood the meaning of "Rainbow Kuriboh."

"You mean this thing can accelerate the awakening of card spirits?"

"Curry!" [Rainbow Chestnut Ball] nodded affirmatively at first, then shook its head violently, "Curry, Curry, Curry!"

After an explanation, Hayato was quite surprised to learn from Rainbow Kuriboh that the mysterious power in the Tira Mukuka set could not only accelerate the birth of card spirits, but also had the ability to make awakened card spirits grow and fully awakened card spirits gain even greater power.

However, powerful cards often come with risks, and miracles and magic don't come for free. According to [Rainbow Kuriboh], while this power accelerates growth, it also subtly infiltrates the card spirits, gradually distorting their minds.

It's almost like using growth-stimulating hormones to accelerate the harvesting of pork; while it speeds up the process, it degrades the quality of the harvested pork—the Card Elf.

Thinking about it this way, it's very possible that the [Vampire Witch] also received this power, and it's even possible that she herself was just a half-awakened card spirit who, after being stimulated by the "hormone," successfully awakened, but at the same time, her mind was also distorted by this power, giving her the idea of ​​controlling Tira Muku.

Without this power, although the awakening of the [Vampire Sorceress] might have been delayed for an unknown period of time, it would never have turned out the way it did before.

With the answer from [Rainbow Kuriboh], Hayato finally resolved his confusion. The scattered [Planet] series and the power that accelerated the birth of Pokémon weren't lacking in the intention to break the seal; rather, they were one of the necessary conditions for breaking the seal, such as "the [Planet] series, as the key, must awaken the card Pokémon."

This inevitably reminded Hayato of a joke he once heard: selling pet pigs online with the promise that the pigs would never grow bigger and would only stay at their juvenile size, and if they did grow bigger, they would get a 100% full refund.

This isn't selling pigs; it's having someone else raise pigs for him for free. The only loss he incurs is the transportation cost, and someone even prepares the pig farm for him.

Hayato looked at the broadcast showing the scene inside the Kaiba Dome venue.

Even with the stimulation of 'hormones', the birth of card spirits is inseparable from the intense clash between the souls of duelists, and battles sufficient to give birth to card spirits are not lacking in the Kaiba Dome, where the KC Cup is being held.

——————Seahorse, the professional freeloader——————

"Hmm? This feeling is..."

Pegasus frowned slightly, feeling a sense of oppression in the air, and loosened his grip on the joystick.

Turning around, he discovered that a man with white hair wrapped around his head and wearing a white robe had appeared in the game room, which should have been empty except for him. The man was slowly taking something out of his pocket.

"You are, Shadi?!"

Pegas certainly recognized the man before him. Wasn't he Shadi, the one who had forcibly given him the "Millennium Eye" during his trip to Egypt? Although many years had passed, his lifeless eyes were still etched deep in his memory.

However, I have already lost the [Millennium Eye], so what does this guy want with me?

Shadi remained silent, saying nothing, but took out a golden balance scale from his pocket—the Millennium Balance Scale, one of the Millennium Artifacts—and placed it on the nearest table, with one end of the two empty pans facing Pegasus.

After being shaken several times, the scales gradually returned to balance, and as if confirming something, Shady finally spoke, "Pegasus, you should have been dead already."

"Hehe, that's true. It was like walking through the gates of hell." Pegasus stroked his left cheek, and through his cascading silver hair, he didn't brush the strands aside to reveal the empty eye sockets beneath. Instead, he savored the pain of losing the [Millennium Eye]. "It's been with me for so long, and suddenly losing the [Millennium Eye] is still a bit of a shock for me."

Faced with Shadi, whom he still couldn't figure out, Bekas stopped using his strange accent and started speaking Japanese seriously. However, the way Shadi and Bekas, an Egyptian and an American, communicated in Japanese was just so strange.

Upon hearing this, Xia Di shook his head: "No, I didn't mean you almost died, but that you 'should have died'."

