Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

However, it's clear that the two idiot brothers, Jonouchi and Honda, haven't realized what's happening yet and are currently thankful for their lives.

His gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Hayato sitting directly opposite him. After looking Hayato up and down, Gab stood up and said, "Although I am no longer the clan leader, as a former member of the tomb-guarding clan, I have an obligation to fulfill my duty."

“But before that, everyone, come with me to a place.” As he spoke, Gab walked ahead towards the house, and the others looked at each other and followed Gab to see where he was going to take them.

Although from the outside it looks like just a two-story hut, slightly different from the other houses around it, but not too outstanding, it was only when they followed Gab that they realized there was actually a basement here, and that it was quite spacious.

As they descended the stone steps, Malik said to Hayato, "I remember this place. While the buildings on the surface of the clan are indeed inhabited, people gather in this underground space for any ceremonies or special events, including but not limited to festivals, and to punish clan members who violate clan rules."

"It was right here that year, because I left the clan's territory without permission, that bastard elder forced my father to set an example as clan leader. Under pressure, my father punished me, but managed to transfer half the punishment to Lishid, who hadn't been watching me properly." Malik paused, his voice low, "But unexpectedly, my other self was released because of Lishid's unconsciousness..."

Malik didn't continue talking about what happened after that, but Hayato knew what had happened later.

Descending the stone steps, one arrives at a spacious underground space, resembling a plaza. In the center of this space, there are dark bloodstains that have remained untouched for years. Passing by, one can smell the stench of blood and even hallucinate the wails that once echoed there.

Having crossed the plaza and arrived before a massive stone gate, Gaib stopped and turned to the crowd, saying:

"This is the secret chamber where the treasures guarded by the Ishdar clan for thousands of years are kept. The Millennium Scepter and the Millennium Jewelry were once stored here. Each generation of users who are qualified to inherit the Millennium Artifacts will come here with the clan leader to take the Millennium Artifacts. Then, when their lives come to an end, the Millennium Artifacts will be returned here to await the next user."

"But besides that, there is another secret treasure left over from three thousand years ago. Although it is not a special item with powerful dark power like the [Millennium Artifact], it has a special significance comparable to the [Millennium Artifact]. And I suspect that it was that secret treasure that allowed me to return to the world as a dead person."

As he spoke, Gab counted the stone bricks on the gate, counting three squares up from the center of one of the Eyes of Horus on the gate, then two squares horizontally, and gently tapped the stone brick.

Immediately afterward, the brick he had struck began to shake and move, revealing a small hole in the middle. The hole gradually widened until a wide archway appeared before them, leading to the stone door. Inside the opened secret chamber, three enormous golden statues stood prominently.

The statue on the left appears to be a woman based on its body curves, and it is in the pose of holding something around its neck with both hands. It is immediately obvious that this statue is probably used to display the "Millennium Jewelry".

Symmetrical to the female statue is a male statue placed on the right. The statue's left hand is adorned with the same golden dueling disk that the tomb elder once wore. However, the male statue's right hand is raised high, and its palm is empty, suggesting that it once held the Millennium Scepter.

The faces of the two human-shaped statues were blurred, whether due to wear and tear over time or because they were like that when they were completed, it was hard to tell. However, compared to the two golden statues, the most eye-catching thing was the huge sun placed in the center of the secret room.

From the golden sun, countless straight lines symbolizing sunlight were projected, but at the end of those lines grew arms. Pegasus, who had studied ancient Egyptian mythology due to the design of Duel Monsters cards, was the first to recognize the sun's identity and exclaimed, "Aten!"

"Aten? The symbol of the sun, the side of Ra that was deified in the New Kingdom era?" Hayato had also heard of the existence of this god, and Pegasus's reminder made him realize how well Aten's image matched the arm-bearing sun before him.

The most distinctive feature of the ancient Egyptian pantheon is the sheer number of gods and the frequent changes and fusions between them. To name just three sun gods, Hayato knows of at least three: Atum, the god symbolizing the sun at dusk; Ra, the most orthodox god of the midday sun; and Aten, the nascent sun god who almost became the supreme monotheistic god due to the Reformation.

