Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Destroy everything!!"

The light accumulated in [Destruction Cannon] suddenly burst forth, spreading and affecting all four [Mirror Knight Tokens] in Dartz's front field in an instant!

Dartz suddenly remembered that the [Otherworldly Guide], which had just been destroyed in the battle, although it looked like a charlatan, was actually a warrior-type monster.

And wouldn't you know it, the Mirror Knight Derivative summoned by Dartz's Mirror Knight Summoner happens to be a Warrior-type monster!

"How could anyone carry such a card!"

As the spreading wave was about to sweep towards his [Mirror Knight Token], Dartz was unwilling to let his combo be cleared by a weak monster, and a plan immediately came to his mind.

"Think carefully before activating that effect, Nameless Pharaoh!" Before the game could declare "activate effect," Dartz quietly manipulated the [Orichalcos Barrier] beneath his feet, prying several souls that were supposed to be fed to the "Orichalcos God" out from between its teeth and stuffing them into the [Mirror Knight Tokens] on the field.

Under the impact of the light, the armor on the heads of the [Mirror Knight Derivatives] suddenly cracked and shattered, falling to the ground and turning into a pile of broken mirrors, revealing four blank faces.

Upon seeing the face that appeared before him, Jonouchi's previously joyful expression froze: "This is... Baron?"

"Pegasus?" Kaiba was quite surprised to see Pegasus here, unlike the other people with lifeless eyes.

The game's players stared wide-eyed at the two figures before them: "Thief Keith is one thing..."

What happened to Hayato?

"Of course it was a fake, you idiot! How could I possibly hurt Hayato? A simple alteration of the monster's appearance was enough to create the illusion of Hayato's soul inside, making these foolish humans cower in fear. When it comes to strategy, I, Dartz, am truly superior!"

Dartz laughed inwardly, but on the surface he wore a cold expression: "Hmph, of course it's because after Ameluda and Rafiru left, Kobayashi Hayato launched an attack on me in a hurry."

“Although I knew from the beginning that his purpose in joining Doma was impure, I didn’t expect him to be so impatient. He couldn’t wait to jump out as soon as he learned that you, his friends, were going to be attacked by Rafiru and Ameruda, whom I sent out.” As she spoke, Darz smiled coldly. “But since he’s not pretending anymore, I’ll just take his soul into my hands.”

"Now, seeing the soul of your former friend being placed into this vessel, can you still bring yourself to shatter that soul?"

In her smugness, Dartz began to mock the game directly.

“Nameless Pharaoh, you undoubtedly embody humanity’s greatest flaw: emotion. While emotion can make humanity shine brightly, it is also the very existence of emotion that causes humanity to easily fall into the abyss of evil after the light fades, never to climb out again.”

"Human beings can never escape the darkness within their hearts!"

Because of the appearance of Hayato's and the others' (Pegasus, Baron, Keith: Hey!) souls, the game has not yet made a decision on whether to activate the effect, and Dartz's seductive words echo in the empty central hall of the temple.

But just then, a staggering figure entered the hall and took a step toward the altar: "No, it's not like that."

An unfamiliar voice rang out, and Ryuzaki turned around in confusion. As he saw the newcomer's face gradually emerge from the shadows and be illuminated by the firelight, his body stiffened abruptly. He pointed at the newcomer and stammered, "You...you are that one!"

"Rafael!?" Yugi looked at the figure that had appeared in the center of the temple with some surprise. "You actually woke up?"

“That guy Ameruda gave me a hard time, but thanks to that, I also realized something.” Rafiru dragged his body forward with difficulty until he stood not far from Dartz, then relaxed slightly and leaned down to say, “Lord Dartz, please stop.”

"Rafiru, I thought you would have already sacrificed yourself to stop the nameless pharaoh and these invaders. You were defeated by Ameruda's rebellion, and now you've just gotten up and come to advise me to stop?"

Dartz glanced at Rafiru, who was leaning over her side, through the [Orichalcos Barrier], then spoke coldly without looking directly at him.

