Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Chapter 454 The King's Eyes Are Damaged from Playing Too Many Cards with Chongkeng

After a brief silence, Rafiru shook his head.

"Is that so? You're unwilling to talk about your past?" Yugi noticed the look of reminiscence in Rafael's eyes. "Then, I'll continue with my turn."

"Although [Dark Magician Girl]'s attack power is lower than [Support Guardian]'s defense power, because of the effect of [Curse of the Amanojaku] that you just activated, I must activate this card from my hand!"

With that, Yugi drew a card from his hand, "Quick-Play Spell, [Forbidden Cloth]!"

As the game inserts the card into the Spell & Trap Zone, a white Saint Cloth appears on the [Dark Magician Girl] on his field.

The card 【Forbidden Cloth】 has the ability to "reduce the monster's ATK by 600, and prevent the monster from being targeted by Spell/Trap effects or destroyed by effects." However, the 【Forbidden Cloth】 that appeared on 【Dark Magician Girl】 did not become a burden to her casting spells. Instead, it amplified 【Dark Magician Girl's】 power with its own holy aura!

Dark Magician Girl: ATK 2000 → 2600

Rafael wasn't puzzled by this; he was simply impressed by the game's adaptability: "Because I used the effect of [Curse of the Amanojaku], which caused [Goddess's Holy Sword - Eagle Spirit] to increase attack power, it now uses the effect of [Curse of the Amanojaku] that I used to increase the attack power of my own monster?"

“That’s right. The original attack power increase has been reversed to a decrease, so the effect of decreasing attack power will also be reversed to an attack power increase. A true duelist can even take advantage of the limitations created by his opponent.” Yugi replied with a smile, waving his hand forward: “After the attack power increase, [Dark Magician Girl]’s attack power has surpassed [Support Guardian]. Attack, [Dark Magician Girl]!”

"Black Magic Blast!"

Magic gathered in the hands of the Dark Magician Girl, forming a purple sphere that crashed down on the head of the Support Guardian like a meteorite. This time, the Support Guardian was unable to mount any effective counterattack and was destroyed and sent to the graveyard.

However, because it was a defensive stance, the destruction of the [Support Guardian] did not cause any damage to Rafael.

Just then, Rafael activated the last card in his back row: "Don't think you can destroy my monster like this, Nameless Pharaoh. I told you, I won't let you destroy my monster!"

"Open my face-down card, [Time Machine]! This card can only be activated when a monster of either player is destroyed. Special Summon that destroyed monster to its controller's field in the same form!" Rafael summoned [Support Guardian], which had just been sent to the Graveyard, back again. "Resurrect, [Support Guardian]!"

[Backup Guardian] [DEF2200]

Looking at the [Support Guardian] that revived on Rafael's field, the game didn't quite understand why Rafael would spend so much effort on a low-level monster.

It's not that the game looks down on lower-level monsters; many low-level monsters possess powerful effects, and the game developer himself enjoys using them. However, he can't understand why a large amount of resources would be spent protecting a single monster.

It was almost as if the monster was an important partner to him, and he didn't want it to be destroyed.

Thinking about this, Yugi raised an eyebrow, because after trying to replace the monsters on his field with Hayato, Kyoko, and the others, if he put himself in their shoes, he might do the same thing as Rafael.

However, that would only be possible in a dark game, where a monster with the soul of its partner residing in a graveyard would be hunted by the Grim Reaper. Only under such conditions would the game make a similar choice to Rafael.

However, although the game staked out [Divine Flame Emperor - Uria] in this duel, the duel between Yugi and Rafael was just a simple duel, and Rafael's actions seemed quite perplexing to Yugi.

"Entering my main phase two." Unable to figure it out for the moment, Yugi temporarily put his doubts aside. "I activate the magic card in my hand, [Heavenly Treasure Card]. This card allows both players to replenish their hands to six cards each."

