Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"The fourth necessary condition is eight coded phrases: 'Star Armor,' 'Scar,' 'Key,' 'Whisper,' 'Deep,' 'Memory,' 'Awakening,' and 'Successor.'"

"The fifth necessary condition is courage; I must have the courage to give up power."

As Hayato sent [Machine Knight - Abraham] to the graveyard, the power of [Huanghua Machine Knight], which had already absorbed the power of the other six [Machine Knights] on the field, expanded again. This power, which had exceeded its limit, caused cracks to appear in the metal body of [Huanghua Machine Knight], as if it had aged and cracked after many years.

The power that could no longer be restrained by the unified force dissipated from the body of [Huang Hua's Machine Knight], rose into the air and was absorbed by the surrounding field. The huge [Star Shield] and [Star Spear] in the field spell card [Star Relic Engraved Scar] lit up and were activated by the power of [Machine Knight].

"What is this!?" Atum and Yugi couldn't understand what Hayato meant by what he just said, but they could tell that something Hayato had been preparing since the start of the turn seemed to have been completed as [Machine Knight - Abraham] was sent to the graveyard!

"Humanity cannot remain on Earth forever; it will eventually venture into space. And what propels me on this path to the stars is the power of the [Machine Knights]!"

"The power of the [Machine Knights] will be inherited by [Machine Knight - Abraham], and then the power of the [Star Relic] will be activated. After the [Engraved Scar] absorbs the souls of the eight [Machine Knights], a 'new self' will be born." Hayato clenched his fist in front of him. "Now, the all-destroying 'Heavenly Sweep' will be opened for me!"

"The third effect of 【Scars Engraved by Star Relics】, which is also its ultimate power, is that it can only be activated by banishing eight or more 【Machine Knight】 monsters from my field and graveyard."

"Send all of your opponent's cards from their hand and Fusion Deck to the Graveyard!"

"What?!"

Atum was startled. He looked up and saw the activated Star Gun and Star Shield rise from the ground and converge in the air.

Since ancient times, there has been a struggle between "spear" and "shield," and there has never been a definitive conclusion as to which is stronger. Even the enormous spear and shield before us cannot prove the answer. However, the convergence of the power of the [Star Relic] has unleashed an impact capable of instantly killing anyone who raises a question.

From the point where the shield and gun collided, a powerful shockwave was released, sweeping unilaterally toward Atum. He and Yugi could only see the cards in their hands and the cards in their fusion deck turning to ashes and disappearing!

"This is the 'Mech Knight: Heavenly God'!"

"Wryyyyyy!"

Amidst Hayato's excited screams, Yugi's six-card hand, previously filled by the effect of "Heavenly Treasure Card," was instantly emptied. That alone would be somewhat acceptable, but the problem was that even the cards in his Fusion Deck were sent to the Graveyard during that so-called "Machine Knight's Heavenly Sweep"!

【武藤游戏：4000LP，手卡6→0，融合卡组：14→0】

"You should have had Kuriboh in your hand originally, right, Yugi Muto?" Hayato said arrogantly, opening his arms wide. "The card you drew with the [Super Magister - Dark Magister's Apprentice] card should have been Kuriboh, right? If you had that card in your hand, even I would have had a hard time defeating you, since one of your attacks would have had its damage reduced to 0."

"But now, your hand is empty, and the possibility of creating something in your fusion deck is also cut off. I'll inflict despair on you this turn with this card!"

Hayato played the only spell card from his remaining two cards: "Spell Card [Summoning Magic], send [Summoner - Aleister] from my hand to the graveyard, and banish [Grand Magus - Dark Magus Apprentice] from the opponent's graveyard!"

"A monster in my graveyard!?"

Seeing the surprised expression on Yugi's face, Hayato said smugly, "When Fusion Summoning a [Summoned Beast] monster, monsters on my field and in both players' Graveyards can also be banished as Fusion Materials."

"The materials are [Summoner-Aleister] and Fusion Monsters. O immense power that shakes my soul, dwell within me and become a new light that shatters the light! Fusion Summoning, the sublime posture of the sage who rules over all summoned beasts!"

