Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Despite losing a significant amount of Life Points, John's gaze remained resolute: "Even if it's [Summoned Beast - Merkaba], I will show you how to defeat it, Mr. Hayato!"

"Huh? So you still chose [Summoned Beast - Merkaba] as your target instead of [Earth Spider], which has zero attack power?" Hayato said with a smile.

"The reason [Earth Spider] is in Attack Position is simply because I don't want you to use its Defense Position effect to interfere with my attack. Besides, I can't bring myself to send my resurrected monster back to the graveyard," John said earnestly. "Wouldn't it be too pitiful for [Earth Spider] if this duel ended with [Earth Spider] under your control, Mr. Hayato?"

Upon hearing John's words, Atum rubbed his nose and glanced at Pegasus beside him. John's words sounded strangely familiar; it seemed like he had said the same thing a long time ago when Pegasus invited him to the Duel Kingdom.

"【Beetle Fusion - Six-Insect Stag Beetle Warrior】, attack 【Summoned Beast - Merkaba】!" John waved his hand and shouted, "Beet Catapult Attack!"

Upon receiving the command, the [Beetle Fusion - Six-Insect Stag Beetle Warrior] swung its broadsword fiercely, hurling it like a throwing weapon at [Summoned Beast - Merkaba]. The latter raised its lance and barely managed to deflect the incoming greatsword, which then fell in front of it, only to feel the surrounding light dim.

Despite its enormous size, it possesses considerable agility. The [Beetle Fusion - Six-Insect Stag Beetle Warrior] leaps into the air and glides using its elytra to maintain its altitude. The beetle armor on its body moves along its body and gathers at the position of its right foot, with a wasp's long stinger at the very top.

"Beetle Kick!"

Chapter 849 We are too weak, we have no power

Faced with such a powerful attack, even with the blessing of [Summoner-Aleister], [Summoned Beast-Merkaba] still had a power limit due to its own limitations. Although it tried to resist this power, it was ultimately destroyed by the attack of [Beetle Fusion-Six-Insect Stag Beetle Warrior]!

Hayato's base score also dropped considerably.

[Hayato: 4000→1700LP]

However, after taking a full 2300 points of combat damage, Hayato laughed.

"My monster has been destroyed... Ya☆da☆Zai!"

At the location where [Summoned Beast - Merkaba] was destroyed, the six-pointed star magic circle that [Summoner - Aleister] had previously deployed when summoning it reappeared. However, the summoning circle was now full of cracks, and purple energy was overflowing from it.

Seeing this from the sidelines, Malik wasn't surprised at all and commented, "As expected, my brother-in-law's 'pure' [Summoner] deck is going to start causing trouble again."

"I can only activate this when a card on my field is destroyed by battle or card effect. Special Summon this card from my hand." Hayato held a card between his fingers and placed it on the Duel Disk, causing the magic circle on the field to suddenly crack open, and a figure leaped out as if breaking through a seal.

"From the depths of purgatory, a rebellious song dedicated to the undying soul, resounding forever, is revealed here! Appear!"

"【The God of Destruction of Dual Extremes】!"

Surprised, John? I even included a [Machine Destroyer] card in my deck! Just to give you a little bit of a shock to the Demon race!

The [Dual Extreme Destroyer God], which broke free of its seal, landed in front of Hayato, and a purple fox-shaped shikigami composed entirely of energy appeared beside him, its entire body filled with violent resentment.

[The God of Destruction of the Dual Extremes] [8☆/Dark]

[Demon Race/Effect]

[3000/1500]

John had finally managed to destroy Hayato's [Summoned Beast - Merkaba], but he never expected that Hayato could summon another formidable monster during his turn. Because of the appearance of [Double Extreme Destroyer], although John still had two monsters on his field that hadn't attacked, he lost the chance to wipe out Hayato's Life Points at this moment.

However, what relieved John a little was that although the [Double Extreme Destroyer God] that appeared on Hayato's field had a strong aura, it lacked the sense of a living soul compared to the monsters that appeared before. It was obvious that Hayato had not awakened the spirit within it, which greatly reduced the pressure it exerted on John.

