Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Activate the Spell Card 'Explosive Gale of Destruction' to destroy all monsters on your opponent's field!" Kaiba sneered, waving his hand as he commanded, "Unleash your power, 'Blue-Eyes'!"

"Destroy Burst Stream!"

As the Blue-Eyes White Dragon spat out the energy ball, a storm of light energy surged towards the monsters on Atem's field. In the blink of an eye, both the Chaos Dark Magician, who wielded the power of chaos, and the Dark Magician's Staff were destroyed!

"Ugh!" The surging air wave forced Atum to raise his arm and use his Duel Disk to shield himself, and he had to crouch down slightly to avoid being blown away by the air wave.

This is the strongest attack that the Blue-Eyes White Dragon can unleash, the Annihilation Burst Gale Bullet!

“Now I’ve completely cleared your field of monsters, Yu—” With the dust settled, Kaiba surveyed Atem’s now-destroyed field and noticed that another face-down card his opponent had set earlier hadn’t been activated. As he spoke, his eyes suddenly widened.

On Atem's field, the Dark Magician was covered in wounds, yet he still stood guard in front of him!

[Dark Magician] [DEF2100]

“The passive effect of [Eternal Soul] means that as long as this card is in the Spell & Trap Zone, my [Dark Magician] will not be affected by the opponent's effects.” Atum looked at [Dark Magician], which had its back to him, and said, “Even though it has been destroyed several times, [Dark Magician] will still be with me.”

"And your Blue-Eyes White Dragon will be unable to attack this turn due to the effect of [Burning Gale Bullet]!"

Upon hearing Atum's words, the seahorse laughed.

"Hehe, hahahahaha! That's it, game! Keep up the good work and hold on as long as you can. That's the kind of duel I want, the one to settle our fates!" Kaiba exclaimed excitedly, playing a card from his hand. "The tougher the enemy, the more I can unleash the full power of my Blue Eyes!"

"Ritual Spell Card [Chaos Mode], activated!"

As the card was inserted into the Duel Disk by Kaiba, five metal pillars rose up in his back row, bending at an angle towards the center at their tips, resembling a cage.

The dark purple energy climbed up the pillars and converged in the center of the five pillars. Although it was just a ritual magic card, it exerted a power similar to a field magic card, enveloping everything around it and turning it into a chaotic mess!

"It's coming, that monster!"

Upon hearing Hayato's words, Kyoko quickly shifted her attention from the rising "altar" to the card held between the fingers of the raised hand of the seahorse. Was that the "minor fish crusher" that Hayato and Ameruda had mentioned?

Atum, too, realized that the seahorse was about to summon some kind of monster.

“Choose a Ritual Monster in my hand whose name contains the word ‘Chaos’, and send all monsters from my hand and field to the Graveyard until their total Levels equal the chosen monster. Then Special Summon the chosen Ritual Monster.”

Recalling the effect of [Chaos Form], Kaiba picked up the [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] card from his Duel Disk and said, "Send my [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] to the Graveyard to make its total Level 8. Take a short rest in the Graveyard, [Blue-Eyes], and then appear before me in an even more powerful form!"

"The powers of light and darkness have merged into one, and here I unleash upon you the lash of utter defeat!"

"Ritual Summoning!! [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon]!!!"

The dark purple chaos was torn apart by a pair of wings inlaid with blue-green crystals and spreading light. The carapace on its body moved and unlocked like a mechanical structure, and the crystals all over its body lit up one by one. A huge dragon with a body similar to but completely different from the Blue-Eyes White Dragon roared to the sky. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon disappeared and spun into the air, looking down at everything on the ground!

[Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon] [8☆/Dark]

[Dragon Clan/Ritual/Effect]

[4000/0]

"That's the end of the farce. Regretting your decision to Special Summon [Dark Magician] in Defense Position out of caution, Yugi!" Kaiba commanded with a wave of his hand. "Enter the Battle Phase! Attack your [Dark Magician] with [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon]. It won't be affected by my effects. Let's crush you with pure power!"

"Chaos MAX Burst Stream!"

Compared to the Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, the Blue-Eyes Chaos Extreme Dragon is not just different in name and in the attack moves shouted by Kaiba. Its attack power is 4000 points, which is equivalent to the Obelisk the Tormentor, which maximizes its strength in one area. It also has invincible power in attacking strong targets!

The Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon's wings suddenly unfurled, and countless tiny beams of light shot out from the crystals covering its body, sweeping across Atem's arena as if to indiscriminately destroy and annihilate everything on the field, including the Dark Magician. Despite having erected a magic circle as a defense, it was easily pierced by these randomly released beams of light.

"【Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon】When a monster in Defense Position is destroyed, it inflicts double piercing damage on you. You can't escape now, Yugi!"

As the dragon breath spewed from the mouth of the Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon completely destroyed the stubbornly resisting Dark Magician, Kaiba said triumphantly as he watched Atem, who was nearly knocked off the ship by the combat damage.

Atum: 4000 → 200 LP

The Dark Magician has 2100 defense points, while the Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon has a whopping 4000 attack points. The piercing damage from these two times is a whopping 3800 points. It's just a little bit more than enough to wipe out Atem's already maxed-out base stats in one go!