"Don't you want to see the arrival of a new world? Don't you want the tragedy that befell you, Baron, and Ameruda to never happen again in this world?"

Rafiru trembled slightly upon hearing this, but still said firmly, "No, I still want these tragedies to never happen again, but Lord Dartz, such an action as bringing a new world is meaningless. We should trust humanity itself."

"Roar?"

Upon hearing this, Dartz's lips curled into a smile, and he looked at Rafael with a playful expression. However, Rafael, who was leaning over, did not see it and continued, "There is indeed stubborn darkness in the human heart, but Amelda proved to me that humans can overcome darkness. We don't need new humans; we can do it with the current humans."

As he spoke, Rafael pulled out his deck from his pocket, and the top card was none other than [Guardian - Desceths], which had now become a blank.

"I never expected to hear such words from you, Rafael." Dartz looked at the deck Rafael had taken out, his face still bearing that same smile. "Among the Three Musketeers of Doma, although Amelda and Baron have shown desires and obsessions far more obviously than you, I know better than anyone that you are the one who is most true to yourself."

“It seems you now consider yourself free from the darkness in your heart.” As if talking to herself, Dartz turned her head away from Rafiru. “Hatred, despair, sorrow—I’ve known for a long time that people can eliminate the darkness in their hearts.”

"What?" Rafael looked up abruptly upon hearing this. "Then why are you still—"

“Because that is not the true face of man, Rafiru.” Darz raised his hand, his slender fingers brushing past his right eye, which was the same color as his bright yellow left eye, to the emerald green eye. “Just like the rising and setting of the sun, the darkness in people’s hearts is suppressed and eliminated when the light shines, but as soon as the light fades a little, the darkness will grow again.”

“Over the past ten thousand years, I have seen many people easily fall into darkness, and I have also seen many people temporarily escape from darkness, but their fates are all the same. In the end, they all fall back into darkness, without exception for the past ten thousand years!” Dartz’s smile was somewhat strange, as if expressing contempt for humanity, or perhaps loss and sorrow. “I have lost faith in humanity. There is no hope left for human civilization!”

“That’s not absolute, Lady Dartz!” Raphael, hearing Dartz’s words, felt there was still hope of persuading him and spoke again, “I believe that human will can overcome darkness, and humanity today can already—”

“Your ‘thought’ is utterly meaningless, Rafael.” Dartz’s voice suddenly turned icy as she turned to look at Rafael, who had raised his head. A contemptuous smile met the latter’s eyes. “Let’s prove it with a simple thing.”

"for example......"

Do you know why your family went through that shipwreck ten years ago?

Chapter 649 Dartz, you gzz

"!?"

Rafiru was taken aback by Dartz's words. He didn't understand why Dartz would ask him that question.

Could there be some other reason behind the misfortune that befell his family ten years ago, the shipwreck in which he was the only survivor?

However, Dartz didn't directly tell Raferu the answer. Instead, he said to himself, "Fate is created by the strong. He lost his beloved younger brother because of the Kaiba Corporation's weapons tests, and his heart has been stained with darkness ever since. That's why he hates the Kaiba Corporation and you, Seth."

"But was it really Kaiba Gosaburo who caused his brother's death on that battlefield?"

Rafiru's heart sank: "So, what Ameruda said is true? It was the Doma organization that interfered in that war?"

Darzine did not answer Rafiru, but continued, "The church where Baron grew up was mercilessly destroyed by a fire, and his family, whom he valued highly, perished in the flames."

"But was that fire really an accident?"

"!?!" Jonouchi clenched his fist tightly. During his earlier duel with Baron, he noticed the striking resemblance between himself and Baron, and immediately projected Baron's fate onto himself. The thought of Shizuka's death ignited his fury. "You bastard!"

"Furthermore, for me, manipulating ocean currents to make a cruise ship unknowingly veer off course and land above an imminent underwater volcano is an easy task, let alone taking a single person on board to a secluded desert island."

