Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Hayato, however, was unfazed and sneered, "You underestimate me too much. My monsters are far from reaching their limit."

"Equip magic, [Air Decryption Storm]!"

On top of the already incredibly luxurious weaponry of the [Armed Dragon Assault Cannon], a propulsion device was added.

"【Air Decryption Storm】is a Spell Card that can only be equipped to Machine-Type monsters. Its effect is that after a monster is destroyed by battle, the equipped monster can only attack once more!"

"And then this card!" Hayato played his third card, "Spell Card [Dull and Heavy]! The ATK of your [Gatekeeper] is reduced by the amount of its DEF!"

Mi glanced instinctively at the Gate Guardian on his field: "The Gate Guardian has 3400 defense, which means it's going to lose 3400 attack points!?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Labyrinth Brothers saw the towering [Guardian of the Gate] suddenly howl in pain, his body enveloped in an ominous mist.

[Guardian of the Gate] [ATK3750→350]

"Finally, I activate [Forbidden Cloth], reducing [Armed Dragon Cannon]'s ATK by 600 points. Then it will no longer be the target of its effects, and my finishing blow is complete!" Hayato activated the card in his hand. "[Guardian of the Gate] inherits the effects of the Three Prime Evils, but [Forbidden Cloth] can protect it from the Three Prime Evils!"

[Armed Dragon Assault Cannon] [ATK7000→6400]

"Battle begins!" Hayato coldly commanded. "[Armed Dragon Strike Cannon], strike while the iron is hot and attack the [Gatekeeper]!"

【Armed Dragon Strike Cannon】The weapons mounted on all four sides of his body began to charge. Even before the attack was fired, the intense heat emanating from them had already spread to the surroundings. Just standing behind it, Hayato felt as if he were standing on lava, and even the air he breathed was scorching hot.

"The heavens and earth roared, an armed assault!"

A dazzling white light flashed by, and the trajectory of the energy cannon fired from the [Armed Dragon Strike Cannon] was impossible to catch with the naked eye. Its speed was so fast that the explosion didn't reach Hayato's ears until it hit the agonizing [Gate Guardian].

"boom!"

[Mission: 4000LP→0]

Smoke and dust completely enveloped the arena, and the speed displayed on the life score panel of the dueling ring instantly dropped to zero, signaling that one player had been eliminated.

"Brother!" Gong looked towards the maze-like area with a worried expression. Because of the smoke, he couldn't see what was happening inside. However, he no longer had the chance to worry about the maze.

"Click." A mechanical sound came from his ear. Gong felt a dark shadow envelop him. He turned his head and saw that the [Armed Dragon Strike Cannon] had quietly approached his dueling platform. The energy cannon from the [Y-Dragon Head] was pointed directly at him.

Hayato said expressionlessly, "This is the final blow."

"boom!"

[Palace: 4000LP→0]

The Labyrinth Brothers, collapsed.

Chapter 133 The Final Four are decided

Stepping off the dueling platform, Samejima let out a breath, calming himself down after the intense duel. The large screen displayed the portraits of Samejima Iemitsu and Lemuria, but Lemuria's portrait had dimmed, leaving only Samejima's still lit.

The old butler glanced at Lemuria, who was leaving the dueling arena with a strange smile, but didn't think much of it. Instead, he began to announce: "The fourth match of the Duel Kingdom's quarterfinals has concluded, and the winner is Samejima Iemitsu. With this, all the players who have qualified for the semifinals have been determined!"

The images displayed on the screen changed, showing the portraits of the four people: Katsuya Jonouchi, Yugi Muto, Hayato Kobayashi, and Iemitsu Samejima. A line connected the portraits of the two duelists side by side.

"What on earth did Hayato go to do? He hasn't come back yet." Seeing Hayato's image appear on the screen, Jonouchi looked around but still couldn't see Hayato.

From the moment Yugi took the stage to start the duel, to Yugi defeating Mai, to Samejima Iemitsu taking the stage for the duel, and now Samejima defeating that guy named Lemuria, Hayato has still not returned to the audience.

