Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Ugh..." "Cough!"

Compared to Jonouchi, who only felt slightly stuffy after being hit by hot air because of Red Eyes' intentional restraint, Ayakashi was in considerable pain, not only because of the injuries he suffered, but also because of the humiliation he felt.

This was only his second round, and as a Prana, he had actually lost a full 7000 points of basic points to an ordinary person. How utterly humiliating!

Even though he had summoned the "God Card," it was Osiris the Sky Dragon who stepped on the landmine that had dealt him 2400 damage!

"Judging from your expression, you're thinking that the Sky Dragon of Osiris is useless, aren't you?" As if he had the ability to read minds, or perhaps because the expression on Blue God's face was too easy to understand, Malik said lightly, "In the end, it's your fault for using the Sky Dragon of Osiris."

"After all, those of us who know a little about the 'God Cards' know that the other two of the three 'God Cards' are easy to use, but the one called 'Osiris the Sky Dragon' is absolutely not something you can just take out and use casually. In my brother-in-law's words, 'Osiris the Traitor Dragon is not just a name, if you use the Traitor Dragon, who else will you be cheated if not you?'"

Reflecting on his past duels using [Sky Dragon of Osiris], he was repeatedly beaten by his brother-in-law and Yugi, suffering defeat after defeat. On the contrary, after losing [Sky Dragon of Osiris] to Yugi Muto or Pharaoh Atem, he was able to occasionally achieve a victory.

No matter how you look at it, my terrible record is all the fault of [Osiris the Sky Dragon]!

“Indeed, the Sky Dragon of Osiris is a true ‘traitorous dragon.’” Recalling the scene in the world of King’s Memory, where the three Egyptian Gods were initially able to stand on equal footing with the Dark God Zorc Nerlova, the Sky Dragon of Osiris’s traitorous nature caused the other two gods to suffer a swift defeat, Jonouchi nodded in agreement.

Listening to the two's words, Blue God also felt a little insecure. He glanced at the card "Sky Dragon of Osiris" that he was about to send to the graveyard, and the thought "Could it really be this card that caused my downfall?" arose in his mind.

"Hmph, fine, whatever you say. It's just a 'God Card,' and I have more than one." Determined to remove [Sky Dragon of Osiris] from his deck in the next duel, Blue God sent the card to the graveyard and declared defiantly, "Victory is already in my hands against you, who only have 1600 Life Points left!"

"The battle phase ends, and then in my main phase two, I activate the Continuous Spell Card [Declaration of the Devil], which pays me 500 Life Points once per turn, and then declares a card name to activate. The card name I declared is [Square Emperor - Gairo of the Gale].

[Blue God: 1000→500LP]

"He actually lowered his own base score?" Jonouchi raised an eyebrow, surprised by Aokiji's tightrope walking. "I remember the effect of that card was..."

A card was placed on the back row. Blue God placed his finger on top of the deck and said, "Flip over the top card of my deck. If it is a declared card, add that card to my hand. If not, send that card to the graveyard."

"It combines graveyard dumping and card draw effects, so maybe if I had used it earlier I could have gained a couple more cards. But with only 500 Life Points left, even a Continuous Spell Card can only be used the last one from before," Malik said dismissively. "What a meaningless card."

"Hmph, draw a card!" Blue God didn't explain anything, he just drew the top card of the deck and showed it. Unfortunately, it wasn't the monster card he had just declared, [Square Emperor - Gairo the Gale], but the Normal Spell Card [Square Wave]. Because of the effect of [Demon's Declaration], Blue God sent [Square Wave] to the Graveyard.

However, one of the characteristics of the [Focus] cards is that most of the Spell & Trap cards have a one-time ability to banish themselves from the Graveyard in addition to their effects on the field. [Focus Wave], which was just sent to the Graveyard, is no exception.

"I banish [Cube Wave] and [Meteor Cube - Heavenly Dust] from my Graveyard, and activate the effect of [Cube Wave] by targeting one face-up monster on your opponent's field - that [Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon]."

Take the two cards from the graveyard: [Cube Wave] which was just sent to the graveyard and [Meteor Cube - Sky Dust] which was released to summon [Sky Dragon of Osiris]. The two cards turned into golden particles in Blue God's hand and disappeared, seemingly banished. "Place a Cube Counter on [Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon].

