Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Even you, Deva, are no match for Hayato Kobayashi?" Sera looked at Deva's gloomy face, her expression filled with worry. "If we can't allow the Quantum Cube to continue its dimensional ascent, Lord Shin's prophecy will not come true, and we will be bound by this dimension forever..."

“No, I won’t let that happen.” Deva interrupted Sera when he heard her words. “So what if Hayato Kobayashi is the King of Duel? In the end, he’s just an ordinary human. There will always be a way to defeat him.”

At this point, Deva stopped, as if he had made a connection to something from his casual remark, and his eyes lit up: "That's right, 'Duel King' Hayato Kobayashi has a way to defeat him using cards. His title of 'Duel King' comes from the Duel City tournament more than a year ago. He won the title of 'Duel King' by becoming the strongest, and he wields the 'Three Egyptian God Cards'!"

When Diva's voice became more forceful when he mentioned the "Three Egyptian Gods," Mani, who was supporting Diva, realized what Diva was thinking: "You mean, the cards of the 'Three Egyptian Gods' that were buried with the Millennium Artifacts when Pharaoh Atum passed away?"

“That’s right, those three cards.” The more Deva thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. “The ‘Three Egyptian God Cards’ can only be used by those who possess the ‘Millennium Items’. They have the strongest power among all the Duel Monster cards. And now that all seven ‘Millennium Items’ have been buried and sealed, the only one who can control them is the ‘Quantum Cube’ in my hand.”

"The Millennium Treasures have been dormant since Pharaoh Atem entered the Underworld, but the cards of the Egyptian God Cards are not. As long as I dig them out and wield the Quantum Cube, I can use their power to deal with Hayato Kobayashi."

"If I can defeat him directly with the power of the cards, there's no need for me to duel him anymore!"

In this world of card players, Diva confidently declared that he no longer wanted to play cards.

Mani was somewhat convinced by Blue God's words, but being slightly older than Diva, he was more composed and asked Diva, "But the problem is, when Pharaoh Atum passed through the gates of the underworld, he also buried the cards of the three Egyptian God cards deep underground. How exactly are we going to retrieve those cards?"

“I have my ways, don’t worry, Mani, there will always be a way.” Diva waved his hand in front of him, and the [Quantum Cube] materialized before him. “Let me see the power of a unified mind.”

Seven stone pillars suddenly rose from the rocky ground before Diva, forming a circle as if it were some kind of barrier. Each pillar was inscribed with a different style of square script, seemingly relics of some prehistoric civilization. Besides the script, each pillar also bore a design—the image of seven [Millennium Artifacts]!

"When the seven lost artifacts of the Millennium are gathered, the Pharaoh will embark on a journey to the Underworld, evil souls will be transformed into light, new dimensional gates will open, and sublime souls from higher dimensions will bring about a new world of light in perfect order."

As Diva recited the inscriptions on the seven stone pillars, a purple light swept across the runes, and children dressed in different clothes appeared out of thin air in the open space behind Diva and his companions. However, the moment they appeared, their forms dissipated into nothingness again, repeating this cycle time and time again.

They are people with the same Prana talent as Blue God, and they are also companions who are undertaking the great cause of dimensional ascension together. They are scattered all over the world, but now, under the guidance and call of the [Quantum Cube] in Diva's hands, they have gathered their minds here and joined the synchronization.

However, because the power of the Quantum Cube is incomplete, the differences in their minds cause constant conflicts, resulting in some appearing and others disappearing. Although incomplete, they still share some commonalities that have brought them together, and Deva intends to utilize this power.

“If it weren’t for that guy Hayato Kobayashi’s interference, we would have already reached this point, using the power of the Quantum Cube to harmonize the resonance of all of us, our Prana, and collectively increase the wavelength of our minds to ascend to a new higher dimension,” Diva said somewhat angrily. “Now I have to initiate the dimensional ascension prematurely in an incomplete state. How utterly humiliating.”

“I see. So you want to use an incomplete dimensional ascension to bring your existence closer to Lord Shadi’s original state?” Mani patted Diva on the shoulder. “You’ve done very well, Diva. I doubt any of the rest of us could have done as well as you. Lord Shadi believed in you, which is why he entrusted the Quantum Cube to you in the end.”

"However, you must also be careful. Although you have entered an incomplete dimensional ascension state, the difference between it and a complete dimensional ascension is only in the number of people. You must discard unnecessary emotions such as hatred and anger when entering the new world, otherwise you will fall into the dark side of a lower dimension."

A golden inverted triangle lit up on his forehead, and Diva, holding the Quantum Cube in his hand, nodded: "Yes, I know. I have never forgotten what Lord Shadi told us."

