Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Dark Magician Girls, ATK2000

"Don't get too cocky, the duel is still going on." Gently tapping [Dark Magician Girl]'s head, [Dark Magician] said helplessly, giving Atem an apologetic look.

"Mahad, it's alright." Atum smiled, not minding [Dark Magician Girl]'s overly lively manner, and looked at the game opposite him. "Well then, let's continue our battle, Aibo. But I, who stand with Mahad and [Dark Magician], will not be defeated!"

Yugi glanced at [Dark Magician], then stared firmly into Atem's eyes: "No, my other self, I will defeat you. Although you have more monsters on your field right now, having more monsters doesn't necessarily give you an absolute advantage."

As he spoke, Atem saw Yugi insert a card into the Spell & Trap Zone of the Duel Disk. "By chaining another Special Summon of 'Dark Magician Girl,' I can activate this Quick-Play Spell Card from my hand, 'End of the World.' Now, it's my turn to shine!"

In the center of Atem's Field Spell Card [Rescue of the Archmage], which covered the area beneath both players' feet, a crack suddenly appeared, as if the barrier had encountered something it couldn't cover and was about to break.

"【The End of the World】is a Quick-Play Spell Card that can only be activated when the opponent successfully Special Summons a monster. It can activate one Field Spell Card from my Deck." Yugi raised his Duel Disk to open the Field Zone and, having already retrieved a Field Spell Card from his Deck, said, "Demonic, Demon Seed, and Magic Crystal are not related to each other; they are simply pronounced the same."

"Is it a coincidence? No, it's fate, the fate that brought us together and made us duel here!"

He placed the card in his hand on the field area and closed it, activating the Field Spell Card "Yugi". Watching the field area on Atem's Duel Disk automatically open and release the card, he said, "I activate the Field Spell Card, 'Clockwork'!"

The cracks in the chaotic magic circle completely erupted, and countless clusters of magic crystals grew from the ground, just like when [Magic Crystal Dragon - Water-Bullet Magic God] was Special Summoned. In an instant, the mysterious magic circle was replaced by a scene resembling a mine, and Atem and Yugi stood facing each other at the two exits of the mine with their respective monsters.

After Yugi activated [Demon Bell Cave], while others didn't react much, Bakura excitedly exclaimed, "Oh, oh, oh, it's my card! Yugi-kun used the card I gave him!"

"Huh? Wait a minute, [Clock Cave] is your card?" Although Hayato was the one who handed over Jonouchi, Bakura, and the others' cards to Yugi, Hayato hadn't really checked what kind of cards they gave him at the time, and had no idea that Bakura had given Yugi [Clock Cave]. "Where did you get that card?"

"Hmm? What's wrong with that card, Hayato-kun?" Bakura tilted his head and asked, somewhat puzzled. "I remember it was something that another evil version of myself collected when he controlled my body. I think I was planning to use it against you, Hayato-kun, but it seems he was defeated by you before he could even use it."

"I've kept this card with me ever since, but I don't play Duel Monsters much anymore. I asked you to give it to Yugi before, Hayato-kun. Didn't you notice it back then, Hayato-kun?"

Looking at Hayato's regretful expression, Bakura was somewhat puzzled.

"Tsk, I just had to forget to loot the corpse this time." Muttering to himself, Hayato was a little annoyed that he hadn't thought of stealing Bakura's deck after he came out of the world of King's Memories. He really wanted [Demon Bell Cave].

After all, this card is also a notorious banned card, and its effect is incredibly annoying... Seriously, what kind of deck is the game developer using? The number of banned cards he's released so far is just too many!

"The effect of [Clockwork] is that the player with more monsters cannot activate monster effects or declare attacks, and if the number of monsters is the same at the end of both players' turns, the monsters will self-destruct." After briefly explaining the effect of [Clockwork], Yugi looked at the monsters on Atem's field, "I only have one monster on my field, while the other player has four monsters on his field."

"Because the effect of [Clock Cave] doesn't target monsters but rather the duelist, even [Eternal Soul] can't make [Dark Magician] immune to this effect?" Hearing the game's explanation, even Atem rubbed his temples in annoyance, feeling a bit of a headache. "These cards are really troublesome."

Weird.