There was nothing that could be done about it. In fact, Hayato had only recently obtained the card "Dual Extreme Destroyer God". He got it from a card box with a high probability of Demon-type characters during a recent promotion in the system shop. Because he really wanted to use it as the cover card for the promotion, Hayato used up a considerable number of his saved DP points.

While successfully assembling the desired Fiend-type deck, Hayato also acquired quite a few other Fiend-type cards, including the "Bipolar Destroyer God" from the "Destroyer" series.

However, Hayato only opened one card, "Dual Extreme Destroyer God". Although he unlocked the "Destroyer" field, since "Destroyer" is mainly based on Link Summoning which has not yet appeared, Hayato did not plan to draw all the "Destroyer" cards. But this did not stop him from adding this card to his deck.

"If [Binary God of Destruction] is successfully Special Summoned, I can only activate this effect by discarding one card from my hand." Hayato said, sending a card from his hand to the Graveyard. "Destroying one card on the field is a noble non-targeting effect, but it doesn't matter."

"Offer the mournful cry of life's demise for the birth of Kami, Hollow Dog Cannon!"

As Hayato discarded the card in his hand, the shikigami beside [Shuangji Destroyer God], tainted by malice, suddenly spewed out a surge of energy from its mouth. The torrent of darkness instantly engulfed [Beetle Fusion - Six Insect Stag Beetle Warrior], which had created the opportunity for [Shuangji Destroyer God] to appear.

Although the current [Beetle Fusion - Six-Insect Stag Beetle Warrior] has become an extremely powerful monster with an attack power of 5800 points due to the effect of [Cai Hu Shi], it still has no resistance. The [Beetle Fusion - Six-Insect Stag Beetle Warrior], which has no resistance to destruction effects, is as fragile as paper and was instantly destroyed by the effect of [Bipolar Destroyer God].

Just like when it destroyed [Summoned Beast - Merkaba] in a previous battle.

"【Beetle Fusion】!" John shouted as he watched his monster being destroyed, but he couldn't stop it from being sent to the graveyard. Looking at the 【Bipolar Destroyer God】 that was eyeing him menacingly, and then at the two weak and powerless monsters on his field, John didn't continue attacking Hayato's 【Earth Spider】.

"The battle phase ends here, and then in the second main phase, I turn my turn by setting the last card face down from my hand."

John, his hand now empty, announced the end of his turn. Looking at Hayato on the field, he smiled helplessly: "As expected, Mr. Hayato truly lives up to his title of Duel King. The idea that I could defeat Mr. Hayato in just one turn was just my naive imagination."

John: 600LP, 0 cards in hand

【Dream Cicada - Sleep Mode】【ATK800】

【Blade Fly】【ATK1100】

[Superb pitching] [Cover]

As the duel progressed, Atum, who was watching, noticed something and casually remarked, "John's strength is still being limited."

"The strength of the deck is one aspect, but another is that he lacks cards that can serve as a mental support. This means that when he fights against duelists like Hayato, who have many powerful spirits by his side, he has to bear the pressure alone."

After a pause, Atum said, "Even things that are actually achievable will be much less effective because of this pressure. John's reaction speed will be slower and he won't be able to keep up with the high-speed duel."

“However, although we had anticipated that John would be no match for Hayato, did you see that boy’s eyes?” Jonouchi said, looking at John. “Although he was saying things that sounded like he was about to give up, his eyes clearly showed that he still wanted to fight.”

"My turn, draw a card." Hayato drew a card from his deck. Like Jonouchi, he had already noticed John's still fiercely competitive eyes. "Even in this situation, you still refuse to give up? Well then, since you want to duel to the very end, I will deliver a blow of honor to you here."

"Enter the battle phase, then use [Dual Extreme Destroyer God] to attack [Blade Fly]." Hayato waved his hand and gave the order, "Purgatory Unparalleled Blazing Wave Cannon!"

Chapter 850 So strong, too strong

"Purgatory Unparalleled Explosive Wave Cannon!"

Under Hayato's command, [Binjitsu no Mech God] raised his hand and condensed a ball of energy. After a brief charge, he launched it out and attacked [Blade Fly] on John's field.

【Blade Fly】【ATK1100】

【Bipolar Destroyer God】【ATK3000】

"Under such an attack, your life points are as fragile as a candle in the wind!" Feeling that victory was already in his grasp, Hayato even got cocky and uttered the death knell of a minor character.

