Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Don't forget, Hayato, [Nuclear Demon] is still on my field. All the effects of our Light and DARK monsters will be negated, so searching for [Dragon's Glow] won't help," Dartz reminded him. "If [Dragon's Glow], which cannot be Normal Summoned, cannot be Special Summoned by its own effect, it's just a dead card in my hand."

Hayato smirked: "I never said I was going to search for [Dragonlight Takumi], Dartz. The more I use [Dragonlight Takumi] in a ritual summoning, the more I realize that rituals have their limits. So, in order to defeat you, I'm willing to give up my old friend [Dragonlight Takumi]."

"The card I'm adding to my hand is this [Electronic Dragon Head]!"

"Then I activate the Spell Card [Name Deduction], and my opponent declares their level from 1 to 12. Then I flip over the cards from the top of my deck until a monster that can be Normal Summoned appears."

"So, make your choice, Darz."

Dartz had a vague recollection of the [Cyber ​​Dragon Head] card that Hayato had added to his hand. He remembered that it seemed to be a secret card passed down through the "Cyber ​​Flow" lineage. However, for a long time, even within the "Cyber ​​Flow" school, no one could use that card. Therefore, just like with [Dragon's Glow], Dartz, facing [Cyber ​​Dragon Head] for the first time, was unsure of its effects.

However, it is certain that the [Electronic Celestial Dragon] is of the Light attribute, which means it is also within the range of [Nuclear Demon]'s ineffectiveness. Furthermore, since the ineffectiveness effect of [Nuclear Demon] is a permanent ineffectiveness that does not enter a chain, even abilities such as [Special Summon cannot be chained] are useless.

No matter how powerful a monster is, if it cannot be summoned, it is still an illusion.

Therefore, Dartz focused his attention on the [Famous Deduction] card activated by Hayato. This card was not rare, and Dartz knew its effect. After a moment's thought, he said, "I declare my level as 1☆."

"Hoo hoo, 1☆? How vicious, Dartz. Did you assume that my pure [Dragon's Radiance] deck has no 1☆ monsters that can be Normal Summoned, and that even if it has Level 1 monsters, there's nothing to be afraid of?" Hayato flipped over the top card of his deck. It was the Ritual Monster [Cyber ​​Angel - Benten-], which had been returned to the deck and shuffled earlier and could not be Normal Summoned.

Hayato sent it directly to the graveyard, and then flipped over the top card of the deck again. It was another card that could not be Normal Summoned, [Dragon's Radiance - Heavenly Chef 1δ], which Hayato also sent to the graveyard.

After flipping over eight cards in a row, Hayato finally found a monster that could be Normal Summoned: Rainbow Kuriboh.

"Curry~"

Hayato showed Dartz the card "Rainbow Kuriboh" and said, "The monster that can be Normal Summoned is the Level 1 ☆ 'Rainbow Kuriboh.' Since it matches the number you deduced, I'm sending all the cards I've flipped over to the Graveyard."

"So, the formula for victory is now established, Dartz!"

Dartz watched as Hayato sent a total of nine cards to the graveyard, unaware of what Hayato was about to do.

Hayato pressed his Duel Disk, activating his only face-down card on the field: "This isn't the first time I've summoned you, but let me focus my gaze upon you once more, O star of the Dragon constellation!"

"Activate the face-down card, [The Birth of the Dragon]!"

As Hayato activated his Geka, a starry sky appeared above his head, with the lit stars connecting to form a long dragon.

"During the turn this card is activated, I cannot Special Summon monsters using any effect other than this card." Hayato said, reaching towards his Graveyard. "I can only activate [The Advent of Draco] by banishing all LIGHT Machine-Type monsters from my Graveyard and my field!"

"I'm scattering my entire grave!"

Hayato flicked his wrist, banishing all ten LIGHT Machine-Type monsters from his graveyard: the two "Dragonlight Techies," the "Dragonlight Techies" used to Ritual Summon "Radiant Light," and the seven "Dragonlight Techies" cards (excluding "Benten" and "Rainbow Kuriboh") that had just been sent to the graveyard!

The monsters that were excluded rose into the air and became part of the stars. Hayato raised a card from his hand: "I Special Summon a Level 6 or higher Machine-Type LIGHT monster from my hand, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"

The starlight seemed to have found a place to converge, all pouring into the card that Hayato held high above his head. Before Hayato could even place the card on the duel disk, a loud dragon roar rang out behind him.

The head of a massive mechanical dragon materialized through the convergence of starlight and the power of numerous monsters, excluding Hayato. Despite being a mechanical creation, it seemed to possess its own life, overlooking everything on the ground.

Beside the enormous mechanical dragon head, Hayato gathered the power of the monsters excluding those from the "Birth of Draco" and transformed them into small, floating mechanical dragon-head cannons, which circled the giant dragon head like planets guarding a star.

"Starlight wandering in the universe, gather in my hands as raging waves and the light of hope!" Hayato slammed the card onto the duel disk. "In the name of Star, Infinite, and Draco, open the door to truth for me!"

