Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Chirp chirp~" The [Dark Magician] girl revived on the game field, making an ambiguous but cute sound. She twirled her short wand twice around her fingertips, nearly dropping it before hurriedly picking it up. Clearly, when it came to wand-twirling skills, she hadn't quite mastered the game's [Dark Magician].

"Hehe, Yugi, although [Dark Magician Girl] has pretty good attack power, she alone can't defeat any of my monsters~"

Yugi responded with a smile to Jonouchi, showing him a card in his hand: "Of course I know that, Jonouchi."

"But did you know? [Dark Magician Girl] actually has a teacher, you know?"

A magic card depicting a seven-colored gem was played by Yugi, and in front of the Dark Magician Girl on the field, an identical seven-colored gem slowly appeared, radiating extremely strong magical power.

"Activate the spell card, [Philosopher's Stone]." Yugi pointed to the gem on the field. "This can only be activated if I control [Dark Magician Girl]. Special Summon [Dark Magician] from my Deck! Come forth! My strongest partner!"

"Black Magician!!!"

The Philosopher's Stone, hailed in alchemy as the "Fifth Element," "Red Elixir," "Great Miracle," and "Great Creation," suddenly shattered, unleashing a tsunami of magical power that swept across the entire arena. At the core of the shattered Philosopher's Stone, a profound magic circle was constructed on the game field. Amidst the dazzling light, the Dark Mage, clad in a dark purple mage's robe and wielding a life-sized emerald green wand, descended!

[Black Magician] [ATK2500]

Seeing the appearance of the ace monster in Yugi's deck—[Dark Magician]—Jonouchi felt no fear whatsoever, only a surge of excitement: "You summoned such a powerful monster as [Dark Magician] with only two cards in your hand? You're really something, Yugi. When you get serious, you're really hard to deal with."

"However, Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl alone are not enough to defeat my monster!"

"Hmph, Sorewadoka na?" Yugi smiled and uttered his famous line.

"Activate the Spell Card, [Trap Booster]! By discarding one card from my hand, I can directly activate a Trap Card from my hand!"

Jonouchi was shocked: "A trap card can be activated without being overwritten!?"

Hayato in the stands was equally astonished: 'Isn't that Caesar's card?!'

"The Trap Card I'm going to activate from my hand is this one, [DNA Modification Surgery]!" Yugi sent a card to the Graveyard and played a Trap Card from his hand. "The effect of this card is to declare a race, and then change the race of all monsters on the field to the declared race."

"I choose the Warrior race!"

A red scanning screen appeared on the game field and quickly swept from the back field to the front field. After passing [Dark Magician Girl] and [Dark Magician], it did not stop but continued to move forward. After passing through [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] and [Azure Flame Swordsman] on Jonouchi's field, the red screen disappeared in Jonouchi's back field.

The light screen disappeared, but the monsters on the field began to change. [Dark Magician] shouted, "There is only one answer!" and then broke his emerald wand with his knee. He then conjured a large sword the size of a door panel from the four-dimensional chrysanthemum behind him and shouldered it, becoming a fairly standard "mage" proficient in melee combat.

[Dark Magician Girl] imitated her, tossing her wand into the air. When she caught it again, the wand had turned into two small daggers. She playfully licked the daggers with her tongue, saying things like, "My daggers are coated with deadly poison," and "Don't get burned by my sharp blades."

The Azure Flame Swordsman, being a warrior by nature, didn't undergo any changes.

Compared to the Dark Magician and his apprentice, who only changed their weapons, the other monster on the field in Jonouchi—Red-Eyes Black Dragon—is the one that has undergone the most significant change.

Her enormous, jet-black body was shrunk to half a person's height. The sturdy dragon scales were replaced by semi-nude armor covering her white skin. Although the dragon wings and horns were retained, they were much more rounded than sharp in her dragon form. With a pair of large red eyes, "Red-Eyes Black Dragon Girl" looked at the [Dark Magician] master and apprentice on the opposite game field and tilted her head.

