Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

As he spoke, Jonouchi smugly activated the card in his hand: "Spell Card [Pot of Greed], target five monsters in my Graveyard, shuffle those five monsters back into the Deck, and then I draw two cards from the Deck."

"So you didn't activate it in the first turn because you didn't have enough monsters in your graveyard?" Hayato sneered. "But so what? No matter how many monsters you bring back to your deck, it's all for naught. Can you really summon a monster stronger than my invincible [Inferno Machine - Nava] with just two cards in your hand?"

"I don't know about that kind of thing either, but I do know one thing: even if there's no hope in the present, a true duelist can create their own future, even the future of drawing cards!"

Jonouchi said, returning the five cards from the graveyard to his deck. Because he didn't have enough monsters, only having one [AD Changer] and one [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], he even shuffled [Dark Magician], which he had sent to the graveyard earlier in the game, into his deck as well.

After washing and cutting, Jonouchi was about to draw his card, but when he placed his finger on the deck, both Yugi and Jonouchi heard a dragon's roar coming from each other, as if something was resonating with it.

Before he could react, Jonouchi instinctively pulled out the card and took a look.

One of the cards he drew was another "Red-Eyes Fusion" from his deck.

Recalling the [Dark Magician] that had just been shuffled into the deck and the strange sense of resonance, Jonouchi and Yugi exchanged a glance before Jonouchi resolutely activated the cards in his hand: "My deck, answer my expectations, create miracles here!"

"Activate the previously failed Red-Eyes Fusion again, and select Fusion Materials from my Deck for Fusion Monsters."

Jonouchi said, catching the two Normal Monster cards retrieved from the Duel Disk, "I've chosen our two ace monsters, Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Dark Magician!"

Upon hearing the material Jonouchi had chosen, Hayato's pupils contracted as he thought of a monster he had coveted countless times in the store.

"Masaka?!"

"O unknown monster born from this bond, I entrust my hopes for the future to you. Conquer and pave the way for our victory!"

Yugi caught the [Dark Magician] card handed to him by Jonouchi, striking the same symmetrical pose as Jonouchi raising [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]: "Fuse our monsters!"

"【Dark Magician】!"

"【True Red-Eyes Black Dragon】!"

"Oppa-re!" x2

A jet-black dragon and a master of black magic, two monsters embodying all the user's hopes and pride, leap into the air and merge into one under the power of [Red-Eyes Fusion]!

A majestic monster reveals itself!

Chapter 586 Red Maggots? Just Feed

In the more than 20 years since the birth of Yu-Gi-Oh!, countless cards have been created.

Some cards are so weak that their significance is unclear, while others are unbelievably strong, but for most cards, their abilities are directly proportional to their difficulty of summoning.

Until the 20th anniversary of Yu-Gi-Oh!, the unscrupulous card printing company K released a commemorative card pack, which included a card full of nostalgia. It was a fusion of Yugi Muto's ace monster "Dark Magician" and Joey Wheeler's ace monster "Red-Eyes Black Dragon".

There have been cards with this kind of nostalgia appeal before, but most of them were just used for reference or to recreate scenes from the original work. However, this Fusion Monster is different. It has extremely good stats, a powerful effect, and the difficulty of summoning it is ridiculously low.

It's gotten to the point where even players who don't use the "Dark Magician" or "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" decks will deliberately include two Normal Monsters in their decks that are prone to causing hand problems and getting stuck with their cards, and will also make a point of including this Fusion Monster in their Extra Deck.

The standard male lead, Tamashi, with its attack and defense stats, resistance to effect destruction, non-targeting ability, ability to actively destroy monsters and clear the field to reduce the opponent's life, second speed and all-around counters, and high attack effect, was finally banned after dominating for nearly three years.

Its name is ———

"Fusion Summon! [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider]!"

The dragon [Red-Eyes], which spews inextinguishable black flames, transformed into armor, draping [Dark Magician]'s body. One hand held a crimson magic sphere, an evolution of their combined power, while the other held a long-handled cleaver formed from the claws of the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]. The dragon's tail, adorned with magic gems, coiled around its body. The fusion monster, on which Jonouchi and Yugi placed their last hope, spread its dragon wings and slowly descended from the sky.

【Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight】【8☆/Dark】

[Mage Race/Fusion/Effect]

[3000/2500]

Fusion: [Dark Magician] + [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] or a Dragon-Type Effect Monster

①: This card cannot be the target of effects and cannot be destroyed by effects.

②: You can activate this effect during your Main Phase. Destroy one monster your opponent controls, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to its original ATK. This effect can be used up to the number of Normal Monsters used as Fusion Material for this card per turn.

