Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

【Obelisk the Colossus】【10☆/God】

[Phantom Beast Race/Effect]

[4000/4000]

"Attack power, 4000!?" Ryuzaki stared in astonishment at the blue giant that seemed to reach the heavens. In an environment where the regular attack power of other Duel Monsters was around 1000+, only Ace Monsters could reach 2000+, and a few Ace Monsters could surpass Blue-Eyes White Dragon with an attack power of 3000, Obelisk the Tormentor's 4000 attack and defense power was simply overwhelming.

Although Ryuzaki was confident that his [Ultimate Transmission Beast] was not without the power to fight even against a god, the majesty of the "god" descending before him was simply too overwhelming.

"【Obelisk the Tormentor】can only be destroyed by the effects of Divine-attribute monsters. Trap Cards and low-level monster effects are ineffective against it. Monster effects of 10 stars or higher and Spell Cards activated this turn only have one turn effect on it."

Hayato glanced at the cards in his hand and explained the effect of [Obelisk the Tormentor] on the field. Before the duel, because of Daitokuji's words, he had added [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] to his deck, and also included [Obelisk the Tormentor] just in case.

As it turned out, it really came in handy, and the [Obelisk the Titan] was sent to the graveyard because of the effect of [Golden Palace of Rapids].

"Although the Obelisk the Colossus that has been resurrected by [Monster Resurrection] can only exist on the field for one turn, that is enough, because the duel will end in this turn."

Hayato glanced at Chigfrid, a smirk playing on his lips. "Speaking of which, the previous owner of the Obelisk Titan was Set. It's the perfect tool to bury the Golden Palace of Rapids and your ambitions."

"Tch, a mere God of Destruction that can only exist for one turn." Although Kigurfrid was shocked by [Obelisk the Tormentor], he still stubbornly retorted. At the same time, he truly did not believe that his talent was inferior to that of a "god." "Don't forget, even if you clear out Rein's life points through attacks, it's useless if you don't destroy [Golden Palace of Rapids]!"

"Otherwise, what use do you think the cards in my hand will be?" Hayato sneered, inserting his last card into the Spell & Trap Zone of the Duel Disk. "Quick-Play Spell Card, [God Fist Crusher]!"

"If I control a monster whose original name is 'Obelisk the Tormentor', I can target one Effect Monster on my opponent's field, negate its effect, and destroy it. Monsters whose original name is the same as the destroyed monster will also have their effects negated for this turn!"

"In addition, when I use this card during my Main Phase, destroy all of my opponent's Spell & Trap Cards!"

As Hayato activated his card, the [Obelisk the Tormentor] standing behind him raised its fist, and an orange aura full of destruction gathered on its fist.

As the Titans raised their fist, the Golden Palace of Rapids, which had been granted indestructible resistance by Chigurhfrid, began to tremble and cracks spread continuously.

"This...this is impossible!?" Chigurhfrid looked on in disbelief. "The Golden Palace of Rapids should be indestructible by any cards!?"

Hayato crossed his arms and looked at the Iron Knight, who was killed by Kamui along with his soul simply because the Titan Warrior raised its fist. He replied, "First, you just added a fake ability to the original card effect. In the face of the brilliance of the gods, the fiction will eventually reveal the hidden truth."

"Secondly, what's standing in front of you isn't a Duel Monster, but a Camille!"

As he spoke, Hayato raised his hand towards the sky, no longer looking at Chigfried outside the arena, but instead looking at Rein, who was visibly afraid but gazing at the [Obelisk the Giant] with longing eyes.

"The God Card, is this Hayato-san's power...? It's truly exhilarating!"

Despite being brothers, the older brother resorts to underhanded tactics and becomes speechless with fear upon encountering something beyond his wildest imagination, while the younger brother possesses the heart of a righteous duelist and can muster courage even when facing a colossus.

Hayato smiled. "Then, let's begin my battle phase."

"The attack is about to begin, Reinhardt, no, Rein Wilson!"

"Divine Fist Crushing Strike!!"

As the giant's destructive fist fell, the Golden Palace of Rapids, where the princess who had been turned into a raven was imprisoned in the fairy tale, was instantly destroyed by the shockwave, shattering along with Chigurhfrid's ambitions.