However, the religious reformation failed because it touched too many interests and was too radical for the people to accept. Aten did not become the sole god of monotheism, but was integrated into the faith of Ra, who was restored to the supreme god, and became one aspect of it.

"More than that, isn't anyone complaining that the spot where Geb knocked the brick was a bit off?" Unlike the others who were familiar with ancient Egyptian mythology, Jonouchi was more concerned about the location where Geb knocked the brick. Because it was so interesting and Honda had given him free movie tickets, he had watched "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" over ten times recently. What impressed him most, besides the overly sweet taste of the free soda, was the scene in the movie where the brick was knocked to open the door to the magical world.

The action of opening the secret chamber was not exactly similar to that of Gab, but rather exactly the same.

“This is the only way to open the secret room. Hitting the wrong spot will immediately trigger the mechanism,” Gab explained. “It has nothing to do with Harry Potter.”

"Huh? But I didn't mention Harry Potter either?"

When Jonouchi seized upon the flaw in his words, Gab remained silent, only pointing to the area beneath the golden statue of Aten.

Following Gab's guidance, the group saw a golden box with a triangular and circular symbol painted on it below the statue of the god. The symbol was the mark of the god Aten, and the [Millennium Wisdom Ring] that Hayato was wearing at the moment was based on the image of that symbol.

Upon noticing the box, Yugi and Hayato felt a strange sensation rise within them once more, instinctively sensing something inside that was drawing them in. They had experienced a similar feeling when they set out to search for the tomb-guarding clan's territory near the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Gab explained, "What's stored in that golden box is the most important treasure of the Tomb Keeper Clan, Ishdar—a part of a book that has existed even longer than the Millennium Artifact. The mysterious knowledge recorded on it remains undeciphered even after a thousand years."

"The book is called the 'Millennium Magic Book'."

As Gaibu finished speaking, the golden chest opened automatically, and the items inside rose up automatically under the action of a mechanism, revealing an ancient and tattered book to everyone!

Just as everyone was about to approach the tattered "Millennium Magic Book," Geb, who was standing by the open stone door, moved a small distance, blocking everyone's view of the "Millennium Magic Book"—though it didn't block it too much, since he was practically transparent.

As Gab raised his left hand, everyone saw the golden duel disk on the left hand of the male statue behind him turn into liquid, flow out, wrap around Gab's wrist, and transform back into a duel disk. Gab said, "The duel ceremony begins, Kobayashi Hayato. Let me see if you have enough capacity to take I... and the [Millennium Magic Book] from me!"

Did this guy almost blurt out what was on his mind?

Chapter 709 No one is a repeat of a plot hole, or perhaps everyone is a repeat of a plot hole.

"Although this isn't the first time this has happened, it's been forced as always. I'm almost used to it starting with playing cards whenever something happens."

Seeing Gab raise his Duel Disk, Hayato unfolded his own Duel Disk and stepped forward. "But I won't shy away from a challenge. No one in the whole village has ever beaten me at cards."

"Duel!"

"duel!"

[Gab: 4000 LP]

[Hayato: 4000LP]

Almost instantly at the start of the duel, Hayato swiftly drew a card to seize the initiative, pulling out a card from his deck: "I've secured the first move, draw!"

"I don't know what deck you're using, but since you're a Gravekeeper, I bet you're not exactly a saint." Looking at Geb opposite him, Hayato drew a card from his hand. "But it doesn't matter, because this time the deck I'm playing isn't afraid of being tricked!"

"I summon a monster in defense position, then activate the Continuous Spell Card [Nightmare Mirage], then set the remaining four cards in my hand face-down, and end my turn immediately!"

There's no way to stop a double trap, because you can never be sure what kind of trap the other person is using. Since you can't stop it, why not join in the double trap? I'll just go for the T-shaped opening!

[Hayato: 4000LP, 0 cards in hand]

[The inside side represents a monster]

【Gaika】【Nightmare of the Mirage】

"You keep complaining that the Gravekeepers are all shady characters, but look at you, brother-in-law, aren't you the same way?" Malik chimed in from the side. "Or have you already included yourself in the Gravekeepers' clan?"

Hayato just rolled his eyes at Malik and ignored him, while Gab's expression remained as calm as before, but Hayato felt that his face seemed even worse.

