Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

“Now that your face-down cards are all used up, I can finally start my real offensive.” Yugi held his last two cards in his hand, with only [AD Changer], [Magical-Rizhin], and one face-down card from the previous turn on the field. He looked at Rafael, “Just as I said before, I’m going to show you how to surpass that [Guardian-Ethos] this turn, Rafael!”

"If you can do it, then show it to me, nameless pharaoh. Let me see your resolve." Rafiru found it difficult to describe his feelings in words.

Before the duel with the game, he was certain that his will was to firmly carry out that person's plan and that he would not be swayed by anything else.

However, as the duel progressed, Yugi's will and strength shattered the barriers in his heart. He had always regarded Duel Monsters as substitutes for family members and his most precious treasures. At first, he was angry at Yugi for sending the monsters to the graveyard at will. But gradually, he saw the deep affection between Yugi and the monsters hidden beneath Yugi's seemingly heartless behavior.

That was a feeling of "partnership" that was completely different from that of one's "family".

Rafael suddenly wanted to see just how far the game could go, and whether it could really surpass the [Guardian-Aetos], whose attack power still reached 4000 points, as claimed.

However, when Rafiru thought about the stakes of this duel—the other person involved with [Divine Flame Emperor - Uria]—he fell silent.

The game then played its first card: "Activate the Spell Card, [Altar of Resurrection]!"

As the card was inserted into the Spell & Trap Card area, a dilapidated altar rose in the back row of the game. Not only was the offering area empty, but the two sacrificial areas for placing offerings were also empty, making it look like an ancient, long-forgotten altar of a god that had no followers.

The game banishes two cards from the deck: "The effect of [Altar of Resurrection] is to remove two cards from my deck, then add one card from my graveyard to my hand. I banish the top two cards of my deck, and then reclaim [Fusion Magic] from my graveyard!"

"【Harmony Magic】?!" Rafael looked at the altar on the game field with some curiosity. As two cards were offered as tributes, a card rose from the empty altar and was taken back into Yugi's hand.

Jonouchi also found it somewhat strange: "That card, I remember it was similar to [Dragon's Mirror], a card that could be used as Fusion Material to Fusion Summon monsters, but unlike [Dragon's Mirror] which is limited to Dragon-Type Fusion Monsters, [Fusion Magic] seems to be limited to Spellcaster-Type Fusion Monsters."

This stemmed from Jonouchi's lack of knowledge about Duel Monsters cards, which he revealed in numerous duels during Duel City. After Duel City, Jonouchi's grandfather, Sugoroku, who was disappointed in him, forcibly subjected Jonouchi to hellish training as Jonouchi's mentor.

Thanks to this, Jonouchi, who has never been very sensitive to Duel Monsters, finally remembered the effects of many cards, including [Fusion Magic].

But what puzzled Jonouchi was, "But if I remember correctly, wasn't that Hayato's card?"

Although the card 【Fusion Magic】 has no other restrictions besides race, the Fusion Monster that Jonouchi remembers most vividly is the 【Five-Element Magician】 that Hayato used.

Just like "Five Dragons" uses five dragon-type monsters as fusion materials, "Five Magicians" also uses five spellcaster-type monsters as fusion materials. When five different spellcaster-type monsters are fused together, they have the powerful ability to destroy and clear all of the opponent's cards at once.

Of course, the reason why Jonouchi was so impressed with the [Five-Array Magician] was not mainly because of his powerful field-breaking ability, the highest level of 12 stars, or the 4500 points of attack power of the [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon], but because of his resistance.

It cannot be destroyed by effects, cannot become fusion material, and cannot even be released. This directly led to Hayato, who has always had a special preference for releasing monsters to achieve final victory, not using [Summoning Exophysis] to abandon his "old friend" in the duel using [Five Magician].

How could a monster that survived Hayato's attacks not leave a deep impression on Jonouchi?

Yugi smiled and replied to Jonouchi: "This card is indeed Hayato's, but he said something incomprehensible like 'The effects are almost the same, one is an R and the other is an SR, it's all your fault that I can't draw Hikari,' and then he stuffed several [Harmony Magic] cards into my hands."

