Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Reaching the semifinals already makes you a very strong duelist. You'll probably get a lot of endorsement offers when you get back." Compared to Jonouchi's "role-reversal" consolation, Mai's consolation was much more realistic. "Besides, I'm afraid that when you get back, Mr. Samejima, you'll be able to graduate from 'Cyber ​​Flow', right?"

"Oh right, it's the most famous 'Cyber ​​Dragon' card from the 'Cyber ​​Stream' deck, isn't it? I've heard of that monster before. It's just a pity that Mr. Samejima's current deck isn't the perfect 'Cyber ​​Stream' deck after obtaining 'Cyber ​​Dragon,' and I haven't been able to face Mr. Samejima either."

As Yugi spoke, he looked at Samejima with anticipation, "Mr. Samejima, if we have the chance to meet again after Duel Kingdom, could you please use your perfect 'Cyber ​​Stream' after obtaining [Cyber ​​Dragon] to duel me?"

Samejima laughed and said, "A duel is no problem, of course. It's just a pity that I might not be able to use the perfect 'Electron Flow' then."

Yugi was taken aback for a moment, then understood what Samejima meant: "Really? You've found your own path too. I've been looking forward to our meeting."

At that moment, Bakura, who was standing on the outermost circle of the group, noticed Hayato's arrival. He came up to Hayato with a joyful expression and congratulated him with a smile: "Congratulations, Hayato-kun, another victory in a duel!"

"Oh, Hayato, you're here too. That [Material Dragon] just now was so cool!" Honda turned around and looked at Hayato after hearing Bakura's words. "A huge dragon descended from the sky at an incredible speed and swooped down to the ground. Even if the people on the ground tried to resist, they couldn't destroy the dragon's shell. It was even more exciting than that recently released 'Monster Hunter'."

At the opportune moment, Jonouchi chimed in with a sarcastic remark from the side: "Everything else is fine, but that 'Cute Star Flying Collision' thing, the name is just too awful."

"Haha, don't worry about it too much," Hayato replied with a laugh, his gaze turning to Samejima, who was smiling. "Mr. Samejima, thank you for your duel. It has helped me grow a lot."

This wasn't just a polite remark. Putting aside the dropped "Temptation of the Necromancer," Hayato had also collected the achievement reward after defeating Samejima on the way here. Although the achievement's name was rather hilarious, "Winning the Kiss of the Flower of Duel Academy," the reward was a new system feature that was extremely useful to Hayato.

"Actually, I should be the one saying that, Hayato-kun. Thank you so much for showing me the limits of perfection, and the limits of power," Samejima said with a smile. "Just like the promise Yugi-kun made to me earlier, I'd like to make a promise to you too. After I've completed my 'Electronic Flow' that surpasses perfection, may we duel again?"

Looking at Samejima's outstretched hand, Hayato smiled and shook it: "Yes, it's a deal. After all, I would never refuse a duel."

“Then, let’s duel together, Hayato-kun, with my share in mind.” Samejima waved his hand and looked at Yugi beside him. “Your next opponent is Yugi-kun. The legendary duelist who defeated the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Even after watching your duel, Yugi, I still couldn’t see the limit of your potential.”

"Prepare for a fierce battle, Hayato."

Hayato nodded, about to say something, when he suddenly felt a gaze focused on him from behind. He turned around abruptly and saw Lemuria sitting not far away, smiling and clapping his hands.

Chapter 149 The Battle with the Game

Lemuria, unlike Dark Bakura, did not harm others. According to Jonouchi and others who watched his gameplay, he did not use any evil deck, nor did he even have Samejima's evil deck. He just used an ordinary aquatic deck.

However, for some reason, Hayato always felt that this guy wasn't a good person, and Lemuria seemed to be more interested in himself than in the game.

According to Mai and Samejima, no famous duelist has ever been called Lemuria. Hayato even looked it up on Baidu and found that this name is not something a normal person would use, because it comes from a lost civilization called the "Lemurian Civilization".

Although there is no concrete evidence, Hayato has already decided in his heart that this guy is using a pseudonym.

When their eyes met, Lemuria's expression remained completely unchanged. He showed none of the instinctive avoidance one might feel when being stared at. Instead, he stood up and walked confidently to Hayato, clapping his hands as he spoke in a gentle voice, "Congratulations, Hayato Kobayashi. After defeating Samejima Iemitsu of 'Cyber ​​Stream,' you're one step closer to the title of 'Duel King.'"

"Right now, the only ones standing in your way are Yugi Muto and the high and mighty Pegasus, aren't they?"

"Uh, thank you? And, do we know each other?" One doesn't hit a smiling face. Although he didn't have any good feelings towards the blue-haired guy in front of him, Hayato wasn't going to put on a bad face just because the other person congratulated him.

Lemuria smiled and shook his head: "No, of course we don't know each other anymore, but who can say for sure what will happen in the future?"

"I actually want to see you win the title of 'King of Duels' more than Yugi Muto, so I'll give you a card."

As he spoke, Lemuria held out a hand, revealing a card face down. He opened his palm, smiled, and nodded, gesturing for Hayato to take it.