"My turn, draw a card." After drawing a card from his deck and adding it to his hand, Gab glanced at the five face-down cards on Hayato's field and snorted, "Hmph, you've seized the first-mover advantage but don't even dare to make a further move?"

"Just a necessary precaution, Mr. Gab."

Hayato believed his maneuvering was flawless, but he was recklessly expanding his deck without knowing the opponent's deck. He had learned this lesson the first time he faced Dartz in their duel. When Gab said this to him, Hayato always felt that Gab was nitpicking. "During the opponent's preparation phase, the effect of [Nightmare of the Mirage] takes effect. I draw cards from my deck until I have four cards in my hand."

As he spoke, Hayato drew cards from his deck, and his hand, which had been almost empty in the previous turn, was instantly restored to four cards.

"There must be a price to pay for drawing so many cards from your hand at once, right?" Gab asked, looking at Hayato's four cards.

Hayato nodded in agreement: "That's true. After all, powerful cards often come with great risks. During my preparation phase, I also need to discard a certain number of cards I draw because of the effect of [Nightmare Mirage].

Geb nodded, his tone still not very friendly towards Hayato: "In that case, cherish this effect while you can, because you won't be able to use Spell/Trap Cards anymore."

Draw a card from his hand and insert it into the Golden Duel Disk. Looking at the card that appeared in his back row, Geb waved his hand and commanded, "I activate the Spell Card [Great Cold Wave]. This card can only be activated at the start of the Main Phase. Until my next Draw Phase, neither player can use the effects of Spell/Trap Cards, nor can they activate or Set Spell/Trap Cards!"

"What?" Hayato frowned upon hearing this.

The effect of the card 【Great Cold Wave】is actually quite straightforward: it simply restricts both players from using Spell & Trap Cards, and this restriction lasts until the end of Hayato's next turn. During this time, both players can only use monsters to battle.

It seems fairly fair, right? But don't forget, Hayato currently has five cards face down on his back row waiting to be activated. If [Great Cold Wave] is successfully activated, Hayato will be the one who suffers the most.

"Mudamuda, chain [Great Cold Wave], I'm revealing my face-down card in the back row!" Watching the chilling aura emanating from [Great Cold Wave] activated by Gab about to engulf the entire field, Hayato pressed the activation button and flicked his wrist, revealing a card in the back row. "Continuous Trap Card [Royal Decree], negates the effects of all Spell Cards on the field!"

"In the name of God, I command you to step back!"

A humanoid phantom rose up behind Hayato, and with a wave of his hand, the freezing air released by Gabu's [Great Cold Wave] was instantly dispelled.

While [Royal Decree] is on the field, the effects of both Hayato's and Geb's Spell Cards will be negated. Although there is a limitation that both players need to pay 700 LP to maintain it during each Standby Phase after activation, it is still better than having [Great Cold Wave] block all Trap Cards.

Furthermore, due to the effect of [Royal Decree], the effect of the Continuous Spell Card [Nightmare Mirage] that Hayato currently has on his field is also negated. This is good news for Hayato, as he has already enjoyed its positive effects, and negating [Nightmare Mirage] will allow him to avoid its negative effects in the next turn.

Geb noticed this as well and said unhappily, "Tsk, not only does he lack the courage to unleash his power, but he also lacks the awareness to bear the negative consequences. What a pathetic man. Since all the spell cards on the field have been negated, I will Normal Summon this monster!"

As Geb placed a card on his Duel Disk, golden flames ignited on his field, and a figure appeared bathed in the flames. He wore a suit of armor forged from gold, and the longsword in his hand resembled the feather of a divine bird. His long silver hair and white skin with flame-like orange patterns fluttered in the wind along with the firelight.

【Guardian of Nephthys】【2☆/Wind】

[Mage Race/Effect]

[1400/200]

“Nephthys?” Looking at the monster used by Gab, Yugi said with some surprise, “Isn’t that one of the Ennead of Heliopolis?”

"She is the guardian of houses and the dead, and like Isis, she is a goddess of fertility. But as you know, the Isis I'm referring to isn't my sister, but the goddess Isis," Malik casually remarked. "Actually, many members of the tomb-guarding clan refer to the names of gods in mythology when naming their children. My father's name is even taken from the earth god Gab."

