Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"It's [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon]!" Atum raised an eyebrow, looking at the black dragon in front of him with considerable surprise. "I remember, that should be Jonouchi's card, right?"

“Even though it’s Yugi who’s your opponent in this duel, you should at least leave some sense of participation for us friends, Atem.” Off the field, Jonouchi chuckled and said smugly, “That card was given to Yugi by Hayato last night when Yugi was adjusting his deck. And it’s not just this card, Hayato, Kyoko, and Honda also gave Yugi cards that we gave him.”

"Let's work together, game!" Honda shouted to the game.

“Everyone… um!” Turning back to Atem, Yugi said firmly, “The deck I’m using is a collection of cards that embody all our hearts. I will definitely defeat you, my other self!”

"The card name of the 'Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon' summoned by 'Red-Eyes Fusion' is used as 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon'. Although 'Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon' has an effect that can be activated when the Fusion Summon is successful, its effect cannot be applied because I do not have a second 'Red-Eyes' monster in my hand or deck that it can send to the Graveyard."

"Only one [Red-Eyes]? That's really lucky, otherwise I would have suffered a lot of effect damage." Atum said with a smile, looking at the [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon] on the field, whose attack power surpassed that of [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]. "Compared to the overwhelming power of [Blue-Eyes] that brings victory, [Red-Eyes] can summon miracles, constantly resurrect from the graveyard, and also continuously deal effect damage."

"However, powerful cards often come with great risks. Red-Eyes Fusion can easily select fusion materials from the deck and summon a powerful fusion monster with just one card in your hand, but the cost is that even if you haven't performed a normal summon this turn, you can't summon or special summon a monster unless it's the effect of Red-Eyes Fusion."

Duel with someone you know has its pros and cons. The advantage is that you can adjust your deck based on your understanding of your opponent, while the disadvantage is that while you understand your opponent, they understand you just as well. Atem knows the effects and side effects of the [Red-Eyes Fusion] card that Jonouchi lent to Yugi, and Yugi nodded helplessly upon hearing this.

“That’s right, so I Normal Summon a monster card face down in Defense Position. The act of setting a monster face down is not considered a Summon or Special Summon, and it’s not subject to the restrictions of Red-Eyes Fusion.” Yugi draws a card from his hand and sets it face down, then draws another card to activate the Fusion. “Besides, this restriction only exists in the ‘now,’ and I will Summon the monster in the future.”

"Continuous Spell Card [Future Fusion] activated! This card can be Fusion Summoned during my next Standby Phase by sending the Fusion Material Monsters specified in the Fusion Monster deck to the Graveyard!"

The game draws cards from the deck again, and this time it takes out two cards: "The cards I choose are these two, [Magnet Warrior - Electromagnetic God] and [Electromagnetic Stone Warrior - Electromagnetic Mad God]. Send them to the graveyard."

"After that, I place two cards face down on the back row, and my turn ends."

[Game: 4000LP, 1 cards in hand]

【Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon)】【ATK3500】

[Inner Side Guardian Monster]

[Future Fusion] [GaiK] X2

"The [Magnet Warrior] card, the fusion of those two monsters, that monster...?" Knowing what monster Yugi wanted to summon, Atem smiled slightly, his finger hovering above the deck twitching. "But I won't let that monster come out, Aibo! Like you, I will repay you with a duel of my utmost effort!"

"My turn, draw a card! Then activate the Continuous Spell Card [Dark Magic Circle]!"

Although both players' decks are face down during a duel, and neither knows what card they will draw next, this is not the case for Atem, who uses the "Dark Magician" series of cards. With cards such as "Dark Magician Circle" and "Chaos Illusionist," he can foresee future cards and even change them.

To sum it up using a term from another thriving game, it would be "stargazing".

"I flip over the three cards at the top of my deck, and select this one, 'The Sorcerer's Rescue,' which has the card name 'Dark Magician,' and show it to Aibo before adding it to my hand. I then place the remaining cards back on top of the deck in the order I like."

"Then activate the Field Spell Card, 'The Magician's Rescue,' and as a consequence of activating this card, set one 'Eternal Soul' from my Deck to the back row."

It was said that the cards were placed from the deck, but Atem didn't even take out the deck to search. He just randomly picked a card from the middle of the deck and set it face down in the back row.

"Not even looking at what card he drew? That must be against the rules." Seeing Atem's actions, Guiping said with some confusion, but Kaiba next to him shook his head, "A true duelist can intuitively know where his cards will respond."

"In other words, it seems the Pharaoh can indeed draw whatever card he wants," Malik remarked casually.

"So, the card that [Dark Magic Circle] was used to view the top of the deck just now was actually meaningless, right? It was like flipping the entire deck over for a duel."