【Red-Eyes Black Dragon】：(OvO)？

Chapter 140 The Final Round Within the Castle

"In short, because of the effects of the [DNA Modification Surgery], all the monsters on the field will be transformed into [Warrior-Type] monsters." For some reason, Yugi kept his head down, only showing his flushed cheeks, refusing to look at the field, and his speech was somewhat intermittent.

Meanwhile, the game's [Dark Magician Girl] tossed the dagger in her hand with a displeased expression, looking at the game with a rather dangerous gaze, seemingly pondering the best angle to throw the dagger.

Jonouchi, looking at the "Red-Eyes Black Dragon Girl," had a flushed face and muttered, "Wow, that's amazing. Yugi... to be able to do something like that."

"Is this the time to be lamenting this kind of thing? You idiot Jonouchi!" Hayato, standing in the audience, stuffed two wads of tissues into his nose, jumped up, leaned against the railing, and shouted at Jonouchi, "Quickly get [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] to cover his body with anything! Otherwise, this book will be gone before it even hits the shelves!"

"I-I know!"

After a flurry of activity, "Red-Eyed Black Dragon Girl," with the help of the [Azure Flame Swordsman], managed to make herself a makeshift cloak using her large wings to cover her naked body. However, judging from the wise expression on her face, she probably didn't know why Jonouchi wanted her to do this.

At the same time, Hayato also wants to praise the [Azure Flame Swordsman]. Despite being surrounded by beautiful women, the [Azure Flame Swordsman] was able to maintain his composure and remain unmoved, displaying a stoic expression that said, "Women will only affect the speed at which I draw my sword," unlike his controller who looked shy and lingering.

Hayato glanced at the peacock maiden beside him, whose fists were already clenched so hard they were practically bulging, and sighed inwardly—Jounouchi's future is bleak, young man, you've taken the wrong path.

After "Red-Eyes Black Dragon Girl" covered her body, Yugi and Jonouchi took a few deep breaths of fresh air before they could barely regain their composure and continue their duel.

"Although it's possible to activate the [DNA Modification Surgery] directly from the hand, in Yugi, merely changing the appearance of monsters on the field won't affect each other's combat power." Having regained his composure, Jonouchi was able to refocus his attention on the duel.

The game didn't explain anything, only smiled mysteriously: "Is that really so? Enter the battle phase, use [Dark Magician] to attack your [Azure Flame Swordsman]!"

"Dark Magician!"

Upon hearing the game's command, the Dark Mage instinctively reached for his wand to perform a spectacular staff-fighting routine. However, after catching a glimpse of the broken emerald wand on the ground, he remembered that he had already "sworn allegiance" to the game. Reluctantly, the Dark Mage could only smile wryly and, with a "sullen" expression, shoulder his greatsword and unleash a heavy blow at the Azure Flame Swordsman.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, the former mage, the Dark Mage, unleashed a crescent-shaped slash nearly two stories high with his greatsword, instantly obliterating the Azure Flame Swordsman within the city and sending him to the graveyard. After the attack, the Dark Mage arrogantly slung the greatsword back over his shoulder and declared, "Of all magic, this is swordsmanship."

"The Azure Flame Swordsman was destroyed, but the Dark Magician wasn't? How is that possible?!" Jonouchi couldn't understand the situation on the field, because he clearly remembered that the Dark Magician's attack power should be the same as the Azure Flame Swordsman's, which was equipped with the Flying Dragon Flame, both should be 2500 points.

Two Attack Position monsters with the same Attack Power battle each other. Why is it that [Azure Blademaster] is destroyed, but [Dark Magician] can still stay on the field and show off?

Thinking this, it wasn't until then that Jonouchi noticed a faint, almost imperceptible purple light emanating from the [Dark Mage], who had transformed into a warrior. However, due to the magical glow emanating from the armor, Jonouchi hadn't noticed it until now: "That light is...?"

“There’s a reason why I activated [DNA Modification Surgery], don’t forget the [United Forces] card I activated last turn.” Only then did Yugi explain with a smile, “All the [Warrior-Type] monsters on my field can enjoy the boost provided by [United Forces], and when I activated [DNA Modification Surgery], I declared that they were [Warrior-Type].