Although it wasn't Atem's turn to draw a card yet, his keen duelist intuition told him what card he would draw next turn: the Quick-Play Spell Card "Dark Blast Spell," a powerful field clear card that destroys all monsters and Spell/Trap Cards on the opponent's field when both "Dark Magician" and "Dark Magician Girl" are on the field.

If I can't activate monster effects, I can't use spell cards either? Atem is just feigning weakness to see what monsters Yugi will summon next.

After the game revealed the [Clock Cave] card, it said, "After Jonouchi, Hayato, and Bakura, another version of myself, I will now use the card that Honda and Kyoko entrusted to me. This is our determination to defeat you, as we are bound to you by an unbreakable bond!"

"Activate Ritual Spell Card: [Advanced Ritual Art]!"

"Send a Normal Monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. Ritual Summon a Ritual Monster from my hand until it is the same as the Ritual Summoned Monster!" After inserting [Advanced Ritual] into the Spell & Trap Zone, Yugi shows Atem the two cards he took from his Deck to Tribute. "I Tribute the Level 1 [Righteous Lizard] and the Level 5 [Lion Wizard], bringing my total Levels to 6!"

"Wait a minute, what's with that [Lion Wizard] card?" Jonouchi complained, glancing at Honda beside him. "I do remember [Giyuu], you once said it was one of your favorite monsters, Honda. But could that [Lion Wizard] be the card Anzu gave to Yugi? I remember you said you liked [Holy Magician] before?"

Kyoko was a little confused: "Huh? Is that so? But I was thinking that if I'm going to give out game cards, I should give out cards that can help the game as much as possible. So Hayato recommended this [Lion Wizard] card to me, saying that this card has god-like power."

"You've been fooled by your brother-in-law! What power could that [Lion Warlock] possibly have?"

"Do you have a problem with the invincible [Lion Wizard], Malik?"

Although Atem, like Jonouchi and Malik, also wanted to join in refuting Hayato's statement, "Why is the Lion Wizard a god? First of all, he committed the sin of arrogance...", he still focused his attention on the duel, watching Yugi draw a Ritual Monster card from his hand and hold it above his head.

"The offerings for the ritual total level 6☆. The bonds gathered will transform into thunder that sweeps away the haze. Descend from the sky, summoned demon!"

The game player plays the card and shouts, "Ritual Summon!"

"[Demon Descends]!"

Chapter 924 The International Illusion Society's Card-Selling Tactics

"Ritual summoning, [Demon Descends]!"

The lightning descended from the sky, landing on the game's field and transforming into a monster that was all too familiar to both Atem and the game itself.

[Demon Descends] [6☆/Dark]

[Demon Race/Ritual/Effect]

[2500/1200]

"That monster, is it [Summoning of the Devil]? No, it's the ritual monster version of [Summoning of the Devil], isn't it?" Jonouchi raised an eyebrow, this was the first time he had seen this monster appear in Yugi's hand. "Speaking of which, its attack power, defense power, and even level are all at the same level as the original, right? Even its appearance hasn't changed much, so what's different about it besides becoming a ritual monster?"

"Heh, it's just a card-selling mission by International Illusion Company. Jonouchi, you're not new to Duel Monsters. Taking a pre-designed Normal Monster, adding points to its description, changing the card art, and passing it off as a new card is an important part of International Illusion Company's card-selling strategy. You can't miss it."

Malik said with a hint of disdain, "【The Elf Swordsman Who Tricks the Enemy】 and 【Gaia, the Dark Knight of the Gale】 are just words from the descriptions of ordinary monsters added to their names."

"After all, it's Pegasus. It wouldn't be surprising if he came up with some kind of trick to sell cards."

Hayato remained silent. He wouldn't reveal that those card-selling tactics were actually meant for Pegasus, and that Pegasus had many more tactics he hadn't yet used, such as limited-edition collaborations with famous brands, magazine-bundled cards, and alternate art versions. After all, he was currently the largest shareholder of International Illusion Company in terms of shareholding, and the more cards International Illusion Company sold, the more dividends he would receive.

“You’re right. Not only that, there are quite a few cards that were just added to make up the numbers.” Jonouchi remembered something after hearing Malik say that. “I have a card called Baby Dragon, which can evolve into Millennium Dragon when combined with Time Magician. But when I was opening card packs, I found that Illusion International had released a new card called Millennium Dragon.”

"A blind guess: a transitional form that's slightly larger than the Baby Dragon but slightly smaller than the Millennium Dragon?"