"[Summoned Beast - Light Body]!"

Chapter 991 Magical Kuriboh

"Fusion Summoning, the sublime posture of the sage who commands all summoned beasts!"

"[Summoned Beast - Light Body]!"

Guided by the summoner's interdimensional magic circle, the [Super Archmage - Dark Archmage Apprentice], slumbering in Atum's graveyard, was absorbed into the summoning spell and combined with [Summoner - Aleister] in Hayato's hand.

In pursuit of higher mystical arts, and to reach the ultimate evolutionary limit of magical techniques, the human body is no longer necessary and can be easily discarded. Adhering to this philosophy, the Sage of the Codex, whose magical name is "Great Beast," used the ultimate summoning magic on himself, usurping the power of other dimensional beings to transform himself into an alien entity.

What finally appeared before Atum and Yugi was a giant of light that resembled both a spiral magic tower and a god descending to earth!

[Summoned Beast - Light Body] [8☆/Light]

[Angel Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2000/2800]

"If [Summoned Beast - Light] is successfully Special Summoned, or if a monster is Special Summoned on your opponent's field, target one of their monsters and activate the effect of [Summoned Beast - Light]. Destroy that monster."

Hayato pointed to the last remaining [Dark Magician] on the field and said, "Your last monster on the field—[Dark Magician]—will be shattered by the effect of [Summoned Beast - Light Body]. This is the punishment for being my enemy. All your hopes will be extinguished!"

"Special Beam Cannon!"

Having absorbed the power of the [Super Mage - Black Mage Apprentice], the [Summoned Beast - Light Body] looked down at the [Black Mage] guarding Atum on the ground, and with a flick of its finger, easily unleashed a powerful magic cannon.

Currently, Hayato has one [D-hero Blood Demon-D] with 2900 ATK on his field, and then there's [Summoned Beast-Light] with 2000 ATK that's currently destroying [Dark Magician]. The combined ATK of the two monsters is a whopping 4900, which is enough to wipe out Atem's Life Points in one turn.

Because of the effect of [Scars Engraved by Star Relics] that Hayato called "the God of Machines' Sweep", Atem had no cards left in his hand, and there were no useful cards in his back row!

Facing the light cannon unleashed by the [Summoned Beast - Light Body], the [Dark Mage] desperately tried to sustain it by releasing his own magic power, but because he exerted too much force beyond his limits, golden particles floated around his body. Knowing that he couldn't hold on for much longer, the [Dark Mage] raised his wand and said, "I will protect the Pharaoh. I will not let him stop here!"

"Please accept this, Pharaoh, this is my last bit of magic!"

With a deafening roar, unable to withstand the attack of [Summoned Beast - Light Body], [Dark Magician]'s figure was engulfed and pulverized by the light cannon, dissipating from the field. Simultaneously, since there were no more Spellcaster monsters on the field, the long-dormant [Spellcaster's Sanctuary] card also self-destructed due to its own effect.

However, before [Dark Magician] completely disappeared, a beam of light flew from his hand and landed in the game's graveyard. Atem then drew a card from the graveyard and said, "I have received your will, Mahad."

Although he still didn't truly consider Hayato an enemy, thanks to Mahad's "sacrifice," Atem's fighting spirit surged, rekindling his hunger for victory as a duelist. His competitive drive had gradually slumbered during the peaceful days and low-intensity duels of the Underworld, but now it was reignited!

For a moment, Atum's fervor even triggered the auto-play BGM function on Hayato's Duel Disk, and the song "Fervent Duelist" started playing on its own.

"What?! They actually added a card from the graveyard to their hand?!"

Hearing Hayato's words, Atem showed off the cards he had collected and said, "In order to completely eliminate any possibility of me struggling, Hayato, you used the effect of [Summoned Beast - Light] to destroy my [Dark Magician], but you went too far! If a face-up Spellcaster monster on my field is destroyed by battle or by an opponent's card effect, add it to my hand by the effect of [Magical Kuriboh] in my Graveyard!"

"Curry~"

Beside Atum, Kuriboh, now dressed in clothes adapted to its body shape as a Dark Mage, jumped out and waved its little paws, which were gripping the emerald wand, with great enthusiasm.