However, the all-destroying divine fist turned into a gentle breeze when it landed in front of Ryan Wilson.

[Rain Wilson: 1LP→0]

Chapter 458 Master Duel is really fun, what is DL anyway?

"Sizzle~!"

"Bah."

Among the Egyptian God Cards, Obelisk the Tormentor is the god of destruction symbolized by power. When he swings his fist, almost nothing can withstand it. The force of his attack is not exactly earth-shattering, but it is certainly earth-shattering.

Just like a boxer being targeted by a broken and powerful fighter, a duelist facing Obelisk the Tormentor is constantly under its pressure, even if they don't engage in combat. The most suitable example of being attacked by it is the dueling robot that Kaiba destroyed when he first obtained Obelisk the Tormentor from Isis in order to test its power.

The specific force analysis is not important. What is important is that although Keipai recycled and reused the Duel Robot, only the Duel Robot's logic program was recycled. The physical existence of the Duel Robot was completely destroyed the moment it was hit.

Even metal robots were destroyed, let alone humans.

However, despite saying that, the [Obelisk the Giant] actually didn't hurt anyone much. In particular, Jonouchi only had a slight chest pain after enduring an infinite amount of attack power.

Rein Wilson was not seriously injured. Most of the Obelisk's attack was used to destroy the Golden Palace of Rapids Mountain, and the remaining impact turned into a gentle breeze that brushed against Rein's cheek.

It's energy dissipation; the Colossus uses energy dissipation with extremely high purity!

Faced with the Egyptian God Cards, which transcend the rules of Duel Monsters, the extra cheat effect of Qigufridga on "Golden Palace of Rapids" was destroyed, the "indestructible card" was destroyed, the field area on Rein's Duel Disk, which had been locked, was opened, the discharge device was destroyed, and the card of "Golden Palace of Rapids" fell to the ground.

Although the wind wasn't very strong, having faced a divine punch, Ryan Wilson plopped down on the arena floor after his last bit of life points were reduced to zero. His face didn't show disappointment or dejection because of his defeat; instead, he looked longingly at the [Obelisk the Tormentor] gradually dissipating behind Hayato.

"So this is Obelisk? The three Egyptian God cards are really powerful..."

Hayato retrieved his cards from the graveyard, separately placing "Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska" and "Obelisk the Tormentor" back into the card box on his waist. While powerful cards like the Egyptian God cards can effectively increase the average strength of a deck, they can also affect the flow of the game. Even Hayato selectively includes the Egyptian God cards in his deck when he wants to use them.

Also placed in the card box was the Quick-Play Spell Card that had just laid the foundation for the final blow, 【God Fist Crusher】.

Throughout the various Yu-Gi-Oh! series, there are many different opinions on which generation's strongest duelist is who, and there's also little consensus on the most powerful Duel Monster. However, in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! DM, the strongest Duel Monster is generally considered to be Heracles, the Creator of Light, summoned by combining the three Egyptian God cards.

That is the "Creator God" card, which is limited to 10,000 copies worldwide and is the only one of its kind in the entire Duel Monster series.

There's an old saying that goes, "What's the difference between a person without dreams and a salted fish?" So, after winning the championship in Duel City and collecting all three Egyptian God cards, Hayato naturally set his sights on the [Epic God] affix unlocked in the system shop.

It wasn't that Hayato lacked willpower; it was just that the system, that old swindler, had been just perfunctorily attaching names before. But after collecting all three Phantom God Beasts, the unlocked [Phantom God] affix actually had an animated image of [Creator God of Light].

Just like how players of the famous collectible game "Steam" couldn't resist spending their money when they saw the green "-90%", Hayato was no exception and spent a fortune in the lottery for this affix.

As expected, the ship sank spectacularly. With an investment of over 30,000 DP points, not even a glimpse of the [Creator of Light] was seen. Instead, Hayato obtained support cards from the three Egyptian God cards: [Superconducting Wave - Lightning Cannon], [Intersecting Soul], and [Apostle of the Sun God], with [God Fist Smash] being one of them.