His memories resonated with those of the other Prana, taking him back to many years ago, when they were still young and Shadi was still alive. The underground temple where Atum's gates to the underworld were located was a place Shadi had taken Diva and the others to long ago, where the Blue God intended to link to the cards of the "Three Egyptian Gods" who were also buried.

The process went quite smoothly. Although it took some effort to determine the timing, Deva quickly found the memories of the "Three Egyptian Gods" buried underground, and these memories would come to Deva's hands under the guidance of the Quantum Cube.

This is the true power of the Quantum Cube: the ability to determine the existence of matter through consciousness, the ability to "think, therefore I am." Even if Deva only obtains a memory of the Egyptian God Cards from someone else through the operation of the Quantum Cube, he can still use it substantially through the power of the Quantum Cube.

Everything went so smoothly. Three blank cards first appeared in Diva's hand, and then lines gradually emerged on the cards, forming patterns that were dyed red, blue, and yellow.

Guided by the Quantum Cube, Deva successfully obtained three cards: Osiris the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and Ra the Winged Dragon of Ra. He couldn't help but smile. However, while extracting the memories of the three cards, he inadvertently glimpsed the scene in the underground temple when Atum dueled with Yugi.

That one glance caused Diva's expression to suddenly twist. His uncontrollable anger and hatred clashed too much with the other Prana, and he was forced to withdraw from the Synchro Wave. He also lost his grip on the Quantum Cube and the cards of the "Three Egyptian Gods" and dropped them to the ground.

"Diva!?"

Diva ignored Mani and Sera's calls, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into the flesh of his palms, but the pain still couldn't calm him down.

“I know I shouldn’t have feelings of hatred, I know that too,” he said through gritted teeth, his face contorted in a grimace. “But that guy is still alive, right here in Domino City, right next to Kobayashi Hayato and the Pharaoh’s vessel!”

Upon hearing Diva's words, Sera knew that he must have seen that person again during the previous rehearsal, and reached out to grab him: "Diva!"

But Diva completely ignored Sera's words, bent down to pick up the cards of [Quantum Cube] and [Three Egyptian Gods], looked up at the sky, and suddenly turned into golden particles and disappeared. He couldn't wait to find someone to do something with.

Sera didn't want to just watch Diva leave, so she quickly turned into silver particles and disappeared, chasing after Diva.

The two women moved so quickly that Mani didn't have time to do anything. He raised his hand, unable to say anything, and helplessly lowered it. But inadvertently, he noticed that something seemed to have been left behind where Diva had just been.

It was a cone that appeared to be made of gold, and Manny felt as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Chapter 957 The White Devil

"Alas!"

Shivering, Jonouchi scooped up the ice cream he was holding with a wooden spoon and put it in his mouth.

"Well!"

Malik was the same; he also had an ice cream in his hand, and even though the cold was so intense that his teeth ached a little, he was still eating the ice cream while covering his cheek.

Anzu, watching the two of them, complained, "You guys must be a little sick. You insist on eating ice cream in this freezing weather, even though you've already gotten your money's worth from the barbecue, right?"

"It's one thing to eat your money's worth at an all-you-can-eat barbecue, but now they're eating ice cream, that's another matter entirely. It's all about competitiveness." Honda rubbed his stomach, looking helplessly at Jonouchi and Malik. "But if they can't decide a winner in a duel, they'll start competing over food. The two of you probably aren't even ten years old combined, are you?"

As Kyoko and Honda mentioned, Jonouchi and Malik, who had been battling it out in the dueling area of ​​Kaiba Park for almost the entire day, were still unable to determine a winner, with the final score remaining evenly split and neither gaining the upper hand. However, despite not being able to decide a victor, Jonouchi and Malik treated Honda, Kyoko, and Bakura to an all-you-can-eat barbecue.

After all, the group had deliberately skipped lunch after eating breakfast in the morning for this all-you-can-eat barbecue. Even though Guiping said he would cover their expenses at the Seahorse Park, they didn't eat anything. They had been hungry for almost a whole day just to go eat at the all-you-can-eat.

Neither Jonouchi nor Malik had more than enough money for a buffet barbecue. Their decision to decide who would pay through a duel was, as Honda said, simply driven by a competitive spirit.

Since the duel ended inconclusively, the expenses for the five people were split between the two of them. However, even though the barbecue was finished, their rivalry was not over. They were now battling it out again with the ice cream they had brought from the self-service barbecue area, competing to see who could endure the cold and finish the ice cream first. No wonder Honda would tease them for being like children.

"Yugi-kun and Hayato-kun are really unlucky; they just happen to be out today," Bakura said casually. "Let's go eat yakiniku together next time."

Honda added, "And Otogi, he's been planning to move the game shop to a better location these past few days. We can invite him over when he's free in a couple of days."

"We can also invite Miss Isis and Shizuka-chan, otherwise it would be a little awkward for me to be the only girl here."