Bakura looked worried: "Hayato-kun, could something have happened to him? He hasn't come back for so long, it's really worrying."

"Don't worry, Bakura. Hayato is a formidable fighter, at least half my strength," Jonouchi boasted. "However, it's been a bit worrying that he hasn't shown up yet. Wait, could it be that he ate Pegasus's food and got poisoned?"

"I know you really dislike Pegasus, but don't forget we ate a meal too, right?" Mai looked at Jonouchi speechlessly and retorted, "Instead of thinking about these things, you should worry about yourself. You're going to have a duel with Yugi tomorrow, you idiot Jonouchi."

“While duels are important, I think friends are just as important.” Yugi said with a smile. “Today’s match is over, and there’s still plenty of time to prepare for tomorrow’s duel. I think it would be better to go and see Hayato-kun.”

Upon hearing Yugi's words, Mai Kongzak subtly pursed her lips but said nothing more. Although she was getting along well with Yugi and the others, Mai Kongzak was quite aware that her values ​​did not align with those of Jonouchi, Yugi, or Hayato.

Regarding Duel Monsters, Mai sees them as tools to improve her life, while Yugi sees them as games to express their inner feelings. Mai pursues material things and the outcome of victory, while Yugi enjoys the process of dueling and appreciates the lack of real "friendship" or "family ties."

Even though she had dueled with Hayato, Jonouchi, and Yugi, and witnessed how their decks responded to her mind, the fog shrouding Mai's heart had not dissipated, and the dark cloud called "confusion" still covered her heart.

"What are Duel Monsters?" and "What are they dueling for?" These two questions Hayato once posed to her remain unanswered. However…

Looking at Jonouchi, who was playfully fighting with Honda and Bakura, Mai Kujaku couldn't quite articulate her feelings towards him. He was clearly just a half-baked duelist, someone who had nothing but good luck, so what was it that had sustained Jonouchi Katsuya all this time?

Who's looking for me?

A familiar voice reached the ears of the game's players. Looking in the direction of the voice, they saw Hayato, holding onto the stair railing, steadily returning to the audience seats with a look of embarrassment: "Oh dear, I'm so sorry, the castle is just too big. I couldn't find my way back for a moment and almost got lost and couldn't find my way back."

"What? Hayato, you're so lame. Not to mention the duel between Yugi and Mai-san, even Samejima-san's duel is over."

"Sorry, sorry." Hayato walked towards the group with an apologetic look, glancing at the large screen not far away. "Oh my, they've already decided on tomorrow's duel opponent?"

“If Yugi is going to face Jonouchi, then my opponent,” Hayato turned to look at Samejima Iemitsu, who was looking serious, “is you, Samejima-san? What a pity, I was hoping to watch your duel and make some changes to my deck, but I completely missed it.”

"Yes, I do have a certain advantage in this regard." Samejima Iemitsu scratched the back of his head sheepishly, acknowledging Hayato's statement. "But Hayato-kun, I've already witnessed your duels twice, and I acknowledge that you are a powerful duelist. So even if I'm a little embarrassed, I won't hold back in tomorrow's duel."

Hayato replied with a smile, "That's only right, Samejima-san... Iemitsu-san."

"Only a duel in which one's mind and body are fully engaged can be considered a sign of respect for other duelists."

Looking at Hayato, the others didn't notice anything amiss, but Yugi frowned with some concern.

'Aibo, did you notice Hayato's aura too?'

In the game's inner world, "another game" spoke. The game nodded: 'Yes, although Hayato-kun seemed nonchalant, the dark power emanating from him was really obvious. I sensed it as he walked past me just now.'

'My other self, do you think Hayato-kun wouldn't...?'

“Another game”—Wang Yang shook his head: “Hayato’s willpower is among the best I’ve ever seen. Even that ominous-looking Millennium Item shouldn’t be able to control him so easily.”

'Instead of being affected by the power of the Millennium Item, I think Hayato probably just came into contact with some kind of item rich in dark power, right?'

