Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

[2600/2200]

Looking at the two monsters that had appeared on his field, Keith smiled and said, "Hmph, it's been a long time. I don't even know how long it's been since I've been this serious in a duel."

In the underground dueling arena, most of the participants are duelists who want to make a living by dueling monsters but are not qualified to participate in formal dueling events. Although there are some strong people who are banned from participating in formal events for some reason, they are only a minority. Most of them are just weak people.

A duel between the weak or between the strong and the weak is never particularly interesting, but what attracts people to the underground dueling arena is never the duels themselves, but the "gambling" that exists outside of the duels.

Betting on whether the stronger side can win without taking damage, or whether they will win in a few rounds, and how the weaker side, struggling for victory in a thrilling deathmatch, survives.

Keith's skill level is practically invincible in the underground dueling arena. He has a hard time finding an opponent. Ordinary duelists simply can't last two rounds before being easily killed by his monsters and then ruthlessly forced into deathmatches by the organizers, who then squeeze out their remaining value.

Keith hadn't experienced the thrill of dueling monsters like the effective offense and defense he displayed in today's duel with Hayato in a long time.

Keith once swept through the bounties of various dueling tournaments like a "thief," gaining countless victories and glory. But the more he possessed, the less he could accept losing his glory, and his heart was filled with a desire for victory.

To win, Keith was even willing to cheat, even though he had several cards hidden in the wristband on his left hand to switch during the duel.

Having experienced so many changes and fallen to his current state, Keith suddenly realized that he might not really have such a strong desire for victory.

Which kind of duel do you truly crave: one where you easily defeat an opponent who offers no resistance, or one where you engage in a back-and-forth battle like Hayato's?

Keith himself couldn't explain it, but he knew that his battle was still ongoing.

"Hayato Kobayashi, I'll say the same thing back to you, but that level of counterattack is simply not enough to make someone like me, who has already witnessed darkness, despair." Keith glanced at the last card in his hand and continued, "Your last face-down card should be [Extraordinary Food], but it's useless. Experience the revenge of me, Thief Keith, the Duel King!"

"Because it's a Special Summon during the battle phase, both [Revolver Dragon] and [Bowgun Dragon] can attack. First, [Bowgun Dragon] will launch a direct attack!"

"Deadly shot!"

A bullet was fired from the head of the [Rewind Pistol Dragon], flying across the field in an instant and piercing through Hayato's body without any hindrance, right before Keith's eyes. Hayato's base score dropped drastically.

[Hayato: 3500→1200LP]

Seeing that Hayato hadn't activated his card and that his life score had indeed dropped, Keith breathed a slight sigh of relief and said smugly, "How's it going, Hayato Kobayashi? How does this pain feel?"

Looking at Hayato, who seemed to be bowing his head in pain, Keith said arrogantly, "You've already tasted the price of underestimating me, haven't you, Hayato Kobayashi? It seems I'm stronger now. If you don't want to lose your life, admit defeat and dispel this barrier."

But under Keith's gaze, Hayato raised his head and gave a cold smile: "Admit defeat? Keith, you don't actually think you've already won, do you?"

“No matter what kind of duelist you are, you would never have the idea of ​​‘surrender’ or ‘admit defeat’. How can someone who easily gives up on victory embrace it?” Hayato said, glancing at Keith with disdain. “Only someone like you would have such thoughts.”

Keith could tolerate Hayato's words? He already disliked Hayato, and now, provoked by Hayato's words, Keith gritted his teeth and said with a dark face, "You bastard, then be prepared to have your basic points wiped out by this attack!"

"【Revolver Dragon】Direct Attack, Triple Strike!"

Facing the three gun barrels pointed at him, Hayato sneered, "Now's the time, Keith. I've been waiting for this strike for a long time. Use your monster's attack as the final piece of the puzzle to complete my victory!"

"Chain attack of [Revolver Dragon], Trap Card [Power Wall] activated!"

As Keith gave the order to attack, all three barrels of the Revolver Dragon fired a single bullet, but just as it was about to cross Hayato's field and hit him, it was stopped by a light barrier that rose up behind Hayato.

Keith, who had a deep understanding of Hayato's deck, naturally recognized the card Hayato activated. He explained its effect: "A card that reduces the damage dealt to you by an opponent's monster's attack to 0, and for every 500 points of damage, sends one card to the Graveyard..."

“That’s right, Keith. To maximize the effect of this card, I specifically waited for your ace, ‘Revolver Dragon,’ to appear before activating it.” Hayato’s hand rested on the Duel Disk, holding a stack of cards. “Because ‘Revolver Dragon’ has an attack power of 2600, I need to discard six cards to make the damage zero.”

With that, Hayato flicked his wrist, pulling out all the cards he had grabbed.

"I'm just throwing my deck around!"

[Hayato: 1200→1200LP]

The card thrown by Hayato merged into the light barrier and blocked the attack of [Revolver Dragon]. Keith's decisive blow failed, which made him extremely unhappy.

