Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

This means that Jonouchi and Yugi now have to climb four flights of stairs in one go!

In particular, the International Illusion Society headquarters building is taller than the average building, which makes it difficult for players to climb to the fifth floor without being out of breath after their initial burst of energy.

This made the game suddenly realize that its status as a major shareholder of Illusion International might be useful. Although it wouldn't directly interfere with the operation of Illusion International, it could still get a designer fired for stepping in with their left foot first.

Looking at the navigation map he'd gotten from the front desk, Jonouchi pointed in a direction: "The elevator is over there."

Compared to Yugi, Jonouchi is in much better shape. After all, aside from the difference in physical fitness, Jonouchi is also taller than Yugi. However, Yugi seems to have finally entered his belated growth spurt recently, and has grown taller.

Following the direction Jonouchi pointed, Yugi did indeed see the elevator entrance. They were only separated from it by a large hall; they could reach the elevator and go to the top floor simply by passing through it. However, something else caught Yugi's attention even more than the elevator: the seahorse and Ameruda standing on either side of the empty hall.

The two seemed to have been dueling for some time now, and it was Ameruda's turn. However, before Ameruda began to draw cards, he noticed Yugi and Jonouchi, who had just come out of the staircase.

"Nameless Pharaoh, you actually came up so quickly?" Ameruda frowned, feeling that Yugi and the others were moving too fast. However, when he realized that only Yugi and Jonouchi had come up, and Honda Kyoko and Mai Kujaku hadn't, he understood something. "Tch, that guy Baron, he's really unreliable."

Needless to say, Baron is probably being held back by that woman named Peacock Dance, which is why the nameless pharaoh and the others were able to get up so quickly.

As for the possibility that Baron has already been defeated?

Amelda had also watched the recording of the final of the All-American Monster Fighting Tournament a while ago. Because Baron looked particularly expectant, he thought that some super powerful duelist would appear. In the end, it was a duel between Mai and Ryuzaki. That's how Amelda learned about Mai's strength.

Although he was already at a top-tier level for an ordinary duelist, in his eyes he was just a third-rate duelist with a fourth-rate deck.

"Hmph! You dare to look around while you're dueling me, you coward!" Kaiba's cold snort made Amelda refocus on the duel. "I've already summoned the invincible Blue-Eyes Light Dragon, and you still dare to be distracted? You're courting death!"

On the Seahorse Field, the Blue-Eyes Light Dragon, the strongest resistance card in the Blue-Eyes deck, overlooks Ameruda.

Although in the original timeline, Blue-Eyes Light Dragon burned itself to ashes in the battle with Anubis, thanks to Hayato's intervention, Kaiba has kept this card and summoned it in the first turn as if it hadn't been shuffled, at the cost of five cards from his hand.

[Blue-Eyes Light Dragon] [ATK3000→4200]

"Tch, don't get cocky, Seto Kaiba. This time I'll go all out to kill you and make you die in agony!"

Upon hearing Amelda's words, Kaiba simply crossed his arms and snorted disdainfully. However, Keihei, standing on the sidelines with a chocolate lollipop in his mouth, confidently said, "Hmph, stop talking big. My Blue-Eyes Dragon is invincible, and it's not just for looks!"

"You wouldn't be trying to avoid your duel with your brother, so you're using stopping Yugi and Jonouchi as an excuse to run away, would you?"

Keipai's provocation worked wonders on Ameruda: "I'm afraid of Seto Kaiba? Hmph, you ignorant brat, I'll show you what I'm made of. A mere Blue-Eyes Light Dragon, watch me take it down in one turn!"

“Besides, I never intended to stop them from going up.” As Ameruda spoke, she glanced at Yugi and Jonouchi, who had run into the elevator while Ameruda was dueling with Kaiba, and reached up to lift a necklace around her neck.

The necklace bore an emerald pendant, its irregularly shaped gemstone emitting a striking, ominous green light. Ameluda showed no interest in explaining this to the seahorse brothers, instead saying smugly, "It seems the nameless pharaoh is too late. Pegasus's soul will probably be sealed away soon."