Ameruda watched Atem place the card into the Duel Disk, "But the important thing is that the combination that defeated Kaiba before—[Dark Magic Circle] and [Eternal Soul]—has actually reunited so quickly. Compared to when he was fighting Kaiba, the Pharaoh seems to be more serious and dedicated to the duel now."

As the Field Spell Card was activated, a huge magic circle appeared beneath Atem's feet. The rings continued to expand outwards, eventually enveloping Yugi on the opposite side. Furthermore, an additional ring of Dark Magic Circle appeared within the ring of [Mage's Rescue].

"Just one card, and you've added three layers of barriers to the field?" Yugi looked at the field beneath his feet. "Although it seems to be used to search for [Eternal Soul], I believe your other self's tactics are definitely not simple. This Field Spell Card must have other effects, right?"

Atum chuckled: "I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Aibo. [Rescue of the Mage] has the ability to revive another person from the graveyard when I summon [Dark Mage] or [Dark Magician Girl]."

"Now, I will activate the effect of [Chaos Illusionist] in my hand, reveal it to Aibo, add [Dark Magician] from my deck to my hand, and then put a card back on top of my deck."

"Then I activate the Ritual Spell Card [Chaos Mode], sacrificing [Dark Magician] from my hand as a Ritual Summoning tribute, bringing my total Levels to 7!" Atem sent the [Dark Magician] he had just retrieved to the Graveyard, then drew a monster card from his hand and played it.

"Light and darkness will be united in the hands of the strongest magician, breaking apart this entangled chaos and taking control of destiny!"

"Ritual Summoning! [Chaos Mage]!"

Red patterns were added to the black and purple mage armor on his body. [Dark Magician] passed through a magic circle that appeared on the ground and appeared on the field of Atem, showing no fear of [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon] on the field, whose attack power was 1000 points higher than his own.

[Chaos Mage → Dark Mage] [ATK 2500]

"If [Chaos Magician] exists on the field or in the Graveyard, it is treated as [Dark Magician]. If I Special Summon [Dark Magician], the effect of the Continuous Spell Card [Dark Magician Circle] on the field will activate. Target one card on your opponent's field and banish it. I will choose to banish [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon] from your field!"

When a monster is sent from the Monster Zone to the Graveyard, [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon] can use its own effect to revive and Special Summon a Normal Monster from the Graveyard. Atem, who is quite familiar with this monster in Jonouchi, may have other ways to remove it, but he will not leave the opportunity to revive [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] to Yugi.

[Chaos Magician] tapped the ground with his staff, and a magic circle instantly opened, guiding a beam of light to envelop [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon]. In addition, another magic circle rose up, locking onto one of the cards in the back row of the game.

"What's that?" Bakura asked, somewhat puzzled. Atem explained, "When the effects of Spell/Trap are activated, the effect of [Chaos Magician] is activated, targeting one card on the field and destroying it. I chose Aibo, the face-down card in your back row!"

"boom!"

With the double casting of [Chaos Magician], two magic circles took effect simultaneously. In the violent explosion, one of the face-down cards in the back row of the game was easily destroyed, and [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon] on the field was banished without even a chance to fight back.

But Atum found this strange. Everything was going smoothly, but this very smoothness was precisely what was wrong. He knew the game quite well, yet he just watched as Atum casually destroyed and banished his cards.

Could that face-down card be [Explosive Armor]? That would explain this unusually smooth progress, but how could Aibo possibly include a card like that in his deck?

As he watched his cards being destroyed, Yugi laughed and said, "As expected, my other self, you would prioritize clearing my back row cards to play it safe. After all, it's dangerous to recklessly deploy or attack without clearing your opponent's face-down cards."

"However, your act of blocking my backcourt has brought about another danger."

As he spoke, Yugi took a card from the Fusion Deck. Although Yugi did not flip the card over to reveal its face, Atum felt a familiar power emanating from it. He seemed to have seen it somewhere before, no, he had used that card before!

"The Trap Card destroyed by another 'you' is this one, 'Troublemaker.' It can only be activated if it leaves the field due to an opponent's card effect, is sent to the Graveyard, or is banished." He places the card on his Duel Disk, revealing the purple border of the Fusion Monster. "Special Summon 1 monster from my Deck/Fusion Deck!"

"That's Hayato's card?" Atum remembered very clearly how many times he had been tricked by this card, "Troublemaker," during his duels with Hayato. He had intended to clear out face-down cards to create a safe environment, but instead, he had given his opponent the opportunity to easily summon a powerful monster. "First Jonouchi, and then Hayato?"

"But what we need to pay even more attention to is the monster that was summoned."