Although the Egyptian God cards performed exceptionally well in the anime and manga, if they were released as real cards with their overpowered effects, it would be a disaster for the Yu-Gi-Oh! environment and would disrupt the balance too much. Therefore, when the real cards of the Egyptian God cards were released, all of their effects were nerfed, with the Winged Dragon of Ra, which had the most powerful effects, being completely dismantled.

Of course, whether this excuse of "affecting balance" is true or not is a matter of opinion. After all, K-Consortium has a history of being a notorious "playing it safe" – when [D-hero Destroyer Phoenix] was rampant in the meta, they didn't ban it, but instead put the [D-hero] Fusion Fate deck into the ban list.

Wow, you're something else, K Group.

It's all just about selling cards anyway.

While the Egyptian God Cards, after being nerfed, are not unusable in duels, the cost of sacrificing three monsters and their lack of power make them far too cost-effective, aside from satisfying nostalgia. They can't even be used to recreate the matches from the original series.

So, the clever card-selling conglomerate K came up with a new strategy—"Although I can't upgrade the cards, I can sell other patch cards."

Therefore, the effects of the Egyptian God cards that were removed were made into other cards, namely the "God Fist Smash" cards, which are exclusive to the Egyptian God cards. They are similar in role to "Clay Slam" which is tied to "E·Hero Nendoroid". These "God Fist Smash" cards are also tied to their respective Egyptian God cards.

Although it failed to elevate the status of the three Egyptian God cards, it at least gave players who liked them a chance to recreate iconic scenes.

Of course, simply recreating famous scenes isn't enough to boost card sales, so in addition to the effects that should be on the original Egyptian God cards, these cards also have some new effects added, such as the ability of "God Fist Smash" to destroy all of the opponent's Spell & Trap Cards and to lock down monster effects.

After tidying up his deck, Hayato walked up to Rein Wilson, who was sitting on the ground, and looked down at him: "How does it feel to be completely and utterly defeated by the God Cards?"

"As for the feeling, it left a very deep impression, and it's almost become a shadow hanging over my heart."

Although his words were rather somber and even sounded like he was about to become withdrawn, when he looked up at Hayato, Ryan Wilson had a bright and confident smile on his face. "But the more it's like that, the more courage I have to break through this dark cloud."

"I hope that one day I will have the opportunity to duel with you, Mr. Hayato, when you have given it your all."

Hearing Ryan's words, Hayato nodded in satisfaction and returned a smile: "That was a very good speech. Compared to your brother, whose mentality is so different, you are much better. Good, very spirited!"

"In that case, after witnessing the majesty of the peak, etch the image of being defeated by God into your heart and strive to grow stronger!"

Hayato patted Rein on the shoulder as he stood up, then turned to look at Chigurhfrid, who was leaning against the fence with a grim expression: "Well then, you're next, Chigurh Lloyd."

"Damn it, Hayato Kobayashi!"

Chigurhfrid in the stands wanted nothing more than to kill Hayato, but the distance between them and his bound hands meant that he could only clench his fists to vent his anger.

Under Ryuzaki's escort, Chigurhfrid was taken to the edge of the dueling ring below the audience seats. There should have been staff maintaining order in the passageway connecting the two places to prevent audience members from rushing into the dueling ring and interfering with the match in the middle of the duel. However, the anomaly at the scene affected all non-duelists, and even the backstage staff were probably not spared.

"This guy is now in your hands, Hayato Kobayashi." Ryuzaki handed the rope to Hayato and sighed with some emotion, "It's only been a few years, hasn't it? We were rivals back in Duel Kingdom, and I never imagined you'd become so strong."

Chigurhfrid was quite dissatisfied that he had only handed over the reins as if he were trading horses. When he heard Ryuzaki say that Hayato was strong, he snorted and looked disdainful.

Hayato wrapped the rope around his hand a few times to secure it and looked at Ryuzaki with a playful expression, teasingly saying, "Come on, you didn't even make it into the top eight, so you're not even on the same stage."