"Because I have two Warrior-Type monsters on the field, the ATK of Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl will both increase by 400 points!"

[Black Magician] [ATK 2500→2900]

Dark Magician Girl: ATK 2000 → 2400

[Within the city: 3100LP → 2700LP]

"The attack power of [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] is the same as that of [Dark Magician Girl]. In other words, if Yugi uses [Dark Magician Girl] to launch an attack again, the area that Jonouchi painstakingly set up will be cleared out again?" Kyoko said to Honda, who was sitting next to her.

Honda scratched the back of his head: "That's true. As expected, Jonouchi still can't beat the game."

"Shut up, Honda! I haven't lost yet!" Jonouchi, whose ears were unusually sharp, overheard Honda's whisper from a distance and complained loudly. Then, he looked back at the arena and said to the opposing Yugi, "Come on, Yugi, attack with all your might! Don't hold back!"

Yugi nodded and said, "Of course, Jonouchi. [Dark Magician Girl], attack Jonouchi's [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!"

"Black Magic Blast!"

[Dark Magician Girl] received the order and nimbly rushed forward. Under the "(OvO)" gaze of "Red-Eyes Black Dragon Girl", she suddenly disappeared from her sight and teleported behind "Red-Eyes Black Dragon Girl", where she fiercely stabbed out with the pair of daggers in her hands.

Just as the attack was about to hit, Jonouchi shouted, "Watch out behind you! [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!"

Alerted, the seemingly stunned "Red-Eyes Black Dragon Girl" unleashed astonishing speed in an instant, spinning around and retaliating with her sharp claws against the astonished "Dark Magician Girl." Both attacks struck simultaneously, instantly covering the field in dust left by the monster's destruction. When the dust settled, both "Dark Magician Girl" and "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" had vanished.

"I'll bury a card in my hand, and my turn will end."

[Game: 900LP, 0 cards in hand]

[Black Magician] [ATK 2900→2700]

[DNA modification surgery] [Coalition forces] [Gaika]

Watching the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] disappear and his own arena become empty again, even the usually brave Jonouchi felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

"As expected, Game, you're still as strong as ever."

Jonouchi couldn't help but recall his first encounter with Duel Monsters, when Yugi taught him all the rules and practiced battles with him. For so long, he had never defeated Yugi even once; Yugi was like an insurmountable mountain, always standing in his way.

Jonouchi himself was well aware that although he had made some progress, the gap between himself and the game remained. To think that he could surpass the games he had been playing since childhood through such rapid growth was simply wishful thinking. But—

"Master Jonouchi isn't one to give up easily." With his finger resting on the top of his deck, Jonouchi's eyes showed no sign of despair, only boundless fighting spirit. "Even if defeat is inevitable, I will still strive to reach the highest possible height!"

"My final turn. Draw a card!"

Chapter 141 Breaking Free from the Cocoon: A Symbol of Growth

"My final turn. Draw a card!"

He pulled the card from the top of the deck, looked down to check it, and suddenly froze: "This card is... I think I understand."

"Activate the Spell Card [Warrior Survival], and I recover one Warrior-Type monster from my Graveyard into my hand."

Jonouchi began selecting cards to be recycled from the graveyard, which puzzled Honda, who was watching: "Are there any powerful Warrior-type monsters in Jonouchi's graveyard?"

"The one with the highest attack power should be the [Black Panther Warrior], right? But that card only has 2000 attack power, which is less than the [Dark Magician] in the game. What's more, the [Black Panther Warrior] has the negative effect of needing to release monsters to attack," Bakura analyzed.

Kyoko thought about it and realized that, as Bakura said, the strongest Warrior-type monster Jonouchi had ever used was the [Black Panther Warrior]: "In that case, is Jonouchi trying to summon the [Black Panther Warrior] to act as a wall, minimizing the damage he takes and delaying his turn?"