"H-How is this possible!?" Rafael's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief, his teeth clenched tightly. "That kind of thing!?"

Seeing Rafael's satisfied expression, Dartz smiled smugly: "Whether it's Ameruda, Baron, or you, Rafael, life is nothing more than a dance in my palm."

"Now that you know the truth about what happened to you, and that fate was nothing more than something I manipulated, Rafael, how do you feel now? How do you feel?"

Rafael lowered his head, his clenched fists digging his nails into his flesh and piercing his blood vessels, but the pain in his hands could not shake the emotions that Rafael was struggling to control at this moment.

"Sonia... Julia..." Rafael murmured the names of his younger siblings, then looked up at Dartz again, "My parents, my younger siblings!"

Dartz, oblivious to Rafael's undisguised hatred, continued, "Your fates were decided from the beginning. Darkness is like gravity; all I had to do was give you a gentle push from behind, and then I easily acquired pawns capable of rivaling powerful duelists."

"A useful piece that is loyal to me."

Dartz's words finally ignited Rafael's fury. He could no longer tolerate Dartz, who was standing not far from him. Suddenly standing up, Rafael ripped off the "Orichalcum Fragment" pendant from his chest.

"Darz! You bastard!"

Roaring, Rafael, his overflowing rage even suppressing the physical discomfort left from the previous duel, slammed the pendant in his hand hard onto the [Orichalcos Barrier] between him and Dartz!

The "Orichalcos fragments," possessing the power to break barriers, shook the unfolded barrier. However, because it was not an ordinary single-layer barrier but a double barrier, although it trembled, the [Orichalcos aura] remained intact.

But Rafael wasn't fighting alone. Behind him, the Guardian Ethos, wielding a holy sword, leaped up and slashed at the trembling barrier, right after Rafael!

After a round of combined attacks, Rafael and [Guardian-Aetos]'s attacks had not yielded any results, but Rafael did not give up and was about to launch a second round of attacks. But at this moment, the rage overflowing in his heart caused a green emblem to slowly appear on his forehead, without him noticing it at all.

"What's that?" Yugi noticed it immediately, turning to look at Dartz, only to find Dartz also staring at the green crest on Rafael's forehead with an ominous smile. Alarm bells rang in Yugi's mind, and he abruptly turned to Rafael, shouting, "Calm down, Rafael! Don't fall for Dartz's tricks!"

However, Rafiel, whose reason had been completely consumed by rage, had fully awakened the power that Dartz had left in him. The pattern on his forehead was completed, revealing the emblem of the [Orichalcos Barrier]. His heart was once again filled with surging darkness, and he could not hear what Yugi was saying.

At the same time, the [Orichalcos Barrier] instantly appeared beneath Rafael's feet, but its range was limited to his surroundings. However, the [Guardian-Ethos] card spirit that Rafael released also had the [Orichalcos Barrier] emblem appear on its forehead.

Just before Rafael was about to attack Dartz again, a burst of lightning erupted from the holy sword in the hand of [Guardian-Aetos], instantly repelling [Guardian-Aetos] back into the deck. The overflowing lightning struck Rafael, causing his body to freeze instantly and emitting a scream.

"Hmm hmm uh ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

After the lightning dissipated, all the three gamers could see was the shrinking [Orichalcos Barrier] and Rafael, who had lost consciousness, still in the action of throwing a punch, his body falling backward.

"Rafiru!"

The game called out to Rafael, but how could it possibly get a response from Rafael, who had already lost his soul?

"Hmph, isn't this a personal testament to humanity's inability to escape the darkness within, Rafael?" Darz laughed coldly, unmoved by Rafael's death. Instead, he looked rather lightly at Rafael's soul appearing in a gap on the wall. "In this way, the soul sacrifices required for the resurrection of 'Orichalcos' have increased once again."

Having witnessed Dartz take another life right before his eyes, Yugi glared at Dartz and roared, "Dartz! I'm going to blast you to smithereens!"