As the boundary marker was placed, Jonouchi saw a thin layer of stone suddenly appear on the body of his Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon, which was spreading rapidly. The Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon instinctively tried to struggle, but in an instant it turned into a stone statue. The surface of the statue was also covered with rust, and it was impossible to tell that it had just been a rather heroic and handsome monster.

"【Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon】!" Jonouchi instinctively called out to his monster, but received no response. He looked at Aragami and asked, "It's just a marker, what's going on?"

"Hehehe, this is the true power of the [Cube]. Monsters that have been placed with a [Cube Counter] will be dedimensionalized, unable to attack, and their effects will be nullified." Blue God sneered arrogantly. "[Cube Yin-Vijam] has the same ability to place Cube Counters, but because of your good luck, you have only now seen this powerful force."

“While most counters are simply consumables used to activate effects, there are also counters that can weaken an opponent simply by placing them. The Cube Counter, and my brother-in-law's Predator Counter for his [Predator Plant] deck are examples of that,” Malik said, pausing for a moment. “Something feels off. My brother-in-law's deck has a villainous vibe to it?”

"Hmph, but I'm not done yet. Activate the spell card [Goblin Upstart]. I draw a card from my deck, and my opponent's Life Points are restored to 1000." As Blue God spoke, he drew a card, and Jonouchi's Life Points were restored.

【Within the city: 1600→2600】

[Blue God: 500LP, Hand Cards 2→2]

“A meaningless card draw, and it even cost us some life points. If it were an Exodia deck, using that card to compress the deck might be somewhat useful,” Malik commented. “First it was Demon’s Declaration, then it was Goblin Nouveau Riche, just a bunch of meaningless cards.”

"Tsk tsk, is that what you think?" But upon hearing Malik's words, Blue God arrogantly said, "You haven't noticed where the real crisis comes from at all. As expected, you're just an ordinary person without Prana's talent."

Blue God proudly displayed a card he took from the graveyard, saying, "First, I used 'Demon's Declaration' to lower my Life Points, then I used 'Goblin Upstart' to increase yours. Now that the difference between our Life Points is greater than 2000, this card in my graveyard meets the conditions to activate its second effect!"

"If my Life Points are more than 2000 points lower than my opponent's, I can activate this effect by banishing 'Descent of the Cube' from my Graveyard. I can Special Summon one 'Cube' from my hand, Graveyard, or Deck." Blue God waved his hand, setting up three cards. "And if only my opponent controls a monster, I can Special Summon two more 'Cube's'!"

A dark purple hole opened up in the ground in front of the Blue God. From the hole, which seemed to be from another dimension, several clusters of small golden cubes emerged and gathered on the Blue God's field, transforming into the [Fangjieyin-Vijam] that had appeared before. Three of them appeared at once!

【Fang Jieyin - Vijam】【DEF0】X3

"He's managed to gather three more monsters in one go!? And judging from what he's saying, it seems he also has the ability to place boundary markers to weaken our monsters." Jonouchi turned to Malik and said, "This doesn't feel good, Malik. Are you going to lose?"

"No, not necessarily. As long as you use a monster with defense-piercing effects, even if a Cube marker is placed after the attack, it won't matter—"

Before Jonouchi could finish speaking, Ayami played another card: "Next, I'm going to activate the Continuous Spell Card, [Square Spell]. As long as [Square Spell] exists, all battle damage I take from battles involving [Square] monsters will become 0."

"Then I'll place a card face down, and my turn is over."

[Blue God: 500LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Fang Jieyin - Vijam】【DEF0】

[Demon's Declaration] [Fangjie Law] [Gaika]

Looking at the card behind him—[Fangjie Yuanqi]—Blue God felt that his advantage was quite significant.

That card has the ability to place Cube Counters on the same number of monsters on your field and on the same number of monsters on your opponent's field, so even if you summon monsters with direct attack capabilities, they can't bypass your Cube Counters.

Furthermore, [Fangjieyin-Vijam] is an almost invincible shield. Not only can it not be destroyed in battle, but it can also counter the opponent's placement of Fangjie indicators after battle. When [Fangjie Law] is present, even if its form is changed or the ability to penetrate defense is gained, it cannot cause damage to itself.