"I was going to refuse, but after Hayato gave me three, he actually took out three more." Yugi had a helpless expression on his face when he talked about this.

Hayato gave him such powerful cards as if he were clearing out his inventory. If he hadn't felt so bad and insisted on giving him cards that Hayato didn't have, such as [Holy Shield - Mirror Power -] and [Super Electromagnetic Turtle], Hayato wouldn't have accepted them at all.

The mystery within Jonouchi was solved, but Rafael still had a question: "When was that card placed in your grave?"

“It’s [Angel’s Charity],” Yugi replied. “You add three cards to your hand and then discard two. Although it seems like the number of cards in your hand hasn’t changed, both of these effects are actually positive abilities. After all, the graveyard is, to some extent, a suitable place for Duel Monsters to exert their power.”

"【Angel's Charity】is such a powerful card," Yugi exclaimed.

However, he didn't know that when Hayato was discussing the Forbidden and Limited Card List, he had actually considered banning cards from his previous life, such as "Last Will," "Steal," "Change of Heart," "Pot of Greed," and "Angel's Charity," because if someone knew how to play, they could easily disrupt the Duel Monsters environment with these cards.

However, Hayato changed his mind and gave up, because he found that not many people knew how to use it. Many people would even think that the invincible "Last Will" card was useless, since monsters with an attack power of less than 1500 were just weaklings.

Instead of banning cards that these people won't care about at all, it's better to keep them. Maybe they can be used when fighting against some dark forces someday.

It's definitely not the kind of acrobatic show Hayato can perform when he wants to dominate weaker opponents.

“I see, so it was the card that was sent to the graveyard when I used [Angel's Charity]…” Rafael nodded. “But even if you use [Fusion Magic], what kind of monster can you summon?”

"Even the [Five-Element Magician] used by the Duel King Hayato Kobayashi only has an attack power of 4500. Even if you have this monster and summon it, attacking [Guardian - Etos] will only increase its attack power. And in a battle between two monsters with an attack power of 4500, the result will only be my victory."

"The most powerful effect of [Five-Element Magician] is to clear all cards on my field, but it cannot be applied because you have two duplicate [Dark Magician] Spellcaster monsters in your graveyard that can be used for fusion."

"Therefore, even if you activate the [Harmony Magic], it is nothing to fear."

Listening to Rafiru's analysis, Yugi confidently said, "So, just one Wadokana?"

"As you think, I am indeed going to activate [Fusion Magic], but what I am going to fuse and summon is not Hayato's [Five Elements Magician]. I naturally have my own fusion monster to summon."

As Yugi spoke, he inserted the [Fusion Magic] card, which he had just retrieved and added to his hand, into his Duel Disk: "I activate the Spell Card [Fusion Magic], banishing [Chaos Magician] and [Dark Magician] from my Graveyard as Fusion Materials to Fusion Summon a Spellcaster-Type Fusion Monster!"

"A fusion of the Dark Magician and a monster of the Magician race? Is it to summon the Grand Magician - Dark Magician's Apprentice?" Jonouchi looked at the vortex that appeared on the game field, but the commotion was completely different from what he had expected.

The Chaos Mage, who had mastered the power of "chaos" through a ritual, merged with the pure black magic power of the original Dark Mage in mid-air. A pure magic sword was created out of nothing and held in the hand of the merged Dark Mage.

The crimson chaotic power intertwined with the primordial black magic, transforming into a dazzling golden armor that adorned the [Dark Magician]. The [Dark Magician], a mage, finally no longer concealed his melee-oriented nature, standing in mid-air, clad in armor and wielding a sword and shield!

"All kinds of magic, the chaos of the heavens, must be learned and then mastered."

"Hold infinite power in your hands and create the power to create!"

"Fusion Summoning, [Super Magician Warrior - Chaos Ruler]!!"

【Super Magical Warrior - Chaos Ruler】【8☆/Dark】

[Mage Race/Fusion/Effect]

[3000/2500]

Chapter 461 One soul guides the light, one soul guides the darkness

【Super Magical Warrior - Chaos Ruler】【8☆/Dark】

[Mage Race/Fusion/Effect]

[3000/2500]

"By fusing [Dark Magician] and [Chaos Magician], two monsters with an attack power of 2500 points actually fused into a monster with the same attack power as [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]?"