"Because my last card in my hand is the [Heavenly Treasure], I can draw six cards."

“Then, I can draw five cards.” Watching the game proceed with the card draws, Rafiru also showed one of his cards, drawing five cards from his deck.

After drawing six cards from his hand, he draws two of them: "If I add a card to my hand because of the effect of [Cotton Ball], I can Special Summon it directly to the field. Then, if I haven't Normal Summoned this turn, I will Summon [Magical-Rizhin] in Attack Position."

Beside the Chaos Mage and the Dark Magician Girl, the soft, fluffy Cotton Ball and the clown-dressed mage, Magician Rishin, appeared on the field. As soon as they appeared, Magician Rishin grinned and made a hand seal, which spread out from his feet and surrounded himself and the panicked Cotton Ball.

"The effect of [Magic Transformation - Rijin] is that while it is face-up on the field, I can Tribute Summon one Spellcaster monster in face-up Attack Position during the Main Phase, in addition to Normal Summoning, and the monster I want to summon is this one."

As the commentary began, Yugi raised the cards in his hand, and his [Magic Transformation - Rijin] and [Cotton Ball] cards, which appeared on the field, turned into particles and disappeared within seconds.

Looking at the card in the game's hand, Rafael's gaze sharpened: "That card... is it coming? The nameless pharaoh's ace monster!"

"My most loyal servant, and the strongest magician among Duel Monsters, appear by my side!" Yugi struck the card in his hand onto the Duel Disk, "Using [Magical Rishin] and [Cotton Ball] as tributes, I Tribute Summon [Dark Magician]!"

"Yosh, it's the game's ace, [Dark Magician]!"

"He's here! The second master!"

Amidst the cheers of Jonouchi and [Dark Magician Girl], the particles from the exits of [Cotton Ball] and [Madoka-Rishin] converged into a magic circle, from which the figure of [Dark Magician] appeared, coolly flicking her staff and striking a stylish pose.

However, upon seeing the [Chaos Mage] who appeared ahead of time, the [Dark Mage] almost dropped his staff while swinging it, especially after noticing that he was wearing new clothes and carrying a pair of longswords.

The Dark Mage, who also has a melee-oriented mindset, is filled with jealousy.

[Black Magician] [ATK2500]

"As a single-target mage, the [Dark Magician] has a top-tier attack power of 2500 points. However, now that the battle phase has passed, even if you summon the [Dark Magician], it will be unable to attack."

Rafael, however, was not disturbed by the appearance of the Dark Magician. He remained calm and composed, and neither Yugi nor Jonouchi could see through his thoughts.

“Ah, I understand that too.” Game nodded.

Theoretically speaking, if we want to maximize our gains in this turn, it seems like the best option is to activate [Heavenly Treasure] in Main Phase 1. After all, if we move [Dark Magician], which just appeared now, to Main Phase 1, we will have another monster that can be used to attack during the battle phase, which can at least destroy [Support Guardian].

However, the game won't activate "Heavenly Treasure" unless you remove the three cards in Rafael's back row. The game learned this the hard way when facing Rafael in the KC Cup.

At that time, Yugi, who had not gained the first move, looked at Rafael's three cards in the back row and hastily activated "Heavenly Treasure" after a round of development without countering the face-down cards. As a result, Rafael's "Draw and Discharge" banished all of his cards, and he also suffered 1400 points of damage because of the "Flipping Enemy's Elf Swordsman" he drew.

1400 points of damage is not a minor injury. Moreover, the card used to replenish the hand became invalid, and the opponent's hand was replenished to 6 cards. Six of your own cards were also banished, which made the next few rounds of the duel quite difficult.

Precisely because he was wary of this and didn't want to suffer another loss, Yugi held onto the "Heavenly Treasure" card tightly and refused to activate it. Even when "Chaos Magician" actively destroyed cards, it was only Rafael's back row face-down cards that were destroyed instead of directly destroying "Rear Guardian". Yugi only activated "Heavenly Treasure" after all the cards in Rafael's back row had been used.