Hayato, puzzled, picked up the card and flipped it over, discovering it was a Field Spell Card, 【Forgotten City - Lemuria】. It seemed to have some specific meaning, or perhaps it was just a coincidence, but the card Lemuria had given Hayato was also named "Lemuria".

As soon as Hayato looked up, he saw that Lemuria had already walked down the steps of the audience seats. After glancing back at him, she turned around and followed a man in black away from the castle without looking back.

Hayato didn't dwell on the Lemuria affair for long. Although he couldn't figure out what was going on with that mysterious guy, since the other party had given him a card, Hayato, adhering to the principle of "if you don't pick it up, you've lost it," accepted the [Forgotten City - Lemuria] card, which he had no use for, and added it to his card pool.

Time ticked by, and Hayato and his companions watched as the men in black dismantled the original dueling platform and brought in the new equipment from outside the castle for installation. After more than half an hour, they finally finished installing the new platform.

Hayato looked up at the high platform where there was a spectator stand that had been empty for the past two days, except for a brief appearance by Pegasus during the duel between Keith and Hayato yesterday.

Now, it's the final match between Hayato and Yugi. I wonder if Pegasus will come?

The diligent old butler appeared at the dueling stage with a microphone: "The Duel Kingdom Grand Final will begin in ten minutes. It will be Yugi Muto versus Hayato Kobayashi. Both players are requested to proceed to the players' lounge to prepare for the duel."

Hayato turned his head and looked towards Yugi. Just then, the Millennium Puzzle hanging on Yugi's chest once again emitted a dazzling light, his originally soft facial features became hardened, his entire demeanor changed from gentle to resolute, and he even grew a few centimeters taller. Yugi's gaze met Hayato's.

"Hayato, let's have a game that's more exciting than any other duel." King Yu revealed a confident smile. His desire to win was even stronger than that for games, and he seemed eager to start the duel.

"You're as spirited as ever, Yugi." Hayato smiled, gave Yugi a high five in perfect unison, and then walked up the steps into the players' lounge.

Hayato laid out his deck again, replacing "System Crash" with "Witch Hunt," and began to think about how he should modify it.

"Compared to the heavy-hitting Yugi's deck, Yugi's deck is more about the synergy between monsters, the chain between spells and traps, and also has a bunch of weird and wonderful cards."

"Dragon Destroyer, Magnet Warrior, Jack, Queen, Chaos Warrior, and the classic Dark Magician—none of these are cards to be underestimated. And it's safe to say that Yugi, who already knows my deck, has definitely prepared some counter cards."

Thinking this, Hayato glanced at the deck laid out to his right. It was a deck he had purchased from the system after entering the Duel Castle, a surprise he intended to save for Pegasus. Hayato had no plans to use this deck before today's duel with Samejima.

However, after defeating Samejima today, he unlocked an achievement, and one of the new features in the achievement made Hayato think that he might use this deck in his duel with Yugi.

Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Hayato and Yugi stood on opposite sides of the dueling platform, placing their card decks down.

"You seem to be really eager to fight, Hayato," Yugi said with a smile.

Hayato took a deep breath, looked at his strongest opponent, and smiled: "After all, the opponent is you, Yugi. I really want to defeat you. I've prepared quite a few things for that."

"Time's on time. The Duel Kingdom Grand Finals will be between Hayato Kobayashi and Yugi Muto. Both players are ready." The old butler stood by the dueling platform and announced as always, "The winner of this duel will become the Duel Kingdom Grand Champion."

"The title of King of Duel, a huge prize, and even the chance to challenge Pegasus, the father of Duel Monsters. The winner can have all of the above."

"I hereby declare the duel officially open!"

"Duel!" x2

[Hayato: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

[Game: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

"First strike is mine! Draw!" Hayato seized the initiative, drawing a card from his deck first. He then placed the drawn card onto the dueling platform.

"Summon [Paladin - Artorias] in Attack Position, set two cards face down, and end my turn."

Leaning on a finely crafted longsword and clad in sturdy armor, a human warrior appeared on Hayato's field, his face resolute.

【Paladin - Artorias】【4☆/Light】

[Warrior/Normal]

[1800/1800]

Without any fancy moves, unlike Hayato's previous dueling style, Hayato simply ended his turn in this duel with Yugi.

Chapter 150 The Temptation of Ultraman

"It's not the Machine-type [XYZ], nor is it [Disruptor] monsters or [Armed Dragon]. Has Hayato switched back to his original Warrior-type deck?"

Jonouchi nodded and said to Mai Kongzak with a smug look, "Hmph, after all, the monsters of the Warrior race are all so cool. Although giant robots and super monsters are also cool, picking up a sharp sword to kill powerful enemies is the romance of a man."

“I remember when Hayato and Yugi first played Duel Monsters, they also used a Warrior-type deck, right?” Honda recalled the time when he first met Hayato. “Back then, Hayato’s Dark Knight Gaia had an attack power of 3000 points, which surprised us for a long time.”

Kyoko also recalled what happened back then: "But in the end, Yugi was still the better player and upgraded [Demon Summon] to 4000 attack power. Speaking of which, I was so sure back then that the highest attack power of a Duel Monster was 3000, and then I was proven wrong by Sugoroku's [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]."