Hearing Kyoko's words, Samejima, who was sitting in front of them, turned around and said to them, "Although we haven't known each other for long, I can tell that Jonouchi is a man of great integrity. Even with the strongest monster in his deck already defeated, he won't do anything to stall for time. That's the honor of a duelist."

“I think I might know the monster that Jonouchi is planning to summon.” Hayato thought of a monster whose summoning conditions were indeed in Jonouchi’s graveyard. “If we’re talking about showing off our growth, there’s no monster more suitable than that one.”

Meanwhile, Jonouchi on the field finally found the card he wanted: "The card I'm going to add to my hand is this one, [Iron Knight - Gia Freed], and then I'll Normal Summon it in Attack Position!"

The Iron Knight returned from the graveyard, but everything had changed. The city's original advantage had become the game's advantage, and he had to face the [Dark Mage], who had an attack power of 2700 and had been transformed from a mage into a warrior.

【Iron Knight - Gia Freed】【ATK1800】

“Game, now watch closely. This is my growth over this period of time, my transformation!” Jonouchi said excitedly as he played a card from his hand. “Armor is both protection and restraint for oneself.”

"The time has come for you to break free from your cocoon and become a butterfly. After many trials, shed the steel armor that binds you, [Kia Fried]! Activate the spell card, [Release from Restraint]!"

As soon as Jonouchi finished speaking, the armor of the Iron Knight standing on his field suddenly cracked without any attack. Accompanied by Hayato's voiceover from outside the arena, "Cast Off," the Iron Knight's armor shattered and fell away, revealing the figure of the person restrained by the armor.

His robust body was covered with scars from countless battles, and his joints were wrapped in white bandages for training. Although he held nothing in his hands, the sharpness of a peerless divine sword could be felt from afar simply by [Kia Fried] standing there, having just emerged from his armor.

【Sword Saint - Bare-chested Kia Fried】【7☆/Light】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[2600/2200]

"Wow, what an imposing monster!" Kyoko covered her mouth in surprise, her gaze shifting back and forth between the Dark Magician and the Sword Saint. "Although the Dark Magician in the game has a higher attack power, the Sword Saint is clearly more like a warrior."

"He broke free from the restriction of avoiding the use of weapons and became a powerful warrior who could turn anything into a sword, even earning the title of Sword Saint," Hayato exclaimed.

Samejima agreed, saying, "This duel truly showcased the charm of Duel Monsters to the fullest. Now, it's hard to say who will win."

Jonouchi glanced at his hand: one "Banner of Courage" to increase a monster's ATK, one "Forbidden Lance" to decrease a monster's ATK, and one "Metalize/Magic Reflect Armor." He set down "Metalize," which couldn't be activated this turn, and then placed his remaining two cards on the field to activate them!

"【Banner of Courage】 increases my monster's attack power by 200 points during my battle phase!"

"【Forbidden Holy Lance】Reduces 【Dark Magician】's ATK by 800 points and makes him immune to the effects of other Spell and Trap Cards!"

A command flag appeared behind the Sword Saint, its symbol of courage fluttering in the wind, boosting his attack power.

[Sword Saint] [ATK2600→2800]

Suddenly, a golden spear appeared before the Dark Magician, descending from the sky and piercing his abdomen before dissipating into countless particles in the wind. The Dark Magician's power vanished the instant he was struck by the holy spear, and the greatsword in his hand turned to nothingness. Just as he was about to pick up his wand to use as a weapon, he remembered that he had already broken it.

[Dark Mage] (Warrior → Mage) [ATK 2700 → 1700]

Seeing Jonouchi's series of actions, Mai, who was perched on the fence, exclaimed in surprise, "The Sword Saint's attack power is 1100 points higher than the Dark Magician's, while Yugi's HP is 900. Could that guy really defeat Yugi Muto?!"

"This is my all-out effort, all the growth I've achieved over this period of time, Yugi!" Jonouchi clenched his fist excitedly and shouted to the [Sword Saint], "Attack [Dark Magician], [Gia Freed]!"

"No-sword style - hand-blade attack!!!"

"Drink!"