Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

After a brief moment of shock, Blue God said with some annoyance, "What kind of 'pure [Kaibaki] deck' is that? Are you trying to say that this monster is some kind of [Earthbound Kaibaki]?"

"And don't think you can use the effect so easily!" Because it's not a standard Duel Disk, Blue God doesn't need to press a button to activate a face-down card; he just flicks his wrist to reveal a face-down card in the back row. "Chain with the effect of [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska], I activate the Trap Card [Square Origin]!"

"Place up to the number of 'Cube' monsters I control on a face-up monster on your opponent's field. Monsters with Cube counters are banished to a lower dimension, their effects are negated, they lose attack power, and their original attack power is reduced to 0!"

Watching the [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] in the air being entangled by the golden cube released from the card he opened, its entire body turning into a grayish-white, rusty statue, Blue God said disdainfully, "Although it looks somewhat impressive, in the end it's just a monster bound by dimensions, no match for the power of higher dimensions."

"Turn to dust!"

But upon hearing Blue God's words, Hayato chuckled, crossed his arms, and sneered, "Idiot, who do you think you're talking to?"

"Get off me, [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska]!"

"What?!"

Amidst the Blue God's bewildered expression, the gray and white covering that had painstakingly enveloped [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] quickly faded, only to be absorbed and assimilated by it. The unharmed [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] once again spread its giant wings, looking down at the Blue God on the ground.

【Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska】【ATK1】

"Impossible! The Dimensional Counter failed to be placed!?" Blue God's eyes widened. "The attack power didn't decrease! But [Dimensional Origin] is an effect that doesn't target, how could it be ineffective against this monster?"

Hearing Ayaka say such a thing, Hayato felt he should play along and calmly replied, "It's not a monster, it's Kamida!"

"Dark Moon Break!"

A colossal vulture swooped down from the sky, transforming into a blue-purple soul that passed straight through the seemingly mere decorations of the [Fangjieyin-Vijam] on the Blue God's field, striking the powerless Blue God and slamming him hard into the earth. Countless cracks appeared around him, forming a Nazca Lines-like image!

"Hmph, hmph! Ugh, ahhhhh!"

[Blue God: 1400→1LP]

Even though it only amounted to 1399 points of damage, the Blue God, who was pinned to the ground, felt excruciating pain. It was as if the [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] was attacking his soul instead of his body. The tearing pain that came from the depths of his soul made him howl in agony.

Seeing that Aokiji's base score had dropped to 1, Hayato declared, "Because of the effect of [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska], my battle phase this turn will be skipped, and I won't be able to land the final blow on you. But who says you can't kill someone without a battle phase?"

"My turn ends, and then comes the effect of [Spiritual Exophysis], which releases [Earthbound God - Veracocha Laska] from my field and inflicts damage equal to half of its attack power on the opponent."

The Earthbound God - Veracocha Laska, whose life points had been reduced by Blue God, did not return to Hayato's field. Instead, it circled in the air once before diving down again. As its entire form dissipated into nothingness, the second impact struck Blue God.

Although [Earthbound God - Veracruz Lasca] has an attack power of 1, and the effect of [Summoning Exosome] should deal half of that 1 damage to Blue God, not enough to wipe out Blue God's Life Points, this is mathematical thinking, not card player thinking. In Duel Monsters, the smallest number is 1, and even half of 1 will be considered 1. Therefore, the effect damage of [Summoning Exosome] to Blue God is exactly 1 point, enough to wipe out its Life Points.

Duel Monsters, isn't that amazing?

Having easily ended the duel, Hayato temporarily ignored the system's duel results, put away the cards, and immediately walked towards where Aogami was lying. He noticed that Aogami's body was covered in countless golden particles as he lost the duel, much like the special effects that accompanied the entrance and exit of monsters in [Cube World].

It seems that although it's called "Dimensional Realm Duel," it can be categorized as a dark game, and the loser's fate doesn't look good.

Hayato wasn't too concerned about the fact that he seemed to be about to kill Blue God. He wasn't interested in the story of the "Dark Side of the Dimension," which was probably already over before it even happened. He preferred to avoid trouble. What he really needed was Blue God's [Quantum Cube].

According to Ramses II, the Quantum Cube can harmonize the seven Millennium Artifacts, allowing the power to open the gates of the underworld without having to dig them out of the ground to break their seals. With it, Atem could return to the mortal world whenever he wanted.

Thinking this, Hayato reached out his hand to the "Duel Disk" that had been transformed from the [Quantum Cube] on Aogami's wrist, only to see it suddenly turn into scattered golden cubes that flew away like a school of fish to another place, where they were caught by someone who appeared out of nowhere.