"Come forth, my glory, my Tamashi!!"

"【Electronic antenna】!!!"

[Electronic antenna] [10 stars/light]

[Machine Race/Special Summon/Effect]

【？ /？】

Chapter 565 The Unreachable—

"My glory, my Tamashi!!"

"【Electronic antenna】!!!"

A majestic mechanical dragon appeared behind Hayato, its enormous form seemingly about to pierce through the palace. As soon as Cyber ​​Dragon appeared, Hayato swung his hand sharply: "Activate the effect of Cyber ​​Dragon when it is Special Summoned, and send all monsters on both sides of the field except Cyber ​​Dragon to the Graveyard!"

Upon hearing this, Dartz said in surprise, "However, because of the effect of [Nuclear Demon], all the effects of Light and Dark attribute monsters activated by both sides during the Main Phase will be nullified. That [Cyber ​​Dragon Head] is a Light attribute monster, right?"

“That’s true, but the power of starlight is different from a soul bound by gravity, Dartz.” Hayato pointed to the Trap Card on his back row, which was gradually dissipating after the Machine-Type monster in the banished Graveyard was summoned as [Cyber ​​Dragon].

"The ATK and DEF of Cyber ​​Dragon Special Summoned by the effect of [Birth of Dragon] will become 500 times the number of monsters banished due to the activation of [Birth of Dragon], and will gain the ability to be unaffected by the effects of other cards."

"The Electronic Dragon Head isn't just for show; this mere Nuclear Demon, I'll push it back!"

"Stellar Cluster Attack!"

[Electronic faucet] [? /? → 5000/5000]

Inheriting the power of ten monsters from Hayato's graveyard, Cyber ​​Dragon's power surged to a peak that ordinary Duel Monsters could hardly reach—a full 5000 points, on par with the Five Divine Dragons.

At the same time, the countless dragon-head-shaped floating cannons hovering around it began to gather power, and the light emitted by the energy beams gathered together was like countless stars in the night sky!

The [Nuclear Demon] on Dartz's field naturally let out a roar immediately, attempting to interrupt the activation of the [Cyber ​​Dragon] effect, a Light-attribute monster that it should have been countered by, just like when it interrupted the effect of [Announcer of Light].

However, the emotionless mechanical dragon obviously wouldn't care about the threat from the ants on the ground, even if they were demons of corpses.

The threat of [Nuclear Demon] had no effect on [Cyber ​​Dragon Head], which is to be expected, since [Birth of Draco] granted [Cyber ​​Dragon Head] the most noble all resistances, rendering both magic/trap and monster effects ineffective against [Cyber ​​Dragon Head].

A rain of lasers, filled with an aura of destruction, crashed down as Hayato swung his hand!

After a deafening roar, as if the world were being destroyed, the [Nuclear Demon] and [Nuclear Dragon] that had just been swaggering around the Daz Field had vanished without a trace.

With that, Dartz will have no monsters on his field, and he can win by attacking directly with [Cyber ​​Dragon Head]!

After seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Hayato did not become complacent and launch a reckless attack. Instead, he cautiously noticed the rather conspicuous face-down card that stood alone in Dartz's back row after Dartz's front row was completely cleared of cards.

Although [Electronic Sky Dragon] has gained all resistances to "unaffected by opponent's effects," Dartz's cards will not be affected by destructive effects such as [Explosive Armor], banishing effects such as [Dimensional Confinement], damage-returning effects such as [Magic Cylinder], or effects such as [Enemy Controller] which change the battle position.

However, that doesn't mean Hayato can ignore Dartz's face-down cards. If Dartz sets down a card that revives his own monster or a card like "Holy Javelin" that restores Life Points, Dartz's face-down cards can still effectively protect him, provided they don't target "Cyber ​​Dragon".

Hayato pulled out a card from his hand: "Perhaps I'm being too cautious, but anyway, just to be on the safe side, let me see what your face card is, Dartz."

"Quick-Play Spell Card [Whirlwind], I choose to destroy the face-down card in your back row."

A cyclone formed on Hayato's field and moved toward Dartz's only face-down card in his backfield. Dartz, of course, wouldn't let Hayato's tornado destroy his face-down card, so he pressed the button on his Duel Disk: "I don't want to end my duel with you like this, Hayato. That would be a shame. Chain [Whirlwind], I activate the Trap Card [Messenger of Peace]."

Because of the chain rule that allows the second card to arrive first, Dartz's face-down card was successfully revealed before [Whirlwind] arrived, and a golden energy shield was released from the card and enveloped Dartz. Although [Messenger of Peace] was destroyed by [Whirlwind] afterward, the shield was preserved.

"The effect of [Messenger of Peace] is that my monsters cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, and I also take 0 battle damage." Dartz sent the destroyed [Messenger of Peace] to the graveyard and said with a smile, "It was originally a card used to prevent [Nuclear Demon] from being destroyed by battle, but it was destroyed by you, Hayato, before the battle phase."

"It's not destruction, it's sending it to the cemetery, there's a big difference between the two."