"In the Ennead of Heliopolis, Nut, the god of the sky, and Geb, the god of the earth, fell in love and gave birth to Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys, who are the prototypes of the cards my father used."

"It's worth noting that although I never defeated my sister even once during my childhood, even my sister never defeated my father. Unlike the goddesses in mythology, the Nephthys that my father used possessed powerful 'destructive' power."

There was no need for Malik to continue explaining. After Normal Summoning [Guardian of Nephthys], Geb revealed another card from his hand: "During my Main Phase, I activate the effect of [Guardian of Nephthys] on the field, destroy one card in my hand, and then Special Summon one 4-star or lower [Nephthys] monster from my hand, except for [Guardian of Nephthys].

"I destroy [Nephthys the Enlightened One] in my hand, and from the destruction comes rebirth, Special Summoning [Nephthys the Guide] from my hand, Level 2!"

As Gab played his card, a female cultivator dressed in golden armor and with her head covered by a white cloak appeared on his field. However, the cultivator only appeared for a moment before holy golden flames suddenly ignited around her, engulfing her. A graceful dancer dressed in golden armor then entered the field, stepping on the burning flames.

【Nephthys's Guide】【2☆/Wind】

[Mage Race/Effect]

[600/600]

It can jump twice in one go, so it's identified as a spinning top!

Hayato looked at the two monsters on the field and said, "Although I only had two cards left in my hand after all that, I only summoned two weak monsters with no more than 1500 attack power. But since [Guardian of Nephthys] has the ability to summon other monsters, I can guess from the name that [Guardian of Nephthys] probably has the power to summon some powerful monster, right?"

Although Hayato actually knew the effect of [Nephthys' Guide] and even the [Nephthys] deck, who wouldn't want to show off if given the chance? It's super cool to pretend to be a strategist and say that you already knew the effect all along, right?

As expected, upon hearing Hayato's words, Gab also showed a slight expression of surprise: "He actually managed to guess the effect of my monster? Hmph, with so many thoughts and such deep scheming, he's definitely not a good person."

"But can you stop me? It's coming! The strongest monster in my deck will descend at this moment!" Geb waved his hand forward and said, "The effect of [Nephthys' Guide] can only be activated by Tributing 1 monster on my field and [Nephthys' Guide] itself. Special Summon 1 [Nephthys' Phoenix God] from my hand and Deck!"

As Gab gave the command, his Nephthys Guide and Nephthys Guardian simultaneously stretched their arms out above their heads, making a gesture of praise to the sun, and the flames around them surged up like waves, transforming into a towering fire tornado.

Geb took a card from his deck, held it above his head, and shouted:

"Raging flames, awaken true power with the force of destruction and regeneration! Awaken! Divine bird of immortality soaring through the skies!"

"【Nephthys, the Phoenix Goddess】!"

Amidst the rising flames, the golden armor once worn by the two monsters melted and was reforged into the body of a colossal divine bird. The flames merged into this golden body, and the divine bird, born from the soaring flames, flapped its wings violently, dispersing the flames that surrounded it and revealing its majestic form!

Nephthys, the Phoenix Goddess, [8☆/Flame]

[Bird/Beast Race/Effect]

[2400/1600]

After summoning [Nephthys the Phoenix God], Geb almost hesitated and immediately waved his hand, ordering: "Enter my battle phase, use [Nephthys the Phoenix God] to attack the face-down Defense Position monster on your field!"

"Sacred Fire Shiranui!"

Upon hearing Geb's command, the Phoenix God Nephthys in the sky cried out and swooped down towards the ground. Although it was a bird-beast, it had a pair of arms, each holding a leaping fireball. As it swooped down, the fireballs stretched in shape and formed a pair of flaming spears in the air, which it thrust at the face-down card on Hayato's field!

"boom!"

While the attack power of [Nephthys the Phoenix God] is truly pathetic for a Level 8 monster, far from comparable to the commonly used [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], it's only roughly equivalent to the even lower-level [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]. However, a high-level monster is still a high-level monster, and its attack power easily defeated Hayato's face-down monster...

It wasn't destroyed!?