Wang Yang's intuition was indeed correct; the almost imperceptible dark aura emanating from Hayato did indeed originate from an item rich in dark power. Moreover, this dark item was currently lying in Hayato's system's [warehouse].

It was a completely golden ring, roughly the size to fit around a person's neck as a collar. The front of the ring was engraved with the same "Eye of Ugato" pattern as the "Millennium Item." If this collar were placed in Hayato's past life, many viewers of the *Yu-Gi-Oh! GX* anime would likely recognize it at a glance.

Isn't this the dark artifact worn by that vampire in Seven Stars?

Chapter 134 Soul Weapon: Dark Lasso

In the early days of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, there was a dark duelist organization called "Seven Stars" that engaged in dark duels with the goal of seizing the "Three Phantom Demons" cards sealed beneath the Duel Academy.

Just as the Four Heavenly Kings consist of five people, the Seven Stars have a total of eight members. Apart from the leader of the Seven Stars, the other seven dark duelists share a common trait: they all possess a [Dark Item] that is imbued with a strong dark power, which seems to be a tribute to the seven [Millennium Items].

The dark item called the Dark Lasso in Hayato's warehouse can be said to be related to the seven dark items, or it can be said to be completely unrelated to them.

The reason is that, about half an hour ago, when the duel between Samejima and Lemuria was still ongoing, this golden collar was just an ordinary collar.

Let's turn back time.

The third bomb: Loser Eats the Dust!

—Touch it and it's gone—

In Hayato's room.

"Phew, that was really heavy, I'm almost exhausted." Hayato laid the person he was carrying on his back onto his bed, panting heavily as he sat down against the wall, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "You two brothers have to take good care of me. I didn't even go to watch the duel because of you. If you don't give me eight or nine hundred million, I won't be able to repay this favor."

Thankfully, the game crew was still watching Samejima and Lemuria's duel in the dueling hall downstairs. If they were in Hayato's room now, they would be quite surprised, because the Kaiba brothers, whose souls had been taken by Pegasus and turned into puppets, were lying on Hayato's bed?!

Looking at the seahorse, who lay there with his eyes wide open like a dead man, Hayato patted his face, but unsurprisingly, there was no reaction. Meanwhile, on the other side, the three brothers of the "Disruption" trio, who hadn't appeared in a long time, were smugly boasting to "Red" and "Blue" about their experiences over the past few days.

"You lot, you're so noisy, shut up!" As if brushing dust off his clothes, Hayato swept the five members of the "Disruption" group who were standing on Guiping's chest off to the ground. He then casually took off the "Millennium Wisdom Wheel" hanging on his chest, letting the pointed cone on the golden disc hang freely in front of Guiping's chest.

【Millennial Wisdom Wheel】The “Eye of Ugato” in the center lights up, and golden light begins to emanate from the pointed cone.

Hayato had pondered something for a long time—what exactly are the powers of the seven Millennium Items?

In terms of origin, the seven "Millennium Artifacts" were originally powerful tools created through a dark and bloody ritual, and they even had the feat of repelling an invading army of thousands with just seven users.

The Millennium Puzzle symbolizing royal power, the Millennium Scepter symbolizing thought, the Millennium Jewelry symbolizing the future, the Millennium Scales symbolizing balance, the Millennium Key symbolizing life, the Millennium Wheel of Wisdom symbolizing direction...

And now, Pegasus possesses the "Millennium Eye," a symbol of the mind.

As the first person besides Yugi Muto to possess the Millennium Item in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pegasus's use and development of the Millennium Eye has transcended the level of "proficiency." Relying on the most basic ability of "True Sight," he has developed it to the point that Pegasus can even achieve the absurd ability of wide-area mental freeze.

Despite Pegasus's thorough development of his abilities, there is one thing Hayato has always doubted: can Pegasus really seal other people's souls into cards?