However, he noticed something—of the cards Hayato threw into the light barrier of the [Power Wall], one was the trap card [Explosive Armor], but the other five cards were all cards he had never seen before: a Quick-Play Spell Card and four Monster Cards.

Regardless of which of the four monster cards it was, Keith felt an extremely ominous aura just from the revealed card art, as if he had seen some kind of human enemy, filled with disgust and repulsion.

The Wall of Light, carrying six cards, disappeared into Hayato's graveyard, but Keith had no monsters left on his field to attack, thus ending his Battle Phase.

Looking at the [Death's Journey] on his field, Keith rationally decided that he could use it again next turn to block Hayato's Summoning/Flip Summon.

However, Keith's long-awaited duelist instincts warned him that it was impossible to continue using this card to block Hayato's field.

Although he didn't recognize the cards Hayato had just sent to the graveyard, Keith sensed a threat. After a moment's thought, he activated the cards in his hand: "Send my Continuous Trap Card 'Death's Parade' to the graveyard. I activate the Spell Card 'Magic Flowerpot' and draw two cards from my deck."

"Then I'll set a card face down, and my turn is over."

[Keith: 4000LP, 1 cards in hand]

【BM-4 Bomb Spider】【ATK1400】

[Reloaded Pistol Dragon] [ATK2300]

[Revolver Dragon] [ATK2600]

[Second Chance] [Gunfire] [Gaikka]

“Now, it’s my turn. Draw.” Seeing Keith finish his turn, Hayato drew a card and added it to his hand, saying, “The monster I drew last turn using [Counter Gate], I will now Special Summon. Banish two [Inferno] monsters from my Graveyard…”

"【Hellfire Machine】? And it's a Special Summon performed by excluding monsters from the Graveyard?" Keith frowned, watching Hayato hold a card above his head, his pupils shrinking as he looked behind Hayato.

There, a tall figure vaguely appeared, its body covered with faint blue light spots.

As Hayato raised the card high, a sudden gust of wind swept through the alley, causing the hem of Hayato's coat to flutter wildly, and revealing a ferocious expression on Hayato's face.

"Seitsemas, meaning 7, is also called something unclean."

"O demon of plunder, enemy of 'victory,' descend with the flames of the abyss!"

"【Hellfire Machine - Baal】!"

The blue light moved in front of Hayato, and in the blink of an eye, the illusory figure materialized, and a huge demon appeared on Hayato's field. The demon held a long spear in its right hand and a ball of lightning in its left. Its huge wings seemed to blot out the sky and control death. Just by seeing its form, Keith felt like he was suffocating.

Is this really a Duel Monster?

Keith's hands and feet were ice-cold, and that was the only thought in his mind.

【Hellfire Machine - Baal】【7☆/Flame】

[Demon/Special Summon/Effect]

[2600/0]

Matching the enormous demon was the arrogant smile on Hayato's face standing behind it: "It's not over yet. The total Level of the Effect Monsters on my field is 7, so I'm banishing two more [Inferno] monsters from my Graveyard!"

"Attondel, meaning 8, is named after God's forsakenness."

"Demon of deception, enemy of 'Glory,' descend with endless flames!"

"【Hellfire Machine - Admirer】!"

Following closely behind the Lightning Demon, which was illuminated by blue lights, Hayato instantly summoned a second demon. Orange lights were placed all over the body of this second demon, which, like a peacock with long tail feathers, moved its claws and looked down at Keith on the opposite side.

Even though he had three monsters on his field as obstacles, Keith could sense that the monsters on the other side seemed to have their eyes on his soul!

[Hellfire Machine - Admirer] [8☆/Flame]

[Demon/Special Summon/Effect]

[2800/0]

"He summoned two powerful monsters so easily without any tributes..." Keith looked at the monsters on Hayato's field, glanced at his own face-down card in the back row, and took a deep breath to calm himself down. "But they're still a long way from defeating me!"

"Hmph, don't be impatient, Keith. This is my first time using this deck, and the power of the [Inferno Machines] hasn't been fully displayed yet." Hayato said, drawing a card. "Heroes have their stage, and demons have their world. You say you've seen endless hell, so let me use this card to show you even more darkness!"

"Spell Card [Planet Transformation]: I add a Field Spell Card from my Deck to my hand. I add [Dark World - Shadow Utopia-] to my hand, and then activate it immediately!"

When the three onlookers, Baron and his companions, saw [Planetary Transformation], they assumed Hayato was looking for [Orichalcos Barrier]. However, when they heard that Hayato had added another Field Spell Card to his hand instead of [Orichalcos Barrier], Ameruda frowned.

"Is the dark monster born in Kobayashi Hayato's heart called 'Hellfire Machine'? Just looking at it gives you a sense of unease." After a pause, Baron tried to look away from Hayato's monster.

Although just the act of "looking" made Baron feel all sorts of discomfort, as if his body and soul were warning him from the DNA level to stay away from those [Hellfire Machine] monsters, those monsters seemed to have a great attraction, and their mere existence made people subconsciously approach and offer up their souls.