Looking at the person, Hayato was somewhat surprised: "Hey, this is quite different from the information I received. Didn't Blue God just tell me that you were dead?"

"Shady Sin?"

Chapter 946 Prana? NT!

Hayato had seen Shadi's figure before the entire underground temple, which contained the Millennium Artifacts and Atum's Gate to the Underworld, collapsed when he left.

However, Hayato didn't see the end of Shadi's story because he left in a hurry. But deep down, he didn't believe that this guy, who had schemed against countless people and was nicknamed "the director of a thousand years," would die so easily, even though Ayami said that Shadi was already dead.

As it turned out, Old Bideng was indeed not dead, and he even appeared in front of him.

Holding the reformed Quantum Cube in his hand, Shadi slowly opened his eyes, looked around, and then looked at Hayato. As the duel ended, the dimensional domain duel that Blue God had previously waged was fading, but some of its characteristics still remained, allowing Shadi to discern that a duel had just taken place here.

"Did Diva challenge you to a duel, Hayato Kobayashi? No wonder he was defeated so easily." Without his usual white headscarf, revealing a bald head tattooed with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Shadi calmly stated, "You seem to want the [Quantum Cube]?"

"Don't ask such obvious questions. By the way, is 'Diva' the real name of 'Blue God'?" Hayato looked at Shadi, who was standing in front of him like an ordinary person, and asked with some doubt, "When and where did you appear here? If you hadn't taken my [Quantum Cube], I really wouldn't have noticed you."

"Your Quantum Cube?"

"What's wrong with getting gold coins from defeating monsters? Since I defeated Blue God, it's only natural that his Quantum Cube should belong to me." Hayato said matter-of-factly.

Seeing Hayato's expression, even Shadi, who usually wore a deadpan expression, couldn't help but feel speechless. Shadi raised the Quantum Cube he was holding, but shook his head and refused Hayato: "Unfortunately, I can't grant your wish, Hayato Kobayashi. The Quantum Cube can't be given to you yet. It still has important uses for me and for Deva."

"Is this the so-called 'dimensional ascension' or the so-called 'salvation of all mankind'?" Hayato scoffed. "Stop with the nonsense. The future of humanity is none of your business. Why are you all like Dartz, thinking that shouting slogans makes you the righteous side?"

“Darz, the emperor of Atlantis? Our goals are completely different from his.” Shadi seemed to recognize Darz, and explained after hearing Hayato’s words, “When the dimensional ascension is complete, you will understand the nobility and necessity of what we are doing. Besides, you, as a fellow Prana, should have been our comrade.”

Hayato frowned: "Plana? Me?"

"Communication between organisms initially relied on touch, which was used to avoid being detected by predators in dangerous situations. However, as evolution progressed, language gradually replaced touch. But in the process of evolution, too many kinds of language have emerged. If humans continue to evolve, the existence of language will become an obstacle to evolution and will eventually be abandoned."

"So, when humanity evolves again, what will replace language as the way humans communicate?" After a pause, Shadi, who had posed the question, gave the answer himself: "That is Prana, 'superconsciousness,' a new existence that has appeared in this material world, a higher-dimensional being that can understand others even without using language."

"The Dartz you just mentioned also possessed the talents of Prana. That's why he empathized with the suffering of the people of Atlantis at that time and was eventually driven mad by the power of 'Orichalcos'. However, after Dartz, there are fewer than a handful of people among humans whose evolution has stagnated for thousands of years who possess the talents of Prana."

"However, the rise of Duel Monsters was the prelude to the re-evolution of mankind, because the fervent spirit of duelists and the stagnant evolution of mankind were restarted, and people with Prana talents were born one after another all over the world."

"You also possess Prana talent, Hayato Kobayashi!"

After hearing Shadi's words, Hayato remained silent for a moment before speaking again: "Let me first confirm what abilities this Prana you mentioned has?"

Although she didn't know why Hayato was asking this, Shadi answered without hesitation, saying, "As far as I know, Prana can perceive the thoughts in others' minds and even communicate telepathically without using her senses; her perception of things leans towards intuition, and she can often quickly grasp their essence; her spatial awareness is also stronger than average, and she can instinctively choose the right path to avoid danger..."

"...Even after death, the soul can be preserved, and even with the help of the power of the Millennium Item, it is still a manifestation of Prana's talent."

"I am like this, and so is Pharaoh Atum, who has already returned to the underworld."

However, upon hearing Shadi's words, Hayato couldn't help but retort, "That's a Prana? That's clearly a Newtype!"