③: Once per turn, when a Spell/Trap or Monster effect is activated, you can discard one card from your hand to activate this effect. Negate its activation and destroy it; this card gains 1000 ATK.

The monster summoned by the two of them was once known as "Red Daddy" and later renamed "Red Maggot" because it was too toxic.

For Hayato's pure [Inferno Machine] deck, dealing with Red Daddy is no easy task. The 3000 attack points mean that only [Inferno Machine - Nava] and [Inferno Machine - Tiera] can contend with it. However, once he uses the triple effect to increase attack power, no [Inferno Machine] deck will be able to continue to resist.

While some of the monsters in the "Hellfire Machine" series have the ability to destroy monsters or bounce cards back to the hand, Red Daddy's effects don't affect targeting monsters, and even destruction effects that don't target monsters can't affect him, which is really annoying.

Even more outrageous is that, since the game and Joey used two regular monsters as fusion materials to summon him, the current Red Daddy can even actively bomb monsters twice during the main phase and then reduce Hayato's health.

"So this is the monster formed from the bond between me and Jonouchi?" Yugi stared in shock at the [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight] that had descended onto the field. "In that case, we can win!"

"It's really effective. I was just trying it out, but I didn't expect it to actually create a powerful monster."

Jonouchi, who had been quite unsure about activating the Red-Eyes Fusion but was now certain he had made the right bet, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He habitually touched his nose in triumph and said, "Here's your answer, Hayato."

"Grit your teeth and get ready to take this hit and regain your senses!"

Yugi and Jonouchi said in unison, "During our main phase, activate the second effect of [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider]!"

"Destroy Hayato's [Inferno Machine - Nava] on your field and deal damage equal to the original attack power of [Inferno Machine - Nava]!"

[Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider] raised his left hand, holding the magic sphere high above his head. As he poured power into it, the sphere began to expand continuously. In just one breath, the originally small magic sphere was now more than a person's size, and then it crashed towards [Hellfire Machine - Nava] like a meteorite!

[Hellfire Machine - Nava] unwillingly spat out green flames as if prematurely detonating a falling sphere, but unexpectedly, his attack could not interfere with this extremely dense "meteor". The flames were pushed away, and [Hellfire Machine - Nava]'s body was instantly annihilated the moment it was hit, leaving behind only magic power that exploded like a bomb.

"Well!"

[Hayato: 8600→5600LP]

The shockwave from the destruction of [Hellfire Machine - Nava] caused Hayato to take a step back, his life points plummeted by a full 3000 points, and at the same time, the last monster on his field was also eliminated.

Holding the last card in his hand, Jonouchi confidently waved his hand and said, "Now, let's enter the battle phase! [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider]'s direct attack!"

"Shiranui Type: Crimson Phoenix Sword!"

Crimson magic guided the black dragon's demonic flames, swirling around the slashing blade and transforming it into a longsword. The [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider], wings outstretched and weapon raised high, soared into the air, looking down upon Hayato on the ground like a god. Having gathered his power to its limit, he hurled his weapon.

It doesn't matter what face-down card Hayato has in the back row, because the third effect of [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight] can negate any Spell, Trap, or Monster effect, whether it's [Explosive Armor] or [Absorption Shield], it's all ineffective against them, and [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight] can even become more powerful!

Hayato indeed did not open the back row's face-down card, allowing [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider] to pierce through his body.

"Bug!" This time, Hayato completely lost his footing and was sent flying several meters away. He stopped his backward momentum only a few meters away from the cliff created by [Hellfire Machine Tiera] behind him, and his base slammed down again.

[Hayato: 5600→2600LP]

This base score is already quite dangerous. Although it's 600 points higher than Yugi and Jonouchi's combined 2000 points, it's nothing compared to the incredibly powerful monster, [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider]. If Hayato can't defeat it in the next turn, whether it's an extra 600 or 1000 points, it'll just be a matter of one hit.

Especially after Jonouchi finished his attack and announced that his turn was over, he suddenly said smugly, "If I remember correctly, Hayato, at this point, your Field Spell Card on the field will be forced to activate its effect, right?"

"While the 【Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight】 has strong resistance, it lacks the extremely rare Tribute resistance of 【Five-Sphere Magician】. Therefore, if you leave that Field Spell Card on the field, it will likely be Tributed by the 【Inferno Machine】 monster that is resurrected in your Graveyard next turn."

"In that case, I'll chain the effects of [Dark World - Shadow Utopia] to activate the third effect of [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider]!"

As Jonouchi spoke, he sent the card in his hand to the graveyard, allowing Hayato to see that the card in Jonouchi's hand was actually the [AD Changer] that had been shuffled back into the deck earlier.