"A thousand times isn't enough!" Jonouchi said indignantly.

Seahorse stared coldly at Dartz: "I'll use my Blue Eyes to chop off your head!"

Hearing the threats from the other players, Dartz laughed and opened his arms wide: "Sure, go ahead and attack me with your monsters. But before you do, don't forget one thing."

As she spoke, Dartz pointed to one of her [Mirror Knight Derivatives] on the field and said, "Are you capable of destroying the soul of your own comrade?"

To Dartz's surprise, upon hearing her words, the game coldly replied, "You can't fool Dartz like that. I've seen through your trick!"

"At first, I was indeed fooled by you, but just now, I remembered something, and that is—"

As she spoke, Yugi pointed to the entity that resembled Hayato [Mirror of Illusion Derivative], "Hayato, he's the kind of person who can say things like 'It's more painful for others to gain cards than for me to lose cards,' a person who harms others without benefiting himself!"

"How could his soul be sealed? Even if his soul were to be completely destroyed, he still couldn't be sealed by you!"

As soon as the game said this, the temple fell silent.

Dartz's lips twitched: "Are you praising Hayato-kun?"

"Although what you said makes sense, it just feels... tsk, whatever." Kaiba felt a bit helpless after hearing what Yugi said, but he couldn't really refute it, because what Yugi said was indeed true.

Jonouchi, however, had a look of sudden realization on his face: "That's right, that makes sense! How could Hayato possibly let his soul be sealed away so easily!"

"So, Dartz, those souls you've put out are just a smokescreen; they won't fool me. Therefore, I'm activating the effect of [Destruction Cannonball]!" Yugi said, waving his hand. "[True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] destroyed [Dimensional Guide], a Warrior-Type monster, in battle. Destroy all Warrior-Type monsters on both sides' fields!"

"boom!"

A dazzling torrent of light was unleashed from [Destroyer], sweeping across the entire field in an instant. It had no effect on the only Dragon-type monster on the field, [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon], but the four [Mirror Knight Tokens] in Dartz's front field were destroyed in an instant.

The "Mirror Shield Tokens" placed on the [Mirror Knight Derivatives] can only be destroyed in battle in their place, while the effect of [Destruction Cannon] is effect destruction; the fragile mirror shield is easily broken by the power of [Blue Eyes].

Seeing his front line wiped out in an instant, Dartz frowned and said to Yugi, "Even if Hayato's soul was indeed forged by me, how could you so easily attack others, Nameless Pharaoh?"

Upon hearing Dartz's words, Yugi paused for a moment to recall if he had any connections with Baron, Pegasus, and Keith.

...It seems not?

"If you tried to lure me with the souls of Kyoko and the others, perhaps I might have fallen for it, Dartz." Yugi said nonchalantly, "But when did you start having the illusion that I would back down because of Pegasus's soul?"

Anyway, given Pegasus's status as a card dealer, this isn't the first time he's been sacrificed. "Pyramid of Light," "Paradox," and now "Doma"—every time someone tries to cause trouble and destroy the world, Pegasus is always dragged into it. The game is almost used to the fact that "Pegasus is dead again."

The effect of [Destroyer] wiped out all of Dartz's monsters in the front row. As a result, Dartz's [Mirror Knight Summoner] and [Orichalcos Vessel], which had been hiding in the back row for a long time, were finally exposed to [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]. This powerful dragon-type monster also had two more attack opportunities this turn.

The game waved its hand again and gave the order: "Second attack, go! [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon], target that [Mirror Knight Summoner]!"

Compared to the [Orichalcos Vessel], which seems to have hidden effects, the [Mirror Knight Summoner] currently poses a greater threat. In any case, [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] can attack three times, so the game deems it necessary to prioritize eliminating it.

The dragon's breath of light engulfed the crystal pillar, and the [Mirror Knight Summoner] shattered into dust in the breath of the [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]. Since it existed in attack position, Dartz should have received 4000 points of combat damage.