"you do not say."

They exchanged a glance, and Jonouchi and Malik said in unison, "Despicable!"

"However, it's quite nostalgic to still be able to see [The Summoning of the Demon], no, [The Descent of the Demon], after all, it's been a long time since I've seen it appear. The last time I saw it was probably the last time."

Hearing Honda's nonsense, Jonouchi rolled his eyes: "What are you doing here? It has been a while since we last met, but if I had to say what my deepest impression of him is, it would definitely be the one and only time Hayato was defeated in front of us."

"Huh? Brother-in-law has actually lost a duel before, and to that monster no less?" Malik said in surprise. "I can't believe it, brother-in-law actually lost?"

Hayato's first appearance in the public eye during a duel was the final match between him and Yugi during the Duel Kingdom era. However, even in that duel, which was only watched by a few big shots invited by Pegasus, the final result was a draw between Hayato and Yugi. After that, Hayato only showed victory in duels and never lost again.

Therefore, in Malik's mind, Hayato's record so far is a 1000% win rate, and he has no idea that Hayato has actually lost before.

"I really don't want to admit it, but it was a mistake I made because I was too young..." Hayato said casually, without going into details about how he lost. Noticing Malik's surprised look, he frowned in confusion, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"...Brother-in-law, didn't you use any tricks back then? Like struggling, offering yourself, or telling Yugi Muto that if you won, you'd jump off the cliff, or using Jonouchi Honda and the others as hostages—oh dear!"

Without hesitation, Hayato flicked Malik's forehead and said disdainfully, "What kind of impression do you have of me, Malik? You're making it sound like I'm someone who can't take a joke."

The seahorse behind him: "?"

For some reason, Kaiba had a feeling that Hayato Kobayashi was talking about him, but he didn't think he had ever done anything like jumping off a building to commit suicide after losing a duel.

On the duel field, after summoning [Demon Descent], the game, which still had five cards left in hand, did not continue. Instead, he waved his hand and said, "Entering the battle phase, I will use [Demon Descent] to attack another [Chaos Magician] on my field."

"Demonic Summoning Lightning!"

Atem, who had already prepared for the game to attack either the Dark Magician Girl or the Magician's Staff, was puzzled when he heard the game's target: 'It's attacking the Chaos Magician, whose attack power is comparable to the Demon Descent? Does that monster have some special ability against Ritual Monsters?'

"We can't afford to lose in terms of momentum! [Chaos Mage], let's attack back! Chaos Mage!"

The mage who wielded the power of chaos and the demon who summoned lightning attacked each other simultaneously. Magic missiles and lightning bolts collided, and after a brief stalemate, they grazed past each other. Both [Chaos Mage] and [Demon Descent] were struck.

Although the attacks launched by the two monsters were impressive, their actual destructive power was only so-so. In essence, they were just tickling attacks to the two monsters. However, after exchanging a glance, the two monsters, who had already reached a tacit understanding without words, tacitly showed expressions of pain.

[Chaos Mage]: "Ah! Such powerful lightning!"

[Demon Descends]: "Ah! Such powerful magic!"

Then, to the utter bewilderment of Atum and Yugi, the two monsters simply disappeared into the graveyard.

Just kidding. Even though Yugi and Atem are dueling, if any of them took this duel seriously and tried to beat their opponent's monsters to a pulp, they'd be incredibly foolish. After all, a duel isn't just about who's stronger; it's also about considerations and relationships.

"My other self, are you thinking about the effect of [Demon Descent]?" Seeing Atem looking at his [Demon Descent] and [Chaos Magician] both destroyed in confusion, Yugi explained, "[Demon Descent] does have an effect that can be adapted in battle, that is, it cannot be destroyed by battles other than Ritual Monsters, nor by the effects of monsters other than Ritual Monsters."

“However, the Chaos Magician is a ritual monster, which is just the right way to defeat the Demon Descent through combat.” As he spoke, Yugi’s face showed a look of resentment and anger. “Damn it, it actually found a weakness in the Demon Descent and destroyed my monster!”

"..." Atum looked at the game speechlessly, then glanced at Hayato outside the arena, and rubbed his forehead, saying, "Don't learn from Hayato in this regard, Aibo."

Upon hearing Atum's words, Yugi abandoned his acting, which lacked Hayato's natural flair, and stuck out his tongue.