"But what kind of expression will they have when they reach the top floor and see the unexpected person appear?"

As he pressed the button for the 100th floor in the elevator, feeling the pressure of the accelerating elevator pressing down on him, a strange feeling suddenly arose in Yu-chan's heart. It was as if something unusual was about to happen.

Turning to look at Jonouchi beside him, Yugi discovered that Jonouchi was also looking at him with a strange expression.

What exactly is this feeling?

"Ding ~"

The elevator doors opened after reaching the 100th floor. Yugi and Jonouchi both looked out the door, only to see Pegasus being completely wiped out by a mechanical demon engulfed in flames.

[Hellfire Machine - Belfinger] [ATK2400]

[Becas: 300LP→0]

Before he could even utter a final word, the green circular barrier surrounding Pegasus and the other person began to shrink beneath his feet. His soul was instantly stripped away, and as someone with their back to the game took out a card from the Duel Disk, his soul was sealed into the card.

Then, the person who had just defeated Pegasus seemed unaware that the elevator doors behind him had opened and that Yugi and Jonouchi had already reached the top floor. Without even glancing behind him, he casually tossed the card in his hand to Rafael, who was standing to the side.

"Thus, the soul of Pegasus J. Crawford, the father of Duel Monsters, is sealed away." Catching the tossed card, Rafael looked at Yugi and Jonouchi, who were walking out of the elevator. "You're next, Nameless Pharaoh."

Chapter 581 Why are you just watching?

"You're next, nameless pharaoh."

Rafael took the card and confirmed that Pegasus, the father of Duel Monsters, was indeed sealed in the card. He then turned his gaze to Yugi, who was walking out of the elevator.

Before the game even started, it was Jonouchi who couldn't contain his anger at witnessing a life die before his eyes. He stepped forward and glared back without flinching, saying, "Hey, Rafael!"

"You bastard, you're one of Dorma's people too!"

At the KC Cup, Jonouchi was one of the few spectators who watched Rafael and Yugi's duel, so he naturally remembered the person in front of him. At that time, Yugi's reason for dueling Rafael was to obtain the "key" to remove the barrier of the Kaiba Dome venue—the card of [Divine Flame Emperor - Uria].

While there were reasons to fight, the game ultimately concluded, due to the interaction of the duel, that Rafael was "a true duelist." But this "true duelist" was also a member of the Doma organization, capable of stealing other players' cards!?

"You almost died in your duel with Grimo before, barely escaping with your life, and now you're offering yourself up again?" Rafael ignored the castle, his eyes fixed on the silent game. "Nameless Pharaoh, who will one day become an obstacle to Doma's plan, let me defeat you right here!"

"Tch, don't ignore me, you bastard!" Jonouchi was quite annoyed that Rafael had ignored him time and time again, and directly blocked Rafael's view of the game. "Grimo, is that the bald guy from before? So that guy was your subordinate. Perfect, we still have a score to settle for the 'God Card' that was stolen."

Raising his Duel Disk, Jonouchi assumed a fighting stance, while glancing at the other person beside Rafael, who had been facing away from them since the beginning. It was that person who had just defeated Pegasus using a monster that was clearly a machine-type creature.

"Hey you over there, you're in the same boat. Right in front of you is Joey Wheeler, a top four duelist from Duel Kingdom and the legendary duelist who almost defeated the runner-up in Duel City. Just the sin of stealing someone else's soul is enough to make me not let you off easily!"

Jonouchi, who had been making threats, suddenly felt Yugi place his hand on his shoulder and step out from behind him, seemingly wanting to say something. Jonouchi noticed that the Millennium Puzzle on Yugi's chest was emitting a light, but it wasn't the kind of light that appears when switching souls or materializing Duel Monsters; rather, it was more like a resonant golden light.

"【Millennium Puzzle】I sensed a familiar aura. That feeling...you are also a user of the 【Millennium Artifact】, aren't you?"

Watching the other person's retreating figure, the game's fingers traced the surface of the Millennium Puzzle. "And it couldn't possibly be the Millennium Jewelry and Millennium Scepter kept by the Tomb Keepers. The feeling you have doesn't seem like the Millennium Eye either. Could it be one of the Millennium Key and the Millennium Scales?"