Looking at Rafael, Yugi suddenly had a strange feeling. There seemed to be a rather peculiar aura about him, an aura that Yugi had only ever sensed in a very few people.

The game player gets the feeling that Rafael is a true duelist. But is Rafael, who is hurting others, really the kind of duelist the game player thinks he is? The game player can't tell.

"If [Magical Transformation - Rijin] is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add one Spellcaster Normal Monster from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand, and choose another [Dark Magician] from my Deck."

Yugi scrutinized Rafael with a critical eye, retrieved a card from his deck and added it to his hand. After a moment's thought, he drew two cards and hesitated before saying to Rafael, "While I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, Rafael, I can sense that you seem to be a true duelist."

"Although we never had a full duel, and although I always felt that you were avoiding a full-force duel with me, I could still sense the resonance between our dueling spirits."

Hearing the game's words, Rafael couldn't help but meet its gaze: "The nameless pharaoh..."

“Rafael, you possess the dignity of a true duelist. I trust my intuition, and I also believe that with such noble self-respect, you have no reason to harm others.” Setting both cards face down, Yugi stated firmly, “Two cards face down, my turn ends.”

"Then, please, Rafael, let me witness your glory as a duelist."

[Game: 3800LP, 2 cards in hand]

【Chaos Mage】(Goddess's Holy Sword - Eagle Spirit) 【ATK 2000→3000】

Dark Magician Girl: ATK 2600 → 2000

[Black Magician] [ATK2500]

[Gaikka (Eternal Soul)] [The Magician's Rescue] [Gaikka] x2

"My dignity as a duelist..." Rafael's eyes showed a moment of confusion, as if recalling some past events, but feeling the weight of the green gem pendant on his chest, Rafael reached out and stroked the pendant, and his eyes became firm again.

"I'm sorry, Nameless Pharaoh, as for the so-called dignity of duelists, if it's for the sake of achieving that lord's goal, I have nothing of the sort."

"My turn, draw a card." Rafael glanced at the card he had drawn and said coldly, "Nameless Pharaoh, do you know why I didn't activate [Explosive Armor] to destroy your [Chaos Magic] before?"

"The answer is, I will use the [Goddess's Holy Sword - Eagle Spirit] equipped by [Chaos Magician] as a springboard to summon the ace of my deck!"

—————————Transition in progress—————————

The duel between Yugi and Rafael is still ongoing, while at the same time, the barrier surrounding the entire Kaiba Dome venue continues to function.

Although the KC Cup was hosted by the Haima Group and co-organized by the International Illusion Society, the person who least wanted anything to happen to the KC Cup was actually the state government, rather than the fun-loving Pegasus and Haima, whose main purpose was simply to play cards. The governor was counting on this achievement to garner votes for his future political career.

Therefore, after learning from the televised broadcast that a large number of spectators had fainted at the KC Cup, the governor, whose previous publicity could no longer be separated from the KC Cup, immediately sent people to handle the matter.

However, the famous "American speed" cannot be accelerated much even when ordered by the governor.

"Damn it!" Honda said irritably as he put down his phone. "This is the third call already. 911 just keeps giving us platitudes, saying things like 'they're still arranging work.' It's so bureaucratic!"

Standing next to Honda, Malik also complained, "It's very American, even the 911, which is responsible for saving lives, is playing the same game as the officials above."

Leaning back in his chair, Malik was just as weak as Kyoko and the others, but at least he still had the strength to move and hadn't completely passed out. Glancing at Honda, who had just hung up the phone, Malik was quite puzzled: "Strange, why can't everyone else make calls, but you can?"

"Probably because someone damaged the surrounding cell towers. This is a satellite phone," Honda, the big spender, shrugged. "I wonder what happens on the other side of the game—"

"boom!"