"You guys are so annoying!"

In the audience, Jonouchi was furious because Kyoko had brought up his embarrassing moment in front of Mai, while Yugi, watching Hayato summon [Paladin - Atolis], looked on with a serious expression.

"So you're using a Warrior-type deck this time? Your dueling style is quite varied. But no matter what monster you use, I will defeat you, Hayato!"

"My turn, draw a card!"

Drawing a card, "Reduce Cost," brought a smile to Yugi's face, as he happened to have a combo card in his hand that could be used with it: "I activate the card I drew, 'Reduce Cost,' discard one card from my hand, and then lower the Level of one monster in my hand by 2 stars!"

“Then I’ll chain your [Reduce Cost] and activate a Trap Card.” Hayato saw Yugi activate the card and immediately opened one of his face-down cards in the back row. “Trap Card, Underworld Temptation, oops, [Necromantic Temptation], each time a card is sent to the Graveyard, the card holder will suffer 300 Life Points damage for each card.”

Hayato's back row opened, revealing a strange figure shrouded in black mist. As Yugi placed the discarded card and the "Reduce Cost" card into the graveyard, the black figure raised its hand and pointed at Yugi. A flash of black light appeared, and Yugi's Life Points began to decrease.

[Game: 4000LP → 3400LP]

"It's only a cost of 600 points, I can afford it." Yugi held a card between two fingers and placed it on the field. "Because of the effect of [Reduce Cost], [Dark Magician Girl], whose level dropped from 6☆ to 4☆, no longer requires tributes. I Normal Summon her in Attack Position!"

"Fight for me, Dark Magician Girl!"

The playful, cute, lively, and sweet [Dark Magician Girl] flew out of the card, using magic as a springboard to bounce and jump around the game field. It seems that she is the first monster that the game summons in this duel, which makes [Dark Magician Girl] very happy.

Dark Magician Girls, ATK2300

The sharp-eyed Hayato noticed that [Dark Magician Girl]'s attack power wasn't the original 2000 points, but 2300 points? Looking around, Yugi hadn't activated any other cards, so...

"So, you sent [Dark Magician] to the graveyard as a cost reduction measure, and incidentally increased [Dark Magician Girl]'s attack power as well?"

Game nodded: "That's right. [Dark Magician Girl] is the disciple of [Dark Magician]. Every [Dark Magician] card in the graveyard can increase her attack power by 300 points."

"In addition, I also want to equip [Dark Magician Girl] with this card."

A magic card appeared on the game field, transforming into an extremely thick book that landed in the hands of [Dark Magician Girl]. She stumbled, nearly losing her balance. The book was incredibly thick, almost as long as [Dark Magician Girl]'s forearm.

Upon opening the book and seeing its contents, [Dark Magician Girl]'s face visibly flushed. She slammed the book shut with a "bang," steam rising from her head. While her attack power increased, Hayato was also incredibly curious about what was written in that book.

Dark Magician Girl: ATK 2300 → 3000

"The Magic Spellbook is a powerful spellbook that can only be read by Dark Mages and Dark Magician Girls who have learned magic from Dark Mages. It can not only enhance the power of the magic released, but also restore the duelist's life points when it is destroyed."

As Yugi spoke, he waved his hand forward: "Battle Phase! [Dark Magician Girl], attack [Paladin - Artoria] on Hayato's field! Dark Magician Burst!"

Clutching the mysteriously written grimoire tightly, [Dark Magician Girl] blushed, raised her magic wand, and chanted an obscure and difficult-to-understand magic incantation. A ball of energy composed of magic shot out from the tip of the wand, heading towards [Atoris] on Hayato's field.

"By inheriting my master's power, my attack power has reached the level of the [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]! Amazing!" As Hayato exclaimed, his [Paladin - Atoris] was struck by the [Dark Magician Girl]'s attack and was broken—

———It wasn't destroyed?!

As the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, the game was surprised to find that the Paladin-Atoris, which should have been destroyed by Dark Magician Girl, was not only still standing on Hayato's field, but also seemed completely unharmed?

What blocked the attack from [Dark Magician Girl] was a face-down card that Hayato flipped up in the back row: "[Abyss Amulet], when an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can discard one card to negate an attack."

Hayato said, showing a card in his hand: "The card I'm going to send to the graveyard is this [Disruption Spell].

"Then, if this card is sent to the graveyard because of the effect of [Disruption Magic], I will add the three [Disruption] brothers from my deck to my hand."

[Hayato: 4000LP → 3700LP]

"Blocked 1200 points of battle damage that should have been taken, protected my monster, and replenished my hand at the same time. The whole combo only cost 300 Life Points. That's amazing." Yugi laughed and set both cards face down.

"Cover two cards, my turn is over."

[Game: 3400LP, 1 cards in hand]

【Dark Magician Girl】(Magic Spellbook)【ATK3000】

[GaiK] X2

Hayato: "My turn, draw a card."

Hayato glanced at the [Fusion] he had drawn, then looked at the [Disruption] cards in his hand that were looking on expectantly. He shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Seriously, there's nothing I can do with you guys."