Hayato corrected him, pouting unhappily, "Is this the card used to protect monsters? Tsk, it still worked in the end."

“Yes, Hayato, I will not take any more combat damage this round,” Dartz said with a smile, her tone devoid of any sarcasm. She simply asked, “So, are you going to use [Electronic Dragon Head] to make a pointless attack?”

Hayato frowned and said, "That kind of futile effort is completely meaningless, since it can't harm you anyway."

Knowing that the attack from the Electronic Dragon Head wouldn't cause any damage to Dartz while the [Messenger of Harmony] was active, Hayato naturally wouldn't invite trouble by attacking.

Anyway, the effect of [Messenger of Peace] only lasts for one turn. I can still attack and finish off Dartz in the next turn. With [Electronic Dragon Head]'s all resistances and super high attack power, how could it be dispelled in one turn?

Hayato put down the card in his hand: "Set one card face down, my turn ends."

[Hayato: 4000LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Electronic Terminal Block】【ATK5000】

【GaiKa】

"It's my turn again, let's draw a card." Despite Hayato having an invincible [Cyber ​​Dragon] on the field, Dartz didn't feel nervous at all and easily drew a card. "Then I'll activate the Spell Card [Pot of Greed] and draw two cards from my deck."

After increasing her hand size to two cards, Dartz glanced at the card she had drawn and smiled, "Hmm, I drew a pretty good card."

"Hayato, your power is indeed very strong. From you, I can constantly feel the light of hope that you, from another world, bring to this world polluted by desire."

"To ensure that your light never fades, I will definitely win this duel, so from now on I'm going to get serious."

Although Dartz spoke in a gentle tone, Hayato found it extremely unpleasant.

"Don't talk like you can win anytime, Dartz. Before you start underestimating me, at least try to gain the upper hand in the duel."

Hayato glanced at his [Electronic Dragon Head] on the field and said smugly, "Although I've always thought that 'invincible' is a very standard flag that describes someone as someone who will suffer a defeat, right now my [Electronic Dragon Head] can truly only be described as 'invincible'."

"A top-tier Duel Monster with 5000 ATK, a robust 5000 DEF, and ultimate resistance unaffected by your card effects!"

"Do you dare disobey me, who possesses the [Electronic Sky Dragon]?"

Dartz nodded in agreement upon hearing Hayato's analysis: "Indeed, Hayato, your [Cyber ​​Dragon] is an extremely powerful card, one could even say it's 'invincible' among Duel Monsters."

"However, it still has one major flaw."

As he spoke, Dartz summoned a monster card to his field.

"I attack summon [Core Twin Blades], then activate this Spell Card, [Flash Absorption]."

On Dartz's field, a humanoid monster wielding two swords appeared. Its body was asymmetrical in many ways, looking as if it were formed by haphazardly piecing together many fragmented parts.

[Core-powered Dual-wielder] [4 stars/location]

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[2000/200]

Hayato's face was full of wariness, but it wasn't because of the [Core Dual Blades].

While a Level 4 monster with 2000 ATK is already quite good, considering the generally unstable nature of [Nuclear] monsters, which require [Nuclear Monster's Steel Core] to maintain their existence, [Nuclear Dual Blade] is just "nothing special".

What Hayato cared about was Dartz's [Flash Absorption] card.

As the card [Flash Absorption] appeared in Dartz's back row, a very thin layer of light appeared around [Core Twin Blade].

At the same time that light screen appeared, countless slender ribbons of light floated out from the body of [Electronic Sky Dragon] on Hayato's field, drifting towards [Core Dual Blade] on Dartz's field!

"【Flash Absorption】is a Spell Card that can be activated by targeting one LIGHT monster on your opponent's field. Its effect is to increase the ATK of all face-up Attack Position monsters on my field by the ATK of the targeted monster until the End Phase of this turn."

Dartz smiled and explained the effect of [Flash Absorption].

"【Electronic Sky Dragon】only gains resistance to the opponent's effects; it can still be targeted by your card's effects. Did you take advantage of that, Dartz?" Hayato looked at the imposing 【Core Twin Blades】 after absorbing the powerful energy from 【Electronic Sky Dragon】. "【Electronic Sky Dragon】's attack power is 5000 points..."

"Yes, therefore, the attack power of my [Core Dual Blades] on the field will also increase by 5000 points to a full 7000 points!"

[Dual-wielding Nuclear Power] [ATK2000→7000]

"Not only that, but [Dual Blade of the Nuclear] also has the ability to attack again once when it destroys a monster in battle. I enter the Battle Phase and use [Dual Blade of the Nuclear] to attack [Cyber ​​Dragon] on your field, Hayato."

"Is that all? Hayato, join Doma." Dartz pointed at the [Electronic Celestial Dragon], "Nuclear Cross Slash!"

"boom!"

Even though Hayato's [Electronic Dragon Head] had increased its attack to 5000 points, it was still destroyed by the attack of [Core Twin Blade], which had an attack of 7000 points. [Electronic Dragon Head] only had resistance to effects and no resistance to combat destruction.