Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

—Besides, if that phantom is really the one I'm thinking of, there's nothing to be afraid of.

[Blue God: 8000LP, 5 cards in hand]

[Jounouchi + Malik: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

Having suffered a defeat at Hayato's hands once, Ayane again did not immediately activate the Dimensional Domain Duel, especially since he was facing two opponents this time. If one of them first tested the rules of the Dimensional Domain Duel, the other would be able to adapt quickly.

Considering that his two duels with Hayato Kobayashi and Yugi Muto were both depleted by means outside of combat—the release of [Earthbound God - Veracrucha Raska] by [Summoning Exophysis] and the field explosion of [Destroyer Dragon - Gandora X]—this time, Blue God deliberately chose to duel with his life points being twice that of Jonouchi and Malik.

That way, I won't lose all my basic points again, right?

Having secured the first move, Blue God confidently thought, and played the card he had drawn: "I've got the first move. Draw a card, and then activate this card I drew—the Normal Spell Card [Tearing Time and Space Demon Eye]."

Behind the Blue God, a huge eye suddenly opened, its purple pupils looking down, giving off a dangerous aura.

"The effect of this card is that I cannot activate the effects of monsters in my hand during this duel, but I can change my Normal Draw from one card to two, and I can perform a maximum of two Normal Summons per turn." Blue God explained the card's effect, sending [Tearing Time and Space Demon Eye] to the Graveyard. "With the power of this card, I will quickly summon that card that can bring you deep fear."

"In exchange for the inability to activate monster effects from the hand, you traded for a [Pot of Greed] and [Double Summon] that can be used once per turn? That's too much, that card." Jonouchi looked at the eyes behind Ayane and complained, then looked at Malik beside him and said, "In that case, we have to finish the battle before that card accumulates enough advantage."

The order of this 2v1 duel is Blue God → Jonouchi → Blue God → Malik → Blue God. Jonouchi and Malik share the front and back rows and the graveyard, taking turns to enter the field. Normally, the number of cards Jonouchi and Malik can draw is the same as the number of cards Blue God can draw. However, because of this card, "Tearing Time and Space Demon Eye", Blue God can get double the number of cards in a long battle, forcing Jonouchi and Malik to finish the battle quickly.

Malik, however, was more concerned about being able to summon twice normally, muttering to himself, "Two in one turn, then I can gather three sacrifices next turn?"

"I Normal Summon [Meteor Cube - Celestial Dust] to my field in Attack Position, and activate its effect: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, send one [Cube] card from my Deck to the Graveyard. I chose [Cube God]." After playing a card, Blue God placed a second card down. "Then, for my second Normal Summon, I Summon [Cube Yin - Vijam] in Attack Position."

【Meteorite Boundary Artifact - Heavenly Dust】【4☆/Light】

[Mechanical Race/Effect]

[1600/1600]

【Fang Jieyin - Vijam】【1☆/Dark】

[Demon Race/Effect]

[0/0]

"A monster with 0 attack power, and it's in attack position?" Jonouchi raised an eyebrow. "Does it have some kind of troublesome effect? ​​But it looks disgusting, both of them are like that."

"Heh, what can eyes bound by lower dimensions see? You'll know the power of [Cube] once you attack." Because it was the first turn, Blue God, unable to enter the battle phase, summoned two monsters and then quickly ended his turn by placing one card in the Spell & Trap Zone. "Set one card, end my turn."

[Blue God: 8000LP, 2 cards in hand]

【Meteorite Boundary Artifact - Heavenly Dust】【ATK1600】

【Fang Jieyin - Vijam】【ATK0】

【GaiKa】

“【Fangjie】, huh? Never heard of that card before, but whatever it is, I’ll break through it in one go.” Jonouchi’s finger rested on the deck. “My turn, draw! Not being able to activate monster effects from the hand is a huge limitation. If I were you, I wouldn’t be able to use this card.”

"The effect of [Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon] in my hand can be activated by sending one Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from my hand or Deck to the Graveyard. I send the Level 7 [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] from my Deck to the Graveyard, Special Summon [Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon] from my hand, and its Level increases by 1."

Flames rose up behind the city, and a black dragon with limbs much stronger than the original [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] leaped into the air, its wings, which seemed to flow with lava, spread out, and it looked down imposingly at the two monsters on the Blue God Field.

【Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon】【6☆→7☆/Dark】

[Dragon Clan/Effect]

[2000/2000]

"Hmm?" Malik raised an eyebrow when he saw the monster summoned by Jonouchi. "Wait a minute, where did this monster come from? I've been playing cards with you all day and haven't seen this monster appear."

“Hehe, although I really want to beat you, Malik, I haven’t forgotten that you also participated in the GeneX tournament. We were rivals.” Jonouchi scratched his head and said somewhat embarrassedly, “I was originally planning to save this card for the tournament and surprise everyone else.”

“But right now, it’s more important to defeat this weirdo.” Looking at the blue god, Jonouchi played another card and said, “I haven’t made a normal summon this turn. I’ll summon Red-Eyes Baby Dragon in Attack Position on my field and activate the effect of Black Steel Dragon in my hand.”

"During my Main Phase, I target one of my Red-Eyes monsters on the field and equip this card from my hand or field as an Equip Card that increases its ATK by 600. I equip Black Steel Dragon to Red-Eyes Baby Dragon, increasing its ATK by 600."

A black dragon that appears to be still in its juvenile stage appears on the field inside the castle. In front of it, a small dragon monster made of steel, resembling a dragon skeleton, appears as well. After transforming, it becomes a layer of armor that covers the body of the [Red-Eyes Baby Dragon], providing it with protection and enhancement.

【Red-Eyes Baby Dragon】(Blacksteel Dragon) 【3☆/Dark】

[Dragon Clan/Effect]

【1200/700→1800/700】

"Now that the battle preparations are complete, I'm going to enter the battle phase and use [Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon] to attack that [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust]."

With a wave of his hand, Jonouchi commanded, "Light Wheel Gale Black Arrow Zero Formation!"

"Your name is too long, you idiot!"

Seeing that the Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon simply breathed out flames, yet Jonouchi gave it such a meaningless name, Malik couldn't help but complain. Meanwhile, Blue God did not react to Jonouchi's order and just watched helplessly as his Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust was hit and destroyed by the Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon's attack.

[Blue God: 8000→7600]

"One's taken down!" Seeing that the face-down card in the back row of the Blue God's field hadn't been activated even after the attack ended and [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust] was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, Jonouchi relaxed slightly. "And then it's [Red-Eyes Baby Dragon] against—!?"

Just before issuing the attack order, Jonouchi blinked as if he were hallucinating. After rubbing his eyes and finding that the scene in front of him had not changed, he pointed to a card on the Blue God's field and said, "Wait a minute, why is that monster still on the field?"

What Jonouchi was referring to was the location of the Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust, which had just been attacked by the Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon. The Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust was still sitting there perfectly fine, showing no signs of having just been in battle!

"Heh, when [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust] was destroyed because of your monster, I activated the effect of [Cube God] in my Graveyard." Blue God looked at Jonouchi with disdain, "If a face-up [Cube] monster is destroyed by battle or leaves the field, banish [Cube God] from the Graveyard to activate its effect."

"Special Summon a Level 4 or lower [Cube] monster from my hand or Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions. The monster I Special Summon from my Deck is still [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust]."

"Then the effect of [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust] activates again, sending [Cube Wave] from my deck to the graveyard."

As he spoke, Blue God took out a card and sent it to the graveyard. Looking at the city, he smiled arrogantly: "So, which monster will you attack next? Will you continue to destroy [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust], or attack [Cube Yin - Vijam]?"

Hearing Blue God's words, Malik reminded Jonouchi, "Be a little careful, Jonouchi. That monster with 0 attack and 0 defense is definitely not simple. Let's play it safe and attack that [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust]."

“Yes, that’s what I think too.” Jonouchi nodded, then waved his hand again and gave the order, “Then let the battle continue, [Red-Eyes Young Dragon] attack [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust], small black flame bullets!”

After being teased by Malik, Jonouchi obediently went back to using a normal name. However, his naming skills were quite poor, and in the end, he only added the word "small" before the attack move "Black Flame Bullet" of [Red-Eyes Black Dragon].

After being enhanced by the Black Steel Dragon, the attack power of the Red-Eyes Baby Dragon was exactly 200 points higher than that of the Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust. Although the enhancement should actually be in the strength of its body, the Red-Eyes Baby Dragon still breathed out dragon breath that was not enhanced under Jonouchi's command and attacked the opponent.