Kyoko added, and Honda, upon hearing this, immediately changed his tune, saying, "I see, then we don't need to call him Otogi anymore."

"Honda, your thinking is way too obvious!" Jonouchi said, a wooden spoon dangling from his mouth. "You gave up on Otogi so decisively for Shizuka's sake."

It was already evening, and as the group walked down the street, Bakura remarked unconsciously, "The streets are so quiet; there aren't nearly as many people as during the day."

"It's probably because the daytime is when GeneX tournament registration opens, and at night most people just go shopping in the commercial district." Honda crossed his arms behind his head, glanced at Bakura, and said, "Speaking of which, Jonouchi and Malik have registered for the GeneX tournament, so Bakura, you've become the tournament's ambassador, right?"

Bakura nodded: "Yeah, because I'm just a beginner in Duel Monsters. I don't have the power of Jonouchi and the others. It's rare to come across such a lively event as the GeneX tournament, so I want to try my best in my own way."

"Am I just imagining things? I have a feeling that your conversation is a bit dangerous, like if you say something like 'completely stupid' again, a black luxury car carrying assassins will rush out from the next intersection."

Jonouchi made a comment, interrupting the two of them from casting a spell. He looked around and saw that this road led to the Gamer's Kame House, a place they often walked on, so it was normal that there were fewer people.

—Common sense would tell, but he frowned and stopped, because his intuition kept telling him that something was wrong.

Malik, who hadn't said much the whole way and had been rubbing his temples, finally finished his last ice cream. Oblivious to the puzzled look on Jonouchi's face, he said smugly, "Hiss~ Aha, I won this time, Jonouchi!"

"You did win, but was it really worth it?" Honda looked at Malik and said, "Putting aside your pained expression, you didn't even remember what the ice cream tasted like, did you?"

"Things like that are hard to remember anyway. Even if you eat slowly, the most memorable thing when you try to recall it the next day will just be the taste of wood." Malik tossed the trash in his hand into a nearby bin, looking arrogantly at Jonouchi. "Looks like I'm stronger now, Jonouchi Katsuya. By the way, what are you looking at?"

"...I don't know either, but something is definitely not right." Even though Jonouchi suddenly stopped, causing them to stop in place, in just a few words, Jonouchi noticed that the number of pedestrians around them was decreasing, and in a very short time, the street was completely cleared out, leaving only the few of them.

"What on earth is going on..." Jonouchi didn't know how to react. Seeing that his companions had also noticed the situation because of him, he simply stood still, turned his head to look behind him, and said confidently as if he had already found the source of the current situation, "Hey, you're watching us, aren't you!"

To be honest, Jonouchi was just saying it casually and hadn't noticed anything. He was even prepared to be laughed at by Honda and Malik after he hadn't gotten anything out of them. But to his surprise, after he said that, a voice actually responded from behind him:

“You are as sharp as a wild beast, Katsuya Jonouchi.”

Upon hearing the voice, the group turned around in unison. After recognizing the person's face, Kyoko pointed at him and said, "Ah, I've seen him at school. It was a few days ago when we were eating lunch together on the rooftop."

"Your name is, Ayakashi, right?" Honda frowned. "I think you're the classmate who sits behind Hayato... Strange, why did seeing you remind me that there's someone like that in our class?"

Compared to Honda and Kyoko, Jonouchi, though surprised that someone was actually following them, first confirmed, "Was it you who's been following us? And the number of people around us kept decreasing until there were none left. Was that your doing?"

"It's definitely me." Having no intention of lying, Blue God looked at the group of people whose attitudes varied but were mostly wary of him. He raised his hand, revealing a gray cube. "However, I don't have time to deal with you guys right now. Could you please leave me in the way?"

His gaze swept straight past the group of people in the city, and the Blue God stared intently at the white-haired boy standing in the middle: "How many years have passed? I thought I had done what that lord expected of me—to let go of hatred—but when I saw you again in my past memories, the memories of that night flooded back into my heart."

"You white devil!"

"Huh? Do I know you?" Malik raised an eyebrow, looking at the blue god in front of him with displeasure. Seeing that the other person was wearing the uniform of Domino High School, and that he hadn't spoken to him when the others in the city talked to him, it seemed that the other person had come to find him? However, Malik had no recollection of ever meeting the other person there.

"Don't you recognize him, Malik? Think again, think again. It must be a grudge you made back when Gurus was still around."

Hearing Honda's words, Malik reiterated, "I'm just a little weak, but my brain isn't damaged. I remember very clearly what I've done before. Although Gurus would steal rare cards, he would usually ask me for permission before taking action. I have absolutely no recollection of this guy."

“But people call you ‘White Devil,’ and although your hair is sandy, it also looks a bit pale.” Jonouchi glanced at Bakura. “He can’t possibly be looking for Bakura, can he?”