Even though this duel wasn't a dark game, Atem was still a bit out of breath after taking 3800 points of damage in one go. His field was completely empty except for the Continuous Spell Card, Continuous Trap Card, and a face-down card of unknown purpose in the back row.

On the Kaiba side, although their Life Points are only half of the initial 2000 LP, they have a Blue-Eyes Chaos Max Dragon on the field with an ATK of 4000 that cannot be targeted or destroyed by the opponent's effects.

More importantly, seeing that [Dark Magician] was destroyed and Atem did not activate his back row face-down cards or use the cards in his hand, Kaiba's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Looks like this duel is over. Your face-down card in the back row isn't exactly a card that can withstand damage, Yugi." Thanks to the [Treasure Card from Heaven] he had earlier, he still had three cards in his hand. Even though it was still in the Battle Phase and he hadn't even entered Main Phase Two, he drew a card from his hand, inserted it into the Spell & Trap Zone, and activated it!

"Although the effect of [Soul of Inheritance] limits me to attacking with only one monster this turn, it doesn't restrict how many attacks that monster can make!" Kaiba laughed arrogantly, as if victory was already within his grasp. "Quick-Play Spell Card [Dragon's Fighting Spirit] activated!"

The card art on Kaiba's back row depicts Blue-Eyes White Dragon engulfed in blue-white flames, with two fictional Blue-Eyes White Dragon forms behind it. Similarly, on Kaiba's field, Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon also displays identical blue-white flames!

"You can activate [Dragon's Might] by targeting any Dragon-Type monster you Special Summon this turn. This turn, [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon] can attack an additional number of monsters your opponent Special Summoned this turn, in addition to its Normal Attack during one Battle Phase!"

Upon hearing Kaiba's words, Jonouchi's eyes widened in shock: "This effect?! I remember Atem was Special Summoned this turn using the effect of [Eternal Soul], wasn't he?!"

"They even managed to utilize Atem's Special Summon in the process! How could Kaiba be so cunning?!"

Malik exclaimed in surprise, "I thought that double piercing damage from [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon] was already the final blow, but it can still attack again? In that case, Pharaoh doesn't have any wall monsters left on the field. Is he going to lose?!"

As Malik stated, Atem had no monsters left on his field, and even if there were, they wouldn't even be worthy of existence against Kaiba's [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon]. Furthermore, if Atem attempted to Special Summon a new monster, the effect of [Dragon's Might] would grant [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon] an additional number of attacks!

Whether in attack or defense position, the Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon, with its double piercing damage, is a true "minion crusher." Cards like Bursting Armor, Divine Shield - Mirror Power -, and even Dimensional Rift are ineffective against the Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon, which has strong resistance.

Atum is in deep crisis!

"Attack one more time, [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon], secure this long-awaited victory for me!" Kaiba waved his hand, completely disregarding Atem's reaction. "Your life points, which are already hanging by a thread, are about to be completely wiped out. Direct attack on the opponent's duelist!"

"Chaos MAX Burst Stream!"

The beam of light, seemingly capable of destroying the heavens and the earth, fell once more. This time, in addition to its indiscriminate destruction, the thickest beam of light, spat out by the Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon, was aimed directly at Atem. Without the protection of monsters like the Dark Magician, he was about to directly take 4000 points of combat damage!

Seeing this, the seahorse calmed down and said, "I won this time, Yugi. I have finally defeated you!"

The previous attack on [Dark Magician] was actually a test by Kaiba against Atem, probing whether Atem had any cards in his back row and hand that could sustain him. With that 3800 damage, most people would have used their trump card. Atem's failure to use any cards against [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon]'s first attack convinced Kaiba that Atem was equally unable to react to that attack.

However, just as the seahorse finished speaking, Atum's voice was heard: "Sorewadoka na, seahorse!"

"What?!"

Looking in Atum's direction, the seahorse saw Atum, who had just recovered from the previous attack and was about to face another direct attack, smiling as he looked up at him and held up his only card.

"Masaka!?"

"If an opponent's monster attacks, discard this card from my hand during that damage calculation step to activate this effect!"

A furry monster appeared in front of Atem, causing the seahorse's blood pressure to spike—it was none other than Kuriboh!

Sending the card in his hand to the graveyard, and looking at the [Kuriboo] that appeared before him, Atem continued, "That battle did me zero damage! Please, Kuriboh!"

"KuriKuri!" Hearing Atum's words, Kuriboh suppressed its fear and mustered its courage to face the challenge, even though it was facing the invincible Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon with attack power comparable to a god!

A beam of light, attempting to whittle down Atem's last life points, struck. The seemingly weak Kuriboh bravely met the beam and was instantly destroyed, but it protected Atem's last life points from any damage!

Atum: 200 → 200 LP

"game!!!"

Seeing his attack, which he thought would secure victory, blocked once again by that weak Kuriboh, Kaiba gritted his teeth and shouted at Atem. After venting his frustration and calming down slightly, Kaiba looked at Atem, "But before, when Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon attacked Dark Magician, you could have used that weak monster's effect, right?"

Why wasn't it used back then?