Compared to [Fangjieyin-Bijam], whose effects are unclear and might cause trouble, attacking [Meteor Fangjieqi-Tianchen], which has already been defeated once, is a relatively safer choice, and that should be the case.

As the attack of [Red-Eyes Baby Dragon] came crashing down, Blue God sneered disdainfully, raising his hand and saying, "Fool, did you think I would let my monster be destroyed twice? You should have realized something was wrong when you saw that I Special Summoned [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust] in Attack Position. As expected, you are just an incompetent being bound by a lower dimension."

"The second effect of [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust] can be activated once per turn, when [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust] is face-up and a monster is sent to my Graveyard. This effect increases the ATK of [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust] by 200 times the number of monsters in my Graveyard until the end of this turn. This effect can also be activated during your opponent's turn!"

As the Blue God finished speaking, the red patterns on the previously motionless [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust] suddenly lit up, absorbing the power of the other [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust] that had been destroyed in the Blue God's graveyard. The original attack power difference between it and the [Red-Eyes Young Dragon] was only 200 points; its activated effect perfectly made up for that difference, increasing its attack power!

【Meteorite Boundary Artifact - Heavenly Dust】【ATK1600→1800】

As the black flames struck the [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust], its thick metal fist also collided with the [Red-Eyes Young Dragon], causing both to perish simultaneously.

"Boom!" As the [Red-Eyed Young Dragon] was destroyed, Jonouchi saw the [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust] on the Blue God Field emerge from the gradually dying flames. Unlike the last time when it was "unscathed" but actually a change of owner, this time Jonouchi was certain that the [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust] was not destroyed at all!

"Oops, I forgot to mention, this [Meteor Cube Artifact - Heavenly Dust] Special Summoned by the effect of [Cube Artifact - Divine Union] is actually immune to battle and card effects this turn," Blue God said smugly. "Your initial plan was to destroy [Meteor Cube Artifact - Heavenly Dust] to reduce the number of monsters on my field? Too bad, only your monsters were destroyed. A turn has passed, and I still have two monsters on my field!"

"What? The effect is so extreme?"

"Damn it, that idiot Jonouchi completely chose the wrong target!"

Jonouchi and Malik spoke at the same time, with Malik's words causing Jonouchi to turn around abruptly: "Huh? What do you mean by that? Didn't you just tell me to attack that [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust]?"

“I don’t remember that at all, you’re mistaken.” Malik lied without batting an eye, and accused Jonouchi with righteous indignation, “You’re so lame, you only dealt so little damage in one turn, a mere 200 points? Even the elementary school kids playing games at Kaiba Park would deal more damage than you.”

"Stop talking nonsense. You might not even be able to beat those elementary school kids. And who told you my fight is over?"

Jonouchi said, waving his hand, "Didn't you realize that the [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust] summoned in the attack stance was a trap? No way! Destroying the [Red-Eyes Young Dragon] is my attack route!"

"I activate the effects of [Red-Eyes Baby Dragon] and the [Black Steel Dragon] equipped on it."

"If [Red-Eyes Baby Dragon] is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon one [Red-Eyes] monster of Level 7 or lower from my Deck and equip [Red-Eyes Baby Dragon] as an Equip Card that increases its ATK by 300; and if [Black Steel Dragon] is sent from the field to the Graveyard, add one [Red-Eyes] card from my Deck to my hand."

"C1 [Red-Eyes Baby Dragon] C2 [Black Steel Dragon], chain reverse process, I add [Red-Eyes Burnout] from my deck to my hand, then Special Summon the Level 7 [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] from my deck and equip [Red-Eyes Baby Dragon] to it!"

Jonouchi took a card from his deck, placed it on the Duel Disk, and shouted, "Gather the flames born of my soul here, descend, my Soul Card!"

"【True Red-Eyes Black Dragon】!"

Chapter 959 Jonouchi's Boxing!

"【True Red-Eyes Black Dragon】!"

From the spot where the Red-Eyes Baby Dragon was destroyed, jet-black flames suddenly exploded, revealing the castle's ace monster, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

Meanwhile, the previously destroyed Red-Eyes Baby Dragon is now sitting behind the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, pointing its claws at the Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust on the Blue God Field, like a child who has lost a fight and is being bullied and then tells its parents.