After Jonouchi finished speaking, the group fell silent in unison. They stepped aside and discovered that Blue God, who was holding a cube and seemingly unsure of what to do with it, did not move his gaze despite Malik's movement. He stared intently at Bakura, who was now completely exposed to Blue God's eyes as the group moved aside and his front was no longer obstructed.

"They really did hire Bakura?"

"Yes, they're looking for me?" Bakura looked at Aogami with confusion, but he also had no recollection of Aogami. "But, 'White Devil' and stuff like that sounds really bad. I thought if I had a nickname, it would be something like 'White Meteor'—"

Bakura stopped halfway through his sentence because he realized that he might actually be given that title, even though it had only been a week since he had broken free from his evil self.

"Can't you remember? You demon, you really can't remember?" Holding up the floating [Quantum Cube], the gray cube glowed with orange light from the inside, hazy and transparent like frosted glass. Blue God took a step towards Bakura. "Let me help you remember. The Valley of the Royal Slumber in Egypt, your antique dealer father, and the [Millennium Item]."

Upon hearing Blue God's words, Bakura was momentarily lost in thought, involuntarily recalling that night many years ago, the night that had caused him to lose his father and himself, a night buried deep in his memory: "That night... uh!"

Recalling memories he didn't want to remember, Bakura squatted down in agony, clutching his head. He looked even worse than Malik, who had just eaten ice cream, muttering, "Why bring this up? I clearly, clearly didn't want to remember what happened that night!"

"Bakura!" Honda quickly caught Bakura to prevent him from collapsing to his knees, while Kyoko repeatedly called out Bakura's name, trying to bring him back to his senses. Seeing the Blue God still approaching Bakura, Jonouchi and Malik stood side-by-side without hesitation, blocking the Blue God's path, saying, "Hey, that's enough, Blue God!"

"Pass through here!"

As he spoke, Jonouchi turned to look at the three people behind him and said, "Honda, Kyoko, you two take Bakura and leave here first!"

"Hmph, don't even think about it!" Upon hearing Jonouchi's words, an updraft suddenly appeared around Blue God, blowing his bangs up to reveal the golden inverted triangle mark that lit up on his forehead. In just an instant, the surrounding sky darkened, and one purple figure after another appeared around Honda and the others, surrounding them completely.

If it were just one or two people, or even a dozen or twenty, Honda could still force his way through. But the problem was that in the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred people emerged from the street and surrounded them. Even Honda couldn't kill them all, not to mention that they were emitting a strange purple light. The unarmed Honda even had to carry Bakura and Kyoko, two burdens.

"No, there are just too many people."

Upon hearing Honda's words, Jonouchi, who was also surrounded, gritted his teeth and looked at Aragami, saying, "There's no way to escape, which means the only option is to defeat you, Aragami!"

"Although I don't like doing that, I have my own methods!" After putting down the backpack on his back, Jonouchi unzipped it, took out the Duel Disk inside, put it on his hand, took out his deck, and drew the card of [Red-Eyes Black Dragon].

The spirit of the black dragon appeared, and the materialized [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] was about to unleash an attack in front of Blue God to intimidate and force him back. Within the castle, Blue God was heard laughing contemptuously and saying, "Oh dear, if you get any closer, you'll seem to be melted? Hehehe, I hate dangerous things the most."

Suddenly, a ball of lightning, seemingly out of nowhere, struck the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, forcing it back and interrupting its attack. Malik, who was also wearing the Duel Disk and had not yet made a move, clearly saw that for a moment when the lightning ball was fired, a slender red phantom appeared behind Blue God.

"Really? Am I seeing things?" Malik muttered to himself. "But shouldn't that have already been buried underground because of the Pharaoh? It must be my imagination."

"That just now...it felt so familiar." Not only Malik, but Jonouchi, although he didn't see the red phantom because of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon's obstruction, also felt a sense of familiarity with the form of the attack.

Looking at the thoughtful Malik and Jonouchi, Blue God smiled contemptuously, raised his hand, and the [Quantum Cube] expanded to form the shape of a duel disk: "After all, it's newly extracted power, so I'll use you two troublesome guys as a test subject. It's also a way of repaying those two. You're important people to them, aren't you?"

"Then tremble in fear before the mighty power you call 'gods', duelists!"

"Duel!"

Chapter 958 This is my attack route!

"Duel!"

Although Jonouchi didn't quite understand what the "god" that Blue God was referring to meant, as a duelist, he wouldn't refuse a challenge issued in person. After retrieving the card of [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] and shuffling it, he shouted.

“Duel.” Malik also raised his Duel Disk, unfolded it, and inserted his deck into the slot. He was somewhat concerned about the phantom he had just seen; although he felt it was unlikely, he still felt it necessary to confirm it.