We've got this in the bag! Next turn, after drawing a card, I can use the effect of [Square Law] to discard a [Square] card and draw another card, for a total of three cards. As long as one of them is a high-level [Square] monster that can be placed on [Square Law], I can easily wipe out the remaining Life Points of the opponent's two players in one turn!

As long as I can draw a powerful monster!

"My turn, draw a card." Malik calmly drew a card. After seeing that Blue God had summoned three monsters in one go, he felt a little bored for some reason. "Really, he only left me with a measly 500 life points. How boring."

"Hey, you guy called Blue God, I bet you're thinking that if you draw a powerful monster, you can beat us next turn. I'm a kind-hearted person, and I like to fulfill other people's wishes."

Malik pulled out a powerful fire-attribute monster with a level of 8☆ and an attack power of 3000: "I'm going to give you this powerful monster. No need to thank me too much."

"Go, my darling! [Lava Demon]!"

Chapter 962 I Must Strike Immediately

"Go, my darling!"

"【Lava Demon God】!"

As Malik raised the card in his hand, a large amount of lava suddenly surged onto the field. However, although it was clearly Malik's card, the lava that surged out came from under the feet of [Fangjieyin-Vijam] on the Blue God's field.

This wasn't the first time Blue God had encountered such a situation. He had seen a very similar effect in his previous duel with Hayato. Even though it was the opponent's card, the monster's appearance effect appeared on his own field. The similar scene made Blue God's eyes widen in surprise.

"Wait a minute! Could it be that you—"

The answer to the Blue God was a giant hand emerging from the gushing lava. With a push-up motion, the two [Fangjieyin-Bijam] on the Blue God's field were swallowed up in a waterfall of lava raining down from the sky, while a single, enormous lava giant used its hand to push itself up from the ground.

At the same time, a steel cage suddenly fell on Blue God's head, enveloping him before he could react. The lava giant reached out, lifted the cage, and embedded the iron cage containing Blue God into his chest.

【Lava Demon God】【8☆/Flame】

[Demon Race/Effect]

[3000/2500]

"What is this?!"

"Oh dear, I forgot to explain. Are you still confused?" Hearing Blue God's words, Malik raised an eyebrow and sneered. "Although [Lava Demon] is a Level 8 monster, it cannot be Normal Summoned. Therefore, it cannot be Tribute Summoned by Tributing monsters on my field. However, it can be Special Summoned by Tributing two monsters on my opponent's field from my hand to their field."

"Similar effect to that annoying sea turtle?"

Malik nodded and looked at Blue God, saying, "So, you really did fight your brother-in-law, and he even used that [Turtle Kaibun - Gamesiere], right? Hmph, although that monster has lower attack power and doesn't give the opponent too much strength, my [Lava Demon] is still more effective."

Blue God's face darkened: "Who wants to hear what you're saying? I want to know why I'm locked up in this cage!"

"Tsk tsk, don't be impatient. You'll soon experience the endless surprises it can bring you." Malik glanced at the cards in his hand, not intending to continue. "The turn I Special Summon [Lava Demon], I cannot Normal Summon, and the only [Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon] on the field is unable to attack, so I Set a card and end my turn."

Malik: 1600LP, hand size 6→4

【Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon】(Boundary Marker: 1)【ATK2000】

【GaiKa】

"You just summoned a monster to my field and ended your turn? Ha, I thought you had some special trick up your sleeve."

Blue God absolutely refused to admit that when he saw Malik summon the Lava Demon to his field, he wondered if Malik would also summon several high-attack monsters on his field like Hayato Kobayashi did, and launch an attack against him.

With both [Fangjie Yin-Vijam] monsters already released and only one [Fangjie Yin-Vijam] remaining on his field, his [Fangjie Origin] card in the back row can only control one monster. While his [Fangjie Spell] in the back row can reduce the damage from battles by [Fangjie] monsters to zero, [Lava Demon] is not a [Fangjie] monster.

Fortunately for Blue God, Malik only managed to summon one [Lava Demon] with decent attack power, let alone multiple monsters. This meant Blue God's previous idea of ​​defeating Jonouchi and Malik simply by drawing a high-level [Cube] monster was no longer necessary; attacking with the [Lava Demon] would solve everything.

Blue God is so lucky!