Because of the self-restriction of [Red-Eyes Fusion], Jonouchi cannot summon any more monsters this turn. At most, he can only summon [AD Changer] in face-down defense position, just like in the first turn, but that would be completely unnecessary.

There's only one [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider] on the field right now, which is just right. If there were another monster, wouldn't that just be setting up sacrifices for the appearance of [Lava Demon]? Besides, they've only seen a few of the [Hellfire] monsters so far. What if one of the [Hellfire] monsters with armor penetration attacks [AD Changer]? That would be terrible!

Furthermore, it is indeed necessary to destroy [Dark World - Shadow Utopia]. The ability to use a DARK monster on the opponent's field as a substitute for Tribute is too powerful. Even [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider] cannot resist such an effect without targeting, unless it is a monster that is not affected by Spell Card effects or a monster that cannot be Tributed.

Because Hayato used the effect of [Infernal Machine - Nava] this turn to release one of his [Shadow Tokens] and negate the [Pot of Greed] that Jonouchi had previously used to bait him, [Dark World - Shadow Detour] is poised to unleash a ball of fire on Jonouchi's field.

However, with the power provided by [AD Changer], the dragon claw blade in the hand of [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider] flashed and drew an arc in mid-air. In the blink of an eye, the field spell card [Dark World - Shadow Detopia] was destroyed, and the surrounding environment returned to its original state, leaving only faint scorch marks on the ground.

The power of this destroyed space was not wasted. [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider] clenched his left hand forward, grabbing a large ball of magic power and holding it under his control, causing his aura to surge!

[Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight] [ATK 3000 → 4000]

"Yosh, now our attack power is on par with [Obelisk the Tormentor]!"

Jonouchi said confidently, "Next round will be our victory. We will definitely defeat you, Hayato, who is now controlled by darkness!"

[Within the city: 2000LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight】【ATK4000】

Upon hearing this, Hayato, who was "controlled by darkness," snorted coldly: "It is indeed a very powerful torpedo, but it is not enough. It is still far from being able to defeat me."

"Although it seems I have no chance right now, and even if I continue to summon [Hellfire Machine] from the graveyard, I still can't stop [Super Magical Dragon Knight], I'm pinning my fate on this card draw!"

As he spoke, Hayato placed his finger on the deck and shouted, "My turn!"

"Draw a card!"

The card he drew flashed with golden light, and feeling the immense power poised to be unleashed within it, Hayato couldn't help but smirk: "Yada Thief! This duel is my victory!"

"I activate my face-down card in the back row, 'Reckless Greed,' draw two cards from my deck, and then skip my next two draw phases." With the winning card in his hand, Hayato pressed the button to activate the face-down card and draw two cards. "But it doesn't matter, because this duel will end this turn!"

"I activate the Spell Card [Rough Man's Expectation], and if I have no monsters on my field, I Special Summon one Normal Monster with a Level of 4 or lower from my Deck."

Hayato said, retrieving a card that surprised both Jonouchi and Yugi: "This is the monster I want to Special Summon. Come forth, Wagatsumashi!"

"【Death Stalker】!"

[Death Stalker] [3☆/Dark]

[Warrior/Normal]

[900/800]

"It's [Death Stalker]!" Jonouchi exclaimed in surprise. "You call this a 'pure [Inferno Machine] deck'?"

"What's the point of summoning [Death Stalker]?" Yugi frowned. "A normal monster with no effect, even if its attack power is increased two or three times, it shouldn't be a match for [Super Magical Dragon Knight].

"Hmph, how does it feel to see a familiar monster appear on my field, Yugi, Jonouchi?" Hayato said as he activated a card in his hand. "But unfortunately, the purpose of doing this is only to prove one thing to you."

"I need to throw Vaal, more Vaal, and I'm willing to give up old friends for it. Even the bonds between you on the field [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider] will become the fodder to awaken the final and strongest power in my deck!"

"Discard one card in your hand and unleash this ultimate power!"

"[Hyperfusion]!"

"What?! It's this card!" Jonouchi exclaimed in surprise, turning his gaze away from [Death Stalker] and suddenly looking at the monster on his field, "[Super Magical Dragon Knight]!"

Under the ultimate power of [Hyperfusion], which can even fuse space and time, even someone as strong as [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider] was powerless to resist and merged with [Death Stalker].

"Born from the darkness within, now descending at the cost of your soul, devouring bonds and giving birth to a new threat from the depths of hell!"

Hayato's face contorted with rage as he slammed a card onto the Duel Disk. "Fusion Summon! Wagatsumashi!"

"【Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon】!"

A purple, evil dragon stood behind Hayato, waving its hand forward and lunging forward.

"Enter the battle phase and attack the opposing duelist directly!"