I originally thought that because I couldn't coordinate with Jonouchi and didn't have the chance to summon that monster with my Life Points, I didn't put it in the Fusion Deck. But I didn't expect that even with Jonouchi's assistance with Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Aibo, who was still missing the other fusion material, would Special Summon that monster with Hayato's card.

"Oh, oh, oh, it's that monster! It's coming! Yugi, Atem!" Jonouchi, who was also in the audience, knew about the monster Yugi was about to summon and exclaimed excitedly.

"The miraculous black dragon and the noble mage, united as one by an unbreakable bond." The game suddenly raised its hand above its head. "I entrust the hope of the future to you. Conquer and pave the way for victory!"

"Special Summon! [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight]!"

Even though Yugi's deck didn't include "Dark Magician," and it was only in Atem's deck that "Dark Magician" existed, Yugi, through the power of "Troublemaker," Special Summoned a monster that shouldn't have appeared. "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" and "Dark Magician," along with Atem's respective ace cards, combined their power and descended as a powerful warrior!

【Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight】【ATK3000】

"That monster is so strong, I don't know why it feels so strong!" Guiping said exaggeratedly, "And it even has a kind of powerful beauty!"

"If it weren't for the fact that only Jonouchi and Atem can summon this monster together, would you believe that this monster could be a banned card, Gomamon?" Hayato said, looking at "Red Daddy". "However, when I gave 'Troublemaker' to Yugi, I thought Yugi would only use it to summon monsters like 'Alien Warrior' at most."

"Hmph, this is really annoying. Is that monster a fusion of Yugi and Yosuke's cards? Hmph, yet its attack power is 3000 and its defense power is 2500. It should clearly be my Blue-Eyes."

With his arms crossed, Kaiba said unhappily. Amelda, standing next to him, glanced at him and retorted, "You're the one who doesn't like people comparing 3000 attack power to Blue-Eyes. Now you're the one actively linking 3000 attack power and 2500 defense power with Blue-Eyes. What a double standard."

However, while Atem was initially surprised to see the appearance of [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider], especially since an even stronger monster had appeared after destroying [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon], he wasn't troubled by how to defeat it.

“Impressive, Aibo. Even the double casting of the Chaos Magician couldn’t break your defense.” Atum said, drawing a magic card and casting it. “But my attack hasn’t even begun yet.”

"Activate the Spell Card—"

Chapter 920 Desire to Deceive Kang

"Activate the Spell Card, Pot of Greed, draw two cards from my Deck."

To everyone's surprise, Atem activated the spell card "Pot of Greed".

“Aibo, I’m also familiar with the effect of [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight].” Atum said with a smile while looking at the game, “Although it loses the power to destroy cards because it is not summoned by Fusion Summon, it can still negate and destroy the effect of a Spell, Trap, or Monster once per turn by discarding a card from his hand, and even gain 1000 ATK.”

"So, is your other self trying to force this effect out?" the game guessed.

As a card with no negative effects and purely a one-for-two exchange, [Pot of Greed] is incredibly advantageous; you can activate it anytime you draw it, regardless of the circumstances. However, Atem didn't use it at the start of his turn but deliberately waited until now.

"While using it at the start of the turn will indeed allow me to draw two cards, it's uncertain whether I'll draw a card with negation value like [Pot of Greed]. I don't want my crucial later plays to be interrupted by the effect of [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight]."

Atum chuckled and said, "So, Aibo, what's your choice? Are you going to just let me replenish my hand and then look for opportunities to interrupt later, or..."

"I'm going to use the effect of [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight] now, another version of myself," Yugi said decisively, sending a card from his hand to the graveyard. "Chain with [Pot of Greed], send one card from my hand to the graveyard to activate this effect, negate the activation of [Pot of Greed] and destroy it!"

【Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider】Raised the spear in his hand, which served as a magic wand, and firmly locked onto Atem's 【Pot of Greed】, which had just been activated in the back row. He skillfully completed a mysterious magic circle and released a beam of light that shattered the precious pot!

The game clearly saw that Atem, with only two cards left in his hand, intended to use Pot of Greed as bait, but he had no choice but to take the bait. Just as the game understood Atem, Atem also knew what choice the game would make.

The Pot of Greed was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, while the momentum of the Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider soared.

[Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight] [ATK 3000 → 4000]

"That monster's attack power has reached a staggering 4000 points, which is comparable to the power of [Obelisk the Tormentor]." Honda glanced at Yugi, then at Atem. "Atem's duel seems flawless to me, but even now, with only one card left in his hand, he still hasn't been able to break through Yugi's defense!?"