"It's [Magical Kuriboh]? Is this the last power of [Dark Magician]?" Hayato scoffed, not taking him seriously at all. "Just a mere weak monster. Do you dare disobey me, who possesses [Blood Demon-D]?"

"Entering the battle phase, use [Summoned Beast - Light Body] to directly attack the opponent's duelist!"

The [Summoned Beast - Light] that destroyed [Dark Magician] in one blow officially launched an attack on Yugi. Because it used Atem's [Super Magician - Dark Magician Apprentice] instead of accumulating [Summoned Beasts] on its own to summon [Summoned Beast - Light], there were no fusion monsters in Hayato's graveyard that could be banished to activate [Summoned Beast - Light]'s effect and amplify its attack power.

However, a combat damage of up to 2000 points is enough to take away half of the game's base score in one hit.

"boom!"

"Ugh!" With his arms crossed in front of him, the game felt a little pain and made a sound after taking 2000 points of combat damage, and his base score dropped accordingly.

【Muto Game: 4000→2000LP】

Having already taken the damage, Atem wasn't one to back down. He immediately launched the [Magical Kuriboh] he had just retrieved, saying, "During the Main Phase and Battle Phase of the turn in which I take damage from battle or an opponent's effect, I send the [Magical Kuriboh] from my hand to the Graveyard to activate its effect. This effect can also be activated during the opponent's turn."

"Special Summon one [Dark Magician] or [Dark Magician Girl] from my Deck and Graveyard!" Atem shouted, retrieving the card from the Graveyard. "Return to my side, [Dark Magician]!"

[Dark Magician] [DEF2100]

The loyal mage returned to his master, but as soon as he reappeared, Hayato impatiently waved his hand and said, "Muda, muda, muda! No matter how many times an opponent who has already been defeated comes back, he's still no match! Your [Dark Magician] is no match for my [Blood Demon-D]!"

"Demon Prison Blood Demon! Kill the [Black Magician] and [Blood Demon-D]!"

Although the Blood Demon-D, with its 2900 attack power, is not as powerful as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, it is more than enough to fight the Dark Magician. Having absorbed the power of the Dark Magician Girl to raise its attack power to its current level, it raised the dragon head in its hand and spat a magic bullet at the Dark Magician.

The design of the magic bullets is exactly the same as the ones commonly used by [Dark Magician Girl]. Using the attack methods of [Dark Magician Girl] that are taken from [Dark Magician Girl] to attack [Dark Magician], isn't this a kind of NTR?

"boom!"

The return lasted only a few seconds before the Dark Magician, who had been brought back to work overtime, was back in the graveyard. However, because Atem summoned him in defense position, the game's base score did not drop again and remained at 2000 points.

Thanks to the help of Magical Kuriboh, which inherited the power of Dark Magician, Yugi managed to withstand the combined attack of Hayato's two monsters when he was almost out of ammunition. Hayato said somewhat unhappily, "You got lucky, Yugi Muto."

"My turn ends here."

[Hayato Kobayashi: 3500LP, 0 cards in hand]

【D-hero Blood Demon-D】(Dark Magician Girl)【ATK2900】

[Summoned Beast - Light Body] [ATK2000]

【The Devil's Declaration】【Nightmare of the Mirage】【GaiKa】

Location: [The Scars Engraved by the Star Relic]

As Hayato's turn ended, Yugi surveyed his field, scratching his head in apparent distress.

【Blood Demon - D】 has a one-sided 【Skill Drain】 effect, and can permanently negate the effect of all monsters summoned to the field by the game, while 【Summoned Monster - Light】 has the ability to directly destroy monsters when they are Special Summoned.

The two effects combined mean that if a player attempts to use a lower-level monster's effect using a normal summon, it will be negated by [Blood Demon - D]. Conversely, if a player attempts to Special Summon a powerful monster to break through the blockade in battle, it will be precisely destroyed by [Summoned Monster - Light].

Compared to the blocking combo played by myself and another version of myself in the previous turn, Hayato's combo does not restrict spell cards, but it restricts monster special summons and effect activations much more strictly, which is really troublesome.