Undoubtedly, this attack would have resulted in John's remaining 600 base points being completely wiped out, leaving him with 1900 combat damage. However, John did not give up and instead resolutely activated the backcourt cover card.

“If you give up, the duel will end prematurely. That’s what my teacher told me.” John pressed the button to activate the face-down card and said calmly, “If you, Mr. Hayato, use a monster with an attack power of 1400 or more but less than 2300 to attack my low-attack monster, [Dream Cicada - Sleepy Sleep], then even if I use this card, it will be of no use.”

"But I've finally seen the possibility of victory!"

"Trap Card activated, [Magic Cylinder]!" John waved his hand forward, and at the same time, as his face-down card in the back row opened, two cylinders engraved with colorful patterns appeared in front of [Blade Fly], their mouths pointing at [Bipolar Destroyer God] which was launching an attack.

"N-Nani!?"

Hayato's eyes widened. He was very familiar with the card John was using, since Yugi, who was watching the match, was the one who loved using it the most. "It's a [Magic Cylinder] that negates the attack of an opponent's monster when it declares an attack, and inflicts damage to the opponent equal to that monster's ATK as Life Points!?"

"Under the effect of the [Magic Cylinder], the attack of the [Bipolar Destroyer God] will be nullified, and its attack power will be converted into effect damage refund." John pointed to the [Bipolar Destroyer God] in the air, "Take this, [Bipolar Destroyer God], a [Magic Cylinder] with a radius of twenty centimeters!"

Hayato was powerless to stop the attack of the [Dual Extreme Destroyer God]. He could only watch helplessly as he launched his attack, only to have it completely absorbed by one of the [Magic Cylinders] blocking the [Blade Fly]. Meanwhile, the other [Magic Cylinder], connected by magic, aimed at Hayato, bypassed the [Dual Extreme Destroyer God], and released the absorbed attack back to him intact!

The attack that should have ended John's life now fell on Hayato!

"I can't accept this!" Hayato exclaimed excitedly as the [Magic Cylinder] returned the attack and struck!

"boom!"

Seeing Hayato's location obscured by the smoke and dust of the explosion, John, while confident in his counterattack, was unsure whether such an attack could defeat Hayato, subconsciously muttered to himself, "Did it work?"

The smoke and dust quickly dissipated, and Hayato's figure reappeared before John's eyes. By all accounts, the effect of the [Magic Cylinder] should have been successfully activated, but John discovered that Hayato still had some Life Points remaining.

"Wait a minute," John suddenly sensed something was wrong. After scanning Hayato's field, he suddenly noticed that the Earth Spider, whose effect had been transferred to Hayato's field by the [Giant Pitch], had inexplicably disappeared. "The Earth Spider...it's gone?"

"Quick-Play Spell Card, [Mysterious Chinese Pot], this card is very useful." Facing the puzzled John, Hayato showed a card and tapped the side of the card with his finger. "Instead of letting John's [Earth Spider] disappear after the duel ends, I'd rather fry it and eat it. After all, I'm a kind-hearted person and can't bear to see other people's monsters suffer."

"Chain effect of [Magic Cylinder], I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card [Mysterious Chinese Pot] from my hand, release [Earth Spider] and then blast away its DEF value."

[Hayato: 2300→3800→800LP]

"As expected, Mr. Hayato, you're not so easily defeated." Seeing that his final counterattack had failed to defeat Hayato, John said regretfully, "However, at least I survived Mr. Hayato's only attack on the field, [Dual Extreme Destroyer God]..."

But John only saw the ambiguous smile on Hayato's face, which made him uncertain again, so he asked again, "Uh, I made it through, right?"

“John, Rafael probably didn’t have time to tell you something,” Hayato said, taking out a [Double Chance] card from his hand and placing it in the Spell & Trap area. “That is, it’s best not to use 'attack nullification' cards on me, whether it’s [Magic Cylinder] or [Absorption Shield].

"Because [Magic Cylinder] negated the attack of [Twin Blade God], I activated the Quick-Play Spell Card [Double Chance] from my hand, giving [Twin Blade God] a second chance to attack, and its attack power is doubled only during that Damage Step!"