"No, no, this aura is too familiar. This feeling is the [Millennial Wisdom Wheel]!"

The game pointed at the person with their back to it, "You bastard, where did you get that [Millennium Artifact] from?!"

The man, whose back was to the game and Jonouchi, sighed helplessly upon hearing this: "So it turns out they found out in this detail?"

As he spoke, the man reached into his robes and pulled out a gleaming golden disc. The five golden cones on the disc pointed directly to the location of the game, specifically the Millennium Puzzle. The Millennium Wisdom Wheel was also shimmering and resonating with the Millennium Puzzle.

However, more than the fact that the person had taken out the Millennium Wisdom Wheel, which had disappeared with Hayato's "sacrifice," Jonouchi and Yugi were more concerned about one thing: the voice of the person who finally spoke was so distinctive, and they were so familiar with that voice.

"Who are you--!"

"Masaka!?"

Hayato set down the Millennium Wisdom Wheel, letting it hang in front of his chest, and turned to look at the astonished Jonouchi and Yugi: "It's been a long time, Yugi, and Jonouchi."

"Hayabusa, Hayato?! You bastard, I knew you'd be alright!"

Overjoyed, Jonouchi had completely forgotten about Pegasus being killed by Hayato. Seeing his supposedly "dead" companion reappear, he was filled with surprise and delight. "You have no idea how worried we were about you while you were missing, but now that you're back—"

Just as he was about to step forward, Jonouchi was suddenly pulled by the game beside him, and in that brief pause, a gust of wind swept past Jonouchi's eyes.

Jonouchi then noticed that the mechanical demon [Hellfire Belfinger], which he had never seen before and should have disappeared after the duel ended, had remained in the room and had just launched an attack because Jonouchi was moving towards Hayato, leaving a mark on the ground with its sharp iron claws.

If Yugi hadn't pulled Jonouchi back just now, he probably would have been seriously injured!

"What are you doing, Hayato!" Yugi asked, puzzled, looking at the unmoved Hayato. "Why are you with the people of Doma? And why did you just kill Pegasus?"

"And why did you allow that ominous monster you've never seen before to attack Jonouchi? Aren't we friends?!"

Why are you just watching?!

However, Hayato's answer made the game's pupils shrink:

"Friends? Ah, I'm tired of that kind of friendship game."

"Friendship, a game?"

Hayato nodded, one hand behind his back, secretly giving a thumbs-up to the energetic [Hellfire Belfinger], but his expression was a standard villainous grin learned from a shonen manga. "Yeah, so-called 'friendship' and stuff like that is just a childish game of make-believe that I played with you guys. It's fun, but unfortunately, I'm already tired of it."

"Furthermore, my friendship with you was only because I saw enough benefit in you. But now I feel that the power that the Doma organization can offer me is greater than what you can provide, so isn't it normal for me to join Doma?"

Hayato's expression was sincere, and no matter how Yugi and Jonouchi viewed it, Hayato didn't seem to be lying, which made it even harder for them to accept Hayato's words.

"What nonsense are you spouting, Hayato! You're lying!" Jonouchi didn't believe Hayato's words and was about to step over the scratches on the ground to move forward again, but the [Hellfire Machine Belfinger] behind Hayato moved again. The falcon-like demon god pierced the ground in front of Jonouchi with its claws, carving out a large hole.

Rafiru glanced at Hayato and said, "So, which one are you going to deal with? I don't care who my opponent is."

"No, you don't need to take action, whether it's Jonouchi or Yugi."

Rafael, who thought Hayato intended to let Jonouchi and Yugi go, frowned. Just as he was about to say something, the [Hellfire Belphegor] on Hayato's back disappeared and returned to the card. Taking a step forward, Hayato raised the Duel Disk in his hand. "After all, I was 'friends' with them before. As friends, it's only right that I personally destroy them."

"Moreover, the power I obtained from Dorma and from 'Orichalcos' has still not reached its limit. I can feel that if I continue to be stimulated by sufficiently intense duels, I may be able to further improve my power."