Shadi frowned and explained again, "If you want to call Prana that, that's fine too, because Prana is indeed a new human born from the old humans, yet completely different. You should be able to understand that you have Prana's talent. There is not a single element of deception in my words. You should have used this talent countless times in past duels."

"Whether it's saying what the opponent is about to say first, or reading the cards at the top of the deck in advance, or even—"

“Those things don’t matter. Who cares about Prana or Newtypes? What’s important to me is getting my Quantum Cube back from you.” Hayato impatiently interrupted Shadi, extending one hand forward with his palm open, while his other hand, tucked behind his back, held several cards.

“…” Shady looked at Hayato, remained silent for a moment, then shook his head. “Even after all this, you still don’t understand?”

“No, I completely understand what you mean. You feel that as pioneers of human evolution, the New Humans, or rather the Prana, bear the responsibility of leading humanity to continue evolving to higher dimensions, right?” Hayato looked at Shadi and said, “But there are some things that can be understood but not accepted.”

Xia Di nodded, unsure if he understood Hayato's meaning. But just as he was about to speak, he suddenly noticed a long shadow appearing beneath his feet. From that shadow, a blackish-purple beast, its body wrapped in silk threads and roaring, suddenly leaped out and pounced towards him!

"Bring me the Quantum Cube, and Shaddoll!" Hayato quietly released the card Pokémon, distracting Shady with conversation while simultaneously drawing them closer to Shady to strike. The sudden attack by Shaddoll was Hayato's signal to begin his operation.

Although it didn't intend to kill Shadi, but only wanted to suppress him first so it could take back the Quantum Cube, the Shadowmon's actions ended in failure to Hayato's surprise. Despite attacking at a distance that Shadi couldn't react in time, the Shadowmon missed its target.

It wasn't that Shadi dodged or did anything else; he had been standing still ever since the Shadowdome appeared. Yet, the Shadowdome passed right through Shadi's body and landed on the ground behind him, as if Shadi were just a phantom!

The threads that flew out from the shadows after the Shadowdome, under the control of the Shadowdome Midrash, tried to entangle the Quantum Cube in Shadi's hand. However, even though it seemed to be there, the threads passed through the Quantum Cube and could not be triggered, just like the situation with Shadi.

“Deva didn’t deceive you, Hayato Kobayashi.” Seeing Hayato’s actions, Shadi wasn’t angry, but calmly said, “I am dead, not just physically more than ten years ago. When the Pharaoh returned to the underworld, the power of the Millennium Key and the Millennium Scales that had long sustained my fragile existence also completely disappeared and went into slumber. My soul also almost completely died.”

"What appears before you is less a trace left in the world by a human once named 'Shady Sin,' and more a small protective measure left inside the [Quantum Cube]."

Shadi's gaze swept past Hayato and looked behind him, at the spot where Blue God had disappeared after losing the duel. "Diva is the most sentimental of the children with Prana talents I have adopted. When I entrusted the Quantum Cube to him, I foresaw that one day he might do something impulsive because of that sentiment. I am his insurance against doing such a thing."

"Because you intercepted part of the power of the Millennium Item to stop the dimensional ascent, the Quantum Cube could not exert its full power. However, thanks to this, the price that the loser had to pay in the dimensional duel initiated by Deva was not irreversible. As a protective measure, I was able to save his life in time and prevent him from falling into a lower dimension."

"So, he's not dead yet? Whatever, another round will only result in my victory." Hayato said dismissively, looking at Shady. "But how many more times can you bring him back to life?"

"This is the last time, Hayato Kobayashi. This is the only insurance I have left in the Quantum Cube." Shadi said calmly, looking at Hayato. "Therefore, I will not bring Deva back to you, nor will I let the Quantum Cube fall into your hands."

After saying that, Shadi turned around and left without hesitation, completely ignoring the Shadowbeast blocking his way and walking straight through it.

"Hmph! Trying to escape?"

Although the previous operation by Shaddoll and the others had failed, and Shadi was like a ghost that could not be touched at all, how could Hayato be willing to let Shadi take away the Quantum Cube that was about to be in his hands? He immediately chased after him.

But just as he turned the corner of the alley, a guy holding a phone and filming something, completely oblivious to where he was going, crashed into Hayato: "What? This isn't candy, it's a compressed towel that gets bigger when it gets wet—ouch!"

Hayato wasn't knocked down by the guy who was wider than tall; he just paused for a moment. But the person who bumped into Hayato fell to the ground, seemingly quite badly injured, and his phone fell to the side of the road and broke.

"Ughhhh, my phone!" The guy with the double chin who bumped into Hayato knelt down next to his broken phone. "I just took out a loan to buy this phone for my live streams!"