"Your destiny of 'possessing the power of the [Millennium Eye]' should have ended after the duel with the soul of the nameless pharaoh, but the existence of some will has extended and continued your destiny out of thin air. As a result, the originally orderly thread of fate has been completely disrupted, and even other buried darkness has been brought to light."

“The ripples that have disturbed the peace have spread, and it’s no use trying to recover the remaining power of the Millennium Eye from your body now.” Shadi paused for a moment, and in his other hand, he suddenly grasped a golden “Anka” symbol, one end of which was shaped like a key.

Pegasus couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and even a dim golden line lit up on his forehead, revealing the symbol of the "Eye of Ugato".

It wasn't that he was paranoid; it was mainly that the man in front of him was far too mysterious, and no matter how many times they met, he always acted like a riddle teller, never explaining himself clearly. And most importantly—

Last time in Egypt, I accidentally stumbled upon his identity while listening to his riddles, which distracted me. Then, his men restrained me and forcibly put on the "Millennium Eyes," which hurt terribly!

Shadi, however, seemed oblivious to Pegasus's wariness, or perhaps he simply disregarded Pegasus, who could only use the remaining power of the Millennium Eye. He pointed the "Anka" symbol in his hand—the Millennium Key—at his heart, forcefully inserting it as if in self-harm, and then turning it around like unlocking a lock.

As if a switch had been flipped, a light shone from Shadi's chest. He reached into it with his other hand, grabbed something, and threw it out. A ball of light was thrown towards Pegasus.

Under Pegasus's gaze, the light emitted by the orb that slowly floated down from mid-air gradually dimmed, revealing the orb's true form—a blank Duel Monster card.

The card stopped in front of Pegasus. Seeing that Pegasus dared not touch the card at all, Shadi put away the Millennium Key and the Millennium Scales. His voice was weak and he explained, "This power is the necessary thing to pull the chaotic fate back to the original order."

“To use this power, one must possess the power of ‘Prana,’ which has broken free from dimensional constraints and transcended fate, and the power of ‘Pharaoh,’ which has been recognized by fate.” Under Pegasus’s gaze, as if the projector’s battery had a poor connection, Shadi’s figure flickered and even visibly dimmed. “You can find someone who can use it, Pegasus.”

Although Shadi seemed to be giving his last words as if he were about to die, Pegasus remained vigilant and asked warily, "Then why don't you personally hand it over to someone who is capable of using it?"

"And what are 'Pharaoh' and 'Prana'?"

Pegas believed that although he preferred comics and cartoons for young children, he was quite up-to-date, but he just couldn't understand the vocabulary that Shady was using.

Could it be some kind of secret code within a small circle, or some abbreviation with unclear meaning? For example, AAAAA is an abbreviation for "Association for Fighting Against Absurd Abbreviations".

"The power I possess, which originates from the 'Pharaoh,' is merely an external artifact relying on the [Millennium Item]. The power of 'Prana' is also incomplete. Holding this power until now has reached my limit, and I can no longer focus my gaze on the nameless Pharaoh."

Shadi muttered to himself, his figure so dim that Pegasus could see the clock on the wall behind him through his body.

"The key to this power is to integrate and then transcend limits, to unify everything in order to unleash the power to correct destiny..."

Having finished his final speech, Shadi seemed to say something, yet also seemed to say nothing, before disappearing from Pegasus's sight.

"Did he answer my question?" Pegasus frowned and recalled, confirming that Shady had indeed not said anything. "This feeling, it really is what Hayato-boy called the 'riddler.' Talking to someone like that is really tiring."

Although still suspicious that Shadi might do something, Pegasus hesitated for a moment before finally grasping the Duel Monster card floating in front of him. From Pegasus's perspective, the card was completely blank; he could only tell from the background color that it was a Fusion Monster card.

"Fusion, and then beyond the limits?" Pegasus recalled Shadi's words, but suddenly remembered something. "That seems interesting. I think I have an idea!"

"If we're talking about the limit of fusion monsters, that monster really is it!"

Pegasus's gaze fell on the clock on the wall. It was one of the few decorations in this American-exclusive Seahorse Park that still retained the Blue-Eyes White Dragon element.