Hayato, with a cold smile, looked at Yugi and Jonouchi with the same expression one would give their prey. "In that case, is there anyone more suitable as opponents?"

Rafael looked at the arrogant Hayato and reminded him, "Are you going to take on two people by yourself? Don't blame me for not warning you, even if you're not as good as the Nameless Pharaoh, at least Jonouchi Katsuya is one of the duelists with a certain reputation. At least he won't hold you back in your duel with the Nameless Pharaoh."

“I know more about this than you do, and I’m just informing you, not asking you, Rafiru.”

Hayato glanced at Rafael and said arrogantly, "Darz said I was the leader of your 'Three Musketeers of Doma,' right? Are you going to disobey me?"

"Get out of my way, I'm about to start the duel! The thought of the [Hellfire Machine], born from the dark power within me, unleashing even greater power with the sacrifice of my former 'friends' is giving me an incredible thrill, hahahaha!"

"Dartz?" Yugi noticed the name Hayato had just mentioned. He felt a vague recollection of it but couldn't quite place where he had heard it before. However, the events that had transpired so far had left him with no mental capacity to think about who "Dartz" was.

Hayato, who sacrificed himself in the battle against Anubis, has mysteriously reappeared. He has joined the mysterious organization Doma, which hunts duelist souls and steals the "Three Egyptian God Cards". Now, Hayato is using an evil dueling monster called "Hellfire Machine" that looks sinister. He even killed Pegasus in front of himself and Jonouchi and sealed his soul.

Furthermore, judging from Hayato's words, he actually intends to attack both himself and Jonouchi. Judging from the attack his monster launched on Jonouchi just now, it didn't seem like he was faking it, but rather that he was truly going to kill them!

"Our friendship was fake... that kind of thing—"

“That’s impossible!” Jonouchi clenched his fists, staring intently into Hayato’s eyes as if trying to see something, and said firmly, “All the things we’ve been through together, how could those feelings be faked!”

"When I didn't know anything about Duel Monsters, it was Yugi and Hayato who patiently guided me in tactics and helped me grow. They also generously gifted me powerful cards more than once. Saying it's 'just for profit' is a complete lie!"

"Hayato, you must be being controlled by the people of Doma using some kind of card with evil power. If that's the case, then I'll defeat you and bring you back to normal!"

“Jonnouchi…” Slightly stunned after listening to Jonnouchi’s words, Yugi suddenly laughed and said, “Really, why did I suddenly have doubts about Hayato just now?”

“That’s right. Hayato is even willing to sacrifice himself to protect his friends. How could the bond between us be fake?” Yugi stepped forward, standing side by side with Jonouchi, facing Hayato together. “We will rescue you, Hayato!”

Seeing how much Yugi and Jonouchi trusted him, it would be a lie to say that Hayato wasn't moved at all. But with Rafael still by his side, he could only express his feelings with a mocking smile: "Heh, how foolish. Even now, you still refuse to accept reality and even convinced yourself with such strange reasons?"

"It's alright. Faced with my pure [Inferno Machine] deck, the facts you refuse to accept will be forcibly revealed, leaving you only with pain and despair!"

"Duel~"

[Hayato: 8000LP]

"Duel!" x2

[Game + Inside the Castle: 8000LP]

"I'll go first, draw a card!"

As he spoke, Jonouchi drew a card from his deck and added it to his hand.

In this two-on-one duel, Yugi and Jonouchi will share the field, life points, and graveyard. They will take turns taking turns, and Hayato will receive double life points as compensation. Since Hayato goes second, he can enter the battle phase on his turn.

After glancing at the card he had drawn, Jonouchi activated it immediately: "During my Main Phase, I activate this Spell Card [Red-Eyes Fusion]. During the turn I activate this card, I cannot Normal or Special Summon monsters by the effects of cards other than this card!"

"In exchange for this restriction, I can send materials determined by a Fusion Monster from my hand, field, and Deck to the Graveyard, and then Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster using [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] as Fusion Material from my Fusion Deck. Furthermore, the name of the monster Special Summoned by this effect is treated as [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!"