"However, since you've started imitating Hayato's habit of letting his monster self-destruct and then blaming others, does [Demon Descent] have the effect of being usable only after it's been destroyed?"

"Yes, if the Ritual Summoned [Demon Descent] is sent to the Graveyard by the opponent, its second effect can be activated, and you still have three monsters on the field, because the effect of [Clockwork] cannot activate the effect of Special Summoning a [Chaos] Ritual Monster from your hand without condition when [Chaos Magician] is destroyed."

Yugi explained his reason for causing "Demon Descent" and Atem's "Chaos Magician" to perish together, and picked up the Duel Disk to draw a card from his deck, saying, "Based on the effect of 'Demon Descent,' I Special Summon one 'Summoning of Demons' from my hand, deck, and graveyard."

"Then, because it's a special summon during the battle phase, [Summoning of the Demon] can still launch an attack!"

As [Demon Descent] was destroyed and [Demon Summon] took its place amidst the dissipating lightning, Yugi waved his hand and pointed at the monster on Atem's field, "Attack [Dark Magician]! [Demon Summon], Summoning Lightning!"

Previously, it was a battle between two monsters in the Ritual Monster version, but now it has switched back to the original two monsters fighting. However, although they have changed back to normal monsters with no effect from the Ritual Monsters, the result of the battle between [Dark Magician] and [Summoning of the Devil] is exactly the same as before. They simply launched a firework at each other and then pretended to be seriously injured before leaving the field.

With both monsters destroyed together once again, Atem finally realized the game's intention: "I still have more monsters on the field. Even while destroying my monsters, are you still controlling the effect of [Clockwork]?"

Although he hadn't experienced the dueling environment of Hayato's previous life, Atem was able to see just how disgusting the effect of the [Clock Cave] card was in just one turn.

【Dark Magician Girl】【ATK 2000→2300→2600】

With his two monsters destroyed, [Dark Magician Girl]'s attack power has increased to 2600 points due to its own effect, which is higher than [Dark Magician]. However, because Atem also has [Magician's Staff] on the field, he has more monsters than Yugi, who only has one face-down defense position monster. He cannot activate the monster's effect or attack.

It felt like being in prison!

But it's okay, everything will be fine in the next round. Just use [Eternal Soul] to revive [Chaos Magician], and combine it with [Dark Magic Circle] to remove [Clockwork]. The advantage is—

As Atum was thinking this, he heard the game's declaration: "My combat phase is now over."

"Then, in my second main phase, I set four cards face down on the back row, and the turn ends."

Atum: "?!"

[Game: 4000, Hand Cards: 1]

[Inner Side Guardian Monster]

[GaiK] X4

Location: [Magic Bell Cave]

The sight of four face-down cards appearing simultaneously in the back row left Atem somewhat bewildered. To be honest, although Atem had told Yugi beforehand that he hoped Yugi would use his full strength in this duel, he hadn't said he would let Yugi unleash the full power of his trap cards.

However, as I said before, it doesn't matter. As long as it's my turn, I'll use the top card of my deck, [Black Burst Magician], to break through the mere face-down card!

"My turn, draw!" Atem drew a card from the top of his deck and confirmed that the card he had drawn was indeed [Dark Magician]. However, this card could not be used immediately. In addition to [Dark Magician Girl], there also needed to be a monster whose original card was [Dark Magician].

"During my main phase, I activate the effect of [Eternal Soul] to Special Summon [Dark Magician] from my Graveyard."

Although [Chaos Magic] was originally a better choice, [Chaos Magic] is not as good as [Dark Magic] because its own effect cannot be activated when [Clock Cave] is present. At least the latter supports the activation of [Dark Burst Magic].

However, just as Atem was about to Special Summon Dark Magician by activating the effect of [Eternal Spirit], Yugi suddenly interrupted, saying, "At this very moment, I chain the activation of the effect of [Eternal Spirit] and open my back row face-down card."

The first card was revealed when the game started and the card was set up. A card image of rainbow-colored mist existing in the night appeared in front of Atum.

“Trap Card [Rift to Another Dimension]: Declare one Attribute, target a total of two monsters with the declared Attribute in both players' Graveyards, and banish the targeted monsters.” Yugi reached out and said, “Another weakness of [Eternal Soul] is that it can only grant resistance to [Dark Magician] on the field, but cannot protect [Dark Magician] in the Graveyard.”