Hayato didn't pay attention to the guy, but looked around and completely lost sight of Shadi. He had only walked out of the alley a few seconds later than the guy, but he had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

What's even more infuriating is that Hayato also heard Shadi's voice, who had already disappeared: "Instead of continuing to chase me, why don't you go check on your friend, Kobayashi Hayato? Go check on your friend Kaiba Seto. Deva isn't alone; his companions are also on the move."

"Kaiba?" Hayato, upon hearing this, instinctively looked towards the Kaiba Corporation headquarters building, which was visible even from here. "Ayakashi's companion is going to attack him? They're courting death. But I should still go check it out—"

"Hey! You think you can just run away after hitting me?!" The guy who had just bumped into Hayato suddenly blocked Hayato's path, looking furious. "I'm in a really bad mood today, you're finished. Even if you have to pay ten times the damage to my phone, don't expect me to let you off the hook!"

"My men!"

With a shout from the guy named Baekjeki, four or five guys dressed like thugs appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Hayato. They were all wearing the uniforms of Domino High School, but they were all dressed haphazardly, almost like Atum who wore his uniform as a cape.

"Hmm? Is this our school uniform? You look kind of familiar, don't you?" The fat guy named Bai Jimu, who seemed to be the leader of the group, looked at Hayato, thought for a moment, then decided to give up and sneered, "Heh, whatever. Since you ruined my plan to become a streamer and make a lot of money, I'll just go back to my old job of making videos. The material for the video is you, and the theme is... 'pain'!"

As he spoke, he punched Hayato in the face. The thugs surrounding Hayato watched the spectacle with amusement and even took out their phones to record a video.

However, Baekjeki's fist stopped in front of Hayato. A thread he couldn't see at all hooked his hand under the control of [Shadowy Midrash], rendering him completely immobile.

Tying his neck, Hayato said with a disgruntled look, "Pain? Perfect, I'm in a bad mood right now, so I'll take it out on you guys!"

Chapter 947 Let's have a Gwent... Duel Monsters!

Let's shift our focus from Hayato, who is beating up a gang of thugs on the street, to the headquarters of the Kaiba Group, which is located next to the commercial street.

"Ding~"

The elevator doors slowly opened, and Kaiba stepped out. After signing a contract with Bakura regarding his role as a promotional ambassador and having Keipai send him and Yugi away, Kaiba arrived at a certain location on the middle floor of the headquarters building.

The floor that appeared before the seahorse was filled with glass cabinets containing many items, giving the initial impression of entering a museum.

However, considering the personality and preferences of the Seahorse, who is not interested in old objects such as cultural relics and is not the type to do commemorative things, it is highly unlikely that he would hold any museum-like exhibitions in the headquarters building of the Seahorse Entertainment Group, which is like his own territory. This place is definitely not a museum.

Indeed, this is the case, because the actual purpose of this place is a "warehouse". The "exhibits" stored in the tempered glass cabinets are actually unfinished or flawed works of the Haima Group. For example, the humanoid steel armors lined up on the wall and the green flying machine that looks like a skateboard are all unfinished inventions of the Haima Group, or more precisely, Haima.

Compared to inventors who lack innovative inspiration and can only repeatedly piece together and modify the work of their predecessors in an attempt to create something of their own, Seahorse has a wealth of inspiration to squander and waste. Even though Seahorse's research and development speed is already incredibly fast, new inspirations often burst forth in his mind before a work is even finished.

Always eager for novelty, once he determines that a new inspiration is more interesting and challenging than his current work, he will often unhesitatingly throw his current work into the trash heap and turn to conquer that brand new inspiration.

Of course, although Kaiba himself is quite extravagant and would easily abandon works that have been developed with considerable investment, his younger brother Keipei is quite frugal. Fearing that his brother would continue to squander money and that the Kaiba Group would go bankrupt in less than a hundred years, he would take back the works that his brother had abandoned and hand them over to the Kaiba Group's R&D department to complete the unfinished follow-up development.

In other groups, the R&D department, which plays a leading role in R&D, often ends up as a support staff member in the Kaiba Entertainment Group, where Seto Kaiba is the president.

Even so, they often encounter situations where the seahorse is already mostly finished, but they are unable to complete the subsequent development and creation. The strength of a group of people is often not as good as that of the seahorse alone.

For example, the large motorcycle that the seahorse was passing by at that moment, even the seahorse, which does not linger on things in the past, could not help but glance at the motorcycle encased in glass.

That was the special device called "D-Wheel" that Haima was still developing about two weeks ago—of course, that was the name of the prototype; Haima intended to name it "Dragon Wheel." At that time, Haima had completed most of the verification and even personally conducted the final tests, but it was ultimately difficult to say whether it was a success or a failure.