"So strong! Although I knew Yugi was strong before, I didn't have a clear understanding of it because I was no match for either Atem or Yugi. But after watching their duel, I finally realized with absolute certainty how strong Yugi is!" Jonouchi said with great excitement and certainty. "Yugi is one of the world's top duelists, just like Hayato and Atem. Only he could accomplish the mission of defeating Atem and sending him to his death!"

Hearing Jonouchi's words, Kaiba was somewhat displeased: "Hmph, how dare a mere mediocre person presume to comment on other duelists? He's clearly just a second-rate duelist, and what's even more contemptible is that my name, Seto Kaiba, isn't even among your so-called 'top duelists'!?"

"Who told you to always look down on people, especially me? You arrogant seahorse!"

The others were almost used to Kaiba and Jonouchi arguing, and quite skillfully ignored them. No one even tried to break them up. After all, although the two seemed to have a bad relationship, don't forget that Jonouchi had several copies of Red-Eyes Black Dragon, which were even given to him by Kaiba, that tsundere who should have retired from the meta long ago.

"They seem to get along quite well," Bakura remarked casually, glancing towards the duel arena. "Atem-kun only has one card left in his hand. Could it be a card that can counter [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight]?"

"That monster has resistances that prevent it from being targeted by card effects or destroyed by them, right? It has even more comprehensive resistances than Seto Kaiba's [Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon]. At least it won't be like him, destroyed by its own card instead of being destroyed by the opponent's card." Amelda had heard Rafael mention that monster before. "But even if you defeat that monster, it also means that Pharaoh loses the possibility of seizing the advantage."

A face-down Spell/Trap Card and a face-down Defense Position monster can only destroy one monster at most, even if attacked by "Chaos Magician," without causing any damage. If that monster or a face-down card in the back row is activated, it might even be a disadvantage. And then, in the next turn, there might be a monster summoned by "Future Fusion"...

Hayato shook his head upon hearing their conversation: "That's hard to say. Although Atum is putting on an act as if he has a card to deal with that red maggot, who has ever said that the card he has is the one to break the deadlock?"

"Let's not complain about the nickname you gave that monster, brother-in-law, but it's true, after all, the Pharaoh can draw whatever cards he wants," Malik paused, looking at the [Dark Magic Circle] in Atem's back row, "especially since he's already seen what cards are on the deck."

"What an intense battle, Aibo." Atum said with a smile as he watched the game. "It's only the second round, yet the battle is already so fierce. It's really getting my blood pumping and my heart racing. In that case, we can't let the duel continue without replenishing the cards for both sides."

As he spoke, Atem inserted the card into the Duel Disk, and Yugi, with an expression of certainty, said, "As expected, it's that card..."

“I activate the spell card, [Heavenly Treasure], which forces both players to draw cards from their decks until they have six cards in their hands. Since neither of us has any cards in our hands, Aibo, you and I can both draw six cards.” Atum, who had also drawn his cards, said as he watched Yugi draw six cards. “Then, I will activate this card again.”

"With the spell card 'Tether Between Master and Apprentice', if I control 'Dark Magician', Special Summon one 'Dark Magician Girl' from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard."

Atem draws a card from the top of his deck, which happens to be the card of [Dark Magician Girl]. "The name of [Chaos Dark Magician] on my field can be treated as [Dark Magician], therefore I Special Summon [Dark Magician Girl] from my deck!"

As Atem placed the card on the Duel Disk and it appeared on Atem's field, the playful magical girl cheerfully greeted the onlookers. However, upon seeing Hayato, she suddenly froze and quickly stood back on the field next to the Chaos Magician, ready to face the battle.

Dark Magician Girl: ATK 2000 → 2300

"The follow-up effect of 【Master-Disciple Bond】 allows me to set one of the following cards from my deck to the back row: 【Dark Magician】, 【Dark Magician Burst】, 【Dark Burst Magician】, or 【Dark Magician Combo】. But don't forget about my Field Spell Cards on the field, Aibo."

Atem specifically reminded him, and Yugi recalled the effect of the Field Spell Card that Atem had mentioned before: "If [Dark Magician] or [Dark Magician Girl] is Normal or Special Summoned, can you Special Summon another one from the Graveyard?"

“After all, one person can’t go far alone. Only by supporting each other and forming bonds can we move towards the future.” Atum smiled slightly as he spoke, taking a card from the graveyard. “So, because of the special summon of [Dark Magician Girl], I will special summon [Dark Magician] from the graveyard, which was previously used as a ritual sacrifice.”

"Come forth, my most loyal servant, [Dark Magician]!"

An opening, also surrounded by a magic circle, appeared on the ground covered by a magical barrier. The floating Dark Magician Girl reached into it, pulling the Dark Magician up from the ground and landing on Atem Field.

Dark Magician Girl: ATK 2300 → 2000