A gunshot interrupted Honda's words, and everyone's gaze turned towards the direction from which the sound came. In a nearby emergency exit, a man dressed in black emerged, wiping blood from his sunglasses that obscured his vision. Beside him followed a mechanical monster resembling a canine but with a revolver-like head—the [Double-Barreled Pistol Dragon].

After the man in black walked out of the entrance to the passage, he looked around and quickly noticed Honda's side.

Chapter 455 Malik, resurrected in glory!

"Duel Monster, it's materialized?!"

Honda stared in disbelief at the [Double-Barreled Pistol Dragon] that had appeared beside the man in black. "And it's not like the virtual projection system of the Seahorse; it actually has a physical form!?"

Although they were some distance apart, Honda could clearly see the marks left by the claws of the Double-Barreled Pistol Dragon as it swung over rows of seats alongside the man in black.

Although Honda had often witnessed bizarre behaviors from duelists during duels dueling because he was frequently by Jonouchi and Yugi's side, such as yelling after taking high damage or being knocked away by powerful attacks, these could be explained by Kaiba's virtual projection system.

Kaiba's virtual projection system can transform the flat Duel Disks that originally only existed in the cards into three-dimensional projections. Furthermore, it uses advanced technology to recreate special effects such as air currents and storms that occur during monster battles, increasing the sense of immersion and presence. However, the drawback is that two or more Duel Disks must be interconnected to use this function.

But how did that guy running this way manage to activate the virtual projection system and even give the Duel Monster a more substantial form without connecting to another Duel Disk?

Peacock Dance naturally saw the man in black running towards them. Although she didn't know his exact identity or purpose, the bloodstains still on his suit suggested he was no good person. Forcing herself to remain calm, Peacock Dance looked at the only person in their group who had ever possessed mysterious powers—Malik, who sat in a chair, deep in thought.

"What do we do now, Malik Ishtar!" Mai stood in front of Kyoko and Rebecca, asking, "Hurry up and think of something, that guy is coming!"

Malik frowned, looking at the approaching man in black, or more precisely, at the [Double-Barreled Pistol Dragon] beside him. A hint of disdain flashed in his eyes as he spoke to Mai, "Drawing cards and summoning monsters, isn't that your instinct as a duelist?"

Upon hearing this, Kong Quewu was taken aback at first, then said with displeasure, "What kind of time is this, to do something like that—"

Noticing that the man in black was getting closer and closer, Mai Kongque gritted her teeth and unfolded her Duel Disk: "I'll trust you this once!"

"Draw a card!"

"Then, summon the three Harpy Sisters!"

She randomly drew a card from her deck and got the Harpy Sisters. However, as she played the card onto the Duel Disk with Mai, she didn't see the Harpy Sisters appear in front of her as she would during a duel.

In contrast, the man in black was quite close, less than eight meters away.

"It's completely useless!" Seeing that nothing happened after Mai followed Malik's instructions, Honda was eager to rush forward.

Although Honda wasn't very confident he could break through the seemingly formidable "Double-Barreled Pistol Dragon" in hand-to-hand combat, he didn't want a girl standing in his way.

When Jonouchi and Yugi left, they said they were entrusting Mai, Kyoko, and the others to his protection. They said if anyone tried to harm them...

Just as Honda was about to take the step, prepared to make a sacrifice, he was stopped by Marie, who had anticipated his thoughts.

When Honda turned around, he only saw Malik's "I knew it" expression on his face. Before he could say anything, Honda heard an eagle's cry from above.

"just!"

Accompanied by the strange cry of an eagle, a gust of wind suddenly swept over Honda's head, and a monster with the body of a harpy swooped down from the sky and kicked the man in black with pinpoint accuracy, sending him flying.

The double-barreled pistol dragon following the man in black had no time to react. When it realized that its controller had been knocked away, it was about to retaliate when it found that two more figures had launched an attack before it could react.