Rafael watched as the [Super Magician Warrior - Chaos Ruler] slowly descended onto the game field, but he did not feel that it possessed any power that threatened him.

Even the [Five-Element Magician] with 4500 attack power wasn't a threat to him, so what threat could a card with 3000 attack power pose? Besides, Yugi Muto only had one card left in his hand.

Moreover, it was a card related to "Dark Magician" or "Dark Magician Girl" that was added to the deck in order to trigger the effect of "Chaos Magician" which destroys any card on the field once per turn.

It's probably a card like "Dark Magician" or "Thousand Knives," nothing to worry about. Because of the effect of "Dimensional Fusion," my field is currently full of monsters. Even if "Dark Magician," which can clear all of the opponent's Spell & Trap Cards, destroys "Guardian's Power," only "Guardian - Etos" will be destroyed.

To defeat yourself, you must destroy the other four monsters in defense position on the field one by one.

The threat posed by the Thousand Blades is even lower. Because of the Guardian's power, the Thousand Blades, which can only destroy one monster, can only consume one magic counter placed on it. If you want to destroy the Guardian - Ethos in battle, that magic counter will simply be replenished.

Moreover, there's another point: both of these cards require the presence of a [Dark Magician] on the field to activate. Although [Super Magician Warrior - Chaos Controller] is a fusion of [Chaos Magician] and [Dark Magician], it did not inherit the effect of [Chaos Magician], and its name cannot be used as [Dark Magician].

Rafael thought to himself, glancing at the cards at the top of his deck.

Many of the cards in his deck were worn out from long-term use. Although he extended the lifespan of the cards by replacing the card backs, each card still showed varying degrees of wear.

Although he didn't intend to cheat in this area, Rafael had the ability to identify cards just by looking at the back of them, much like a professional magician, by recognizing the wear and tear on the cards.

【Monster Resurrection】 allows you to Special Summon a monster from either player's Graveyard. While it doesn't work against 【Guardian - Ethos】, which can't be Special Summoned without 【Athena's Holy Sword - Eagle Spirit】, it allows you to temporarily use monsters from the player's Graveyard, such as 【Dark Magician】 and 【Dark Magician Girl】, to defeat the player using their monsters.

Once I get the [Monster Resurrection] card in my next turn, the duel will be over, and [Super Magician Warrior - Chaos Controller] will pose no threat to me at all.

"What good could such a card possibly be—"

"What kind of threat could such a card pose, is that what you're thinking, Rafael?" Before Rafael could finish his sentence, the game anticipated his thoughts and said what he was about to say, "You think the power of the [Chaos Ruler] is nothing special?"

“If that’s what you think, then you’re mistaken, Rafael.”

Based on the power currently displayed on the field, no matter how you look at it, Yugi has no chance of defeating Rafael. However, Yugi seems to have already created victory, smiling and pointing to [Super Magic Warrior - Chaos Controller]: "The power created by fusing the power of chaos and the power of dark magic is quite terrifying."

"If the forbidden [Chaos Emperor Dragon - Messenger of the End] symbolizes the power of the end, then the [Super Magic Warrior - Chaos Controller] symbolizes the power of the beginning, capable of guiding everything towards the unknown world."

"If [Super Magician Warrior - Chaos Ruler] is successfully Fusion Summoned, I may Special Summon one Light/Dark monster from my Graveyard."

As the game's voice faded, magic flashed on the round shield in the hands of [Super Magician Warrior - Chaos Ruler], and an extremely complex and rare magic circle unfolded around the shield, opening a passage to the underworld and revealing a figure that the game recognized quite well.

"Sending the Dark Magician to the graveyard was merely a necessary price to pay for victory," Yugi said confidently, watching the magician strike a cool pose with his wand in hand. "Return from the underworld! And fight alongside me to the very end, Dark Magician!"

[Black Magician] [ATK2500]

The mage, wand in hand, silently gazed at the pharaoh, who had yet to regain his memories, just as he had a thousand years ago.