Having already experienced the Dark Games once, Hayato was quite clear that Pegasus had never engaged in any Dark Games, whether it was the duel with Yugi or the duel with Kaiba. The possibility of "sealing a soul using the rules of the Dark Games" was not valid, especially since he had a history of sealing Keihei's soul without a duel.

Then Hayato couldn't help but wonder—was what Pegasus sealed into the television and the cards really a soul?

Considering the essence of the power of the Millennium Eye, the answer is obvious—Pegasus never had the ability to "seal souls." He simply manipulated the mental worlds of the Kaiba brothers and Sugoroku, extracting their minds.

However, in terms of outward appearance, the Muto Sugoroku and Kaiba brothers, who lost their ability to think, were indeed like soulless walking corpses.

Soroku's situation is rather special, because his mind has indeed been transferred into the television set. However, Hayato believes that with his Millennium Wisdom Wheel's ability to break through the Millennium Items, he might have a chance to awaken the Kaiba Brothers ahead of schedule.

After defeating the Labyrinth Brothers who were blocking his way, Hayato did find the Seahorse Brothers, who were imprisoned in the dungeon and had lost their will. Although he didn't quite understand why Pegasus had sent people to stop him but hadn't moved the Seahorse Brothers, Hayato still took the brothers back to his room.

During the process of carrying cement in bags, the seahorse's head was accidentally bumped against the door frame by Hayato. However, when Hayato asked the seahorse if it hurt, it didn't answer. It shouldn't hurt, no, it definitely doesn't hurt, hmm.

Golden light emanated from the Millennium Wisdom Wheel. Hayato looked expectantly at Keihei lying before him, hoping to awaken the two brothers. But as time passed, the light from the Millennium Wisdom Wheel remained as dazzling as at the beginning, and Keihei showed no sign of waking up.

Somewhat bored, he picked up the Millennium Wisdom Wheel and put it down. The golden disc was like a small light bulb, and Keihei was like a contact power source. When the pointed cone touched Keihei, the Millennium Wisdom Wheel lit up, and the golden light went out instantly when they separated.

Hayato hung the Millennium Wisdom Ring back around his neck, rested his chin on his hand, and frowned as he looked at the Kaiba brothers sleeping side by side: "It's not working at all? That shouldn't be the case. The Millennium Wisdom Ring's power can't even break the seal left by the Millennium Eye?"

"Wouldn't all my hard work of going out and carrying those two brothers back be for nothing?" Thinking this, Hayato subconsciously rubbed the [Millennium Wisdom Wheel] hanging on his chest. Suddenly, he was a little stunned.

I hadn’t noticed it before, but now that I’ve put the Millennium Wisdom Wheel back around my neck, it seems to be heavier than before.

Holding the disc up to his face for observation, Hayato noticed that the cone at the bottom of the Millennium Wisdom Wheel looked different from before, as if it had absorbed water and expanded considerably in size.

"System?" When faced with a problem, Hayato turned to the system, which had a very low profile.

[Dark power detected. Activate system self-cleaning mode? (Note: This will consume 500 Duelist DP)]

"Screw it, all you do is stare at my balance all day long," Hayato grumbled, rejecting the system's suggestion. His DP balance in the system had just barely broken a thousand, and that was after he'd fought Keith and the Labyrinth Brothers. He wasn't about to spend it all.

The self-cleaning mode has been rejected.

[Suggestion 2: Duelists can channel their dark power into other objects]

Upon seeing the second prompt from the system, Hayato's gaze involuntarily fell on the collar around Keihei's neck. He remembered something—this idea seemed pretty good. He remembered that he also had some "pus" inside his body that needed to be drained, right?

Golden light shone again in Hayato's room. As the light faded, Hayato slumped weakly onto the sofa, watching as the collar in his hand was gradually stained gold, and the chain at the end of the collar transformed into a relief and wrapped around it.

As the Eye of Ugato gradually emerged on the front of the collar, Hayato felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu and couldn't help but remark, "So, this is the origin of the [Dark Item]?"

Chapter 135 A Duel of Friendship: Jonouchi vs. Yugi