With a wave of his hand, Hayato commanded, "Unfortunately, the final victor is not you, John, but me, Kobayashi Hayato! In the name of God, I hereby deliver the final judgment upon you: [Binary Destroyer God] will launch a second attack on [Blade Fly]!"

[Bipolar Destroyer God] [ATK3000→6000]

[The Dual-Pole Destroyer God] launched another attack, doubling its power from its already high 3000 attack points. The [Blade Fly], with only 1100 attack points, was easily destroyed without any resistance, the overflowing combat damage instantly wiping out John's basic points!

John: 600LP → 0

Despite losing the duel, John, as the loser, had nothing to be happy about. However, when his Life Points actually reached zero, a look of relief appeared on John's face.

"Ya☆da☆~ What an interesting duel." Hayato looked at the [Bipolar Destroyer God] that had returned to his field, patted it on the shoulder to encourage it, and the [Bipolar Destroyer God] seemed to have awakened a little self-awareness, and looked at the [Spiritual Exophysis] that Hayato had not used in his hand, breathed a sigh of relief and disappeared.

“Yes, it was indeed a very interesting duel. Thank you very much for your guidance, Mr. Hayato.” John said with a smile, but he still felt a little regretful. “It’s just that I seem to have disappointed my teacher and did not pass Mr. Pegasus’ test. It’s too difficult to defeat Mr. Hayato, at least for me and my cards right now.”

To John's surprise, Pegasus said, "No, defeating Hayato Boy is something that's not very likely to happen. John Boy, you must have misunderstood something. The important thing is whether you can show me the determination to stand out in this duel."

"Huh? Is that so?" John paused, then looked at Rafael beside him.

Rafael also sighed: "He always shows subtle slowness and stupidity in certain areas. He still has a lot to learn, Johnny."

"You can easily understand the difficult effects of Duel Monsters, so it seems there's still a lot of room for improvement in your comprehension skills." Hayato shrugged. "Whether Pegasus gives you a card depends on whether your talent satisfies him. As long as you get his approval, that's enough, just like the gyms in Pokémon."

"No, the latter analogy is unnecessary. Be careful, or you might get sued, brother-in-law."

Chapter 851 Happy New Year

"What's this?" John politely accepted the business card that Pegasus handed him, then asked with some confusion.

"With this business card of mine, you can use it as an access card for the International Illusion Society and get through security personnel, because that represents my approval." Pegasus smiled. "If I ever finish making the card, sending it by express delivery isn't very safe. It would be best if you, John Boy, picked it up in person."

"Huh?" John hadn't quite grasped Pegasus's meaning yet, still waiting for Pegasus's evaluation of his duel with Hayato. He was still eager to know if his performance in Duel Monsters would be recognized by the Father of Duel Monsters.

But Rafael naturally understood Pegasus's meaning and spoke on John's behalf: "I thank you on Johnny's behalf, Pegasus J. Crawford."

“Don’t mind, Mr. Rafael, finding duelists who can bring out the full potential of the cards is a happy thing for me.” Pegasus shook his finger and said, “In fact, I’m overjoyed that Duel Monster can bring smiles to more people.”

“That’s right, Pegasus, you can say something reasonable sometimes. Duel Monsters are supposed to bring smiles to people's faces…” Jonouchi stopped mid-sentence, glancing at Hayato beside him who looked uncomfortable. “Uh, what’s wrong, Hayato?”

“I guess it’s because I’ve heard too much ‘Juedai-smile,’ ‘Ume,’ ‘Smailo,’ and the like. Just hearing ‘Juedai-smile’ makes my PtSD flare up,” Hayato complained, rubbing his arms. Seeing that John was still a little confused, he explained, “Don’t you understand yet? Your will has been affirmed by Pegasus, John.”

"Celebrate!"

"Really?!" John's face lit up with joy; it seemed he had finally grasped Pegasus's meaning. And not only him, Jonouchi and Honda beside him also clapped their hands and exclaimed in unison, "That's great!"

"You two probably just realized it too..." Anzu pouted and looked at John gently, saying, "John, you did a great job. Even with a deck that didn't quite fit, you persevered to the end, never giving up on any monster. Even I think your performance was quite impressive."