"The Dark Magician is back in the game! Yay!"

Jonouchi instinctively cheered, his gaze involuntarily shifting to Rafael, the opponent in the game.

However, despite his carefree attitude, Jonouchi still knew how to read the situation and analyze the circumstances. Even though the game summoned the Dark Magician once again, not all monsters in Duel Monsters could effectively increase their combat power after gathering in groups.

The appearance of the [Dark Magician] with an attack power of 2500 points has no effect on the situation. Even it cannot intervene in the battle between the [Guardian-Aetos] with an attack power of 4000 points and the [Super Magician Warrior-Chaos Ruler] with an attack power of 3000 points.

The game wasn't in a hurry to "surpass" what he called "surpassing," but instead looked at Rafael's [Guardian-Athos] on the field and the [Guardian Power] equipped on [Guardian-Athos], and sincerely sighed: "Although you seem unwilling to speak, you must have a sad past closely related to the Duel Monster [Guardian-Athos], Rafael."

"The feelings you attach to this card, in my opinion, are closer to things like 'a card given by someone you care about' than 'a card you care about,' 'the ace of your deck,' or 'a monster you like.'"

In the Millennium Puzzle, Omoikazuchi explains to Yami Yugi a feeling he has experienced from Rafael over several rounds.

Although there is no evidence, the way Rafiru looks at [Guardian - Etos] from time to time is similar to the way the game itself looks at those precious cards that represent bonds, except that there seems to be an additional sense of sadness and pain mixed in.

"You, who are unwilling to let your Duel Monster leave, use cards like [Guardian Power] to protect your monster."

"Indeed, [Guardian Power] is a powerful card that can accumulate power from countless battles to protect monsters. However, that would only be dwelling on the past and reminiscing; even if you gather infinite power, you still wouldn't have the ability to create the future!"

"And I will use [Super Magic Warrior - Chaos Ruler] to guide the future!"

As the game's voice faded, [Super Magic Warrior - Chaos Ruler] raised the longsword, a magical polymer created by the fusion of chaotic power and dark magic, high above his head.

On either side of [Super Magical Warrior - Chaos Controller], the bodies of [AD Changer] and [Magic Transformation - Rijin], which Rafael had previously disregarded, turned into golden particles and dissipated.

"That is!?"

Rafiru wasn't quite sure what had happened.

【Magician-Rishin】has the ability to grant Yugi an additional Triple Summon to a Spellcaster monster while it is on the field, while 【AD Changer】has the ability to banish itself from the Graveyard to change the attack and defense battle of one monster on the field.

However, what they were looking at didn't seem like they were about to activate their own effects at all. Instead, it looked more like they were sacrificing themselves to provide power for the [Super Magic Warrior - Chaos Controller]!

"If the [Guardian Power] is the power that constantly accumulates from the past and influences the present, then the [Super Magic Warrior - Chaos Controller] will use the power that influences the future from the present."

The game player raised his hand, palm facing the sky as if to grasp something. "One soul guides the light, one soul guides the darkness, and then gathers this infinitely swirling chaotic power into this sword. The slash unleashed is the ultimate blade that opens up the world along with it!"

"The second effect of [Super Magician Warrior - Chaos Controller]: Tribute my LIGHT [AD Changer] and DARK [Magician - Rishin], banishing all monsters on my opponent's field!!"

"Ultimate Chaos Slash!!!"

A flash of pitch-black light appeared at the tip of the blade; though it was black and devoured all light, it did indeed shine like the morning light for a fleeting moment.

Golden holy light swirled around the darkness, the most contradictory elements of light and darkness coexisting harmoniously at this moment.

With his shield down and sword in both hands, [Super Magician Warrior - Chaos Controller] watched as the figures of [AD Changer] and [Magician - Rijin] completely dissipated, and even the scattered particles were completely absorbed by the blade in his hand. Then, he took a step forward and stood still.

Then, he swung it.

In that Eastern country, there seems to be a saying: "One begets two, two begets three, three begets all things." Witnessing the [Super Magical Warrior - Chaos Controller] unleash its slash, Raferu's thoughts were subconsciously somewhat distracted.