【Red-Eyes Black Dragon】(Red-Eyes Baby Dragon) 【ATK2400→2700】

"Hmph, Jonouchi's offensive is only just beginning! Grit your teeth and hold on, Blue God!" Jonouchi waved his hand. "Since this is a special summon during the battle phase, I'm going to use [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] to launch an attack!"

"2700 ATK? It can even be Special Summoned during the Battle Phase." Blue God frowned as he looked at [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]. Although its ATK was decent, he wasn't afraid of anything just because of its high ATK. "Is it going to attack my [Fangjieyin-Vijam]?"

"Of course! Now that we know your [Meteor Cube Artifact - Heavenly Dust] can't be destroyed by combat this turn, who wants to keep attacking it?" Malik pointed at [Cube Inheritance - Vijam], "Go! [Red-Eyes], attack that monster and let that kid take 2700 points of combat damage in one go!"

"【Red-Eyed Black Dragon】, attack 【Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust】!"

Jonouchi waved his hand and gave the order, which almost made Malik fall over.

"Wait a minute, Jonouchi, you idiot! Why are you still attacking that monster?!" Malik straightened up, scratched his head, and looked at Jonouchi, saying, "That monster can't be destroyed by battle! Do you even know how to duel?!"

“Nonsense, of course I know that fighting won’t destroy that monster, but my intuition tells me that it’s all an illusion. That guy Blue God is deliberately trying to make us think that we should attack that monster with 0 attack power.” Jonouchi said seriously, “The greater the apparent benefit of attacking that monster, the less we should attack it!”

Upon hearing Jonouchi's words, Blue God snorted coldly in displeasure, "Hmph, surprisingly clever and troublesome, Jonouchi Katsuya. That's right, I was indeed deliberately leading you to attack [Fangjieyin-Vijam]."

Just as [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] was about to unleash its attack on [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust], Blue God raised his hand, flipped over the face-down card on his back field, and shouted, "But since you've already seen through it, I won't pretend anymore. So what if you know you can't attack [Cube World - Vijam]? I will decide the target of your monster's attack using this card!"

"Trap Card [Descent of the Cube]: When an opponent's monster declares an attack, Special Summon one [Descent of the Cube - Vijam] from my Deck, and change the target of the attack to that monster for damage calculation!"

On the Blue God Arena, another [Fangjieyin-Vijam] appeared, blocking the [Meteor Fangjie Artifact-Tianchen], about to receive the black flames that the [True Red-Eyed Black Dragon] was about to spew!

【Fang Jieyin - Vijam】【DEF0】

Attacking the defense position [Fangjieyin-Vijam], [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] cannot deal battle damage, but it will also trigger the unknown effect of [Fangjieyin-Vijam] by appealing to the Blue God's heart. Jonouchi decisively plays a card from his hand: "In that case, I will also use a card, the Quick-Play Spell Card [Rebellion]!"

“During the Battle Phase, you can only target one of your opponent's monsters to activate this effect. You gain control of that monster until the end of the Battle Phase.” Jonouchi pointed to the [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust] on Blue God's field and said, “I want to gain control of [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust].

"Then, due to the effect of [Rebellion Drama], all my monsters on the field except [Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust] will be unable to attack, forcibly ending the battle between [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] and [Cube World - Vijam]!"

Under the effect of the "Rebellion Drama," the "Meteorite Cube - Heavenly Dust" came to his field, and the "Red-Eyes Black Dragon," which had repeatedly shifted its attack target, finally failed to spew out the flames in its mouth and fell back to the ground in defeat.

Seeing that Jonouchi had taken a different approach to avoid the battle with [Fangjieyin-Vijam], Malik raised an eyebrow: "Well done, Jonouchi."

“Hmph, it’s not over yet. Next, I’m going to use this [Meteorite Cube - Vijam] that I’ve stolen to attack another [Cube Inheritor - Vijam] in attack position,” Jonouchi said. “Use your monster to test me. Even I won’t feel bad about wasting cards.”

"Tch..." Looking at Jonouchi's smug face, Ayane said rather unhappily, "The attack move of [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust] is called 'Dimensional Fist'."

However, Jonouchi completely disregarded the move's name upon hearing Ayaka's words, retorting, "What kind of pinyin is that? Who would use such a lame name? Since it's Jonouchi-sama using it..."