Not to mention Hayato's face-down cards in the back row. The game thinks it understands Hayato's dueling style quite well. Although Hayato always says he's a heavy trap player, he's clearly the one who likes to stuff his deck full of all sorts of random trap cards. Who knows what strange cards he'll pull out when he opens his back row.

However, because of the existence of the [Nightmare Mirage] card, it can be basically confirmed that the face-down card is [Unusual Food]. After all, just like how Kaiba always manages to draw three [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] cards and [Fusion] together, Hayato's [Unusual Food] and [Nightmare Mirage] cards have never been separated.

but......

"It's so exciting, another version of myself, the feeling of fighting side by side against such a formidable and hopeless foe." With his fingers resting on the deck, Yugi laughed.

"Ah, it really feels best to fight alongside you," Atum said with a smile. "I suddenly understand why Hayato is pulling that stunt again—he wants us to fight side-by-side one last time, right?"

"In that case, we have to show some spirit! Let's go again, another version of myself!"

"Os!"

Looking at Hayato, Atum drew a card from the top of his deck and shouted, "Our turn, draw!"

"Impressive momentum, but due to the effect of [Nightmare Mirage], I will draw cards during your preparation phase after you draw cards, until you have four cards in your hand."

With zero cards in his hand, Hayato drew four cards in one go and said arrogantly, "Duel Monster battles are battles of card advantage. The difference in the number of cards can directly affect the outcome of the battle. What can you do with just one card in your hand?"

"You can't do anything, and the victor of the duel will always be me, Hayato Kobayashi, and that will never change!"

Upon hearing this, Atum smiled slightly and inserted the card in his hand into the magic trap area: "Sorewadoka na?"

“Do you remember, Hayato? There was a similar situation before. You used the effect of [Nightmare Mirage] to replenish a large number of cards in one go, but there was one card that could turn your positive benefit into a negative one.” Atum waved his hand, “The spell card [Heavenly Treasure] is activated. Both players draw cards until they have six cards each.”

"Last round you 'helped' me enjoy the effect of [Heavenly Treasure Card], so this round I'll return the favor and help you draw a few cards too!"

As he spoke, Atum drew six cards in one go because he had no cards left in his hand, while Hayato, due to the effect of [Nightmare Mirage], had already drawn four cards in his hand, and could only draw two cards at this moment!

For a moment, the game observed a ferocious and painful expression on Hayato's face, as if he had been to a base called Torrington. Even though Hayato didn't say anything, the game knew what he was thinking: "It's more painful for me not to earn cards than for me to lose cards."

"Oh dear! I missed out on earning four cards! Ono-rei game!"

Atum, who had drawn six cards, glanced at his hand and played one of them, saying, "The effect of [Blood Demon - D] is indeed quite troublesome, essentially a one-sided [Skill Drain], but ultimately its effect also has its flaws."

"Quick-Play Spell Card [Forbidden Drop] activated! Send my [Dark Magician Circle] to the Graveyard, select Hayato's [Blood Demon-D], reduce its ATK to half and negate its effect until the end of this turn!"

Because both of the [Dark Magician] cards in the deck were in the graveyard, the [Dark Magician Circle], which was temporarily useless, was sent to the graveyard by Atem. It turned into a drop of pitch-black liquid and fell from a height, landing at the location of [Blood Demon-D]. The crimson pool of blood dried up in an instant, and its powerful force vanished in a flash.

【D-hero Blood Demon-D】(Dark Magician Girl)【ATK2900→1450】

Thankfully, [Forbidden Drop] first halved the attack power before negating the effect; otherwise, Hayato's [Blood Demon - D] would have had a lower attack power of 950 instead of 1450. However, the 500-point difference isn't significant, because at this moment, with [Blood Demon - D]'s effect negated, Atem's deployment restriction was lifted!

"Spell Card [Pot of Greed], I draw two cards from my deck." Replenishing his hand to six cards, Atum smiled as he played one of the drawn cards, saying, "It's time to fight back, Mahad. Let Hayato see how powerful you are now that you've regained all your strength!"