With his fingers resting on his deck, Blue God drew two cards and said dismissively, "It's my turn. Because of the effect of [Tearing Time and Space Demon Eye], I can draw two cards. I didn't expect this duel to end so quickly."

"Because I drew the Normal Spell Card 'Square Wave' again. In addition to its effect being activated in the Graveyard, it can also target one 'Square Wave' monster on my field and one monster on your opponent's field to activate its effect, doubling the ATK of the 'Square Wave' monster on my field and halving the ATK of the 'Square Wave' monster on your opponent's field."

"I really don't know what you idiots were thinking. Not only did you send such a powerful monster to my field, but you also didn't change the battle position of the monsters on your field, letting me attack you." Blue God had a smug expression, completely ignoring the looks of disbelief that Jonouchi and Malik were giving him. "As long as I attack with [Lava Demon], your life points, which are as fragile as candles in the wind, will be wiped out in an instant."

They exchanged a glance, both Jonouchi and Malik looking quite helpless.

"He just said it, didn't he?" "Yeah, he said 'a candle flickering in the wind.'" "Now even I don't know how I lost."

"What are you two whispering about?" Blue God frowned, then relaxed. "Hmph, but it doesn't matter. I'm going to launch my main phase—"

"Before you enter your main phase, during your preparation phase, the effect of your [Lava Demon] is forcibly activated." Seeing Blue God about to play his card, Malik suddenly spoke up, "Miracles and magic aren't free, and neither are powerful monsters. It's just a little bit of pain, hehehehe..."

As Malik finished speaking, the Lava Demon on the Blue God's field lowered its head, meeting Blue God's gaze as the latter raised his head. Blue God, his eyes wide, saw the Lava Demon open its mouth, about to spew a large ball of lava towards him, who was trapped in the iron cage at its chest!

Looking down at the card, Blue God noticed the effect written on the [Lava Demon] card that Malik had sent to his field. He read it aloud: "During each of my preparation phases, I take 1000 damage? Another effect damage?!"

“Sodayo~” Malik nodded, stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, making a funny face, “Because you are the controller of the [Lava Demon], the ‘self’ in this effect naturally refers to you. Take this 1000 points of damage!”

Hearing Malik's words, Blue God gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Time and time again, why do they all like using effect damage so much? No, I don't want to be defeated by that disgusting method again! It was precisely because of this situation that I prepared this card a long time ago!"

"That's the card, [Mysterious Chinese Pot]. It can restore my Life Points by releasing one monster on my field. As long as I release [Lava Demon], everything will be fine!"

Retrieving the unused [Square Wave], Blue God played another card from his hand, [Mysterious Chinese Pot]. Using this quick-play spell card, which could be activated during the preparation phase, would allow him to turn the tide. However, when Blue God extended the card from the duel disk formed by golden cubes, a repulsive force emanated from the disk, sending the card flying from his hand!?

"How is that possible!?"

"Hmph, no way. The duel has gone this far, and we've developed a deep bond, haven't we? How can you just release the card I gave you like this? You'd better keep it safe."

Malik grinned maliciously, drawing Blue God's attention to the open face-down card in his back row. "What's that card?"

"Have you heard of priority? As a duelist who takes turns, you have the right to act first during your turn. However, once you perform an action, the priority will go to me. For example, if you use a monster to attack, I can choose whether to activate the card first, and then it's your turn to choose whether to activate the card."

Malik spread his hands, “The effect of the chain [Lava Demon] forced activation gave me priority, allowing me to open this Continuous Trap Card [Sacrifice Seal Mask] before you could activate the Quick-Play Spell Card [Mysterious Chinese Pot]. As long as [Sacrifice Seal Mask] is in the Spell & Trap Zone, neither player can Tribute cards, and because it is a Continuous Trap Card, it remains active after being opened.”

"Then, because of the effect of [Sacrifice Sealing Mask], you cannot release monsters, and you cannot meet the activation conditions of [Mysterious Chinese Pot] to release [Lava Demon] on your field!"

Unable to activate the [mysterious Chinese wok] in his hand, Blue God looked up and watched the lava fall, powerless to stop it.

"How many flights of stairs can you carry a bag of rice up? (Feel the pain!)"

"Ya-me-lo!"

"boom!"

Lava rained down, completely engulfing Blue God and instantly wiping out his remaining 500 basic points.

[Blue God: 500LP→0]