It was precisely because Atem didn't use the effect of [Kuriboh] the first time that Kaiba misjudged the situation, thinking that there was no [Kuriboh] in his hand, and thus confidently used [Dragon's Might] in an attempt to achieve a kill.

Upon hearing Seahorse's words, Atum responded with a confident smile: "Because I believe in you, Seahorse. You said it before, right? Your formula for victory has been achieved, which means you have the confidence to completely wipe out my life points."

"You were surprised that [Dark Magician] wasn't affected by [Explosive Gale Blast], and you must have considered the possibility that my last card would be [Kuriboo], but even in that situation you were still confident that you could win this turn."

"The 3800 damage dealt by the first attack of the [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon] was indeed terrifying, but it was still a little short of winning in one hit. I don't think that was your mistake, which means that you definitely have a backup plan."

After a pause, Atem smiled and said, "For duelists, as long as their Life Points don't reach zero, they are infinite. It was because I believed in your strength, Kaiba, that I kept Kuriboh and waited for the perfect moment to use it."

Hearing Atem's words, Kaiba closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. He then opened his eyes again, looked at Atem, and calmly said, "I spared your life, Yugi. But can you create another miracle of victory before my [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon]?"

"Set two cards face down, my turn ends."

Seto Kaiba: 2000 LP, 0 cards in hand

[Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon] [ATK4000]

[True Light] [Gaikka (Strong! Invincible! Strongest!)] [Gaikka] x2

Chapter 913 Seahorse: [Skyfall] Each person can only bring one / Atum: I used it twice

"Set two cards face down, my turn ends."

He turned down both cards in his hand and declared the end of his turn, but his gaze was fixed on the face-down cards in Atum's backcourt.

Although it happened during Atem's turn, Kaiba hadn't forgotten the effect that was activated when Atem Special Summoned [Chaos Dark Magician] with the effect of [Dimensional Magic].

—And the effect of [Chaos Dark Magician]: When it is successfully Summoned or Special Summoned, I can add one Spell Card from my Graveyard to my hand. —

At that time, Atem retrieved a spell card he had used before from the graveyard and added it to his hand, but Kaiba never saw the same spell card appear in the final duel. Even with the attack of the Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon just now, Atem did not show any intention of opening his back row face-down cards.

What exactly was that card? Which magic card did he retrieve from the graveyard?

With doubts in his mind, the seahorse waited until Atum began his turn.

"My turn, draw a card." Atem drew a card from the top of his deck, but before he could play it, he heard Kaiba say, "At this moment, I will activate the effect of [True Light] on my back row."

"Once per turn, I may choose to Special Summon a single Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand or Graveyard, or Set a Spell/Trap Card with the name of Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my Deck that is not on my field or in my Graveyard."

"I choose the second option."

Although he didn't know what that face-down card was, Kaiba was confident that as long as he could wait until his turn again, victory, though delayed, would still come to him. As for Atem summoning a monster that destroyed his [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon] first?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

Because the Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon is invincible!

After activating the effect of [True Light], Kaiba didn't rush to search for cards. Even though it was Atem's turn, Kaiba pressed the button to activate a face-down card during his preparation phase: "Then I chain [True Light], and I open this card again, the Normal Trap Card [Bottle of Greed]. I return five cards from my Graveyard except [Bottle of Greed] to my Deck, shuffle them, and draw one card from my Deck."

"By reversing the chain, I use the effect of [Bottle of Greed] to return five cards—[Burning Gale Blast], [Ultimate Fusion], [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], [Chaos Mode], and [Soul of Inheritance]—to the deck and shuffle them, and draw one card."

Using the Duel Disk's automatic shuffling function to save a lot of trouble, Kaiba drew a card from his deck and added it to his hand. Then, another card popped out of the Duel Disk and he caught it. "Then, because of the effect of [True Light], I set [Destruction Burst Gale Bullet] on my back row."

"He actually used the [Pot of Greed] to circumvent the restrictions of [True Light] and retrieved that card again?" Jonouchi raised an eyebrow and complained, "Just how much does he like that card? It's clearly not as useful as a Lightning Strike."

Upon hearing this, Hayato shrugged and said, "Who told you that [Explosive Gale Bullet of Annihilation] can be retrieved, but [Lightning Strike] can't?"

"That's true."

Watching Kaiba activate cards and move around during his preparation phase, Atem raised an eyebrow and said, "Is it coming again next turn? [Explosive Gale of Destruction]? With the presence of [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon], it's practically a death sentence. In other words, I have to defeat you, Kaiba, this turn."

"Hmph, don't act like you can do whatever you say, Yugi." Kaiba raised his head arrogantly and said, "You were lucky to survive last round under the protection of that weak monster, but you definitely won't survive the next attack. Let me say it again, [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon] is invincible!"

“Is that really the case, Kaiba? Indeed, [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon] has strong resistances, such as not being targeted by the opponent's effects and not being destroyed by the opponent's effects, but I have found its weakness!” Atem said, setting the card in his hand face down. “During my Main Phase, I’ll set this card in my hand face down first.”

"Then I revealed another face-down card in my back row, [Treasure Card from Heaven]!"