"Hey, don't sabotage me. Even if we were on the same stage during the star-collecting phase, it still counts as being on the same stage. Besides, I was only one star away from completing my collection, but the other people on the island refused to duel me, even though I was eliminated after the time limit, just because I was the runner-up in the Japanese National Tournament."

"Even in games, because many people only heard that he defeated Kaiba and did not believe it was true, they would not refuse his duel. You only narrowly defeated Haga once back then, not to mention that no one knew who Jonouchi was."

Recalling those days, Ryuzaki sighed, shook his head, and didn't dwell on his past glories for too long: "In short, I'm handing this guy over to you. I've completed Kaiba's request."

"From this person, Kaiba learned three key things about solving the anomaly: the 'key' to triggering the anomaly, which is the card of the brat you just defeated; the 'program' to drive the anomaly, which seems to be placed on the network within the Kaiba Group; and finally, the 'ability' to achieve the anomaly, which is unknown and also seems to be a card."

After recounting the information he had obtained from Kaiba to Hayato, Ryuzaki turned around and said, "Well then, I'll be leaving now."

"Where are you going?" Hayato asked. "The situation inside the venue is quite dangerous. Do you want to come with me?"

Others might not have noticed, but Hayato, who was surrounded by a large group of card Pokémon, discovered in the middle of the duel that the interior of the Kaiba Dome venue after the anomaly began seemed to be gradually being transferred to another world, which was the Pokémon World where the card Pokémon lived.

Even Hayato can only speculate on the specific implementation method for now. It is probably to reverse the ability of [Divine Flame Emperor - Uria] to convert "life force" and "spirit power" to enhance a certain existence related to spirits in order to open the door. Although the door is only slightly open now, given enough time, it is very likely that the giant seahorse egg will be truly transferred to the spirit world.

Even through the cracks, an extremely abundant aura of another world poured into the venue. Hayato had already sensed this when he retrieved Obelisk the Titan. Even without the support of the virtual projection system, Obelisk was able to maintain its existence for a brief moment.

However, if it were a weaker Duel Monster, it wouldn't be a problem to materialize it for a long time.

Opening the door is like baiting the water before fishing. Although it will scare away some fish, some fish will approach out of curiosity and temptation after a brief period of wariness. If the door is opened again, it is not impossible for the residents of the fairy world to run into the real world.

"You mean the materialization of Duel Monsters? If so, I can protect myself too." To Hayato's slight surprise, Ryuzaki seemed to have already accepted the idea that "Duel Monsters can materialize," as if he had already experienced something. "I am also aware of my own abilities, so the mission of saving everyone is entrusted to you, Duel King."

He turned around with a flourish, and despite his short stature, Ryuzaki exuded an imposing aura: "As for me, I'll do my best to save a few people. After all, we had a pretty good chat before, and I promised to save them so we could go out for steak."

"Also, that guy Jonouchi must be working hard somewhere too. Remember to remind him not to forget what he said before about taking my part in his efforts."

With a wave of his hand, Ryuzaki walked up the steps.

Achoo!

Jonouchi suddenly sneezed and rubbed his nose: "Who's watching me from behind?"

Frowning, Jonouchi lowered his hand, not letting the sudden sneeze distract him for too long, and looked back at Yugi and Rafael in their duel.

On Rafael's field, the Guardian-Aetos, equipped with the Power of the Guardian, boasts an attack power of 4000 points, comparable to the Obelisk the Tormentor that appeared in the central duel arena, which had just attracted considerable attention.

[Guardian's Power] [Magic Count Item: 3]

"Did the King of Duel use the God Cards to end his battle?" Rafael said calmly, turning his gaze away from the center of the arena. "Although I really didn't want that to happen, it's likely that the King of Duel has already disrupted one part of the plan."

"Focus your attention during the duel and don't look around, Rafael!" Yugi, the Chaos Mage with only one unit remaining in Defense position on the field, shouted sternly from across the field. "Do you think you've got the victory in the bag?!"

[Game: 400LP, 3 cards in hand]

[Chaos Magician] [DEF2100]

【GaiKa】

[Rafiru: 2000LP, 1 cards in hand]

【Guardian - Aetos】(Guardian Power)【ATK4000】

【GaiKa】