"As the Duel King, such a powerful Dark Monster truly lives up to its name, but why didn't it check the [Orichalcos Barrier]?" Amelda remained wary of Hayato. "Is it because it can't bring itself to seal someone else's soul?"

"No, that's not it, Ameruda." Rafael, who was connected to him telepathically, felt the tremor transmitted to him by the card spirit, and his expression was extremely solemn. "What Kobayashi Hayato is about to unleash is probably a darkness even more terrifying than the power of [Orichalcos]!"

"How could you do something like that—"

Amelda's voice was cut off by the twisted shadow that suddenly rose from beneath Hayato and Keith's feet. An ominous power, tinged with a ghastly green within the darkness, completely enveloped Keith and Hayato. Even from a distance, the soaring shadow made Rafael and the other two instantly feel a chill run down their spines, wishing they could escape as quickly as possible.

Keith, surrounded by Field Spell Cards, was unable to leave and could only watch helplessly as the shadows that emerged from the ground invaded all the monsters on both sides' fields!

In particular, the two [Hellfire Machine] monsters on Hayato's field had their distorted shadows enter the demons' bodies, causing the light from the tube-like devices on their bodies to flicker suddenly, changing from the original cyan and orange to an ominous dark green.

【Hellfire Machine - Baal】【7☆/Fire→7☆/Dark】

[Hellfire Machine - Admirer] [8☆/Fire → 8☆/Dark]

“【Dark World - Shadow Utopia-】, what unparalleled dark power! Just activating this card makes me feel extremely happy, I almost want to sing a song.” Hayato spread his arms, revealing an expression of enjoyment. “As long as this card exists, change the attribute of all monsters on both sides' fields to DARK.”

“We’ve run out of cards now, so I’ll activate my last card, the spell card [Heavenly Treasure Card]. Both of us will have six cards in our hands.” Hayato said, drawing six cards. “Since I have zero cards in my hand, I can draw six cards.”

"Tch, then I can draw five cards since I have one card in my hand." Keith reached out and drew a card as well. Although Hayato didn't know what card Keith drew, judging from his expression, he probably didn't draw a good one.

Hayato, having replenished his hand to six cards, stopped playing cards and waved his hand, saying, "Let me see your performance, [Hellfire Machine], I'm going to use the effect of [Hellfire Machine - Baal]!"

The demon, named after the chief god of law and justice in Semitic mythology, raised its spear. The spearhead, crackling with lightning, followed Hayato's movement and pointed at the [Revolver Dragon] with the highest attack power on the field.

Red wings unfurled, and then, to Keith's astonishment, his [Revolver Dragon] shattered and disintegrated without warning, transforming into a wisp of light that flew into the spear of [Hellfire Machine - Baal]!?

"You can activate the effect of [Inferno Baal] by Tributing one monster on my field and targeting one card in your opponent's Graveyard, and banishing that card. That is the effect of [Inferno Baal]. And under the power of [Dark World - Shadow Utopia-], once per turn, if I Tribute one of my monsters to activate a card's effect, I can substitute one DARK monster on my opponent's field for a monster on my field!"

"Because of the influence of [Dark World - Shadow Utopia-], even the monsters on your field will fall under my control and become my playthings!"

"Do you dare disobey me, who possesses Baal?"

【Hellfire Machine Baal】held the spirit of 【Revolver Dragon】 and shattered the soul with a forceful slap of his hand. Keith then saw that the 【Fusion Dispel】 he had previously activated in his graveyard had been banished.

The exception of [Fusion Release] is a minor matter; without a Fusion Monster on the field, that card is useless even if it's still in Keith's hand. However, the effect of [Hellfire Machine Baal] combined with [Dark World - Shadow Detauren-] that Hayato mentioned made his legs tremble.

How could such a monster possibly be defeated?!

"Enter my battle phase, then it's time for [Hellfire Baal]'s attack!" Hayato pointed at [BM-4 Bomb Spider], the monster with the lowest attack power on the field, and commanded, "Crush that monster, [Baal]!"

"Extreme Evil Leap Crushing Strike!"

Among the famous 72 demons of Solomon, Baal is ranked first. As the enemy of God, he can even be called the "Lord Demon." The enormous demon swung his spear, and with a single blow, shattered the [BM-4 Bomb Spider] on the field!

"Ugh!"

[Keys: 4000 → 2800 LP]

Having suffered 1200 points of damage, Keith could no longer bear the excruciating pain. His legs buckled, and he almost collapsed to his knees, howling in agony, his forehead covered in sweat.

The pain even reminded him of the agony he had suffered long ago in the Dark Game with Malik, slowly tormented by the Lava Demon, and a sense of humiliation and resentment welled up in Keith's heart.

However, Keith, suppressing his discomfort, drew a card from his hand: "When my DARK Machine-Type [BM-4 Bomb Spider] is destroyed by battle, activate the effect of [Desperate Revolver Dragon] in my hand!"